Prime Minister Bruce Golding has expressed outrage at overseas media reports which have labelled him "a known criminal affiliate of hunted drug lord" Christopher 'Dudus' Coke. In a press release late last night, Golding "categorically denied and dismissed the story" carried by mainstream United States network ABC as extremely offensive. The Independent, a United Kingdom newspaper, also claimed that Coke's "drug gang was on (the) payroll of (the) Jamaican prime minister". Golding said "both publications, by seeking to link him personally with the alleged drug kingpin, were clearly part of a conspiracy to undermine the duly elected Government of Jamaica ". [continues 182 words]
Florida's successful drug and alcohol prevention efforts in schools and communities are in jeopardy. Fueled by federal funding through the Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities grants, the Sunshine State has served as a model for the country, promoting strong drug prevention efforts through a robust system of prevention coalitions across the state. Since 1999, the Florida Office of Drug Control has organized and empowered an effective statewide network of grassroots prevention coalitions that has been remarkably successful in protecting our youth from drugs and alcohol. [continues 496 words]
Mexican presidents who visit Washington are expected to show up on time for the photo ops, dress appropriately for the state dinner, and then flash a warm, neighborly smile as they board the plane to leave. They aren't supposed to behave the way Felipe Calderon did last week when he addressed a joint session of Congress. The Mexican president told U.S. lawmakers that they must ban automatic weapons, and he called Arizona's new immigration law a "terrible idea" that undermines civil rights. As annoying as anything, he talked past his audience of lawmakers and spoke directly to the more than 7 million Mexican illegal immigrants living in the United States: [continues 554 words]
State Attorney Angela Corey has a point. Some of the offenders who were recommended for post-conviction drug court might have been more likely to use their freedom to wreak mayhem than seriously work on curing their drug habit. She's also right about it being the state's duty to protect the public. Yet, it's disturbing that politics and personalities reverberating between Corey, Court Administrator Joe Stelma and Chief Circuit Judge Donald Moran may have conspired to deny drug offenders a chance to clean up their act through a post-conviction drug court - a dispute that led to it being shut down after court officials lost a $1.4 million grant to fund it. [continues 528 words]
WICHITA - A physician assistant who worked at a clinic tied to 68 overdose deaths testified Tuesday that records were so disorganized that a patient was able to get more painkillers even though she went to an emergency room for an overdose two days earlier. Hien Tran said a hospital fax about the emergency treatment never made it into the patient's file at Schneider Medical Clinic in Haysville. Tran said she never would have refilled the prescription had she seen the fax. [continues 490 words]
Jamaica is paying a painfully high price to learn the elementary lesson that no government can afford to ignore or tolerate drug trafficking. At last count, with gunshots still echoing across the capital Tuesday, at least 30 people had died in the slums of Kingston as police and soldiers fought to regain control of crime-ridden neighborhoods that drug kingpins and their armed gangs have long considered personal fiefdoms. The mayhem involves reputed underworld boss Christopher "Dudus" Coke. His various nicknames include "Mister President," an indication of his power and status in Jamaica. It began after Prime Minister Bruce Golding dropped his nine-month refusal to extradite Coke to the United States to face federal drug charges in New York. Coke's ties to Mr. Golding and his Jamaica Labour Party were said to be behind the government's initial unwillingness to agree to the extradition. [continues 401 words]
The Chaos In Kingston Is Symptomatic Of The Failure Of Us-led Cocaine Prohibition. This Tragic Violence Must Force A Rethink The tragedy unfolding in Jamaica is symptomatic of a wider crisis of organised crime, armed violence and political corruption caused by a failed "war on drugs". The tangled political and economic roots of the problem run very deep. Caribbean nations were born from the violence of chattel slavery and rebellion, colonial domination and the struggle for liberation and self-determination. The postcolonial flight of capital and structural readjustment have been compounded by the end of transatlantic trade agreements that have led to the collapse of the region's agricultural economic base. High levels of unemployment and extreme marginality have been the result for many communities. [continues 720 words]
THERE ARE many lessons that Bahamians, including politicians, can learn from the alarming situation in Jamaica. It was reported late yesterday that at least 30 persons were killed by that country's well armed criminal element, now challenging the state's attempt to arrest their drug lord "president." For too long the Jamaican police and the government have turned a blind eye to Jamaica's slums. Known as garrisons they have been taken over by criminal dons, who have turned them into their personal kingdoms. [continues 542 words]
THE OPERATION by the Jamaican security forces in the west Kingston community of Tivoli Gardens is not yet over, so there can as yet be no full assessment of its achievements. But this newspaper believes that the performance of the men and women of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) and the Jamaica Defence Force over the past two days has been nothing short of commendable. They have acted, not only in an organised and resolute manner, but have displayed bravery and courage in confronting a major challenge to the Jamaican state by narco-terrorists and criminals. [continues 443 words]
