Another Pale Blue Dot

Drugs Price over the world | Economist.com

THE street price of cocaine varies hugely across the world. No surprise that it is cheapest in Colombia, the world's biggest producer of coca: at $2, a gram costs less than a Big Mac. Geography is an obvious price factor. The farther away a country from the main producers in South and Central America, and the more isolated it is, the higher the cost to traffick there. In far-flung New Zealand, a gram costs a wallet-busting $714.30. But there are some pricing anomalies. Although the street price in Japan is several times higher than in Israel, Germany and Britain, the wholesale price in the countries is similar, around $46.40. In Canada the wholesale price is 50% more than in America, but Canadians pay 40% less on the street. It could be that policing is more zealous in some countries, or that there is less competition among suppliers.

Drugs | Pricing powder | Economist.com

Tornado videos

Southwest Manitoba, 2007

killer tornado in Ellis County Texas.

tornado snaps trees like twigs

What the World Eats - Photo Essays - TIME

From the book 'Hungry World' a pictorial of the what we eat around our planet, also a way to appreciate the disparities.

USA
Food expenditure for one week: $341.98
Favorite foods: spaghetti, potatoes, sesame chicken

Mexico
Food expenditure for one week: 1,862.78 Mexican Pesos or $189.09
Favorite foods: pizza, crab, pasta, chicken

Ecuador
Food expenditure for one week: $31.55
Family recipe: Potato soup with cabbage

UK
Food expenditure for one week: 155.54 British Pounds or $253.15
Favorite foods: avocado, mayonnaise sandwich, prawn cocktail, chocolate fudge cake with cream

Japan
Food expenditure for one week: 37,699 Yen or $317.25
Favorite foods: sashimi, fruit, cake, potato chips

Egypt
Food expenditure for one week: 387.85 Egyptian Pounds or $68.53
Family recipe: Okra and mutton

Chad
Food expenditure for one week: 685 CFA Francs or $1.23
Favorite foods: soup with fresh sheep meat

Buthan
Food expenditure for one week: 224.93 ngultrum or $5.03
Family recipe: Mushroom, cheese and pork

Kuwait
Food expenditure for one week: 63.63 dinar or $221.45
Family recipe: Chicken biryani with basmati rice

Mongolia
Food expenditure for one week: 41,985.85 togrogs or $40.02
Family recipe: Mutton dumplings

Australia
Food expenditure for one week: 481.14 Australian dollars or US$376.45
Family Recipe: Marge Brown's Quandong (an Australian peach) Pie, Yogurt

Guatemala
Food expenditure for one week: 573 Quetzales or $75.70
Family Recipe: Turkey Stew and Susana Perez Matias's Sheep Soup

Luxenbourg

India
Food expenditure for one week: 1,636.25 rupees or $39.27
Family Recipe: Sangeeta Patkar's Poha (Rice Flakes)

Mali
Food expenditure for one week: 17,670 francs or $26.39
Family Recipe: Natomo Family Rice Dish

France
Food expenditure for one week: 315.17 euros or $419.95
Favorite Foods: Delphine Le Moine's Apricot Tarts, pasta carbonara, Thai food

Greenland
Food expenditure for one week: 1,928.80 Danish krone or $277.12
Favorite Foods: polar bear, narwhal skin, seal stew

Turkey
Food expenditure for one week: 198.48 New Turkish liras or $145.88
Favorite Foods: Melahat's Puffed Pastries

What the World Eats - Photo Essays - TIME