| WIKI | FAQ | Tech FAQ | |
 http://csua.com/feed/ | |
| ||||||
| 4/5 |
| 2009/2/27-3/5 [Politics/Domestic/California, Health/Women] UID:52654 Activity:moderate |
2/27 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7914357.stm *shocking* allegations. China denounces US 'rights abuse': China has responded in detail to a US report published this week criticising China for alleged rights abuses. Beijing released its own report on the US, saying crime is a threat to many Americans and racial discrimination prevails in social life across the US. \_ Chinese obviously doesn't know much about America. American are actually very abusive in terms of human rights but we've just accept it as part of the norm. example, USA has the highest incarceration rate, relatively high murder rate, Blacks/Latinos being jailed for drug-related crime are disproportionally higher than the demographics of the drug users, etc, etc. And I haven't start talking about outsourcing tortures, prisoner abuse, detain people indefinitely without trial nor charges... I really don't know what is so special about China and their human rights. \_ We generally don't run over protestors with tanks here. -tom \_ All of China is not Bejing. \_ Virtually no one in the USA goes to jail for just using drugs. In fact, in California, even many small time dealers may be released off the hook if caught dealing the first time. Those minorities in jail you're talking about are not there for just drug use. Most of them are recedivist dealers who negotiated a plea deal where they accept a relatively small jail time for drug possession in exchange for the judges dropping the more serious charges. They do it because most of them know their case wouldn't stand in court, and they would have to go to jail for much longer time. Just go outside of campus and see who is dealing drugs. \_ This is not true. I will do some research and get back to you, but there are millions in jail in the US for possession only. \_ Yeah. Please do so. Find and post whacked liberal web site link of the week to support your liberal agenda. I know second hand from people who had known others who had gone through the system. \_ Well since you put it that way, I won't waste my time. Obviously your second hand anecdotal knowledge is superior than any kind of fact-based reasoning. \_ Please tell us about your facts. What are they? You have a proof that the vast majority of drug "users" were not jailed for dealing? No one goes to jail for using drugs in California. That's a fact "users" were not jailed for dealing? No one goes to jail for using drugs in California. That's a fact Even small time dealers get at worst a probation sentense. Anyone who has gone through this system will tell you this. People who are in jail for the most part are real criminals. No doubt about it. You will tell you this. People who are in jail for the most part are the hardened criminals. No doubt about it. You can't see who is dealing drugs in the Bay Area and elsewhere? You still need to do research on that? elsewhere? You need to do research on that? Puhhlease.. \_ "No one goes to jail in California for using drugs." Having a hard time tracking down CA-specific numbers, but Bureau of Justice reports 250k prisoners under jurisdiction of state correctional authorities for drug offenses in 2005: http://csua.org/u/nnz If you can find a breakdown of CA prison pop. that shows no drug offenders, your case is made. \_ I don't know if he's right or not, but surely you realize that your link doesn't actually answer his claim. (Maybe for the same reason as conspiracy theories are impossible to disprove, but still...) Especially since dealing is a drug offense... -!pp \_ Catch-22, then. I would like much clearer statistics, but the sources are hard to find. \_ Yeah, you'd need to find both: how many people are in jail _just_ for possession, and how many plea deals were struck to reduce dealing to possession. And, you'd have to take into account the DAs who use a dealing charge as a threat to get a plea on possession.... \_ http://mises.org/freemarket_detail.aspx?control=7 \_ You might be right, even the DEA is in favor of treatment over jail for first time posession: http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/demand/speakout/10so.htm There's your wacked out liberal site for you, DOJ. |
| 4/5 |
|
| news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7914357.stm Printable version China denounces US 'rights abuse' Crowd of Americans Americans hail Obama but China says racial divisions remain China has responded in detail to a US report published this week criticising China for alleged rights abuses. Beijing released its own report on the US, saying crime is a threat to many Americans and racial discrimination prevails in social life across the US. When US officials first published their report on China, Beijing told them to mind their own business. The BBC's James Reynolds, in Beijing, says the reports are a standard yearly exchange with little practical impact. The 9,000-word Chinese report depicts a bleak picture of the US, saying violent crime is a widespread threat to people's lives, property and personal security. The American people's economic, social and cultural rights are not properly protected, say the Chinese, and many young Americans "have personality disorders". "The US practice of throwing stones at others while living in a glass house is testimony to the double standards and hypocrisy of the United States in dealing with human rights issues," says the report. Beijing's report came after the US state department concluded in its annual report on rights around the world that China's human-rights record worsened in some areas in 2008. The US report accused China of harassing dissidents and increasing its repression of ethnic minorities. Last weekend, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton held talks in Beijing with China's leaders and, in public, the issue of human rights was barely mentioned. Advertise With Us BBC MMIX The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. |
| csua.org/u/nnz -> www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/tables/corrtyptab.htm Property offenses include burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, fraud, possession and selling of stolen property, destruction of property, trespassing, vandalism, criminal tampering, and other property offenses. Drug offenses include possession, manufacturing, trafficking, and other drug offenses. Public-order offenses include weapons, drunk driving, escape/flight to avoid prosecution, court offenses, obstruction, commercialized vice, morals and decency charges, liquor law violations, and other public-order offenses. |
| mises.org/freemarket_detail.aspx?control=7 free with membership September 1999 Volume 17, Number 9 To Jail You Go Paul Armentano America's "War on Drugs" has become primarily a war on marijuana smokers. Federal data released this year reveals almost half of all drug arrests are for marijuana, and that approximately one in seven drug prisoners is now behind bars for marijuana offenses. Research reported by the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) in June found that 59,300 Americans are sitting behind bars on marijuana charges. This conclusion soundly contradicts allegations by drug war hawks that few, if any, marijuana consumers serve hard time for marijuana-related offenses. In truth, the data show that law enforcement routinely target, arrest, and incarcerate marijuana consumers in alarming numbers. The FAS report, compiled from newly released FBI and Department of Justice data, determined that 42,500 state and federal inmates are imprisoned on marijuana charges, and another 16,800 remain in local jails. The alarming percentage of marijuana inmates is less surprising when one examines recent trends in law enforcement. According to the FBI's latest Uniform Crime Report, state and local police arrested approximately 700,000 Americans on marijuana charges in 1997. This figure is almost double the number of arrests recorded in 1993, the year President Bill Clinton took office, and pushes the total number of marijuana arrests under his administration to 28 million. The 1997 marijuana arrest total is the highest ever, shattering the previous record of 642,000 arrests set in 1996. The new FBI statistics indicate that a marijuana smoker is arrested every 45 seconds in America. The FBI and DOJ data illustrate a disturbing shift in law enforcement priorities. As the drug-war Leviathan exponentially grows, so does its appetite for otherwise law abiding citizens who smoke marijuana. Nearly half of drug arrests made are for violating marijuana laws, up from 30 percent in 1990, the FBI reported. Of these marijuana arrests, 87 percent are for simple possession only. The remaining 13 percent are for "sale/manufacture," a category that includes all cultivation offenses, even those where defendants grew marijuana solely for personal or medical use. While marijuana arrests were 30 percent of all drug arrests in 1990, they constituted 44 percent in 1997 (the last year we have statistical data). Arrests for marijuana trafficking actually went down during this period, but marijuana possession arrests soared from 24 percent to more than 38 percent. While marijuana arrests are soaring to record heights, the percentage of arrests for the sale and manufacture of cocaine and heroin is down more than 50 percent. Cocaine and heroin possession arrests have also dipped dramatically since 1990, falling from one-third percent of all drug arrests to just over one-quarter, while marijuana trafficking arrests have also slipped marginally. Clearly, law enforcement is focusing away from hard drug trafficking enforcement, which often presents inflated safety risks to police. They are trying to justify their snowballing budgets and increased manpower by targeting recreational marijuana users, who seldom offer violent resistance. Presently, ten states treat simple marijuana possession as a noncriminal offense, substituting a small fine in lieu of jail. The only US federal study ever to compare marijuana use patterns among these decriminalized states and those that retain criminal penalties found that "decriminalization has had virtually no effect on either marijuana use or on related attitudes about marijuana use among young people." Most recently, the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine reaffirmed in March that, "There is little evidence that decriminalization of marijuana use necessarily leads to a substantial increase in marijuana use." This February ushered the release of the government's most expensive anti-drug offensive in history. Of the $18 billion appropriated for anti-drug expenditures in 1999, several billion will go directly toward arresting and jailing marijuana users. However, polls show that a growing number of Americans support non-criminal approaches to addressing the marijuana issue. For example, voters in Oregon voted 2-to-1 last year to reject a newly-passed state law reinstating criminal penalties for the possession of less than one ounce of marijuana. In addition, voters in five states--Alaska, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington-- soundly approved ballot initiatives exempting medical marijuana users from state criminal penalties. Arizona voters extended these protections to all minor drug offenders. Clearly, Americans reject the notion that our drug policy options remain limited to maintaining the status quo. As with most issues, they advocate another option: one the anti-drug warriors fight. People may not yet be willing to undertake a market approach to marijuana, but no longer will they accept the human casualties and financial burdens inherent in maintaining criminal marijuana prohibition. Further Reading: C Thomas, "Marijuana Arrests and Incarceration in the United States," Federation of American Scientists' Drug Policy Analysis Bulletin 7 (1999): 5-7. |
| www.usdoj.gov/dea/demand/speakout/10so.htm Acquisitions & Contracts Fact 10: Most non-violent drug users get treatment, not just jail time. Actually, only 5 percent of inmates in federal prison on drug charges are incarcerated for drug possession. In our state prisons, it's somewhat higher--about 27% of drug offenders. In New York, which has received criticism from some because of its tough Rockefeller drug laws, it is estimated that 97% of drug felons sentenced to prison were charged with sale or intent to sell, not simply possession. In fact, first time drug offenders, even sellers, typically do not go to prison. In 1999, for example, only 25 percent of the federal cases argued in District Courts involved simple drug possession. Even the small number of possession charges is likely to give an inflated impression of the numbers. It is likely that a significant percentage of those in prison on possession charges were people who were originally arrested for trafficking or another more serious drug crime but plea-bargained down to a simple possession charge. They discovered that out of 47,000 inmates, only 15 people were incarcerated on first-time drug possession charges. Eliminating those who had also been sentenced on trafficking and/or non-drug related charges; The criminal justice system actually serves as the largest referral source for drug treatment programs. Drug treatment courts are a good example of combining treatment with such accountability. These courts are given a special responsibility to handle cases involving drug-addicted offenders through an extensive supervision and treatment program. Drug treatment court programs use the varied experience and skills of a wide variety of law enforcement and treatment professionals: judges, prosecutors, defense counsels, substance abuse treatment specialists, probation officers, law enforcement and correctional personnel, educational and vocational experts, community leaders and others -- all focused on one goal: to help cure addicts of their addiction, and to keep them cured. Researchers estimate that more than 50 percent of defendants convicted of drug possession will return to criminal behavior within two to three years. Those who graduate from drug treatment courts have far lower rates of recidivism, ranging from 2 to 20 percent. Unlike purely voluntary treatment programs, the addict--who has a physical need for drugs-- can't simply quit treatment whenever he or she feels like it. In New York, prosecutors currently divert over 7,000 convicted drug felons from prison each year. In Indiana, 64 of the 92 counties offer community corrections programs to rehabilitate and keep first time non-violent offenders, including nonviolent drug offenders, out of prison. Nonviolent drug offenders participating in the community corrections program are required to attend a treatment program as part of their rehabilitation. The results from the survey demonstrated that judges "offer treatment to virtually 100 percent of first-time drug offenders and over 95 percent of second-time drug offenders." According to the survey, these percentages are accurate throughout the state, no matter the jurisdiction or county size. The Ohio Judicial Conference went a step further, reviewing pre-sentence investigations and records, which demonstrated that "99 percent of offenders sentenced to prison had one or more prior felony convictions or multiple charges." As this evidence shows, more and more minor drug offenders are referred to treatment centers in an effort to reduce the possibility of recidivism and help drug users get help for their substance abuse problems. The drug treatment court program and several other programs set up throughout the United States have been reducing the number of minor drug offenses that actually end up in the penal system. The reality is that you have to work pretty darn hard to end up in jail on drug possession charges. |