I’ve been too busy at work to post anything recently so here a bit of regional news that I’ve found amusing. It concerns the new casinos in Singapore which I’m sure everyone has heard of by now. What’s new is that in a move meant to assuage concerns about gamblers becoming addicted and ruining their lives as a result, the government now allows families to ask for their loved ones to be banned from them even before the casinos have opened. The article notes that the Singapore government will soon also allow individuals to apply for a ban on themselves and for third parties to apply to ban others who owe them money.

Now, it’s not like I’m hugely against this but I can’t help but be a bit leery about people who have so little self control that they need to call in the government to do it for them. Still, if this trend hits it off, I’m sure there’s going to be plenty of folks who will be happy to ban their family members from things like buying cigarettes or alcohol. Hey, if you’re fat and blame fast food companies for your predicament, you could even apply to be banned from them so you’ll never be tempted again!