MK’s Views - Down under on the right side

Times Online - The Government’s attempt to reduce alcohol-related disorder by introducing 24-hour drinking has failed dismally, according to a survey. Seven out of ten police authorities, primary care trusts and councils believe that the number of alcohol-related incidents has risen or stayed the same, a report from the Local Government Association shows. When the laws to extend drinking hours were introduced in November 2005, ministers argued that the aim was to promote a café culture and reduce disorder after last orders when everyone emerged on to the streets at 11pm. The LGA survey suggests that nearly one in three primary care trusts has reported an increase in alcohol-related incidents. Half of police authorities report that the Act has merely resulted in the incidents occurring later in the night.

In addition, more than three quarters of health authorities have felt that they have had to spend more, largely owing to a rise in accident and emergency admissions, while council tax payers have paid £100 million to administer the new regulations. [snip] The LGA report also shows the financial strain on councils, hospitals and other local services. When the licensing laws were changed, Tessa Jowell, then the Culture Secretary, said: “The reason that we are moving to more flexible licensing hours is because of all the evidence that crime and disorder is at its peak at chucking-out time. [snip] The survey of 30 police forces showed that crimes between 3am and 6am were up by 22 per cent, with more than 10,000 extra offences being committed during those hours. Continue reading Solving problems the leftist way…

SMH - Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon has blamed the former Howard government for the rise in teenage binge drinking. Ms Roxon said the decision to cut taxes on premixed alcoholic drinks eight years ago helped fuel the surge in excessive drinking by young people, particularly teenage girls. Ms Roxon said she did not know why the Howard government had cut the excise in the first place.

I think that’s a smear on the Howard government and a move towards a nanny state. Why are teenagers drinking, isn’t there a law that they aren’t supposed to drink until 18. Who is selling them the alcohol and where are the parents? Why isn’t the law being enforced, who do the police fall under, ah yes those Labor party controlled states, they are in government in all states, law and order in the states is their job isn’t it. Every time we get one of the police ministers to waffle a bit, they’re putting more money into frontline policing, passing tough new laws and what not, doesn’t that mean it’s their responsibility. Moving on, what about the parents, perhaps the Howard government thought that people should be left alone to make their own decisions about what their children can and cannot drink. Continue reading Behold, the nanny state rises…

LiveNews - New figures reveal almost 1700 teenagers and children had to be treated in hospitals for alcohol abuse in the past year, but medical officials claim it’s just the tip of the iceberg. The breakdown of statistics shows around 1500 teenagers aged between 15 and 19 required help, while more than 150 children aged less than 14 also illegally drank to excess.

Doesn’t that feel just swell, there you are busting your ass at working, working extra, earning extra, just do you can pay a bit extra in tax, just so that this rabble of sniveling, ungrateful parasites can be saved in our glorious socialized healthcare system. Do what you want, it’s all good, the taxpayer will pick up the tab, no worries, his back can take it, just settle in and kick back while that dumb bastard plods along.

SMH - A SURVEY of 1000 Australians found more than half would support a levy on alcohol sales to fund alcohol treatment and prevention services. Australian National Council on Drugs executive officer Gino Vumbaca said a small levy of five or 10cents per drink would go a long way towards financing education campaigns and treatment services.

It would be nice if only those who binge drink and abuse alcohol are targeted by charging them for the costs of their habit, but we all know that ain’t gonna to happen, we’re not big on personal responsibility here in the West. I know some folks won’t like this because those of us who drink in moderation are also caught up in this but the way I see it, it’s better than just screwing over the taxpayer, drinkers and non-drinkers alike.

Daily Mail - Mark Woods, who would have been 33 today, was coming back from a night of early birthday celebrations when, instead of going to his own house, he tried to unlock the front door of Edwin Pitkin’s home. Hearing the noise, 58-year-old Mr Pitkin allegedly grabbed a knife and a fight broke out in which Mr Woods was fatally stabbed. He said it was the second time Mr Woods had tried to get into the wrong house after a night out. The housemate said: “Mark spent all Friday drinking. He had bottles of cider lined up in his room and when I spoke to him in the afternoon he had clearly had too much to drink. The friend said Mr Woods had been the victim of a tragic misunderstanding, adding: “He is more likely to hug you than anything else and I don’t understand how he could be mistaken for a burglar.”

Yeah, funny thing about us folks who didn’t come down in last weeks rain, we’re suspicious of people fiddling with our door in the middle of the night and when you realize they’re not listening when you tell them to piss off, you get really frightened when they then try to ‘hug’ you. It’s a pity this fellow was killed but he is responsible for his own actions, perhaps he shouldn’t have drunk himself into such a state. However it’s all well and good to sing kumbaya after the event but if it were some scumbag wanting to help himself to your wife and you just let him in; he’s not going to stop upon realizing that you’d mistaken him for a drunk and say, oh sorry mate, you got me all wrong, I really am here to cut your throat and rape your woman, so let’s start this over again alright!

Remember what I said yesterday about moral decay in the west, this is an example of the parasite base folks, steadily growing, don’t care about the consequences, are not made to pay for it, won’t learn from it, will not stop until all of you, hard-working people are bled dry. Isn’t socialized healthcare wonderful, rewards the parasites and neglect the productive.

Daily Mail - Hospitals are treating more than a thousand cases of serious alcohol-related conditions every day of the year, it was revealed last night. Rates of admissions to accident and emergency for problem drinking and the number of patients seen by consultants for alcohol-related illnesses have both doubled in seven years. The scale of the problem - and the burden it puts on the Health Service - will pile pressure on Gordon Brown to radically overhaul the controversial Licensing Act. It means that in a NHS hospital wards today alone, there are expected to be 1,222 separate cases of alcoholic liver disease, intoxication, drinkrelated mental or behavioural disorders or drink-related injury. Among under-18s, there was a rise of 40 per cent in those seen by doctors in casualty or in the consulting room over the last seven years. Continue reading Punish the Parasite Base…

The Australian - ONE in every 100 Australian babies is born with some degree of irreversible brain damage due to the consumption of alcohol during pregnancy, but many women continue to drink and doctors continue to ignore the problem, health experts warn. Society’s blase attitude to drinking while pregnant in the face of the incurable nature of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and its capacity to leave children with permanent learning and behavioural problems is what worries organisations such as the Australian Drug Foundation, the Salvation Army and the National Indigenous Drug and Alcohol Committee. The most recent research, conducted late last year, revealed that 34 per cent of pregnant women consumed alcohol during their most recent pregnancy. And research earlier this year revealed that up to two million Australians were drinking at levels that risked brain damage.

Continue reading Why are we surprised at this?…

Yahoo!7 News - A scheme is about to be launched in central western New South Wales, offering pub and club patrons cut-price taxi fares and free drinks in an effort to curb drink-driving. Under the Catch Ya Later project, patrons from Forbes and Parkes will receive a free drink on arrival at their destination if they use a cab on a Friday or Saturday night. Free or discounted fares are also being offered in Forbes, Parkes and Condobolin throughout December. Program organiser Melanie Suitor, from Lachlan Shire Council, says it is hoped the incentives will help cut drink-driving rates. “So it’s all about in the interim just trying to change driver behaviour in the short-term and teach them to actually leave their car at home if they’re going to drink,” she said. “It has a long-term effect.” Continue reading Free booze - What the heck?…

I saw this on Channel 9’s 60 Minutes last night; this sort of thing really gets me riled up. I cannot understand this culture of alcohol abuse that’s undermining our society, why do we need to jump on the booze at every opportunity we get. Are we simply incapable of having fun or a good time without being completely drunk out of our minds?

Sixty Minutes | Video here - TARA BROWN: Joey’s story with alcohol started out fairly typically — a weekend binge drinker like so many other Australian women. In the last decade, the number of women drinking at dangerous levels has doubled. Here in Brisbane, Jo, Kim, Emily, Nicole and Belinda meet up once a week where most have on average 15 drinks and some nights it can be as many as 30. Do you think more women are drinking now, than ever before?
NICOLE: Oh, definitely — yep, yep.
TARA BROWN: And why do you think that is?
JO: Because we’ve got money.
KIM: And it’s also to do with equality as well.
TARA BROWN: Equality?
JO: Women have got their own dispensable income now. Women are working, woman can account for all the money that they’re making now, so we can go out and have a good time. We don’t need the boys there.
NICOLE: And if the blokes can do it, why can’t we, really? Continue reading We pay for the scourge of alcohol abuse…