By Cyril Mychalejko

As tens of thousands of corpses continue to pile up as a result of the US-led "War on Drugs" in Latin America, private contractors are benefiting from lucrative federal counternarcotics contracts amounting to billions of dollars, without worry of oversight or accountability.

U.S. contractors in Latin America are paid by the Defense and State Departments to supply countries with services that include intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, training, and equipment.

"It's becoming increasingly clear that our efforts to rein in the narcotics trade in Latin America, especially as it relates to the government's use of contractors, have largely failed,” said U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, chair of the Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight which released a report on counternarcotics contracts in Latin America this month. “Without adequate oversight and management we are wasting tax dollars and throwing money at a problem without even knowing what we're getting in return.”

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Michael Collins

Renewing the Patriot Act: The Patriot Act will be renewed this week. What is the Patriot Act? The government claimed that it was a vital law necessary to protect us against future terrorist acts.

Who would oppose that? Shortly after 9/11 the act became law. There was public shock at the devastation caused by the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Surely, the government would make good use of the legislation. Failing to do so would violate the public trust since the act eliminated major constitutional protections of privacy, the right to a fair trial, and other civil liberties.

Before the act, you had an unqualified right to a "fair and speedy trial:"

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