Stories from 25 August 2005
Singapire: Anti-Piracy
The fight against piracy continues in Singapore. The Recording Industry Association Singapore (RIAS) collaborated with the police to arrest 3 people for sharing their music collections on the net. Under Singapore's new anti-piracy laws, the trio can face up to 5 years jail time or a S$10,000 fine each.
Taiwan: Blog Tag & Maslow
Huitabbychen who blogs at www.wretch.cc links Blog Tag to psychologist Abraham Maslow‘s Hierarchy of Needs theory… “Human being's sense of safety will only come about after their biological needs are fulfilled, which results in a sense of belonging.” Bloggers are said to be following the same pattern of needs fulfilment....
Thailand: Forbiddence
As floodwater subsided in Chiengmai, a city north of Bangkok, blogger SiamJai goes about exploring the restrictions foreigners have to face in Thailand, and restrictions Thais have to face abroad. He sights this in Laos: “It is prohibited to break in and sleep in the home of a Lao citizen...
Indonesia: Narcissus
Blogger Avianto stays on in Berlin, jobless, after finishing his Master of Science in Digital Media degree at ISNM in Lübeck, Germany. Re-reading “Understanding Media” by Marshall McLuhan which briefly touched on Narcissus, he blogs: “Human beings are so simple, we always have extensions when we communicate with the world…...
Indonesia: Abortion
Blogger Ahmad SS Ramadhana estimates that some 2 million Indonesian female undergo abortion every year. Of the number, some 900 of them go through unsafe abortion procedure conducted by untrained personnel. Free sex is said to be one of the main causes of unwanted conception that led to abortion.
Malaysia: Gay community
Malaysians reject Alfred Kinsey's 10% rule-of-thumb but readily admit that 1 to 4% of the national population are likely to be gay. thecicak.com says official gay organisations are non-existent in Muslim-majority Malaysia. However, there are organizations that support the gay community, such as HIV/AIDS non-governmental organizations like the Pink Triangle....