Twan’s List

Legalized Drugs in Rio?

Governor of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, calls for Legalizing Drugs to Fight Crime from Drug Trade

Rio’s Governor Joins Latin American Leaders in Call for International Dialog on the Harms of Drugs and Drug Prohibition

Contact: Tony Papa (646) 420-7290

Rio de Janeiro Governor Sergio Cabral on Friday called for legalizing drugs as a strategy to fight the ongoing drug-related gang violence that is devastating his state. He expressed hopes that this would reduce the violent crime caused primarily by drug prohibition. Rio de Janeiro has one of the highest murder rates in Latin America, due primarily to outbreaks of violence among different gangs, and between gangs and the police in the slums of Brazil’s favelas, where urban drug lords rule.

“The governor is merely saying out loud what so many more think but fear to say.. Rio today is like Chicago under Al Capone – times ten. Reforming drug prohibition won’t be as quick and easy as repealing alcohol Prohibition was, but there’s no hope for breaking the drug-crime nexus unless many more elected officials heed Governor Cabral’s call.”

Ethan Nadelmann:
executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance

Governor Cabral’s comments add to a growing list of Latin American leaders who are questioning drug prohibition and calling for new strategies, including legalization, to address the violence created by the illegality of drugs. Former Central and South American presidents, including Mexico’s Vicente Fox and Uruguay’s Jorge Batlle, among others, have called for an international dialog on how best to deal with the disastrous prohibitionist policies that are costly, futile and counter-productive.

Governor Sergio Cabral, who took office two months ago, promised that a priority of his administration would be to combat the crime stemming from these drug gangs. Several months ago, one of the governor’s first acts was to ask the federal government to send a special security force to Rio following the eruption of gang violence that caused civilian and police deaths.

Cabral questions current U.S. drug policy. When he asked, “Is the United States correct in its conservative policy on drugs?” he responded, “In my view—absolutely incorrect.”

You’re invited to a double feature of

“America’s Drug War”

&

“Ninja Bachelor Party”

At the DRUID film Festival in Los Angeles CA.

Sacred Cow Productions

Anyone who knows me is very familiar with the fact that I’m a huge fan of the late great, prophet, comedian, social commentarian Bill Hicks. No one has come close to the kind of truth and brutal honesty that Bill Hicks laid out on a day to day basis. Bill was a uniquely hilarious and gifted individual. In fact, I feel that one of my jobs in life is to Spread the Word of Bill. In that mission, I have remained true.

The filmmaker of the above featured film America’s Drug War is Kevin Booth, Bill’s best friend from childhood, and one of his business partners up until Bill’s unlikely and untimely death in 1994 at the young age of 32 (he died of pancreatic cancer). In fact, we just had the 13th anniversary of his passing on February 26th. It should be a national holiday. It is for me, anyway. Celebrate Bill’s life accordingly.

In any case, I hope you can make it to the screenings. It should be a hoot, and it’ll be good to give Kevin all the support I’m sure he could use! Plus, half of all the proceeds will be donated to “The Bill Hicks Foundation for Wild Life” (I love THAT play on words!)

Many thanx,

Twan

P.S. Click on the flier above to go to a great interview with Kevin Booth on Ain’t It Cool News. It’s a really good read.

More trouble for the Burning Man org. Or just a minor irritation…. You decide:

Watch the video

It’s a little bit disturbing… I hate to say it, but the people that came out of the Burning Man offices to “counter” the protesters (who seem to be expressing legitimate concerns), those people come across as complete kooks. I wonder if they had been put up to the task by their higher-ups…

Have a look and share your thoughts here.

LOS ANGELES BURNING MAN COMMUNITY TOWN HALL MEETING

2/11/7

2pm - 6pm

This is what we hope to make the first of many meetings - come and share your hope, vision, ideas (but not yer flyers).

Interested in info about Singularity?
* Want to volunteer?
* Want volunteers?
* Feel like making your voice heard?
* Well, use our soapbox.

We’ll also be announcing our first LA-specific art grant, for an Icon at Singularity. Thinking caps on, please.

Here’re some links to the Burning Man’s mission statement

And the 10 principles

So bring your bad self, your bad-ass friends and your bad-ass dreams of what we can truly be.

peace,

Patrick (aka “Eleven”) Shearn
Los Angeles Burning Man Co-regional Director

Los Angeles Burning Man Town Hall Meeting

Sunday, February 11th, 2007

2 - 6pm

Abundant Sugar
618#A Moulton Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90031

PLEASE oh please park on Moulton, Main, or the lot just in front of Abundant Sugar, and leave the main Brewery Lot to our patient and kind neighbors (that they might remain that way)

Interesting article about how the press, who are often pressured to come up with the most sensationalized stories, will sometimes resort to fabrication. Drugs and drug use has always been a popular target, which has helped keep the public confused and unreasonably emotional when it comes to the truth about drug use within the US population.

Killagrrrl is a NY burner and a kissing bandit. It doesn’t matter what coast or what city you come from, the following is a call to action for citizens of Black Rock City:

Killagrrrl recently had an aneurysm while in San Francisco on New Year’s Day which has left her in a coma on life support. She apparently has a rare progressive disorder called moyamoya.

Killagrrrl has visited many burner communities recently: Austin, Toronto, Philly… but she is from New York and most of her family and core social support system is in New York.

We are very thankful for those who are looking after her for us in San Francisco, but we would like her family to be able to visit her as often as possible. They have decided to rotate a different family member every few weeks.

Several people in NYC are attempting to raise some funds to cover the family’s travel expenses. These attempts are being put in the works and will continue to unfold over the next few weeks, as it has become unfortunately clear that Killagrrrl’s recovery will be an ongoing process.

For now, we are calling out for goods to auction and we have a paypal link set up for $$ donations. We have a raffle, a dance marathon, and perhaps a movie festival in the works.

Please refer to http://www.asylumvillage.com/killa.htm for more info and photos.

http://people.tribe.net/killagrrrl

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago and our nation was the most prosperous in the world, had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and (though it may not be politically correct to say so…) Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

Hmmmm…
… wasn’t ‘taxation without representation’ one of the original complaints?

YOU ARE INVITED TO A VERY SPECIAL ART SHOW
to benefit
BEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY

at the MJ Higgins Gallery
244 S. Main Street
L.A., CA 90012

Artist reception Saturday Jan. 20, 7-10 pm

Show running through Feb. 10

A substantial % of proceeds will go to Best Friends Animal Society, Los Angeles Programs.

The show features paintings from Cyrus Mejia (Best Friends Artist in Residence) as well as sculpture, photography and paintings from several other prominent local artists.
Cyrus will be on hand to sign prints at the opening reception.

Be sure to stay for the special after-party downstairs.

Admission is free!

Please come support this wonderful charity and enjoy the works of these very special artists:

• Cyrus Meija
• Frank Bruynbroek
• Emmeric James Konrad
• Margaret von Biesen
• John Fleenor
• Suzi Moon
• Andee Nathanson
• Nicole Bruckman
• Rick Mendoza
• Dafne Nesti
• Rebecca Lynne Loza
• Michelle Chin
• Alex in Welderland

For more information visit: Bestfriends.org

Or contact :

Dale Youngman
Digital Design Decor, Inc.

Calif. Governor to Slash Prop. 36 Treatment Program

California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has called for a severe funding cut to Proposition 36, the state’s landmark, voter-approved, treatment-instead-of-jail program. The recommendation, part of the governor’s budget proposal released last week, would cut $23 million from the money- and life-saving program.

Data consistently show that Prop. 36 is a success–over 12,000 people have successfully completed substance treatment during each year of the program’s existence, putting the program on track to graduate 72,000 Californians in its first six years. In just its first five years, Prop. 36 saved taxpayers $1.3 billion, according to figures from the Justice Policy Institute.

Read more here…

JOIN THE DPA TO DISCUSS WOMEN AND THE WAR ON DRUGS

Join us for a free community panel discussion:

Tuesday, November 14:

“Women and the drug war”

Join L.A. residents, DPA staff and members to discuss how current drug war policies impact the lives of women.

Learn more about why half of all women entering prison are serving sentences for drug offenses and how this compounds individual and community trauma, and feeds into the cycle of poverty, broken families and drug abuse. Come hear about women’s experiences on the front lines of the drug war and how women are shaping the drug policy reform movement and fighting back.

• WHAT: Dinner and community panel discussion

• WHERE: DPA office (in Public Counsel Building), 610 S. Ardmore Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90005

• WHEN: Tuesday, Nov 14; Dinner starts at 6 PM, and the panel discussion starts at 6:30.

• WHY: Because drug policies targeting women affect us all.

Admission is free, but please RSVP to Margaret Dooley at mdooley@drugpolicy.org or (213) 201-4780.

Find out more about the event here.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Drug Policy Alliance