Here is an interesting graph that shows the cost of US led war compared against univesal health care, universal preschool, security, cancer research and immunization.

It is easy to see how much the American people are losing with these unjustified wars: masacring people within and abroad the country.

cost-of-us-war-against-healthcare

I was reading through some articles about the increase of opium production in Afghanistan and came across the following graph from Wikipedia.

Opium Poppy Cultivation in Afghanistan (in Hectors)

This data was published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

It is interesting to note that during the period when Taliban was gaining power,  the opium production actually showed a downward trend to a point where in 2001 it was reduced to its a minimum record since 1994.

Many argue that this containment of opium production under the Taliban regime was not favorable to the American drug corporations, which consequently become one of the big factors in the invasion of Afghanistan and the decision to  overthrow the Taliban regime.

After which, the production of opium surely picked up again and kept rising up beyond previous records.

The fact that Pharmaceutical business is the second most profit making industry after oil is no secret and the American government benefited largely from this increased opium production.

Following is a list of Medical drugs produced from Opium:

When considering the number of people around the world that use Acetaminophen daily, a pain killer that has Codeine as its main ingredient, the amount cash that is generated from having cheap opium at hand is astronomical.

Opium (cheap opium) creates huge profit margins for pharmaceutical companies.

By controlling the region and increasing the production of this plant, similar to oil, the American government kept its price reduced and well favorable, with no regards to regional and global effects of such massive opium surplus.

Sure the American companies have made billions of dollars, but at the cost of many Afghani, Iranian, Pakistani young men and women killed if not others around the world, many falling into the traps of addiction.

An addiction which devastates not only a single person, but many families, their offspring and eventually destroys the foundation for a functional society.

1- Iran has signed the NPT (Non Proliferation Treaty)

The NPT clearly states that all parties have “an inalienable right to nuclear enrichment”. Iran has been progressing towards nuclear power for over 40 years, which started and supported by the western powers during the days of pro-western dictatorship of Shah.

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“After reading this magnificent book, I am still puzzled as to why such a remarkable personality like Leopold Weiss still remains obscure to both the Western world… Leopold Weiss (1900-1992) later known as Muhammad Asad was a man who has seen and experienced all of the main events of the 20th century at first hand, and has lived to describe it lucidly truly deserves to be on the map of personalities of the last century. His contribution to 20th century societies of the Middle-East is immense. A first class traveller, a journalist, a writer, a philosopher, an adventurer, a statesman, a diplomat, a scholar… at least should be considered on par with Lawrence of Arabia, if not above, for the sole reason that he was involved in the shaping of more than one country, not just Arabia.

Muhammad Asad - Leopold Weiss

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