Daily Archives: 1 May 2009

Argentina’s Economic Collapse

part 1 of 12:

The images of this mass uprising are downright inspiring. I fear our own government would be much better at splintering any such uprising. Much like our military studies ethnic, political, and social divides in countries we invade, similar knowledge would be used to fragment any domestic opposition to the U.S.S.A. Think of how tea party activists were labeled racist by several newsy shows.

part 2 of 12:

Pay attention to the part about mass debt being a source of impoverishment and corruption, and also of wealth for the financiers. The talk of “endless debt” ought to sound chillingly familiar to us in Amerika.

part 3 of 12:

I will point out, the crime is not inherent to the free market. It occurs when government colludes with business. The parts about nationalizing a tyrrant’s debt, and the case of the Royal Bank of Canada vs. Cost Rica are fascinating.

part 4 of 12:

Carl Saul Menem and his cult of followers is just like Obama. This is why it’s important to believe in principles first (non-intervention, sound money, the Constitution), in people second (Obama), and in phrases never ( “change” / “yes we can” ).

Portugal’s drug decriminalization ‘bizarrely underappreciated’

“Champions of harsh drug criminalization laws as the best solution to curbing drug use will be chagrined to find that Portugal’s eight year history of decriminalization has led to lower drug usage rates.

According to a new report entitled, ‘Drug Decriminalization in Portugal: Lessons for Creating Fair and Successful Drug Policies,’ while drug use across the European Union has risen steadily since 2000, Portugal, which has the most liberal drug laws of any country, has actually seen its prevalence rates decrease in various age groups since it decriminalized all drugs in 2001. Prevalence rates measure how many people have consumed drugs over the course of their lifetime. . . .

Greenwald said the strongest evidence in Portugal that supports drug decriminalization is the declining usage of drugs in the crucial 15-19 age group.

In every single drug category, with the exception of the new drugs that have come into popular usage since 2001, like ketamine and GHB, teen drug use has declined. The biggest drug category declines were seen in marijuana, which saw teen drug use slip from just over 10 percent in 2001 to 6 percent in 2006.

‘Drug policymakers are ecstatic about this,’ Greenwald said.

Since decriminalization took effect in Portugal, deaths as a result of drug usage have declined significantly. Opiate-related deaths experienced the biggest drop, falling from about 275 deaths in 2000 to about 125 in 2006, according to information provided in the report from the Portugal National Institute of Legal Medicine.” (Read more from rawstory.com)

If I understand correctly, Portugal decriminalized drugs on the street level. No one will go to prison for using or possessing a small quantity of drugs. Major trafficing remains illegal. It’s a little hypocritical, but it’s a huge step in the right direction. Someone tell Chairman Obama and his statist followers that liberty (i.e. leaving people the hell alone) works.