The end of America's war on drugs

Benni has not behaved the way a professional athlete should. Sam is being heavy handed and I'll be mad if Benni is forced out. Sky are idiots.

It is Roberts out not Benni at present.

As If It Weren't Obvious Already... by Conor Friedersdorf If you're one of the Americans who thinks that controlling our southern border is a must -- that the potential for smuggling terrorists or their weapons imperils our national security -- perhaps you should join me in diagnosing everyone who wants to keep waging the War on Drugs as part of the problem. Cue a New York Times story that answers the question, "What happens when you create a hugely lucrative black market in illicit substances?" The answer: Mexican traffickers — facing beefed-up security on the border that now includes miles of new fencing, floodlights, drones, motion sensors and cameras — have stepped up their efforts to corrupt the border police. They research potential targets, anticorruption investigators said, exploiting the cross-border clans and relationships that define the region, offering money, sex, whatever it takes. But, with the border police in the midst of a hiring boom, law enforcement officers believe that traffickers are pulling out the stops, even soliciting some of their own operatives to apply for jobs. “In some ways,” said Keith Slotter, the agent in charge of the F.B.I.’s San Diego office, “it’s like the old spy game between the old Soviet Union and the U.S. — trying to compromise each other’s spies.” James Tomsheck, the assistant commissioner for internal affairs at Customs and Border Protection, and other investigators said they had seen many signs that the drug organizations were making a concerted effort to infiltrate the ranks. “We are very concerned,” Mr. Tomsheck said. “There have been verifiable instances where people were directed to C.B.P. to apply for positions only for the purpose of enhancing the goals of criminal organizations. They had been selected because they had no criminal record; a background investigation would not develop derogatory information.” Perhaps it isn't worth keeping drugs illegal if the cost is the corruption of our border agents, murderous turf wars in our cities, billions of dollars spent jailing non-violent offenders, children of non-violent offenders growing up without their parents, the rise of paramilitary drug cartels destabilizing multiple Latin American countries and capable at any moment of using their smuggling channels to help terrorists, no-knock raids in American neighborhoods that regularly terrify innocents and sometimes kill them, and addicts who overdose more than they would if dosage and quality were controlled.

Everton and Fulham have got themselves some real glamour names to play haven't they?

All three English clubs should go through in the CL. Liverpool have an eminently losable game against Unirea instead of facing Real Madrid- teehee.

Benni is sheer class. But he is 32 and not looking after himself the way he should.

Washington Post reports on rapid move to legalise pot in US States and collapse in support for prohibition

I am absolutely torn on this one. Benni is the most skilful player now at the club, is a brilliant goal scorer (look at his record) and can turn it on when he wants. Plus it would be great to see him as a Rover and leading the South Africa front line. BUT his lack of self-discipline in everything he does combined with the fact he is of an age where lack of physical fitness is literally a career-ender (look at Fowler as another example) means I would enormously reluctantly part company if he cannot mend his ways. For all his professed desire to play in the World Cup Finals, apparently he still couldn't put in a decent shift against Japan yesterday.

The Economist approvingly tracks the increasing decriminalisation of drugs

Hasn't Benni had swine flu and that was what Sam was referring to.

Benni is and always has been a class act. We don't have enough class as it is at Ewood to be able to keep Benni on the bench.

Hardly a resounding vote of support from me to the Axe was it?

Reset the table to a 1-0 win to Liverpool in Lyon. Lyon Pl4 GD+5 Pts 9 Fior Pl4 GD+5 Pts 9 Lpol Pl4 GD-1 Pts 6 Games to play Fior v Lyon Deb V Lpol Lyon v Deb Lpol v Fior Assuming the Hungarian lose the last two games, then Liverpool would have needed a favourable result for Lyon in Florence. If Fiorentina win that one Lpool have to beat Fiorentina by 3 or more or else they are out because Lyon are ahead on the head-to-head and Fiorentina are ahead head-to-head.

Benni and Dunn are only mutually exclusive because we have Andrews playing in central midfield. Sort out that position and Benni and Dunn would be a lethal combination.

They didn't because to qualify they had still to get ahead of one of Lyons or Fiorentina. At 1-0, Lyon were winning on aggregate so Lpool needed to get more points than them. Fiorentina were stuffing Debrecen so that meant even if they won in Lyons, they still needed a 3-0 win against Fiorentina at Anfield. Hardly a very good chance of qualifying in my book.

Even when it was 1-0 to the Scousers they still were not going to qualify. They had to beat Lyon by more than Lyon beat them at Anfield (3-1) to be in with a realistic chance in the last two games. Their remote chance now comprises beating Fiorentina 3-0 or 4-1 etc and a prayer mat for other results. They were out before tonight and are still out.

I'd love Liverpool to get KO'd from their next £20m pay day but I'd like their agony prolonging long enough for it to affect them when they come to Ewood. I'm a cruel so and so...

I've just seen confirmation why Aguero is so highly rated.... Steven Reid eat your heart out! ...and why he'll be wearing a Chelsea shirt and we might yet have a chance of keeping Di Santo.

Let's be honest- legalise drugs and Society would benefit- The Independent If that fraud Alan Johnson is serious about reclassifying canabis, then he should expect politicians to set an example and report to their local police station to confess all their past drug taking activities. A crime surely remains a crime no matter when it was committed. The sentences given to the likes of David Cameron and George Osborne should be the norm applied to all users who are unlucky to be nicked using whatever drugs the Parliamentarians have taken. This has to be the fairest approach. Incidentally, Prof Nutt's work positions alcohol as a borderline Class A/ Class B substance and tobacco as Class B. Ecstacy scarcely warrants so much as a Class C rating.

Hey I don't for a moment condone it or approve or am anything other than totally opposed to drugs abuse but that question just shows that drugs are probably more mainstream than tobacco is these days. Anyway, here is how our fellow Brits popped their clogs over the ast two years.. I shouldn't be being irreverent because my mother died last week (suffering a 100% legal bad trip on the way- cannabis would not have caused the same problem)) but this shows that: For every person who died of cannabis excess, 5 fell off a cliff and 170 died of alcohol poisoning (that is direct poisoning by alcohol after a bender too many, not any of the digestive or cancerous or mental illnesses that alcohol is traditionally blamed for). To be really naughty the score British deaths last year was rat bites 1 Al Qayda 0. Send the troops down the sewers- they are wasting their time in Afghanistan!

News reports that Benni will go on loan to Pompey in the second half of this season. Do we have a death wish?

Blackburn without a Premier League Trophy to be more precise. With the exception of Sevilla, not a good week for Spanish teams. Madrid and Barca both beaten at home and Atletico thrashed out of sight by Chelsea.

Gillett and Hicks will not pull the dosh from their own pockets to sack Raffa and get a decent replacement unless one of them (Gillett) thinks its worth winning the argument with his co-owner (Hicks) that it is his get even time with the Spanish waiter for having sided the wrong way when Parry was still there. It is like "Soap!" at Anfield these days. Liverpool FC haven't got that sort of money lying around themselves so Raffa will probably stay even if the Mancs wup the scousers at Anfield this weekend.

Yes Lyon could easily double Fiorentina but even that favourable result leaves Liverpool needing effectively to get the better of Fiorentina over two legs starting the second leg 2-0 down. Even if they beat Fiorentina 3-0, Liverpool still have to get as good a result in Lyon as Fiorentina do at home to Debrecin. If Fiorentina get a draw or win against Lyon, Liverpool could get through with a better than 2-1 win in Lyon if they also win their other two games and given how they struggled at Anfield against Debrecin, the Hungarians will be fancying themselves at home- they might well be challenging Liverpool for the Europa League slot if Liverpool don't buck up. They are as good as out I tell you!