Over The Edge Page 12 September 21, 1999 Flamethrower Now An Option On S. African Cars A CNN News Article JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (CNN) — Crime-obsessed South Africans have a power- ful new weapon with which to stop likely criminals: the car flamethrower. Casting a man-high fireball, reportedly with no damage to the paint, the Blaster has been placed on 25 South African vehicles since its introduction — last month. At 3,900 rand ($655), it offers a cheap, dra- matic defense against carjackers. It has yet to be deemed illegal. South African courts allow killing if convinced that it’s in self-defense. The defense is not unheard of. In last year’s 13,000 carjackings, criminals often bran- dished weapons. or used them with little provocation. The Blaster squirts liquefied gas from a bot- tle in the automobile’s trunk through two noz- zles, located under the front doors. The gas is then ignited by an elec- tric spark, with fiery consequences. Both sides flame at the same time, regard- less of whether the attack is coming from just one side of the vehi- cle, or whether passers- by are on the other side. But the breadth and depth of blast can be modified according to individual preference. Blaster inventor Charl Fourie, 33, disputed concerns that the flamethrower could burn someone to death. “My personal feeling is that it would definitely blind a person. He will never see again,” he said Firefighters, medical personnel and_ the police agree 100 per- cent “that it will never kill a person,” _‘ Fourie asserted. “This is defi- nitely non-lethal... A person is not going to stand there for a minute while you roast him. It will fend off the attacker, and that’s the end of it” Fourie has filed an international patent application. He antici- pates thousands of orders nationally and from abroad. “The demand is huge,’ he said. The first buyer, Police Superintendent David Walkley of Johannesburg’s crime intelligence unit, is sat- isfied the Blaster is legal, provided it is used correctly. “It depends entirely on the circumstances and whether you can justify self-defense,” he said. “Yes, there are cer- tain risks in using it, but there are also risks in not having anything at all? Looking for an interesting job? Join Over The Edge! We’re looking for student reporters or photographers! Drop by the Over The Edge Office in the Wintergarden! Covert Operations by Secret Agent 25059898682 Well, there is definitely something up with those GAP commer- cials. They started out really simple; they were so simple that everyone forgot about them. Then, they became more complicated, with big dance numbers and songs that were incredi- bly popular. Then every- body near a TV was quiet so they could hear the song. Now, there’s those new commercials: “Everybody in Vests’, and so on. Now when- ever we watch TV and one of those commer- cials come on, the room goes silent, everyone gaps out (no pun intended) and everyone starts to sing along. It’s all leading up to some- thing. That is obvious. The problem is, what? What grand scheme is the marketing depart- ment at the GAP involved in? It won’t be anything too obvious, like brainwashing us in preparation for a global invasion. Actually, it is the testing stage for a sophisticated mind con- trol program; nothing else could explain why everyone would just start singing out of the blue. And while the actual purpose for this program is as yet a mystery, one can only wonder at all the practi- cal applications for such a program. If you had something that could control people that way, there would be no end of what you could do. Quality Control A plan so cunning, you could put a tail on it and call it a weasel: Lets leave the vending machine unlocked so people can help them selves to it’s contents and almost clean it out. LETTERS PGPIRG News Byte The Prince George Public Research Group is once again in full swing for another glorious semester at UNBC. For those who are not famil- - iar with PIRG, here is a brief summa- ry of what we’re about: Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) bring together students, staff, faculty and community groups to organize around issues of public interest, such as the environment and social justice. PIRG promotes and conducts research, education and action in these areas. PIRGs were ini- tiated by American consumer activist Ralph Nader. They began organizing on American campuses in the 1970s, then later on campuses in Canada. Currently there are PIRGs in Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, British Columbia, as well as in the United States and Australia. PIRG is student funded which means that all students are automati- cally members, ensuring that PIRG is not tied to the government, university or corporate funding. Students do have the option of requesting a fee refund and withdrawing their mem- bership. Being a member of PIRG provides many benefits as a student. The PIRG office houses a constantly growing collection of books, articles, reports, magazines and videos that are unique from what is offered at the uni- versity library. Some of the topics one can find in the PIRG library include environmentalism, militarism, (Continued on page 15)