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

Pilot program enlists police to help probation officers (The Associated Press
says Marion County is taking part in a pilot project spearheaded by the
Oregon corrections department that encourages other county agencies to get
involved in keeping an eye on offenders - Police in Keizer and Salem will
stop by the homes of offenders who live in the 97303 area code, which
encompasses all of Keizer and parts of north Salem. High-risk offenders on
probation for charges ranging from drug use to manslaughter will be asked to
sign up for the program, but sex offenders won't be allowed to participate.
Like, who's going to volunteer for something like that?)

From: "W.H.E.N. - Bob Owen" (when@olywa.net)
To: "-News" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: OR program enlists police to help probation officers
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1998 19:07:10 -0700
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net

Pilot program enlists police to help probation officers

The Associated Press
10/06/98 4:35 PM Eastern

KEIZER, Ore. (AP) -- Even after their time behind bars is over, criminal
offenders will still have police knocking on their doors.

Under a pilot program in Marion County, police have been enlisted to help
probation officers keep track of offenders who are put back on the streets.

"We think extra eyes and ears in the community would help," said Sheila
Lorance, a parole and probation officer.

Starting later this month, Keizer and Salem police will stop by the homes of
offenders who live in the 97303 area code, which encompasses all of Keizer
and parts of north Salem.

The program is a piece of a bigger pilot project spearheaded by the
corrections department that encourages other county agencies to get involved
in keeping an eye on offenders.

"We're not replacing probation officers, we're supplementing them," said
Keizer police Lt. Kent Barker. "It's a perfect example of community
policing. We've got two different departments trying to accomplish the same
thing. We're working together to make sure these guys are accountable. We
want to send a message that you're going to be watched closely."

High-risk offenders on probation for charges ranging from drug use to
manslaughter will be asked to sign up for the program, Lorance said. Sex
offenders won't be allowed to participate.

Each offender will be assigned a local police officer, who will stop by when
in the neighborhood to ensure that the offender is following the rules of
probation, Lorance said.

With the offender's permission, the officer will be able to do searches of
the home. Salem police will visit the homes at least twice a month, but not
more than once a week, said Lt. Ed Boyd, who is coordinating the program.

About 300 offenders will be eligible for the program this month. Another
1,200 will be eligible in another year if the pilot program is successful,
said Ron Roach, unit supervisor of Marion County corrections.

The officers will keep track of probation violations as well as the times
when the offender is in compliance with regulations, Lorance said. The
officers' notes will be passed along to the probation officer.

Marion County's pilot project is modeled after a program started by the
Deschutes County Adult Community Justice. The Deschutes program hasn't yet
tracked its program's success rates.

Marion County probation officials hope the program will not only keep
offenders in line, but will also contribute toward a feeling of community.

Said Lorance: "We're all trying to do the same thing: make the client
productive in society."

***

When away, you can STOP and RESTART W.H.E.N.'s news clippings by sending an
e-mail to majordomo@hemp.net. Ignore the Subject: line. In the body put
"unsubscribe when" to STOP. To RESTART, put "subscribe when" in the e-mail
instead (No quotation marks.)

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

Oakland, Fairfax Cannabis Groups Face US Attorneys (According to The San
Francisco Examiner, US District Judge Charles Breyer said Monday in San
Francisco that he would take under advisement the question of whether to
authorize federal marshals to close the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative
and the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana, or allow a jury trial to
determine if the clubs operated lawfully because their members' medical needs
supersede federal drug restrictions.)

Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1998 19:01:26 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US CA: Oakland, Fairfax Cannabis Groups Face U.S. Attorneys
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: compassion23@geocities.com (Frank S. World)
Pubdate: Tuesday, October 6, 1998
Source: San Francisco Examiner (CA)
Contact: letters@examiner.com
Website: http://www.examiner.com/

OAKLAND, FAIRFAX CANNABIS GROUPS FACE U.S. ATTORNEYS

Medical Pot Clubs' Case In Court

A federal courtroom was the scene of a showdown Monday between federal
prosecutors seeking to shut down cannabis clubs in Oakland and
Fairfax, and defense lawyers who argue that doing so would deny the
clubs' clients a medical necessity.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer said he would take the matter under
advisement before ruling whether to authorize federal marshals to
close the clubs, or allow a jury trial to determine if the clubs
operated lawfully because their customers' medical needs supersede
federal drug restrictions.

"Pain vs. government - that is this case. Can the government insist on
pain?" queried James Brosnahan, one of a prestigious team of attorneys
representing the clubs. "We have put in the air more than enough to
create a tryable issue on the matter of (medical) necessity."

But federal prosecutors countered that Congress had considered and
rejected the notion that marijuana had acceptable medical value. They
also faulted customers of the cannabis clubs for not trying
"reasonable legal alternatives" such as applying to become subjects in
medicinal marijuana research.

Breyer questioned both sides closely, indicating he believed that the
"medical necessity" defense constituted "particularized criteria."

He suggested that perhaps "it can't be done on a blanket basis. . . .
It has to be done on a person-by-person basis."

The case stems from the government's motion to declare the Oakland
Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative and a similar Fairfax club in contempt of
court and close them for violating Breyer's earlier injunction against
breaking federal law by distributing cannabis. The debate about
marijuana use has grown more contentious since the passage of
Proposition 215, which permits seriously ill patients to grow and use
marijuana for medicinal purposes such as pain relief so long as they
have a doctor's OK. The 1996 initiative put the will of California
voters in direct conflict with U.S. drug laws.

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

Re - Judge Breyer ruling Monday on Oakland CBC (A list subscriber
notes Judge Breyer said Monday he would issue a written ruling within seven
to 10 days regarding the California medical marijuana dispensaries.)

From: BulldogUSA@aol.com
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1998 23:39:52 EDT
To: DRCNet Medical Marijuana Forum (medmj@drcnet.org)
Subject: Re: Judge Breyer ruling Monday on Oakland CBC
Reply-To: medmj@drcnet.org
Sender: owner-medmj@drcnet.org

judge BREYER will isue a written decision in 7 - 10 days on if and how
we proceed to a jury trial. immunity was denied to witnesses but that will
not stop a few couragous MD.s and patients from testifying if allowed to.

janet reno, come and get us.

yabba dabba do,

rev. hemp

ps my money still says we never get to trial because it will be delayed
to death. the feds know they cannot win a jury trial.

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

SF Settles With Family Of Man Killed By Police (The San Francisco Examiner
says the city has agreed to pay $110,000 to settle a $10 million lawsuit
filed by the family of William Hankston, an unarmed man shot in the back
of the head in September 1995 by Jessie Washington, an undercover prohibition
agent.)

Date: Thu, 8 Oct 1998 21:39:18 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US CA: SF Settles With Family Of Man Killed By Police
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: compassion23@geocities.com (Frank S. World)
Source: San Francisco Examiner (CA)
Contact: letters@examiner.com
Website: http://www.examiner.com/
Pubdate: October 6, 1998
Author: Rachel Gordon Of The Examiner staff
Note: Headline by MAP Editor. This piece is an excert.

SF SETTLES WITH FAMILY OF MAN KILLED BY POLICE

[Excerpted from:] S.F. SUPERVISORS

With Supervisors Sue Bierman, Leslie Katz, Jose Medina and Michael Yaki
absent, the Board of Supervisors on Monday discussed the following matters:

* POLICE SETTLEMENT: Approved the payment of $110,000 to settle a $10
million lawsuit filed by the family of William Hankston, who was fatally
shot by an undercover officer following an attempted drug bust nearly three
years ago. Hankston, who was unarmed, was shot in the back of the head by
Officer Jessie Washington on Sept. 6, 1995, as he fled on a bicycle at
Ocean View Playground in the Ingleside District following an attempted drug
bust. Washington told police investigators he had accidentally shot
Hankston as he tried to pull the suspect off the bicycle.

In October 1995, the criminal grand jury reviewed the case and decided not
to bring charges against Washington.

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

Ballot Funding Outlined - Proposition 2 Foes Lead The Fund-Raising
(The Anchorage Daily News says Alaskans for Medical Rights, the group
supporting Proposition 8, the Alaskan medical marijuana initiative, received
$126,000 of its $134,000 war chest from George Soros. The campaign against
Proposition 8, organized just last week, reported only one $750 in-kind
contribution from Worksafe Inc., the drug-testing lab. The Soros money
is dwarfed by the $500,000 spent by the Mormon Church in Salt Lake City
on behalf of Proposition 2, a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex
marriages.)

Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1998 18:16:12 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US AK: Ballot Funding Outlined
Proposition 2 Foes Lead The
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: compassion23@geocities.com (Frank S. World)
Source: Anchorage Daily News (AK)
Contact: letters@adn.com
Website: http://www.adn.com/
Pubdate: Wednesday, October 7, 1998
Author: Liz Ruskin Daily News reporter (lruskin@adn.com)

BALLOT FUNDING OUTLINED PROPOSITION 2 FOES LEAD THE FUND-RAISING

A California group funded in large part by billionaire philanthropist
George Soros has pumped $126,000 into the campaign for an Alaska ballot
measure to legalize the medical use of marijuana.

Meanwhile, the campaign fighting a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex
marriages - which opponents warned would be funded by well-organized
outside forces - has received only $35 of its $108,000 from out-of-state
organizations, the anti-amendment group reported this week.

The groups campaigning for and against the Nov. 3 ballot measures had to
report their contributions Monday to the Alaska Public Offices Commission.
The fund-raising rules that state candidates live by - no individual can
give more than $500 and only a few out-of-state residents can contribute -
don't apply to ballot measure campaigns.

The APOC reports reveal that some of the campaigns are well-funded efforts
while others are shoestring operations.

By far the biggest is the Alaska Family Coalition, which is promoting the
same-sex marriage ban. It reported total contributions of $597,000. As the
coalition announced last week, $500,000 of that came from the Mormon Church
in Salt Lake City. Another $50,000 came from American Renewal, a
Washington, D.C.-based organization run by Christian activist Gary Bauer.
The remainder of its contributions came mostly from Alaska sources. Those
ranged from a Fairbanks homemaker who gave $300 to the Anchorage Baptist
Temple, which gave $3,000.

Proposition 2, if approved by voters, would add a sentence to the Alaska
Constitution that says that to be recognized by the state, a marriage must
be between one man and one woman. The Alaska Legislature decided to put it
on the ballot in May, after Superior Court Judge Peter Michalski refused to
dismiss a lawsuit filed by two men seeking a state marriage license.

The No on 2 campaign reported contributions totaling $108,000, none of
which was larger than $3,000. The variety of donors included a New York
consultant who works for the Gay/Lesbian Victory Fund and gave $400, a
Juneau building inspector who gave $1,500, and retired Republican
legislator Arliss Sturgulewski, who wrote a $250 check.

The No on 2 campaign also received $1,000 from Anchorage businesswoman Jo
Michalski, wife of Judge Michalski.

She said her reasons for giving had nothing to do with the same-sex
marriage case still pending in her husband's courtroom. She said she makes
her own money and her own decisions. She only told her husband about the
donation a week later, she said.

Her oldest brother, she explained, is gay and was in a committed
relationship for 15 years, until his partner died. "I did it in honor of
them," she said.

It was at the funeral that her family first met the partner's family, she
said. Had circumstances been different, they would have met when the couple
married, she said.

All but 9 percent of the campaign's money came from Alaskans, a fact the
anti-amendment group touted in a press release.

"Today's reports clearly demonstrate what's at stake in this election," the
statement says. "Do we really want Alaska's constitution, our most precious
document, to be rewritten by Outside religious and political groups?"

Mary Ann Pease, a spokeswoman for the Alaska Family Coalition, said people
are making too much of the contribution from the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints.

As she figures it, $500,000 isn't that much, considering that there are
some 24,000 Mormons in Alaska. Assume only 10 percent of them tithe to the
church, she says. Assume those that give 10 percent of their salary, as the
church requires, make an average of $30,000 a year. That comes to $7.2
million.

"So what's $500,000? That's nothing," she said.

Another group that has a big benefactor is Alaskans for Medical Rights. The
group is supporting Proposition 8, which would allow cancer patients or
people with chronic debilitating diseases to possess up to an ounce of
marijuana. They would have to get written documentation from their doctor
saying they might benefit from marijuana and they would have to register
with the state.

Alaskans for Medical Rights has raised $134,000, all but $9,000 or so from
a California group called Americans for Medical Rights. Soros, a currency
trader and globe-trotting financier, is a major contributor to the
California group. "Considered the most prodigious individual giver in the
world, Soros doles out $350 million a year from an estimated annual income
of $1 billion," Newsweek magazine reported last year.

He has committed millions to foster peace and build open societies in
Eastern Europe. He has also funded right-to-die campaigns and medical
marijuana initiatives in California and Arizona.

"We are happy to take money from George Soros," said David Finkelstein,
campaign manager for Alaskans for Medical Rights.

"He was essentially Time magazine's philanthropist of the year."

The campaign opposing the medical marijuana proposition isn't so
well-funded. Citizens Against Ballot Proposition 8, organized just last
week, reported only one contribution. Worksafe Inc., the drug-testing lab
where the group's chairman and treasurer work, gave a $750 in-kind
contribution, consisting of staff time, phone equipment and supplies.

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

Blow Dealt To Pot Initiative (The Denver Post says the Colorado Supreme Court
ruled Monday that the medical marijuana intiative sponsored by Coloradans
for Medical Rights should not have been placed on the Nov. 3 ballot,
reversing last month's ruling by Denver District Judge Herbert Stern.
The matter will be decided by Oct. 15, the date the high court has set for
Secretary of State Vikki Buckley to have the ballot signatures recounted.)

Date: Thu, 8 Oct 1998 17:41:33 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US CO: Blow Dealt To Pot Initiative
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Citizens for Compassionate Cannabis (cohip@levellers.org)
Pubdate: Tue, 6 Oct 1998
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Contact: letters@denverpost.com
Website: http://www.denverpost.com/
Author: Howard Pankratz, Denver Post Legal Affairs Writer

BLOW DEALT TO POT INITIATIVE

Oct. 6 - In what could be an unprecedented Election Day snafu,
Coloradans may be casting straw votes for the marijuana for medicinal
purposes initiative that the state Supreme Court Monday said should
not have been put on the ballot in the first place.

The ruling is the latest development in the on-again, off-again battle
to put the controversial measure on the ballot ever since the number
of valid signatures has been questioned.

Initiative supporters submitted 88,815 signatures. To get on the
ballot, 54,242 valid ones were needed.

The entire matter will be effectively be decided by Oct. 15, the date
by which the high court has set for Secretary of State Vikki Buckley
to have the ballot signatures recounted.

If she rules that there were enough valid signatures, then the votes
cast on Nov. 3 will decide the fate of the initiative. If, however,
Buckley rules that there still are not enough valid signatures, then
any votes case on the measure are moot.

The measure asking Coloradans to approve the use of marijuana for
medical purposes is on the ballot now, in compliance with last month's
ruling by a Denver District Court judge.

But the Supreme Court ordered Buckley to conduct a line-by-line review
of the signatures.

When the polls close on Nov. 3, Buckley is to count the votes cast for
the initiative "if, and only if," she has already determined there
were a sufficient number of valid signatures among the 88,815, said
the justices.

The marijuana initiative would allow people with "debilitating medical
conditions," such as cancer and AIDS, to legally possess and use
marijuana as a form of treatment.

A Buckley statement Monday said she was happy with the ruling and that
the examination of signatures was starting immediately.

Buckley's Democratic opponent, Ric Bainter, called the ruling
"continuing fallout from mistakes made a few months ago and the kind
of confusion that can result in the mismanagement of a very important
office. I question whether she's going to be able do an adequate
recount in 10 days, if she couldn't get an adequate count in 30 days,"
he said.

Supporters of the measure - Coloradans for Medical Rights - have run
into numerous roadblocks in their efforts to get the initiative on the
ballot.

Ed Ramey, the lawyer for the group, said Monday the latest ruling will
not help.

"It leaves some uncertainty surrounding the question of whether or not
the votes will be counted," said Ramey. "And when there is
uncertainty, it is difficult to raise money, it is difficult to get
people motivated to go out to speak for the measure and it is
difficult to get the public focused on the initiative.

"That is the problem we are facing right now," he said.

"It's definitely disappointing," said Julie Roche, a spokeswoman for
Coloradans for Medical Rights, called the ruling "definitely
disappointing. It's hard to know what kind of impact this will have."
Roche said the group will "remain hopeful" and continue getting out
information. She said the group turned in 30,000 more signatures,
"more than enough to go forward with this."

Deputy Attorney General Maurice Knaizer, who represented Buckley
before the Supreme Court, said Buckley will undertake the
re-examination and believes she can have it finished by the deadline.

Buckley originally ruled that initiative supporters had failed to
gather enough valid signatures for the measure to be on the ballot and
refused to certify it.

Using a random sampling technique, Buckley ruled that only 47,960 of
the 88,815 signatures were valid and did not meet the 54,242
signatures needed.

But Coloradans for Medical Rights claimed that a thorough review of
the Secretary of State's random sampling technique showed it was
severely flawed.

The group claimed that an independent review of Buckley's sampling
technique, which included an entry-by-entry analysis, showed that of
the 4,482 signatures Buckley used as a random sample, there were 225
signatures which were determined invalid which, in fact, were valid.

The group contended that the random sample should have shown that
52,312 of the signatures are valid, or 96.4 percent of the 54,242
required. Under Colorado law, any time the random sample shows that
the number of valid signatures is greater than 90 percent but less
than 110 percent, Buckley is required to examine each signature collected.

However, the group contended that since Buckley had failed to complete
a line-by-line analysis within the 30-day period required by law, the
initiative automatically had to be placed on the ballot.

Denver District Judge Herbert Stern agreed on Sept. 10. and ordered
Buckley to put the measure on the ballot. She did so, and
simultaneously asked the Supreme Court to allow her to recount the
signatures gathered by the measure's supporters.

Stern rejected Knaizer's argument that a line-by-line analysis should
commence immediately, labeling the procedure "awkward and messy." In
its ruling Monday, the Supreme Court said it was specifically
over-ruling Stern.

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

Accounting Of Pot Petitions Ordered (The Rocky Mountain News version)

Date: Thu, 8 Oct 1998 21:15:37 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US CO: Accounting Of Pot Petitions Ordered
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Citizens for Compassionate Cannabis (cohip@levellers.org)
Source: Rocky Mountain News (CO)
Contact: letters@denver-rmn.com
Website: http://insidedenver.com/news/
Pubdate: 6 Oct 1998
Fax: (303) 892-5499
Author: John Sanko Rocky Mountain News Capitol Bureau

ACCOUNTING OF POT PETITIONS ORDERED

State Supreme Court calls for signature count on marijuana initiative

The state Supreme Court Monday ordered a line-by-line count of petitions to
legalize marijuana for medicinal use.

Issue 19 is already on the Nov. 3 ballot. But if the count shows too few
signatures by registered voters, the election won't count.

The sufficiency of signatures has been questioned since the initiative
petitions were submitted in August. Secretary of State Vikki Buckley said a
random sampling of signatures indicated it fell short, but proponents took
her to court, saying her staff's work was sloppy.

Last month, a court ordered the issue on the ballot without a line-by-line
count.

"We're disappointed in that (the Supreme Court ruling) leaves us in a state
of uncertainty again," said Denver attorney Ed Ramey, who represents
Coloradans for Medical Rights.

"But we think we have plenty of signatures. We submitted more than 88,000.
Some in there obviously will be rejected, but we are confident we have
sufficient numbers (54,242) to be on the ballot."

The measure would allow possession of up to two ounces of marijuana for
people with "debilitating medical conditions" for pain relief and to
enhance appetite.

The court gave Buckley's office 10 days to check the signatures.

"The court orders that the votes cast for the measure shall be counted if,
and only if, the secretary of state determines before Election Day that a
sufficient number of valid signatures have been submitted for the measure,"
the Supreme Court said.

Buckley was ill Monday and unavailable to comment on the court's decision.

Deputy Attorney General Maurice Knaizer, who handled the case for the
secretary of state, had asked the lower court to order a line-by-line
review of the petition.

But Denver District Court Judge Herbert Stern rejected that request. He
said a name-by-name review would be "awkward and messy" and promote
uncertainty among voters.

Ramey said proponents of the ballot measure hope to keep a close watch on
the review.

"Obviously we can't sit in there with her and observe the process," Ramey
said. "But to the extent that we are able, we do want to follow up on the
quality of her work. I assume she will tell us which names she is not
accepting, and we'll check to see if it is appropriate.

"All we can ask is that she comply with the order and that she please do it
accurately."

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

DEA's Largest Field Office Is In Business (The San Antonio Express-News
says The Drug Enforcement Administration showed off its newest field office
Tuesday in El Paso, Texas. Robert Castillo will be in charge of a division
of more than 150 agents and detectives.)

Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1998 18:12:13 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US TX: Dea's Largest Field Office Is In Business
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: adbryan@onramp.net
Source: San Antonio Express-News (TX)
Contact: letters@express-news.net
Website: http://www.expressnews.com/
Pubdate: 6 Oct 1998
Author: Jodi Bizar Special to the Express-News

DEA'S LARGEST FIELD OFFICE IS IN BUSINESS

EL PASO -- The Drug Enforcement Administration showed off its newest and
largest field office here Tuesday, even as a former agency official said
the government took too long in building and staffing a facility in the
middle of a hot drug-trafficking corridor.

"This is the only one right on the border," said Robert Castillo, who will
be in charge of the division and more than 150 agents and narcotics
detectives.

"As of Oct. 1, we became operational, and this is significant because it
represents 740 miles or 40 percent of the U.S.-Mexico border in an area
that is a very heavily utilized drug corridor," Castillo said.

But Phil Jordan, a retired DEA official, said that even with the new office
and the larger staff, the agency still needs a larger force here and will
continue to play catch-up to the drug cartels.

"The cartels have unlimited resources," Jordan said. "Right now the cartels
have us outnumbered."

Castillo and Jordan were at a news conference as the four-story,
100,000-square-foot, heavily guarded facility in west El Paso was shown to
the news media.

The new field division extends from the Big Bend area to the New
Mexico-Arizona border. It includes 102 DEA agents, plus 50 officers from
other agencies assigned to work with the DEA.

Castillo said only about 40 agents covered the same geographic area four
years ago, and they were under the supervision of the Dallas, Houston and
Denver field divisions.

But Jordan said the new field division in El Paso comes just a little too
late and does not have enough manpower.

"We're playing catch-up now," he said. "We requested an expansion in this
part of the country approximately 10 years ago. The internal politics that
goes into getting something like this accomplished is mind-boggling."

He went on to ask: "If Washington had recognized that El Paso-Ciudad
Juarez (Mexico) is one of the most powerful drug entry points in the United
States, how many kids who have overdosed would still be alive?"

Jordan said officials with the Dallas and Houston field divisions appealed
for a stronger presence in West Texas and New Mexico, but those requests
were not granted while expansions were made to U.S. Customs, U.S. Border
Patrol and the FBI.

"That's my frustration with Washington, D.C.," he said, "and that opinion
comes from 33 years of fighting the drug war."

Jordan headed the Dallas DEA field office and was the director of a
multiagency, international organization that collects and distributes
information on drug-trafficking.

He also said 102 agents aren't enough to fight the army of drug traffickers.

"We could easily triple that just to level the playing field," he said.

About 1,000 agents would be a good strength, Jordan suggested, but politics
and economics make 300 agents a more realistic goal.

He went on to praise the opening of the new office here as "something that
is positive."

Bill Blagg of San Antonio, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas,
was among those who agreed: "This is a celebration for our officers."

And Tom Kelly, his counterpart in New Mexico, added: "Washington has come
to understand the critical role El Paso plays (in drug trafficking)."

About 70 percent of all illegal drugs enter the country through the
southern border, and a sizable chunk of that comes in through West Texas
and New Mexico.

Blagg said his office filed 3,000 cases last year, half of which were drug
related.

"This is the most productive area. The growth is unprecedented, second only
to California," he said.

Castillo said before the field office was opened, "It was hard to observe
what was happening here. Now with an increase in resources, the more we'll
be able to do."

U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno approved the creation of the field office
about six months ago.

Officials said it will help coordinate efforts of the various law
enforcement agencies in the region.

Castillo was reminded that on a recent trip here, U.S. drug czar Barry
McCaffrey proposed creating a southern border czar who would coordinate
drug-interdiction efforts among all federal agencies.

"I won't comment on that," Castillo said.

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

Methadone Is Just Another Drug (Four letters to the editor
of The New York Times take opposing sides in the fight about methadone
maintenance programs going on between the White House Drug Czar,
General Barry McCaffrey, and New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.)

Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1998 18:05:22 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: NYT: 4 PUB LTE: Methadone Is Just Another Drug
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Kendra Wright
Source: The New York Times
Contact: letters@nytimes.com
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
Pubdate: 6 Oct 1998

METHADONE IS JUST ANOTHER DRUG

To the Editor:

It's time that we who provide medical addiction treatment that ultimately
makes patients narcotic-free speak up against methadone maintenance
programs as they are now constituted (news article, Sept. 30). It is
morally wrong to promote methadone maintenance as a treatment because, in
reality, it replaces one narcotic with another, and especially since we can
inexpensively, medically detoxify the heroin addict over a few days.

Also, to promote methadone maintenance programs that are open-ended and
provide support for a life-time of addiction is an insult to the thousands
of recovering addicts who are able to kick the habit without methadone and
who are now drug-free.

NICHOLAS A. PACE, M.D. New York, Oct. 2, 1998

***

To the Editor:

Clyde Haberman (NYC column, Oct. 2) calls Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani to task
for his incivility in referring to Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey, the White House
drug policy director, as a "disaster" as well as for using such language to
describe a man who was "the youngest four-star general, as well as the most
highly decorated Army general on active duty, when President Clinton
appointed him to the drug post."

Yet whatever importance one attaches to civility in public discourse, the
wrongheadedness of Mayor Giuliani's attack on General McCaffrey's
endorsement of methadone use has less to do with the general's military
record than with the fact that the attack was wrong on its merits.

On the other hand, were the Mayor to turn his attention to General
McCaffrey's resistance to the use of marijuana for medical purposes, now
there's a policy for which the word "disaster" would be none too strong.

ALAN LEVINE New York, Oct. 3, 1998

***

To the Editor:

Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey is both a military hero and an expert on drug
policy (NYC column, Oct. 2). His opinions may fairly be subject to question
and criticism, but his reputation as a patriot and dedicated drug fighter
is not. Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani's use of words like "disaster" to
describe General McCaffrey says much about the character flaws of the
Mayor, not about General McCaffrey.

We Vietnam veterans are sensitive about draft avoiders who attack the true
heroes of our horrific little war. As Clyde Haberman said, General
McCaffrey has earned the right to courteous treatment, especially from
someone who never wore his country's uniform - like the Mayor.

MICHAEL J. GORMAN Whitestone, Queens, Oct. 2, 1998

***

To the Editor:

Let us hope that Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey continues to make drug policy
recommendations based on scientific evidence (news article, Oct. 3). Next
issue: needle exchange programs. There is a tremendous body of literature
supporting the expansion of needle exchange programs to reduce the spread
of diseases like AIDS and hepatitis.

It is unfortunate that General McCaffrey is adamant about not using Federal
money for needle exchanges; however, nothing is stopping him from urging
state and local governments to review the literature and make decisions for
themselves. This would require minimal political capital and zero
expenditure and would send the signal that needle exchanges are not
destructive and are worth considering.

BEAU KILMER Berkeley, Calif., Oct. 3, 1998

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

Amish Men Face Jail For Plotting To Sell Cocaine (The Daily Telegraph
version)

Date: Thu, 8 Oct 1998 07:39:14 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: Amish Men Face Jail For Plotting To Sell Cocaine
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Martin Cooke (mjc1947@cyberclub.iol.ie)
Source: Daily Telegraph (UK)
Contact: et.letters@telegraph.co.uk
Website: http://www.telegraph.co.uk
Pubdate: 6 October 1998
Author: Phillip Delves-Broughton in Philadelphia

AMISH MEN FACE JAIL FOR PLOTTING TO SELL COCAINE

TWO young Amish men pleaded guilty in a Philadelphia court yesterday to
conspiring to distribute cocaine and amphetamines, bringing to a swift end
to one of the most embarrassing episodes in the history of the devout,
reclusive communities which have occupied Pennsylvania since colonial times.

Abner Stoltzfus and Abner King Stoltzfus, who are in their early twenties
and not related, were charged with eight members of the Pagans, a
motorcycle gang known for drug trafficking and violence.

The involvement of the Old Order Amish of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania -
who farm without tractors, drive horse-drawn buggies and refuse to use
electricity - with the biker gang has shocked many people. The young Amish
men's offence carries a minimum sentence of five years in prison.

In court yesterday, they sat in traditional Amish black suits. About 40
members of their families and community filled the visitors' benches, the
elders with their beards and broad-brimmed hats, the women wearing dark
skirts and white caps.

The younger Amish men wore colourful shirts under their waistcoats and
sported "heavy metal" hair cuts. Whatever liberties that could be taken
with the Amish dress code, they took: their black trousers were drainpipes;
their shoes the sort of clunking trainers any teenager would wear.

Like all Anabaptists, the Amish do not officially join the church until
they are baptised as adults. As teenagers, they are allowed a period of
relative freedom know as "rumspringa". During this time, they join a gang
which sings hymns, plays games and provides the opportunity to find a mate.

Abna King was involved in one of the racier gangs, known as the Crickets
who would use cocaine at their weekend parties, as well as drink beer,
drive suped-up cars and listen to rock music. He began dealing cocaine
after he hired two members of the Pagans for his roofing business for which
the other Abna Stolzfus also worked.

This brought the Amish men into contact with men with nicknames such as
"Twisted" and "Fat Head" who supplied them with the cocaine for their
weekend parties. Both Abna King Stoltzfus and Abna Stoltzfus plan to return
to their communities where they will be baptised and live out an Amish life.

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

North Carolina Drug Tax Held Invalid (The Raleigh News and Observer
says The US Supreme Court Monday let stand a federal appeals court ruling
that nullified North Carolina's tax on illegal drugs, casting doubt on the
constitutionality of similar laws in other states. However, a bill that
would reinstate the tax has passed the North Carolina senate and is pending
in the house finance committee.)

Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1998 16:34:57 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US NC: NC Drug Tax Held Invalid
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Walter Latham
Pubdate: Tue, 06 Oct 1998
Source: Raleigh News & Observer (NC)
Contact: http://www.news-observer.com/feedback/
Website: http://www.news-observer.com/
Writer: Staff & Wire Reports

N.C. DRUG TAX HELD INVALID

Court Lets Stand Ruling That Found It A Criminal Penalty

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to revive North
Carolina's tax on illegal drugs, casting doubt on the constitutionality of
similar laws in other states.

The justices, without comment, let stand a federal appeals court ruling
that said the tax law is really a criminal penalty that lacked necessary
due-process safeguards.

In its ruling in January, the appeals court relied heavily on a 1994
Supreme Court ruling that barred states from forcing drug offenders to pay
a tax in addition to criminal fines. The 1994 decision, on a 5-4 vote, said
such taxes were barred by the Constitution's ban on double punishment for
the same crime.

In the appeal acted on Monday, N.C. Attorney General Michael Easley
defended the state's invalidated 1989 law by contending that it is "not
contingent on arrest of the taxpayer or on seizure of illegal drugs from
him."

But the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in striking down the tax on
illegal drug possession, had said, "It should come as no surprise that no
drug dealer has ever filed a form and voluntarily paid this tax."

General Assembly May Act

In a statement released Monday afternoon, Easley said he was disappointed
with the justices' action but urged the state House to pass a bill that
would reinstate the tax.

A bill to do that has passed the Senate and is pending in the House Finance
Committee. The legislature is expected to adjourn next week.

"This new bill emphasizes that this is only a tax and not a criminal
penalty," Easley said. "The bill also lowers the amount of the tax, as the
federal court required."

Since taking effect in 1989, the state has collected more than $40 million
from the drug tax. The money is used primarily to supplement local law
enforcement budgets.

"Now more than ever it is critical that we reinstate this tax," Easley
said. "It provides a valuable resource to law enforcement agencies across
the state."

The dispute over the tax arose after federal, state and local law
enforcement agents seized about $25,000 worth of cocaine from David Lynn
Jr.'s home in Reidsville. He was convicted in federal court of possessing
the drug with intent to sell.

North Carolina never sought to prosecute Lynn, but immediately after his
federal conviction assessed $389,125.20 in taxes, penalties and interest on
the confiscated cocaine.

In the effort to collect on that tax assessment, state officials seized two
cars and a commercial building owned by members of Lynn's family. Lynn and
the affected family members sued the state in 1994, challenging the tax law.

A federal trial judge upheld the law, but the 4th Circuit court ruled that
it could not stand.

The state's appeal contended that the appeals court wrongly expanded the
scope of the 1994 decision.

The appeal said the ruling was "a devastating blow to the state's ability
to assess a tax on the possession of illegal drugs and to collect the
substantial revenue."

North Carolina reportedly has been the most aggressive state in enforcing a
tax on illegal drugs. The appeals court cited as an example statistics for
1993 indicating that state officials collected more than $6 million -- more
than 10 times as much money as Kansas, which ranked second in collections.

Curricula Choice Not A Right

In another action affecting North Carolina, the court let stand a ruling
that public school teachers have no free-speech protection against being
disciplined over the curriculum materials they select.

The justices, without comment, rejected the appeal of a Buncombe County
drama teacher punished for letting students put on a controversial play.
The appeal argued that her free-speech rights were violated. But the 4th
Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 7-6 that teachers have no such rights when
it comes to curricula.

The ruling is not a decision and sets no national precedent. But it allows
the 4th Circuit ruling to stand -- and continue to be law in North
Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.

Margaret Boring had taught high school for 11 years when in 1991 she
selected the Lee Blessing play "Independence" for four students in her
advanced drama class to present in an annual statewide competition. The
play focuses on a single mother and her three daughters, one of whom is a
lesbian and one of whom is pregnant and unmarried.

RTI Loses Contract Dispute

The justices, without comment, also rejected an appeal by Research Triangle
Institute in a contract dispute with the Federal Reserve.

The contract was for $616,000, but RTI claimed that the Fed should have
paid it another $284,000 for extra work added by the agency. RTI sued the
Fed in 1996.

The Fed influences the national economy by controlling key short-term
interest rates.

Lower courts ruled that the government agency is entitled to sovereign
immunity and cannot be sued in federal court without its consent. The
Supreme Court let that ruling stand.

"We approached this in a conservative way. We were never counting on the
revenue," said Reid Maness, an RTI spokesman. "We'll just move on."

RTI has about 1,500 employees and handles around $160 million of research a
year, Maness said.

In the appeal acted on Monday, lawyers for RTI argued that although the
Federal Reserve Board enjoys immunity from lawsuits over its regulatory
acts or personal injuries, it should not be shielded from lawsuits over the
contracts it enters.

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

High Court Studies Privacy Rights In Drug Case (The San Francisco Examiner
says the US Supreme Court heard arguments today in a Minnesota drug case
involving the Fourth Amendment rights of people who temporarily visit someone
else's home. The high court ruled in 1990 that an overnight guest in a
private home has the same privacy rights as the homeowner, but the justices
have not given such protection to someone who visits but does not stay
overnight.)

Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1998 17:41:51 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US DC: High Court Studies Privacy Rights In Drug Case
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: compassion23@geocities.com (Frank S. World)
Source: San Francisco Examiner (CA)
Contact: letters@examiner.com
Website: http://www.examiner.com/
Pubdate: Tue, 06 Oct 1998
Author: LAURIE ASSEO, Associated Press Writer

HIGH COURT STUDIES PRIVACY RIGHTS IN DRUG CASE

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Most people who temporarily visit
someone else's home should not be protected against police searches
without a warrant, the Supreme Court was told today by a prosecutor in
a Minnesota drug case.

In particular, such protection doesn't extend to two men arrested
after a policeman peeked through a gap in window blinds and saw them
packaging a white powdery substance, prosecutor James C. Backstrom
told the high court.

``Criminal activity is not the kind of activity normally associated
with the privacy of a dwelling,'' Backstrom said.

But attorney Bradford Colbert, representing the two men, said that in
many cases short-term guests in a home should have the same protection
against unreasonable searches as the Constitution's Fourth Amendment
gives to homeowners.

But both lawyers and the justices themselves struggled over which
house visitors -- whether involved in legal or illegal activity -- are
entitled to privacy protection.

Justice Stephen G. Breyer said there was no doubt homeowners were
entitled to constitutional protection. But he added, ``Why do we want
to protect the pizza man?''

The Avon lady should not expect her activities to be more private if
invited indoors than if she made her sales pitch on the front step,
suggested Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

And Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg asked, ``Would it be any different ...
if they had gathered to play a game of poker rather than put together
coke?''

Backstrom said most short-term guests do not have an expectation of
privacy, but a frequent visitor might have a stronger argument.

``If they play (poker) five time a week they get standing, but if they
play once they don't?'' asked Justice David H. Souter.

The justices are expected to issue a ruling by July.

Minnesota's highest court threw out the drug convictions of Wayne
Thomas Carter and Melvin Johns.

The Clinton administration supported the state's appeal of that
ruling. Justice Department lawyer Jeffrey A. Lamken argued that it is
not a search when a police officer sees something that is exposed to
outside view.

The high court ruled in 1990 that an overnight guest in a private home
has the same privacy rights as the homeowner. The justices have not
given such protection to someone who visits but does not stay overnight.

Courts also have denied privacy protection for activities that are
easily observable by the public.

Carter and Johns were arrested in Eagan, Minn., in May 1994 after a
police officer acting on a tip looked in an apartment window and saw
Carter, Johns and another person putting white powder into plastic
bags.

To see inside, the officer walked behind some bushes and looked
through gaps in the closed window blinds. The men were arrested when
they left the apartment and tried to drive away. A pouch containing
cocaine was found in the car.

Carter and Johns were convicted of conspiracy to commit a drug crime
and aiding the commission of a drug crime. They appealed, saying the
drug evidence was unlawfully gained without a search warrant.

Lower courts ruled against them, but the Minnesota Supreme Court threw
out their convictions. Carter and Johns had legal standing to
challenge the officer's actions even though they were only guests in
the apartment, the court said.

The state's top court also said the officer took ``extraordinary
measures'' to look into the apartment, and therefore his actions
amounted to a search requiring a warrant.

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

Court inaction may spur drug tests in public schools (The Miami Herald
version)

From: "W.H.E.N. - Bob Owen" (when@olywa.net)
To: "-News" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: Court inaction may spur drug tests in public schools
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1998 19:07:44 -0700
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net

Published Tuesday, October 6, 1998, in the Miami Herald

Court inaction may spur drug tests in public schools

By AARON EPSTEIN
Herald Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- While the NAACP picketed outside the Supreme Court about a
lack of diversity among law clerks, the justices quietly opened their
1998-99 term Monday by refusing to hear more than 1,600 accumulated cases --
including two that could strengthen officials' control of public school
students and teachers.

Only six cases were accepted for review, bringing the court's docket so far
to 51 cases, among the smallest opening-day totals in decades and a sign,
some legal observers say, of a court determined to lower its profile in
American life.

In the two school disputes, the justices left intact lower-court rulings
that allow random drug testing of students who take part in extracurricular
activities and permit discipline of teachers for using curriculum materials
that administrators find objectionable.

By refusing to review these cases, the justices set no national precedent.
But the lower-court rulings, which are now final, could encourage other
school districts to expand student drug-testing or tighten controls over
what is taught in classrooms.

Voluntary testing

In South Florida, neither Miami-Dade nor Broward county public schools
currently conduct random drug tests. However, Miami-Dade Public Schools has
instituted a voluntary drug-testing program.

The drug-testing case came from Rush County, Ind., a rural area southeast of
Indianapolis, where Rushville High School prohibited any student from taking
part in any extracurricular activity unless a parent or guardian consented
to testing of that student's urine for drugs, alcohol or tobacco.

Among the included activities were the Student Council, Future Homemakers of
America, Speech Club, Library Club, French Club and Students Against Drunk
Driving.

The parents of William Matthew Todd and Anne, Steven and Jennifer Hammons
refused to consent and sued after the youngsters were barred from their
extracurricular activities. Todd's father, William, is retired from the
local sheriff's office, where he was an undercover officer investigating
drug offenses.

Both a federal district judge and a Chicago-based federal appeals panel
sided with the school district. By a 7-4 vote, the full appeals court
refused to reconsider the case.

Only three states

The Rush County ruling is legally binding only in Illinois, Indiana and
Wisconsin. But the Indiana Civil Liberties Union, in vainly appealing to the
Supreme Court, noted that school boards in other states already have adopted
similar drug-testing programs.

The classroom curriculum case arose in Asheville, N.C., where a high school
principal transferred Margaret Boring, a prize-winning high school drama
teacher, to a junior high after community activists objected to a play that
she had staged for interscholastic competition.

The play, Independence, by Lee Blessing, depicts the turmoil within a
dysfunctional family consisting of a divorced mother and her three
daughters. One of the daughters is a lesbian; another is pregnant with an
illegitimate child. Ministers complained that Boring had brought "blasphemy,
premarital sex, homosexuality and promiscuity" into the high school.

Boring sued, but a federal appeals court based in Richmond, Va., splitting
7-6, ruled that the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of expression
does not protect classroom teachers in matters of curriculum. That right,
the majority said, belongs to "the school, not the teacher."

Conflicting viewpoint

Dissenters said the decision "eliminates all constitutional protection for
the in-class speech of teachers" and allowed administrators to punish the
expression of unpopular views.

The ruling in the case, Boring vs. Buncombe County Board of Education, is
binding in Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West
Virginia.

It's in line with a general Supreme Court trend that favors expanding the
powers of school officials. The Supreme Court, for example, has allowed
officials to make warrantless searches of students, to censor student
publications and plays, and to discipline students for "indecent" speech.

In an exercise of free speech outside the Supreme Court building, an
estimated 1,000 demonstrators protested the scarcity of ethnic and racial
minorities among the justices' law clerks, drawing scores of police
officers.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People organized the
protesters, who carried signs proclaiming "Stop Giving Minorities the Gavel"
and "Stop Low Diversity on the High Court."

Nineteen demonstrators -- including NAACP President Kweisi Mfume -- were
arrested for trying to extend their sidewalk protest to the court plaza in
defiance of police orders.

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

Supreme Court upholds drug tests for students (The Associated Press version)

From: "W.H.E.N. - Bob Owen" (when@olywa.net)
To: "-News" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: Supreme Court upholds drug tests for students
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1998 19:31:19 -0700
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net

Supreme Court upholds drug tests for students

10/06/98
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Rejecting an appeal by teenagers and their parents, the Supreme
Court on Monday let a rural school district conduct random drug tests for
all students in extracurricular activities - even if the students are not
individually suspected of using drugs.

The justices, acting without comment, left intact a federal appeals court
ruling in an Indiana case that said such testing does not violate students'
privacy rights.

Starting its 1998-99 term with a flurry of paperwork, the court issued
orders in more than 1,600 cases. It granted full review to six.

Outside the courthouse, more than 1,000 NAACP members demonstrated Monday to
protest the court's lack of minority law clerks. NAACP president Kweisi
Mfume and 18 other people were arrested on charges of trying to demonstrate
on court property rather than on the public sidewalk.

The court's action in the drug-testing case sets no national precedent. But
it left in place a ruling that remains binding law in Indiana, Illinois and
Wisconsin. And it may entice educators in other states to expand drug
testing.

Julie Hunter Wood, general counsel of the National School Boards
Association, discounted such a development. "Most schools approach this
issue as one of prevention, not detection, and I expect they will continue
such diligent efforts," she said.

At issue was a program that Indiana's Rush County High School adopted in
1996. The program bars students from all extracurricular activities - sports
teams, library club, Future Homemakers of America and the like - unless they
and their parents or guardians consent to random urinalysis tests.

Also Monday, the court agreed to use the case of a Guatemala man living in
California to clarify when some immigrants can be deported, despite fears
they would be persecuted in their home country. And the justices rejected an
appeal aimed at forcing a Minnesota church to return the $13,450 in
donations it received from a couple within a year of their seeking federal
bankruptcy protection.

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

Court Backs Drug Testing Of Students (A slightly different
Associated Press version in the Daily Herald in Illinois)

Date: Thu, 8 Oct 1998 05:37:46 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US WA: Court Backs Drug Testing Of Students
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Steve Young (theyoungfamily@worldnet.att.net)
Pubdate: 6 Oct, 1998
Source: Daily Herald (IL)
Contact: fencepost@dailyherald.com
Website: http://www.dailyherald.com/
Author: Associated Press

COURT BACKS DRUG TESTING OF STUDENTS

WASHINGTON - Public schools that want to require students to take drug tests
may find some encouragement in a Supreme Court action Monday that allowed an
Indiana district to continue such tests. Rejecting an appeal by teenagers
and their parents on Monday, the court let a rural school district conduct
random drug tests for all students in extracurricular activities - from
sports teams to the library club - even if they are not individually
suspected of using drugs.

The justices, acting without comment, left intact a federal appeals court
ruling that said such testing does not violate students' privacy rights.

Starting its 1998-99 term with a flurry of paperwork, the court issued
orders in more than 1,600 cases. It granted full review to just six.

Outside the stately courthouse, more than 1,000 members of the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People noisily demonstrated to
protest the court's lack of minority law clerks. NAACP President Kweisi
Mfume and 18 other people were arrested for trying to demonstrate on court
property rather than on the public sidewalk.

The court's action in the drug-testing case is not a decision and therefore
sets no national precedent. But it left in place a ruling that remains
binding law in three states - Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. And it could
entice educators in other states to expand drug testing.

The National School Boards Association says it has no hard numbers, but
believes very few school districts require testing of students, according to
spokesman Jay Butler.

Julie Hunter Wood, the group's general counsel, said she would not expect a
wave of new drug-testing programs. "Most schools approach this issue as one
of prevention, not detection," she said.

In 1995, the justices voted 6-3 to uphold random drug tests for student
athletes, citing both their "role model" status among peers and the
importance of "deterring drug use by our nation's schoolchildren."

Monday's action does not preclude the possibility the highest court will
someday spell out more definitively the bounds of permissible drug testing.

Rush County High School in rural Indiana adopted its drug-testing program in
1996 even though there was little evidence of drug use among its students.
The program bars students from all extracurricular activities - sports
teams, library club, Future Homemakers of America and the like - unless they
and their parents or guardians consent to random urinalysis tests.

The testing is conducted by a service in a vehicle parked on school grounds.

If a student tests positive, his or her family can explain the result by,
for example, showing that the student is taking certain prescription
medicine. Absent such proof, the student is suspended from all
extracurricular activities until passing a new test.

The program was challenged by Matthew Todd's parents when he was a freshman
working as a volunteer who videotaped the football team. Matthew's parents
refused to consent to the drug testing and Matthew, now a junior, was barred
from his volunteer work.

Steve and Gina Hammons also refused to let their three children be tested.
Two had been members of the library club and Future Farmers of America. Only
a daughter, Jennifer, now a senior, remains at the high school.

The Todds and Hammonses sued, but a federal trial judge upheld the drug
testing.

A three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed, stating
that "successful extracurricular activities require healthy students."

The appeals court panel ruled that the program was "sufficiently similar" to
an Oregon school district's drug-testing of student athletes that the
Supreme Court had condoned in 1995.

The parents asked the full 7th Circuit court to consider the case, but were
denied. The dissenting judges said the panel's decision "takes us a long way
toward condoning drug testing in the general school population."

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

Supreme Court Lets Stand Wider Student Drug Tests
(The Chicago Tribune version)

Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1998 18:39:24 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: Supreme Court Lets Stand Wider Student Drug Tests
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Steve Young
Pubdate: Tue, 6 Oct 1998
Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
Contact: tribletter@aol.com
Website: http://www.chicago.tribune.com/
Author: Jan Crawford Greenburg
Section: Sec. 1

SUPREME COURT LETS STAND WIDER STUDENT DRUG TESTS

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear a
constitutional challenge to an Indiana school that tests certain
students for drugs and alcohol. The court's action also could affect
schools in Illinois and Wisconsin.

The court let stand a decision by the federal appeals court in
Chicago, which had approved the testing earlier this year. That means
a high school in Rushville, Ind., may continue its drug-testing
program for students involved in extracurricular activities, as can
other schools in the three states under the appeals court's
jurisdiction.

The case was among more than 1,500 the court declined to review
Monday, its first day back from summer recess. The court said it would
decide six cases, including one that raises the issue of deporting
illegal immigrants who claim they will be persecuted if returned to
their native countries.

The Supreme Court already has announced 44 cases it will decide this
year, and it will continue adding cases to its docket until early next
year.

Though Monday was relatively quiet inside the court, the sidewalk in
front of the white marble building was filled with marchers chanting
and singing to protest the small number of minority law clerks hired
by the justices. Nineteen people, including NAACP President Kweisi
Mfume, were arrested for moving off the sidewalk onto court property.

The demonstration, organized by the NAACP and a coalition of minority
legal groups, was designed to call attention to the fact that, of the
428 law clerks hired by the current justices, less than 2 percent have
been African-American and only 1 percent have been Hispanic. No
American Indian has ever clerked for a Supreme Court justice.

"No matter how you look at it, there's no rational explanation for
it," said Randy Jones, immediate past president of the National Bar
Association, the nation's largest association of black lawyers.

"The majority of issues the Supreme Court decides significantly
impacts the minority community, and if you have a situation where only
a certain race of people are being law clerks, you lose a perspective,
you lose the knowledge and wisdom of minority persons in this country."

Jones heads a task force that will try to find ways to increase the
number of minority law clerks at the Supreme Court and in the lower
federal courts. He met over the summer with Justice Clarence Thomas,
who, with Justice John Paul Stevens, has the best record for hiring
minority clerks. Jones said Thomas told him he would like to see more
minority candidates.

Inside the courtroom Monday, there was little evidence of controversy.
On the first Monday of October, the court always hands out thick
stacks of papers listing the names of cases it summarily is declining
to review.

Buried in that list Monday were scores of interesting decisions that
will stand as law in their jurisdictions until the Supreme Court says
otherwise, including the Indiana drug-testing case.

That case arose after Rushville Consolidated High School began
requiring students involved in any extracurricular activity to agree
to random testing for drugs, alcohol and tobacco.

Four parents sued on behalf of their four children, arguing that the
testing violated the Constitution's prohibition against unreasonable
searches and seizures.

The appeals court disagreed, pointing to a 1995 Supreme Court decision
that allowed school districts to test student athletes for drugs.

Broader drug testing also is permissible, the appeals court said,
noting that extracurricular activities are voluntary and that the
purpose of the testing "is to protect the health of the students involved."

Other issues rejected for review Monday included whether a New York
City ordinance banning topless dancing discriminates against female
dancers.

The court also let stand a North Carolina high school teacher's
punishment for letting students put on a controversial play. She
alleged her free speech rights were violated after she was transferred
to a junior high school, where she could no longer teach advanced
drama students.

As members of the House Judiciary Committee across the street in
Congress were debating whether to launch an impeachment inquiry of
President Clinton, the court disposed of a matter related to the
Monica Lewinsky investigation.

It refused to review a ruling that kept the news media away from
federal court proceedings and documents related to the grand jury
investigation of the relationship between Clinton and Lewinsky.

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

Top Court Allows Wider Testing for Drugs in Schools (The Los Angeles Times
version in The San Jose Mercury News)

Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1998 11:04:04 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: Top Court Allows Wider Testing for Drugs in Schools
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Marcus/Mermelstein Family (mmfamily@ix.netcom.com)
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Contact: letters@sjmercury.com
Website: http://www.sjmercury.com/
Pubdate: Tue, 6 Oct 1998
Author: David G. Savage - LA Times

TOP COURT ALLOWS WIDER TESTING FOR DRUGS IN SCHOOLS

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Monday gave school officials broader
authority to administer drug tests to students and to discipline teachers
who inject controversial ideas into the curriculum.

Acting on two closely watched appeals on the first day of the court's new
term, the justices dismissed a constitutional challenge to an expanded
school drug-testing program in Indiana and rejected a First Amendment
challenge filed on behalf of a North Carolina drama teacher.

Outside the courthouse, more than 1,000 members of the National Association
for the Advancement of Colored People noisily demonstrated to protest the
court's lack of minority law clerks. NAACP President Kweisi Mfume and 18
other people were arrested for trying to demonstrate on court property
rather than on the public sidewalk.

The court's opening session on the first Monday in October is typically a
day of disappointment for lawyers and litigants, and this Monday proved no
exception. More than 1,600 appeals were dismissed without a hearing.

The actions in the school cases are not binding rulings, but they let stand
conservative appellate decisions that are likely to be widely cited. Over
the past decade, the high court has consistently deferred to school
authorities in disputes involving the scope of
constitutional rights.

Three years ago, the court said high school athletes can be forced to
undergo drug tests. This does not violate a student's privacy rights under
the Fourth Amendment, the court said, because of special circumstances for
sports. For safety's sake, athletes traditionally submit to physical exams
before the season. Moreover, playing under the influence of drugs might
lead to severe injuries.

But some school officials saw this ruling as allowing even broader testing.
In 1996, the Rushville, Ind., school district announced a policy of random
and unannounced drug tests for students who participated in all
extracurricular activities, including the library club, the student council
or Future Farmers of America. To participate, a student must consent to
submit to regular urine samples to test for illegal drugs, alcohol or
cigarettes.

Officials stressed the policy was not punitive. Those who tested positive
were barred from the extra activities or from driving to school until they
were tested again and found to be clean, but they were not arrested or
prosecuted.

The parents of William Todd, a freshman who videotaped the school's
football games, and several others filed a lawsuit with the aid of the
American Civil Liberties Union. They said that since many affected students
were not suspected of drug use, the testing was not justified. Moreover,
the students were not participating in potentially dangerous activities,
they said.

Nonetheless, a federal judge upheld the program, and the U.S. appeals court
in Chicago agreed on a 7-4 vote.

The ACLU appealed the case of Todd vs. Rush County, arguing that the lower
court ruling will be seen as a green light for random testing of most
students. But the justices dismissed it in a one-line order.

The teacher-related case -- this one involving the North Carolina drama
coach -- is expected to deal a severe blow to the notion of
constitutionally protected ``academic freedom'' for teachers.

Over 14 years, Peggy Boring had coached a high school drama team that
regularly won state and regional awards. In 1991, her team of four
actresses performed the play ``Independence'' by Lee Blessing, the story of
a single mother and her three grown but troubled daughters, one of whom is
lesbian.

Though the play was intended for a drama competition, not a school
production, some students saw the performance, and one parent complained to
the school board. A few months later, the teacher was removed from her post
and transferred to another school. She sued, contending that the First
Amendment and the principle of academic freedom shielded her from being
disciplined simply because of the play's controversial theme.

On a 6-5 vote, the U.S. Court of Appeals disagreed. The teacher ``has no
First Amendment rights derived from her selection of the play
`Independence,' '' the appeals court said, calling the matter ``nothing
more than an ordinary employment dispute.'' The National Education
Association appealed the case of Boring vs. Buncombe County, but again the
justices dismissed it without a hearing.

1997 - 1998 Mercury Center.

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

Say Good-Bye To The Fourth Amendment, Kids (A letter to the editor
of The Standard-Times in New Bedford, Massachusetts, says concern over dogs
sniffing through kids' school lockers is a dead issue. The Supreme Court
previously nullified the Fourth Amendment for students when it allowed random
drug testing of high school athletes.)

Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1998 21:32:15 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US MA: PUB LTE: Say Good-Bye To The 4Th Amendment, Kids
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: John Smith
Source: Standard-Times (MA)
Contact: YourView@S-T.com
Website: http://www.s-t.com/
Pubdate: Tuesday, 06 October, 1998
Author: Thomas J. O'Connell, M.D., San Mateo, CA

SAY GOOD-BYE TO THE 4TH AMENDMENT, KIDS

I've read Scott Smith's thoughtful concerns (Standard-Times, Sept. 30)
about whether searches by drug-sniffing dogs infringe on students' Fourth
Amendment rights and whether growing up in an atmosphere of suspicion while
undergoing multiple such intrusions will adversely affect the kids. My
advice to Scott Smith is to relax; it's a dead issue anyway.

When they allowed random drug testing of high school athletes, the Supreme
Court canceled the Fourth Amendment for students. If witnessed excretion is
the price of going out for the soccer team, what's the big deal about
having your locker contents sniffed by a dog, just to stay in school?

Instead, Scott should look at the bright side: It's clear that we're in
this drug war to stay; at the rate we're going, when today's first graders
are ready to leave high school, their career choices will be down to
dealing drugs or working in law enforcement. Either way, the experience of
having dealt with drug-sniffing dogs and other forms of surveillance
throughout their entire school experience will provide some practical
career benefits, unlike that other useless stuff -- math, history, and
science. Is this a great country or what?

THOMAS J. O'CONNELL, M.D.

San Mateo, CA

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

Amnesty's report on US abuses spurs probe (An Associated Press and Chicago
Tribune version in The Seattle Times)

From: "W.H.E.N. - Bob Owen" (when@olywa.net)
To: "-News" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: Amnesty's report on U.S. abuses spurs probe
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1998 19:05:34 -0700
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net

Copyright (c) 1998 The Seattle Times Company

Posted at 06:17 a.m. PDT; Tuesday, October 6, 1998
Amnesty's report on U.S. abuses spurs probe

by The Associated Press and Chicago Tribune

The Justice Department plans to review concerns raised by Amnesty
International, which yesterday launched a yearlong campaign taking the
United States to task for human-rights violations and calling on the country
to set up independent bodies to monitor allegations of police brutality and
other abuses.

Justice Department spokeswoman Christine DiBartolo said some of the cases
cited in London-based Amnesty's report already are under investigation.

The Amnesty report cited abuses such as "widespread and persistent" police
brutality, "endemic" physical and sexual violence against prisoners,
"racist" application of the death penalty and use of "high-tech repression
tools" such as electro-shock devices and incapacitating chemical sprays.

Stun guns, like any tool, can be misused, said Gerald Arenberg, a spokesman
for the National Association of Chiefs of Police. But "it's actually one of
the better devices, if used properly."

Arenberg also acknowledged that police can benefit from oversight, urging
those who believe they have been victimized to contact such authorities as
the FBI or state attorneys.

"I think we do need someone watching over our shoulders," Arenberg said.

Amnesty also challenges what it says is the U.S. practice of imprisoning
foreign citizens who arrive seeking political asylum, sometimes putting them
in jail for months with convicted criminals.

Immigration and Naturalization Service officials stressed that people are
not detained simply for seeking asylum and denied that they are detained for
prolonged periods.

"The seeking of asylum is not what gets you in detention," said INS
spokesman Andrew Lluberes. Those who enter the country without proper
documents or who falsify their identity can be placed in the expedited
removal process, but can be granted asylum by an immigration judge, he said.

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

Amnesty Report Alleges Widespread US Rights Abuses (The Associated Press
version in the New Bedford, Massachusetts, Standard-Times.)

Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1998 19:01:46 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: Amnesty Report Alleges Widespread US Rights Abuses
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: John Smith
Pubdate: Tue, 6 Oct 1998
Source: Standard-Times (MA)
Contact: YourView@S-T.com
Website: http://www.s-t.com/
Author: Kalpana Srinivasan, Associated Press writer

AMNESTY REPORT ALLEGES WIDESPREAD U.S. RIGHTS ABUSES

WASHINGTON -- The United States measures other countries against a
lofty ideal when it comes to human rights, but it frequently violates
these standards within its own borders, Amnesty International contends.

From prisoners forced to wear shock-emitting stun belts to police who
beat suspects without cause, the 153-page report provides the group's
first comprehensive look at human rights violations in the United States.

Amnesty International accuses the United States of maintaining a
double standard: criticizing other countries while not abiding by
international treaties and principles of human rights itself. The
United States, for example, has failed to sign the U.N. Convention on
the Rights of the Child, which seeks to promote human rights for children.

"When the U.S. house is not in order, it makes it far harder for the
U.S. to take the kind of leadership role in international human rights
that many of us in Amnesty would like to see it take," says William
Schulz, executive director of the American chapter of the London-based
organization.

Amnesty, a longtime vocal opponent of capital punishment, admonished
the United States for its continued use of the death penalty. The
country should move to abolish the system, which is "racist, arbitrary
and unfair," the group said.

U.S. authorities have executed more than 350 prisoners since 1990, and
another 3,300 prisoners await execution on death row, the report
noted, and some states execute juveniles and persons with mental
retardation.

International standards dictate that law enforcement officers should
use force only as a last resort and in proportion to the threat they
encounter. But the report accuses police of frequently disregarding
these standards, beating and abusing suspects unnecessarily.

The 1997 case of Abner Louima, a Haitian immigrant allegedly tortured
by New York City police, recently propelled the problem into the
public spotlight. But the report also points to abuses in other cities
such as Philadelphia -- where police allegedly conducted unjustified
traffic stops and searches, particularly on minorities -- and
Pittsburgh -- where drug squad officers allegedly planted evidence on
suspects and falsified reports.

The report criticizes officers who use stun guns -- a handheld device
with two metal prongs that emits an electric shot -- or who "hogtie"
suspects by binding their wrists and ankles together.

Stun guns, like any tool, can be misused, said a spokesman for the
National Association of Chiefs of Police. But "it's actually one of
the better devices, if used properly," said Gerald Arenberg.

Arenberg also acknowledged that police can benefit from oversight,
urging those who believe they have been victimized to contact such
authorities as the FBI or state attorney.

"I think we do need someone watching over our shoulders," Arenberg
said.

Prison facilities are another site of frequent human rights
violations, the report alleges, saying inmates fall victim to
excessive force by guards, sexual abuse by fellow inmates and cruel
use of restraints, such as leg-irons and restraint chairs.

Some prisoners are forced to wear remote control stun belts, which
emit a shock when activated by guards. The stun belts, used by the
U.S. Bureau of Prisons, 100 county agencies and at least 16 state
correctional facilities, cause severe pain and incapacitation, says
the report.

"Amnesty International believes that such devices are inherently
subject to, and even invite, abuse," the report says. While the United
States prides itself as a haven for the persecuted, asylum seekers
often end up thrown in jail, detained indefinitely and treated as
criminals, says the report.

Immigration and Naturalization Service officials stressed that people
are not detained simply for seeking asylum and denied that they are
detained for prolonged periods.

"The seeking of asylum is not what gets you in detention," said INS
spokesman Andrew Lluberes. Those who enter the country without proper
documents or who falsify their identity can be placed in the expedited
removal process, but can be granted asylum by an immigration judge, he
said.

He added that from October 1997 to October 1998, the 523 people who
were eventually ordered removed by an immigration judge stayed an
average of 59 days. Another 709 spent 34 days in detention while their
claims were heard and 640 spent 93 days in detention before appearing
before an immigration judge.

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

US In Dock For Prison Cruelty (The version in Britain's Guardian)

Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1998 12:53:13 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: UK: US In Dock For Prison Cruelty
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Martin Cooke (mjc1947@cyberclub.iol.ie)
Source: Guardian, The (UK)
Contact: letters@guardian.co.uk
Website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/
Pubdate: Tue, 06 Oct 1998
Author: Nick Hopkins

US IN DOCK FOR PRISON CRUELTY

Torture and sexual violence against prisoners is widespread in jails across
the United States, according to a report published today, which also accuses
the country of wholesale human rights abuses.

The two-year study by Amnesty International, its first comprehensive
analysis of north America, accuses the US of failing in its duty to provide
a moral lead to the rest of the free world.

"Across the USA, thousands are victims of human rights violations," said
Pierre Sane, Amnesty's international secretary-general.

"Too often, human rights in the USA are a tale of two nations. Rich and
poor, white and black, male and female."

In particular, Amnesty concentrated on the penal system, where, it claims,
the breakdown in basic human rights has led to atrocities more commonly
associated with authoritarian third world regimes.

The massive increase in the prison population - it has trebled to 1.7
million in the past 18 years - has put the system under tremendous strain,
resulting in a shift "away from rehabilitation towards... incapacitation and
punishment".

Overcrowding and a lack of central control have also provided prison staff
with opportunities to exploit inmates, especially women.

The report cites two recent examples: the Department of Justice sued Arizona
and Michigan states for failing to protect women from sexual assaults and
"prurient viewing during dressing, showering and use of toilet facilities".

And earlier this year, the Federal Bureau of Prisons paid =A3300,000 to
settle a lawsuit brought by three women who claimed they had been beaten,
raped and sold by guards for sex with male inmates at a federal prison in
California.

The indiscriminate use of leg irons, restraint poles, restraining chairs,
and electro-shock weapons, including stun belts, stun shields and stun guns,
is also alleged to be common.

There were two other major areas where Amnesty said it found persistent
abuses: brutality by the police and the "arbitrary, unfair and racist" use
of the death penalty.

The report, Rights For All, claims it has evidence that police officers
regularly beat and shoot suspects who are not resisting arrest, and that
there is widespread misuse of batons and chemical sprays.

The victims are mostly from ethnic minority backgrounds, and the officers,
who are encouraged to be aggressive, nearly always seem to get away without
punishment, even when charges are brought against them.

At a briefing in London, Piers Bannister, one of the researchers who
compiled the 153-page report, said that racial discrimination within the
police was virulent.

"It makes a mockery of the slogan which many of them use, 'To Protect and
Serve'," he said.

Mr Bannister described how an unarmed African American, William J.
Whitfield, was shot dead in a New York supermarket on Christmas Day last
year when an officer mistook the keys he was carrying for a gun.

After the policeman was cleared, it emerged that he had been involved with
eight prior shootings, yet had not been placed on a monitoring programme.
Amnesty says that black officers have complained of institutionalised
discrimination, pointing out that 23 black undercover detectives have been
shot by their colleagues after being mistaken for suspects.

Though Amnesty has long railed against America's use of the death penalty,
it claims that there has been another worrying development.

The US has started to execute juvenile offenders, in clear breach of article
six of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. America was
one of only two countries to opt out of signing this provision of the
treaty, which covers the execution of minors.

Two men were killed by lethal injection in Texas this year, even though they
were 17 when they committed their offences, and another 65 juveniles are on
death row across the country.

"Such executions are rare worldwide," the report says. "Iran, Nigeria,
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen are the only other countries known to have
executed juvenile offenders since 1990."

Amnesty makes a series of recommendations. These include provision of extra
funding for the Justice Department so that it can properly implement the
Police Accountability Act and provisions of the Violent Crime Control and
Law Enforcement Act.

"The USA has little room for complacency in terms of human rights, both in
terms of some sectors of US society, and of the country's role in the
international arena," said Mr Sane.

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

Amnesty International Bites The Hand That Feeds It (Calgary Herald columnist
Catherine Ford says the human rights group's targeting the United States
jeopardizes US support against the true brutes of the world.)

Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1998 05:03:52 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: Canada: Amnesty International Bites The Hand That Feeds It
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: daystar@shaw.wave.ca
Source: Calgary Herald (Canada)
Contact: letters@theherald.southam.ca
Website: http://www.calgaryherald.com/
Pubdate: October 6, 1998
Author: Catherine Ford

GLOBAL FIGHT AGAINST OPPRESSION
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL BITES THE HAND THAT FEEDS IT

New campaign against the United States for rights abuses ignores the real
brutes of the world

Amnesty International opens a world-wide, morally sound but realistically
questionable year-long campaign against the United States today.

It must have its own peculiar death wish, something along the lines of
biting the hand that feeds it.

Not that the London-based human rights watchdog is wrong in its assessment
of life in the underbelly of America; but when it comes to the systemic
abuses, the U.S. is a haven by comparison.

Indeed, citizens of truly repressive regimes, from North Korea to Iraq to
Yugoslavia are clamouring at the gates to get into the U.S., where they
stand a chance of having a voice, of living free of fear and intimidation,
and making a living regardless of their race, religion, gender or ethnic
background.

For Amnesty International to target the U.S. puts in jeopardy the continued
support of that country against the true brutes of the world.

Around the world are countries that routinely abuse, brutalize and torture
their own citizens with little - if any - regard for the due process,
international conventions or their own laws. Standing between them and
complete breakdown of civilized actions - along the lines of what is
evolving in Afghanistan daily - is the U.S. and its western allies who can
exercise moral authority and the economic might of power, privilege and
position.

(By way of analogy, if you know the difference between swatting a kid on his
well-padded backside and beating him senseless, you understand the problem
with Amnesty's campaign: both methods of child discipline are wrong, but
only one demands the immediate attention of authorities.)

Why would Amnesty jeopardize its good work to take on a campaign that might
do more damage than good? According to reports in the press, particularly
from Terry Atlas of the Chicago Tribune, Amnesty cites widespread and
persistent police brutality, `endemic' physical and sexual violence against
prisoners; `racist' application of the death penalty and use of `high-tech
repression tools' such as electro-shock devices and incapacitating chemical
sprays. Amnesty accuses the United States of a `double-standard of
criticizing human-rights abuses abroad while not doing enough to remedy
those at home.'

If all one looks at are the abuses, then the U.S. can be portrayed as the
Great Repressor of its own citizens, a picture that will play well in
regimes that could give the U.S. a lesson or two in how to stomp on
protests, oppress entire categories of citizens, regardless of their
behaviour, and how to celebrate brutality.

For every criticism leveled by Amnesty, there are hundreds of U.S. citizens
who routinely report on and complain about their country's faults. That the
U.S. does not heal itself does not mean an ignorance of the abuses.

If U.S. citizens remain ignorant of their country's human rights abuses, it
isn't for lack of publicity or opportunity. The knowledge and the facts are
there for all to see, should an American citizen wish to see it.

In fact, reports quote State Department spokesman James Foley as responding
to the Amnesty campaign by: 'We welcome their scrutiny..In keeping with our
recognition of the universality of human rights and our openness as a
democratic society, we are proud of our political and judicial systems,
which we believe are the envy of the world.'

They are the envy of the world. It would be easier to count the countries
that honour open opposition in politics and follow a rule of law than to
list the ones that routinely flout human rights, morally or legally.

Amnesty's campaign may result in a heightened awareness on the part of some
Americans about what goes on in their prisons or the discrimination that is
routinely meted out to racial minorities. They may learn - if they don't
already know - that African-American men make up a disproportionate
percentage of the prison population and that their country is only one of
six to execute juveniles.

But it's a safe bet those who should know about these abuses already do.
There are dozens of organizations and thousands of citizens working
tirelessly to change the reality of life for the disadvantaged, the
dispossessed and the discriminated against.

The United States is an open society with a press that is the freest in the
world, a political system that encourages and abets dissent and opposition,
and a solid democracy with a system of checks and balances that is the envy
of the world.

No, it certainly isn't perfect. But in the lexicon of human rights abuses,
the United States is close to the bottom of the brutality list.

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

New reports of children and women abused in correctional institutions -
Findings from Amnesty International research trip (A news release issued
by Amnesty International says a two-week research trip by Amnesty
International in the United States shows that the abuse of women prisoners
in particular, as highlighted in the report released today, is still
continuing in many states. Specific details are provided on human rights
abuses in Michigan, Illinois, California and Maine.)

Date: Thu, 08 Oct 1998 12:27:51 +0000
To: vignes@monaco.mc
From: Peter Webster (vignes@monaco.mc)
Subject: USA: New reports of children and women abused in correctional
institutions (AI INDEX: AMR 51/72/98 News Service 193/98)
Sender: owner-amnesty-l@oil.ca
Reply-To: owner-amnesty-l@host.oil.ca

News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty International

AI INDEX: AMR 51/72/98
News Service 193/98

New reports of children and women abused in correctional institutions
Findings from Amnesty International Research trip

The findings of a two-week research trip by Amnesty International in the
USA show that the abuse of women prisoners in particular as highlighted
in the report released today is still continuing in many states the US.

The investigation team heard from current and former women prisoners, their
lawyers and relatives and prison staff about their treatment in prison
including:

women shackled during labor
male prison officers assaulting women prisoners, touching their genitals
during searches, and leering at women while they dressed or showered
inadequate medical care

The team also heard further reports of abuse in a juvenile detention center
in Maine, which have led in the past week to calls for an independent
investigation into the allegations.

The researchers who visited Maine, Michigan, Illinois and California
between 19 September and 2 October found that many prisoners or prison
staff were afraid to complain because of intimidation or retaliation.

"The message we heard over and over again was that if they complain, they
suffer for it," said researcher Jo Szwarc. Many of the people interviewed
asked that their names be kept confidential for this reason.

Details of the investigation team's findings are:

Michigan

The researchers spoke by telephone with two women in prison who described
the appalling experience of being pregnant while incarcerated. Both of them
were taken to hospital in a belly chain and handcuffs when they were in
labor in 1994 and 1996; one of them also had her legs shackled together.
Her restraints were removed just before she gave birth, at the request of
the doctor and after the guard who constantly attended her obtained
permission from the prison. The other woman was handcuffed to the hospital
bed until the doctor asked for the restraints to be removed, just before
she gave birth. Both women were cuffed to their beds shortly after giving
birth.

Both of the women told the researchers that despite the fact that the US
Justice Department investigated sexual abuse of prisoners in Michigan, and
started legal action against the state, women inmates in Michigan are still
sexually abused by correctional officers. They said that guards sexually
assaulted women, watched them in the showers or when dressing, and touched
their breasts and genitals during pat searches. The women also reported
inadequate and inappropriate medical attention.

Amnesty International's researchers also spoke with two guards from a
women's prison, who supported the inmate's complaints. The guards said
there was a pattern of sexual abuse of women prisoners, with women
intimidated or punished if they complained.

Amnesty International's report cites an investigation into Michigan's
women's prisons by the US Justice Department, which found that inmates who
complain suffer intimidation and retaliation. The inmates and guards
interviewed by the researchers said that reprisals continue and that both
inmates and staff have been threatened and victimized.

One guard said she was harassed after she complained about the abuse meted
out by other guards and was savagely beaten and slashed by an unknown
person within the prison, in an area that is out of bounds to prisoners.
Deborah LaBelle, a Michigan lawyer, has recently filed suit to seek the
protection of the courts for inmates who have complained about incidents at
the prison.

Illinois

In Chicago, the researchers met with three women who had been imprisoned at
the Dwight Correctional Center. They spoke of the same kinds of concerns
affecting women in prison sexual abuse, inadequate medical attention for
physical and mental health problems, the cruel use of restraints on
pregnant and sick women and reprisals against people who dare to complain.

One woman, who was released on parole this year, said that she had been
shackled to her bed for the entire time that she was undergoing surgery in
hospital, even while unconscious under full anesthetic and despite the fact
that she was constantly attended by an armed guard. She said: "When you go
to prison all your rights have been taken away. You are given horseshit and
you have to swallow it."

Another woman told Amnesty International that earlier this year a guard
broke a female inmate's jaw and the victim was immediately transferred to
another facility. She said that prison staff then turned off the
prisoners' telephone system so no one could report the incident to the
outside world. "We were in 'the Twilight Zone'," she said.

California

The researchers visited California to prepare for a future investigative
visit to Valley State Prison for Women at Chowchilla -- part of the
largest women's prison complex in the world.

Both inmates and a former staff member contacted Amnesty International
earlier this year complaining of sexual and physical abuse, intimidation
and poor medical attention.

In the letter from the inmates, they said that "we are in need of adequate
medical care, that we don't like to be pawed by male correctional officers
under the pretense of being pat searched, which is really being stroked and
caress searched". They also stated that complaints about abuse or
harassment by prison guards are routinely denied "the appeal is sent back
to you unanswered, but the harassment will continue".

The letter from a former Valley State Prison staff member describes sexual,
legal and other abuse in the prison, and concludes with the view that the
prison is run in an "illegal, harsh and thug like manner".

During the recent visit to California, the investigation team met with
lawyers representing women in California's state prisons, prison visitors,
and a psychiatrist. The researchers also attended a conference about prison
issues Critical Resistance Conference where they talked to many people
who had been imprisoned.

The complaints about Valley State Prison for Women relate mainly to the
prison's "Special Housing Unit" where inmates are locked in their cells for
23 hours a day without work or education. Amnesty International's report
expresses considerable concern about such facilities, which are
proliferating throughout the USA within prisons and sometimes as prisons in
their own right the so-called "supermaximum" facilities.

A California psychiatrist who has investigated these prisons told Amnesty
International that the harsh conditions can induce psychosis and visitors
to the facility described women "losing their minds" because of their
treatment. A lawyer reported that one woman had her stay in the Unit
constantly extended because she covered a slot in her cell door when using
the toilet, in breach of the rules. The repeated punishment of her desire
for a little privacy had broken her, and now on occasion she stands naked
and shouts for attention.

Maine

In its report, Amnesty International calls for a review of the use of
restraint chairs in prisons and jails, based on extensive evidence of its
abuse. The use of the restraint chair and other forms of restraints in
cruel, inhuman or degrading ways was one of the issues investigated by the
team in Maine.

The researchers investigated reports of these and other violations against
children at the Maine Youth Center in South Portland. Amnesty International
had already informed the Maine authorities that it had received complaints
including the cruel use of restraints, unnecessary and excessive force by
staff and placing children in solitary confinement for extended periods,
and had urged the Governor to establish an independent investigation. In
response, Amnesty International had been told that its information was
inaccurate and out of date so it decided to investigate further.

A researcher interviewed staff, parents of children currently in the Youth
Center, and children who had recently been released from the facility. They
confirmed that there were continuing grounds for concern about the
treatment of children. Disturbingly, some parents insisted on anonymity
because they said staff had warned them against complaining. Staff who
spoke to Amnesty International also did so on a confidential basis, afraid
of repercussions.

In the last week, Amnesty International's concerns about abuses at the
Center were dramatically supported by the revelation of a recent memorandum
by a staff member that documented children being placed in the restraint
chair for as long as 17 hours. Maine legislators publicly called for an
independent inquiry and several days ago the state Department of
Corrections announced that it would ask an external body to review its
disciplinary procedures.

...END

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Saving The Children (According to a Reuters article in The Winnipeg Free
Press, an unspecified private children's rights group in Honduras said
yesterday it is sending experts to Canada to help about 200 Honduran children
allegedly being used to sell cocaine for drug gangs.)

Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1998 19:01:06 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: Saving The Children
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Chris Buors (cbuors@pangea.ca)
Pubdate: Tue, 06 Oct 1998
Source: Winnipeg Free Press (Canada)
Contact: letters@freepress.mb.ca
Website: http://www.mbnet.mb.ca/freepress/
Section: B1

SAVING THE CHILDREN

(Reuters) - Tegucigalpa Honduras - A private children's rights group said
yesterday it is sending experts to Canada to help about 200 Honduran children
it said are being used to sell cocaine for drug gangs. "These children cannot
continue to be exploited" a spokeswoman for the group said. "We have
to save them and identify those responsible for for trafficking them
and using them in Canada."

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Transcript - NewsHour Interview with Colombian President Andres Pastrana
(Charles Krause of PBS's NewsHour with Jim Lehrer interviews the former
television journalist and mayor of Bogota who was a teenager when his father
was president of Colombia.)

Date: Thu, 8 Oct 1998 21:36:28 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: Colombia: Transcript: NewsHour Interview
with Colombian
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Marcus/Mermelstein Family (mmfamily@ix.netcom.com)
Source: NewsHour with Jim Lehrer (PBS)
Contact: newshour@pbs.org
Website: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/
Pubdate: Tue, 6 Oct 1998
Note: Headline by MAP Editor

ANDRES PASTRANA

In a Newsmaker interview, Charles Krause talks with Andres Pastrana, the
new president of Columbia, about efforts to bring peace to the South
American nation.

CHARLES KRAUSE: Andres Pastrana was elected Colombia's president last June,
after a hard-fought campaign that turned on three central issues: The first
issue -- how to end 30 years of a deadly insurgency that's left nearly half
of Colombia in the hands of leftist guerrillas; the second issue -- how to
reduce the power of Colombia's drug cartels, which supply 80 percent of the
cocaine consumed in the United States and have bought protection by
corrupting Colombia's government; and finally, Pastrana's promise to
reactivate Colombia's depressed economy.

A platform of change.

A former television journalist and mayor of Bogota, the new president was
born into Colombia's economic and political elite. Now 44, his father was
Colombia's president when he was a teenager. Yet Andres Pastrana campaigned
as a good-government reformer and has demonstrated since his election that
he's prepared to take risks to carry out his program. In July, shortly
after the election, Pastrana met at a jungle hideout with the leaders of
Colombia's largest guerrilla group, the FARC. It was an unprecedented
meeting that resulted in a pledge by both sides to begin formal peace
negotiations before the end of the year. While still president-elect, he
also traveled to Washington for talks with President Clinton at White House.

The meeting was intended as another clear signal that the United States is
pleased Pastrana won the election. Pastrana was inaugurated in August,
succeeding Colombia's outgoing president Ernesto Samper, whose years in
office were badly tarnished by allegations that he'd accepted campaign
money from Colombia's drug cartels. Samper denied those charges, but the
U.S. didn't believe him. It imposed economic sanctions on Colombia, after
finding that Samper's government was not a reliable partner in the fight
against drugs. At the heart of the U.S. anti-drug program in Colombia is
aerial eradication --- spraying coca and poppy fields to reduce the supply
of raw cocaine and heroin. But many of the fields are located in
guerrilla-controlled territory -- and the guerrillas have opposed the
spraying efforts in part because they receive money from the drug
traffickers. Pastrana has promised the U.S. his full cooperation on the
drug issue. But he's also made clear that his first priority is to restore
peace to Colombia by ending the guerrilla insurgency -- which has
intensified in recent months. We interviewed Pastrana last month, shortly
before he addressed the United Nations in New York.

CHARLES KRAUSE: Mr. President, thank you very much for joining us. Do you
share the concern of military and intelligence analysts who say that if
something is not done quickly, Colombia could be overtaken by the
guerrillas and the drug traffickers within three to five years?

PRESIDENT ANDRES PASTRANA, Colombia: Definitely. I don't - I don't share
that point of view. We know that we've been having problems with the
guerrilla movements in Colombia for the last 40 years. They have not
increased as people sometimes think about. I think right now we should have
- you know, the guerrilla movement's nearly 20,000 men. But at the same
time, that's why they're working very hard and looking forward to achieving
a peace process in the next four years.

CHARLES KRAUSE: How difficult will it be for you to reach an agreement with
the guerrillas?

The search for peace.

PRESIDENT ANDRES PASTRANA: Making peace is not easy. Peace has a lot of
enemies, even inside of our country. But I think that for the first time
the FARC - for some people it's 85 percent of the guerrilla movement in
Colombia - for others it's 75 percent, is the largest group, is the largest
guerrilla movement. I met with them. And we agree that the first 90 days of
my government, we will sit at the table of negotiations, or we will find
out the strategy to sit at the table of negotiations. We are almost 50 days
from that. The second step will be sitting - really, really sitting at the
table of negotiations. They will appoint their speakers in the table of
negotiations. My government would appoint also the speakers and people are
going to be in charge of managing the peace process, so we may said that we
are almost at 90 days to sit at the negotiations with the FARC. So I think
that - I'm positive - I think that for the first time we have seen it - a
will, the interest, the insurgents, to sit in the table of negotiations.

CHARLES KRAUSE: At the same time there are paramilitary groups - right wing
paramilitary groups, who are said to be organized by and connected to the
army. How are you going to deal with it now?

PRESIDENT ANDRES PASTRANA: First of all, fighting them. We are putting a
lot of pressure to the army to fight the paramilitary groups. I've said
very clear that they have to go into the law, respect the law, respect the
constitution, but we'll put in all our efforts to end the paramilitary
groups in Colombia. I've said that there are going to be two tables of
negotiations, one of the guerrilla and the other with the paramilitary,
never mixed them. So my purpose at this moment is seeing the guerrilla to
try to achieve piece and at the same time putting all the efforts of the
army to eradicate the paramilitary groups. And when we started the process
with the guerrilla, I think it is the time to start the process with the
paramilitary.

CHARLES KRAUSE: Now you've talked about trying to or continue to eradicate
coca crops and other crops in the rural parts of the country. How do you
propose to deal with the drug cartels, with the manufacture and export of
drugs?

PRESIDENT ANDRES PASTRANA: The same strategy that we've done in the last
years. We will keep our eradication program, fumigation program, the
eradication of - in Colombia but at the same time why don't we try for the
first time a different approach to try to eradicate these illicit crops.

CHARLES KRAUSE: And yet it is said that the guerrillas and the drug dealers
have an alliance and that the guerrillas are not going to allow the
eradication to continue and at the same time agree to a cease-fire with
government.

Working with guerrillas and drug dealers.

PRESIDENT ANDRES PASTRANA: You remember that I met with the guerrilla
leaders in the middle of the jungle of Colombia and they gave me ten
points. One of them was the eradication of illicit crops.

CHARLES KRAUSE: Did they approve of that?

PRESIDENT ANDRES PASTRANA: Oh, yes, and they said to me, look, give us
money, and we will eradicate the crops, or do it with the government so
we're working in what I have called type - type of is not the word but it's
type of like a Marshall Plan - alternative development in these areas where
you have illicit crops and also guerrilla presence, so that's why we are
creating a new fund to invest in what, in infrastructure, invest in
agri-industry, invest in generating new employment, investing in social
investment, in education, and water supply, and we hope to get nearly six
hundred to eight hundred million dollars to be invested in this type of
Marshall Plan. So that's why we are asking the international cooperation
that if we have funds, we are going to eradicate the drug problem of Colombia.

CHARLES KRAUSE: Has the United States agreed to contribute to that fund?

PRESIDENT ANDRES PASTRANA: Yes, yes. In our first meeting with President
Clinton the 3rd of August, when I was only elected president of Colombia,
proposed the development of this alternative development of these areas
through the AID. We started a new program, a very small amount of money at
this moment, but it's the will of the government. It's so the government
has shown that they want to work with us, they gave us nearly $1/2 million
for this first step, and we're looking forward to get more money and
cooperation from the United States.

CHARLES KRAUSE: Do you think the United States needs to do more to stop
drugs entering this country?

PRESIDENT ANDRES PASTRANA: Definitely. The U.S. needs to do a bigger, very
bigger effort to control the demand in the United States and I think that's
something that the U.S. Government is starting to do - creating the
consciousness that it's not only looking into the policing aspect of the
problem, repression, I think that for the first time there's a lot of new
investment in creating the culture of prevention and education of the young
kids going into drugs, and I think that's one of the purposes of the U.S.
Government.

CHARLES KRAUSE: And finally, Mr. President, I have been reporting from
Colombia for 20 years. I knew your father. I used to talk with him when I
was in Bogota. And we were talking about exactly the same issues then as we
are talking about today, the drug dealers, the drug traffickers, the
guerrillas, property, the problems of security and all the rest in
Colombia. What makes you think that you will be able to do what your five
predecessors since then have been unable to do, which is bring peace to
Colombia?

A commitment to peace.

PRESIDENT ANDRES PASTRANA: I think first were the guerrillas. I think that
for the first time the meeting we had in the middle of the jungle of
Colombia showed the will of them to go into a peace process. You have more
commitment of the people of Colombia. You remember in the past elections,
on October 12th, ten million Colombians vote for a mandate for peace for
the new government. The church is involved in the peace process. The labor
unions are involved in the peace process. The parties is involved in the
peace process, the private sector, so I think now, Colombia, you have a
complete new environment regarding peace, and I think everybody's willing
to do something to bring peace to my country. Second, regarding drug lords,
I think that we will put all the efforts to try to really eradicate these
problems from Colombia and from the world, but we need the international
cooperation.

CHARLES KRAUSE: Mr. President, thank you very much for joining us.

Copyright 1998 MacNeil-Lehrer Productions. All Rights Reserved.

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[End]