The Archives

Entertainment, Oceania
Little Fish
06.28.06 | Permalink | Comment?

To be released in the the UK on the 17th of July. Here is the official website and a review in Variety. It is well worth seeing.
Latin America
Visit Colombia
06.27.06 | Permalink | Comment?

Steven Dudley has an article in the Miami Herald about the increasing number of tourists heading over to Colombia. There were 580,000 visitors in 2005 compared to 493,000 the year before.

Colombia made headlines a few years ago when eight tourists were kidnapped by the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) for a couple of months before being releasing. Now with a decrease in kidnappings and murders, the troubled South American nation is being seen as a more attractive tourist destination, despite being constantly in the news for the War on Drugs, violence and corruption.
North America, War on Drugs
Senior policeman and bodyguard murdered in Cancun
06.27.06 | Permalink | Comment?

While the murder of Wilfredo Flores Saucedo, the police chief of staff in Cancun, Mexico, didn’t involve a beheading like that of other recent killings of police officers in Tijuana and Guerrero state, it was brutal enough. According to police spokesman Oscar Meza, “a lot of his face was destroyed” after being shot at least 15 times.
North America, War on Drugs
10-month-old baby died from heroin overdose
06.27.06 | Permalink | Comment?

A Pennsylvanian district judge has heard from two medical witnesses that the amount of heroin found in the body of 10-month-old Yandiel Samuel Rivera-Santiago earlier this year was the highest they had ever seen, and that he had died from a heroin overdose.

Pathologist Dr. Saralee Funke and Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim were testifying in the preliminary hearing of the baby’s parents, Samuel Rivera and Erika Santiago, into their culpability for his death. They will now be tried in a Northampton County Court on charges of criminal homicide, three counts of endangering the welfare of children, three counts of reckless endangerment, 11 counts of criminal conspiracy, receiving stolen property and drug offences. Police believe them to be heroin-dealers, with 176 grams of heroin having been found in their apartment.
People
The Drug Problem You Deserve!
06.27.06 | Permalink | Comment?

“Many countries have the drug problem they deserve.”

That is the straggering assessment of Antonio Maria Costa, the executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. Many took the statement as a specific swipe at the UK, whose drug policies Costa opposes.

Costa was calling on European players to plan and implement a strategy that would see a long term approach accross the area with the goal of reducing the use of cannabis.
Uncategorized
Ten year anniversary of murder of crime journalist Veronica Guerin
06.26.06 | Permalink | Comment?

It was the 10th anniversary Monday of the murder of Irish journalist Veronica Guerin in retaliation for her reporting in the Sunday Independent on drug gangs in Ireland. She was gunned down as she sat in her car at a traffic light on the outskirts of Dublin, after having received numerous death threats.

The resulting investigation into her death led to over 150 arrests of underworld figures. While her death also prompted the Irish government to act more publicly against the drug trade - through legislation and police action - the results have been less than impressive.
Oceania
Teacher charged with supplying drugs to student at Sydney school
06.26.06 | Permalink | 1 Comment

What is it with teachers supplying drugs to schoolkids? Can’t they just get friends their own age? It seems the answer to the latter is a big fat “No” for a certain unnamed 28-year-old - now former - teacher at Epping Boys High School in Sydney, Australia.

The teacher is under investigation by police for supplying drugs - apparently marijuana - to a student under the age of 16. He was charged two weeks ago and will appear in court next month.
Europe, Middle East, War on Drugs
Iran Plays Their Drug Card
06.26.06 | Permalink | Comment?

In an announcement, presumably timed to coincide with International Drugs Day, the Iranian Secretary General, Fada Hossein Maleki, has announced that the illicit drug confiscations by Iranian authorities for the year had amounted to 360 tons.

The fact that this amount is more than the annual production of Myanmar (according to UN figures) puts the scale of the achievement into perspective as well as the vast problems that Iran is facing.
Asia, War on Drugs
Myanmar Burns Drugs Too!
06.26.06 | Permalink | Comment?

In another vacuous display of international solidarity in the drug war, Myanmar has joined the throng of countries marking “International Drugs Day” with a display of deference by way of incinerating drugs.

Despite being the source of over 300 tons per year of opium, not to mention hundreds of milllions of methamphetamine tablets, Myanmar felt that incinerating just under 700 kilograms of illicit narcotics would be enough to convince the world that it is serious in its efforts to fight drugs.
Asia, War on Drugs
More Drug Bonfires!
06.26.06 | Permalink | Comment?

This time it’s Thailand’s turn to demonstrate their commitment to the war on drugs by incinerating a great big massive bunch of them!

Over three tons of illicit narcotics were incinerated in Thailand today to mark the “Internation Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking” in a good, old fashioned drug bonfire. The drugs included 32 million tablets of methamphetamines weighing in at almost 3 tons.

Importantly, as the newspaper article mentions, there were lots of journalists as well as members of internation agencies and organisations on hand to witness the event. And there is really the crux of it. These ridiculous events are basically a public spectacle for cash strapped governments to demonstrate to the world that they are capable of taking orders in the war on drugs.