Friday 26 March 2010

Sublime to the Ridiculous

Nick Hogan update

Today we are greeted with the news that our imprisoned, but now happily freed licensee, Nick Hogan has been confronted with a knife weilding lunatic for simply obeying the law that put him in prison in the first place!
Apparently a customer (male) was highly upset at being ejected from The Swan With Two Necks, in Chorley, for smoking inside the pub. Correct procedure according to the law! The law does not actually state that a licensee should throw a smoker out in bodily fashion but it 'expects' the licensee to ensure that no smoking whatsoever takes place inside the designated area. (Hmmmmmmm!)
You can imagine the shock when this extremely agitated 'ex' customer returned at about 3am brandishing a large carving knife, obviously intent on venting his wrath at the previous indignity.
Blogosphere collected more than £9,000 in a mere 5 days to secure Nick's release from a totally wrongful imprisonment which just goes to show the strength of feeling amongst smokers & non smokers in this country of ours. ASH, on the other hand did not amass half that amount from public donations in an entire year! The true strength of feeling s about the smoke ban methinks!
When you remember that Nick Hogan was forced to sell both Bolton leases due to dismal takings since the smoking ban was enacted and went to prison because he allowed customers the right to choose-smoke or chew NRT gum, it is a ridiculous scenario whereby this government forced him into poverty, forced him into renovating his present pub into some gastro haunt with what monies he had left and then imprisoned him after bankrupting him through extortionate 'costs' incurred by the council in pursuit of their prosecution.
Had Nick called out the Environmental Health Officers to deal with this knife waving lunatic he would have been waiting all night (and probably all the next day) for they could not prosecute a licensee in this instance - only a smoker, which represents a £50 penalty. Chicken feed.
Also, it must be noted that these officious little Hitlers are not empowered to make an arrest, chuck bodies out of pubs - or anything else actually. They are simply overpaid, reptilious revenue collectors for HMG!
Now, a question arises here folks.
Had Nick HAD to confront this cretin and his carving knife and been injured, would the Victims of crime support agency have awarded him nearly £9,000 for upholding the law - far and beyond the call of duty? I don't think so.
The police are now searching for the nutter-good luck there then!Where were they when they were needed to perform their duty?
Yet again this idiotic law, at the behest of the likes of ASH, CRUK etc has proven to be totally unsafe, ludicrously implemented and yet another licensee could have been seriously injured. but the anti smoking lobby are rubbing their hands together in glee as their anti smoking strategies divide the people more and more, close more businesses and put more licensees in danger of severe physical harm.
The people need to start banding together to defeat these zealots before this country is totally ruined and all our freedoms have been obliterated. Freedom2choose.info ARE the very basis of the people power that is needed. How many of you simply sit back and say, " I wish i could do something about it"? You can. Join with the nations leading PRO-CHOICE organisation and help to stop this destruction of our communities, our businesses, our freedoms & our human rights!

Link to story:-
http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/chorley/5132899.Man_brandishes_knife_at_Chorley_smoke_rebels_pub/?ref=rss

Monday 15 March 2010

Baiting the Brainwashed

Today I accompanied a friend to the Leicester Royal Infirmary as he was somewhat nervous. The department he needed was situated on the first floor, which was not good for escaping for a fag - until we discovered an open door leading to a delightful patio'd area with benches & tables etc.
Well, an hour into this inevitable time warp of waiting around saw us testing the door and escaping onto this patio. Fag tolips, ignition, sheer heaven! We watched as the breeze whipped the exhalations away from the building and over the car park until it disappeared form view. Our bit towards 'global warming' no doubt.
Half way through this most enjoyable exercise another door was suddenly flung open and a young, rather excited nurse appeared and the following exchage took place:-

N:- Put those cigarettes out immediately, this is a no smoking hospital.

Yours truly (YT):- Indeed it may be sweetheart, but you can see we are actually outside.

N:- That doesn't matter, it's against the law to smoke on hospital grounds.

YT:- Err, wrong babe. Check it out.

N:- I'm telling you it's against the law, the hospital don't allow it.

YT:- Ah, now you have defined things correctly babe, "the hospital trust don't allow it" is more like the 'law' you think you are talking about. (she stared to look less confident)

N:- You cannot smoke out here, look, the signs say so.

YT:- Indeed your delapidated, weather beaten signs indicate such but they only transfer the wishes of the hospital trust upon the people, they do not state the law of the land. We are outside babe, not inside - smoking is only forbidden inside enclosed spaces and from my reckoning we have one solid wall with a door in and then 3 open sides, a guard rail and no roof.

N:- But your smoke is entering the windows and the patients are having to 'smell' your smoke. (My friend looked at me a bit concerned here!)

YT:- Come with me I offered, and walked over to the balcony. There's our 'escape' door onto this beautiful patio, it's shut. There are 6 windows along the balcony and all 6 are shut. There are no vents open and worse still, the wind is taking the exhaled smoke away from the building and over the car park so I don't quite see how any of your gallant, but totally erroneous assertions are true! And what do we have we out here - 9 signs affixed to walls and balcony? Just imagine the valuable resources wasted by the NHS on them! They are irrelevant.

(She was certainly not happy with that!)

N:- I shall report you to the security people if you don't stop smoking.

YT:- Sweetness, I don't really care if you report me to the Illinois National Guard, they are not empowered to do anything about it - we are outside! Outside is outside, we are obeying the law. What the Hospital Trust decides 'it' wants as policy is another matter for that is NOT law, now be a good girl and go tend to your patients while I have the last two drags on my most delightfully stress relieving cigarette and then I'll put it out and place in relevant receptacle.

She was not a happy bunny but retreated nonetheless, muttering something or other to herself. We finished our fag and left not a trace of the heinous crime that had apparently just taken place.
Back inside we were greeted by my friends name being called out by a middle aged nurse. He announced himself with a wave of the hand and she smiled,"twice I've called you" she informed us, "been out for a fag have we? - it's amazing how many do!". The twinkle in her eye told us that experience of life was a great thing in reality. She knew the situation as opposed to our young 'eager beaver' nurse full of the indoctrinations of the anti smoking brigade. Ah well, she'll learn I suppose!

I think what this has taught me is the power of mass brainwashing. The hospital say so, therefore it must be. The hospital say you (staff) must stop smokers smoking on hospital grounds so you (staff) put yourself in a position of authority when espying a smoker. It occurs not, that these actions cause resentment (amusement in this case) and could result in another 'Dartford train' incident, balcony ejection or some other equally horrible event. It is the bigotted leading the blind into murky waters by not telling them the truth in the first place.
This can only lead to one conclusion - the anti tobacco brigade are simply immoral!

Sunday 14 March 2010

More labour shite to come

Having taken a small interest in the way Labour face our so called alcohol problem, I was directed to a debate on 10th March in the House. Quite interesting actually, when you actually comprehend what they are babbling about in such pompous tones-US!
We have someone called Stoate blathering on about a committee report stating that alcohol causes 40,000 deaths per year and something needs to be done-now!
Hang on a minute, last year we were saving 40,000 lives per annum thanks to the smoke ban! Popular figure then, this 40 grand!
Up steps Mr Philip Davies MP (Shipley, Cons) and wades in like a good'un. Bless him, he's already had a bollocking for joining the debate late but says he's watched on the monitor-fair play to him for that. he states:-
"The report is certainly a useful contribution to the debate on addiction-not, unfortunately, on addiction to alcohol, but on this Government's and the Health Committee's addiction to the nanny state. They have already helped to dismantle the pub and club industry with their smoking ban. Pubs are closing at the rate of 50 a week-many because of the ban on smoking in public places-and the same fate is being felt by many clubs, such as working men's clubs. It seems that the Health Committee, not satisfied with dismantling the pub and club industry, now wishes to direct its fire in other areas, such as at cinemas and commercial broadcasters, to try to close down those industries. Many sports will also be adversely affected if its recommendations are introduced."
My new hero in a suit!
He is absolutely right of course. Labours new strategy is to destroy anything that may cost the NHS more than 1 shilling and 6pence per person so alcohol comes very high on the list. he further says:-
"All that would not be so bad if I thought that, in the end, if after all the Committee's recommendations were introduced, its members would say that they were satisfied. The problem, however, as with all these matters, is that the report panders to the zealots in society who are never satisfied. I guarantee that if all the recommendations were introduced, Committee members would, within a few months at most, come back with further recommendations because the previous ones had not gone far enough. This lobby is impossible to satisfy."
This lobby is impossible to satisfy
Well, of course, our new hero is absolutely spot on because it appears that the health lobby are never satisfied; in fact they never will be!
He further goes onto 'happyslap' his opponents with:-
"The problem with the political classes generally, particularly in this House, is that when they are faced with a problem-there is no doubt that there is a problem with excessive drinking of alcohol-the solution that they propose has to be constituted of two particular themes. The first ingredient in any solution that politicians propose is that it must show that they are doing something; they have to be seen to be doing something. The second ingredient, which we always see, is that the proposal must not offend anyone and must be superficially popular. Once again, that approach applies to many of the recommendations, most of which would not make a blind bit of difference to excessive or under-age alcohol consumption.
I was particularly struck by the speech of Pete Wishart, who made the best speech that I have ever heard in support of a Scottish Parliament. I have never been particularly in favour of it in the past, but now that I have heard that there are so many sensible people in the Scottish Parliament who oppose his zealous drive for minimum pricing, I think that is a strong argument for it. Perhaps if the Scottish Parliament were closed down, however, we could have some of those people down here and then we might have a more sensible debate."

I am truly beginning to admire this Shipley Stoker of fires.

James McGovern (Dundee West, Labour)decides to weigh in:-

"The hon. Gentleman mentioned the nanny state earlier, but Scotland is becoming something of a dictatorial state. Is he aware that the Scottish Executive are now saying that cigarettes cannot be advertised or put on the counter and even that sweets cannot be put on the counter because they might damage children's teeth? How much of a nanny state, or a dictatorial state, is that?"

Aha! so the state is protecting teeth as well now-OMG, where will this lunacy end?

Our man Philip Davies retorts with:-
"I agree with the hon. Gentleman. My problem is that those are the sort of measures that his Government are keen to introduce as well. We appear to have a Dutch auction between the Scottish Executive and the Westminster Government as to who can introduce the biggest nanny state of all. I am afraid that both are going in completely the wrong direction. I agree with the sentiment behind his point, but I do not think that his Government are any less guilty than the Scottish Executive."

Correct - the biggest nanny state of all - what a pathetic title to 'win'!

Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North, Labour) decides to put the government side forward with this gem:-

"It is clear that the hon. Gentleman and I come from polar opposite positions, but he is making the classic freedom speech. He is saying that we have the freedom to do what we want, without intervention from the state."

So we can take it from Mr Hopkins that labour ARE against freedom of speech, freedom of choice, freedom of actions, freedom of enjoyment, freedom of expression, freedom of thinking for ourselves, freedom from.....everything!

I can see another SCOTH Committee being formed only this one will be called SCAIH (Select Committee on Alcohol Injury & Health). We already know by the SCOTH committee shambles of mistruth that SCAIH will present a case where drinking alcohol will be considered more dangerous than necking arsenic!
The minimum pricing structure is already being considered, this debate proves that much. What bothers me is that these numpties in parliament can only see that increasing unit price will affect the millions of low paid workers who simply enjoy a drink. It will not affect the hardened 'Diamond White' substitute crap who will simply pay the extra to get pissed as newts. Yet again, the health Lobby have a one track mind, but with alcohol they dare not ban it-could you imagine the uproar? So, what will happen is simple folks. The Health Lobby will make all the representations they can possibly make, they will spend £millions on public awareness adverts etc and will force more businesses out......of business!
It seems that the cost in benefits to this government matter not one iota compared to the wishes of the Health Lobby. Our new friend, Philip Davies has already pointed out the obvious to the House but it seems opposition is rife to his ideas.
I mentioned freedom of choice earlier. When election time comes, please don't hesitate, exercise your freedom of choice and vote this shower of lillylivered shite out of power. If you don't, the Health Lobby will be running the unhappyest country in the western world!

Friday 12 March 2010

Deb's Mantra

Immediately after the "No Smoking Day" which saw Nick Hogan released from his disgracefully manipulated prison sentence by a government that engineered his bankruptcy I bring you Deborah Arnott's mantra for the coming years!

Entitled ASH: The Third Sector's Vital Role, it lays out the dream of the anti tobacco zealots to rid this country of what is a perfectly legal past-time: smoking! I'll begin with this bit:

"Our information function is to change the climate of understanding, opinion and awareness about the ‘tobacco epidemic’ through effective use of the evidence base."

Tobacco epidemic? What epidemic is that then, Debs? Since the 1960s, smoker prevalence has declined by the decade! The 1950s and 1960s may have been an epidemic but 2010 sees a mere 23-25% of the population as smokers.

"There are concerns that tobacco control has slipped down the public health agenda now that advertising is banned andsmokefree legislation implemented throughout the UK."

Do you have any idea why, Debs? Perhaps the colossal cost to this country of interfering with people's human rights may have something to do with it? Perhaps the rapidly swelling dole queues from the hospitality sector may have something to do with it? perhaps the number of empty pubs & clubs now boarded up may be causing concern to government for boarded up businesses bring in no revenue.

In September’s ph.com David Hunter, Chair of the UKPHA, looked forward to 2027 when “smoking will be well on the way out and will have become ‘denormalised’ as a legitimate socialactivity”. There are many other issues crowding to the top of the public health agenda – alcohol, obesity, sexual health – and allrequire urgent action."..... "Pardon me? What was that?

Dear David, thanks to your (in part) ill advised total ban, smoking is very much NOT well on the way out. In fact, the people have been so disgusted at your so called denormalisation programme that tobacco sales are up, smoker prevalence is up and many councils now invest their pension funds in tobacco shares!
As for your other issues 'crowding to the top of the public health agenda' we all know that you (the government & health lobby) are trying to save the NHS expenditure by 'denormalising these activities' as well. But, don't YOU understand that all the tobacco tax raked in pays for smoker related treatments, alcohol related treatments and even our weighty friends' treatments? Plus a few quid left over to have an 'anti-tobacco party' with! Perhaps, being associated with the medical profession you should see an NHS 'shrink' and get your thinking straightened out David for you must understand that people retalliate to bully state tactics.

"Despite the squeeze on public health budgets it’s still important that smoking retains its fair share of funding and we mustn’t end up robbing Peter to pay Paul. For if smoking continues to decline at the current rate of 0.4% a year it will be a long time after 2027 before smoking will become ‘denormalised’. At current rates of decline some 16% of the population, nearly 7 million adults, will still be smoking in 2027."

Debs, when are you and others like you going to realise that smoking is an individual's freedom of choice? When are you going to realise that people are basically born to be smokers or not, as the case may be? When are you going to realise that you will never eradicate smoking at all? If you did actually do this, just think how much the extra 30p-35p on your income tax is going to hurt you in order for government to balance the books from the lost TT revenue! Quite ironic really Debs, you get paid for wiping smokers off the face of England and then pay the government back in tax – what a hoot!

"However, the Stop Smoking Services can only realistically make a modest contribution to the reductions in smoking prevalence and health inequalities and this is not, and cannot be, the prime reason for their existence. Professor Robert West has calculated that the DH target of 800,000 four-week quitters over three years represented at most 160,000 long-term ex-smokers who would not otherwise have given up smoking during that time frame. This represents a prevalence reduction of only 0.1% a year."

So government is spending all this money to reduce 'smokers' by 0.1% per annum-well just how much per smoker does that equate to Debs? And the latest announcement from your pal Burnham has gone up in smoke too, for he wants the smoking population reduced to 10% well before 2027! Oh dear me, what has gone wrong, have the smokers had the audacity to retalliate by smoking more?

"In order to make major inroads into smoking prevalence the whole range of tobacco control measures need to be fully implemented, not just NHS Stop Smoking clinics. As set out by the Department of Health there are six strands including: helping smokers to give up; second-hand smoke (and now the legislation is in place the priority must be protecting people in private places such as cars and the home); education and media; reducing tobacco promotion; labelling and regulation (including under-age sales, smokefree legislation and the ad ban); and taxation and smuggling."

Now we are getting to the dastardly plans that are being hatched-despite protestations to the contrary from certain overpaid anti tobacco zealots.
Helping smokers give up...OK then, that would be by NRT products that have a 98.4 FAILURE rate, I assume?
Second hand smoke (SHS) has never been proven to have killed a single person yet – unless of course you have the death certificate Debs!
Education and the media: well,, government has spent an absolute fortune on the media yet it has made no difference to smoker prevalence except to increase it! I would have preferred my kids to have learned their "times tables" rather than how many carcinogens might be in a cigarette-a lot more useful in future years methinks!
(reducing tobacco promotion; labelling and regulation (including under-age sales, smokefree legislation and the ad ban); that's it Debs, you go fo the jugular! Don't dare let pretty packets be seen, tell everyone that the horrible pictures tell them what smoking does to them-excepting why is it that 49% of lung transplants actually came from smokers? get 'fags' under the counter so that small shopkeepers find making a living becoming a struggle-let's start closing them down along with the pubs shall we?
and taxation and smuggling..of course, the easiest way to stop people smoking-added tax on tobacco products-as if extra tax ever stopped any smoker enjoying smoking. However Debs, the added tax would certainly help out the government funding you receive on a yearly basis so I suppose that this is really a self supporting strategy!
Smuggling... Now this is hilarious Debs, it really is! Do you not see that by bleating on about raising the tax to frighten smokers off with another 10p-15p per pack is actually leading us into buying more smuggled tobacco products? Do you actually think that the 'great unwashed' (admittedly not as erudite as your eminent self) are going to care whether a packet of fags is £5 or £6 when they can buy the same for half the price abroad? Check out S. Ireland wher the government is now screaming from the rafters that they have considered 'they' are losing out on £1m per week in tobacco tax. Wow Debs...£52m per annum not going into government coffers-some damage that is girl! Well done, you've really helped out a small countries economy there then! I know what your simplistic answer will be Debs, employ more Customs Officers. Yeah, why not put more strain on our rapidly shrinking resources Debs. Most of Europe is taking note of the financial disaster smoke bans cause whereas you seem to be oblivious to the obvious.
(and now the legislation is in place the priority must be protecting people in private places such as cars and the home) Ah! now we are getting to it Debs. So you do want to invade our property rights after all. Why?. What has our private home got to do with you, ASH or anybody else? We buy these places to live in live in them as we wish to do so. It is certainly not for any overpaid lackey of the health lobby to intrude upon our home & lifestyles. An Englishman's home is his castle Debs, remember that. start invading man's private property and you may well start a revolution-could you handle that I ask?

Cars come under the same banner as homes. I brought my car to enjoy, to drive about where and when I wished. I also brought it as it had an ashtray in it - as smoking helps me concentrate. I also brought the beast to transport my tools to work opportunities so if you decide to bend government into legislating in such a manner I shall be forced to sell said car and retire to the dole queues-along with 120,000 ex hospitality workers! Can you see what your zealotry is doing yet Debs?

"This December all local authorities are consulting on new LAA outcomes frameworks, so now is the critical time. We need your help. The clock is ticking."

What these 'new LAA outcomes frameworks' may consist of is anyone's guess but I would imagine it will be to the detriment of a minority factio; ie, smokers. Where you have hit the nail on the head is "The clock is ticking." It truly is Debs, for your charitable organisation (though uncharitable to your fellow man) organisation is working diligently to bankrupt this country-and is succeeding nicely! No tobacco revenue coming in, income tax raised, social outlets closed by the scores weekly, income to government from such businesses diminishing weekly, dole queues lengthening-oh yes Debs, you are leading England into financial oblivion my girl. i see a true Dickensian case of the MicCawbers coming on here Debs-and all through your diligence and lack of foresight for you are blinded by the need for power over others (smokers) and the ability to maintain your yearly vastly inflated, income. and you enjoy getting paid for making the lives of others miserable. Obviously, being a most charitable uncharitable soul at heart, you cannot live and let live, which is what the bible supposedly teaches us!

Just to cheer you up after this tale of woe Debs I will finish on a note of despair for you. The "Justice for Nick Hogan" appeal in blogosphere raised more money in 5 days than ASH received in public donation for the entire year. Wouldn't that tend to make you feel a little insecure re your continuing employment of removing peoples human rights one by one?

Link:- http://www.fphm.org.uk/resources/newsletters/phcom/archive/2007/phcom_Dec2007.pdf