A brief history of Donald Trump’s feud with Sadiq Khan, London’s first Muslim mayor – Washington Post

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London Mayor Sadiq Khan, the first Muslim to lead the United Kingdom'smost populous city, is used to political opponents taking potshots at his faith.

But recently, as his city has dealt with a wave of terrorist attacks, he's also had to contend with a different kind of onslaught: the full fire hose of PresidentTrump's Twitter feed.

[Trumps fight with London mayor baffles his critics]

So how does it feel to be trolled by the most powerful man in the world?

His answer, according to the Associated Press: I don't know how to tell you this, but I really don't care I really couldn't be bothered about what Donald Trump tweets.

Here's the history of their very public conflict.

May 9, 2016 Khan takes office.

When Khan took office, it was clear that he differed significantly from Trump, then a presidential candidate.

He was a Muslim and the first ethnic minority to be mayor in London, and he had beaten back Conservative Party efforts to connect him to alleged Muslim extremists. In the United States, Trump was floating the idea of a travel ban against Muslims.

Khan toldTime magazinethat if Trump wonthe U.S. presidential election, Ill be stopped from going there by virtue of my faith.

He also said Trump's stances on the issues meant the candidate was destined to fail.

Conservative tacticians thought those sort of tactics would win London, and they were wrong, he said. Im confident that Donald Trumps approach to politics wont win in America.

Trump responded by calling Khan rude and ignorant on Good Morning Britain.

He doesn't know me, never met me, doesn't know what I'm all about, he said. I think they're very rude statements, and, frankly, tell him I will remember those statements.

Jan. 20 Trump is inaugurated.

Although those politics did win in America, Trump remained unpopular across the pond.

Brits engaged in a debate about whether Prime Minister Theresa May should rescind the offer to have Trump come for an official state dinner.

[World leaders call for unity after London attack. Trump tweets the complete opposite.]

Khan is among those who have asked the government to reconsider the invitation, describing the state visit as inappropriate given the presidents travel ban for passengers from several Muslim-majority nations.

I love America, I love Americans, and I believe the special relationship is a good one and one thats here to stay, he said on ITV. I think this ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries, ending the refugee program is cruel, and its shameful. In those circumstances, we shouldnt be rolling out the red carpet.

March 22 Trump Jr. goes on the offensive

Four people were killed including a police officer and another 40 were injured when a terrorist plowed a vehicle through a landmark bridge, then got out of his car and started stabbing people.

Hours after the attack, Donald Trump Jr. tweeted a story from September in which Khan talks about Londoners and terrorism. The mayor said large cities such asLondon are terrorist targets and that Brits should be vigilant. He also said the terrorists would not win.

But Trump Jr. gave the mayor's statement a defeatist twinge, implying that Khan thought terrorist attacks were just part and parcel of living in a big city.

June, 3 AnotherLondon attack, and the feud intensifies

Khan had a very public presence after a terrorist attack on London Bridge that killed seven and injured dozens.

Following the June 3 London terror attack, the city's mayor Sadiq Khan tweeted this video message saying, "We are all shocked and angry today - but this is our city. We will never let these cowards win and we will never be cowed by terrorism." (Sadiq Khan/Twitter)

There can be no justification for the acts of these terrorists, and I am quite clear that we will never let them win, nor will we allow them to cower our city or Londoners, the mayor said in the interview.

He also gave pragmatic advice, telling Londoners they would see an increased police presence today and over the course of the next few days. There's no reason to be alarmed.

Trump took the last four words of that message and turned it into an incredulous tweet.

Khan's spokesman dismissed the U.S. president's comments, according to BuzzFeed News:

The mayor is busy working with the police, emergency services and the government to coordinate the response to this horrific and cowardly terrorist attack and provide leadership and reassurance to Londoners and visitors to our city.

He has more important things to do than respond to Donald Trump's ill-informed tweet that deliberately takes out of context his remarks urging Londoners not to be alarmed when they saw more police including armed officers on the streets.

But Trump lobbed another criticism across the Atlantic.

So Khan told the Independent that Trump wasn't helping the situation and was instead trying to divide communities.

I just haven't got time to respond to tweets from Donald Trump, he said. Honestly I've got better and more important things to focus on.

Speaking to Channel 4 News, Khan said Trump had been wrong about many things and that the government should cancel his state visit to the United Kingdom.

I dont think we should roll out the red carpet to the president of the USA in the circumstances where his policies go against everything we stand for, he said.

Read more:

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A brief history of Donald Trump's feud with Sadiq Khan, London's first Muslim mayor - Washington Post

Curtains for the Pearl, as the Theater Company Files for Bankruptcy – New York Times

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New York Times
Curtains for the Pearl, as the Theater Company Files for Bankruptcy
New York Times
The Pearl Theater Company, which took the old-fashioned approach of assembling a resident acting company to mount classic plays in increasingly expensive spaces in Manhattan, announced Wednesday that it had filed for bankruptcy and was closing after ...

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Curtains for the Pearl, as the Theater Company Files for Bankruptcy - New York Times

ISH to emerge from bankruptcy as Seacor subsidiary – WorkBoat (blog)

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International Shipholding Corp. (ISH) expects to emerge from bankruptcy as a Seacor Holdings Inc. subsidiary by July 3.

ISH said it has received the OKs from the U.S. Maritime Administration required under its reorganization plan.

This has been a long and challenging process, said ISH CEO Erik Johnsen, noting his company would exit Chapter 11 as a stable, well-capitalized business with a bright future.

The combination of ISHs longstanding history of excellent customer service and Seacors financial resources will ensure continued growth and success at ISH, said Eric Fabrikant, chief operating officer of Seacor, which just spun off Houma, La.-based Seacor Marine Holdings Inc., its OSV fleet trading under SMHI.

ISHs restructuring includes the issuance of new equity to Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Seacor in exchange for $10.5 million cash and the conversion of $18.1 million in outstanding debtor-in-possession financing claims to equity. In addition, theres $25 million in a new senior debt exit facility, much of which will be used to satisfy creditor claims, and the sale of its pure car/truck carriers to NYK Group Americas Inc.

New Orleans-based ISH, founded in 1947 as Central Gulf Steamship Corp., filed for bankruptcy protection Aug. 1, 2016 after trying to shed assets and negotiate with lenders. The company, which operated 21 U.S. and foreign-flag vessels, listed assets of $305.1 million and total debts of $226.8 million.

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rue21 Bankruptcy Objections Filed – Bankrupt Company News (press release) (blog)

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Phillips Edison & Company, Ramco-Gershenson Properties filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court an objection to rue21s motion for entry of final order authorizing the Debtors to assume the consulting agreement and approving procedures for store closing sales.

The objection asserts, There should be a finite period of time within which Debtors may conduct the GOB Sales. The Motion sets for an approximate end-date. This date should be firm. The GOB Sale should be conducted within the normal operating hours of the mall or shopping center. The GOB Sale should comply with the mall or shopping center regulations or guidelines concerning security, maintenance, trash removal or any other pertinent guidelines.

Separately, multiple parties including Phillips Edison & Company, Ramco-Gershenson Properties; ARC NPHUBOH001, Aronov Realty Management, Brixmor Property Group, Centennial Real Estate Company filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court separate objections to rue21s emergency financing motion. Phillips Edison & Company, Ramco-Gershenson Properties asserts, Debtors continuing use and occupancy of the Premises is critical to Debtors ongoing operations including store closing sales. The use and occupancy of the Premises provides an actual, necessary, and ongoing benefit to Debtors, and the Court should require Debtors to pay Landlords Stub Rent. Authorizing use of the Premises for the benefit of the DIP and Pre-Petition Secured Lenders without payment of Stub Rent is not supported by applicable law.Landlords should not be forced to bear the risk of administrative insolvency, while all other parties in interest benefit from the ongoing sales process.

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Asbestos and Mesothelioma Lawsuits: What to Expect | Nolo.com

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If you've been exposed to asbestos and been diagnosed with mesothelioma, you may ask, "If I file a lawsuit can I expect to recover significant money damages?" The answer is usually "yes." People who discover they are suffering from mesothelioma due to working with asbestos (or, if they are deceased, their spouse) have an excellent chance of achieving substantial money damages, either from the company that manufactured or installed the asbestos, or from an insurance company or asbestos victims' trust fund that has assumed liability for the company. And this is true even if the original manufacturer has long since sold out, closed down, or even gone bankrupt, thanks to the formation of asbestos victims' trust funds. (For more information on employees' rights when it comes to asbestos exposure on the job, see Nolo's article Asbestos in the Workplace.)

Mesothelioma tends to develop 10 to 40 years after exposure to asbestos. State laws called statutes of limitations usually give people one to five years (depending on the state) from the diagnosis or discovery of mesothelioma to file a lawsuit. But it's important to act promptly, because in a few states, including California, Tennessee, and Louisiana, the statue of limitations is only one year from diagnosis. (Check out Nolo's chart Statutes of Limitations in All 50 States.)

If a mesothelioma victim has already died, his or her spouse and other heirs typically have one to three years from the date of death to file a wrongful death action, which can also result in the recovery of substantial money damages.

Mesothelioma victims can't file or join in class actions lawsuits because each person's medical history and prognosis is different, so mesothelioma cases must be filed individually.

Most asbestos cases are settled before they ever get to a jury (meaning the parties agree outside of court to the amount of money damages the mesothelioma victim will get). If you have gathered all the facts about your medical condition and employment history, and your lawyer runs an efficient office, and there is an easily identifiable payment source -- such as an insurance company or an asbestos victims' trust fund -- you may get your money in less than a year from the date your lawsuit is filed. But in other situations, where the amount of money damages depends on going to trial (or at least threatening to do so), it can take two years or more. Fortunately, the court rules in many states recognize that mesothelioma victims have a short life expectancy and as a result, fast track their lawsuits.

The dollar amount you are likely to receive as compensation for developing mesothelioma is hard to estimate. Some cases result in settlements or jury awards in the millions, while similar ones settle for comparatively little. This is because over the years, many companies that manufactured or installed asbestos have closed down or gone bankrupt, which in turn has resulted in courts' requiring that large funds be set aside to compensate future victims. Some of these funds are still large enough to pay out all claims at full value, but others have been depleted to the point that far less is available, so settlement amounts must be rationed.

In addition to the size of the asbestos victims' compensation fund available for payment, each victim's particular mesothelioma illness and how it has affected their life is important to arriving at a cash settlement or jury verdict. The dollar amount of wages lost due to the illness, the cost of medical expenses, and, usually most important, the degree of the victim's pain and suffering are all key factors in putting a dollar value on a particular case.

A third factor in estimating how much money damages you'll recover is time. When cases are settled relatively quickly, the amount recovered tends to be significantly less than if your lawyer waits to present your case to a trial jury. But preparing and conducting a jury trial may take several years, whereas settlements can often be arranged in a year or less. For this reason, many seriously ill plaintiffs prefer a relatively quick settlement, and this is especially true when they learn that some lawyers charge substantially more when a case goes to trial.

All of this being said, many mesothelioma cases result in settlement or awards in the range of $1 million to $5 million or more, but when attorneys' fees, court costs, and medical expenses are subtracted, victims often end up with around two-thirds of these amounts.

The most common types of mesothelioma qualify for expedited disability benefits from the Social Security Administration. For more information, see this article on getting disability for mesothelioma.

All mesothelioma cases are handled on a contingency fee arrangement. This means your lawyer charges you no fees up front, but instead receives a percentage of the eventual settlement or money damages you receive as the result of a court judgment, plus any expenses (for things like depositions, copying, and postage) that you agree to pay as part of a written fee agreement. A typical contingency fee is 25% to 40% of money damages you recover. The exact amount depends on several factors, including whether a victims' trust fund places a cap on contingency fees (some allow no more than 25%), whether you settle out of court or go to trial, how much the lawyer wants your case (if the attorney believes your case is certain to win a big settlement or court judgment, you are in a much better bargaining position than if you are likely to receive a lower amount), and how hard you bargain before signing a fee agreement.

Nolo provides a personalized lawyer directory that includes lawyers who specialize in personal injury and mesothelioma cases. Information about each lawyer's experience, education, and fees, and (perhaps most importantly) the lawyer's general philosophy of practicing law is available. By using Nolo's directory, you can narrow down candidates before calling them for a phone or face-to-face interview. For more details on locating and selecting a good asbestos and mesothelioma lawyer, read Nolo's article How to Hire a Mesothelioma or Asbestos Lawyer.

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Treating Mesothelioma: A rare, aggressive caner – ABC2 News

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For many people, a cure is impossible. Mesothelioma is an aggressive and deadly form of cancer.

But for one woman, shes hoping to be the exception and shes thanking one local hospital for helping her to reach that goal.

Kathy Ebright didnt have any symptoms when she went in for her yearly cat-scan for a pre-existing condition.

My vascular doctor notified my family doctor that he saw three little nodules and he thought perhaps we need a little checking out, Ebright said.

A follow up test would confirm it was cancer.

In November of 2015, Ebright was diagnosed with mesothelioma.Its a rare cancer almost always caused by exposure to asbestos.

From what we've learned it probably had to do with my dad working. He worked at Harrisburg steel, she said.

Kathys from the small town of Richfield, Pennsylvania. Her local hospital wasnt equipped to handle her case so she was sent the University of Marylands Marlene and Steward Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center.

And thats where she met Dr. Joseph Friedberg.

He explained everything. I found that he was not only looking out for me but he understood that my family means a lot to me and he really I feel he was wonderful," Ebright said.

Ill typically spend an hour to several hours trying to explain this cancer, said professor of Surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.Dr. Friedberg.

Dr. Friedbergis also the head of Thoracic Surgery at the University of Maryland Medical Center and says the extra time with patients is important because mesothelioma is rare, aggressive, and different than other cancers.

You cant cure anyone with surgery alone with mesothelioma because the cancer coats the entire lining of the chest cavity, he saidsaid.

Dr. Friedberg continues, The standard of care treatment remains a combo of chemotherapy believe it or not that was established in 2003 and hasn't changed at least in this country, so its two drugs that are combined. And that typically extends life several months.

Ebright wanted to get the ball rolling with her treatment, scheduling her surgery two months after her diagnosis.

In her case we were able to offer her this lung sparing surgery. The simplest explanation is we take out the cancer and leave out the normal stuff, Dr. Friedberg said.

He said most patients spend about two weeks in the hospital. Ebright was out after nine days. Her treatment also included chemotherapy.

That was a little rough, Ebright said.

Ebright says knows how serious the disease is but with the support of her family and doctors shes staying positive.

Were well aware there's no cure for mesothelioma but he's also told me that there's always that exception to the rule and I intend to be that exception, Ebright said.

Dr. Friedberg said the survival rate for mesothelioma is typically a year from the time of diagnosis. He says the most common presenting symptoms are shortness of breath, pain, and feeling full quickly.

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Janet Stanton Schnitzer Remembers Her Father’s Mesothelioma Battle – Mesothelioma & Asbestos Awareness Center (blog)

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Walter Stanton can be remembered as a hard worker and huge family man. He was dedicated to his work as a machinist and served as a U.S. marine, working in the Civil Air Patrol. Beyond work, he was a doting husband and dad.

He was very involved as a scout leader for both my brothers. He and my mom had a rare and devoted marriage, His daughter, Janet, recently explained to the Mesothelioma + Asbestos Awareness Center. He was very close with his parents and siblings. Both my sister and I believed we were his most prized possessions!

Janet remembers wonderful nights with the family. Her mom would have dinner on the table when he got home from work, and theyd all eat together. She recalls being so spoiled she would even sit on his lap at the dinner table to eat her meal.

He belonged to a bowling league and once again, being so spoiled, he didnt mind me tagging along on his guys night out. Wherever he went, I wanted to go, too! Janet said.

But in 1993, the familys world came crashing down when Walter was diagnosed with mesothelioma.

Walter Stanton was a dedicated machinist for his company. He first started working for them in his home state, New Jersey, and transferred to plants in various states before ending up in Delaware.

Unfortunately, his commitment as a machinist likely meant prolonged exposure to asbestos. Being a machinist can involve many different tasks and often involved handling asbestos-containing materials and products. Later in his career, Walter was transferred to work on photo products, which were innovated to be able to withstand harsh environments and extreme temperatures.

Asbestos has long been used in a wide range of products because its very durable and able to resist fire and extreme heat. Asbestos can also withstand a lot of chemicals and potential breakdowns. The mineral can be found in many older buildings and homes since it was very popular for construction materials, as well as some consumer products. Based on his field of work and changing environments, its likely Walter was often exposed to asbestos from the products he worked with and the buildings he worked in.

His company also worked with a huge variety of chemicals through their different products and offerings, so its likely Walter was exposed to many different toxins through his occupation. Its estimated that about 17% of occupational injuries and illnesses stem from some kind of exposure. Asbestos exposure through work is actually fairly common, with estimates of 125 million people exposed on the job globally each year.

Walter could have also faced exposure to asbestos during his service as a marine. All the military branches used asbestos in a variety of applications, putting many at risk for exposure. Navy vessels especially had particularly high asbestos use, making veterans on these ships and anyone working in shipyards especially vulnerable to exposure.

I had just turned 34 when he was diagnosed, Janet reflected. I had a three year old daughter, Alessandra; a one year old daughter, Samantha; and was pregnant, due in December. My sister was pregnant with her first child.

Janet said her dads illness started with a cough that May. Mesothelioma typically starts showing nonspecific symptoms that can be mistaken for more minor ailments. The disease can take decades after exposure to begin showing these symptoms, so mesothelioma can take weeks or even months to properly diagnose.

The family learned Walter had mesothelioma in the lining of his chest about a month after his cough started. Pleural mesothelioma occurs when the tumors grow in the pleura, the thin membrane lining of the lungs and chest wall. It is the most common form of mesothelioma, but still has a relatively poor prognosis. Patients are typically given anywhere from one year to 21 months to live because the disease is so aggressive and difficult to treat.

After his diagnosis, Walter was placed in hospice care. For many mesothelioma patients, by the time the disease is properly diagnosed, it has already advanced to a later stage. At this point, many patients do not have many curative treatment options and instead seek a palliative care plan to help relieve their symptoms.

Walter died at home in November, just about 5 months after his diagnosis. Losing their loving dad was beyond heartbreaking for the family.

Mesothelioma is a horrible, incurable disease a person gets at no fault of their own. I hate it with all my heart and soul! Janet insisted. My son was born two weeks after my dad died, and mesothelioma shattered my faith in God for a very long time.

It was very difficult for the family to recover from losing Walter, and the loss will always be felt profoundly. Though Janet has fibromyalgia, which limits her activities, she hopes to help raise awareness for this rare disease and asbestos.

Asbestos is still not banned in the United States or about 70% of the world today, despite being known as a carcinogen. More recently, the United States has started making some positive movements that could help ban the toxin. Last year, the Frank R. Lautenberg Act was passed, giving the Environmental Protection Agency the authority to investigate the risk of 10 chemicals, including asbestos.

Though it would still take years to reach a ban, advocates are hopeful this important work can continue unhindered under the new administration. Until a ban finally occurs, Janet hopes others will realize the dangers of asbestos and help prevent mesothelioma in their loved ones.

I miss him every single day and I regret that my children didnt know him, Janet said. I am trying my hardest to live a life he would be proud of and for my children to know him in all ways I can control.

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Resilience Can Help Mesothelioma Patients and Their Families … – MesotheliomaHelp.org (blog)

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In life, things can happen that shake us up and change the way we look at the world. Trauma, accidents, crimes against us or an unexpected diagnosis of mesothelioma for you or a family member, for example, can change your world in minutes. It is said that how we respond to these events is what makes us stronger. Through these events we often hear the word resilience talked about. What exactly does that mean?

According to Psychology Today, resilience is that ineffable quality that allows some people to be knocked down by life and come back stronger than ever. Rather than letting failure overcome them and drain their resolve, they find a way to rise from the ashes.

In the book, Option B Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy, by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant, resilience, grief, and moving forward, are explored. Ms. Sandbergs sudden loss of her husband and her coping with her young childrens grief, as well as her own, is documented. In collaboration with Adam Grant, a psychologist and professor at Wharton, who has studied how people find motivation and meaning, Sheryl tells her story. Adam fills in the research on dealing with these issues.

This is an excellent book, easy to read, and is bound to help you at some point in your life. One of the interesting takeaways from the book is that, more than half of the people who experience a traumatic event report at least one positive change, compared to less than 15% who develop PTSD. The authors say, If you dont see if growth is possible, youre not going to find it.

With malignant mesothelioma, unfortunately, loss happens. Everyones life and circumstances are different, Option B is just one persons story. We all have our own stories, but it is reassuring to know that others who have endured loss are eventually able to experience joy again. We are not alone as we journey through our lives adventures and challenges.

Lisa Hyde-Barrett has helped ease the stress of patients and their families by offering a comforting hand. Lisa has 25 years of experience as a thoracic surgery nurse at Brigham and Womens Hospital a top 5 nationally ranked cancer hospital. Lisa works with leading nationally-recognized surgeons who specialize in mesothelioma. Through her extensive experience caring for mesothelioma patients, she is a facilitator for the patient to help them maintain control and dignity over their treatment of their disease and to assist with the patients wishes. She is passionate about helping the mesothelioma community.

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Cracks appearing in the tyranny of global oppression – Lake Chelan Mirror (blog)

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Published by admin on Wed, 06/07/2017 - 1:48pm

It was only a few weeks ago that I published an opinion warning about the threat to our freedom posed by the climate change/global warming insanity. The problem is that our government and our media have become addicted to the concept that humans are causing irreparable harm to our environment. Harm they claim will inevitably make life on earth unsustainable. For government zealots it is a perfect storm. Only government can create the regulations and laws needed to protect us from this external threat to our existence. The result is that many uniformed and fearful subjects have fallen prey to the tyrants, government zealots and their enablers around the globe. If the science were solid they would have case to support their position. But the science is not settled. Climate change zealots claim a consensus of scientists agree, but science is not settled by a vote. Science is settled by incontrovertible facts. A growing number of well qualified scientists have begun to question the science. Some have even gone so far as to call it a hoax. That includes Ian Plimer, Professor Emeritus of Earth Sciences at the University of Melbourne, and Patrick Moore, a former President of Greenpeace. According to Wikipedia Moore holds a PhD in ecology from the University of British Columbia. Both Plimer and Moore have been vilified as misguided individuals who have turned their back on science to become paid spokesmen for the oil industry. Notice that they do not challenge the scientific facts Plimer and Moore use to make their case against global climate change. First of all, Plimer and Moore both say carbon dioxide is not a pollutant. In fact they both make the case that carbon dioxide levels are at the lowest level in the history of the planet. Moore says that plant life is currently on a starvation diet when it comes to carbon dioxide. He points out that many farmers today have to pump carbon dioxide into their greenhouses to encourage the plants to grow. Years ago basic high school biology taught us that plants breath in carbon dioxide and release oxygen. The climate zealots want us to believe that we must reduce carbon dioxide by abandoning our use of fossil fuels like oil and coal. Logically, that means reducing carbon dioxide will ultimately reduce the levels of oxygen as plants begin to die. If carbon dioxide levels were at historically high levels then the climate change folks would have a valid concern, but both Plimer and Moore dispute that underlying premise. Also, if greenhouse gasses were at historically high levels plants would be thriving without the addition of carbon dioxide as posited by Moore. Zealots ignore these serious challenges to their scientific facts. Political talk show hosts Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin both pointed out this week that the programs promoted by the climate change lobby fall heaviest on the poor. Patrick Moore also has made the point that the solutions proposed by the climate change zealots hit the poor harder than the rich and powerful. Their programs result in higher energy costs, higher food costs and fewer job opportunities. The reality is we all want a cleaner environment. We dont want polluted air or lead in the water supply. Levin says people who are better off financially are more likely to support real solutions to cleaning up our environment. Quite frankly it is insulting when liberals accuse conservatives of destroying the planet for our children and grand children while they saddle our progeny with a debt they cannot possibly pay. President Trump got it right when he stood up to the pressure and withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Climate change accord. Unfortunately he did not do it because the entire underlying global warming/climate change agenda is nothing more than an fraud perpetrated by liberal elites who want to steal your freedom. Free, educated and industrious people can find new creative solutions to the problems that we all face. Our founding fathers understood that government rarely does. Have government solutions gotten any smarter since they wrote the constitution?

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Cracks appearing in the tyranny of global oppression - Lake Chelan Mirror (blog)

American Drug War: The Last White Hope – Top Documentary Films

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American Drug War follows filmmaker Kevin Booth as he consults with people on all fronts of the war on drugs to create a multidimensional portrait of those impacted most directly, from users and dealers to law enforcement officials and politicians.

Examining the role of poverty in drug use and its perpetuation of the addiction cycle, Booth and his crew go undercover to infiltrate one of the most notorious drug hotbeds outside of Los Angeles to capture footage of street junkies in action. In one vignette he captures a conversation between a police officer and an addict who is disoriented enough to be using directly in front of the police station. The man explains his preference for crack over meth as casually as if he were comparing Coke to Pepsi.

With street drugs now stronger, more readily available, and cheaper than in 1973 when Richard Nixon created the Drug Enforcement Agency, Booth asks why so much time and money is funneled into the criminalization of recreational drugs instead of recovery and addiction support programs. He highlights the futility of criminalizing drugs like methamphetamine, which can be made at home with over the counter ingredients, and questions the dubious entity that is the Partnership for a Drug-Free America - an America which has never existed and, according to interviewee Judge James P. Gray of California's Orange County Superior Court, never will.

While Booth speaks to law enforcement officials like Gray who admit to the failure of the drug war, he also grants time to its proponents, notably Arizona's Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Boasting a reputation as the toughest sheriff in America, Arpaio created S.M.A.R.T. Tents, the largest tent city in the U.S., if not the world, where he houses convicted inmates - about half of whom are there on drug charges.

These are just a few of the stories shared in American Drug War, a dynamic review of the history of the war on drugs in the United States and the societal burden it has created as a result. Genuinely questioning the impact and shortcomings of the United States' war on drugs, it manages to be an unbiased, revelatory film.

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The War on Drugs: Inside the Belly of the Beast – Metro Spirit – Metro Spirit

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This is a short message from inside the belly of the beast. Read it with an open mind and discuss it with others. You may agree with it. You may find it totally repulsive. Either way we are making progress.

The War on Drugs has been lost. We are spending millions and millions on law enforcement, on the housing of able bodied men in prisons, on the building of prisons, and on support for families who have lost the main person who can work. Has there been any lessening of the availability of drugs? No. Has there been any headway made in this fight? No. Now guess who has been paying these bills? Is it the dealers? No. Is it the users? No. Its you and me.

Is the violence, associated with the drug trade, over drugs? No. There is no fight over drugs. There never has been. The fight is over money, plain and simple. The fight is over who gets to control drug turf. This is all because of the money to be made. People are being robbed, shot, maimed, and killed, not because of drugs, but because of money. Drugs are an illegal black market item and this causes profits associated with their sale to be astronomical. Has the violence associated with the fight over massive profits generated from the fact that drugs are illegal lessened? No. Its actually increased because the profits associated with dealing drugs, as an illegal black market item, are almost beyond belief. By making it illegal you drive up the price and profits on the black market. As soon as you lock up one dealer, ten more scramble to take his place because of the money to be made. Will your son, daughter, father, mother, brother, cousin, uncle, etc. be next? If they badly need money, and the opportunity arises, they may very well be.

The government has made two false assumptions which have driven the stupid decisions our government has made in thinking that the War on Drugs could be won. First, that by making drugs illegal people wont use drugs. Some people are going to use drugs whether they are legal or illegal. This has been going on since the beginning of time. We have been distilling spirits and crushing up roots, anytime it could give us a mind altering experience since Adam and Eve. It doesnt matter whether the drugs are legal or illegal. Those that want them will find a way to get them.

There are just as many people strung out on prescription drugs as illegally obtained drugs. Prescription drugs are usually the preference of those with money (ex. Rush Limbaugh, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, etc.). My doctor prescribed it so I can get legally blitzed daily. You see they can afford a mind altering substance by paying a doctor. If they get caught with a stash of prescription drugs, they dont go to jail. Its a better all around deal.

Poor people cant afford the doctor visit, so they just pick up whats on the street prepared by some unlicensed pharmacists. They pick up naturally grown drugs such as marijuana, mushrooms and peyote etc. or grow their own. They also buy drugs cooked up by unlicensed pharmacists or some idiot with a beaker and some chemicals.

Others have no interest at all in drugs. Those that dont use drugs, are not going to begin using them whether they are legal or illegal. You could give them a pound of cocaine or a six pack of Xanax, and they would flush it down the toilet. They surely should not bear the costs associated with drug use.

It should also be noted that of the 230 million drug users worldwide, ninety percent are not problematic. They use drugs recreationally and keep jobs and function in society without arrests or other criminal conduct.

The second false assumption the government has made in thinking that the war on drugs could be won is this. Our government thinks that locking up everybody associated with drugs will stop drug use that has been going on forever. The thought is that, if we scare them bad enough they wont dare do drugs. Its very popular for politicians to say well just lock everybody up. That is the same mentality that led to the racks, hangings, electrocutions, dungeons, etc. This led to some of the most violent times in the history of mankind. Dont try to find the cause of drug use and the violence associated with the black market money. Heaven forbid, you mean look for a cause and cure. Hell, lets just lock everybody up.

No one even took the time to see how much it would cost to lock everybody up. Surely, no one thought of who was going to pay for it. The ones paying are people that either arent using drugs or arent dealing drugs. Further, no one thought this would ever become a never ending process with astronomical cost in actual dollars spent and manpower that could be better used elsewhere. It has nearly brought our government to its knees. Here are some actual figures. One trillion dollars has been spent in the war on drugs since 1971. The number of prisoners in prison for drugs in 1981 was approximately 40,000. Today its well over 500,000 prisoners. Average cost per inmate is approximately $30,000 per inmate, (By comparison we spend only an average of $11,655 per year for a public school student.)

Now, here is what is really stupid. We have already dealt with this exact same problem to a T. Back in the early 1900s there was a popular drug that we made illegal. It led to organized crime getting involved for the huge profits that could then be made. There was still a tremendous demand for the drug, but it was now illegal. Huge black market profits were there for the taking. This led to all kinds of violence, shootings, maiming, and death. Fighting over drug turf to generate these profits occurred daily. Sound familiar?

Therefore, we legalized one of the top five worst drugs in the world. This drug makes you feel ten feet tall and bullet proof. You can drive ninety miles per hour and feel like you are going forty. It will make you swear you dont feel anything right before you fall on your face and throw up. Thats right. You got it. Alcohol.

Why was it legalized? Because when we made it illegal, people used it anyway (just like they have been drinking wine and digging up roots to get high since we came out of caves). We also realized that locking everybody up was futile. We realized it was a stupid use of manpower to try and stop humans from doing something they have done since the very beginning of time. This was a huge waste of manpower and the cost was astronomical. The violence associated with black market profits related to alcohol disappeared. Sound familiar? We realized that taxing it could help us pay for any attendant costs associated with its legalization so that those costs did not fall on those that did not use it. We realized by regulating its use, we could better control it. We could better keep it out of the hands of our youth. Cartels would implode.

Regulating alcohol and taxing it made those using it more responsible for the problems and costs that arise from its use (ex. DUI, public drunk, etc. requires many to attend counseling and treatment and pay fines that are paid for by them and not those who dont drink), This helps curb excessive usage by putting the cost burden directly on the user. Taxes on the alcohol help pay for other attendant costs and raise money for other governmental programs.

Portugal has done this and the results have been dramatic. Criminal activity associated with drug use has dropped drastically.

Is it a perfect solution? No. What would be perfect is if people did not use any mind altering substances, but that aint going to happen. Its too entrenched in our society. Mind altering substances are now an accepted form of socializing and of medical treatment. It is in our very nature that some of us will either use drugs or abuse drugs. Some wont. Accept it. Deal with it intelligently. Lets at least be as smart as we were when we eliminated prohibition.

Just a word or two from inside the belly of the beast, hoping that one day, your son, daughter, or loved one does not get caught up in this ridiculous mess that we call, The War on Drugs.

Jacque D. Hawk is the CEO and founder of The Hawk Firm. He has been named a Top 100 Trial Lawyer by the American Trial Lawyers Association.

The War on Drugs: Inside the Belly of the Beast was last modified: June 7th, 2017 by Jacque Hawk

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The War on Drugs: Inside the Belly of the Beast - Metro Spirit - Metro Spirit

War On Drugs Killed More People In 2016 Than US Troops Killed In Vietnam War – Mintpress News (blog)

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Los Angeles Police officers assist Drug Enforcement Agency, DEA agents serving a federal warrant to shut down a Marijuana dispensary operating in the Chinatown area of Los Angeles.

For the first time in U.S. History, more Americans died in 2016 of drug overdoses than were killed in the Vietnam War. Let that sink in.

Last years death toll in the War on Drugs was 59,000 killed, while during the entire Vietnam War, 1955 to 1975, 58,220 American service members lives were lost. And, thanks to the immoral and futile police approach to the drug problem, there appears to be no hope in sight for the tide to change.

As The Free Thought Project had previously reported, drug overdose deaths outnumber the number of Americans killed in automobile accidents each year. Answering the question of who is responsible for so many overdose deaths requires a careful examination of the crisis which has now reached epidemic proportions.

The principal players appear to be pharmaceutical companies, who knowingly manufacture dangerous opioids essentially synthetic heroin which, alone, kills tens of thousands. Big Pharma has been caught time and again pushing the pills onto the nations physicians who prescribe the dangerously powerful painkillersen masse even to children.

Then, there are the abusers, those who are addicted to opiates. Getting hooked on opiates is easy, according to the CDC, who recently recommended the powerful class of drugs be taken for no more than 14 days. According to the Washington Post:

Noting that long-term opioid abuse often begins with treatment of acute pain, the CDC said that three or fewer days of opioid treatment usually will be sufficient for most non-traumatic pain not related to major surgery.

Street pushers provide the missing source for the drugs when doctors will no longer prescribe the pills to patients who have demonstrated a pattern of abuse. Yet, thanks to the war on drugs pushing the sale of these drugs into dark alleys and the like, the quality of street drugs is questionable with every dose sold. Some opiates have even been laced with the powerful drug Fentanyl, a drug so dangerous even casual contact with it can prove fatal.

As TFTP reported, Insys Pharmaceuticals, the maker of Fentanyl, donated half-a-million dollars to keep marijuana from becoming legal in one U.S. state. One-third of the overdose deaths in Ohio were linked to Fentanyl, yet instead of creating a safer drug, the company was more concerned with combatting cannabis legalization.

Last, but certainly not least, is the governments own Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). The DEAs only purpose is propping up Big Pharma while raining hell down on Americans for their choice of substances. The DEA even admitted, early this year, it has been trafficking large quantities of controlled substances into the country.

Any decision to ban opiates or remove them from the market, would likely further drive the drugs underground, increase crime, criminalize abusers, lead to growth in the prison industrial complex, and result in many more overdoses. In fact, that is exactly whats happening. The war on drugs is creating a de facto prison state.

Some U.S. States are taking matters into their own hands. As TFTP reported recently, Ohio is now suing drug manufacturers for their role in the crisis, stating their desire to increase their bottom line profit margins have crossed ethical lines and led to the deaths of countless Ohioans.

Other states and police departments are also taking radical measures to fix the problem instead of prolonging and expanding it through the use of police violence.

As the Boston Globe reports:

As Gloucester police chief, Leonard Campanello pledged in 2015 that drug users could walk into the police station, hand over heroin, and walk out into treatment within hours without arrest or charges. The concept of help rather than handcuffs became a national sensation.

Campanello is no longer police chief there, but the program is continuing in Gloucester. The concept of helping addicts instead of criminalizing them is such a success, its been adopted by 200 police agencies in 28 states. This encouraging phenomenon shows that its possible for law enforcement to listen to reason when it comes to drug abuse and actually helping communities.

It puts police in the lifesaving business instead of the spin-drying business of arresting and releasing, said John Rosenthal, a Boston resident fighting the opioid epidemic. We estimate that approximately 10,000 people have been placed into treatment.

In Gloucester, records show that 530 people have sought help at the police station since June 2015. Steve Lesnikoski was the first person to get help under the program, and now, after 18 months of being clean, he says without the Angel Program, Id probably be in jail or dead.

Fatal overdoses and drug arrests have decreased in Gloucester. A study by Boston University and Boston Medical Center provided compelling evidence for the Angel Programs efficacy.

In 417 cases where a person who visited the Gloucester police station was eligible for treatment, police data showed that 94.5 percent were offered direct placement and 89.7 percent enrolled in detox or other recovery services, according to Dr. Davida Schiff, a BMC pediatrician who was lead researcher in the study.

Those numbers, reported in December by the New England Journal of Medicine, compared with less than 60 percent of direct referrals from hospital-based programs, which recruit patients who visit emergency rooms with substance-abuse disorders, Schiff said.

It is also important to mention that the opiate addiction, overdose, and accidental death problems might simply be avoided if, ironically enough, marijuana is made legal nationwide. A little over half of the United States have legalized cannabis in some form, leaving nearly half of the remaining states and their residents with no access to legal weed.

As TFTP has documented on several occasions, cannabis holds the promise of helping opiate addicts kick their addiction by substituting their cravings for opiates with the non-addictive pain killing properties of marijuana. And its not folklore. Doctors have experimented with cannabis as a substitute for opiates with high degrees of success.

For now, the Department of Justice (DOJ) under the direction of Attorney Jeff Sessions and his staff, has threatened to roll back the progress cannabis activists have made in the last eight and a half years. Joining the DOJ is the DEA which refuses to reclassify cannabis, and remove its current status as a Schedule I narcotic, alongside cocaine, LSD, and heroin.

All of these moves and potential moves by the DOJ and DEA will only make the problemworse unless states like Ohio take measures into their own hands. Now that many in Congress have addicted family members, children, siblings, and friends, the matter has been taken much more seriously.

The idea of treating an addict with compassion instead of violence is a revolutionary notion in this country. However, in other countries, such as Portugal, its effects have been realized for more than a decade. In 2001, the Portuguese government decriminalizedall drugs.

15 years later, drug use, crime, and overdoses have drastically declined in Portugal exposing the disturbing reality of prohibition.

Police departments choosing compassion over the kidnapping and caging people is the solution and this programs massive adoption by hundreds of departments across the country is nothing short of a bombshell. It is revolutionary, and will undoubtedly lead to progress. However, there is still a long way to go.

This is how change comes not through the barrel of a gun but through empathy and peace.

Stories published in our Hot Topics section are chosen based on the interest of our readers. They are republished from a number of sources, and are not produced by MintPress News. The views expressed in these articles are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Mint Press News editorial policy.

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War On Drugs Killed More People In 2016 Than US Troops Killed In Vietnam War - Mintpress News (blog)

More money for war on drugs in Pta – Pretoria East Rekord

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Tshwane metro has allocated R40 million in the 2017/18 financial year to step up the fight against drugs.

MMC for community safety Derrick Kissoonduth said the war on substance abuse and related crimes in the metro was an ongoing campaign since it took office in August 2016.

The R40 millions formed part of the metro police department allocation of R2 billion.

Mayor Solly Msimanga said drugs increased the rate of social ills including drug-related crimes.

He said the scourge kept users away from productivity and drove them to criminal activities.

We are duty-bound to get lawless persons off our streets. It is therefore critical that we do not just pay lip service but do the actual work and arrest the peddlers, said the mayor.

It is noteworthy to also indicate that we do not only exercise the might of the law but we also actively undertake workshops and awareness campaigns to teach our communities on how to deal with this phenomenon as drugs affect us all whether directly or indirectly, further the manufacturers, dealers and users live in our communities.

ALSO READ:Drug dealers arrested for selling drugs to police officers

He said the metro allocated R40 million in the 2017/18 financial year to introduce measures detailed in the substance abuse strategy within its area of jurisdiction.

Msimanga said the metro held a drug and substance abuse stakeholder consultative workshop with representatives from the academics, NGOs and the government.

The objective was to find ways to counter the supply of and harm caused by the abuse of drugs and other substances.

The workshop also discussed means of fighting drug trafficking and related crimes.

Workshop resolutions include:

There would be a community based rehabilitation programme in partnership with the University of Pretoria rehabilitated users will be up-skilled and placed in job opportunities to prevent them from relapsing.

The metros communication and marketing unit will support the department of health to champion an education and awareness programme.

The metro will support and ensure functionality of the local drug action committees in line with the national drug master plan.

Launching a helpline to assist with support and counselling to users and affected families as well as referrals where intervention is required.

The metro will continue to partner with and support the community based organisations involved in the fight against drugs.

More stringent monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to be put in place to ensure that public resources are used for what they are intended.

The metro is looking to pilot a smart city concept including face detecting cameras in the future.

Other plans include identifying buildings owned by the state that can be renovated and used as the rehabilitation centres and to equip local clinics to deal with drug and substance users.

ALSO READ:Tshwane partners with UP to tackle drugs abuse

Kissoonduth said the budget would help the metro police and law enforcement to increase visible policing in strategic areas and improve the ability to respond to a variety of challenges.

Members of the community are urged to report drug trades in their homes and neighbourhoods at 012-358-7095/6 [24 hours a day].

Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email toeditorial@rekord.co.zaor phone us on 083625 4114.

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More money for war on drugs in Pta - Pretoria East Rekord

PDEA lawyer wants war on drugs included in martial law | SunStar – Sun.Star

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THE legal counsel of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Davao recommended to President Rodrigo Duterte to include the fight against illegal drugs in the implementation of martial law in Mindanao to expedite the arrest of illegal drug lords and narco-politicians, who allegedly finance the terrorists' activities in the southern part of the country.

Lawyer Ben Joseph Tesiorna, the legal counsel for PDEA-Davao, Wednesday, June 7, told reporters during the AFP-PNP press forum at The Royal Mandaya Hotel that after they were directed to formulate an action plan amidst the martial law declaration, they submitted the proposal, which was presented to the President last week to PDEA director General Isidro Lapea.

"If the illegal drugs (campaign) will be included in martial law, then maybe we can bypass or somehow relax the requirements for us to take actions against them. So we really hope it will be approved," Tesiorna said, adding that they submitted the list of names of individuals linked to illegal drug trade in Davao Region.

Part of the recommendation as well is the request for additional funds and logistics like vest, guns and vehicles that will help them in effectively carrying out their advocacy campaign and drug bust against big time drug lords, who allegedly fund the terrorists.

"If that would be approved, that would greatly assist us in the implementation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 with the cooperation of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, being the implementers of the martial law," he added.

The PDEA-Davao, likewise, wanted to achieve significant accomplishments within the 60-day effectivity of martial law declared by President Duterte on the heels of the Marawi crisis due to terror attacks initiated by Isis-inspired local terrorist, Maute Group.

Tesiorna, however, said that they are having a hard time to arrest illegal drug peddlers because of the judicial processes, especially in preparing necessary requirements in the application of search warrant. They are required to prove first that a certain person is really involved, otherwise, they will not obtain such.

"Mahirap kumuha ng (Its hard to acquire) search warrant especially (because) these persons are not dumb, they are not stupid. They won't be actually handling drugs dito but we know they are connected," he said.

Drug money fuels terrorism

Tesiorna bared that they are monitoring drug operators from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) that is attempting to penetrate the city.

Omar and Abdualla Maute, former police officers and the leaders of the Maute Group, who pledged allegiance to Isis, were previously involved in illegal drug trade in Armm that resulted to their dismissal from the Philippine National Police (PNP).

"(The) Maute naman (is) connected (to illegal drugs). In fact, the Maute brothers, we have reliable information that they were previously involved in illegal drugs," he said.

Tesiorna noted that they have received information that part of the money was funded by narco-politicians where some are active and some are former officials.

Earlier, Duterte claimed that drug money was used as a source to fuel the terrorism activities in the country.

Under Article 7, Section 18 of the Constitution, states that "in case of invasion or rebellion, when the public safety requires it, the president may, for a period not exceeding 60 days, suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, or place the Philippines or any part thereof under martial law."

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PDEA lawyer wants war on drugs included in martial law | SunStar - Sun.Star

Charges: Gambling Manager At Fridley Legion Stole $20K For Gambling Addiction – CBS Minnesota / WCCO

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CBS Minnesota / WCCO
Charges: Gambling Manager At Fridley Legion Stole $20K For Gambling Addiction
CBS Minnesota / WCCO
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) A 64-year-old Fridley man is accused of stealing money from an American Legion to help fund his gambling addiction, according to charges filed in Anoka County Court. Steven Ronald Linder was charged with theft in connection ...

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Charges: Gambling Manager At Fridley Legion Stole $20K For Gambling Addiction - CBS Minnesota / WCCO

House push for statewide betting machines again threatens lucrative gambling expansion effort – Allentown Morning Call

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The state House and Senate are waging another high-stakes battle over how to expand gambling options to generate desperately needed state tax revenue and fix a constitutionally flawed casino law municipalities rely on for extra cash.

And, if the battle turns out like last year, everyone could go home broke.

Last June and into this year, the two chambers have failed to compromise on additional ways to gamble even though the current budget anticipated $100 million in new revenue from those options. Lawmakers also have missed court-ordered deadlines to fix a part of the state's 2005 casino law the state Supreme Court justices deemed unconstitutional because it did not set "uniform" taxes for each casino as it relates to $142 million in "host" fees they pay nearby communities.

That history could be repeating.

Tonight the Republican-controlled House, with Democratic support, is expected to alter a Senate bill that not only addressed the host fee court problem, but also welcomed new gambling options wagering online, buying lottery tickets over the Internet, and playing fantasy sports from home or while waiting in an airport.

In a 23-6 Rules Committee vote, the House Wednesday afternoon amended the Senate bill so it also would legalize 40,000 video betting machines in bars, VFWs, volunteer fire halls, restaurants, bowling alleys, truck stops, hotels and other places licensed to sell alcohol. The machines, known generically as video-gaming machines, or VGTs, are strongly opposed by all but one of the state's casinos.

Adding the VGT component will deliver even more tax money to the budget and help shore up the state Lottery, which supports programs for senior citizens, said House Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana. The bill also fixes the host fee problem caused by the court decision, he said.

"We think this is a good start to final budget negotiations," Reed said after the committee vote.

Full House debate on the bill starts about 8 p.m. tonight. Approval would send it to the Senate, where approval is far from certain. The Senate previously has rejected VGT bills because of concerns they will over-saturate the gaming market and cut profits and tax revenues generated by the state's dozen casinos.

"We are still working with the Senate, Reed said Wednesday afternoon.

If the bill dies, either in the House or Senate, it could leave a $150 million hole in next year's budget. That's how much Gov. Tom Wolf's administration has projected in estimated tax revenue from expanding gambling in the fiscal year starting July 1. It could also jeopardize the local host fee fix, leaving municipalities like Bethlehem and Allentown in a financial lurch.

Sen. Pat Browne, R-Lehigh, the chamber's Appropriations Committee chairman and a VGT opponent, declined comment ahead of the full House vote.

Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem this weeklaunched a $1 million advertising campaign to stop VGTs. The campaign, by a Sands-funded lobbying group called Pennsylvanians For Responsible Government, includes an online landing page, radio ads and 30-second television spots telling people state lawmakers want to "create over 12,000 casinos" across Pennsylvania. The ad also warns that slot machines can be placed in the 35 nursing homes with liquor licenses, including three in the Lehigh Valley.

Sands Casino, perhaps more than any other in the state, has much to lose if VGTs are legalized and according to sources, it already has. Parent company Las Vegas Sands Corp. had a tentative deal to sell its Bethlehem Casino complex to MGM Resorts International for $1.3 billion. However, sources said, MGM pulled out of the deal in part because of the threat of VGTs.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. spokesman Ron Reese had no further comment and referred to the company's previous comment that the approval of VGTs would cause Sands to re-evaluate its future investment in the Bethlehem property.

Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Northampton, a VGT proponent, has said adding VGTs will not hurt casinos and the ads will not affect her vote in the Senate.

Sands is not alone in its opposition to VGTs. Ten other casinos oppose it. The only licensed casino that wants VGTs is Penn National Gaming, owner of Hollywood Casino in central Pennsylvania. Penn National has a video gaming wing already operating in Illinois and hopes to expand that business to Pennsylvania.

"That many machines added to the market would definitely have an impact on casinos," said John Cunnane, a Wall Street gaming and leisure analyst for Stifel Investment Services.

The House amendment would charge licensing fees of $50,000 to VGT manufacturers and suppliers; $25,000 to companies that operate the machines $100 to any place that hosts them. The tax rate then would be 37.5% on revenue generated from the machines, with most of the money going to the state and smaller percentages going to counties and municipalities. The amendment did not list a corresponding revenue estimate from the tax rate.

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House push for statewide betting machines again threatens lucrative gambling expansion effort - Allentown Morning Call

Gambling Addiction Can No Longer Be Ignored in Japan’s Casino Push – Bloomberg

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A childhood New Years holiday spent playing cards with his family planted the seeds of a gambling compulsion that ravaged decades of one mans life. Now 67, the former salesman from western Japan fell into debt time and time again as his addiction drew him to pachinko parlors, then illegal mahjong and dice games.

Gambling permeated my life, said the man, who asked not to be identified for fear of embarrassing loved ones. My fingers just dont do as theyre told. I cant count the number of times my family have had to clear up the mess by paying off my debts.

The man is among thousands in Japan whose gambling compulsion had gone largely unnoticed until a plan to introduce casino resorts forced policy makers to address the problem of addiction. Speaking to Bloomberg News at an event hosted by lawyers who oppose the governments casino plan,he said he only kicked his habit after joining Gamblers Anonymous about a decade ago.

A customer smokes a cigarette inside thepachinkoparlor in Tokyo.

Photographer: Shiho Fukada/Bloomberg

Lawmakers are putting together an anti-addiction bill that must be passed before the first casinos can open their doors. In doing so, they must balance between safeguarding economic benefits from gambling establishments -- including the $200 billion pachinko industry -- while addressing the concerns of casino opponents who fear they will spawn a new generation of addicts.

The bill doesnt specify rules that businesses must follow and penalties for non-compliance, according to a draft distributed to reporters. It broadly mandates the government to form a plan to stop gambling addiction, and says businesses must cooperate.

When it passes, officials will start drafting regulations that could outline specific duties of gambling businesses, including restricting access to venues and providing funds to boost counselling. Thats raising concerns in Japans 11,000 pachinko parlors, which have operated their pinball-like games in a legal gray area for decades.

Read more on how Japans bet on casinos may play out

People in the pachinko industry are involved with the causes of addiction, saidTakeshi Shina, a lawmaker with the opposition Democratic Party, which drafted its own bill. So we will have them cooperate to eliminate it. They cant stay out of it completely.

The bill could passbefore the current parliamentary session ends on June 18. While Prime Minister Shinzo Abes ruling coalition holds a majority in both houses of parliament, the opposition could still delay a vote.

Gambling in Japan turns over more than 27 trillion yen ($244 billion) annually, replenishes local government coffers and employs about 300,000 people -- many of them in regions where jobs are relatively scarce. Its legal to bet on publicly run horse, boat, motorbike and bicycle races, plus lotteries and football pools. Horse racing alone generated 283 billion yen ($2.6 billion) for the central government in fiscal 2015.

Photographer: Shiho Fukada/Bloomberg

Pachinko operators, which rake in more than five times the revenue of the publicly-managed gambling industry, have skirted a ban on private-sector gambling byhaving winners swap their loot, in the form of ball-bearings, for a token prize that can later be exchanged off the premises for cash.The government doesnt break down the amount of taxes the industry contributes.

The threat of regulation is casting a shadow over a wider betting industry already in a downward spiral, as younger people spend more of their leisure time online, and tired race tracks provide little to appeal to new customers, according to Masatoshi Yamamoto, an analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Research & Consulting Co., who researches publicly funded gambling.

A customer plays pachinko.

Photographer: Shiho Fukada/Bloomberg

Industry turnover at pachinko parlors has shrunk by a third from a 2005 peak, and the number of venues is in a two-decade decline. While they introduced slot machines to attract younger customers, fans under 30 remain a rarity.

Shingo Ito of Nichiyukyo, a pachinko industry association, said prize values and opening times are already regulated. It also set up a phone counseling center that received 2,500 calls last year.

Its not like casinos, where people can spend as much as they want and stay as long as they like, Ito said. His group is running newspaper and poster advertisements describing pachinko as a healthy pastime to be enjoyed in moderation.

Little reliable data exists on the social costs of gambling in Japan. The results of the first comprehensive survey on addiction are due sometime in the next few months.

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In general, compulsive gamblers make up 1 percent to 2 percent of any given population, according to James Whelan, a University of Memphis professor who briefed Japans ruling party on gambling addiction earlier this year. That could work out to one or two million Japanese.Whelan said the addition of casinos in Japan -- which may be as soon as 2023 -- probably wont make the issue worse, given that gambling is already widespread.

Noriko Tanaka, a counselor and campaigner on problem gambling, said shes concerned that the new law wont be ambitious enough to help addicts. One cause for worry is that the draft bill refers to respect for the pachinko industrys own anti-dependency initiatives.

It could turn out to be just a fig leaf to help them pass the casino bill, Tanaka said.

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Gambling Addiction Can No Longer Be Ignored in Japan's Casino Push - Bloomberg

Fort Worth man accused of running a gambling operation – Fort Worth Star Telegram

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Fort Worth Star Telegram
Fort Worth man accused of running a gambling operation
Fort Worth Star Telegram
A Fort Worth man out on bail for a gambling charge has been arrested again on another gambling charge, according to police and jail records. Ameer Hirani, 35, was charged Tuesday with keeping a gambling place, two days after his arrest. In June 2016 ...

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Fort Worth man accused of running a gambling operation - Fort Worth Star Telegram

China’s crackdown on gambling zeroes in on ‘entertainment’ venues – CalvinAyre.com

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Seventy-six entertainment venues have been shut down across China while 26 others had their operations suspended as the Beijing government intensified its crackdown on gambling, Chinese media outlets reported.

China, as we all know, likes to keep a tight leash on the fun stuff. Gambling is banned in the country, and the government is making good on its promise to severely punish both land-based and online gambling operators who target Chinese gamblers.

This year, law enforcement officers have investigated more than 38,000 entertainment venues nationwide, according to the China Youth Daily. Of this number, 355 cases have been busted.

The Ministry of Culture (MOC) was quoted by the news outlet saying that any entertainment venues that allow their customers to gamble or contain video machines on which people can gamble will be shut down and have their business licenses revoked.

In Shanghai, authorities discovered 83 entertainment venues that fit MOCs description, while 11 venues in Hainan province were shuttered in April for allowing their customers to gamble.

Meanwhile, China has stepped up its crackdown on cross-border gambling. Beijing authorities have joined forces with their counterparts in the Philippines to hunt down transnational cyber gambling operations that had mushroomed in the Southeast Asian country.

The two countries had already flexed their law enforcement muscle by shuttering four illegal websites, rounding up 99 people, and freezing more than 1,000 bank accounts in April, according to Chinas Public Security Bureau.

The MPS hailed the April cross-border bust as the first such coordinated anti-gambling action involving the two countries law enforcement agencies. The MPS said it would continue to strengthen international cooperation in targeting illegal gambling, be it online or land-based, to ensure greater fugitive repatriation of gambling operators who target bettors on the Chinese mainland.

The MPS has teamed with police in other jurisdictions, like in Taiwan, where it cooperated with Taiwanese officials in Taiwan in multiple actions against cross-border online gambling operations, although Beijing continues to insist that Taiwan is a renegade province of China rather than a truly independent nation, so this doesnt actually qualify as international cooperation under Beijings semantic rules.

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China's crackdown on gambling zeroes in on 'entertainment' venues - CalvinAyre.com

Oakland County animal shelter’s decreasing euthanasia rates mirror national trend – The Daily Tribune

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Over several decades, the Oakland County Animal Control and Pet Adoption Center is following a national trend toward euthanizing less animals brought in.

Bob Gatt, director of the shelter, says that the facility hovers at about a 90-percent no-kill rate, a number that is looked upon favorably in the industry.

Gatt says there are several factors in the trend in Oakland County toward lower euthanasia rates:

There is no time limit on how long an adoptable pet can stay in the shelter awaiting a new home, a change from decades ago. Weve had animals in here for over a year, he says.

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There is better education about having pets spayed and neutered, resulting in less unwanted litters of puppies and kittens, Gatt said.

More prospective pet owners are aware of the option of adopting a dog or cat from a shelter, he said.

According to some estimates, animal shelters nationwide killed as many as 20 million cats and dogs annually in the 1970s. That had fallen to 2.6 million by 2011 and to 1.5 million currently, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The Oakland County shelter handles 4,000 to 5,000 animals per year. Generally, only those deemed unadoptable are euthanized. Unadoptable animals are seriously ill or injured without a reasonable hope of improving, deemed vicious or have traits that make them unsuitable to be pets, Gatt said.

The shelter, at 1700 Brown Road in Auburn Hills, employs several full-time veterinary technicians and part-time veterinarians. Animals brought in sick or injured are treated on site whenever possible or sent out to a veterinarian for treatment if no staff member is available.

Animals rights groups consistently question the shelters euthanasia figures, but Gatt says those groups are an important factor in the decrease in animals being put down.

Over the years, the groups have brought awareness to more humane treatment of animals.

Even the ones who dont like me, I applaud them, Gatt said.

A new state-of-the-art shelter is to open this summer in the Oakland County municipal complex at Telegraph and Pontiac Lake roads.

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Oakland County animal shelter's decreasing euthanasia rates mirror national trend - The Daily Tribune