azimagery AZ Bike & Peace: MEDIA BLACKOUT OF DRUG WAR FRAUD

Monday, December 7, 2009

THE EMBARGO: NOTHING SUCCEEDS LIKE FAILURE

The UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to end the US Economic, Financial and Commercial Embargo of Cuba. The Cubans claim the embargo cost them over $242 million in 2008 alone. The embargo, Cuba claims, makes foreign capital unavailable because investors face possible sanctions for doing business with Cuba.

Public opinion polls – elite business opinion agrees – show a majority favor dropping the embargo and travel ban. Instead of scrapping it, however, President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton cling to their inheritance, in policy terms equivalent to scientists insisting the world is flat.

http://dailycensored.com/2009/10/27/cia-supports-drug-kingpins/

CIA Supports Drug Kingpins

Pretend to be surprised!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/28/world/asia/28intel.html

I want to skip right to my favorite part:

“The CIA’s practices also suggest the United States is not doing everything in its power to stamp out the lucrative Afghan drug trade, a major source of revenue for the Taliban, the Times said.” This is the punch line. Hilarious, brilliant writing! Do you mean that offering a steady CIA paycheck to the world’s biggest heroin trafficker might…just maybe…
undermine our worldwide “war on drugs?”

I loved the sentence, but lets clarify a misconception that the article perpetuates here. The Taliban (like many Afghan farmers) does derive revenue from the poppy trade, but by no means are they alone. As a matter of fact, the CIA itself probably makes significantly more money off of heroin than Mullah Omar does. After all, this money they are paying Karzai’s brother does not come from any budget that congress voted for. He is being paid out of the CIA’s secret slush fund.

http://www.projectcensored.org/static/1990/1990-story5.htm

CONTINUED MEDIA BLACKOUT OF DRUG WAR FRAUD

While the fire and brimstone of drug war rhetoric continues to saturate the mainstream press, high-ranking drug war insiders continue to come forward in attempts to expose the "war" for what it really is: a battle for the hearts, minds, and tax dollars of the American public. And the media continue to be the government's apparently willing ally in this war

The latest to "go public" is Michael Levine, who recently retired from the DEA after 25 years as a leading undercover agent for various law enforcement agencies. Over the course of his career, Levine has personally accounted for at least 3,000 people serving a total of 15,000 years in jail, as well as several tons of various illegal substances seized. Upon his retirement Levine published a critical expose of the DEA in which he thoroughly documents his journey from true believer to drug war heretic. Levine documents numerous instances of CIA involvement in the drug trade, State Department intervention, and DEA cooperation with both parties. Levine's story closely parallels that of Richard Gregorie whose defection from the Attorney General's office was the fourth ranked "censored" story of 1989.

According to Levine, "the only thing we know with certainty is that the drug war is not for real. The drug economy in the United States is as much as $200 billion a year, and it is being used to finance political operations, pay international debts -- all sorts of things." While not being completely frozen out by the media, not one DEA or other government official would appear to respond to his charges. Levine's appearance on The MacNeil/Lehrer show was significant because Terrence Burke (the acting DEA chief), when asked by Lehrer, agreed with Levine that "we (the U.S.), have consistently chosen drugs over communism," but Burke only agreed to appear on the show after the Levine interview (which was taped) and with the proviso that he would not discuss any of the charges made in the book.

Another strange media non-event was the proposed "60 Minutes" segment on "the drug war fraud". On January 24, "60 Minutes" producer Gail Eisen called Levine and explained that executive producer Don Hewitt had ordered a "crash production" for a segment on his experience with the DEA. Levine gave "60 Minutes" extensive documentation and he was instructed to get his passport in order to do on location shooting in Panama. He then received a phone call informing him that "60 Minutes" had suddenly and inexplicably dropped the piece. "The whole drug war is a media war," says Levine, "It's a psychological war, aimed at convincing America through the press that our government is seriously trying to deal with the drug problem when they're not."

http://dailycensored.com/2009/10/21/a-modern-story-of-pervasive-racism-americas-war-on-drugs/

A Modern Story of Pervasive Racism: Americas War on Drugs

http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/06/19/race-drugs-and-law-enforcement-united-states

http://www.drugpolicy.org/marijuanasticker/

http://www.drugpolicy.org/marijuanasticker/

Log In or Register to see actions most relevant to you. Sending messages to your legislators and other decision makers is one of the best ways to take a stand for drug policies based on science, compassion, health and human rights. Thank you for your dedication! An Exit Strategy for the War on Drugs

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Help protect patients from federal prosecution for medical marijuana use by asking your representative to cosponsor the Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act.

Dismantle the Drug War - Support Sentencing Reform

Dozens of states have reformed their drug sentencing laws recently; it's time for Congress to reform federal drug laws. A good start would be eliminating the 100-to-1 crack/powder cocaine disparity. End Prohibition: Support Marijuana Policy Reform

Support for ending marijuana prohibition is rising. We're winning, but we need you to keep up the pressure. Urge your representative to cosponsor legislation to decriminalize marijuana.

http://www.democracynow.org/2009/11/24/portlands_cannabis_cafe_is_the_first