What do you think?
FOR THE BETTER PART of a decade, a Bay Area drug ring sold tons of cocaine to the Crips and Bloods street gangs of Los Angeles and funneled millions in drug profits to a Latin American guerrilla army run by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, a Mercury News investigation has found.
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From: Jane Marcus
(mmfamily@ix.netcom.com), Palo Alto
Date: Sunday, September 15, 1996
Comment: Last night I posted a question in an online discussion to
William Claiborne, West Coast resporter for the Washington Post.
I asked why the Post had not yet reported on the Mercury's Dark Alliances
series.
I got a prompt response this morning correcting my claim that
the Post has been silent. Claiborne said it had run articles
about Senator Boxer's letter to Deutsch and about the recent
Black Political Caucus meeting.
He also said that a piece about the series appears in the 9/15/96
Outlook section. It is an essay by author Ishmael Reed
and can be found at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1996-09/15/081L-091596-idx.html
From: Jane Marcus
(mmfamily@ix.netcom.com), Palo Alto, CA
Date: Sunday, September 15, 1996
Comment: Last night I posted a question in an online discussion to
William Claiborne, West Coast resporter for the Washington Post.
I asked why the Post had not yet reported on the Mercury's Dark
Alliances series.
I got a prompt response this morning correcting my claim that
the Post has been silent. Claiborne said it had run articles
about Senator Boxer's letter to Deutsch and about the recent
Black Political Caucus meeting.
He also said that a piece about the series appears in the 9/15/96
Outlook section. It is an essay by author Ishmael Reed
and can be found at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1996-09/15/081L-091596-idx.html
From: M. Blyden
(blydema@texaco.com), O.C. USA
Date: Monday, September 16, 1996
Comment: Please give an update on Dick Gregory and
let us know if he is still on a hunger strike.
Anyone out there have the facts??
From: Dr. Newman
(jmnewman@erols.com), Odenton
Date: Monday, September 16, 1996
Comment: In response to query about the outcome in court on Thursday, September 12. Madison and Gregory were arraigned by a magistrate who asked if they wished the he rule on the matter or if the pair wished a hearing in district court. Their attorney, Dan Alcorn, indicated they wished a trial in district court. The judge approved this and stated the two were to be released and then to reappear on the 20th for a preliminary hearing. The two had decided that Madison would attend the Black Cuacus hearing and that Gregory would stay. Gregory then demanded that he remain in his jail cell until his trial, where he intended to fast. Later that day, the CIA dropped all charges against both, thus preventing Gregory from remaining in prison. The CIA also agreed to their demand for a meeting, but both sides have so far been unable to agree on the participants of a meeting. Madison and Gregory held a press conference today to release their written response to DCI Deutch.
From: Jane Marcus
(mmfamily@ix.netcom.com), Palo Alto, CA
Date: Monday, September 16, 1996
Comment: It looks like the New York Times had a small
article on page A16 today (9/16) about Drug Czar
McCaffrey's calling for a hearing on the Dark Alliances
allegations. The article apparently also mentioned the Black Political Caucus'
demands for an investigation as well.
According to a comment on the NYT online forum,
the Boston Globe ran quite a long article over
the weekend.
From: Ulysses Brown
(ujbrown@grits.valdosta.peachnet.edu), Tifton, Georgia
Date: Tuesday, September 17, 1996
Comment: Yes, I believe that the United States government would seek to systematically destroy African-Americans by polluting their neighborhoods with drugs and assault weapons. Unfortunately, the U.S.government is no stranger to engaging in nefarious genocide plans that seek to destroy a people. I'm sure that many citizens remember the Tuskegee Experiment and the shameless attempt by the govenment to expunge the Indian population. Yes, America is quite capable of killing people that it perceives as its problem. Most people of color are not surprised by this unconscionable act but saddened that America's history is still being written in other people's blood.
From: Brad Ems
(bems@hilco), St. Louis, MO
Date: Tuesday, September 17, 1996
Comment: The relative silence of Big Media in response to the SJMN's revelations
speaks volumes. It seems that the major media's DC-centric focus would be in jeopardy should the
bottom of this particularly loathsome barrel be sounded out. Just what role did George Bush have
in the running of cocaine (let's remember that Boy Scouts rarely get to head the CIA)? Are the
claims of LD Brown, Bill Clinton's security chief, to be heard with a bit more credence now that
corroborating evidence has been found of CIA involvement?
The drug was was and is a stupid idea, but it seems that the primary objective of it has been to restrict
supplies to jack up prices to enrich our "leaders."
This story should be pursued with all due zeal. Congrats, SJMN.
Brad Ems
bems@hilco.com
From: Barbara Jean Hope
(bjhope@mail.biosis.org), Philadelphia, PA
Date: Tuesday, September 17, 1996
Comment: Thanks to all staff members who worked on this story. Gary Webb deserves every prize there is out there for his marvelous job. As an African American woman, I deeply angered that the CIA has been dumping drugs into inner city neighborhoods, beginning with LA. I call talk radio often, my friends who also call talk stations are keeping this story alive. This story must not die until there is a full investigation.
