Here's one you may not have seen - but I'm sure you'll appreciate...
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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Introducing the 'Matrix' laptop-triggered landmine |
| 2005-04-12 |
| The US Army will by June deploy in Iraq its "Matrix" system of remotely-detonated landmines, despite widespread concerns about the technology. The Mosul-based Styker Brigade will, according to Yahoo! news, be able to control individual devices from a laptop via a WLAN set-up. The Army reckons Matrix will eliminate accidental deaths caused by dumb landmines. Critics say otherwise. Following successful tests in September, the US will deploy 25 sets of mines in Iraq. These include both M18 Claymores, which deliver steel balls, and the "M5 Modular Crowd Control Munition" - a non-lethal rubber-ball-delivering alternative. The Army's Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey said in a January statement that Matrix was intended for "firebase security, landing zone security, remote offensive attack and both infrastructure and check point protection". Matrix project leader, Major Joe Hitt, declared: "The system is user friendly and a soldier will require a minimal amount of training in order to safely employ and use the system." However, Human Rights Watch researcher, Mark Hiznay, countered: "We're concerned the United States is going to field something that has the capability of taking the man out of the loop when engaging the target. Or that we're putting a 19-year-old soldier in the position of pushing a button when a blip shows up on a computer screen." Globalsecurity.org military analyst, John Pike, weighed in: "If you've got 500 of these mines out there, trying to figure out which one you want to detonate, when the clock's ticking, well that could be a brain teaser." Several organisations, including Landmine Survivors Network and the Presbytarian Peacemaking Program are urging opponents of Matrix to lobby Donald Rumsfeld for the deployment to be scrapped. A Landmine Survivors Network statement asserts: "It seems obvious that these remote-control anti-personnel mines, however carefully monitored, will present new dangers to innocent Iraqi civilians for years to come." ...innocent Iraqi civilians approaching US military positions while carrying weapons, that is. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #29 Original BOFH = Burned Out F'ing Hippie |
| Posted by: thibaud (aka lex) 2005-04-12 9:50:56 PM |
| #28 You will have to believe me if you never worked at a terminal tied to a mainframe. Bastard Operator Form Hell is the only correct answer. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet 0’ Doom 2005-04-12 9:47:00 PM |
| #27 BOHF A bit late but Acronym Finder has 3 meanings Bastard Operator From Hell Beautiful Operatress from Heaven Bitch Operator from Hell |
| Posted by: SwissTex 2005-04-12 7:15:47 PM |
| #26 Is there one of Dr. E looking at the heel for instructions? and... since I employ a sinister technique to keep other sites from ripping off and linking directly to images I post on RB all I wanna do is browse.... :) |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-04-12 5:58:10 PM |
| #25 Here are more of those fine Harris cartoons: inflation life_of_assistants PC_physics perspective_5 perspective_6 secular_religion secular_religion2 secular_religion3 simple_men sneaky suicide I think that's all of his I have, lol! |
| Posted by: .com 2005-04-12 5:28:38 PM |
| #24 Lol - I know that one, heh - I have a few by that cartoonist along the same line... he's got a real knack for hitting the raw nerve in research, lol! Here's one you may not have seen - but I'm sure you'll appreciate... |
| Posted by: .com 2005-04-12 5:13:44 PM |
| #23 Found one version of it!! |
| Posted by: Doc8404 2005-04-12 5:05:04 PM |
| #22 Doc - Hmmm, nope, don't think so. This is the only other "project" thingy I have: Evolution of a Project 1. Wild Enthusiasm 2. Uncritical Acceptance 3. Dawning Comprehension 4. Rejected Disillusionment 5. Search for the Guilty 6. Punishment of the Innocent 7. Promotion of the Non-Participants Can you provide the Magic, heh? |
| Posted by: .com 2005-04-12 4:54:08 PM |
| #21 Whoa! (had to be said....) |
| Posted by: Neo 2005-04-12 4:52:58 PM |
| #20 Com - nice stuff. Do you have the Software Project timeline with the "Then a miracle occurs" box? Always a good one... |
| Posted by: Doc8404 2005-04-12 4:46:52 PM |
| #19 Huh, HO? |
| Posted by: .com 2005-04-12 4:41:59 PM |
| #18 Uh, my eyes feel yucky .com! |
| Posted by: Huputch Omesh6419 2005-04-12 4:40:47 PM |
| #17 In your best Yoda: Shamed me, you did, yes... ;-) On Topic is techie_trak... Otherwise: project okay lovegeek bluescreen forbidden1 PHP with attitude get_string (SNSFW) A man's remote (SNSFW) sexy server Techzone (SNSFW) Japan, heh All 5 toes geek goddess (NSFW) |
| Posted by: .com 2005-04-12 4:20:15 PM |
| #16 It Is Forbidden.... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-04-12 4:08:25 PM |
| #15 .com, screw it? That is ll you have to say after all that enticement?! Fix it! Please... I want my dose of geek goddess (NSFW). ;-) |
| Posted by: Sobiesky 2005-04-12 3:49:35 PM |
| #14 " a non-lethal rubber-ball-delivering alternative."Talk about a way to ruin a party. |
| Posted by: raptor 2005-04-12 3:43:59 PM |
| #13 And even that won't work, since I employ a sinister technique to keep other sites from ripping off and linking directly to images I post on RB. Sigh. Screw it. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-04-12 3:04:55 PM |
| #12 Lol. A typo in every link. Note the comma, instead of dot, after www. change it and voila! The joys, and dangers, of cut & paste. GIGO! |
| Posted by: .com 2005-04-12 3:03:25 PM |
| #11 And excuse for a few techie images. On Topic is techie_trak... Otherwise: project okay lovegeek bluescreen forbidden1 PHP with attitude get_string (SNSFW) geek goddess (NSFW) |
| Posted by: .com 2005-04-12 2:58:14 PM |
| #10 "..Or that we’re putting a 19-year-old soldier in the position of pushing a button when a blip shows up on a computer screen." The insinuation here being that a 19-year-old serviceman is some sort of dunce. Yeah, real friendly types, these Human Rights Watch dipsh^H^H^H^H^H people... |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-04-12 2:49:44 PM |
| #9 Imagine a user hating IT/server administrator merged with a drunken serial killer. There's another kind? |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-04-12 2:41:26 PM |
| #8 Bastard Operator From Hell - The greatest computer humor series ever. Goes back to the mid 90s. Here's the link. Imagine a user hating IT/server administrator merged with a drunken serial killer. :) The Register BOFH only goes back to 2001 or so, but stories back to around ~95 are out on the net. SPoD is right about the Register's staff, though. Good IT coverage but "Socialist hacks" is a polite way of putting it regarding everything else. |
| Posted by: Laurence of the Rats 2005-04-12 2:26:22 PM |
| #7 BOFH? |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2005-04-12 1:44:33 PM |
| #6 Most of the Staff of the Register are socialist hacks. Their coverage of IT is good to great and they are the home of the BOFH. Coverage of anything else mostly sucks. I have not doubt Lester belongs to some anti mine group or some other group affiliated with them. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet 0’ Doom 2005-04-12 1:23:30 PM |
| #5 2 people = 'widespread concern'. Gotta love that new math. |
| Posted by: Raj 2005-04-12 1:05:19 PM |
| #4 It's a marketing problem. Just call them steel fun-ball launchers. |
| Posted by: A Democratic Party consultant 2005-04-12 12:32:43 PM |
| #3 The US Army will by June deploy in Iraq its "Matrix" system of remotely-detonated landmines, despite widespread concerns about the technology. God forbid they save Americans. |
| Posted by: badanov 2005-04-12 12:17:23 PM |
| #2 "It seems obvious that these remote-control anti-personnel mines, however carefully monitored, will present new dangers to innocent Iraqi civilians for years to come." US minefields are carefully mapped and either use self-destructing mines that "expire" or command-detonated mines like these. While I have sympathy for the victims of third-world "insurgency" minefields -- more terrorist act than military fortification -- I think their advocates need to stop and think for a while. Or, hell, they should just shut up and focus their efforts on the real problems instead of constantly drumming up cash by sliming the US. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-04-12 12:09:39 PM |
| #1 How does Landmine Survivors Network feel about insurgent IEDs? Are they planning to lobby Zarqawi about them? |
| Posted by: Mike 2005-04-12 12:05:02 PM |
