Probably my favourite quote for today: “The Beijing News said on Friday the latest steps included seeking feedback from citizens about a new regulation banning toxic nitrates in restaurants, and fining food makers up to 500,000 yuan ($66,000) for problematic products.”
Because, you know, citizens may not want to ban toxic chemicals in their restaurant food.
I’ve thought about this sort of thing while I was smoking, and since I’ve stopped (FIVE YEARS ago this month). Being of a libertarian persuasion, I very much support the smoker’s right to smoke, because they have CHOSEN to do so (in spite of all the evidence pointing to its lethal effects). Prior to any smoking ban in pubs, I would say that non-smokers chose to go to these venues, knowing that they would be smoky. As the linked news article says, people should have the “right to the peaceful enjoyment of possessions.”
However. When one’s enjoyment of their possessions directly affects and negatively impacts others’ own health and/or enjoyment, this gets quite sticky, surely? Or does an individual’s rights supercede all other individuals’ rights? That clearly makes no sense whatsoever, so we know that can’t be correct.
Does a government act correctly in enacting a smoking ban in enclosed public places? If they were avowed libertarians (assuming secondhand smoke does NOT intrude on other people’s ‘liberty to breathe smoke-free air’), the answer would be an unequivocal no. But Labour is supposed to be socialist, and socialism is all about the top-down.
As it stands, the smoking ban in Scotland usually means we have to get by all the smokers huddled around the entrances of pubs and clubs, which is quite unpleasant. And that the usually less-than-stellar standards of plumbing and personal hygiene after some have had a few drinks mean the toilets emanate a stench far beyond its borders (that were once disguised under the smoke). One of the criticisms of the ban is that local councils have not granted planning permission (yet another thing one can complain about) quickly enough for affected businesses to build new outdoor facilities for smokers (I read this somewhere but can’t remember the source).
I think, in the end, what should happen (from my libertarian perspective) is that smokers should have the right to smoke wherever they want, provided they do not, as a result, compel others to inhale secondhand smoke. A government, whether national or local, should not stand in the way of businesses providing smoker-friendly and smoke-free facilities for all their customers.
If anyone needs proof that Britons (well, these two at the very least) absolutely expect to accept no responsibility for anything, they just have to read this article — Motorists lose speed camera case:
Idris Francis, of Petersfield, Hants, and Gerard O’Halloran, from London, argued that current rules forced car owners to incriminate themselves.
They said human rights were breached by making a car’s owner name the driver if the vehicle is caught speeding.
…
Judges acknowledged that both men had been faced compulsion to provide information, but threw out their claim that the right to remain silent and the right not to incriminate oneself are “absolute rights”.
Their judgement noted that people “who choose to keep and drive cars” have implicitly “accepted certain responsibilities” under UK law.
…
Mr Francis said after the verdict: “The fight for freedom goes on. We can’t allow the tyrants, who are taking away our rights, to succeed. They have to be stopped.”
OMFG. ‘The fight for freedom’? Do they realise how fucking ludicrous they sound?
One glass of UHT apple juice counts as one portion of my five a day. One entire bag of fresh spinach salad counts as one portion of my five a day.
(That’s what it says on the bag. And on the box of juice*.)
Part of my drive to try and live a healthier life — without my mother nagging me to eat better, as she was wont to do** — involves drinking more milk and eating more fruit and veg. I remember a grandfather advising that I should eat lots of bananas so I will never suffer constipation (we like these sorts of conversations with grandparents).
How can one glass of processed juice be the same as a reasonable-sized serving of salad leaves in the ‘good for you’ department?
* Although they say only one glass, no more, contributes to your five a day.
** When all I ate, as a child, was crisps and other assorted junk food, you would nag, too.
Ancestors of our cute feathered, fish-eating friends were 1.5m tall. The artist’s impression makes it look like a cross between a seagull and penguin.
Skree!
Maybe it’s because I’m Singaporean*, but Network Rail workers are planning to go on strike AGAIN because they didn’t get their bonuses because of a previous strike.
Yes. Because they went on strike and lost their bonus as a result, THEY ARE GOING ON STRIKE.
“We have been trying to get management to reconsider their position but the bosses have said they will not talk to us,” said Mr Crow.
“Our members have been treated appallingly by Network Rail. What has happened in Scotland means that any group of workers going on strike could lose their bonus.”
Hello? Reality check! They have the right to strike, but a BONUS IS NOT A GIVEN. That’s why it’s called a freakin’ bonus. If your performance is considered unsatisfactory you don’t get a bloody bonus. Network Rail says,
“Those who took strike action in Scotland had a clear understanding at the time that their discretionary bonus would be at risk so it can hardly be surprising that their bonuses were affected.”
These union workers are seriously, completely, totally fucking stupid. They’re being led around by the nose, the RMT is doing them a major disservice by kicking up a huge stink about a situation of their own making.
* It’s not because I’m Singaporean — it’s because, unlike these workers, I (and loads of other people) live in the real world.
Tomorrow I am going to my first ever ‘hen’ thing. It’s not really a hen night because we’re starting in the evening afternoon, and I’m really glad there has been no mention of silly t-shirts or fake feather boas.
I’m dying to keep going on my crafting and computering (outside of work, CSI and House, that’s all I do) — who knew what I thought was relatively simple crocheting could take so long — I guess it’ll have to be Sunday when I rotate between stiff fingers from holding the hook for too long, or tired eyes from staring at the screen for too long.
My life ain’t too interesting, so how come there’s so damn much to do?