US military prepares machine guns for "crowd control"
 

Some people here insisted that the US is so great that people do not protest like in Europe because they are all so content.

My argument against that was, that the US is just better in inciting fear in the citizens, meaning that if protesting means you will get beaten up and put into prison or worse - you will think twice. The documentary I saw lately about the difference in treating activists in the US versus Europe was eye opening in that respect already.

This now supports this:
Probably the US does not want to risk that the citizens eventually pull an Egypt on them, so they prepare by producing rubber bullets for machine guns. For crowd control. With machine guns. Vehicle mounted machine guns! WTF!

Army wants rapid-fire rubber bullets for crowd control - tech - 17 February 2011 - New Scientist

Fist off this isn't a new weapon, rubber bullets have been around for a good decade. And no, rubber bullets do not kill you, there have been no reports of even a serious accident. I'll contradict myself here, they can kill if they strike you in the eye, but hey, so can a paintball.... But, standard protocol along with strict discipline insure that no head shots are taken. Only body shots are allowed. Also hollow things only ricochet off of extremely hard objects, not humans...

Where have you been for the last two decades?


Rubber bullets have been used for years. And the US will not suffer them, because, we don't break things when we're angry.

We do have this minor issue with the US military firing on US citizens. It's called the Posse Comitatus Act and was enacted after the 19th century civil war. Sure if things go real bad it will be swept aside, but for now I imaging that the military wants it for places like Iraq and Afghanistan.

I'd call what goes on here apathy, not "content." The vast majority over here just don't care or don't think thay can make a difference.

Although riot police have been using rubber bullets for years, the idea of mounted machineguns is more than a little unnerving to me. Getting hit in the chest with a rubber bullet from a rifle is one thing, but being struck possibly multiple times from a .50 caliber military grade machine gun is quite another.

Also, rubber bullets can easily cause death when misused, and misuse is not uncommon. It is impossible to be accurate when you are firing into a churning crowd, and deaths happen. Also, there are plenty of reported cases, I found this after a fifteen second google search, from a government website no less.

Death following rubber bullet wounds to the chest:... [East Afr Med J. 2005] - PubMed result

^This.

They have already been used for decades, and have been killing or seriously injuring people for just as long. Definitely still an abuse though.

That's because they can't make a difference, peacefully anyways.

its no impossible, just rare

Wisconsins going to recall more than half our state senate within a few months, and our Governor as soon as his first year is up.

I'm going to stay out of this one...

Where a bread helmet. This oh so simple solution seems to evade us.

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/s...canusXvX/p.jpg

that is win xD

According to the article these hollow rubber bullets will primarily be fired from Mk19 fully-automatic 40mm grenade launchers (as well as some handheld 40mms).

Maybe it has the potential to cause serious injury but do you really think riot police are going to fire it full automatic into a crowd? They are better trained than that.

The capability to deliver large amounts of rounds may be necessary at times. Riot police only intervene when protests get violent. Mob behavior can get very nasty at times. If people are being beaten or injured (think about a lot of post-football game riots), then they have to disperse the crowd fast. The alternative to rubber bullets would be to use deadly force to try and protect people.

I also generally frown upon painting riot police as people who are there to oppress. The news media may give them a bad rap based upon what happens overseas but policing is a dangerous job. Many get killed or seriously injured each year. As with any law enforcement branch, they do an honest and respectful duty keeping everyone safe.