http://www.alibi.com News from the Alibi en-us http://www.alibi.com/rss PHP webmonkeys@alibi.com http://alibi.com/index.php?story=30639&scn=news There might be some good news on the horizon for those caught in the revolving criminal door of drug addiction. Proposed state legislation would give judges the discretion to offer people with drug-possession charges a chance to participate in a treatment program instead of spending time in jail. State Rep. Antonio “Moe” Maestas (D) introduced the Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act ( HB 178) to address the complex issue. Maestas, who represents part of the Albuquerque’s Westside, says he thinks the bill has a good chance of becoming state policy during this 30-day session. Gov. Bill Richardson is supportive of the measure, he adds. “This bill is necessary and long overdue," Maestas says. "The criminal justice system is not prepared to deal with the issue of drug addiction.” Possession of illegal drugs is a fourth-degree felony with an 18-month possible penalty, he says. “Incarceration for drug violations is inhumane,” he adds. “Putting someone in jail for 18 months does nothing to protect the community.” Maestas and former Gov. Gary Johnson gave rousing speeches at the International Drug Policy Reform Conference in Albuquerque last year [" The War on the War on Drugs," Nov. 19-25, 2009]. “The support is there to make this change; it is just a matter of getting the bills moving before the session ends.” Maestas says. In a similar measure in the state Senate, Albuquerque Sen. Bernadette Sanchez (D) introduced a memorial asking for a drug policy task force to review and develop effective changes to how the justice system deals with the issue of substance abuse. Outspoken drug policy reform opponent Darren White—Albuquerque’s chief public safety officer—agrees that incarceration doesn’t stop drug abuse. "There is not a jail cell in the country that will shake a person's addiction to do drugs. In that respect, we do a miserable job," White says. But he’s not in favor of Maestas’ measure. "I support the drug court model over this legislation.” White adds that without the threat of jail, addicts may not comply with treatment programs because there is no accountability. Maestas' bill includes the condition that if someone violates the terms of participation in a substance abuse treatment program, then the court may reinstate the criminal proceedings. Addicts in Jail About 82 percent of the estimated 6,000 people in the state’s prison system were assessed to need substance abuse treatment, according to stats from the Legislative Finance Committee’s report on Maestas’ bill. That committee also reports that in New Mexico, one in 25 African American men between the ages of 20 and 34 are behind bars, and one in 90 Hispanic men 18 or older are in jail. Attorney Mary Carmack has seen the problem up close. She has worked as a public defender and is in private practice as a criminal defense attorney. She says policy changes such as HB 178 would finally bring some sanity to drug crimes. “For far too long, New Mexico has treated nonviolent drug offenders exactly like robbers, rapists and murders,” she says. The last 25 years saw a 700 percent increase in the number of New Mexican women put in jail, with one-third of those being drug charges. Sheila Ciminera helps repair the devastation caused to women who are incarcerated for drugs. She is a case manager for Crossroads for Women, a transitional housing program for women returning to the community after incarceration. “People are going to accomplish good things by working on themselves and their problems rather than sitting in jail doing nothing,” Ciminera says. “Treatment makes all the difference in their lives and the lives of all of their extended families.” Ciminera says substance abuse does not just impact the user; it ripples out and impacts every member of a family. “When a family member does drugs or relapses, so does whole family,” she says. When Myra Wilson faced drug-related charges, a judge sent her to into treatment instead of jail. She went to the New Mexico Women's Recovery Academy where she could bring her children. She worked the six-month program, she says, and it made all the difference in her life—and the lives of her children. Wilson is an outspoken supporter of Maestas' legislation. She is back in school and works with the Wings Ministry, bringing the message of treatment and recovery to families of incarcerated substance abusers. "You can hide your head in shame, or you can embrace the problem and try to help others," she says. More for Less Some in the state have already sought more efficient ways of handling drug abuse cases. Bernalillo County District Attorney Kari Brandenburg saw a need for alternative programs when she took office in 2001. The three-term district attorney set up several programs that divert nonviolent drug offenders into drug court or a pre-prosecution program, both of which require substance abuse treatment. These are more cost-effective than going through the often lengthy court system, according to Pat Davis, spokesman for the District Attorney's Office. "We are ahead of the game, and as far as I know, we are the only district to offer these alternative programs," Davis says. "Offering these types of programs costs very little to administer and is quicker for all than going through the courts." The Bernalillo County Commission will consider a half-million dollar proposal that would expand the opiate substance abuse treatment program in the Metropolitan Detention Center to include using Suboxone, a safer alternative to methadone. Commissioner Maggie Hart Stebbins says more than 300 people go through opiate detox each month at the regional jail, and when they are released, they often relapse. Starting the Suboxone treatment while incarcerated and continuing the treatment when released could go a long way toward preventing a return to jail. So what are taxpayers spending on addicts in jail? According to the Legislative Finance Committee’s fiscal impact reports, the state spends an average of $22 million each year to incarcerate nonviolent drug offenders. The average annual cost is about $28,000 per male inmate and $33,000 per female inmate. An adult out of custody in an inpatient facility can be treated for around $6,500. In contrast, various types of outpatient treatment programs can be implemented for between $1,300 and $2,000 annually per person. Every dollar put into any substance abuse treatment results in an estimated $7 savings to taxpayers. There are several private drug treatment centers in the state, but those can come with a price tag of more than $10,000 for a 90-day program. The state, the Salvation Army and Health Care for the Homeless operate another half-dozen or so, but the waiting list is long—sometimes up to several months. Attorney Carmack says it’s difficult to get people into treatment because of the costs and the availability. “We don't have very many programs here, and the ones we have are crowded and have long waiting lists,” she says. “I hope this legislation uses some of that money that is being saved to fund more beds for inpatient programs, more counselors and more services.” Carolyn Carlson 35.6819630 -105.9388230 http://alibi.com/index.php?story=30663&scn=news Remember paying all those red-light camera tickets? The City Council spent most of the fine money collected since 2005 at the Monday, Feb. 1 meeting. Those dollars were allocated for upgrades to three fire stations, protective equipment for firefighters, 200 police cars and beefing up the party patrol. Last year about $8.5 million was collected from the 22 cameras around town. At an average $100 a pop, that’s a lot of drivers speeding through intersections. For every $100 ticket, Redflex Traffic Systems—the Arizona company that runs the camera program—gets about $28. The state pockets $37, and the city takes $35. The city's cash goes toward one-time public safety expenditures and police traffic programs. The council allocated $3.9 million for more marked police cars, which cost about $40,000 each. And watch out, young partygoers—the party patrol netted a cool $80,000. Another half-million will be spent on fire and rescue protective equipment. The 80-year-old Fire Station 2 in the Huning Highlands neighborhood will get a little more than $1 million for a new building. Fire Station 7 on West Central took home $1 million for improvements, and Station 8 snagged $360,000 for a rescue paramedic unit in the Sandia Foothills neighborhood. But Fire Chief James Breen said it would be April 2011 before Station 8 has the paramedic unit up and running. Quote... Unquote, Inc., which runs public access channel 27 and Encantada TV on channel 26, had its four-year contract approved once and for all. On his way out the door, former Mayor Martin Chavez announced the city would accept applications for the job of running the stations. The decision was reversed by incoming Mayor Richard Berry. Quote... Unquote, Inc. has operated channel 27 since 1981. Albuquerque gained a little more open space by annexing 40 acres near Paradise Hills on the Westside. The land is in the general area of Rainbow between Paseo del Norte and Faciel NW. And councilors passed a resolution that the city will play nice with the University of New Mexico to develop a strong relationship and come up with a good transportation plan for the campus area. The two entities will form a transportation study group. Carolyn Carlson 35.0884712 -106.6502377 http://alibi.com/index.php?story=30634&scn=news New Mexico, land of two national laboratories, is home to lots of scientists. Whether employed developing supercomputers, testing explosives or doing autopsies on extraterrestrial crash victims, there are plenty of PhDs walking around. But New Mexico native David Thomas is not your ordinary egghead. He’s also one of the country’s top skeptical investigators. Thomas has degrees in physics and mathematics from New Mexico Tech, where he develops earthquake-detection equipment. He also teaches a course on critical thinking and distinguishing science from pseudoscience. Oh, and he plays mean bass in local act New Mexicans for Science and Reason (NMSR), which tackles all manner of curious claims, from the world-famous Roswell crash to creationism to contrails (or chemtrails, those white lines in the sky following airplanes, claimed by conspiracy theorists to be toxic). “We also look into fringe science and paranormal claims,” he says. In fact, Thomas and his group have offered to test people with alleged powers right here in Albuquerque, including psychics and dowsers. Unfortunately, Thomas says, “at the last minute they chicken out, and they really don’t want to have a scientific test of their paranormal powers for one reason or another.” Thomas is perhaps best known for applying his knowledge of mathematics and computers to the Bible Code, the hidden messages supposedly found in holy texts. The code was the subject of the 1997 best-selling book The Bible Code , by Michael Drosnin. Thomas demonstrated that the patterns Drosnin and others were finding were artifacts that resulted from “data mining.” That is, if you run a computer program through enough massive pieces of text (whether the Bible or War and Peace or Moby Dick ), looking for enough patterns (every 10 th letter, every 12 th letter, etc.), it will eventually spit out some words and jumbly sentences that could be interpreted to make sense. It’s the sort of thing that the veritable room full of monkeys with typewriters would be able to generate, given enough time (and no breaks to write George W. Bush’s speeches). New Mexico’s biggest mystery is of course the Roswell crash, but there are several lesser-known cities that also claim to have received extraterrestrial visitors at one point or another, including Aztec. “The Aztec story really took off in 1950,” Thomas says, “when a writer—a Hollywood reporter named Frank Scully—published a book called Behind the Flying Saucers. It was the first full-length American book on flying saucers. It described 16 humanoid bodies that were recovered together, along with their undamaged spacecraft. Scully had informants who told him that the disc landed near Aztec, N.M., back in March of 1948.” The disc that was allegedly recovered was said to have been 99.99 feet in diameter. Scully’s best seller stated that the dead alien bodies and spacecraft were hauled off to a top-secret U.S. government hangar somewhere. But two scientists (Scully’s informants Silas M. Newton and Leo GeBauer) had managed to get ahold of alien technology that could locate oil and gold! “Turns out that these two gentlemen were oil swindlers,” Thomas explains. “They were con men. GeBauer worked as a tech at an auto parts supply place. He was not a top-secret government scientist. Newton, also a con artist, would tell investors of the recent crash of an alien ship, the analysis by top-secret government labs, and the discovery of magnetic devices that could find oil and gold. Then came the pitch. Newton told the investors that he could get them access to this incredible ‘alien’ technology—for a price.” The scam was exposed when J. P. Cahn, a reporter for True magazine, secretly obtained a sample from the alien spacecraft and had it tested. They found it was “the same aluminum that we use in pots and pans,” Thomas says. Cahn wrote an exposé, and it was the beginning of the end for the Aztec UFO story. The men were put on trial, and the Oct. 14, 1952 front-page headline of the Denver Post read “ ‘Saucer Scientist’ in $50,000 Fraud.” Despite the 1952 public exposure of the Aztec UFO hoax, other writers have since jumped on the Aztec UFO bandwagon, insisting that the whole thing was (of course) a government coverup. The fact that Roswell had been capitalizing financially on its reputed UFO crash was not lost on the citizens of Aztec, who began their own annual convention celebrating the UFO. For the first few years, Thomas was asked to speak, but the invitations dried up after he explained the hoax: “Since then they really don’t want to hear what I have to say,” he notes wryly. Though many people were disappointed to find out that the Aztec UFO was a scam, the story holds important lessons for Thomas, skeptics and the public at large. It shows how easily people can be fooled by a wild story promoted by a gullible reporter—and more importantly, it shows that just because you read a best-selling book about a UFO crash (supported by “top-secret government scientists”) doesn’t mean it’s true. Or at least that’s what they want you to think. Benjamin Radford http://alibi.com/index.php?story=30622&scn=news At what point does Mexico transition from being a failing state with a crushing humanitarian crisis to a failed state with no semblance of the rule of law? Don't get me wrong. I loved (that's loved in the past tense) Mexico, even lived as a mojado in Ciudad Juarez for three years back in the mid-1990s, back in the day when you could take a lady out for the evening and not worry that the narcos were going to grab her off your arm and rape and torture her to death before dumping her in a shallow hole out by the airport. And it's that love of the country and la raza  that compels me to watch with horror as the whole thing slides from simple mordida and go-along-to-get-along to so many dead each day they don't even bother to dig the shallow holes any more. —Concerned Gabacho Dear Gabacho: Either your chronology is wrong, or you’re a liar. The serial murders of the women in Juarez (which now number into the hundreds) have been going on since at least the mid-1990s, that same bucolic decade you describe, and authorities on both sides of la frontera have blamed those deaths on many other individuals and groups besides the narcos. That clarification out of the way, Mexico is nowhere near a failed state or even a failing state. You want a failed state? Somalia. Failing state? California. Sí hay un chingo de problems with Mexico right now, and I honestly don’t think the narco-wars will stop until—take your pick—the United States legalizes drugs or we occupy the country anew, but that’s just the American in me. The Mexican in me knows this mess will disappear, la raza will survive, and we’ll continue the colonization of Aztlán anew with mere illegal immigrants instead of actual criminals. Gustavo Arellano http://alibi.com/index.php?story=30611&scn=news Dateline: China— Desperate to cash in on the popularity of James Cameron’s smash hit film Avatar , tourism officials in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park held an official ceremony last Monday to change the name of Nan Tian Yi Zhu Mountain, which means Southern Sky Column Mountain, to Avatar Hallelujah Mountain. The towering land formation, which juts nearly vertically up from a sea of mist, was reportedly a major inspiration for the film’s floating Hallelujah Mountains. The Zhangjiajie government website says Hollywood photographer Scott Hansen spent time shooting there in 2008 for the movie. “Many pictures he took then become prototypes for various elements in the Avatar movie,” noted the website. The park is now offering package visits to tourists, including a “magical tour to Avatar-Pandora” and a “miracle tour to Avatar’s floating mountain.” Dateline: Papua New Guinea— ABC News Australia reported on a tribal feud in Papua New Guinea’s southern highlands that was allegedly sparked by what could be the first case of “sexting” in the South Seas. The violence flared two Saturdays ago when a young man from the Tapo clan in Tari sent what was described as a “pornographic text message” to a woman in the neighboring Pipi clan. The offended female showed the text to her brother, who gathered up as many clansman as he could find and attacked the Tapos with “homemade guns, bush knives and bows and arrows.” One man was killed in the initial clash and another was dragged off a bus and killed with an ax the following day in an act of retaliation. “Two people have died, several have been wounded, several houses have been burnt down,” Superintendent Jimmy Onopia told ABC News’ Papua New Guinea correspondent. Police in the area are hoping to negotiate a peaceful resolution. Dateline: Russia— More than 100 Russian Orthodox believers celebrating the Christian feast day of Epiphany in Irkutsk, Siberia, were hospitalized after knocking back tainted holy water. A total of 117 people, including 48 children, were taken to hospitals for acute intestinal pain after drinking water from several wells in and around a local church. According to Britain’s Sky News, many Orthodox Russians consider any water obtained on Epiphany to be holy. Irkutsk Investigative Committee’s spokesperson, Vladimir Salovarov, told reporters a total of 204 people required some sort of medical treatment. The source of the illness has not yet been identified. Dateline: Ohio— A woman who weighs more than 350 pounds has pleaded guilty to killing her much smaller boyfriend by sitting on him. Police in Cleveland said that Mia Landingham and her boyfriend Mikal Middleston-Bey got into an argument in August. During the altercation, Landingham punched Middleston-Bey—who weighed 120 pounds—in the face, knocking him down. She then sat on his head. When she got up, Middleston-Bey was dead. In court, Landingham apologized for squashing the father of her three children. “I just want to say that I am sincerely sorry about this situation,” Landingham announced. “I wish I could take it back.” Landingham was sentenced to three years probation and 100 hours community service after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter. After the sentencing, the victim’s family expressed frustration at the judge’s decision. “So basically you can say that I can go sit on on somebody and get probation?” said one of the victim’s sisters. “I feel there wasn’t no justice.” Dateline: Wisconsin— An inmate serving a life sentence at Waupun prison for first-degree intentional homicide has lost a multiyear legal battle challenging the prison’s policy banning Dungeons & Dragons. Kevin T. Singer had alleged that in taking away his ability to play the popular role-playing game, prison officials were violating his First Amendment rights. The 7 th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed last Monday, deciding that shouting, “I’ll slay the orc with my +2 dancing sword!” is not constitutionally protected. Singer, 33, told the court he has been a D&D fanatic since he was a child. After the prison’s ban went into effect in 2004, prison officials confiscated dozens of Dungeons & Dragons books and magazines from his cell—including a 96-page module the inmate had written himself. The ban was enacted after an inmate sent an anonymous letter expressing concern that the game was fostering “gang” activity within the prison. In the end, the court ruled with prison officials who concluded the game “promotes fantasy role playing, competitive hostility, violence, addictive escape behaviors and possible gambling.” Singer was sentenced to life in prison in 2002 after bludgeoning his sister’s boyfriend to death with a sledgehammer. Devin D. O’Leary http://alibi.com/index.php?story=30650&scn=news I have no interest in playing cards and table games. I treasure heart to heart conversations—the more deep, real and personal the better—with both men and women. I have no interest in watching or playing team sports. Competing with men to win games bores me as a waste of my precious time. I prize exercising one and a half hours every day plus much walking for me to stay lean, muscular and healthy. As much as possible, I aim to be the kind of men I am attracted to—both in body and in how I live. My favorite contact sport is licking ass, sucking cock and fucking certain men when we are passionately attracted to each other—giving and receiving intense pleasure— not pain and injuries! Why do many people use the words “fuck” and “cocksucker” to insult and curse? Like many men and women, I am able to be openly, honestly and deeply in love with more than one person at the same time. Lifelong monogamy may work best for some people, but not for all of us! A good parent can have a special bond of love with each of his or her children. I would enjoy free sex parties in homes with 10 or 15 men who have no shame and no hangups about being naked and having affectionate hot sex while others watch. Lean, muscular, healthy men who consume no booze, no cigarettes, no other drugs, no junk food. Early evening parties with beautiful romantic music like the longtime popular Mexican love song, “Volver, Volver.” Strong, intimate connections ... deep conversations ... passionate sex and romance— YES! Gracias a la vida! http://alibi.com/index.php?story=30712&scn=news Scott Brown's victory over Martha Coakley in Massachusetts has been hyped in the media as a product of voter "anger" and a growing "anti-establishment" mood that may sweep across the country. Everyone seems to agree that Brown conducted a more dynamic campaign that Coakley. In addition, while Republicans pulled a good number of voters, turnout was lower among young people, urban voters and perhaps even women—all of whom could have disproportionately favored Coakley. Massachusetts women actually voted for Coakley over Brown by 50 percent to 47 percent, according to Hart Research exit poll. Yet this did not offset the 53 percent to 40 percent advantage Brown secured among male voters. Gender clearly was a major issue in this election. “Welcome to liberal Massachusetts—we’re not,” said Mary Anne Marsh, a Democratic political consultant, in [url]http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/25/us/25mass.html?scp=1&sq=Katie%20Zezima%20Massachusetts%20Mary%20Anne%20Marsh&st=cse[/url]an article by Katie Zezima in the New York Times . "For decades, women have been unable to gain a solid political toehold in Massachusetts, a state long dominated by male political figures. Five women in Massachusetts’s history—including Ms. Coakley, the attorney general—have been elected to statewide constitutional office, and four have been elected to the House of Representatives." Dan Payne in the same article said Coakley never mentioned her gender or that she would have been the state’s first female United States senator, while Scott Brown, her opponent, ran "a macho, testosterone campaign," and drove around the state in a pickup. As in Massachusetts, so in the nation? Possibly, and not only because the Democratic Party seems now stagnant while the Republicans are resurgent. Though it should be noted that since Joe Lieberman's defection, along with the continuing recalcitrance of the (mostly male) Blue Dog Democrats, there really was no 60 percent majority to lose. But Massachusetts may also be typical in another respect. Women still have to work twice as hard to prove themselves in the political arena throughout most of the nation. Gender has placed Secretary of State Hilary Clinton at a disadvantage as much as it has Sarah Palin. And neither they nor any other woman is likely to be elected to any high-ranking national political office without solid support from women. Meanwhile we've seen the truth about Massachusetts, a supposedly "liberal" state with a working-class Catholic base, dominated by an entrenched Democratic political machine, with an African American man serving as governor. But it's also a strongly patriarchal state where female candidates of any political affiliation have a very difficult uphill battle against their male opponents. Massachusetts still has never sent a woman to the United States Senate. Doesn't all this sound just too familiar to women here in the Land of Disenchantment? Joni Kay Rose