The World’s Most Senseless War
p2pnet view P2P | Freedom | Crime | Politics:- A message of interest from Avaaz, a group that describes itself as ”a global web movement to bring people-powered politics to decision-making everywhere”…
Dear friends,
 In days, a group of powerful world leaders will ask the UN to end the war on drugs and move towards regulation. But politicians say that the public will not support alternative drug policies. Let’s give this unique opportunity massive public support and get urgent action. Sign below, and tell everyone:
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In days, we could finally see the beginning of the end of the ‘war on drugs’. This expensive war has completely failed to curb the plague of drug addiction, while costing countless lives, devastating communities, and funneling trillions of dollars into violent organized crime networks.
Experts all agree that the most sensible policy is to regulate, but politicians are afraid to touch the issue. In days, a global commission including former heads of state and foreign policy chiefs of the UN, EU, US, Brazil, Mexico and more will break the taboo and publicly call for new approaches including decriminalization and regulation of drugs.
This could be a once-in-a-generation tipping-point moment — if enough of us call for an end to this madness. Politicians say they understand that the war on drugs has failed, but claim the public isn’t ready for an alternative. Let’s show them we not only accept a sane and humane policy — we demand it. Click below to sign the petition and share with everyone –if we reach 1 million voices, it will be personally delivered to world leaders by the global commission:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/end_the_war_on_drugs/?vl
For 50 years current drug policies have failed everyone, everywhere but public debate is stuck in the mud of fear and misinformation. Everyone, even the UN Office on Drugs and Crime which is responsible for
enforcing this approach agrees — deploying militaries and police to burn drug farms, hunting down traffickers, and imprisoning dealers and addicts – is an expensive mistake. And with massive human cost — from Afghanistan, to Mexico, to the USA the illegal drug trade is destroying countries around the world, while addiction, overdose deaths, and HIV/AIDS infections continue to rise.
Meanwhile, countries with less-harsh enforcement — like Switzerland, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Australia — have not seen the explosion in drug use that proponents of the drug war have darkly predicted. Instead, they have seen significant reductions in drug-related crime, addiction and deaths, and are able to focus squarely on dismantling criminal empires.
Powerful lobbies still stand in the way of change, including military, law enforcement, and prison departments whose budgets are at stake. And politicians fear that voters will throw them out of office if they support alternative approaches, as they will appear weak on law and order. But many former drug Ministers and Heads of State have come out in favour of reform since leaving office, and polls show that citizens across the world know the current approach is a catastrophe. Momentum is gathering towards new improved policies, particularly in regions that are ravaged by the drug trade.
If we can create a worldwide outcry in the next few days to support the bold calls of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, we can overpower the stale excuses for the status quo. Our voices hold the key to change — Sign the petition and spread the word:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/end_the_war_on_drugs/?vl
We have a chance to enter the closing chapter of this brutal ‘war’ that has destroyed millions of lives. Global public opinion will determine if this catastrophic policy is stopped or if politicians shy away from reform. Let’s rally urgently to push our hesitating leaders from doubt and fear, over the edge, and into reason.
With hope and determination,
Alice, Laura, Ricken, Maria Paz, Shibayan and the whole Avaaz team
SOURCES:
Reports that show the war on drugs has failed…
http://idpc.net/publications/failure-regime-selected-publications
Reports that show alternative approaches of decriminalisation and regulation are working…
http://idpc.net/publications/alternative-strategies-selected-publications
What Can We Learn From The Portuguese Decriminalization of Illicit Drugs?…
http://bjc.oxfordjournals.org/content/50/6/999.abstract
General report on drug law reform in practice…
http://www.tni.org/report/legislative-innovation-drug-policy
The Global Comission on Drug Policy that will call on the UN to end the war on drugs…
http://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/Documents.aspx
Drug War by the Numbers…
http://www.drugpolicy.org/facts/drug-war-numbers
Final Report of the Latin American Comission on Drugs and Democracy…
http://www.drogasedemocracia.org/English/Destaques.asp?IdRegistro=8
General report on drug law reform in practice…
http://www.tni.org/report/legislative-innovation-drug-policy
Support the Avaaz community! We’re entirely funded by donations and receive no money from governments or corporations. Our dedicated team ensures even the smallest contributions go a long way –
donations can be made here.
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May 27th, 2011 at 2:42 pm
i don’t know how many times this needs to be said before people actually get it and quit hiding the elephant in the room
there have been and still are a small number of financiers that have been THE problem for everyone throughout history. latest of them, and the most successful, is the British Colonial Empire Elites that use any means available to them to spread like a plague upon this earth http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Empire
they hide behind words like trade, free trade, commerce, drugs, war on drugs, religion, new world … , bringing civilization to savages, prosperity, security, immigration, passports, states/estates, countries, borders, legislation, acts, bills, social engineering, psywar, land ownership and claims, 70 to 100 yr leases, rehabilitation, war on terror, … hope you get it the idea.
they use any means available to them to in order to spread their vile conquest. some are:
missionaries / religion
enter in name of trade and kill off ruling class
disease
war
lies, deception
poisons
assassination
support a dictator or instil their own
it’s the same with Mexico and most of South American area. actually anywhere where Europeans and Americans have have military bases
a bit of history; in their conquests the British went into Afghanistan and India, started the East India Company, took many ships of opium to China and got the Chinese hooked for free. It took 80 yrs for the Chinese to kick the British out.
since USA has been taken over by British and Rothschild bankers, just after Declaration of Independence by commerce, same has been done to Mexico. Marijuana/cannabis/hemp/weed is not indigenous to Mexico. it’s origins are in Tibet and China. it was brought over by the British to improve their Hemp market. since oil was found and oil barons became king Hemp became outlawed.
Mexico didn’t want to be a satellite state of USA and decided to fight back by most peaceful means available to them, and since the poor didn’t have guns. Hemp was already on the land, it grew for free, survived Mexico’s weather and it’s easy to grow.
Even before NAFTA free trade agreements USA was killing off the people and poisoning their land, instilled a rotten government and killed off anyone they found who rejected their and USA rule. it was in part exposed by Congress and Oliver North (Iran – Contra) hearings. CIA and many other organizations had their full hands in it. Before this Nixon was only the patsy for multinational corporations and certain bankers to put a stop to descent in Mexico and others, change to more easily controlled oil market. Too many people on this planet by certain think tanks made oil a much better choice.
REALITY is, indigenous Sovereign people have the right to travel all across Americas without need of passports or any other controls, live where they want and do as they please and have done for 1000s of generations. all core laws from any part of Earth explicitly support this. pick any one and you will see
actually everyone has the right to travel anywhere they wish as long as it’s peaceful and doesn’t overpopulate the area
all European and Western core laws have their origins in Ancient Laws … whether it be Druids, Norse, Slavs, Indian, Tibet, Chinese or even undiscovered tribes in Amazon Delta … all come from one original system.
more recently Western Laws come from the Bible, which is a Middle Eastern construct and which got them from Hindu, Egyptian, Roman, Greek and far Eastern Tao (the way)
but there’s this one law that seems to think it’s above them all. it is Maritime Admiralty Law and those who practice it. in reality it’s at the bottom of the list since it’s not of the land, as man has a tendency to do. it is those practitioners that are the problem and will be eventually exterminated by a pissed off public.
~~~~~~~
get rid of the Federal Reserve and Central banks and 99% of the problems on this planet will disappear.
people can make petitions, protest, demonstrate, yell, scream, plead, burn down businesses and even revolt … but unless you cut off the head of the snake it will continue to eat everything in it’s path.
as long as you’re a white, anglo saxon, jewish, or other related descent the powers that be will let you get away with murder, sovereignty, lawful rebellion, protests, petitions and other such toy boxes … but they are only toy boxes.
the reality is indigenous men and women don’t have rights nor the right to life … according to those in power now.
Marijuana/cannabis/hemp/weed is the poor people’s way of supporting themselves and surviving a Tyrannical Government supported by USA, British Bankers and Higher profiteers.
you want to do something constructive?
take the pollution and garbage to those investors and CEOs of corporations and banks that are the problem and who started it. there’s enough of it around to bury their mansions and castles for next 1000 yrs. i’m sure they be happy glowing blue and having deformed kids with life spans of less than 10 yrs.
no guns, no protests, no petitions, no huff, no puff … just a little common sense.
May 28th, 2011 at 7:46 am
This article is very good for educational purposes … yet it’s a war OVER drugs, not on drugs. If a tyrant wants control he/she will control both, legal and illegal activity.
We are entering a new way or paradigm where changes in and on our earth are becoming more violent, humanity is experiencing a disclosure revolution, military personnel are sick of killing, industry is killing our earth for profit, secrets are being leaked and those who hid them exposed, hippy culture is now coming of age and producing some very interesting ideas on sustainability.
Biggest changes are in social interactions. Internet is providing connectivity between individuals, groups and societies where information is outmaneuvering control mechanisms of the powerful. In the near future we will see the green revolution taking over from oligarchs, instilling sustainable permaculture, harnessing of vacuum for great to absurd amounts of power, building of interstellar ships or even galaxy class ships. Independent scientists and inventors already have working models.
In each country on this blue planet of ours people are pissed off with their leaders and financial institutions and therefore taking action. It is way past petition time, emails and other forms of pleading. It is time to get off your cushy chair and stand up for Life Liberty Justice and Happiness for ALL.
There is one more thing that needs to be mentioned. Cyclic events dictate that we must prepare to leave this planet soon, sooner than you may think. For this endeavor our neighbors are ready to help.
May 28th, 2011 at 3:26 pm
Cannabis is a herb that opens your mind to new possibilities, heals just about everything if taken internally in moderation, is a herbicide that prevents pests from attacking your crops, let’s you reflect on your inner self to promote what you need to do in your life and promotes a peaceful collective mind. It’s no wonder industry backed Feds want to stamp it out.
We can get around those evil powers by seeding every part of this planet with it in such a way that it will be impossible to stamp it out and people will have ready access to it everywhere.
Another idea is to use techniques of http://www.marcstevens.net to win in courts. These can also be used against bad cops, corrupt judges, fraudulent businesses and power hungry government. He learned his techniques from Charlie Sprinkle, who sued “16 Government officials, Gov. Regan and all their wives” and won http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFRYrJ14jus and a few others who know the laws.
Prisons are nothing but warehouses for profit making officials and privately owned businesses. If you know your Constitution you should not spend one day in prison, if you haven’t actually hurt someone.
The better way is to know the Bible. Laws in that book supersede any laws or regulations the Feds conspired on. There’s nothing higher than the laws of God. Same can be achieved with Torah or any other belief recorded on parchment or stone. This is what your Government is hiding from you. It is your duty to search out and learn it.
Progressive thinkers and scientists are changing our environment for the better. Past 2012: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bedecrwv-Mk
Reality is being exposed and science is being pushed way past conventional theories to universal constants and facts http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Y5bXdx5UrE
This is making a drastic change in way we think and perceive our world. Establishments are screaming to keep control when they themselves know such change is inevitable. They know their time is up and we (ordinary people) will take over, so they are killing off as many of us as possible to reduce their deaths in the end. It’s a futile process on their side.
I have a friend who lives in Arizona that tells me South Americans are coming up and seeding the land with Cannabis as they go. Some ranchers are welcoming this change as they make good profit from this crop. Not for drug end of it but keeping out crop pests, rope, replacement for fiber in fiberglass, clothing, oil for their equipment, replacement for diesel fuel and gas. Numbers are growing and it’s driving the Feds out of their minds.
Mexicans are doing just fine as guns capable of long range sniping are taking out Federales by the thousands. Larger caliber armor piercing rifles are causing extreme fear and havoc among troops sent to quell revolts. Large parts of Mexico are off limits to Federales, and these areas are growing. Underground video and pictures show US and Mexican special forces being wiped out like fish in a barrel. You won’t see that on MAFIAA TV, youtube or liveleak.
It’s mostly unarmed and peaceful Mexicans that are being targeted by US backed Federales as retribution for other Mexicans protecting their land, themselves and their families. Much of what’s in the news is only part truths and lies. Mexicans are being setup for photo ops with guns and drugs not their own. Same guns and drug packaging seems to show up in different photo ops. Supposed Cannabis being burned is staged and no Cannabis is burned. When it is ceased it is resold by Federales themselves or their masters to the same drug dealers in US and Canada with one little difference … poison or bacteria is added to make people sick.
Certain added fungi cause internal dysfunctions, brain damage and other symptoms. These can be easily remedied by extracting Cannabis Oil with alcohol distillation process and taken internally, one drop of it per day. Good bye 99% of ailments that you may have. This is not medical advice, it’s reality that large number of people have experienced and documented. Check out “Running for the Cure” and related.
Pharmaceutical companies want to shut everyone up so they can make massive profits, in the hundreds of billions every year.
We want to change Federal laws and only way of doing it is oust those that support such draconian measures as war on drugs.
We need feet on the ground, such as in Wisconsin and Tunisian labour demos, literally SUE INDIVIDUAL POLITICIANS til they back down and leave office or better yet … end up in jail, boycott Pharmaceutical and Oil industries, implement natural remedies, single payer health care for everyone, increase ergonomic power production, increase sustainable permaculture farming, end to secrecy, end massive and abusive animal farms, end to fracking and destructive mining, and as said by RW … end to illegal Federal Reserve.
“Send ‘em greedy c0ck5uk3rs back into the sea”
WE ARE THE CHANGE … they only hold onto same old tyranny and terrorism
Thank you in advance for letting me have my say
May 28th, 2011 at 6:02 pm
This story kind of reminds of Jon’s court problems:
Arrested for a link:
http://asiancorrespondent.com/56010/american-citizen-arrested-for-insulting-the-thai-monarchy/
American guy arrested in Bangkok for posting a link on his blog while living in the States.
heh, remind me never to travel to that ass backwards country.
But is this really any different than Jon being sued for a link?
June 5th, 2011 at 12:05 pm
HEY JON!!!
It’s my weekly check-in on you.
How you holding up?
Hows the eyesight?
You walking around a bit?
How you feeling over-all?
Be well bud.
June 6th, 2011 at 2:54 am
Hi RW and everyone else
Thanks for asking about Jon. He is doing well, improving steadily. He has had his first weekend at home and enjoyed it, the food, the company and the fresh air.
He has trouble writing, which is one of the reasons he hasn’t posted anything here. Plus we’ve been a bit busy, dealing with family finances.
It’s only now that he has improved to a point that he has realised his vision is impaired: probably nerve damage, but we won’t know until he sees an ophthalmologist. He can see in general but trying to read or write is a little problematic.
All the best
Liz
June 6th, 2011 at 11:11 am
Thanks Liz. Keep us posted. In the meantime, this is interresting:
UN: disconnecting file sharers violates human rights
http://www.techspot.com/news/44100-un-disconnecting-file-sharers-violates-human-rights.html
June 6th, 2011 at 11:47 am
Hiya Liz,
TY for the reply. I think I can relate a bit to it. Been through it, but not as bad as Jon.
Tell him Marc says hi and we have all been thinking of him.
If and when he is up to it, let him know to give us a shout (a call or something).
Our youngest one was making fun of me last night and asking about Jon. The last time Jon called she answered the phone and in his British accent asked for “muck” (for those who don’t know, Jon’s accent turns the name Marc in Muck, lol, well it sounds that way to us french people
) I hope Jon gets a chuckle out of that. The kids are running around calling me Muck all the time now. haha
Thanks again for filling us in on how Jon is doing, Liz. Appreciate it. I know this must have been pretty hard on you too having to deal with everything and all the running around.
Take care…
Muck
June 6th, 2011 at 1:48 pm
At least we are happy about the big improvement.
Our though are with you guys!
June 6th, 2011 at 6:30 pm
Thanks for the update, Liz.
I bet he’s back on the PC! I would be. Even though he can’t quite write properly, if he wants to just talk to people on p2pnet via the comments, people are obviously gonna cut him some slack for dodgy typing and the practice might help recovery go a little faster, too.
Perhaps Jon can start a separate thread/article just for socialising with his readers? I think we’d all like that very much.
Rock on p2pnet!
June 6th, 2011 at 8:31 pm
This bought a smile to my face:
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/Filmmaker+Moore+calls+page+Stop+Harper+protest+iconic/4901727/story.html
Get well soon, Jon!
June 7th, 2011 at 1:46 pm
“This bought a smile to my face:”
I does to mine too! great lady!
June 7th, 2011 at 6:29 pm
A quick question to ask how Jon is. Haven’t heard anything in a while. I check in often but write little. Here’s to hoping for the best!
June 10th, 2011 at 12:49 am
Liz:
Glad to hear that about Jon! The vision-loss thing can be tricky to get used to (just ask my wife, who lost somewhere more than half of her vision in both eyes a few years ago due to some health issues). I know he hates Skype, and is a fan of FLOSS (Free, Libre, Open-source software), so here’s a few ideas which may help him get “back in the game”, so to speak:
http://www.nvda-project.org/ — it’s a FLOSS screen-reader for MS Windows
I mentioned about Vinux (Slightly-customized version of Ubuntu for the blind/visually-impaired), in another post.
How difficult would it be for Jon to get a small digital recorder, and start doing the “podcasting” thing? The Internet Archive provides free hosting-space. Another good aspect of this, is that people could send in songs or audio responses or what have you, and p2pnet could serve as a “nexus-point” for “Free culture”-friendly type music, if that makes any sense.
Anyway, depending on exactly *how* he’s visually-impaired, he should be able to at least navigate around enough to post to p2pnet.
If typing is difficult (due to mobility issues or paralysis or whatever), you could also try Tazti (which is a free (“Gratis”) voice-recognition software.)
True, it’s not “Free” in the sense advocated by Stallman etc., but it’s “Free as in beer”, and should probably work at least halfway decently, depending on whether Jon has sufficiently-clear speech articulation etc. (Sometimes post-stroke, people’s speech can be different).
Bottom line: just because he’s visually-impaired now does NOT mean that he’s “out of the game!”, by any stretch of the imagination.
I’m pretty sure (being the kind of guy he is) tinkering with getting the speech recognition and screen reader and stuff up and running, so that he could get back in the game here on p2pnet, would really give him a boost.
Anyway, I hope some of this is helpful.
June 10th, 2011 at 1:02 am
I’ll be blunt here.
Liz said:
“It’s only now that he has improved to a point that he has realised his vision is impaired: probably nerve damage”
Let’s be honest here. If he only realized this now after more than 2 months, then the stroke did more than some eye nerve damage.
I get the feeling we won’t be seeing Jon anymore. Or at least, not the Jon we once knew.
June 11th, 2011 at 11:58 am
“I get the feeling we won’t be seeing Jon anymore. Or at least, not the Jon we once knew.”
In your dream you corporate parasites troll! You are so wrong!
June 11th, 2011 at 12:40 pm
yep. I’ve just been released from hospital. : )
June 11th, 2011 at 8:58 pm
Excellent News Jon
: ) : )
June 12th, 2011 at 5:35 am
Good to hear Jon! I hope your further recovery will go smoothly, as possible!
June 13th, 2011 at 1:23 am
@ Mr Blunt
When I said “It’s only now that he has improved to a point that he has realised his vision is impaired: probably nerve damage” what I meant was that greater awareness of himself allowed him to identify exactly why he can’t read very well. Now that he can describe his symptoms more precisely we can go to a specialist for a diagnosis.
Considering where he was on April 5, right after the stroke, Jon has come remarkably far. We are optimistic and we have the most at stake in his welfare.
June 13th, 2011 at 3:33 am
hello ! Jon! Nice to hear from you!
@Mr Blunt:
Ha! I told you! Hum!
June 15th, 2011 at 1:39 am
http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/world/crackdown-on-copyright-could-see-an-end-to-lip-synching-on-youtube-and-other-sites/story-e6frg1p3-1226075460648
IT may be deeply embarrassing but until now it’s just been harmless fun to make silly lip-syncing videos.
Drastic legal changes currently before the US Senate could make it illegal to post videos featuring lip-syncing on sites like YouTube.
The proposed legislation would outlaw the distribution of performances of copyrighted material online, FoxCharlotte.com reported.
Cubby Squires, who found fame after his YouTube video of himself lipsyncing to Beyonce’s Single Ladies received almost 20 million hits, could face up to five years in jail for posting such videos if the law is passed.
“I don’t think you should go after little eight-year-olds that are crying and singing Justin Bieber because it’s their favourite person in the world,” he told FoxCharlotte.com.
Copyright lawyer Ben Sidbury said even if people were underage and not profiting form the clips the law would still apply.
“The way the (law) is written… it would now criminalise anybody that performs a copyrighted work, which is essentially nowadays any song under the sun,” he said.
“In theory at least, the record companies or the Department of Justice could go after a nine-year old or a 12-year-old or a 30-year-old for publicly performing a song,” he said.
June 15th, 2011 at 10:16 pm
China Orders Prison Terms in iPad Leak
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303499204576387290137752856.html#ixzz1PNhcB3jL
BEIJING—A Chinese court sentenced three people to prison terms for collaborating to steal information from a key supplier regarding Apple Inc.’s iPad 2 several months before its release, the latest outcome from leaks about products made by the technology giant.
The Shenzhen Bao’an People’s Court, in announcing its decision, said the head of a Chinese electronics-accessories manufacturer allegedly paid a former employee and a then-active employee of Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. for information about the iPad 2 in order to produce protective cases for the device. Hon Hai, known by its trade name Foxconn, makes the iPad 2 and other gadgets for Apple in its factories in China
June 16th, 2011 at 9:56 pm
New Apple Technology Stops iPhones From Filming Live Events
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/06/16/new-apple-technology-stops-iphones-from-filming-live-events/?test=latestnews
CUPERTINO, Calif. — Fans at concerts and sports games may soon be stopped from using their iPhones to film the action — as a result of new technology being considered by Apple, The Times of London reported Thursday.
The California company has plans to build a system that will sense when a person is trying to film a live event using a cell phone and automatically switch off their camera.
A patent application filed by Apple, and obtained by the Times, reveals how the software would work. If a person were to hold up their iPhone, the device would trigger the attention of infra-red sensors installed at the venue. These sensors would then instruct the iPhone to disable its camera.
June 17th, 2011 at 12:24 am
Senate Committee Votes to Make Illegal Streaming of Movies, TV a Felony
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/senate-committee-votes-make-illegal-202503
Moving to close a possible loophole in the laws against the pirating of movies, TV shows and other intellectual property, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved making illegal streaming of video over the internet a felony in most cases. The proposed law will now go to the full Senate for consideration.
“The illegal streaming of motion pictures and television programming is as financially devastating for our industry as is illegal downloading,” says IFTA President Jean Prewitt. “Stealing is stealing, regardless of the means in which the product is being received.
The bill makes it illegal to stream video for commercial purposes. The penalty is increased to up to five years in prison when it involves 10 or more instances of streaming over a 180-day period. The retail value of the streamed video must exceed $2,500, or the licenses to the material must be worth more than $5,000.
June 17th, 2011 at 1:14 am
“New Apple Technology Stops iPhones From Filming Live Events”
Once they implement this feature they ponpously call “patented technology”!!!!! (I though that invention shall not be trivial to be patented) They will be just one more reason not to buy this iCrap thingy.