Monthly Archives: July 2020

The US Army’s Twitch bans may violate the First Amendment – PC Gamer

Posted: July 21, 2020 at 12:29 pm

It has not been a particularly good couple of weeks for the US Army's esports teamand yes, in case you weren't aware, the US Army has it's own esports team. The Army recently launched its own Twitch channel for livestreaming games, but it ran into grief when viewers began ignoring the gameplay and asking about war crimes committed by the Army instead.

Channel moderators aggressively deleted the questions as they arrived, and those who persisted found themselves banned from the channel. But as the Washington Post reported, that could open the door to even more trouble for the Army, because such bans could violate the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.[3]

Judge Mark Kearney ruled earlier this year that being muted in a game does not violate your constitutional rights. "The First Amendment and its constitutional free speech guarantees restrict government actors, not private entities," he wrote. "Defendants, who are not alleged to be state actors, are not subject to constitutional free speech guarantees."

But because the Army is an agency of the US government, Katie Fallow, senior staff attorney at Columbia Universitys Knight First Amendment Institute, said that it is forbidden from suppressing speech it finds uncomfortable or objectionable.

"The government cant try to engineer the conversation of the public by saying only people who agree with us can respond," Fallow told the site. "The First Amendment means the government cant kick someone out or preclude them based on their viewpoint."

It might seem like a stretch, but the position isn't without precedent: A judge ruled in a 2018 case, also filed by the Knight First Amendment Institute, that Donald Trump, the president of the United States, cannot block users on Twitter for essentially the same reason.

"We hold that portions of the @realDonaldTrump accountthe 'interactive space' where Twitter users may directly engage with the content of the President's tweetsare properly analyzed under the 'public forum' doctrines set forth by the Supreme Court, that such space is a designated public forum, and that the blocking of the plaintiffs based on their political speech constitutes viewpoint discrimination that violates the First Amendment," Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald wrote, as reported by CNN. The ruling was upheld a year later.

The Army defended its actions by saying that the banned users were violating Twitch terms of service against harassment and abuse. A rep also said that the Army Esports Team "does not regulate the viewpoints of participants on its social media forums," but added that the Army may "regulate the time, place and manner of discussions on its recruiting social media sites. Army Esports social media sites are nonpolitical forums for sharing information about joining the Army."

I'm really not sure how to wrap my head around the suggestion that the Army's Twitch channel is "non-political," but it's at least refreshing to see it referred to openly as a recruiting channel. But the Army may also be hedging its bets: When its Twitch channel first came to light, the "About" page described it as a place to "share the Army's passion for gaming, showcase competitions, and connect with our viewers."

It's been edited since then, however, and now say that it's dedicated to "our member's passion for gaming," a distinction that may make it easier (legally, at least) for the Army to regulate what goes on in its channel.

The Army's Twitch channel hasn't been live since the questions about war crimes first started rolling in, as the esports team is now reviewing "internal policies and procedures, as well as all platform-specific policies." The Army also acknowledged problems with a giveaway offer that actually led to a recruiting page, saying that it is now looking into giveaway options "that will provide more external clarity."

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The US Army's Twitch bans may violate the First Amendment - PC Gamer

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‘Disillusionment With Leadership is About Free Speech, Can’t Disqualify for it’: Sachin Pilot’s Amended H… – News18

Posted: at 12:29 pm

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot. (PTI File)

Sacked deputy chief minister of Rajasthan Sachin Pilot has submitted in the Rajasthan High Court that expressions of "dissatisfaction and disillusionment" against the party leadership cannot make a MLA amenable for disqualification.

In the amendments carried out in his original petition, Pilot emphasised on freedom of speech and expression, and the right to dissent.

This petition will be heard in the afternoon on Friday. The Speaker has assured the Rajasthan High Court that the proceedings against Pilot and others shall remain in abeyance till 5pm on Friday in the wake of the prosper hearing.

The petition, filed jointly by Pilot along with 18 other MLAs, has challenged the validity of clause 2(1)(a) of the 10th Schedule of the Constitution of India.

This provision and the interpretations given to it by a body of judgments by the Supreme Court have held that indulging in any anti-party activity tantamount to voluntarily giving up the membership of the party.

The petition has maintained that this provision cannot be so widely construed that the very same fundamental freedom of speech and expression of a member of the House is jeopardised.

Pilot and others said: "Mere expression of dissatisfaction or even disillusionment against the party leadership cannot be treated to be conduct falling within the clause 2(1)(a) of the 10th Schedule of the Constitution of India."

The plea added that even if expression of views and opinions, howsoever strongly worded, are treated to be a part of clause 2(1)(a), the said clause would not stand the scrutiny and will have to be declared ultra vires the basic structure of the Constitution of India in general and that of right of free speech under Article 19(1)(a) in particular.

It said that since the basis of the disqualification notices by the Speaker was expressions of dissent by some MLAs, it is necessary that the high court examines the validity of the impugned provision under the 10th Schedule.

The amended petition, apart from annulment of the disqualification notices, has also sought for declaring clause 2(1)(a) of the 10th Schedule ultra vires since it impinges upon the fundamental right of free speech.

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'Disillusionment With Leadership is About Free Speech, Can't Disqualify for it': Sachin Pilot's Amended H... - News18

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Freedom of speech is under threat like never before and we must fight back, LEO McKINSTRY – Express

Posted: at 12:29 pm

A sinister new cult of dogmatic intolerance casts its shadow across our land, silencing debate, imposing conformity, whipping up hysteria, and crushing dissent.

In the wholly un-British climate of intimidation, opinions are ruthlessly censored and careers destroyed.

On a terrifying scale, the ingredients of alien despotism are now creeping into our public life.

There is an echo of the Soviet eastern bloc in the demand for absolute submission to the ruling orthodoxy, while the vicious mood of 1950s McCarthyism is mirrored in endless character assassinations and witch-hunts.

Similarly, the kind of determination to root out heresy that once drove the Spanish Inquisition can now be found in corporate Britain, from workplaces to Whitehall.

All this is the very antithesis of a free society, which should value openness, compromise and pluralism.

That great patriot George Orwell famously wrote, If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.

Tragically, instead of being guided by those wise words, the cultural commissars seem to be inspired by Orwells most famous novel, 1984, which painted a dark picture of Britain under totalitarian rule, complete with thought crimes, hate sessions, group think and hectoring propaganda.

Orwell meant his book to be a warning, but the new ideologues see it as a blueprint.

The vanguard of this revolution hails from the authoritarian Left, which uses the bogus language of compassion to justify its oppression.

In their doctrinal obsessions and frenzied divisiveness, these bullies are utterly divorced from the mainstream British public, yet they are able to wield excessive power through their stranglehold on the internet and civic institutions.

In their brutish hands, social media is both an instrument of fear and an arena for show trials.

Nothing illustrates the nastiness of the online lynch mob more graphically thanthe transformation of the best-selling author JK Rowling from cherished icon into enemy of the people.

Her thought crime is her willingness to challenge the fashionable transgender ideology, which she sees as a threat both to womens rights and childhood innocence.

For her courage, she has been subjected to horrendous misogynistic abuse.

Staff at her publishing house have tried to boycott her work.

Authors have left the literary agency that represents her.

A sculptural tribute to her in Edinburgh, comprising the imprints of her hands, was daubed with blood-red paint.

Ms Rowling is such a global figure that she can withstand a battering from the advocates of the cancel culture, as it has become known because its impulse is to cancel out dissenters.

Others have been less lucky.

The Scottish childrens author Gillian Philip says she was fired from her post by her publishers after she tweeted: I stand with JK Rowling.

As Ms Philip commented, her professionalism counted for nothing in the face of an abusive mob of anonymous Twitter trolls. The same hardline trans lobby also recently hounded out Baroness Nicholson from her position as the patron of the Booker Literary prize for showing insufficientobeisance to the new creed, a fate thatalso happened to tax expert Maya Forstater who was dismissed from her job at an anti-poverty think tank after she tweeted that men cannot change into women.

Left-wingers used to campaign to protect jobs.

Now they campaign to get people removed from them, simply for having unacceptable opinions.

Typical is the case of Nick Buckley, who set up a highly successful charity for vulnerable young people in Manchester. But in the eyes of the new zealots he committed the sin of criticising the aims of the radical Black Lives Matter protest group.

We will do everything in our power to have you removed from your position, said one activist.The warning was prophetic, as Buckley was kicked out of the charity he established.

Disturbingly, this is just part of a wider trend.

At Cambridge University, which has regularly made empty noises about its commitment to academic freedom, the philosopher Jordan Peterson had his offer of a visiting fellowship withdrawn after protests from the Students Union about the politically incorrect nature of his work.

In the same cowardly vein, Cambridge sacked sociologist Noah Carl over the unsubstantiated claims that he might use his position as a researcher to promote views that could incite racial or religious hatred. So pathetically supine was the university that it even apologised to its students for appointing him in the first place, an appointment that supposedly caused hurt, betrayal, anger and disbelief.

That is so characteristic of our enfeebled establishment.

Instead of standing up for essential liberties, officialdom now cowers before the mob and colludes with the agitators.

In another outrageous case, the Nobel Prize-winning scientist Professor Sir Tim Hunt was forced out of his posts at University College London, the Royal Society and the European Research Council after he was accused of making a joke about female colleagues at an event in Seoulin 2015, even though he strongly deniedthe charge.

Sir Tim was crucified by ideological fanatics, said his fellow scientist Sir Andre Geim of the University of Manchester.

No one is safe from this destructive form of socialist puritanism.

Last year, disabled Asda worker Brian Leach was sacked for sharing an online clip of a Billy Connolly routine that mocked religion, though Leach was later reinstated after a public outcry. In yet another indicator of the authorities submission to the new doctrine, the police are estimated to have investigated no fewer than 120,000 non-crime hate incidents over the past five years, an incredible rate of 66 a day.

The Free Speech Union, recently founded by the energetic journalist Toby Young to uphold Britains tattered traditions, says that it now receives half a dozen requests for help every day.

The fact that such an organisation is required represents a severe indictment of the growing institutional disdain for freedom of expression.

The autocratic impulse has always existed on the Left, as shown by this passage written in 1999 by the broadcaster Andrew Marr, a key member of the metropolitan elite: I firmly believe that repression can be a great, civilising instrument for good. Stamp hard on certain natural beliefs for long enough and you can almost kill them off.

That outlook has become even stronger over the subsequent two decades.

In progressive circles, free speech is seen, not as a pillar of democracy, but as a vehicle for spreading dangerously reactionary arguments. In the warped mentality of the witch-hunters, the problem with the cancel culture is that it is insufficiently expansive or effective.

This narrow attitude was perfectly captured last week by the singer Billy Bragg, who wrote that whenever he hears Orwells defence of liberty, he wants to cringe because the words are a defence of licence, allowing those in power to abuse and marginalise others.

When he was asked on social media if he supported the dismissal of people simply for an opinion, he declared, If their opinion amounts to delegitimising the rights of a minority, I believe that employers have the right to act in such circumstances.

In effect, Bragg appears to believe in the thought police and ideological purity tests, a shameful stance from a man who once pretended to be democrat.

But his outlook is a common one.

One of the performers on the deeply unfunny BBC satire The Mash Report even stated that free speech is basically a way adult people can say racist stuff without consequences.

Left-wingers love to trumpet the joys of diversity, yet they loathe diversity of thought.

All their apparatus of repression, such as safe spaces and wails about micro-aggressions, are geared towards the enforcement of their code.

Even when people are not directly threatened with losing their livelihoods, they become scared to express their views on any controversial topic.

The atmosphere of self-censorship is thereby strengthened. The absurdity of this approach is that free speech is the ally, not the enemy, of progress, enlightenment and human rights.

Without such a liberty, discussion and protest are impossible, while power becomes entrenched, as the Soviet Union proved.

An irrefutable case for free speech was made in 2009, when the BBC invited the BNP leader Nick Griffin to participate in an edition of the flagship show Question Time.

The BNP was riding high at that moment, having won almost one million votes in the European elections and secured two seats in the European Parliament.

There was tremendous outrage at the BBCs invitation, yet Griffins disastrous appearance turned out to be the worst thing that ever happened to the BNP.

Sweating, nervous and incoherent, he was exposed as a fantasising conspiracy theorist with some very unpleasant views, in the words of his fellow panelist, the distinguished Labour politician Jack Straw.

Even BNP activists were dismayed.

Maybe some coaching should have been done, said one.

Question Time triggered a chain of events that soon led to the collapse of the BNP, amid debts and plummeting popularity.

The cancel culture would have worked in Griffins favour.

As it was, he choked on the oxygen of publicity.

That is the lesson we have to learn today. Fortunately there are the glimmers of a fightback against the authoritarians. JK Rowling has stood firm.

Comedy star Ricky Gervais has stood up for free speech, denouncing its opponents as weird.

Only last week, a letter was sent to Harpers Magazine by 153 mainly liberal philosophers, writers and intellectuals among them giants su Salman Rushdie, Margaret Atwood and Noam Chomsky who denounced the intolerant climate of public discourse.

The way to defeat bad ideas is by exposure, argument and persuasion, not by trying to silence or wish them away, they wrote.

That is absolutely correct and has long been the British way.

For the sake of our future, the extremists must not be allowed to prevail.

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The US ‘war’ on drugs – newagebd.net

Posted: at 12:28 pm

PROGRAMMES by the United States Agency for International Development that are geared toward decreasing the quantity of opium poppy crops in Afghanistan have, in actuality, fostered growth in production of the narcotic, states a quarterly report from the special inspector seneral for Afghanistan reconstruction that was presented to the US Congress. In addition, the document refutes proclamations made by American officials that opium poppy is chiefly grown in areas under control by the Taliban movement [an organisation that is forbidden in the Russian Federation]. According to experts, by turning a blind eye to drug trafficking American military service personnel can buy loyalty from the local elite.

And that does correspond to reality. Otherwise, how can it be explained that a report from the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, which is a US government agency, states that from 2002 to March 2017 the US wasted $8.5 billion on efforts to eradicate the narcotics threat in Afghanistan, yet never managed to fulfil the objective that was set, and Afghanistan remains the largest opium producer in the world and one that is more and more actively filling demand not only in European markets for drugs, but in the American one. Heroin is a multi-billion dollar business, backed by the interests of powerful circles in the United States. From this it becomes evident that one of the goals for the occupation of Afghanistan was to restore the drug trafficking that was under their control back to its former level, and to assume complete control over drug delivery routes. In 2001, under the Taliban, 185 tonnes of opium was produced, whereas now, even given incomplete data, opium production has risen to 13,000 tonnes!

It would be beneficial to remember the history of drug trafficking in the Golden Triangle, which is closely connected to operations conducted by the Central Intelligence Agency in the area when the limited contingent of Soviet forces was brought into Afghanistan. Back then, the production of opium in Afghanistan and Pakistan was oriented toward minor regional markets and heroin was not produced there at all. The Afghan narco-economy then became a project that was meticulously developed by the CIA as a component of US foreign policy. Just as before, during the Iran-Contra affair, supporting both the Afghan mujahedeen and other forces friendly to Washington was financed specifically by these narco-dollars. This dirty money was converted into clandestine money through banks in the Middle East and CIA shell companies, and was used to support criminal groups led by American instructors that fought against Soviet soldiers, and then successfully fragmented Afghanistan. Since the United States wanted to deliver Stinger missiles and other armaments to the mujahedeen in Afghanistan, they needed help from Pakistan. By the middle of the 1980s, the CIA field office in Islamabad was one of the largest in the world The US turned a blind eye to drug trafficking in Pakistan, and especially in Afghanistan, writes Time magazine.

Afghan history researcher Alfred McCoy affirms that soon after the start of the CIA operation in Afghanistan the area along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border became the largest heroin producer in the world, and from there 60 per cent of the demand in the United States was met. In Pakistan itself, the number of drug addicts grew from almost zero in 1979 to 1.5 million, which is faster growth than in any other country.

The drug trade, as obvious facts can attest to, was completely controlled by CIA officers. When the mujahedeen captured an area of land in Afghanistan, they made peasants plant opium poppy as a tax for the revolution. On the other side of the border, in Pakistan, Afghan leaders and local syndicates sponsored by both the Pakistani intelligence services and the CIA controlled hundreds of laboratories that produced heroin. Over decades of active drug business in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Drug Enforcement Agency regional office has never seized one large shipment of heroin, nor has is made a single arrest!

According to McCoy, officials with the latest administration in Washington refused to investigate the accusations of drug trafficking levelled at their Afghan allies, since US drug policy in Afghanistan was always subordinate to the interests of fighting against Soviet, and now Russian, influence. Charles Cogan, a former CIA operations leader in Afghanistan, quite truthfully and cynically told the world about this when he admitted that the CIA sacrificed the war on drugs in favour of winning the Cold War. He says that the main objective was to inflict as much damage as possible on the Soviet Union. The role played by the CIA, even though it is expressed in many documents, is not mentioned in materials from the United Nations, which place an emphasis on internal factors. Laundered narco-dollars were used by Washington to finance the mujahedeen, and terrorists in Central Asia and the Balkans.

According to an assessment done by the UN, the global drug trade reaches several, if not dozens of, billions of dollars. The opium sold from Afghanistan amounts to a considerable portion of this trade. It is evident that the lions share of the proceeds from drug trafficking cannot be taken in by terrorist groups, as the UN affirms. Major business and financial interests back those narcotics. In that regard, geopolitical and military control over those channels of distribution for the drugs holds as much significance as control over oilfields and oil pipelines.

What sets drugs apart from legal products is that drug trafficking is an important source of income not only for organised crime groups, but for the US intelligence services, which are becoming an even more important player in banks and financial institutions. This means that the American intelligence services and large syndicates that have ties to organised crime compete for strategic control over drug distribution channels. The multi-billion dollar income from drug trafficking is invested into Western banking systems, and above all else into American banks. Most large transnational banks, via their offshore branches, launder a substantial amount of drug money. This trade can flourish only if the main players have highly-placed political patrons in the West and in Afghanistan itself.

There are many specific examples that bear witness, and quite vividly, to the fact that at present a considerable number of Americans in the US itself, and military service personnel in Afghanistan, are not interested in the war on drugs, but in supporting the drug trade. Even though a major portion of American chemical weapons programmes remain classified, it is apparent that much attention has been given to doing research on drug supplements that can boost the performance of military personnel. For example, in the US air force pilots were given dextroamphetamines before long missions to increase their ability to concentrate and reduce fatigue. And out of the American pilots that participated in operation Desert Storm in the war against Iraq in 2003, 65 per cent used narcotic stimulants. An investigation of the exercises held in the Tarnak Farms training camp in Afghanistan, during which four Canadian soldiers were killed by friendly fire and another eight were wounded, found that the American F-16 pilots were permitted to use Dexedrine. And there are many more of these kinds of examples. In addition, medicinal products delivered by the Pentagon that contain narcotic substances are now actively being taken by the Saudi pilots that are bombing mostly cities, villages, and inhabited settlements in Yemen.

In the beginning of this year, the Afghan government announced with grandeur that it had arrested five high-level police official complicit in drug trafficking in Kabul and neighbouring countries. Nasrat Rahimi, a representative from the ministry of internal affairs, declared that Ahmad Ahmadi who was in charge of the war on drugs in the countrys capital was arrested while trying to flee the country. He told the press that Ahmadi was one of the countrys leading drug dealers and mafia ringleader who was also the director of a suspicious Afghan-Swiss business group that was, over the course of several years, involved in protecting, promoting the interests of, and receiving large bribes from drug dealers in a city with more than six million people. It is true that later on the Kabul press found out about this ultra-high level of their governments activity. It turned out that the Afghan group was operating independently of the CIA, which completely controls drug trafficking in the country, and refused to pay American officers their commissions.

That is exactly why Moscow accuses the US and NATO of not being capable of stopping the flow of Afghan drugs moving into Central Asia and Russia. Washington tries to implement a policy of reinforcing measures to conduct the war on drugs in the region without launching any operations against the insurgents. Over the past 10 years, Afghanistan has produced and exported more heroin than any other country. According to an evaluation done by the UN, about 10 per cent of the gross output from Afghanistan originates from growing opium poppy. About 13,000 tonnes of opium was produced in the country, which is estimated to be worth $2 billion. This creates a vicious circle: illegal drug trafficking finances the Taliban, the CIA controls that and takes action to undermine and hinder Afghan authorities attempts to stamp out opium cultivation and come up with a method to obtain alternative income.

Trying to shirk responsibility, Washington as is its usual practice publishes rosy reports about the active war against drugs, and at the same time falsely accuses Russia of allegedly cooperating with the Taliban. Zamir Kabulov, a Russian presidential special envoy, sharply refuted the false accusations from the CIA about collusion with the Taliban, underscoring that the US is the country that has joined with the Taliban to play a part in the flourishing drug traffic out of Afghanistan, adding that the US paid numerous bribes to implement several drug-related projects in Afghanistan. He also emphasised that American aircraft can fly out of Kandahar and Bagram to anywhere, including Germany and Romania, without going through an inspection. This means that the Americans, without any form of control, transport huge shipments of drugs into Europe, and then to the US, earning criminal money on the spilled blood of the Afghan people.

New Eastern Outlook, July 15. Victor Mikhin is a member-correspondent of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences.

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As the War on Drugs Relentlessly Grinds On, Overdose Deaths Relentlessly Mount – Cato Institute

Posted: at 12:28 pm

When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced last January that drug overdoses in 2018 declined by 4.1 percentfrom70,237in 2017 to 67,367in 2018many in the press took that as asign of possible progress in Americas longest war, the war on drugs. However, adeeper look at the data painted avery different picture.

The CDC report stated:

The ageadjusted rate of drug overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone, which include drugs such as fentanyl, fentanyl analogs, and tramadol, increased from 0.3 per 100,000 standard population in 1999 to 1.0in 2013, 1.8in 2014, 3.1in 2015, 6.2in 2016, 9.0in 2017, and 9.9in 2018. The rate of drug overdose deaths involving heroin increased from 0.7in 1999 to 1.0in 2010, then increased to 4.9in 2016 and 2017. The rate in 2018 (4.7) was lower than in 2017. The rate of drug overdose deaths involving natural and semisynthetic opioids, which include drugs such as oxycodone and hydrocodone, increased from 1.0in 1999 to 3.1in 2009, then increased to 4.4in 2016 and 2017. The rate in 2018 (3.8) was lower than in 2017 The ageadjusted rate of drug overdose deaths involving cocaine increased from 1.4 per 100,000 standard population in 1999 to 2.5in 2006, then decreased to 1.3in 2010 and 1.5in 2011. From 2012 through 2018, the rate increased on average by 27% per year to arate of 4.5in 2018. The ageadjusted rate of drug overdose deaths involving psychostimulants with abuse potential, which include drugs such as methamphetamine, amphetamine, and methylphenidate, increased from 0.2in 1999 to 0.8in 2012. From 2012 through 2018, the rate increased on average by 30% per year to arate of 3.9in 2018.

While deaths attributed to prescription opioids continued to decline, deaths attributed to heroin overdoses levelled off and those attributed to fentanyl and its analogs continued to increase. Also making abig comeback were deaths related to psychostimulants, such as cocaine and methamphetamine. These data should have been enough evidence to prevent policymakers from cracking open the champagne bottles.

The CDC recently issued its preliminary report on 2019 overdose deaths and the news isnt good. There were roughly 71,000 overdose deaths, anew record. These data predate the COVID-19 crisis, so we can expect matters to get even worse.

Speaking to reporters about the preliminary report, Robert Anderson, who oversees the mortality data for the CDC said, We got it to stall out abit. Now we need to grab on again and not let this get away from us.

This should come as no surprise. A2018 study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh found overdose deaths have been growing exponentially since at least the late 1970s and show no sign of deviating from the trend line. The particular drug predominating as the cause of death has changed from time to time, but the death rate marches on relentlessly. Therefore, even if the aggregate overdose data stalled abit in 2018, the underlying forces fueled by dangerous black market drugs that result fromdrug prohibition continue unabated.

One bright spot in the preliminary data: overdoses declined in Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, New Hampshire, and Rhode Islandstates where harm reduction strategies have gained some traction.

Until drug prohibition ends expect overdoses to continue following the tragic trendline.

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Nihilism or Enlightenment? My Journey to Understanding the Point of Critical Thinking – The Octant

Posted: at 12:28 pm

Story by| Jan Bronauer, Contributing Writer

Illustration by| Xie Yihui, Staff Editor

*note* : This article contains citations which can be accessed at the end.

Sometimes I wish you and your brother werent so smart because then you wouldnt break your head over all these problems, my mother once said to me. This was during a conversation when I had just returned home from my semester abroad, and when I was overflowing with new questions about the world. During that semester, I had learnt about the structural causes of issues such as racism, underdevelopment, or corruption, and I couldnt help but wonder what I was to make of this newly gained awareness. The structural nature of these issues seemed to defy any feasible solution, and one way to cope with what I learned was to question the role which wealth, education and convenience play in our lives. But this was difficult in a society where convenience is worshipped and luxury is an essential good. At the time, many things in my life seemed in flux. It seemed as if critical thinking had turned on itself and debilitated me in the process.

Conversations with my peers confirmed that I am not the only one who has experienced such debilitation during their time at Yale-NUS College. In fact, the very purpose of the Common Curriculum is to promote critical, creative and active thinking [1], thereby inherently exposing students to the risk of feeling debilitated by what they study. But we cannot say that we have not been warned.

In Philosophy and Political Thought 2, Hannah Arendt cautions us that nihilism is a danger inherent in the thinking activity itself [2]. She defines nihilism as the inversion, and not just the questioning, of the values in our society. As such, nihilism is a possible, but not inevitable, outcome of the thinking process [3]. More dangerous than nihilism, therefore, is non-thinkingthat is, the absence of questioning our preconceived values [4]. If we fail to question the content of the values and rules in our society, we risk committing actions in the name of obedience which we did not mean to commit. Therefore, Hannah Arendt warns us that nihilism is a possibility of critical thinking, but that the more dangerous prospect is not to think critically at all.

Friedrich Nietzsche, by contrast, famously declared that God is dead and announced the hour of the great contempt, when our long-held values and beliefs are dissolved. This hour seemed near as I was talking to my mother about the beliefs and values I had come to question [5]. It seemed as if I started to lose the fabric that connected me with everyone around me. I was Lu Xuns Madman; the pathological and the normal at the same time. I had shattered the true world which I had lived in throughout my childhood, and I was glaring into an abyss altogether devoid of truth. In his declaration, Nietzsche was not talking about the death of God Himself, of course, but about the realization that any true world is inherently an illusion. This realisation is the hour of the great contemptthe emergence of nihilism. But, unlike Arendt, Nietzsche tells us that nihilism is a normal condition [6] and even a necessary step towards enlightenment. It seems, then, that nihilism may be a desirable component of a liberal arts education after all.

Before jumping to this conclusion, we must understand that Nietzsche only refers to active nihilism as desirable, and explicitly rejects a passive, submissive and resigned kind of nihilism. In short, he condemns defeatism and praises vitality in embracing the uprooting of our values and beliefs. Ironically, this process of uprooting norms is the very ideal of the typical liberal arts student, but it seems to offer little purpose in the real worlda world where there is no truth to be found. This gives rise to the ultimate liberal arts contradiction: We are meant to work hard towards worldly success, yet we learn to undermine this very notion of success we are meant to work hard for.

After we become aware of this contradiction, we face a choice: Either we hold on to an illusion and achieve worldly success, or we live our life without any such success. Since I like to believe that a liberal arts education cannot possibly leave us at such an unfavorable crossroads, I propose that there is a third option: we embrace the illusion while remaining aware of its illusory nature. In other words, we maintain a subjective real world while accepting that there is no true world.

At this point, let me answer why we should concern ourselves with this talk about truth in the first place? First, the earlier we experience the hour of the great contempt, the sooner we can reconcile the abolition of the true world with our own personal lives. This entails, for instance, realizing that our dream of becoming a politician, a banker, or a musician is our own original notion of success. In this way, we tailor our own life to ourselves. Yes, this tailor-made notion of success is an illusion, but it exists in our subjective real world and is therefore inherently meaningful (insofar as our life itself is inherently meaningful).

Second, understanding the impossibility of truth makes us humbler and more resilient. For instance, if someone were to call us out for aspiring to be a banker, we can acknowledge their accusations because, in a way, they are right. There is no denying that chasing after anything in lifeeven living life itselfinevitably requires some degree of illusion. We cannot possibly defend our ambition as the right thing to do because there simply is no right thing to do. All we can say is that it is the right thing to do for us and at this particular point in time. This is clearly a subjective judgement, and so is the other persons accusation against us. But who am I to say that my notion of success is more right than theirs? Therefore, to be called out on our illusions must not surprise us; if it does, we have failed to identify the illusion as such.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, separating the true world from the real world creates conscious subjectivity; that is, subjectivity which we are aware of but choose to hold on to. Perhaps we can agree that it is oddly liberating to read a novel which we are not required to read. At last, we can let ourselves devour the pages without calculation or the fear that we missed something important. What matters most is the feeling we get from living through the plot. Life is similar. Even while knowing that things such as love, success, and joy are merely illusory pleasures, we can embrace the subjective impact they have on us. With the abolition of the true world, we have maintained a world of feelings that is untouchable, because it is subjective. Nobody can tell me whether or not I feel love for someone because this feeling is self-contained within me. The real world, then, is within each of us.

As disorienting as this time of debilitation was, I am ultimately grateful for it. I have grown more resilient and rooted in lifean illusory life, but a life nonetheless. Even if critical thinking turns on itself, who is it really that turns on our critical thinking? Correct, our critical thinking. The key is to overcome this endless process of mutual suspicion, to understand and accept the unknowability of truth, and to be satisfied with subjectivity instead. We came into this life wanting oranges, but life gave us lemons. This liberal arts education has taught me how to make lemonade.

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Nihilism or Enlightenment? My Journey to Understanding the Point of Critical Thinking - The Octant

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The Business of Drugs: Why The US Drug War Can NEVER Be Won – Screen Rant

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Why won't the U.S. ever win the war on drugs? Here's why America is complicit, according to the Netflix documentary series The Business of Drugs.

The United Stateswill never win the war on drugs because, according toThe Business of Drugs, a Netflixdocumentary series hosted by Amaryllis Fox, America is complicit in a distribution operationthat most people don't fully understand. The Business of Drugs doesn't identifyone specific reason why the U.S. drug war will fail, butdoes explain various factors that make it almost impossible to stop the worldwide distribution of drugs like cocaine, heroin, and meth, along with synthetics and opioids.

The Business of Drugs isn't focused solely on the U.S. drug war, and that thematic choiceconnects to America'sinability to prevent narcotics trafficking. Divided into six episodes, all of which prioritizesocietalrealitiesover societalcliches, the Netflix documentary series aims to educate streamers about the relationship between Digital Age economics andculture shifts. The Business of Drugs opens with Fox explaining her backstory, as she was raised by an economist and lived in various international locations before ultimately working as a CIA analyst for 10 years. She's the wife ofRobert F. Kennedy III and the inspiration for the upcoming Apple TV+ series starring Brie Larson.In The Business of Drugs, Fox travels the world and attempts to understand the motivating factors for drug producers and distributors.

Related:How To Fix A Drug Scandal: Biggest Reveals From Netflix's Documentary

In the first episode of The Business of Drugs on Netflix, appropriately titled "Cocaine," Fox pieces together a narrative that ultimately connects to the United States drug war. She visits the Colombian port town Buenaventura, and learns thatthe only viable way to survive, at least for many locals, is to participate in cocaine production and distribution. The problem, however, is that a pyramid structure allows the most powerful figures to control rates that never really seem to change.Now, in 2020,the "value chain" allows Mexican drug cartels to sustain power through violence, with Sinaloa being the "gold standard" for the operation. Essentially, risk equals profitability, and cocaine demand from the United States means that many drug-hungry Americans inadvertently fund"a chain of human suffering," according to Fox. The Business of Drugs host also states that "Legalization may seem pretty extreme to most Americans, but as long as thedemand continues to climb, and the prices remain astronomically high became of no legal competition, I can't help wonder whether legalization and regulation is the only real option."

Fox digs deeper in The Business of Drugs episode about heroin, as she details how Kenya has become the new hub for international distribution. The host, who once lived in Africaas a child, admits that she doesn't correlate acity like Mombasa with heroin, andtherein lies the problem for the U.S. drug war. Methods of distribution continue to rapidly change in different parts of the world, andnarco-traffickers find new ways to exploit people working for them. According to Fox, "the real story lies in distribution." She states that the drug war involves fighting "darkness" and "evil," and that the war on drugs "has not made a dent." Overall, the Netflix documentary serieslinks American complicity to American naivete.

The Business of Drugs features a revelatory episode about meth production and distribution in Myanmar, with Fox reinforcing the idea thatTruly understanding the way things connect is the only we we can hope to change them." To her, it's seemingly impossible to prevent meth distribution if people don't know that Myanmar produces pills like McDonald's produces hamburgers. That's not a joke either, as one intervieweeconfirms.

As for synthetic drugs like MDMA, otherwise known as "Molly" or "Ecstasy," The Business of Drugs shows that America mostly correlates the drugs with clubs kids rather than with itstherapeutic potential, especiallyfor people suffering from PTSD. InThe Business of Drugs series finale on Netflix, Fox sums up the U.S. drug war problem by referencing "a terrible collision of circumstances." Regulations affects big business, big business affects politicians. Meanwhile, innovative drug distributors find new ways to deliver their product while manipulating rates and employees whoneed drug money to survive. The war on drugs isn't necessarily about good vs. bad, it's about information and power (among many other sociopolitical and economic factors).

More:Ecstasy May Be The Answer To PTSD Reveals Netflix's Business of Drugs

James McAvoy Declares He WILL Play Young Picard (Even If He Has To Film It Himself)

Q.V. Hough is a Screen Rant staff writer. He's also the founding editor at Vague Visages, and has contributed to RogerEbert.com and Fandor.

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20 charged as part of sheriff’s ‘War on Drugs’ – ABC 36 News – WTVQ

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LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. (WTVQ) Another 20 people have been charged with drug offenses as part of Laurel County Sheriff John Roots War on Drugs.

According to the sheriff, detectives, deputies, and the departments K-9 teams were part of the round up.

While conducting unrelated drug investigations, answering complaints and at traffic stops, investigators found subjects with meth, heroin, Xanax, hydrocodone, gabapentin, assorted pills, scales, hypodermic needles, glass pipes with white residue, cut straws with residue and other paraphernalia, and U.S. currency,. the sheriff said.

Some subjects were also found with outstanding warrants and outstanding warrants for failure to appear on drug charges.According to the departments Facebook page, those arrested and the charges against them are:1. Lee Merritt Sr., Age 55 arrested off Hawk Creek Road charged with possession of a controlled substance first-degree first offense methamphetamine; possession of drug paraphernalia; public intoxication controlled substances.2. Justin Mullins age 27 of Old County Road, McKee, Ky arrested on Hal Rogers Parkway in London charged with trafficking in a controlled substance first-degree first offense; trafficking in a controlled substance third-degree first offense; possession of a controlled substance third-degree; prescription controlled substances not in proper container first offense; resisting arrest.3. Destiny Hobbs age 19 of Mildred Road, McKee, Ky arrested off Wendell Way in London charged with possession of a controlled substance first-degree first offense methamphetamine.4. Steven Wayne Helton age 35 of Hanes Baker Rd., Corbin arrested off West Cumberland Gap Pkwy. charged with possession of a controlled substance first-degree first offense methamphetamine; possession of a controlled substance second-degree; prescription controlled substances not in proper container first offense; possession of drug paraphernalia.5. Kenny Blake Wagers, Jr age 21 of McWhorter Road, London arrested off McWhorter Road charged with possession of a controlled substance first-degree first offense methamphetamine; possession of a controlled substance first-degree first offense heroin; possession of drug paraphernalia.6. Charles Nantz age 30 of Clancy Ln., Lily arrested off Clancy Lane charged with trafficking in a controlled substance first-degree first offense methamphetamine; wanton endangerment degree; three counts of possession of a controlled substance third-degree; possession of drug paraphernalia.7. Ricky Lee Miracle age 33 of Cecil Wyatt Rd., Corbin arrested off West Cumberland Gap Pkwy. charged on a Whitley Circuit Court bench warrant of arrest charging court order violation regarding charges of possession of a controlled substance first-degree first offense methamphetamine; possession of drug paraphernalia.8. Kimberly Ann Hubbard age 33 of Blake Dr., London arrested off Miracle Lane in London charged with public intoxication controlled substances stated had been using meth; disorderly conduct second-degree; an outstanding Laurel District Court bench warrant charging failure to appear in court.9. Ashley R. Smith age 24 of Barr Creek Rd., Oneida, KY arrested off East Laurel Rd. charged with possession of a controlled substance first-degree first offense methamphetamine; possession of drug paraphernalia; possession of marijuana.10. Christopher Adam Cole age 32 of Runnels Branch Road, Littcarr, KY arrested on KY 490 charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence first offense; possession of drug paraphernalia with meth residue; operating on suspended or revoked operators license.11. Rebecca Caudill age 32 of Runnels Branch Road, Littcarr, KY arrested on KY 490 charged with public intoxication controlled substances; possession of drug paraphernalia with meth residue.12. Joseph Chad Curry age 45 of Curry Rd., London arrested off Curry Road charged with possession of drug paraphernalia.13. James Marcum age 46 of East Laurel Rd., London arrested off East Laurel Rd. charged on a failure to appear warrant.14. Mary Melissa Roark age 36 of Fire House Rd., East Bernstadt charged with possession of a controlled substance first-degree first offense methamphetamine.15. Landon Collins age 32 of Locust Grove Rd., London arrested off East 4th Street in London charged with possession of drug paraphernalia.16. Irvin Johnson age 34 of Taylor Subdivision Rd., London arrested off Tobacco Road in London charged with possession of drug paraphernalia; wanton endangerment second-degree police officer is victim.17. Angela Shepherd age 43 of Sallys Branch Rd., London arrested off Slate Lick Road charged with trafficking in a controlled substance first-degree second offense methamphetamine; trafficking in a controlled substance third-degree second offense.18. Linda Jane Wallace age 50 of Van Hollow Road, McKee, KY arrested off Slate Lick Road charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence second offense; driving on DUI suspended license first offense; trafficking in a controlled substance first-degree second offense methamphetamine; trafficking in a controlled substance third-degree second offense; prescription controlled substances not in proper container first offense; driving on DUI suspended license first offense.19. Johnny Gregory age 51 of Highway 472, Manchester arrested off Slate Lick Rd. charged with possession of drug paraphernalia.20. Marsha Denny age 41 of Sallys Branch Rd., London arrested off Slate Lick Rd. charged with public intoxication controlled substances; possession of drug paraphernalia.

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Nihilism and the Passion of Our Lord – National Catholic Register

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Passion of Christ. (Wikimedia (CC BY 3.0).)

COMMENTARY: The noise of mob rule can leave no one at peace a peace which is only found, ultimately, in union with Christ.

The present civil unrest in American U.S. society is the culmination of a long descent from the Judeo-Christian ethic a descent which began in earnest with the onslaught of World War I. Europe committed spiritual suicide in a war which led to casualties on a massive level and ended in an equally devastating pandemic of influenza (which historians note, was spurred on, in part, by the close-quartering and mass-movement of troops throughout the U.S. and Europe during and after the war).

World War I was the fruit of nihilism the denial of objective truth already begun in the 19th century. I have used the word nihilism for this denial because when nothing is absolutely true then there is no certain path in either reason or faith. Pope emeritus Benedict XVI referred to this as the dictatorship of relativism. Anarchy is its political equivalent.

The denial of objectivity was characterized by two things a century ago which have gained more ascendancy with the passage of time: the discovery of relativity in science which indirectly led to a relativity regarding all truth and especially moral truth. (As Catholic historian Paul Johnson notes, Einstein himself protested against making this leap from objective science to the moral realm.) ````Nonetheless, however unfairly, Einsteins scientific discovery was coupled with Sigmund Freuds psychological discoveries, which together with the rising popularity of Marxism and Darwinism, brought the whole issue of personal responsibility into question. Indeed, the philosophical relativism of the 19th century embodied by Marxism and Darwinism, affirmed that all universal truths were either a result of the projection of human need or human emotion or some invisible and inhuman force but not objective thought grounded in sense experience and in the fact that a transcendent God does exist and does take an interest in human affairs.

Relative to Catholicism

Naturally, then, this denial of objective truth, when applied to Catholicism, has had very destructive results. Reflecting on this, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI gave a talk published as Difficulties confronting the faith in Europe Today (May 2, 1989) when he was head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) in which he recounted that there were three basic areas of difficulty in Catholic doctrine today caused by this relativism of truth.

The first regards the complete disappearance of the doctrine of creation from theology. The demise of metaphysics goes hand in hand with the displacement of the teaching on creation. Their place has been taken by a philosophy of evolution (which I would like to distinguish from the scientific hypothesis of evolution). This philosophy intends to discard the laws of nature so that the management of its development may make a better life possible. Nature, which ought really to be the teacher along this path, is instead a blind mistress, combining by unwitting chance what man is supposed to simulate now with full consciousness (Difficulties). The results of this denial blur the distinction between God and the world so that the world becomes God.

The second area is a new idea of Christ. If one denies a transcendent deity and yet claims to be a Christian what does one do with Christ? He says there are two models, both equally disturbing. One sees Jesus as just a good middle class male who preaches a simple doctrine of love and pacifism, and never challenges anyone to anything. The other is the failed revolutionary. Now in both these versions there runs a common thread, namely, that we must be saved not through the Cross, but from the Cross. Atonement and forgiveness are misunderstandings from which Christianity has to be freed (Difficulties).

The third unfortunate consequence is the denial of the afterlife. If there is no transcendent God and Jesus need not have suffered the cross to redeem us then the afterlife described in Scripture is one we create here ourselves by better social structures. This is the better world of Utopia. Where the Kingdom of God is reduced to the better world of tomorrow, the present will ultimately assert its rights against some imaginary future. The escape into the world of drugs is the logical consequence of the idolizing of Utopia. Since this has difficulty in arriving, man draws it to himself or throws himself headlong into it (Difficulties). Young people have been imbued with this escape from reality because there is nothing certain they can hold on to as truth.

Toss Out the Cross?

The results of the new Christology, which presents a Christ without a Cross is to humanize Jesus so much he ceases to be divine. The Cross and all his suffering during the passion become a regrettable incident he could have avoided. The Cross is called absurdity itself, not in the sense of St. Paul who contrasts its higher wisdom with Greek philosophy, but in the sense that it is senseless. Jesus did not choose the Cross but only suffered the humiliation of Golgotha because the politics of the time were not ready for his revolution. As a result, he threw himself into the blackness of the unknown as what might be supposed an irrational act of faith which itself is anti-intellectual. He hopes against hope that God will make sense of this meaninglessness and his cry, My God, my God why have you forsaken me? expresses the fact that he really has no idea why he is there.

This interpretation of Jesuss passion and death culminating in an ultimate cry to his father is completely contrary to Catholic teaching on the subject. Jesus did not have faith because he did not need faith. He is the only person in Scripture to whom faith is not attributed. Traditional Catholic theology, even expressed in the teaching John Paul II, affirms that Jesus has the vision of God in heaven in his human mind from the moment of his conception. He does not merit heaven for himself but only for us. He is always in command even in his passion. No one takes my life from me, I have power to lay it down and take it up again. (John. 10:18)

Though Jesus feels abandoned on the Cross does he think this to be the case in what we call his higher intelligence? How could he be deserted by God by himself? He cannot cease being the second Person of the Trinity, nor God made man, nor a sinner, nor lose the Beatific Vision once he has it. He is only abandoned externally to the will of his enemies and though he feels this deeply (the Passion was a matter of horrific suffering) he knows he is not. Catholicism has always expressed this as: God withdrew his protection but preserved the union. The cry from the Cross is the first verse of Psalm 22 and if one reads the psalm through, the innocent psalmist is suffering terribly, but his concluding verses are very far from a cry of despair. All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord! proclaims David near the end of the poem.

Nowhere Peace but in Christ

For those who do not believe in the afterlife or the Beatific Vision, their attempts to create Utopia lead to a dead end. Pope Benedict thought it was to explain their despair of saving themselves that modern culture has taken refuge in drugs. More recently, and at an alarmingly increasing rate, secular society has indulged in a new sort of drug: Rage. Rage which destroys the other as other (thus, racism, abortion, etc.) is a convenient scapegoat for the inability the impossibility to save oneself. Stupid rage which destroys property and society is like a drug and like a drug it must be controlled. As with the other deadly sins pride, greed, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth-- if one must ascetically challenge and control sex, one must control anger with an aesthetic discipline grounded in the cardinal virtues. To strive for such virtues, however, requires a return to objective truth which culminates, theologically speaking, in the Cross and resurrection.

If faith is true, then reason can enter the soul again. Satan loves noise because it rejects and corrupts the ability to think. The noise of mob rule can leave no one at peace, and even if protests at injustice are accompanied by the best motives, the noise in a soul inhibits the objectivity necessary to carry out such protests with peace of mind and peace of soul a peace which is only found, ultimately, in union with Christ.

Dominican Father Brian Mulladys latest book is Captivated by the Master: A Theological Consideration of Jesus Christ (EWTN).

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Nihilism and the Passion of Our Lord - National Catholic Register

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Activists take to the streets to call for marijuana legalization in N.J. – NJ.com

Posted: at 12:28 pm

Breonna Taylor was a 36-year-old Black emergency medical worker who was killed in March while police in Louisville, Kentucky carried out a no-knock warrant as part of a narcotics investigation.

Breonna Taylor died as a result of the war on drugs, said Josh Alb as he shouted to demonstrators on the steps of Newark City Hall on Friday. The police went into her house for a no-knock warrant for drugs that were never there. This is one of the biggest pieces missing from the conversation surrounding her.

The war on drugs was a narcotics prohibition campaign that was created under former President Richard Nixon in the 1970s. Alb said the policy is still being used today to harm Black people like Taylor.

Alb, a William Paterson University student who lives in Newark and works in the cannabis industry, led about 30 demonstrators down Broad Street on Friday while shouting her name. They called for the legalization of marijuana to begin to end the war on drugs.

Legalization could happen soon - at least in New Jersey. Voters will decide if it should become legal on Nov. 3.

State lawmakers gave up on trying to legalize marijuana legislatively. And not every legislator supports legalization, like state Sen. Ron Rice. The former Newark police officer who leads the state Legislative Black Caucus says marijuana is still unsafe and is wary of who will actually profit from the legal recreational industry.

Demonstrators marched to Peter Francisco Park near Newark Penn Station and were joined by Ken Wolski, the executive director of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana - New Jersey. Newarkers, he noted, were more likely to face harsher penalties when found in possession of marijuana than residents in suburbs.

Because of school zone laws, said Wolski, who set up a table in the park to register people to vote. You can hardly stand anywhere in the City of Newark and not be in a school zone. You get an enhanced penalty for any kind of marijuana violation and that is just unfair - unfair.

It has such a devastating effect on the minorities and the poor in our inner cities.

Ken Wolski, Executive Director for the Coalition for Medical Marijuana of New Jersey (CMMNJ), speaks to the crowd at Peter Francisco Park in Newark during the March Against the War on Drugs protest on Friday, July 17, 2020

An American Civil Liberties Union report released this year that examined 2018 arrest data showed that Black New Jerseyans were arrested for marijuana at a rate 3.45 times higher than white residents despite similar usage.

Gov. Phil Murphy last year signed a bill that would create automated expungement of past marijuana convictions. A bill to decriminalize marijuana passed in the state Assembly last month.

But Leo Bridgewater, Minorities 4 Medical Marijuanas veteran outreach director, said there are still issues with the industry. Medical dispensaries in New Jersey and elsewhere in the nation cant access federal coronavirus stimulus dollars.

They just wrote a $3 trillion check a couple of months ago and none of us get any of that money, said Bridgewater, who served in the Iraq War and now lives in Trenton. Nobody in this industry gets that money, thats not for us.

Leo Bridgewater, national director of veteran outreach at Minorities for Medical Marijuana (M4MM), speaks to the crowd at Peter Francisco Park in Newark during the March Against the War on Drugs protest on Friday, July 17, 2020

Alb, meanwhile, said the war on drugs has also been used to discredit other Black people like Geroge Floyd, a 46-year-old father who was killed in May by police in Minneapolis. His death sparked nationwide protests, including several in Newark.

Two autopsies were conducted on Floyd, one by the medical examiner in the county where he was killed and another that was commissioned by his family. Both ruled his death a homicide.

The familys autopsy said he died from asphyxiation. But the county medical examiner reportedly said Floyd experienced cardiopulmonary arrest while being restrained by the officer and noted Floyds other conditions, including heart disease, fentanyl intoxication and recent methamphetamine use.

Alb said listing what drugs may have been Floyds system at the time was a way that could ultimately clear the cops involved in his killing.

You cant tell me that someones co-morbidity is meth or fentanyl when a police officer is kneeling on his neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds, Alb said. That aint meth at that point.

Protesters gather in front of City Hall in Newark during the March Against the War on Drugs on Friday, July 17, 2020

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Rebecca Panico may be reached at rpanico@njadvancemedia.com.

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