cannabisnews.com: Media Duped on Dope Story
Media Duped on Dope Story
Posted by CN Staff on March 12, 2005 at 07:28:27 PT
By Ben Rayner
Source: Toronto Star
As Canada nears the end of its media-imposed mourning for the four unfortunate RCMP officers killed in Alberta last week, it might finally be time to call the nation's police officials out for their duplicitous appropriation of the shootings as ammunition in the war on drugs.In no way should this be taken as disrespectful to the young men who lost their lives in the line of duty on March 3. No one should have to die for their job, particularly when that job involves something as mundane as repossessing a pickup truck — which, now that some of the smoke surrounding the sad events on that Mayerthorpe farm has cleared, appears to be what those officers were called in to do.
The fact that the RCMP was so quick to muddy the circumstances of the deaths of four of its own men by insinuating that they were gunned down while marching into a heavily fortified marijuana-growing operation, however, is in entirely bad taste. Their killer, James Roszko, had about 20 marijuana plants on the property. Twenty pot plants don't make for a terribly lucrative operation, if they even qualify it as an "operation" at all. That number is, in fact, downright mom-and-pop when one considers that a much-publicized raid on a covert plantation in Barrie's old Molson brewery last year yielded 30,000 plants. That, my friends, is a grow-op. And not a single gunshot was fired during its police siege.Were the RCMP and the chorus of Canadian police chiefs — blowing hot air about the "plague" of grow-ops afflicting our nation — hoping to drum up a little anti-marijuana fervour at the Liberal policy convention in Ottawa last weekend? Or was the RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli's claim (later retracted) that the men were killed fighting for "a drug-free Canada" merely an attempt to make their deaths come off a bit more heroically in the media? Whatever the motivation, it looked like shameless opportunism on the RCMP's part, another case of the police manipulating the media and fomenting middle-class panic to get what they want — which is, inevitably, more money and more men to make us safer from the very perils they're fond of exaggerating. We've had experience with that in Toronto under outgoing police Chief Julian Fantino. Remember all those knives and guns "seized" by police at raves a few years back? One hears echoes of the same fear-mongering in the recent police chatter about grow-ops: In the immediate aftermath of the Alberta shootings, it was impossible to get through an article about the affair without hearing some police official linking marijuana cultivation to organized crime, guns, child neglect and booby traps, booby traps, booby traps. I've never heard the term "booby trap" invoked so much in a concentrated period of time.A lot of this is grasping at straws. An OPP official testifying in court over the Barrie affair is on record saying that the force has encountered violence in only two of more than 800 grow-op raids in Ontario. And Sgt. Birnie Smith, an Alberta drug-enforcement officer quoted in a CP story on grow-ops last week, could come up with no more pressing public threat from the operations than neighbours being mistakenly targeted by criminals showing up to rip off the wrong address."They go in, they're armed, and there can be serious consequences," he warned. "It's a danger if you're living next door to it."Still, the police got what they wanted. Given the circumstances in which these exaggerations and half-truths were bandied about, the media — no doubt delighted to have a little bullet-riddled, American-style War on Drugs violence in its own backyard — reprinted them unquestioningly. The grow-op angle only receded in recent days, as it became more and more obvious that marijuana had very little to do with the killings and everything to do with what happens when you allow a deranged, antisocial loner to amass a large private arsenal out in Hell's Half Acre, Alta.Pledging stiffer sentences for anyone caught growing pot is now an easy and obvious public-relations mark for politicians, and lingering fallout from the RCMP's grow-op disinformation will no doubt make it even tougher for the Liberals to get their half-assed decriminalization bill through Parliament.This, of course, is missing the point. Decriminalization won't do anything to remove the criminal, potentially violent aspects of the marijuana trade, since it still leaves cultivation illegal. Legalizing pot completely is the only way to eliminate that side of the game, and the U.S. is likely to invade us if the Liberals allow that to happen.The entire legal debate is useless, anyway, as no one's about to stop growing or smoking marijuana in this country. Supply equals demand, and the demand is ravenous. As Ron Allen of the RCMP's anti-drug unit in Toronto told Reuters last week: "If we focused all the forces in the GTA solely on marijuana, we still wouldn't get a handle on it. It's that large."Much as it might ruffle conservative feathers, marijuana has become part of Canada's national mythology abroad. We're renowned as the source of killer B.C. weed. We paint affectionate portraits of small-time growers on Trailer Park Boys. A recent Simpsons mistakenly assumed pot was legal up here — as many Americans do — and had Ned Flanders being offered "a reeferino" on the streets of Winnipeg. While perusing grow-op stories on the Star's own website last week, I was delighted to see the band of Google-generated advertisements down the side of the screen, consisting entirely of hydroponics ads promising advanced nutrient products, "huge yields" and "massive harvests."Marijuana is not going away. And, in the grand scheme of things, it's not doing nearly as much harm in this country as, say, guns. Oppose it if you will — you have as much right to your opinion as you should have to smoke or ingest whatever you choose — but don't stoop to using dead men as pawns to support your position. They deserve to be remembered as men, not symbols.Source: Toronto Star (CN ON)Author: Ben RaynerPublished: March 12, 2005Copyright: 2005 The Toronto Star Contact: lettertoed thestar.com Website: http://www.thestar.com/ Related Articles & Web Site:Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmCanada Could Be World Leader in Drug Strategieshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20345.shtmlStricter Drug Laws Called More Riskyhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20326.shtmlFor Years, Everyone Saw This Coming http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20325.shtml
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Comment #43 posted by FoM on March 15, 2005 at 09:12:51 PT
potpal
I wanted to mention that I removed the double post so no one thinks I removed your comment.
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Comment #41 posted by potpal on March 15, 2005 at 06:32:18 PT
Prohibition results in...
(Toronto police and Canada Customs officers have said) ...some of the drugs are exchanged for weapons or cocaine in the U.S. that are smuggled back to Canada.You reap what you sow.And let's be real, if you can grow in Canada, how many are growing right here in Amerika which doesn't need to be smuggled across the border?
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Comment #40 posted by FoM on March 14, 2005 at 18:27:37 PT
Related Article from The Edmonton Sun
Border War on WeedTom Godfrey, Sun Media March 14, 2005
TORONTO -- U.S. border agents say they're seizing record amounts of Canadian pot being snuck across the border and are escalating their war against organized smugglers. Agents say they're taking a tougher line against marijuana smugglers, following the slaying of four RCMP officers in Alberta, who were killed at a grow-op site. U.S. officers said they weren't taking chances when they chased a Canadian truck driver last Thursday after he ran a port near Sumas, Washington. The man was charged for smuggling 142 kg of weed, worth $1.6 million, police said. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers said some smugglers have shifted their bases from B.C.-Washington state to Buffalo-area border crossings, where they claim there's less police heat. "We have seen a shift in smuggling from the Washington-area to areas in the East," said CBP spokesman Michael Milne. There is a "trend that the West declined while Upstate New York area experienced a large gain in 2004." CBP statistics show 4,600 kg of weed were seized at Buffalo-area crossings last year, as compared to 3,900 in the Washington area, where up to 7,200 kg were seized in some years. More than 11,300 kg of B.C. bud and growhouse marijuana were seized last year from the entire U.S.- Canada border. Milne said his agency has added air and marine units to monitor remote border areas. The units have aircraft that can track, chase and conduct surveillance against smugglers. CBP New York spokesman Janet Rapaport said the amount of seizures at her crossings have increased threefold in the last year to 4,500 from 1,500 kg. "Our officers are always vigilant," Rapaport said. "Our task has been enhanced by modern technology." Toronto police and Canada Customs officers have said some of the drugs are exchanged for weapons or cocaine in the U.S. that are smuggled back to Canada. Copyright: 2005, Canoe Inc.
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/EdmontonSun/News/2005/03/14/960071-sun.html
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Comment #39 posted by afterburner on March 14, 2005 at 11:14:28 PT
LTE to Globe & Mail re Cotler Under Pressure
{This article demonstrates an appalling lack of focus on the part of some of our MP's. They listened to the sensationalistic ramblings of Deputy PM Anne McLellan before all the facts were in, blaming the death of 4 Mounties on a "marijuana" grow-op. Then, when the truth became known and published that the raid was actually a botched truck repo from a known-to-be-dangerous police-hater (who incidentally had grown a few "marijuana" plants, not a massive "grow-op"), they seem to not have kept up with the story. These misinformed MP's are still threatening "knee-jerk" action based on false assumptions. Take a little time to do your research and get the whole story, MP's, before you support unreasonable and proven-to-be-ineffective-in-the-USA" solutions like mandatory minimums. Canada deserves better representation.}--LTE to Globe & Mail re Cotler Under Pressure to Get Tough on Grow-ops: http://tinyurl.com/3m8j7
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Comment #38 posted by FoM on March 14, 2005 at 09:37:34 PT
CBC Interview: Eugene Oscapella
Listen To Today's Commentary http://cbc.ca/commentary/media/20050311MAR14.ramIntroduction: Why are so many governments addicted to drug prohibition? Eugene Oscapella is an Ottawa lawyer who lectures on drug policy at the University of Ottawa. On Commentary, he says we have forgotten our own history. Eugene Oscapella: Last week's meeting of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna once again displayed a depressing intransigence about global drug policy reform. Canada, a willing partner in this futile process of criminalizing increasing numbers of drugs, shows little sign of questioning the profound damage that prohibition is doing to us and the world around us. Complete Article: http://www.cbc.ca/insite/COMMENTARY/2005/3/14.html
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Comment #37 posted by Hope on March 14, 2005 at 09:11:14 PT
"look what she brings to the world"
Mayan,No doubt about that. FoM has always been one of my heroes.
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Comment #36 posted by unkat27 on March 14, 2005 at 06:40:45 PT
It's Prohibition and blowback
All I can say is, those cops would not be dead if they weren't so stupid. Anyone who works for a department that persecutes, demonizes, and destroys the lives of adults just for marijuana possession is bound to get a dose of major blowback now and then. They know it and we know it. It's prohibition. Compared to what happened with alcohol prohibition in the 30s, this case is second-page news.
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Comment #35 posted by mayan on March 14, 2005 at 02:39:56 PT
JackBnimble
Very enlightening...what you said. Thank you very much for your insight. You cleared a lot up that I have often wondered about!Hope, FoM lives in a "red state", but look what she brings to the world. I couldn't imagine this world without this site to vent in and absorb from. I think I can safely say that most folks who post,or even browse here at Cannabis News judge nobody by their birthplace or where they currently live. North/South.Republican/DemocratRed state/Blue stateConservative/LiberalIt's all way too polarized. This message brought to you by the American Association for the Advancement of the Abolition of Absolutely Asinine Acronyms(AAAAAAA©)
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Comment #34 posted by The GCW on March 13, 2005 at 18:27:10 PT
JackBnimble
It is nice to get Your perspective.I think there are many green spots on the Cannadian map.And the green spots are growing.THCU
Truth is a winner.Truth is growing.
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Comment #33 posted by FoM on March 13, 2005 at 17:16:01 PT
JackBnimble
That's what was on a cool commercial by I think his name was Rick Mercer. I watched that video so many times and then they took it down because it got too many hits I think's that's why. The Big Smoke sounds so much better then Torontodam! That's so funny. Thanks.
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Comment #32 posted by JackBnimble on March 13, 2005 at 17:08:43 PT
Ontario
Give us a place to stand
And a place to grow
And call this land Ontario
A place to live.
For you and me
With hopes as high
As the tallest tree
Give us a land of lakes
and a land of snow
And we will build Ontario
A place to stand, a place to grow
Ontari-ari-ari-o !I couldn't make this up. That was a popular tune when I was a kid. I had no idea what it REALLY meant until much later.Toronto is just as hip as Van. (we have cafes here too, well 3 and counting) we just sound silly saying torontodam. But the cities other name is, get this,The Big Smoke (again, I couldn't make this up)
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Comment #31 posted by FoM on March 13, 2005 at 15:13:58 PT
JackBnimble
Am I wrong in thinking Ontario is more advanced and open in their thinking about Cannabis? It's always been B.C. when they talk well about Bud!Every time I think of Ontario I think of this.Come for the beauty stay for the Bud! LOL! Ontarario!
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Comment #30 posted by jackBnimble on March 13, 2005 at 15:08:31 PT
Lights and stuff
Over here in Ontario (Toronto to be specific)they advertise grow stores (homegrown hydroponics for one) on the radio.And it's no exactly vague what they intend for you to grow either.They even have Advanced nutrients ads on the radio here now.Grow stores are plentiful too.It's truly out in the wide open.
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Comment #29 posted by FoM on March 13, 2005 at 14:34:38 PT
potpal
You're welcome.About the article about B.C. Hydroponics Stores I just don't know. It seems to me that they are determined to dismantle B.C. It only seems like B.C. to me but I still get lost as to where everything is in Canada. I looked at a map yesterday and that helped.
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Comment #28 posted by potpal on March 13, 2005 at 14:14:46 PT
mapinc/cmap
Thanks, FoM, The dot org threw me.In regard to sales of hydroponic equipment...guess prohibitionists can only think in terms of prohibiting things. Great solution, let's start knocking down doors and arresting people for possession of gardening supplies...
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Comment #27 posted by FoM on March 13, 2005 at 12:42:45 PT
News Article from CTV.ca
B.C. Hydroponics Stores Threatened with New LawCTV.ca News StaffMarch 13, 2005The head of the RCMP marijuana enforcement team in British Columbia wants to crack down on hydroponics stores that sell equipment to marijuana grow-ops, but one store owner says innocent gardeners will be targeted.RCMP Inspector Paul Nadeau says his unit is in the process of drafting a new bylaw that will be submitted to all police jurisdictions in the province. It would be up to the local police to submit the proposed bylaw to municipal authorities.The bylaw would force hydroponics stores to operate much like pawn shops are required to. Customers would have to provide picture ID, and the store would be required to keep a list of who buys what equipment. Police would then have access to that list. "There's absolutely no doubt in our minds that these stores cater to people who grow marijuana," Nadeau says, defending his idea. "The people who are growing marijuana -- that's who's using these stores. It's not gardeners. "Xari Moffitt, who owns The Grow Room on Vancouver's Victoria drive, challenges Nadeau's assertion. She says her customers aren't pot growers. She even posts a sign at her cash register telling customers not to ask about marijuana cultivation."I have clients who grow orchids, do food production," she told CTV News Vancouver. "I have one lady who's trying very diligently to grow strawberries hydroponically."Moffitt admits that pot growers do use the type of equipment she sells and says, "I would imagine they're shopping somewhere."But targeting all hydroponic stores isn't fair, she says, and doubts it will make a dent in the province's billion-dollar industry. "Forcing small business owners into being the regulators and monitors isn't the way to solve that problem.".Nadeau says if people really are buying hydroponic equipment to grow fruits and vegetables, then they won't mind going on record, and stores that cater to that type of gardener will have nothing to worry about.Based on a report by CTV Vancouver's Shannon PatersonCopyright: 2005 Bell Globemedia Inc.http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1110743350083_3/?hub=Canada
Cannabis News Canadian Links
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Comment #26 posted by FoM on March 13, 2005 at 12:05:44 PT
potpal
Is this what you are looking for?http://www.mapinc.org/cmap/
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Comment #25 posted by potpal on March 13, 2005 at 11:58:31 PT
mapinc/cmap
? Can someone supply a better link? This one didn't work for me...tia
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Comment #24 posted by FoM on March 13, 2005 at 11:54:18 PT
Taylor121
I guess I thought everyone knew I was a woman but my generic name doesn't lead one way or the other. Didn't mean to shock you. LOL!
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Comment #23 posted by Taylor121 on March 13, 2005 at 11:47:00 PT
Woah FoM, you just made a mental gender change...
in my mind at least :PThanks for the heads up!
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Comment #22 posted by FoM on March 13, 2005 at 07:33:14 PT
JackBnimble
What a great comment to wake up to. That's what I wanted to know. My first 26 years I lived in Pennylvania and then moved to Ohio. The differences in the two states were remarkable. I never felt I fit in Ohio even though my home is here and I will never move at this point in my life. I spent two years traveling with my husband on the road and that is how I see the USA now.
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Comment #21 posted by JackBnimble on March 13, 2005 at 03:50:55 PT
Cannabis views in Canada
Hi all,Fom, I am from Canada and I get what you are saying too.There are places in Canada where legalization is more favoured than decrim and status quo. Quebec is one of them, (usually) conservative Ontario is too.Places against? Alberta and saskatechewan, and the maritimes.This really doesn't matter too much though. The large voting blocks are in Ontario and Quebec. In other words, if those two provinces vote together, it passes (or fails)Alberta is like Texas (well a very light Canadian version of it) very conservative (local, provincial and federal).
(note, I have lived in Texas too, early eighties, I came back to Canada after 2 years of constant fist fights and racial slurs, haven't heard one or fought since)Alberta also sees itself as larger than it is (they have oil and cows) and wants to have Ontario's power.Ontario is usually conservative provincially, (will vote the liberals in if the conservatives start to get preachy or screw up so badly as to be indefensible) but almost always liberal federally.Quebec votes strategically for whatever is good for Quebec.B.C. goes from center to left (liberal to ndp) but has done wacky things too.B.C. is dominated by Vancouver and Victoria (both very-very liberal)Rural BC is very much like Alberta (squwaks loud but no real power)I hope this bit of (my) insight helps those trying to get a feel for Canadian politics. Oh and Yes I do follow politics in Canada very closely.One other thing, Canadians weren't duped by the press and Anne Mclellan. Just check the ltes over at mapinc/cmap and see what I mean. The press is getting roasted for their part in this farce.
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Comment #20 posted by Hope on March 12, 2005 at 23:04:44 PT
Happy faces
I'm not smiley...that guy looks macabre, actually. I don't feel smiley at all. But I can't reach back and take him off.Oh well...maybe I can find some thistles to munch on.
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Comment #19 posted by Hope on March 12, 2005 at 23:01:24 PT
As my children might say,
"Mama, you sound like Eyore tonight." (Only my voice isn't so deep as his.):-)
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Comment #18 posted by Hope on March 12, 2005 at 22:54:50 PT
Thanks Taylor and FoM
I'm glad it's ok if I don't understand, FoM.Maybe so, Taylor. I don't know.
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Comment #17 posted by FoM on March 12, 2005 at 22:51:21 PT
Taylor121
That's exactly what I meant. I'm glad you understood. PS: I'm a she not a he! LOL!
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Comment #16 posted by Taylor121 on March 12, 2005 at 22:46:01 PT
FoM, Hope
I think what FoM is saying is in general, there are fewer people that support cannabis reforms in the south than in the north. This may be true, and I'm not going to be one to fully deny it.There are some down in the south that do want change as well, but I think FoM is just saying there are more people likely to support reforms in the north than in the south. He may be right.I can also see how this fits in with Canada. I would think that B.C. would be more likely to reform cannabis laws than say Quebec.
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on March 12, 2005 at 22:35:56 PT
Hope
I'm sorry you don't understand what I mean but it's ok.
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Comment #14 posted by Hope on March 12, 2005 at 22:12:00 PT
FoM
I'm so sorry you feel that way.
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Comment #13 posted by FoM on March 12, 2005 at 21:20:00 PT
Hope
I look at things differently then you. The north and the south are different. They aren't the same so that's what I mean. I am beginning to believe there are different views of cannabis in different areas of Canada just like here.
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Comment #12 posted by Hope on March 12, 2005 at 21:09:07 PT
FoM
"I guess I bunch all of Canada together like maybe some from Canada think that the people from the South in the U.S. think the same as people from some of our Northern States."FoM, I wish you could stop thinking that way. I'm feeling very bad about it. I'm feeling disliked for something that is absolutely not true and something I can do nothing about.There are people in the south who think the same way as people in the northern states. There are all kinds of people who think all kinds of ways here. If a "rascist red neck" moves north, he won't suddenly think differently. If an "arrogant yankee" moves south he won't start thinking differently because he's in a new location.Siege, Taylor, Sukoi, I, and many others are in the south. We love you! We are trying our best to do the right thing and see that the right thing gets done. Everyone in Ohio surely doesn't think the same. It's the same in the south. There all kinds of people here. Some of your statements are beginning to make me feel like you have huge dislike of us because of where we live. I'm bound to be misunderstanding. I hope I am.
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Comment #11 posted by ekim on March 12, 2005 at 19:50:41 PT
Mar 15 05 INN World Report on Free Speech TV
http://innworldreport.net/html/schedule.htmlFree Speach TV Dish Network 9415
Friday 6 PM Eastern Standard Time
Saturday 9 am Eastern Standard Time
Sat/ Sun 12:00 midnight
Sunday 1 pm http://innworldreport.net/index.htmMar 15 05 INN World Report on Free Speech TV: A Judge on Drugs 12:00 PM Jim Gray New York New York USA
"INN World Report on Free Speech TV: A Judge on Drugs" features Speaker Judge Jim Gray for discussion of numerous issues related to the failure of drug prohibition. Topics will include the problems created by illicit methamphetamine production, mandatory minimums, methods of harm reduction and the human and financial costs of the failed war on drugs. Visit the INN website at http://innworldreport.net/index.htm for the broadcast schedule in your local area. Mar 15 05 WWRL1600AM Radio Interview 09:00 AM Jim Gray New York New York USA
Judge Jim Gray is an in studio guest at radio station WWRL 1600AM. Judge Gray will be bringing first hand experience into the discussion of mandatory minimums, the effects on minority populations, the relationship of prohibition to crime and methods of harm reduction. Mar 16 05 Seminar in Police Problems Class #2 02:10 PM Jim Gray New York New York USA
The John Jay College of Criminal Justice welcomes Judge Jim Gray to the second of two classes of its Seminar in Police Problems Class to discuss issues related to the failure of drug prohbition. Mar 16 05 Seminar in Police Problems Class #1 12:30 PM Jim Gray New York New York USA
The John Jay College of Criminal Justice welcomes Judge Jim Gray to its Seminar in Police Problems Class to discuss issues related to the failure of drug prohbition. This is the first of two classes.
http://www.leap.cc/howard/
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Comment #10 posted by ekim on March 12, 2005 at 19:37:17 PT
Judge Gray says prohibition is corrupting force
where are the stories on the 10 NC cops that were working for the mob.Mar 12 05 The Community Church of New York Unitarian Universalists 07:00 PM Jim Gray New York New York USA
The Community Church of New York Unitarian Universalists welcomes Speaker Judge James P. Gray for discussion of issues related to the failure of drug prohibition. Mar 14 05 Bard High School Early College, 6th Period 01:30 PM Jim Gray New York New York USA
Speaker Judge Jim Gray speaks to the Bard High School Early College 6th period (years 1 and 2 students) regarding the failure of America's policy of drug prohbition. Mar 14 05 Bard High School Early College 7th period 02:30 PM Jim Gray New York New York USA
Speaker Judge Jim Gray speaks to the Bard High School Early College 7th period (9th and 10th grades)regarding the failure of America's policy of drug prohbition. Mar 14 05 Bard High School Early College Faculty Meeting 04:00 PM Jim Gray New York New York USA
Members of the Bard High School Early College faculty meet with Judge Jim Gray to discuss America's drug prohbition policies and how they impact both the students and themselves in their daily lives.
http://www.leap.cc/events/
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Comment #9 posted by mayan on March 12, 2005 at 15:35:42 PT
Backlash
I doubt if Canadians are very happy about being duped into believing that the four Mounties were killed because of cannabis. The backlash is well under way. From the article...Decriminalization won't do anything to remove the criminal, potentially violent aspects of the marijuana trade, since it still leaves cultivation illegal. Legalizing pot completely is the only way to eliminate that side of the game, and the U.S. is likely to invade us if the Liberals allow that to happen.The fact that I can't even tell if the author is kidding about the U.S. invading Canada over a plant is indicative of just how insanely barbaric the U.S. has become!More backlash in Columbia, Missouri...OPEN COLUMN - Infield’s tactics for fighting pot ordinance in poor taste:
http://www.columbiatribune.com/2005/Mar/20050312Comm004.aspTHE WAY OUT IS THE WAY IN...A Clarion call to American journalists and attorneys:
http://www.911truth.org/article.php?story=20050311223732717An Open Letter to Popular Mechanics (re naked NORAD lies & more)
http://www.911truth.org/article.php?story=20050311221656447Reply to Popular Mechanics re 9/11:
http://www.serendipity.li/wot/pop_mech/reply_to_popular_mechanics.htm
Gen. Myers,Sec. Rumsfeld and DoD Comproller Grilled on Missing Money, War Games and Sex Trade:
http://911citizenswatch.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=499&mode=thread&order=0&thold=010-Page Summary of Paul Thompson's 9/11 Timeline:
http://www.wanttoknow.info/9-11cover-up10pg
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Comment #8 posted by Taylor121 on March 12, 2005 at 13:58:08 PT
Asa Hutchinson Makes Bid for Governor
Keep in mind Asa was also the head of the DEA at one point, arguing a couple of times in public forums against Gary Johnson for legalizing marijuana. Arkansas readers, get ready to defeat this man. If you are a Republican, you better strive to defeat him in the primaries.LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas — Asa Hutchinson, (search) the former Republican congressman who recently left his post as Homeland Security undersecretary, announced Saturday that he will run for Arkansas governor in 2006. Hutchinson resigned from the federal post March 1. He had said he was interested in the governor's office and promised to announce his decision after leaving the Homeland Security Department."I'm running for governor and I'm committed to winning this race," Hutchinson said in a news release. He also made the announcement at a meeting in Newport.His decision sets up a Republican primary race with Lt. Gov. Win Rockefeller (search), who announced recently he would seek the post. Gov. Mike Huckabee, also a Republican, cannot seek re-election because of term limits. Arkansas Attorney General Mike Beebe (search) is considered a likely candidate among the Democrats.http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,150234,00.html
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Comment #7 posted by siege on March 12, 2005 at 12:39:40 PT
US & Canadian LEO.
Columbia Police Officers Association Bulletin Board was going to post this.If the Govt. wants to keep the prices high on marijuana with the interstate commerce
then it would Appear that some one in the upper Echelon is being payed off or making lots of money from drug prohibition and keeping the VIOLENCE /Black Market on going for there own benefit. being you are out there everyday doing your police dutys and puting you life on the line and not geting any of the big dollars. think again gentleman,
If you DIE it is nothing to them. and you have sever them well. keeping there money coming in.
so let have some one look for the big people in charge of it. and if it is the people in govt. or who every then do them as they do the citizens of the country. jail them. just saying it how it is, THINK Think think about it. you can't be that dum or can you.don't get mad, think
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Comment #6 posted by global_warming on March 12, 2005 at 12:01:56 PT
Whats Up North
There has been some talk about Canadas air space and who is going to shoot down an incoming nuclear missile.The US wants Canada to invest into this missile shield program, which would cost Canada plenty, which by the way, this missile shield has not yet proven itself yet.I do not know who is building these defensive and costly programs, but I file this under "munitions manufacturers", and though Canada has opted out of this expensive program, the US is rather upset, and is challenging Canadian air space.The US wants to have complete freedom to shoot at any threat, while Canada reserves last say on its air space.I reckon, since Canada has largely remained neutral in this war in Iraq, and is not going through the twists and turns to prepare for some assualt, from those Alquaida demons, Canada feels that it does not have to invest into this escalating war on terror,.I suspect that most of the news about Canada, will be spun to reflect this current disagreement.The war on drugs and the war mongers are one and the same, they want more guns, more ammo and greater freedom to save us.I have a relative that is a police officer, and I recall one time, saying to him, why did he choose such a dangerous proffession, I do not recall his answer at the moment, but for those 4 officers in Canada, I am thankful that they were there, I am thankful that they were able to take this crap Rosko out, yes, a high price, like a nurse in an infectious ward, some people, feel the call to serve man, to help those less strong, God Bless those souls.gw
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on March 12, 2005 at 09:11:21 PT
ngeo
I also wonder what is going on up north. It seems like some areas of Canada are pro legalization like in the Toronto area. Some areas seem to have more problems then others. Because I am not from Canada I get confused. I guess I bunch all of Canada together like maybe some from Canada think that the people from the South in the U.S. think the same as people from some of our Northern States.
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Comment #4 posted by Sam Adams on March 12, 2005 at 08:45:28 PT
media still bad
Just imagine if the Santa Cruz article read, "California taxpayers have spent a total of $141,000 to arrest, prosecute, and jail Dolivera for marijuana offenses since 1993"The media really does worship government. It's like it's inherently built into their brains or something. Never question. Never challenge.
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Comment #3 posted by ngeo on March 12, 2005 at 08:24:29 PT:
Toronto Star
I am starting to think something is really up in Canada. The Toronto Star is Canada's largest circulation daily newspaper, 440,000 weekdays, 3,300,000 weekly. It has double the circulation of the Toronto Sun. The Sun newspapers are simplistic prohibitionist tabloids in Canadian cities (kind of like Fox news) and are owned by Quebecor, a Canadian multinational whose board includes former Conservative P.M. Brian Mulroney. The Vancouver Sun is not one of these, it had its name long before the Sun tabloids started up in other cities. The Vancouver Sun which had the four-part pro-legalization series is the largest circulation daily in B.C. (about 180,000). Reading MAP I get the feeling that apart from the Sun tabloids, the only real prohibitionist papers are in the small town hinterland - not surprising. I am beginning to think there really is a majority pro-legalization sentiment in Canada. So the question may be whether the Canadian cannabis movement can put enough pressure on the political system to move the (U.S. puppet) government. I think it's harder to fix elections in Canada.
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Comment #2 posted by Truth on March 12, 2005 at 07:52:19 PT
Santa Cruz media dupes
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2005/March/12/local/stories/01local.htm"The duo allegedly made hash, hash oil, hashish and hashish powder."
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on March 12, 2005 at 07:42:45 PT
This Last Paragraph
I appreciate this candid article. Marijuana is not going away. And, in the grand scheme of things, it's not doing nearly as much harm in this country as, say, guns. Oppose it if you will — you have as much right to your opinion as you should have to smoke or ingest whatever you choose — but don't stoop to using dead men as pawns to support your position. They deserve to be remembered as men, not symbols.
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