The
Narco News Bulletin
Letters to the
Publisher
Narco News letters policy:
We accept letters that
directly respond to stories in our publication. We consider the
letters page a kind of Talk Radio program of the written word;
we accept all calls. (Contestamos,
igual, a comunicados
en español.) We encourage views distinct from
our own, and we will respond, as rapidly as we can (excuse us,
please, because sometimes we are in the field, away from computers
and telephones). Given the nature of our topics, Narco News
also accepts anonymous letters. We protect our sources. We believe
that your truth, in free speech and exchange with our truth,
makes a bigger truth.
A18:
April 18, 2000
New York City
Dear Alberto Giordano,
Hello. I'm the affiliates manager at MediaChannel.
Danny Schechter has forwarded your message
to me about the launch of The Narco News Bulletin -- congrats!!
We've looked at the site and it's terrific. We would like to
invite you to become a MediaChannel affiliate. We would like
to link to your site, call attention to your work, and drive
traffic to your pages.
In addition, we would love to get advance
notice of media stories on your site. Please direct any advance
info on stories or other editorial correspondence to Aliza Dichter,
Editorial Producer, editor@mediachannel.org.
We hope you will take part in MediaChannel.
We would all be thrilled to add The
Narco News Bulletin to our affiliates list.
All best,
Andrew Levy
Affiliate Manager
MediaChannel
Andrew@mediachannel.org
Publisher's response:
Thank you, Andrew Levy, and saludos to the good people at The
Media Channel, one of the few truly international examples of
Authentic Journalism. We are honored to receive
the privilege of expressing our solidarity with hundreds of Authentic Journalism organizations
around the world -- in many languages -- who are affiliates of
The
Media Channel.
Authentic Journalism
is, in our view, something distinct and wider than "alternative"
journalism, a term that is more common in North America.
When I think of Authentic
Journalists in the United States, I think of Danny Schechter
-- "the news dissector" as he is known by countless
radio listeners and television viewers on the Eastern Seaboard.
Schecter is the inventor and director of The Media Channel. He
is also the author of "The
More You Watch the Less you Know" (Seven Stories Press, 1997), a book that reveals
the inner machinations of the Media industry in Gringolandia.
Another time we will explain what we mean at Narco News by "Authentic
Journalism." Meanwhile, we recommend Walter
Cronkite's internet video broadcast, in which he asks people to tune in to The Media
Channel.
On this 18th of April
of 00, The Narco News Bulletin is proud to announce its affiliation
with The Media Channel. We extend the hand of friendship to The
Media Channel and its affiliates around the world. Check it out:
From somewhere
in a country called America,
Al Giordano
April 18, 2000
Mérida, Yucatán,
México
The directors of the daily Por Esto!
unite fraternal forces of friendship and its consequent solidarity
in the struggle toward common goals, wishes the best and emphasizes
the worthy efforts of Al Giordano to whom it wishes all kinds
of success; successes that are also shared by Por Esto!
Mario Renato Menéndez
Rodríguez
publisher and editor, Por
Esto!
(translated from the original
Spanish)
Publisher's response:
Thank you, don
Mario and to everyone at Por
Esto!, which
on March 21 celebrated its 9th anniversary as a daily, and is
already the third most widely read daily in Mexico, and the paper
with largest combined circulation throughout the Yucatán
peninsula. The pages of The Narco News Bulletin are filled
with stories from Por Esto! because they are second to none
in their coverage of the drug war, and second to none in their
courage in the face of blatant and violent persecution by corrupt
authorities.
As the Boston Phoenix reported in its story about Narco
News this week, I left the media industry four years ago
believing that Authentic Journalism no longer existed. Mario
Menéndez and the authentic journalists at Por Esto! proved me wrong; that's a fact
that leads, today, to the birth of The Narco News Bulletin. ¡Un
abrazote! ¡Hasta la victoria, siempre!
From somewhere
in a country called America,
Al Giordano
A20:
April 20, 2000
New York City
Hi Al,
Congratulations on launching your website,
The Narco News Bulletin. Although we have barely had time
between arriving back from the IMF/World Bank protests in Washington,
doing the "Let Em Talk" radio show last night,
and heading down to City Hall to meet the Haitian Coalition for
Justice march that is coming right now across the Brooklyn Bridge,
both of us have squeezed in a look at The Narco News Bulletin.
We are very excited and plan to create
links from our webpages to yours.
I got an email from (the great international
photojournalist) Lina Palotta in Italy and sent her your new
URL.
Love,
Joanie
Miss Joan Marie Moossy and
Paul DiRienzo
co-hosts of WBAI 99.5 FM New
York's "Let Em Talk" program
Publisher's response:
Thanks Joanie and Paul! I love your reports because you are always
at the front lines, gathering the truth for and with the people.
Check out the "Let
Em Talk" web
site and its great library of internet radio programs. We also
send our warmest wishes to Lina Palotta in Naples, Italy.
Washington, DC
April 20, 2000
Dear Alberto,
This is César Romero of the US
bureau of (the Mexican national daily) Reforma.
I congratulate you for your web page and
wish you a lot of luck.
In the off-line world, I live in Washington
and the newspaper for which I work is in Mexico.
The theme of your Bulletin interests me.
I will surely be one of your most assiduous readers.
Saludos,
César Romero
US Bureau Chief, the Reforma
newspaper
(translated from the original
Spanish)
Publisher's response:
Your letter shows
that, one, you are quick on the draw, as you discovered The
Narco News Bulletin within hours of its launch, and, two,
that you are decent human being. The Washington Press corps is
so full of hubris, envy and jealousy between "journalists"
that it's a special one who can hold out the hand of solidarity
and communication out to others. ¡Saludos! Our readers
can find César's original works from Washington in Spanish
at the national Reforma web site. And The Narco News
Bulletin stands ready to translate and publish those on the
international drug policy theme.
From somewhere
in a country called America,
Al Giordano
April 20, 2000
Mexico City
Alberto,
Congratulations for this effort. In the
next issue of La Crisis we will dedicate a wide space
to your page....
an embrace,
Carlos Ramírez
editor and publisher, La
Crisis
Publisher's response:
Carlos Ramírez
is a 26-year veteran Mexican journalist, with a daily column
in the nation's most widely read newspaper, El Universal, and that is published in 30 other
newspapers around the world. His weekly, La Crisis, also enjoys wide readership throughout
the Mexican Republic because he and his collaborators are bold
and unafraid to take on the powerful and speak their minds. We've
linked to some of those stories already in this issue. Ramírez
and his collaborators are especially astute in their analysis
of US-Mexican relations (one edition of La Crisis, based in Los Angeles, is a top
seller among Mexican Americans in California). The Narco News
Bulletin looks forward to the next issue of La Crisis,
and to every column -- Sunday through Friday -- by Carlos Ramírez
in El Universal.
From somewhere
in a country called America,
Al Giordano
San Francisco, California
April 20, 2000
Looks great Al. How will you get eyeballs?
Links? PR? I'll spread the word...
Jim Gollin
Director
The Angelica Foundation
Publisher's response: The Narco News Bulletin, as we
writ on our LINKS page, would not be possible without the support
of The
Angelica Foundation.
They paid for our computer. They fund a lot of important human
rights and drug policy work throughout the hemisphere. At the
Narco News Bulletin, we will continue working 'round-the-clock
to make Jim and everyone at The
Angelica Foundation
proud of their investment in authentic journalism.
From somewhere
in a country called America,
Al Giordano
Washington, DC
April 20, 2000
Your site looks very useful indeed --
I've put up a couple links to it, from our drugs page and from
our Latin America page.
Jim Naureckas
FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy
in Reporting)
Publisher's response: Jim Naureckas and the tireless
folks at FAIR have labored many years to keep
an eye on the US and global media. They are feared in newsrooms
and corporate boardrooms throughout the Fourth Estate. When FAIR speaks, they have great credibility.
Errant media outlets are forced to respond. This happened recently,
when CNN TV -- Ted Turner's Cable News Network -- was forced
to write a response to a FAIR exposé that CNN, during
the Kosovo war, allowed US military "psyops" -- psychological
operators -- inside their newsroom, posing as interns, to spy
upon the TV journalists and (although CNN and the Pentagon deny
it) influence the press coverage. FAIR forced CNN to announce that they have imposed
a new policy that prohibits those "psyops" from ever
working there again. And the scandal has legs: National Public
Radio, in the United States, has just been caught for having
allowed the same "psyops" into their newsroom. Without
FAIR, the Pentagon would still be getting
away with it. We recommend FAIR's
webpage, and their
excellent sections on drug
war and Latin
America coverage,
as well as their newsletter, EXTRA!, long a must-read in newsrooms
across the United States.
From somewhere
in a country called America,
Al Giordano
Morristown, New Jersey, USA
April 20, 2000
Al:
It's great to see that you're still cooking.
I'll link to your site with this message:
The Narco News Bulletin http://www.narconews.com/
is an up-to-date listing of the latest perfidy of the U.S.'s
international narco policing efforts. That it is the target of
the Drug Czar is reason enough to see what Narco News has turned
up.
Stanton Peele, M.D.
Publisher's response:
I read Stanton Peele's
book, "The
Diseasing of America,"
in 1989 and have
followed his work ever since. He is one of the few great intellectuals
left in my country. He is also a very skilled writer and communicator,
who researches the subjects of addiction and drug abuse from a
medical perspective, in such a thorough manner that drug warriors
don't even want to tangle with him. Now he's just earned a law
degree. The guy is unstoppable. The web site he's mentioned in
this letter -- The
Stanton Peele Addiction Web Site -- is very popular. We're sure it will bring us
new readers. It means a lot to us, Stanton, that you've written
and gifted us this link. Please keep us posted on your ongoing
investigations.
The Narco News Bulletin,
recommended by Stanton Peele...
From somewhere
in a country called America,
Al Giordano
A23
April 23, 2000
Quintana Roo, Mexico
Finally, someone has the balls
to tell the truth about US narco policies.
God keep you with us all the
time.
an admirer from
Quintana Roo,
Diego Armando
A24
Brevard, North Carolina,
USA
April 24, 2000
Dear Al:
After perusing your site today,
I feel that I can use your first name, although we have never
met. I must say that finding a blurb about your site on MAPINC
was a very lucky thing. I don't know if you have heard of or read
Richard Cowan's site "marijuananews.com",
but I think he aims to do here in DEA-land what you are doing
south of the border. I welcome that, as the countries of Mexico,
Bolivia, Peru, Columbia, et al, are where the real business-end
of the Drug War takes place. We here in the land of the free only
receive filtered reports of what happens elsewhere; and judging
from
my reading of your site today, much more filtered than I could
possibly imagine. Keep up the good work, and I look forward to
making your site daily reading, and educating as many others as
I can.
Stephen H. Novak
Attorney at Law
602 South Caldwell Street
Brevard, NC 28712
(828) 884-2334
stevenov@citcom.net
Publisher's response:
As an attorney in the United States, you know the score. I saw
this time and time again when I covered crime and politics for
US newspapers. It's a common story: A defendant gets arrested
with, say, eight kilos of illegal drugs. Suddenly he's charged
with possessing four kilos. He's not going to say to the judge,
"Um, your honor, I really had twice as many drugs,"
because that would bring him more prison time. The rest is sold
on the illegal market by the very same officials charged with
combatting the drug war.
The corruption is not
just south of the border. It follows the prohibition wherever
it goes. I would make one correction to your letter -- and I'll
bet you'll understand. The "real business end of the drug
war" is not in Latin America. It is in the same United States.
For 80 percent of all illegal drug proceeds go to the giant banks
and financial businesses that launder the money. Latin America
is merely the place where US officials have tried to displace
the violent part of the business (in this, they have failed as
well, as the prohibition-related violence grows in the US and
the "developed world" too). One of the goals of The
Narco News Bulletin is to bring the evidence to the people of
the United States that their government is as corrupted, or moreso,
by the prohibition. So I thank you for your thoughtful letter,
and we'll keep reporting the facts to force these stories onto
the docket of the US media.
From somewhere
in a country called America,
Al Giordano
A26
Longmeadow, Massachusetts,
USA
April 26, 2000
Dear Al,
When the Talkers Magazine New Media Seminar
is over and I have a chance to think clearly... I will give you
a bunch of mentions and a FREE classified ad in Talkers. It would
be real cool if you wrote an article about your project and adventures
(from a talk radio perspective).
Michael Harrison
publisher
Talkers Magazine
host, Talk Radio Weekly Countdown
Publisher responds: When
I met Mike Harrison in the late 1980s, we were both daily talk
radio hosts in Massachusetts, and he was starting a new magazine,
TALKERS, dedicated to the world of talk
radio. TALKERS is about to celebrate its 10th anniversary. It
is now the bible of talk radio hosts, producers, station managers,
everybody who wakes up each morning -- some of them very early
-- and goes to the colisseum, er, microphone to speak their minds
and take phone calls from the public.
The Narco News Bulletin
recommends TALKERS magazine to anyone and everyone
who wants to make the world better and reach the working people
of the United States. The readers of talkers -- the shows hosts
-- speak to millions of people every day, in every media market
from sea to shining sea. I have written articles for TALKERS before
and had huge response from talk radio hosts, and through them,
their listeners and participants in the public.
We congratulate Mike Harrison
and everyone at TALKERS on their 10th anniversary, and
wish them the best of luck with their New Media Seminar in
New York City this
weekend.
A28
Washington, DC
April 28, 2000
Al,
The site is, of course, great. It's hard
to imagine a better medium for you to go on the attack on these
issues, and to break through the media filters of the US media.
I fully expect that your hit rate will
go up for a while, as people discover what a resource you are
creating.
It is, of course, important for you to
do everything you can to keep your content current. My guess would
be that as word of the site spreads, you will find new content
arriving unbidden on your doorstep every day. The voice is critical,
and I think you're angry and nasty enough, without getting too
far over the edge and making people think you're a crank. You've
done this all before, like your radio show, so I'm sure you have
a good sense of how far to go.
The use of Bolivar is a very good idea.
As (a great political consultant of our mutual acquaintance) used
to say, you want to get on the highest moral ground you can find,
and Bolivar allows you to connect with some wonderful moral historical
roots.
Thanks for making the effort to get through
with the news. I look forward to following the development of
the site.
Your friend,
Publisher responds: Coming from Dick Bell, that's real
praise! I first bumped across Dick when I was in my teens, blockading
the Seabrook nuclear plant in New Hampshire, and Dick was a press
secretary for the anti-nuclear Clamshell Alliance. Later I read
his book, NUKESPEAK, and, years later in 1984 we worked side by
side in the political campaign of United States Senator John Kerry
(yes, your publisher has these sorts of skeletons in his closet).
Dick later launched the national Democratic Party in the US into
cyberspace. Now he's vice president for communications of the
very respectable and worthwhile Worldwatch organization, that works on behalf of the environment
and human rights across the globe. He's one of the few people
I know in Washington DC with access to the highest of political
circles who never, ever, became corrupted by the beltway. That's
a huge accomplishment and we appreciate very much, Dick, your
counsel.
From somewhere
in a country called America,
Al Giordano
Texas, USA
April 28, 2000
Great looking site. The people of Mexico
and the people of the U.S. should work together to end this drug
war.
The people should have the power, not the governments.
They work to slow. We demand changes be
made now!!
Rick Patterson
Texas
Sacramento, California, USA
April 28, 2000
I'm a journalist in Sacramento, CA. Great
job on the site.
I'll try to generate some publicity about
it at this end .
Raymond Cushing
Sacramento, CA
Oklahoma City, USA
April 28, 2000
The American people have been lied to so
much by our government that who knows what the truth is.
You seem to come closer than any of the
media in the U.S.
It's time our eyes were opened. Keep up
the good work.
Lloyd E. Powell
Oklahoma City, OK.
Boston, Massachusetts
April 28, 2000
Saludos, Alberto,
¡Buena suerte!
-- Davíd
David Brudnoy
Boston
Publisher responds: WBZ
Radio 1030 AM in Boston has the widest reaching radio signal
on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States: 50,000 watts of
power with no other station within range on the same frequency.
Especially at night, when AM radio waves travel farther and clearer.
Every weeknight from 7 p.m. to midnight, David Brudnoy broadcasts
his thinking person's talk radio show. He receives calls from
Canada, from Central America, from Michigan, Kentucky, New York,
Philadelphia, Washington and of course from all over New England.
He has a tremendous listenership because he is one of the only
talk hosts, for example, who reads the books of the authors who
appear on his show. WBZ should put David's show on the internet!
I'm really super pleased that David has found The Narco News
Bulletin and perhaps sometime we will go on his show to talk
about our journalistic mission. If so, you, the Narco News
readers, will be the first to know!
Hello, you're on the air....