Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Up in Smoke in Uruguay

Tobacco firms launch global fight over rules

Earlier this year, Philip Morris International sued the government of Uruguay, saying its tobacco regulations were excessive....

The lawsuit against Uruguay, filed at a World Bank affiliate in Washington, seeks unspecified damages for lost profits....

Tobacco companies have encountered growing numbers of lawsuits from smokers and health care systems in Brazil, Canada, Israel, Italy, Nigeria, Poland, and Turkey....   

Also see: Suffolk jury awards $71m in woman’s tobacco suit

Cigarette verdict may be felt across US

"No endorsement for cigarette flavors

In a major blow to the tobacco industry, public health officials from around the world agreed yesterday to recommend restricting or banning flavor additives that make cigarettes more attractive to new smokers. Delegates from 172 countries that have signed on to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control treaty also agreed to recommend that tobacco producers be required to disclose their ingredients (AP)." 

The only thing worse than drawing hot smoke into your lungs is government telling you not to do it.  

Related: Probable carcinogen detected in drinking water of 31 cities 

And the global-warming crowd is encouraging the use of tap water for drinking? 

"Maria Ester Gatti; searched for 'disappeared' prisoners" by Charles Newbery, New York Times / December 9, 2010

BUENOS AIRES — Maria Ester Gatti de Islas, a Uruguayan teacher who became a human rights activist while helping to find people lost to political repression in South America, died Sunday in Montevideo. She was 92.

Her death was confirmed by the organization she founded, Uruguayan Mothers and Families of Disappeared Prisoners.

Ms. Gatti, who generally used her maiden name, began what would become a lifelong search for her only daughter and granddaughter in 1976, when they disappeared in Argentina during the military dictatorship there that ended in 1983.

An estimated 300 Uruguayans disappeared in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay during crackdowns by dictatorships on political opponents, human rights groups say....   

You know, the dictatorships that were assisted by the AmeriKan CIA.

Oscar Urtasun, who worked with Ms. Gatti at Uruguayan Mothers and Families of Disappeared Prisoners:  “She was the face of the movement, sometimes alone.’’   

Related:

“Even if you are a minority of one, the truth is the truth.”  

How INSPIRING!

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Smoke 'em if ya got 'em, readers.