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Data Mining, Cocaine and Secrecy
hightimes writes: "Business 2.0 uncovers one of the world's most sophisticated IT network in where else, Colombia. According to the story, Colombian drug cartels have spent billions of dollars to build a huge infrastructure that's helping them smuggle more dope than ever before." Even though this is about a raid that took place most of a decade ago, it's an interesting example of the power (and potential abuse) of large-scale data mining.
Well you did say flame away....
.gov agency would use any opportunity they can find to try and screw more money for their own little empire? Have you ever worked for the gov? Have you ever worked for any large organisation at all?
.au anyway). The .au gov makes billions of tabacco tax but zero off (currently illegal) drug taxes. Instead of making money on taxes they're spending money on a futile and self destructive war. Again, it's just plain stupid.
Point by point:
1. So you don't think that a
2. You see people who's lives are devestated by "drugs". And yet I see people who's lives are devestated by drug laws. How is putting someone in prison for hurting themselves supposed to be good for them? Or for their families? Oh but of course drugs are bad for you aren't they? And yet is the morphine they use at the hospital "bad" for you? No? Why not? Could it be that hospital grade drugs are just a little bit cleaner than the crap sold on the street in a totally unregulated market? What happened to alcohol when it was illegal - people sold crappy moonshine that made people blind. Yet today I can buy a bottle with confidence that it won't send me blind and I can see from the label exactly how strong it is. Why? Because it's legal and manufacturers have public liabilty. Get it straight in your head, drugs aren't exactly nutritionally rich but most of the damage you see is caused by impurities in the drugs caused because drugs are a black market item.
3. Would I like a meth lab in the house next door? Not really. Would you like the Johnny Walker brewery in the house next door to you? Not really? Funny that. In a legalised regulated environment their wouldn't be back yard labs where explosions are common. Backyard labs are a product of the war on drugs, not the cause. Bigots like you keep using the unfortunate results of the war on drugs to wage even more war. Talk about simplistic, talk about cyclical. Talk about plain stupid.
4. What an insight, cigaretts are expensive and people still buy them. Their expensive (at least here is Australia) because they have the crap taxed out of them. Without tax they'd be about $1.50 a packet (in
5. Addicts can't hold jobs? I held a fucking job every fucking day for the 5 years I used heroin and so did most of my friends. Why don't you try talking about something you have a clue about.
6. So now drug users are "damaged"? What kind of bigot are you. Have you forgotten that alcohol and tabacco are also drugs, just ones that are legal.
7. You're riled up? Have you any idea the kind of suffering narrow minded bigots like you cause?
Why try to stop people using drugs? You might as well try to hold back the tide. Yet still we try and still agencies like the DEA would like you to think it's feasible, if only they had more money because the bad guys have lots of money and that must be why we can't seem to beat them.
Ah shit, you know what? Just let it all burn. I give up.