cannabisnews.com: Bush Adds $2-Billion To Border Pot





Bush Adds $2-Billion To Border Pot
Posted by FoM on January 27, 2002 at 16:09:04 PT
By Paul Koring
Source: Globe and Mail
In a bid to massively tighten the Canada-U.S. border without snarling trade or creating long delays, U.S. President George W. Bush has proposed a $2.1-billion (U.S.) spending increase that will put hundreds of additional customs, immigration and border-patrol agents along the 49th parallel.In a speech yesterday in Portland, Me., Mr. Bush said he wants to boost border-control spending to $10.7-billion in the fiscal year beginning next October.
"It is so important for our nation to work with our friends to the north, Canada, and our friends to the south, Mexico, on border initiatives that, one, doesn't tie up commerce, but on the other hand, prevents illegal drugs, terrorists, arms from flowing across our border," Mr. Bush said.Plans by the United States to create an entry-exit tracking system to account for every one of the 330-million crossings per year by non-U.S. citizens have raised fears in Canada of long border delays.But the President said that close co-operation with the Canadian government, coupled with big increases in spending, would limit disruption."We're analyzing every aspect of the border and making sure that the effort is seamless, the communication is real, that the enforcement is strong," he said, referring to the 30-point "smart Border Declaration" signed last month by former foreign minister John Manley and Tom Ridge, the U.S. homeland-security czar appointed in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.With the Mexico-U.S. border fenced and fortified as part of the long-running U.S. effort to stem migrant workers and illegal drugs, most of the proposed changes will apply to the Canadian border.Details of the President's spending proposals issued by the White House say that the more than doubling of the number of "border-patrol agents and inspectors will focus particularly on the northern border," which has traditionally been only lightly patrolled.In an emergency measure, the Bush administration deployed hundreds of National Guard troops to Canada-U.S. crossing points last fall, tainting the long-cherished claim on both sides of the frontier that the countries share the world's longest undefended border.Although Mr. Bush extolled the Manley-Ridge agreement, Canadian officials say many details need to be worked out.Although both governments are committed in principle to sharing information and allowing customs agents to work on each side of the border, stumbling blocks remain. Among them is whether U.S. customs agents -- who are armed -- will be allowed to wear their pistols on the Canadian side of the border.Privately, Canadian officials express doubts about Washington's plans to establish a comprehensive entry-exit tracking system.More than 500 million people enter and leave the United States every year.Along the Canadian border there are 111 million crossings through 425 border points.The huge spending increases will bring the U.S. immigration-enforcement budget, which accounts for about half of the total border program, to $5.3-billion, almost as much as Canada's entire defence budget. Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)Author: Paul KoringPublished: Saturday, January 26, 2002 – Print Edition, Page A13Copyright: 2002 The Globe and Mail CompanyContact: letters globeandmail.caWebsite: http://www.globeandmail.ca/Related Articles:Border Patrol Takes To The Air http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11708.shtmlU.S. Plans Stronger Border Security http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11467.shtml
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Comment #5 posted by goneposthole on January 27, 2002 at 21:17:37 PT
drugs and corn barter system
I guess if drugs, terrorists, and arms are slipping through the borders, someone inside the borders is buying them.If a cash card were issued to every person, and real cash eliminated, drugs would have to be traded on a barter system.I'll take a gram of cocaine for 33 bushels of corn. Sound economic reasoning. If we were to import one tonne of cocaine from Colombia, we could send them approximately
20,000,000 bushels of corn. That is what fair trade is.People in Colombia would have some good cornmeal to eat.Arithmetic: 1000 gm times 60 dollars per gram times 1000 kg
(long tonne) would equal 60,000,000 dollars. 2.75 to 3.00 dollars per bushel of corn times 20,000,000 or more bushels equals 60,000,000 dollars. Let's break down the trade barriers between these two commodities and do some shrewd horsetrading.We certainly do not have to conduct a war to do business with Colombia.
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Comment #4 posted by Lehder on January 27, 2002 at 18:57:07 PT
more thirdworldization
All this while Europeans have been opening their borders to their neighbors. Really, this beefing up of the borders, as I'm sure the louts in DC call it, is just tasteless and will offend Canadians as it does me. Lots of people live on one side, work on the other side, shop on both sides, and they all got along famously without Bush. I hope he gets booted out, but Americans are mostly just as ignorant as he is. The US continues to degenerate. 
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on January 27, 2002 at 17:38:48 PT
Here you go!
Hi p4me, You must have missed it when I posted it here. Thanks. You should try the search tool sometime on Cannabis News. It works very well. Here's the link to the search tool.http://www.cannabisnews.com/search/Battle Field Coversions
http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread11673.shtml
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Comment #2 posted by p4me on January 27, 2002 at 17:11:41 PT
reason.com
I wanted to post an article from reason.com that is an interview with three drug warriors including Judge Grey.
http://www.reason.com/0201/fe.ml.battlefield.shtmlWith all the big expenditures on security and defense, why do we need a stimulus package. 38 billion for homeland and is it 45 billion for defense. Isn't that a stimulus by the government? Vote against all incumbents.
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Comment #1 posted by st1r_dude on January 27, 2002 at 16:23:45 PT:
sheesh
what a great way to spend our tax money...sheesh.that's it - i'm moving to vancouver, enough is enough.control mongers...
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