The law of unintended consequences rearing its ugly head again…According to the BBC,
Fourteen towns in the Irkutsk region of Siberia have declared a state of emergency, amid a dramatic upsurge in mass poisonings caused by fake vodka.
Almost 900 people in the region are in hospital with liver failure, apparently after drinking industrial solvent.
Officials say there has been an alarming pattern of localised mass poisonings in recent weeks.
Last week, police and local authorities were given three days to ensure no poisons were being sold as vodka.
But this weekend dozens more poisonings were registered.
In several of the worst-affected regions, Russian officials have seized large quantities of hazardous liquids that authorities suspected were to be sold as alcoholic drinks.
They say the most common substances are de-icers, anti-rust treatments and window-cleaning solutions.
Obviously, this points to a drinking problem in the region, but the problems actually go deeper…
Critics say the government’s decision earlier this year to introduce a new and expensive system of state excise stamps led to the market being flooded with potentially lethal vodka substitutes.
Genuine, certified vodka is now beyond the means of many of Russia’s legions of poor.
And Russian doctors point out that most of those suffering liver failure in the spate of poisonings are from disadvantaged sections of society.
To me, this is further proof that the government should just stay out of such matters, but apparently the Russian government doesn’t see it the same way…
President Vladimir Putin has ruled out restrictions on the accessibility of alcohol, but radical solutions are being discussed.
They include the possible re-introduction of a state monopoly on the production of alcohol, or even providing a cheap, but safe, so-called “people’s vodka” to avoid mass poisonings.
Yeah…I’m sure getting the government more involved will help the problem…
H/T: Atlas Blogged
Yet another radical feminist myth has been debunked…There’s an interesting post on InkWell today about how smart men actually do want to marry smart women…here are some exerpts:
You probably know that Maureen Dowd has been All Riled Up for months because she doesn’t know any men who want to marry her. And no, it’s not because she writes airhead columns like this one conferring “absolute” moral authority on antiwar has-been Cindy Sheehan. It’s because, as Dowd insists, smart men just don’t want to have anything to do with smart women like…Maureen Dowd:
” I’d been noticing a trend along these lines, as famous and powerful men took up with the young women whose job it was to tend to them and care for them in some way: their secretaries, assistants, nannies, caterers, flight attendants, researchers and fact-checkers.
“Women in staff support are the new sirens because, as a guy I know put it, they look upon the men they work for as ’the moon, the sun and the stars.’ It’s all about orbiting, serving and salaaming their Sun Gods.”
Christine D. Whelan commissioned a study to find based on marriage patterns collected by the US Census Bureau, which found:
Smart, successful women marry at the same rates as all other women, and once married, they have children at the same rates as well. This is the good news for SWANS (Strong Women Achievers, No Spouse) in my book, Why Smart Men Marry Smart Women.
“For single women in their 30s, higher education may even be a bonus in the marriage market. According to 2005 Current Population Survey data—a nationally representative survey of 60,000 households commissioned yearly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics—there’s 75% chance that a never-married 30-year-old woman with an advanced degree will be a bride, compared with a 66% chance that a 30-year-old with a college degree or less will marry.
“Among married women who earn more than $50,000 per year and/or have a graduate degree, 78% have kids by age 36 to 40. That’s exactly the same percentage as all other married women who work full time. Having a career or education isn’t standing in the way.
“And men are more attracted to SWANS: According to a nationally representative 2006 Harris Interactive study, 71% of high-earning or graduate-educated men said a woman’s career or educational success makes her more desirable as a wife, 68% report that smart women make better mothers and 90% of high-achieving men say they want to marry – or are already married to – a woman who is as or more intelligent than they are.”