when governments go after them; the business is so profitable that someone will always be there, willing to replace defunct organizations. So production and trafficking shift to other people and areas, spreading the drug trade and the violence that often comes with it. This has been documented time and time again — when drug trafficking moved from Peru and Bolivia to Colombia in the 1990s, the Netherlands Antilles to West Africa in the early 2000s, and Colombia and Mexico to El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala in the past decade.

An alternative to continuing the crackdown, then, is to legalize — move drugs from the black market to the legal market, removing an enormous source of revenue for criminal organizations. While this wouldn't vanquish criminal organizations, it could severely weakenPages

Thursday, October 25, 2012

iReporters: 5 life lessons from the Hajj

(CNN) – Millions of Muslims began the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, which represents one of the largest annual human gatherings on the planet.

The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, a journey every Muslim is expected to take in his or her lifetime if the person is physically and financially able.

Our iReport team asked pilgrims who have performed the Hajj about how the experience changed them - and for their advice to those undertaking the pilgrimage for the first time.
The result is a mix of spiritual and practical life lessons that transcend Islam.

1. It taught me patience

iReporter Amir Abdul Latip from Brunei said the Hajj taught him a patience that’s carried over to his