When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

OK, correct me if I'm wrong, but stun guns and the like rely on the shock causing the muscles to contract. If the terrorist had his finger on "the button", wouldn't this be a bad idea?

"Is it, uh...a couple of wavy lines?"

This has to be a joke.

That last, doctored photo with all the bodies splayed about has me giggling like a madwoman, Chris. Way too funny.

I'm confused. How does shocking myself make me safer? I mean, I know I have crazy thoughts sometimes, but still...

Someone remind me: Why does anybody fly anymore?

That is not an "ID Bracelet", it is a restraint device. Requiring the blanket wearing of a restraint device for airline passengers is clearly unreasonable.

The culture of fear that is pervading the minds of the public is so blatantly irrational as to be absurd. If airlines were to accept this and attempt to implement it, this will be our lowest point yet. People honestly seem to be forgetting that you are more likely to be struck by lightning that be the victim of a terrorist attack, and we don't all have lightning rods install in our heads. Sigh.

I'm a little taken aback by the fake your own death function of this bracelet. However, if it contains personal info and it's in watch, it can easily be stolen I would think.

So basically the master plan here is adapt the electrified dog collar/"virtual fence" to people?

USA! USA! USA!

So would we have to turn them off for take-off and landing?

It seems like as long as you're doing this, you might as well take a page from The Fifth Element and induce unconsciousness in all the passengers for the duration of the flight.

Wasn't it Benjamin Franklin who said that "those who would exchange liberty for security deserve neither"? (Horrible paraphrase there. My US History professor is rolling in his grave now.)

I would be MORE worried wearing this. What if someone figured out how to hack the control frequency? The ensuing panic would be a perfect opportunity to pull off something crazy on a plane.

I call shenanigans. This just can't be real.

Thank god they don't let us bring liquids on the plane anymore. We would spill them all over the place as we convulse from the taserings.

@suburbancowboy: I'm ready for the next Revolution - are you?

This shit has got to stop...NOW.

"...many if not most passengers would happily opt for the extra security of the EMD safety bracelet."

No, see it's optional.

If they implement this can they also implement the use of no-bark dog collars for screaming children? Do you think congress would pass an Adult Ear Protection Act?

It would make my trips to the grocery store/movie theater/airplane/city bus/life in general more tolerable.

One more thing: I would also be interested to find out how involved this "senior government official" is with "Lamperd Less Lethal". Is it merely that he or she is a founding investor and member of the board, a brother- or sister-in-law to the starter of this "family business" or actual majority owner and CEO?

@CaliCheeseSucks: I'm pretty sure you can't shock yourself, and that the trigger for the shock will be in the hands of the flight attendants - who we all know are rational, caring people who never overreact to anything, right?

At the same time, it seems any terrorist would remove the bracelet before performing any misdeeds.

So when can we officially say "the terrorists have won"? This little beauty may put us over the top, if the ban on liquids didn't get us there already.

@Thaddeus: Optional almost always becomes required when it comes to government and airlines.

I for one will not fly if this ever becomes a requirement.

@suburbancowboy: You have put that a lot more eloquently than I would have :)

I am sure there are a lot of folks who would submit to this to save the $2 for the soda.

This is what happens when you're too busy watching television and not paying attention to those who are in control.

@suburbancowboy: Yeah we wouldn't want to get all crazy with the shampoo, it has "Sudsing Action 2000 Technology" that might cause mayhem and incredibly slippery floors

I'll be waiting for the new story:

An unexpected malfunction caused the passenger restraint devices to go off on xxx flight 271, which administered "mild" shocks to the passengers until the pilot could land the plane. The passengers experienced moderate discomfort until the devices could be removed at the gate about two hours later. Restraint device removal tools are strictly not allowed on the aircraft as a security feature. The airline will be providing mileage bonuses to all the affected passengers."

No.
Hell No.
And if you were wondering: Definately Not.

I'm calling shinagins. I'll wait for the wikileak'd document.

Hey slow down everyone...think of how helpful this could be for that little 11 year old brat in front of you that laughs everytime he reclines his chair spilling your drink all over you. Simply shock the little b*stard.

That smelly guy who keeps falling asleep on your shoulder? Problem solved.

A crazy supermodel slapping people around? A little zap'll do ya!

Seriously, let's give this a chance.

I sure as hell wouldn't mind a mandatory shot of morphine before boarding. That stuff is like the kiss of an angel. Probably get a lot more repeat flyers too. I think it's impossible to committ a violent act in the middle of a morphine high. Coming off it though, maybe not so much. You'd have to reduce airport delays too.

@ark86: "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

A wise quote, and something to think about when we see ideas like this that tell us it will make us 'safer'. I have a feeling more would 'opt-out' of this, rendering the system completely useless. Unless they use it to weed out terrorists. Anyone who 'opts out' is essentially labeled a terrorist.

Another good quote from V for Vendetta: "People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.

Why not just give the stewards on the plane shotguns and let them patrol the isles, like the movie con-air.

And know instead of the terrorist working so terribly hard to figure out how to blow up planes with UNDER 3oz of liquid, they simply need to learn how to hack into the signals to these bracelets and render all passengers helpless.

No more brave passengers like the ones who fought back on 9/11 with this great new device.

So what country is going to invade the US to restore OUR democracy and freedom?

@IamNotToddDavis: I like your attitude. Think of the new kind of fun that people can have when trying to enter the mile-high club!

Three words: personal flying vehicle.

@TheSpatulaOfLove:

I'm ready for the next Revolution - are you?

This shit has got to stop...NOW.

@SkokieGuy:

So what country is going to invade the US to restore OUR democracy and freedom?

Of course, this bracelet falls under the category of "Change", and Barack hasn't been exactly forthcoming on the details of his "changes".

@mandiejackson: That one might need to be some sort of vocal chord silencer... Oh, wouldn't it be nice?

@thebluepill: Nah, just shackle us to the chairs or if you get the little SSSS on your boarding pass you get to spend the entire flight in "The Cage".

The opt-out nugget in the story leads me to think this is bogus. Aside from the insanity of the whole idea, what good would it be if you could say "eh, no thanks"?

This is absolutely stupid. If I get labled as a terrorist for refusing to be at the mercy of a paranoid moron on a power trip, then so be it. I agree with SkokieGuy, we need help to fix our country.

@Ash78: "You can keep the five bucks, mister!"

Great double meaning here.

So how, in an emergency, would a flight attendant know exactly which bracelet to activate, in case some passenger decides to get all uppity? Or would they just zap the whole plane?

It would be funny though. They'll be rolling in the aisles! (Or spasming. One of the two.)

@testsicles: Airport bars + free mandatory morphine... Let the fun ensue!!!

If this does happen, I know that I wouldn't be flying at all. I'd rather spend an extra day looking at the pretty scenery taking a train where ever i need to go.

I am all for this if this device if the airlines have discretion whether or not to use it. Passengers who want the "extra" security can fly on one airline, while passengers who don't can fly on a different airline. If the government imposes this device on all flying passengers, however, I think there should be a revolt.

Not to be terribly insensitive, but since 9/11, has there really been a problem with hijackings? Could anyone imagine a problem developing in the forseeable future after what happened? Why is it that we keep giving up liberties to prevent hijackings? It's like Californians building traps to keep condors out.

So Pic 4 is "Air Steward vs. terrorist", but what's the deal with pic 5?

Is it "What's this button do?" or "Air Steward vs. passengers who complain the in-flight movie is Gigli"?

Only on planes? That's crap. Citizens of Amerika should be forced to wear these at all times, starting in kindergarten. Discipline will be enforced young.

Combine it with a credit card speedpass, a tiny GPS, little Dick Tracy-like cell phone.... and all of tied it into a national ID system... we'd never need cash or maps or cell phones or drivers' licenses again.

I want a white one though, sleek and stylish, made by Apple.

There's a part of me that wants to believe consumers would refuse to fly if they implemented this, but alas, surely a few idiots would still fly.

What's to prevent a terrorist from bypassing the device? It looks like all it would take is a conductive disc with an insulating backing slipped in between the device's electrodes and the skin. This could easily be concealed in a watch.

...and I'm sure no one would be able to figure out how to hack these devices to use them against us... because you know radio controlled devices are %1000 secure.

Why not a panic button in the cockpit that releases sleeping gas to the passenger cabin? You don't have to strap gizmos to people's wrists and the next time terrorists try to break into the cockpit you can put them to sleep. I think everyone would agree that in the event of terrorists trying to take over the plan the risks of sleeping gas are much better than crashing into a building.

I think I'd be a bit more surprised if this weren't true. Even if it's not set for release, I'm sure the idea has been tossed around in more than one bigwig meeting room.

Consumerist's solution immediately made me think of The Fifth Element. Mandatory sleep chambers... brilliant.