And then, in September, the Global Commission on Drug Policy, which includes Annan, former presidents Fernando Henrique Cardoso (Brazil), Ernesto Zedillo (Mexico) and Ruth Dreifuss (Switzerland), and others, issued a new report, Taking Control: Pathways to Drug Policies that Work. It boldy called on “governments to decriminalize a variety of illegal drugs and set up regulated drug markets within their own countries.”
“Live coverage of the ‘Now Us’ protest in Budapest”
18:54 After greeting police, paramedics and firemen, participatory democracy expert Csaba Madarász tells the crowd his wife is afraid he’ll lose his job after tonight’s speech. “I have seen civil movements from Iceland to Spain.
Medicaid matters: Pay levels for doctors of the poor must be extended
PITTSBURGH POST GAZETTE EDITORIAL: Amid the good news about Americans’ enhanced access to health care, there is bad news as well: A new report by the Department of Health and Human Services says that half of the doctors who are supposedly enrolled in the Medicaid program of low-income health care either aren’t accepting new patients […]
More Sanctions on North Korea After Sony Case
NEW YORK TIMES: The Obama administration doubled down on Friday on its allegation that North Korea’s leadership was behind the hacking of Sony Pictures, announcing new, if largely symbolic, economic sanctions against 10 senior North Korean officials and the intelligence agency it said was the source of “many of North Korea’s major cyberoperations.”… The administration […]
Dilemma over deductibles: Costs crippling middle class
USA TODAY: …It’s a deep and common concern across the USA, where employer plans cover 60% of working-age Americans, or about 150 million people. Coverage long considered the gold standard of health insurance now often requires workers to pay so much out-of-pocket that many feel they must skip doctor visits, put off medical procedures, avoid filling prescriptions and ration pills — much as the uninsured have done.
“Whiplash” and “Wild”
“Birdman,” the movie I discussed last time, plays like one uninterrupted take studded with rapid fire dialogue that seems to burst spontaneously from its character’s guts. This season’s other compelling drama on the artistic life, “Whiplash,” is realized in a completely opposing style.
Wolf faces tall challenges as he takes his oath
It’s a crowded agenda – a full plate even for a seasoned government hand. And Wolf, despite his decades of running his family’s business, is a rookie whose only previous state government service is the less than two years he served as revenue secretary in Gov. Ed Rendell’s administration
U.S. advisers in Iraq stay out of combat but see fighting edging closer
WASHINGTON POST: In Iraq’s western Anbar province, more than 300 U.S. troops are posted at a base in the thick of a pitched battle between Iraqi forces, backed by tribal fighters, and well-armed Islamic State militants. The militants, positioned at a nearby town, have repeatedly hit the base with artillery and rocket fire in recent […]
What If Hillary Clinton Doesn’t Run for President?
NEWSMAX: It’s hard to imagine Hillary Rodham Clinton not running for president again — and easy to image the result of such a decision: political chaos… But what if Clinton decided against another campaign? Those considered long-shots would become instant contenders and others planning to skip the race would give it a new look. Some […]
Syria conflict: 76,000 die in deadliest year – activists
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 17,790 of the dead were civilians, including 3,501 children.
Buckeyes bound for title game
USA TODAY: …THE FALLOUT: As it turns out, Ohio State has speed, too. And size. And a more than formidable quarterback in third-stringer Cardale Jones. He went 18-for-35 for 243 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The Buckeyes came back from an early 15-point deficit to stun No. 1 Alabama [42 – 35] in the […]
First of a 2015 series on our ‘Damn Fools’: As Early Elections Near, Greek Legislators Disband
Mr. Samaras’s governing coalition has, with some reluctance, pursued deeply unpopular austerity policies demanded by lenders and backed particularly by Germany. But early signs of economic improvement have not translated into tangible benefits for average Greeks laboring under a surge in joblessness and widespread hardship…
In Foiling Gmail, China Foils Itself
NEW YORK TIMES EDITORIAL:… Google is among the Western technology companies that have refused to bow to China’s idea of “Internet sovereignty,” which includes sharing information on users with the government. The company moved its servers out of China in 2010, and all of its services — including its search function — were shut down […]
Egypt judge grants Al Jazeera journalists retrial
WASHINGTON POST: …The employees for the Qatar-based Al Jazeera English network, the sister channel of Al Jazeera Arabic, were convicted by a Cairo criminal court earlier this year. A judge sentenced them to between seven to 10 years for collaborating with the Muslim Brotherhood to threaten the country’s national security…. Rights groups denounced the trial […]