It's hard to know these days which way the proverbial worm is turning when it comes to shifts in drug policy. Election years tend to do that. Despite an historical turn of events in Central America which saw Presidents of drug trafficking nations come together to call for world wide decriminalization of drugs, in an effort to end the violence and corruption of the drug trade, the US continues to demur, absurdly claiming that the "War on Drugs" has been a success. Even stranger is Canada's recent announcement that they plan to follow the US model of a "tough on crime" approach to drug policy, which threatens to swell their correctional system in the same ways as in the US. Still, good news abounds with recent studies showing that LSD can cure alcoholism, psychedelics can cure PTSD, and cannabis smoking is not nearly as harmful as the prohibition governments claim. ~ CS
Google+ Presents:
It's Time To End The War On Drugs
To liberalise or prohibit, that is the question. And to answer it the masters of live debate have joined forces with the masters of web technology to create a never-seen-before combination of Oxford debating and Silicon Valley prowess.
Prohibitionists argue that legalising anything increases its consumption. The world has enough of a problem with legal drugs like alcohol and tobacco, so why add to the problem by legalising cannabis, cocaine and heroin?
The liberalisers say prohibition doesn’t work. By declaring certain drugs illegal we haven’t reduced consumption or solved any problem. Instead we’ve created an epidemic of crime, illness, failed states and money laundering.
Julian Assange and Richard Branson; Russell Brand and Misha Glenny; Geoffrey Robertson and Eliot Spitzer. Experts, orators and celebrities who’ve made this their cause – come and see them lock horns in a new Intelligence?/Google+ debate format. Some of our speakers will be on stage in London, others beamed in from Mexico City or Sao Paulo or New Orleans, all thanks to the “Hangout” tool on Google+.
The web will have its say, and so can you at the event in London. Be part of the buzz of the audience, be part of an event beamed across the web to millions. Come and witness the future of the global mind-clash at the first of our Versus debates, live at Kings Place
Source:
Intelligence 2 from Google +
North America
America's plague of incarceration
The message is (or should be deeply disturbing. Shouldn't the USA be ashamed at having the world's largest prison system and highest incarceration rate (754 per 100 000 people ? The richest country in the world has so many of its citizens in prison that it can't afford to house them with even basic minimum medical care (more than half of all prisoners have mental health or drug problems . Prison overcrowding itself has become so terrible in California, that in May, 2011, the US Supreme Court affirmed a lower court order that California release some 46 000 prisoners because of the inhuman conditions under which they were being held. In the Court's words, “A prison that deprives prisoners of basic sustenance, including adequate medical care, is incompatible with the concept of human dignity and has no place in a civilised society.”
Source:
"
A Plague of Prisons: The Epidemiology of Mass Incarceration in America,"
The Lancet.
International Women's Day: U.S. Must Address Impact of Mass Incarceration on Women.
More women are ending up behind bars than ever. Between 1980 and 1989, the number of women in U.S. prisons tripled. And the number of women in prison has continued to rise since. In the last 10 years, the number of women under jurisdiction of state or federal authorities
increased 21 percent to almost 113,000. During the same time period, the increase in the number of men in prison was 6 percentage points lower, at about 15 percent. The increase in women in the federal population was even larger- over 41 percent from 2000 to 2010.
Most women are incarcerated for nonviolent offenses. Over one-fourth are in prison for a drug offense, while 29.6 percent were convicted of a property crime. Addiction plays a large part in a number of women's property crimes, and a lack of available or appropriate treatment only serves to drive their contact with the justice system.
Source:
Justice Policy Institute
From Cell to Screen: The Story of Mumia Abu-Jamal -- Part I
Stephen Vittoria is that rare commodity in Hollywood today: a filmmaker with a conscience. To be more precise, a filmmaker with a strong political conscience. After making two feature films,>Black and White& Hollywood Boulevard (1996 , as well as three feature documentaries:Save Your Life -- The Life and Holistic Times of Dr. Richard Schulze (1998 ,;Keeper of the Flame (2005 and the award-winning art house hit One Bright Shining Moment: The Forgotten Summer of George McGovern (2005 , a portrait of the South Dakota senator who tried to unseat Richard Nixon from the White House in 1972.
For his latest exploration into America's socio-political landscape, Vittoria joins forces with radio producer Noelle Hanrahan to bring Long Distance Revolutionary, the story of Mumia Abu-Jamal, to the screen. Born Wesley Cook in Philadelphia, Abu-Jamal made his name as a tireless writer and journalist during the racially-charged 1970s that often portrayed the City of Brotherly Love as anything but. With his intense coverage of the MOVE organization, a black empowerment group whose ongoing battle with the police and city hall came to a fiery end in 1985, Abu-Jamal become a constant thorn in the side of the city's powerful establishment. Things came to a sudden head for Abu-Jamal himself on the evening of December 9, 1981 when he was accused of murdering a Philadelphia police officer. He received a death sentence the following year, and has been on Pennsylvania's death row until early this year, when his death sentence was commuted to a life sentence in December, 2011.
Abu-Jamal's case remains one of the most controversial and heatedly debated in American legal history, with participants on both sides either protesting his innocence in the murder of Officer Daniel Faulkner or his absolute guilt with equal passion and more often, great vehemence.
Source:
Huffington Post
What’s In a Name? A Lot, When the Name is “Felon”
At a
recent conference of journalists at John Jay College, I raised an issue I have about language in the media: the frequent use of the word “felon” to describe a person who has been convicted of a crime.
“Felon” is an ugly label that confirms the debased status that accompanies conviction. It identifies a person as belonging to a class outside many protections of the law, someone who can be freely discriminated against, someone who exists at the margins of society.
In short, a “felon” is a legal outlaw and social outcast.
Source:
The Crime Report
Addiction: Medical Disease or Moral Defect?
Scientific theories that addiction hijacks the brain have just increased the stigma that they were meant to stop. At least in the moralistic bad old days, addicts were still viewed as having free will. Here's an alternative to both of these no-win approaches.
Source:
The Fix
Scientists Explore Hallucinogen Treatments for PTSD, Sex Abuse Victims
Mind-altering compounds, such as LSD and psilocybin, stirred controversy in the 1960s. As the counter-culture’s psychedelic drugs of choice, the widespread use - and abuse - of hallucinogens prompted tougher anti-drug laws.
Apparently, the possible baggage Brandon Marshall may be bringing with him from Miami doesn't trouble the Chicago Bears -- and may explain why the three-time Pro Bowler was acquired for just two, third-rounders in a Tuesday morning trade. The New York Post first reported that Marshall may have been involved in an incident at a New York City nightclub on Monday that left his own wife in the hospital and another woman with a black eye.
Marshall was at [Chelsea nightclub] Marquee early Sunday when he got into an argument with a group of friends celebrating a birthday, law-enforcement sources said. At around 4 a.m., Christin Myles, 24, left an upper floor of the posh hot spot to greet a friend downstairs.
When she tried to get back upstairs, a bouncer told her she had to wait because there was a fight between two football players — Marshall, 27, and an unknown athlete — who were being thrown out, the sources said. She later met up with her friends, who by then were arguing with Marshall and the other football player outside. Marshall then allegedly cold-cocked Myles in the left eye. She suffered a black eye. It wasn't clear if he allegedly intended to strike her or one of her pals.
Marshall's wife was hit in the head with a bottle, and he took her to a local hospital. Bears general manager Phil Emery released the following statement on Wednesday morning:
"Both the Bears and Dolphins were aware of what occurred over the weekend," Emery said in the statement. "We decided to move forward with the trade. We have high expectations for Brandon as a Bear."
Marshall's attorney, Harvey Steinberg, released this statement:
"On March 12,2012 Brandon Marshall was the key note speaker at a charitable event in New York. After the event was over he, his wife and close friends attended a function at a local club. While at the function a fight broke out NOT involving Mr. Marshall or his friends. While attempting to leave to avoid the melee Mrs. Marshall was struck in the face by a thrown bottle. She suffered serious injury.
"While attempting to leave and take his wife to the hospital, the mayhem continued outside. Finally Mr. Marshall was able to take his wife to the hospital where she was treated for serious injuries. Mr. Marshall is hoping to assist authorities in regards to this matter."
Marshall has a history of run-ins with the law and with officials on his own teams. In 2008, he was suspended by the league for three games (later knocked down to one game for violations of the NFL's personal conduct policy. In 2009, he was suspended indefinitely by the Denver Broncos for insubordination. That lasted through the final two games of the preseason, but he was suspended again at the end of the season and missed the team's final game.
Traded to the Miami Dolphins for two second-round picks on April 14, 2010, Marshall announced in 2011 that he suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder. "I have a dream home, two nice cars, three beautiful dogs, but I haven't enjoyed one part of it," Marshall said when he announced the diagnosis. "And it was hard to understand why." He said that were it not for treatment and therapy, "I would have thrown away my career, and there was a good possibility, my life. I'm still suffering from the cons of this. Another reason I'm so passionate about it is that I may lose my wife still, and this hurts me."
When Marshall was suspended by the NFL in 2008, then-teammate Jay Cutler, who is once again his quarterback with the Bears, had this to say. "Brandon is not a bad guy, at all. He's a good guy, he means well. It's just he's been in some sticky situations, some things he probably shouldn't get into. ... I think it definitely hit home with this. I don't expect Brandon to be in any more situations like that for the rest of his career and probably for the rest of his life."
It's a complicated situation for the Bears, who are still trying to dig out from the severe embarrassment of the Sam Hurd case. The former Dallas Cowboys receiver was signed to a three-year, $5.1 million contract by the Bears last July, but Hurd was putting together quite the little second career together to supplement his income -- he was becoming a Chicago drug kingpin.
The Marshall move -- or any move involving a player with any kind of questionable past -- should set off even more sirens to a team like the Bears, whose former front office had no clue how to check for character concerns. If Marshall is found to be complicit in the New York case, he's certainly facing a serious suspension, since he's been suspended by the league before.
msnbc.com said those brands were implicated in an FDA report obtained through a public records request.
The FDA had declined to identify specific brands, saying repeated tests have shown no definitive link to any brand or manufacturer. Nestle Purina and Del Monte have said their treats are safe. There have been no recalls.
Since pet owners first raised the issue in September 2007, the FDA says it has run numerous chemical and microbial tests on Chinese chicken jerky samples but found nothing conclusive to link the treats to a growing number of problems in dogs, including kidney failure, liver disease and Fanconi syndrome.
In November last year, the FDA issued a warning, saying pet owners should be aware that chicken jerky products from China could be associated with reports of Fanconi-like syndrome in dogs, and to watch for signs of decreased appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, increased water consumption and urination in dogs that had eaten jerky products.
Last week, FDA spokesperson confirmed to Food Safety News that the agency has recently received more than 600 reports from dog owners who say their pets have fallen ill or died after eating jerky treats.
Thousands of pet owners have now organized on the Internet asking the government to force a recall of chicken jerky dog treats manufactured from Chinese chicken.
After receiving pressure from U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio and U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio , the FDA agreed to inspect four Chinese facilities along the chicken jerky supply chain and expedite further tests in an effort to discover the cause of the illnesses.
Complaints, product samples and medical records collected from pet owners and veterinarians suggest that at least three popular brands of jerky treats may be associated with the illnesses, according to internal Food and Drug Administration documents obtained by msnbc.com.
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jay-z and beyonce, russell and katy… cocoa butter and foundation? makeup artists reveal the hot new couples: product duos that prove two is better than one.— elle"when i mix a touch of chanel illusion d'ombre gel shadow in fantasme with weleda skin food, it's magic," says makeup artist romy soleimani. the concoction is a highlighter perfect for tapping on cheekbones, brow bones and lids. soleimani prefers this over conventional illuminators. "the cream creates a sheer texture, and it's not makeupy," she says.
Lovely Lip Stain
for a just-bitten lip shade that's universally flattering, makeup artist hilda levierge pairs nars lip gloss in dolce vita with c.o. bigelow rose salve and applies with a lip brush. "the salve moisturizes and plumps lips and also cuts down on the shine from the gloss," levierge says. the result is a pretty—not sticky— pink lip.on elle: beauty secrets from hollywood's top makeup artists
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too much champagne, not enough sleep? when makeup artist jeffrey paul needs to mask dark undereye circles, he reaches for ysl teint radiance foundation and kevyn aucoin's the sensual skin enhancer concealer, mixing a dab of each on the back of his hand and patting under the eyes. the bespoke formula gives full coverage and is brightening—not opaque or cakey—thanks to the light-diffusing foundation. "the combo is my secret to a flawless face," paul says.on elle: tips for a flawless complexion that really work
Foundation Fix
buh-bye, redness, pores, and uneven tone. fake an airbrushed complexion with makeup artist alexis brazel's "must-do": diorskin forever foundation mixed with stila illuminating tinted moisturizer. the alchemy of the tinted moisturizer's light luminescence with the long-wearing foundation creates the illusion of "perfected, poreless skin," says brazel, who uses this trick on set for tv commercials.on elle: top winter skin care products to maintain a healthy glow
Smoky Eye Secret
transform liner in a flash. "a dab of maybelline lash discovery in very black blended with bobbi brown long-wear gel eyeliner makes the liner instantly smudgeproof," says paul, who combines the two on the lid of the liner pot and applies with an ultrathin eyeliner brush. added bonus: "it lasts through tears," paul says. brides, take note.on elle: 10 easy ways to improve your daily beauty routine
5-Second Leg Makeover
"for sexy, shimmering legs, mix palmer's cocoa butter in the palm of your hand with a few drops of m.a.c face and body foundation two shades darker than your natural tone," levierge says. the pairing masks flaws and makes legs look long and lean without the orange streaks, telltale scent, and waiting time of self-tanner (but don't worry, the waterproof foundation won't transfer onto clothes . continue reading on elle.com
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GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK has agreed to market some of its over-the-counter brands in Europe to Omega Pharma.
Belgium-based Omega Pharma is paying $614 million for brands such as stomach antacid Zantac and Nytol cold and allergy medicine .
Part of the deal includes transferring GSK’s Herrenberg, Germany factory to Omega Pharma.
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Johnson & Johnson (JNJ ’s departing Chief Executive Officer William C. Weldon will receive $143.5 million in retirement pay, the world’s second-biggest seller of health products said today in a regulatory filing.
Alex Gorsky is scheduled to take the helm of New Brunswick, New Jersey-based J&J on April 26, making him the ninth leader in the company’s 126-year history. Weldon, 63, who will remain chairman, amassed $95.1 million in deferred and long-term compensation during his 40 years with the company, where he started as a sales representative in 1971.
William C. Weldon, chairman and chief executive officer of Johnson & Johnson (J&J . Photographer: Joshua Prezant/Bloomberg
Weldon’s pension has a present value of $48.4 million, which he will receive in monthly payments after he retires, the company said in the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. His total compensation fell to $26.8 million in 2011 from $28.7 million a year earlier, the second consecutive annual decline, as the company struggled with recalls of artificial hip implants and over-the-counter drugs, and safety concerns involving vaginal mesh products.
Gorsky, who heads the devices and supply-chain units, beat out Sheri S. McCoy, the leader of the company’s branded-drug units, for the top spot. Gorsky was paid $6.8 million in total compensation in 2011 while McCoy received $8.7 million, according to the company’s filing.
To contact the reporter on this story: Michelle Fay Cortez in Minneapolis at mcortez@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reg Gale at rgale5@bloomberg.net
I don't think the New York Knicks are going to trade Carmelo Anthony by Thursday's 3 p.m. ET trade deadline. Mitch Lawrence can suggest mega-deals; angry fans can jam players, salaries and draft picks into trade machines; sports talk radio hosts can rant and rave about running 'Melo out of town on a rail. But I don't see it.
For one thing, Anthony just told the world that he's "sick to his stomach" of hearing that he allegedly wants to be traded, a story first reported by Marc Berman, citing "a confidant" and "a person familiar with ['Melo's] thinking," in Wednesday morning's New York Post. You could certainly read the tweet as a non-denial denial issued for PR purposes that doesn't preclude Anthony's representation from working on an escape plan, but it seems, at least, to indicate that he's not actively forcing his way out of town.
[ Y! Sports Radio: Adrian Wojnarowski breaks down the Knicks' front-office moves ]
For another, Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni, with whom Anthony was reportedly feuding for control of the New York locker room, just resigned his head-coaching position, according to Yahoo! Sports NBA writer Adrian Wojnarowski. So, problem solved! (More on this in a second, and later today, and probably forever. Obviously.
For a third, any blockbuster move proposed at this stage of the game seems unrealistic from a logistical perspective. You need two things in large quantities when working to convince another general manager to take on $67.2 million worth of sulking 40 percent shooting — time and finesse. The encroaching deadline means the Knicks don't have the former. The last, oh, 13 years of institutional history suggest they don't have the latter.
Still, fans, writers and talking heads will continue to lash out in frustration, because the Knicks are in a tailspin, having won just two of their last 10 games to fall out of the Eastern Conference's top eight. And because everywhere you look, someone "connected to" or "with knowledge of the thinking of" a Knick is talking to a reporter about the team's roiling identity crisis. And because two ready-made suspects, Anthony and the now-former coach, stand right in front of the burning Garden, giving anyone who is looking their choice of arsonists to blame.
At this point, who lit the match matters less to most than punishing someone for how fast the building went up. Me, I'd want the cops to question the guy in charge of construction, but I guess he's nowhere to be found these days.
No matter the source of the sickness inside the New York locker room, the search for the cure will focus outside — on which Knicks need to go there, on which other teams' players would solve the problems, on what promises of salvation lie in Montana, Utah or parts unknown as the team seeks post-D'Antoni guidance.
When the question involves the Knicks, the answer always has to come from outside. Looking inward would mean taking responsibility for what's gone wrong — personally, professionally, organizationally. And because the Knicks are, as our Fearless Leader wrote on Tuesday, behaving exactly like the New York Knicks, that ain't about to happen.
Starting with the man in the mirror would mean that Anthony would have to realize that grumping his way through offensive possessions not ceded to him by birthright and giving summer-school effort on the defensive end aren't evidence of an organizational conspiracy to keep him out of the spotlight. He doesn't seem particularly interested in that; since late February, his Twitter account's avatar image has been the iconic April 1968 Esquire cover of Muhammad Ali being impaled by arrows, an evocation of the martyr St. Sebastian, which accompanied a piece defending Ali against pillory from the public for refusing induction into the U.S. Army on the basis of his religious beliefs.
(Then again, maybe Anthony just likes great art direction. He told CBSSports.com's Ken Berger that he has a blown-up version of that Ali picture in his house and that he isn't feeling persecuted; rather, that he just has feelings. "I'm human, that's all."
It would mean that Jim Dolan, the great and terrible Oz behind the curtain of this mess, would have to acknowledge that bigfooting Donnie Walsh on the 'Melo trade betrayed the blueprint. He'd have to recognize that jettisoning the lone grown-up in the Knicks front office, the man who had fielded a young, deep, flexible New York team that had been playing the exciting brand of ball that everyone envisioned when D'Antoni was hired, was rash and ill-considered.
It would mean that someone — anyone , although it'd be especially neat if it was starting power forward Amar'e Stoudemire — would have to bust his ass for the final two seconds of a possession and get a [EXPLETIVE] offensive rebound.
It would mean that everyone complaining to buddies in the shadows about how they're not getting enough of management's ear, how they're not getting enough of the ball, how they're not getting enough respect and how they're not getting enough love would have to take two seconds out of their day, listen to Don Draper, and just go to work .
In the end, it seems the only one who actually did take that look in the mirror was D'Antoni, and when he saw what was staring back at him — a dead man walking — he made a decision. He stepped away. Had he made more decisions sooner — say, realizing that while his system was successful in Phoenix and in that brief, shining moment of Linsanity, adjusting to suit his most talented player's skill set was painful but likely necessary — we may not have arrived here, or at least not have arrived here with this level of acrimony. Alas.
It'd be really nice if all the other players involved in this badly acted drama had that staredown with the mirror, too. As a Knicks fan, I sure wish that's what would happen next. As I read and re-read all the reports this morning, though, all I could think of was something my father, a 33-year grinder with the New York Police Department, used to say: "Wish in one hand and s*** in the other, Daniel, and see which one fills up first." Everybody involved with the New York Knicks organization sure seems to have a handful right about now.
The beauty part is, D'Antoni's resignation isn't the end of this by a long shot. Maybe the issue wasn't D'Antoni at all; maybe the New York Times' Howard Beck is right and 'Melo is the one who's lost the team. Maybe everyone who reported cancerous whispers was right and, at this point, Manhattan is officially an island of misfit toys with no hope, no pride, no present and no future.
If that's the case, then Charlie Zegers is probably right — the best thing this team can hope for is another skin-of-its-teeth playoff berth, another fast and merciless first-round exit, and another round of calls for a new savior, a new drug, a new distraction. That's become the ceiling for these New York Knicks. It's the best you can expect with an organizational culture that believes today's too late and nothing's ever good enough. That's the funny thing about perpetually sailing toward horizons. You never actually reach them, because they don't actually exist.
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