Singapore continues gum ban

How is it that the Heritage Foundation can consistently rank Singapore as one of the freest countries in the world (ahead of the United States)?

Is it because the Heritage Foundation is full of shit? (Yes.)

I don't care to hear anyone call Venezuela's Hugo Chavez a "dictator" while not even acknowledging that Singapore has one of the most oppressive dictatorships on the globe.

After all, it's Singapore - not Venezuela - that has a nationwide ban on chewing gum. In 1992, Singapore made it illegal for anyone to possess, sell, or use gum. This prohibition was relaxed in 2004, but only if you had a dentist's prescription to obtain this zesty viand.

Now Singapore has decided to continue its gum ban.

Singapore's ruling party has long been friends of the Bush royal family - and a darling of America's Far Right, which has sent numerous letters to newspapers praising its torture of suspects in minor criminal cases.

In the "up is down" world of the Heritage Foundation and the rest of the conservative intelligentsia, I guess banning gum is what they call a free country.

(Source: http://beta.thehindu.com/news/international/article148525.ece)