Free Republic

Griselda Blanco, the drug kingpin known for her blood-soaked style of street vengeance during Miami’s “cocaine cowboys” era of the ’70s and ’80s, was shot to death in Medellin by a motorcycle-riding assassin Monday.

Charlotte, NC – Former DC Mayor Marion Barry hit the Democratic convention Monday and, as per usual, the divisive and wildly popular figure immediately drew onlookers and media interviews. Barry was barely 10 feet into the Charlotte convention center before convention goers and reporters started queuing up to talk to him. Although extremely controversial thanks to numerous arrests for crack possession, Barry remains very popular in Washington and many parts of the black community nationally. Sporting a bright red t-shirt that read “I’m a Democrat and I support DC Statehood,” the 76 year old Barry was clearly in his element....

Islamic SocialismFrom the CIA factbook: Following a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI began to espouse his own political system, the Third Universal Theory. The system was a combination of socialism and Islam derived in part from tribal practices and was supposed to be implemented by the Libyan people themselves in a unique form of "direct democracy.[1] The "Green Book" - Arabism, Islam & socialism, with Islam the main line Author John L. Esposito: Under Qaddafi three interrelated ideas were woven into Libya's ideological identity: Pan-Arabism, socialism, and Islam. Qaddafi's appeals to Islam were influenced by his...

An airline worker who was supposed to deliver lost baggage was busted yesterday for running a sophisticated drug-smuggling ring that sneaked heroin and cocaine into the country disguised as tasty treats and candy, authorities said. Some of the drugs were stuffed in chocolate candies, empanadas and homemade oatmeal cookies. More than three pounds of liquid cocaine were hidden by soaking scuba-diving diplomas in the drug.

In remarks to Black journalists this past weekend virtually unreported in the mainstream media, senior White House advisor Valerie Jarrett said reducing the prison sentences for crack cocaine is one of the three reasons African-Americans have to support President Obama's reelection.The Root, a Black-oriented website owned by the Washington Post, reprinted a blog report by the Maynard Institute's Richard Prince on Jarrett's appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in New Orleans.Prince reported on Jarrett's side meeting with a group of Black reporters and columnists:On Saturday afternoon, Jarrett spoke with members of the Trotter Group of African American...

IRWIN, Penn. — Standing before hundreds of roaring partisans in this sweltering Pittsburgh suburb Tuesday, Mitt Romney delivered a 30-minute speech that sounded, at times, like a greatest hits compilation of his favorite Obama-knocking stump speech lines. The president was, Romney said, "out of ideas," and "looking for someone to blame," and a "crony capitalist." One thing he was not: "A nice guy." In speeches from Des Moines to Dallas, Romney has always been careful to hedge his tough digs at Obama with a civil nod toward the president's moral character: "He's a nice guy," the Republican has often said....

MIAMI BEACH— The dramatic results of three drug busts on the high seas will be evident today when more than 3,800 pounds of cocaine are offloaded at the U.S. Coast Guardbase in Miami Beach. According to the agency, the cocaine has a wholesale value of more than $48 million.

One afternoon last August, at a hospital on the outskirts of Los Angeles, a former beauty queen named Emma Coronel gave birth to a pair of heiresses. The twins, who were delivered at 3:50 and 3:51, respectively, stand to inherit some share of a fortune that Forbes estimates is worth a billion dollars. Coronel’s husband, who was not present for the birth, is a legendary tycoon who overcame a penurious rural childhood to establish a wildly successful multinational business. If Coronel elected to leave the entry for “Father” on the birth certificates blank, it was not because of any dispute...

A single-dose vaccine capable of providing immunity against the effects of cocaine offers a novel and groundbreaking strategy for treating cocaine addiction is described in an article published Instant Online in Human Gene Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (http://www.liebertpub.com) The article is available free online at the Human Gene Therapy website (http://www.liebertpub.com/hum). "This is a very novel approach for addressing the huge medical problem of cocaine addiction," says James M. Wilson, MD, PhD, Editor-in-Chief, and Director of the Gene Therapy Program, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia. In...

President Barack Obama’s love of golf hit a milestone today as he marked his 100th time on the links. His Father’s Day achievement was reached at the Beverly Country Club in his hometown, the windy city. Mark Knoller, CBS radio correspondent and chronicler of all things presidential, pointed out the quiet occasion to the traveling press. Like 15 of the 18 presidents since Theodore Roosevelt, Obama has used golf as a way to unwind outdoors, but away from the prying eyes of press and onlookers. And despite the fact that he had never golfed before taking office, his love of...

The 'Ndrangheta or Calabrian Mafia has emerged as the world's most powerful crime group due to its obscene profits from the cocaine trade in Europe, and it further has become entrenched in Australia, Canada and the United States with surprisingly little push back from law enforcement in those countries. Indeed, Nicola Gratteri, a top anti-Mafia prosecutor in Italy warns that "this mafia is quickly spreading in the United States, particularly in Florida and New York" as reported by Beatrice Borromeo for The Daily Beast: Gratteri's latest operations have led to the sentencing of 34 'Ndrangheta members and have uncovered a...

Mexican government forces had bottled up a band of enemy fighters in this tiny village late last year, but feared they would escape into the dusty, rock-strewn hills. So more than 600 soldiers and federal police closed in from all directions with armored Humvees and helicopters. The outlaws responded with a barrage of rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47 assault-rifle fire, tearing apart one federal police vehicle. For three days the fighting raged. In the end, according to military accounts of the battle, 22 members of the Zetas drug cartel, two police officers and a soldier were dead, and 20 Zetas were...

The Washington Post has vetted Romney's high school pranks. When are they going to vett Obama's admitted high school cocaine abuse?

Bill Maher, the largest donor to President Obama's super PAC, called Mormonism a "cult" on his HBO show last night, and said that donating money to that religion doesn't count as charity because it's "bulls---."

Enlarge Image Old beyond years. A 3D model of merged imaging scans shows the brain areas affected by age (blue) in healthy people (left) and longterm cocaine users (right). Credit: Karen Ersche/University of Cambridge Add this to the list of reasons not to take cocaine: Chronic use of the drug may speed up the aging process. According to a new imaging study, cocaine abusers in their 30s and 40s show brain changes more commonly seen in people over 60. The finding also calls attention to the special medical needs of older drug users—a group that, until now, hasn't garnered...

MIAMI — A former Venezuelan Supreme Court justice flown by federal agents to the United States is likely to be a trove of valuable information for U.S. authorities investigating the nexus of cocaine, payoffs and corruption in the government of President Hugo Chavez. Ex-Judge Eladio Aponte Aponte, who is associated with a Venezuelan kingpin facing indictment in New York, is expected to supply the Drug Enforcement Administration with the names of high-level suspects in the cocaine trade, Chavez government and its military, according to sources familiar with the former justice and other observers. "Aponte is bringing enough information to prove...

Leading banker jumped to his death after snorting cocaine at welcome home party By Daily Mail Reporter Last updated at 4:45 PM on 8th September 2010 A leading banker jumped to his death after snorting cocaine at a party thrown to welcome him back from abroad, an inquest heard today. Neil McCormick plunged sixty feet and landed on rubble after he was spotted walking in circles and mumbling 'guys, don’t do this to me', the court heard. Mr McCormick, who had used cocaine regularly since studying at Oxford University, moved to Hong Kong last September with his wife Diana and...

A MACKAY-BASED business has been producing a synthetic substitute to cocaine and distributing it across the country. The group, called Our Baked Mafia, have been selling the drug 'Shaman's Dust' and a number of other substances via their website and Facebook sites. Users from as far away as Albury-Wodonga have reported purchasing the drug, which is sold through the region's adult shops. Queensland police said it was difficult to determine the drug's legality, as the active ingredient in Shaman's Dust was unknown. However, Curtin University drug and alcohol researcher Stephen Bright said reported chemical tests had suggested the active ingredient...

The Yassine family of Austin, Texas is apparently quite the enterprising group. Led by Hussein “Mike” Yassine, the Yassines were quite diversified. They own 8 bars. According to law enforcement authorities they are also a one-family crime wave. They are involved in murder, money laundering, drug dealing–and they have a brother back in Lebanon who is part of Hezbollah.

It’s hard to uphold a reputation as a devoutly religious terrorist group if you make millions selling cocaine. Just ask Hezbollah. Last month, the US government filed suit against a number of American and Lebanese businesses that allegedly helped bankroll the Lebanese terrorist group. The civil indictment in Manhattan blew the lid off a vast criminal network that included money-laundering, cocaine deals and more — including 30 US car dealerships that helped the group launder cash. As one investigator quipped, Hezbollah is the “Gambinos on steroids.” The indictment charges Hezbollah kingpin Ayman Joumaa with smuggling more than 100 tons of...