May 30 – Pure nonsense about drink and babies - It’s certainly not surprising that the British government is launching another health hysteria. But we can’t let an opportunity go by to praise those occasional comment pieces from the media that cast a critical eye on this ominous trend. What’s amazing is that so much government mendacity gets a pass.

“Given that it’s embarrassingly clear that the government issued a warning in the full knowledge that there is no scientific justification for it, one struggles for an explanation. It is hard to choose between conspiracy and cockup; perhaps it is a toxic mix of both, “ this columnist notes.

Embarrassing it may be. But that doesn’t seem to daunt New Labour at all, an irresponsible and unprincipled political force that is likely to form the next British government, for which there seem to be few political alternatives, and which seems determined to turn all of the UK into a big hospital ward.

January 25 - Bowing to the pressure group - To great fanfare and an orgy of self-congratulation San Francisco years ago banned cigarette ads that were near schools.  That law was gutted by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling but the politician responsible for the now illegal ban ran on it and eventually became mayor.  When he was railing against the evil cigarette he was asked whether he would ever enact a similar law prohibiting alcohol advertising from the city's streets.  The cynical chuckled when he said he would and weren't surprised when he didn't follow through since he made his living in part by selling alcohol.  Puritanism, however, is relentless and the days of alcohol advertising are coming to an end on city property such as buses, subway stations and bus shelters.  As usual there is no groundswell of hostility to booze ads.  The new policy, which will cost the city big bucks, is in response from complaints of one anti-alcohol organization that isn't even located in San Francisco.  That's how it works, the shrieking special interest group, funded by pharmacy money, gets its way at the expense of the people whose taxes keep the city running

January 15 - Teens binge drink, U.S. study finds - Nowadays it takes a study to understand what common sense would have told us just 20 years ago. Binge drinking is on the rise – and of course it leads to other "evils", such as smoking and sex. The use (and abuse) of alcohol is on the rise all over the world, actually. But the diabolical part is the perseverance in the abysmal errors: repression, propaganda and control. More tightening, more minimum age enforcements! More control! Harder! Tougher! The driving principle is that if the target good could be simply made unavailable through theoretically perfect controls, the behaviour would change. These public health retardos don't get it at all – the principle is wrong – and can't learn from experience. Prohibition did not stop alcohol abuse; it made it worse. The war on drugs did not stop the use of drugs (and even a tight regulation after a hypothetical legalization would not change the situation). It is the prohibition for underage drinking that drives drinking up. It's the relentless campaigns, the "education" turned into a euphemism for propaganda; it is the insult to basic human will and instincts given by those who tell you what to do, when, how, the ifs and nots which creates resentment and drives the oppressed to abuse or greater use. This more or less conscious resentment is felt by all - young and old. The solution to abuse is exactly the opposite of the contemporary trend: less control, no propaganda and no "education", relaxation of the grip. The solution is to give back to the individual the power and the control (and with that the responsibility) over his life. We are not as immature and stupid as power-hungry and stupid "authorities" want us to be.