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Bill McKibben, Schumann Distinguished Scholar at Middlebury College and author of a dozen books about the environment, beginning with "The End of Nature" in 1989, which is regarded as the first book for a general audience on climate change. The group he founded, 350.org, has coordinated 15,000 rallies in 189 countries since 2009. The Boston Globe said in 2010 that he was "probably the country’s most important environmentalist."
Alexis Tsipras, a member of the Hellenic parliament, president of the Synaspismos political party since 2008, head of the SYRIZA parliamentary group since 2009, and leader of the Opposition since June 2012. SYRIZA currently leads in Greek opinion polls. Listen to the audio here.
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"Rand Paul: Making a Point," by Reginald Johnson, March 8, 2013
"The Bipartisan Gift: Budget Cuts," by Reginald Johnson, March 2, 2013
"Fighting for Gun Control," by Reginald Johnson, Feb. 18, 2013
"Tyranny of the Minority," by Reginald Johnson, Jan. 28, 2013
"Is President Obama About to Betray Those Who Re-elected Him Less than 2 Months Ago?" by Scott Harris, Dec. 21, 2012
"Will the Slaughter of the Innocents in Newtown Lead to Gun Law Reform in U.S.?" by Scott Harris and Anna Manzo, Dec. 16, 2012
"My Friend in Sandy Hook," by Doug Moss, posted by Scott Harris, Dec. 16, 2012
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Posted Aug. 17, 2011
Interview with Terry Nelson, retired U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent, conducted by Melinda Tuhus
In October 2009, the U.S. Border Patrol fired a probationary employee, Bryan Gonzalez, just before his two-year probationary period was up. He was terminated for the personal opinions he expressed several months earlier to a fellow officer. Gonzalez told his co-worker that the best way to reduce drug-related violence on the U.S.-Mexico border was by legalizing narcotics. He also stated that as a Mexican-American, he understood why many Mexicans felt they had no choice but to try to enter the U.S. without documents in search of jobs. On Jan. 20 of this year, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico filed a lawsuit against the Border Patrol for firing Gonzalez on the basis of his personal beliefs expressed in a casual conversation, rather than his job performance.
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition or LEAP, is supporting Gonzalez. The group is made up of 30,000 mostly retired police, judges, prosecutors and others who believe the U.S. drug war, which was launched in June 1971, has been an expensive failure and that legalizing and taxing drugs would reduce violence.
Between The Lines’ Melinda Tuhus spoke with Terry Nelson, a retired U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent who spent 30 years fighting the drug war on the U.S./Mexico border, and throughout Central and South America. He discusses the cost of the drug war in terms of lives ruined and tax dollars expended while offering an alternative vision for reform.
For more information on the work of LEAP, visit www.leap.cc.
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