What do you think about the "Crap Canon" for the Dem convention?
Political activists planning protest rallies at the upcoming Democratic Convention in Denver have their stomachs in knots over a rumor about a crowd control weapon – known as the “crap cannon” – that might be unleashed against them.
Also called “Brown Note,” it is believed to be an infrasound frequency that debilitates a person by making them defecate involuntarily.
Mark Cohen, co-founder of Re-create 68, an alliance of local activists working for the protection of first amendment rights, said he believes this could be deployed at the convention in August to subdue crowds.
“We know this weapon and weapons like it have been used at other large protests before,” he said.
Cohen, who described Brown Note as a “sonic weapon used to disrupt people’s equilibrium,” cited eyewitness accounts of its use during free-trade agreement protests in Miami in 2003.
“I think these weapons were mostly intended for military use and so their use for dealing with innocent protesters seems highly inappropriate,” he said. “The idea that they might be field testing them on people who are doing nothing more than exercising their first amendment rights is disturbing.”
His group is preparing against a possible attack by Brown Note and other crowd-control measures by dispatching street medics at the convention trained in treating injuries in demonstration situations.
“It’s all we can do,” Cohen said.
So is the Brown Note a real threat?
Dr. Roger Schwenke – an expert acoustician who appeared on the Discovery Channel’s “Mythbusters” in 2004 to test the phenomenon – told FOXNews.com there is no scientific evidence that proves such frequencies cause involuntary defecation.
“When we conducted the low frequency experiment for the Brown Note episode of MythBusters, we tested a variety of low frequencies and no involuntary gastro-intestinal motility was caused,” he said.
But Schwenke acknowledged the low-frequency exposure did cause an adverse effect. Several people — including himself — reported “abdominal discomfort,” he said, “which was easily alleviated by moving a moderate distance away from the source.”
Adding to the Brown Note rumor is a refusal by Denver’s Mayor John W. Hickenlooper to release details of what was purchased with $18 million of a $50 million federal grant the city received to pay for convention security, despite a lawsuit filed by ACLU.
Cohen’s group is calling on the administration to disclose what measures will be taken.
In a statement released to FOXNews.com, city spokeswoman Sue Cobb said, “commenting on specific security preparations is not helpful to ensuring their effectiveness. I can say, however, that all of our security-related purchases for the Democratic National Convention will comply with federal and City requirements. We are working closely with the U.S. Department of Justice to ensure that the $50 million federal security grant is spent on personnel and equipment in the manner required by the grant.”
Denver’s police Department wouldn’t comment on the tactics that will be used during the convention, but a spokesman said that “we do support and encourage people to express their views safely and in a manner that respects the rights of others along with the laws and ordinances of our city.”
But Glenn Spangnuolo, also with Re-create 68, isn’t taking any chances. He said he has no doubt that Brown Note exists, and is preparing his group for confrontation. “Whether it causes someone to defecate in their pants or not, I don’t know that,” said Spagnuolo. “What I do know is that it causes a person to be disoriented and lose their equilibrium resulting in a nauseous feeling in their stomach.”
More troubling to Spagnuolo is the “Active Denial System” or “ADS,” a ray gun used to send high levels of microwave frequencies that cause a burning sensation the skin.
He described ADS as an “indiscriminate weapon” and said “there’s no long-term testing on what happens to the body when exposed to those kinds of microwave frequencies.”
Spagnuolo believes that Raytheon, the company that manufactures the weapon, is planning to test a limited-range civilian version on protesters in Denver before approving its use in places like Iraq.
Spagnuolo said he believes tactics like these are excessive. “I think spending millions of dollars on weapon technologies to be used on people in our community is completely wrong,” he said.
I’m trying to get a laundromat concession near the convention
center as we speak. Bring on the cannon.
December 15th, 2009 at 5:27 am
They already did that on "South Park"
References :
December 15th, 2009 at 6:05 am
What do I think? I think it’s a load of crap!
Who’s going to believe ths stuff???
References :
December 15th, 2009 at 6:41 am
You mean the Rep’s playing like they are Dem’s like they did in 2004.
References :
December 15th, 2009 at 7:18 am
South park
References :
December 15th, 2009 at 7:31 am
Brown Note works. It has been tested and it works as advertised.
If used at the Democratic National Convention, there will be no noticible effect.
References :
December 15th, 2009 at 7:38 am
If that is the case, I bet the democrats are saving up ammo for that cannon.
Way to go plastic face polosi and dingy harry.
References :
December 15th, 2009 at 7:57 am
tl;dr.
Anyway, South Park already did it. The Brown Note is make believe… just like most Democratic policies.
It’s an urban legend. That article is probably from The Onion.
Some people will believe ANYTHING.
References :
December 15th, 2009 at 8:24 am
I want one.
References :
December 15th, 2009 at 9:12 am
Sounds like something from a GWAR concert.
I’d love to see GWAR perform at the convention! MOSH!
References :
December 15th, 2009 at 9:18 am
I’m trying to get a laundromat concession near the convention
center as we speak. Bring on the cannon.
References :
December 15th, 2009 at 9:45 am
Yawn…..
I do not give it a thought.
This is another silly conspiracy theory.
References :
December 15th, 2009 at 10:02 am
I remember the horror of the Democratic Convention in Chicago with the anti war<><> Viet Nam Demonstrators.
It was very ugly as the Democratic mayor of Chicago unleashed the police to disrupt the demonstrators.
Right or wrong the Americans must show some restraint in any public demonstrations. Water cannon and tear gas are bad too and the brown bomb is new but whatever saves lives and stops people from getting hurt is fair..where co you draw the line between peaceful demonstration and a full blown riot?
References :
December 15th, 2009 at 10:11 am
I guess the democrats dont believe in freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, peaceful protest or anything that is not on their agenda, like a female president. What a lousy political party-I am glad to be switching.
References :
December 15th, 2009 at 10:55 am
This does exist, or at least something like it. They are called "active denial weapons"
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2004/01/mil-040122-afps04.htm
The most common are microwave emitters and sound cannons. I think they have a place in riot control and other large gatherings that get out of hand/ Without something like this, riots would have to be broken up with tear gas, rubber bullets, and billy clubs, which will cause a lot more permanent injuries then these things will. My advice to Recreate 68, keep it peaceful and if a policeman tell you to disperse, do so.
References :
December 15th, 2009 at 11:24 am
Don’t you just love capitalism and how you can be rewarded for being a corporate player in this country even if you go around making weapons that make people sh*t uncontrollably for expressing their Constitutional rights and where you can walk into the local grocery store and scan all the rows of cereal on those gleaming shelves that are 99% sugar and makes kids teeth fall out and so on, and so forth?
Don’t it just make ya proud every time they ask you to put your left hand over your chest at the ball game when they play that old national anthem? Ah, the sweet smell of American entrepreneurialism…nuthin’ like it, even when it smells like the crap involuntary expelled in one’s pants at a political rally…ah, just keep it wafting through my red, white and blue nostrils….Land of the free, home of the brave. But most of all, promised land of all those who worship at the altar of Mammon.
So I say, bring on the diarrhea!!! It’s all good! Hey, has to be, it’s made right here in the USA!
References :
December 15th, 2009 at 11:41 am
If this technology is so effective, why waste it on the Democratic Convention? Why not take it straight to Iraq?
References :
December 15th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
I think the "Crap Canon" is a good idea. If the authorities intend to use this crowd control devise to ensure order and civility. If trouble makers show up at the convention with the intent of causing discent and confusion just for the sake of nestalgia that harkens back to an era long gone and frankly thankfully mostly forgotten, they deserve what they get. Stinky pants and all.
References :