From: Ross A. Finlayson (raf@tiki-lounge.com)
Date: Sun Feb 04 2001 - 09:49:11 MST
Michael M. Butler wrote:
> Not quite true. Off the top of my head, there was the Whisky Rebellion;
> there was that little unpleasantness back in the 1860s and after, where
> some people tried to secede and had the earth scorched out from
> underneath them. That was brother against brother, but it was also
> government against (some of) the people, during declared hostilities and
> long after.
>
> I'm not even going to mention smallpox infected blankets and the Modoc
> wars. Ooops, looks like I did.
>
You are very true, where my statement was technically wrong. Is it the only one
that ever had a million prisoners?
So, I was thinking of the last fifty years, "Post-WWII".
Ross
>
> "Ross A. Finlayson" wrote:
> > It's
> > the only war we've ever had, here, where it is the government against the
> > people, or, some of the people. Drugs should be made legal, to adults.
> >
> > Ross
> >
> > Matthew Gaylor wrote:
> >
> > > War On Drugs Targets Tech
> > > http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/zd/20010202/tc/war_on_drugs_targets_tech_1.html
> > >
> > > Friday February 02 01:16 PM EST
> > > War On Drugs Targets Tech
> > >
> > > By Lewis Z. Koch Special To Interactive Week,
> > >
> > > The new scapegoat for the failed War on Drugs is, of all things, technology.
> > >
> > > The 120-page December 2000 International Crime Threat Assessment report -
> > > created by basically every federal law enforcement agency in the U.S. - is
> > > riddled with examples of how computer technology has advanced the cause of
> > > national and international crime. Modern telecommunications and information
> > > systems, state-of-the-art communications equipment, computers - they're all
> > > to blame.
> > >
> > > What the report fails to squarely acknowledge is that the oil that fuels
> > > organized crime in the U.S. and abroad, including terrorist organizations,
> > > is profit from the trade in illegal drugs bound for the U.S. - billions of
> > > dollars in profit from drug sales that enhance the power of international
> > > crime cartels and their ability to corrupt police, judges and governmental
> > > officials from Tijuana to Tanzania.
> > >
> > > "Through the use of computers, international criminals have an
> > > unprecedented capability to obtain, process and protect information and
> > > sidestep law enforcement investigations," the report stated. "They can use
> > > the interactive capabilities of advanced computers and telecommunications
> > > systems to plot marketing strategies for drugs and other illicit
> > > commodities, to find the most efficient routes and methods for smuggling
> > > and moving money in the financial system and to create false trails for law
> > > enforcement or banking security."
> > >
> > > It goes on to assert: "More threateningly, some criminal organizations
> > > appear to be adept at using technology for counterintelligence purposes and
> > > for tracking law enforcement activities."
> > >
> > > In other words, it's not our flawed drug policy that's to blame - it's new
> > > technology.
> > >
> > > Where All This Began
> > >
> > > In 1937, Harry J. Anslinger, six years into his 30-year-reign as director
> > > at the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, testified before the U.S. Senate on
> > > behalf of the "Marihuana Tax Act." This delighted the Hearst newspapers,
> > > which, lacking a real war to increase newspaper sales, launched an all-out
> > > battle against demon marijuana. Here are a few excerpts from Anslinger's
> > > sworn testimony. Clearly, our drug policy traces its roots to reasoning
> > > that was as racist and alarmist as it was wildly inaccurate:
> > >
> > > * "There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the U.S., and most are
> > > Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz
> > > and swing, result from marijuana use. This marijuana can cause white women
> > > to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others."
> > >
> > > * "The primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate
> > > races."
> > >
> > > * "Marijuana is an addictive drug which produces in its users insanity,
> > > criminality and death."
> > >
> > > * "Marijuana is the most violence-causing drug in the history of mankind."
> > >
> > > With Hearst's backing, Anslinger's war on marijuana escalated to an all-out
> > > war on narcotics.
> > >
> > > Now, after six and a half decades of speeches and hundreds of thousands,
> > > perhaps millions, of arrests, convictions and sentences, what signs point
> > > to even modest success in this multitrillion-dollar war against drugs? Drug
> > > trafficking is the most profitable of all illegal activities, according to
> > > the International Crime Threat Assessment.
> > >
> > > Where Do We Go from Here?
> > >
> > > Instead of rethinking the sanity of our basic policy on drugs, federal
> > > police agencies appear bent on blaming technology - unbreakable encryption
> > > via e-mail, encrypted cellular phones and faster, cheaper networked
> > > computers - for the losses sustained in the drug war. This is clearly
> > > nonsense.
> > >
> > > In 1999 alone, Americans spent an estimated $63 billion on illegal drugs,
> > > according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy. And the National
> > > Institute on Drug Abuse stated: "The estimated total cost of drug abuse in
> > > the United States - including health care and lost productivity - was $110
> > > billion in 1995, the latest year for which data is available."
> > >
> > > In addition, a U.S. Customs Service report said the department will soon be
> > > able to inspect only 1 percent of all goods entering the U.S.
> > >
> > > This is the score after six and a half decades of our drug policy. Do we
> > > have to wait until 2037 to recognize that we lost the Hundred Years' Drug
> > > War? And,! in the meantime, will we see more and more attacks on technology
> > > as the evil ally of narcotics?
> > >
> > > The obvious yet politically difficult solution here is to remove the
> > > profitability factor from drugs. Will there be more casualties? Will more
> > > people succumb to addiction? Maybe. But don't we already have casualties?
> > > You have to employ some tortured logic to rationalize how removing the
> > > profit incentive from drug use could make things any worse than they are.
> > >
> > > Now the Feds want to escalate the war as an excuse for having their way
> > > with encryption. But encryption is an essential business tool and a means
> > > of protecting our privacy. Outlawing it as a scapegoat of our drug policy
> > > is like trembling in fear before the great Wizard of Oz and paying no
> > > attention to the discredited man and his policies behind the curtain.
> > >
> > > Introducing Lewis Koch's "First Annual George Orwell 1984 Award"
> > >
> > > The prize, a 1949 first-edition copy of Orwell's 1984, worth about $100,
> > > will be awarded to the reader who supplies the best tip about an
> > > egregious assault on personal privacy. The judges will be yours truly, plus
> > > Richard M. Smith and other officers of the Privacy Foundation.
> > >
> > > E-mail all suggestions to lzkoch@<http://mediaone.netmediaone.net. All tips
> > > will be held in strictest confidence, so the award might well go to
> > > "anonymous." All suggestions will be fully investigated and thoroughly
> > > checked.
> > >
> > > **************************************************************************
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> > > on the subject line. List is private and moderated (7-30 messages per month)
> > > Matthew Gaylor, 2175 Bayfield Drive, Columbus, OH 43229
> > > (614) 313-5722 Archived at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fa/
> > > **************************************************************************
> >
> > --
> > Ross Andrew Finlayson
> > Finlayson Consulting
> > Ross at Tiki-Lounge: http://www.tiki-lounge.com/~raf/
> > Confucious says, "My name is Confucious."
-- Ross Andrew Finlayson Finlayson Consulting Ross at Tiki-Lounge: http://www.tiki-lounge.com/~raf/ Confucious says, "My name is Confucious."
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