Drug wars

Drug wars or drug war may refer to:

Gary Webb

Gary Stephen Webb (August 31, 1955 – December 10, 2004) was an American investigative reporter. He began his career working for newspapers in Kentucky and Ohio, winning numerous awards and building a strong reputation for investigative writing. Hired by the San Jose Mercury News, Webb contributed to the paper's Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the Loma Prieta earthquake. Webb is best known for his "Dark Alliance" series, which appeared in the Mercury News in 1996. The series examined the origins of the crack-cocaine trade in Los Angeles and claimed that members of the anti-government Contra rebels in Nicaragua had played a major role in creating the trade, using cocaine profits to support their struggle. It also suggested that the Contras may have acted with the knowledge and protection of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The series provoked outrage in Los Angeles, particularly in the African-American community, and led to four major investigations of its charges.

The series became even more controversial when the Los Angeles Times and other major papers published articles suggesting its claims were overstated. After an internal review, the Mercury News ultimately published a statement in May 1997 acknowledging shortcomings in the series' reporting and editing. Webb resigned from the Mercury News in December 1997. He became an investigator for the California State Legislature, publishing a book based on the "Dark Alliance" series in 1998, and doing freelance investigative reporting. Webb committed suicide on December 10, 2004.

San Jose Mercury News

The San Jose Mercury News is an American daily newspaper, published in San Jose, California. It is owned by Media News Group. The Mercury News encompasses all other Bay Area newspapers owned by Media News Group, including the Oakland Tribune, Contra Costa Times, Marin Independent Journal, San Mateo County Times, Santa Cruz Sentinel, and 10 other local daily newspapers, each of which are branded as "an edition of the San Jose Mercury News," which accounts for the newspaper's high circulation.

History

The San Jose Mercury was founded in 1851 as the San Jose Weekly Visitor, while the San Jose News was founded in 1883. In 1942, the Mercury purchased the News and continued publishing both newspapers, with the Mercury as the morning paper and the News as the evening paper. In 1983, the newspapers were merged into the San Jose Mercury News, with morning and afternoon editions. The afternoon edition was later abandoned.

The paper says that the name "Mercury" refers to the importance of the mercury industry during the California Gold Rush, when the city's New Almaden Mines (now Almaden Quicksilver County Park) were the largest producer of mercury in North America. The name has a dual meaning, as Mercury is the Roman messenger of the gods as well as the god of commerce and thieves, known for his swiftness, and the name Mercury is commonly used for newspapers without the quicksilver association.

Dark Alliance

Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion is a 1998 book by journalist Gary Webb. The book is based on "Dark Alliance", Webb's three-part investigative series published in the San Jose Mercury News in August 1996. The original series claimed that, in order to help raise funds for efforts against the Nicaraguan Sandinista National Liberation Front Sandinista government, the CIA supported cocaine trafficking into the US by top members of Nicaraguan Contra Rebel organizations and allowed the subsequent crack epidemic to spread in Los Angeles. The book expands on the series and recounts media reaction to Webb's original newspaper expose.

Webb supports his thesis with the testimony of cocaine smugglers Oscar Danilo Blandón and Juan Norwin Meneses, as well as documents acquired through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). He also took much from the earlier reporting on the Iran–Contra affair by Robert Parry, whose footsteps he followed in his investigation for the piece.

101 East

101 East is a weekly television programme, broadcast by Al Jazeera English and Al Jazeera America, that focuses on current affairs in Asia and the Pacific.

The programme is presented from various locations across Asia and features in-depth reports of the particular issues affecting the different parts of the region. In the past, it has also hosted interviews and panel discussions.

The show launched in November 2006, at the same time as Al Jazeera English itself, and remains the channel's flagship Asia-Pacific current affairs show.

Panel discussions used to take place in the Al Jazeera studios in Kuala Lumpur, in Malaysia. In more recent times they were held at various locations appropriate to the theme of the discussion.

101 East airs each week on Al Jazeera English at 22:30GMT on Thursdays, 09:30GMT on Fridays, 03:30GMT on Saturdays, and 16:30GMT on Sundays.

Team

The show was hosted by Teymoor Nabili for two years, from its launch to August 2008.Fauziah Ibrahim then took over, from September 2008 to 2012.