You have said anything wrong, and there is no need to apologize. We are all here to share views and different views help to provoke thinking.

For example, your observation of:

“it appears as though people are upset about the quote because it represents a repression of free speech, however from Dr Balakrishnan’s speech, people were only prosecuted because of comments that denigrated a certain religion.”

is a reasonable point.

After thinking about it, I think some of the comments come from a broader context beyond Dr Balakrishnan’s speech. People are reacting the long history of PAP actions like JBJ bankruptcy, TODAY’s ending Mr Brown column, and jailing people wearing kangaroo T-shirt when they view his speech.

This is one context you can consider when you read those comments again.

Regards.

What kind of defamation suits in the USA are you talking about.

Stop kidding us lah. Over here, what kind of defamation suits ring loud and clear for you to really take notice and remember for a long long time. Tell me leh as even for this kind, I have short memory leh.

You forget about our world-famous kangaroo court. If the godfather says you are guilty even if you are not, the kangaroo will happily slap you with concocted guilt, factual guilt or not factual. It doesn’t matter if the IP belongs to you or not. The kangaroo is running the show. One big happy family running Singapore Inc.

Our court is not known as kangaroo court for nothing.

How about let put it this way, would people be upset if they knew people were prosecuted because they posted racist etc comments online? I wouldn’t. Because this is defamation. It is different from free speech. Even if you were in the US, the land of freedom, you can be sued for defamation for doing this.

And that is all that I have to say. If I have said anything wrong, I apologize. But otherwise, I think this website needs to rethink some of its posts.

As sarek_home said, the quote comes with a link to the report. Also, newspapers (including the govt-run Straits Times) uses such quotes all the time. Are they too taking the words out of context?

The fact that these quotes are posted under “Quote” says that it is a quote from an article or report or utterance. It is not meant to be a detailed or full quote from them. I think everybody knows that.

As such, there is no question about context.

There is no way to take his words out of context because the words is quoted from a news report and the link to that news report is provided. Readers can read that report to determine the context of his words and make their judgment.

if you keep quoting the govt out of context and criticizing for the sake of criticizing,..

You are welcome to point out what is taken out of context.

First, you have to ask yourselves if the criticism is valid, second why the government is not able to do better and come up with better solution. Sometimes, it is simply that the government officials are not working hard enough or don’t think out of the box.

People will be happy to provide alternative solutions if the government is willing to provide details on how they come up with certain decision. Let us look at two examples:

1. Lift upgrading – Mr Chiam See Tong said he could do lift upgrading cheaper than HDB, it was rejected in Parliament as not possible. But later HDB came up with cheaper solution. PAP was not listening and opposed Mr Chiam for the sake of opposition.

2. Screen doors on MRT platform – PAP ministers rejected the idea some years back when the public and then NCMP Mr Steve Chia proposed it or to say they will do it recently after several incidents involved people killed.

Like one of the above comment. Unless the administrator disclosed your IP to them, there is simply on way for them to trace you just by one simple click.

Even if they use “Reverse Engineering” by tracing the local ISP (Internet Service Provider from Starhub, Singtel, M1 or Pacnet), it would be like searching for a needle in the sea. They first has to identify all the ISP’s IP(s) that visit (example) TOC (imagine how many of them).

Then further obsolete batches and batches of IP(s) that fit the profile (such as differentiate between people who just browsed thru TOC without staying long and those that all hang around in TOC). Then again, it only can prove this IP visited TOC often. We still have beyond reasonable doubt to prove who is the exact person that commented on one particular topic and which particular comment.

It is like number combination lock code, the more digits you have, the more combination we are talking about.

However, if the website is host by local server, I do believe they have the direct jurisdiction to force entry even if the administrator disagree to disclosure. But if you go to PAP blog to scold FamiLEE, just wait for the police to come and visit you. In this case, they will know your IP and from your IP track you to whatever country you are or better still Singapore. That’s all.

That’s the reason why Pornography can never be eliminated even though Singapore Government did tried in the past where some of the Porno site will indicate that it has been blocked by local ISP. Do you see them now? No, I think they learn thru the hard way and wasted a lot of resources doing that till they gave up.

With so many people accusing of famiLEE this and that, you think if they can do it, they will not do it NOW? For a moment, you really think PAP is that compassionate?

1. Many of the blogger though so far never fame PAP, your comments or rather the whole TOC is actually pushing in the direction not in favour of PAP (Give me a good reason why the PAP don’t want to put you down if they can?).

2. Freedom of speech from PAP? Do you know that in the past when PAP wanted to purge the Communist, Chinese are not allow to speak mandarin? If you do, you will be locked up deem as a communist. So, most Chinese only speak their own dialect. Only until when communist gone and PAP notice that many group of dialect clan had become a social problem, Mandarin was being introduce to the PUBLIC using 丽迪夫声 to set the mindset of the Chinese again.

3. Media had always been used in the past as a tool to shape the behavior of the people to their liking (one of the LKY rally speech admit that), there is nothing new and neither it is a new trick.

4. You think PAP is not worry? They have no control at all when come to Internet. No control over the mind of the people. If this is not enough to make them worry, I don’t know what will?

5. Just look at Malaysia last election, I don’t believe if Singapore Government has the ability to trace a person in the internet, the Malaysia Government can’t. In the end, what is the outcome?

The only thing that is PAUSING the PAP for a election NOW is the FEAR of the INTERNET POWER. Until they can figure out a way to curb the influences and measure the extends of the damage caused by the internet, they are simply at the mercy of the internet to decide on which date to have the election (The way I look at it, they want it this year, just couldn’t make up their mind when?).

PAP FEAR internet? You must be kidding me (some might say).

Look at recent posting by TOC on the “France Cooking Class”, “Burnt MP”, “Student bus fare” etc etc. See how fast the nation media react? The minister even have to explain in the Parliament for the cyberspace’s out burst. What makes you think Ho Ching step down is not due to the consistence highlight in the internet?

For all that had mentioned. I hereby ask again, what makes you think they will not make a example out of someone if they really can? Sure that is the best way to make people afraid and stop TOC or similar sites for awhile and let their own media do the rest and get on with their election?

Have you not noticed that there are total of 465 comments? Just look at the number of people “View” and “Comment” in TOC, you will see the reality.

And do you know that out of these 465 comments, some of the commentators had went MIA (No more link to their profile)? Referring to your observation, all the perfect praises to this old man.

1, If TOC can moderate, what make you think this Dirty Old Man (DOM) cannot do that?

2. How much negative remarks had been removed, will you know the figure? 10 times or even 100 times of 465?

3. Do you really believe there will be not even a single negative remark for a person? Can’t be what….

Whether these 465 people are living in their dream or make believe, the truth will always be the truth. Trust me, you don’t have to tell them how silly they are, they will realise one day and I bet it hurt even more than people telling them.

Cheers

It is important to note that men who wish to control or regulate cyberspace,
are in fact men who fear the truth.

There is no reason to fear the truth IF S’pore is indeed governed
with integrity, transparency, accountability, sense of fairplay, and
the 82 PAP MPs are first and foremost loyal to the people of S’pore.

“Strangely, some people in the west who haven’t ever stepped into Singapore think all Singaporeans are living in oppression under a PAP dictator. I wondered what kind of news they get back there?

Make no mistake, as much as our govt is not perfect (nobody is), Singaporeans are enjoying a high standard of living and we are as free as anybody in the world can boost about. We can get rich by our own efforts, we are not afraid of walking alone at night, our children has quality education, our people have roofs over their heads and we have medical care for all levels…. and no, nobody ever got dragged to concentration camps!!

As free as countries like US claimed to be, many of their children were victims of school shootings (because they allowed guns), their leaders was ridiculed or distorted in media to sell more newspapers (they call it freedom of speech), their taxpayors were paying the bills of their politicians and they are now the greatest debtor country in the world!!”

Detect any familar pattern ? Complacency, status quo, apathetic, optimistic, positive, to the point of overlooking the negative aspect of governance that leads to Singapore’s destruction ?

Are they living in make-believe world ?

Seriously, are those people who praise LKY still living in the past, and still believing that past success will help to carry Singapore forward ?

But what is considered derogatory, aspersion, defame?
What about other things you may have left out?
What are the markers?
Who sets them? and there is another question i don feel comfortable asking here.

Its not as simple as u may like to believe.
But I agree with you in principal ;)
but then u may be ahead of your time.
In the west, people also use nicks instead of real names.