Michael Rubens Bloomberg was born in 1942. His estimated net worth is $16 billion (Forbes). He is of Russo-Polish descent. He is said to be an ex-chainsmoker; and this probably explains why he likes harassing people about their smoking habit. He was the Mayor of New York City who introduced the smoking ban in enclosed spaces there. His new crusade is to ban smoking in open spaces such as parks and playgrounds.
Some would consider this man to be a pesky, self-satisfied pip-squeak, his fortune notwithstanding. In any case, he would do well to go away and enjoy his money and leave others alone to have their own fun. Life is too short for bores like this. By the way, is this man short by any chance? – © Mark
THE GUARDIAN: Mayor Bloomberg is extending the New York smoking ban to outdoor public spaces, so London will probably follow suit in a year or two
Maybe the ferocity against Barack Obama in America is generated less by the colour of his skin than by the fact that he still has the odd cigarette. He has always been splendidly honest about this. Unlike Bill Clinton, who lied about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky, the current president refuses to lie about his smoking (which many may regard as a more grievous offence than a sexual misdemeanour). Even after signing into law a new anti-smoking measure, he confessed to having "sometimes fallen off the wagon" in his struggle to quit.
To say this in the current American climate is brave; for the country seems to be moving inexorably towards prohibition. By admitting to being even an occasional smoker, Obama identifies himself with an minority that is now more likely to suffer discrimination than any ethnic minority group. The Mayor of New York, a former smoker himself, has even encouraged the harassment of smokers by saying that giving them "a not particularly nice look" when passing them in the street has shown that "social pressure really does work".
New Yorkers light up in the street because they are mostly forbidden to do so indoors; but even their right to smoke in the open air is under threat. The city's health commissioner, Thomas Farley, has said that he wants to ban smoking in New York's 1,700 parks and playgrounds, and on its 14 miles of beaches – a first step, one would guess, towards banning it everywhere. The mayor seems to have been taken by surprise by Dr Farley's plan, but he did not rule it out. He said that he wanted first "to see if smoking in parks has a negative impact on people's health", which is just about as verifiable as the existence of God. As he campaigns for re-election, however, he probably just wants to see what the popular reaction is, for he himself is as much an anti-smoking fanatic as Adolf Hitler and King James I of England before him. >>> Alexander Chancellor | Friday, September 18, 2009
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TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE:
New York songe à bannir la clope de ses parcs et places de jeux >>> Jean-Cosme Delaloye, New York | Jeudi 17 Septembre 2009
