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Mexican Gov't Shuts Down Zetas' Secret Cell Network
Miniaturized stealth submarines purpose-built for smuggling are an impressive example of how much technological ingenuity is poured into evading the edicts of contemporary drug prohibition. Even more impressive to me, though, is news of the communications network that was just shut down by Mexican authorities, which covered much of northern Mexico. The system is attributed to the Zetas drug cartel, and consisted of equipment in four Mexican border states. "The military confiscated more than 1,400 radios, 2,600 cell phones and computer equipment during the operation, as well as power supplies including solar panels, according the Defense Department," says the article. Too bad — a solar-powered, visually unobtrusive, encrypted cell network sounds like something I'd like to sign up for. NPR also has a story.
If US would just let its citizen get high.
More dead folks.
You don't just confiscate things from these people without bad things happening to you.
You gotta get the drug cartels first. THEN their equipment.
Queue up all the stupid ass pothead comments on how we should just legalize it. Without any realization of just how much money in the USA is stacked aginst that ever happening. Heck the only people who want it legal are the potheads. Everyone else from law enforcement to mfg companies to politicians to drug dealers themselves all want it kept illegal. Just not going to happen in the usa so long as money is king. And money IS king. don't fool yourselves. its embarassing.
"They are equipped like a damn government."
(see Mancur Olson: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mancur_Olson
"In his final book, Power and Prosperity, Olson distinguished between the economic effects of different types of government, in particular, tyranny, anarchy and democracy. Olson argued that a "roving bandit" (under anarchy) has an incentive only to steal and destroy, whilst a "stationary bandit" (a tyrant) has an incentive to encourage a degree of economic success, since he will expect to be in power long enough to take a share of it. The stationary bandit thereby takes on the primordial function of government - protection of his citizens and property against roving bandits.")
So making cocaine legal (and regulated) would result in the worse violence that we see with it being illegal?
That's a bit difficult to believe.
Particularly since it was legal to purchase over-the-counter until 1914.
If that were correct then Prohibition would be preferable to the massive distribution of alcohol we have today.
I don't think so. I think it costs MORE lives. Again, as demonstrated with alcohol and Prohibition.
Look around the world. There are other nations that have different laws. And they are not exhibiting the behaviours that you claim they would.
Your argument is invalid. You fail to take into account the large amount of legal 'drugs' (prescriptions) that are widely available, and endorsed by the US government(not to mention many others).
So, tell me circletimessquare, how do you feel about a large amount of K-12 students being put on drugs like Ritalin or Adderall to control their 'attention span'? I'll remind you, that both of these drugs are amphetamines, and in the same class as Meth(logically, not necessarily by government standards).
I hate to inform you of this, but you do live in that totalitarian government that gives mind control drugs to its population. They just guise it as helping you through the 'wonders of modern medicine'.
They'd probably rather be at war with the Mexican government than the US government.
First, "hyperventilate" that word doesn't mean what you think it does (although I suspect you may have been, while you wrote your reply; unfortunately, that mental image also includes copious amounts of spittle). If not a native speaker you did pretty well, otherwise.
Second, zetas were _founded_ by US trained killers. These were folks trained _in the U.S._ by Americans and Israelis. So, yes, the US _is responsible_ for zetas existence. Any argument to the contrary must address this fact. The thousands of Mexican soldiers you reference are irrelevant-- you are not suggesting that the entire Mexican military trains in the U.S., are you? Also, none of the thousands of Mexican soldiers who were not trained in the U.S. founded a rival to the zetas.
Your second statement about US soldiers robbing banks is just a straw man. But, I will indulge you:
A band of US soldiers in Afganistan were recently outed for killing civilians as sport, and cutting off and saving body parts as trophies. Yes, here too the US military has responsibility. Maybe they recruit blood-thirsty psychopaths, and then just provide the means for these atrocities to occur, or perhaps it is the training which is intended to condition the soldier to view the "enemy" as "other" non-human, to make it easier to kill them. Either way, yes the US military has blame here too.
More indulgence:
Yes, the US society has responsibility for crimes of poverty. Those silly rich kids who shoplift for the thrill excepted, most folks who find themselves stealing to feed themselves / their families are not very well educated. And, the single most reliable predictor of education outcome is economic status of the family. So, our society that perpetuates wealth disparities has responsibility for the inevitable result.
Nice ad homonym.
You have a lot of words and emotion in your response, but nothing that contradicts my points. In fact, there was nothing in your reply but a string of logical fallacies. It was probably you who modded my first post as troll, but I think it is you who are trolling.
Even if it is legal there will be people like the Zetas. They will simply sell it cheaper than other companies and pocket the almost 100% profit. A good example of this is moonshine. If legalising something would do away with all illegal trade in that item moonshine should not exist. Another example is black market cigarettes purchased by people to get around paying taxes on them. Do you not think the government would tax marijuana. And if you only legalised marijuana the Zetas would be around to still smuggle in other drugs. Where there is money to be made crooks will make a counterfeit or sell the same thing cheaper to make money for themselves.
Kosh: "Understanding is a 3 edged sword, your side, their side, the Truth."
Rather than shutting it down, why not tap into it?
Tomorrow, when the Zeta pick up their mobiles and get a 'No Carrier' message, they'll start working on the next network. Better to have them yak away while the Mexican and US gov't listen in. Yeah, they still use codes. But being able to do the traffic analysis is a whole lot better than having no clue of who is speaking, where, and when.
Heck, maybe we can even get CarrierIQ to push an update to their phones.
Have gnu, will travel.
The LAST thing a drug cartel wants to see is an end to prohibition. Legalising their products would simply open them up to legitimate competitors and bring the prices (and thus the profit margins) way down.
In fact the cartels have quite a bit of influence with various officials at all levels in Mexico, but the last thing they would use this influence for would be legalisation. Instead they are used to direct law enforcement against their competitors and away from themselves, to reÃnforce their monopoly position and keep raking in the profits.
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