Has anyone heard about this latest 'must have' gadget that is available to military, law enforcement and Homeland security, according to their website? It has some people pretty concerned. I wonder if the ACLU is aware of this latest means of surveillance. Of course it's being touted as an aide for humanitarian purposes. And it will be used for that but what else?
It will allow police to determine location of either hostages or assailants inside a building. (First written about in Tom Clancy's “Rainbow Six” in 1998) It can locate injured people inside buildings for Search & Rescue teams. It can aide firefighters to determine if someone is trapped in a burning building or a tornado damaged structure. According to their advertisement. All good so far.
This is advertised as a highly sensitive hand held radar system designed to detect and measure the distance to moving and near stationary persons through walls constructed of common building materials. Its manufacturers say, “it was designed to increase situation awareness in urban environments for its users. A vital intelligence necessary to safely undertake a variety of law enforcement, search and rescue operations.”
Its described on their site as 'a patented stepped frequency continuous wave (SFCW) radar technology and proprietary target detection algorithms enable RANGE-R to operate as a highly sensitive Doppler motion detector. Advanced packaging results in the smallest, lightest through wall sensor available today. With near immediate analysis and results in seconds, RANGE-R provides first responders with critical information that may make the difference between life and death.'
RANGE-R's a controlled item under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation. But it could be exported with proper authorization by the U.S. State Department. RANGE-R complies with Part 15 rules and is certified by the FCC for operation in an urban environment. To check this device out further go to http://www.range-r.com/ where you will get this same information with an email address and phone number to call.
It is manufactured by CyTerra Corporation, which specializes in threat detection technologies for the military and Homeland Security. [They specialize do they? I feel so protected. Is that a synonym for violated?] in threat detection for military, humanitarian and Homeland Security applications detecting concealed threats in a variety of landscapes. Right!
Military and humanitarian purposes are fine but since Homeland Security is supposedly domestic only, I'm more than a little concerned about their application of this invasive device. Most especially in the hands of law enforcement. Apparently our fourth amendment to the Constitution no longer has any meaning for these people, if it ever did.
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated and no warrant shall be issued but upon probable cause, (not a fishing expedition) supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the person or things to be seized.”
Of course, when you own most of the judicial system, all bets are off on anyone honoring constitutional rights. And as we all know from experience, boys with their toys will find 'application and justification' for their use of this device right along with their armored cars, drones, body armor and oh yes, bayonets. And let's not forget how many times the SWAT teams have kicked in the wrong door and assaulted the wrong people. Now there will be nowhere to hide safely. It's a good thing the Nazis didn't have this device during WWII or Ann Franks diary would have been considerably shorter.
