-- At 10:19 AM 9/7/2000 +1100, Julian Assange wrote:
'Shoot to Kill Bill' set to pass the Senate with no safeguards
[...]
"Now, in a stunning overnight turnaround, the ALP has accepted a new government amendment that would allow troops to be used against civilians when there is 'serious damage to property'.
In recent years US troops have been trained with some namby pamby stuff about minimizing civilian casualties. Australian troops are not trained like that. They are trained that their first priority is to blow the enemy away as fast as possible, their second priority is to stay alive in order to blow away more enemy in future, and if they have any time and energy left over after the first two priorities, they might think about minimizing damage to civilians caught in the middle. While that is sound training for war, it is rather poor training for keeping order in peacetime. It is interesting that this draconian legislation follows rapidly upon draconian anti gun legislation. --digsig James A. Donald 6YeGpsZR+nOTh/cGwvITnSR3TdzclVpR0+pr3YYQdkG pMuYV7Kw9wKKgpcahfMHaGITuH/HCY9NMn9G40Ku 4mXcjiflvefOahXTmpWXKYwk+kLU5TBASVidytaZL