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  1. Mar 2025
    1. Jin's operation was based in China, and he used encrypted communications and cryptocurrencies to conduct his business. The investigation involved a team of agents from various federal agencies, including the DEA, FBI, and IRS, who worked together to gather evidence and track down Jin's associates in the US. One of these associates, Bin Wang, was arrested in 2017 and later sentenced to six years in prison. The team discovered that Jin was using a company in Tonga to ship his packages, and that he was offering a wide range of synthetic opioids, including carfentanil and U-48800. As the investigation continued, the team found that Jin's operation was linked to numerous death cases across the US, and that he was using his websites to sell drugs to customers in the US. The team eventually identified Jin as Fujing Zheng, a 35-year-old man from Shanghai, and his father, Guanghua Zheng, who was 62. The Zhengs were found to be operating a sophisticated online drug trafficking operation, using encrypted communications and cryptocurrencies to conduct their business. Despite the evidence gathered, the Chinese government refused to extradite the Zhengs to the US, citing a lack of evidence. The US government eventually indicted the Zhengs and shut down their websites, but they remain at large in China. The investigation highlighted the challenges of combating online drug trafficking, particularly when it involves foreign nationals and jurisdictions.
    2. Leroy Steele, a local drug dealer, who had been purchasing fentanyl from a Chinese chemical company using the alias Gordon Jin. Detectives found emails and phone records showing Steele's communication with Jin, who was advertising fentanyl and other illegal drugs on the open internet. The detectives ordered fentanyl from Jin as part of their investigation, which was delivered to them in the mail.
    1. Valdez-Torres began producing fentanyl instead, creating a batch of ten kilos. He warned the cartel that the fentanyl needed to be diluted 50:1 to avoid killing users, but this warning was not heeded by street dealers. The fentanyl was sold as heroin, leading to many overdoses and deaths. The case was investigated by Ryan Rapaszky, who later saw the connection between this incident and the rising opioid epidemic in the US.
    2. unknown author named Siegfried, which describes a method for making fentanyl. This method, known as the Siegfried method, was later used by underground chemists to produce the drug. Fentanyl had benefits in medicine, but it also had a darker side, as it could be produced in a laboratory and replaced heroin, generating significant profits with minimal risk. The story then shifts to Dr. Michael Rhodes, a pain doctor in Tennessee, who was prescribing large amounts of OxyContin, a narcotic painkiller made by Purdue Pharma.
    3. As a result, meth lab seizures decreased, and the cooks and workers from Apatzingán returned to Mexico. The Mexican traffickers then shifted their focus to producing meth in Mexico, taking advantage of the country's access to world chemical markets and compromised authorities. This led to the creation of the modern Mexican meth trade, with traffickers controlling production from raw materials to finished product.
    4. Methamphetamine was initially produced by biker gangs in the US, but a new recipe using ephedrine was rediscovered in the 1980s. This method was easier and allowed for mass production, democratizing methamphetamine. Donald Stenger, a middle-class, organized individual, played a significant role in popularizing this method. He was eventually caught and died in 1988, but his innovation led to San Diego becoming a major meth production hub.
    5. The project, known as "the Project," is led by a chemist known as "the Brain," who is producing fentanyl, a painkiller that is far more powerful than morphine. The fentanyl is being manufactured in a lab in Mexico and is being sold on the streets of Chicago, leading to a rash of overdoses and deaths. Rapaszky's investigation leads him to uncover the truth about the Project and the Sinaloan traffickers' involvement in the fentanyl trade.

      not produced medically, produced by and for black market

    1. The figure of the grieving mother is a collectivity, with women characterized as part of a population of mothers with a collective experience of loss. Their dissent is practiced through invocations of a dead or imperiled soldier child, who signifies the claim to associative military masculinity. In contrast, the perspective of the returning veteran is grounded in individual experience. The film depicts women as caregivers, with their dissenting subjecthood derived from their relationships with men.
    2. this narrative of personal growth and triumph is complicated by the fact that Tomas's newfound power and authority are rooted in traditional masculine ideals. The film ultimately suggests that the military peace movement is shaped by masculinized privilege, which can be both productive and limiting.
    3. ement simultaneously targets and reinforces military authority, with masculine privilege producing hierarchies within experiences, truth claims, and dissenting subjecthoods. The article suggests that women's dissenting subjecthood is produced out of relational invocations of military masculinity, which limits their dissenting capacity and reinforces gendered relations of power.
    1. the challenge is for men to become personally and collectively reflective about masculine privilege without taking the lead in activism or intellectual discussions. The goal is to achieve a mutually understood analysis and a truly respectful partnership between women and men in peace movements, with a feminist analysis of violence and war being understood and accepted.
    2. White Ribbon Campaign, which originated in Canada and has a branch in England, is a group of men committed to discussing and ending male violence against women. However, there is a lack of groups of men in the anti-militarist and peace movements who analyze and resist the deformation of manhood by militarization. For war to end, men need to become self-aware and refuse the violence expected of them, and the association of masculinity with militarism. Some men, such as those in the Turkish conscientious objectors movement and South Korean anti-militarist men, are starting to listen to feminist ideas and take on board their perspectives.
  2. Feb 2025
    1. Reagan-era budgets proved so crippling for the FDA that the need for new personnel grew urgent

      FDA neoliberal deregulation (and privitisation) and less funding, neoliberal government didn't care enough about public health, FDA revolving door with pharmaceutical companies

    2. The FDA's revolving door policy, where officials move from the agency to industry jobs, has created conflicts of interest. A study found that 11 of 16 FDA medical examiners who worked on 28 drug approvals and then left the agency for new jobs are now employed by or consult for the companies they recently regulated.
    3. The expansion of the opioid supply was facilitated by the privatization of poppy fields. The US relies on imports of narcotic raw material, mainly from Turkey and India, to produce legal opioids. Johnson & Johnson, one of the certified importers, sought to change the regulations to allow for more imports from Australia, which would give them a competitive advantage. In the 1990s, Johnson & Johnson lobbied to undermine the "80-20" rule, which stipulated that at least 80% of the narcotic raw material imported into the US had to come from Turkey and India.
    4. failure to require Purdue to demonstrate the efficacy of opioids in treating chronic pain. The agency presumed that the drug was safe and effective based on prior approvals of oxycodone formulations, and the only question was whether the slow-release technology presented a competitive advantage over other similar drugs. The FDA's decision to approve OxyContin has been criticized for its lack of rigor and its failure to consider the long-term risks of opioid use.
    5. n the 1950s, the FDA partnered with the pharmaceutical industry, and drug makers benefited from the agency's regime of pre-market approval, which enhanced the prestige of their products. However, the industry also began to criticize the FDA for impinging on individual prerogatives and for being overly bureaucratic. In the 1960s, the Kefauver-Harris Amendments required drug manufacturers to satisfy a more stringent criterion of drug efficacy, leading to complaints from corporate executives about onerous bureaucratic procedures. The deregulation of the FDA gained momentum in the 1980s under President Ronald Reagan, who pursued a systematic approach to deregulation, including editorializing against the agency's authority and depriving it of funds. The Prescription Drug User Fee Act of 1992, supported by President George H.W. Bush and Senator Orrin Hatch, allowed the pharmaceutical industry to pay fees for new drug applications, which went towards hiring new medical examiners and expediting the review process. This act was presented as a way to supply the beleaguered agency with new funds, but it also raised concerns about the industry's influence over the FDA. Under President Bill Clinton, the FDA continued to regard the pharmaceutical industry as "partners, not adversaries," leading to concerns about overprescribing and oversupply. The User Fee Act was initially seen as a success, but it eventually led to the approval of dangerous drugs, highlighting the dangers of the FDA's close relationship with the industry.

      FDA close relationship with the pharmaceutical industry

    6. Neoliberalism, a conservative philosophy of governance, promoted deregulation and privatization, which enabled the pharmaceutical industry to expand its reach and influence. The FDA and other government agencies failed to regulate the industry effectively, allowing companies like Purdue Pharma to push their products aggressively and ignoring reports of abuse.
    1. Arthur Sackler became a publisher, starting a biweekly newspaper, the Medical Tribune, which eventually reached six hundred thousand physicians. He scoffed at suggestions that there was a conflict of interest between his roles as the head of a pharmaceutical-advertising company and the publisher of a periodical for doctors
    2. A man named Jeff, who struggled with addiction, shared his story of how he became hooked on opioids, including OxyContin, and eventually turned to heroin. He believes that his impulsive decision to try opioids as a teenager set him on a path of destruction. Jeff's story highlights the devastating consequences of the opioid epidemic, which has affected many lives.
    3. The reformulation of OxyContin has been linked to an increase in heroin overdoses, as users have turned to cheaper and more accessible alternatives. Purdue Pharma has acknowledged the opioid crisis, but maintains that it has taken steps to address it, including sponsoring prescription monitoring programs and underwriting drug-abuse education. However, critics argue that the company's actions are insufficient and that it has not done enough to prevent the addiction and overdose associated with OxyContin.
    4. This led to a shift in the culture of prescribing, which has been linked to the opioid crisis. Experts, including Andrew Kolodny, the co-director of the Opioid Policy Research Collaborative, attribute the lion's share of the blame for the crisis to Purdue's actions. The Sacklers' wealth has been built on the backs of millions of people who have become addicted to OxyContin, and their philanthropic efforts have not made up for the harm caused by their business practices.
    1. After their stay in Britain, Dikko and his entourage sailed to Jeddah to perform the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca. This trip was facilitated by the British government, which arranged for visas and entry permits. The pilgrimage was a private spiritual undertaking for Dikko, separate from his British adventures.

      maybe his original goal- Britain a stopping point, have his power validated by the big imperial powers of the time

    2. These trips were facilitated by British colonizers, who saw them as part of a broader project of exhibiting British metropolitan civilization to allegedly impressionable African colonial subjects. Dikko, a wealthy Muslim king and colonial intermediary, paid for the trips but received permission and extensive logistical support from British colonial and metropolitan authorities.

      shown what they want him to see

    3. British newspapers and publications reported on Dikko's itinerary, often featuring photos of him and his entourage. The Illustrated London News published a picture of the male members of the group, while The Leeds Mercury displayed a photo of the two women in the delegation. Dikko and his group visited the Wembley British Empire Exhibition, where they saw a replica of the famous clay walls of Kano city, a gate fashioned in Nigeria, and a Nigerian Pavilion designed to resemble an emir's palace compound. The pavilion housed seventy African men, women, and children living in mud and straw huts, cooking their own meals, and conducting daily affairs. Dikko's presence at the exhibition was meant to authenticate the display, but he and his party became part of the exhibition, with some colonial correspondents referring to them as a "naturalistic attraction." Despite the racial undertones of the exhibition, Dikko seemed to enjoy the experience, marveling at the accurate depiction of a Hausa village setting. Dikko's visit to Britain was part of a larger practice of imperial courtship and patronage, where colonial intermediaries were cultivated and feted with contrived hospitality. The trips to Britain represented attempts to dazzle Dikko and his entourage, giving them a glimpse into the might and modernity of the empire. For Dikko, the trips carried prestige and enhanced his mediatory repertoire, enabling him to carve out a position of exclusive local knowledge and expertise on British metropolitan society among his peers and subjects.

      British publicity and dazzling colonial subjects, theatrical displays

    4. He frequently used the trope of "magic" to describe the technologies and practices he did not fully understand. This trope was common in West African encounters with European colonizers, who were often seen as possessing mysterious powers and magical properties. Throughout his journal, Dikko emphasizes the importance of personal observation and experience. He often states that certain things are "difficult to describe" or "very difficult to describe," implying that his readers would need to see these wonders for themselves to fully appreciate them. This narrative strategy allowed Dikko to maintain his authority as a traveler and observer, while also encouraging his readers to imagine and fantasize about the wonders of Britain.
    1. Private militias have provided criminal groups with greater mobility and fighting power, enabling them to engage in large-scale violence and seek control of criminal markets and territories beyond their home towns. The Mexican case highlights the need for democratic elites to reform authoritarian judicial and security institutions and to punish state agents who protected organized crime, in order to prevent the intertwining of democratic politics and the criminal underworld.
    2. In Mexico, the transition from authoritarian rule to democracy did not introduce major security-sector reforms, making the expansion of OCGs and the outbreak of large-scale criminal violence more probable. Subnational political alternation, particularly the variation in party alternation across subnational regions, can also contribute to the outbreak of criminal wars. The structure of informal networks of government protection for criminals forged during the authoritarian period is crucial in understanding this link.
    1. The Peña Nieto administration in Mexico proposed a government commission to spend $9 billion to combat drug violence in the most violent municipalities. The plan included longer school days, drug-addiction treatment programs, and public-works projects. The administration also focused on disrupting street gangs and criminals hired by cartels, rather than targeting top drug traffickers. However, despite initial gains, violence in rural Mexico surged again by 2017 due to Mexican cartels' increased involvement in the heroin market and the boom in methamphetamine production.
    2. The US government provided funding and training to the Mexican government to fight the cartels, but the efforts were criticized for being ineffective and corrupt. The Mérida Initiative, a $2.3 billion plan, was launched to help Mexico confront threats to its national security, but much of the money went to private US contractor corporations. Corruption was a significant problem, with cartel gunmen killing over 2,200 policemen, 200 soldiers, and scores of federal officials. The cartels also infiltrated the government, with many officials being bribed or working directly for the cartels. The drug trade was linked to Mexico's incomplete transition to democracy, and the cartels took over essential local and regional administrative functions in many regions.
    1. The Zetas' business model was based on imposing protection fees on businesses, including illegal activities such as drug trafficking, and licit businesses such as farming and shopkeeping. Those who refused to pay were killed or threatened with violence. This led to a culture of fear and intimidation, where businesses were forced to pay protection fees to avoid violence. The violence in Mexico was further fueled by the struggle between powerful groups for control of drug protection rackets and the pursuit of aggressive counternarcotics policing. This led to a cycle of violence, where struggles between rival groups sparked aggressive policing, and aggressive policing generated increasing struggles between rival groups.
    2. New organizations emerged, armed with high-caliber weapons and prepacked political creeds and religious messages. The Familia Michoacana, a Sinaloa-linked group, tossed the heads of five Zetas into a Michoacán bar, declaring that they did not kill for money, but for divine justice. The conflict continued to spread throughout Mexico, with cartels fighting each other, and soldiers and police often caught in the middle.
  3. Jan 2025
    1. The development of drone warfare is linked to a masculine framework of thinking, where the fleshy body is seen as getting in the way of war. Drones are presented as more reliable, intelligent, and vigilant than humans, and are seen as surpassing all human limitations. This masculine framework is evident in the way drones are represented as "just warriors," more humane in their precision and rational calculations. The relationship between masculinity and vision is also explored, where vision is seen as a way to signify a leap out of the marked body and into the conquering gaze from nowhere.
    1. The technostrategic discourses of drone warfare also distance the use of lethal technology from its deadly consequences, using rational language, euphemism, and abstraction. The altered spatiotemporal experience of drone warfare makes killing easier, but it also raises questions about the masculinity of drone operators. They are often depicted as being in the domestic sphere, juxtaposing their combat experience with running errands for their spouses or coaching a kids' soccer team.
    1. Crack was a global business, with cocaine coming from South America and being distributed through international networks. However, it was disproportionately low-income African Americans who sold and used crack at the local level. The drug was cheap, accessible, and offered a quick escape from the hardships of daily life.
    1. making everyone who was stoned a part of an "illegal nation." Government authorities and parents saw illegal drug use as a dangerous practice, and many antidrug advocates made little effort to differentiate between illegal drugs. The criminalization of LSD made its use both more dangerous and more a clear sign of cultural rebellion. Just by using LSD or marijuana, an individual was declaring themselves an opponent of the status quo willing to go to jail in pursuit of a favorite form of altered consciousness.
    1. The media played a significant role in shaping public perception by emphasizing the dangers of drugs, affecting both public and medical views on LSD and its users. Psychedelic experts, who also used the drug, faced a dilemma between their professional roles and political pressures. By the late 1960s, the credibility of psychedelic psychiatry was questioned, and therapists were seen as unqualified to address LSD abuse.
  4. Dec 2024
    1. he methodology of unease led the authors to consider their own politico-ethical accountability to those who have been raped and those who have raped.

      link to discourse analysis

    2. military is a key institution where boys and men learn to embody a particular form of masculinity that celebrates violence, order, and domination. This process involves the breaking down of the civilian identity and the building up of a macho soldier identity, which is associated with heterosexual masculinity. In contrast, women and femininity are stereotypically associated with peacefulness, life-giving, and a need for protection. This dichotomy renders women and girls vulnerable to rape in conflict and post-conflict settings. Rape is often used as a weapon of war to punish, humiliate, or torture women who are perceived as challenging traditional notions of femininity and masculinity. It is also used to destroy the fabric of society by targeting women who are seen as bearers of ethno-national identity. The rape of "enemy" women is a way to feminize and humiliate the enemy, and it is often used as a means to destroy the enemy's sense of masculinity and identity.
    1. he analysis reveals that media coverage is dominated by five themes: military justice, institutional structure, culture, gender/gender integration, and change. Gender is a relatively minor focus throughout media coverage, with attention to court cases dominating the majority of the coverage.
    1. The use of stimulants during World War II led to addiction problems among soldiers on all sides. In Japan, the problem was particularly severe, and the country experienced its first drug epidemic. Many soldiers and factory workers who had become hooked on the drug during the war continued to consume it into the postwar years.

      left countries with high rates of addiction

    1. media portrayed Chinese and Korean individuals as suppliers of the drug, allowing the Japanese to cast themselves as victims of "pollution" by those they had wronged. This depiction implicitly absolved guilt for imperial opium operations on the Asian mainland. By 1954, 58.1% of suspects arrested for violating the Ban on Stimulant Drugs showed signs of hiropon addiction, and an estimated 1.5 million Japanese were stimulants users.

      mass incarceration was lokey successful, Koreans specifically discriminated against

  5. Nov 2024
    1. patriarchal confusion to challenge and transform military cultures, and that looking for sites of patriarchal confusion can be a productive way to respond to the challenge of promoting diversity and inclusion in the military. The study suggests that patriarchal confusion can be exploited as a strategy for disrupting and challenging contemporary patriarchy, which has practical implications for feminist politics.
    1. These arrests often involved Asian and African men selling to white girls, reflecting Britain's racial and colonial relationships. The interwar years saw a shift in drug use, from medical or iatrogenic addiction to hedonistic drug use.
    2. During World War II, there was a significant increase in the number of Chinese sailors coming to Britain, many of whom were opium smokers. This led to concerns about the spread of opium smoking, and there were attempts to set up a clinic to treat Chinese sailors.
    1. 1988 Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances was adopted by consensus at a conference in Vienna in 1988. The Convention aimed to provide more effective weapons against the illicit drug trade, which had become a growing concern due to the influence of organized crime groups. The Convention is an instrument of international criminal law, designed to globally harmonize national criminal laws and enforcement actions to decrease illicit drug trafficking by criminalization and punishment.

      response to violence of cartels, expanded to every stage of drugs market, legitimises the military to be used on drug traffickers.

    2. reflected the influence of Western manufacturing countries, which sought to protect their commercial interests. The 1972 Amending Protocol to the Single Convention strengthened the international drug control system, but maintained its prohibitive ethos and supply-side focus. The Protocol expanded provisions for treatment, rehabilitation, and prevention measures, but did not fundamentally change the Single Convention.
    1. The Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) focused on punishing users in the informal market, while largely ignoring the medical market. This led to a misreading of the situation, where authorities attributed the success of the medical market to the "good customers" rather than the more humane and effective policies. As a result, the medical market remained relatively invisible, and its lessons were not applied to future drug policy.

      good customers not better policies recognised