According to the International Harm Reduction Association US politicians have moved to counter President Obama's decision to continue the federal funding ban on needle exchange in his 2010 budget.

"The move follows a series of activist protests in America in July 2009, after the President went back on one of his campaign pledges and continued with the funding ban which has existed in the USA since the 1980s."

Read the full story here.

This week from CCAJAR, - Colectivo de Abogados “José Alvear Restrepo”, shows disturbing trends in illegal domestic spying by DAS the nation's intelligence agency.

John Gibler, Narco News contributor, and author of Mexico Unconquered,  appearred on CCN's "American Morning" program this past Friday to discuss the drug war in Mexico; he said the current drug war policies have failed, and that sending more federal agents to the border will have no effect on stopping the flow of drugs or ending the violence.

According to Caribbean Net News President Obama is to meet with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez this upcoming April in Trinidad.

 

"United States President, Barack Obama will have a face-to-face meeting with his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez in April in Port of Spain, when the two leaders will be among three dozen heads of government and state at the three day Summit of the Americas."

 

The full article can be read here: Caribbean Net News

An Opinion Piece, by Cheryl White, Toronto Drug Users Union, Canada.

Report on the 2008 INPUD Annual General Meeting and International Drug User Day (IDUD2008) Gathering, “Moving Forward II”, Copenhagen, Hosted by the Danish Drug Users’ Union – BrugerForeningen

I have spent more than 20 years as an Illicit Drug User activist (IDUA), participating in the early years of forming local, national and international networks of common cause dedicated to harm reduction and DU activism. To say these periods were characterized by extreme growing pains would be to put it lightly indeed. Because our fight has been and continues to be a fight for our very lives, feelings are often raw and our activism is driven by a high level of passion...

Click Here to read the full article by Cheryl White.

Federal prosecutors charged George Wills and Robert Catalano, the owners of Puck Technology makers of the Whizzinator with conspiracy in Pittsburgh, PA in October. The two men plead guilty to two counts of conspiracy on November 24, and face up to eight years in prison and a $500,000 fine; their sentencing will take place in February of next year.[1] The prosecutors claimed the two had conspired to defraud the federal government’s drug testing programs:

“On October 14, federal prosecutors in Pittsburgh won a 19-count indictment against the owners of Puck Technology, maker of the Whizzinator, for fraud and selling drug paraphernalia. Prosecutors allege that by manufacturing and selling the Whizzinator, company president Gerald Wills and vice president Robert Catalano conspired to defraud the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which administers federal workplace drug testing programs. The government is seeking forfeiture of all of the company’s assets, including its Internet domain names.” [2]

The Danish Drug Users’ Union BrugerForeningen will host this year's IDUD (International Drug Users’ Day) event on October 31 and November 1 in Copenhagen, Denmark. For more information about the event visit BrugerForeningen’s website.

Ecuadorians went to the polls yesterday to decide on a new constitutional referendum; exit polls indicate that about 65% voted in favor of the new constitution. Unlike similar referendums passed in Bolivar and Venezuela the new constitution does not nationalize the nation’s resources, telecommunications, or electricity, but instead gives the executive branch increased powers to regulate the economy; though some opposed to the changes fear that the new centralized economic powers could potentially threaten private property rights in the future.

Raul Reyes and Julian Conrado, both high ranking FARC commanders, were killed in Ecuador, Saturday March 1, after the Colombian Military entered Ecuadorian territory bombing and raiding Reyes' location. The information on Reyes encampment was apparently provided by informants. A 5 million dollar reward for the capture of Reyes was being offered by the U.S.; this may have played a major role in the raid.

“According to Noticias Uno, which based its report on official sources, the report was a ploy to force Reyes to use his satellite phone again, which he did, enabling the Colombian military to pinpoint his location. Another phone call made by Reyes indicated that he would be at a specific spot on Feb. 29, Noticias Uno reported. The government added that it also obtained information from two individuals, in exchange for large rewards.” - ISPNEWS.net

Tensions have continued to rise as both Ecuador and Venezuela are now sending troops to their borders with Colombia, while recalling Ambassadors from Bogota, and warning against further incursions. Colombia claims they were in pursuit of the rebels within 1,800 meters of their border, though Ecuador has claimed Colombian forces went as far as 10 kilometers inside Ecuadorian territory, and killed the rebel leaders and 18 others while they slept. Ecuadorian President Correa stated: “this was a massacre, not a hot pursuit.”

More en español: Video News from Colombia announcing the death of Raul Reyes, and video of Ecuador's President Correa condemning the military incursion violating Ecuador's sovereignty.

Amnesty International finally broke its silence and released an official statement regarding leading human rights activist Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine who has been missing for four months in Haiti, and was the subject of Joe Emersberger's recent story here.

"Human rights activists have been trying to convince them for months," Emersberger's fellow HaitiAnalysis researcher and publisher Jeb Sprague tells Narco News. "But now just a few days after the Narco News piece they actually finally do something."

Coincidence? Readers can draw their own conclusions... Whether or not Human Rights Watch will follow with a statement of their own remains to be seen. For current information and news about Haiti read HaitiAnalysis.