Canberra Alcohol Deaths Up

Canberra was the only jurisdiction to record an increase in alcohol-caused deaths over the past decade, a recent study into alcohol harm has found.

The National Drug Research Institute at Curtin University of Technology found alcohol-caused deaths in the ACT jumped 12 per cent and the number of people admitted to hospital had almost doubled.

The number of deaths in the capital jumped from 39 to 54.

At the same time, alcohol-attributable hospital admission rates rose in all age groups a 64 per cent increase.

This should be compared to the number of deaths attributable to other drugs and substances:

* tobacco
* heroin
* cocaine
* petrol-sniffing
* cannabis
* amphetamines
* ecstasy
* prescription drugs
* etc

Apart from tobacco, which no doubt heads the list by a long way, there would be no comparison to alcohol.

Associate Professor Tanya Chikritzhs said there was a clear link between the deregulation of the liquor industry and rates of alcohol-induced hospitalizations.

I consider the policy of prohibition to be a very counter-productive failure. The right approach to the problem of drug and substance abuse is a combination of taxation, regulation and education, focussing on the most provenly harmful substances. Seen in this light the government response to the problem of alcohol is a scandalous concession to the grog lobby.

Canberra was the only jurisdiction to record an increase in alcohol-caused deaths over the past decade, a recent study into alcohol harm has found.

The National Drug Research Institute at Curtin University of Technology found alcohol-caused deaths in the ACT jumped 12 per cent and the number of people admitted to hospital had almost doubled.

The number of deaths in the capital jumped from 39 to 54.

At the same time, alcohol-attributable hospital admission rates rose in all age groups a 64 per cent increase.

This should be compared to the number of deaths attributable to other drugs and substances:

* tobacco
* heroin
* cocaine
* petrol-sniffing
* cannabis
* amphetamines
* ecstasy
* prescription drugs
* etc

Apart from tobacco, which no doubt heads the list by a long way, there would be no comparison to alcohol.

Associate Professor Tanya Chikritzhs said there was a clear link between the deregulation of the liquor industry and rates of alcohol-induced hospitalizations.

I consider the policy of prohibition to be a very counter-productive failure. The right approach to the problem of drug and substance abuse is a combination of taxation, regulation and education, focussing on the most provenly harmful substances. Seen in this light the government response to the problem of alcohol is a scandalous concession to the grog lobby.

Canberra Alcohol Deaths Up

End Internet Censorship

End Internet Censorship

The Lost Tradition of Biblical Debt Cancellations, by Michael Hudson, PhD.

The Lost Tradition of Biblical Debt Cancellations, by Michael Hudson, PhD.

Obama Has Totally Failed

David Michael Green launches a brutal attack on Obama and his administration. This is no Roosevelt, he's an elite's man through and through.

Chris Floyd uses the example of the Jeremiah Wright affair to illustrate how Obama distances himself from people to suck up to power.

"Hope" should never be placed in politicians, but we might feel somewhat aggrieved that someone who was such an excellent campaigner and speaker should be so utterly weak when confronted with power.

If Obama can do nothing, what hope is there for the United States?

David Michael Green launches a brutal attack on Obama and his administration. This is no Roosevelt, he's an elite's man through and through.

Chris Floyd uses the example of the Jeremiah Wright affair to illustrate how Obama distances himself from people to suck up to power.

"Hope" should never be placed in politicians, but we might feel somewhat aggrieved that someone who was such an excellent campaigner and speaker should be so utterly weak when confronted with power.

If Obama can do nothing, what hope is there for the United States?

Obama Has Totally Failed

Back to School: 14 must-read books for the college rebel

Amusing short reviews of some good selections for wannabe rebels to read.

Let's hope the kids of today are reading stuff like this instead of that psychopathic bitch Ayn Rand, only recently described by Chomsky as "one of the most evil figures of modern intellectual history."

That godawful witch Rand has destroyed virtually singlehanded political discourse in the United States, and done substantial damage around the rest of the world too. People who have read or been influenced by Rand are thereafter rendered incapable of thought or compassion, even after they have distanced themselves from her ridiculous cult. Is she dead (and buried) yet?

Amusing short reviews of some good selections for wannabe rebels to read.

Let's hope the kids of today are reading stuff like this instead of that psychopathic bitch Ayn Rand, only recently described by Chomsky as "one of the most evil figures of modern intellectual history."

That godawful witch Rand has destroyed virtually singlehanded political discourse in the United States, and done substantial damage around the rest of the world too. People who have read or been influenced by Rand are thereafter rendered incapable of thought or compassion, even after they have distanced themselves from her ridiculous cult. Is she dead (and buried) yet?

Back to School: 14 must-read books for the college rebel

Rising Sea Level Projections

Real Climate:

The scientific sea level discussion has moved a long way since the last IPCC report was published in 2007.... The Copenhagen Synthesis Report recently concluded that “The updated estimates of the future global mean sea level rise are about double the IPCC projections from 2007″....

In our view, when presenting numbers to the public scientists need to be equally cautious about erring on the low as they are on the high side. For society, after all, under-estimating global warming is likely the greater danger.

This information is typical of the ongoing development of climate change science. That is, not only is it happenening, but it is happening at a faster rate than at first predicted.

The denialists, therefore, are not only wrong about the science, but also wrong about the speed of change. As Ross Garnaut has said, at bottom the issue is a moral one, and the denialists have no morals.

Real Climate:

The scientific sea level discussion has moved a long way since the last IPCC report was published in 2007.... The Copenhagen Synthesis Report recently concluded that “The updated estimates of the future global mean sea level rise are about double the IPCC projections from 2007″....

In our view, when presenting numbers to the public scientists need to be equally cautious about erring on the low as they are on the high side. For society, after all, under-estimating global warming is likely the greater danger.

This information is typical of the ongoing development of climate change science. That is, not only is it happenening, but it is happening at a faster rate than at first predicted.

The denialists, therefore, are not only wrong about the science, but also wrong about the speed of change. As Ross Garnaut has said, at bottom the issue is a moral one, and the denialists have no morals.

Rising Sea Level Projections