wow! a bold statement there, for which you are no doubt gatering statistics, charting it all out and proving its from credible scientific sources and methods. No body would pull such a statement from thin air would they?

The earth does what the earth does. it occasionally spews out lots of pollutants in volcanic erruptions, but it also has systems designed to cope with this.

It requires vast amounts of forrest land, which we are cutting down much quicker than it goes up.

It requires the gazilions of tonnes of algae in the oceans which are thought to be one of the major contributors to removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but as we are changing the atmosphere, weather cycles/systems are not functioning as they have done for a very long time and so less algae in places where it is usually abundant.
(all that is plucked from variousl documentaries and articles i have viewed over the last few years)

But all that is moot. The earth does what the earth does. circle of life. sun rise sun set and all that. the problem is when we come in and in less than two centuries we start causing change to the cycles, and factors that affect the cycles. Changes that do occur naturally, but over thousands, and hundreds of thousands of years.

So even if you had 100% proof of your claim on the pollution from the erruption, it still does not change the fact that we are altering the earth for the worse on time frames that it cannot deal with.

Then again all i just said could be poppycock and could mean nothing. im just saying it as its an idea that many people in the know seem to lean towards and it makes sense in my head also.

Yup its true we can control what we are throwing out there but Mother Nature seems to have her own ideas.

That volcano cloud has been a right pain in the backside for so many now. Can't believe how many holidays I'm hearing have been ruined just from people I know.

CC

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Fender Stratocaster (parts build)
Fender Telecaster 72 Custom RI
Fender Telecoustic Deluxe
Gretsch Electromatic Pro-Jet
Gibson Les Paul Standard Plus
Gibson ES-135
Zenith Type-17
Marshall 70's JMP Superbass 100w
Blackstar HT-5

Smoking Ban in public places....hum...

I'm a smoker and do miss sitting in the local with a pint and ciggy. Great days!

The Police men and women I've spoken to hate it, as now there are large numbers of pissed smokers standing on the streets outside the pubs which can be intimidating to passers by. Residents who live near Pubs hate it as pissed smokers aren't the quietest people to have hanging around your front garden. On the Plus side, Barmen and Bar-women now have a suitable smoke free working environment and the next generation will be less likely to start smoking because "everyone down the pub does".

In the long term I think the ban is a good thing. For those of you with kids, would you want your son/daughter to have the same experience in Pubs /clubs and bars as we did?

There's no getting away from the fact that smoking not very good for you and does not come naturally to anyone, you have to "teach yourself" to smoke. I'm sure we all remember our first cigarette. Horrible wasn't it!?! We psychologically convince ourselves that we want to smoke, then we invest time in ignoring that part of our minds that says "Hang on there Andy, why the funk are you replacing the lovely clean fresh air you lungs have enjoyed for the first 15 years of your life with this chemical rich, evil tasting smog?".

I personally regret ever starting smoking and wouldn't wish my addiction on anyone. I've tried several time to quit and have failed miserably.

On a lighter note I do enjoy the odd smoking gag, so to lighten the mood remember that.....

“Nobody likes a quitter” and “Smoking while pregnant makes your baby cool” (A taste of my twisted sense of humour! Just a bit of fun, No offence intended)

Enjoy!

Andy

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Pending Greatness

I doubt mother nature is going out of her way to cancel air travel for a week or two so as to annoy us!

Fact is, yea, economically and socially its a real pain in the rear end, but in the overall scheme of things, its not gona wreck the envrionment and is only a blip on the radar.

As a smoker, I despise the ban and have always felt that smoking was part and parcel of a bar setting. On the other hand, I know it is not healthy and even though us smokers are ostracized by most of society nowadays, I still respect and strive to protect non-smokers health. So, not wanting to be a part of anything which could even potentially hurt innocent people, I accept it on a higher moral level.

As always, this is merely IMO where YMMV.

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You dig?

no one that I know has cut down any forest land or removed any algae or over fished any oceans or dumped 100's of square miles of plastic trash in the oceans or over sprayed cancer causing pesticides on farm lands and they definitely didn't do any of that with their cigarettes as a tool of environmental destruction, government regulation is just a way to collect more taxes, the plain and simple truth, there are oil tankers to this very day leaking oil in every ocean, foreign governments couldn't care less about any thing regarding mans affect on the environment and that will not ever change but you can bet every dollar you and any one you know has that some one in America will convince our governing bodies that if we just raise taxes and ban more vices they can buy a bigger house and send their kid's to better schools with newer more expensive 'environmentally friendly' cars 'cause that will make them happy and what better way to clean up the planet than keeping the know-it-all's happy. "But all that is moot. The earth does what the earth does. circle of life. sun rise sun set and all that. the problem is when we come in and in less than two centuries we start causing change to the cycles, and factors that affect the cycles. Changes that do occur naturally, but over thousands, and hundreds of thousands of years." This part of what you wrote made sense except for "the problem is when we come in and in less than two centuries we start causing change to the cycles, and factors that affect the cycles" I'm a musician, most musicians that I know don't have any thing to do with "we" or any part of the "we" you are referring to, (our taxes have gone up in spite of that truth)if you go after those people who are causing all of those problems you had better be sure your life insurance is paid to that date. "hundreds of thousands of years" how long has man occupied the planet? 9000 years of recorded history? no matter what man does he is no match for Mother Nature.

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you can save the world with your guitar one love song at a time it's just better, more fun, easier with a fender solid body electric guitar or electric bass guitar.

I would/do not have a problem with smoking in bars. It has been banned but I have never complained about it. I rarely go to bars anyway unless it's for the occasional motorcycle related or musical event.

As I said before, I smoked for a lot of years and might bum one a year from someone if I've been drinking and they are about. They always taste like shytte anyway so I don't know why I do it.

When I worked at the factory, it always amazed me how the company claimed the air handling equipment was adequate to remove all the airborne particulates that might harm us... except cigarette smoke. And, trust me, there was some nasty stuff floating about. Caustic stuff that would eat away the membranes in your nose and fun stuff like that.

No... cigarettes are not real high on my list of things I feel I have had to worry about in my life (remember my brain tumor?) I somehow feel I am in more danger from a teenage girl in her daddy's SUV driving with a cell phone glued to the side of her head. One of those almost killed me in Little Rock last summer on my way to Texas.

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You're only as strong as
the drinks you pour,
the tables you dance on,
and the friends you roll with.

Your right, prob not directly responsible for it, but we are all responsible (inc me supprisingly!).

We are responsible due to our wastefull nature, and the wastful nature of society. Think of all the plastic packaging that our products come in. think of all the junk mail we receive or paper we waste on a daily basis.

Yea, per person, its tiny, but there are so many of us that it all adds up.

There is actually a great article on wiki discussing the growth of human population and there are theories that we have grown beyond the numbers that earth can support.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population

Something has to give. its the environment by losing forrestland to farming, polluting the air to keep ourselves in enough energy to keep manufacturing our electronics and to keep them running, etc etc. it goes on.

I personally agree that our population as a whole is way too big and something needs to be done at some stage ( be that limiting family size and imposing tax on breach of this or whatever. i am NOT proposing the enforcement of abortion, this is not a pro life discussion or anything. i dont know the answer, i just agree with some on what i think the problem is).


Yea, this has little to do with smoking. but someone said that smoking is a drop in the ocean compared to that from people who drive cars. apologies for bringing this way off topic.

Well, let's face it, when our governments (elected, appointed, or otherwise) can attack smokers and enforce their will on them, then they can make claims that they are actively pursuing positive changes rather than having to deal with the more serious issues of poverty, pollution, and over-population.

Ah... but I apologize for jumping into politics. It is not usually my style and never seems to bring anything good to the table amidst a forum discussion.

I respectfully bow out at this juncture.

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You're only as strong as
the drinks you pour,
the tables you dance on,
and the friends you roll with.

I don't support banning smoking in bars. If you don't want to smell the smoke, then stay the hell outta the bar.

Sure smoking leads to health problems but so does eating crappy food (because your going out to bars), not getting enough sleep (because you're out late in bars), listening to loud live music (because you're out in bars) and, oh yeah, so does drinking.

Not to get too political but the Government needs to be LESS involved in our personal lives NOT more involved.

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"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"

That was eloquent.
Well, something that can accomodate both smokers and non-smokers is perfectly workable and this issue is only a symptom of larger, more pressing problems.

What I do support is the point of view once expressed to me by a band called Ship Of Fools (UK band, some of you might remember them).
No matter the topic, eventually it all boils down to education, moderation and freedom of choice.

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La vie est belle, le monde est pourri, make the most of it!

My eating fast/fatty food does not damage the health of other patrons or of the staff.

My drinking does not damage the health of other patrons or of the staff.

If i smoke my 2nd hand smoke does damage the health of other patrons and the staff.

In this kind of logic it would be alright to legalize hard drugs; doing them would not damage the health of other people or the dealers, wouldn't it?
Why are you happy with a quick fix?
If governments are so sincerely concerned with public health, just ban tobacco alltogether.
We've already seen the results of prohibition.
If I respect other people by not forcing my smoke on anybody, why is it so hard for others to respect my option to smoke?

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La vie est belle, le monde est pourri, make the most of it!

I consider it inappropriate for any level of government to ban, criminalize or regulate a substance "for our own good." This includes tobacco, alcohol, fatty foods and drugs. My stance is the same on behaviors such as wearing seatbelts or motorcycle helmets.

However, I do respect the rights of individual business owners to make policies for their own establishments. If one bar allows smoking and another does not, the market will ultimately determine which one enjoys greater success.

Because my wife suffers from chronic asthma, we will opt for the non-smoking establishment every time. Those who smoke will likely prefer the bar that allows it.

However, the bottom line is that this issue should be decided by the free market and not by the government.

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I really like all them "Aster" guitars. You know, like the Stratoc, Telec and Jazzm.

Years ago when those ubiquitous Thankyou For Not Smoking signs came out I got a sweatshirt printed with Thankyou For Not Farting as my little protest to the growing number of the silly signs.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.