03-14-12 -- Jack Cole - Kathy Kelly - Drew Phillips (MP3 & Video Loaded)
Hour 1 - 3
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON LEAP:
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) is a non-profit organization - www.CopsSayLegalizeDrugs.com - formed by cops, judges and others in the criminal justice system who believe the War on Drugs has been an expensive failure that has only made our nation's tragic drug problem worse. After devoting their careers to being front-line warriors in the War on Drugs, our members have come to believe that the only way to reduce drug abuse and the many harms associated with our current approach to the problem is by legalizing (and regulating) illicit drugs. Our prime purpose as an organization is to make presentations and foster discussion about responsible alternatives to the War on Drugs. More information about LEAP can be found at our website. However, for a real understanding of what LEAP is all about, view the 13 minute “Cops Say Legalize Drugs” video at http://www.leap.cc/watch-a-video/What a strange week this has been. Amid new calls from the sitting presidents of Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Colombia for a discussion about drug legalization, Vice President Joseph Biden stated that “It's worth discussing, but there is no possibility the Obama/Biden administration will change its policy on (drug) legalization.” This must have our Latin American friends wondering the point of discussing something with the Obama administration when it has already been predetermined that there will be no compromise or possibility of a change in US policies. See the story at: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/03/03/vp-joe-biden-heads-to-latin-america-amid-drug-debate/ with quotes from Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) speakers Walter McKay (former Canadian police officer and noted authority on Mexico law enforcement) and Maria Lucia Karam (retired Brazilian judge).
Then, LEAP's own media department broke a story earlier this week that conservative evangelist Pat Robertson went on a tirade against the U.S.'s over-incarceration problem during an episode of "The 700 Club" last week suggesting that marijuana be legalized. The New York Times picked up this story today, and now the entire country is wondering if President Obama and Congressional Democrats are really going to let Pat Robertson outflank them on marijuana reform, especially at a time when Gallup says a majority of Americans now support legalization. See this story at: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/08/us/pat-robertson-backs-legalizing-marijuana.html?_r=1 with quotes from LEAP Executive Director Neill Franklin (former Major with Maryland State Police).
In this calling, since 1985, she has visited Nicaragua, Guatemala, Haiti, many times to Iraq during both U.S. invasions and the period of economic siege warfare between the invasions, Bosnia, Palestine during the Intifada, Gaza during the Israeli invasion, Pakistan, and many times to Afghanistan since 2010.
She has also been arrested and imprisoned in the United States many times for nonviolent protests against war, nuclear weapons, and, most recently, drone warfare attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
She is a founder and co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence based in Chicago.
website: www.vcnv.org
The Ghost and the Machine: Drone Warfare and Accountability
03-14-2012 • www.commondreams.org
“Who has given the license to kill and in what court? Who has declared that they can hit anyone they like?”
Smoother transition when dollar collapses: That's the big goal of this little card: