[Flipside]

LOL I like being a smoker in Britain, in fact anybody who has had treatment from the NHS should like smokers in Britain, since massive amounts of money are fed into the NHS from cigarette sales. Or at least, that's what the government keep telling us it's for.
That's why I started, I wanted to help a good cause

[an0n]

The best way to kill smokers is to hijack loads of incoming tobacco, poison it all, send it back into the black-market supply then ban tobacco.

Once a few thousand people had died, everyone would be too scared to buy any.

[Zarax]

Nah, they would keep smoking until the last of them dies...

[Flipside]

Give me about 30 years and you won't have to go to all that trouble

Hey, Bill Hicks was Right

[Rictor]

No no, you all took it the wrong way. Smoking should not be criminalized, everything else should be legalized.

I mean, red meat is bad for you. Chips are bad for you. Coca cola is bad for you. Alchohol is bad for you. You want all those banned? Do you wan't to live in a sterilized society? Fat free, sugar free, smoke free, salt free, pleasure free.

And everyone from Texas should be required by law to chew tobacco instead of smoke it. And of course, to use a spitoon :D

[Zarax]

Red meat is NOT bad.
Alchohol is NOT bad.
You just need some moderation on them to get the benefits and not the bad effects of them...

[Gank]

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040324/hl_nm/health_smoking_ireland_dc_2
I give it 6 months.

[Rictor]

Hamilton, a city on the outskirts of Toronto, has banned smoking on the street. Can you believe that? On the freaking street! Thats in addition to the fact that most bars and restaurants are smoke-free anyways.

[Flipside]

LOL It may work, I'm all for banning smoking in restaraunts, and I smoke, but the chances are it won't, for one simple reason.
In America, the government gets only a tiny amount of the money that people pay for their cigarettes. In the UK, the government takes more than the cost of the pack itself. That's why the government hated us all going and getting duty free cigarettes.
The fact of the matter is that if all smokers suddenly quit, or reduced, their smoking, it would actually cost the government far far more than they are spending on cigarette related illnesses.

To be honest, I wish it had never been made legal in the first place, would have saved a lot of people, but it just irks me sometimes that the government have allowed this to continue until the last minute, and then point the finger at the addicts and say 'Don't blame us (the dealers), blame them!', and worse still people accept this at face value!

Ric : I see things eventually trying to go that way everywhere. It may be a cruel to be kind gesture, but it's also a despicable passing of blame from large pollution-creating corporations

[vyper]

[q]Quick! Someone photoshop a reefer with a halo!)[/q]



Mibbe not exactly what u wanted....

[Kazan]

i can smell a smoker 100 yards downwind _EASILY_, often further - and that's just cigarettes - minicigars and normal cigars are even worse

as for smog - that is a different think from a lot of standpoints - but EMISSIONS STANDARDS for vehicles and industrial plants tends to reduce and almost eliminate it.   A correctly working car wiht an intact catalytic converter should release little more than C02 and H20 -- the petroleum-fueld transport should have been eliminated long ago

Smoking is an infringment upon other people's rights to make a health decision for themselves, it is an infringment upon their right to clean air.  It is also abusing your child if you smoke around them.

[Ulala]

Originally posted by Flipside
I think the problem is that it is so obvious no-one sees it.
As has been said, it doesn't mention the Christian 'God' or any other Religions 'God' it just mentions 'God'.
I suppose this could only really affect Atheists...

Well, if the athiests really want to, they can just say "one nation, under..." and insert whatever is the prevailing force or most important to them in their life. Whether it be their spouse, maybe their boss... their car... sex, whatever makes them feel better.

I think you all should be thankful. At least it's not "one nation, under Bush" or Clinton for that matter.

[Kazan]

PS: God capitalized is very EXPLICIT - it is specifically the christian god

and yes it is a violation of the seperation of church and state - nobody can honestly deny that it was put in their by christians, for christians, as a mean to respect the religion of christianity

[Ulala]

Originally posted by Kazan
PS: God capitalized is very EXPLICIT - it is specifically the christian god

nobody can honestly deny that it was put in their by christians, for christians, as a mean to respect the religion of christianity

Well yeah, since America's founding fathers were *gasp!* Christians!

[Kazan]

Ulala: INCORRECT - the vast majority of America's founder fathers were *GASP* Atheists and Deists!


"under God" was added the pledge in 1954 - the origional pledge from the 1800s did not contain the reference

Same goes for money


Additionally - the founding fathers wanted to prevent government from meddling in religion and religion meddling in government - hence the 1st ammendment - this is for a variety of reasons including some of the colonies being founded by people who fled for religious persecution, and seeing the atrocities it [religious persecution] caused in the 'old world'



If you seriously thinkg most of the founding fathers were christians you're grossly misinformed



==============
[edit]

here's one i didn't know about before

[john] Adams signed the Treaty of Tripoli (June 7, 1797). Article 11 states:
“The government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion.”

[Star Dragon]

You understand WHY it says "in GOD we trust" on our money?

   Cause the govt figured out they can't trust anyone else, Humans are too F'ed up!

[Kazan]

star dragon: that was added on in the cold war

[Rictor]

Man Kazan, you just love *****ing don't you. I mean, I love *****ing, but you, you have a deep love for complaining. Let the Christians think what they want. For that matter, let everyone think what they want.

The day that people around the world stop thinking each other luncatics for the opinions they hold is the day that humanity ceases to exist.

[Kazan]

Rictor: letting people hold invalid opinions unchallenged is dangerous

[Rictor]

There is a whole world out there that is misinformed on a whole range of issues. Everything from basic physics, to the Bay of Pigs, to advanced economic prinicples. If I were to spend my life sorting out everyone who I felt was misinformed, I would die a very tired and unhappy man. Not to mention unsuccessful in accomplishing my goal.