Hellas go bragh!

The Doser is a Greece-lover. And he's over-looked a lot of feckless Greek conduct to love Greece practically without reservation. But a small point must be made: Greece has very limited resources to make a living for itself. Young Greeks, facing that, have gone abroad to make their way since Classical times. It is a resource-exhausted country. Yes, worn out by its own self-indulgences, but worn out. What Greece does have is the fortunate circumstance that the rest of the world admires its history, its antiquities, its scenery and beaches, the mystique it's created, and its gracious, generous people.

The Doser says:
Knock off this crazy bitching about the reality that you've constructed and get back to keeping your country attractive to visitors.

The Drug War.

If any other boondoggle were shown to have cost $1 trillion (12 zeros), and to have provided no demonstrable benefit after 40 years, there would have been a major hue and cry. The AP published just such a report on the failed US drug war. The Oregonian reported the AP story (on its fourth page of its May 16,2010.) It handled the story about the way the other publications did: at a cost of $1 trillion over a 40 year period the drug war has not reached any of its goals, the US drug czar, Gil Kerlikowske states : ".....it has not been successful." It was reported in about the same way in other papers (see some sites below.)

The Prohibition-style increase of disrespect for the government; what we've done to Mexico and Columbia with this program; the lives shattered by imprisonment for a conduct not widely considered to be criminal; the murders that are occurring along the trafficking borders - are all factors(in addition to cost and failure) to be considered in viewing the debacle.

http://www.buffalonews.com/2010/05/14/1050763/ap-impact-report-on-failed-drug.html


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100513/ap_on_re_us/failed_drug_war


http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/632/associated_press_AP_declares_drug_war_failure


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/9079021


http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/05/13/ap-impact-years-trillion-war-drugs-failed-meet-goals/