Taliban Again Offers Trade of Poppy Cultivation for Recognition
Last Friday, Afghan Minister Maulvi Kalamud-Din reiterated an offer first made by Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar in October. Kalamud-Din promised to end poppy cultivation in Afghanistan in exchange for U.N. recognition of the Taliban as the legitimate government.
Kalamud-Din insisted that the cultivation of poppies does not violate Islamic law, and takes no responsibility for the fact that the chief product derived from poppies is heroin.
Given that the sale of poppies for heroin production is a major source of income for Afghanistan, Kalamud-Din said that "if the world community wanted to elimination cultivation of poppy," it would have to "provide assistance" to Afghanistan. Kalamud-Din did not elaborate as to what that assistance would include.
6/19/2013 House Passes 20 Week Abortion Ban - Yesterday, the House of Representatives approved a nationwide abortion ban after 20 weeks gestation in a vote of 228 to 196. . . .
6/18/2013 Supreme Court Strikes Down Proof of Citizenship Voter Requirements - On Monday, the United States Supreme Court struck down an Arizona law requiring voters to provide proof of citizenship before being allowed register to vote.
In an opinion written [PDF] by Justice Antonin Scalia, the Court ruled that the Arizona statute violated the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA, also known as the "Motor Voter Law") of 1993, which created a federal form that individuals can mail in to register to vote in federal elections. . . .
