Strange-looking gizmo has some Detroiters scratching their heads

**d.mcc** · April-09-09, 01:15 PM

Wonderful...the drones...then these things???

Was it a small rocket launcher or a big camera?

That question had some residents buzzing this week at the Garden Court apartment building on East Jefferson in Detroit.

A serious-looking contraption consisting of hooked-together double tubes appeared suddenly on the buildingâ€™s 10th-story roof. They were pointed toward the Detroit River, or Canada, depending on your point of view â€” or level of paranoia.

And inside the unoccupied penthouse...

Full Article Here : http://freep.com/article/20090409/CO...ng+their+heads

detmich · April-09-09, 02:05 PM

The device was, indeed, a camera, and it was part of a demonstration for government officials who are outfitting the surveillance towers that will go along the St. Clair River. There are no cameras scheduled to be installed in Detroit, according to Agent Kurstan Rosberg of the Border Patrol. Officials were simply using the Garden Court as a high vantage point near a river to test equipment.

Probably too expensive to replace when they are stolen.

**vintagesoul** · April-09-09, 02:25 PM

When was this?? I'm literally right across the street from Garden Court at work and I didn't even see or hear about it... I feel really out of it...lol. Did they take it down? I can't see it from this angle...

**Johnlodge** · April-09-09, 02:28 PM

Originally Posted by detmich

Probably too expensive to replace when they are stolen.

Haha, I get it! It's funny because Detroit has so much crime and so things would get stolen, haha! You are so funny!

**KyleM785** · April-09-09, 02:39 PM

I believe they set up Tuesday and were still there yesterday, not sure about today.

**vintagesoul** · April-09-09, 02:52 PM

Crazy. Must be on the other side of the building. I'll have to have a look when I leave... I guess I have been too busy working to notice all that...hrm... big brother type nonsense. lol.

**Ray1936** · April-09-09, 03:54 PM

Well, it's about time the government did something about these hoards of illegal immigrants crossing over from Canada!

detmich · April-09-09, 04:32 PM

Originally Posted by Johnlodge

Haha, I get it! It's funny because Detroit has so much crime and so things would get stolen, haha! You are so funny!

"It is funny because it is true."

**Sstashmoo** · April-09-09, 04:40 PM

Quote: "Well, it's about time the government did something about these hoards of illegal immigrants crossing over from Canada!

"

The US Government probably wants a more accurate count on how many are leaving..

**jcole** · April-09-09, 04:53 PM

From what I remember from a few years back, Canada and the U.S. have very different immigration policies. It may have changed over the past few years, but Canada's policy was more open than ours. People from the Iran and Iraq that weren't allowed to come into the U.S. could still migrate to Canada. I worked with a girl who married an Irani, thinking she could bring him over, but the U.S didn't want him here, so she had to move to Windsor and commute to Troy for work. That might be one reason we don't have open borders. It's not just a matter of Canadian and American citizens being allowed back and forth.

**Bigb23** · April-09-09, 05:08 PM

We'll have to get with Gannon on this one, but the military uses focused microwave beams for riots and crowd control. I'll take this over that corporate robot from Robo cop.

Attachment 483

**Gannon** · April-10-09, 10:30 AM

It all depends on who is operating the volume control...and frequency dial.

They can slow-cook a human or scramble their brains into so much oatmeal or worse.

So great to know what our government did with all of that Tesla research.

**Bloomfield Pills** · April-10-09, 11:46 AM

Originally Posted by Gannon

It all depends on who is operating the volume control...and frequency dial.

They can slow-cook a human or scramble their brains into so much oatmeal or worse.

So great to know what our government did with all of that Tesla research.

Could they set it at low levels so that people become virtual zombies who sit in front of their TV screens and/or computers all day?

Nah...the people in the government are our friends -- they'd never do that. Other governments do that sort of stuff; not ours. We're the good guys.

**Jimaz** · April-10-09, 12:54 PM

That's the Active Denial System. I thought I read about a way to shield yourself from it but the Wikipedia article says

While there would be theoretical possibility of deflection/absorption of the beam with a faraday cage, construction of a wearable faraday cage suit is impractical, so on an individual level there appears to be no countermeasure on the horizon.

Maybe a suit of chain mail would work.

detmich · April-11-09, 01:30 PM

Originally Posted by Bloomfield Pills

Could they set it at low levels so that people become virtual zombies who sit in front of their TV screens and/or computers all day?

Nah...the people in the government are our friends -- they'd never do that. Other governments do that sort of stuff; not ours. We're the good guys.

In this country, we are the government.

**Bigb23** · April-11-09, 01:38 PM

"I thought I read about a way to shield yourself from it but the Wikipedia article says - "

While there would be theoretical possibility of deflection/absorption of the beam with a faraday cage, construction of a wearable faraday cage suit is impractical, so on an individual level there appears to be no countermeasure on the horizon.

For God's sake, you can't trust anything in Wikipedia !

**Jimaz** · April-11-09, 04:40 PM

I'd like to make a strange-looking gizmo that didn't do anything but make people scratch their heads.

Oh, and a personal faraday cage too. I'd call it a lightning suit.