e-cigs: cartoon, 'e-logical 2'

[dialogue by ed, images from 'funnytimes.com']

Getting your first EVI (electronic vapour inhalator)

Before getting to what we ought to consider when getting an ‘e-cig’, i’ll have to state the following,

As stated in a previous observation, we ought to refrain from terming or perceiving the ‘e-cigarette’ as an ‘e-cigarette’ or, as some call it, an ‘electronic nicotine inhalator’ as it is not necessarily one. One can choose, like I have, to ‘vape’ concoctions that have 0mg nicotine content. The potential of a product ought not to be associated with just one of its uses, i.e. a ‘nicotine delivery system’. As stated, it can be a delivery system for nicotine-free vapours as well. We don’t, after all, call knives, ‘murder weapons’, just because it can be used as one do we.

Compilation of net critique of e-cig ban

American Council on Science and Health:
http://www.acsh.org/healthissues/newsID.1821/healthissue_detail.asp

The FDA has approved other nicotine-delivery systems in the form of gums and patches -- and they have been abysmal failures. The smoking cessation rates using these devices is less than 15 percent after one year, condemning millions of addicted smokers to a lingering death. We desperately need other alternatives. But the FDA has now joined a long list of so-called public-health organizations -- including the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids and the American Lung Association -- whose collective motto seems to be "quit or die." Not only do they reject e-cigarettes, but they also condemn other smokeless products like snus, which have a mere fraction of the health risks associated with smoking cigarettes.

Gandhi as the founder of both contemporary Pakistan and India

The following is a consideration of the view that Gandhi was a founder of India, and not India and Pakistan. It was posted as a comment on Imran’s site. It's been slightly elaborated upon for clarity below.

just a jibe: Delhi’s Athletes ‘Slum-dog’ village

[image from BBC]

Understanding the Temasek Review-style fascist phenomenon in Singapore

In a just published rant by Temasek Review, a well-known singaporean neo-nazi (confucian version) site - and with a disconcertingly high readership and support base - fascism comes most naturally to confucians - I was surprised to see TR's statement, with regards to the election of 20 far-right fascists to the swedish parliament,

A brief demolition of the reasons for banning the e-cig, by ed

It attracts those below the legal age.

ans: same restrictions on purchase can be applied to e-cigs as they are on traditional cigs

It can lead to nicotine poisoning.

ans: same thing applies to traditional cigs.

Guylian's 'Solitaire'. Racially offensive chocolate?

The following are thoughts on Brad Farless's 'Does this chocolate offend you'. The chocolates in question come in the flavours, 'Asian Dark', 'Aztec Gold', and 'African Ebony'.

It's an Electronic Vapour Inhalator, not, an Electronic Cigarette

EVIs can lead to the production of less hazardous traditional cigs

Well, given that we are currently interned within a system where profit is paramount, as opposed to human interest and empathy, we can expect a growing inclination toward e-cigs (or what ed terms, an ‘Electronic Inhalator’, or, more accurately in this article than the previous, EVIs - ‘Electronic Vapour Inhalators’) to place pressure on the tobacco industry to be, well, more industrious in producing a less hazardous cig. Tar, carcinogens, thousands of chemicals....i’m sure smokers, non-smokers, and the environment, can do without that.

Trying out the e-cigarette, or what ed calls, the 'Electronic Inhalator'

As e-'cigarettes' aren't illegal here in the UK, I decided to give it a go. The reasons are simple enough. NO CANCER-CAUSING CONTENT.

Anyway, I ordered an 'USB passthrough' with the e-cig. All i have to do to start puffing away is to connect it to the usb slot on my computer.

Now, for some brief thoughts on related issues.

on the Increasing hostility toward Muslims in America post-11/9

“As the US prepares to mark the ninth anniversary of the al-Qaida assault on New York and the Pentagon, the country's Muslims say they are enduring a wave of hostility and suspicion from some of their fellow Americans that they rarely encountered in the years immediately following the 9/11 attacks.” [guardian]

Let’s ‘Burn a Koran Day’, and a very brief recap on 11/9

When i first read about this - 15 minutes ago - and came across the line, ‘Thousands of protesters have held anti-American rallies in provinces across Afghanistan over plans by a US church to burn copies of the Koran.’, i exclaimed, to myself, ‘you must be joking!’ [bbc]

No joke. But then I realised that this was planned by the ‘Dove World Outreach Center’ - a small time ‘Christian’ sect of about 50 members. Well, I thought, they must be hoping for new recruits so that they might finally get enough donations to fix that dickie shingle on the roof.

Why e-Cigarettes must be made Legal

Some of the reasons cited for banning the use of e-cigarettes include,

That it does not wean a person off nicotine but maintains the addiction.

That it is not a legitimate smoking-cessation device.

That it can serve as an introduction to smoking cigarettes.

That it is not as healthy as claimed by its manufacturers.

Secularism allows different communities to sustain own traditions, says Lee. Ed says..

"I am encouraged to see that although the Malays in Radin Mas are a minority, they are able to produce the nice performances which shows that they are keeping their culture, language, customs alive, which is a sign that we are respecting each other's space, cultural space, religious space, personal space," noted MM Lee. - source

Sometimes I have to wonder after this bloke’s brand of ‘secularism’.

Miss Singapore World, an Indian? It’s about time!

Beauty is in difference and not indifferent to difference.
Frankly, i was getting tired of seeing yellow-skinned, relatively small-nosed, quite-bridgeless females hogging the limelight in the sexploitative arena of ‘beauty’ pagents. Nothing wrong with being yellow-skinned, relative small-nosed, and quite bridgeless of course. But i’m the sort of bloke who likes a real spicy-enough-to-make-your-head-sweat sambal(Malay word for a spicy chilli dish) to go with my hor fun(chinese noodle dish). Beauty is in difference and not indifferent to difference.

on Tech, Samsung Tab, and The Matrix

Now I wrote some time ago about the problem with Ipad, with my main problem with it being the absence of a slot for storage cards. Well, Samsung has addressed that problem with Galaxy Tab that enables one to use a SD card with it. That’s good. But its Samsung. That’s bad. Well, maybe it is. Did you know that Samsung phones come with a secret feature called ‘auto-shut down’? You’ll have to hang on to your Samsung phone for a couple of years in order to experience it. One day, you wake up, try to make a call, and it just shuts down. Well, at least that’s what i’ve experienced personally. So I don’t think i’ll give Samsung a shot. Unless they pay me to that is.

Response to Temasek Review's publishing of a2ed's anti-fascist article

So the fascist ‘Temasek Review’ had decided to republish an article published by a2ed quite some time ago, entitled, ‘The Fascist monkeys of Temasek Review. Listen up!’

for this, and related articles on a2ed:

The Fascist monkeys of Temasek Review. Listen up.
Temasek Review goes, 'Sieg Heil!', again
"Singapore for Singaporeans" says the Fascist Opposition. What utter neo-Nazi nonsense!

The following is a2ed’s comment, in response to an ‘Alex’, and which serves to sum up the argument against those who might be inclined to think TR to be democrats per se.