Michaelangelica Posted October 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2009 Australia has a lot of expertise in this area. Much medicianl opium being produced in Tasmania. This seems like an excellent idea to me. Farmers would probably earn more money, at the farm gate, selling opium legally too.Research has shown that the current availability of opium-based medicines is insufficient to meet the global demand for pain relief – it is only in the seven richest countries which consume 80% of the world’s morphine. “The so-called ‘over-supply’ as stated by the INCB only applies to this small ‘club,’” said Reinert. “For countries which are not part of this club – 80% of the world’s population – there is little or no access to pain-relieving medicines. Developing countries have access to only about 6% of the world’s supply of opium-based medicines. This is evidence that there is a very real shortage of these medicines.” The Council said that even though the INCB itself has recognised that “opioid analgesics are still in short supply and not always available for the people who need them, particularly in developing countries” (Hamid Ghodse, President of the INCB, May 2005), it has done nothing to increase availability of these essential medicines. ICOS said that the Board has missed the opportunity to increase the supply of these vital medicines: In Afghanistan, for example, it has neglected to shift the use of the raw materials needed for their production away from the illegal drug trade towards the medicinal painkiller market. 87% of the world’s opium originates in Afghanistan. The Council said that current counter-narcotics approaches being used in Afghanistan are clearly not working – 2005 saw a decrease of only 2% of opium production. “The production of opium in Afghanistan for the illegal drug trade, which is currently crippling the country’s reconstruction, could be used to fill the shortage of morphine needed in developing countries,” said Reinert. A new market could be developed to address unmet needs - Afghanistan could become the producer of “humanitarian” morphine for the developing world. For example, under the so-called “80-20 Rule”, Turkey and India benefit from preferential trade agreements with the US. A similar system could be developed for Afghan morphine, where it could supply itself or neighbouring countries in need of these medicines.Think Tank announces expert panel to review effectiveness of International Narcotics Control Board - International Council on Security and Development Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelangelica Posted October 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2009 Gmail Calendar Documents Reader Web more ▼Photos Sites YouTubeImages Videos Maps News Groups Books Scholar Blogs Translateeven more »[email protected] | | Offline0.2 | Settings | Help | Sign outGmail Logo Search Mail Search the web Show search optionsCreate a filter Compose Mail Inbox (13671) Sent Mail Drafts (304) Spam (794)▼ Draft article▼ Frogs 4 more▼ Starred Chats All Mail BinManage labelsCreate new label ContactsTasksCollapse ChatMichael♫ Set status here Status menuAvailable [email protected] Invited ♫Idle Philip Small Invited ♫ storm windows going upOffline Abenson Invited ♫Offline Annette Benson Invited ♫Offline Barbara Morrison Invited ♫Offline chris braun Invited ♫Offline Elizabeth Invited ♫Offline Erich J. 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View them or go to Bin to delete forever.ConversationsSelect: All, None, Read, Unread, Starred, Unstarred Archive Report spam Delete Move to Inbox Labels More actions Refresh 1 - 20 of hundreds Older ›« Back to Search Results Archive Report spam Delete Move to Inbox Labels More actions Next on Four Corners Four Corners Monday 19 October at 8.30pm on ABC1 Monday on Four Corners, "Afghanistan, on the Dollar Trail" - an expose of the maladministration and corruption that is wasting billions of dollars and undermining the West's attempts to democratise and rebuild Afghanistan. Reporter/producer Paul Moreira tries to find out where the US$18 billion, given by major Western powers, has gone in Afghanistan. He follows the money trail from Europe to the suburbs of Kabul, confronting security guards employed by Afghan warlords and talking to aid organisations, asking them to explain how they have spent millions of dollars. After the horror of 9/11, the US administration and its allies made it clear they wanted to destroy Al Qaeda and drive the Taliban from Afghanistan. To do that they knew they must win the hearts and minds of the local population. It's now estimated that up to US$18 billion dollars in aid money has been promised to Afghanistan in an attempt to re-build the country's shattered infra-structure. The idea was to create new schools and to rebuild the old ones. New hospitals were promised, there would be roads built and the opium trade would be wiped out. But what has been delivered and where has the money gone? Eight years after the fall of Kabul reporter Paul Moreira went in search of the promised schools. Despite repeated requests to authorities he had trouble finding a new school that had been completed. Still on the trail of the aid dollar he found a hospital that was supposed to be refurbished. Instead it was literally falling apart. The aid money intended to pay for the hospital's renovations had been wasted and the work was shoddy. In other parts of the capital Afghans go hungry, their children sit in open air class-rooms while Moreira finds evidence that aid dollars are being spent on banquets feeding an array of businessmen and government officials. However, there is one construction sector that is in full swing: that of luxury villas. In one district of Kabul, poor residents are being evicted from their homes. The buildings are then destroyed and the land sold cheaply so that massive villas and homes can be built for the wealthy. Why are these people being sold the land so cheaply? Where is the money coming from that is used to build their palaces? The answers will shock you. As NATO and its allies struggle to keep the Taliban at bay, the corruption and mismanagement of the reconstruction program is forcing many Afghans to think again about who is their real enemy. Is it the Taliban or is it the Karzai government and its supporters? The level of corruption, the total absence of any sense of public service, is the major argument used by the Taliban in their propaganda. This first hand account of life in Afghanistan today explains why the insurgents are making so much headway - not just in taking back territory but in winning the hearts and minds of the people. "Afghanistan, on the Dollar Trail", a Premieres Lignes Production, goes to air on Monday 19 October at 8.30pm on ABC1. It is repeated on Tuesday 20 October at 11.35pm FOUR CORNERS VIDEO ON DEMANDFour Corners presents broadband video available on demand for selected programs. Four Corners Home | Newsletter ABC© 2009 Australian Broadcasting Corporation | Privacy PolicyABC, 700 Harris Street, Ultimo, NSW 2007, AustraliaReply Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelangelica Posted October 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2009 Next on Four Corners Four Corners Monday 19 October at 8.30pm on ABC1 Monday on Four Corners, "Afghanistan, on the Dollar Trail" - an expose of the maladministration and corruption that is wasting billions of dollars and undermining the West's attempts to democratise and rebuild Afghanistan. Reporter/producer Paul Moreira tries to find out where the US$18 billion, given by major Western powers, has gone in Afghanistan. He follows the money trail from Europe to the suburbs of Kabul, confronting security guards employed by Afghan warlords and talking to aid organisations, asking them to explain how they have spent millions of dollars. After the horror of 9/11, the US administration and its allies made it clear they wanted to destroy Al Qaeda and drive the Taliban from Afghanistan. To do that they knew they must win the hearts and minds of the local population. It's now estimated that up to US$18 billion dollars in aid money has been promised to Afghanistan in an attempt to re-build the country's shattered infra-structure. The idea was to create new schools and to rebuild the old ones. New hospitals were promised, there would be roads built and the opium trade would be wiped out. But what has been delivered and where has the money gone? Eight years after the fall of Kabul reporter Paul Moreira went in search of the promised schools. Despite repeated requests to authorities he had trouble finding a new school that had been completed. Still on the trail of the aid dollar he found a hospital that was supposed to be refurbished. Instead it was literally falling apart. The aid money intended to pay for the hospital's renovations had been wasted and the work was shoddy. In other parts of the capital Afghans go hungry, their children sit in open air class-rooms while Moreira finds evidence that aid dollars are being spent on banquets feeding an array of businessmen and government officials. However, there is one construction sector that is in full swing: that of luxury villas. In one district of Kabul, poor residents are being evicted from their homes. The buildings are then destroyed and the land sold cheaply so that massive villas and homes can be built for the wealthy. Why are these people being sold the land so cheaply? Where is the money coming from that is used to build their palaces? The answers will shock you. As NATO and its allies struggle to keep the Taliban at bay, the corruption and mismanagement of the reconstruction program is forcing many Afghans to think again about who is their real enemy. Is it the Taliban or is it the Karzai government and its supporters? The level of corruption, the total absence of any sense of public service, is the major argument used by the Taliban in their propaganda. This first hand account of life in Afghanistan today explains why the insurgents are making so much headway - not just in taking back territory but in winning the hearts and minds of the people. "Afghanistan, on the Dollar Trail", a Premieres Lignes Production, goes to air on Monday 19 October at 8.30pm on ABC1. It is repeated on Tuesday 20 October at 11.35pm FOUR CORNERS VIDEO ON DEMANDFour Corners presents broadband video available on demand for selected programs. Four Corners Home | Newsletter ABC© 2009 Australian Broadcasting Corporation | Privacy PolicyABC, 700 Harris Street, Ultimo, NSW 2007, AustraliaReply Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelangelica Posted June 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2011 We have learnt nothing and forgotten a great deal. Surely, when history weighs our place in Afghanistan, it will come to the same conclusion as it did with Vietnam: that we squandered young men's lives in a futile, unwinnable fight with an enemy who posed no threat to us. Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/little-adds-up-with-this-insane-calculus-20110610-1fwlh.html#ixzz1OzVhaPYa CraigD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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