This DEA Agent Went To Mexico To Beat The Drug Cartels. It Didn't Turn Out Well.

Co-authored by Jesse Lava

Sean Dunagan went to Monterrey, Mexico, to crack down on drugs. As an intelligence analyst for the Drug Enforcement Administration, he wanted to bring down the cartels and other trafficking organizations. He brought his family with him because Monterrey seemed like a peaceful, vibrant place to live. But things changed.


Sean saw that the drug war he was fighting was actually fueling more and more violence, creating the same kind of nasty black market that existed under Prohibition. Monterrey  got overrun. Beheadings, extortion, kidnappings—they became part of daily life due to drugs being illegal instead of regulated and controlled. Today, Sean knows that the solution to the violence lies in ending, not escalating, the War on Drugs.

 

 

Source



http://www.alternet.org/speakeasy/robert-greenwald/dea-agent-went-mexico-beat-drug-cartels-it-didnt-turn-out-well

Coverup No More: Shocking Photos Dead Wildlife from Gulf of Mexico Spill Emerge

Some two and a half years after the BP oil spill, Greenpeace has obtained emails and photos from a U.S. government agency that reveal the extent to which the government tried to shield the public from the wildlife casualties of the spill.


Read More

Confessions of a recovering Objectivist

Ayn Rand, novelist and exponent of Objectivist philosophy.

Victoria Bekiempis

Ayn Rand is one of those people whom you just want to go away, but won't.

I say this not with hate or ignorance, but with deep familiarity.

When, as a self-absorbed college freshman, I first came across the Russian emigre author of The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, she seemed like the coolest thinker ever – what selfish person doesn't want to hear that being selfish doesn't just feel good, but actually is good, too?
I quickly devoured nearly all of her atrocious tomes with a sort of blind hunger – that ferocious pseudo-intellectual reading you do only to confirm your beliefs, if you will. Indeed, I devotedly hung on her every word, even becoming an officer of my university's Objectivist club. At one point, I may even have been president.

Much to the lament of my philosophy classmates, I was that girl who frequently (and loudly!) argued in favor of Rand's illogical claims that altruism doesn't exist; that selfishness is a virtue; and that "rational egoism" is the only right way to live.

Thankfully, I grew out of that phase. Not surprisingly, but a few years of minimum-wage work cleaning up cat faeces, without benefits, and other thankless, unstable odd jobs made me question Objectivism's foundations and rekindled an earlier interest in anarcho-syndicalism

Read More

McGovern: He Never Sold His Soul

 

By Chris Hedges

In the summer of 1972, when I was 15, I persuaded my parents to let me ride my bike down to the local George McGovern headquarters every morning to work on his campaign. McGovern, who died early Sunday morning in South Dakota at the age of 90, embodied the core values I had been taught to cherish. My father, a World War II veteran like McGovern, had taken my younger sister and me to protests in support of the civil rights movement and against the Vietnam War. He taught us to stand up for human decency and honesty, no matter the cost. He told us that the definitions of business and politics, the categories of winners and losers, of the powerful and the powerless, of the rich and the poor, are meaningless if the price for admission requires that you sell your soul. And he told us something that the whole country, many years later, now knows: that George McGovern was a good man.

McGovern, even before he ran for president, held heroic stature for us. In 1970 he attached to a military procurement bill the McGovern-Hatfield Amendment, which would have required, through a cutoff of funding, a withdrawal of all American forces from Indochina. The amendment did not pass, although the majority of Americans supported it. McGovern denounced on the Senate floor the politicians who, by refusing to support the amendment, prolonged the war. We instantly understood the words he spoke. They were the words of a preacher.

Read More

Report: Twitter hits half a billion tweets a day

In London, CEO Dick Costolo tells the audience at IAB Engage that the service now sees 500 million daily tweets, and confirms it's experimenting with a "like" button, says V3.

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo told a London audience earlier this week that the microblogging service is now processing half a billion tweets a day, according to a published report.

Read More


Reitera AMLO protestas el 1 de diciembre

Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas
El ex candidato presidencial Andrés Manuel López Obrador insistió en que el presidente electo, Enrique Peña Nieto, no ganó la elección presidencial y reiteró las protestas cuando el priista asuma el cargo.

"El día 1 de diciembre en todo el País, en todos los estados va a haber actos de protesta por la imposición de Peña Nieto, para que no se consuma en frío la imposición, Peña no ganó, Peña utilizó alrededor de 60 mil millones de pesos y se compraron los votos de la gente humilde, de la gente pobre, traficaron con la pobreza", fustigó.

Leer Más

Televisa, Peña, el PRI, Dresser, contra el “Yo Soy 132” por ser independiente e incontrolable.

Pedro Echeverría V.

Imaginen nada más: el movimiento estudiantil Yo soy 132 nació en mayo luchando contra Televisa y la imposición de Enrique Peña Nieto como candidato del PRI y la misma televisora. Durante dos meses –con más de 20 poderosos actos de protestas- logró sacudir la conciencia nacional y conseguir muchos apoyos que –de paso, sin proponérselo- le dieron fuerza al movimiento progresista y en parte al PAN. Pero realizadas las elecciones del 1 de julio y habiéndose declarado a Peña Nieto como presidente electo, la lucha justa y honesta del 132, fue abarcando más objetivos con el fin de lograr mejor cobertura. Prendió su movimiento en todo el país, aunque sólo se consolidó en los estados con mayor lucha social. Pero el 132 no podía quedar estancado porque su gran objetivo, el combate contra la manipulación que ejercen los medios, no ha logrado por lo menos disminuirlo. La batalla tiene que seguir.

Leer Más

Syria: US-NATO Sponsored Rebels break the Cease Fire

Reported this morning, the cease-fire  was broken by the NATO sponsored rebels.

Terrorist acts directed against military posts were conducted  throughout the country on Friday

“Armed terrorist groups opened fire on military posts in Deir Ezzor, including checkpoints in Halabyeh at 7.25 am and in al-Jabelah at 7.30 am and on a law-enforcement checkpoint at 7.35 am.

Read More

Chiapas: Desplazados por no votar por Peña Nieto exigen solución

 

COMITÁN, Chiapas.- Alrededor de trece familias han sido expulsadas desde hace más de dos meses y medio, de la comunidad Galeana, del municipio de La Independencia. Los motivos de la agresión es por haberse negado a votar por el PRI  en las elecciones presidenciales del 1 de julio, y aunque pusieron una demanda penal a la Procuraduría General de Justicia del Estado, ha sido ignorada su situación.

Refugiadas en un albergue en la ciudad de Comitán de Domínguez, las familias cuentan que el conflicto inició cuando los ejidatarios de la comunidad de Galeana acordaron en asamblea, el 27 de mayo,  votar a favor de los candidatos de la alianza Partido revolucionario Institucional y Partido Verde, a nivel local y del candidato presidencial Enrique Peña  Nieto. Se les advirtió que de no hacerlo serían multados con 30 mil pesos  por persona y les darían un plazo para pagar hasta el día 26 de agosto de 2012.

Pero el día 7 de julio, con lujo de violencia, miembros del PRI entraron a sus hogares destruyendo la publicidad del Partido de la Revolución Democrática (PRD) y fueron amenazados de que si continuaban promoviendo a ese partido serían privados de su libertad. Tres días después, algunos de ellos fueron encarcelados hasta por 62 horas, y Octavio Pérez Espinoza de 66 años, fue agredido y  maltratado, junto con su esposa  María Estela Santiago Alfaro de 67 años quien fue golpeada.

 

Leer Más

 

You have more than two choices

Impressive and very Impressive

Why don't these voters decide? Some like to mull

WASHINGTON (AP) — Who are these people who still can't make up their minds? They're undecided voters like Kelly Cox, who spends his days repairing the big rigs that haul central California's walnuts, grapes, milk and more across America.

He doesn't put much faith in either Barack Obama or Mitt Romney. But he figures he's got plenty of time — a little more than a week — to settle on one of them before Nov. 6. And he definitely does plan to vote.

"I'll do some online research," said Cox, co-owner of a Delhi, Calif., truck repair shop. "I don't have time to watch presidential debates because it's a lot of garbage anyway. They're not asking the questions that the people want to hear."

Read More

TeleNINIs del PRI: Emilio Azcárraga (@eazcarraga) admitió falta de apertura en Televisa

Antonio Attolini y Jorge M Galván, bien contentotes saludando a Don Beltrone

Por Victor Hernández

Ante la avalancha de críticas contra Antonio Attolini por haberse vendido a Televisa, el dueño de la televisora, Emilio Azcárraga, publicó ayer un tweet para defender a su nueva mascota adquisición para Foro TV. Dijo:

"Cuando abrimos, porque abrimos.. Cuando no abrimos, porque no abrimos.. Yo a favor de la apertura"

Leer Más

Spain hit by record joblessness

Unemployment rate now above 25 per cent,
with about 800,000 people losing jobs in past 12 months.



One Spaniard in four is now officially out of work as the economic crisis tightens its grip on the country.

The National Statistics Institute said on Friday that 85,000 more people joined the ranks of the unemployed between July and September, raising the total to 5.78m. The figures brought the country's unemployment rate up by around 0.4 percentage points in the third quarter, to 25.02 per cent.

For those under 25 years of age, the unemployment rate edged down marginally to 52 per cent, from 53 per cent in the previous quarter.

The institute said that over the past 12 months some 800,000 people had lost their jobs.

Read More


Who Owns the World? Noam Chomsky on U.S.-Fueled Dangers, from Climate Change to Nuclear Weapons

In the week when President Obama and Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney debated issues of foreign policy and the economy, we turn to world-renowned political dissident, linguist, author and MIT professor, Noam Chomsky.

In a recent speech, Chomsky examined topics largely ignored or glossed over during the campaign: China, the Arab Spring, global warming, nuclear proliferation, and the military threat posed by Israel and the U.S. versus Iran. He reflects on the Cuban missile crisis, which took place 50 years ago this week and is still referred to as "the most dangerous moment in human history." He delivered this talk last month at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst at an event sponsored by the Center for Popular Economics. Chomsky’s talk was entitled "Who Owns the World?"

 

Read More

Retracing steps of missing migrants in Mexico

Mothers embark on journey searching for children who disappeared while travelling to US.

 

Mexico’s government says 150,000 migrants pass through the country every year hoping to reach the United States. Human rights groups put the number close to 400,000.

Most of the immigrants come from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. In Mexico, they face several dangers, including sexual assaults, kidnappings and extortions.

More than 11,000 migrants were kidnapped in Mexico in 2010, mostly in the border state of Chiapas in the south and its northwestern neighbour Veracruz.

 

Read More

 

 



Presidential Candidate Rocky Anderson says the Presidential election is manipulated

Donate for an Actual Cure

It’s October, it’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the U.S. is awash in a sea of bubblegum pink. The most recognizable, of course, is that of Susan G. Komen for the Cure and their ubiquitous pink ribbon, pink t-shirts, and potentially carcinogenic co-branded pink products.

In recent years, and particularly in light of their defunding and subsequent re-funding of Planned Parenthood earlier this year, Komen has come under increased scrutiny for their fundraising and fund-distributing efforts. Despite fighting to trademark the phrase “for the cure” and declaring a goal of “ending breast cancer forever,” in 2011 SGK devoted less than a quarter of their funds to research and 7 percent to treatment. Administrative and fundraising costs accounted for 17 percent.

Luckily, there are plenty of ways to help “end breast cancer forever”–catch it early, treat it effectively, and discover and eliminate the reasons it occurs in the first place–without going through SGK. The simplest way is just to go straight to the source.

Read More

La Tampico-Poza Rica, de alto peligro: Transportistas

Las carreteras que abarcan el tramo Tampico-Poza Rica están identificadas entre las más peligrosas, de acuerdo con un documento de manejo interno propiedad de una empresa transportista.

La zona norte del estado figura entre los espacios que no deben ser recorridos debido a la situación de inseguridad que prevalece, en el análisis realizado en agosto de este año.

Dicha empresa prohíbe a sus vehículos transitar por los tramos Tampico-Tuxpan-Poza Rica (carretera 150D) y Tampico-Pánuco-Tantoyuca-Poza Rica (carretera 127D).

Leer Más

Should you lie on Facebook?

There's something of a hoo-hah in the world of British politics today, after a senior government official advised users of social networks such as Facebook on how to protect their privacy.

Nothing controversial there, you might think. Until you realise that the advice from Andy Smith, an internet security chief at the Cabinet Office, was that you should lie about your real name and date of birth.

Read More

Former Republican official: ‘You can’t be a Christian if you don’t own a gun’

 

 



A former Executive Committee member of San Diego’s Republican Party, who now heads the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission, recently told Texas churchgoers that “you can’t be a Christian if you don’t own a gun.”

Speaking to the “Deliver Us From Evil” conference at the Upper Room Church in Keller, Texas earlier this week, Dr. Gary Cass explained that America had a “broken moral compass” because it regularly elected “politicians who could justify killing babies made in the image of God” and “justify redefining God’s institution of marriage.”

“We tolerate judges who allow for pornography and blasphemy, yet won’t allow us to have prayer or Bible reading in our schools,” he ranted. “Our formerly great Christian universities have become perverted factories of unfaithfulness.”

Read More

Fish near Fukushima still contaminated: study

 

 

 



WASHINGTON — Elevated levels of cesium found in fish off Japan’s east coast 18 months after the Fukushima nuclear disaster suggest a “continuing source” of radiation in the ocean, a new study has revealed.

Marine chemist Ken Buesseler of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution reviewed official Japanese data on radiation levels in fish, shellfish and seaweed collected near the crippled nuclear plant.

Buesseler concluded the lingering contamination may be due to low-level leaks from the facility or contaminated sediment on the ocean floor, according to his research, published Thursday in the US magazine Science.

Read More

why WAS a video message mocking homeless people screened at Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel's happy day?

Friend of the stars: This man was billed a friend of Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel in a video that mocked the homeless that was shown at their post-wedding party



They are well known for spending much of their time championing charitable causes.

But Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel's reputation for goodwill may take a hit after it emerged a video was screened at their wedding which uses homeless people as a comedy device.

It was seemingly made by the singer's real estate agent friend Justin Huchel, and shows what appear to be real homeless people on the city streets purporting to be acquaintances who couldn't make it to the ceremony.

Read More

H.R. 347

Cannabis Kills Cancer Cells

Pot compound seen as tool against cancer:
http://www.sfgate.com/health/article/Pot-compound-seen-as-tool-against-cancer-3875562.php#page-1

Scientists Find Cannabis Compound Stops Metastasis In Aggressive Cancers:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/19/marijuana-and-cancer_n_1898208.html

Activists Challenge Israeli Lawlessness

 For decades, Israel has literally gotten away with murder. Crimes of war and against humanity repeat regularly. Human and civil rights are spurned.

Anyone not experiencing it firsthand can’t imagine the ruthlessness of occupation harshness. Besieged Gazans suffer most. For over five years, they’ve been lawlessly isolated and suffocated.

Former Ariel Sharon associate, Dov Weissglass, once said, “The idea is to put Palestinians on a diet, but not make them die of hunger.” In other words, make them suffer. Francis Boyle, Ilan Pappe, this writer, and others call it slow-motion genocide.

Call it anything you like but understand what’s going on. Why else would activists risk life and limb to help. No one pays them. They’re given nothing in return. They’re involved because it’s important to help.

They’re true heroes. Only friends, family, and supporters know them. Media scoundrels ignore them. Ship to Gaza Sweden (Estelle) activists are some of the best.
Read More

"La Güerita" que pide limosna va a Derechos Humanos

Buscarán proteger los derechos de la menor

La Comisión Estatal de Derechos Humanos de Jalisco (CEDH) recibió la primera queja entorno al polémico caso de "La Guerita" de la Canaco. 

En entrevista para UN1ÓN Jalisco, Luis Arturo Jiménez Jiménez, director de quejas, orientación y seguimiento de la CEDH, señaló que fue el lunes pasado cuando se recibió la primera queja formal de un particular a favor de la menor y de sus padres.

Jiménez Jiménez detalló que "el sujeto pidió se investigara la manera en la que se privó a la menor de sus padres, argumentando que se utilizó la violencia".

Señaló que a raíz de esta queja -correspondiente a la nueve mil 998 en lo que va este 2012- la Comisión iniciará el proceso de investigación para determinar si es o no motivo de inconformidad. 

Continuar Leyendo



Larry King on marijuana legalization

Reaparece Moreira: culpa a los “narcoempresarios” del homicidio de su hijo

Humberto Moreira, exgobernador de Coahuila

MÉXICO, D.F. (apro).- El exgobernador de Coahuila, Humberto Moreira, aseguró que no se quedará cruzado de brazos en el caso del asesinato de su hijo José Eduardo, y culpó de su muerte a los “narcoempresarios” que –dijo– se han hecho millonarios a partir de sus tratos con los cárteles de la droga.
“Quiero justicia, no venganza”, manifestó el expresidente nacional del PRI en una entrevista concedida al diario Vanguardia.
Añadió:
“Esos cerdos que se codean con la sociedad, que se han hecho millonarios a partir de su trato con los narcotraficantes, son los más responsables, son los que financian a los cárteles. Esos cerdos que se dan golpes de pecho le deben tener miedo y temor y terror al castigo de Dios”.
Continuar leyendo