'Racist' magazine pulled off shelves after complaints

http://news.asiaone.com/st/st_20070208_88648.html

Japan's third-largest convenience store, FamilyMart Co., stopped the sale of the magazine "Gaijin Hanzai Ura Fairu" after receiving complaints from readers regarding racism.

'We decided to remove it from our shelves because inappropriate racial expressions were found in the magazine,' Mr Kigure said.

The magazine, published on Jan 31 by Tokyo-based Eichi Publishing, contains images and descriptions of what the magazine says are crimes committed in Japan by non-Japanese, including graphs breaking down crimes by nationality.
Its cover, in red and black, shows caricatured images of foreigners grinning maniacally with glowing red eyes under its banner headline.

The magazine also sparked anger on Japanese blogs and other Internet forums.

Should smoking be banned?

Should smoking be totally banned?

The following are some discussion typed and filed by Jie Yong. Authentic and original.


YES – smoking should be banned.

- If trading drugs are at all considered as illegal, then I would support fully that tobacco trading can be attributed as drug trade. Like the rest of the non-smokers, I wouldn’t want to smoke passively.

- There’s nothing good about smoking, not one single bit. It costs money, causes misery, and all the bad facts had already surfaced over the years. If it cannot be bought anywhere (shops, bar, etc), 40 years later, we would have a healthier earth and a cleaner society to live in.

NEUTRAL stand – it doesn’t concern me, but society.

- Using other banned drugs and substances as proof and evidence, it would suggest that trying to exterminate tobacco abuse at the global level is highly unlikely. This would just elicit organized crimes toward drug trafficking or trading. This also, will create to a black economy. I believe there will be better solutions to handle and condition this rampant problem more effectively, it is just yet to be found.

- However I think banning any substance is completely ridiculous as it only criminalises otherwise full and good members of a society. Not to mention the fact that it then automatically becomes 50% more attractive to young people! A ban on smoking in public places is plenty enough.Rob, England taken from BBC news

- Banning smoking totally is not very possible given reference from society statistics. However, banning smoking in public places stands a high chance.
The government cannot do without the tax revenues collected from smokers. Looking it in such a manner, they contribute to society too.

Why we shouldn't abolish the punishment.

refer to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Tuong_Nguyen


Australian Prime Minister John Howard:
"I don't believe in capital punishment, he was a convicted drug trafficker and that is to be wholly condemned, [but] I hope the strongest message that comes out of this, above everything else, is a message to the young of Australia. Don't have anything to do with drugs. Don't use them, don't touch them, don't carry them, don't traffic in them and don't imagine for a moment — for a moment — that you can risk carrying drugs anywhere in Asia without suffering the most severe consequences."

On the surface it seems this statement supports capital punishment. However, Prime Minister John Howard sarcastically points out the immediate and straight-forward enforcement of Singapore's laws. This source tells us that Capital Punishment is too heavy a punishment despite the seriousness of the offence.

Be reminded that the question is about the removal of Capital Punishment and not of drug trafficking as a serious offence.

I do not feel that Capital Punishment should be abolished as it is a punishment dealt on a single person. It is fair for one to take responsibility for his own actions, any argument to the law should be done before the crime, not after. The matter should not be blown up just because of the internationl implications, which actually are irrelevant. When a crime reaches this level, punishment should not be debated.

The removal of the punishment affects the society's view of the seriousness of the offence. These two cannot be separated. However the effect of the abolishment on the criminal is only personal and should not be considered as a major factor in deciding the law.

Where the law is only harsh to the criminal( who, if you recall, is actually aware of it), we should favour the good of the society as they will benefit much more from the security.

I wish the law will stay, but I do pity the fact that someone has to be punished. Everyone makes mistakes as a result of temptation or desperation, but it is only once in a long while that such mistakes crosses the line and require such a cold and harsh punishment. We should move on from this as there are more people dying elsewhere for no fault of their own.



P.S : I went on www.putfile.com once a year ago. They banned my I.P address because I was Singaporean, saying we are harsh and whatnot. That is ridiculous. People die everyday. Why start a international debate cuz of a single case of drug-trafficking. This is not the first time, and the fact that the uproar started only because our criminal is Australian shows that there is prejudice and this matter no longer has any place in a moral debate.

Death Penalty

Some of the better webbies on DEATH PENALTY.


http://www.siiaonline.org/death_penalty#against


http://www.singaporeangle.com/2007/01/the_death_penalty_questioning.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment (History for reference)

HONG KONG, Feb 7 (Reuters) - After a disappointing end to 2006, Hong Kong will be hoping this month's Lunar New Year holidays generate a pick-up in the territory's tourist trade.


Annual visitor arrivals totalling 25 million have nearly doubled from five years ago but in the past few months growth has slowed sharply. Arrivals from mainland China, who make up more than half of all tourists, dropped in October and November from a year earlier before recovering in December.
On a fine winter afternoon, the atmosphere at Hong Kong Disneyland -- which opened to much fanfare in 2005 and has been a major draw for mainland visitors -- is subdued.
Tourists ambling through the turnstiles are in no rush: queues for the Jungle River Cruise and other attractions are light and the Main Street Corner Cafe is half-empty.
If a three-year tourist boom is over, analysts say, the territory needs to reflect on how it can maintain visitor numbers over the longer term so that tourism can continue to generate 6-8 percent of gross domestic product.
"It's a worry. Tourism is still growing but it's slowing somewhat due to extra competition from other destinations," said Tai Hui, an economist at Standard Chartered Bank. "That begs the question: do we want to keep attracting shoppers? We need to diversify."

For more information, visit www.yahoo.com.sg

Source : Yahoo! Singapore

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