http://www.disinfo.com Silencing Dissent: The Global Information War After subjecting the public to an unrelenting barrage of urine tests, roving wiretaps, "no knock" searches, and other invasive measures to advance its "zero tolerance" Drug War agenda, the police state apparatus is opening a new front in this scorched earth battle: the marketplace of ideas. The architects of this free speech threat won't be found among Washington’s wing-tipped Mandarin class, but rather within the ranks of the United Nations ruling elite. In a high-profile New York press briefing (June 2000), Pino Arlacchi, who fronts the UN International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), announced that the INCB would soon begin seeking "universal jurisdiction" to prosecute digital drug traffickers. Currently, this select legal mechanism is employed only with respect to those who commit acts of genocide and crimes against humanity. However, the one-time Italian prosecutor asserts that this drastic measure is needed to stem a medium he believes is becoming a veritable nexus for criminals wishing "to disseminate information about drugs." Although this legal stratagem would severely undermine cherished notions of national self-determination, Arlacchi suggests even Web sites that post materials critical of global anti-narcotic efforts could also be fair game. He warns: "These views are spreading and we are now thinking about some instrument to at least stop the expansion of this flow of information." Arlacchi's machinations represent the first step toward codifying recommendations set forth in the INCB's 1997 Annual Report. Published after California's controversial Medical Marijuana Initiative, the little-known document sternly chastises various member nations for possessing the temerity to allow open discourse in regard to global anti-drug strategies. Citing Article III of the Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (1988), which compels all signatories to prosecute miscreants for "publicly inciting or inducing others by any means" to use drugs. The report’s authors openly denounce renegade countries whom have yet to "establish such conduct as a criminal offense under its domestic law." Readers are specifically reminded that "successful campaigns for the 'medical' use of cannabis in Arizona and California in the United States of America" ran afoul of the 1988 treaty. Amidst international censorship prospects, what are American UN officials doing to stop this intolerance of alternate views? Although one would think Arlacchi's authoritarian posturing would provoke vociferous objections from Herbert Okun, US liaison to the INCB, the careerist diplomat has proven himself a willing collaborator. "Okun has played a vital role in developing the UN’s censorship standards," notes drug policy analyst Phillip O. Coffin in a Reason magazine article (1998). The UN’s policy is insidiously making its way to American shores. The proposed Methamphetamine Anti-Proliferation Act (1999) disturbingly echoes INCB demands that domestic laws be enacted to curtail debate over national drug control policy. Ostensibly designed to target purveyors of Methamphetamine, the measure also takes aim at those who provide drug usage information. Anyone who provides a forum to "teach or demonstrate the manufacture of a controlled substance, or to distribute by any means information pertaining to, in whole or in part, the manufacture or use of a controlled substance" faces a federal prison stint. The possibilities of this nebulously-worded measure are endless. "I actually am an author of a felonious book under the wording of that law," hemp activist Dale Gieringer claims. The California Director for the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws (NORML) fears his literary efforts instructing readers on marijuana cultivation may soon be criminalized. The worldwide effort to eliminate recreational drugs is quickly reaching a new nadir; not only does the prohibition cartel control our bodies, it will soon control our minds. Research by Cletus Nelson [EMAIL PROTECTED] <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. 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