[EDMW ANALYSIS] On the topic of figures, forced charity & Japanese distro support

Originally posted by: jsbn

Well, look at it this way.

Odex throws up a figure of having like 400,000 downloaders for a population of 4mil.

Ok, give & take 50% discount off the 400,000 downloaders cos they say 1000 IP != 1000 people.

That leaves potentially 200,000 people open to future lawsuits like this. And on the assumption that they just simply charge like the minimum amount of $3K per downloader. They'll earn a whopping SGD$600,000,000!!!!!

Yes. A cool $600mil simply out of sueing downloaders and collecting $3K from them. All these simply by:
1) Getting an Internet Investigation Company
2) Pay lip service to the Japanese counterparts, buying, sitting on licenses, reselling licenses & doing a monopoly
3) Continual refusal to engage the community at large and wielding the moral sword callously

And on a sidenote:
- Where's the ethics & integrity besides upholding the law? The very skewered LoU simply leaves a lot to be desired. Its like paying $3K to stop just 1 company from sueing u and doesn't grant one immunity from the law or from any other unscrupulous companies who also have the right to access the information that Odex has and they have full rights over the information which can be literally 'sold' to anyone.

- 200,000 potential downloaders waiting to be sued. They aim to cut to approximately 80 to 90%. That leaves approximately 20,000 downloaders waiting to be sued thoroughly. On the assumption that these 20,000 downloaders get caught and fined for the minimum of $3K, Odex earns a cool SGD$60,000,000 in all simply by sueing just 20,000 'hardcore' downloaders.

- The issue of charity donation. This is in actual fact 'forced charity'. Charity shld be made from the heart, through the heart. Throwing a 'fine' of $3K in, after deducting all administration fees and figures audited, the remaining money goes to a charity? Now, on the assumption that the 20,000 'hardcore' downloaders get sued and they get a cool $60mil out of it. On the assumption that investigation costs rounds up to abt $30mil (using 50% out of original amount as a standard guideline), the remaining $30mil are to be 'forced donated to charity' when young working adults, parents who are footing the bill for the kids, teenagers who will need the remaining amount for whatever purpose are being 'forced to give to charity'?

What's the purpose for it? To lessen the 'sins' of the downloaders? To lessen the 'sins' of the company directors? Which goes (if one believes in the law of karma)?

- The Japanese distributors lending their support. In what ways do they benefit from? Personally, my analysis? None (probably unless there's an under table agreement which of cos, we'll leave it to the conspiracy theorists whatever crazy stuff they may think of).

First of all, the general view is to 'eliminate piracy' but at what cost? Killing both fans AND cheapskates in one fell swop? Our access to animes on TV on Arts Central are limited to that few, the rest are all released on VCD. The aim of collectors who purchase medias are that "The show's worth a rewatch. I shall buy the DVD/HD-DVD/Blu-Ray." To an average Singaporean anime collector, the purchase of a single media is all is required. He definitely doesn't need 1 media simply to preview the show (read: VCD) & 1 media for long term keeps.

With the extremely negative PR generated towards the company now who had effectively pissed customers and potential customers off with their strongarm tactics, its plain and simple that consumers are going to live out their life back to normal without anime. The ripple effect? Odex will not suffer since they can simply switch business. Other shops at Sunshine Plaza? One simple word - bad business.

- Creation of an anime utopia? With the now extremely negative publicity, its now clear that an 'all out war' is waged both on cheapskates AND the fans. When re-engagement with the community is now next to impossible due to raging fires, how could one create a utopia out of such a situation? A monopoly more likely.

- Twists & turns.
Lets get facts out right.

1) Odex claims that the 'settlement fees' are actually investigative charges for the downloaders (at the height of the RIAS action, we don't see RIAS actually making people PAY for investigative charges AND the Cease & Desist Letters right?)

2) The LoU does not, will not and will never grant immunity from the law (if AGC decided to sue). In addition the LoU would open up an extra avenue for unscrupulous companies to sue the downloader as the LoU gives Odex the right to simply sell or give away the information as and when they see fit or by orders of the court. The impact is far greater than just a simple signature & a "Ok! I wun sue u if u dun download!" by Odex. This the public MUST REALISE IT.

3) 'Extras after deduction of fees'. Is Odex 'fining' people more than expected? In the first place, its extremely strange that if the 'settlement costs' were to 'just cover investigative costs', where would the extras pop out? Why are there extras in the first place? Are the 'fines' excessive to the point where there are so much 'extras' for 'forced charity'?

4) Claims of finding an independent auditor hired. In the first place, all companies are required by law to have their figures audited. According to the information in ACRAS, Odex had already hired an auditor to check the figures. Isn't it moot point?

5) Correction after correction had been made by the company since the letter-shooting came up. Blaming downloaders for a reduction of 60% in sales, what are they doing prior to the letter-shooting? Now that they had shot the letters out, the 'war' had dragged on for a month, u suddenly see Odex so active in the following areas:
- Revamp website (when it was dead for well over 6mths prior)
- Near fanatic marketing of their products
- VOD sudden rollout WITHOUT ANNOUNCEMENTS & PLANNED MARKETING
- Press Conferences to clarify their stand after they had done all those above to prove that 'we are doing something'.

Sounds fishy? Personally, it simply smacks of damage control & lack of integrity. By finding a specific target to pin their blame on (ie, downloaders) and creating an extremely negative PR disaster is a surefire way of people to start boycotting their products and when their sales start dipping extremely low NOT because of the sole cause of downloads but in a way, due to the extremely bad publicity they had generated, they will have yet another excuse to start sueing people yet again and again and again. A vicious cycle had been set in motion.

My 2 cents on the entire saga up to this point. I hope it helps to put certain thing into proper perspective where contradictions and twists (if any) might be.

P/S: IF you guys think this is good analysis on the current situation on-hand as well as the potential fallout from the entire saga, just feel free to post it up on sgcafe or any other anime related forums

Source

In Parliament: government’s reply poorly reasoned, insulting

In Parliament: government’s reply poorly reasoned, insulting

Posted by theonlinecitizen on August 28th, 2007

By Choo Zheng Xi

The Worker’s Party MPs asked why their party was not allowed to hold a cycling event at East Coast Park as part of their 50th anniversary celebrations.

If Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs Ho Peng Kee’s answer is any indication, the rationale for the police denial of the permit is completely bankrupt of all good sense.

The recent ban was justified by Associate Professor Ho using the following reasons:

“It is an open area where there is potential for breach of peace, public disorder, and unruly behaviour.”

Later:

“You may be well behaving, but there may be other people whom you come across when you cycle who may stop you, may want to debate with you and that may attract a crowd, therefore will result in problems the police want to avoid”.

The Slippery Slope

It is puzzling why the police is giving the WP such a hard time registering their event considering a quick perusal of the Young PAP website will reveal numerous outdoor events: kayaking, an amazing race and they even had their own cycling event! (Click screenshot from YPAP website, left).

Looking at his comments we can tell he’s worried about people who will want to confront happy WP members on their cycling activity. Who might these be? Possibly overzealous partisans of the PAP. I hope he has more faith in his fellow party members: after all, the WP has set a good example by not harassing YPAP members on any of their numerous outdoor events.

Prof Ho’s comments seem hauntingly familiar. As I warned in an earlier article: beware the slippery slope! (link)

I’d now like to put the public on notice that Prof Ho has employed this line of argumentation, expecting it to stand despite being totally divorced from context. As the above example of the numerous YPAP events have shown, there is absolutely no reason to believe that riots will occur from recreational public events sponsored by political parties.

This is reminiscent of the now infamous Vivian Balakrishnan’s warning of what might happen if the government allowed bartop dancing (albeit in favour of liberalization). It is worth repeating here for comic value:

“If you want to dance, some of us will fall off that bar-top. Some people will die as a result of liberalising bar-top dancing, not just because they have fallen off the bar-top. Because usually a young girl, with a short skirt, dancing on a bar-top, may attract some insults from some other men, and the boyfriend starts fighting. Some people will die. Blood will be shed for liberalising this policy.”

Circularity and sarcasm

Associate Professor should know that repeating nonsense twice or three times does not make it any less nonsensical. When pressed for a proper answer regarding the ban, he replied in an insultingly sarcastic fashion:

“If you listened very carefully Mr Low, I don’t know whether his hearing aid is with him because he wears one, I said there is a greater potential for law and order problems”

Was Associate Professor Ho really being unparliamentarily sarcastic? One inclined to a more charitable interpretation of his comments could perhaps say that the source of his frustration really wasn’t directed at Mr Low. It might have been directed at the inanity of the policy he had to defend, knowing full well that it was a completely intellectually bankrupt argument.

More likely though, he was resorting to a well known tactic of gutter politics: if you say something often enough, and demean your opponent while you’re at it, there’s a good chance the electorate might believe you.

My message to the government is this: defend your laws on their own merit, and if there is none to speak of, bite the bullet and amend them. When you’re in a hole, stop digging.

It reeks of arrogance when someone who should be well versed in the law gives poorly reasoned responses to a simple question.

NSF had sex with underage girl

Aug 28, 2007
NSF had sex with underage girl

A YOUNG man on Tuesday pleaded guilty to having sex with an underage girl he had met while playing an online game two months before.
Chew Kai Jun, a 20-year-old full-time national serviceman, first chatted up the 14-year-old girl over the online game in the Guillemard Road area in April. The pair exchanged phone numbers.

A few days later, he called her and they told each other more about themselves.

This was followed by a few dates and kissing.

On June 14, Chew went along with the girl and her brother to their home after playing online games.

After the girl's brother went to bed at about 2am, Chew climbed into the upper bunk of the double-decker bed where the victim was and had sex with her.

The girl's father entered the room shortly after to tell her to take her shower. Suspecting something was up, he asked them what had happened.

They claimed Chew was looking for his ring.

When Chew left the room to smoke, the girl's father - unconvinced by the lost-ring explanation - asked the girl to throw back the blanket.

Not wearing her underwear then, she refused. She lied to her father that she was having her period and asked him to leave the room.

The father then questioned Chew, who admitted that he had sex with his daughter.

The father immediately told him to stay in the kitchen while he called the police.

But before the police turned up, Chew climbed out of the kitchen window of the 11th-floor flat and escaped.

A charge of trespassing into a neighbour's flat will be taken into consideration when he is sentenced on Sept 25.

District Judge Jill Tan called for a pre-sentence report in view of his age and clean record.

Odex affiliate raided for counterfeiting 8 years ago

Odex affiliate raided for counterfeiting 8 years ago

A ONE-TIME firm started by the men behind Odex, the company at the centre of a crackdown on illegal downloading of anime, was itself raided by police for copyright infringement.

The firm - Games Mart - was set up by Odex director Peter Go in 1994 to sell video game consoles, games and accessories.

An Odex spokeman said it was raided in 1999 by the police for peddling counterfeit game controllers and other accessories.

The spokesman said that Games Mart was shut down in 2004.

Boy's testicles stuck in pipe after fall

Boy's testicles stuck in pipe after fall


BUKIT MERTAJAM: A screaming 9-year-old was rushed to hospital with his testicles stuck in a metal pipe.
The boy had to endure the pain for almost 30 minutes before doctors operated on him and removed the pipe.

The incident happened at the boy’s home in Kampung Baru here at 10.15pm on Sunday.

It is learnt that the boy was having a bath when his younger brother called out to him from an adjacent room.

He climbed up the bathroom partition to see why his brother was making a ruckus when he slipped and landed on an uncovered metal pipe which runs into the concrete water tank.
His father, 50, rushed into the bathroom and was shocked to see his son lying on the floor with his testicles stuck in the pipe.

Medical staff who responded to the emergency call were forced to call firemen for help when they too failed to remove the pipe.

Bukit Mertajam fire officer Rohana Mustafa said they had to use a hydraulic cutter to cut both ends of the pipe.

The boy was then rushed to the Seberang Jaya Hospital with his testicles still caught in the L-shaped pipe.

He underwent a 30-minute operation and was discharged from the hospital at noon yesterday.

SingNet: We did not 'consent' to Odex

Aug 28, 2007

SingNet: We did not 'consent' to Odex

SINGNET has clarified that it did not 'consent' to demands by Odex to hand over details about subscribers allegedly downloading pirated Japanese cartoons, called anime.

The Internet service provider (ISP), which is being slammed online for its apparent capitulation in the controversial case, says in no way did it help Odex's application.

SingNet spokesman Chia Boon Chong said, 'We reject all requests from third parties for information pertaining to our customers. We will release such information only under a court order or if the law enforcement and regulatory agencies demand such information from us.'

In Odex's case, as it does in all such cases, he said, the firm would 'entrust the courts to apply the law and make a ruling'.

The Telecommunications Competition Code prohibits ISPs from disclosing subscriber information without a court order, and a spokesman for the Infocomm Development Authority said SingNet had not breached the code.

Odex won court orders earlier this year to get SingNet and StarHub to disclose names of subscribers allegedly downloading anime.

When Odex failed to obtain a similar order against Pacific Internet (PacNet) last Thursday, people began wondering why.

Online attacks against SingNet intensified after District Judge Ernest Lau published in his written judgement that 'for the SingNet case, the orders were made by consent'. He also said that SingNet did not even appear in court. Different judges had ruled in all three cases.

Many people, including corporate counsel and Nominated Member of Parliament Siew Kum Hong, interpreted this to mean that SingNet had agreed to Odex's application, thus expediting it.

Online users thus felt SingNet had betrayed them, and this probably fuelled the online outrage against the ISP, said Mr Siew, who maintains a well-read blog.

Read the full report in Wednesday's edition of The Straits Times.

Singapore Police Reject Permit For Opposition Party's Cycling Event

August 27, 2007 20:06 PM

Singapore Police Reject Permit For Opposition Party's Cycling Event

By Jackson Sawatan

SINGAPORE, Aug 27 (Bernama) -- Plans by Singapore's main opposition party, the Workers' Party, to hold a cycling event in conjunction with its 50th anniversary, hit a dead end after its application for a police permit was rejected.

The mass cycling event was to be held on Sept 9 at the East Coast Park, a popular beachside park located along the east coast highway here.

Party chairman Sylvia Lim raised a question over the issue in Parliament today and was told that such activities "have the potential for public disorder and mischief, and may disrupt community life."

"Police requirement is that such party activities be held indoors or within stadiums, so that any law and order problems will be contained. This policy applies to all political parties," Senior Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs Ho Peng Kee said in reply to Lim's question.

Ho said the East Coast Park was a recreational park for Singaporeans and their families and not meant to be used by a political party to promote its cause.

The Workers' Party was set up in 1957 by David Marshall, the first chief minister of Singapore.

It has two representatives in the Singapore parliament, namely its secretary-general, Low Thia Khiang who is MP for Hougang and Lim as the non-constituency member of parliament (NCMP).

NCMPs are appointed from among the best performing opposition losers in a general election.

-- BERNAMA

The nightmare of the iron rice bowl

The nightmare of the iron rice bowl

Originally posted by Ernie25:

I ORD on 1/1/07 after a 6yrs bond with the SAF as a infantry Leader or as a NCO. Join Army because of the JPSDS (join poly scheme) program to finance my studies.

After my 'O' levels which was about 10yrs ago, I got a job in the factory as a machine operator earning 1.5k from 3-11pm. Few months after leaving the Army (had some savings) , I started looking for some jobs as sales co-ordinator and other sales post but was only offered $1.5k due to the lack of experience. A company I went to from the refer of a job agent said that the job market value from the job agent is only $1.5k-$1.6k for fresh ploy grads where I was asking for 1.8k (I didn't show them my education background). It is sad as in the factory job I had which need no experience or education can land me on a $1.5k where now after 10 years a job with my diploma land me on a 1.5k also. I thought that only a sales job can land me back to where my pay was at but the so call market rate made me very disappointed.

A friend of mine who left the RSAF 10years ago had a job of a tech for $1.5 with his poly dip and now another friend of mine also a dip holder just got a job also as a tech for 1.8k. To me its like our average chicken rice have rised from $2 to $3 for the pass 10yrs and the starting pay have not increased 33% but lower.

It sad to me that after having a last drawn pay of almost close to 3k that I was push down to getting 1.5k by the employer. Some may say that who ask me to sign on in the first place, but there is little choice at that time for me in order to make ends meet. Some guys was laughing at me when I said I was offered 1.5k as a diploma student, they said that they have yet to hear 1.5k for such a long time.

If you guys have notice that I had only gone through a 6 yrs contract and not a 10yrs PP plan. Some friends had advised me to go through for another 4yrs with it at the end i will get a bigger sum of money. My greatest fear came true as in last year, many at age 30+ and 40+ warrants were given golden hand shakes. Although they did get a sum of compansion but how long are they going to surive with all their commitments and pay cut if they work outside. Moreover if I do not get the PP2 which is the fear of most young regulars now the age of me coming out of the force will be even older.

Have anyone seen under performing regulars getting PP2 and performing regulars not getting, this maybe personal views. BUT there is some rumor that someone asked CPC the reason and they said 'we need good people to be on the top and some to be on the bottom, if everyone we take are good than who is going to be on the bottom?'.

8-9yrs ago when the PP1 was introdued everyone in the force was offered the chance to convert from contact to PP1 or 2. I didn't believe in the 10years PP1 and was called in for an interview. In interview I spoke to a captain or a major which I can't remember, he said that PP2 will be offered to most people if they don't make major mistake and maintain performance during their service and ask me why I won't want to take up the plan. I reply that I believe that I be earning better when I go out from the force and that 3-5k is not enough for me. He looked a bit angry and told me that he believe that he will can get about 1/2 a million in his account when he leave the force at age 45.

Today I feel a bit pettiful for the young officer that his 1/2 a million may not be as good as he think, due to the last 10 years the performance of the fund was not doing that well and he maybe the next one been offer the golden hand shake.

I never regrat for spending my 6yrs in the SAF, after all they paid full for my 3yrs of study in poly. Anyway I did enjoy the job sometimes esp when I'm getting paid better than most of my schoolmates. But the idea of not having a iron rice bowl in the force and maybe broken after the 4yrs is too much for me to bear.

In my memory there was a CDF or COA who visited my camp for some Q&A some years back . A question was ask by a platoon sgt,
'Sir, is there a scheme for the specialist for a degree course which we can take and be sponcer by the SAF.'
'no, we do not need degree specialist in the force, a poly diploma is enough for the specialist.'
'Sir, can we go on unpaid leave?'
'no, its like you can't go for unpaid leave and leave your appoint and have someone replacing you. When you come back where is that person going to go? Just like me I have a masters but I always wanted to go for my doctorate. Someone must take out my place in my absents but when I come back what the person going to do?'

As it been years back I can't remember word to word but thats the idea of the conversation. That point of time maybe the force don't really need a degree specialist but it be always good for anyone to upgrade. We have so many people waiting to be a platoon sgt and we can replace him anytime with someone after his tour. A senior officer is not so easily replaceable esp when he is a COA or CDF even after his tour.

Pls excuse me for many spelling and grammar mistake, had not been practicing much after leaving school. Now I had found a sales job with a even lower basic pay as what was stated above but with very high commission. I hope that some people can learn from my story. PLS DO NOT ASK ME WHERE I GET MY RUMORS FROM AND WHO TOLD ME WHAT. If you think that its just another story I made up then just forget it and treat it as some junk.

SM Goh praises PM Lee for addressing tough issues

SM Goh praises PM Lee for addressing tough issues

NAZRY BAHRAWI
nazry@mediacorp.com.sg

THE issues may be sensitive and the medicine unpopular, but ageing and the widening income gap are serious long-term problems — and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was courageous to address them at the National Day Rally, said Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong.

At a dialogue with some 100 Marine Parade grassroots leaders last night, he said: "In my view, the PM was being very brave in tackling the issues … Issues like ageing or deferment of your draw-down age from 62 to 65 are very sensitive and unpopular."

While a greying population and the income gap are "serious problems", he added, they "will hit us only (in) 10, 15, 20 years' time".

So, another leader might hesitate to bring up such issues — especially if this might lose him votes, said Mr Goh.

"In most countries, the Prime Minister will look at the current election: 'What are the programmes or measures that will get me the most number of votes?'" he added.

"Very few prime ministers will address issues that (extend) way beyond their political life … but this is not the way Singapore operates. It is not the way in which Lee Kuan Yew operated, and not the way I operated, and I'm very happy to say, not the way Lee Hsien Loong operates."

Mr Goh and MPs from Marine Parade GRC spoke with grassroots leaders for nearly two hours behind closed doors. MP Lim Biow Chuan later told reporters there was concern over the deferred draw-down age from 62 to 65 for the Central Provident Fund (CPF) minimum sum.

Dr Mohd Faizal Ibrahim said that while some found the measures "bitter" to swallow, "they understand the broad purpose, that some of these measures are critical so that we are better-prepared to face future challenges".

In a separate interview, which Channel NewsAsia aired last night, Opposition MP for Potong Pasir Chiam See Tong said: "Well it's a fact that people are growing older. So, the Government will have to delay in the paying out — there's no other way ...

"CPF is not inexhaustible. I mean if it's too long, people don't save enough money in the CPF, they just don't have enough for their old age, as simple as that."

Temasek loses £150m on its July investment in Barclays

From The Times
August 27, 2007
Temasek loses £150m on its July investment in Barclays
Nick Hasell

Temasek, the Singapore investment vehicle that has emerged as a possible buyer of Nasdaq’s stake in the London Stock Exchange (LSE), has lost £150 million on its investment in Barclays in the space of a month.

The state-backed fund took a 2.1 per cent interest in the bank in late July as part of an equity refinancing to support Barclays’s €68 billion (£46 billion) bid for ABN Amro, the Dutch bank.

However, amid the turmoil in the world’s financial markets, shares in Barclays have fallen by 15 per cent from the price that Temasek agreed to pay, cutting the value of its holding from £970 million to £820 million.

Barclays closed at 611p last week, coming under fresh pressure on Friday after the resignation of Edward Cahill, who had run the bank’s collateralised debt obligations division.

Temasek paid 720p a share, with a commitment to invest a further £1.5 billion at 740p a share should the proposed merger with ABN Amro proceed. China Development Bank invested at the same time on the same terms and is sitting on a £220 million loss on its £1.5 billion stake.

It emerged this weekend that Temasek had expressed interest in the 30 per cent holding in the LSE being put up for sale by Nasdaq, potentially marking its first foray into Britain’s financial services sector beyond banks. Aside from Barclays, it has built a 15 per cent interest in Standard Chartered, the emerging markets bank.

However, Nasdaq, which has appointed UBS to handle the auction, has said previously that it would not sell its LSE stake to a single bidder. Under UK listing rules, ownership of a 30 per cent stake would automatically trigger a bid for the entire company.

The Nasdaq holding is expected to draw wide interest, with the New York Stock Exchange, now merged with Euronext Liffe, and Borse Dubai expected to enter the fray. The governments of Dubai and Singapore regularly compete for the same assets, most publicly last year in the struggle to buy P&O, the ports operator, which eventually was won by Dubai Ports World. Deutsche Börse, which launched a bid for the LSE three years ago at £1.3 billion, is also seen as a contender.

This month Temasek reported the value of its portfolio as $108 billion. Since 2002 it has stepped up its plans to diversify its spread of assets, with a target of allocating one third of its portfolio to Singapore, a third to the rest of Asia and the remainder to developed countries. At present 78 per cent of its assets are within Asia, including Singapore.

For the 12 months to March 31, Temasek reported a total shareholder return of 27 per cent. Aside from this month’s setback on its Barclays stake, it has run into difficulties closer to home. Last year its $3.8 billion investment in Shin Corporation, of Thailand, the telecoms operator once owned by Thaksin Shinawatra, the country’s former prime minister and now the owner of Manchester City Football Club, lost about one third of its value.

Temasek could not be reached for comment.

What the...

Man Embarassed by Penis Size Secretly Gets His Brother to Have Sex With Girlfriend

Manfred Schuh was so embarrassed about his penis size he got his brother Walter to step in and have sex with his girlfriend. Manfred, 26, insisted on turning off the lights and going to the bathroom. Walter would then enter the room and have sex.

The girlfriend found out after 2 months when she turned the light on. "She apparently had no idea. Both men look similar as they are brothers, and the older brother made a point of not speaking when he was impersonating his younger sibling," said police.

Manfred, from Germany, is said to have feared losing the 24 year old girlfriend if he did not "perform well."

Source: www.metro.co.uk

Anime distributor Odex had "no right of civil action" against illegal downloaders

Odex had "no right of civil action" against illegal downloaders
By Loh Chee Kong, TODAY | Posted: 25 August 2007 0158 hrs

This is because it was just a sub-licensee and not the copyright owner or exclusive licensee for most of the anime titles sold here.

This is the rationale behind the court's surprise dismissal of Odex's bid to get Pacific Internet (PacNet) to disclose its customers' identities.

The judge's 13-page grounds of decision was released on August 24.

District Judge Earnest Lau also noted that Odex was also in no position to initiate criminal prosecution.

On August 23, the judge ordered the company to pay legal costs of more than $7,000.

The judge also expressed unease over the hasty manner in which Odex tried to go after some 1,000 PacNet subscribers.

In particular, he was not convinced of the investigation method it used to uncover the IP addresses and pinpoint the alleged wrongdoers.

Industry observers had expected the court to rule in Odex's favour.

This is especially after it had successfully forced two other Internet service providers, StarHub and SingNet, to hand over the data of those suspected of illegal downloading.

In its letters of demand, Odex is asking for $3,000 to $5,000 compensation and also hinted of criminal prosecution should the subscriber refuse to pay up.

But the judge said under the Copyright Act, "only the copyright owner and the statutory exclusive licensee … have the right to take action against copyright infringers".

He added that Odex appeared to be the exclusive licensee for just one title, Mobile Suit Gundam Seed.

Odex said it would be appealing against the judgement. - CNA /ls

Games Mart, Xedo, and KYSing….

Games Mart, Xedo, and KYSing….

Filed under: Info — Darth Grievous @ 17:10

The recent victory of PacNet (or PI) over Xedo seems to have taken the Internet by storm, and I have heard many talk of people wanting to jump ship once their current contract expire.

Personally, I not only approve what these fellows intend to do, I will actually encourage them to do so! Because on a more personal - and selfish - level, I really don’t mind some of these downloaders go choke up PI’s bandwidth so that I can have smoother surfing on SingNet or Starhub. Hiak hiak hiak.

Anyway, from an unverified source, I was told that XYSing KYSing of Xedo (and his fellow director), were also directors of a defunct company called Games Mart. (And my own searches on ACRA confirmed this. ACRA reports found here: Odex | Games Mart)

This source informed me that back around 1999, Games Mart Pte Ltd was caught for counterfeit goods (primarily Sony Playstation stuff), and 2 of their directors and an employee were subsequently charged.

These two directors - names omitted as unverified - were found guilty and sentenced to 15 months of jail, along with an employee named Jason, who was sentenced to 10 months. (I have so far failed to verify this and I am not sure if any news on this court case can be found on the Internet to support these unverified claims. It does not seem likely I could get my hands on the court reports like these cases of people getting sued by the Public Prosecutor here and here.)

Personally, I would really like some solid verification of the Games Mart case, and I would appreciate anyone who would point me in the direction of a reputable source of such information. I am personally quite upset with the fact that some people had actually told me that they wouldn’t take blogs and forum comments into serious considerations, but would take note of whatever single-page piece of shit Xedo had currently put up on their site. If that is a testimony of just what low esteem Blogosphere is held by people, then there is really no point for any attempt at Blog journalism, because those people with serious content are discredited in one broad stroke!

Anyway, what I did find in Google, was a brief mention in the comment section of a blog by someone of the moniker of Beowulf that some anime released by Xedo were actually released previously under Games Mart.

While I am not attempting to imply anything here, but it appears that the bad quality of Xedo products has gone a long way back.

And though this really does not justify the very act of downloading anime ‘illegally’, it does explain why some of the people are downloading fan-subs and not buying Xedo products in spite of their attempts at lowering prices.

Food for thought: Is it not necessary to consider these facts, when the argument that downloading is hurting sales is presented in court by Xedo? After all, it appears that there is a long history of people who did want to get their copies legally not getting what their money’s worth.

"ST asked not to publish protest letters"

Source

Originally posted by Serendipity:

"Hi..!

Heard this from a friend in ST.

There has been over 20 letters to ST forum page on the CPF issues. Apparently a couple of letters has clearly called the Government bluff and indicated that the Government has many things to hide.

A well known academic from NUS has written a long article on how to deal with the aging issues without touching the CPF. His article has been kept in abeyance. He has been refused permission to send it for publication even to journals and publications. He had a long discussion with some officials of the CPF board and MAS last evening. He has also been asked to cancel his interview with the AWSJ which is scheduled on friday.

There is an embargo on publishing any adverse or critical article on CPF policies. At best, only articles which praises the Government will be published. All emails and written articles are automatically forwarded to MoF and the CPF board for information.

Fucking PAP and ST!!!!!!"

"I have asked the academic to write a blog or post it online under a pseudonym. The fact is that he is being persuaded (read pressurized) to hold the article and not send it anywhere. I just managed to read a one page synopsis after assuring him that I will not post it anywhere.

He has a track record of challenging the establishment and particularly taking on the HEN on the singapore employment data (remember the citizens and PR lumped together when HEN talked about jobs) and he has been denied several government statistics in the past.

Right now he is so shaken up by last evening's interview!

This true blue singaporean is actually thinking of migrating. And the tragedy is that none of his colleagues including the Head wants to stand by him in his quest for academic freedom and policy research models."

Many ways to skin a cat.

COMPASS sets up one-stop centre to license music works
Posted: 11 January 2006 1642 hrs

SINGAPORE : The Composers and Authors Society of Singapore (COMPASS) has set up a one-stop centre to license music works for digital distribution.

COMPASS helps to protect and promote the copyright interests of composers, lyricists and publishers of musical works.

The move is seen as yet another move to reduce the spread of illegal music downloads.

To provide songs for downloads, a company like SoundBuzz needs to first clear the copyrights for them.

Previously, it had to obtain separate licences from nine different music publishers.

The new one-stop centre, up since beginning of the year, allows the company to just apply for a single licence.

Sudhanshu Sarronwala, CEO of Soundbuzz, said: "It dramatically reduces the logistics and the negotiations of nine different companies. So it is a very positive step as far as digital music is concerned.

"Practically speaking, if you were going to take five to six months to do the set of agreements earlier, you could possibly look at doing this within one to two months or less."

About 20 content providers, like Iguanamobile and eFusion, will benefit from this one-stop licensing scheme.

But bloggers need to take note.

Dr Edmund Lam, CEO and Director of Composers and Authors Society of Singapore, said: "Currently, the trend is that we see an increasing number of bloggers that copy music into their web pages without obtaining the legitimate corporate licenses.

"We would encourage such bloggers to come to the one-stop centre to apply for the necessary licence. We are charging a rate of $1,000 for bloggers that does not exceed the usage of 10 songs."

COMPASS plans to introduce two new technologies to identify illegal music websites in about six months.

One technology is called the webcrawler where it will go through the net and search for sites that have exploited musical works.

The other technology is called fingerprinting. What it does is it identifies the type of music that has been downloaded, and checks if the musical works have the appropriate copyright licences. - CNA/de

Student’s program sends PR chaos in Wiki-scandal

Student’s program sends PR chaos in Wiki-scandal

Thu, 16 August 2007
One American student sent major corporations, governments and even the Vatican on the defensive after coming up with Wikipedia Scanner, a software program that reveals who changed Wikipedia entries.

Wikipedia.com is an online encyclopedia edited by general users, who write articles on every imaginable subject. Since it is written by users, anyone can edit, delete and arrange the articles on Wikipedia.

What Virgil Griffith did was come up with a program that reveals who edits these articles, via a system where it scans the I.P address and cross-references it with the I.P. directory.

As soon as the software was launched on the internet, chaos erupted.
Among many revelations, Wikipedia Scanner reported that:
- Microsoft tried to cover up the XBOX 360 failure rate

- Apple edit Microsoft entries, adding more negative comments about its rival

- Bill Gates revenge? Microsoft edits Apple entries, adding more negative comments about its rival

- The Vatican edits Irish Catholic politician Gerry Adams page

- In the 9/11 Wikipedia article, the NRA added that “Iraq was involved in 9/11”

- Exxon Mobil edits spillages and eco-system destruction from oil spillages article

- FBI edits Guantanamo Bay, removing numerous pictures

- Oil company ChevronTexaco removes informative biodiesel article and deletes a paragraph regarding fines against the company

- Scientology removes criticism and negatives article from Scientology page

- Al Jazeera TV station adds that the foundation of Iraq was just as bad as the Holocaust

- Amnesty International removes negative comments

- Dell Computers deletes negative comments on customer services and removes a passage how the company outsources work to third world countries

- MySpace removes paragraph when their website was hacked

- EA Games deletes whole paragraphs of criticism about employment practices and business methods

- Dog breeding association deletes whole paragraphs about fatal attacks by dogs on humans
- US Republican Party changes the "Post-Saddam" section of the Baath Party article to a different account of the war, changing the language from "US-led occupation" to "US-led liberation"

- Fox News removes all controversial topics against the network from the Fox News page

- News of the World deletes a number of criticism against the paper

- Nestle removes negative comments on its business practices from its page

- UN address calls journalist Oriana Fallaci a racist ‘prostitute’

- Portuguese government removes entries about Prime Minister’s scandals

- DieBold, the company that controversially supplied computerised polling stations in the US elections, removes numerous paragraphs with negative comments

- Walmart removes criticism of outsourcing work. The retailer also changes negative paragraphs of underpaid workforce

- Sony removes harmful paragraphs against blu-ray systems

- Someone at Reuters calls Bush “a mass murderer”

- Coca Cola removes negative content about its effects

- British Conservative Party removes negative references of its MPs and deletes paragraph of the party’s old policies

- US University adds the “prestigious” adjective to its page

- Boeing edits from “Boeing is a leading American aircraft and aerospace manufacturer” to “Boeing is the leading American aircraft and aerospace manufacturer”

- MSN Search is “a major competitor to Google”. That’s what MSN added to their page

- BBC changes Blair's drink from coffee to vodka and his workout from the gym to the bedroom. Someone from the BBC also changes Bush’s page, changing the name from ”George Walker Bush” to “George Wan*** Bush”

- Someone from The Guardian edits the Wikipedia page of rival newspaper The Times. Originally in the article it is said that The Times sells more than The Guardian. After the edit, The Guardian sells more.
Griffith created the tool to "create minor public relations disasters for companies and organizations I dislike," he said on his web site. He admitted that it's impossible to be sure if the edits were made by someone working at one of the organizations, although the I.P. address reveals that they were made by someone with access to their network, he says.

Griffith came up with the idea when he "heard about Congressmen being caught for white-washing their Wikipedia pages," he said.

"If the edit occurred during working hours, then we can reasonably assume that the person is either an agent of that company or a guest that was allowed access to their network," he wrote.He said he believes that anonymous speech is important for open projects like Wikipedia. The online encyclopedia works fine today for "noncontroversial topics," he said, but tools like Wikipedia Scanner can help make the site more reliable for controversial topics, he said.

"**** Times Pau Lum Pa"

Originally posted by broky88:

"Have you ever wonder how the heck did they manage to interview the people on the streets just immediately after an important speech?

E.g. While PM giving out his speech in the evening, next day **** Times will tell you Mr and Mrs XXX damn poor before the handouts will now benefit from then new package, blah blah blah and then show a picture of them together smiling.

Bull **** lar, some pictures are even taken in the daylight. How can they got the news, print it at night and for the people to read it the very next morning and then started telling people how many families benefited from this and that?

Kena sai."

ODEX Pte Ltd ACRA Information

Source:
Sammyboy forum

http://lesterchan.net/blogs/2007/08/20/odex-pte-ltd-acra-information/

Adobe file

15 years after stroke, he wins full payout

15 years after stroke, he wins full payout
Judge ticks off insurer for its treatment of client
By Crystal Chan
August 16, 2007

WHEN Mr Chiang Soong Chee suffered a stroke, he went from a man capable of lifting drums of paint to someone resigned to signing cheques in the family-run paint store. He was no longer able to handle his old tasks.
Never mind, he thought, he could always rely on his insurance payout.

But after making the first five instalment payments, NTUC Income held back on the remaining amount.

The insurance company, which is the biggest here with more than 1.8 million policy holders, argued that Mr Chiang was not totally and permanently disabled.

And he was able to work, though not at the same job he held previously.

Mr Chiang, disagreeing with the insurer, sued for the remaining $90,000.

And won.

SEVERELY PARALYSED

Mr Chiang became severely paralysed in his left limbs after a stroke in 1992.

He had bought a life insurance policy in 1988, which said that Income (then NTUC Co-operative Insurance Commonwealth Enterprise) was to pay $150,000 in 10 annual instalments if he became totally and permanently disabled.

But after the stroke, Mr Chiang was told by his insurance agent later that year that his disability did not meet Income's criteria.

The agent was not named in the court papers.

In March 2001, during a chat with friends, Mr Chiang was urged to go ahead and make the claim.

He decided to act on their advice and registered his claim.

By this time, after nine years of being treated by neurologist Dr Tong Hoo Ing, he was able to walk, albeit with a limp.

In August that year, Mr Chiang was examined by Dr Tong and another doctor. Both doctors certified him as totally and permanently disabled.

Initially, all went well with his claim.

The insurer accepted the doctors' findings and in Sep 2001 told Mr Chiang that it would pay him four annual instalments of $15,000 each.

The first payment was made in late 2001. A final instalment of $90,000 would be paid in 2005.

Mr Chiang was paid the first $60,000, but things then went awry.

Before Income made the final payment in Jan 2005, it asked Dr Tong to clarify Mr Chiang's current condition, which it was entitled to do under the policy.

This time, Dr Tong certified that Mr Chiang was not totally and permanently disabled, but maintained that he was unemployable.

This was because while Mr Chiang was mobile, he still carried a limp and had poor short-term memory.

Income then decided not to pay Mr Chiang the remaining $90,000, saying he was no longer totally and permanently disabled.

So Mr Chiang filed a suit.

He was awarded judgment last month in the Subordinate Courts by District Judge Lim Wee Ming, who rapped the insurer for its treatment of Mr Chiang.

The judge said the insurer could not provide a clause to attract potential customers, only to make it difficult for them to claim the money.

Said District Judge Lim: 'Income cannot on one hand have a clause that appears more acceptable to potential customers but when they seek to enforce it, Income be allowed to take advantage of the ambiguity against the customer.'

In his affidavit, Mr Chiang said that before the stroke, he handled, stacked, moved and delivered drums and tins of paint.

His lawyer argued that because of the stroke, he was no longer able to carry out such work.

As a result, his work with his family business is limited to signing cheques and bank documents.

Mr Chiang's present role in the family business was minor compared to what he was doing before, and he remained employed only out of his siblings' sympathy.

His doctors also testified that Mr Chiang was unable to do manual work.

The main issue for the court was the interpretation of the policy, which stated that the disability must be total and permanent such that the insured person is unable to earn a living.

In its defence, Income said it had observed a strict interpretation of the policy, which meant that Mr Chiang, even if only signing cheques and bank documents, was gainfully employed.

Under a broader interpretation, the court would consider work as that which the insured was doing when he bought the policy.

But Income claimed that Mr Chiang would have to show that he could not do any work whatsoever, regardless of his occupation when he bought the policy.

The judge disagreed, saying that the phrase 'regardless of the usual occupation of the Life Assured' was not mentioned in the policy.

In his judgment, Mr Lim wrote: 'Obviously, such a provision would have made the policy less palatable to potential customers.'

The judge also noted that Income's strict interpretation of the policy would then apply only to extreme cases, such as brain damage or vegetable-like existence.

And that was not fair.

He was satisfied that Mr Chiang qualified for the payout as he could not continue the work he did before the stroke.

Mr Chiang declined comment when contacted at his home, but a staff member at his family's shop, Sai Sia Paint, said he still works there.

Income's lawyer, Mr Sundararaj Palaniappan of Straits Law Practice LLC, told The New Paper that his client plans to appeal.

Stephen King mistaken for vandal in Aussie outback

Stephen King mistaken for vandal in Aussie outback

Horror writer wanders in, signs books

Agence France-Presse
Last updated 02:00pm (Mla time) 08/16/2007

SYDNEY -- Bestselling author Stephen King was mistaken for a vandal as he horrified an Australian outback bookstore, local media reported Thursday.

A customer at the store in remote Alice Springs raised the alarm after noticing a man walk in off the street and begin writing in several books, manager Bev Ellis told national radio.

"As the owner of a bookshop, when you see someone writing in one of your books you get a bit toey [touchy]," Ellis said.

"So we immediately ran to the books and lo-and-behold here was the signature in several books. We sort of spun around on our heels, [saying] 'Where did he go, where did he go'?"

Ellis said she saw the horror writer standing in the fruit and vegetable section of the supermarket across the road in the small desert town and went over to introduce herself.

"He was lovely, very nice, charming," she said. "He introduced me to his friends and we had a talk and then I said 'Well, I'll leave you to the tomatoes.'"

"I don't think he wanted people to know he was here but I told him that if I knew he was coming I would have baked him a cake."

Of the six books that King signed, five would be given to community groups for fund-raising auctions, she said.

The sixth was bought by the customer who mistook King for a vandal.

Copyright 2007 Agence France-Presse. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Girl overdoses on espresso coffee

Girl overdoses on espresso coffee

A teenager was taken to hospital after overdosing on espresso coffee.

Jasmine Willis, 17, developed a fever and began hyperventilating after downing seven double espressos while working at her family's sandwich shop.

The student, of Stanley, County Durham, was taken to the University Hospital of North Durham, where doctors confirmed she had overdosed on caffeine.

She has since made a full recovery and is now warning others about the dangers of excessive coffee drinking.

Ms Willis, who had thought the coffees were single measures, said the effects were so severe that she began laughing and crying for no reason while serving customers at the shop.


I was having palpitations, my heart was beating so fast and I thought I was going into shock
Jasmine Willis

She developed a fever and began struggling to breathe after being sent home by her father.

"My nerves were all over the place.

"I was drenched. I was burning up and hyperventilating.

"I was having palpitations, my heart was beating so fast and I thought I was going into shock.

"I did not realise this could happen to you and I only hope other people learn from my mistake."

The teenager, who was allowed home after a few hours of observation, suffered side effects for days afterwards and now says she cannot stand the sight of coffee.

Her father Gary, who runs The Sandwich Bar in Stanley, said: "She did not realise she was drinking double measures.

"I have always stressed to my children the importance of moderation but Jasmine got caught out on this occasion."

ODEXed

With all the ODEX furore going on right now, it is only right that the scales of nature balanced itself sooner or later.

Turns out that it seems the ODEX director was spotted gloating over the misfortune of its "victims", saying:



Nope~ Me too busy sueing people~ (o.o)y”
xysing, Dated: 31 Jul 2007, Timed: 9.04am

“Hahahahah! I double-6-ed so many downloaders~ serve them right! (o.o)y”
xysing, Dated: 1 Aug 2007, Timed 2.38am

To read more, follow these links:

SCORD forum link
HWZ thread
Excuse me, is that Stephen? The Stephen Sing?
Ted Fox Article
The Chronicle of xysing