1. If a friend tells you they are having surgery in two weeks, do not tell them about the scare story you just read in a news magazine about that very surgery.
2. If your friend stops you and says "I have to have this surgery, so if this is a scare story that's just going to cause me anxiety, please don't tell me," do not insist that in order to be fully informed they must know about the scare story.
3. If you misremember a scary statistic from the scare story by a factor of 10, and your friend (the one who is having the surgery and already knows about this scary statistic) corrects you, do not tell her that her doctor must be wrong because Newsweek said so. Especially if you are wrong and Newsweek gave the correct statistic, amidst the FUD their story is full of, about the surgery that is not optional for your friend, so why are you trying to scare her.
4. Oh hell, just don't read Newsweek. Everyone will be better off.
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ACK!
In a recent review of one of the Kai Lung novels, the reviewer quoted Ernst Brahmah thusly:
Although there exist many thousands of subjects for elegant conversation, there are persons who cannot meet a cripple without talking about feet.