TICAP, The Hague, March 15th 2010

Saturday, July 22, 2006

Dump ol' Demon Eyes


The people who did this didn't realise at the time what they had produced as it was just designed for propaganda, but how true it has turned out to be with Blair's police state. Also visit link in title.

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Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Blair's Legacy

It was with more than a little wry amusement that I read of Cherie Blair accompanying her husband to the G8 Summit in Russia. This wonderful democrat of a woman then took advantage of the situation to go and meet some Russian civil and human rights protesters.

This might seem commendable if her husband was hot on preserving civil rights and freedoms in Britain but he is not. With the approach of a smoking ban we also have our fears confirmed that Blair's government intends to install lackeys and snoops to enforce it and, furthermore, a snoops' hotline so that those of a tell-tale disposition may have an orgasm.

All of this is of course in addition to all the other elements that he has put in place to spy on and harass the great British public. Under the circumstances then, Mrs Blair's commiseration with those attempting to defend civil rights in Russia is hypocrisy of the first rank.

Moreover, we may recall too, that Blair spent some time in his youth as a cheap jack promoter and salesman - and yes, it really shows for behind the thin glassy essence of his smile there hides a petty dictator and superficial cad.

Having said that, as Blair both bores and irritates us with his swansong (and the fat lady is also waiting in the wings to sing) we have to consider what his epitaph, nay, tombstone, might read. On reflection it will probably say something like the following:

Here lies Tony Blair

Prime Minister 1997 - 2007

Otherwise known as King Rat the Snoopers' Friend

"He turned a once great and free country
into a police state"


Yes, that sounds about right.

Blad Tolstoy

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Monday, July 17, 2006

Consultation launched on smoking ban guidelines

By Michelle Perrett

The government is asking the public and trade for their views

The guidelines for next summer's smoking ban in England and Wales have been unveiled by Public Health Minister Caroline Flint.

A consultation which runs until October 9, has been launched today on the guidance, which gives full details on what will be accepted as an outside smoking area.

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Travel Lodge - Pets & Smokers

I think this may be of some interest and help to your members.

It may not {yet} be a huge problem in England, but this is a real headache for we Scots - below is a copy of an email I've sent to both FOREST and Travel Lodge: no reply from either as yet, but I'm sure it's a dilemna being faced by millions of people across the UK.

Dear Sir/Madam;

For your interest, and to perhaps save your members the same kind of frustrations which I've just experienced, I would highly commend the Travel Lodge group, who have hotels throughout the UK, and rooms from as little as £15 per night. And yes, that's per room - not per person!

When I recently tried to plan a trip from Scotland to London, I'd hoped to break the 10 hour car journey by stopping overnight somewhere in, or near, the Lake District.

Problem: Both myself and my wife are smokers, and we have two labradors. Two weeks of internet searches later, I still hadn't found a single hotel or B&B which would accommodate both smokers and pets.

Time after time, I encountered sites which proclaimed "Smokers welcome. One well-behaved pet allowed", or alternatively {and much more commonly}: "Up to three well-behaved pets welcome. Smoking strictly prohibited throughout the premises. Smokers may use the car park".

I was on the point of abandoning our trip completely - having searched for hotels and B&B's anywhere within 15 miles of the M6 between Carlisle and Morecambe, when I came across the Travel Lodge website.

Although the standard room rate {sleeping up to 4 people} is £47 per night, 'SuperSaver' rooms are available for only £15 if you can book at least 21 days in advance. Even if this isn't possible, many hotels offer 'Saver' rooms for as little as £26 - still a massive saving over standard B&B rates of at least £27 to £40 per person, per night.

Granted, breakfast isn't included at these prices; however most places have adjacent 'Little Chef' type facilities, and many do offer dining facilities for an additional charge.

My only complaint is that Travel Lodge impose a fee of £10 per pet per night, which I think is a bit excessive; however having said that, a total cost of £35 per night for two adults and two dogs - in a room where you can have a coffee and a cigarette - is more than acceptable: it's positively unique!

Hats off to Travel Lodge then: without them our trip south to visit our daughter simply wouldn't be happening, and pending government-imposed legislation which will make it impossible for them to continue to offer these facilities to travellers, there is no question whatsoever that they will benefit significantly.

With over 13 million smokers in a national population of less than 60 million {at least 30 million of whom are either under 18, over 75, registered as being severely blind or disabled, or don't actually mind smoking}, it goes without saying that places which fail to cater for both smokers and pet owners will be the first to see a downturn in trade.

Hope this information is of help, and lastly I should add that I have no association whatsoever with the Travel Lodge group, other than as a very satisfied customer.

Sincerely,

John Hughes.

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Sunday, July 16, 2006

Business Online and Angela Merkel

Sir ­ Angela Merkel has now shown her anti-smoking credentials (³Germans fire up smoking row², 25/26 June) In doing so, the German Chancellor proves she is no more intelligent and no less gullible than all politicians who have already flirted with assaults on the smoking minority of their electorate. I don¹t suppose Merkel has much opportunity or inclination to read the scientific press or properly educate herself by making thorough research into the subject. If she did she would find the scientific organisations sadly lacking in any quality of accuracy having been taken over by the World Health Organisation (WHO) agenda to improve public health by demonising smokers.

The role of the pharmaceutical industry is only too plain to see. It has the most to gain and is rolling in the profits from smoking cessation aids. These drugs are close to useless in assisting smokers to quit and have many side-effects.

The time has come for some more original thought on the subject of smoking and public health. Passive smoking has been used as a weapon in pushing the public health argument, but it just doesn¹t stand up to scientific scrutiny. The risks to the health of smokers are very real and these risks are added to with the marginalisation they are now experiencing. Apart from it being the honest route for informing public policy, it must make more sense to use real arguments rather than junk science.

The record of effects from smoking restrictions and higher taxation on tobacco in the USA and in Ireland and now Scotland show that they are impotent, just like nicotine patches in achieving the goal of reducing smoking. Smoking is not the pariah it is made out to be and is not easy to give up. The only way to stop smoking is to make it illegal and to suffer the real effects of alternative taxation.
Dr Phil Button
Associate Specialist in Anaesthesia & Pain Relief
Basingstoke
Hampshire


Sir ­ Smoking bans are the latest craze amongst politicians ­ and bigots. They are based upon what is probably the biggest scam of the last 30 years. The scam promoted is that second-hand smoke [passive smoking] is a deadly toxic substance. It is not, and such claims are founded on junk science.

You state in your article that one of the reasons why Germany has been loath to support smoking bans is because of monies from tobacco companies pumped into the country¹s political parties. So what? A great deal of the money behind smoking bans comes from major pharmaceuticals ­ namely Glaxo, Novartis and Pharmacia and Upjohn in Europe and Johnson & Johnson in America ­ all of which are front rank merchants of smoking cessation products. Glaxo, Novartis and Pharmacia and Upjohn are also the principal funders of the World Health Organisation. Aside from the fact that smoking cessation products are very expensive, and have dubious effectiveness, it is small wonder then that the WHO has failed to concentrate adequately of communicable diseases and become so obsessed with the fashionable social diseases of first world countries. After all, these are more lucrative for its pharmaceutical masters.

It is small wonder too that Angela Merkel should attempt to shore up her popularity by jumping on the latest populist bandwagon. Such bandwagons are the place of mediocre politicians. Germans should resist the smoking ban mania, for such bans are vindictive, unreasonable and unacceptable in a civilised world that believes in choice.
John Gray
Ewloe Green
Flintshire

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Saturday, July 15, 2006

Smoking Willie

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Response to Blad

Blad makes an interesting point. He suggests that anti-smokers display psychopathic tendencies and that might eventually have some deadly consequences. I find Blad's theory quite plausible and can see the anti-social qualities in ASH spokes people to whom he refers. Whereas Blad's assertions are based on a real understanding of the subject my knowledge of psychology is based on rudimentary undergraduate studies and behavioural observations. Nevertheless my observations are consistent with Blad's.

I have had personal contact with two evangelical anti-smoking individuals who were clearly displaying antisocial behaviour, whilst attempting to convert me. They disobeyed standard rules of social engagement and their behaviour was commented on by smokers and non-smokers alike as unusual. This behaviour if repeated could attract the label "Sociopathic Personality Disorder" which I believe is the more up to date term used to classify psychopathic tendencies. It is so coined, to make clear the anti-social behavioural manifestations sufferers display. A natural result of these people having power is social legislation such as is passing through parliament, where the rules of social engagement are to be changed. The rules will exclude smokers from socialising normally and make it acceptable to persecute them as they will be recognised or categorised as different. The new social category of smoker has already become a fact and the legislation will benefit those who would like to see us on the wrong side of the law. We will inevitably break the law and so become legitimate targets for hatred as common criminals.

I wander if this situation is bought about by the anti-smoker believing that the smoker is infact the sociopath. They believe this if they believe we are harming them and our children with our environmental tobacco smoke. This is an interesting observation as it means that anti-smokers are far from sociopathic, but socially responsible. However this does not fit in with the observed behaviour of the anti-smoking evangelist who breaks rules getting their message accross. In deed the anti-social behaviour being manifest is the continued attempts to misrepresent the scientific facts about environmental tobacco smoke and so influence social legislation corruptly.

I believe that the anti-smoking movement displays the characteristics of a cult leader and that it is attempting to brainwash the public to become cult members. Many have succumbed and joined the movement. They should not be blamed as they are vulnerable and it is up to the strong to rescue them from the clutches of the cult. I believe cult leaders of the past have been demonstrated to have various psychiatric disorders. These are primarily personality disorders and probably sociopathic. Having said this the diagnosis of personality disorder exists only to explain abnormal behaviour.

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Tuesday, July 11, 2006

The extreme to which the anti-smoker movement may be prepared to go

We all know about the book advertised on ASH's American counterpart's website (ASH US) which tells the story of someone deliberately poisoning cigarettes (this has happened at least twice in the UK and the actions are considered to have been influenced by this book).

We likewise know of ASH US's proposals (now followed) to prevent smokers from being hired by employers and to have children removed from their custody even if they are the natural parents on the basis of child abuse. All of this facilitated, of course, by hate politics and exaggerated claims about environmental tobacco smoke.

It has also been remarked quite clearly and on numerous occasions by numerous people that ASH US's ultimate goal is to criminalise smokers (now happening). It is also a fact that ASH UK always eventually follows the example of their American counterparts if albeit a few years later. We should not be surprised then if ASH UK follow suit on this one too.

However, I contend that not only has much of the anti-smoker lobby completely lost a sense of honesty, perspective and rational thinking but that some of its major players are exhibiting psychopathic behaviour.

Classic attributes of psychopathic behaviour are no sense of morality or social structure and also power complexes and the drive to commit violence. In addition, the psychopath shows no obvious signs of mental illness or abnormality. Many of you should be able to fit some of these criteria to certain major players in the US anti-smoker lobby (and maybe some in the UK too).

If we now also consider Surgeon General Carmona's report, this is geared to stir up even greater hatred towards smokers based on fear. So much so, I also contend, that the final "logical step" of the anti-smoker lobby will not simply be to criminalise smokers but to advocate that they be killed. ("Murdered" might not be the appropriate term as part of the definition of murder is that it is unlawful killing.)

This will be the final move - from psychopathy to homicidal psychopathy.

Whether or not SG Carmona is aware of this (in which case he's truly evil) or whether he's just stupid I don't know but ASH US are already advocating this vicariously through the book advert. I now think that is only a matter of time, give it a couple of years or so of more lunatic and irresponsible hype, before ASH US and others openly advocate or openly support the killing of smokers based on the "kill the bastards before they kill you" principle.

If you think I'm crazy then start to check out psychopathic personalities and disorders.

If we reach the point I have outlined, and it will probably happen in America first, then people will have only two real choices. To go along with it or oppose it. I can't see any third alternative.

It¹s truly grim and sick whichever way one looks at it.

Blad Tolstoy.

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Saturday, July 08, 2006

German Smoking Airline Planned

Lovely little news story seemingly not reported very much. Although in fairness I heard it on News 24's "Fast Track" program this morning. There's more in the BBC link in the title of this post. It looks like a rich man is making a point and we will all have to travel to Tokyo at great expense to enjoy the facilities. However an encouraging development and a blow for freedom.

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ASH Supershit


By Blad

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Thursday, July 06, 2006

My new image

Courtesy of resident artist and philosopher Blad Tolstoy:

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Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Killer Asthma


The Sun has even pointed out Viscount Simon's severe health problem.

"Their Lordships are due to give the final seal of approval tomorrow to the most draconian ant-smoking laws in any major country. But the deceit and bogus evidence of stub-'em-out fanatics have nothing on Viscount Simon. He told peers that if he is driving on a motorway, with his windows closed and ventilation shut off, and is passed by a driver smoking a cigar "I will have an asthma attack" and need to use his inhaler as well as "numerous other things." If his windows are open "it is likely that I will have to stop and that the paramedics will have to come very quickly as I will be very ill." Clearly the Viscount needs more than paramedics to clear up this problem."


I wish the Viscount well and good luck in his search for the correct diagnosis.

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