It seems that quit a few in this forum are experts in the "Constitution" of the RMI, and sometimes the US. LOL!! I believe these documents are hundreds of pages and even the elected officials I believe haven't read all of them. Or maybe some in this forum are the elected officals, hmmm? LOL!!!!
edited by: Buff, Mar 09, 2010 - 07:51 AM
"Knowing is not enough, You must Apply, Willing is not enough, You must do." Bruce Lee
I would imagine English is his/her second language as it is mine. After all, this is yokwe.net, not hello.net. Most of the people who use yokwe.net are Marshallese with Marshallese language as their first language with few exceptions. Some of us come to this site to discuss issues affecting our homeland as well as practice our English and Marshallese reading and writing skills. Not being able to speak or write in the English language as well as you do SeaShell, doesn’t put you high up in the “less-stupid” scale if you will. Studies have shown that having a mastery of the English language doesn’t make one more intelligent compared to one who doesn’t. Being able to comprehend numbers (math, science, engineering, etc) is a better of test intelligence. So before you go on ridiculing someone because English is their second language, remember that this is yokwe.net and most everybody in here has English as their second language. I mean calling somebody “not the brightest crayon in the box” and you couldn’t figure that one out? Maybe you didn’t think through your “thought process” as you so eloquently put it.
About the betel nut ban, I think they should ban cigarettes, dip and alcohol as well. After all, cigarettes and alcohol causes about the same if not more amount of damages as betel nut. Think about it, RMI has one of the highest birthrates among teenagers in the world and alcohol has a lot to do with that. Consequently, some of the young parents drop out of school becoming a burden to the RMI economy. Cigarettes? Addiction, money problem, family problems, cancer, etc. I think we all get the picture.
The problem is not betel nut. The problem is regulating these things. The problem is the politicians themselves. They know they can’t have the police regulate betel nut like they can’t have them enforce the alcohol, cigarette, and dip rules so they figure since betel nut is less prevalent and its ban would cause less on an uproar, why not. I for one don’t care about the ban, but if betel nut is banned, so should the other stuff. Make it fair for everyone. Not only is it right morally, but also constitutionally. Doesn’t the constitution mention anything about equal rights? I think it does, but maybe someone here who has read the RMI constitution can enlighten some of us.
There are many mechanisms that can be put into place to regulate betel nut. Maybe the same ones they apply to tobacco products and alcohol? Have betel nut chewing "bars"? Fine people or issue citation for chewing in public places? Maybe put together a taskforce/committee to come up with how to regulate betel nut? Too easy as long as enforcements are taken seriously.
Good points, but right now, with all the laws in places, kids are still getting excess to smoking, prisoners are escaping jail to get drunk and harssing people, alchols are sold ond saundays, and to minors also...with a weak public law enforcement, not to mention weak government capability to function inorder to enforce tha laws, Do we really needs to add up the burden so that the minors, and irrisponsible chewing can be accomedated in our society?..I dont think so!
I think its best to Stop it, and save a lots og burden to came after the time when betlnut is part of neccessary in our future society.
Well said Nakoro, however, you probably did not read the full argument before you decided to join the conversation because if you did, you would know that it was LB himself that started insulting other people's intelligence. I was merely trying to point out that LB types words that I don't seem to understand, so maybe it's my problem with English. I was "born and raised" in the Marshalls. English is in fact my second language, but I don't use that as a reason not to understand what I'm thinking of before I type it, and considering how well you type, at least your thoughts seem to have a function. Oh, and I have a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, and pursuing my masters in Clinical Psychology. I think that's enough science for me.
RMI Constitution - Under Article 2, Section 1: "the restrictions are NECESSARY to preserve public peace, order, HEALTH, or SECURITY or the rights or freedoms of others"; Section 12: "All persons are equal under the law and are entitled to the equal protection of the laws"
There is nothing in the constitution that states "equal rights" just "equal under the law" and "equal protection". The constitution is pretty vague when it comes to new laws, but it does state that it is within the power of the Nitijela to "to repeal, revoke or amend any law".
The main issue with banning betel nut is the spreading of diseases, particularly TB - HEALTH. And not to mention the threat of sanctions from the US because of the spread of TB - SECURITY. From this point, you can argue that since smoking is correlated to cancer, we can ban cigarettes as well. And I say "cigarettes" because tobacco chew and other ways of ingesting nicotine without smoking it, do not harm others around you, just the person using the product. This same argument can be made for alcohol since it contributes to your risk of getting liver disease. The fact remains that drinking and using nicotine does not involve large amounts of spit and spitting spreads diseases.
SeaShell, you have some good education and sounds like some good work experience. If you are Marshallese, then I hope you plan to work in RMI to help with the issues you speak so passionately about. Or perhaps you are already working in RMI (in which case it would be easy to find out who you are since not many people have clinical psychology degrees). In any case, good luck with your masters.
There are pros and cons to banning betel nut, and from my perspective the pros outweigh the cons.
But I predict that betel nuts will still be consumed and that nothing much will come out of this bill.
This is because the Marshall Islands government is terrible at enforcing any of its laws.
Prostitution is illegal. Marijuana is illegal. Selling alcohol and tobacco to minors is illegal. Abuse of public office and public money is illegal. And yet, all of these activities are happening right under our noses.
Passing laws is meaningless in the RMI because of this. It's a joke.
Oh c'mon seaswell, why didn't you include withdrawals from cigarettes, tobacco chewing & alcohol as well while you were doing your research so we can all compare.
As for English as a second language, you probably didn't find da meaning of the word "GARBOLOGIST"...Hahahaha...you didn't do your research thoroughly. You will never find it in the dictionary anywhere, not even English professors will tell you. This word was used during the Kennedy administraton refering to one of their lobbyists.
Lincoln did say dat, doesn't mean the word "Freedom" was made for the slaves only. The clause was inserted into the constitution, for the people, by the people, not the politicians. Same principle applies.
You should listen to CaptainCook...He seems to know & understand the way the government makes it's moves under our noses. Come to Majuro and see the luxury these guys are having....You might think, Hmmmm...how did he/she get that?
Beetlenut is and will always be here. One way or the other.
I already said that SeaSwell, People spit everyday, everywhere, why beetlenut spitting is banned and not regular spitting? Regular spitting does not spread TB? You did research on that too huh?
If they cannot enforce the spitting law, how would they enforce the law against beetlenut? These are all logical facts and for those who doesn't have a logical mind, please insert the facts.
FYI: This bill originally was made because somebody wrote an article in the Journal saying that any politician introduce a bill banning beetlenut will win $100.
Thank you CC, and yes, you are right, the pros do outweigh the cons, and it is a shame that our government is not consistent when it comes to enforcing laws. But the fact that we do have laws in place is the first step to ensuring our nations health and security. I encourage those who live back home to log and note the incidences where they see police officers not doing their duty and file a formal complaint. Also, can someone please tell me who is the minister of justice is?
