+ 18th December 2006| We are on the shelves

Printing has been completed, the mags have been bagged and ready for purchase. Various retailers across the country now have copies of the magazine for sale, the number of retailers is growing each day. You can find your nearest retailer to score your bag on our store locator.

For more information on the contents of our first issue, click here. ^ TOP

 

+ 4th October 2006 | New Site Launched...

We have just re-launched our website. We hope you like the new look and feel as we draw nearer to the launch of our first issue. Stay tuned to this website to stay informed on the latest with StickyPoint.^ TOP

 

+ 18th September 2006 | Willie Nelson hit with drug charges

Country singer-songwriter Willie Nelson and several fellow musicians were charged with misdemeanor drug possession by Louisiana police after a search of their tour bus on Monday turned up marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms.

State police spokesman Willie Williams said the bus was stopped early on Monday morning about 7 miles east of Lafayette, Louisiana, for a routine commercial inspection, and a state trooper smelled marijuana inside the bus.

State Police seized about 1-1/2 pounds (0.7 kg) of marijuana and two-tenths of a pound (91 grams) of mushrooms from the bus, Williams said.

Nelson and four other passengers on the bus were cited for possession and released, while the driver had his commercial driving privileges suspended in addition to being cited for possession. Nelson faces possible jail time of up to six months and an unspecified fine, police said.

"There was no trouble whatsoever," Williams said. "They were all cooperative."

A spokesman for Nelson said she had no information about the arrest.

Nelson, 73, has been an advocate for the legalization of marijuana. He became famous in the 1970s as part of the outlaw country movement that included influences from rock, jazz and folk music.

© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.^ TOP

 

+ September / October 2006 | Is There Still a Terrorist Threat?

From Foreign Affairs, September/October 2006 - By John Mueller

Despite all the ominous warnings of wily terrorists and imminent attacks, there has been neither a successful strike nor a close call in the United States since 9/11. The reasonable -- but rarely heard -- explanation is that there are no terrorists within the United States, and few have the means or the inclination to strike from abroad.

Click here to read the full story...

John Mueller is Professor of Political Science at Ohio State University and the author of "The Remnants of War." He is currently writing a book about reactions to terrorism and other perceived international threats that will be published early next year.^ TOP

 

+ 23rd August 2006 | Olbermann: the politics of fear (David Degraw)

With questions rising about the facts and timing of the recent foiled terrorist attacks in London, Keith Olbermann recaps the top ten occasions that the Bush administration used terror warnings and fear for political gain.

Using fear for political gain is nothing new. But the Bush administration has taken the art to a whole new level. In this devastating clip from Countdown, Keith Olbermann cites the top ten occasions that the administration resorted to fear propaganda to help them counter difficult political situations.

The list is astonishing. This video clearly demonstrates the pattern of Bush's media and fear manipulation.

Click Here to get the video.

David DeGraw is AlterNet's video blogger.^ TOP

 

+ 19th July 2006 | Alcohol law cannot be separated from cannabis law

From Press release Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party

Alcohol law cannot be separated from cannabis law in NZ

The Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party attended the hearings of the Law and Order Committee (Youth liquor harm reduction bill) in Christchurch today.

The bill is about raising the liquor purchasing age back up to 20, but ALCP pointed out raising the drinking age is only a 'band-aid' solution to youth binge drinking and associated bad attitudes. There are deeper cultural issues indicated as to why many youth are not responsibly observing the alcohol rules. Eighty percent of these young people have encountered cannabis.

This situation of cannabis law in disrepute undermines the alcohol rules. Unfortunately there is no age of consent for cannabis, and no age/id is required for its purchase on the black market.

So the party opposes the raising of the drinking age back to 20, because whatever the purchasing age for alcohol, Parliament really needs to review cannabis law fairly if there is to be genuine respect amongst young people.

The party highlighted the hypocrisy of criminalisation policy - which alienates many Kiwi from authority - and presented evidence that the double standards the youth perceive in the rules and regulations surrounding 'intoxicants'are at the heart of the problem facing the committee. ALCP quoted the 1998 parliament committee which found 'double standards are an impediment to effective anti-drug education' (p39 (conclusions), Inquiry into the Mental Health Effects of cannabis).

Party delegates told the committee about the scorn and derision youth have for the hypocritical rules imposed on them by Parliament. "No wonder its so hard for parents and teachers and police these days".

"Policy needs to be integrated" said president Kevin O'Connell. "You can't tackle problems with youth drinking and other risk-taking behaviours by handling alcohol alone."

"A consistent legal age is needed for genuine harm minimisation, which was what has been implied by two major select committee inquiries into cannabis in NZ since 1998.

ALCP had a good discussion with the MPs who acknowledged the party's connections with and concerns for youth. However, parliamentarians need to overcome the political difficulty involved in coming out and admitting cannabis law needs to be changed.^ TOP