Regardless of what the UN / Taser thinks, the fuzz around Clinton, Connecticut aren't too fond of taser-like weapons being in the hands of teenagers. Case in point: a 14-year old with a certain knack for wandering around the intarwebz and filling his brain with all sorts of hacktastic methodologies managed to stumble upon directions (what, these?) for transforming a vanilla disposable camera into something "capable of zapping people with an electrical charge." School Resource Officer Kyle Strunjo even said that the improvised weapon was "potentially capable of a 600-volt shock," though it wasn't actually used on anyone before it got swiped by the boys in blue. Chin up kid, you've got a future waiting for you yet.

[Image courtesy of DIYLive, thanks Ninad]

Joining the growing list of celebrities who can't quit using their cellphones to beat up on others is Foxy Brown, who was recently "charged with assault and possession of a weapon" after allegedly hitting a neighbor with her BlackBerry. Of course, this isn't the first time Foxy's temper has flared up, but when she was confronted over the volume of her stereo system, the handset came out (a few days later, mind you) for purposes other than texting, talking, or capturing the impending battle for future viewing. So, you may be wondering how much damage a flung BlackBerry can do, and if that's the case, here's your answer: the victim was left with a cut lip and a loose tooth.

At least those residing in the UK can breathe a momentary sigh of relief, as it's not the only locale where the amount of surveillance drones is quickly approaching the number of citizens. Reportedly, French interior minister Michele Alliot-Marie recently announced that the government is planning to "triple" the existing CCTV surveillance capacities across the country, "with a view to curb the risks of terrorism and acts of violence." Beyond just bumping the amount of eyes scanning for troublemakers, she also suggested that the network of systems be more tightly connected in order to effectively "protect the French people and enable them to move freely without fearing for their lives or property." Of course, we're sure there's quite a few citizens who'd have beef with the whole "moving freely sans fear" tidbit, no?

[Via The Raw Feed]

It's not like Sony hasn't been under fire from outlets in America and abroad before, but the latest quibble is coming from none other than the Church of England. Turns out that Sony reportedly took it upon itself to recreate the historic interior of Manchester Cathedral in Resistance: Fall of Man without first asking permission, and now there could be hell heaven to pay. Currently, the Church has asked Sony to "apologize and contribute a large donation from the game's profits as it did not pay a commercial fee to use the cathedral as a backdrop." Additionally, Sony could face two other demands -- one that requests the withdrawal of the game altogether, and the other to modify the section of the cathedral's interior. Notably, it's been no secret that certain sects of the UK have been dealing with rashes of gun crime, and while Sony hasn't succumbed to paying up or recalling all copies of the game just yet, it did say that it would "contact the cathedral authorities to understand their concerns in more detail."

Suggestions in regard to robotic rights seem to be flying off the shelves these days, but an engineer at the Naval Surface Warfare Centre has concocted an interesting set of guidelines catering to autonomous killbots of the future. Most likely, it's just a matter of time before machine-on-machine violence becomes commonplace, and John Canning's "Concept of Operations for Armed Autonomous Systems" outlines just how lethal robots should handle themselves when faced with potentially deadly conflicts. Interestingly, the document suggests the the bots should be allowed to make their own decisions when it comes to blasting or forgiving fellow robots, but before they pull the trigger on a human, it should request guidance from a flesh 'n blood friendly. Still, a definite loophole exists in the fact that these simple-minded killers could aim for a "human's weapon" without asking permission, and when his awful auto-aim programming leads to a costly casualty, it'll simply be deemed "collateral damage." Can't say we like the sound of that. [Warning: PDF read link]

[Via El Reg]

Here's an interesting one. It appears that a newly-elected mayor is trying desperately to restore order to the "notorious inner-city barrio of Tepito," but rather than raiding gang hangouts and throwing 'em all in the slammer, the Mexican government is looking to reward them. In a presumably last ditch effort to curb gunfighting, officials are offering up computers ( reportedly worth $769) to gunslingers who give up a "high-caliber weapon such as a machine gun," while folks coughing up smaller artillery will be blessed with an Xbox console. Notably, the effort is already seeing minor "success," as some 17 guns were turned in on the program's launch day alone. Look, we know it's a hard choice between gaming and booze (and hair, for that matter), but we seriously doubt that turning citywide bullies into hackers and couch potatoes is the ideal solution here.

Apparently Perrin Kaplan isn't the only spokesperson for Nintendo speaking a bit too "freely" these days. The man himself, Reggie Fils-Aime, when queried about the PS3 launch lines in an interview with GameHead, asked, "Were those the people ducking to not get shot?" What a comedian! This was following a staunch denial of the PS3 having any lines at E3, which isn't quite accurate -- the lines were just short and more of a per-console thing, since there wasn't the crazy kind of closed room setup at the Sony booth. Maybe he should spend a bit less time honing those witty barbs and more time figuring out a way to get some more of his own console onto store shelves -- before the Wii related violence starts to get out of hand.

[Via Joystiq]

While we've already learned that television shows pull double duty as entertainment and a sedative, and that launching a console with a widely understood shortage hitting stores can cause all sorts of madness and criminal activity to break loose, the last thing we needed was one more "study" claiming that video games breed rage. But nevertheless, researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine have discovered that "teenagers' brains become fired up" (read: angered) after playing violent video games. A survey using 44 same-sexed humans with "similar IQs and age" showed that a half hour of violent gaming "increased activity within the amygdala (involved in emotional arousal)" while simultaneously decreasing activity in "parts of the brain involved in self-control" -- unsurprisingly, the opposite effects were seen when gamers were forced to play non-violent titles. However, when all the fMRIs were completed and reports were being compiled, the doctors still noted that "further studies were needed to determine whether these physiological changes actually make individuals behave more violently," so until that's proven absolutely, we're sticking to our (pixelated) guns.

[Thanks, Nate W.]

If you thought shacking up outside of a Best Buy in near-freezing temperatures (say, Ann Arbor, Michigan) for nearly two weeks is hardcore, imagine how folks waiting in Lexington, Kentucky felt when a drive-by shooter let the pellets fly into a group of PS3 hopefuls. Apparently bitter and distraught from not getting their name on a (shaky) pre-order list, enraged suspects drove by a Best Buy on Nicholasville Road and "injured four people with BB pellets," including a news reporter who was conducting an interview with one of the campers. Although none of the folks were seriously injured, we can't help but wonder who pulls off a drive-by shooting with cameras rolling, and moreover, did the "mildly wounded" individuals waiting in line forfeit their position to visit a hospital? The soldier in us says negative.

[Via digg]