Archive for October, 2004
My pre-galley of "Alcoholism Myths and Realities" was just mailed to about 50 semi-well known to well-known people. I don't expect a response from the likes of Robert DeNiro (who "hates" the disease of alcoholism and has been involved in several interventions), but I try. If anyone knows a celebrity who might consider an endorsement, I can use one. In the meantime, I got the first response from the co-chair of a wonderful non-profit involved in getting the courts to require "how am I driving" stickers on the cars involved in DUIs. She writes that she thinks the new book is the best yet and continues:
"WARNING!!! The information contained in this book may burst your bubble – and it could ...
Follow-up on Kim Jong Il
I just read that Kim was seen downing 10 glasses of wine at the 2000 summit I mentioned in the October Thorburn Addiction Report (TAR), apparently in one sitting. (This was when he said of the South Korean president, "As far as drinking goes, I'm a better drinker than Kim Dae Jung.") Kim's pudginess and height (5 foot 3 inches without his platform shoes) suggest a weight of about 160 pounds. If he drank 10 5-ounce glasses of wine over 4 hours, his BAL (blood alcohol level) would rise to about .19 per cent. This is alcoholic drinking, especially for someone over age 30 (he's in his 50s). Assuming he was cogent, this shows extraodinary tolerance, which further supports the ...
Alcoholic deserves the Darwin Award
OCTOBER 2004
Amazing Antics: Stories of Alcoholism-Driven Behaviors
An addict relapses, tragedy occurs and the misbehaviors reach their logical extreme.
Story from This is True by Randy Cassingham, with "tagline:"
"SOCIALLY UNACCEPTABLE: Leah Kravochuck met James Ivinskas at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in Cleveland, Ohio, and a few days later went on a date for Valentine's Day. "For some reason they went out that night, and they drank and drank and drank," says her lawyer, Stuart Lippe. Since both were drunk, it's hard to say what happened, but Ivinskas was killed by Kravochuck when she ran him over with her car. Twice. When arrested, she tried to bribe the police officer, offering $5,000 and sex if he would let her go. While awaiting ...
Myth of the Month: does abortion cause alcoholism?
OCTOBER 2004
Alcoholic Myth-of-the-Month: "Women who choose to end their first accidental pregnancy with abortion...are much more likely to end up abusing drugs and alcohol."
This finding was the result of research recently published in the "American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse." The implication is yet another example of confusion between cause and effect. If life's troubles caused alcoholism, we'd all be alcoholics. Such troubles, including the psychological damage wrought by terminating an unwanted pregnancy, no more cause alcoholism than does being physically abused during childhood. Alcoholism is rooted in a biochemistry that causes misbehaviors and poor judgment, not the other way around.
Instead, the link between abortion and addiction supports the idea that addicts (or children of same) are ...
Dear Doug: does environment help prevent alcoholism?
OCTOBER 2005
Dear Doug: Family Day promotes healthier kids
Dear Doug,
Joseph A. Callifano, Chairman and President of The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, writes:
"Eating dinner together as a family is a simple event, but it can make a world of difference for children and teens. [We have found] that the more often children eat dinner with their families, the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use illegal drugs.
"Created in 2001...'Family Day -- A Day to Eat Dinner With Your Children' is...a simple, effective tool to help reduce substance abuse among children and teens and raise healthier children....
"As difficult as it sometimes may be, making time for family dinners is worth ...
Book Review: North Korea Through the Looking Glass
OCTOBER 2004
North Korea Through the Looking Glass, by Kongdan Oh and Ralph C. Hassig
The title suggests an "Alice in Wonderland" fantasyland, but a huge dose of Edgar Allen Poe must be added to the cauldron to get a feel for the horrors of this most bizarre of lands.
The combination of Confucian kingdom and totalitarian socialist state allows the rulers, Kim Il Sung from its founding at the end of WW2 to his death in 1994 and his successor-son, Kim Jong Il, to wield inconceivable power not only over peoples' actions, but also over their minds. North Koreans almost uniformly believe their rulers are the equivalent of Gods. In the Korean tradition of Confucianism, they willingly subject themselves to ...
Kim Jong Il, North Korea, Nuclear Weapons and Alcoholism
OCTOBER 2004
Can Kim Jong Il be trusted to not sell or use nukes?
There were a number of competing stories from which to choose this month: the continuing antics of Britney Spears, the death of singer Rick James and the arraignment on murder charges of music producer Phil Spector. However, due to the inclusion of North Korea as a topic of the first Presidential debate, the mystery of a massive explosion and mushroom-shaped cloud of debris over the country's far north and threats against Japan should the U.S. ever intervene, Kim Jong Il and the possibility of alcoholic megalomania wins top honors.
Kim Jong Il (as in "ill" or the post office abbreviation for Illinois, IL) runs what appears to ...
October Thorburn Addiction Report
Can Kim Jong Il be trusted to not sell or use nukes?
Top Story: Kim Jong Il, North Korea and Nuclear Weapons
There were a number of competing stories from which to choose this month: the continuing antics of Britney Spears, the death of singer Rick James and the arraignment on murder charges of music producer Phil Spector. However, due to the inclusion of North Korea as a topic of the first Presidential debate, the mystery of a massive explosion and mushroom-shaped cloud of debris over the country's far north and threats against Japan should the U.S. ever intervene, Kim Jong Il and the possibility of alcoholic megalomania wins top honors.
Kim Jong Il (as in "ill" or the ...