Bloggers popping champagne

Many bloggers must be popping champagne and celebrating over the weekend. For one whole week, many were living in fear that they have to put money out front, $50k to be exact, for a performance bond just to have the right to blog. Not only that, applying for a licence can still be rejected. Otherwise they may still blog as long as they post only one article on news related to Singapore. They can’t even post anything on the saucy affairs being read out in courts.

And when the MDA clarified by saying that bloggers will be spared from this new regime to regulate social media, to raise the quality and standard of these part time or voluntary bloggers writing ‘news’, which often are their monologue of what they see or hear, there was a kind of deja vu. Whew, can wipe the sweat off the forehead, bloggers are safe now. Bloggers have been given the freedom to write their stuff in cyberspace. What a great mercy. Thank you MDA. Thank you minister Yaacob. You people are just so kind, gentle and merciful. With leaders like that, what more do you want?

Wait a minute, let’s not be too happy too early. If one is to interpret this new regulation, many bloggers would technically and legally fall into it if the authority so decides to wield the axe. There is no escape as the regulation said so. Unless and until it is written into the regulation that bloggers are exempted, the verbal clarification is just a verbal clarification that may not be recognised in the courts of law. By then nobody will remember who said bloggers are exempted and in what capacity or authority. And how can anyone simply say bloggers are exempted when bloggers met the criteria spelt out in the regulation?

I am ‘recocking’ my bottle and put it back into the wine cooler. Shit, had let off some gas in the process but hopefully it will still taste the same the next time it is ‘uncocked’. I hope no one is going to introduce another regulation that breathing fresh air also needs a performance bond. And the people will not jump in joyous celebration when there is another piece of good news that free air will still be free though the regulation said other wise.

How to make a nation of stupid people? Possible?

Shangrila Dialogue – The Empire threatens

The USA, the most irresponsible Empire of modern history, speaks at the Shangrila Dialogue in Singapore yesterday. And true to its acquired demeanour as the Empire for the last seven decades, it opening speech was to warn an aspiring new power that it is still the Empire and calling the shot. Its Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel, lashed out at China for cyber spying. What is new?

The Empire has been spying for the last decades by all means, from flying high altitude spy planes blatantly, in broad day light, across every country it wants to snoop at, knowing no one had the technology to bring them down, or facing the consequences if they did so, to an extensive network of spy agencies, and cyberspace spying is just another cup of tea. What the Empire said is that only the Empire has to right to do so, to spy on other countries, overt and covert, espionage, and the whole menu of collecting intelligence, including assassination or termination with extreme prejudice, and anyone else doing it is not acceptable, irresponsible behaviour.

It is the same story as acquisition of nuclear weapons and WMD. Only the Empire can do so and other aspirants are dangerous and irresponsible and will face an invasion by the Empire troops, for regime change. And only the Empire can foment, support, feed and train insurgents and terrorists to overthrow existing govts. No other country can do that or be branded as evil, or the Axis of Evil.

It is also the Empire’s right to police the seas and space, to bring their military forces to any country’s back yard or front yard, to conduct war games simulating an invasion, and no other country can do so. Only the Empire is the responsible power and other countries and powers are behaving irresponsibly without starting or fighting a war. The right to start a war, to fight wars, to invade another country for whatever pretext, is the privilege of the Empire. When the Empire did do, for the right or wrong reason, for real or fabricated reason, it is normal. It is the Empire!

In the Shangrila Dialogue, the Empire will be setting the tone, warning other smaller powers to behave when the only power that is not behaving is the Empire. The Empire will call the shot and set the agenda for the Dialogue, and to stamp its approval if it agrees with the final statement of the Dialogue. The Empire is always the responsible one, and the rest are either irresponsible or evil.

Who is the real Evil One? Whose vocabulary consists of nothing but threats, sanctions, military intervention, military power, use of military power, war games, regime change, etc etc?

More taxi drivers being beaten by FTs

I was quite aghasted at a video showing two locals charging at a taxi driver and wanting to beat him up for sounding his irritating horn. And then there was this uncle taxi driver that did not give way properly and was punched in the tummy by the other driver.  Seems like taxi drivers are getting into situations where they become easy punching bags.

And in the ST a few days ago, an angmoh FT lecturer whacked a taxi driver till his umbrella broke, and punched his face as well, and did not pay for the fare. In the same report another FT was also reported to have beaten another taxi driver.

Is this a new reality game in Sin City, beating up taxi driver and see who can do it best, and get a free ride at the same time? Why are taxi drivers such easy targets and can anything be done to protect them in this only protected occupation for Singaporeans? This also means that when a taxi driver is beaten, a Singaporean is beaten while doing his job, and for driving his passenger around, driving them home, providing them a chauffer service.

What a way to be rewarded! Where is Singa? Retired? Just as well. Singa is only meant for Sinkies, to be polite even if beaten.

Notable Quote by Yaacob Ibrahim

I think it is important for us to ensure that they (ordinary Singaporeans) read the RIGHT thing.  Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister of Information on BBC.

Who is this ‘us’? And what is so righteous about this ‘us’ to decide and ensure what is the RIGHT thing for Singaporeans to read? I think Singaporeans should read the right things in mysingaporenews. Boleh, betul?

MDA: Bloggers need not apply for licence

MDA has clarified that individual bloggers need not have to apply for licence under the new regulation. This is no cold comfort as things may change along the way. This controversial move to regulate something that is virtual and unlikely to be feasible without playing rough is still a mystery to many, and keeps everyone wondering why it is found so necessary to do so.

When a blogger puts up a post in cyberspace, it is just that, a post in cyberspace. Where is this cyberspace? It is in a way a void that you cannot see or touch, just like a memory in a human brain, there but not there. And the blogger making a post can be sitting here, in London, New York, Beijing or Tokyo, and he does not specify that his post is to go to Sin City or whatever place. Once in cyberspace, it is out there but not there at the same time. Only those who want to view them will see them, with a conscious effort of going to the url. Without making this effort, the post is transparent to anyone and virtually not there, non existence.

How can information (slander or personal attack etc aside) in cyberspace come under anyone or any country’s jurisdiction? And in a way, messing up someone’s blog in cyberspace is an intrusion into someone’s private space even if it has no privacy restriction. Why should anyone be given the right to go out there to block someone’s url because he does not like what the other person is writing? Put it in another way, can anyone go into a person’s diary to do as he pleases? Or can anyone, including govt, think it is ok, it has the right, to mess around with an individual’s diary or blog?

Every individual should have his right to write as he pleases in his own diary or blog, as long as he does not venture into areas of libel and scandal or posting offending comments to violate others or incite violence against anyone. Tiok boh? And there is no law to say he cannot leave his diary or blog about for people to assess them at their own free will.

The whole thing about licensing and regulating blogs is crazy and vain, and only control freaks or people with an obsessive fear of being exposed of their freakish acts or wrongdoings would be so perturbed by it. If one has nothing to hide, why is there so much fear, so much obsession, to want to control people speaking their minds? The doer has all the freedom to do as he pleases, and the commentator must also has all his freedom to have his views, contrary or conflicting views. Cannot meh? Any part that violates whatever safeguards to an individual’s right is all there in the legal provisions of the state.

We are just having a peep into this paranoid thinking process, that being in the govt, one is given the god forsaken right to do what one pleases, even in interfering with the free flow of information and speech, in what people can see, read, hear, write or say. And even the audacity to set standards in civility or language or way of writings. KNN, I want to write in whatever way or style or broken English, what has that got to do with the Govt?  Boh song huh? This is indeed a funny circus.