Drug competition, dam addition, bandit ambition

World poll critical of Bush

The British newspaper the Guardian reported last week… World poll critical of Bush

The British newspaper the Guardian reported last week that President George W. Bush has “squandered a wealth of sympathy around the world” since Sept. 11, 2001, after a public opinion poll in 10 countries, including some of the United States’ closest allies, revealed growing hostility toward America since he came to office in 2000.

Conducted by 10 of the world’s leading newspapers, including Canada’s La Presse, Australia’s Sydney Morning Herald, Japan’s Asahi Shimbun, France’s Le Monde and the Guardian, the polls showed that eight out of the 10 countries disapproved of the Iraq war, and would like to see Democradic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., defeat Bush in next month’s election.

A majority in the United Kingdom believes American democracy is no longer a model for others. However, the poll results make a clear distinction between anti-Americanism and a dislike of the American people, with 68 percent expressing a favorable opinion of Americans.

Government program is half-baked

The Dutch Health Ministry is in crisis: It is sitting on a pile of pot it can’t sell.

The Associated Press reported that a government program allowing people to buy marijuana on prescription at any pharmacy has not sold enough because it is being undercut by the traditional “coffee shop” that sells good-quality produce at a fraction of the official price.

Bas Kuik, a spokesman for the Office of Medicinal Cannabis, an arm of the Dutch government, said last week that, of the 450 pounds in anticipated sales, only about 175 have been sold.

While pharmacies sell two varieties of weed, ranging from $10 to $12 a gram, coffee shops sell marijuana for as little as $5 a gram. Only the highest-quality varieties approach government prices.

China floods valley, people

Work for Chinese developers is underway in a massive dam project that will wash away an entire section of the Yangtze River Valley in central China.

The construction will flood a world heritage site, displace more than 100,000 people, and destroy the unique way of life of the Naxi people, one of the world’s only surviving matriarchal societies, the Guardian reported last week.

The battle to save the gorge, which is one of the deepest in the world, pits an alliance of local tribespeople and environmental groups against China’s biggest independent power producer, the Huaneng Group. The company is headed by Li Xiaopeng, son of former Prime Minister Li Peng, who oversaw the 1989 student massacre in Tiananmen Square.

The alliance originally hoped it could reserve the area around the historic town of Lijiang for tourism, but the state has reportedly planned to build eight additional major dams along a 350-mile stretch of the Yangtze river.

Modern-day “Robin Hood” killed

Indian security forces shot and killed a modern day “Robin Hood” Monday night. Koose Muniswamy Veerappan had been on the run since the late 1960s, the BBC reported, and attained legendary status throughout India.

Veerappan, who had a $438,000 bounty on his head, was revered by many for giving away money to impoverished locals, and reviled by others for his ruthless behavior. He began his career as leader of an ivory smuggling gang, and is reported to have killed as many as 150 people over the years.

In addition to carrying out kidnappings, Veerappen and his gang terrorized police patrols with bombs and landmines.

Veerappan was famous for his large handlebar moustache and his success in evading capture during the last 35 years. Hiding in the vast rainforests of India’s southern states Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, earned him the nickname “Jungle Cat.”

Two Bollywood movies have been made about his exploits, and in 2000, Veerappan made headlines throughout the world after his gang kidnapped a 71-year-old Bollywood movie star and held him hostage for more than three months.

Veerappan’s wife, Muthulakshmi, was recently asked what she saw in him. She replied, “his notoriety, and his moustache.”

Stray dogs overrun town

Citizens of Mamurras, northern Albania, had to call in police and hunters last week after a pack of 200 mountain dogs descended on the small town, maiming at least nine people.

The pack overran the main street, headed by an identifiable leader. Reuters reported that resident Anton Frroku commented, “Even in the movies, I have never seen a horde of 200 dogs attacking people in the middle of a town.”

Residents threw stones to break up the pack, and police and hunters killed 20 dogs, including the leader.