Posts by Sacha
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Hard News: Te Qaeda and the God Squad, in reply to Kracklite,
the police cracked down on activists using the pretext of suppression of terrorism and that is what I find disturbing.
That sucks, sure.
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OnPoint: Sock-Puppeting Big Tobacco to…, in reply to BenWilson,
As for the addiction question
Yeah, someone else can tackle that one if you're unwilling to do some reading. I have another meeting of the national cancer clinical information systems leadership group to prepare for this morning. (seriously).
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OnPoint: Sock-Puppeting Big Tobacco to…, in reply to Kracklite,
smoking increases the probability of cancer
Smoking also has other health harms.
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OnPoint: Sock-Puppeting Big Tobacco to…, in reply to BenWilson,
the claim is unproven, and could be bullshit
Sigh. It's not. Again, this is like arguing climate science or the roundness of the earth. There is a whole health discipline dedicated to tobacco harm, including health economists. With figures different than Jackie has just offered (but Carrick must be loving our efforts).
Ben, if your "moral" argument is that any anti-smoking action is just puritanical and punitive then you're not paying attention. There are real harms to real people. Especially compared with being asked to consume the product only in certain places or be a certain age to buy it. Those conditions may infringe some sense of personal freedom that you've mentioned, hence my question about its significance.
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Hard News: Te Qaeda and the God Squad, in reply to Just thinking,
Like this guy
Who, the article reports, had this lot:
two military flares, a smoke grenade, a thunderflash explosive, part of an anti-personnel mine, eight sticks of powergel explosive, a grenade launcher, and two military-style semi-automatic firearms.
I presume the court will be told why, but in the meantime that sure doesn't sound too harmless from here, no matter how friendly the guy is.
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OnPoint: Sock-Puppeting Big Tobacco to…, in reply to BenWilson,
Show me anywhere I've been disrespectful.
Treating people as economic facts or logical constructions tends to offend fellow humans.
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OnPoint: Sock-Puppeting Big Tobacco to…, in reply to BenWilson,
A smoker alone in an open air public place is harming no one else.
Wrong. Most of the harms I experience from smokers come from sharing a publicly-funded health system with them. Not because they offend my nose or pollute my lungs.
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OnPoint: Sock-Puppeting Big Tobacco to…, in reply to Carol Stewart,
"No man is an island" is an appealing rejoinder as ice caps melt and sea levels rise..
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OnPoint: Sock-Puppeting Big Tobacco to…, in reply to Kracklite,
I'd echo that, having farewelled someone this year. Reducing suffering is an all too human benefit in itself, regardless of dollars or other numbers.
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OnPoint: Sock-Puppeting Big Tobacco to…, in reply to BenWilson,
I accept that smoking kills people
Causes broader harms than just that (which have burdens/costs).
snap
None of this is unsettled stuff, so it makes about as much sense to me as arguing about climate change - also a popular libertarian sport. Perhaps an explanation of why (from that perspective) personal freedom is so much more important than other values could be more productive.