TOBACCO
NEWS FROM CANADA December 2003 Comments by Warren Klass Christmas Message From Pres. Forces Canada
I would also like to say thanks to those of you who send me nice e-mails to say you appreciate our efforts. I can't begin to tell you what a morale booster it is. I can assure you that I get no shortage of hate e-mail from the anti-smoking nuts. I am aware that things are very bleak for us in most parts of Canada right now, but I'm hopeful. When I took over the Presidency of Forces Canada, I was aware of what we were up against: a 500 million dollar Liberal Party PARASITE INDUSTRY, a powerful media that spread every scurrilous myth about second-hand smoke-while giving us no chance to respond or set the record straight. Yet buried in the depressing news are rays of hope. Anti-smoking politicians in venues such as Saskatoon, Saskatchwean, and Niagara Falls, Ontario, were defeated. Towns from B.C. Albera, New Brunswick not getting caught up in the hysteria. I'm a football fan. Last week a football team from a cow college, Kansas State took on one of the mightiest teams in the history of college football, the Oklahoma Sooners. Oklahoma was the number 1 team in America. Its a perennial football power that has won numerous national championships. The Big 12 Championship game last Saturday had to be one of the great mis-matches in college football history. A team from that huge metropolis, Manhattan, Kansas who only got to the big game by upsetting Nebraska-another perennial football power, took on the number 1 ranked Okalahoma Sooners. Kansas State had never won anything since 1936.The game of course was a slaughter. Fifteenth ranked Kansas State 35-Oklahoma 7.Oklahoma was the top team in America in every poll, before being blown out by Kansas State. The message is that even the toughest, mightiest foes can be beaten. In a few months there will be an election in Canada. The Liberal Party, the patrons of the $500 million dollar a year PARASITES, do not look as invulnerable as they did a few months ago. Its my hope that smokers in Canada become the next Kansas State. More adults in Canada smoke than vote Liberal in elections. A regular Forces Canada reader and all round good guy downloaded and transferred to VHS a copy of a recent episode of Southpark for me to see. If any of you get the high end cable channels make a point of seeing and taping this episode. It involves the smoking issue. Its hysterical. Its very difficult to encapsulate the subtle humor and I can't reproduce some of the obscene language here, but finally the anti-smoking nuts led by Meathead (Rob Reiner) are portrayed as the "liars and fascists" that they really are. Briefly,the kids from Southpark are forced to sit through an endless dreary anti-smoking diatribe. Naturally they all start smoking." Big tobacco" is of course blamed for poisoning these kids minds. The parents call in Meathead. Meathead confronts a smoker in a bar who tells him, that he has a cigarette" to relax after working a 14 hour shift at a sawmill. "Meathead replies:" Why don't you do what I do to relax? Go to your vacation home in Hawaii?" The Mill worker doesn't have a vacation home in Hawaii." Then how about your vacation home in Mexico?" Canadians will love the parody of the Heather Crowe type ads about second-hand smoke causing lung cancer. The whole episode is very funny. To all those who tune into Forces Canada on a regular basis, I'd like to wish you all a happy holiday season and a Happy New Year. Dateline - Montreal, Quebec
The backlash has been muted to say the least. Compare this to the coast to coast outrage when the Liberals tried to spend millions bailing out the Ottawa Senators hockey team. But for the most part the Anglo media in this country has not given much play to the Grand Prix bailout. Two taboo issues are in play here. Tobacco, and the endless Liberal Party Pork-barreling in Quebec. Who says the Liberal media is not biased? Dateline - Ottawa, Ontario
Paul Martin has become Prime Minister. The good news for smokers is that Allan (The Crock) Rock has been booted out of Cabinet and sent to the U.N. as Ambassador. Rock was the Health Minister who started Canada's war on smokers. Ambassador to Angola in charge of land-mine clearing would have been nicer, but with the Liberals you take what you can get. Also booted out of Cabinet was Shelia Copps. Shelia was Minister responsible for not allowing Forces Canada to display the Canadian flag as a geographic designation on this site. Due to re-districting, Shelia might not even get the Liberal nomination for a commons seat from Hamilton. Awww. Pass the Tequila. No more Shelia. Dreamboat Annie McLellan has been moved from Health to Deputy Prime Minister. Dreamboat Annie's last act as Health Minister was to Pork-barrel some goodies for her Edmonton riding. Landslide Annie won her first election by 11 votes and subsequent elections by a handfull. It would only take a few smokers in Edmonton to send Dreamboat Annie back to chasing ambulances after the next election. The new Health Minister is Pierre Pettigrew. Hello Mr. Pettigrew. Martin Cauchon was also kicked out of Cabinet. As Justice Minister Mr.Cauchon caved into pressure from Gar Mahoodlum and his gang of PARASITES at the Canadian branch of the Taliban Vice and Virtue Committee (Non-Smokers Rights Association) and started a bogus prosecution of RJR for legally exporting cigarettes from Canada. This case was repeatedly thrown out of U.S. Courts several times. The really bad news for smokers is the elevation of Rosedale matron "Sweet Carolyn", Dr.Carolyn Bennett, a rabid anti-smoking nut, to a Junior Health Minister. As part of the ceremony for his swearing in as Prime Minister, Paul Martin had an Indian Chief say a prayer and wave around some burning tobacco. This elicited a response published in Saturday's Toronto Sun: "As I watched Prime Minister Paul Martin's induction ceremony yesterday morning, I thought it quite odd that the use of tobacco was involved with the swear in ceremony. Since Ottawa has a 100% no-smoking bylaw-no exemptions-shouldn't the P.M. and the native chief involved in the burning of tobacco be fined? After all, the anti-smoking people claim there is no safe level of second-hand smoke exposure. Quick someone phone the smoke police. This country has gone stark, raving mad."
Craig Ancitil Dateline - Thorold, Ontario
It seems 20% of Thorobold kids, many as young as 12 are smoking. Be assured the numbers will rise dramatically once this program gets going. As I stated before, if Big Tobacco had hired the anti-smoking PARASITES to get kids to start smoking-they couldn't have done a better job. Any parent will tell you- tell a kid 5,000 times not to smoke and see what happens. Dateline - Georgina, Ontario
The pretext is childhood asthma. All the lies and myths about second-hand smoke are trotted out on this one. I am an asthmatic. There are no allergens in cigarette smoke. There is not one iota of evidence that cigarette smoke causes asthma or worsens an existing condition. This idiocy was specifically "vacated" (null and void) by U.S. Federal Judge William Osteen in a landmark 92 page decision on the basis of vast epidemiological evidence. The author of this con game has renounced his previous beliefs. (University of Arizona Respiratory specialist Dr. Fernanda Martinez). Dateline - Drayton Valley, Alberta
One hospitality owner claims with considerable justification to being" stabbed in the back." He just finish spending $300,000 to comply with the last anti-smoking ordinance. The hospitality industry is not alone in the fight. Many in the town that cater to Blue-collar oil rig crews are worried that the crews will skip the town all together if further restrictions are imposed and buy supplies from more smoker friendly towns. Alberta Premier Klein has repeatedly made it clear he is not interested in a province-wide ban. Dateline - Quesnel, B.C.
Well, yeah. Without anything remotely approaching anything as mundane as evidence, readers are treated to a whole compilation of dime-store psychology as to why. This pseudo-academic compilation of speculation is treated as fact. Why are more girls smoking? Who knows? Why does anybody do anything? Maybe its rebellion after listening to non-stop dreary propaganda campaigns. Dateline - Yellowknife/Inuvik, N.W.T
The Royal Canadian Legion in Inuvik has decided that they are ignoring Inuvik's anti-smoking bylaw. They are claiming that the Inuvik city council does not have the jurisdiction to restrict smoking in a private club. The Legion as yet has not been charged. Dateline - Winnipeg, Manitoba
One of the smoking police told the Sun" It has 4 walls, doesn't it?" And you wonder why I call it Loserpeg. S.O.S.
Dateline - Toronto, Ontario
Dr. E. Ernst. Commentary: The Third Reich-German Physicians between resistance and participation. International Journal of Epidemiology, 2001:30:37-42 "The many similarities between Germany in the 1930s and the direction of Western Medicine is moving today give great cause for alarm...coupled with growing health propaganda, specious euphemisms, obsession with cost-benefit analysis, computerized knowledge and a developing intimacy between profession and state leave no room for complacency." Peter Saunders, Christian Medical Fellow Student Secretary, The Nazi Doctors-Lessons From the Holocaust, CMF Journal,1997. The following story out of Toronto is not one I originally wanted to deal with. A whole bunch of loyal Forces Canada readers, who often send me stories sent me a press release by the Ontario Medical Association for comment. As of this writing neither the Grope and Flail nor the National Post considered it newsworthy. My original instinct was not to grant these quacks more publicity than they deserved. An old professor of mine in Grad school once defined history as "context and continuity." When one thinks of Nazi medicine the usual image is that of Mengele and his ilk. The truth is far more mundane. Mengele et al were a very small percentage of Nazi medicine. Far more common were mobs of unnecessary duplicates who would fit right in with the OMA. One of the dirty little secrets of history is the role the medical and legal community played in Nazi Germany. The highest percentage of Nazi Party members was found in Medicine. The second highest in law - a bit like our Liberal Party of Canada. This becomes relevant in the sense that doctors in Nazi Germany found a willing participant in Hitler for every one of their goofy ideas to control smoking. The role of the state became not to protect one's freedom, but to impose a lifestyle agenda under the overblown pretext of HEALTH. As I've stated many times the slogan of Hitler Youth that encapsulated this fetish was: "You Have A Duty To Be Healthy." The German Medical community sold Hitler on the benefits of "Preventive" rather than "Curative" medicine. Hitler was a real cost-benefit kind of guy. The German doctors sold Hitler on a plan for the state to wage war on smokers. Alcohol was gingerly targeted because of the fear of alienating Germany's Blue-Collar. There was a big campaign to encourage the eating of "Healthy" food, encourage exercise, eliminate pollution. All of these" Preventive measures" were supposed to save Germany a fortune in medical costs. It didn't. What this fiasco ended up proving was that disease was etiological. The whole lifestyle argument in preventing disease was wildly exaggerated. The campaign against smokers is indicative of fascism at its worst. Smoking was to be eliminated by a combination of propaganda, public relations and official decrees. Cigarette taxes were raised 1,200%. Records from the German tax office showed 12% of the Reich income came from tobacco taxes. Indoor and outdoor smoking restrictions were imposed. A huge propaganda campaign was unleashed against smokers. "De-normalization" of smokers became state policy. One memorable propaganda poster portrayed smokers as: "Jews, Africans, Indians, loose women and decadent intellectuals." Tobacco advertising was banned. Depictions of actors smoking in movies were banned. Unsupervised vending machines were banned. Youth smoking was criminalized. Hitler Youth and the League of German Girls all had to take "smoke-free" pledges for Hitler. A huge new, expensive bureaucracy, financed with cigarette taxes was instituted. A law had to be passed outlawing the ridiculing of the unsubstantiated and outlandish claims of the German anti-smoking nuts. The punch-line of all this was by 1939,Germany had recorded the highest documented rate of smokers in human recorded history - 50% of the population was smokers. For about 30-40 years after World War II anti-smoking campaigns had the taint of Nazism and were closely identified with the Third Reich. This preamble brings us to the Ontario Medical Association's press release on how the new Ontario Liberal government should wage war on smokers. If you substitute the Ontario Medical Association for the German Medical Association and the name Hitler for McGuinty you need a program to tell the two apart. Does this mean that the OMA or Dolton McGuinty are Nazis? No, of course not. Are their policies and claims identical?, Of course. Here are the exact words of the O.M.A Press release: "DOCTORS PROPOSE TOBACCO PLAN THAT SAVES LIVES AND GENERATE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS: INVESTING IN TOBACCO CONTROL, GOOD HEALTH POLICY, GOOD FISCAL POLICY (they capitalized the letters not me) *A tax increase on all cigarettes *Smoke free public and work places *Advertising bans on all cigarette products *Monetary support of stop smoking medications *1.3 Billion in public health care savings *2.4 Billion in increased sales and income tax revenue *7.5 Billion in increased tobacco tax revenue." The O.M.A never says so but lets assume a HUGE pay raise for Ontario quacks is part of their altruistic wish list, and this is a wonderful way to pay for it. Robert Proctor, a history professor at Penn State and probably the world's foremost historian on Nazi Medicine once called Hitler's anti-smoking campaign: "in some sense just as fascist as Yellow Stars and Death Camps." Also from Toronto comes the latest pronouncements of Toronto's very own poster girl of affirmative action: Dr. Sheela Basrur. For those Forces Canada readers without long memories, last summer poor little Sheela was busy (A) assuring the world repeatedly that Toronto was SARS free and everything was under control daily on CNN (B) simultaneously testifying to Toronto City Council that Designated Smokers Rooms were a major health hazard. I am hard pressed to think of anyone who ranks as such a world-class proctologic surgeon, who can repeatedly perform a rectal cranial inversion-make a complete ass of herself - with the regularity of Sheela. A very loyal, regular Forces Canada reader - a very nice lady from Eastern Ontario, alerted me to Sheela's latest. It seems that its not just sealed ventilated smoking rooms that are hazardous to health-now its airports too. The following is an excerpt from a Terence Corcoran column, "Clean, green & jobless" that appeared in Friday's Financial Times: "Sheela Basrur, the medical health officer and long time scare monger warned of possible cancer-causing fumes from airport exhaust and water contamination from de-icing fluids. Asked whether air pollution at Pearson airport or the expressways might not be a greater concern, Ms. Basrur said "logically yes, but that's not a database response, its an intuitive one." Brilliant answer Sheela. This poster girl for affirmative action is the chief medical officer in Toronto. If this is the best Toronto can come up with it makes you wonder about the rest of the Quacks at the O.M.A. Finally from Toronto comes word via press release that RJR and Imperial Tobacco are developing a "tax wheel" to show Canadian smokers that 70% of the retail price of tobacco is tax. Like we had any illusions. These wheels will be displayed wherever tobacco is sold. Dateline - Vancouver, B.C
Last week, the usually reliable rabid anti-smoking Vancouver Sun is even calling for the B.C. government to call a halt to this nonsense. The editorial was sent to me by one of Canada's great heroes, Thunder Bay, Ont resident Thomas Laprade. Thomas is taking a well deserved vacation visiting his grown children in B.C. but still finds time for smokers rights. Here are some excerpts from the Vancouver Sun editorial Victoria Should Abandon Pursuit of Big Tobacco: "...After all since it receives half a billion dollars in cigarette taxes, the government is a partner in the cigarette business. Its certainly ironic, then, for the province to accuse its partner of responsible for skyrocketing health care costs. Smokers may put a strain on the health care system while they're alive, but since many die prematurely, they might save the province money in the long run. Rather than press on with a morally and legally dubious appeals, Victoria ought to consider working with tobacco companies rather than against them. It is strange indeed that the province is perfectly willing to partner with the tobacco companies in the selling of tobacco but not in developing programs to prevent smoking. Despite the companies unwillingness to settle, they have expressed interest in working with the government to develop smoking prevention programs. Victoria can spend another $15 million fighting a seemingly endless court battle, or it can use that money from tobacco companies to prevent new generations of Canadians from picking up the habit." Dateline - Yellowknife, N.W.T.
Dateline - Fredricton, New Brunswick
Mr. Coffey claims that they are not even making enough from their charity bingo even to maintain their building or pay for their gaming license. Neither the Legion nor the Kinsmen have the money to challenge the smoking ban in court. I hope the anti-smoking PARASITES who receive about $500 million every year from the Liberal government are very proud of their great accomplishment. Dateline - Akwesane Mohawk Territory (Ontario-Quebec border)
Now with the new tobacco taxes imposed by Norman Bates McPsycho, and the rising Canadian dollar, the Mohawk smugglers are back. Canadian Press has detailed the cat and mouse games conducted nightly between the Mohawks and Rose Marie's finest. Good news-it seems the Mohawks are winning. Even though the R.C.M.P claim to have seized 920 cases (46,150 cartons) so far this year up from 617 cases last year, even the R.C.M.P admits that its only about 10%. Expectations are high that with Dolton's new taxes, smuggling will increase dramatically. Remember that if you buy smuggled cigarettes that is less money going to Canada's $500 million a year PARASITE Industry. Dateline - Quesnel, B.C.
In the Those Who Don't Remember the Past Are Condemned To Repeat It file comes the latest from the Quesnel Cancer Society. These PARASITES are sponsoring two contests. One for kids between grades 4-7 and another for kids between grades 8-12: "Do You Think Butts Are Gross?" The grand prize winners in each category can win $100.There are also lesser prizes. Unfortunately Forces Canada lacks the financial wherewithal to offer these kids a competing contest:" Do You Think the Liberal Party of Canada's $500 million a Year PARASITES are gross?" One of these Cancer Society PARASITES told the Observer: "Kids can prepare a power point presentation, create a poster, write a poem. We want them to be creative." The most creative answer would be how this is different from Hitler Youth. The Quesnel Observer is also reporting on another group of PARASITES. The B.C. Lung Association hopes to raise another 1 million dollars through the sale of Christmas Seals for the avowed purpose of tormenting smokers. If you should get this garbage in the mail-do us all a favor and throw it out. Believe me every time you buy a pack of cigarettes you already DONATE plenty to PARASITES like the Lung Association and the Cancer Society. Dateline - Vancouver, B.C.
There was a datelined story out of Vancouver carried by the Canadian Press that I am sure will also be widely ignored. It seems that anorexia, not smoking causes emphysema. (There is lots on emphysema in the Forces evidence archives, that throws into doubt one of the more common myths. There is a great deal of evidence that emphysema is etiological, and not caused by smoking). The research this was based on was quite interesting. It seems during World War II Jewish doctors conducted secret autopsies on residents of Jewish ghettos who starved to death. They found that all had developed emphysema. This research was just recently discovered. The Canadian Press story does not mention why it would be impossible for this emphysema to be tobacco related. In 1938,Hitler made it a crime for Jews to purchase or consume tobacco. Dateline - Montreal, Quebec
Even in Quebec there seems to be a lack of enthusiasm for this multi-million dollar bailout. Lysiane Gagnon wrote a terrific column, from Montreal, about this entitled" Butt out of the Grand Prix" in Monday's Grope and Flail. Some excerpts from Madame Gagnon's cogent column: "The solution was for the federal government to make an exception for the Grand Prix and temporarily lift the ban on tobacco advertising until 2006... Who can seriously believe that people will start smoking because they saw the word Marlboro on the side of a racing car? Or that they will stop smoking if the car carries an ad for diapers instead of cigarettes? In any case the fumes that arise from Formula One races must certainly be worse than 24 hours of chain smoking. But of course our virtuous government won't budge. It would rather subsidize a dirt-rich multi-national." Also from Quebec comes word that the Quebec government is planning a $2.50 a carton tax increase. The reason? According to Tuesday's Grope and Flail-because Ontario did it. The cost of being Canadian has just gone up in Quebec. Vive le Quebec. Vive le Quebec libre. Dateline - Moncton,New Brunswick
CBC quoted Pierre La Riviere, the co-owner of Dooley's a New Brunswick chain as saying that business is down 30-40% in Fredricton, while being up in locations not impacted by the smoking ban. Dateline - Ottawa, Ontario
This patronage pretext involves a propaganda awareness campaign directed at "The Children"TM. A Forces Canada reader from Loserpeg alerted me to an upcoming episode of the TV cartoon show Southpark. Apparantly in the upcoming Southpark episode the kids of Southpark are all given the anti-smoking propaganda message, and the first thing they all do after is start smoking. Does life imitate art or does art imitate life? This is in fact what happens. If Big Tobacco had hired the anti-smoking nuts to get kids to start smoking, they couldn't have done a better job. I know what you're thinking: isn't every week in Canada non-smoking awareness week? In Alice in Wonderland you have 364 unbirthdays a year. In Canada, every week is non-smoking awareness week, except those weeks before an election when the Liberal patronage machine hands out the goodies. In a similar story to come out of Health Canada, the lucky theatre goers of this country will be treated to some total lies and propaganda in movie theaters across the country-before the movie begins involving the nonsensical claims of Heather Crowe. Health Canada is paying God knows how much for these movie advertisements. By a massive co-incidence guess who happens to own the overwhelming number of cinemas throughout Canada? By some massive co-incidence, Cineplex Odeon, an Onex company. Onex President, and major stockholder is Gerry Schwartz. Mr. Schwartz just happens to be a major contributor, and fund raiser for the Liberal Party of Canada. Dateline - The Pas, Manitoba
Dateline - Saskatoon,Saskatchwean
The entire premise that smoking bans have ANYTHING to do with health is devoid of evidence. Mr.Klein quotes a public health quack in Saskatoon that claims 52 people die every year from second-hand smoke. There was not one iota of evidence cited to substantiate this claim. What pray tell kills 52 Saskatoon residents a year? Asthma and heart disease "CAUSED" by second-hand smoke. Go to the Forces evidence archives to see how ridiculous these claims are. Heart disease in non-smokers has 300 documented causes. Asthma has thousands of causes. Second-hand smoke ain't one of them. Mr. Klein then goes on to say that there has been no loss in business, after smoking bans were imposed in Ottawa, B.C, California and New York. Is he serious? In Ottawa 60 of Ottawa's 210 bars have closed since the smoking ban.
In B.C. former N.D.P. B.C. Health Minister Joy McPhail was quoted as saying
that smoking bans were not about the health of non-smokers, but a tool to get smokers to quit. The
B.C. Supreme Court threw out the province-wide In the Forces evidence archives there are all kinds of studies about how the smoking ban impacted California. One of the tricks of the anti-smoking liars was to blend the receipts of take-out and fast food restaurants, which inevitably boom after smoking bans (under 15 minute stays) with traditional sit-down restaurants and bars which are devastated after smoking bans. Voila-"no overall loss of business." Never mind that in the 90s when the California economy grew by 32%, overall hospitality revenues were flat. The Forces evidence archives contained studies from Northwestern's Kellogg School of Business, and from accounting firm KPMG Peat Marwick that presented a far less sanguine portrait of the effects of smoking bans than the propaganda machines of the anti-smoking nuts regularly churn out for a gullible media. The salient point of the KPMG study was that the re-sale value of California bars declined by 40-60% after smoking bans were imposed. The other salient point conveniently omitted from the anti-smoking nut propaganda machine was California's year round patio business. The weather in L.A. and Saskatoon are very different in the winter. As for New York's smoking ban-it is a very rare day when the main Forces page does not have a story about the impact of New York's smoking ban. If this is really about health and not social-engineering-why has there never been a word uttered about ventilation by the anti-smoking nuts? Check out the Forces evidence archives to see how effective MODERN ventilation systems really are. Dateline - Yellowknife, N.W.T.
Dateline - Niagara Falls, Ontario
Wednesday's Niagara Falls Review profiled the plight of business owners who just finished shelling out thousands for Designated Smoking Rooms (DSRs) in Niagara Falls only to be faced with the prospect that they will be obsolete when Dolton's plans for Ontario take effect. Keep in mind that these are local small business people who just got royally screwed by Dolton-not big evil American Multi-National Corporations. I'm putting this in the lingo of all the Ontario voters who voted for Dolton McPsyco. Karen Mihas,the owner of Long shots II in Fort Erie, just finished spending $10,000 for a brand new DSR that has not yet opened-and perhaps never will. Henry and Lillian DiCienzo, owners of the Flying Saucer just finishing investing "thousands" on a 50 seat DSR, which may never open. Be assured we are going to hear a lot more of these kind of stories coming out of Ontario in the coming months-especially from border communities like Niagara Falls. Dateline - Peterborough, Ontario
As a parent of teenagers I'm just speechless about Ontario's breathtaking accomplishment. Remember this is Peterborough not Toronto. Dateline - Fort Frances, Ontario
One Quack was quoted as saying he was not too worried. He was supremely confident that Dolton and the Provincial Liberals would shovel all kinds of money at them. He's probably right. Just think of all the lucky taxpayers of Ontario, who get to pay for this. Dateline - Kingston, Ontario
Last Wednesday according to the Kingston Whig-Standard, the Roman Catholic School board ended its lucrative association with Kingston's charity bingo depriving the school of all kinds of money. The pretext was because they didn't't want their high school seniors exposed to second-hand smoke. Never mind, that the Kingston bingo is fully ventilated. Its comforting to see that the Catholic Church in Kingston has evolved from anti-science superstition from the time of Galileo, to superstition and mythology of second-hand smoke. Plus la change...(The more things change...) Dateline - North Bay, Ontario
Dateline - Aylmer, Ontario
As could be expected there is a discernable lack of enthusiasm for Dolton's brand of Canadian Liberalism spreading through Ontario right now. Although there is one area of overwhelming support for Dolton, a regular Forces Canada reader from London sent me a letter signed by some moron attending the University of Western Ontario. Some nitwit writing for the the University paper, enthusiatisticlly supporting Norman Bates McGuinty. Its comforting to see that the University of Western Ontario has a thriving chapter of Hitler Youth on its campus telling us all how to live. The Bible once said something about what one reaps, one sows-or something like that. Ontario keeps voting Liberal on every level. Ontario promises to be a fun place in the next four years. Enjoy.
I received a very anguished e-mail and newspaper stories from a Forces Canada reader in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. Even though New Glasgow, Nova Scotia is off the beaten track, and most of us would have trouble finding it on a map, the picture that emerges is that of the new Canada. Forget the old Canada where the state was there to protect people's freedom and rights. In the new Canada the state is there to punish. The role of the state is to trample on the rights of law abiding citizens to consume a legal product free of harassment. The cry of the anti-smoking liars and nutcases is they are doing this for" The Health of the People." I used to be a graduate student in history. Name one tyrant who didn't claim that gut-wrenching outrages were not for" The Health of the People." Its an old alibi. Unlike fine wine this rationalization of the PARASITES has not gotten better with age. The Nazis used this first, right down to the bogus lies about second-hand smoke. The Jewish owned hospitality industry in Germany was quickly decimated with smoking bans-using health as a pretext. The moronic claims of a group of out of control quacks with no evidence ever supplied became state policy, the "DE-NORMALIZATION campaigns, the outrageous tobacco taxes, the smoking bans, the moronic propaganda campaigns. Robert Proctor, the world's foremost historian of Nazi Medicine called Nazi anti-smoking campaigns "in some sense just as fascist as yellow stars and death camps." It doesn't really matter where the geographic dateline originates, the story that emerges from all parts of Canada is the same-isn't it? I hear the same story on a daily basis coast to coast. But in two later stories, one from Saskatoon, Saskatchwean and one from Edmonton, we are beginning to see a long over due backlash emerge. Dateline - New Glasgow, Nova Scotia
The Normandy Legion 34 is the main sponsor of 219 New Glasgow Army Cadets, supplying a meeting place, telephone and financial support. If the Legion goes, the Cadet unit will have no choice but to disband. My 13 year old son is in Army Cadets in Winnipeg. I can attest from first hand expierience, having sat on the fund raising committee last year, how incredibly difficult it is to raise money to keep the Cadets going, and the integral role the Legions play in keeping the Cadets going. A later story from the New Glasgow Daily News says officials from the private Bombers Club are going to challenge the smoking ban in court. It seems Nova Scotia provincial law exempts private clubs from smoking bans, but New Glasgow's anti-smoking law includes private clubs. The New Glasgow Daily News also reported that the X-Treme bar closed last Tuesday throwing 12 people out of work, in a region with perennially high unemployment. The club's co-owner, Jeremy Paris blames the smoking ban for driving customers away. Putting aside the huge financial loss suffered by Mr. Paris,his particular loss hit closer to home. His son and his son's fiancé worked night and day for 3 years to make his club a success-which it was until the smoking ban. Also in New Glasgow comes the story of the New Glasgow 10.Forget the Barker, or the Barrow Gang (Bonnie and Clyde), or the Chicago 7,New Glasgow has 10 desperados on the loose. Please someone alert John Walsh for a America's Most Wanted special. Contact Rose-Marie's Finest (R.C.M.P) if you have seen The New Glasgow 10.The crime of these heinous criminals? Having a cigarette in a bar. Be on the look out for Canada's new class of desperardos: The ringleader of the New Glasgow 10 is none other than Former New Glasgow police chief Stephen Kinnaird. Other members of this dangerous gang include: Donna Sinclair, Austin Sinclair, Linda Le Blanc, Georgina McLean, Rachel Cameron, David Kenney, Marry Denny, Marshall Sangster and Allan Smith. All have to appear in Provincial court on Dec.15 charged with smoking a cigarette in a bar. If convicted all face up to a $5,000 fine. A Forces Canada reader from New Glasgow puts this in perspective: the fine for drinking and driving in Nova Scotia is $750,the fine for smoking dope is $150,and if you're a murderer or child molester with a smart lawyer in all likelihood you'll be under house arrest. But if you are unlucky enough to be caught smoking a cigarette in a bar you are liable for a $5,000 fine in Nova Scotia. And in profiles in idiocy, the Mayor of New Glasgow, Anne McLean, responded to all this by writing a letter to the Provincial government asking for a Nova Scotia wide smoking ban. New Glasgow needs a real mayor. Current Mayor Anne McLean sounds like she should be headmistress of a Presbyterian finishing school. Dateline - Fredricton, New Brunswick
The Kinsman Club Manager, Bob Coffey told the CBC: "Those funds go to the Food Banks, the Salvation Army, the Soup Kitchen as well as individual donations." CBC is also reporting that bar owners in Fredericton are in the process of challenging the smoking ban in court. Dateline - Saskatoon, Saskatchwean
A Forces Canada reader from Saskatoon informed me that his letter on this topic was published Thursday in the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. I am withholding the correspondent's name to protect against retaliation. Here are some excerpts from a remarkably cogent correspondence that ran as a letter in Thursday's Star-Phoenix: "City Council's handling of the proposed smoking ban could prove to be an interesting litmus test of civic democracy on a number of fronts. Polling the general population on restricting smoking is about as relevant as polling the Hell's Angels on legalizing marijuana. When asked about controlling the annoying habits of a minority, naturally the majority is going to be in favor of legislating against it, regardless of the reasoning. Good government involves more than blindly following the polls and jumping on crowded bandwagons. Democracies are required to protect minorities (smokers and business owners) from the whims of the majority... We should keep in mind that the anti-tobacco movement has become a large industry. It is financed by politicians whose jobs depend on finding dragons to slay, manufacturers of pharmaceutical nicotine replacement therapy, and American litigation lawyers who have literally earned hundreds of millions of dollars in fees suing Big Tobacco. As much as we would like to think otherwise, none of these groups have a mandate of unbiased objectivity... There are two sides to this issue, only one of which is represented by a well-oiled P.R. machine. A government's job is to exercise full due diligence in implementing, reasoned, researched, and well examined policy, not politically correct forgone conclusions. Surely neither side of this issue would object to an unprejudiced review of the scientific evidence on this topic. Doing so may show surprising results. Failure to do so would set a dangerous precedent. In the interests of full disclosure I am not a cigarette smoker, tobacco company stooge, nor do I have any vested interest in bars or restaurants except as a customer." Dateline - Edmonton, Alberta
Believe it or not I am still getting a ton of e-mails about Heather Crowe-including a number from Forces Chapter presidents. In 19th Century Eastern Europe, whenever a kid would go missing, rumors would start that the Jews kidnapped the kid to drain his blood to make Passover matzo. Even though there was never any evidence ever produced, this led to pogroms. This charge became known as a "Blood-Libel." The Heather Crowe case is the Blood-Libel of Canadian Liberals. Mrs. Crowe is a non-smoker who claims-without one iota of evidence-that she contracted lung cancer from second-hand smoke. The first two doctors who examined Mrs. Crowe laughed out this suggestion as a joke. Mrs. Crowe then went to the City of Ottawa's chief medical bureaucrat, a real anti-smoking Quack, who sensing a propaganda windfall, agreed with her claim that second-hand smoke caused her lung cancer. The next thing you know Heather Crowe is starring in TV commercials, flying around Canada-paid for by the PARASITES at Physicians For a Smoker-free Canada, preaching smoking bans. Her claim has more problems than a used car. First of all lung cancer has 40 documented causes in non-smokers. Others who made similar claims in the U.S. have had their claims laughed out of court. In one celebrated case a few years ago in Indiana, a nurse who worked in a VA hospital claimed second-hand smoke from wounded soldiers caused her lung cancer. Testimony at the trial showed the cancer started in her leg and spread to her lung. Case dismissed. If Heather Crowe has such a great case, why not sue the tobacco companies? Because the rules of evidence apply in a court of law. Its quite another thing to incessantly blab to a media that is hard pressed intellectually to cover a fire. What caused Heather Crowe's lung cancer? Who knows. Maybe it was air pollution. Maybe she worked in a restaurant that had a lot of asbestos. Maybe it was one of the other 38 known documented causes of lung cancer in non-smokers. We know it was not second-hand smoke. How are we so sure? Toxicologists have repeatedly quantified how much second-hand smoke is required to reach" Threshold levels." We've all heard the obvious sophistry a million times:" Second-hand smoke contains 19 carcinogens and a thousand chemicals." Big deal. A cup of coffee also contains 19 carcinogens and a thousand chemicals too. Broccoli contains carcinogens. The first law of Toxicology is:" The Dose Makes The Poison." Here is a partial list of the amount of second-hand smoke required for Heather Crowe to have reached "Threshold levels" of carcinogens. Heather Crowe would have had to be in a 8-12, sealed, non ventilated room and be subjected to quite a bit of second-hand smoke to reach Threshold levels. Here's a sample:
Toluene-1,000,000 cigarettes per HOUR You get the idea. Without belaboring the point the lowest "Threshold Level" required for the 19 carcinogens in second-hand smoke would be Hydroquinone, where ONLY 1,250 cigarettes PER HOUR are required in a 20 square foot sealed, non-ventilated room. Putting this another way, this would require 300 smokers each smoking 62 packs per HOUR in a twenty square foot room, that was sealed and non-ventilated. Now you get an idea why I call Heather Crowe's claim" The Blood-Libel of Canadian Liberalism." Dateline - Yellowknife, N.W.T
Dateline - Winnipeg, Manitoba
The Sun also quotes the manager of the local Keg restaurants as saying business is down 20% since the smoking ban. In lower end and more blue-collar restaurants I would assume that business is down substantially more. The Keg is an expensive high end restaurant chain that should be thriving with all the anti-smoking nuts claiming they avoided these kind of places because they allowed smoking. Where are all the new customers the anti-smoking nuts promised? Last and least from Loserpeg, local Winnipeg Sun columnist and serial nitwit, Laurie Mustard cheered on throwing 85 year olds being thrown out in the freezing cold from a nursing home to have a cigarette. I e-mailed this evil fanatic that I hoped that people would stop subscribing to the Sun and stop patronizing its advertisers, until the Sun did what CBC and radio station CJOB did-fire Laurie Mustard. |
December
15 -
Forces and Forces Canada are going to take a three week holiday break. I'd
like to take this opportunity to thank an awful lot of people. Due to the fact that so many nuts and kooks carefully monitor the Forces Canada site, I
can't name peoples names or their locations. But as you can all well imagine, it would be impossible to bring you the tobacco news two or three
times a week without a lot of help from some very special people who spend
hours every day going through the Internet to send me stories that appear in
Forces Canada.