Source: Foreign Policy in Focus

The rhetoric has changed. According to new U.S. "drug czar" Gil Kerlikowske, who heads the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), the Obama administration doesn’t use the term "drug war" because the government shouldn’t be waging war against its own citizens. In March 2009, U.S. Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke described the opium poppy eradication effort in Afghanistan as "the most wasteful and ineffective program that I have seen in 40 years." He bluntly stated that the U.S. government had wasted millions of dollars on a counterproductive program that generates political support for the Taliban and undermines nation-building efforts. And in his trip to Peru this past April, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Arturo Valenzuela noted that the fundamental problem is not coca cultivation itself, but poverty and inequality. read more

In economic news here at home, the number of Americans receiving food stamps has reached a new record of nearly 40 million, or about one in eight Americans. The number has increased by 8 million since December 2008.

Source: Truthout

Leang Seckon, one of Cambodia’s foremost contemporary artists, will see his first European solo exhibition, The Heavy Skirt, opening March 31 at London’s Rossi & Rossi gallery. Unlike depictions of his homeland that you might come across in the US, Seckon’s work presents a rich and complex view of Cambodia, involving elements of performance, collage, painting and illustration. But it can be confusing, like speaking with the artist himself.

"A problem is me, not perfect English," Seckon tells me when I turn on my tape recorder. But I disagree: The problem is how rarely we take the time to listen. read more