Daily Archives: May 23, 2017

WASHINGTON As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump pledged to tackle prescription-drug abuse and the flow of illegal drugs into the country. But his White House efforts are off to a rocky start so far.

Trump appointed New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to lead a opioid crisis task force. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price and other administration officials, including Attorney General Jeff Sessions, have embarked on a listening tour of areas ravaged by the opioid epidemic.

But any goodwill gained from those efforts was likely undercut by a leaked document that provided a preview into the administrations plan to effectively gut the Office of National Drug Control Policy, which takes the lead in addressing drug abuse issues, by reducing its funding by almost 95 percent.

Then came the announcement that the Justice Department would reverse an Obama-era policy that urged prosecutors to try to avoid mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders, and an emerging pattern from the administration is developing that is troubling to some lawmakers and advocates.

Such policies and proposals could be examples of an unpredictable White House that at times sends contradictory messages about its strategy.

But while Republican members continue to hold out hope that Trump will keep his pledge to combat the opioid epidemic, a number of GOP senators are becoming more vocal in their criticism of his early actions on the issue.

I am alarmed at the defunding [of the drug-control policy office] because that, to me, signals less emphasis on what I think is a deep problem, said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia. I think we need an overarching policy and I would like to see it remain in the White House where it would get the ultimate attention.

Capito said she gave Sessions an earful about the possible funding cuts when he visited West Virginia for an event hosted by the Drug Enforcement Agency, which takes the lead on drug interdiction efforts.

The fiscal 2017 spending bill that Trump signed into law this month will provide $150 million more this year to help fight the opioid epidemic. Should the administration choose to forge ahead and suggest reduced funding for the office in the pending fiscal 2018 budget proposal, it will likely not get much support in Congress.

But it is not just funding that has galvanized Republicans into pushing back against the Trump administration. After Sessions announcement, some Republican senators came out against the shift back to harsher sentences for nonviolent drug offenders.

Mandatory minimum sentences have unfairly and disproportionately incarcerated too many minorities for too long, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, said in a statement. Attorney General Sessions new policy will accentuate that injustice. Instead, we should treat our nations drug epidemic as a health crisis and less as a lock em up and throw away the key problem.

But the decision did not meet total opposition among Republicans in Congress.

Law enforcement should side with the victims of crime rather than its perpetrators. This policy is simply common sense and will help reduce crime and drugs in our neighborhoods, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, said in a statement.

A Justice Department spokesman said the directive guarantees that prosecutors treat all defendants fairly, equitably, and uniformly.

Outside advocacy groups say they are baffled by the administrations recent actions.

To say you are going to address things and then put some policies in place that dont make any sense to what we know works, and what the science says, it leaves one beyond just scratching their head and wondering where the impetus for this is, said Tom Hill, vice president of addiction and recovery at the National Council for Behavioral Health.

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Tump administration sends mixed marching orders in the war on drugs - SaukValley.com

Asian Law Caucus for Immigrants Rights staff attorney Kevin Lograduated from UC Berkeley before he received a law degree from Stanford Law School. CONTRIBUTED

SAN FRANCISCO Two Filipino immigrants, who served jail terms for drug offenses but were apprehended by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and placed on deportation proceedings, were recently granted protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) because they are potential targets of President Rodrigo Dutertes lethal war on drugs.

One immigrant was immediately released after an immigration judges CAT ruling while the other remains in custody pending the written decision of the judge that could withstand an impending appeal of ICE against the still detained convict.

The two grateful Filipinos living in San Francisco chose to remain unidentified. Both men have families, are indigents and in their mid-30s. They are green card holders who were represented for free by legal advocacy group for Asians in San Francisco.

Their lawyer, Kevin Lo, is a staff attorney in the Immigrant Rights Program of the Asian Law Caucus. Lo chanced upon the two men when he visited the San Francisco immigration detention center and realized that the two Filipinos needed representation, as most people in immigration detention are usually not legally aided enough.

Claims for protection

In evaluating the cases of the two Filipinos clients, we learned about the situation in the Philippines with President Dutertes drug war. And when we realized that they had claims for protection under the Convention Against Torture, we decided to take their cases because we know the situation is pretty serious, Lo shared.

Eminent immigration lawyer Lourdes Tancinco notes that the view of the outside world on the controversial death toll in the war of drugs has an impact on the fate of Filipinos abroad. INQUIRER/Jun Nucum

We decided to make the argument that drug addicts who are deported to the Philippines has a more then 50 percent chance to be added to government watch lists and subsequently killed, Lo explained.

Asian Law Caucus sought the help of Vicente Rafael, professor of history in the University of Washington, specializing in Southeast Asian history. Rafael became our source for the condition in the Philippines particularly the drug war being waged by President Duterte,Lo said.

Rafaels declaration together with another experts statement proved very helpful in securing the detainees protection from the judge.

We [also] submitted a big stack of articles and pictures to show that in the Philippines drug convictions typically equal torture and death, Lo explained. If we havent been able to submit the country condition confirmation that intended to show that the governments (drive against drug offenders) is true, the ruling may not have been granted and they could have been deported.

Scheduled to testify again

Rafael is scheduled to testify by phoneon another case, in Tacoma, Washington, largely along the same lines. Nearby Seattle was where an earlier case employing the CAT appeal protection lost.

Duterte supporter Atty. Arnedo Valerasays drug addicts who surrender are sent to rehabilitation centers for treatment and rehabilitation under the Duterte administration.INQUIRER/Jun Nucum

Lo wants to make clear though that the CATis usually the last thing that people try for because it doesnt lead to any legal status; one can still be deported when conditions change. It is also not granted very often.

For our clients, the judge said he wont be deporting our clients. But once Duterte is no longer in power and the drug war is no longer happening, they can be deported. So, CAT is an acknowledgement that you are deportable, but for human rights reason, you are not going to be for now, disclosed Lo.

He says its a form of relief that applies to other people in other countries with dangerous condition of human rights. The Duterte situation is so extreme, so rare that the head of state will be so explicit and proud that he killed so many people that started back when he was mayor of Davao City.

Unfair deportation system

Lo also stressed that the U.S. deportation system is so unfair because even if immigrant convicts spent only a few months in a U.S. prison, they are being deported even for drug crimes that are not serious.

Current U.S. immigration law punishes drug crimes very heavily. It is kind of funny that we are criticizing Duterte for his war on drugs, while the U.S. war on drugs, although not be as bad, is pretty extreme too, Lo lamented.

Vicente Rafael, professor of history in the University of Washington, offered testimony that helped two immigrants be spared from deportation.INQUIRER/Jun Nucum

In the deportation process, ICE will request for travel documents from the Philippines and also will turn over a copy of the deportees criminal record. What that means is that the U.S. is explicitly telling the Philippines that the deportee is a drug abuser or trafficker. Under Duterte, it is very likely that the deportee will be added to the drug list.

Duterte supporter Atty. Arnedo S Valera, a practicing immigration attorney, congratulated Lo and company for creative legal representation in finding a relief from deportation for these two Filipinos.

Legal aberration

However, he contended that this ruling is a legal aberration and not the prevailing case law in almost all immigration courts in 50 States. For the last decade, based on specific and unique removal issues faced by Filipino immigrants, I have been successful in obtaining asylum alleging fear of even torture under the Aquino and Arroyo regimes.

Most likely, these liberal rulings will be appealed by the government because the fact is, under the drug policy of theDuterte administration, drug addicts who surrenderand are not engaged in selling drugs and other criminal activities are sent to rehabilitation centers for treatment and drug rehabilitation.

Duterte critic and seasoned litigator Ted Laguatan says that the present Philippine government has developed a global reputation for being engaged in state-sponsored extrajudicial killings and human rights violations.

Numerous documented reports and graphic pictures of Filipinos brutally murdered by police elements and so called vigilantes many of whom are also police elements dressed in civilians, have been published in international publications. More than 8,000 killed since PresidentRodrigo Duterte sat in office, reasoned Laguatan.

Laguatan says that while government apologists continue to deny that these killings are state-sponsored, there are so many recorded footages of President Rodrigo Duterte delivering speeches urging the police to continue with these killings and assuring them of his protection.

Duterte behind the killings

Anyone with a modicum of intelligence knows that Duterte is behind these killings as the styles or modes of executions are the same as those used by the notorious Davao Death Squad reputedly headed by Duterte when he was Mayor of Davao City. Moreover, the more than 8,000 killings are self-evident. They would not have happened if Duterte were not President.As such, more Filipinosin removal proceedings in Immigration Court will be using the United Nations Convention Against Torture (CAT) to prevent their removal, Laguatan opined.

Staunch Marcos and Duterte critic Atty. Ted Laguatan says the present Philippine government has developed a global reputation for engaging in state-sponsored extrajudicial killings and human rights violations.INQUIRER/Jun Nucum

Another eminent immigration lawyer Lourdes Tancinco noted that with the current social political environment in the Philippines, the view of the outside world on the controversial war of drugs has an impact on the fate of Filipinos abroad.

I am not surprised that it had reached the immigration courts involving Filipinos who are facing removal. It would not be difficult to find sufficient evidence for protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) Act considering that substantial and factual information is available in regards to the increasing number of death of people involved in illegal drugs. The courts can rely on expert opinion or organizations like the UN Commission on Human Rights, Tancinco said. Tancinco noted that the challenge in employing CAT is proving whether the abuse is inflicted by, or at the instigation of, or with the consent or acquiescence of, a public official or any person acting in an official capacity.

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2 Filipinos spared from deportation due to PH war on drugs ... - Inquirer.net

In a phone call from the White Houselate last month,U.S. President Donald Trump heaped praise on Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte,one of the worlds most murderous heads of state, fordoing what Trump called anunbelievable job in his war on drugs. Trump offered an unqualified endorsement of Dutertes bloody extermination campaign against suspected drug dealers and users, which has includedopen calls for extrajudicial murders and promises of pardons and immunity for the killers.

You are a good man, Trump told Duterte, according to an official transcript of the April 29 call produced by the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs and obtained by The Intercept. Keep up the good work, Trump told Duterte. You are doing an amazing job.

Trump began the call by telling Duterte, You dont sleep much, youre just like me, before quickly pivoting to the strongmans drug war.

I just wanted to congratulate you because I am hearing of the unbelievable job on the drug problem, Trump told Duterte at the beginning of theircall, according to the document. Many countries have the problem, we have a problem, but what a great job you are doing and I just wanted to call and tell you that.

Thank you Mr. President, replied Duterte. This is the scourge of my nation now and I have to do something to preserve the Filipino nation.

The transcript, which contains numerous typographical errors, was authenticated by well-placed sources in the Palace and the Department of Foreign Affairs by reporters at the Manila-basednews outlet Rappler, which collaborated with The Intercept onthis story.

Since Duterte took office in June, Philippinenational police and vigilante death squads have embarked on a campaign to slaughterdrugusersas well as drug dealers. Hitler massacred three million Jews [sic], now,theres three million drug addicts. Id be happy to slaughter them, he said in September. Last month, he told a group ofjoblessFilipinosthat they should kill all the drug addicts. Police have killed over 7,000 people, devastated poor areas of Manila and other cities, and used the drug war as a pretext to murder government officials and community leaders.

The new details of Trumps call with Duterte comeon the heels of the Philippine presidents announcement that he is imposing martial law on the autonomous island of Mindanao, where government forces are battling Islamist rebels. If I had to kill thousands of people just to keep Philippines a thousand times safer, I will not have doubts doing it, Duterte said.

On the April 29 call, Trump pointed out to Dutertethat his predecessor in the White Househad been critical of the rising body count under Dutertes reign in the Philippines, but that Trump himself gets it. I understand that, and fully understand that, and I think we had a previous president who did not understand that, Trump said, but I understand that and we have spoken about this before.

Whenthe Obamaadministration offeredsome tempered criticism of Duterteskilling spree, Duterte called the U.S. presidentthe son of a whore and an idiot who can go to hell. Speaking in Beijing inOctober, Duterte said, America has lost now. Ive realigned myself in your ideological flow.And maybe I will also go to Russia to talk to Putin and tell him that there are three of us against the world: China, Philippines and Russia. Its the only way.

However, inthe wake of Trumps election, Dutertesaid, I dont want to quarrel anymore, because Trump has won. Onthe April call, Trump addressed Duterte warmly by his first name, Rodrigo, and Duterte thanked Trump for his sentiments on Obama.

This week, Duterte was slated to beinRussia for a five-day trip, including a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, whom he has called his favorite hero. On Tuesday, Duterte announced from Moscow that he was cutting the trip short in light of his declaration of martial law and fighting between rebels and the government in Mindanao.

Following the call last month, the White House publicly described a very friendly conversation that culminated with an invitation for an Oval Office meeting. To endorse Duterte is to endorse a man who advocates mass murder and who has admitted to killing people himself, said John Sifton, the Asia advocacy director for Human Rights Watch, reacting to the transcript. Endorsing his methods is a celebration of the death of the poor and vulnerable.

A member of a Scene of the Crime Operatives team investigates the scene where two alleged robbers were killed after a gun fight with police in Manila on Feb. 8, 2017.

Photo: Noel Celis/AFP/Getty Images

Dutertes police killings are widely recognized by the international community as an ongoing atrocity. The war on drugs has drawncondemnationfrom theUnited Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial killings, and last month a Philippinelawyer filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court accusing Duterte of mass murder and crimes against humanity. The State Departments annual human rightsreportacknowledges thousands of extrajudicial killings with impunity and calls themthe countrys chief human rights concern.

Killing is nothing new for Duterte. His bloody record started in 1988, when he became the mayor of Davao City, a coastal city in the southern Philippines. During his tenure,he earned the nickname the Death Squad Mayor a titlehe embraces. According to oneformer hitman, Duterte formed an organization called the Davao Death Squad a mafia-like organization of plainclothes assassins that would kill suspected criminals, journalists, and opposition politicians, often from the backs of motorcycles. Multiple former members of the group have come forward and said that they killed people on Dutertes direct orders.

Duterte has even bragged that he personally killed criminals from the back of a motorcycle.In Davao I used to do it personally, hetolda group of business leaders in Manila. Just to show to the guys [police officers] that if I can do it, why cant you.

In 2016, Duterte campaigned on a policy of mass extermination for anyone involved in the drug trade. Id be happy to slaughter them. If Germany had Hitler, the Philippines would have me, Duterte said after his inauguration in September.

Despite human rights concerns, the U.S. has long consideredthe Philippines a military ally, and under Obama the U.S. gave the countrys military tens of millions of dollars in weapons and resourcesper year. The U.S. government does notprovide lethal weapons directly to the PhilippineNational Police, which has a decadeslong history of extrajudicial killings. But it does allow U.S. weapons manufacturers to sell to them directly. In 2015 the State Department authorized more than $250 million in arms sales from U.S. defense contractors to security forces in the Philippines.

After Dutertes election, Obamas State Department halted one sale of assault rifles to the Philippines, largely due to the objections of Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., the leading Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The Philippines became a colony of the United States in 1898 as a result of the Spanish-American War. A long insurgency followed, and the country didnt win full independence until 1946.

Disclosure:Omidyar Network is an investor in Rappler, an independent news organization based in the Philippines. The Intercepts publisher, First Look Media, was founded by Pierre Omidyar.

Top photo: A drug suspect lies dead in a hallway during an alleged shootout with police in Manila, Philippines, on Aug. 18, 2016.

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Trump Called Rodrigo Duterte to Congratulate Him on His Murderous Drug War: You Are Doing an Amazing Job - The Intercept

Opioids and Marijuana.

Crisis lurking within US; once this looked just like a random medicine bottle for prescription medication but for many in the United States now it is reminiscent of addiction and overdose.

Just in 2015, 33,000 people died of overdoses from prescription drugs such as OxyContin. But thats not all about the opioid crisis that has gripped the country, as heroine is also wreaking havoc, with overdoses reaching epidemic levels. The Trump administration is, meanwhile, announcing a new war on drugs, a war many believe is already doomed to fail.

In this episode, we take a look at the crisis lurking within the country. Speaking of crises, President Trump had promised to tackle unemployment. He is now supposed to bring jobs back to America by adopting a Buy American, Hire American policy. As a result, the largest economy on the planet appears to be rushing to a protectionist stance: another bad news particularly for US trade partners, which we will cover in the second part of the show.

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US war on drugs protectionists - Press TV