To the Americans - what up with this law?

[Simon Lerkot Berglind]

As a journalist eagerly trying to break through the walls of power in Sweden, I sometimes get information about the American system and politics, as Sweden are getting increasingly close to American ideas of excessive power enforcement, and I just wonder... The law that I am posting below, is it ever discussed in the American media or among Americans in general? I mean, I've spoken to a lot of really politically interested Americans, but never to the everyday-life-loving guys and girls that you can find a lot of on this forum... So im curious.

""PUBLIC LAW 105—85—NOV. 18, 1997: USE OF HUMAN SUBJECTS FOR TESTING OF CHEMICAL OR BIOLOGICAL AGENTS

SEC. 1078. RESTRICTIONS ON THE USE OF HUMAN SUBJECTS FOR TESTING OF CHEMICAL OR BIOLOGICAL AGENTS.

(a) PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary of Defense may not conduct (directly or by contract)

(1) any test or experiment involving the use of a chemical agent or biological agent on a civilian population; or
(2) any other testing of a chemical agent or biological agent on human subjects.

(b) EXCEPTIONS.—Subject to subsections ©, (d), and (e), the prohibition in subsection (a) does not apply to a test or experiment carried out for any of the following purposes:

(1) Any peaceful purpose that is related to a medical, therapeutic, pharmaceutical, agricultural, industrial, or research activity.
(2) Any purpose that is directly related to protection against toxic chemicals or biological weapons and agents.
(3) Any law enforcement purpose, including any purpose related to riot control.""

Edit: And yes, before anyone else says it: "© Informed consent required

The Secretary of Defense may conduct a test or experiment described in subsection (b) of this section only if informed consent to the testing was obtained from each human subject in advance of the testing on that subject."

I am aware of this, but its toothless because one: 1) you are informed, because its in the law book and 2) you consent, because you follow the law.

Edited August 7, 2013 by Simon Lerkot Berglind

[Schnazz]

I've never seen it discussed on the news. Though I didn't read "informed consent" the same way you read it. To me "informed consent" means you must tell me that you're testing the chemical agents on me and I acknowledge and agree to it. What is it about this law that seems controversial to you? To me it just says we can't test chemical weapons unless they're cures for something or we're using it for police (I'm assuming that part is for tear gas).

[JumpinJack AJ]

There's tons laws, some very weird, that we never speak of or are aware off. I must admit don't even understand 100% of what all that entails. There times where I hear of weird, inappropriate test that are done in this country that go under the radar, but I honestly can't say I remember much from what I was told about them. Ignorance isn't necessarily bliss, but there's so much in terms of laws and the government that the average person is unaware of, myself (usually) included.

[Simon Lerkot Berglind]

I've never seen it discussed on the news. Though I didn't read "informed consent" the same way you read it. To me "informed consent" means you must tell me that you're testing the chemical agents on me and I acknowledge and agree to it. What is it about this law that seems controversial to you? To me it just says we can't test chemical weapons unless they're cures for something or we're using it for police (I'm assuming that part is for tear gas).

Well, I think that you underrate the American governments interest in using loopholes in it's own law to control what it defines as problems. Laws were the citizens are "informed" by the existence of the law, and "consented" by the following of the law, is a common feature all over the world. To me it is not proven or in any other way sure that the loopholes are being used, but "(1) Any peaceful purpose that is related to a medical, therapeutic, pharmaceutical, agricultural, industrial, or research activity. / (2) Any purpose that is directly related to protection against toxic chemicals or biological weapons and agents. /(3) Any law enforcement purpose, including any purpose related to riot control" certainly makes it possible to i.e. send mind/mood/health altering chemicals through water or air though it is designed to look like a defence law, just like several terrorist laws.

There's tons laws, some very weird, that we never speak of or are aware off. I must admit don't even understand 100% of what all that entails. There times where I hear of weird, inappropriate test that are done in this country that go under the radar, but I honestly can't say I remember much from what I was told about them. Ignorance isn't necessarily bliss, but there's so much in terms of laws and the government that the average person is unaware of, myself (usually) included.

I think that one of the keys that many western countries suffer from is the complexity of our juridical, political and economical systems. Normal citizens, who dont work in the areas on a daily basis, basically aren't supposed to understand or fully grasp the systems, because they are probably a lot uglier than we might think sometimes. The systems seem to basically support privileged people. The increasing debts of people without power or extremely well-paid and safe jobs together with the increasing wealth of the top 1% or so might sound like communist bull**** to an american but I think that one is a proven fact that is becoming increasingly problematic to deal with.

With laws like this and the economical issue being a big one, corporate power and corruption are bound to get more control over society. Many see the government and the companies as separate concepts often working against eachother, but the way these concepts have blend together making average humans a distant third in priority behind government and corporate interests, they can no longer be considered far from eachother.

And Im increasingly worried what that means to the use of laws like these.

We are always considering things "too good" or "too bad" to be true, yet all these things always happen. The 1976 Houston live version of Parliaments The Mothership Connection is too good. Some Afghanistan CIA-trained cave-living man hijacking airplanes running them into skyscrapers too bad.

Lobbyism works in ways often more inhumane than we can imagine. The digital revolution has given well paid scientists and market researchers a good idea of what turns people on, what makes them behave in certain ways, how certain aspects of certain products create addictions not considered addictions - like Facebooking 8 hours each day or similar.

If a company were to make themselves a depndence to the population - which could be reached through 1) global "safety" (control), 2) disease management, 3) food control. 4) water control, 5) energy control. All of these seem to be happening to a certain extent with the security business growing even in economically hard times. Disease management is controversial and would'nt be leaked if it was true - but we need to be aware of the fact that many people make serious money out of sick people. Food control is interesting with the Monsanto thing gaining some attention even in mainstream media. I think the genetic experiments on food could be a very big problem since it is probably intertwined with the dying of bee colonys all over world.

Water control will probably become a big issue in a couple of years because of two things: the outdated and crumbling infrastructure in America, the overall pollution of water all over world. And energy control... well, please mention a war started in the last fifty years that havent been at least partly about controlling oil?

These kind of laws could basically be used in order to make people sort of lab rats in order to find out behaviours to those who have a boner regarding endless wealth and endless power. While corporate and banking power is increasing everywhere at the cost of (and imagined gain of) the people all over world, the development in this direction has come very far both in the USA and in Sweden and it is worrying be. Currently, in Greece people are being forced into labor camps to pay off their debt to the banks if its over 5000 euros. Imagine the banks demanding for that to happen in surveillence and science heavy countries like ours. What I'm trying to say that laws like these... are putting us into a pretty dark looking path.