New Advances in Automotive Technology

Reminds me of the movie "War Wagon".

I wonder what the EPA fuel mileage would be?

A couple of well placed shots to the tires from a 50 cal sniper rifle would quickly turn that thing into a stationary bunker.

Then it could be dealt with at leisure.

Hooker

Your picture points out the absurdity of law enforcement trying to take on the multi-billion dollar illicit drug industry. The money is just too big a draw for any of these bad guys to quit because some law enforcement guys are going to flex their muscle. The bad guys also have a lot of muscle and anarchy seems to be the rule. It is really time to consider some sort of legalization of a lot of the illicit drugs and to control such sales. If a drug addict can buy drugs legally, do you think they would deal with thugs that may even kill them with this brand of product or through monies owed? Control is safer and would be an near instant rebuke to the cartels. They would be out of business.

Control would be with regulatory agencies run by governments. Prohibition of alcohol did not work and gave rise to big crime gangs. The disappeared when alcohol became legal. Why not drugs? The taxes gained could be a boon for many governments. Removing the thugs would make streets safer everywhere. The illicit drug cartels would only make a comeback if taxes on these product were too high.

I am not a drug user, other than those prescribed by the medical people, do not smoke, but imbibe the occasional glass of wine. Careful education could help to convince young people about the use of drugs and perhaps take the "coolness" factor away. I do not believe that legalizing drugs would give rise to increased levels of drug addiction.

Nice pic though. It reminds me of the Mad Max movies when anarchy reigned. Till they clean up their act, I will not be in Mexico again.

While I generally agree that legalization will improve the situation, I would not expect the gangs to disappear. The rum runners did not disappear- they diverted their activities to other arenas- their descendants are still occasionally prosecuted today (while others have found politics to be far more lucrative and safer in the long run).

There is a real issue with growing violence that is not just going to go away because we legalize drugs or drive an oppressive dictator from power. Once the guns are on the streets, it is very, very hard to put them back in the armory...

Guns are a whole other issue unto itself.Guns which are controlled somewhat in Canada are creating problems here. We see more and more of them used in crime but still not close to USA levels. Handguns are the usual culprit.

I thought you might enjoy this outlook on drugs from one of my brothers;

Two young fellas appeared before the judge for smoking dope. The judge looked at both of them and said, " I will not put you in jail if you can demonstrate to me that you be an advocate for the anti drug group. You will see me next week and I will find out how well you are doing before I pass sentencing."

The next week they are again before the same judge and he asks the first young fella what he did to help curb drug use. " Well your honour, I used the Oo method and got 17 people to never use drugs again." The judge was curious and asks, "what is the Oo method?" He replied, " I just tell the user that this symbol, Oo is a depiction of your brain before drugs and after drugs. The judge was impressed and said, "Well done and dismissed his jail time.

The judge then turns to the second young man and asks what he was able to accomplish. "Well your honour," he replied, "I too used the oO method but I reversed the symbol to Oo and was able to get 156 people to quit drugs forever." "Wow", said the judge, that is impressive. "But tell me why you had such great success with the same method but reversed symbol." He said it was easy. I showed them the oO and said, this is your a**h*** before prison and after prison. He too avoided jail time.

Press

"Prohibition of alcohol did not work and gave rise to big crime gangs. They disappeared when alcohol became legal. Why not drugs?" The gangs didn't go away, they never do, they just changed what vices or corruption they were/are involved in. There goal is to make money, one way or the other. They don't care what or who they hurt in the process.

"The bad guys also have a lot of muscle and anarchy seems to be the rule." If someone of character and rule of law doesn't stand up to lawlessness; that is when you have anarchy. Just because there are very large, seemingly insurmountable problems with trying to limit behaviors; drugs, prostitution, lending of money, etc., that have a deleterious impact on society, doesn't mean that you just throw in the towel and surrender to those who only have their own greedy self-interests to fulfill.

Someone has to stand up for what is right or we continue this decline to the detriment of our country at a faster rate. A country never succeeds by succumbing to the lowest common denominator of behavior. It succeeds by seeking the high ground of morals and character of its citizens.

"Till they clean up their act, I will not be in Mexico again." The lawless state of some parts of Mexico is a result of gradual decline over a period of time because people tolerated small things connected to drugs. The drug cartels are now a powerful juggernaut that will be hard to defeat, but it needs to be done.

Who said Anarchy is bad?

Cwarner 7 11,s picture demonstrates the futility of your John Wayne approach. The war on drugs will escalate with each side bringing in bigger guns (tanks) or if all else fails start a new round of terrorism. The war on drugs cannot be won with this sort of escalation. This type of war only hurts the country and it's citizens. The danger for the rest of North America is obvious and will (has) spill over. The real target of the drugs are North Americans. These criminal tanks belong in a Hollywood script not on the main streets of any town.

Morals, shmorals, while people die, many innocent, we display the character of stupidity. Legalizing the drugs should not be viewed as a loss of character but rather as an effective tool to thwart the criminal activity tied to the drug trade. People won't get killed by changing the law on drugs. But we can be assured that people will die if they keep the same laws and there will never be an end to the violence. I am not an advocate for drugs that are considered recreational but I look to pragmatic solutions to the distribution that lends itself to safety.

Yeah criminals will always be around. However, we have the opportunity to get the criminals out of the drug business by changing the rules. Maybe, the stricter control of guns has better merit. The guns will create a serious issue for all Mexicans and visitors. I know many people who are leery of entering Mexico and that must be hurting their tourist trade. It may be too late to control guns as the barn door was left wide open. People who are desperate to make ends meet will resort to crime. Controlling drugs through legalization will stop the madness of drug wars between police forces, criminals, and military might. It won't end the desperation.

What are "recreational drugs"? Is there such a thing as that when many studies point to the fact that these "recreational drugs" lead to many of the hard drugs. People get used to their drug of choice and then soon that doesn't provide enough of a high because their body has become somewhat acclimated to it and they need more (harder drugs) to get the same effect.

You're right when you say there isn't an easy solution, but that doesn't mean you roll over and capitulate your standards for the sake of ease. There is always a price when standing up for principled matters. During WWII the Nazis thought it was ok to try and eradicate the Jewish race, eventhough it was a difficult and costly task, people of principle made a stand and were successful in stopping the Nazi juggernaut.

One thing that needs to be done is to do whatever it takes to dry up the demand for drugs. Whether this is done through education in families, churches, schools, or wherever. Part of the reason people turn to drugs is that there is a sense of hopelessness and futility in life. There is also a spiritual component that is missing in many people's lives which lends itself to desperation and hopelessness. An economy that was vibrant where people had work to do would also help. (That won't happen with this current anti-capitalist, big government, socialist administration we currently have.)

Strict gun control has never limited crime. Washington, D.C. and New York have some of the strictest laws, and also the highest murder rates in the country. It isn't gun laws that limit crime. It is people with "morals" and character that decrease crime. That doesn't mean they impose their particular morality on people, it's just that they decide to live by a higher standard and set the example for their families. The decline didn't happen overnight and neither will the solution. Albert Einstein said, "the significant problems that we face will not be solved with the same level of energy that it took to create them."

One thing is certain, there are a host of things that contribute to the problem of drugs and there are no easy solutions but we dare not let the underbelly of society win.

Godwin's law - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

actually I think the immoral Nazi powermongers and gun fanatics are highly relevant to the topic at hand. If you ask the question "How do you stop gun toting fanatics from terrorizing the public?" you can see the relevance immediately. (not refuting the law, just noting the applicability)

chris

yeay!

So you want the same people (who were not capable of controlling the drug trade) to now manage the end result of a failed system. The key word in all this is control. Try this one Legalize kidnapping because we can't forsee the potential end of the problem.

By the way, Which group of politicians would you have in control.

It's posts like yours that define the problem, in its most basic form.
Sundog

I am in no way an expert on drugs, or the sale of drugs. I do not mean to trivialize solutions by simply suggesting the state take over some form of monopoly on the sale and distribution of drugs as a means to rid the criminal element of earning a living off such avails. There is a precedent for such sales as akin to what the legalizing of alcohol did after attempts at prohibition. Then it was common to have state controlled monopolies of alcohol.

I would go so far as to say that both Canada and USA should legalize the drug distribution and quality control. They are the target countries for Mexican drugs. The monies it takes to try to enforce current drug laws is enormous if you include law enforcement officials, prisons, etc. It would seem, from my pragmatic mind, to begin such legalization as a method to thwart the criminal aspect. I am sure when alcohol was legalized the same cynicism prevailed. But that act seemed to have ended a lot of problems. Now with drugs, everyone who is involved, from the farmer, manufacturer, distributor, and user are all criminals. The industry is multi-billion dollar in scope and what we would save in enforcement would likely serve to monitor all aspects of a legal drug trade. It would also generate a lot of revenues currently in the hands of criminals. Other than passing the laws and setting up good governance, the politicians should stay the heck out of control of these or any drugs.

I do not see any connection to kidnapping or murder or rape or robbery as they are serious violent crimes against one's person/property and must be dealt with accordingly. Although, it seems the drug criminal now commits many such crimes. The current situation with drugs is futile and leads to the escalation of violence as these homemade tanks suggest.

I am not even certain this discussion should be attempted on CR4 as all we can offer are opinions. I am sure there are better experts to discuss the merits of the control of drugs with appropriate training and knowledge.

I'm surprised that nobody has brought up the point of just how much tax money could be generated if the drug trade was to be nationalized. Why, we could pay off the national debt this deadbeat president and other liberal beauracrats have accrued over the last 2 years, we could provide day care for all the kids, we could pay for free lunches for the kids, we could subsidize the college tuition for more illegal immigrants, ad infinitum. Sure go ahead and do it. Do it for the kids, that will make it all ok. Rationalization is just telling "rational lies".

I am being facetious, because it isn't the governments job to do anything like this, federally or locally.

"I do not see any connection to kidnapping or murder or rape or robbery as they are serious violent crimes against one's person/property and must be dealt with accordingly." Why do you think that a great many of the crimes are committed? It isn't so the criminals can buy milk before they go home. They do the crimes to support their habits, that would only be greater if the drugs were more readily available. There are some Scandinavian countries who have legalized drugs and the situations aren't better, they are worse now than before.

Yes indeed. Last time I was in Amsterdam the drug-lords tanks roaring up and down the roads and fire fights were said to be far worse than before.

Unfortunately I missed them, so it's past time those Neddie's put some effort into catching up!

Talk about under achieving Netherlands;
Variable Amount/description Rank
Crime > Assaults 44,129 [14th of 58]
Crime > Car thefts (per capita) 2.33559 per 1,000 people [15th of 55]
Crime > Drug offences 47 per 100,000 people [20th of 36]
Crime > Illicit drugs
major European producer of ecstasy, illicit amphetamines, and other synthetic drugs; important gateway for cocaine, heroin, and hashish entering Europe; major source of US-bound ecstasy; large financial sector vulnerable to money laundering
Crime > Murders 183 [40th of 63]
Crime > Murders (per capita) 0.0111538 per 1,000 people [51st of 62]
Crime > Rapes 1,648 [20th of 66]
Crime > Rapes (per capita) 0.100445 per 1,000 people [22nd of 65]
Crime > Total crimes 1,305,640 [14th of 61]
Crime > Total crimes (per capita) 79.5779 per 1,000 people
USA;
Variable Amount/description Rank
Crime > Assaults 2,238,480 [1st of 58]
Crime > Car thefts (per capita) 3.8795 per 1,000 people [9th of 55]
Crime > Murders 12,658 [6th of 63]
Crime > Murders (per capita) 0.042802 per 1,000 people [24th of 62]
Crime > Murders with firearms 8,259 [4th of 32]
Crime > Murders with firearms (per capita) 0.0279271 per 1,000 people [8th of 32]
Crime > Rapes 89,110 [1st of 66]
Crime > Rapes (per capita) 0.301318 per 1,000 people [9th of 65]
Crime > Total crimes 23,677,800 [1st of 61]
Crime > Total crimes (per capita) 80.0645 per 1,000 people [8th of 60]

We're number 1, we're number1......

get it........

but sadly you're only #8 at best, and a miserable 9th at one #1.

^{Oh the fun to be had stealing Stats from bloggers who 'pick and choose' to color their position _{(something nobody around here would ever do )}}

Went right over your head eh, well anyone who thinks that "Wilde" is worth a quote would say pretty much anything.

Well obviously I approve of your quote

So, it appears that where drugs are legal, murders per capita decline by a factor of 4, but total crime rate stays pretty much the same at about 80 crimes per 1000 people...Car theft rates seem to go down a bit, too...

It is certainly not the government's job to decide how we alter our minds...

How would you feel if your mind altering material of choice were banned?

Kevin never suggested we "Nationalize" illegal drugs, He suggested legalization...

the regulation would fall on ATF, FDA & in the case of marijuana USDA