<Misc>In-car flamethrower!

[Kennedy Simon <Kennedy.Simon@xxxxxxx>]

Folks-

Thought you all might be interested in this ultimate in car-jack deterrence:

BC-SAFRICA-FLAMETHROWER (PICTURE)
 S.Africans take flamethrower aboard to fight crime
 By Alister Bull
 JOHANNESBURG, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Crime-obsessed South
Africans have a new and potent weapon with which to deter
potential criminals -- the in-car flamethrower.
 Casting a man-high fireball with no damage to the paintwork,
the aptly named Blaster has been fitted to 25 South African
vehicles since its launch last month.
 At 3,900 rand ($655), it offers a cheap and dramatic defence
against would-be car hijackers. It has also yet to be deemed
illegal.
 South African courts sanction lethal action if they can be
persuaded that someone acted in defence of his or her life --
not unheard-of in a country that suffered over 13,000 car
hijackings last year.
 The Blaster fires liquified gas from a bottle in the vehicle
boot through two nozzles, positioned under the front doors,
which is then ignited by an electric spark, with ferocious
consequences.
 Both sides fire simultaneously, regardless of whether the
attack is coming from just one side of the vehicle -- or whether
passersby are on the other side.
 "My personal feeling is that it would definitely blind a
person -- he will never see again," said Charl Fourie, the
Blaster's 33-year-old inventor.
 But he dismissed fears that the flamethrower -- whose
breadth and depth of blast can be adjusted to need and is
supplied by gas cannisters in sizes from three to nine kgs (6.6
to 19.8 pounds) -- could ever be responsible for a death.
 "This is definitely non-lethal...A person won't just stand
there and let you roast him," he said.
 Fourie has filed an international patent application and
anticipates thousands of orders, nationally and from abroad.
 "The demand is huge," he told Reuters Television.
 South Africa has an appalling reputation for violent crime
and its first national survey, published on Thursday, found that
20 percent of households had experienced at least one incident
in 1997.
 Car hijacking is one of the crimes South Africans most fear,
with criminals often using weapons and showing little or no
hesitation to kill for a car.
 Police Superintendent David Walkley of Johannesburg's crime
intelligence unit was the Blaster's first customer and is
satisfied it is all above board -- provided it is used corectly.
 "There is nothing that says this is illegal. It depends
entirely on the circumstances and whether you can justify
self-defence.
 "Yes, there are certain risks in using it, but there are
also risks in not having anything at all," he said.
 REUTERS  

Simon Kennedy
'95 M3

------------------------------