Current TV
previously & previously, the media company founded by Al Gore after the 2000 election, has picked up the kinds of in depth long form journalism being rapidly dropped by major networks, but has been tantalizingly unavailable for those without cable; until now. They have been putting their Vanguard episodes up on their website and on YouTube.
[more inside]
posted by Blasdelb
on Apr 30, 2011 -
24 comments
Andrew Fraser was a successful Victorian barrister until he was
jailed for drug trafficking. The investigation against him was led by Detective Sergeant Malcolm Rosenes, but before Fraser entered prison Rosenes was charged with
drug trafficking and conspiracy, for which he himself was later imprisoned. In an unlikely twist, Rosenes later approached Fraser to write an account of police corruption in Victoria.
The book has been
withdrawn from sale in Victoria, allegedly because it identifies informers and a "protected witness", but the publishers
say that the material is old news that is
publicly available (pdf), while Fraser suggests that the government wishes to avoid any embarrassment immediately before a State election.
posted by Joe in Australia
on Oct 15, 2010 -
11 comments
Two minutes of worlds colliding: Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers'
Roadrunner and
Egyptian Reggae, as interpreted by house dance troupe Legs & Co. on Top of the Pops.
posted by item
on Oct 13, 2010 -
31 comments
So what is an enterprising cocaine cartel to do when tight airport and border security threaten to cause one to miss out on a massive boom in
european cocaine use? Well, for starters one sets up shop on Africa's west coast where the police often aren't paid for months and the 4 cars of some country's police force can mostly sit idle due to a lack of
gas money. Oh, and in
Guinea Bissau - no coast guard! In addition to bringing even more
corruption and
violence to Africa, the status of being
the transhipment point of about 3/4 of all cocaine heading to Europe brings
a Miami-style economic stimulus. And as colombian cartels are generally more concerned with getting cocaine out of Colombia at a profit than getting it all the way to its destination, we're probably only a few years away from a senegalese
Scarface.
posted by jake1
on Feb 12, 2010 -
26 comments
When
Pablo Escobar
escaped from prison in 1992, a lot of people in Colombia began to lose sleep. Some of these people formed
Los Pepes - People Persecuted by Pablo Escobar - a collection of Escobar's fiercest narco competitors,
paramilitaries and columbian authorities with perhaps even
american intelligence assisstance. After taking care of Escobar the victorious narcos, as the
Cali Cartel, went on to rule the world of cocaine. For about three years. A younger, more ruthless crew inside the Cali Cartel quickly did away with the old guard and established what is still today considered the largest supplier of cocaine in the world, the
North Valley Cartel.With many former police officers in its upper ranks and the assisstance of one of the Colombian military's
top antinarcotics officers, the North Valley Cartel was more likely to
run a wiretap than be caught on one.Still, as to the whole
omerta thing? North Valley Cartel bigshot Andres Lopez AKA Florecita (little flower?), after turning himself in to american authorities, cooperating and serving about 2 years in prison, wrote a book.
El Cartel de los Sapos (Cartel of the Snitches) was then made into
the most popular telenovela ever by Colombia's Caracol and dominated just about every market its played in. Oh yeah, and telemundo is streaming them
all for free with subtitles as we speak. Not quite The Wire, but still a must see.
posted by jake1
on Jan 28, 2010 -
37 comments
In his autobiography, published in 2007, Blur bassist Alex James admitted to blowing a million pounds on champagne and cocaine. This confession led to an invitation from Colombia's President Uribe to visit the country and see the damage being caused by the drug trade. He went, and the
BBC filmed it (
one,
two,
three).
posted by jontyjago
on Jun 14, 2009 -
64 comments
Teapot Dome 2008 -- "The report also detailed cozy relationships between energy companies and other officials in the royalty-in-kind program office. Some 19 officials — a third of the staff — took gifts from oil and gas executives, some with “prodigious frequency,” it said."
[more inside]
posted by vhsiv
on Sep 10, 2008 -
27 comments
Here's an odd unforeseen consequence of the Columbian drug trade: fishermen along Nicaragua's Mosquito Coast have been been getting rich off of "
white lobster"—cocaine dumped overboard by Columbian drug traffickers that, through a fortuitous arrangement of sea currents, washes ashore.
[more inside]
posted by Weebot
on Oct 31, 2007 -
17 comments
Jessica Dimmock: I was approached by a cocaine dealer who made it clear that he was a dealer. Over the course of the conversation he made it clear that if I wanted to follow him and photograph him I could. He took me to a variety of places - parties, people's apartments, the owner of an escort service. The last place he ever took me was the apartment where the project starts.
Jessica Dimmock is the 2006 recipient of the
Inge Morath Award to encourage young female photojournalists. Her series, The Ninth Floor is epic in its savage and true depiction of the reality of drugs in New York City. NSFW.
posted by parmanparman
on Jul 9, 2007 -
160 comments
For most musicians, it's difficult to pinpoint a particular event that forever sullied their image and destroyed their popularity. For 80's rocker
Billy Squier, however, the
reason is
clear. [YouTube]
posted by starkeffect
on Aug 11, 2006 -
79 comments
Fox pussies out. Recently a bill passed in mexico
legalizing all drugs under certain specified quantities. The bill was promoted By Vincente Fox's party, and came from his offices. However he decided not to sign it under U.S. pressure.
There go my vacation plans.
posted by Paris Hilton
on May 4, 2006 -
57 comments
He's young, telegenic, bilingual, a Harvard grad... and
now André Boisclair, the
youngest person ever elected to a seat in Quebec's National Assembly, is the new leader of the
Parti Quebecois, the nationalist -- as in
Quebec nationalist -- left-leaning party
founded to take
Canada's mostly french-speaking province out of the federation. Oh, and
he's gay. And an
admitted (former) cocaine user (although that might be
a good thing.) Oh, and, according to the polls, the next Premier Ministre of Quebec.
posted by docgonzo
on Nov 16, 2005 -
116 comments
Strange Findings, circa 1985: "Please welcome our very charming guest host—
Mr. Corey Feldman!" (Quicktime req.)(NSFA: Not Safe for Anyone)
posted by dhoyt
on Apr 7, 2005 -
14 comments
must drive fast faster faster The use of cocaine is widespread among Formula One drivers, a former Ferrari team doctor has claimed.
Although random FIA tests have never returned a positive result, Benigno Bartoletti said in Rome that 'as many as one third' of the current field take the drug as a stimulant prior to grands prix.
posted by halekon
on Jan 3, 2005 -
29 comments
Tired? Need a boost? Everything you ever wanted to know about one of America's favourite energy boosters. This website contains 25 pages covering the history, uses (both legitimate and illegitimate), and biological characteristics of cocaine and the coca plant. An interesting read for those with time to kill (like me). Possibly NSFW.
posted by LunaticFringe
on Dec 17, 2004 -
10 comments
"Vancouver has opened North America's first legal shooting gallery for drug addicts." -for all you poor saps where guns are a part of your everyday vocabulary, NO that's not a place where drug addicts shoot guns.- this is a pilot program supported by all levels of government in BC and in Canada, where addicts can inject drugs in a supervised, clean environment. The purpose of which ultimately I think is to bridge the huge gap between "them" and "us" and possibly shrink the distance addicts have to reach through for help. Does my heart bleed for "them"? Absolutely not. You choose your weapon, you suffer the consequences. But what this could lead to is less addicts and therefore less reason for addicts to commit crimes to support their addictions...
posted by giantkicks
on Sep 16, 2003 -
71 comments
