By Amnon Barzilai, Haaretz Correspondent

October 5, 2004

Authorities in the southwestern state of Arizona have begun employing Israeli-built Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in border security, rescue and drug interdiction missions along the border with Mexico. The aircraft are being used by the state of Arizona in a special operation aimed at tightening security along the 2,000-mile Mexican border. According to a report published by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, since June, Israeli-made UAV's have assisted in the seizure of a quarter ton of marijuana in Arizona.

Two Hermes 450 UAVs, developed and manufactured by Elbit Systems, have logged over 477 flight hours in missions along the U.S.-Mexico border, including several rescue missions.

According to the report, the drones identified illegal immigrants attempting to cross into the U.S., and in several cases have helped deter smugglers.

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Stress hammers me...it has all my life...starting with the childhood tummy aches and going on and on...migraines, stress induced psoriasis, adult onset acne...hair loss...heart palpitations...nausea and vomiting..."crawling" leg nerves...IBS...the whole nine yards.

I'm good now and happy as a lark...cept for the neck and throat pain I'm having right now. But there is even a bit of eustress with that...I get more time on the puter. No one wants me to burst an artery...I have too many duties. I really think the Doc will give me a clean bill of health this week, though. Just stress or a pinched nerve or something.

If "compassionate" and "conservatism" are defined by denying medical users in America relief from what ails them and denying states their constitutional latitude to work out medical considerations independent of the federal nanny, then we must insist our allies get it right and toe the line with us. "Y'er either with us or with the terrorists," as the saying goes. Israel is way out of line in giving a friendly nod to the devils own weed. Cut 'em off. Let 'em fund their own way with these devilish experiments.

On the other hand, if this isn't sufficient cause to stop aid to Israel, maybe we ought to honestly look at the wherefore and howcome behind their decision, along with the rationale behind the numerous state actions in this regard. A good place to start would be a reading of the medical literature and reconsideration of "NO" votes on the Rohrabacher/Hinchey admendment, or initiate a change from schedule I to reflect reality with respect to cannabis, rather than continuing on the blind opposition to any rational thought on the matter, the approach that should have us canceling aid to the Israelis.

Cheers

Those soldiers, after a lot of thought and sensibility runs through their brains for a few months, they might think killing their fellow man was a lousy idea.

If only.

I am so excited because Neil Young made a surprise performance at the Vote for Change Tour last night in Toledo. I've read that it was wonderful and what a surprise. I think I have this right. Neil and his wife Pegi sang Harvest Moon. That's such a beautiful song and even Peter Frampton was there. I know Neil got in trouble with his fans years ago for endorsing Reagan and I think he hasn't endorsed anyone since then until now. My day is so happy. I was wondering what he was going to do and he did it!

Maybe it's just a pinched nerve and not the artery at all. It feels like it's all coming from the artery though.

Did they have a great political opening on SNL? My husband wouldn't watch it becaue he didn't want to see Bush made fun of and he was sure it would happen.

Did it?

I thunk and thunk to try to help you with a suggestion...but I could think of nothing you wouldn't already know better than I.

People can become dependent on a traumatic outlook, and come to regard people who do not share that outlook as being disloyal, threatening or even treasonous.

A medication that relieves a traumatic outlook could cause a lot of proboems for its beneficiaries.

And thus ... here we are.

Am I right, Dr. Russo? Are there not huge unspoken political and social implications to this scientific work?

how traumatic it is for children to be removed from the families they love,

how traumatic it is for workers (and their families) to be laid-off and to see their jobs shipped to Mexico Peru India or China, to work for minimum wage or frozen wages while all the time the cost of living rises faster,

how traumatic that the returning veterans of Vietnam were ignored, forced to cope on their own with injuries and stress in a country that wanted to forget the war ever happened (unhealthy attitude, alcoholic thinking),

how traumatic that current veterans are having their benefits cut after their brave service to their country,

how traumatic that the US President lied to the American people about Weapons of Mass Destruction in order to justify the invasion of Iraq and the subsequent death and injury of American soldiers and contractors and Iraq citizens,

how traumatic to be awakened in the middle of the night by pot-sniffing cops,

how traumatic that medical marijuana [sic] exemptees have to face the uncertainty of arrest and the possibilty of laced medicine from black market dealers in addition to the suffering of the illness for which they are taking medical cannnabis

how traumatic that Health Canada has been stalling and bungling the supply of medical cannabis and the authorizations to use the medicine

how traumatic that the current government of Canada still views cannabis use as a criminal offense and wants to apply alternative sanctions to a victimless 'crime' while cracking down hard on supply ensuring that it will remain to the hands of black market profiteers.

I am collecting material and mulling in my mind what I will say. I will have 30 minutes to counter 90 years of Government lies, but I like the challenge. I am putting together folders of stories, studies, I even printed an entire CN page with 15 comments, due to the wealth of information on that one.

Folders will be tailored to the members of the board that will attend. Med. Cannabis uses to the Health reporter, Leagal/Decrim. stories for the police beat, with LEAP stuff, too. Harm rediction to city beat.

FoM suggested a great topic for my 30 minutes of fame... harm reduction. I love it. A few other comments from some in here have helped me focus, more proof not needed that there are some very perceptive folks in here.

Sometime after the election, alas.

Hundreds of thousands of Sudanese are being traumatized right now by Muslim fanatics in Sudan.

Millions of Africans were traumatized over the centuries by being placed into slave labor all over the world. Bought and sold at slave auctions right off the dock.

Romans enslaved Christians for being Christian. Traumatized, they spent their lives in catacombs.

The Hebrews were enslaved by the Egyptians for 400 years. Traumatized, they headed out into the desert. "Let my people go," implored Moses. The Exodus

The history of the world is replete with traumatized populations.

The US government traumatized alcohol imbibers during prohibition. Revenuers were chasing after booze runners for years. Now, cannabis imbibers are being traumatized day in and day out. It's been going on for decades. For centuries For eons For what?

Maybe that is why cannabis has a 9000 year history. It provides a fleeting moment of bliss in a world of hurt.

Suppressing unwanted memories? Use some cannabis. It provides an exodus from the world of hurt all of us experience everyday these days.

You can take some Prozac or some Zoloft and become a slave to the pharmaceutical industry. That can be done, too. However you want to do it. It's your traumatized life. The pharmaceutical industry profits handsomely from your trauma.

'It's up to you how you get your relief'- Rusty Wier

On an unrelated note, it seems that St. Helens is about to get her rocks off again!

USGS: Mount St. Helens could erupt within 24 hours http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/10/02/mount.st.helens/index.html

This sounds very much the way Marinol/Dronabinol is prepared. Coincidence? I think not.

THC suspension in an oil is intended to deny a way to collect and concentrate THC from several pills.

Funny how they don't try to do that to drugs like ... oh ... oxycondin? Vicodin? I suspect that few pharmaceuticals are manufactured in that way, THC, for sure, though, as you must know it is more dangerous to America than any other prohibited... or even ... legal drug.

Crazyworld

I should know - I barely survived an apallingly dysfunctional alcoholic backbiting backstabbing family and it helped tremendously.

Of course you cannot escape such a family, after I made it out of there and got my life together , they all joined the gang that poisons people and follows them around whistling - and then made up some evil stuff about me so they could collect bribes for having me tortured with poisons for the last 8 years.

Yep, pot is good for that post traumatic stuff. How come they don't poison drunks and backstabbing louts? Because they would have to poison themselves.