RAW STORY– A group of prominent former world leaders said Wednesday the so-called war on drugs has “failed” and that decriminalizing marijuana may help curb drug-related violence and social ills. “The global war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world,” the members of the Global Commission on Drug Policy say in a report. … Read More
DAILY BEAST– It’s a simple question with a gut-wrenching answer: In a time of war, is it ever OK to torture an enemy? For decades, the answer was an automatic no. The often-cruel conditions endured by prisoners of war during World War Two spurred the Geneva Conventions, which stipulated an agreed-upon set of standards for handling war victims. By the late … Read More
NEWSVINE– According to the CIA World Fact Book, the U.S. is ranked as the 42nd most unequal country in the world, with a Gini Coefficient of 45. In contrast: Tunisia is ranked the 62nd most unequal country, with a Gini Coefficient of 40. Yemen is ranked 76th most unequal, with a Gini Coefficient of 37.7. And Egypt is ranked as … Read More
MR: VBS’s guide to North Korea is a disturbing look at inside one of the most closed off, totalitarian societies that exists on earth today. From the second that VBS creator Shane Smith steps foot into Kim Jong Il’s sheltered country, he realizes that everything he is about to encounter is a carefully constructed facade… VBS– Getting into North Korea … Read More
ALTERNET– What happens when you fail to invest in education (and no, I don’t mean investment in excessive layers of school administration), the most important single item in our nation’s success or failure? You end up with this result: An unprecedented study that followed several thousand undergraduates through four years of college found that large numbers didn’t learn the critical … Read More
