Erwin_Rommel,
1) USA has a peculiar position, because each of its states have
relative autonomy. In countries like France and Malaysia, the
states are under tight central control, whereas USA is kind of a
microcosm of the UN. Its "General Assembly" is the Congress and its
"Security Council" is the Senate and White House. Half od the
States in the USA have abolished the Death Penalty, whilst the
other half (mostly the strong evangelical (protestant) states, the
"Bible Belt" ) haven't.
2) This is a very extreme view. The Yin-Yang principle of Taoism, a
philosophy misconstrued as a religion that is used as a front for
practicing folk religion, states that in a pool of evil, there is
always one drop of good, just as in a pool of good, there is always
one drop of evil. History tells of many individuals who transformed
radically after being forgiven.
But anyway, it is unfair to judge Ngyuen as a "hardcore criminal".
To label one as hardcore, the person must have committed many
crimes many times; In Ngyuen's case, it was his first time.
3) But the fact remains that the majority of countries in the world
have abolished it in law, and a larger percentage have abolished it
in practice (i.e. not executed criminals for at least 10 years).
And most of the countries with the Death Penalty - in fact, I
believe USA is the only exception to this rule - are countries
which one would not want to be associated with: Iran, Russia,
Syria, Egypt, Sudan, DPRK, China (follow its economics, not its
politics). These are countries which stifle political dissent to a
horrendous degree, quell peaceful protests with military force,
have constant ethnic and tribal conflicts, practice torture, and so
on.
4) The source of drugs is not drug traffickers - it is the
druglords.
5) Interestingly, rape and manslaughter have a more direct physical
impact on the victims than drug-trafficking...
6)
7) But we are no longer a third-world country now, and IMHO, most
third-world countries do not have the Fundamental Freedoms
anyhow.
Rights to what?
bar-top dancing? Reverse-Bungee? These are not real rights. THese
are only decorations. It still bars student unions, independent
trade unions, free press, etc... supposedly for the idea of
"preserving national security". Strangely, the term "national
security" can mean so many things nowadays that it is simply
another OB marker in a congested location...
the (worried) pikamaster
