Wednesday, October 30, 2013
November 1, 2013 - Issue #733junk science, noun. faulty scientific information or research, especially when used to advance special interests. - dictionary.com |
The American Legacy Foundation: Inside the hidden world of thefts, scams and phantom purchases at the nation's nonprofits. For 14 years, the American Legacy Foundation has managed hundreds of millions of dollars drawn from a government settlement with big tobacco companies, priding itself on funding vital health research and telling the unadorned truth about the deadly effects of smoking. Yet the foundation, located just blocks from the White House, was restrained when asked on a federal disclosure form whether it had experienced an embezzlement or other "diversion" of its assets. Records and interviews reveal the full story: an estimated $3.4 million loss, linked to purchases from a business described sometimes as a computer supply firm and at others as a barbershop, and to an assistant vice president who now runs a video game emporium in Nigeria.
CDC And Illegal Grants: By Jeff Stier. It is important here to distinguish between arguments about the merits of the CDC's health policy goals (soda taxes, smoking bans, etc.) and questions about the legality of how the agency hands out grants. Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General Daniel Levinson wrote in late June that his office was "concerned" that CDC Communities Putting Prevention to Work grants may have been used for "inappropriate lobbying activities." This comes on the heels of similar questions recently raised by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). 
Glantz Junk Science Tobacco: The British Medical Journal Embraces junk science. By Dave Atherton. The British Medical Journal has just produced this editorial on banning tobacco companies from publishing papers. One assumes that if you are banning tobacco companies means pharmaceutical companies (Big Pharma) are to be treated in the same way too? You only need to look at the "science" that was hyped up by Big Pharma for the H1NI "epidemic" at the behest of the WHO as investigated and reported in the err, BMJ. ... AND Dick Puddlecote writes, "Considering superscripted numbers 5 & 6 refer to research by Mad Stan Glantz - a guy whose bias can be detected by the naked eye by aliens from the farthest galaxies in the universe - this paragraph alone makes one wonder if the BMJ is seeking to reinvent itself as the new Daily Mash."
Glantz Junk Science Asthma: This junk science just takes your breath away. By Christopher Snowdon. The claim that the smoking ban has reduced asthma rates is a case study in using 'research' to justify coercive policy. Glantz himself - founder of Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights and a veteran campaigner for smoking bans - is a co-author. The study should be seen as another entry in Glantz's unenviable canon of junk science, and as a case study in the media's role in creating panics and distorting policy. Junk Science Cancer: By Geoffrey Kabat. Over-Reaching California EPA Regulators Promoted A False Breast Cancer Link. In this very large meta-analysis, there was not a hint of an association between ETS exposure and risk of breast cancer. Gilmore Junk Science Economics: By Carl V Phillips. Anna Gilmore, an anti-tobacco activist and "researcher" at the University of Bath (they must be so proud!) is primarily known for doing junk epidemiology but has also branched into junk economics. She attributes manufacturers' actions to various nefarious motives, which is perhaps just political lying, but probably is because neither she nor her coauthors understood what they were writing about. Outdoor Smoke Junk Science: By Steve Milloy. Annoying to many - but not a health risk to any - secondhand smoke is archetypal junk science. But the city needs to do more than extend outdoor smoking restrictions if it wants a truly effective and comprehensive tobacco prevention program. From Junk Science to Junk Food: The Food Police in Action: Now, the government is trying to solve the problem by dictating a new healthy American diet. Doesn't it feel like institutionalizing, even validating the problem? Now we discover that much of the science that has been invoked to deprive people of more of their freedom is... how can we put this nicely... wrong. Fructose Junk Science: What the fructose? The EU has approved a health claim for fructose, but with a health warning attached. Even Monty Python would struggle to make a believable sketch out of that. The claim is that eating fructose leads to far less blood glucose than eating glucose or sucrose. They did tests. They really did. Oreo Junk Science: No, Oreos Aren't as Addictive as Cocaine. If you give a mouse a cookie, you can spend all day following it around the house while it wants to do a bunch of tedious activities. Or, you can trap it in a box, keep feeding it cookies, and then make the outrageous claim that Oreos are as addictive as cocaine. ... AND Fatty Foods Addictive as Cocaine in Growing Body of Science. Cupcakes may be addictive, just like cocaine. NZ Obesity: Consumer targets child food tricks. If the Government is serious about reversing the obesity epidemic, it must introduce tough new rules on the packaging of children's treats, Consumer NZ says. The consumer advocacy group is calling for the control of marketing gimmicks on food packaging - particularly cartoon characters, free toys and on-packet puzzles targeting children. |
 She Blinded Me With Science |
Thursday, October 24, 2013
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October 25, 2013 - Issue #732 "The world is all the richer for having a devil in it, so long as we keep our foot upon his neck." - William James |
PAUL HARVEY'S "IF I WERE THE DEVIL"... Prophetic Warning for a Nation. April 3, 1965. ... In other words, if I were the devil I'd just keep right on doing on what he's doing.
World Anti Bloomberg Revolt: Bloomberg Unbound. "He's remade New York," it says. "Next up, the world." The meeting turns out to be of the World Health Organization, the Tobacco-Free Kids campaign and what Time calls "other masters in the international cabal to end smoking." It is a meeting, Time reports, about "using enormous private wealth to change government policies and shift human behavior." ... These contests are but early skirmishes in a long campaign now commencing to unravel the rules and regulations of the Bloomberg years while the soon-to-be-ex mayor is off exporting Bloombergism to foreign lands. ... Bloomberg takes all the populist backlash as validation. He talks of tobacco firms and soda companies like Coca-Cola and Pepsi as enemies of long life. And he is open in his condescension for those who resist the data on which he bases his decisions. 
CT Veteran: A 90-year-old disabled World War II veteran will not be evicted for violating the Newington Housing Authority's smoking policy. Key to the settlement was the assistance of Linda S. Schwartz, the state's commissioner of veterans affairs, Doyle said. Schwartz will seek volunteers to build a 10-foot awning enabling Nowicki, who can barely walk, to smoke outside in bad weather, he said.
OK Veterans: Veterans center residents ask Fallin not to ban smoking. "This nursing home is my home, and I should be able to smoke here," Wilnes said. "Smoking is the only enjoyment some of these veterans still have." WV Veterans: Veterans' groups seek exception to smoking ban; commissioners agree to go to board of health. "These are people that gave their all for this country, and you're telling me that they wouldn't be able to come into the VFW and have a smoke?" he said. USA Veterans: Liberty Van Joins The Protests! Lynda Farley's Liberty Van, headed down to Washington DC to join in the WW2 Memorial Protests and Shutdown Protests. |
 Movies everyone should watch... more than once! |
Thursday, October 17, 2013
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October 18, 2013 - Issue #731 I was walking in the park and this guy waved at me. Then he said, "I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else." I said, "I am." - Demetri Martin |
Judge Orders NY State Parks To Halt Outdoor Smoking Ban. FL: Florida Department of Corrections ends cigarette ban in work camps: smoke em if you got em. Now allowing inmates at work release centers to have up to 10 packs of cigarettes each. Department of Corrections officials say they lifted the prohibition on tobacco-related products in the work release programs because they didn't want prisoners so close to completing their sentences to have to go back behind bars for breaking the rules. NM: Big Tobacco wins big payback from New Mexico. State on the hook for $10 million, maybe more. New Mexico gets around $40 million from the big tobacco companies that is funneled into the state's Tobacco Settlement Permanent Fund. SC: Berkeley County rejects smoke-free proposal for second time. The proposal also failed to garner support when it was first brought up in committee in July, and Davis vowed then to bring it up again. Alternative Method of Nicotine Delivery: Non-Combustible Cigarettes - "Vaping" Presentation by Dr. Norman L. Jacobson of San Antonio to a meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians at Houston in November, 1979. EU Where There's Smoke. Jeff Stier. "The European Parliament's decision not to treat e-cigarettes like medical devices is a huge win for smokers trying to quit, and thus great news for public health." "We can only hope that the FDA takes note of Europe's rational approach." Profile of an ANTZ: Profile of an Anti Nicotine and Tobacco Zealot. Photographic or near photographic memory with impressively quick powers of instantaneous recollection are not uncommon among ANTZ. As with famous detective Sherlock Holmes, asking an ANTZ to retrace the steps of their genius-powered faculties of rational deduction/induction is a bother. They are able to zip through multiple steps of thought to arrive at amazing conclusions like "Everybody knows..." and "Science proves that..." and "The experts say..." Scotland: Those who seek to bully us into the lifestyle that they choose for us need to check the facts, writes Brian Monteith. Like he says, they use astrology - not astronomy - and there's a big difference. Let's hope it's not too late to change their ways. |
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Thursday, October 10, 2013
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October 11, 2013 - Issue #730 "The FDA and anti-tobacco extremists who support it should be held accountable for their prohibitionist actions." - Brad Rodu |
The Heartland Institute: Age Restrictions for Electronic Cigarettes. Thousands of American smokers trying to quit have tried electronic cigarettes, or "e-cigarettes," sales of which have doubled in recent years. These devices, designed as nicotine replacement products, have become key components in tobacco harm reduction strategies. As electronic cigarettes grow in popularity, state and local governments across the nation are initiating efforts to regulate and tax the products. Prohibiting the sale of e-cigarettes to minors enjoys wide support, although opposition has arisen from some anti-smoking groups who oppose the restrictions and are pushing instead for a full ban on e-cigarette purchases.
UK Cigar Oscars fire up The Big Smoke. Britain's first cigar oscars are set to light up London at Boisdale Canary Wharf on 19 November 2013. "This will be the biggest smoking-related event to take place in the UK for years," said Mitchell Orchant, managing director, C.Gars Ltd. "Some of the most famous and wealthiest cigar smokers in the world will be celebrating with fine wine, food and, not least, premium cigars on Boisdale's smoking terrace overlooking the Thames."
NEW! Ban the Ban Michigan: (BTBmi) is a Michigan-based non-political organization of volunteers--smokers and nonsmokers alike - who oppose our state's "Dr. Ron Davis Smokefree Air Law," commonly known as the Michigan smoking ban. NEW! Opponents of Ohio Bans: We are comprised of Ohio citizens and business owners who oppose all bans. Bans infringe on individual freedoms and choices, and strip business owners of property rights, guaranteed under the Constitution. CA: Bellflower places moratorium on shops selling e-cigarettes, citing a need to learn about them and set up zoning regulations. Questioned by council members, Harris said business is growing and he has received many letters from customers saying the device helped them stop smoking. "It’s the wave of the future," said Harris, who said he expects the industry to grow. KY: Northern Kentucky endorses push for statewide smoking ban. Opponents of a statewide ban have argued against taking rights away from business owners. MA: Residents Try To Smoke Out Public Housing Smoking Ban at City Council Meeting. The original version of the policy order had urged the CHA to reopen the public decision about the issue. MO: Sedalia Bar profits going up in smoke due to smoking ban. Nearly a month after Sedalia went smoke-free, some bar owners are saying the measure is costing them their livelihood. OH: Buckeye Liquor Permit Holders Association Update. Our organization represents hundreds of bar, restaurant and bowling alley owners. We KNOW the devastating affect smoking bans have had on our members. This is absolute abuse of government power to have pre-determined outcomes validated. If you know what the outcome of studies are supposed to be, it's not hard to find numbers (if you look hard enough) to support those claims. OK: Petition to curb smoking still planned, but on hold for now. The bid, after 2014 elections, would allow cities to be tougher on public smoking than state law. WA: Department of Justice Settlement with Yakama Nation Requires Law Enforcement to Provide Prior Notice before Entering Tribal Lands. The Yakama Nation sued the DOJ, arguing that the failure to notify tribal authorities prior to conducting the raid violated the Yakama Treaty of 1855. The FBI, together with local authorities from outside the reservation, launched a raid against the tribal manufacturer, King Mountain Tobacco, on February 16, 2011. USA FDA: We have an FDA funded program designed to generate (highly biased) research to inform the FDA on the (misuse of) science-based regulation of tobacco products to protect public health. 53 Million tax payer Dollars for grant moochers. India: Woody Allen Extinguishes 'Blue Jasmine' In India Over Smoking Rules. Thanks to two smoking scenes in his Blue Jasmine, Woody Allen pulled the film's India release over the weekend rather than allow government-mandated anti-smoking warnings to be inserted onscreen during scenes when characters light up. Scotland: Archie Macpherson wants smokers to be "terrorised." "The ban on smoking in public places must go on and we must find some other ways, even in this era of human rights legislation and whatever, of terrorising smokers." UK Guernsey: Breath tests to crackdown on prison smoking. Les Nicolles prison governor Dave Matthews said that only a 'small minority' of prisoners were breaking its no-smoking policy, but warned that they could face an extended stay inside if caught. |
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Tuesday, October 01, 2013
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October 4, 2013 - Issue #729 "This month of September has been the longest year of my life." - Samantha Phillipe. President, Citizens Freedom Alliance |
Former American Lung Association Head Joins E-Cigarette Association. Former American Lung Association (ALA) President and CEO Charles D. Connor joined the Electronic Cigarette Industry Group Inc. (ECIG) as a consultant. In his new role, Connor will serve as a strategic partner to ECIG, acting as the primary liaison between the public health community and the association. "As a longtime advocate of lung disease prevention and improving lung health, I am excited to join ECIG to help advance education and awareness of the e-cigarette industry," Connor said. "Electronic cigarettes provide the only true alternative to traditional tobacco products, offering adult smokers a similar experience without the same consequences."
Tobacco and Pot smokers welcome to light up at Grand Rapids Howard Johnson. The Howard Johnson franchise on 28th Street in Grand Rapids has seen occupancy soar since owner Bob Sullivan made a seemingly unfashionable business decision: accommodate smokers. Said Janet Korn, vice president of marketing for the Experience Grand Rapids tourism bureau: "We market all hotels in Kent County, and we let consumers choose where they stay. Our focus is on promoting the destination, not individual hotel amenities."
Back in 2008 - The House Tobacco Built. The National Association of Attorneys General got rich off the tobacco settlement. Will it stop with cigarettes? Beside funding antismoking campaigns, the loot from the tobacco companies has helped turn this once sleepy professional association into a kind of super regulatory body, hunting for antitrust and consumer-fraud violations. It doesn't sue anybody, instead working behind the scenes to coordinate the efforts of state attorneys general and provide legal advice.
A deeper look at the Attorneys General letter to the FDA. Earlier this week the National Association of Attorneys General submitted a letter to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg pressing for immediate imposition of regulations. Whereas there is little argument against some regulation, the authors come across as little more than Chicken Littles fearing the falling sky. President Obama update: President Obama got caught on a hot mic today saying he hasn't smoked in six years because he's afraid of his wife Michelle. According to CNN, which caught the candid moment, the president was speaking with a United Nations official. Michelle Obama gives a different date for when the president quit smoking, saying in 2011 that her husband hadn't smoked in "almost a year." UK Media Lie About E-Cig Advert Bans: As gleefully reported by The Guardian, Independent, Huffington Post, Metro, BBC 5Live and Watchdog, all current TV and radio e-cig adverts have been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority. Estonia E-Cigarette Decision: Tartu Administrative Court has ruled that e-cigarettes containing more than 4 milligrams of nicotine are medicinal products and cannot be freely sold without a corresponding license. The court said it proceeded from guidelines handed down by the World Health Organization. TobakkoNacht - The Antismoking Endgame. Read the new book by Michael J. McFadden. It critically examines the engineered social division, job and medical discriminations, and a deliberate distortion of scientific research that hasn't been seen since Lysenko's era. |
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