Spurious Alcohol Deaths In India

The past two weeks have seen an epidemic of deaths and illnesses in rural India caused by the consumption of "spurious" alcohol. The beverages in question are described as "bootleg hooch", which gives the impression that the products are manufactured using the wrong methodology which results in their becoming poisonous.

In reality, it is a government requirement that ethanol, a substance produced by the fermentation of various agricultural products, be adulterated with poison if it is to be used for industrial purposes rather than as a more highly-taxed drink. Thus ethanol, the chemical that makes drinkers giddy, is made poisonous so its consumption will cause death.

Ergo, the deaths of these Indian tea plantation workers are exactly what the Indian government, and many other governments, including that of the US, desire in the case of drinking untaxed alcohol. The strategy works just as intended.

An Answer To The "Me, Too" Crisis

Above is the character Eunuch Wu, the arbitrator of issues within the turbulent world depicted in the most popular television show in the world, The Story of Yanxi Palace. The drama recreates the lives of the residents of an area of the Forbidden City in 18th century China during the reign of the Quian Long Emperor.

Frequently in history, eunuchs, in the form of castrati, spadones and thlibiae, all males whom have had their genitalia removed or crushed, have been used in positions where male sexuality is viewed as dangerous or negative. Their passive and asexual nature supposedly makes them ideal for duties around harems and in the administration of government.

Maybe the men that truly wish to further the development of civilized society and raise the status of women should consider castration. Just as steers, geldings and capons of the lower animal orders present fewer problems to their female counterparts than entire males, human castrati wouldn't take sexual advantage of women.

Considering its long history, there doesn't seem to be any real reason not to use the practice if it's necessary now to protect females. Young boys, already commonly circumcised, could be castrated and grow up without developing the aggressive tendencies that lead them to lives of crime and violence toward women. Adult men that have come to realize the error of their ways could also undergo the procedure with an endurable amount of discomfort.

While mandatory castration seems unlikely to become a government policy, its voluntary use might eventually lead to it becoming more and more acceptable in society. As the effect of the procedure on a large scale  became obvious there would be more and more calls for it. Of course, some whole males would always be required to perpetuate the species. But these could be members of the elite, a group likely to possess the qualities required for advanced culture without the behaviorial drawbacks. Their semen could be regularly withdrawn and stored to be used by women so inclined. Early testing of the male offspring of these women could determine if they were candidates for the elite or neutering.

Probable Cause

Probable cause for a law enforcement officer to legally stop an auto can be any number of things. If a cop is fishing around for a miscreant he has many options for pulling a driver over.  Popular reasons include a cracked windshield, obscured vision (dice hanging from the rear-view mirror), drifting over the center-line and failure to signal a turn or lane change. One that is often used in northern climates is an obscured license plate.