-[ Quoting William Elliot , to Dennis Menard ]-
 WE> About a couple of days.  They have lots of stuff.  The guy who runs
 WE> the file server is in the fido echo FLAT_TAX.  PAUL_REVERE is another
 WE> echo for these guys, pro gun, pro militia, anti-liberal,
 WE> anti-government, conspiracy theorists as is the file server.  If you
 WE> have the patience to poke around you may find some interesting stuff.
Got it, finally; interesting.  Conspiracy Nation ... yow!  :)
 DM> (ie, though the most concern involved the apparent role of the federal
 DM> gov't in requesting, um, aggressive measures be taken to avoid
 DM> embarrassing those attendees who may have been most sensitive to
 DM> criticism of their record re: human rights).
 WE> Now that's an interesting notion.  How come we don't have that going
 WE> on here.  We don't even get to unconstitutional complaints.  Logging
 WE> protestors here in USA are targets for pepper spray.
Asking industry any questions is un-American, isn't it?  :)  The logging
issue in B.C. has also become a good excuse for flooding the media with a
menu of blatent nonsense (ie, patently ridiculous replies to serious con-
cerns, misquotes, etc.) and outrageous behaviour, by the logging industry
itself.
 WE> At least it's covered.  Amnesty International is looking for bigger
 WE> stuff than pepper spraying.  Maybe the human right abuses of the
 WE> politicians would be more to their scrutiny.
Yes, you're likely right; although AI did publish the following article:
-----
4 NOVEMBER 1997
USA: Police use of pepper spray -- tantamount to torture
The use of pepper spray by police in California against peaceful protestors,
including a 17-year old, is cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of such
deliberateness and severity that it is tantamount to torture, Amnesty
International said today following last Friday's videotape showing of
Humboldt County Sheriff Department officers swabbing liquid pepper spray
directly into the eyes of demonstrators.
The videotape -- made by the sheriff's office and played for reporters on 31
October as lawyers announced a lawsuit -- showed protestors sitting around a
tree stump in Representative Frank Riggs' Eureka office on 16 October. The
protestors screamed as deputies pulled back their heads, opened their eyes,
and "swabbed" the burning liquid to their eyeballs. They were protesting
against the destruction of redwood trees in Headwaters Forest in northern
California.
A 17-year-old protestor, whose eyelids were prised apart to apply the spray,
described feeling acute pain and burning in the eyes after the spray was
administered.
Video footage of a second incident, which took place at the Pacific Lumber
Company headquarters in nearby Scotia on 25 September, showed two women
protesters being swabbed in the eyes with liquid pepper spray. Police
sprayed a third woman in the eyes at close range.
"Because of the great risks associated with pepper spray its use must be
questionable in any circumstances," Amnesty International said.
"In this instance, the spray was clearly abusive as it was not used to
protect officers or others but was applied in a calculated and deliberate
way to inflict pain as a way of gaining compliance in cases of demonstrators
who posed no threat," the organization said.
Pepper spray (or oleoresin capsicum) can cause painful burning, eye
irritation, nausea, choking and vomiting when sprayed in someone's face.
There is also evidence that pepper spray can have seriously harmful effects
when used in a confined space or on asthmatics or people with other medical
conditions. Some studies have warned that pepper spray is potentially lethal
and it has been rejected in the United Kingdom because of its potential
carcinogenic properties.
Amnesty International pointed out that there have been several dozen deaths
of people in the US after being sprayed with pepper spray in recent years.
Although other factors have been found to be involved in most such deaths,
there is concern that the spray has been a contributing factor in some
cases.
Amnesty International is calling for a full independent enquiry into police
actions in the above cases, including a review of departmental policies into
the use of force and pepper spray. The organization is also calling for an
immediate ban on the use of oleoresin capsicum spray against peaceful
demonstrators.
"The increasing use of pepper spray by police departments in the US despite
conflicting studies into its safety is alarming," Amnesty International
said. "While many police departments authorize the spray only if officers
face a serious physical threat, we are receiving increasing reports of its
misuse -- such as against suspects after they were already restrained or
against peaceful demonstrators."
Amnesty International believes there should be a national review of the use
of pepper spray by law enforcement agencies in the USA. Police departments
who authorize the spray should also introduce strict guidelines and
limitations on its use and observe international human rights standards on
the use of force and prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
The human rights organization believes that the USA has defied its solemn
obligation under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and
Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
Most recently, Amnesty International condemned the use of spray against
non-violent tree activists in Eugene, Oregon in June 1997
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... If voting could bring change, it would be illegal.
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