New Generation Youths: Online And Unprotected

The risks that the new generation youths face online today are high. Social networking websites are fishing in more teenagers to expand their membership database. They are actively promoting themselves as a great place to meet new friends. Nonetheless, being young and naive have caused the children to make precarious decisions such as meeting the virtual friends in real life. What they do not realize is that those friends are actually strangers, some with their harmful hidden agendas concealed by a nice and friendly profile layout.

The number of sexual offences committed online has risen. Sexual predators utilize the Internet to seduce and lure innocent children to satisfy their lust and sexual desires. Most of them gained the trusts of their victims before exploiting them. Social networking websites are working hard to prevent sexual offenders from preying on their younger members. For instance, MySpace had made site-design and policy changes that included acknowledging consumer reports of abuse within twenty-four hours, allowing parents to submit children's email addresses to the site for blocking and automatically making a greater number of profiles private. MySpace also employs technology from Sentinel Tech Holding to eliminate child predators who set up profiles in their own names.

However, despite all the efforts by the social networking websites to protect youths online, they are still exposed to an array of dangers online such as bullying and sexual predation. The reason being is simple: it is getting harder for parents to monitor their children's online activities. Parents play an integral role in making sure their children are safe while surfing the Internet. Constant monitoring is crucial to ensure that their children do not fall in the traps of online dangers such as by preventing them from sharing their personal contact information.

As technology advances, things are getting more complicated for parents to fulfill their duties online. For example, in the case of Facebook, sexual predators can befriend the children online, gain their trust and ask for their contact information via Facebook Chat. They can easily avoid all the privacy tools set by the children's parents. Besides that, social networking websites are also going mobile making it even much more difficult for parents to consistently monitor their children's online activities.

For the record, below are links of stories regarding sexual offences committed by criminals who utilized social networking websites such as MySpace, Facebook and Bebo:

Police: Man Used MySpace To Lure Child For Sex

MySpace tryst leads to charges for Catawba man

Social websites lure youngsters into gangs

La Crosse Teen Pleads Guilty in MySpace Nude Pictures Case

Police: Man Met, Assaulted Girl On Facebook

As you can see, the danger is real and teenagers are vulnerable online. So is there a solution to the problem? Yes, in my opinion, education combined with parental intervention is the best solution. Parents need to be taught the new systems and policies that social networking websites adopt. I believe some parents are still unaware of the new rules implemented by social networking websites to protect their kids. Parents should also be educated to effectively monitor the online activities of their children. They may need to extend their surveillance over mobile phones with Internet access, beyond the computers at home.

The only people that stand between our youths and online sex predators or bullies are their parents. They can easily recognize a fishy situation and avoid trouble. The new generation youths are exposed to many online social networking outlets as the Internet is introduced in the early stages of their lives and their naivety is often taken advantage of by irresponsible netizens. Parental intervention is therefore fundamental in order to make sure the kids remain protected online. Teenagers are still children.

The Bad In Our Society: Why And How?

When someone wants you to name the bad in your society, the people that automatically comes into your mind are the mats, minahs, ah lians and ah bengs. When the same person then asks you to describe how they look like, the pictures that flash in your mind are tattoos, smoking, sex with multiple partners, theft, truancy and the many other things associated with crime. However, when a final question is thrown at you seeking an answer to why the group of people you first mentioned are bad, you hesitate.

You hold back your words not because you do not the answer. The truth is you do know the answer - mixing with the wrong company, a broken family and negative influence from the mass media. Nonetheless, you are still stuck. And you are in that condition because you realize that the answers do not make sense.

Why would they harm themselves by smoking profusely throughout their lives when they know it would harm them and probably their families? Why would they continue to lead a highly sexually active lifestyle when they know it would do nothing to fix a broken marriage? Why are they committing crimes when they know their lives can be chained up with a prison sentence?

In my opinion, they are lost.

I remembered having a friend in Secondary School who used to share with me her first sex experience with her boyfriend. She was only twelve back then and the intercourse took place on a staircase. My friends and I would constantly advise her to stop practising the unhealthy lifestyle and teach her about the possible effects of pre-marital sex (such as an unplanned pregnancy). She remained adamant and would always hit back at us with the usual reply, "Yeah, I knew that!".

Anyone who receives such replies would think that they all do not make sense. I mean, using an analogy, why will anyone step on a pile shit when they know it stinks and would dirty their shoes?! No one will do that. No one unless the whole scenario happens amid darkness and you are lost and you can't see anything around you.

Starting to get the picture? Now lets move on...

In life, we must always be attached to something. It can be your religion, racial traditions or even the values taught in your school and family. In my opinion, these are the things that we depend on before making a decision. For example, the reason why some of us do not lie is because we are taught by our parents and during religious classes that lying is morally wrong and can taint your level of integrity. In short, the things mentioned above shine the light in our lives.

However, not all of us are privileged or lucky enough to be living under the light; some of us are lost in total darkness. Yes, they were taught in school about the negative consequences of pre-marital sex. Yes, they were warned by their parents about the importance of good education. Yes, they were reminded by the mass media about the dangers of smoking.

Nonetheless, at the same time, they are living under the same roof with a father who smokes heavily. At the same time, the mass media proudly showcases how cool and fun a sexually active life is. And at the same time, they witnessed first-hand how their less attentive friends in class achieve top grades in their examinations.

And so they are confused. As the confusion grows, so does the level of distress. In the end, the mind blanks out. They are now lost. They left behind rationality and do things randomly, fuelled by curiosity. In total darkness, most of the times they trip. This is when they contract a sexually-transmitted diseases, suffer lung cancer, get an unplanned pregnancy and so on.

Every decision is made without much thought. They have nothing to rely on when they switched their minds off - no values or whatever. Furthermore, at times they do bump into people in the total darkness. People who are like them. And so the blind leads the blind. This is how a bad dark company is formed.

The mats, minahs, ah bengs, ah lians or anyone related to the bad in society are not really that bad. They are just very lost. Broken families, negative influence from the mass media and joining the wrong company are just mere excuses. It is fundamental to understand and take note that all the social problems do happen in close families, amidst strong censorship of the mass media by the government and by befriending capable and honest individuals.

In various religious teachings, one concept that is constantly and consistently taught is about leading people in the correct path. We all know that when there is a correct path, there must also be an incorrect one. Most of us will choose the correct path as it is straight and safe. We naturally avoid the incorrect one as it is long-winded and treacherous. However, why would anyone in this world still choose the incorrect path? It is because they are not able to differentiate them both. They are just lost in total darkness. The paths look similar.

So how do we help our lost teenagers? How do we lead them back to the correct path?

We must reach out towards them, and not them reaching out to us. If we really want to solve our social mess, then it is vital for us to put in more effort going out and helping them. Concerts or (dance) competitions to promote awareness for specific anti- campaigns are too old-fashioned. Teenagers are most likely to skip the message of the campaign and instead focus on the entertainment value.

The lost souls needs hands to grab them and guide them to the light at the end of the dark space. They do not give much attention to campaigns no more. They have this thing called the Internet whereby more interesting materials are available.

It is about time we reach out to the 'bad' in our society with direct education.

New Gruesome Baby Torture Case Shocks Britain

Local British newspapers have reported a very chilling report on a torture case committed by a wicked man on his stepson, named as Baby P. More intriguingly, not even a single social worker or doctor who met the toddler manage to spot the brutal abuse.
















The victim, Baby P.

Baby P's fingertips were sliced by a Stanley knife and his little nails were yanked off by pliers. The tragedy's only witness, a 15-year-old teenager, also revealed that the victim's genitals were smacked with a shoe. His face would sometimes turn blue as his windpipe was pressed down with unimaginable force by his evil stepfather.

Instead of carrying him on his arms while putting him to sleep with a lullaby like every other father should do to his son, the stepfather grabbed Baby P by his throat and threw him into his filthy cot. No one was allowed to change Baby P's diapers. At times, the sadist would drop him six feet onto the floor.
















Computer-generated images revealing the injuries inflicted on Baby P.

The victim's mother concealed all the ill-punishments by cooking up excuses. She would smear the boy's face with chocolate to cover up the bruises. She also told doctors that another child pushed her son into a marble fireplace when questioned about the bruises caused by a fall.

The shocking dossier has angered many British citizens. Death threats against the victim's stepfather were also issued by outraged readers. We wonder what could have prompted or influenced the stepfather to commit such horrendous abuse. Baby P was pronounced dead in August 2007.

Read more HERE.

Bali Bombers Executed

Amrozi, 47, his brother Mukhlas, 48, and ringleader Imam Samudra, 38, had been executed at around 00:15 am (1715 GMT Saturday) today. The three terrorists were killed by a firing squad and their bodies were transported back to their home villages via helicopters. In 2002, the bombers murdered more than 160 foreigners in a nightclub located in Bali.

Honestly speaking, I doubt this move can help subdue terrorism. The radical supporters are already welcoming their dead bodies back home as martyrs. This blatantly proves the level of misinterpretation of Islamic teachings among them. I fear the proliferation of such misleading teachings among youths in the future, thus breeding more vicious and merciless Islamic radicals.











I strongly believe having a 'war against terrorism' will not work. The more terrorists you kill, the more members the radical organizations will try to recruit. It is a never-ending cycle - one dies, three more are born. Terrorists are violent in nature and revenge to them is sweeter than honey. Executing them in the light of massive press coverage turns them into 'heroes' overnight. Furthermore, retaliation from supporters is imminent, endangering more civilian lives.

Islamic radicals, to me, are being misled to conduct terrorist activities. Many of them are poor and uneducated. Their top leaders are the ones who distorted verses from the holy book Al-Quran before spreading the false ideologies to their followers. Of course, stories of real life discrimination such as on the Palestine-Israel conflict are sprinkled all over their sermons.

















Yes, there is a thin line between freedom fighters and terrorists. I believe a freedom fighter is one who fights against an enemy to regain back his or her country's sovereignty. A good example is the Palestine-Israel conflict. How would you feel if the country that you loved so much was suddenly stolen by a group of foreigners?

My definition of a terrorist is the exact opposite. A terrorist, to me, is someone who uses violence to steal the sovereignty or lives of the civilians of a foreign country. This is unacceptable and forbidden under the Islamic law. All claims that the terrorists are anti-American are only partially true. I strongly believe their greed for power is the driving force behind the deadly activities.

Islam is a religion of peace and it does not condone violence. I suggests a 're-education' program for the captured terrorists. It is even be better if the government captures the most influential radical of the lot. Having strict guidelines for the choice of clerics in public Islamic institutions or mosques is also helpful. Once this happens, the reverse process begins - one 're-educates', three others turn over a new leaf.

21st Century Digital War: Recording Companies vs File Sharing

Written by azhar.

Face the fact: The music industry is lost in the Internet revolution. Record companies are spending more time filing lawsuits against music fans than promoting album sales. Music lovers who download music online via file sharing programs are now viewed as Internet delinquents. Their actions are regarded as subversive of the traditional music industry.

Album sales dropped for a seventh consecutive year in 2006, but a significant increase in digital downloads provided a lifeline for the music industry. The iTunes store, run by Apple Inc., is one of the leading players in the digital music market. Online music stores carry two fundamental benefits for consumers. Firstly, consumers are able to choose and buy only the track(s) that they prefer from the album. Secondly, music fans can purchase music in the comfort of their homes.













However, despite all the advantages offered to the consumers above, music fans - especially the teenagers - are still downloading songs from P2P (peer-to-peer) programs such as Limewire and BitTorrent. The main reason why the illegal activity still subsists today is due to many reasons, ranging from the inability for teenagers to possess a credit card to the common belief that illegal download is an acceptable practice in the society. Nevertheless, the most vital reason may be the advancement in information technology and the Internet which has made it much more easier and 'safer' for teenagers to download and share songs illegally.












The earliest form of copyright infringement in the music industry is taping, whereby people record music directly from the radio. In the past, they would use tape recorders to do the job. The audio quality was low when played back. Now, music listeners are able to record the entire song in perfect quality, by connecting a modern microphone to another computer. The recorded track then undergoes a series of 'technical improvements' using sound-tweaking programs available widely in the market. The end product can then be stored in mp3s or iPods.



















Instant Messaging has also evolved since the past few years. In the past, users can only engage in a conversation with their peers online. Now, they can share files via Instant Messaging programs such as Windows Live Messenger. This feature has made it easier and perhaps 'safer' for teenagers to share their latest music favourites with their friends. Well, all you need to do is to ask your friend to record a song from YouTube and send it to you straightaway. It is that simple.

Another suspect responsible for the murder of the album sales is the emergence of many softwares aimed at protecting the privacy of P2P users. Among the most popular is PeerGuardian, a software which blocks all traffic coming from suspicious IP addresses. The software is free to download and proven very effective. With the development in the Internet technology, it is no wonder teenagers are not at all intimidated by the penalty of illegal downloading. It is so easy to circumvent the law that the rise of Internet pirates seems inevitable.



















Instead of attempting to squeeze music sharing to extinction, record labels should make use of its wild popularity. They should turn file sharing into a boon and bridge the rift with the millions of music lovers out there. It is about time we start believing that music sharing does not hurt the artist; perhaps, it can help make him or her more successful.





















Popular hip hop star, 50 cent, explained, “The concerts are crowded and the industry must understand that they have to manage all the 360 degrees around an artist. They, (the industry), have to maximize their income from concerts and merchandise. It is the only way they can get their marketing money back.”

It makes sense. P2P (peer-to-peer) programs allow complete freedom for its users to upload and share music to millions of other users worldwide. The popularity of the artist and his songs will sky-rocket as a result of this. File sharing can expand an artist's fan base and stretch his target listeners, tapping into the adult as well as youthful market. The surge in fame will translate into a higher or even sold out figures for both his concerts as well as line of merchandise.













Nonetheless, there is a limitation to the point above. If music is authorized to be spread freely in the market, this can lead a major unemployment crisis in the music industry. Experienced recording producers, engineers and studio managers may lose their jobs. Furthermore, file sharing may adversely affect consumers. A fall in demand for CD sales will force record companies to incur huge losses. The companies have no choice but to pass the higher costs to consumers in the form of higher prices. Thus, file sharing does not benefit legitimate buyers.

There are other solutions to clear up the mess. In France, a small group of lawmakers wanted to adjust an anti-piracy law that would establish a so-called global license fee that - once paid - would permit Internet users to download unlimited digital music and films from the Internet for personal use.

"Artists currently get no money from peer-to-peer sharing, and with this fee at least they would get some," said Aziz Ridouan, a 17-year old high school student who has fought for Internet rights as president of the Association of Audiosurfers. "If the government and industry attack downloaders aggressively, we will just go underground with encryption and all chance of revenue will be lost."






















The global license fee appears to be a prospective solution to counter the problem of illegal downloading or file sharing. It benefits the society as a whole: producers as well as consumers. Consumers can enjoy a wide variety of high quality tracks of their favourite artists and upload them in their mp3s or iPods legally. They are no longer blacklisted and labelled as Internet criminals. Meanwhile, record companies can also benefit through the establishment of the global license fee as a source of revenue. This will in turn encourage them to sign new artists apart from producing more songs by current stars.

Another answer to the issue is to treat music as a piece of art as it is. Consumers should be granted rights to place a value on the music - like how they place a bid on art paintings during auctions - and donate the money to the artist. This idea seem revolutionary but it has been experimented by English alternative rock band, Radiohead, who invited their fans to decide how much they want to pay for their new album. The model was successful, spurring other bands such as Oasis (who is not attached to any record label) to follow in their footsteps. It broke the convention that music always comes with a fixed price tag; music now has it own value.



















Imposing a new or stiffer law to combat file sharing should be the last resort. It only acts as a measure to deter potential music pirates. It is just not pragmatic to use legislation as a solution to the problem. The police can only identify the culprit by tracing his or her IP address. This poses another potential complication - what if someone else uses your IP address to download music?



















English soul and R&B singer-songwriter, Joss Stone, said, "The only part about music that I dislike is the business that is attached to it. Now, if music is free, then there is no business, there is just music. So, I like it, I think that we should share.”

Perhaps it's about time we free music from its chains.

Cyber Bullying 2.0: The Real Story

Written by azhar.

Names used are fictitious.

Two years ago, two of my classmates were the masterminds behind an insidious plot to bully an innocent schoolmate. Her name was Honey. She was obese and had a weird behaviour. Everyone ridiculed her online eccentricities - she would always boast about guys chasing after her. My classmates, Jasmine and her accomplice, Jenny, decided to create an entirely fake Friendster account and use it to 'befriend' their target. They were curious and wanted to know who the guys were as there were no pictures posted in her Friendster profile. It was an attempt to prove if she was fabricating the stories or otherwise.

And so, Dave was born. Dave's job was simple. He would 'befriend' Honey and exchange messages with her. Jasmine and Jenny brainstormed Dave's personal information that would be included in his Friendster profile. Everything was made up, of course. After Dave's particulars were finally recorded, they registered his profile and within minutes it was ready, complete with a new profile layout and pictures that they grabbed in the Internet.
























For the next two months, Jasmine and Jenny had a lot of fun sharing the personal messages from Honey to their friends including me. The whole class would crowd around the school computer and laugh at the messages. It was very obvious that Honey trusted Dave completely even though they never met! She would share almost everything about her life to Dave. However, this was not the end. Jasmine and Jenny were elated by the success and they had plans to share it with the entire school population.

Since Honey's Friendster account was private, only friends that she accepted could receive and read the messages online. Jasmine and Jenny wanted to expose the messages between Dave and her by posting it in a blog, so that everyone could view it any time. To prevent readers from suspecting that the blog was not genuine, they decided to update about Dave's personal life. Everything they blogged about was fiction.

Dave's blog and Friendster profile soon became very popular in school. For the first time, all my schoolmates could witness and decide for themselves if Honey was just fabricating her love stories or otherwise. We grew more convinced that she was indeed living in a fantasy world of her own: She claimed that she had met with Dave in her instant messenger display name. It was not true. Dave was merely an online fictitious character. He never existed.

As months passed by, news broke out that Honey had discovered the blog and was depressed after reading it. There were rumours that she would cry every time she visited the blog. Honey stopped contacting Dave as soon as she detected the (evil) plot. No one really knew what happened to her hereafter. She did not have many friends. Her classmates alienated as much as we did. Dave's Friendster account and blog soon died in weeks.

If the blog was still 'alive' up to date, my classmates and I would be celebrating its 3rd anniversary. As I reminisced about the past, I felt grateful it never lasted that long. The consequences would be dreadful if it did. I stumbled upon news that many teenagers had committed suicide after being mortified online. Little did I know that my classmates and I had actually committed a serious offence two years back - cyber bullying. We never thought of the harmful consequences that would affect our target. All we wanted was evidence that our victim was living in a fantasy world of her own.

Cyber bullying involves the use of information and communication technologies to taunt and harm an individual or a group intentionally and repeatedly. Cyber bullies utilize the Internet to inflict emotional pain to their victims and sometimes injure the dignity of their targets. These online predators usually remain anonymous as they erode their prey's self-esteem.

Ryan Halligan was a 13-year-old boy from Vermont in the USA. In school, he was constantly taunted for months as being homosexual. Classmates started to spread the rumour via instant messaging. A popular female classmate then pretended to be interested in him and chatted with him online regularly, before exchanging and forwarding the conversation to her friends. Unable to cope with the humiliation, Ryan committed suicide.






























Ryan is only one of the hundreds of teenagers out there being bullied online. A 2007 study by the US-based Pew Internet & American Life Project found that one-third of American teenage internet users have been targets of online ruffians. The emergence of social-networking websites has also taken cyber bullying into a whole new level - more public and collaboration. Cyber bullying has become more 'deadly' than the usual schoolyard bullying. Below are the reasons why:

It is more public

In the past, bullying usually occurred in schools. The offenders would choose their targets and torment their victims with physical or verbal bullying. The most common were name-calling, teasing and sometimes kicking or hitting the victims. Such instances would happen during breaks in school, usually within the bully's circle of friends or classmates. The target would be dragged into a secluded place, away from the rest of the school population, so that no one could witness and inform the teachers regarding the bullying.



Everything has changed now. The emergence of social-networking websites and instant messaging networks has enabled bullying to be shared and spread to hundreds of people. It would be bad enough to be taunted by one person while only a few students knew about it, but a video or blog post seen by hundreds of people could be devastating. Some netizens might even join in the bullying by supporting the online delinquent. Can you imagine someone recording an embarrassing moment whereby you fell on the ground and the next thing you knew was 2,000 people have viewed the video in YouTube in less than 24 hours? In Singapore, over 70 per cent of students have access to the Internet. The humiliation would be overwhelming.

Click HERE to view YouTube's efforts to combat cyber bullying.

It is 24/7 everyday

In the past, bullying stopped when the bell rang and students would disperse back to their classes. Bullies usually picked on their targets during breaks and sometimes after school. They had limited time to intimidate their prey. There was no way they could continue tormenting their classmates in class unless their teachers were not present. Bullying usually occurred only during the weekdays in school. The weekends were the only time the victims could escape torture.

Cyber bullying has taken schoolyard bullying into a whole new level. Bullies can now make insulting remarks and humiliate their victims online any time they want. Weekends do not mean a break for the victims now; in fact, weekends are the best time for the online ruffians along with their friends to antagonize their victims as they have more leisure time. No one is there to stop them. The bullying will continue everyday without cessation. Technology has also allowed bullying to occur even when in class. The bullies tend to use this time to record or snap pictures of their targets in action. Imagine having to be scrutinized almost every hour of the day. It can be maddening.

Cyber Bullying Statistics

42% of kids have been bullied while online. 1 in 4 have had it happen more than once.

35% of kids have been threatened online. Nearly 1 in 5 have had it happen more than once.

21% of kids have received mean or threatening e-mail or other messages.

58% of kids admit someone has said mean or hurtful things to them online. More than 4 out of 10 say it has happened more than once.

53% of kids admit having said something mean or hurtful to another person online. More than 1 in 3 have done it more than once.

58% have not told their parents or an adult about something mean or hurtful that happened to them online.

Statistics by i-SAFE America

It is anonymous

John Carr, chairman of the Children's Charities' Coalition for Internet Safety in London once explained, "On the playground, seeing the stress and pain of the victim face to face can act as an inhibitor to some degree. In cyberspace, where there is no visual contact, you get more extreme behaviour."

This is probably the most serious reason why bullying in the digital age is more 'deadly' than physical or verbal bullying. In the past when bullying is usually done in schools, bullies would stop afflicting their victims when they started to moan in pain or threaten to shout. In cyber bullying, students sometimes do not realize that their actions may hurt the feelings of their peers. This was proven in the case of my classmates who never suspected that they were doing was inflicting a deep emotional pain in their target, Honey. They realized their mistakes and stopped only when news broke out about Honey's emotional distress.



Furthermore, the psychological ramifications of not knowing who was bullying you could be infuriating. The identity of the bully is often concealed as he can appear as anonymous or even create a fake character to disguise himself. The bully could be anyone - your close friend, a schoolmate or even your sibling. It can make the victim paranoid and sometimes too sensitive to the surroundings. Hence, anonymity can definitely amplify the negative effect of bullying on the victim. Cyber bullying is insidious.

No tell-tale signs

In the past, parents could easily detect any tell-tale signs if their children were being bullied - a black eye or a bloody lip. Now, parents can no longer count on those tell-tale signs to alert them if their children were being taunted in school. Cyber bullying has a more psychological and emotional impact to its victims. The targets would usually hide it to prevent embarrassment. Cyber bullying may not inflict any physical injury, but it sure does have a deep and much more painful emotional repercussion. He may not be able to cope and kill himself in the end.














Cyber Bullying and Singapore

The law

Teo Wee Meng, a trainer in cyber crimes in the Criminal Investigation Department, said if there's "malicious intent", miscreants will be "charged in court, and will either be jailed or fined".

However, experts believe that having laws are just one side of the coin.

Said Esther: "To eliminate cyber-bullying, it will help if students know that the law in Singapore does not tolerate cyber-bullying. Knowing that cyber bullies can be prosecuted may deter people from doing so."

Wed, Mar 12, 2008
The Straits Times

Statistics

Singapore has the second highest number of cyber-bullying cases after the US, says new survey.

Esther Ng, founder of the Coalition Against Bullying for Children & Youth, an agency that provides resources for people to seek help on bullying issues, agreed. She cited a 2006 survey of 3,488 Singaporean students in which 25 per cent - or 872 students - admitted to having been victimised online.

Another 31 per cent said that the online victimisation was in addition to physical bullying they also faced.

Citing studies published by WiredSafety.org, Poh Yeang Cherng, manager of Touch Cyber Wellness & Sports, said: "There are far more reports of cyber- bullying from Singapore on a per capita basis compared to all other countries except for the United States."

Wed, Mar 12, 2008
The Straits Times

Cases

A TEACHER has come under fire after his blog entry mocking his Primary 3 pupils was discovered and its
URL passed to other netizens.

The relief teacher had posted online four excerpts from different compositions written by his pupils and accompanying them, he had commented: "I have three terribly ridiculous compositions... a source of entertainment, I should say... I will type it out... no corrections or whatsoever... enjoy!"

He later added a fourth composition.

A primary school teacher who only wanted to be known as Ms Wong, 28, felt the blogger was not professional.

"If he puts it on his blog such that the children can improve, it's okay. If it's to amuse himself, then it's not," she said.

Mon, Feb 18, 2008
my paper

It may be the school holidays, but 12-year-old Michelle, who studies in a reputable girl's school, has had no respite from bullying by her classmates in cyberspace.

Michelle's pictures have been defaced and she has also been insulted in a blog with over 7,000 hits.

The cyber-bullying follows months of being ostracised in school.

Michelle claims vulgarities were uttered in her face and her classmates even threatened to stab her with a pencil.

Michelle has submitted a report to the school, but when her mother spoke to the school authorities, they asked if her daughter was being overly sensitive.

CNA
18th June '08

Copyright Protected

Written by azhar.

Hundreds of BitTorrent users have received letters demanding compensation for the alleged uploading and sharing of copyright materials. BitTorrent is one of the big players in the file sharing industry. It is a network which offers free and open source file-sharing application effective for distributing very large software and media files. Other big players include peer-to-peer file sharing systems such as Limewire and Kazaa.










A team consisting of lawyers ‘Davenport Lyons’, anti-piracy tracking company ‘Logistep’ and several games publishers such as Zuxxez/Topware and CodeMasters have been busy distributing letters to those who have uploaded and shared their products. Nonetheless, not many who received the letters are choosing to pay the fines. Some of them are still doubtful about the credibility of the anti-piracy tracking company 'Logistep', while others believe they are completely innocent.



























There are several cases which cast doubts over the accuracy of Logistep and its anti-piracy device. One of them is the case of a 67-year-old grandmother who was demanded to pay fines for downloading Colin McRae: Dirt, a popular racing game developed by CodeMasters. Why would an old women be interested in a sports video game? Another example is the case of a man named 'Stuart'. He was also accused of infringing copyright on Colin McRae: Dirt. Stuart vigorously denied all the accusations and insisted his innocence. He has not paid the fines and Davenport Lyons has not taken any action against him. I believe there was no concrete evidence to charge Stuart with copyright infringement.














The gaming industry is not the first to take such stern action against file-sharing users. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has been under the limelight in the recent years for outrageously claiming copyright infringement fines ranging from $750 to a whooping $30,000 per song uploaded. A very popular instance which involves a fine by RIAA was the case of Jammie Thomas, a women charged with a $222,000 fine for infringing the copyrights of 24 songs using the Kazaa file-sharing network. Thomas appealed and argued that the $222,000 penalty was excessive as the music labels only made 70 cents per song, but the 12-person jury still approved the exorbitant penalty.















In my opinion, I believe it is impossible to completely stop the widespread use of peer-to-peer file-sharing networks. Millions of people are uploading and sharing songs and games as I am typing right now. I question if an artiste under a record label is really earning a large part of their income through album sales. In fact, I think singers are earning more money with their concert tours and endorsement deals. Perhaps, file-sharing can help spread their work and attract more fans. What do you think?

The Nude Trend

Written by azhar.

We teenagers know that this is the period of our lives where hormones and curiosity controls the mind and body, diminishing our judgment. Moreover, in this modern age, technology seems to act like a catalyst for us to satisfy our lust for the new and naughty. Nonetheless, the ramifications of the whole new experience are causing teenagers to face the peril of crime and punishment.

Teenagers are developing a new habit - taking nude pictures of themselves using their camera phones. They do so for a few main reasons. One of them is just for the fun of it. They will take naked shots of themselves and trade between their friends back and forth. Another popular reason is to impress their boyfriends. In La Crosse, Wisconsin, a 17-year-old boy was charged with child pornography and sexual exploitation of a child and defamation for allegedly uploading nude photos of his 16-year-old ex-girlfriend on his MySpace profile page. This is just one of the many nude exhibitions circulating the Internet.


















Adults are appalled by this trend. They are shocked at the naivety shown by the teenagers – has it ever occurred to them that their naked pictures will be spread and possibly sold everywhere? One Sheriff, Sgt. Mark Yehle, thinks he knows why the nude photos are now available almost everywhere in the Internet. He said, "I think they just do it to impress their boyfriends. When he breaks up, he `vents,' in his words, by posting them. He apparently didn't think there was anything wrong with it. He didn't know it was illegal."

Another teenage netizen, Brianna Moran, revealed that it is a common trend among MySpace users to upload naked pictures of themselves. At this age, teenagers are always curious of the fun element in showcasing their bare bodies and sharing them in the online community. A good place to start is of course the popular social networking websites as it allows the public to view, share comments and event get into a private conversation with the ‘naked stars’. After all, who does not enjoy popularity at such an early age?



















However, what the teenagers don’t seem to realize is that while it is easy to upload and share the pictures, it is also easy to steal or spread it to the rest of the world. In New York, several teenage girls sent their naked photos to their boyfriends, only to realize that another boy was collecting them from the websites and compiling them in a DVD before attempting to sell copies of it. Anyone can grab photos from a personal page when he or she is accepted as a friend. The problem is that it is difficult to distinguish whether that person is really your friend or otherwise in the Internet.

This disturbing trend can really damage a person’s future. High School Musical star Vanessa Hudgens described her nude photo scandal as "traumatic". The incident happened when a picture of her posing nude in a hotel room was leaked on to the Internet. Connecticut police Sgt. Jim Smith, who investigates cybercrime and online child pornography, said, "They might think it's just fun and games at the time they do it, but these images can really spread like wildfire." The Internet has almost limitless boundaries. You can share a photo from one region of the world to another. Although, the authorities has managed to stop some of the illegal online activities from continuing, we will never how far one naked photo can go.

Will you send a nude photo of yourself to your boyfriend?

A Bit Too Heartless?

Written by azhar.

A Chinese woman has created headlines in the online community and blogosphere recently when her impudent behaviour towards the Sichuan earthquake was caught on tape and duplicated all over video sharing websites such as Youtube.com. The 21-year-old woman, Gao Qianhui, fired rude and heartless remarks at the victims of the disaster.

The culprit was reportedly angry following a temporary cessation of all online entertainment and games to mark respect for those who were killed in the earthquake. The video had stirred criticisms in the online community as they were appalled by the woman's total lack of sympathy to the casualties.

I am not sure what law she has broken, but I would love to express my disgust towards such behaviour.

I have included a video, including the translation, below.

Warning: The video and/or the translation may contain offensive language.

"I turn on the TV and what do I see? Dead bodies, injured people, corpses, rotten bodies, all the crazy acts you guys are putting up. It's not that I want to watch these things. I have no choice. Look, now the entire internet is black-and-white and without colour. Do you think we're all colourblind like you? Have your eyes been hit by so much rubble you can't see any colour now?

"Sigh... all you guys... if you're hit by the rubble just go suffer by yourself quietly... What are you screaming for? What rescue are you asking for? Not that I'm blaming you... you guys in Sichuan are in a terrible position in China. They say the Indian plate is moving in crashing into you guys. Don't you think you guys deserve it?

"I think this earthquake was not strong enough. If only it had just been a bit stronger to flip you guys over. Today we're mourning for you. Tomorrow we're donating money to you, huh? May 21 is such a great day. Lots of people trying to get married this year. And now we have to mourn for you. Do you think those couples should get married or not? What a spoilsport. May 20, May 21, such auspicious days, now all spent mourning for you. Come on, how many of you guys are dead? Just a few, is it not? We've got so many people in China anyway.

"F*ck... You're annoying everyone to death... What tricks are you guys playing! Do you think you're all very goodlooking? Which part of your body is that precious? People are giving you cash and giving you food. And you guys are now doing nothing? Sigh... these few days, it's just impossible to go anywhere without getting reminded of you silly c*nts... Everywhere I go people are saying 'Argh, there are aftershocks in Sichuan again, this and that'...

"As for that old lady who's been lying over there for over 100 hours? Why haven't you died yet? You trying to play the mummy?

"F*ck... the earthquake might as well rock all you guys to death... All you have given us are catastrophes... all your children are jinxes... (more)

Source: http://youtube.com/watch?v=OkemgmBPZR0

Racism In Singapore's Blogosphere. Getting Out Of Hand?

Written by azhar.

A blogger was arrested a few days ago for posting racist remarks in his blog. Here is a few statements quoted from his blog, http://fragranceprince.blogspot.com:

well, he was already in the train when i boarded and there he sat, unaffected by his surroundings, smelling like he didnt showered in years and wore some really scary dirty clothes and had a dirty muddy bag with him too, in it were empty bottles which looks used… to many, he may seem a poor man or a beggar.. but… to me.. he’s wasted !!I mean… wassup with all the pretentious looks and actions for man….go get a job or better yet, make himself useful and learn how to start a fire using charcoal.. as it all lies in their blood…. SATAY SATAY!!!!

Aiya….stupid MALAYS!! Even if you are a Malay and am reading this… good for you..coz this is my personal blog and i can say what i deem fit…. if u wana defend yourself…. i suggest you arm youself with education and a motor mouth to compete against me.. else dont bother… coz i will bet my life on the line that, should you challenge me in a conversation… you will lose like what a true malay would…. LIKE **** !!!GET LOST!!

Several bloggers notified the racist content straightaway to the police. The blogger, who calls himself Fragrance Price, managed to apologize in his blog:

Dear Readers,

I would like to express my sincere apologies for any misinterpretation to my blog entry.

I regret having mentioned this entry in my blog which I didn’t expect it to turn out to be like this, I should have been more mindful.

Once again, I am sincerely apologetic for the recent events that had happen.

Your’s sincerely,

Franco

Read the article on it below:

A LOCAL blogger who ranted about a commuter’s behaviour on an MRT train was arrested on Tuesday night.

Police said the 24-year-old Chinese man was taken from his home at Paya Lebar Way at about 9.45 pm for ‘posting contents in his blog which may wound the racial feelings of another person’.

A computer, believed to be used to post the suspect’s blog, was seized for investigations, which are ongoing.

The case came to the attention of police on May 19 when they received two reports complaining of the alleged posts by the suspect.

According to a report in The New Paper on Wednesday, the blog was apparently sparked off by the suspect seeing a man of an another race sitting on the floor of an MRT train.

The blogger, an undergraduate, allegedly wrote: ‘There he sat, unaffected by his surroundings, smelling like he didn’t showered (sic) in years and wore some really scary dirty clothes…’

He went on to make other offensive comments about that racial group in his tirade, drawing flak from local netizens, who called him a racist.

One net-user wrote: ‘Stupidity has nothing to do with race at all. Just look to that blogger for proof that stupidity transcends all races.’

Added another: ‘Some things, once said, cannot be retraced. Don’t even make such stupid remarks in the first place.’

Under Section 298 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224, anyone with deliberate intention of wounding the religious or racial feelings of any person, causes any matter however represented to be seen or heard by that person, can be jailed up to three years, or fine, or both, if convicted.

Deputy Commander of Central Police Div HQ, Superintendent Lee Ping Yue, in a statement late on Tuesday, said that police take a serious view of such irresponsible blog postings in a multi-racial society like Singapore and ‘will expend all efforts in tracking the perpetrators’.

Interviewed by TNP earlier on Tuesday before his arrest, the blogger said he was sorry for what he had written and would be more mindful of what he says in his blog in future.

He said he was shocked by the furore over his blog entry, which he said was only intended for his close friends. He added that he was surprised that the entry, which was written two months ago, started circulating only days ago.

‘I am a very expressive person - my style of writing is over the top. I write this way to make my entries more punchy and exciting,’ he told TNP.

He denied being a racist and maintained that he did not harbour any ill will towards the racial group he wrote about.

But he let on that he was in a particularly bad mood the day he wrote the blog entry.

‘I meant what I wrote in a different way. If people read it in another way, there is nothing much I can do,’ he said, adding that he planned to put up an online apology for his comments.

He has removed the post and password-protected his blog, which was featured on blog aggregator Tomorrow.sg, and linked to several popular online forums.

Article obtained from straitstimes.com on 21st May 2008

If you think this is the last of such racist blogging, then you are wrong. It appears that the a netizens have identified another racist blogger. This time, it is a mother. Below is a screenshot from her blog:























Yes, this blogger wrote it with her family picture above the post.

Singapore is a multi-racial community and such irresponsible acts can do harm to our racial harmony here. Blogging is now the new media whereby people share their views and rantings on their everyday life. However, a minority group of bloggers seemed to have crossed the line with their discriminatory remarks expressed in their blogs. This has a potential danger as the Internet is widely accessible in Singapore.

Freedom of speech is often an excuse when asked why these bloggers react that way in their online journals. Is Singapore ready for a more broader freedom of speech where even racist remarks can be included in the safe or allowed bin? Do you think the jail sentence is adequate enough to warn or deter other bloggers out there from posting racist content?

Imagine the thousands of eyes that reads the bigoted posts. There should be stricter law and more education to solve this problem.

18-Month-Old Infant Forced To Smoke Marijuana

Crime and Punishment

A couple was videotaped while forcing an 18-month-old baby to smoke a marijuana pipe. The video shows 18-year-old Melvin Blevins passing the pipe to the infant while his partner, 16-year-old Angel Dailey, holds the baby. The shocking incident happened at a Pataskala home.

The couple was charged for child endangerment and corrupting another with drugs. The child is now 2 years old. Police believe the tape was recorded when she was 18 months old. Blevins will appear in federal court Friday to hear his charges and indictment.

Angel Dailey is now in a juvenile-detention center. Earlier this month, she pleaded not guilty to charges of corrupting and endangering the child.



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