To the Point

Rave New World

Raves are the entertainment of choice for many 18 to 25-year olds. Accompanying the heavy rhythmic beat of electronic dance music are the sale and use of trendy club drugs like ecstasy and GHB which have gained favor over cocaine and heroin, preferred drugs of an older generation. Federal drug officials see raves as drug havens, and have begun using the so-called "crack house laws" to arrest promoters. We take a look at raves, rave culture, and efforts to deal with drug use at such events, with drug control officers, a civil libertarian, a rave promoter, and a student who attends raves and has used ecstasy. (Marcia Brandwynne, of KTLA and Tribune broadcasting, guest hosts.) Newsmaker: Iraquis Claim Downing of Missing Unmanned Plane - Iraq claims that it has shot down an unmanned US reconnaissance aircraft over Southern Iraq. The Air Force, which admits that the Predator is missing, will not confirm that it has been shot down. Michael Killian covers defense issues and weapons systems for The Chicago Tribune. Reporter's Notebook: Fun Distractions for the Downsized - The dot-com bust has led to thousands of layoffs of young tech workers. No where have layoffs hit harder than the San Francisco area, where Michael Feldman, a computer science grad from MIT turned dot-com CEO, is using his latest experience to run a "recession camp," RecessionCamp.com, of course!