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Monday 0954 local time (0054GMT) The US Geological Survey (USGS) had detected a magnitude 4.7 tremor in North Korea, indicating that a nuclear test may have taken place. The area is not seismically active.

"We have successfully conducted another nuclear test on May 25 as part of the republic's measures to strengthen its nuclear deterrent, the test would contribute to defending the sovereignty of the country and the nation and socialism and ensuring peace and security on the Korean Peninsula." the official KCNA news agency said.

Russia later said it believed the explosion from the test had a yield of 10-20 kilotonnes - about the same as the US bombs used against the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima at the end of World War Two.

Cut off from the outside world behind barricades of barbed wire, landmines and concrete tank-traps, the so-called "hermit kingdom" has come to rely for its very existence on maintaining a constant war footing. For more than 50 years, North Korea has been ready to go to war at a moment's notice. The country is under constant threat of invasion and outsiders are to be feared. Almost a third of North Korea's GDP is spent on the military. Meanwhile, aid agencies say, around a third of the country's population relies on food handouts to keep them from starvation. Through relentless propaganda and by enforcing a rigid isolation from the outside world, it is that tool that keeps them in power and their people on the brink of war. North Korea can't actually do anything at this point. It hasn't actually weaponised its nuclear material. Certainly it hasn't miniaturised it to the point where you can put a bomb on an airplane or – even more technically demanding – on top of a missile. Monday's test was designed to draw international attention and fortify "North Korea's claim to be the ninth nuclear power".

Decadency of a desperate dictator

Kim Jong Il is a movie fanatic, and is said to have a collection of over 20,000 films. In 1978, in order to advance the North Korean film industry, he ordered North Korean agents to abduct the famous South Korean movie director Shin Sang Ok and his ex-wife, actress Che Eun Hui, and kept them for eight years while making them produce propaganda films. During that time, the two became very well acquainted with Kim Jong Il, and after escaping in 1986, they wrote a book exposing his decadent lifestyle. He likes cognac, James Bond movies and foreign prostitutes. While ordinary North Koreans scraped the bark off trees to ease their pre-death suffering, the inner circle feasted on delicacies and consumed large amounts of expensive cognac, boons granted them directly and personally by Kim, sometimes at bacchanals featuring comely young women called to serve in multiple ways, and lasting for days. Kim considers himself the world's greatest golfer and an internet expert (so maybe he reads my blog). Why is he doing this (provocatively launching missiles and detonating nuclear devices)? Crazy motherfucker is desperate. Perhaps he is demonstrating to terrorist state customers that he has salable goods or perhaps he is seeking unilateral talks with the United States? Or perhaps he is just aid-seeking or even anticipating another deal like he got with Bill Clinton, in which the United States will supply billions of dollars in aid in return for promises he doesn't intend to honor. Domestic factors may have driven North Korea's reclusive leader to conduct a nuclear test. Some analysts see it as an attempt to spur nationalism among the masses, while others say it could be a sign of Kim Jong-il's internal weakness. Kim may well be running out of money to pay for booze, energy, and other necessities. If he can't provide the goodies to his inner circle, his hold on power is in direct jeopardy. Consider the basic nature of the North Korean state: it is a criminal enterprise. It is no secret that illegal drugs, counterfeiting, and illicit trade in weapons provided most of the foreign currency available to the regime. The fruits of these crimes were distributed quite carefully by Kim to those whose support he needed in order to hold onto power, mostly military figures. Just like Al Capone and the fiuctional Tony Soprano. Kim Jong-Il is just tired of being alone. His American buddies weren't calling anymore when Bush administration took control of the White House. He is like a spoiled brat looking for attention, the only problem is that this brat is playing with nukes... kim eats live fishSubscribe in a reader

The stated purpose of the invasion was to capture Osama bin Laden, destroy al-Qaeda, and remove the Taliban regime...

Operation 'enduring terror'
As of end 2008, the war has been unsuccessful in its primary purpose of capturing Osama bin Laden, while tensions have grown with regional ally Pakistan. U.S. policies in Afghanistan a decade and more ago in fact helped to create both Osama bin Laden and the fundamentalist Taliban regime that shelters him. Osama bin Laden was a CIA tactician. Al-Qaeda was not destroyed, the initial attack removed the Taliban from power, but Taliban forces have since regained strength. The countryside is devastated and is currently experiencing a severe drought, with 7.5 million people threatened with starvation. The death and destruction wrought by the U.S. bombing campaign-and the cut off of food aid deliveries it has caused-have already killed hundreds and produced thousands more refugees scrambling to escape into Pakistan. How many innocent civilians died? The real purpose of the invasion War is unwinnable for NATO and U.S. so why are they still here? Many of the thousands of U.S. troops in Afghanistan are positioned in what experts say are large, permanent bases. The dramatic build-up of an indefinite Western military presence in Afghanistan has unsettled some regional powers, including Russia. Russia views the large and indefinite military build-up as a potential threat because Afghanistan's geographical location is a very strategic one. It's very close to three main world basins of hydrocarbons: Persian Gulf, Caspian Sea, Central Asia. Other observers have also noted that through a stronger military presence in Afghanistan, the U.S. may be seeking to strengthen its own position in the region to counter increasingly warm relations among India, China and Russia. Along with its proximity to the vast Central Asian and Caspian Sea energy sources and being in the midsts of the regional powers of India, China, and Russia, Afghanistan also holds strategic significance given its border with Iran. This "War on Terror" isn't about terrorism. I don't think that it is a war on Islam either. It is about resources, money and power. It is about bloody pipelines spreading from Afghanistan to Europe.It is not about "enduring freedom", flowers or democracy. It is against humanity, against all of us. Don't forget the heroin business In 2000, the Taliban had issued a ban on opium production, which led to reductions in Pashtun Mafia opium production by as much as 90%. Soon after the 2001 U.S. led invasion of Afghanistan, however, opium production increased markedly. By 2005, Afghanistan had regained its position as the world’s #1 opium producer and was producing 90% of the world’s opium, most of which is processed into heroin and sold in Europe and Russia. Many suspected drug traffickers are now top officials in the Karzai government. "Afghan President" Hamid Karzai, the fashion queen aka Mr. Fashion, is portraited as responsible, Western-oriented leader who is symbolized by modern buildings sprouting up and new asphalt strips going off into the horizon. In fact he is a spineless, American butkissing, puppet "President" who cries for more and more invasion troops all the time. Hand-picked by the CIA, Karzai has never been more than "the mayor of Kabul," and his associates are highly corrupt, including his half-brother who has been accused of smuggling drugs in Kandahar.Subscribe in a reader

Ja sam gamer od kada znam za sebe. Kada to kažem, mislim na onu generaciju gamer-a koji su ispratili gotovo sve najbitnije naslove od postanka video igrica do danas. Moj prvi lični kompjuter davnih osamdesetih bio je legendarni Sinclair ZX Spectrum 48k sa svojim neprevaziđenim gumenim tipkama. Tada još nismo imali floppy diskove ni HD, igre smo učitavali sa klasičnog kasetofona i sa kaseta a programirali u BASIC-u. Čekao sam često po 15 minuta da se igra učita a po elektronskom zvuku i šarenim linijama na tv ekranu znao unapred da li će me nakon toga razočarati poruka load error (eh stara dobra vremena :)) Današnji razmaženi klinci nemaju ni par sekundi strpljenja za igre i kompjutersku grafiku (koja je tada bila vrh) poput Space Invaders, Planetoids, Jumping Jack, Manic Miner, Ground Attack, Pogo, Chuckie Egg, Moon Cresta, Chequered Flag, Barbarian, Silent Service, Match Point, World Cup Football, Jetpac, Jet Set Willy, Hungry Horace, Commando, Pacman-a i sličnih uz koje smo mi pravi gameri rasli... Ne znam što sam se baš sada toga setio ali to je nešto kao jugo-nostalgija, samo oni koji me razumeju shvatiće ;)

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Host to numerous international matches, Camp Nou is already the largest stadium in Europe but Norman Foster’s design is set to add a further 8,000 seats and create an exterior with panache in the home team’s colours. At a projected cost of 250€ million, the evolution of Camp Nou will not only increase capacity, but will extend the middle aged stadium’s facilities to suit modern needs. Provisions for disabled people will be created throughout, TV broadcast and studio facilities will be added, and a new stadium Museum, public concourse, function rooms and hospitality facilities will transform the site from stadium to venue. A new mosaic exterior composed of translucent panels will act as a rain screen around the sides of the stadium allowing naturally ventilated concourse areas and will glow with integrated lighting at night creating a beacon of the football icon. A Foster-designed transformation has been on the table for two years, but construction of the redesign has now been postponed for 18 months.
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Panic is spreading around the World much faster than a virus. It goes like this: Problem - Reaction - Solution

Who will profit from the "Deadly Flu" this time?

Rumsfeld made the most profit from swine flu in 1976 and bird flu in 2005. Potential profiteers of swine flu are Al Gore´s Kleiner Perkins or Baxter…

It is interesting that the new swine flu virus is in fact a mixture of viruses that are typical for birds, pigs and people. The World Health Organisation has expressed concern and warned about a possible pandemic, but for now there is no explanation as to how the virus managed to mutate in such a short period of time that it can be spread from person to person. Nobody has yet issued any official information about the origin of the new swine flu virus. Some media have recalled the bird flu epidemic in 2005 and early 2006. The only cure for the deadly disease was a drug called Tamiflu, which was produced by the Gilead Sciences pharmaceutical company, whose CEO happened to be Donald Rumsfeld from 1997 to 2001. He stepped down from the position after he took up office as the chief of the Pentagon in Bush’s administration. But he did not give up his shares in the company. The American company made millions of dollars and its shares skyrocketed. The American media called Rumsfeld the bird flu profiteer, having become one of the wealthiest men in America from the earnings from the drug. The Swiss company Roche purchased the rights to the production of Tamiflu. But Rumsfeld’s name was not just connected with the bird flu, but also with the swine flu in the United States in 1976. The story began when one soldier died in New Jersey from what experts believed to be an identical strain of the swine flu virus from 1918. At the time, Rumsfeld was Secretary of Defence and initiated swift action, convincing the people that the new administration would make sure that every man, woman and child in America are vaccinated. The vaccine was produced and distributed across the country at lightning speed. The only problem was that the vaccine had been contaminated which resulted in hundreds of people becoming ill from it, while 52 people died. The question of who will now profit from this deadly virus arises. The swine flu outbreak will probably result in a spike in sales of vitamins, over-the-counter cold meds, hand sanitizers and surgical masks. Businesses that disinfect outbreak sites will hire more short-term employees, as will hospitals. Reuters conducted a research of who could be the potential manufacturer of a new vaccine and came to the conclusion that since the breakout of the swine flu, the shares of two companies increased considerably – Biocryst Pharmaceuticals by 26 percent and Novavax by as much as 75 percent...

Media sensationalism

Be afraid, be very afraid... or turn off your tv. On April 30, the media reported that the World Health Organization (WHO) was expected to soon designate the swine flu as a full pandemic, at level six on the WHO’s six-point scale. WHO director-general Margaret Chan declared, “It is really all of humanity that is under threat during a pandemic.” Shortly afterwards, however, the WHO said that it would continue to use the term “pandemic” even if “the new virus turns out to cause mainly mild symptoms.”
Currently, however, the swine flu outbreak shows little sign of imminently threatening all of humanity. The Mexican government scaled back its tally of swine flu deaths from 176 to 100, of which 19 are “confirmed.” References to pandemics, made without any serious explanation of the scientific meaning of the term, have created an atmosphere of public fear. Since 9/11, the American media and government, in particular, have adopted fear-mongering as a standard tactic for stoking up fear and politically disorienting the public, and then exploiting such moods to justify a militaristic foreign policy and attacks on democratic rights. Media reports have explained the significance of a pandemic by citing the Black Death plague that wiped out a third of the population of 14th-century Europe, or the 1918 flu epidemic that killed 30-50 million people worldwide. Worried about swine flu? Then you should be terrified about the regular flu. In fact, the swine flu has until now caused far fewer deaths than even normal, seasonal flu, 250,000-500,000 in an average flu season. The solution: buy your Tamiflu or whatever NOW! BUY NOW and be saved. /more
How deadly it really is? At its heart, swine flu is a fairly traditional respiratory disease. It has an incubation period of one to two days, and causes fevers, lethargy, loss of appetite, coughing, runny nose and sore throat. In some cases, it can have a gastric component, leading to nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. The economic effect has been pretty much deadlier. New World Order launched a full scale war on humanity. What's next?

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Toward a Global "Internet of things"

Time of the internet of free, independent and uncensored opinions is over. To simply switch the entire World Wide Web off is virtually impossible — the bankers and the military would be the first losers. This is why, to end up with the alternative online media, the world elite have long been financing the development of a highly restrictive and fully controlled new internet. The end game is a system similar to China, whereby no websites even mildly critical of the government will be authorized. They say the internet is dead, or dying; it's full of viruses, worms and porn. We will see the future where washing machines, TVs, security systems, cars, traffic lights and other electronically-controlled systems would all be networked, controlled and maintained by a virtual supervisor. In the future, everything of value will be on the network in one form of another. Researchers seeking smarter ways to tackle the most complicated computing tasks think they've found the answer in a cloud computing, which aims to deliver supercomputing power over the Internet. Data centers that house hundreds or thousands of computers to quickly serve sophisticated software to legions of users. The services will be accessible anywhere that has access to networking infrastructure. You wouldn't need hard drives any more, all your data is in the cloud. Cloud computing has been criticized for limiting the freedom of users and making them dependent on the cloud computing provider. It is indeed only possible to use applications or services that the provider is willing to offer. Cloud computing will restrict users' freedom and that it is simply a trap aimed at forcing more people to buy into locked, proprietary systems that would cost them more and more over time. The Cloud spans many borders and "may be the ultimate form of globalization".

"The Spychips Threat"

Tiny RFID (Radio Frequency ID) tags, will enable computers to automatically recognize and identify everyday objects, and then track, trace, monitor, trigger events, and perform actions on those objects. The technology will effectively create an "Internet of things." Imagine a world where everything is on the internet. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is the use of an object (typically referred to as an RFID tag) applied to or incorporated into a product, animal, or person for the purpose of identification and tracking using radio waves. Have you already taken one home with you? RFID will fundamentally impact the industries of manufacturing, retail, transportation, health care, life sciences, pharmaceuticals, and government, offering an unprecedented real-time view of assets and inventories throughout the global supply chain. RFID chips have now been made as small as 0.3 millimeters (about the size of a pencil tip). Are you worried whether your child is in school or not ? Now, RFID technology will tell you the whereabouts of your child inside a school. UK has just undertaken a pilot project, in which school children are tagged with RFID chips. We are all familiar with biometric passports and ID chip cards. The next step would be implants under your skin. Data on radio chips can be cloned and modified without detection, according to a security researcher, raising question marks over the use of so-called e-passports that use RFID chips. All countries issuing e-passports are supposed to upload their digital certificate to the Public Key Directory (PKD). There has been an established link between the anti-RFID movement and fundamentalist Christians for quite a while now. This plan should raise a red flag for everyone familiar with the last book of the Bible... RFID has an important role in a ubiquitous spy network that is capable of serving powerful government officials, hostile regimes, criminals, pharmaceutical companies, insurance providers, and employers. The RFID industry is planning for humans to receive subdermal microchips, and for personally-identifiable chips to be embedded in everything we interact with. Potential for privacy loss is enormous, its implications are profound, and it will affect everyone. If this all sounds hyped and sensationalized, I recommend reading the patent applications for yourself, and statements from industry executives that celebrate future Draconian applications of RFID to provide authorities with methods to "abolish crime". Bad idea for governments to have such complete power--especially in countries that are already theocracies.Subscribe in a reader

Not only did the country successfully send a communications satellite into orbit, KCNA said, but "it is sending to the Earth the melodies of the immortal revolutionary paeans 'Song of General Kim Il Sung' and 'Song of General Kim Jong Il.' " According to the US military the top two stages of the North Korean rocket and its payload crashed into the Pacific ocean before reaching orbit, but who can argue with The Great Leader. Ordinary North Koreans will of course learn of their country’s historic achievement through the carefully controlled state media. The Taepodong 2 rocket used in Sunday's launch could in theory carry a nuclear warhead and reach the west coast of the US. But since it was apparently carrying a satellite it will be difficult to convince sceptics that the North Korea is in breach of existing UN resolutions. Americans say that it is not important what was the rocket carrying, Obama said that the launch "further isolated North Korea", and that the country must abandon its nuclear weapons programme. Meanwhile China, while officially disapproving of North Korea when it breaches international law, is unlikely to make a great deal of noise over its neighbour's activities. North Korea defied mounting international pressure when it launched a long-range rocket, with the move triggering an emergency meeting of the UN security council. The White House described the launch as a clear breach of UN resolution 1718, passed after long-range missile and nuclear tests in 2006, which demanded that North Korea suspend "all activities related to its ballistic missile programme". Tokyo had deployed warships and Patriot missile interceptors off its northern coast to shoot down any debris which might hit its territory. But, like the US, it had already said it would not intercept the device after Pyongyang warned that shooting it down would be an "act of war" and would prompt retaliation. No debris fell on Japan.
Some say that there was no satellite at all. North Korean scientists and engineers are known to have built several hundred short- and mid-range missiles as well as nuclear warheads, there's never been any sign of fabrication of a satellite. South Koreans say that North Koreans built a dummy satellite to save money. Anyway, North Korea can count the launch as a success. They shot a long-range missile farther than ever before, this one went approximately 2,000 miles, twice the distance of Taepodong-1 and nearly half the distance needed to deliver a warhead to Alaska or Hawaii.



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"A global crisis requires a global solution."...

In order to impose solutions such as a global plan on an unprecedented scale, first one needs to create a problem. They first invented "the global crisis" which demands a global response and now they will save the world. To establish a world government, it is necessary to bring the world to its knees economically, and shackle the taxpayers to perpetual debt through bailouts and stimulus packages funded by printing billions of dollars, to drastically devalue the currency in circulation thus impoverishing the taxpayers. The only benefactors are the extant banks, certain corporations and the individuals who created the financial disaster.

The G20 summit which took place in London on April 2 gathered the finance ministers and central bankers of 20 countries, including the seven major industrialised nations. The EU was represented by the Czech Republic, and the International Monetary Fund and World Bank also participated. 20 or 25 years ago, one could not even imagine that such different countries with such different economies, such different mentalities and historic traditions, would sit at the table and could agree in such a difficult situation on how to act, especially so quickly. Of course 20 years ago, they didn't have this global financial crisis.

Gordon Brown, UK prime minister, host of the summit, said the meeting marked the emergence of a “new world order”, as he unveiled what leaders claimed was a $1,100bn package of measures to tackle the global downturn, including support for lower income countries and a $250bn plan to boost the international money supply. "We will take action to build a stronger, more globally consistent, supervisory and regulatory framework for the future financial sector." "I think the new world order is emerging, and with it the foundations of a new and progressive era of international co-operation."... He just loves to say it again and again, his voice becomes deeper and he doesn't blink when he makes a pause and says: "new world order". It makes me sick. He is just their loud speaker, he is nobody but he is so proud that he's a part of it. Gordon Brown wanted a second fiscal stimulus but did not get one. However, he will be pleased that the agreement was universally accepted by the G20. He will also privately be delighted at the mood he helped create.

Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s president, who had threatened to walk out of the talks unless he got action on tax havens, said that agreement on a new regulatory regime and crackdown on tax havens showed that “a page has been turned” on an era of post-war “Anglo- Saxon” capitalism. Nicolas Sarkozy played the old summit game of talking tough - and this time he seemed to get his own way. There was never a chance of "empty chairing" his old pal Mr Brown, and he can take home strict new restrictions on tax havens. "The G20 countries have decided on a commitment by heads of state and government to strengthen regulation and supervision of financial activities. That was a priority for Germany and France." "A new world is emerging before our eyes," wrote Le Monde in its editorial.
"A world less Anglo-Saxon and less liberal. The irony is that it's in Washington (in November 2008) and in London that the ultraliberal bracket opened 20 years ago by Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher is closing."

President Barack Obama described the summit’s measures as “bolder and more rapid than any international response that we’ve seen to a financial crisis in memory” and predicted that they would mark “a turning point in our pursuit of global economic recovery”. "By any measure the London summit was historic," he said. "It was historic because of the size and the scope of the challenges that we face and because of the timeliness and magnitude of our response."
China: One of the big winners and emerging as the key power broker that the old order now turn to for help. They offered up the cash for the new IMF package, but can be certain of some of the benefits that the London deal with bring.




The London Summit 2009Subscribe in a reader

With global financial meltdown unfolding, more and more people grow angry and hit the streets. There will be more riots and anti government protests than ever and new world order has the answer, so called crowd control systems or non-lethal weaponry. Well, somebody has to control the angry mob... How would they do it?
Directed Acoustic Weapons
“Sonic Cannon” capable of broadcasting earsplitting, “disorienting” sounds, (have been used to break up peaceful demonstrations in public spaces in Iraq and the country of Georgia). The device, called a “long-range acoustic device” (LRAD), is described by its manufacturer, the California-based American Technology Corporation, as having the ability to emit an “attention-getting and highly irritating tone for behavior modification.” (the device, which costs roughly $20,000, is two feet in diameter, and weighs 60 pounds, has been used “in combat since December 2003.”). LARD works like a highly directional, high power megaphone, able to blast sounds (such as crowd-dispersal instructions in Arabic) in a narrow beam and with great clarity at a deafening 150 decibels (50 times the human threshold of pain). LRAD can also create deafening noises which can incapacitate people within 300 meters by "firing" short bursts of intense acoustic energy.

Directed Energy Weapons

Anti-personnel non lethal directed energy weapons include lasers, high power electro-magnetic pulse and directional acoustic weapons. One of the systems currently in use is the“SaberShot laser dazzler“ – this hand held or weapon mounted low-power device uses 250Mw of 532nm green-laser. When directed at the target, the laser's optics temporarily expand to generate a blinding light which penetrates smoke, fog at twice the range of white light. Modulation of such high intensity light cause disorientation, dazzle and blink reaction that reduces the target's activity.
Directed microwave energy is also utilized for non lethal weapon system applications. Raytheon's “Active denial System“ (ADS) is a non lethal, counter-personnel directed energy non-lethal weapon which can be used to protect fixed positions or from mobile as well as airborne platforms, against human targets at distances beyond the effective range of small arms. The so-called active denial system (ADS) projects microwave-like radiation for distances of more than 500 meters, creating an excruciating, full-body burning sensation in anyone caught in its beam. The millimetre-wave rays penetrate skin to a depth of about 0.03cm in but cause no permanent damage, according to Raytheon, the system’s US-based maker. A similar system is currently at an initial development phase at applied physics lab of the the Israeli Technion. A different acoustic weapon is the vehicle mounted “Acoustic Blaster“, developed by PRIMEX Physics International. This weapon can be used for area denial, and against selected groups in crowds, mobs and rioters or in a hostile situation. The weapon can be operated by a single person. So far the system was developed as a prototype consisting of an array of four combustion detonation driven devices fired simultaneously or independently. The detonation creates an acoustic pressure of up to 165dB at a distance of 15 meters. The resulting acoustic pressure waveform can be optimized for acoustic-physiological coupling to targets for antipersonnel applications. The US Air Force Research Laboratory (ARL) is also working on a “Sequential Arc Discharge Acoustic Generator“ (SADAG) which produces high-intensity impulsive sound waves generated by electrical means. Among the programs currently under development at the USMC Non Lethal Weapons Program are multi-sensory devices aimed to disable individuals within structures, a taser to incapacitate a single individual and mobility denial system that deploys slippery foam to impede the movement of foot and vehicular traffic.

They are ready... are you?




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Dismissing these arguments just because of the fact that cannabis is an illegal substance is not only short-sighted but flat-out criminal!


Question 1 - What research has been done previously and what is currently known about the possible medical uses of marijuana?

There have been a series of six studies conducted by U.S. state health departments under research protocols approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The study was commissioned by the White House and Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey. In short, the reports verifies that marijuana does have medical benefit, and argues that it should be made available to patients who could benefit from its use now. Numerous published studies suggest that marijuana has medical value in treating patients with serious illnesses such as AIDS, glaucoma, cancer, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, migraines, arthritis, astma, PMS, Alzheimer's disease, hepatitis C and chronic pain (check the links below). Public opinion is also in favor of ending the prohibition of medical marijuana. According to a 1999 Gallup poll, 73% of Americans are in favor of "making marijuana legally available for doctors to prescribe in order to reduce pain and suffering." In a 2004 poll commissioned by AARP, 72% of Americans ages 45 and older thought marijuana should be legal for medicinal purposes if recommended by a doctor. Medical marijuana has strong support from voters and health organizations. The federal government, however, has resisted any change to marijuana's illegal status at the federal level. In Europe, The Netherlands has led the way in cannabis reform since it amended its Opium Act in 1976 to distinguish among drugs according to levels of risk. Identifying cannabis as a "soft drug," the Dutch government decided to treat possession and cultivation of up to 30 grams as activities "not for prosecution, detection or arrest." This policy of tolerance paved the way for the "coffee shop system" of publicly distributing both marijuana and hashish. As clinical trials get started in the United Kingdom, as more Australian states lower penalties for personal possession and use, and as more continental European countries choose not to enforce criminal sanctions for personal possession, alternative ways of regulating cannabis will continue to develop. Whether individual governments choose to play a role in the drug's responsible regulation remains to be seen.

Question 2 - What is known about the possible uses of marijuana in food and textile industry?

Perhaps the most interesting fact about industrial hemp, especially when compared to trees or to other fibre crops, is its amazing versatility.
Cannabis as a food source. Cannabis can provide a cheap, renewable and abundant food source for the planet. Hemp seeds are one of the most nutritious grains on Earth, rich in high quality protein, very low in saturated fats and containing all of the essential fatty acids required by human beings. Cannabis grows almost anywhere and its cultivation does not require farmers in developing countries to purchase pesticides, herbicides and artificial fertilisers from agricultural corporations. The cannabis plant is being rediscovered for it environmental friendly applicability. As you might know hemp is one of the oldest crops domesticated by man. The history of cultivating hemp goes back for thousands of years. Cannabis cultivation appears to have evolved simultaneously in separate civilisations across Eurasia. Humankind’s earliest utilisation of cannabis was most likely in eating the seeds of the plant. Hemp seeds are among the most healthiest of grains on this planet.

The stalk of the hemp plant produces one of the world’s strongest natural fibres and can be used to make things like rope, textile and paper. Industrial hemp remains one of the best sources for long fibres and textiles of all kinds. Hemp cloth can be every bit as soft and versatile as cotton and is stronger, more durable and more water absorbent. The same is true of hemp textiles versus synthetics such as nylon and its derivatives. Hemp textiles are both superior in quality and less ecologically damaging to produce. Hemp pulp is by far the most efficient, rational choice for paper production. A hectare of fibre hemp can yield over four times the pulp produced by traditional timber-pulp trees. Hemp can also compete with any of the faster growing trees (such as eucalypts) that are currently being considered as a source for pulp. Processing hemp pulp requires only a fraction of the chemicals necessary to process wood fibre into paper. Hemp is a bio fuel. Hemp is a viable, renewable alternative to petrochemical and other fossil resources. It can supply oils for fuel or lubrication, plastics, paints and varnishes. It is also the most productive and efficient known source of biomass. Why is it that our society is not using this environmentally friendly, versatile and abundant resource? Is it really because it might be a health risk or is it because its definitely a risk to big industry?

Question 3 - How addictive is marijuana?

Colin Blakemore, PhD, Chair of the Department of Physiology at Oxford University, and Leslie Iversen, PhD, Professor of Pharmacology at Oxford University, wrote in their editorial "Cannabis, Why It Is Safe," published in The Times [United Kingdom] on Aug. 6, 2001:

"For some users, perhaps as many as 10 per cent, cannabis leads to psychological dependence, but there is scant evidence that it carries a risk of true addiction. Unlike cigarette smokers, most users do not take the drug on a daily basis, and usually abandon it in their twenties or thirties. Unlike for nicotine, alcohol and hard drugs, there is no clearly defined withdrawal syndrome, the hallmark of true addiction, when use is stopped."

The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy stated in Section 15, "Psychiatric Disorders," Chapter 195, "Drug Use and Dependence" and published on its website (accessed Nov. 20, 2002):

"Any drug that causes euphoria and diminishes anxiety can cause dependence, and cannabis is no exception. However, heavy use and complaints of inability to stop are unusual.
Cannabis can be used episodically without evidence of social or psychological dysfunction. The term dependence probably is misapplied to many users. No withdrawal syndrome occurs when the drug is discontinued, but some heavy users report disrupted sleep and nervousness when they stop."

Dusk falls on one of several hundred greenhouses that dot the northern California landscape, marijuana farmers anxiously await the harvest season...

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