Tag: law enforcement
What Do We Owe a Prison Informant?
Recently, a man whom I’ll call Cyrus, who has spent the past several years in Georgia prisons, told me a story. It was about a cellmate whom I’ll call Timmy, who had borrowed Cyrus’s cell phone. Cell phones are ubiquitous in U.S. prisons, despite prohibitions against their use by inmates. Guards who smuggle them in can make a lot of money: a fifty-dollar Walmart phone may sell for twenty-five hundred dollars on the inside. Many inmates can’t afford to pay
Destigmatizing Drug Use Has Been a Profound Mistake
The image on the billboard that appeared in downtown San Francisco in early 2020 would have been familiar to anyone who’d ever seen a beer commercial: Attractive young people laughing and smiling as they shared a carefree high. But the intoxicant being celebrated was fentanyl, not beer. “Do it with friends,” the billboard advised, so as to reduce the risks of overdose.
The advertising campaign was part of an ongoing national effort by activists and health officials to destigmatize
The Godfather of Maasmechelen — How Italy’s ‘ndrangheta mafia went global – POLITICO
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Speaking Italian can get you a long way in this sleepy postindustrial town on Belgium’s eastern edge. The empty sidewalks of Maasmechelen are studded with shabby pizzerias, delis, coffee bars and sports shops showcasing selections of Italy merch — the legacy of a wave of Italian immigration that started in the late 1940s.
Recently however the Flemish town was also the site of another, more sinister Italian import. On
The Worst DEI Policy in Higher Education
Attacks on faculty rights are frequent in academia, where professors’ words are now policed by illiberal administrators, state legislators, and students. I’ve reported on related controversies in American higher education for more than 20 years. But I’ve never seen a policy that threatens academic freedom or First Amendment rights on a greater scale than what is now unfolding in this country’s largest system of higher education: California’s community colleges.
Roughly 1.9 million students are enrolled in that system. Its
What Mitt Romney Saw in the Senate
For most of his life, Mitt Romney has nursed a morbid fascination with his own death, suspecting that it might assert itself one day suddenly and violently.
He controls what he can, of course. He wears his seat belt, and diligently applies sunscreen, and stays away from secondhand smoke. For decades, he’s followed his doctor’s recipe for longevity with monastic dedication—the lean meats, the low-dose aspirin, the daily 30-minute sessions on the stationary bike, heartbeat at 140 or
13 Readers on What Trump Voters Want
“What really matters is whether a candidate gives a voter an identity,” a reader argues.
Welcome to Up for Debate. Each week, Conor Friedersdorf rounds up timely conversations and solicits reader responses to one thought-provoking question. Later, he publishes some thoughtful replies. Sign up for the newsletter here.
Last week, I put this question to readers: “Donald Trump is guilty of deplorable actions, under indictment for multiple crimes,
Why Britain wants to shout about its offshore asylum ship – POLITICO
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LONDON — Walking up a narrow gangplank, a small group of asylum seekers boarded the floating barge moored off England’s south coast. It would be their home for the foreseeable future.
Their arrival Monday was being closely monitored — and amplified — at the highest levels of the U.K. government.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, on holiday in California, posted a video claiming he was “ending the farce of illegal
Chinese embassy slams Moscow over Russian border incident – POLITICO
The Chinese embassy in Moscow on Friday criticized “brutal and excessive law enforcement by Russia” after five Chinese citizens were denied entry into the country.
In a post on Chinese social media platform WeChat, the embassy said the incident had “seriously damaged the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens.”
On attempting to enter Russia on July 29, the group of Chinese citizens was “repeatedly” questioned for “up to 4 hours,” according to the statement. They had their tourist visas
A border in my backyard – POLITICO
Clément Girardot is a freelance writer focusing on international reporting, especially from the South Caucasus and Turkey. His work has appeared in various publications, including the Guardian, Al Jazeera, Le Monde and Wired.
“In our free time, we would go for a swim in the Ksani river or take a walk in the mountains,” kindergarten teacher Mariam Javakhishvili said, recalling her childhood in the Georgian village of Odzisi.
Despite its peaceful rural setting, nestled in a bucolic valley 30 kilometers
Spanish police arrest Mexican drug cartel kingpin in Madrid – POLITICO
The leader of the European division of the Mexican Los Zetas drug cartel was arrested by Spanish authorities in Madrid Monday.
The accused, who goes by the name of “Said,” is Moroccan and 54 years old, El Mundo reported. Four more cartel members were also apprehended.
“A total of five people have been arrested in addition to the seizure of 400kg of narcotic substances and 220,000 euro in cash,” the Spanish National Police wrote. The cartel had been trying to