ictchris

The trade embargo has ensured that the socialist state has remained in place - it's a massive US policy failure. If they got rid of it the regime would be gone far sooner. As it stands, the semi-siege economy remains in place and the Soviets have been partially replaced by Venezuela, who trade oil for doctors. However, when Venezuela's economy collapses (they devalued their currency last week and Chavez' policies have made the country a complete basket case) it will face the same situation again. I like the phrase 'The Miamian Diaspora'. It sounds like a Nu-Prog band that would support the Mars Volta.

Amazing that so many people try to leave this Cuban paradise by swimming 70 odd miles to Miami. Clearly those people haven't been reading the latest UNICEF reports!

Celtic away. We would beat them.

The City Centre is depressing as hell. Anytime I go back it seems that there are more To Let signs, crap pubs and charity shops.

Why should we introduce Soviet-style minimum pricing? All this would do is boost the profits of supermarkets and distort the market. I really doubt anyone who drinks to dangerous levels is going to say "oh well, my bottle of White Lightening is ?1.23 more expensive, I think I'll go home and watch EastEnders tonight and in the long run embrace a sensible-drinking cafe culture." The vast, vast majority of people drink sensibly and do not become violent, do not develop liver disease and do not require the government to constantly tell them what to do with their own time, money and bodies. If people get drunk and break the law they should be dealt with.

A good old fashioned father-son beating will sort him out.

Perhaps we should ahve just put Marius in prison and we wouldn't owe him ?200,000 odd?

Many countries execute drug dealers or imprison them for very long jail sentences . Thailand, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Laos are a few examples. What do these countries have in common? They either produce or are used to traffic huge ammounts of illegal drugs, perhaps suggesting that barbarism isn't the answer.

Heroin addicts are pretty much unemployble though, and any move towards legalisation would have to be accompanied by support services for addicts whose lives are compeltely out of control. While i agree with your point about state intrusion, i think dougiedanger's original point about state services clearing up the mess is an important one. If, as a society, we want to address the heroin problem than we have to invest serious money in those services and in educating and employing the increaing percentage of people in this country who find themselves addicted to heroin and living in the kind of misery and poverty that tends to accompany the use of that drug. I'm more than happy for that money to come out of general taxation. The scale of addiction, poverty, and poor education in this country is a problem for every one of us. There are actually many employed drug addicts, I have worked with a few people who would probably be classed as dependent on substances. I have certainly worked with people (in the past) who were alcoholics. Most employers are actually bound not to fire people who are alcoholics, unless they can bag them for gross misconduct. Margaret Thatcher's former advisor on NHS reform was a heroin addict. Of course, you can't argue that those addicted to a substance lead a particularly fulfilled life but to criminalise the substance simply transfers the problem down the line. One point in the blog article I posted is illustrating as well, I think - If someone who smoked went to through their employer and asked for help stopping, if they had health insurance or an employee health 'system', then no-one would bat an eyelid. I very much doubt that any heroin addict who is in employment would do something similar now, as the stigma would be too great, their employer would easily have an excuse to fire the employee for gross misconduct and even if they didn't the social pressures would be massive. I tjhink drug legalisation or relaxation of the laws would reduce unemployment among those with substance abuse problems. Another point against prohibition is that it clearly doesn't work. Drugs are available in every single town, village, probably just about every street in Edinburgh, whether you are in the New Town or Niddrie. You can buy drugs inside maxiumum security prisons and Fettes College. If something plainly doesn't work then perhaps we should try something else?

Good blog post on this subject from the Adam Smith Institute

I don't want the government worrying about my relationships with my family, friends or anyone else. Plenty of families are split up due to factors that aren't controlled by the state - do you want the government to legislate against everything that could cause a family breakdown? That's the logical conclusion of your argument. The fact is that the prohibition of drugs causes the problems of impoverished addicts, impure drugs and crime. If drugs were legal then the government would also presumably collect taxes on their sale which would contribute to paying for hospitals to treat people. So people should take drugs to boost government coffers to pay for treatment of drug addicts? FFS. :( Well done. You've missed the point so much you've hit the corner flag.

I don't want the government worrying about my relationships with my family, friends or anyone else. Plenty of families are split up due to factors that aren't controlled by the state - do you want the government to legislate against everything that could cause a family breakdown? That's the logical conclusion of your argument. The fact is that the prohibition of drugs causes the problems of impoverished addicts, impure drugs and crime. If drugs were legal then the government would also presumably collect taxes on their sale which would contribute to paying for hospitals to treat people.

Yes Scotland would be in a much better state if the massively subsidised, loss making nationalised industries had been propped up by government in perpetuity. The steel works in Motherwell were one of the larges in Britain. Yet it was shut down. Sorry I forgot - large = good.

If Alex Salmond is invited to take part, will Lord Pearson also participate? After all, UKIP receved more votes in the last Westminster elections than the SNP? Also, whoever is leader of the Green Party commune could also ask for an invite as they got almost as many votes as the SNP. If BBC Scotland want to produce some pishy version of the debate with Iain Gray or Jim Murphy bumping gums with Baron Von Smugback then they should go ahead.

At least the head of state in the US doesn't have to defend anyone's faith and religious leaders aren't appointed to legislature.

Yes Scotland would be in a much better state if the massively subsidised, loss making nationalised industries had been propped up by government in perpetuity.

If drugs were legal it would reduce massively many of the problems associated with drug use. Heroin is actually very cheap to produce, hence the massive profits involved in trafficking it illegally. The high cost of the drug is the result of it's illegality and the majority of the crime is a result of the cost - i.e. housebreaking etc. Also, I don't think it's justifiable for the government to tell me, or any other sentient person, what I can and cannot do to my own body. If I want to spend every penny I have on getting wasted beyond belief I should be able to do so, so long as I don't harm anyone else.

I will be following on the radio or on teletext or whatever you youngsters call it these days.

We played better but didn't create enough chances. If Rooney had a bit more pace he wouldn't have been caught by McGregor on a couple of ccasions. Defence played well - Lionel was good I thought.

Any chance that the game will be off? Snowing in Edinburgh just now, the forecast is for snow on Saturday in Dunfy.

Your political compass Economic Left/Right: 7.75 Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -3.18 Libertarian right winger, yeah baby.

Butcher says in the paper today that he has targets in January and also that some players will be leaving as they are unsatisfied with not getting games.

Yes, I've heard that the Green Movement protesters in Iran and the NorthKoreans swimming across frozen rivers to China often console themselves with the thought that while things are bad for them, at least they aren't Caley Thistle fans - sometimes the burgers sell out!

I will be going.

Iain 'Lee Bowyer' Vigurs scored for County Rory McAllister scored for Brechin Steve HIslop scored twice for Arbroath Bryan Gilfillan got booked for Annan Athletic.