Don't tell your kids to "Shut up and eat your food!"

Via Bernama, Zainuddin Proposes Classification Of Web Bloggers
"We have to control this. It is feared that these (blog sites) will be misused by those who have an agenda to spread slander. By right, there should be a mechanism to control this phenomenon, including by classifying web bloggers as professionals and non-professionals," he said.

Via The Star, Zam: Few people read blogs
Political web blogs have a very small following of about 20,000 people, Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin said.

“Only that number out of the 11 million Internet users in the country are actively involved in political blogs. The political bloggers just write for each other to read; they are not a threat,” he added.

Via Malaysia-Today, (cos mainstream media links have expired QQ) Bloggers see red over tourism chief's 'insults'
Tourism Mnister Tengku Adnan allegedly quoted saying,

'All bloggers are liars. They cheat people using all kinds of methods. From my understanding, out of 10,000 unemployed bloggers, 8,000 are women.'

He apparently also said: 'Bloggers like to spread rumours; they do not like national unity. 'Today, our country has achievements because we are tolerant and compromising. Otherwise, we will have civil war.

'Malays will kill Chinese, Chinese will kill Malays, Indians will kill everybody else.'

Via Bernama, Bloggers Who Slander Must Be Brought To Book, Says Khairy
"There are no laws in the cyberworld except for the law of the jungle. As such, action must be taken so that the "monkeys" behave,"

Via The Star, Zam: Ignore ‘goblok’ bloggers
The public should be wise in identifying the websites of goblok (Indonesian slang for “stupid”) bloggers, who are willing to be tools of others to destroy the nation.

There are many more, but I got tired of googling after I hit the fifth.

"So Saffy," you say, "I see tons of exposition, but what's the connection?"

The way I see it, if nothing else convinces you to train your kids to think before they speak, the above five examples should lure you to the dark side. In fact, if I ever have kids, I'ma gonna go to the national library, look through the archive of old newspapers (which I have already done twice, for assignment purposes) and photocopy EVERY ridiculous quote I find over, say, a period of six months. At the rate our highly-esteemed YBs are going, I should have my pickup truck filled in no time.

After that, I'ma gonna wallpaper my kid's room with those quotes. Every time *he doesn't give me a good reason why I should buy him an iPod or whatever it is kids these days hanker after, I'm going to push his face an inch from the closest quote and say, "You don't wanna turn out like that, do you? DO YOU?!"

Then he'll give me a dazzlingly good reason why I should spend my hard-earned money on him, and I'll be convinced, and everyone will be happy.

This works when you're exchanging frank and honest opinions about thermonuclear armament, the viability electro-magnetic pulses in a real war, Mahathir vs Badawi (c'mon, that's not even an argument anymore), Communism vs Capitalism, abortion, gay rights, whatever floats your boat. Cos, you know, my kids won't grow up to be idiots whose mouths are perennially stuck in their asses. Or, at least, they'll remove their heads from their sphincters before they open their mouths. That's good enough for me, really.

PS*: Before you scream sexism, I like boy kids. That's not sexist, that's a preference.

PS2: I'm hankering after an iPod too!