Marijuana

OPINION: '60 Minutes' Leaves Out Facts on Mexico Drug War Piece

By Marijuana Policy

Project , Reforming U.S. Marijuana Laws - 12 Hours Ago

On Sunday night, CBS’s “60 Minutes” did a grimly fascinating piece on the escalating drug war in Mexico. Reported by Anderson Cooper (whose day job, of course, is at CNN), the piece was as notable for what it didn’t cover as what it did. Like most recent media coverage of the growing carnage along our southern border, the “60 Minutes” story carefully tiptoed around the proverbial elephant in the room.

That elephant, of course, is prohibition. Here is a piece of what I wrote in a letter to Cooper after watching his report:

There is nothing about the trade in marijuana or any other drug that is inherently violent. The violence is entirely an artifact of prohibition, a policy which consciously relegates a highly popular and valued product such as marijuana to the criminal underground. We experienced this dramatically during the U.S.’s experiment with Prohibition of alcohol: From 1919 to 1933, the liquor trade was fraught with violence, the murder rate soared, and prisons were jammed — while gangsters got very, very rich. As soon as Prohibition ended, the bootleggers disappeared and the alcoholic beverage business returned to the hands of licensed, regulated, law-abiding businesspeople.

Of course, Cooper and CBS are far from alone. News media accounts of the catastrophe in Mexico have been disturbingly consistent in their avoidance of the central issue. Like “60 Minutes,” many have avoided including, even briefly, anyone willing to question prohibition.

This is especially shocking after the Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy (co-chaired by former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo) urged decriminalization of marijuana and a broader rethinking of the drug war for precisely this reason. “We are farther than ever from the announced goal of eradicating drugs,” the commission wrote in its recent report. “It is imperative to review critically the deficiencies of the prohibitionist strategy adopted by the United States.”

U.S. policies on marijuana — by far the largest cash cow for Mexican drug gangs — are directly adding to the carnage taking place literally walking distance from San Diego and El Paso. It would be nice if our news media at least started asking the relevant questions.

POST YOUR COMMENTS HERE MARIJUANA

By Marijuana Policy Project , Reforming U.S. Marijuana Laws - 12 Hours Ago

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Wolf = Cooper?

If Scott (his character) wants to be Anderson he'd have to dye his hair, plus a whole lot more. What can I tell you, it's been a slow news day.

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Updated: Cibrian heads to 'Washington,' Wolf invades 'V'

Mar 2, 2009, 10:41 PM | by Michael Ausiello

Scott Wolf has been tapped to star in ABC's reboot of the campy '80s drama, V, sources confirm to me exclusively. Additionally, Eddie Cibrian will headline the CBS drama pilot Washington Field.

On V, Wolf will play the series regular role Chad Decker, an Anderson Cooper wannabe who is tapped by the Visitors to disseminate their propaganda to the masses. Meanwhile, Cibrian stars as the evidence response team coordinator and hazmat expert who works out of the FBI's elite Washington Field office. The gig reunites the actor with his former Third Watch boss, Ed Bernero.

Big news: You can now follow me and my scoops at twitter.com/ewausiellofiles! Woo-hoo!

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The 'V' Breakdowns: Seeking Rat-Gobbling Anderson Cooper-Type

By Seth, 8:26 PM on Thu Feb 5 2009, 2,064 views

AICN got breakdowns for ABC's pilot remake of V, about reptilian aliens who descend on L.A. pretending to be peaceful, before unhinging their jaws and swallowing us alive. (It's loosely based on the CAA story.)

Among the descriptions of series regulars is this one:

[CHAD DECKER] 28 years old, an Anderson Cooper wannabe, he's a newscaster with BBN, based in New York City. Amoral, ambitious, and a little slippery, Chad is intent on getting to the top of his profession in a big hurry. The kind of man who sleeps with the Vice President's press secretary in order to gain entree, Chad gets the Ultimate Source when he is tapped by Anna to become her steady outlet for information (propaganda) about the Visitors. Too ambitious to realize that he's going to become an unpaid sycophant, Chad doesn't question his good luck...SERIES REGULAR (3)

We suppose this would be an appropriate moment to voice our gnawing concerns about the real Anderson Cooper, who's always struck us as just a little too slick, a little too everywhere at once, a little too staring at John King with a hungry look in his eye that reads, "Hm. You'd be tasty in a Moroccan tagine, my little Magic Wall-mastering friend." That said, we nominate Mad Men's John Slattery—a smidge too old, but really the only silver-haired, dreamy-eyed, rodent-chugging himbo we could possibly picture in the part.

Faces, Gorgeous Faces

Worried
Concerned	Troubled
Disturbed	Uneasy
Bothered	Attentive
Perturbed	Affected
Caring	Implicated
Upset	Interested

(Click on each image to get the full size)


Next time it will be nothing but Happy Faces!

Free Sri Lanka

On my last post yesterday I told you I was sorry if I made you cry with the message from the video in the post... Well, get your hankies ready again. Please watch this 4:10 minute video and stay with it until the end so that you can see what I mean. Surprise! And then let your heart swell with emotion and your eyes wet with tears.

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"And Then They Came for Me", by Lasantha Wickramatunga of The Sunday Leader in Sri Lanka
We've reached 64% of our goal of 5,000 supporters! We currently have 3196 supporters.

As a three time Emmy winning, versatile and unconventional journalist for one of the most prominent newscasts in the US, Anderson Cooper unarguably has the journalistic prowess to present stories from the war torn island of Sri Lanka.

Please sign the following petition asking Anderson Cooper to be the voice of Sri Lankan journalists who have been and continue to be persecuted in their native country.


Dear Anderson Cooper,

As a dedicated journalist, you recognize the paramount requirement of freedom of the press in order to uninhibitedly report on your investigations. Never before has such a persecution of freedom existed in Sri Lanka. Please use your influence to make public the plight the media and press are currently facing on this island.

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I had a very difficult time thinking whether to sign this petition or not. On one hand I knew that Anderson could give these journalists a lot of support; on the other, I thought that the situation in Sri Lanka is much too dangerous, especially for people from the press, and I didn't want to give Anderson more incentive to put himself in dangers way -- God knows, he loves to do just that! But then I thought, Anderson is a big boy, he knows what he can and cannot do or how and what kind of support he can give to this cause. So I signed it, and I let Anderson make the decision. Perhaps it will not even be up to him, but to the big guys at CNN and they may not want him to go.

To sign the petition asking Anderson Cooper to be the voice of
Sri Lankan journalists click here: FREE OUR PRESS

My petition:

Anderson,
I am a big fan of yours, and you are a great journalist, and I hate to ask you to put yourself in a dangerous situation. So I sign this petition asking you to help the Sri Lankan journalists hoping you support them from home base, New York, or anywhere in the USA. But, obviously, the decision to help or not, and to do it from here or there is absolutely yours. I only know these journalists need help!

Thanks for taking the time to look at this petition,
Peter Treviño, your admirer from New York


God bless this planet. We need all the help we can get!

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Calling Anderson Cooper

Washington youths launch campaign to woo CNN's Anderson Cooper

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 March 2009, 02:50 GMT]

An international grassroots effort led by concerned youths in Washington State and Toronto area calls prominent CNN journalist, Anderson Cooper, to visit Sri Lanka and report on the growing culture of impunity towards media freedoms on the island. Driven by Jeffersonian instinct for the freedom of press, the Free-Our-Press website said the petition was inspired by the "call of conscience" of Lasantha Wickramatunga's final essay, where the late editor decried the plight of media freedom in Sri Lanka. The virtual campaign was launched with a new website that chronicles media suppression in Sri Lanka, and calls for 5000 supporters to join the campaign to woo Cooper.

"Anderson Cooper is one of the few who have the journalistic prowess to independently present stories from the world's hot-spots," the co-ordinator for the campaign said. Organizers are hoping the international acclaim Mr. Cooper has received from reporting from numerous war zones including Afghanistan, Iraq, Rwanda, Bosnia and Vietnam, will draw greater international focus and attention to the increasing intensity of the conflict in Sri Lanka's north.

Amnesty International has declared Sri Lanka as "one of the most dangerous places in the world to report from," and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has ranked Sri Lanka 165 of 173 in its 2008 World Press Freedom Index, the lowest ranking of any democratic country in the world.

BBC Radio recently suspended radio broadcasting in Sri Lanka after its radio broadcasts were allegedly interfered by Government run broadcasting media.

Organizers are planning to conduct targetted campaigns which they hope will help arrest the deterioration of media freedom and decreasing tolerance for dissent, and will spark changes towards independent and free media.

Tell Me Why!

I'm sorry to do this to you, but you are going to cry... a lot.

The moment I heard the first note and saw the first image in this video my eyes got moist and then started to pour. And I could not make them stop; nor did I want them to. What a song! Especially when sung by such a young boy, Declan Galbraith, although this was 2006 and he is older now -- he is all of 17 years old.

The sad part is that this is 2009 and this song still applies. Three years have passed and we are still in the same predicament: parentless children or dying when they are little babies, homeless families, hunger, poverty... This song touches every nerve in your body and makes you, beside crying, it makes you think -- perhaps because the singer is such a little child just like the ones he is singing about, perhaps: you'll stop whatever you are doing and think: WOW!

A little child with a very big, big voice and lots of feeling, Wow! Anderson would be very proud of him.

Declan Galbraith

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Super Young HOT Voice~ Tell Me Why! ~

(03:48 min.)

From: imryanang, Singapore.

Added: October 22, 2006

Description: Super Young and HOT voice

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjXTrNxTeSs

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2006

2009

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Remember "Plumpynut"?

Mmmm... plumpynut.


(CBS) This segment was originally broadcast on Oct. 21, 2007.
It was updated on June 20, 2008.

The Shot -- 02-28-09

First Lady official photoShe looks Gorgeous!

(01:37 min.)

Si Señor

In a previous post I wondered if Anderson spoke Spanish. This segment in "60 Minutes" answered my question, I think. Watch carefully and you'll be able to enjoy his delicious accent.

Included with this picture of the program is the full transcript of his dialogue. Enjoy!


"Si"

Grim, Grim, Grim!

What a grim segment this one is. It was sad and scary to watch the country were I was born turned into a type of terrorist country. I am glad the U.S. is aware of it and I hope that we can help stop the nightmare.

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Watch CBS Videos Online
(11:52 min.)

Mexico's Drug War

Drug cartel fueled violence has turned into war in Mexico, with thousands of deaths and the government battling well-armed gangs whose military-grade weapons come mostly from U.S. dealers. CNN's Anderson Cooper reports.

March 1, 2009 4:36 PM

Read:
Mexico: The War Next Door

At The Acropolis

Newly discovered artifacts from Greece.


Ionic columns framing Andropulos, god of "good news," cousin of Hermes "the speaker."


A familiar creature, an enigmatic Sphinx found at the Acropolis.



The jewel find: Male figure horizontal
Male figure believed by some to be a wrestler, and by others to be a lover -- perhaps the upper section of another figure found near by of a man on his back. Some archeologist believe the two parts form a single sculpture, some disagree.

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There IS a Light...

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February 27, 2009

White House fact sheet on ending war in Iraq

Posted: 03:58 PM ET
Permalink | 7 Comments | Add a comment

Editor’s Note: Here’s the White House fact sheet on “responsibly ending the war in Iraq.”

Office of the Press Secretary
The White House

On his first day in office, President Obama ordered a comprehensive review of United States Iraq policy by military commanders on the ground, the Joint Chiefs, Secretary Gates, and his national security team. That review led to the President’s February 27, 2009 announcement at Camp Lejeune of a plan to responsibly end the war in Iraq. The three-part strategy he announced will make our country more secure by transitioning to Iraqi responsibility and by allowing the United States to focus on a broader set of national priorities. The Administration will pursue broad support for this plan and other major national security priorities by consulting closely with the Congress, on a bi-partisan basis, and by working closely with friends and allies.


Responsible Removal of Combat Brigades

Based on the recommendations of his military commanders and national security team, the President has chosen a timeline that will remove all U.S. combat brigades from Iraq over the next 18 months. By August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end and Iraqi Security Forces will have full responsibility for major combat missions.

After August 31, 2010, the mission of United States forces in Iraq will fundamentally change. Our forces will have three tasks: train, equip, and advise the Iraqi Security Forces; conduct targeted counterterrorism operations; and provide force protection for military and civilian personnel.

The President intends to keep our commitment under the Status of Forces Agreement to remove all of our troops from Iraq by the end of 2011.


Sustained Diplomacy

Iraq’s future is now its own responsibility and the long-term success of the Iraqi nation will depend upon decisions made by the Iraqi people. A strong political, diplomatic, and civilian effort on our part can advance progress and help lay a foundation for lasting peace and security. A new American Ambassador will be supported by the courageous and capable work of American civilian personnel, diplomats and aid workers.

We will work to support Iraqi national elections in 2010, help improve local government, serve as an honest broker for Iraqi leaders as they resolve difficult political issues, increase support for the resettlement of Iraqi refugees, and help strengthen Iraqi institutions and their capacity to protect rule of law, confront corruption, and deliver services.


Comprehensive Engagement Across the Region

The future of Iraq is inseparable from the future of the broader Middle East. It is time for Iraq to be a full partner in a regional dialogue and for Iraq’s neighbors to establish productive and normalized relations with Iraq. Going forward, the United States will pursue principled and sustained engagement with all nations in the region, including Iran and Syria. We have already begun to renew our diplomacy in the region, to refocus on: eliminating al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan; preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon; and actively seeking a lasting peace between Israel and the Arab world.

Finally, the President made a commitment to give our men and women in uniform the resources and clear direction they deserve and to build our civilian national security capacity so that we can use all elements of American power to achieve our objectives in the world.

For more visit the White House website at: http: //www.whitehouse.gov/

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