More bullshit for the growing pile
From yesterday’s Irish Times –
There are quite a few questions I would have to ask about this.
For a start, I would love to know just what sort of magic bullet the gubmint seem to think this bloke has, that they invite the Gardai and Revenue along. Who is this bloke who seems to claim he can achieve what virtually every country in Europe has failed to do?
Actually, the answer is probably quite simple. He is an expert at bullshitting.
I have seen dozens of statistics that purport to prove without a shadow of a doubt that the rate of heart attacks has fallen dramatically after the introduction of a smoking ban. And without exception every one of those proofs has proved to be a load of codswallop. Heart attack rates have been falling steadily just about everywhere, and there isn’t a single case where smoking bans have caused the rate to vary, so the quoted figures, I can guarantee are the figures for the natural decline. I notice he doesn’t hive a time period for this decline? Is it since 2005? 2000? 1950?
I have tried to find the source of the figures he quotes, but I came up with a blank. The nearest I could find was the crowd mentioned in the article called Fresh [Smokefree North East]. Reading through this site there is precious little in the way of hard figures. It is full of innuendos and the glib clichés that the Righteous love so much - “it is estimated that”, “a growing body of evidence that” and “the figures show” [which is never accompanied by the “figures”].
One of the claims is that “A campaign against tobacco smuggling has been very successful”. Apparently this remarkable claim is based on a “survey” of 4000 people. Now, how can a survey prove that smuggling has decreased? Unless the 4000 are all smugglers whining about their loss of trade, I can’t see how this “survey” can prove anything. If some health freaks ring me up and ask my about my illicit tobacco supplies, do you really, honestly think I am going to give them the unvarnished truth? Hah! I will lie through my teeth just to confuse their figures.
There is one little statement though that really gets me going – “We know from the drink driving law that we can change people’s behaviour”. Oh boy! This is the Smug Righteous at their best! Who is the “we”? A group of smug little bastards who really sincerely believe that they know what’s best for us and believe they have a natural right to herd us into their way of thinking.
After all, we can’t think for ourselves.
Can we?
I could nearly guarantee that heart attack rates have fallen due to modern medication i.e.blood pressure reducing tablets, cholesterol controlling tablets etc. etc.
I just ordered a model Italian cruise liner. I asked the guy in the store to puy it on one side for me.
tt (fia) – The old ones are the best, It was last trotted out in 1912 wnen the liner in question was on the shelf at the bottom. Still what would some bozo from a 240ish year old country know about anything.
Blast! I don’t have to use the “click to edit” thingy.
Yes I do I shelt “when” wrongly, oh fuck now I’ve spelt spelt wromhly, bollux can’t spell wrongly now.
Fuck it.
The “click to edit” thingy even counts your life away – in 5 minute increments – Fucking great, can you put some wet paint next to it, we can watch it dry as well as die.
What the FF is “stack overfl0w at line 2” – when it’s at home. I clicked “OK” in total ignorance.
Fuck off tt – just in case you mention ignorance in conjunction with my name.
I’ve still got 1 min 45 sec and I can’t think of anything to post
except the good old standby
Fuck it.
GD, Smoking, Non Smoking Tobacco, Gubmint, EU, Troika, Mercozi, Angela’s Ashes, fukkit. Its more of the same, sorry to say.
Any chance of a good discussion on how the fuck we should get even or how to start a revolution or disembowel the cunts who fucked up the country.
I feel the need, not for speed, but for retribution, to get even with the gobshites who fucked us all up.
I can’t get a gun, bomb or explosives, my penmanship is’nt easy to read, so a good ‘ol fucking post is just what the Doctor ordered.
Lemme at the bastards……
Mossy – That is the response of a sane person. The Righteous however will try to attribute any and all improvements to their grubby little efforts.
tt – Hmmmmm…….
Patrick – You having problems? Have you overfilled your stack? Have you asked tt if he caused it?
Slab – I could not agree more. I shall try to crank up the old grey matter.
http://www.personal.psu.edu/tcr5051/blogs/presidental_leadership_academy/soulbrotha_viva_la_revolucion.jpg
Viva la revolution
“… After all, we can’t think for ourselves. Can we?… ”
Course we can, that’s why we’re here isn’t it? I think.
Is that all right? Statistics tell me I’ve done good. The figures are in.
By the way tt and Patrick. Love your work. it’s like the lead in to Brokeback Grandad or suchlike. Undercurrents of passion constantly simmering. The small digs aiming to sting, not to hurt too much – like paddling your best friends bare bottom with a handful of nettles.
I’m thrilled ye found each other and wait for each days installment – just take it slow.
Bloody hell! Is this place turning into a soft porn site?
I wonder if snookertony likes to pot the pink or the brown. As for Paddy we all know he fucks goats. In the pumper.
It’s got to be SOFT porn – by the sound of it, we couldn’t get a decent stiffy between us.
Fuck off tt. After all the ugly, drunk and syphilitic sailors that have used your shitlocker as a recreational facility it must be hanging down like a ragged Burberry sleeve.
Boys, Boys…. calm down or GD’ll have you both on the naughty step again!
Start growing and smoking your own weed Grandad – No taxes and you wont give a shit about anything. Win Win
How many statistics do you want? Try http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_effects_of_tobacco_smoking for a bit of light reading. Or do you have some expertise in this field that over-rides all this research?
“hanging down like a ragged Burberry sleeve.” Been reading Poetry for Dummys again??
Sirvivor – I grant you that the only expertise I can draw in is years of reading up on papers on the subject. I didn’t read all the page you link to. The start of the second sentence made me more than a little wary. I have an inbuilt distrust of epidemiological research. It tends to be highly biased as too many confounding factors are ignored.
Then I come to the chunk about “There are over 19 known chemical carcinogens in cigarette smoke”. Coincidentally, as you were writing your comment, I was reading this – THE COCKTAIL OF CHEMICALS CON-TRICK. Have a read. I think you will then see why I would not take the Wikipedia article too seriously. It is just trotting out the same old garbage.
I believe I have you figured out by now GD. Be it climate change, smoking et al. Yes, you read great gobs of info on the subject but instead on basing your opinion on the sum total of it you pick out the parts that support an opinion you have pre determined. Like climate change. You quite happily dismiss the overwhelming weight of scientific research and evidence and the belief of 95% of the world’s climatologists and that fact that every national acadamy of science on earth says it’s real and man made as long as you can come across the odd (and I mean ‘odd’ or bribed by Exxon) rogue scientist that agrees with you. Or the odd crooked one that has falsified results. Same with your view on the effects of smoking. You are not cantankerous. You are an arrogant, bloody minded, conceited, selfish, awkward, self righteous, self important pompous and most of all idiotic sonofabitch. They say there is no fool like an old fool. Sent with love. tt.
tt – Indeed, I may be some or even all of those things. Yes, I have read quite a lot over the years and what has persuaded me more than anything is logic and facts. It is a fact that global warming crowd have not so far been correct in their predictions. They predicted a rise in global temperatures that we should by now be experiencing. The fact is that they were wrong. If anything, the global temperature is dropping. It is also a fact that most if not all the claims about secondary smoke are completely false. The link I mentioned above does not make any claims. It simply states the facts that any schoolboy could verify. Like it or not, there is a rapidly growing body of people [including doctors and scientists] who are openly questioning the claims that are being made.
Incidentally, you included that old chestnut about people being bribed by Exxon? What about the massive funding provided by Pfizer et al?
Just wrote the best post of my life time only to be told it was a “bit spammy” and that “we don’t like spam yer”. Spam my arse – Fuck off tt, don’t you dare.