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NEWS ... ... GLOBAL NEWS ... AOI WENT owae OF that had not attempted a flight intercept test number of different programs at their dis- for two years," Philip Coyle, the Pentagon's cretion. Some critics are concerned that that had not attempted a flight intercept test number of different programs at their dis- for two years," Philip Coyle, the Pentagon's cretion. Some critics are concerned that chief weapons tester under the late states will use this money to implement President Ronald Reagan, told Reuters some form of mandatory mental testing news agency in an email exchange. program for all students throughout the The system is a more modest version of school system. This concern stems largely Reagan's "Star Wars" missile shield project from recommendations of the New from 1983. Freedom Commission on Mental Health, a (Source: International Relations and non-policy-making body created by Security Network, ISN Security Watch, 15 _ President Bush in 2002 to propose ways of December 2004, http://www.isn.ethz.ch/ eliminating waste and improving efficiency news/sw/details.cfm?id=10372) and effectiveness of the mental health care delivery system. The commission went far CONCERNS ABOUT MENTAL beyond its mission and recommended that HEALTH SCREENING BILL schools be used as the means for discover- Rew and rumours that Congress is ing mental health problems. passing mandatory mental health The commission's report does not specif- screening legislation have been circulating ically recommend screening all students. the airwaves and media outlets recently. However, one could foresee how the rec- The Home School Legal Defense ommendations in the report might lead to Association (HSLDA) has been watching the mandatory screening of every child. and working behind the scenes on this issue For example, the report stresses that a for some time. Its concern stems from any major problem comes from undiagnosed attempt by the government to usurp the — children. It also suggests that "schools are right of parents to direct the medical deci- in a key position to identify the mental sions of their children, including what med- health problems early and to provide a link ical tests their children receive and who __ to appropriate services". tests them. Any proposal that would lead to manda- Unfortunately, the media reports have tory testing is dangerous and clashes with often been inaccurate. There is no manda- _ the principles which govern a free society. tory mental health testing requirement Keep in mind, this commission has no being imposed upon states or local schools. legislative or executive power. Congress However, there is still a cause for concern legislates and the Department of Health and a need for continued vigilance. and Human Services implements policy. The Labor, Health and Human Services Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX-14) and Appropriations Bill contains block grant — others are currently working on committee money that may be used by the states fora _ report language that would require parental consent before any mental testing could multimillion-dollar US Missile Defense flight test failed today [15 December 2004] when the interceptor mis- sile did not take off and the system was shut down, the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency officials told reporters. The failed flight test was meant to take place over the Pacific Ocean, and the target missile was successfully launched from Alaska but was not intercepted over the Pacific. An "anomaly" of unknown origin caused the interceptor to shut down auto- matically in its silo at the Kwajalein Test Range in the Marshall Islands, according to Richard Lehner, a spokesman for the mis- sile agency. The test had already been delayed four times for a number of reasons, including bad weather. The failed test cost US$85 million and means another major setback for a Missile Defense Shield designed to thwart long-range ballistic missiles. US President George W. Bush pledged to have part of the project in force by the end of 2004, and is expected to declare it operational despite the lack of testing. According to Pentagon officials, the Missile Defense Agency has had five suc- cessful tests, with interceptions of target missiles five out of eight times. But that was two years ago, and experts have since questioned the system's capabil- ities amidst recent failures and frequent delays of further testing. "This is a serious setback for a program occur. HSLDA will continue to oppose attempts by the federal government or states to implement a mandatory testing system. (Source: Home School Legal Defense Association [HSLDA], 17 November 2004, hitp:/www.hslda.org/docs/news/hslda/20041 1/200411170.asp) BILL DEFINES "POLITICAL PARANOIA" AS MENTAL ILLNESS hen the 109th Congress convenes in Washington in January, Senator Bill Frist, the first practising physician elected to the Senate since 1928, plans to file a bill that would define "political paranoia" as a mental disorder. This would pave the way for individuals who suffer from paranoid delusions regarding voter fraud, political persecution and FBI surveillance to receive Medicare reimbursement for any psychi- atric treatment they receive, writes 8 = NEXUS "That's my iGod. It holds up to 5,000 downloaded hymns." www.nexusmagazine.com FEBRUARY — MARCH 2005