Secret Origins Of A Racist Blogger

Hell, this bring a tear to my eye. Almost. It was on this night that Gan's 1-month-old brother, Jun Fan, suddenly developed breathing difficulties. Born with a defective heart, Jun Fan had been released from hospital two weeks earlier. Gan's father was away on business. Outside their Marsiling HDB flat, his mother, Madam Koh Ah Luan, saw a Malay couple flagging down a cab. Gan, then 7, saw his mother plead with the couple to let them take the cab. He remembers how the couple got into the cab without a word. It took Gan and his mum another 20 minutes to find a cab. The baby was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. It was Jun Fan's 'man yue' - exactly a month after his birth. As his mother fell into a six-month depression, Gan said he carried the pain with him silently. 'Later, when I saw people with their brothers, I would often wonder about how old my brother would be,' he said. He started resenting the couple, though he wondered if they had realised the seriousness of the situation. As his hate grew over the years, his studies suffered. Hoping to study business in university, he transferred to a new school this year to retake the O-level exams as a private student. 'I needed an outlet for my frustrations,' he said. And in April, he found it. He chanced upon someone's blog while surfing the Internet. It spewed frustration. He decided to start his own blog immediately, giving it a 'random, angry' name: The Second Holocaust. No prize for what his angry blog got him. He became the third racist blogger to be convicted in Singapore this year.(Do they do this anywhere else?) On Oct 7, marketing executive Nicholas Lim and animal shelter assistant Benjamin Koh were given landmark jail sentences for similar offences. Lim was convicted of one charge and given a 'nominal' jail term of one day. He was also fined the maximum of $5,000. Koh, who was convicted of two charges, was jailed for one month. They were the first people to be jailed under the Sedition Act since 1966. Gan, perhaps in parts due to his tear jerker of an origin, got himself this: - undergo psychological evaluation and follow-up to address the death of his brother, - attend counselling sessions to correct his misguided dislike of Malays, - post a $10,000 bond to ensure good behaviour, and - perform 180 hours of community service. The twist of the knife in the wound? The judge suggested that part of Gan's 180 hours of community service to be done in Malay welfare homes like the Mohamidiyah and Pertapis homes so that he could have positive opportunities for interaction with the Malay community. Lesson learned : Racist Blogging Doesn't Pay.

Freedom Fighter. Literally.

A convicted Thai drug dealer lost her bid for the WBC strawweight title — and the chance to get out of prison more than a year ahead of schedule. Fighting in what was billed as the first title match to be held in a prison, 28-year-old Nongmai Sor Siriporn was knocked out in the seventh round by a faster and more seasoned Japanese challenger, Nanako Kikuchi, on Monday. "I am disappointed in myself but I will continue to fight to show to the outside world that even behind bars, I can be a good sportswoman," said Nongmai, whose birth name is Wannee Chaisena. Authorities at the prison just north of Bangkok said that despite her loss, they may consider finding some other way to reward her efforts. "Even though she lost today, Nongmai is a great fighter," said Nathee Chitsawang, director general of the Thai prison system. "We will see how we can reduce her jail term." The Japanese contender expressed surprise that her victory would keep Nongmai behind bars, saying she had been thinking only about winning the match. "I wanted to make the best of it because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," said Kikuchi, a 30-year-old former freelance photographer. According to the WBC's website, Nongmai was the third-ranked boxer in the strawweight class and Kikuchi was 11th. The title has been vacant. Like a plot borrowed from the hordes of horribly-made HK action flicks back in the early 90s.

House Of Wax For The Junkie

An exhibition showing the life of a drug addict — from the very first dose to death — has opened in Moscow. The display, called “On the Brink”, was created by the Association of St. Petersburg Wax Museums in 2002 and has already visited more than 20 Russian cities enjoying the support of the Federal Service for Drug Control. Created to promote a healthy way of life by showing what drugs can do to a human being, it creates a strong impression on visitors. The organizers even have liquid ammonia on hand to resuscitate anyone who faints at the sight of the disfigured faces of drug addicts or the embryo of an addict’s baby in formalin.

"Strong The Torrents Are."

Taken from the press release of MPAA. BitTorrent Founder and CEO Bram Cohen and Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) Chairman and CEO Dan Glickman announced today that the motion picture industry and BitTorrent, Inc. are collaborating with the goal of inhibiting film piracy. Bram Cohen developed a revolutionary technology for websites to make large content files available on the Web and that technology is often used by others illegally to distribute movies and television shows. Today Cohen confirmed BitTorrent, Inc.’s commitment to removing links that direct users to copies of pirated content owned by MPAA companies from its search engine at BitTorrent.com. The announcement today is historic in that two major forces in the technology and film industries have agreed to work together and proactively identify ways to limit access to infringing material available via search engines like the one at BitTorrent.com and to promote constructive innovation in this area. “BitTorrent is an extremely efficient publishing tool and search engine that allows creators and rights holders to make their content available on the Internet securely,” said Cohen. “BitTorrent, Inc. discourages the use of its technology for distributing films without a license to do so. As such, we are pleased to work with the film industry to remove unauthorized content from BitTorrent.com’s search engine.” Cohen said BitTorrent.com will remove links that direct users to pirated content owned by MPAA companies from its search engine. Yeah, right. As if someone out there actually uses the Bittorrent.com's search engine. The Great Age of Piracy are upon us, (hey that sounded just like the opening of the anime "One Piece") and there's no way denying it. For example, the Swedish website, PirateBay.net, which continues to be defiant in the face of legal threats, argues that since it is in Sweden, the DMCA (Digitial Millennium Copyright Act) does not apply to it and is un-enforceable.

Mirrormask

Rejoice yet, Gaiman fans. Mirrormask, the first screen collaboration of long-time partners-in-crime, illustrator gem Dave McKean and writer extraodinaire, Neil Gaiman, will be screen in Singapore after all. Exclusively from 8th December 2005 at GV Plaza and GV Tampines. This might be of a certain interest to people. Ten pairs of tickets to the Gala Screening organised by the British Council are up for grabs at the British Council site. It involves borrowing of books at the Library@Orchard. A good cause, after all.

Cheer Chen Unplugged

R.I.P. Eddie Guerrero 1967 - 2005

Viva La Rasa!

''Luck and Joy and Grief and I Set off together into the world of existence. Luck lay down and Joy ran off, But Grief and I go wandering on.'' - Unidentified verse, of a Persian origin Came upon this melancholic piece while browsing through my blog ring. Can't help but steal it, sorry. Googled but only managed to find a cache.

Mascots For Beijing 2008 Revealed

The Organising Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad – Beijing 2008 (BOCOG) has launched the five official mascots for the Beijing Games at a gala show, in the Chinese capital, held to mark the 1,000-day countdown to the Opening Ceremony of the Games. The five mascots are officially called the Five Friendlies. They are Beibei, the fish; Jingjing, the panda; Huanhuan, the Olympic flame; Yingying, the Tibetan antelope; and Nini, the swallow. The first syllables from their two-syllable names form a line that reads “Beijing Huanying Ni”, or in English – “Welcome to Beijing”. The mascot’s colours were chosen in line with the colours of the Olympic rings. Alas, the much hyped competition in the Graphic Design and Advertising line ended.

Grokster Closes

Grokster closes...while providing some, erm, well-meaning educational links about copyrights. Seriously.

I'm Cheap...And I Know It

My blog is worth $564.54. How much is your blog worth?