PETA 'killed more than 95 per cent of adoptable dogs and cats in its care last year' shocking new report saysYes. As sadly relayed here in 2009, 2010, and 2011. They're not averse to glorying in human deaths either.
In 2011, government report obtained by nonprofit organization claims 1,911 animals killed
Only 34 adopted in same time span
Government agencies and councils in England that spend public money on lobbying ministers face a crackdown.He was quite right, especially when he referred to it as "the wasteful practice of government lobbying government", which this most definitely is.
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said it was wrong that taxpayers' money was being spent on political lobbying.
Anti-smoking campaigns and laws have turned smokers into a despised underclass, a study by a Department of Health adviser warned yesterday.Which is then followed under the line (click 'worst rated' and display all) by a stream of bile from our society's rancid underbelly of meddlesome, finger-wagging prigs.
It said smokers have come to be seen as disgusting and dirty and are increasingly becoming regarded as outcasts.
The vilification is also stoking up prejudice against the poor because those who are already on low incomes or at a disadvantage are most likely to be smokers, the report by Professor Hilary Graham found.
As I see it, they would learn almost as much with me on the flight to and from a week's holiday than they get from 5 days at school. Make the state school system better - or even fit for purpose if they're feeling saucy - and parents might consider it unmissable. Or, alternatively, give us the £3,780 per annum this 'service' costs; allow us to spend it with the school which competes and therefore educates most effectively; and watch how more valued the 190 school days become to parents.You'd have thought a Tory would try to sort that out first, before pretending that the quality of 5% of a yearly education - which is taken up by at least 10% irrelevance - is indispensable.
As the government intensifies its persecution of homeschoolers in Sweden, the president of the Swedish Association for Home Education (ROHUS) has finally been forced into exile with his family in neighboring Finland. The battle for human rights and homeschooling in the Scandinavian kingdom, however, is far from over.When you boil it all down, this is the end destination for Gove's policy. The state's inalienable right to educating kids over and above any ability of parents to decide marginal benefits/drawbacks of missing out on a week or two - or even more if they see fit - for themselves.
The Swedish Parliament passed a draconian law in 2010 purporting to ban homeschooling, all school curriculums except the Swedish government’s, and all alternative education nationwide. Despite a global outcry, the prohibition went into effect last year. Dozens of families were left wondering what fate might await them. But so far, the official persecution campaign has backfired in a stunning way.
I say that core belief – in social responsibility, not state control – is something we’re never going to change.Very good, Dave. You've assuaged a few of your donors, now have a biscuit while I remind you of what your Department of Health is doing.
Why?
Because if you look at the scale of the challenges we face…
….from youth unemployment to family breakdown to drug and alcohol addiction…
…does anyone think we can turn these things around just by government changing laws or passing down edicts from above?
Of course not.
We’ve tried the top-down approach to running a country and we’ve seen it fail.
David Cameron has signalled his appetite for reform, including the possibility of minimum [alcohol] pricing as already being taken forward in Scotland, and tougher rules on promotion and marketing.Sorry, my mistake, that was you.
The Secretary of State for Health (Mr Andrew Lansley): The Government will publish a consultation on the packaging of tobacco products in spring 2012.Are these not examples of a "top-down approach to running a country", Dave? You know, the approach you admit is a failure?
In March 2011 the Government published “Healthy Lives, Healthy People: A Tobacco Control Plan for England” which set out how our comprehensive, evidence-based programme of tobacco control will be delivered within the context of the new public health system over the next five years.
The tobacco control plan included a commitment to explore options to reduce the promotional impact of tobacco packaging and to publish a consultation paper.
DP: Hi, can I have some Swan filter tips and a multi-pack of Rizla green papers, please? (for the Cuban Golden Virginia in my cupboard)Cue lots of searching around as stock was all over the shop ... literally. I spied Winston Blues at the top left of a section of their gantry, so - although I wouldn't normally - asked for some. After all, it won't be long until I'm not even allowed to see them.
DP: Up a bit. Left a bit. No, you've gone too far, they're just to the right of the Pall Malls. No, not those, Winstons. Yes, that's them. Sorry to give you the runaround.I briefly considered saying "wait till they get the plain packs in", but I thought it best to leave her to experience that particular delight for herself further down the line.
Shop Assistant: Oh, things are all over the place at the moment, we're having to move all the stock out and it's confusing.
DP: Because you have to get the shutters up soon?
SA: Yes, on March 20th. It's going to be an absolute nightmare! Costing a fortune too, according to my Manager.
DP: Well, they say it's going to be much easier for you, apparently.
SA: Yeah? {with fiery eyes} They should come and spend a couple of hours behind here, then!
FAST food giant Hungry Jack's has banned its drive-through customers from smoking while ordering.Hey guys, do you not think there might be something a trifle more worrying (clue above)?
A company spokesman said the ban had been recently introduced nationally to protect its window staff from passive smoking.
Laws in Queensland include smoking bans for indoor and outdoor public places, as well as tough restrictions on retail advertising, display and promotion of tobacco products.But immune, it would appear, from the gallons of exhaust fumes - vastly larger by volume than a few wisps of smoke - being pumped out day in, day out, by every customer, smoker or not.
Public Health Association national president Mike Daube commended Hungry Jack's for introducing the new policy.
"Many of the staff serving at drive-through outlets will be young people who are at special risk," Professor Daube said.
"It makes sense to ensure that non-smokers are protected from passive smoking wherever possible.Oh, I dunno. I reckon the very last thing a staff member needs is a collection of gases which can kill within minutes in an enclosed space ... and that ain't the tobacco smoke, fool. But that's not what these anti-smoking hysterics truly believe.
"The last thing a young staff member needs at the drive-through counter is to have smoke blown in their faces - that can be both unpleasant and harmful."
I think the whole weight-centred approach to health is extremely unhelpful. It stigmatises people who don't fit into the "acceptable" range, regardless of whether these people are healthy or not. To hold weight loss up as the path to health can be dangerous.Well, quite.
Instead of demonising people for being fat we should start focussing instead on health. [...] We may see a reduction in obesity rates, we may not – but isn't it the obesity-related illnesses we really want to reduce, rather than simply berating people because their bodies don't fit in with guidelines, which are currently in doubt?
We cannot continue to take a one-size-fits-all approach to health. The idea that we simply cut consumption by X number of calories isn't leading to the expected benefits. Could it be possible that we don't know precisely what causes the body to lose weight and maintain that loss?
This is just a prediction, but here goes...Do you know what? I think he's onto something.
Step 1 - An interesting, informed , balanced and thought provoking article
Step 2 - The tidal wage of ignorant, smug, abusive comments about how easy it is to lose weight, how people only have themselves to blame, how people who are heavier than the government says they should be are disgusting and so on.
I struggle to understand why so many people seem to actively hate overweight people. Is it perhaps because 1) they are easy to identify visually, and 2) they are one of the last societal groups it is still OK to sneer at and feel superior?
[...] the “domino theory” i.e. that once a measure has been applied to tobacco it will be applied to other products is patently false.Yes, I know it was a silly thing to say, but it looks even sillier today.
Parents should closely monitor the films their children watch, advise the researchers, while Hollywood should look at phasing out drinking scenes, just as it has for smoking.Easy hit? Of course. These comparisons with tobacco control are a daily occurrence, it's only the likes of Amanda Sandford and her desperately deluded colleagues who don't see them. They must all be related to Arsene Wenger, or something.
[...]
Writing in the British Medical Journal Open, they suggested that Hollywood should place "similar emphasis" on vetting films for drinking scenes, as they already did for smoking scenes.
“Building Global NGO Capacity: What worked for Tobacco Control?"... before the next day - with leading anti-smoker Gerard Hastings in attendance - debating how to go about banning alcohol advertising.
“Control marketing: lessons learn (sic) from tobacco control movement”Nope. Not even a hint of a domino effect there, is there Amanda?
Over at VGIF, Snowdon has been describing ASH's reaction to a report he has written on plain packaging for the ASI.Firstly, there is now a large body of evidence to show that plain packaging will be effective.La, la, la, not listening, la, la, la.
Secondly, there is no evidence that plain packaging will lead to an increase in tobacco smuggling.Probably because it hasn't been tried before ... which is precisely the reason there isn't any evidence that it will work as intended. Oddly enough, one lack of evidence is enough to require urgent action according to ASH, the other is to be ignored. Hypocrisy doesn't get much more stark than that.
Thirdly, the “domino theory” i.e. that once a measure has been applied to tobacco it will be applied to other products is patently false. The same argument was used against the ban on tobacco advertising, but 9 years after the tobacco ban in the UK, alcohol advertising is still permitted with no sign of it being prohibited."No sign of it being prohibited"? Has she just returned from Panama after faking her own death in a canoe, or something? Thereby missing articles in obscure organs such as, err, the BBC?
There should be a ban on all alcohol advertising, including sports and music sponsorship, doctors say. The British Medical Association said the crackdown on marketing was needed, along with an end to cut-price deals, to stop rising rates of consumption.Or, as discussed in low-profile venues such as the House of Commons by powerless non-entities like Howard Stoate MP?
The only sure way to tackle the problem is removing the alcohol industry's ability to target young people in that way. Banning alcohol advertising and sponsorship from events that are attended by children and young people, or watched by them on TV, is one way to enable young people to develop a healthier relationship with alcohol.At the same debate, here's another small-time bit player, Stephen Hesford MP.
[...] the death rate from tobacco-related illness was 120,000 a year when the Government decided to take action to ban the advertising of tobacco products. The death rate from alcohol-related diseases is now about 40,000. Would the tipping point be 80,000 or 100,000? Is it only at that point that the Government would want to act? I would like to ask the House and the Minister to reflect, as we might prefer action sooner than that [...]Did he just compare alcohol with tobacco there and suggest that - to use Sandford's terminology - "a measure [that] has been applied to tobacco" should "be applied to other products"? Yes, I think he did.
The industry will claim that these measures will kill off sport and culture, and that advertising is designed only to persuade people to switch brands. The same claim was made before the tobacco advertising ban.But if Sandford really did miss all the above, there's always the chance of watching Panorama tonight where Gerard Hastings will talk about alcohol advertising and what he thinks should be done about it, as if we don't know.
Obesity expert wants fatty foods tax in WalesAnd one from earlier this month.
[Dr Haboubi said] "Why don't we put tax on unhealthy food? Like the way we do on cigarettes and alcohol."
Sugar 'is toxic and must be regulated just like cigarettes', claim scientistsIf that's not evidence of a 'domino effect', perhaps Amanda got confused between dominoes and pontefract cakes.
Tobacco is a uniquely dangerous consumer product which is why there is a WHO health treaty (the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control) to regulate tobacco use.Yes Amanda, but we do already have a 'Framework for alcohol policy in the WHO region' which is much the same thing (plus, incidentally, also contains talk of banning advertising), and there are indeed moves afoot to install a full Framework Convention for alcohol. Can you guess where they got the idea from, Amanda?
Spurred by the creation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, there have been increasing calls for the adoption of a similar agreement for alcohol, usually termed a “Framework Convention on Alcohol Control” (FCAC).That's a hell of a lot of dominoes, I'd say.
The food truck nation is fretting over AB 1678, a bill introduced into the California State Legislature on Tuesday a.k.a. Valentine's Day. But this was no love letter for fans of mobile food. The bill seeks to ban mobile food and beverage vending within 1,500 feet of elementary and secondary schools from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. when schools are in session.As the article describes, this is what it means for people in the State Capital, Sacramento.
A statement ... reads in part: "Mobile food vending poses a threat to student safety as well as student nutrition. Mobile vending near school campuses incentivizes students to leave school grounds, which increases students' exposure to off-campus hazards such as heavily trafficked streets."
And this is the most fascinating thing: if Nyström's small group are representative, then it would seem that our bodies are more adaptable than we give them credit for. In other words, metabolism may play a much more important role in the problem of obesity than many people think. Indeed, Nyström claims that for some people, eating 10% more will lead to their metabolism increasing at the same level. The extra energy will be burned off as body heat during sleep.Not convinced? Well, even if so, let's just remember - for a goddamn minute - why this obesity thing is apparently so important. It's the risk of death, remember.
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