Hitchens on Afghanistan's Poppies: Buy Them, Don't Burn Them!

Nick Gillespie | October 8, 2008

Over at Slate, Christopher Hitchens proposes a novel solution to the "problem" of Afghan farmers continued interest in growing opium poppies, their biggest cash crop: The U.S. should buy the crop rather than letting the Taliban do so.

We don't have to smoke the stuff once we have purchased it: It can be burned or thrown away or perhaps more profitably used to manufacture the painkillers of which the United States currently suffers a shortage. (As it is, we allow Turkey to cultivate opium poppy fields for precisely this purpose.) Why not give Afghanistan the contract instead? At one stroke, we help fill its coffers and empty the main war chest of our foes while altering the "hearts-and-minds" balance that has been tipping away from us. I happen to know that this option has been discussed at quite high levels in Afghanistan itself, and I leave you to guess at the sort of political constraints that prevent it from being discussed intelligently in public in the United States.

More here.

Never miss an opportunity to read Hitchens' tremendous 2001 interview with reason. A snippet:

The thing I've often tried to point out to people from the early days of the Thatcher revolution in Britain was that the political consensus had been broken, and from the right. The revolutionary, radical forces in British life were being led by the conservatives. That was something that almost nobody, with the very slight exception of myself, had foreseen.

I'd realized in 1979, the year she won, that though I was a member of the Labour Party, I wasn't going to vote for it. I couldn't bring myself to vote conservative. That's purely visceral. It was nothing to do with my mind, really. I just couldn't physically do it. I'll never get over that, but that's my private problem.

And while we're at it, watch him sing a decidedly off-color Christmas song at last year's Very Secular Christmas Party at reason's DC HQ:

Help Reason celebrate its next 40 years. Donate Now!

Try Reason's award-winning print edition today! Your first issue is FREE if you are not completely satisfied.

|10.8.08 @ 2:01PM|#

i like hitchens too but i will never understand how so many libertarians like hitchens (off the top off my head i know penn jillette, tucker carlson and the reason staff like him) there's like almost nothing libertarian about him position wise other then a few social issues i'm sure most liberals and libertarians agree on.

i guess it's his sorta rebel status that's the appeal.

Naga Sadow|10.8.08 @ 2:01PM|#

So am I supposed to believe that Turkish poppies never end up in the US as herion or cocaine? Only Taliban poppies do?

Elemenope|10.8.08 @ 2:03PM|#

So am I supposed to believe that Turkish poppies never end up in the US as herion or cocaine? Only Taliban poppies do?

I think rather you're supposed to believe that buying Turkish poppies instead of shooting Turks and burning their shit has been an overall better policy. And if it works in Turkey, why not Afghanistan...

p.s. Cocaine does not come from the opium poppy.

|10.8.08 @ 2:05PM|#

More painkillers would be great. Maybe those assholes at the hospital wouldn't be so fucking stingy with them.

I once broke the proximal bone on my big toe into 7 pieces and they sent me home with 600mg Advil. Cuntrags.

p.s. Cocaine does not come from the opium poppy.

Maybe not that shit you buy.

|10.8.08 @ 2:07PM|#

So am I supposed to believe that Turkish poppies never end up in the US as herion or cocaine?

LMNOP beat me to it, but I am ashamed of you, Naga. Know your drugs. Understand them. Love them.

This Afghanistan idea is far too sensible to be enacted. It send the wrong message! To the Children!

|10.8.08 @ 2:09PM|#

This has always seemed like an obvious solution to me. We could also just pay them not to grow stuff. You know, like we do with American farmers

I once broke the proximal bone on my big toe into 7 pieces and they sent me home with 600mg Advil.

It's amazing. At least dentists are generally pretty generous.

|10.8.08 @ 2:10PM|#

Especially oral surgeons.

Jerry|10.8.08 @ 2:12PM|#

Finally someone who dares to speak up about this in public. Afghanistan should be host to the Pfizers and Mercks of this world.

Naga Sadow|10.8.08 @ 2:14PM|#

Elemenope,

Right. My fault. Lumping my drugs together. Coca plant not poppies.

Epi,

I only love pot. One to many times thinking my heart was gonna explode.

SugarFree,

Too bad you don't live around me. I usually just give any Lortabs I get from the dentist to my friends. Lortabs and the like just make my teeth itch, but 800mg Advils work like a charm. No idea why.

Jerry|10.8.08 @ 2:14PM|#

And it will make hydrocodone derived medicine cheaper. Which is a good thing, with all these presidential debates.

EscapedWestOfTheBigMuddy|10.8.08 @ 2:15PM|#

@SugarFree

I once broke the proximal bone on my big toe into 7 pieces and they sent me home with 600mg Advil. Cuntrags.

Bummer.

I got Tylenol 3 for a stress fracture in my middle toe, once.

I mostly stuck with advil because I couldn't work on the stuff, but it took care of my migraines for a year and a half...

|10.8.08 @ 2:18PM|#

Especially oral surgeons.

YES. They prescribe Percocet like it's aspirin.

|10.8.08 @ 2:20PM|#

I only love pot. One to many times thinking my heart was gonna explode.

You need better coke, cut with less meth.

Too bad you don't live around me. I usually just give any Lortabs I get from the dentist to my friends.

Naga, hit my email and I'll give you a P.O. Box to send to ;-0

|10.8.08 @ 2:22PM|#

Especially oral surgeons.

Amen. Oral surgery is particularly shitty, so they'd better. Post wisdom teeth removal I had extra goodies to last for weeks.

Naga Sadow|10.8.08 @ 2:24PM|#

Epi,

On a few occasions I smoked a blunt laced with cocaine. Way better than the regular stuff.

Send them in the mail? You tryin' to get a no knock raid on your house. Also, my friends would do battle with you to keep their stash.

"Just walk away"

|10.8.08 @ 2:28PM|#

No, I want your excess Lortabs!

Dagny,

I had the privilege of finding out I was allergic to oxycodone after getting my wisdom teeth cut out. I also woke up during the surgery. I all I remember is gloved bloody hands in my face and someone go "Oh, shit! He's awake!" They didn't like the fact I was joking about it afterwards.

Naga Sadow|10.8.08 @ 2:34PM|#

Epi, SugarFree,

Clearly we need something to settle this dispute. But what? Some type of structure is needed. A domed structure, I think. Studded with weapons and spikes. And this structure will need a cool name. Perhaps . . . a ThunderDome?

Juanita Wayback Machine|10.8.08 @ 2:34PM|#

Juanita | February 18, 2008, 7:24am | #

All drugs are evil without exception. I am sorry Dr. Morgan is dead but he should never have advocated the use of drugs. Illegal drugs are illegal for a reason and can never be used safely in any dose, and anyone who uses them even once is an addict and a criminal.

BakedPenguin|10.8.08 @ 2:35PM|#

One [too] many times thinking my heart was gonna explode.

That was one for me. A friend had some coke base (this was just prior to crack being introduced) that he shared with me. Since I was only used to pot, I took a big hit. Shortly afterward, I was waiting for a cardiac event. After I came down, I never did any stimulant stronger than caffeine.

gmatts|10.8.08 @ 2:35PM|#

I saw Hitchens the other morning on Scarborough's show talking about this very topic. (His show, by the way, is actually a decent show by morning show standards.)
The amazing thing was that a rationale discussion about it actually took place. It didn't devolve into the usual "I can't believe you want 8 year old kids doing heroin!!" hysteria that usually follows any such discussion about drugs and the failed policies towards them. And Pat Buchanan sat next to him and didn't have a knee jerk reaction to Hitchen's proposal.

Here's the video of his appearence:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-f66a2HVy5U

|10.8.08 @ 2:36PM|#

Especially oral surgeons.

On the other hand, it's a real pain in the ass getting pain killers out of anal surgeons.

Naga Sadow|10.8.08 @ 2:37PM|#

BakedPenguin,

Something similiar happened to me. Except several times as I am more or less at the mercy of hot women wanting me to drink or do drugs with them.

|10.8.08 @ 2:39PM|#

Just because he was wearing a fancy towel didn't mean he was an anal surgeon.

You might ought to get some counseling, dude.

Naga Sadow|10.8.08 @ 2:39PM|#

And quit correcting my grammar. I'm still a little sick from the last two days.

|10.8.08 @ 2:40PM|#

Naga,

Stop evading and answer the damn question!

Naga Sadow|10.8.08 @ 2:40PM|#

SugarFree,

What if the guy offered him a discount anal exam. Maybe he just can't turn down a deal.

Elemenope|10.8.08 @ 2:41PM|#

And Pat Buchanan sat next to him and didn't have a knee jerk reaction to Hitchen's proposal.

Dude's mellowed a lot since '92. I think someone's been slipping a little THC into his morning coffee...

Naga Sadow|10.8.08 @ 2:41PM|#

Question? What question? I need more cough syrup!

|10.8.08 @ 2:42PM|#

WHO RUNS BARTERTOWN?

|10.8.08 @ 2:43PM|#

Buying opium with the idea we can do away with heroin is moron level retarded. The demand is still going to be there, and that means someone is going to create a supply to fill that demand. Pissing away tax dollars buying up raw opium is just DUMB. I'm pretty sure it's been tried before too. Can't remember the details but I think the unintended consequences was that the terrorists wound up with the money we gave em AND profits from the drug trade.

|10.8.08 @ 2:44PM|#

Dude's mellowed a lot since '92.

Too. Many. Jokes. Must. Not. Godwin. Thread.

ARGGH!

gmatts|10.8.08 @ 2:45PM|#

"Dude's mellowed a lot since '92. I think someone's been slipping a little THC into his morning coffee..."

I think he's just gotten to the point where he knwos he's not going to run for any type of office again, will not hold any more posts in gov't, so his more extreme positions no longer need to be held anymore.

|10.8.08 @ 2:46PM|#

Post wisdom teeth removal I had extra goodies to last for weeks.

I had mine out when I was 17. My mom came outside, as I was mowing the lawn, and said "you're having all four wisdom teeth taken out in an hour. Take a shower."

Afterward, she controlled the percocet. She gave me two in succession after the surgery and decided that was enough of the evil drugs.

Luckily I was 17 and unbelievably healthy and healed extremely fast.

|10.8.08 @ 2:47PM|#

I had the privilege of finding out I was allergic to oxycodone after getting my wisdom teeth cut out. I also woke up during the surgery. I all I remember is gloved bloody hands in my face and someone go "Oh, shit! He's awake!" They didn't like the fact I was joking about it afterwards.

Holy fuck, that is my worst nightmare. I am such a baby about any mouth-related pain (it can get in the way of the oral fetish, obv =P), that my dentist made sure to tell my surgeon to crank me full of everything. Wise woman.

gmatts|10.8.08 @ 2:47PM|#

Forgot to add: Just seeing Pat Buchanan share a set w/ the likes of a Rachel Maddow and have rationale discussions is proof I think that the man has indeed mellowed quite a bit.

Naga Sadow|10.8.08 @ 2:48PM|#

Whoa! Your mom sounds hardcore. I'm currently getting the last of my wisdom teeth out on the 30th. After which . . . they are planning to give me braces . . . the bastards.

Naga Sadow|10.8.08 @ 2:49PM|#

Dagny T.,

Oral fetish? Explain. In detail.

Marshall|10.8.08 @ 2:53PM|#

i guess it's his sorta rebel status that's the appeal.

That, and he's a pretty bright guy. There are a lot of times I disagree with him, but he's very entertaining to read, imo.

EscapedWestOfTheBigMuddy|10.8.08 @ 2:53PM|#

@Episiarch

Which our lords are masters allow---for now---because they too have to have their teeth worked on.

|10.8.08 @ 2:55PM|#

After which . . . they are planning to give me braces . . . the bastards.

Oral fetish? Explain. In detail.

I would never laugh at your pain, but there is a certain poetry to this succession of statements. :-D

|10.8.08 @ 2:57PM|#

I also woke up during the surgery. I all I remember is gloved bloody hands in my face and someone go "Oh, shit! He's awake!" They didn't like the fact I was joking about it afterwards.

You took a general? I had local, and was awake for the surgeon fishing a broken off root out of the depths of my gum. Luckily he had put some serious Novocaine in. At one point he almost had a foot on my chest for leverage.

Warty|10.8.08 @ 2:58PM|#

I had the privilege of finding out I was allergic to oxycodone after getting my wisdom teeth cut out. I also woke up during the surgery. I all I remember is gloved bloody hands in my face and someone go "Oh, shit! He's awake!" They didn't like the fact I was joking about it afterwards.

Me too, except I woke up as they were sawing away at bone to get at the teeth. Afterward, they gave me Percocet but I gave them away to my stoner friends because I hadn't yet learned the joy of drugs. Wasted youth...

Jerry|10.8.08 @ 2:59PM|#

@gmatts
Until they start talking about the second world war.

Elemenope|10.8.08 @ 3:00PM|#

You took a general? I had local, and was awake for the surgeon fishing a broken off root out of the depths of my gum. Luckily he had put some serious Novocaine in. At one point he almost had a foot on my chest for leverage.

I had a local for some teeth cavity drill-and-fills, and there was a level of comedy to it because I am unusually resistant to the local anesthetic.

"Tell me if you can feel this."

"Ouch."

"OK. A little more then. How about now?"

"Ouch."

"How about now?"

"Ouch."

[Shakes head, refills syringe.]

"And now."

[Pause, needle goes slightly deeper.]

"Ouch."

"WHAT THE HELL!"

Jerry|10.8.08 @ 3:00PM|#

or Israel for that matter.

|10.8.08 @ 3:01PM|#

I had local, and was awake for the surgeon fishing a broken off root out of the depths of my gum. Luckily he had put some serious Novocaine in. At one point he almost had a foot on my chest for leverage.

God, just reading that will give me nightmares. That's horrible. I thought everyone went under these days. My mum just had local, but that was in the freaking 60s.

Thomas Paine\'s Goiter|10.8.08 @ 3:02PM|#

Let me say this -- I will be willing to take as many opium based painkillers as possible to get the afghan people out of poverty.

|10.8.08 @ 3:04PM|#

This has always seemed like an obvious solution to me. We could also just pay them not to grow stuff. You know, like we do with American farmers

And when poppy cultivation is eliminated in Afghanistan (they would never cash the check and plant anyway), which countries are going to meet the market demand?
Nothing the US does will stop heroin production.
Nothing the US does will stop junkies from getting their "medicine".

We bomb, invade, apply toxic chemicals, support evil governments (we gave the Taliban drug fighting money), violate people's rights, lock the sellers up for decades, open free treatment centers, make owing large sums of cash illegal, shoot people's dogs, perform interdiction at sea, and (this is the hilarious part) heroin is sold openly on the street less than a half a mile from my place. If I go to the closest liquor store, somebody will offer to sell me cocaine and/or heroin on each leg of the trip.

Between 0200 and 0700 it's easier to get heroin than beer. The party stores are closed, but the dealers hours are demand driven.

This is true in every city in America.

|10.8.08 @ 3:05PM|#

and there was a level of comedy to it because I am unusually resistant to the local anesthetic...

"WHAT THE HELL!"

I luckily did not have that problem, because the surgeon was putting so much pressure on my jaw to rip out those 4 teeth that I thought he was going to break it. Without good Novocaine the gum digging would have made me pass out, so I guess that could than have passed as a general.

Make that every major city in America.

Ever had them hit your tongue nerve with the Novocaine needle? It's like a having your whole tongue electrocuted.

shecky|10.8.08 @ 3:06PM|#

Does Hitch think the US taxpayer subsidizing the poppy crops is any more wise than subsidizing corn or sugar? What could possibly go wrong with such a endeavor? I mean, aside from not working and costing me money for drugs I never use.

|10.8.08 @ 3:07PM|#

God, just reading that will give me nightmares. That's horrible. I thought everyone went under these days.

My mom insisted that it be local, and I was a minor. Since general was "easier", it was therefore...uh...wrong, or something. I never could quite follow her logic. Still, I got to see the process in action, which was very interesting.

Naga Sadow|10.8.08 @ 3:08PM|#

Elemenope,

My brother was a Scout in the Army. He got his taken out right after basic. Apparently when the dentist asked if he could feel anything, he lied and said he could. At some point my brother says he gave up when he started having visions. He only remembers one of them. He is sept to coyote somehow.

|10.8.08 @ 3:10PM|#

"You don't even own a personal computer!"

|10.8.08 @ 3:12PM|#

My mom insisted that it be local, and I was a minor. Since general was "easier", it was therefore...uh...wrong, or something.

Holy crap.

[Resists urge to make dominatrix-related comparison. It is Epi's mom, after all, and that would be inappropriate.]

|10.8.08 @ 3:15PM|#

Yeah, Dag... good thing no one around here's ever said anything bad about Epi's mom before...

Thomas Paine\'s Goiter|10.8.08 @ 3:15PM|#

The afghan government should establish local farmer's markets in all major cities in america. They could display their varied wares and allow the citizens to sample the delicacies of the orient.

And I could get shitfaced on as much morphine, oxy, vicodin, codeine and thebaine as possible.

This solution fits everyone's needs.

Naga Sadow|10.8.08 @ 3:17PM|#

Settle down TPG.

|10.8.08 @ 3:18PM|#

Resists urge to make dominatrix-related comparison. It is Epi's mom, after all, and that would be inappropriate.

Feel free :-)

As NutraSweet says, I have had plenty of insults to my mother here before. From NutraSweet, for instance.

Naga Sadow|10.8.08 @ 3:20PM|#

I have to much repect for you Epi. I wouldn't take cheap shots at your crazy, sadistic, bitch of a mom who apparently meant for you to suffer and I bet made you finish the lawn after your wisdom teeth were taken out.

Thomas Paine\'s Goiter|10.8.08 @ 3:24PM|#

Settle down TPG.

As someone who isn't really into narcotics but loves opiods, the subject makes me so happy.

|10.8.08 @ 3:24PM|#

Naga, the teeth were pulled on Saturday morning. Monday afternoon I was shoveling dirt for my uncle in New Jersey. I finished the lawn Sunday afternoon.

Naga Sadow|10.8.08 @ 3:30PM|#

I KNEW it. I remember when I dislocated a finger blocking a punch from one of my brothers. Doogie Howser decides he's seen how to fix it enough times on tv to give it a try. Result? He breaks my dislocated finger. My mom takes a look at and says, "Well, its a clean break. You'll be okay". I'm playing football within the week.

Naga Sadow|10.8.08 @ 3:31PM|#

TPG,

You should try crack. It's cheaper thanks to some of the ingredients.

LT Nixon|10.8.08 @ 3:33PM|#

The Marines in Afghanistan have been ordered not to touch the opium poppies, which is having some measured success in counterinsurgency. It's funny how the War on Drugs contradicts the War on Terror in some aspects by alienating the local population.

|10.8.08 @ 3:34PM|#

Naga, the teeth were pulled on Saturday morning. Monday afternoon I was shoveling dirt for my uncle in New Jersey. I finished the lawn Sunday afternoon.

See, what we have here is the beginnings of the next, non-Irish Angela's Ashes. Your tragic youth is your ticket to Oprah's Bookclub, my friend.

Naga Sadow|10.8.08 @ 3:37PM|#

Dagny T.,

I would buy it. Strickly to show that I'm sensitive and therefore fuckable. Think about it. (wink)

|10.8.08 @ 3:39PM|#

Your tragic youth is your ticket to Oprah's Bookclub, my friend.

I always figured Epi's weepy tell-all would be about the time he spent as a tranny hooker in a truck stop brothel.

|10.8.08 @ 3:41PM|#

Yes, lets finance the same people who's loyalties are uncertain. Didn't we learn any lessons from Pakistan? Any money you give them is gonna be siphoned off back into terrorist groups and blow off more americans.

Not That Michael|10.8.08 @ 3:41PM|#

It's a nice proposal, but Hitchens fails to account for the fact that Ye Olde War on Drugs isn't going away anytime soon. Why should the government spend tax dollars on a commodity that its own policies artificially and quite astronomically inflate the price of?

On second thought, please don't answer that.

Pete Guither|10.8.08 @ 3:42PM|#

Christopher Hitchens proposes a novel solution...

Really? Novel? The Senlis Council has been heavily promoting this for years, and it's been discussed at length in the U.K. New York Times had an article about it a year ago... and over three years ago

It's just that the Drug Czar is so opposed to any ideas other than supply-side interdiction and eradication that even discussion of alternatives at governmental levels is forbidden.

|10.8.08 @ 3:42PM|#

See, what we have here is the beginnings of the next, non-Irish Angela's Ashes. Your tragic youth is your ticket to Oprah's Bookclub, my friend.

Ha :-)

You have no idea. When I had my appendix out when I was 10, I also had pneumonia. I had one doctor telling me to cough and clear my lungs, and the surgeon saying not to cough because it pulled the wound. Needless to say coughing was agony.

So on top of that my mother insists that I have to stand up straight a few times a day and walk, or my would will heal too "tightly" and I will have a hell of a time standing up straight (?). I guess she heard this from a friend. So a few times a day she forced me to walk upright to the bathroom and back. This started the day after surgery.

I would buy it. Strickly to show that I'm sensitive and therefore fuckable. Think about it. (wink)

I'll send you a free copy to help you along, Naga.

Naga Sadow|10.8.08 @ 3:46PM|#

We could start a book program for you Epi. Lortabs for books. Or Cocain for books. You could call it an anti-drug campaign and get grants.

|10.8.08 @ 3:49PM|#

I would buy it. Strickly to show that I'm sensitive and therefore fuckable. Think about it. (wink)

Perfect. We've got a target demographic, an ethos, and SF to do the copy editing (if you could also come up with a nom de plume as cool as Terminator, that would be great, thx).

|10.8.08 @ 3:50PM|#

This thread is reminding me to floss.

|10.8.08 @ 4:00PM|#

kwais,

As long as you floss with drugs, I, for one, will be happy.

|10.8.08 @ 4:01PM|#

if you could also come up with a nom de plume as cool as Terminator, that would be great, thx

A.S. Muncher

or

Shea Verpussi

or

Justin Hermouf

|10.8.08 @ 4:04PM|#

If you don't publish your memoirs under the name LORD JESUSMAN! I will totally stop being your friend. (Yes, the exclamation point is part of the name.)

|10.8.08 @ 4:09PM|#

By the way... for you Takashi Miike fans out there (you know who you are) Sundance is showing Zebraman next week. Set your TiVos to stun.

|10.8.08 @ 4:12PM|#

If you don't publish your memoirs under the name LORD JESUSMAN! I will totally stop being your friend. (Yes, the exclamation point is part of the name.)

I will compromise with LORD GREENMAN!. Thanks for the Zebraman heads up.

|10.8.08 @ 4:16PM|#

Have you ever seen The Happiness of the Katakuris? Zombie Musical Comedy. Awesome.

|10.8.08 @ 4:18PM|#

"I always figured Epi's weepy tell-all would be about the time he spent as a tranny hooker in a truck stop brothel."

Epi? That was you?

|10.8.08 @ 4:21PM|#

Epi, the worst part of "the broken, hook shaped, root in the jaw" episode is the scritching feeling the big hook makes as the stupid, blind asshole(huh, didn't see that extra root in the xray) digs around in the jawbone to get tha root out. My head was numb from my scalp to my collar bones and that shit still hurt.

Naga Sadow|10.8.08 @ 4:21PM|#

Dagny T.,

Beating LORD GREENMAN! or Terminator will be hard. How bout Kraken? Or Phobos?

Naga Sadow|10.8.08 @ 4:23PM|#

SugarFree,

Zombie. Musical. Comedy. These words makes sense on their own but not bunched up in one description. Explain.

|10.8.08 @ 4:24PM|#

Have you ever seen The Happiness of the Katakuris? Zombie Musical Comedy. Awesome.

No. Interesting. I'm still waiting for The Great Happiness Space from Netflix.

Epi? That was you?

(sobs, runs off)

If we give the poppy contract to the Afghans, won't the Turks just move their product into the newly abandoned market? Have we learned nothing about market manipulation?

Naga Sadow|10.8.08 @ 4:25PM|#

Erupting volcanoes too? Information overload here, SugarFree. I almost OD'ed on the descriptions.

|10.8.08 @ 4:31PM|#

Naga,

Fantastically fucked up Japanese director. I'm a huge fan. Most of it is not available in America. Hong Kong region-free DVD is the way to go. Take a look a Takashi Miike's imdb. He's insanely prolific.

The best place to start and one that is readily available is Koroshiya 1 or Ichi The Killer in American markets. Most large video stores should have and NetFlix will have many copies probably. Make sure to get the Unrated version.

I'll put together a list of good ones.

Thomas Paine\'s Goiter|10.8.08 @ 4:33PM|#

You should try crack. It's cheaper thanks to some of the ingredients.

Nah, I'm much happier on opiods. I like the calmness of it all...

Naga Sadow|10.8.08 @ 4:34PM|#

SugarFree,

How similiar is it to "Mulberry Street"? I HATED "Mulberry Street"! I'm a sucker for zombie movies and I definitely got suckered. If nothing like it then you may proceed with your list.

|10.8.08 @ 4:35PM|#

Ichi The Killer

Naga, definitely watch this, but make sure you are a little fucked up when you do. Great stuff.

Naga Sadow|10.8.08 @ 4:36PM|#

TPG,

Too true. I've seen their effects. Pupils all dilated and you can give em all the bad news in world . . . they don't care.

|10.8.08 @ 4:36PM|#

question, I've noticed here the last month or so that when I take my vicodin (10mg/4 times daily) i feel energetic for several hours. Then i get sleepy till I take the next one. Is that different?

|10.8.08 @ 4:40PM|#

question, I've noticed here the last month or so that when I take my vicodin (10mg/4 times daily) i feel energetic for several hours. Then i get sleepy till I take the next one. Is that different?

No, you are getting your fix. You've become accustomed to the Vicodin and your body expects it. I was on the same dosage after a bad car accident for 3 months or more, and I know the feeling. It's not addiction, because you have pain, but just realize that your body anticipates it now.

Thomas Paine\'s Goiter|10.8.08 @ 4:41PM|#

Too true. I've seen their effects. Pupils all dilated and you can give em all the bad news in world . . . they don't care.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm, yeah, it rules.

Thomas Paine\'s Goiter|10.8.08 @ 4:43PM|#

No, you are getting your fix. You've become accustomed to the Vicodin and your body expects it. I was on the same dosage after a bad car accident for 3 months or more, and I know the feeling. It's not addiction, because you have pain, but just realize that your body anticipates it now.

You are dependent, not addicted.

|10.8.08 @ 4:43PM|#

Naga,

Haven't seen MS. (I'm picky about my zombie movies and have not cast a wide net.) It's really not about zombies so much as the insane complications the Katakuris encounter try to open their rural inn.

Zebraman
Guy thinks he's a superhero. Contains a long cartoon sequence where Sadako from The Ring uses her well as a weapon (somehow she carries it around, dying to know)

One Missed Call
His straight-faced parody of The Ring and The Grudge

The Happiness of the Katakuris
Funny, but pales a bit in comparison

Ichi the Killer
Awesome.

Visitor Q
His horrific take on reality shows [shudder]

Gozu
Yakuza horror

Multiple Personality Detective Psycho
Title says it all

Audition
Most fucked up last ten minutes of a movie ever. Ever.

Fudoh: The New Generation
Teenage Yakuza assassin squad

I've seen more, but these are the best ones to really hunt down.

|10.8.08 @ 4:46PM|#

Also, while on the subject of disappointing zombie movies... I was absolutely crestfallen when I got ahold of Stacy. How do you screw up a movie about Toyko being invaded by zombie Japanese schoolgirls? Watch Stacey to find out.

|10.8.08 @ 4:48PM|#

Thanks for the info.

Naga Sadow|10.8.08 @ 4:51PM|#

SugarFree,

Tempting me with hot Asian women? Wise of you. Got a great one for you. "Fido". Gotta watch it. So fucking cheesy its awesome. You will love the Zomcon corporation.

|10.8.08 @ 4:55PM|#

If I don't see ya'll laters, have a fine evening.

peace out

Naga Sadow|10.8.08 @ 4:56PM|#

Word to your mother, brotherben.

|10.8.08 @ 5:00PM|#

No, seriously dude... Stacy sucks and there is zero nudity. You'd be better off with Ichi which at least has highly disturbing nudity. And stay away from the execrable Zombie Honeymoon.

I like Fido. There is a good SF novel by Lucius Shepard called Green Eyes that played with the corporate zombie/slave idea well.

Naga Sadow|10.8.08 @ 5:05PM|#

My friend. Let me introduce you to Max Brooks.

Goddamn links!!!

Naga Sadow|10.8.08 @ 5:07PM|#

Well, wiki Max Brooks if you've never heard of him. Zombie Survival Guide, World War Z. Also there is allegedly a movie in the works for World War Z. That would be heavenly.

|10.8.08 @ 5:31PM|#

The best Zombie book ever written is "The Road"

And yes now that you think about it you realize it is a Zombie book....and now now you realize how fucking awesome of a zombie book it is because until i mentioned it you never thought it was a zombie book.

|10.8.08 @ 5:44PM|#

I watched the Hitchens on Scarborough, that was pretty good. He pretty much nailed it. Smart man.

But now I realize that I am mad that I missed the VP debates. Palin would have been flirting with me too on tv.

Naga Sadow|10.8.08 @ 7:13PM|#

Josh Corning,

Was that supposed to be some kind of Jedi mind trick? Cuz . . . well look at my name. Not gonna work on me.

SIV|10.8.08 @ 7:27PM|#

Wow a thread on Takashi Miike and junk, and I missed it.My 2 cents: Audition is a fantastic motion picture. You have to make yourself sit through the first half but the payoff is worth it. Dead or Alive is loads of fun even if you have no familiarity with the genres it is spoofing.Ichi is damn good .

FWIW, I always get a stimulant like rush off all narcotic analgesics unless I dose really high(even then I can't sleep).I can think clearly and operate heavy machinery.I just feel better not intoxicated.In the bad old days of my youth I noticed that people who got sedated quickly or nauseous off of high doses were more prone to developing a dependency.I never developed any dependency or "addiction" even when I was really bad all day long for months at a time. I always quit whenever availability was low, prices were high, or when I found myself in sketchier company than I liked.

|10.8.08 @ 7:33PM|#

It's really very gracious of the U.S. government to allow Turkey to allow Turks to grow poppies on their own land.

Nemo|10.9.08 @ 2:48AM|#

I prefer the Hitchens that was actually right about the war, not the Hitchens that Reason has a man-crush on.

|10.9.08 @ 3:45AM|#

Bob Weber | October 8, 2008, 7:33pm | #
It's really very gracious of the U.S. government to allow Turkey to allow Turks to grow poppies on their own land.

We are a very gracious people.

Now I think if we would just take and use the Afghan poppies for pain meds and stuff, and then the Turkish poppies could be used for heroin in the European markets.

That seems like a much more efficient market driven trade route. I mean Turkey is right there next to Europe.

|10.9.08 @ 10:27AM|#

I wasn't aware that Hitchens had ever described himself as a libertarian...

|10.11.08 @ 12:19PM|#

Pussies!

I had all four widsom teeth removed by a US Army oral surgeon whilst under local anesthesia. The oral surgeon gave me some tylenol, sent me back to the barracks, and gave me the rest of the day off.

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