September 2007

<p>Back in simpler (and more honest) times it would have surprised people to find that a married couple that had never held jobs except those under the heading of &quot;public service&quot; are millionaires.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Long time viewers have long been aware that CBS’s &quot;60 Minutes&quot; provides a splash of news with an ocean of propaganda.&nbsp; Lately the propaganda seems to have squeezed out all semblance of news.</p>

<p>Even for scandal-ridden New Jersey the catch of corrupt public officials snared by a drag net thrown by the FBI was startling.&nbsp; In all 11 face charges that they accepted bribes in the awarding of publicly funded grants.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;">For many of us here at FORCES, Michael Siegel of the Boston University School of Public Health is our very favourite ‘tobacco control advocate’ because — without knowing it — he really isn’t one. One day, if he every summons up the courage, he may realize it himself.</span><font size="2" face="Arial"><br />
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: Verdana; color: black;">In the world of psychology, Hans J&uuml;rgen Eysenck needs no introduction. One need only consult Wikipedia, for example, to have at hand an impressive profile of this important figure. <o:p></o:p></span></p>

<p>Smoking bans, tobacco taxes and gobs of money delivered by Chinese bagmen.&nbsp; Sound familiar?</p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: Verdana; color: black;">The success of prohibition is not solely the fault of corrupt institutions and pharmaceutical marketing schemes. It is also largely the fault of the victims &ndash; although this is not something that the victims like to hear.<o:p></o:p></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Freud’s pass&eacute;. All too many people have never had the benefits of a wise grandparent, and far too few of today’s grandparents are wise. That means, notwithstanding the advent of Prozac and its cousins, that there is a market out there for psychology &quot;lite&quot; — and where there’s a market, there’s a research opportunity!&nbsp;&nbsp; Here’s a delicious bit of claptrap that we missed when it was first reported. Summation of &quot;study&quot;? Dwelling too much on your problems tends to make them seem worse. </span><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Thank God for modern research!</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: Verdana;">Poor Jesus Christ. He has been recruited for almost anything else. Why not pull Him into the smoking issue? <em>Pronto!</em> Here he is!…<o:p></o:p></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="">The man who many would say was the greatest opera tenor of our times, Luciano Pavarotti, died today at </span><st1:time minute="0" hour="5"><span lang="EN-GB" style="">5:00 AM</span></st1:time><span lang="EN-GB" style=""> Italian time in his house in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-GB" style="">Modena</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-GB" style=""> at the age of 71.<o:p></o:p></span></p>