(1). Radiation: it's not just for frozen burritos anymore.
The United States military recently placed its stamp of approval on a rather unique crowd control device: the Active Denial System (ADS). Despite having the most politically correct name of any weapon in recent memory, the ADS is quite a piece of work. Here's a summary of its awe-inspiring, pain-inducing power from the worlds most complete and accurate source of information pertaining to cutting edge military technology, the wikipedia:
"The ADS works by directing electromagnetic radiation at a frequency of 95 GHz toward the subjects. When the waves contact skin, the energy in the waves is turned into heat which in turn heats the water molecules in the skin to around 55 C (130 degrees Fahrenheit), causing an intensely painful burning sensation. The focused beam can be directed at targets at a range of approximately one kilometer.
A higher radio frequency is chosen because, as a property of electromagnetic waves, they are unable to penetrate the body as deeply as lower frequency waves, thereby affecting external organs only, such as skin. The United States military states the effect "penetrates the skin to a depth of less than 1/64 of an inch."[1] A spokesman for the Air Force Research Laboratory described his experience as a test subject for the system: "For the first millisecond, it just felt like the skin was warming up. Then it got warmer and warmer and you felt like it was on fire.... As soon as you're away from that beam your skin returns to normal and there is no pain."
The ADS is currently only a vehicle mounted weapon, however, U.S. Marines and police are both working on portable versions."
Essentially, the ADS is a device that sticks an out of control crowd in the microwave for a couple seconds on high power, creating what the military calls the "Goodbye effect". Technically, the waves of radiation emitted by the ADS have a shorter wavelength than the microwaves emitted by a microwave oven, so the comparison isn't perfect, but you get the point. The device is currently awaiting deployment in Iraq, and in the near future could be coming to a reckless crowd of flag-burning hippies near you. While Uncle Sam maintains that exposing large amounts of people to painful waves of radiation will have no unforeseen side effects, and presents no ethical problems, I'll probably remain skeptical. The concept of the government being able to disperse any crowd almost instantly, is just a little bit eerie. Not to mention the fact that any innocent bystanders among the targets will also be exposed to the device's considerable radioactive bite. This creepy increase of government power calls to mind George Orwell's "1984". While I've never actually read the book myself, I'm told by many reliable sources that it deals with a government run by the main character's older brother who does a lot of creepy stuff to the populace of England, and in all likelihood, other populaces (or populi as some are apt to say) as well. On further inspection, the similarities are startling. Is our president an older brother? Is the ADS creepy? Si to all of the above.
People, we are living in 1984.
------------------------------------
(2). Jamba Juice and Taco Bell will probably kill you.
There seems to be an epidemic of food related disease going around:
- Jamba juice has apparently served 1,800 pounds of strawberries possibly contaminated with listeria, a disease with a 20% mortality rate. Ouch. Luckily, the aforementioned strawberries were only located in Arizona, California, and Nevada Jamba Juice locations. I believe this is what they call "Lucky you live Hawaii". But just to be safe, it's probably best to order the secret, legendary, and strawberry-free "White Gummi Bear" for the time being.
- Taco Bell is now dealing with a rash of E. coli contamination amongst it's green onions, forcing it to recall the tainted produce from 5,800 taco bell locations. According to the AP, the Taco Bell E. coli has already infected 36 people across the country. Since I haven't eaten at Taco Bell for several months, I proclaim myself "relatively safe". But what Taco Bell dishes use green onions anyway? Is it just the nachos? Or are trace amounts embedded in most of their dishes? We'll probably never know... until it's too late.
------------------------------------
(3) New York City Bans Trans Fats
New York City is known for a lot of things, mainly: The mafia, gross corruption, and Hillary Clinton. Soon, however, the city will make history as the first city to ban the use of trans fats in its restaurants. For those who don't know what trans fats are, the worlds most complete and accurate source of all information pertaining to nutrition, the wikipedia, has you covered:
"Unlike other fats, trans fats are neither required nor beneficial for health.[1] Eating trans fat increases the risk of coronary heart disease.[2] For these reasons, health authorities worldwide recommend that consumption of trans fat be reduced to trace amounts. Trans fats from partially hydrogenated oils are generally considered to be more of a health risk than those occurring naturally.[3]
Trans fats are increasingly being linked to chronic health conditions (see below), are tightly regulated in a few countries, are mandatory on product labels in many others, and are the central issue in several ongoing lawsuits (particularly against fast food outlets). Many companies are voluntarily removing trans fats from their products, or establishing trans-free product lines."
So, trans fats (A) have no legitimate nutritional purpose, and (B) do a lot of really bad things to the human body. Some experts compare banning trans fats in restaurants to banning lead and arsenic in foodstuffs. But still, does the government have the right to tell private institutions what they can or can't put in their food? Heck yes. If a substance is essentially a poison, it shouldn't be served to the public via delicious, inexpensive fried foods, period. If banning is considered a bit extreme, every purveyor of food should at the very least be required to declare what menu items contain trans fats, as well as the health risks of consuming the said fats, similar to the warning labels placed on boxes of cigarettes. Hopefully, New York City's ban will give chain restaurants a little push towards business practices that are slightly less evil.
------------------------------------And that's about it.
No comments:
Post a Comment