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War. What is it good for? With apologies to Edwin Starr, way beyond absolutely nothing for some fortunate few war is worth billions. Whether declared against countries, or concepts, poverty or ebola war and preparation for war is so lucrative it has become a supporting pillar of the global economy.
Nowhere perhaps is war’s profit potential more apparent than in the perpetual War on Drugs. Well into its second generation, the iteration of the drug wars, coined “The War on Drugs” by Richard “Tricky Dick” Nixon has earned uncounted billions for gangs and grow ops, while making billions more for the endless retinue making up the Judicial-Enforcement-Prison Complex.
And, like it’s namesakes, this war is also responsible for the ruination of unknowable numbers of lives.
Dawn Paley is a freelance journalist and author who has spent more than a decade reporting from Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, and Northeast Mexico. Her articles have appeared in the Nation, the Guardian, Vancouver Sun , Globe and Mail, Ms. Magazine, the Tyee, Georgia Straight, and NACLA, among other places. Her work in Latin America has focused on the business practices of the extractive industries, and the interconnectedness of high finance, politics, and organized crime.
Dawn’s first book, ‘Drug War Capitalism’ is fresh out from AK Press, who describe it as going; “…beyond the usual horror stories, beyond journalistic rubbernecking and hand-wringing, to follow the thread of the Drug War story throughout the entire region of Latin America and all the way back to US boardrooms and political offices.”
Dawn Paley in the first half.
And; more than just in America, November is election month here too. The municipal polls are set to go in a little more than a week’s time, on the 15th of this month. Joan Russow is the former leader of the Green Party of Canada who, since stepping down from the Greens, has spent her time working as a reporter and filmmaker; recording the climate change conferences in Copenhagen and Cancun, working on the film, ‘Cooperatives: Counterpoint to Capitalism,’ and traveling down to Venezuela to chronicle the groundbreaking progress cooperatives have made there since the Bolivarian Revolution. She also serves as an editor to the web news site, PEJNews.com. Now, Joan has thrown her beret into the Oak Bay councillor’s race ring.
Joan Russow and democracy behind the tweed curtain in the second half.
And; Victoria Street Newz publisher emeritus and CFUV Radio broadcaster, Janine Bandcroft will be here at the bottom of the hour to bring us up to speed with what’s good going on and otherwise around our town and beyond here too. But first, Dawn Paley following the tangled Drug War threads.
Chris Cook hosts Gorilla Radio, airing live every Wednesday, 1-2pm Pacific Time. In Victoria at 101.9FM, and on the internet at: http://cfuv.uvic.ca. And now heard at Simon Fraser University’s http://www.cjsf.ca . He also serves as a contributing editor to the web news site, http://www.pacificfreepress.com. Check out the GR blog at: http://gorillaradioblog.blogspot.ca/
G-Radio is dedicated to social justice, the environment, community, and providing a forum for people and issues not covered in the corporate media.
