My Mathmatical Mood...A 456 Billion Dollar War

I found myself in a mathematical mood the other day. I started thinking about theoretical musical concepts, different ways to break up the day, patterns in the ceiling and so on. Eventually, as human thoughts often do, mine turned to money. I began thinking about the money spent on the war.

By September it is believed the war will have coast $456 billion. The majority of the United States and certainly the majority of the world now believe the war in Iraq was a tragic and utter mistake. When I make a mistake spending my own money I usually wonder “what if…” well, what if we used $456 billion for other things?

Until recently Detroit was considered the poorest city in the United States (now at number two). The city of Detroit has a population of 888,675. One third of its population lives in poverty, that’s 296,225 persons. The poverty line lays at $19,157 per year for a home of four. So if we split a third of the population living in poverty into groupings of four (representing individual families) we will get 74,056.25. What if instead of having spent the money on the war we spent it on the poor in Detroit? Before we figure out a number lets avoid any skepticism. Lets pretend the families are completely broke, I mean $0, no money what so ever. Here we go…
456,000,000,000 / 74,056.25 = 6,157,481.644021
The families would receive over six million dollars apiece. Not only would poverty be eliminated in Detroit, the Poor would join the economic high class of society. This got me thinking about the poor all over the country.

There are 37 million persons living at poverty level in the United States, that’s 9 million and 250 thousand Families. What if the $456 billion was distributed to them? Lets again pretend these families have $0, absolutely NOTHING. Here we go…
456,000,000,000 / 9,250,000 = 49,297,29797
The families would receive over forty nine thousand dollars. ALL poverty in the United States, (every city, every town, every home etc.) would be wiped out for at least an entire year. And of course with the economic hand the poor would have a fair chance to continue a middle class life in years to come.

$456 billion could create seemingly endless change. Healthcare could be available for every American citizen for years to come. Alternative energy sources could be researched to their full potential. College could be free for millions of students. Schools and streets could be cleaned. Anti government corruption agencies could be formed. Our brothers and sisters dieing throughout the entire world could finally receive the respectable aid they need. And YOU could be better off in countless ways…

As my mathematical mood faded I found myself full of questions…I asked myself, “Should this continue to be over looked? In years to come should it simply be forgotten? Should it ever be forgiven?” And now I ask you, the reader, as a country that’s supposed to strive for societal justice, should we allow it to go unpunished? Should it not be avenged?

References:

http://www.nationalpriorities.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=297&Itemid=7

http://nationalpriorities.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=61

http://www.arborupdate.com/article/976/

Connecting The Dots...Cocaine Trafficking And The Boston Police

My interest in the connection between Boston’s cocaine supply and the Boston police arose in 2006. That year, the F.B.I. announced the arrest of three Boston police officers in Miami Fl. The police arrested were Carlos A. Pizarro, Nelson Carrasquillo and the “ring leader” Roberto Pulido. The most important of their charges was drug trafficking. They were in Miami collecting a payment in exchange for the protection of hundreds upon hundreds of kilos of cocaine being brought into Boston.

Statements made by the Boston Police Department (B.P.D.) saying the arrests in Miami were somehow an isolated incident are questionable at best. In this article we will examine three primary reasons why to believe the arrests in Miami were not isolated. These three reasons are: -The connection between the B.P.D. and the mob –Illegal after- hours parties hosted by the three officers -And a sham investigation.

THE B.P.D. AND MOB CONNECTION
There are ever-growing connections being uncovered between multiple Boston authorities and mob boss of the 1980’s and 90’s James J. “Whitey” Bulger. At the time Bulger was the main controller of cocaine sales and supply in Boston. Bulger and his gang had such financial success they were able to create the “X Fund”. The “X Fund” was used to pay off certain politicians and multiple law enforcements, including a large number of officials in the B.P.D.

What is most interesting is where from Bulger was trafficking the cocaine. Bulger was trafficking cocaine from Miami, from the same place, and believed to be through the same Cuban crime organization the police arrested in Miami used. The fact that the B.P.D. was involved with Bulger’s trafficking through the “X Fund” proves that some members of the B.P.D. already had Miami trafficking connections. These connections trace back decades. Thus, it’s not far fetched to assume the officers arrested in Miami were simply continuing a B.P.D. tradition by continuing Bulger’s routine.

ILLEGAL PARTIES
In response to the Miami arrests the B.P.D. said, “this is not a good day for us it is very hard for us to see that some of our own have conducted themselves in such an unprofessional and atrocious manner.” They went on vowing to weed out any more corruption “if there is any”. This statement uses two words that caught my eye, “atrocious” and “some”. Atrocious, because it’s possibly the best word to describe the events. And “some” because I believe the word many would have made much more sense.

It can be understood that corruption is not isolated to the three officers by simply reviewing the charges filed against the three officers by the F.B.I. One of these charges was the hosting of parties where drug dealers and prostitutes filled the room. The F.B.I. and the B.P.D. explain these parties were for other police. These were crowded parties of police who socialize with drug dealers. Furthermore according to other police and Pulido himself, he also paid his superior officers in the scandals. These particular facts of the case indicate that all throughout the ranks of the B.P.D. there are most likely some connections with drug smuggling, specifically cocaine.

A SHAM INVESTIGATION
Over the past year the B.P.D.’s “internal investigation” has made no arrests. Now, by that fact, there are only two possibilities to consider. One, there is no longer any corruption and cocaine connections in the B.P.D. Or two, the “internal investigation” was and is a sham. A sham in witch the B.P.D. is scared of what they will uncover or perhaps already know what they will. Now, by the following fact, I believe the sham should certainly be assumed…The F.B.I. has made arrests.

The arrests all involve drug dealing, and specifically, you guessed it, cocaine. Officer Jose Ortiz was arrested by the F.B.I. in May 2007 on attempted extortion charges and cocaine conspiracy. According to the F.B.I. Ortiz was planning on killing a man and his entire family if he didn’t pay $260,000 to two drug dealers who blamed the man for “a drug deal gone bad”. He was also arrested with the keys to a car that held four kilograms of cocaine in it.

Over the past 13 years Ortiz was suspended at least six times. Yet it took the F.B.I. to investigate him. Furthermore, the B.P.D. has refused to make any statements about his previous suspensions… When considering the isolated incident claim, should we really believe this officer who was involved with over quarter million dollars of cocaine was some how not in connection with the massive trafficking scandal? A scandal involving, the same drug in the same department.

CONNECTING THE DOTS
Considering all the evidence, it’s hard not to connect the dots in a way that does not clearly indicate the B.P.D.’s involvement. It’s hard not to conclude the B.P.D. is and has been a significant part of the trafficking and sales of cocaine in Boston. I believe with the continued help of the F.B.I. it will no longer be seen as a matter of opinion or theory but rather a matter of fact.

There are no facts left out or manipulated in this article. They all come from records by the F.B.I. and the Boston Police Department itself. The only opinions I will express in this article are the following, which this is yet one more reason the B.P.D. is an utter disgrace to Boston, and one more reason why they should be treated as such. And that there is no reason not to believe they are currently the dominant controllers of cocaine in Boston. The lines between police and criminals has not been blurred or confused but has been completely erased. And thus, a large number of those who patrol the streets of Boston are in fact no different then the thugs and criminals they’ve sworn to protect us from.

…If all of the above does not convince you the B.P.D.’s involvement reaches far beyond the three arrests made in Miami consider this, the department-released statistics last July of police drug tests. 75 officers failed the test – 61 of them for cocaine…


-References-


-The Boston Globe:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/07/22/hunt_is_on_for_other_police_corruption/?page=3 (Miami arrests)

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/07/30/75_officers_failed_city_drug_tests/ (failed drug tests)

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/05/03/hub_officer_arrested_on_drug_related_allegations/ (Ortiz arrest)

ABC News:

http://www.crimelibrary.com/gangsters_outlaws/mob_bosses/james_whitey_bulger/index.html (Whitey Bulger History)

F.B.I.:

http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten/fugitives/bulger.htm (Whitey Bulger description)

Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_J._Bulger (Whitey Bulger history)