Downsides of Down under
-
BLOGGER Benjamin Koh Song Huat spent his first night in a prison cell on Friday after becoming one of the first persons to be convicted under the Sedition Act.
"It was the first time I had seen that word — sedition, I didn't know what it meant until my lawyer explained it to me."
Entries posted on his blog in June and July were peppered with vulgarities and insulted Islam and the Malay culture.So, when news of his arrest broke, he got calls from one of them.
More information available here and here -
waste no time to remind me that i am going to jail
by repeating what have reported in main stream aussie media.
No water,low foods productions,now coming to no electricity.
Scolding me wont change anythings.
1.Drought could 'close down Snowy'.Jason Koutsoukis,April 22, 2007
------http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/drought-could-close-down-snowy/2007/04/21/1176697155243.html
THE Snowy Mountains hydro-electricity scheme will be forced to shut down turbines if there is not above-average rainfall during the next 18 months.We own and operate the 3756 megawatt (MW) Snowy Mountains Scheme,...
---http://www.snowyhydro.com.au/levelTwo.asp?pageID=289&parentID=3
will city black out??
2.Drought hit farmers very hard.
Deep purple is Exceptional Circumstances Boundaries(Very drought lah)
Droughts factspage 5.
---http://www.farmhand.org.au/
the rice bowl of aussie--- Muarry -Darling Basin-- is Almost broken.
many lost the jobs.The rest lost half their income.National Drought Facts:
(Data courtesy Departments of Agriculture, Bureau of Meteorology, Treasury)
; About 60 per cent of AustraliaÂ’s agricultural land is covered by the
federal government drought exceptional circumstances (EC) declaration.
; The number of areas drought-declared by the Commonwealth
has increased from 36 in May last year to 56 at the end of March this year.
96 per cent of NSW agricultural land is covered by Commonwealth exceptional circumstance
declarations. In Queensland the figure is 58 per cent, Western Australia 41 per
cent, Victoria 39 per cent and South Australia 24 per cent.
; The drought is close to its worst ever in Gippsland, Victoria; in the ACT and inland
south-eastern NSW and in Queensland between Townsville and Rockhampton.
; A recent Treasury report estimates 100,000 jobs in the agricultural sector have been
lost, with those remaining losing close to half their income.
; Latest forecasts indicate the total commitment for helping farmers through this drought
will reach $1.1 billion by the end of 2005-06.
. -
oh no! will lionnoisy be convicted?
The 21-year-old published controversial depictions of Jesus Christ on his blog, admitted this to be an 'unwise' move
Straits Times
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
By Zakir Hussain
A 21-year-old accounts assistant is being investigated for allegedly flouting the Sedition Act by publishing pictures on his blog that were thought to depict Jesus Christ in an offensive manner.
The blogger, who used the online moniker Char, had found the cartoons on the Internet and began posting them in January.
He told The Straits Times last week that he was called in by the police for questioning in March, after they received a complaint.
Yesterday, the police confirmed they are investigating the matter but declined to give details as "investigations are still ongoing."
News of the investigation was announced online by Char himself last week when he sent an e-mail to a mailing list of more than 300 young Singaporeans. He told them of his experience and how it came about. He removed the cartoons from his blog after he was questioned.
When contacted by The Straits Times, Char asked that he not be identified for he fears he may lose his job, which he wants to keep before entering a local university in August.
Describing himself as a free thinker, he said he had posted a cartoon that depicted Jesus as a zombie biting a boy's head in January.
The following month, he received an online message asking him to remove the image. It came amid the global furore over the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad by several newspapers.
Char did not reply to the message but chose to irk the person instead. He searched the Internet for more pictures depicting Jesus and published three of them on his blog.
Looking back, he felt he made an "unwise" move. "I never thought anyone would complain to the police because the pictures were not insidious," he said.
In its statement yesterday, the police also advised the public "that it is a serious offence for any person to distribute or reproduce any seditious publication which may cause feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races or classes of the population of Singapore." Offenders can be jailed up to three years or fined a maximum of $5,000 or both.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has also said that the Government will act against anyone who makes remarks that threaten Singapore's racial and religious harmony, whether done online or offline. Race, language and religion remain sensitive issues here, and a younger generation must grow up learning the "eternal truths" about Singapore, he had said last year when three young Singaporeans were charged under the Sedition Act.
The three youths were subsequently convicted for making inflammatory racist remarks about Muslims and Malays online.
The first offender was jailed a month while the second was jailed a day and fined $5,000. The third, a 17-year-old, was put on probation for two years and ordered to do 180 hours of community work for Malay welfare organisations.
Char said he was aware of these earlier cases, 'but they were more for racism than for something like what I did'.
He got one of the three later cartoons from a website with images of vehicle licence plates while the other two were from a site with spoofed images of movie posters and TV screenshots, he said.
Char said his desktop computer and laptop were taken as evidence after he was questioned. Three days later, he was asked to report to the Police Cantonment Complex where he was arrested and released on police bail, which was extended to four weeks to let him travel to the US.
When he reported to the police on his return in April, he was told his bail had lapsed and that he might be called for further investigation.
He subsequently contacted the police in May and last week, and was told that his case was still under investigation. "I just wonder how long it's going to take," he said. -
LIONNOISY'S POSSIBLE FATE IN THE NEAR FUTURE?
Two bloggers charged under Sedition Act over racist remarks
SINGAPORE : Two bloggers have been charged with sedition for posting racist comments online.
This is the first time bloggers are being charged in Singapore and it is sending shockwaves through the local blogging community.
Lawyers say the last time the sedition act was invoked in Singapore was at least 10 years ago.
Twenty-five-year-old Nicholas Lim Yew and 27-year-old Benjamin Koh Song Huat are being accused of posting racist comments on an online forum and on their blog site.
They are both being charged with committing a seditious act, by promoting feelings of ill-will and hostility between races in Singapore.
They were not represented by defence lawyers and were granted bail of S$10,000 each.
This charge came as a shock to many in the blogging community.
Said Singaporean blogger Benjamin Lee (Mr Miyagi):" A lot of them will be looking at their blogs and wondering if they made any legally seditious remarks. I think because of the way this will be played up, it's negative publicity for the Singapore blogging community."
"Currently if you surf the net you will come across a lot of bloggers making such comments. You will probably see a drop in such cases henceforth. At the moment I am not aware of any cases except of a case in Iran where bloggers are charged. But Iran has a different legal system from Singapore," said Leonard Loo, managing partner of Leonard Loo & Co Advocates & Solicitors.
Channel NewsAsia understands that the Media Development Authority had asked host servers to remove a racist blog from the web.
Police are now investigating this matter.
While many racist blogs by Singaporeans can be found online, the blogging community is also quick to criticize any racist comments.
Channel NewsAsia has received many emails from viewers informing us about a few racist sites.
Viewers said they were "appalled as well as disappointed that a Singaporean could condemn" other fellow Singaporeans of a different race.
Lawyers warn that anybody who forwards seditious remarks to others via email can also be charged with abetment.
The case is expected to be heard in court again on September 21.
A person is deemed to have committed an offence under the Sedition Act if he performs any act which has a seditious tendency, or conspires with any person to do so.
It is also an offence to utter any seditious words or to print, publish, sell, distribute, reproduce or import any seditious publication.
First time offenders can be fined up to S$5,000, or jailed up to three years, or both.
For subsequent offences, they can be jailed up to five years and have their seditious publications forfeited and destroyed. - CNA /ct/ls -
Provision against racist comments
Subsection 3 of the Act describes the types of publication that have seditious tendency and these includes publication that "promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races or classes". Singapore takes social cohesion and racial harmony in the country seriously because of its history of racial riots in the 1960s. More recent events of racial violence in neighbouring Indonesia in the late 1990s and early 2000s also serve as reminders of potential inter-racial conflicts in the region.
Cases in 2005
In September 2005, the Sedition Act was first used on individuals when two men were charged for making seditious and inflammatory racist comments on the Internet. The two men are Nicholas Lim Yew, 25, and Benjamin Koh Song Huat, 27. They made their remarks on Internet forums in response to a letter printed in The Straits Times.
On July 14, The Straits Times published a letter from a Muslim woman asking if cab companies allowed uncaged pets to be transported in taxis, after she saw a dog standing on a taxi seat next to its owner. She said that "dogs may drool on the seats or dirty them with their paws". Her concerns had a religious basis as according to Ustaz Ali Haji Mohamed, chairman of Khadijah mosque, who pointed out that: "There are various Islamic schools of thought which differ in views. But most Muslims in Singapore are from the Syafie school of thought. This means they are not allowed to touch dogs which are wet, which would include a dog's saliva. This is a religious requirement.".
Two days later, on an online forum for Singaporean dog lovers www.doggiesite.com, Lim posted anti-Muslim remarks that allegedly "had a seditious tendency to promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between different classes of the population in Singapore", according the charges. He pleaded guilty and served one day in jail and a fine of $5,000. [1]
The other man, Koh, is accused of making similar racist remarks filled with vulgarities and insulting to Malays and their religion. He also pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one month imprisonment.
In passing the sentences to Koh and Lim on October 7, 2005, Senior District Judge Richard Magnus said the two had crossed the red line by wantonly breaching the basic ground rules. He said passing a deterrent sentence was necessary so that such offending acts are tackled early and contained, adding that callous and reckless remarks on racial or religious subjects had the potential to cause social disorder, regardless of which medium or forum they are expressed.
On September 16, a third person, a 17 year old youth, was also charged with the Sedition Act for making racist remarks on his blog site. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 24 months supervised probation that includes counselling sessions and community service in the Malay community. [1]
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong later commented that such remarks will not be tolerated, even if posted on the Internet. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Wong Kan Seng said that the Sedition Act was under review to see if it should be strengthened or renewed.
Event in 2006
In June 2006, it was reported that a 21-year-old blogger was under police investigation for posting mocking caricutures of Jesus Christ on the Internet. [2] He was later let off with a stern warning from the police. [3]
See also -
-
If you haven't realized lionnoisy, not only is nobody listening to you, your posts are swallowed with posts of your potential fate and that of who you really are. Nobody even gets a chance to see your posts.
So who are you?
You are an internet troll:
What Is A Troll?
The term derives from "trolling", a style of fishing which involves trailing bait through a likely spot hoping for a bite. The troll posts a message, often in response to an honest question, that is intended to upset, disrupt or simply insult the group.
Usually, it will fail, as the troll rarely bothers to match the tone or style of the group, and usually its ignorance shows.
Why do trolls do it?
I believe that most trolls are sad people, living their lonely lives vicariously through those they see as strong and successful.
Disrupting a stable newsgroup gives the illusion of power, just as for a few, stalking a strong person allows them to think they are strong, too.
For trolls, any response is 'recognition'; they are unable to distinguish between irritation and admiration; their ego grows directly in proportion to the response, regardless of the form or content of that response.
Trolls, rather surprisingly, dispute this, claiming that it's a game or joke; this merely confirms the diagnosis; how sad do you have to be to find such mind-numbingly trivial timewasting to be funny?
Remember that trolls are cowards; they'll usually post just enough to get an argument going, then sit back and count the responses (Yes, that's what they do!).
How can troll posts be recognised?
No Imagination - Most are frighteningly obvious; sexist comments on nurses' groups, blasphemy on religious groups .. I kid you not.
Pedantic in the Extreme - Many trolls' preparation is so thorough, that while they waste time, they appear so ludicrous from the start that they elicit sympathetic mail - the danger is that once the group takes sides, the damage is done.
False Identity - Because they are cowards, trolls virtually never write over their own name, and often reveal their trolliness (and lack of imagination) in the chosen ID. As so many folk these days use false ID, this is not a strong indicator on its own!
Crossposting - Any post that is crossposted to several groups should be viewed as suspicious, particularly if unrelated or of opposing perspective. Why would someone do that?
Off-topic posting - Often genuine errors, but, if from an 'outsider' they deserve matter-of-fact response; if genuine, a brief apposite response is simply netiquette; if it's a troll post, you have denied it its reward.
Repetition of a question or statement is either a troll - or a pedant; either way, treatment as a troll is effective.
Missing The Point - Trolls rarely answer a direct question - they cannot, if asked to justify their twaddle - so they develop a fine line in missing the point.
Thick or Sad - Trolls are usually sad, lonely folk, with few social skills; they rarely make what most people would consider intelligent conversation. However, they frequently have an obsession with their IQ and feel the need to tell everyone. This is so frequent, that it is diagnostic! Somewhere on the web there must be an Intelligence Test for Trolls - rigged to always say "above 150"
Who is at risk?
Any newsgroup, bulletin board, forum or chatroom can attract trolls, but they don't have the brains to attack nuclear physicists, and they are drawn to the quick response where sex, religion and race are found; so politics is easy prey.
One troll famously tried to infiltrate a mensa group; the results read like 100 trolls and one regular, it didn't have a chance - but it was stupid enough to persist until removed.
When Should You Be Concerned?
Usually, no, though fractured funny bones and occasional waves of nausea have been reported.
When a troll become persistent and personal, you may need to consider the possibility that it has fermented into an Internet Stalker - equally pathetic, if not more so - but sometimes requiring weedkiller. Find Out More
Trolls - if they had brains, they just might be dangerous! -
Originally posted by lionnoisy:waste no time to remind me that i am going to jail... blahblahblah
-
If the same thing happened in Singapore, the water and electricity price sure go up sky high one... good excuse for P*P to increase prices...
-
Somehow that fact seems to be lost on lionnoisy as he decides to harp on other people's misfortune.
Could this be his mind?
-
Is there any need to reply to him?
Hmmm...
Nope. -
+1
Lionnoisy where were you on the minister's pay rise issue? -
He got scared off for a while when he realized he might be breaching sedition laws...
But after two weeks or so of not hearing from anybody he decided to carry on, which is kinda silly considering investigations before any arrest is made in this kind of things can take months before they move in.
He's only digging his own grave, and more amusingly, he's thinking the mods will get into trouble for not stopping him, so it's okay to carry on.
How sadly mistaken... did the mods of the forums who allowed the racist bloggers and forumers to say what they say get into trouble, or were they simply asked to provide evidence.
In the end we are responsible for our own actions, lionnoisy seems to think that as long as no mods stop him, he's safe... he really should tell that to the dude in here who was hauled off for doing some rather questionable things. Did the mods even stop him or warn him? -
Banks of aussie may face many mortgage of agriculture land
become worthless.
2.Guys .i am back.Originally posted by SingaporeTyrannosaur:He got scared off for a while when he realized he might be breaching sedition laws...
3.pl think if our learned CSJ
or me who wrote broken English have more'' Seditious tendency''.
4.what is Seditious tendency.www.agc.gov.sg,SEDITION ACT
(CHAPTER 290).
Tell me.Who shall be charged more likely,me or CSJ?
"seditious" when applied to or used in respect of any act, speech, words, publication or other thing qualifies such act, speech, words, publication or other thing as one having a seditious tendency;
Seditious tendency.
3. —(1) A seditious tendency is a tendency —
(a) to bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection against the Government;
(b) to excite the citizens of Singapore or the residents in Singapore to attempt to procure in Singapore, the alteration, otherwise than by lawful means, of any matter as by law established;
(c) to bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection against the administration of justice in Singapore;
(d) to raise discontent or disaffection amongst the citizens of Singapore or the residents in Singapore;
(e) to promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races or classes of the population of Singapore.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), any act, speech, words, publication or other thing shall not be deemed to be seditious by reason only that it has a tendency —
(a) to show that the Government has been misled or mistaken in any of its measures;
(b) to point out errors or defects in the Government or the Constitution as by law established or in legislation or in the administration of justice with a view to the remedying of such errors or defects;
(c) to persuade the citizens of Singapore or the residents in Singapore to attempt to procure by lawful means the alteration of any matter in Singapore; or
(d) to point out, with a view to their removal, any matters producing or having a tendency to produce feelings of ill-will and enmity between different races or classes of the population of Singapore,
if such act, speech, words, publication or other thing has not otherwise in fact a seditious tendency.
(3) For the purpose of proving the commission of any offence under this Act, the intention of the person charged at the time he did or attempted to do or made any preparation to do or conspired with any person to do any act or uttered any seditious words or printed, published, sold, offered for sale, distributed,
reproduced or imported any publication or did any other thing shall be deemed to be irrelevant if in fact such act had, or would, if done, have had, or such words, publication or thing had a seditious tendency.
5.It is wrong to charge me under SEDITION ACT
(CHAPTER 290).
I am not against sg gov nor aussie gov,nor against aussie
people.The Act is for sedition against sg gov.
I have no brian nor good English to write.
Thats why i copy and paste the news reported in
aussie main stream medias.
If any one charge me for against aussie,the aussie medias
i quote also shall be charged.
I just pour cold water to you who think western countries
sure are heaven.Wait,wait,Feel free to go .
One's candy may be another's poision.
I am not begging u stay here.Just give u more info
to consider.
But i think u buttter go.Foreign talent are always treated better,
like most of all said here.Experience first hand and report here,men.
6.who knows aussie better
When i said aussie is facing serious water shortage,
i have been condemed to hell.
Ok.See aussie can complete their water projects on time,
most of them targeted end 2008.If they cant,see what will happen.
It is dangerous to reply on last portion ,say 20% ,
of water in reservoirs.Underground water may come out.
Other unexpected plants or insects will grow.
At least one reservoir cant be extracted when water
level drop to around 15 %.
7.more bad news
Land value of wetter land in NT increases 6 times in last 3 years
Use your smart head to think how the land value in drought area
will be.Murray-Darrling area cover one million km,or France and Spain
added together.Irrgriation water most likely cant be supplied later."Property owners from interstate, particularly Queensland, are coming across the border and into the Top End and paying high prices to locate their stock on properties which can provide good feed and a reliable water supply,"
BTW,80 % of land value attributed to adequate water supply.80 per cent of the capital package that is being offered by a farmer as security is the water
.
How the banks will be affected?The Aussie $$?Rice production has already been slashed to just 10 per cent of normal levels.
8.Drugs,drugs every whereBut in the same press release he acknowledges that almost one in 10 Australians admit to having used amphetamines at least once.. In fact that figure reaches as high as 24 per cent in 20-29 year-old males and 18 per cent of females in the same age group, according to the Australian Institute of Criminology
Why western democratic countries must come with serious
drugs problems?Or is it the mandatory price that we have to
pay in exchange of freedom and democracy? -
Australia is going to get hit badly by the effect of global warming. And bloody John Harward, a puppet of BUSH, still refuses to support the Kyoto protocol.
Any btw, Australia is now urgently looking for cheap nurses from overseas. Something wrong with their healthcare system? -
+1
-
More like expanding and booming economy and population.
What has Australia got to do in a Singapore politics-related forum? Why are we even discussing about Australia here? -
Because there are many australians taking up "singaporeans job" in singaporeOriginally posted by Joe Black:More like expanding and booming economy and population.
What has Australia got to do in a Singapore politics-related forum? Why are we even discussing about Australia here? -
5.It is wrong to charge me under SEDITION ACT
LOL, I regret to tell you not only is it not wrong, it is somewhat inevitible if you keep this up.
(CHAPTER 290).
I am not against sg gov nor aussie gov,nor against aussie
people.The Act is for sedition against sg gov.
Maybe if you bothered to improve your english comprehension, you might realize that your actions in this thread bring you under risk for falling under the sedition act.
This is not surprising, considering your comprehension is so poor you thought that warnings for you to stop because you were going treading a thin line were threats against your life from "wet jobs".
Namely if you don't recall, a while back in this thread you crossed the line from simply putting media reports to implying by your one liners that are extremely dangerous.
Your statements like "what kind of first world country allows this to happen" and what have you not. You have crossed the line from simply stating problems to implying something negative about the character of the country and it's people. That means you are in trouble.
What's more dangerous is that you persisted in this behaviour despite warnings and calls from Singaporean Australians to stop.
Let's not forget the implication you put out that the Australian Navy were slackers and being paid to do nothing because they can't go out to sea in the Collins thread is not even untrue, it is defamatory on the reputation of that insitution. This means that if they so choose, they can actually sue you for what you said and implied, and the only reason why that hasn't happened is because we haven't reported you, out of pity for what will happen to you.
So who cares if you are for aus gov or sg gov? They don't care, as long as your clumsly actions stir the boat, no matter what you allegiance you are going to pay for it.
Anybody who can read the act will realize you are in trouble.
The sedition act is for sedition against Sg gov, however you might not realize that your actions are indirectly (or directly) trying to cause tension between the Singaporeans and Australians.... which would affect Singapore, which in the end puts you will and truly under the act.
You do not seriously think the sedition act only applies to those who work against Sg do you? Just try messing around outside the American embassy about their war in Iraq and see how quickly you get carted away.
Sigh, you are in trouble and you don't even seem to know it. In fact it seems there might be some people looking into your actions recently and we tried to warn you... but it seems these warnings have fallen on deaf ears. -
And please lionnoisy, you will not be the first person hauled off from here for seditious actions.
It has happened before and it seems it might happen with you if you keep it up with your "australia is full of drugs and drought" and "pls don't convert sg muslim" threads.
What will your defence be? Go get CSJ first? Please, that will cut no ice with them. -
He probably thinks that ASIO is a toothless organisation.
Anyway, just ignore his postings and he will go away. I take offence at people who flood threads with one-liners, photos and nothing to allow people to make sense of head or tail. It's just taking up bandwidth.
The topic is a worthwhile topic, but the facilitator is working on regression as a method of discussion.
-
I can only say...
+1 -
well,i have to say something good about aussie to
make u guys happy.
I know that aussie is some of u last straw of hope to
excape from this prision like little red dot
--hi ministers' pay
--no freedom
--no election
--not tom,dick and harry(but not that harry)can run for election
--FT treated well than u etc....
I am sorry wake u up from your dream.
2.So now i want high light the good about aussie and caution u
of culture shock.
U are now settle in aussie,having bought cheap and big house,car etc
U bring your kid to church and put this innocent kid in Playroom.
Suddenly he come to u and say,'Daddy,I see many uncles
and aunties push a needle into their arm in that room!
I'm very scared'
U think your kid lie to you.U ARE WRONG.
Thanks to freedom and democracy,
u can make a illegal drug injection in the comfortable
and safe room of the church.
2.Australian church plans drug experiment - Uniting Church in Australia -
Christian Century, May 2, 2001 by Margaret Simons--http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1058/is_14_118/ai_74439265A court decision has opened the way for one of Australia's leading churches, the Uniting Church, to set up the world's largest legal heroin injecting room in Sydney's red light district. The room is to be operated by the church under license from the state of New South Wales in a 19-month trial aimed at preventing an average of 358 fatal overdoses occurring each year there....
3.
Attempts to set up injecting rooms in other states have been frustrated by legislative action and controversy within' the churches. The Catholic archbishop-elect of Sydney, George Pell, has opposed such attempts, but the primate of the Anglican Church, Archbishop Peter Carnley, has backed church involvement in the running of safe injecting rooms...ASIO’s main role is to gather information and produce intelligence that will enable it to warn the government about activities or situations that might endanger Australia’s national security. The ASIO Act defines ‘security’ as the protection of Australia and its people from espionage, sabotage, politically motivated violence, the promotion of communal violence, attacks on Australia’s defence system, and acts of foreign interference.
Am i look like their target?
I think the boss of ASIO will be sacked if s/he pin point
at me. -
I think he's got really fresh leafy substance smoking.
Since when is Australia the only destination? -
Truly, his latest post was pure entertainment, the story of the horrified kid telling you about the tragic story of drug abuse in the "safe room of the church" reads like an extract from some soap opera written by someone with very poor control of the language trying but failing miserably to invoke any serious emotion at his prose except pure laughter at the sheer clumsiness of his attempt.
Lol, he's totally gone over the end right now... so now his next target are the churches in Australia?
Hmm... I don't think the christians here will take kindly to him slandering their Australian siblings, sedition anyone?
I think if you read the entire history of his thread, if lionnoisy has tried to wake anybody up from their "rosy" views of australia, he has failed miserably. Has a single rational person spoken in support of his cause?
Hmm...
Nope.
In fact I think think he knows his own cause is hopless, however he still carries on the save face, only suceeding in making himself look sillier with each post.
