Saturday 13 September 2014

Link Tank 13/09

Links a la carte.

The war on fat - a big, fat waste of time

The unintended consequences of plain cigarette packaging

The truth we won't admit: Drinking is healthy

For Kayden Kross, the family business happens to be porn

A Souvlaki, chips and a fag – what's not to like?

Vermont bans brownies, cupcakes and cookies in schools

Ecuador to tax all fatty foods ... scratch that, only McDonald's and Burger King

Stop demonising a potentially useful product for smokers

Does beer really taste better out of a bottle? (pic)

1, 2, 3, ... err, a lot


2 comments:

nisakiman said...

The truth we won't admit: Drinking is healthy

This is an interesting article, not because it tells us something that many of us already know, but because it speaks volumes about the prohibitionist ethos of those who would regulate us. Despite all studies showing that drinking alcohol is in reality good for us, they nevertheless suppress that information in favour of fabricated junk science to try to stop us drinking. And further, lobby for financial burdens and other restrictions to discourage drinking.

One can only conclude that their real target, since it's obviously not health, is enjoyment. I am reminded of the quote from H L Mencken:

"Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy."

And this also seems to be what drives the anti-tobacco zealots, with their junk science and exaggerations. They just cannot abide the thought that people get enjoyment from something they disapprove of, and so do everything in their power to destroy that avenue of pleasure.

The puritan mindset is truly misanthropic. Why have we allowed them to insinuate themselves into positions where they have the power to inflict their warped ideology on the rest of us? This is the question that needs to be addressed and dealt with if we are ever to regain personal autonomy.

DP said...

Dear Mr Puddlecote

"The war on fat - a big, fat waste of time"

In the final paragraph "The war on dietary fat is a terrifying example of what happens when politics and bureaucracy mixes with science: " 'dietary fat' can be replaced with any of: tobacco, salt, junk food, alcohol, drugs, terror or, from a week last Tuesday, electrofags, according to your obsession of choice.

@ nisakiman "Why have we allowed them to insinuate themselves into positions where they have the power to inflict their warped ideology on the rest of us?"

For the same reason we have allowed government to do the same: puritanical obsessives are entrepreneurs who help government to punish the public, a role which government has taken over and developed hugely from religion.

The solution is to stop paying government to punish us.

There is more to life than paying taxes.

DP