From: cthong@fraser.sfu.ca (Christopher Thong)
Subject: Re: FREE 1-YEAR NRA... enough allready!!
Organization: Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., Canada
Distribution: na
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 1992 19:32:57 GMT

veal@utkux1.utk.edu (David Veal) writes:

>In article <cthong.713767290@sfu.ca> cthong@fraser.sfu.ca (Christopher Thong) writes:

>>>In <cthong.713669756@sfu.ca> cthong@fraser.sfu.ca (Christopher Thong) writes:
>>>>firstly- hold on -let me get a grip on myself-- heh- 
>>>>I AM NOT FROM THE PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF CHINA!!
>>>>SINGAPORE IS NOT , HAS NEVER BEEN , WILL EVER BE A CHINESE STATE!!
>>>>HEH.HEH..AHHHMMMM..
>>
>>>Ah.  You're from the place which has a leadership that's so
>>>anal-retentive, it has outlawed CHEWING GUM.
>>sigh.... once again my insulting young friend....get your damn facts
>>straight - the act of chewing gum is not illegal in s'pore.
>>it's the importing of the gum to SELL that is.

>     Not totalitarian control, just trade barriers.
you make it seem like it's either a personal thing or something bad.
firstly , it affected ALL manufacturers of the gum ,  not just american 
gum makers . secondly , people like you will never understand that 
responsibility has to be taken for every decision and mistake.
i can live with having to restict my intake of gum in order to have a 
smooth running system . you tell me how you feel the next time you have 
a wad of it on your soles or fingers...
>     Somehow it seems amsuing someone being caught at customs and arrested
>on the charge of posession of chewing gum with intent to sell.

>>each person is allowed to bring in 2 cartons if he gets it from overseas
>>for his own use...
>>the reason for imposing the ban on importation is that a 20 cent piece
>>of gum was time and time again responsible for bringing sections of a 
>>5 billion dollar subway system to a halt.

>     Did it occur to anybody to make the subway system gum-proof rather
>than making laws against chewing gum?

>>every 4 years we have elections in the state.
>>MP s fight for the right to represent their constituencies in parliament.
>>we elect the best person whom we feels best represents our wants and 
>>needs and we put him in. we have a president and a prime minister.
>>you need a gun because you don'y feel safe in your own home
>>or outside.

>     Interesting leap from one subject to another.     

>>you take so much longer to get things done- laws passed - legislatures
>>proposed and even getting a proper geographical education
>>and i'm the UNFREE one? 

>     A few points:

>     The national government of the United States was supposed to be slow
>and deliberative (it was *designed this way*) so as to prvetn spur-of-the-
>moment laws made without careful thought.  (That's also the reason it has to
>go through two houses and a President.)  Quick action was to take place at
>the state level.
>     It was also intended to help curb the grabs for power possible under a
>system where laws can be made quickly and without input.

>     As for your being "unfree," I fail to see how your government being able
>to pass laws quickly makes you any more free.  Laws, as a general rule, 
>more often tell people what they *cannot* do.

>>i'm the one whose controlled ?
>>feh...

>     What do you think laws are for if not controlling people?

>>i'm the one whose living in a police state when:
>>(if you're canadian)- you have a politician who knows full well that 
>>can go back on campaign promises and doubledeal doctors in b.c. and 
>>get away with it?

>      This is the fault of an apathetic electorate, not a police state.  A
>police state comes from the government and is imposed downward.

>>(if you're american) - you have darryl gates?
>>feh...

>     Ohhh.  Darryl Gates is no longer Chief of Police in Los Angeles.  Much
>of his actions were because of abuse of power, not power he was lawfully
>given.
>     But one example of a bad police chief does not a police state make.  
>(BTW, Darryl Gates worked for the local police, and was not affiliated with
>the National government.)

>>i can't tell if you're american or canadian.
>>but once again , i still have a healthy respect for both countries , 
>>brush up on your geography and general knowledge before you discuss
>>my country again . i'm proud and happy to be s'porean and am fully
>>aware of faults in my own country's system which i'll be more ready 
>>to DISCUSS with you when you (OR ANYBODY) gets their facts together.
>>chewing gum indeed... and i bet you put your hand under bus seats
>>and lecture theatre desks every day and thank god that your govt isn't
>>anal retentive.

>     Somehow, I am not all that concerned that my government doesn't
>waste its time with chewing gum put under the seats of theatre chairs.
>They're not the government's chairs, and they're none of the government's
>business.


>===========================================================================
>|David Veal  PA146008@utkvm1.utk.edu  University of Tennessee             |  
>|                                     Division of Continuing Education    |
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