San Antonio Sea World

DANGEROUS DRUG

My Name: "Is Meth" I destroy homes, I tear families apart, take your children, and that's just the start. I'm more costly than diamonds, more precious than gold, The sorrow I bring is a sight to behold. If you need me, remember I'm easily found, I live all around you - in schools and in town I live with the rich; I live with the poor, I live down the street, and maybe next door. I'm made in a lab, but not like you think, I can be made under the kitchen sink. In your child's closet, and even in the woods, If this scares you to death, well it certainly should. I have many names, but there's one you know best, I'm sure you've heard of me, my name is Crystal Meth. My power is awesome; try me you'll see, But if you do, you may never break free. Just try me once and I might let you go, But try me twice, and I'll own your soul. When I possess you, you'll steal and you'll lie, You do what you have to -- just to get high. The crimes you'll commit for my narcotic charms Will be worth the pleasure you'll feel in your arms, your lungs your nose. You'll lie to your mother; you'll steal from your dad, When you see their tears, you should feel sad. But you'll forget your morals and how you were raised, I'll be your conscience, I'll teach you my ways. I take kids from parents, and parents from kids, I turn people from God, and separate friends. I'll take everything from you, your looks and your pride, I'll be with you always -- right by your side. You'll give up everything - your family, your home, Your friends, your money, then you'll be alone. I'll take and take, till you have nothing more to give, When I'm finished with you, you'll be lucky to live. If you try me be warned - this is no game, If given the chance, I'll drive you insane. I'll ravish your body, I'll control your mind, I'll own you completely, your soul will be mine. The nightmares I'll give you while lying in bed, The voices you'll hear, from inside your head. The sweats, the shakes, the visions you'll see, I want you to know, these are all gifts from me. But then it's too late, and you'll know in your heart, That you are mine, and we shall not part. You'll regret that you tried me, they always do, But you came to me, not I to you. You knew this would happen, many times you were told, But you challenged my power, and chose to be bold. You could have said no, and just walked away, If you could live that day over, now what would you say? I'll be your master, you will be my slave, I'll even go with you, when you go to your grave. Now that you have met me, what will you do? Will you try me or not? It's all up to you. I can bring you more misery than words can tell, Come take my hand, let me lead you to hell. Author Unknown

AMAZON.COM, The nations bookstore

Federal agents fail to halt violence in border town - baltimoresun.com

Federal agents fail to halt violence in border town - baltimoresun.com: "NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico // The weary residents of this border city at the center of an escalating drug war had hoped that hundreds of federal agents would end the violence that killed 181 people last year. "

OpinionJournal - Featured Article

OpinionJournal - Featured Article: "Musings About the Drug War Do you favor decriminalizing marijuana, cocaine and the like? BY GEORGE MELLOAN Sunday, February 26, 2006 12:01 a.m. EST Economist Milton Friedman predicted in Newsweek nearly 34 years ago that Richard Nixon's ambitious 'global war against drugs' would be a failure. Much evidence today suggests that he was right. But the war rages on with little mainstream challenge of its basic weapon, prohibition. To be sure, Mr. Friedman wasn't the only critic. William Buckley's National Review declared a decade ago that the U.S. had 'lost' the drug war, bolstering its case with testimony from the likes of Joseph D. McNamara, a former police chief in Kansas City, Mo., and San Jose, Calif. But today discussion of the war's depressing cost-benefit ratio is being mainly conducted in the blogosphere, where the tone is predominantly libertarian. In the broader polity, support for the great Nixon crusade remains sufficiently strong to discourage effective counterattacks. In broaching this subject, I offer the usual disclaimer. One beer before dinner is sufficient to my mind-bending needs. I've never sampled any of the no-no stuff and have no desire to do so. So let's proceed to discuss this emotion-laden issue as objectively as possible. The drug war has become costly, with some $50 billion in direct outlays by all levels of government, and much higher indirect costs, such as the expanded prison system to house half a million drug-law offenders and the burdens on the court system. Civil rights sometimes are infringed. One sharply rising expense is for efforts to interdict illegal drug shipments into the U.S., which is budgeted at $1.4 billion this fiscal year, up 41% from two years ago."

San Bernardino County Sun - News

San Bernardino County Sun - News: "Slayings tied to cartels More than 1,800 deaths reported Sara A. Carter and Edward Barrera, Staff Writers Usually glossed over in the debate about illegal immigration and border security is a seemingly endless battle fought in rural Mexican border towns, cities and political circles. And like any battle, this one has casualties. Since January 2005, more than 1,800 slayings have been tied to drug cartels in Mexico, according to the Mexican newspaper El Universal. Mexican police do not keep a tally of narcotics killings, but according to El Universal, at least 176 people were killed in January alone. High-profile assassinations of law-enforcement officials are the latest manifestations of the war, according to experts. 'Intimidation, violence and death is the result of speaking out against the cartels,' said Hardrick Crawford Jr., a former special agent in charge of the FBI's El Paso field office. 'Sometimes it's better to say nothing at all.' The slayings, though stunning in their number and frequency, certainly aren't anything new. Those who deal in drugs on the border have for years risked death on a near-daily basis. So have those trying to catch the drug-runners."

frontline: drug wars: the business: colombian traffickers | PBS

frontline: drug wars: the business: colombian traffickers | PBS: "After the destruction of both the Cali and Medellin cartels, the cocaine business began to fragment. Younger lieutenants realized that the large organizations had been more vulnerable to attack by US and Colombian authorities. They formed smaller, more controllable groups and began compartmentalizing their responsibilities. One group simply smuggles the drugs from Colombia to Mexico. Another group controls the jungle labs. Yet another deals with transportation of coca base from the fields to the labs. There are well known links between the Colombian Marxists guerilla groups and the cocaine trade. Guerillas protect the fields and the labs in remote zones of Colombia in exchange for a large tax that the traffickers pay to the organization. In turn, the Colombian right wing paramilitary groups are also thought to control both fields, labs and some of the smuggling routes. This situation has been disastrous for Colombia - both sides in an on-going civil war are able to reap huge profits from the drug industry which are then turned into guns for further fighting."

Media Censor CIA Ties With Medellin Drug Cartel

Media Censor CIA Ties With Medellin Drug Cartel: "Media Censor CIA Ties With Medellin Drug Cartel A key money-launderer for the Medellin cocaine cartel told Congress in February that he worked with the Central Intelligence Agency, but this information was not reported by the New York Times, the Washington Post, or the three major networks, even though all covered the hearings. "