Officials in China, that bastion of human rights abuses, have decreed that teachers and government works must Smoke, Smoke, Smoke That Cigarette made from locally produced tobacco to boost demand. Failing to comply or, horrors, smoking a rival brand means they will get fined.
Seriously, a state agency is mandating that people ingest poison in order to boost the economy.
Here's the original article.
Any government that thinks they can force its people to smoke, for whatever reason, is seriously out of control, drunk with power and detrimental to humanity as a whole.
Why not turn those tobacco fields into something actually useful for mankind, like food crops? Mandating smoking is like mandating crossing the street with your eyes, its just plain stupid and wrong.
Rule #264 is In Communist China, Government Smokes You
2 comments:
Erik –
Found this article/your blog using my Google alert for “what not to do”
I created it after watching Nassim Taleb talk about his book “The Black Swan” It is at FORA.tv
The Long Now Foundation - Stewart Brand Hosts Seminars About Long-term Thinking - http://fora.tv/2008/02/04/Future_Has_Always_Been_Crazier_Than_We_Thought
Taleb says in the lecture negative advice - "what not to do" is more useful than positive advice telling people what to do. "What not to do" is most often based on real world experience, where "what to do" is based on theory. The video will require several viewings to get the full message - reading the book would be useful.
Good luck with your blog.
Tom
Tom, thanks for your kind thoughts and for the book and link. I will check them out when I'm out from behind my school's firewall.
Paradoxically, I've learned that young children have a had time comprehending what "don't" means and so they are better served being told what to do rather than what not to do. I wonder at what point the switch occurs?
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