Singapore Bans Game Over Lesbian Scene
SINGAPORE (AP) - Singapore has banned an Xbox video game because it contains a sex scene between a woman and a female alien, the city-state's censors said Thursday. "Mass Effect," a futuristic space adventure published by Microsoft Corp., has been banned because of "lesbian intimacy," Chetra S.,...

We're talking about a country where chewing gum is illegal and prostitution is legal. You figure it out.

It's all about getting your priorities in order... or something...

Chewing gum? Illegal? *chewing gum*

Originally Posted by Fox

Chewing gum? Illegal? *chewing gum*

I can't remember if I used a pacifier as a baby, but I'm damn sure I don't need one at 60 years of age. To me, chewing gum seems largely to be an "American" habit, I've been to most places in the world accessible by sea, and it is not really seen anywhere else, except among impressionable teenagers who are aping some "idol of the moment". I really don't think that Singaporeans miss it.

For a place that is regarded by some snivel libertarians as repressive, I've always found it to be a great place. It's certainly a better place than when Lee Kwan Yew introduced his new plan for Singapore 40 years ago.

The people are infinitely richer, it's cleaner and safer.

Yep, I know, .... It's no where near as much fun, but that largely wears off once you get through your late teens and twenties. Let's say it's better for the majority.

Chewing gum is kinda overrated.
I can live without it. I lived in Singapore for a short while. It's an alright place but it gets a bit boring and predictable after a while.
Yep, Singapore is a huge success story. A typical case of a country that gets rich enough and educated enough to stand on its own two feet and then start talking about democratization etc. I never understood the whole idea of making a country with no money and no education into a democracy. It just doesn't work.

Originally Posted by the_13th_redneck

I never understood the whole idea of making a country with no money and no education into a democracy. It just doesn't work.

An excellent point Redneck. How come all of these high priced diplomats don't wake up to this.

I think they do realize it. It's just that any placement of a dictator of any sort would be political suicide. Again, the public will never understand why it is sometimes the only choice.

Singapore has fallen on it's feet, largely due as you say, to being ruled by a moderately benevolent dictator. Their only other choice would have been an entirely corrupt dictator.

Most people who whine about Singapore's repressive Government don't really stop to think about what great progress they have made. I know of no other county who has lifted the social and economic standing of it's poorer population as much and as quickly as Singapore. This is made all the more amazing when you consider that it is only an island of 690 square miles with no real natural resources other than it's population.

South Korea's rise has largely been the work of a benevolent dictator (Park Jung-hee) and two semi-benevolent (as in didn't ass rape the whole country) dictators (Roh Tae-woo and Jeon Doo-hwan).
Unfortunately if a country wants to make it big, it needs a focused, strong leader who is serious about bringing the country and its people out of the poor. Without it, it's pretty hopeless.