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Friday, May 28, 2004

Singapore unbridled

Throwing caution to the wind, the notoriously repressive Singaporean government has now lifted its 12-year-old ban on chewing gum -- sort of. Thanks to pressure from Illinois Senator Philip Crane (there's motive here: Wrigley Co. is based in Chicago), "therapeutic" gum will now be available for sale throughout the island nation.

But not to worry: the Singaporeans haven't gone totally wild. Chewing gum will only be available for sale to licensed pharmacies, and citizens must present their names and national ID numbers before acquiring the dangerous food-like item. The penalty for pharmacists who fail to verify a citizen's identification is 5,000 Singapore dollars ($2,937), up to a two-year retreat in a Singaporean prison, and (presumably) some unspecified number of thwacks with a cane.

Despite the setbacks these new freedoms symbolize for Singapore's anti-gum advocacy groups, it is safe to assume that "assault" gum -- gum that is packaged in black paper or packs that contain more than 10 sticks -- will remain illegal.

Singapore's fabled "Brady Campaign to Prevent Gum Violence" could not be reached for comment.

Slug posted by Carter Laren @ 07:53

Wednesday, May 26, 2004

Amnesty International: more than just bad manners

On Wednesday, Amnesty International (AI) issued their annual "International Report" on the state of human rights. It even included a message from AI Secretary General Irene Khan titled, "Why human rights matter." Her message was apparently aimed the large contingent of the literate population that remains skeptical of the idea that humans should have rights.

Evidently, many of those skeptics are employed by AI itself. Either that, or no one representing the organization has any clue about what the word right means.

How can one have a right to "food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services," as AI claims? Or a right to "protection against unemployment" and "holidays with pay," and to free education? Those are entitlements, folks: not rights. In order to provide food, someone has to have the land upon which to grow it, and they have to invest the skill and energy required to do so. The product is theirs by right and no one else is entitled to it, no matter how many times Amnesty International uses the "r" word.

On the flip-side, Irene Khan doesn't even seem to notice when legitimate rights are protected.

In her message, Kahn castigated the United States for purporting "to fight the war in Iraq to protect human rights -- but openly [eroding] human rights to win the 'war on terror.'" While no one would deny that there have been instances of human rights violations for which perpetrators ought to be brought to justice, America's presence in Iraq has clearly been a victory for human rights. Thousands of Iraqis (and perhaps others) are free from the appalling assault on rights characteristic of Hussein's regime. He was, after all, a murderous dictator.

This may leave some wondering, "would it hurt Amnesty International's political agenda too much to include a simple 'thank you' to America?"

Sadly, yes.

Slug posted by Carter Laren @ 20:39

Monday, May 24, 2004

Dear Kids, PETA loves you. (No, not you, humans!)

Last week, the People for the Ethical Treatment of (non-human) Animals revealed their latest campaign. The message: children should ostracize their meat-eating peers.

PETA' s new set of "Chicken Chumps" trading cards feature relentlessly mean, hopelessly fat, and disgustingly sick cartoon characters; all of whom got that way, according to explanations on the back of the cards, simply by eating meat.

Sickly Sally, for example, can't seem to keep down all of that "poop-covered, germ-filled chicken" she's been eating. The set also features a Feathered Friends card that describes how "smart" chickens are, how they "love their families," and how they "don't want to be eaten any more than you do." [These facts are indisputable, except among those who have spent five minutes watching a chicken repeatedly peck at a discoloration on the ground, look away, and then rediscover the discoloration and peck again.]

While being a chicken is clearly superior to being a nasty meat-eating outcast, PETA does not limit its offenses to singling out and shaming innocent kids. Last month, it erected billboards claiming that feeding meat to a child is "child abuse."

It's nice to know PETA is so concerned about how kids are treated these days.

So...would now be a good time to link to Hunter Dan?

Slug posted by Carter Laren @ 11:24

Tuesday, May 18, 2004

Do sarin-filled shells count, Mr. Kerry?

On Monday, US officials revealed that a sarin-filled artillery shell was discovered in Iraq after insurgents used it to construct a bomb. Moments later, presidential candidate John Kerry, accompanied by his entourage of leftist ballyhooers, issued a formal apology to George Bush, withdrawing earlier assertions that Iraqi weapons of mass destruction did not exist...

...or at least they meant to apologize, didn't they?

The curious silence that now befalls the typically snide anti-war crowd must be because they're busy looking up impressive sounding synonyms for "oops," "never mind," and "uh...sorry." Or perhaps people like Sean Penn are just waiting for the opportunity afforded by another Academy Awards acceptance speech to retract their previous jabs.

If that's the case, the President may be waiting for quite some time.

Slug posted by Carter Laren @ 23:00

Wednesday, May 12, 2004

Welcome to Slugs!

Look here for accurate, high velocity comments aimed at current events. DVC!

Slug posted by Carter Laren @ 21:27