Another good book on the subject is Chasing the Scream by Johann Hari.

We desperately need to decriminalize all drugs. The war on drugs is a dangerous farce.

*related http://videosift.com/video/everything-about-the-drug-war-and-addiction-is-wrong
*related http://videosift.com/video/Real-Time-with-Bill-Maher-Johann-Hari-on-The-War-on-Drugs

everything about the drug war and addiction is wrong has been added as a related post - related requested by eric3579.

Real Time with Bill Maher: Johann Hari on The War on Drugs has been added as a related post - related requested by eric3579.

Upvote for Johann Hari, but just a shame he didn't have a better interviewer.

Boise, you would love this hair raising article about Dubai:
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/the-dark-side-of-dubai-1664368.html

>> ^Gallowflak:

I like him. But I think it's dense to imagine religion as being the root of all evil. Religion is a fabrication of man, and has to be a consequence of something else. It's the inadequacy of the human creature which is the root of all evil, filtering into the world through various delightful minty flavours.

Agreed. Christopher Hitchens put it with characteristic bluntness when he spoke of the inherent shortcomings of human beings.

"This kind of theocratic fascism will never die because we belong to a very poorly-evolved mammarian species. I'm a complete materialist in that sense. We're stuck with being the product of a very sluggish evolution. Our pre-frontal lobes are too small and our adrenaline glands are too big. Our fear of the dark and of death is very intense, and people will always be able to profit from that."

-Interview with Johann Hari, 2004

bombing the coast of Somalia? Disgusting, futile, stupid. To hear someone even suggest that is a logical solution to such an incredibly complex issue without knowing or even trying to empathize with all sides of the issue is nauseating.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4312553.stm

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/johann-hari/you-are-being-lied-to-abo_b_155147.html

If you're family was covered in rashes and tumors from nuclear waste washing up on your shores and your fellow countrymen couldn't feed themselves because opportunists were stealing their fish, wouldn't you be a goddamn hero for trying to defend your waters and attempt to get some payback for the damage done? I guess not. Sorry you were born in a country without a government, but go frak yourself and suck on the toxic by-products of the civilized world. By no means, am I advocating terrorism or piracy, but I'd suggest its unfair and hypocritical to pass such clear and belligerent judgments without a critical analysis of the entire situation. Violence is indeed an occasionally appropriate response, but working on the causes of this problem seems a lot more logical than breaking out bombs and bullets.

I'm so glad somebody is finally mentioning Phil Gramm.
His footprints are all over Enron and the subprime crisis.

Check this guy out:
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-we-have-everything-to-fear-from-mccain-869681.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Gramm

He's your worst nightmare... deregulated.

Automatic Johann Hari-upvote...