Miscellaneous Items

These are things which do not quite seem to belong anywhere else. As usual, they are written by me unless they are otherwise labeled or are a link outside my home pages.

• The World Organization Against Torture, USA has recently issued a report on Torture in the United States. Among other abuses it includes a section on involuntary human scientific experimentation:

  ``Similar concerns also are being raised about involuntary human experimentation involving new forms of classified research and testing of high technology military weaponry, including microwave and laser equipment. Groups working on these issues cite, among other evidence of the existence of these unauthorized testing procedures, a White House inter-governmental memorandum dated March 27, 1997, establishing stronger guidelines prohibiting non-consensual testing for classified research, but suggesting, by implication, that this type of human subject research may, in fact, be taking place. Because of the classified nature of these activities, it is very difficult to confirm or disprove that they are taking place. Given the serious negative impacts on non-consensual human subjects that classified research of this type is capable of producing, and given the past history of secret experimentation by the government, these allegations of continuing improprieties involving secret government sponsored human testing should not be dismissed without more thorough, impartial investigation.''

• The recent (Oct. 1998) Amnesty International report on human rights abuses in the United States.

  "The USA has been quick to voice its condemnation of human rights violations in some other countries and to stress, by contrast, the wealth of civil and political rights which it guarantees within its borders. As this report shows, however, it has failed to deliver these rights to many of its people and there are signs that, unless urgent steps are taken, these rights will be further eroded."

• A note on the current march of authoritarianism in the United States, July 1998.

• Some First Amendment political speech about marijuana decriminalization. Still true; some people might try reading it. New Scientist magazine has a marijuana special report available online (if that link does not work right, try marijuana special report).

• Some longer articles I have posted to Usenet and mailing lists. Since not everyone subscribes to mailing lists, and since my Usenet posts often fail to propagate very far, I am posting them here, too.

• My description of the State of the Union, along with some personal notes about it. Worth reading again.

• Some Notes On Information Laundering.

• Too many people will not come out and say it, but people's lives are at stake. This is The Truth. (Dec 19, 1998, fixed Donner link.)

• This page contains more links about secret government, mind control, nonlethal weapons, the press, etc. (Jan 14, 1999, fixed link to Project Censored site.)

• A short essay on voting.

• How Things Might Otherwise Be & Etc.

• You can contact your congressional representatives by email through C-SPAN's congressional email page. (BTW, the line about automatically filtering out non-constituents is not technically possible.)
  The Thomas page, named after Thomas Jefferson, offers a great deal of information on legislation and legislators, including contact addresses. Written letters and phone calls still carry more weight than email with most legislators.