Wanted: Citizens to Practice Torture On

While the courts in Canada have struck down two essential parts of our "anti-terror" law as unconstitutional, the Department of Defense continues to act as though nothing has changed - perhaps anticipating the rise to power of Michael "Torture Lite" Ignatieff to power. Today I received a "call for participants" for men between the ages of eighteen and thirty (note: men only; women -- oops! GIRLS -- are encouraged to pass it along to their male friends), who live a "sedentary" lifestyle (but don't smoke) and who do less than two hours of exercise a week. These men will engage in a series of tests (building upon, unfortunately, a previous set of tests) to determine if there are culmulative effects to sensory deprivation, exposure to extremes of heat (including "rectal probe"!?), water, and pressure, and so on. The entire project is justified in terms of "helping our troops operate in extreme conditions." Of course, no front line troop is fat, lazy, out of shape, etc. What are, however, living sedantary lifestyles with less than two hours of exercise per week are indefinitely detained terrorists undergoing "torture lite."

Measure twice, cut once, as it were.

The "research protocol" is available here in pdf. The cover email is posted below.

Research Participants Needed!!

Defence Research & Development Canada-Toronto is currently looking for research participants to examine the neuroendocrine and immuno-inflammatory responses to heat acclimation and their effects during acute hyperbaric and disorientation/motion disturbance exposure.

We are looking for MALE participants (18-35 yrs) who are sedentary (no cardio exercise) and are naïve to diving. GIRLS ... please forward to your male friends.

A four page summary of the protocol is attached.

Please contact me if you have any questions and/or are interested in participating. Please forward if you feel someone you know might be interested.

Heather Wright
hewright@yorku.ca
Heather.Wright@drdc-rddc.gc.ca
416-635-2000 X.3167