Joe Jackson Loves Smoking, Hates New York
Well, hate's a strong word, but he at least thinks its post-Giuliani cleanup and subsequent smoking ban are lame. Which is why Smoking Joe left the Big Apple, relocating to London and then Berlin. "King Pleasure Time" is into his smoking time. The AP reports that he's written op-ed pieces in the NY Times and elsewhere ("Smoke, Lies And The Nanny State" in the Telegraph Of London) about smokers' rights. He has en entire section dedicated to smoking at his website Or, via AP:
"It's one of those issues where we're really only hearing one side of it because the anti-smoking movement is so powerful," he said. "It's for sure absolutely not as dangerous as we're currently being told. ... There's no good evidence that smoking up to about 10 (cigarettes) a day does you any harm whatsoever."As is pretty evident in that awesome live clip of "Invisible Man." In fact, the whole new album's really tight, which is why we empathized with Sara Schaefer's cute video about Jackson's move to Berlin. Focus on the soundtrack: She slips some Rain in there...It doesn't affect his voice, either, he said.
Who knew Shakespeare was such a douche? Come to think of it, Camel should've given Joe and Shane MacGowan their own planet in that indie rock universe.
Posted at 5:31 PM in Video
Tags: Joe Jackson
Joe, it's really quite simple. Most people who die in fires die not due to flames, but the accompanying smoke. It's cuz human lungs don't function well when inundated with, among other things, water and smoke. So, by definition, putting ANY amount of smoke in your lungs is not healthy. To do so willingly just seems stupid. It's surely your choice, but don't deny the harm of it, and don't stomp off in a snit cuz other people wish to avoid your (second-hand) smoke. Capice?
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Sara Shaefer's short film about Joe Jackson is classic. I couldn't stop laughing all the way through. Consistently funny and charming. Be sure to check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgoORQz3ar4
CJ
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You know you're not speaking directly to Joe Jackson, right?
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smoking rulez. lolz.
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I saw Joe at Subway Soul night at Rififi a few months ago. He sauntered up to my attractive friend at the bar and asked her if she was ordering a drink, and when she said, "no" he said, "well then can you get out of my way?"
Classic.
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@ crilo,
You are aware, in all your layers of smug know-it-allness, of course, that the smoke accompanying a house fire, is COMPLETELY chemically different than the smoke in a cigarette, right? The color alone would tip off a C-level 7th grade Chemistry student.
And people don't die in fires because of smoke inhalation, they die from SUFFOCATION. Usually because, and I figure you'd already now this, fire (not smoke) eats oxygen and creates a vacuum (Ever try to escape from an engulfed room through a narrow passage? The pressure makes it very difficult). Didn't you pay attention in 3rd grade? And no one's cigarette is in danger of suffocating ANYONE.
You knee-jerk non-smokers are the most uninformed people on the planet. Do you ever actually read the studies all the medical and government agencies perform? Or do you just scoop up with a spoon more and more "safe for the children!" bullshit from the anti-smoking lobby without actually researching anything yourself? I know, I know, it's hard to do your own work...
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Patrik,
I'm not a knee-jerk nonsmoker. I understand that the fear of cigarettes has taken a life of its own, one that is beyond absurd.
However, the smoke makes me cough and feel sick to my stomach, which can't be healthy. I'm sick of going to smokey bars and smelling it in my hair the next day even after taking a shower.
As a waitress I was initially skeptical of smoking bans that were hitting my city, but it never hurt my wallet and only cleaned up the atmosphere.
Smokers may hate it, but the rest of us enjoy the fresh air.
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I watched my mother die this past summer because of smokes. Ignorance and stupidity is apparently bliss for Joe Jackson...idiot.
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Dave,
Sara actually is speaking directly to Joe Jackson. If you'll notice, that youtube video is uploaded to his account and not hers.
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helen, i think maybe dave was referring to crilo, who was writing a comment on a blog directly to Joe.
But you're right, I was communicating directly with joe, as i always do, via youtube and of course the universal language known as love.
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Now I can dislike Joe Jackson for a reason other than the middle-of-the-road shit music he makes.
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NY would be the last place on earth I would want to visit on holiday. I would not even spend money on holidays in my own intolerant Country either UK.
So I do not blame Joe for going to a more tolerant Country.
Well said Patrick I cannot believe how many people have been "brainwashed". I cannot stand the TV anymore.
forces.org is a great site for tolerant non-smokers and smokers alike USA
freedom2choose.info
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Things I learned from Joe Jackson and his website:
Its reassuring to know that those who smoke up the air others breathe believe in freedom of choice.
Its ok for presidents to use phony WMD claims to start a war but its not ok for surgeon generals to say anything that may discourage people from smoking or encourage them to use smoking cessation products. After all, the smoking cessation product industry is such a large, money making giant that it makes the tobacco industry seem like a non-profit organization dedicated to the well being of everyone, so anyone who does so has got to be in it for the money and nothing else.
Its ok to smoke up the air others breathe but its not ok to play the guitar while Joe Jackson is playing the piano.
My mother's cigarette smoke that I was brought up was such a pleasure that I hung my head out of the car window to try to avoid it. How could I be so unappreciative?
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I think the smoking issue has only escalated because our information has accumulated, and it's looking in favour of doing more harm than good. However I don't think there is one smoker out there that will tell you "smoking is harmless." Even they know it's not the best thing for your body and most people have *always* known that on one level or another. If something is introduced to your body that is wrong or foreign, your body WILL let you know. It's made that way. Trust me.
But I believe the issue here was never about the act of smoking, but rather the amount of smoking the average person does. Smoking USE TO be a simple activity that one did after a hard day at work, or for relaxation. At one time even there were things called cigarette boxes, which were either made of glass or sometimes ornate porcelain, and would rest on the coffee table in your average middle-class living room and the sole purpose of it was as a place to keep your cigarettes because most people didn't carry packs around with them. Smoking in the past was, quite simply, an occasional activity that people did while at a party or, yes, even after sex.
But today in our can't-get-enough lifestyle we've opted to go to the extremes in just about all aspects of our lives and smoking is no exception. Gone are the days when people would have maybe two or three cigarettes a week. They've been replaced with a society that calls ahead to restaurants to make sure there is an area for smoking so they don't have to be without their smokes for more than an hour.
We no longer have a Luck Strike with a glass of port while we talk to the spouse in the evening. Instead we huddle around a steam grate outside in the middle of February so to keep warm while hands shiver so much it makes it almost impossible to put the filter in the mouth.
Does everyone who smokes think this way, where they need to have a 'butt' every 45 minutes or so? No. However, enough do to constitute the majority and they always become the ones under fire.
I submit that the excessive is what's on trial here, not the smokers themselves. But I doubt people will think that much of the issue and simply conclude that people must be held accountable for their actions and simply consider those around them. Personally, whether second-hand smoke is harmful or as harmless as babies breath, it's uncomfortable to breathe in. There is nothing worse to me than breathing in cigarette smoke first thing in the morning when passing by the smokers when walking to work. I'm all for the rights of others and I'll fight that until my last breath. But I think it was Thomas Jefferson who stated that, concerning democracy and a free society, your rights end when they start to infringe on the rights of others. And I think I have the right to breathe clean air.
Incidentally, as I'm writing this my father is dying. He was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma which is, you guessed it, lung cancer. I'm not a medical doctor but I think it may have been the result of his 40+ years of smoking anywhere from 2-4 packs of Winston's a day (a brand of cigarettes that claim "no additives, just pure tobacco"). I'm not looking for any sympathy from you, the reader. And I'd probably still think this way even without the family problem I have with my dad. But when people look for answers, the simplest answer is usually the right one.
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