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Officer Killed In Shootout (It Takes 15 'Oregonian' Reporters To Recap
Yesterday's News About Portland Marijuana Task Force Shootings)
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 18:19:38 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)
Subject: MN: US OR: Officer Killed In Shootout
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Phil Smith
Source: Oregonian, The
Contact: letters@news.oregonian.com
Authors: J. Todd Foster, Stuart Tomlinson
and David Austin of The Oregonian staff
Pubdate: Wed, 28 Jan 1998
OFFICER KILLED IN SHOOTOUT
Peter Farrell, David R. Anderson, Hal Bernton, Eric Gorski, Ashbel S.
Green, Jennifer Bjorhus, Norm Maves, Dana Tims, Dan Hortsch, James Long,
Michele Parente and Pete Schulberg of The Oregonian staff contributed to
this report.
Two others are injured as raid goes horribly wrong in mere seconds, witness says
A Portland policewoman was shot dead and two plainclothes officers were
wounded Tuesday as they raided the home of a self-avowed hater of women and
police.
Colleen Waibel, 44, is the city's first woman officer killed in the line of
duty and appears to be the second in Oregon's history.
She was with at least four other officers in an apparent marijuana raid
when a flurry of armor-piercing rounds from an automatic weapon struck her
in the upper chest and lower abdomen, just above and below her bulletproof
vest. She was dead on arrival at Legacy Emanuel Hospital. The shootings
occurred just before noon inside the front door of a blue, barn-like rental
home at 2612 S.E. 111th Ave.
After a 2 1/2-hour standoff, police fired four or five rounds of tear gas
and advanced on the house with an armored Oregon State Police car.
About 2:30 p.m., Steven Douglas Dons, 37, walked out the front door with a
bullet wound to the chest suffered during the initial fire fight. Police
also hit him in the chest with a nonlethal "beanbag." He was taken to
Oregon Health Sciences University Hospital.
Dons had shed his clothes, apparently because the tear gas had burned his
skin, and was loaded into the ambulance naked.
He has a long criminal history, including violence against Las Vegas police.
Injured were Portland officers Kim Keist, 39, who was in critical condition
at Legacy Emanuel Hospital with gunshot wounds to the chest and arm, and
Sgt. Jim Hudson, 42, who was struck in the hand.
The incident began unfolding at 11:48 a.m., when at least five Portland
officers arrived at the house.
Waibel was in uniform, and Keist and Hudson were in plainclothes - navy
blue windbreakers with "Police" in yellow block letters on the back. All
three wore Kevlar vests. The trio knocked on the front door while at least
two other officers staked out the back door.
They knocked on the door and yelled "Portland police" six times, neighbor
Jason Germany said and police confirmed.
When they got no answer, the officers grabbed a concrete stepping stone and
rammed it three times into the door, bashed it open, and were met with
gunfire in the entryway, said Germany, who watched the incident from his
apartment balcony across the street.
Waibel and Keist were hit immediately. Hudson was hit but returned fire,
allowing other officers to drag both policewomen from the home. Officers
called dispatchers with a "Code 0," meaning an officer down.
Lt. Cliff Madison, a police spokesman, said that although police did not
have a warrant, something inside the house led officers to break down the
door. When asked what that was, Madison refused to comment. The officers
did obtain a warrant six hours after the shooting, Madison said.
Germany, a 23-year-old Army veteran who served in Somalia, said he watched
as what looked to be a routine raid went horribly wrong in seconds. It was
the second time in six months that a Portland officer was fatally shot on
duty. Officer Thomas L. Jeffries died July 21.
Germany saw the officers arrive in a blue truck and strap on protective
vests. He told his wife, "They're doing a bust across the street" and went
to watch. "I thought it would be like watching `Cops' on TV."
Staccato gunfire awakened apartment resident Ivan Smolcic, 53, who has
lived there 12 years.
"It was one after another, boom, boom, boom, like machine gun," Smolcic
said. "I heard yelling, screaming and crying."
Germany said he didn't see flashes but saw smoke drifting out the front
door. "I thought, 'Ambush.' "
He yelled for a 4-year-old neighbor boy who was playing in the street to
run home.
"I saw one male officer pick up the female officer who was injured. He
carried her over his shoulder. He put her down on the grass. She was
rolling around."
The two male officers then pulled Waibel from the house and ran for cover.
They laid her out but did not perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation. "Her
head was limp, and I knew she had passed away," Germany said.
A call to grieve
Portland Mayor Vera Katz, outside the Legacy Emanuel Hospital emergency
room, called for the community to grieve for the dead officer and pray for
Keist, who was in surgery until about 5 p.m. Tuesday.
"It's time for this community to ask about the kinds of weapons we allow
people to have," Katz said. "The weapon that was used was very, very
powerful, and it went right through the vest."
Police have not released the types or number of weapons Dons kept.
"There are a lot of people in this community who don't respect human life,
who carry very, very destructive weapons and don't hesitate to use them,
and it's time to have a discussion about that," Katz said.
Said Police Chief Charles Moose, "Our congressional delegation has not been
strong and diligent in their efforts" to limit dangerous weapons.
Moose turned angry when a reporter suggested that police shootings are rare.
"It does happen in Portland, and people who want to pretend this is a farm
town don't know how dangerous a job it is to be a police officer here," he
said.
Dons was alone in the house and apparently lived there with Jeffrey Moore,
who had rented it for $850 a month for about five years, said Anita
Geistlinger, who owns the home. Moore was not involved in the standoff.
Geistlinger didn't know Dons but said Moore worked at Mt. Hood Community
College and never missed a rent check. "He's been a good renter and never
caused me any problems."
Dons was known as a neighborhood smart-aleck but a good employee when he
worked at a nearby Astro gasoline station, 11214 S.E. Division St.
Co-workers, including Astro managers Dave Shaddon and his wife, Shannon,
said Dons didn't bear pressure well and sometimes complained of hearing
voices.
"People were afraid he might come down there and shoot them. But I can't
picture him doing something like this," said Dave Shaddon.
Former co-workers said Dons frequently bragged about the automatic weapons
he could get and how he hated police officers and women.
"He used to say, `Anybody screws with me, they're dead,'O" he said.
Dons' employment application states that he graduated from Aptos (Calif.)
High School, was an airman first class, and lived at least 15 years in Las
Vegas.
Police in Las Vegas said he compiled an arrest record between 1979 and
1993: Two counts of obstructing a police officer and single counts of
resisting arrest, resisting a police officer, battery with a deadly weapon,
using a deadly weapon in the commission of a crime, and being an ex-felon
in possession of a firearm.
"Based on his history, you can pretty much call him a career criminal,"
said Phil Rollins, spokesman for the Las Vegas Metro Police Department.
Dons is under heavy guard at OHSU Hospital, where he is in serious condition.
A sound like firecrackers
Naturopathic physician Thomas Abshier, whose office is near the shooting
scene, heard what he thought were 20 firecrackers. Then, he said, an eerie
quiet enveloped the neighborhood.
Dennis Freitas, an employee of TNCC Construction Co., said, "Then all of a
sudden, boom, boom, boom, (police) came out of the woodwork."
Nearby resident Rick Shipley said the house where the raid occurred is
about 40 feet from the street and appears to be a garage converted to
living space.
Jennifer Freeman, 19, said she was visiting her mother a block away when
she saw an older officer approaching. "He was bawling his head off."
John Beeler, 80, was working in his backyard next door when the shots rang out.
"It sounded like the Fourth of July," he said. "My mouth flew open. I
couldn't really believe what I was seeing."
Said Beeler's companion, Kay Valladao, "That's too close to home for comfort."
Police with the bureau's Special Emergency Reaction Team drove an armored
car to the front of the house after using it to push a blue pickup out of
the way. Using a megaphone, they ordered Dons out.
Seventeen-year veteran
Waibel joined the bureau 17 years ago as a civilian in the records office.
She also was a deputy with the Washington County Sheriff's Office. She is
survived by her husband, Mark Fortner, a sergeant with the bureau's East
Precinct. She has two children.
Fortner had taken a sick day Tuesday and learned about his wife's death at
home. He immediately left for Emanuel.
Noble Keist, a retired Multnomah County sheriff's sergeant who has been
married to Officer Keist since 1986, saw his wife after surgery. She was
still unconscious.
"Her color's good," he said. "She had two rounds inside her body, one of
which is still there.
Officer Keist has been with the bureau 15 years and is a former St. Helens
police officer. In April 1990, she chased a motorist who fled from a
traffic stop. During a scuffle on his front porch, the man grabbed Keist's
gun and used it to wound another policewoman.
Neighbors and citizens who heard about the shooting made a steady stream to
the bureau's East Precinct, bringing food and flowers. By 5:30 p.m., so
many donations had been made that police asked them to stop.
"We appreciate it, but it's overwhelming," said Sgt. Jim Parks. "There
isn't room for it."
"There's going to be a lot of officers coming in here, and none of them
wants to talk at this time. They just want to be alone."
City Commissioner Charlie Hales walked out of the precinct, his suit coat
drooping, looking for words that would make sense.
"It always seems we lose our best," Hales said.
Said Multnomah County Sheriff's Sgt. Brian Martinek: "This is going to send
a shock wave. Police are a close-knit group. . . . We're just recovering
from the Jeffries shooting. Emotionally, this is going to set us way back."
***
Related Story
Kitzhaber cancels
announcement in
wake of shooting
SALEM, Ore. (AP) -
Shootings of Portland
police officers on
Tuesday caused
Gov. John Kitzhaber
to cancel news
conferences set for
Wednesday at which
he was expected to
announce a bid for a
second term as
governor.
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Neighbors Protest Arrival Of Clinic For Addicts ('The Oregonian' Says
Some Residents Of Buckman Area In Inner Southeast Portland
Don't Want Delta Methadone Clinic At 2600 SE Belmont)
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 18:19:15 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)
Subject: MN: US OR: Neighbors Protest Arrival of Clinic for Addicts
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: "The Furnace Room"
Source: Oregonian, The
Contact: letters@news.oregonian.com
Author: John Snell of The Oregonian staff
Pubdate: Wed, 28 Jan 1998
NEIGHBORS PROTEST ARRIVAL OF CLINIC FOR ADDICTS
Buckman residents complain they should have been told a methadone center
was moving in, and threaten to take legal action
Jack Bogdanski got new around Christmastime. But he's hardly calling on
Welcome Wagon to greet them. In fact, the professor at Northwestern School
of Law is part of an organized group of Buckman residents that a Delta
methadone clinic opened at 2600 S.E. Belmont St. without first notifying
neighbors. The clinic moved in Dec. 15 and replaces a Delta company clinic
that operated in the Hollywood neighborhood for six years.
Methadone, which is dispensed as a syrup, is used to help heroin addicts
recover. It can satisfy addictive cravings without leaving addicts in a
narcotic stupor. Methadone clinics are frequently a cause for alarm in the
neighborhoods where they are located.
"The main complaint we have is there is no public process to bring this
in," said Bogdanski, a professor of tax law. "If they wanted to sell beer
there, they'd have to post a notice. It's done with alcohol -- it's done
with child care, for crying out loud.
"But on methadone clinics, there's nothing required at all. We're left with
taking to the sidewalks and in the courts."
Buckman residents are doing both. Bogdanski said an attorney has been
retained to find a way to fight the clinic, while neighbors conduct regular
pickets. The people at Delta clinic say they are dismayed.
"We weren't secretive about this," said clinic owner Bertie Wright. "We've
got all the permits and we were here working before we opened. We're not
the villain. We didn't' sneak over here."
Many neighbors, however, said they didn't know anything until the clinic opened.
Experts say methadone is the most successful medical means of treating the
physical side of heroin addiction. Still, the psychological factors behind
behaviors that lead to addiction often remain. Authorities estimate that
only 10 percent to 20 percent of the people treated with methadone will
remain drug-free over the long term.
Even so, a panel from the National Institutes of Health last year strongly
recommended that methadone's use be expanded and that most state and
federal regulations governing its use be eliminated. The NIH estimates that
115,000 of the country's 600,000 heroin addicts are receiving methadone.
Delta was unsuccessful last year in trying to move the Hollywood clinic to
Southeast 35th Avenue and Powell Boulevard. That location would have
allowed Delta to provide methadone to more addicts, as well as offer more
parking and better access to public transit.
Wright said Delta went to the Creston-Kenilworth neighborhood first, hoping
to find support. It found opposition instead -- much like it's finding now
-- and eventually state Attorney General Hardy Myers said that location
would violate a state law prohibiting methadone clinics within 1,000 feet
of a school or licensed day-care center. The proposed site was across the
street from the Parry Center for Children, a 24-hour center for disturbed
youths. Bogdanski said he thought the site in the Buckman area is close to
being within 1,000 feet of a private high school.
"If this is more than 1,000 feet from Central Catholic, it's under 1,100,
I'll tell you that," he said. "We're getting out the tape measure."
Sylvia McGauley of the Buckman Community Association said residents were
trying to hire a surveyor to check whether any part of the clinic is within
1,000 feet of Central Catholic. At City Hall, officials said the city
doesn't really regulate the siting of methadone clinics, so it's staying
out of the dispute.
"The zoning code treats a clinic as a clinic as a clinic," said Jillian
Detweiler, an aide to commissioner Charlie Hale's office. "There's no
difference between a methadone clinic and a chiropractor's office" under
the zoning code, and no requirement to notify neighbors before either opens
for business.
In Salem, Toni Phipps, who heads the Office of Alcohol and Drug Abuse
Programs, said Delta was within the letter of state regulations when it
opened without notifying its neighbors.
"If the local officials say that there is no requirement beyond that of a
chiropractor's office, that is sufficient for us," she said. "But come on.
I think the provider should have exercised some common sense here and tried
to hold some forum with these people and make an attempt to answer some of
their concerns.
"We don't regulate common sense. If we did, I'd knock their heads together."
Phipps said it might be necessary to start requiring clinics to give notice
before opening. "Rules usually get implemented because of one sour apple in
the bunch," she added. "There's probably some room here where we can
tighten it up a bit."
Phipps said the only state requirement now is that clinic operators affirm
in writing that they are not within 1,000 feet of a school or day-care
center.
The whole issue of methadone clinics could become moot in a few years. The
Food and Drug Administration is expected this spring to approve another
synthetic opiate, buprenorphine, which is also effective in treating heroin
but lacks some of methadone's problems. It isn't addictive, it's in pill
form, and if it receives FDA approval, doctors could dispense it from their
offices.
Meanwhile, Bogdanski that inner Southeast Portland is becoming home to more
than its share of agencies and organizations that deal with society's
biggest problems.
"The St. Francis Church soup kitchen feeds homeless people," he said. "That
is in the Buckman neighborhood and that is a magnet now that Baloney Joe's
is closed. I'm not arguing that it's a bad facility, but it's there.
"There are a number of runaway youth shelters in the neighborhood. I think
they do a great job, but they're here," Bogdanski said. "My hat is off to
the Harry's Mother people, who have homes in this neighborhood. And the St.
Francis soup kitchen. They're doing wonderful work. But they're here."
The clinic is factored in, along with a shelter for homeless men that will
open soon near the east end of the Hawthorne Bridge, and the possibility of
a home for gang-affected youth that may be located near Colonel Summers
Park, gets to be too much, Bogdanski said. McGauley agreed, saying, "We're
all extremely supportive of social services, but in this city there is no
equitable distribution of high-impact social services."
"Nobody wants this stuff," Bogdanski said. "The Buckman neighborhood has to
wake up.
"I had no interest in neighborhood politics until Dec. 23, when I found out
the Delta clinic showed up two blocks from my house," he said. he wonders
why it seems as if so many social services are in his neighborhood rather
than on Portland's westside. "There is a real fairness issue going on," he
said.
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Lawyers For Money Launderer Ordered To Turn Over Fees
('Providence Journal-Bulletin' Says Rhode Island US Attorney Has Filed Motion
In Federal Court To Forfeit Fees Paid To Five Lawyers In Five States
By Convicted Drug Defendant)
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 07:19:27 -0500
From: "R. Lake"
Subject: MN: US RI: Lawyers for Money Launderer Ordered to Turn Over Fees
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-to: rlake@mapinc.org
Organization: http://www.mapinc.org
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Richard Lake, Sr. Editor,The Media Awareness Project
Source: Providence Journal-Bulletin
Pubdate: Wednesday, 28 Jan 1998
Contact: letters@projo.com
Website: http://projo.com/
LAWYERS FOR MONEY LAUNDERER ORDERED TO TURN OVER FEES
Lawyer Stephen O'Donnell, of Providence, is one of five lawyers being
ordered to turn over nearly $2 million in legal fees paid by Stephen
Saccoccia, money the U.S. attorney claims they should have know was
laundered drug profits.
Arguing that nearly $2 million that convicted money-launderer Stephen
Saccoccia paid to his lawyers came from drug dealers' money that he
laundered, the U.S. government has demanded that the money be turned over to
the government.
U.S. Attorney Sheldon Whitehouse has filed a motion in federal court in
Providence, arguing that certain legal fees paid to Kenneth O'Donnell, of
Providence; Robert Luskin, of Washington, D.C.; Jack Hill, of San Francisco;
Stephen Finta, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Lawrence Semenza, of Nevada,
were paid in such a fashion that the lawyers should have known that the
monies were laundered drug profits.
The Supreme Court has held that such fees are covered by federal criminal
asset forfeiture laws, according to Thomas Connell, spokesman for
Whitehouse.
The monies in question, according to depositions given by the five lawyers,
came in forms ``such as gold bars, cash that was dropped off at hotels and
in the trunks of cars and money transfers from Swiss bank accounts,''
according to Connell.
In 1993, Saccoccia was sentenced to 660 years in federal prison for
laundering Colombian drug money. He was also fined $15.8 million and ordered
to forfeit $136.3 million.
Ten other defendants were also convicted in Rhode Island and imprisoned for
their roles in the money-laundering, including Saccoccia's wife, Donna, who
was sentenced to 14 years.
Evidence presented at trial showed that Saccoccia and his codefendants
received millions of dollars in cash from drug dealers and laundered it by
buying gold, bank checks and travelers' checks. Saccoccia kept a percentage
of the proceeds as his fee, and the rest was wired to Colombia.
After the Saccoccias were arrested in 1991, the court froze their assets,
including bank accounts, gold or other precious metals, up to $140 million.
Because they declined to submit a list of their assets, the court also
rejected the Saccoccias' argument that the government's actions had left
them unable to pay their lawyers.
After Saccoccia's conviction, the government continued to look for his
money-laundering proceeds. As part of that effort, the government received
court permission to depose several of the Saccoccias' lawyers.
During the course of those depositions, taken in March and April of 1996,
the five lawyers testified about the payments Saccoccia made to them.
The government, in a memorandum supporting its motion, argues that the
manner in which those payments were made put the lawyers on notice that
these were assets that Saccoccia had acquired through his racketeering and
money-laundering activities and that were frozen by the court's protective
order.
The government argues that the lawyers knew from the indictment and the
evidence presented at trial that virtually all of Saccoccia's assets were
subject to forfeiture.
``This should not be viewed as a broad-brush assault on defense counsels'
legitimate fees,'' said Whitehouse. ``The unusual circumstances of this
case, both the existence of a court order freezing Saccoccia's assets, and
the cloak-and-dagger nature of these anonymous and surreptitious payments,
make this an exceptional case.''
O'Donnell testified that he received $410,000 from Saccoccia, kept about
$107,500 and distributed the rest to other Saccoccia lawyers. According to
the memorandum, he received three cash payments totaling $125,000, which
were dropped off anonymously at his office.
The individual who dropped off the first cash payment of $50,000 refused to
identify himself and said only that the cash was ``money owed to
Saccoccia.'' O'Donnell also testified that he received a $285,000 wire
transfer from Switzerland, some of which he gave to various members of
Saccoccia's family. During the summer of 1993, Finta dropped off at
O'Donnell's office 15 gold bars for Luskin.
The other four lawyers received payments of hundreds of thousands of dollars
in similar fashion.
The Saccoccia case was investigated by the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service
Criminal Investigation Division, Rhode Island State Police, Cranston police
and the U.S. Customs Service.
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DrugSense Weekly, Number 31 (Summary Of Drug Policy News
For Activists - Includes Original Article, 'Civil Asset Forfeiture,'
By Tom Gordon)
Date: Wed, 28 Jan 1998 14:43:11 -0800
To: mgreer@mapinc.org
From: Mark Greer (MGreer@mapinc.org)
Subject: DrugSense Weekly January 28, 1998 #031
***
DRUGSENSE WEEKLY
***
DrugSense Weekly
January 28, 1998
#031
A DrugSense publication
http://www.drugsense.org
***
* Readers are encouraged to download those articles in which they have a
particular interest; it is hoped the comments will help you select which
articles to download.
Feedback welcome. Please send your comments to our editorial staff.
E-mail addresses are provided at the end of this newsletter.
***
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
* Feature Article - Civil Asset Forfeiture, by Tom Gordon
* Weekly News In Review
Domestic News -
Adolescents
Students Challenge Effectiveness of Anti-Drug Ads
Cannabis Clubs
Pot Club Wins Reprieve as Judge Hints At Delay
Drug Czar
Media Should Join With The Government To
Push Anti-Drug Message
Heroin
Needling Giuliani
Ralph Seeley, Freedom Fighter
Ralph Seeley, A Columnist, Lawyer And Fighter, Dies At 49
The Drug War
Mr. Gingrich Goes to Hollywood
Ex-Agent's Past Catches Public Agencies Off Guard
International News -
UK: How We Fought And Lost The Drugs World War
UK: Just Say No To A Drugs Campaign That Has Zero Resonance
China Drug Busts, Detox Camp Inmates Soared Last Year
UK: Cannabis Campaign: All You Need Is Pot, Says McCartney
France: Lobby Grows For Medicinal Marijuana
UK: The Ultimate Betrayal? Tories Took Money From A Heroin Baron
* Tip of the Week
New DrugNews search engine - find the info you want FAST
* Hot Off The 'Net
Prisons: Growth Industry Of The 90's
***
FEATURE ARTICLE
Civil Asset Forfeiture
by Tom Gordon (tgordon@tmn.com)
Civil asset forfeiture, which allow the government to take property from
people based on no more than the suspicion of a crime, continues to be a
largely unknown violation of civil liberties. Since forfeiture is a
proceeding against property rather than a person, neither a criminal
conviction, nor even a formal accusation is necessary before a person
loses his property.
In 1997, the prospect of forfeiture law reform appeared promising.
Representative Henry Hyde (R-IL), along with Representative John Conyers
(D-MI), introduced H.R. 1835. This legislation would have shifted the
burden of proof in forfeiture proceedings to the government and raised
the standard of proof in such proceedings from a mere "probable cause"
to "clear and convincing evidence." The bill also would provide for the
appointment of counsel to indigent forfeiture victims. Furthermore, the
bill would provide additional protection against forfeiture of the
property of innocent owners. Finally, it would eliminate the
requirement that owners of forfeited property pay a cost bond of ten
percent of the value of the property to contest the forfeiture, and in
many cases would allow immediate release of seized property pending the
outcome of forfeiture proceedings.
Although H.R. 1835 enjoyed widespread support from Representatives
across the political spectrum, it also faced opposition from the Justice
Department. After officials from the Justice Department met with
Representatives Hyde and Conyers, H.R. 1835 was replaced with H.R. 1965,
which was overwhelmingly passed by the House Judiciary Committee (only
Bob Barr (R-GA) voted against). The new bill is titled the "Civil Asset
Forfeiture Reform Act," but it is in fact a gutting of the provisions of
H.R. 1835 which would in some ways worsen forfeiture laws under the
guise of reform.
One example of alleged reform is H.R. 1965's provision of counsel to
indigent forfeiture victims. H.R. 1965, like H.R. 1835, would provide
an attorney to a forfeiture victim who is unable to afford one.
However, unlike the true reform bill, the new bill requires that before
being appointed counsel, a person must appear at a hearing at which they
can be cross-examined by the government - without the benefit of
counsel! Even more outrageously, testimony from this hearing can be used
against a person during the main forfeiture proceedings.
Another so-called reform of H.R. 1965 is its provision for an "innocent
owner" defense. The bill creates a rebuttable presumption that one is
an innocent owner, but only if one promptly notifies the police of the
conduct that could result in a forfeiture and only if one acts with
police to prevent the illegal use of the property. In other words, one
must act as an informant to qualify for an innocent owner defense.
Furthermore, since this is merely a rebuttable presumption, the
government can still argue against the innocent owner defense even after
a person cooperates with them. H.R. 1965 would also increase the burdens
on forfeiture victims in the discovery process and allow the government
to maintain possession of seized property while forfeiture proceedings
are taking place. These are only the most serious problems with H.R.
1965.
The text of H.R. 1965 and a complete analysis of the legislation is
available on FEAR's website at http://www.fear.org
***
WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW
***
Domestic News
***
Adolescents
DRUGSENSE COMMENT: $195 million for simplistic propaganda is amazing
when you consider that the entire drug reform movement is financed by a
minuscule fraction of that amount. It sounds like the ads are continuing
to preach rather than inform and that the sermons remain ungrounded in
reality. So much for "progress" in the drug war. McCaffrey's comments
are interesting. He's often told us "we're not going to arrest our way
out of the drug problem," here he's telling us that, "We're not going to
solve the drug problem in America with television and radio ads..." Tell
us, General, what does work?
US: WIRE: Students Challenge Effectiveness of Anti-Drug Ads
URL http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n051.a05.html
Source: Wire
Pubdate: Tue, 20 Jan 1998
ATLANTA (AP) - Lamar Stewart was amused by the anti-drug TV ad of a
20-something woman smashing an egg as well as everything else in the
kitchen with a frying pan.
The ad was supposed to send a simple message: Stay away from heroin, it
will destroy your life. But the 15-year-old told the nation's top
drug-fighter, retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey, the message was lost on him.
"It was kind of phony. The lady with the frying pan - that just made me
laugh," he said of the ad, one of four unveiled in Atlanta on Tuesday by
retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey, director of the White House Office of
National Drug Control Policy.
The action-packed MTV-style spot - reminiscent of the 1980s ads that
used a frying egg to demonstrate the effects of drug use on the brain -
is part of the federal government's $195 million anti-drug campaign
targeting youth.
The ads are being tested in Atlanta and 11 other cities and will be
released nationally in June.
Stewart, of suburban Stone Mountain, told McCaffrey the frying pan ad
failed to tell the audience what really happens when someone uses drugs
and what effect it has on the person's family.
But McCaffrey told an audience of students, politicians and community
leaders that the ad will send a message: Drugs destroy lives. "We are
persuaded from our testing on the ads... that they will have an effect.
That is one of our most powerful ads," he said.
Cynthia Stephens, 15, of Lawrenceville questioned the effectiveness of
the anti-drug campaign for children living in drug and alcohol-abuse
environments.
"That's not going to do a whole lot of good if you see your parents
doing it. They are supposed to be your role models," she said.
Three of the ads are aimed at young people ages 9 to 19 and a fourth
targets their parents.
McCaffrey said he went after parents because of recent studies that show
that many who tried drugs in the 1960s and 1970s are more tolerant of
experimentation by their teen-age children. He said the studies also
showed that, "believe it or not, kids listen to their parents."
"We're not going to solve the drug problem in America with television
and radio ads... But we estimate the average high school senior has had
12,000 hours of education when they get out of school. That same kid has
watched 15,000 hours of television. You know that television has got an
effect," he said.
(snip)
***
Cannabis Clubs
DRUGSENSE COMMENT: Although the feds leapt into the legal battles over
medical marijuana, a different issue, that of distribution, is wending
its way through state courts. Judge Garcia, who previously exhibited a
tolerant attitude toward cannabis, has frustrated Dan Lungren, at least
temporarily.
US CA: Pot Club Wins Reprieve as Judge Hints At Delay
URL http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n058.a12.html
Source: San Jose Mercury News
Contact: letters@sjmercury.com
Pubdate: Sat, 24 Jan 1998
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Attorney General Dan Lungren's attempt to shut down
a medicinal marijuana club hit a snag Friday when a judge suggested he
would delay action while the state Supreme Court considers the issue.
Lungren sought to halt operations of the Cannabis Cultivators Club,
based on a state appeals court ruling last month that said the club
could not legally sell marijuana to patients under Proposition 215, the
1996 medicinal marijuana initiative.
That ruling, which said Superior Court Judge David Garcia should order
the club closed, technically became final last week. But Garcia asked
the state's lawyer at a hearing Friday why he shouldn't wait until after
the state Supreme Court decides whether to hear the club's appeal, filed
Wednesday.
The court has 60 days to decide whether to take the case and can extend
that another 30 days. If it grants review, a ruling could take a year or
more.
(snip)
***
Drug Czar
DRUGSENSE COMMENT: McCaffrey frequently uses op-eds to initiate new
programs. These follow a pattern of the confident assertion of dubious
or unproven ideas about human behavior and drug use, followed by an
explanation of how those ideas will be utilized in the latest strategy.
In this case, he is advancing the thesis that advertising can change
essential human behavior, an idea which has been discredited many times
over during the course of the drug war. The latest CD technology
probably won't change the outcome.
The General apparently never asks himself the obvious question of
whether such advertising may actually promote illegal drugs in the much
same way that Joe Camel promoted cigarettes.
US: OPED: Media Should Join With The Government To Push Anti-Drug
Message
URL http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n057.a03.html
Source: Daily Arizona Star
Contact: letters@azstarnet.com
Pubdate: January 16, 1998
Corporations are willing to spend billions of dollars on advertising
because it works. The electronic media - television, radio, film,
videos, Internet, CD-ROM and multi-media (including print journalism
augmented by color photography) - constitute the strongest educational
tools available in the modern world. Where earlier civilizations drew on
the walls of caves, we trace our culture on TV screens.
Mass media can change attitudes and behavior among youth in the fastest,
most effective way. In addition to drug prevention based in homes,
schools and communities, an aggressive media campaign is essential for
reducing drug abuse.
(snip)
Congress appropriated an unprecedented $195 million for the campaign.
Through support from the media and others in the private sector, this
figure could double - allowing us to increase paid advertising and
public service efforts.
Such an initiative is necessary because even though overall drug use
dropped by half in the last 15 years, teen-age drug use rose
precipitously. Eighth grade use nearly tripled in the last five years.
During this period, the number of anti-drug public service announcements
fell by 30 percent and many of those PSAs aired in time slots that
attract few children.
(snip)
The idea is not to control young minds. Our purpose is to offer accurate
data that enables maturing individuals to make rational choices. Drugs
are wrong because they hurt people. We cannot stand idly by while toxic,
addictive substances endanger children, family, friends and
neighborhoods. So look for the new ads and speak about the message.
American liberty entails freedom from substances that poison young minds
and kill youthful dreams.
Barry R. McCaffrey is director of the Office of National Drug Control
Policy.
***
Heroin
DRUGSENSE COMMENT: This "know nothing" editorial is infuriating because
of its arrogant display of ignorance and its insistence on viewing
social and health problems through a prism of phony morality.
We seem to be encountering this type of simplistic drug war rhetoric
considerably less often since the Media Awareness Project began. When
encountered, it begs for firm refutation.
US NY: NY Post Editorial: Needling Giuliani
URL http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n054.a01.html
Source: New York Post
Contact: editor@nypost.com
Mail: The Editor, The New York Post, 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New
York, NY 10036
Pubdate: Fri, 23 Jan 98
Website: http://nypostonline.com/
Note: The NY Post says send '75-100 word letters to the editor... Please
include your name, address and daytime phone number. No unverifiable
letters will be published. The Post reserves the right to edit and
condense all letters.'
Say that Mayor Guiliani got a report last June issued by one of his
outside advisory councils - a report recommending that the city bankroll
people's drug habits, facilitate addiction and condone hard-core drug
abuse.
(snip)
It turns out that an outside advisory council did issue such a report,
which surfaced this week in a New York Observer story. The report was
called "Needle Exchange Programs: An Analysis of Benefits and Costs,"
and it was the handiwork of the Mayor's Office of AIDS Policy
Coordination. The Observer claims that Giuliani and his aides buried the
report.
The only problem with the story is that Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro says
no one in the Mayor's Office ever heard of the document. But if it had
crossed his desk, Mastro says, he'd have proudly nixed it. And New
Yorkers would have had reason to be grateful.
The report recommended that the city fund and publicize needle-exchange
programs. It argued that some studies indicate such programs help slow
the spread of HIV among intravenous drug users.
What is a needle-exchange program? It's a trade-in service. A junkie
comes in with a polluted needle and trades it for a shiny new rig.
(snip)
Hey, these aren't sewing needles. They are hypodermics, used exclusively
for the abuse of drugs whose very possession is a felony. Furthermore,
it's a crime in New York state to use or possess needles without a
prescription. So when junkies walk in with their tainted needles, they
are already breaking the law.
(snip)
***
Ralph Seeley,
Freedom Fighter
DRUGSENSE COMMENT: I didn't know Ralph Seeley, but certainly wish I had.
The struggle of thousands like him is the reason we will ultimately
prevail; first on the issue of marijuana as medicine, later on the
demand for a sane, evidence-based drug policy.
US WA: Ralph Seeley, A Columnist, Lawyer And Fighter, Dies At 49
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n053.a10.html
Pubdate: January 22, 1998
Source: The Tacoma News Tribune
Contact: leted@p.tribnet.com
Website: http://www.tribnet.com/
One of Tacoma's toughest men has died.
Ralph Seeley, a Tacoma lawyer and a leading advocate of the medical use
of marijuana, died shortly before 11 p.m. Wednesday at Tacoma General
Hospital. He had collapsed at his North End home Saturday following a
potluck dinner party that featured his famous spaghetti and infamous
personality.
Seeley, 49, a former News Tribune columnist, died after suffering
cardiac arrest. His five-day coma at Tacoma General may have been the
longest silence of his life.
"Ralph had a million interests," said attorney Jeff Steinborn. "If there
was some subject Ralph couldn't speak about in an entertaining and
knowledgeable way, I never heard of it."
Seeley always spoke his mind and always had an opinion. His
outspokenness cost him jobs and earned him plenty of critics as well as
friends. Even his admirers acknowledged he could seem callous.
Underneath was compassion for people no one else would help and an
attraction to causes that seemed hopeless.
"He was one of the most unorthodox people you'll ever meet," said
attorney Michael Clark, who shared an office with Seeley.
Seeley enjoyed debate and didn't suffer fools. Principles were more
important than money. He favored an ancient Underwood typewriter over
modern electronic word processors. He loved fishing, flying airplanes,
horseback riding, reading, poker, storytelling and playing his cello. He
suffered setbacks that would have shattered many people, but he always
bounced back.
After leaving The News Tribune in 1988, Seeley made headlines as a civil
rights attorney and an advocate for medical use of marijuana. He won a
record $9 million verdict in his first court case, then saw the award
thrown out by the state Court of Appeals. In a case that brought
national attention, a judge gave Seeley the right to smoke marijuana to
ease the pain he suffered from cancer. But once again a higher court
reversed his victory.
Shortly after he left the newspaper, Seeley was diagnosed with chordoma,
a rare form of cancer. Doctors told him he had two years to live.
Seeley proved them wrong.
In the decade before his death, Seeley suffered more than a dozen
surgeries and lost a lung. He judged his quality of life by whether he
needed a walker or just a cane, or whether he could get out of bed at
all.
"Probably Ralph's greatest attribute - and his greatest deficit - was
his ego," Clark said. "I have never seen anyone with a larger ego than
Ralph. When Ralph had cancer, he decided it wouldn't kill him."
***
The Drug War
DRUGSENSE COMMENT: I have developed great respect for Ms. Huffingtons's
analytic abilities and her considerable writing skills. She has a good
ear for puffery and isn't shy about pointing it out, as this well
written piece shows; also her checking on the Speakers' bogus
statistical claims is a rarity among journalists covering the drug
war...
US CA: Editorial: Mr. Gingrich Goes to Hollywood
URL http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n050.a08.html
Source: San Diego Union Tribune
Contact: letters@uniontrib.com
Pubdate: Wed, 21 Jan 1998
Newt Gingrich came to Hollywood last week and gave the same speech he'd
just given to the Cobb County Chamber of Commerce in Marietta, Ga. Which
might have been OK if it were a good speech. But it wasn't...
(snip)
The speaker began by inviting us to have "an adult conversation" - by
which he did not mean a raunchy NC-17 conversation but a "serious" one.
And here was the extremely grown-up point he made: "We should decide,"
he said, "to become a drug-free country." I had instant visions of
practicing positive thinking in front of my mirror: "I am deciding to
live in a drug-free country, I am deciding to live in a drug-free
country..."
But the speaker apparently wasn't so naive as to think that this alone
would do it. He had a plan - the same recycled "just say no" plan
thanks to which, he asserted, "drug use declined by two-thirds between
1984 and 1992." His next assertion was that suddenly the decline stopped
and it all "turned around in six weeks." But neither the speaker's
office, nor the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, nor PRIDE (the
National Parents' Resource Institute for Drug Education) could provide
any corroborating evidence for these statements.
The shallowness of his analysis of the drug problem was matched by the
shallowness of the rest of the speech...
(snip)
***
DRUGSENSE COMMENT: This is a fascinating story of an agent who
personifies several excesses of our national drug policy which might
have been considered astounding thirty or forty years ago, but to which
we have become inured:
1) We actually invaded a sovereign nation so the DEA, in the person of
this man, could make a drug bust.
2) The enormous lure of easily accessible drug profits has tempted
untold numbers of senior officials and will continue to do so. The
arrest of Noriega was a high profile event, clearly not given to just
any agent; yet this man was tempted to steal only a few years later.
3) It's far safer to steal money than deal drugs. This man confessed to
the theft of 3/4 of a million dollars, and served only two years. It's a
safe bet that many of the people he arrested received far longer
sentences based on the weight of an illegal substance worth far less
than 3/4 million..
4) Drug testing is quietly becoming very important- both as a tool for
the repression of dissent and as a source of revenue for a growing
narco-industrial complex.
US CA: Ex-Agent's Past Catches Public Agencies Off Guard
URL http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n056.a05.html
Source: San Diego Union-Tribune
Pubdate: Fri, 23 Jan 1998
Contact: letters@uniontrib.com
Website: http://www.uniontrib.com/
As a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent, Rene De La Cova was a
hero who slapped handcuffs on Manuel Noriega, helping turn the
Panamanian strongman into a convict.
A few years later, De La Cova himself became a criminal, serving prison
time for stealing $760,000 in laundered drug money while a DEA agent in
the Miami area.
Now he has surfaced in San Diego County - in the drug-testing business.
(snip)
Theresa De la Cova also is a former DEA agent. She was forced to resign
in 1994 when her husband pleaded guilty to stealing the funds while
working on an undercover drug sting, according to court records in
Miami...
(snip)
Rene De La Cova, a supervisor of the DEA's Fort Lauderdale, Fla., office
at the time of his arrest, remains on probation after being sentenced to
a two-year federal prison term. (snip) Legally, there is nothing
improper with De La Cova working in the drug-testing field -
(snip)
It also points to the lack of regulations in this part of a
multibillion-dollar industry that generally is heavily scrutinized
across the nation.
(snip)
***
International News
DRUGSENSE COMMENT: This important editorial is a well written litany of
drug war failures which takes the reader well beyond the "it just
doesn't work" conclusion into a consideration of why the obvious
failures cannot even be admitted. It's an editorial which could not have
been published in a main-stream US newspaper. When these questions can
finally be asked in the American press, we'll finally know that the days
of the drug war are numbered.
Reformers should be sure they download this entire editorial.
UK: How We Fought And Lost The Drugs World War
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n062.a01.html
Pubdate: Sun, 25 Jan 1998
Source: Independent on Sunday
Contact: sundayletters@independent.co.uk
Mail: Independent on Sunday, 1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14
5DL England
Almost a tenth of world trade is in illegal narcotics. It is the
nightmare of our age. We investigate the men, the money, and how we let
the enemy win the battle.
For more than 25 years the United States and its Western allies,
including Britain, have waged the first world war on drugs. That war is
now lost. The most powerful nation on earth, which put a man on the moon
and defeated communism, has not been able to beat the drug barons of
small third world countries.
The unpalatable truth is that despite the longest war in American
history, today's world is awash with drugs. The breaking of the £1bn
heroin ring announced with such pride by Scotland Yard last week makes
scarcely a dent - three-quarters of all drugs still get through.
(snip)
***
DRUGSENSE COMMENT: The conclusions of this article are the perfect
refutation of McC's claims for the $195 million ad campaign the feds are
about to launch.
UK: OPED: Just Say No To A Drugs Campaign That Has Zero Resonance
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n061.a01.html
Pubdate: Sun, 25 Jan 1998
Source: Scotsman on Sunday
Contact: Letters_sos@scotsman.com
Alan Cochrane hopes Labour's new drugs policy will get down to the
grassroots issues without wasting money on advertising
In many ways it was a faintly ridiculous sight - all those middle-aged
politicians waddling around in sweatshirts and back-to-front basball
hats exhorting young people to stay off drugs. However, we shouldn't
necessarily berate the then Secretary of State Michael Forsyth for
launching his all- party initiative, Scotland Against Drugs.
Neither he nor George Robertson nor Alex Salmond, who joined him on the
battle-bus, could help their age or their lack of relevance to the young
people they were addressing...
(snip)
***
DRUGSENSE COMMENT: In one respect, China is tougher on drugs than the US
- they can, and do legally execute convicted drug dealers. However,
their use of arrest and imprisonment pales beside ours, especially when
one takes their much larger population into account; we arrested four
times as many just for marijuana violations as they did for all
"drug-related crimes."
To what extent drug use in China "was almost eradicated under harsh
communist crackdowns," can't, of course be known with certainty, because
the same totalitarian mind-set also rigidly controls information. It
makes sense in that an authoritarian regime is the only conceivable
setting for a "drug-free" society, but even then, my bet is that the
criminals would find a way to corrupt the bureaucracy .
The larger number of forced heroin detoxifications than total drug
arrests indicates that the criminal justice system is not as liberally
employed to harass users and addicts as in the US. The other
significance of the soaring use of heroin (as opposed to more
traditional opium) is that intensification of administration is a
classic prohibition effect. Heroin is replacing opium all over Southeast
Asia with a resultant explosion in new cases of AIDS.
WIRE: China Drug Busts, Detox Camp Inmates Soared Last Year
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n059.a09.html
Newshawk: adbryan@onramp.net
Source: Nando.net
Pubdate: Thu, 22 Jan 1998
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's tough crackdown on illegal narcotics last
year netted the country's biggest-ever drug haul and landed record
numbers of addicts in detoxification camps, state media and medical
therapists said on Wednesday.
China prosecuted a record 106,000 drug-related crimes in the first 11
months of last year, up 29 percent from the 1996 period, the Guangming
Daily said.
Authorities arrested or detained 135,000 people for drug crimes during
the period, up 57.8 percent year-on-year, and smashed 2,000 drug rings,
the Legal Daily said.
Most cases involved heroin or opium, but the report also mentioned
cannabis and crystal methamphetamine, or "ice."
Of the total drug cases, 108 involved heroin of more than 22 pounds, the
Guangming Daily said.
Experts said the sharp rise in cases showed stricter law enforcement to
combat the return of a problem China's communist authorities had all but
wiped out in the 1950s.
(snip)
China worst affected by drugs.
The number of people taken to China's 690 forced detoxification clinics
and to the 80 "detoxification-through-labor camps" also surged, the
Legal Daily said.
Heroin addicts were dragged to China's involuntary detoxification
institutions 180,000 times in the first 11 months, up 50,000 times from
the same period last year, the newspaper said.
(snip)
Medical workers told Reuters from Yunnan that many labor camps did not
stock drug substitutes used in easing the process of detoxification.
The brutality of forced detoxification, especially in the spartan labor
camps, often did more harm than good in the long term, one of the
therapists said.
(snip)
"Forcing addicts into a labor camp is not the best way to give people
the support and family warmth they need," she said.
Yunnan, in the southwestern corner of China, is the gateway for heroin
imports from the nearby Golden Triangle opium growing zone where Laos,
Thailand and Burma converge.
(snip)
Authorities have pledged to crack down on drug smuggling, but the porous
border and mountainous terrain of southern China where the problem is
most rampant makes enforcement difficult.
Drug smugglers are frequently executed in China.
In 1997, authorities seized more than five tons of heroin and 350 tons
of synthetic drugs, the Guangming Daily said.
Drug use in China was almost eradicated under harsh communist crackdowns
but has surged in recent years as two decades of economic reform have
eroded social controls.
Copyright 1998 Reuters
***
UK: Cannabis Campaign: All You Need Is Pot, Says McCartney
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n061.a10.html
Pubdate: Sunday, 25 Jan 1998
Source: Independent on Sunday
Contact: Email: cannabis@independent.co.uk
Cannabis, not LSD, was the creative force behind the Beatles' Sgt
Pepper's Lonely Hearts' Club Band album, Sir Paul McCartney revealed
last night, writes Tarquin Cooper.
He disclosed the drug's role in an interview with the Independent on
Sunday as it was announced that Sgt Pepper had been voted Britain's
favourite album in a poll for Channel 4. Sir Paul, a supporter of the
Independent on Sunday's cannabis campaign, recalled how he broke the
news of the influence of pot to the Beatles' producer, Sir George
Martin. "When George asked me, 'do you know what caused Pepper?' I said,
'in one word - pot'."
The producer refused to believe him saying, "But you weren't on it all
the time." Sir Paul said he had replied: "Yes, we were."
The album, featuring such hit songs as "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds",
"A Day in the Life" and "With a Little Help from My Friends", has sold
more than 4 million copies world-wide since its release in 1967.
(snip)
***
DRUGSENSE COMMENT: It's interesting, though not surprising that 215 has
had an impact beyond the borders of the US, spurring interest in the
idea of medical marijuana in other countries. This development in
France, until recently an adamant supporter of drug war doctrine, is
most welcome.
France: Lobby Grows For Medicinal Marijuana
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n061.a02.html
Pubdate: 13 Jan 98
Source: Le Monde (France's largest newspaper)
Contact: Lemonde@vtcom.fr
Fax: 0011 (33) 1 40-652-525
The Movement for Controlled Legalisation (MLC), which advocates the sale
of narcotics under state control, has just asked the French health
minister, Bernard Kouchner, to authorise the import of 10kg of cannabis
for therapeutic use.
The jurists of the MLC base their arguments on articles of the public
health code that give the health authorities the right to authorise the
import and use of narcotics for medical or scientific research.
(snip)
The use of cannabis as a medicine was recently legalised in California.
Germany is considering prescribing drugs containing the active
ingredient of cannabis for Aids sufferers, and the Netherlands is
looking into the possibility of "medical marijuana" being paid for by
social security.
Ten patients who are MLC members and have medical certificates showing
that they suffer from such ailments as epilepsy, glaucoma, tinnitus,
headaches or HIV infection, have written to Kouchner describing the
relief they derive from cannabis. Some of them have been in trouble with
the law because of their practice...
(snip)
"These isolated medical observations do not constitute scientific proof,
and the virtues of cannabis have yet to be confirmed. In a recent
editorial, however, the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine came
out in favour of the "compassionate" use of such products by terminal
patients. Kouchner himself is in favour of such an approach. But it
remains to be seen what action he will take in response to the MLC's
request.
Copyright by (c) Le Monde, Paris
***
DRUGSENSE COMMENT: It shouldn't surprise us that the US campaign
financing scandal has a UK homologue, nor that it involved drug money.
After all, political campaigns have to be financed somehow, and it was
Britain's insistence on selling Indian opium in China that provoked the
first "drug war," only that one (the First Opium War-1839) was waged on
behalf of a free market. With American assistance, we have managed to
turn the drug market over to criminals who are then empowered to corrupt
"honest" politicians and finance political campaigns.
UK: The Ultimate Betrayal? Tories Took Money From A Heroin Baron
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n058.a10.html
Pubdate: Tue, 20 Jan 1998
Source: The Independent (UK)
Contact: letters@independent.co.uk
The Conservative Party received a £1m donation from one of south-east
Asia's most notorious drug smugglers, his family alleged yesterday.
Steve Boggan and Anthony Bevins report the latest, and probably most
damaging, instalment in the Tory funding controversy
Ma Sik-chun, 59, channelled the money to the party in June 1994,
according to a series of front-page articles yesterday in the Hong
Kong-based Oriental Daily News, which the Ma family owns...
(snip)
Three months after the donation was made, Ma Ching-kwan, Mr Ma's son,
was invited to dine with Mr Major at Downing Street. The Oriental Daily
News published a copy of the invitation and the menu - cucumber and
tarragon soup, roast lamb with rosemary and orange and caramelised lemon
tart.
Conservative Central Office last night strongly denied that the party
would accept donations with any strings attached.
(snip)
Last night the Conservative Party refused to discuss individual donors
but a spokesman said donations were never accepted with conditions
attached. "We will categorically say that the Conservative Party did not
or would not accept donations conditional on favours," the spokesman
said.
(snip)
Mr Major's office said he was in the United States yesterday and,
therefore, not available to explain why CK Ma's presence at Downing
Street on 27 September 1994 was not listed at the time as one of the
former Prime Minister's official engagements.
(snip)
Commenting on the donation a Labour Party spokesman said last night: "If
this is true, then it is both a disgrace and a disaster for the Tory
party.
"We have always said that once the source of their foreign funding
became known, it would be an enormous embarrassment from which it would
be difficult for them to recover. William Hague and his predecessors
have got some very serious questions to answer and we will keep pressing
them very persistently."
With Lord Neill's official inquiry into party funding already taking
written evidence, the bombshell charge could not have dropped at a worse
moment for Mr Hague.
***
TIP OF THE WEEK
New DrugNews Search Engine - find the info you want FAST
The New Drug News Search engine is really quite impressive. Did you
ever wish you could quickly find a news article you had heard about or vaguely
remember? Now the entire DrugSense news article archive is quickly and
easily searchable.
Want an example? Go to http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/
Do a search on any subject you like. In seconds you will have a number
(probably a large number) of news articles on the subject of interest,
cites, dates, quotes, email addresses etc. all at your fingertips _and_ the
word(s) you searched for will all be **highlighted**.
That means that the next time you want to win an argument, write a letter,
do a radio talk show, or do some research your information is there for you
quickly, easily, and reliabliy.
Try it....You'll like it!
***
HOT OFF THE 'NET
***
Prisons: Growth Industry Of The 90's
Tons of info. on how the prison industry is booming due to our War On
Drugs. Please visit: http://www.pressenter.com/~davewest/prisons/
***
DS Weekly is one of the many free educational services DrugSense offers
our members. Watch this feature to learn more about what DrugSense can
do for you.
Editor: Tom Hawkins, thawkins@mapinc.org
News Review Comments: Tom O'Connell, Tjeffoc@sirius.com
Senior Editor: Mark Greer, mgreer@mapinc.org
We wish to thank each and every one of our contributors.
NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving the included information for research and educational
purposes.
Mark Greer
Media Awareness Project (MAP) inc.
d/b/a DrugSense
MGreer@mapinc.org
http://www.DrugSense.org/
http://www.mapinc.org
-------------------------------------------------------------------
[End]
Found at http://www.koin.com/
'Knock and Talk' Method Raises Concerns
Should Police Be More Careful?
PORTLAND, Posted 9:29 p.m. January 28, 1998 -
Tuesday's tragic shooting death of a police officer
(full story) is firing up some very heated debates
concerning the cause - and whether it could've
been prevented from happening at all.
Some argue the media was at fault, while others
accuse weak gun-control legislation as being at
the heart of the tragedy.
KOIN-TV reports that within the Portland Police Bureau, the question is
neither one of these. Rather, the focus is on "knock and talk," the
controversial method police use to confront suspected marijuana growers.
The method is controversial because police simply knock on a suspect's door
and, if it opens, talk. KOIN says if the cops strongly suspect marijuana is
there, they ask permission to enter. If the resident refuses, police can
detain him while they get a warrant.
KOIN reports the "knock and talk" method has helped police bust hundreds of
suspects, but many people consider it a tricky roll of the dice.
In the case of Tuesday's shooting, KOIN says many people are arguing whether
the "knock and talk" was the right method of action. Reports say the
officers knew about the possible threat of weapons in the house when they
went to knock on the door.
So, why didn't the officers use a safer approach in this situation?
That's a question that has yet to be answered. But safety isn't the only
concern here. Invasion of privacy is also a concern in the "knock and talk"
issue.
This woman (pictured), who asked to be kept
anonymous, claims to be a victim of "knock and
talk." Officers suspected she was growing
marijuana, then tried to convince her to let them
search her house without a warrant.
She refused.
She told KOIN police surrounded her house,
detained her for hours and were so intimidating
her little girl couldn't stop crying.
Police did find a marijuana plant, but the charges
were dismissed. Officer Kim Keist, the same one
wounded in Tuesday's shooting, was there during the raid. Keist was cleared
of any wrongdoing.
In a 1996 deposition, KOIN reports Keist provided valuable insight into the
Marijuana Task Force. She said the unit does a minimum of 10 "knock and
talks" a week and finds no evidence of marijuana in half the cases.
Does that mean police over-react to tips?
Keist told KOIN they get information from a variety of sources, but
admitted, "there isn't any specific guidelines on when to do a 'knock and
talk' investigation. Basically you're allowed to do a 'knock and talk'
investigation on all cases."
Police argue that gives investigators freedom to pursue their instincts
based on the evidence.
But many others say police sometimes go too far.
Related Stories:
Jan. 28: Shooting Sparks Gun Control Issue
Jan. 28: City Mourns Officer's Death
Jan. 27: Katz and Moose Respond to Tragedy
Jan. 27: Police Officer Fatally Shot
Join our discussion:
How do you think the local media covers breaking news?
Compiled by Channel 6000 Staff
Found at http://www.koin.com/
City Mourns Officer's Death
Flags Fly at Half-staff
PORTLAND, Updated 12:43 p.m. January 28, 1998 -
Flags are flying at half-staff today as the city
grieves the loss of a police officer. Colleen Waibel,
44, was the first female officer in the state to be
killed in the line of duty. She was shot to death in
a stand-off yesterday afternoon in southeast
Portland. (Full Story).
Waibel, pictured below, was a 17-year veteran. Her
last six years were spent on patrol, according to KOIN-TV. Her husband,
Sgt. Mark Fortner, is also with the Portland Police Bureau.
Another female officer, 39-year-old Kim Keist remains in intensive care at
Legacy Emanuel Hospital. She is listed in serious but stable condition. A
hospital spokeswoman says Keist lost a kidney, and is suffering from
injuries to her liver, intestines and stomach from multiple gunshot wounds.
She is on a respirator, but is expected to be taken off the breathing device
later today.
Officer James Hudson was also shot in the incident.
He suffered a gunshot wound to the hand, but
continued to work at the scene after the shooting.
Meanwhile, police are still working at the scene of
the shoot-out. KOIN's Sandy James reports police
are wrestling with their grief as they comb the blue
barn-like house for information surrounding the
incident.
Trust funds have been set up at U.S. Bank for the
family of Colleen Waibel and for the injured officer,
Kim Keist. You can make a donation at any U.S. Bank
branch to trust funds in their names.
Previous story:
Katz and Moose Respond to Tragedy
Opinion:
How do you think the local media covers breaking news?
Lisa Morrison, Channel 6000 Staff Writer
Found at http://www.koin.com/
Shooting Sparks Gun-Control Issue
Firearms Flow Despite Checks and Bans
PORTLAND, Posted 7:54 p.m. January 28, 1998 - The
firepower that exists in the homes and cars of
millions of Americans is a major fear for many police
officers.
KOIN-TV reports in the last decade, new laws may
have reduced the supply of certain weapons, but
hundreds of thousands of them still exist.
KOIN reports it was an automatic weapon, in the
hands of a drug suspect, that killed one officer and wounded two others
in Tuesday's stand-off (full story).
Though a ban on the manufacture of automatic weapons and rifles may have put
a dent in the flow of the firepower, KOIN reports there are still an
enormous amount of them that are bought and sold in private deals and at gun
shows.
Tuesday's tragedy is opening the eyes of many local politicians -- forcing
many to re-evaluate Oregon's gun-control laws.
"I think we have failed the people of Oregon and of this nation in the fact
that we are still allowing these dreadful weapons to be in the hands of
criminals," Rep. Elizabeth Furse (D-Oregon) told KOIN. "There is no reason
for anyone to carry a weapon like that."
Less than 24 hours after the shooting, lawmakers on Capitol Hill were
already talking about another push for stronger legislation on weapons of
all kinds.
In Salem, the talk is the same. Aides to the governor say Kitzhaber
has been interested in tightening
restrictions on weapon sales at gun shows.
Among those likely to carry the ball - State
Representative Frank Shields (pictured). He's
already been talking to the constituents in
the district where the shooting occurred.
"I think it was a time bomb waiting to explode,"
Shields told KOIN. "The time is right to
re-examine the issue."
Right now in Oregon, handgun buyers must pass
what's known as the "insta-check." It's a
thumbprint comparison with all other felons.
Lawmakers want to extend the checks to gun
shows.
But more restrictions may face more opposition by the powerful gun lobby.
John Hellen of Oregon Gun Owners believes no form of legislation would've
stopped Tuesday's shooting.
"Bottom line is this man apparently had a penchant toward criminal
activity," Hellen said. "He also had no apparent problem in using his weapon
against a police officer. So he was hell-bent on doing what he felt like
doing in the first place. No amount of legislation is going to control that
sort of criminal mind."
Oregon Gun Owners say there's plenty of restrictions on guns - but simply
not enough common sense and law enforcement to put criminals behind bars
before they kill.
Kitzhaber is expected to get together with lawmakers and legislators to
address this issue next month.
Discussion:
Should Oregon tighten up its gun control laws? If so, how restrictive should
they be? Speak out on this volatile issue.
Compiled by Channel 6000 Staff
to 1998 Daily News index for January 22-28