Letter Never Sent

I’ve been reading Witness to a Century by George Seldes (at the time of the writing 97–he lived to be 104!). It’s an amazing and inspirational book. I was able to finally locate a copy at Half-Price. George Seldes is an amazing journalist. He led early campaigns against press censorship by government and business interests. He exposed the dangers of tobacco in the 1940’s and the anti-labor, illegal strikebreaking activities of the American Legion. In the 1930’s the American Legion broke more strikes than the national guard! It’s also no coincidence that the American Legion was created and financed by prominent businessmen. The best thing about reading George Seldes is that he inspires a feeling of optimism and a desire to get out and change things yourself.

1. Snips from George Seldes’ Victory over Fascism (New York, 1943)
2. Tell the Truth and Run: George Seldes and the American Press a documentary by Rick Goldsmith
3. Is the Entire Press Corrupt? by George Seldes in EXTRA by Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting
4. Correspondence between George Seldes and Emma Goldman
5. George Seldes: Muckraker, Journalism Critic, Anti-fascist
6. Chapters 1 & 2 from the book Facts and Fascism by George Seldes

CIA and American government lament proliferation of spy satellites. They’re not complaining for nothing. I’m sure they’re doing it to get more money for new corporate/military projects. Lo and behold here’s the pitch later in the article:

Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, who has studied these issues, suggested the military develop ways to jam satellite transmissions and prevent ground stations from receiving the pictures.

“The more information an adversary has, the more vulnerable we are,” he said. “We have to think about jamming and other capabilities at the appropriate times.”

Both the United States and the former Soviet Union worked on weapons that would bring down spy satellites in the event of a major war. But interest in those technologies has waned.

James also said he worries that the United States is losing its edge in building the best satellites. New restrictions on exports of satellite components, while slowing the transfer of sophisticated technology, have also caused U.S. manufacturers to close, he said. These rules were enacted after an investigation into the Clinton administration’s decision to let two U.S. aerospace companies export satellites to be launched atop Chinese rockets.

So, look for more public funds squandered developing ‘jamming’ technology or other advanced satellite technologies. It should be of no surprise to anyone that one of Mac Thornberry’s largest campaign contributors is Lockheed-Martin. They have a plant in nearby Fort Worth. If the government and the military decide to throw some money around for satellites Lockheed-Martin will benefit big time. Lockheed-Martin has already benefitted directly from the ‘war against terror’. Not only has their stock increased by 50% since September 11, but they have also secured huge, lucrative government contracts since then which could be worth more than 200 billion dollars! That’s $200,000,000,000.00 and that’s only counting their contract for the ‘joint strike fighter’. This is corporate welfare at its best.

When I read the part about bringing satellites down I wondered why interest has waned in that strategy? Maybe the reason is that satellites are extremely vulnerable to attack and the US would be the biggest loser if it started attacking satellites. The US would be absolutely crippled without satellite communication. I’m also guessing that the tools for bringing down satellites would be fairly easy to develop ie. coherent energy weapons like lasers or directed emp weaponry. That could open up a whole new kettle of worms.

Send an email to Mayor Bloomberg and get a free button from NORML. On the hemp front, Alex White Plume, who lives on a reservation in South Dakota, defies the DEA and keeps planting hemp. They come by around harvest time and bring their weedwhackers. He keeps on planting it. It costs him about fourteen dollars for the hemp seed.

“Smoke industrial hemp, and all you’re going to get is a headache,” said Eric Steenstra, president of VoteHemp, a nonprofit advocacy group. A research facility in Hawaii is the only place in the United States where industrial hemp grows legally, he said. It’s grown elsewhere around the world, however, including in Canada. In January, a Canadian hemp grower announced intent to sue the U.S. government, claiming the proposed ban on hemp products violates provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

From NY Post article. This is great though it’s obvious Bloomberg didn’t mean to aid with decriminalization efforts. Good for NORML:

A pro-marijuana group is using a pot-positive quote uttered by Mayor Bloomberg last year, in a new $500,000 ad campaign to be unveiled today.

“Great. I’m thrilled,” Bloomberg quipped sarcastically yesterday when asked about the ad after a joint press conference with the Fire Department.

Bloomberg bluntly admitted to New York magazine in April 2001 he had smoked marijuana in the past – and definitely inhaled.

“You bet I did, and I enjoyed it,” Bloomberg said at the time.

The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws plans to plaster the ads throughout the city, urging the NYPD to stop locking up pot smokers.

“I’m not thrilled they’re using my name,” Bloomberg said yesterday. “I suppose it’s that First Amendment that gets in the way of me stopping it.”

Yeah, damn pesky First Ammendment. What a fucker.

Bookstore Cannot Be Forced to Divulge Buyers, Court Says from NY Times Article:

DENVER, April 8 — A local bookstore does not have to turn over customer sales records to help police investigators determine who bought a book on how to make illegal drugs, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled today.

In a unanimous decision, the state’s highest court found that both the First Amendment and the Colorado Constitution “protect an individual’s fundamental right to purchase books anonymously, free from governmental interference.”

Finally some good news!

Peter Fried and colleagues report that light and former use of marijuana does not appear to have a long-term effect on intelligence, while heavy use appears to be detrimental.

Fried and colleagues followed 70 subjects in the Ottawa Prenatal Prospective Study, and compared intelligence quotient (IQ) scores of subjects at 9–12 years of age (before initiation of marijuana use) with their scores at 17-20 years. The authors grouped subjects as nonusers (n= 37), light users (less than 5 joints per week, n=9), former users of marijuana (no marijuana use in at least 3 months, n=9) or heavy users.

The authors found that among heavy users (more than 5 joints per week, n=15) IQ scores decreased by 4.1 points on average, while gains in IQ scores were seen among light users (mean 5.8 points), former users (mean 3.5 points), and nonusers (mean 2.6).

The authors state that while there was a significant decline in IQ scores, the scores of the subjects — at a mean of 109.1 — were still above average at the young adult assessment (mean 105.1). They add that if preteen IQ had not been assessed, the subjects would have appeared to be functioning normally. The authors suggest further investigation into the cognitive consequences of both current and previous marijuana use, particularly since the popularity of the drug has been increasing over the last 4 years.