Don growls at Wetherspoons.

The Daily Mail run with some classic howlers in this load of old horse cock. Pub chain JD Wetherspoon has sparked fears it is encouraging binge drinking by selling beer at just 99p a pint.

It is re-running its controversial ‘January sale’ campaign from last year – but this time it is extending the 99p deal to include glasses of wine and shots of gin.

Charities have condemned pubs which slash drink prices as ‘irresponsible’, saying it simply encourages people to drink more. Drink is already 60 per cent lower than it was in real terms in 1980.

Now I am no fan of chav booze seller JD Wetherscum, indeed I have often described them as a supermarket in pubs clothing. A soulless clone pub chain, devoid of all originality, with none of the games you find in real pubs and less atmosphere than the fucking moon. However, the demon booze argument has been debunked and should be nailed to cross and left to die once and for all.

Really? Sure about that "fact" about cheap booze are we Daily Mail? The truth as the Office of National Statistics shows, this is utter horse cock:

Between 1980 and 2008, the price of alcohol increased by 283.3%. After considering inflation (at 21.3%), alcohol prices increased by 19.3% over the period.

Nope, so that's one lie debunked.

It comes just a week after it emerged that almost a million people were admitted to hospital for drink-related reasons last year.

Okay, now lets debunk this one the almost a million people sounds a lot. Yet how many of them were mad pant pissing alcoholic's from Scotland, who see a trip to A and E as a weekly trip out. I am sure should the figures be broken down, the largest numbers will be spotty teens and repeat offenders like Mad Jock McPant Pisser.

Plus if factor in the fact that each night millions of people go out, enjoy themselves and do not end up splashing half a gallon of alco pop over some junior doctors shoes at 3AM, neither do they get arrested and suffer nothing more than a sore head in the morning. That however fails to make a story in the Daily Mail.

And naturally the self appointed moral guardian and new age prohibitionist one Don Shenker of fake charity and taxpayer funded quango Alcohol Concern : 'This is a shocking indictment on the Government's failure to tackle harms from alcohol misuse.

'The Government must take strong measures on the affordability and availability of alcohol to reduce the unnecessary burden on the NHS and improve everyone's health.

Note that Don is speaking as someone not elected to any office, who is funded by your taxes and believes he knows what is best for you. No matter what you may think.

Last year, the fake charity and quango Alcohol Concern condemned Wetherspoons’ move, saying that if the drinks industry did not regulate itself, the government should step in.

Don Shenker, chief executive of fake taxpayer funded non job quango Alcohol Concern, said: 'Alcohol is not an ordinary commodity like bread or milk.

'Alcohol causes harm to the nation's health and economy, and there appears to be a strong link between cheap alcohol and the high levels of binge drinking.'

If those are not the words of a thin lipped prohibitionist, a member of the New Labour funded temperance movement then I don't know what are?...

Is Alcohol Concern breaking the rules on what is a charity?

The Charity Commission's guidelines on campaigning and political activity state that "an organisation will not be charitable if its purposes are political". It states that trustees must not allow the charity to be used as a vehicle for the expression of the political views of any individual trustee or staff member.


As its aims tally 100% with the views of the Department of Health, that it lobbies in government and frequently calls on politicians to increase taxation, duties and regulations on the nations drinkers; quite how can Alcohol Concern be classed as non political?


Add to that the fact that almost 100% of its funding comes from government sources, the NHS budget, local authorities and the like and we see that it is in fact a lobby group for prohibitionists. 


So I have popped a complaint off to the charities commission who oversee the UK charities, I do hope that they contact Don as well...

Don peddles his half truths and fibs to the Telegraph.

Well Don has been a busy chap putting his 2p worth on this rubbish in the Telegraph that shows we are all drinking far to much, despite the fact that we are drinking less and paying more than ever in duties for out tipple.

Naturally the fact that units are made up, which I have detailed below, but first over to taxpayer funded fake charity shit spouter Don...

Don Shenker, chief executive of quango Alcohol Concern, said: “If we underestimate our drinking levels, then we’re underestimating the amount of harm we can expect to happen to our families, communities and wider society – as well as how much further we need to go to curb our excessive consumption.
“Poor survey intelligence can result in misinformed policy.

Don do take a nice cup of shut the fuck up, reports are based on guesswork and when based on meaningless units the whole report becomes meaningless, do you see?

“Any future government must get to grips with measuring the true scale and nature of this problem if it is to make a difference to reduce alcohol harms.”

No Don, any future government must get to grips with cutting taxpayer funded non jobs out from the taxpayers wallets, without tax money your fake charity would dry up and blow away like the bloated dog turd it is.

A spokesman for the Department of Health said: "We welcome Alcohol Concern's report as many people do not realise how much alcohol they drink and they may understate their drinking on self-reported surveys.
"That's why the Government also uses data on alcohol sales to measure the true level of alcohol consumption, which informs our policies.”

That would be the same Department of Health, who put our money into Don's quango, are right you are so conflict of interest there then... Now onto the graphs.

The graph below shows the percentage of men and women drinking more than their 21/14 unit weekly 'limit.

Clearly it shows people are drinking less, a fact borne out by falling alcohol sales in the industry.
Of course the neo-prohibitionists don't like this so they reinvented the 'unit' of alcohol

Since 2007, the Office of National Statistics has assumed larger glasses are being used and stronger alcohol is being consumed. They now assume that a glass of wine contains 2 units, rather than 1, as it did before. With beer, what used be counted as 1 unit is now counted as 1.5, what used to be 1.5 units is now assumed to be 2 units and what used to be 2.3 units (a large can) is now counted as 3 units.

The term 'unit' was made up anyway.(see sidebar)


So according to the revised data, people are drinking more and of course this is the type of misinformation that the fake charities thrive on - they are dependent on their funding from the Government. They have to keep up the scare stories in order to have the Government continue funding them.


Hat tip to Brew Wales.

Don spouts his rubbish on the Boots website.

Such a shame Boots give Don the time of day....
Don Shenker, the Chief Executive of fake charity Alcohol Concern, says he welcomes the new guidelines, which he says will “enable parents to be better informed about the health risks under 18s face when drinking. The guidelines will especially help parents who want to establish clear boundaries with their children and clarify that drinking above these guidelines carries increased health risks,” he says.

Lets just debunk this myth, first off the figures are based on non science. The alcohol units were plucked out of the air and are utterly meaningless(see sidebar for more), also everyone has a different tolerance towards alcohol.

The British Liver Trust also welcomed the new guidance, saying it would help children grow up with a healthy respect for alcohol. Alison Rogers, the Trust’s Chief Executive, says “we would like to welcome the official recognition of the importance of the parents’ role in establishing sensible drinking patterns for their children and the fact that this guidance provides clear and unambiguous clinically-based advice.”

However, Don Shenker says it’s important to remember there are many factors affecting young people’s drinking other than what parents say. "The easy availability of alcohol at pocket money prices is far more important, and the government should consider getting tough on cheap sales to help tackle underage drinking,” he says.

What Don misses is that it is illegal for under 18's to purchase alcohol and increasing taxes just hits the innocent drinkers; not the teens who load up on alco pops from the corner shop. Maybe better policing would be a better option?


Of course Don and his fake charity, funded by the UK taxpayers via the NHS and local authority handouts are there to do Labour's business and increase taxes(that is the sole reason for Alcohol Concern).

Don Shenker tells his fibs to the Daily Mail.

The Daily Mail ran a story on the rise in the numbers admitted into hospital due to the demon drink and so naturally went to taxpayer funded quango head Don for a statement.

Don Shenker, chief executive of Alcohol Concern the fake charity that gains most of its funding from the public purse, said: 'This is a shocking indictment on the Government's failure to tackle harms from alcohol misuse."

Gosh is it Don, is it really? An what pray tell is your liberal and wise solution to the problem?

'The Government must take strong measures on the affordability and availability of alcohol to reduce the unnecessary burden on the NHS and improve everyone's health.'

Must they? So we need further tax rises and restrictions on the availability of alcohol so that drunk folk are not clogging up the A&E departments. How about this Don, why don't you stand for public office, you know become an MP, stand on that ticket and see if you can get elected.

I bet you won't even get 10 votes Don an it will be a well deserved oblivion and deposit lost; far easier to suckle on at the public teat lapping up my taxes and moralising against the public having a tipple.

See here is a solution an it involves no tax rises what so ever, or restrictions on anyone. If someone is found drunk, then treat them an also nick them for being drunk and disorderly. The laws are already there on the statute books, a fine from PC plod and a hangover is the result.

Problem resolved. No need for restrictions, or quango's like yours sucking the cash from the public purse.

Lastly what is always missed in this sort of anti-drink bullshit, is this simple fact. For every drunk nicked, for every violent assult or idiot who throws up over a doctors shoes at 3AM in A&E; millions of folk have had a good night out.

Not been arrested, not gotten into a fight, thrown up or come into conflict with either the authorities or their fellow drinkers; but should that little inconvenient truth come out the taxpayers may wonder quite why Don is paid from their hard earned taxes...

Come on Don go get a real job and stop lying to us.

A challange to Don Shenker.

Don has been given lots of media airtime, lots of ink in the dead wood press and lots and lots of hard working taxpayers money to fund his rather shoddy quango.

Worst of all organisation that support beer drinkers like CAMRA, have also given Don the time of day, which is like someone popping in to see Sweeney Todd for a quick shave.

He has repeated again and again the same old lies on how beer is cheaper than ever, gives us all cancer and reduces us all to mindless animals; who of course need taxing and controlling by all knowing folk like Don.

So here is the challenge to Mr Shenker and his fellow New Labour loving puritans, I will match you fact for fact, debunk your spin and take you on in a debate any day of the week.

Anytime, anyplace, anywhere as the old saying go's. Not holding my breath on this mind you, as spin is far easier at a distance rather than openly debated with lots of facts, rather than lies on booze units and cancer.

Contact fidothedogster@gmail.com

Don Shenker a vile scumbag playing on the fear of cancer.

Don is up to his old tricks, playing on peoples fears in order to push the message that drinking is evil and so should be banned.

He turns up like a zit on a teen in The Telegraph claiming that 24 hour drinking is to blame for increasing cancer rates.

Don happily chirps his banning message, yes the Alcohol Concern quango chief executive Don Shenker said: "Many people are not aware of the connection between alcohol and cancer yet it can be a major contributor or cause of the disease."

Yes Don, its right up there with smoking, pollution and just plain bad luck. Maybe Don would care to ban people from drinking very hot tea as a study shows there may well be a risk of that causing cancer.

Or maybe the drug fosamax as this site suggests.

Plus of course another study suggested that folk who engaged in lots of oral sex were also in danger, so no more getting down in front of Gordon Brown and the NHS directors for funding Mr Shenker as it's bad for your health. I don't see Don seeking to ban that!

In fact the exact causes of cancer are often unknown, having known a few people die of that other than some guess on the part of the medical establishment as to the causes they really can not say; other than an educated guess.

A more reliable source that a state funded quango had this to say on mouth and throat cancer:

In some cases the exact cause of cancer is not known. However, the primary cause of mouth and throat cancer is smoking. People who drink excess alcohol are also at risk and when mixed with tobacco use, their chance of developing cancer is much greater.

Still playing the fear card and grasping at every straw in order to put across the Government message, something this fake charity do in order to maintain their non-jobs and continued funding is all Don is good for.

Don gets a mention.

This Don Shenker tribute site gets a mention over at The Devil's Kitchen.

The TaxPayers' Alliance has published a list of the top 25 parasitic quangos and so-called charities that the country could well do without. Not only would this save £33 million a year but - better still - Don Shenker and Deborah Arnott would have their mouths ripped from the teat of the state and be forced to get a real job.

The thought of Don being ignored by the media is one that fills me with joy, the thought that our tax money could be saved by not paying Don to spread half truths and outright lies in the media is a pleasure.

Best of all would be the thought of his fake charity, funded in the main by the state having to close down and blowing away like an old dog turd for lack of funding; whilst Don ends up flipping burgers or cleaning tables in the local JD Wetherspoons.

Although charity is an inaccurate word for the Alcohol Concern types, a bunch of thin lipped puritans who are in fact a lobby group paid for by Labour who are calling for more regulation and higher taxes.

Whereas real charities do useful stuff like help poor people and save starving infants in the 3rd World etc.