Thursday, July 26, 2012
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The Property Rights Newsletter July 27, 2012 - Issue #674 "Once, during Prohibition, I was forced to livefor days on nothing but food and water." - W.C. Fields | |
NY: Nanny Mike's next target a real boozy. The department declined to divulge questions, saying the survey is still in the drafting stages. But it has been engaged in a media-education campaign to warn against dangerous binge drinking. Research from 2010 shows about half of New Yorkers 21 and older drink alcohol. More than one in 10 young adults say they are heavy drinkers, and 42 percent are binge drinkers.
CA: Anti-smoking activist declared a nuisance, being evicted. By Michael J. McFadden. "Birke, an attorney, has said he is not against smokers but says there is much evidence that secondhand smoke is a health threat and a public nuisance." Really? OK Mr. Birke: Please produce just a SINGLE study that would show that people smoking outdoors harms people's health. - "I'll keep going until the last court makes the very last decision," Birke said. 
MN: Woman Fired for Smelling Like Cigarette Smoke. By Phil Johnson. This is all down to the unproven crap from Winickof and his ridiculous 3rd hand smoke assertions based on 1346 phone calls asking idiots at home, extremely loaded questions - a bit like putting a loaded gun to someone's head! - A Fridley woman named Stephanie Cannon believes she's the victim of discrimination - fired because she smelled like cigarette smoke. Cannon claims she was told to "avoid my husband in the morning" because he also smokes. She says she was also encouraged to shower at the hospital--before work - instead of at home. The law in Minnesota states that an employer can't refuse to hire you (or fire you) if you do something that's not against the law (like smoking) if it takes place off the premises during non-work hours. That means even if smoking isn't allowed at work, you can't be fired for smoking at home on your own time. Or does it?
GA: Atlanta Parks. Jeremy Richards, Ph.D., The Southeast Regional Director of the Citizens Freedom Alliance lists compelling evidence for why smoking bans often do not work. It is true that even these outdoor Mayor Bloomberg-esque bans have had some popularity recently. However, in my research on tobacco prohibitions I have discovered that many of the smoking bans (both outdoor and even some indoor) have begun to fail. USA: Ban-Ban-Banzhaf. John Banzhaf III, former cruise ship dancer, anti-smoking wibbler and ambulance chaster extraordinaire, joined Twitter over a year ago and has so far been rewarded with 46 followers, some of whom are not bots or people who heartily despise him. His tweets are almost entirely limited to links to his own self-written press releases, but occasionally he cuts out the middle man and lets us know what is really on his mind... World: Smokers Blogs. Watch instant postings to your favorite blogs. | |
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Let me first say I am not a smoker; however I am opposed to Atlanta City Officials to even think of banning smoking outside. It is an outrage for them to want to endanger a person's health forcing smoking of all kinds inside. | |
Thursday, July 19, 2012
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The Property Rights Newsletter July 20, 2012 - Issue #673 "And so with all things: names were vital and important."- Algernon H. Blackwood | ||
NZ Smoking ban damage: Pride hurt over smoke-free name change. A 50-year-old Dunedin business name was stubbed out yesterday. Any signage which advertises tobacco products must be changed by next Monday. Selwyn Grave Men's Hairdresser and Tobacconist has been in Moray Pl since 1962, but was renamed Selwyn Grave Men's Hairdresser and Men's Gifts yesterday to comply with new smoke-free legislation. "Smoke-free officers and health promotion advisers will continue to visit all tobacco retailers to ensure they are aware of their new obligations and to check tobacco products are not visible to the public, either inside or outside their premises," Dr Poore said.
NY Haverstraw: New York Town Agrees to Repeal Tobacco Display Ban. Last night at a special meeting, the Board of Trustees approved a settlement with a group of retailers and manufacturers that filed a lawsuitchallenging the ban, which was passed in April 2012 and would have gone into effect this October. The lawsuit claimed the ban violated the First Amendment right to free speech. Under the terms of the settlement, the group of plaintiffs, which includes the New York Association of Convenience Stores (NYACS), Lorillard Tobacco Co., Philip Morris USA Inc., R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co., American Snuff Co. LLC, U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Brands Inc., and John Middleton Co., agreed to drop the lawsuit if Haverstraw repeals the law. NY: Smoking Signs Snuffed. Court Kills Bloomberg Effort to Force Tobacco Sellers to Post Graphic Images. "The city's desire to tilt the balance more in favor of educating consumers is understandable," the three judges said in a unanimous ruling written by Judge Denny Chin. "But what the city cannot do is seek to affect the balance by requiring a manufacturer or retailer to display supplemental content at the point of purchase." The ruling marked a rare setback for Mr. Bloomberg's signature efforts to use government regulation to force New Yorkers to lead healthier lives. Other attempts such as a restaurant and bar smoking ban and a prohibition on trans fats haven't been successfully challenged in court.
GA: Atlanta approves smoking ban at parks. General penalties under the city of Atlanta's code of ordinances would apply for violating the new ordinance, with a maximum fine of up to $1,000. Signage will be installed in all city parks. PA: Plans trial smoking ban in state parks. State officials, dealing with complaints about litter, are planning a trial smoking ban in two Pennsylvania state parks next year. The ban, Brady said, could be extended to all state parks if it's successful. Canada: British Columbia. Backyard smoking angers Maple Ridge family. Wendell and Rena Krossa say they are frustrated by smoke blowing over into their home from their neighbours' patio. Currently, there's no prohibition against smoking that applies to single family homes - something the Krossas are now lobbying to change. Canada: Ottawa. Two charged under city's new outdoor smoking ban. Also, council approved last month a ban on smoking of water pipes and "non-tobacco" products at city parks, beaches and other outdoor properties. MORE: A lot more Smoking Outside articles. Over 3,500 articles showing that after throwing smokers outside, the Antis will then regulate the great outdoors. | ||
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The Cold Sharp Slap Of Reality | ||
Thursday, July 12, 2012
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The Property Rights Newsletter July 13, 2012 - Issue #672 "Revenge may be wicked, but it's natural."- William Makepeace Thackeray | ||
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His inspection was unannounced and happened as always on a random list of catering businesses. Cafe de la Poste in the center of the village serves a daily special at noon but in the evening is frequented by a slightly rougher clientele: mostly members of the local Hell's Angels. According to eyewitnesses, the inspector was stripped to his pants. Personal belongings were tossed way back in the barroom supported by some intense cheering. Afterwards the man was dropped in the forest and could find shelter in an old gamekeeper's house, dressed in an old horse blanket, he managed to reach the local police station. The public prosecutor of Charleroi condammed this aggression and intimidation of a public official. The prosecution asks anyone who witnessed the incident to contact the police.
GA: Norcross repeals city wide smoking ban. People worried the government might have gone too far banning all tobacco use city wide, and they gave the council an earful. In a unanimous vote, the Norcross City Council repealed the new ordinance, immediately lifting the city-wide ban on tobacco. IN: A coalition is urging Indiana lawmakers to raise alcohol taxes to fight underage drinking, liquor store owners don't like the idea. "Just a modest increase of even five-cents per drink could bring in $145-million that the state could use for prevention and treatment," explained Lisa Hutcheson, Director of ICRUD. PA: Public housing smoking ban: A landlord can make any silly rule, but that doesn't make it right. By Michael J. McFadden. Legally, the Allentown Housing Authority may be able to get away with this, but there is no rightness about it. They should not be telling someone what to do in the privacy of their own home. Get your neighborhoods together and make your voices heard. Kenya: Embu health boss bans smoking in public places. "Anybody convicted with the offence of smoking in public or selling cigarettes in sticks or breaking the law in whichever manner will face a jail term of not exceeding three years or a fine of 500,000 or both," she said. UK: Review the smoking ban and allow separate smoking rooms, says Simon Clark, director of Forest. The smoking ban has been a disaster for many pubs and clubs. Over 5000 pubs have closed since the ban was introduced... The impact on many people's social lives has been enormous. Thanks to the ban many smokers are smoking and drinking at home. Who can blame them when the alternative is standing outside in the wind and rain? The ban has encouraged greater intolerance on both sides. "We want the government to amend the legislation to allow separate, well-ventilated smoking rooms in pubs and clubs. Few people would object to that because no-one would be exposed to other people's smoke against their wishes." World: Smokers Blogs. Watch instant postings to your favorite blogs. | ||
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Thursday, July 05, 2012
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The Property Rights Newsletter July 6, 2012 - Issue #671 "The crusades made great improvement in the condition of the serfs."- John Lothrop Motley | ||
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A year after the introduction of the smoking ban, pubs show sales in many and pub-owners fell so sensitive that bankruptcy is imminent. According FedCaf Belgium and Hospitality Claim Belgium the smoking ban is questionable. They want managers to begin a crusade to raise awareness and to repeal the ban patronizing. The action started in Antwerp.
******* Kruistocht tegen het rookverbod. ANTWERPEN - Een jaar na de invoering van het rookverbod in cafes blijkt de omzet bij een groot aantal cafe-uitbaters zo gevoelig gedaald dat een faillissement dreigt. Volgens FedCaf Belgium en Horecaclaim Belgie is het rookverbod aanvechtbaar. Zij willen een kruistocht aanvatten om uitbaters te sensibiliseren en het betuttelend verbod te laten intrekken. De actie startte maandag in Antwerpen. MN: An open letter to the Minnesota Legislature regarding a proposed tobacco tax increase, and related tobacco control issues. By Leonard Spencer. Exorbitant tobacco taxes are, after all, imposed despite the objections of smokers, and are enforced by a heavily-armed paramilitary police apparatus, and thus, by armed force. Or does the great state of Minnesota define an extortion racket differently than the rest of civilized humanity? May every person who has ever loved life enough to fight for their inherent right to experience the only life they will ever live on their own terms hold this legislature in contempt of humanity, until such time as Minnesota legislators have cast rabid anti-smokers back into the shadows of the lunatic fringe from whence they came, and where they rightfully belong. WI: Defiance: They got 'em, so they're smoking 'em. To many state residents, Highway 29 represents the line of demarcation between "Wisconsin" and "Northern Wisconsin." And nothing tells the story of the cultural divide between the northern and southern ends of the state better than the taverns that dot the stretch of highway between Eau Claire and Wausau. Yet despite their innocent look, these little saloons have become laboratories for prohibition-style civil disobedience in Wisconsin. The lesson here is one that we all learned during Prohibition: As long as a vice exists, there will be somewhere to take part in it, legally or otherwise. And as long as there are more taverns than there are state officials able to enforce the laws passed in Madison, there will always be a robust defiance of those laws. UK: Last Call For Plain Packs Objections. Many of you have shared your responses to the government's consultation on the quite daft plans for plain packaging. They've all been great to read, especially the more, err, forthright ones. The process ends on Tuesday July 10th, so if you had planned to get your opinion registered on the idea and haven't yet done so, now would be the time to get a wiggle on. UK: That Freedom Dinner video. It features interviews with Angela Harbutt (Hands Off Our Packs), Patrick Hayes (Institute of Ideas), Josie Appleton (Manifesto Club) and other guests. It also features footage of the event including the speakers - James Delingpole, Claire Fox and General Sir Mike Jackson - and the band, Reuben Richards and Soul Train. World: Smokers Blogs. Watch instant postings to your favorite blogs. | ||
 Watch The Southern Crusade | ||
