foxtrout8,
thx for your quick reply. Have you read today's Straits Times? It
has a forum letter by Mr M. Ravi reminding people that executions
do not cause a reduction of crime rate on their own. It will will
be interesting to know your response on thsi article.
1) silence can be as harmful as noise, even if it is (obviously)
not as loud. Look at what the silence of the UN has done to
Darfur!
2) Listen: governments are elected so that the public can use them
as a buffer for their own collective mistrust. The government has
to trust the public because it makes for a properly functioning
feedback mechanism, and also because the public gives it the
mandate to rule. the only way to solve the mutual mistrust between
the members of the public is to trust the public as a whole when
they make comments, so that the illusion of trust can be at least
maintained. The government is formed on the basis of individual
mistrust, not collective mistrust.
3) Neither is there sufficient scientific proof to show that the
Death Penalty is an effective deterrent. But anyway, let's look at
a very interesting example from ancient history:
Rome subscribed the Death Penalty for early Christians, but yet the
Christian community still grew. And crucifixion and physical
torture in those times is worse than hanging, lethal injections and
the electric chair today. The Death Penalty used as a deterrent for
the spread of the Christian Religion was not at all effective. the
Christian population swelled to such a number that later Roman
Emperors had no choice but to grant the Christians the right to
worship.
What that tell you about the deterrent effect of the Death
Penalty?
5) transforming to reflect the times. Progress is when we replace
something existent for a long period of time with another thing
completely new which achieves the desired function more
effectively. Everything has a shelf-life, (even the PAP).
6) Your tone tells me you are either in self-denial, or you don't
love your national community at all. Obviously, removing the Death
Penalty will remove some of those names, whicha re definitely
extremely humiliating, and that will increase national pride
definitely. Progress always does, anyway.
As for America, you have to distinguish very clearly between the
public and the government (senate + congress). Read American news
or magazines, and you will realize that the official opinion and
the street American's opinion usually differ a great deal. for
example, there is a massive unhappiness over the Patriot Act and
the requirement inspection of student visas for international
university applicants.
I never refer to governments when I'm talking about foreigners,
because in my (cynical) opinion, governments are merely big groups
of power-players, and always seek to increase their own power i.e.
they are politicians, not national community leaders.
One's view must not be so narrow. Even if we have
the best law and order in the world (which I'm not so sure we
have), what are the costs of having all this? Have we given up too
much of our humanity just for this?
9) I guess you don't understand what the meaning of circumstantial
is. "circumstantial" in this context means "coincidental". Not
every drug-trafficking case is coincidental. There are some rare
occasions when police find plans or catch the trafficker
red-handed. My statement is definitely not circumstantial, because
it is the basis of International Law. Don't tell me that is
circumstantial too. 
Judges are human; they can make mistakes; even juries can make
mistakes. The law must exist to provide a buffer, a cushion for
those mistakes should they occur, so that the impact isn't so
severe. A wrongful sentencing of the Death Penalty leads to the
loss of an innocent life. That is one thing everybody should
remember.
11) You denied that rather explicitly, when you said that "said
that based on X Y Z country, the IR thing will definately work for
us". The government did use statistics, only that they were
financial and tourism figures, not crime data. Weren't you
listening to the Parliamentary Debate on the Integrated (Casino)
Resort?
12) I agree. the statistics might be shallow, but so are those put
in favour of the Death Penalty.
14) same to you, but at least I should clarify the points of mine
which you don't understand (not doubt) before you go away.
It's been much more enriching talking to you than talking to
CX.
Thx for your time,
the pikamaster (who just finished history blocks)
