Temporal Paralysis

By now the whole of the Singapore blogosphere, especially those in the anime community, will already heard the news of the Odex vs. PacNet saga. For the uninformed, Odex had essentially “lost” the fight, instead paying Pacific Internet S$20,000 for the legal fees. As a trade-off, however, the Judge ordered Pacific Internet to instead hand over the names that are linked to the IPs, over to the Japanese companies. For your information, these Japanese companies — Sunrise, Kadokawa, G.D.H., TV Tokyo MediaNet, Yomiuri TV and Showgate — had previously been named as co-affidavits in Odex’s appeal against the PacNet case.

The local forums — HardwareZone, VR-Forums, SGCafe, even XedoDefense forums — are abuzz with the news. Some have perhaps foretold a conclusion to the saga, while others talked about the fear of reprisals from the Japanese companies — who, in the court, are the copyright owners of downloaded anime — coming down to sue the individual users. Others tell of a business-as-usual routine, whereby Odex, given the new situation, will continue to act as sheriff for the companies. Amidst the chaos and noise, I would like to give my 2 cents worth in regards to the situation at hand.

Perhaps the foregone conclusion to the saga is this: Odex clearly cannot initiate civil, let alone criminal, suit against the downloaders it claimed were taken from BayTSP as part of their monitoring activities. In fact, it cannot initiate these monitoring activities and have the list for themselves. The reason is, only exclusive licensees and copyright owners have the right to, in layman terms, “snoop, list and catch” downloaders via BayTSP. Odex has only exclusivity to Gundam SEED, therefore it cannot act on any other shows it was sub-licensed to. Hence, the court’s order not for Odex to gain access to these list.

So the ruling has effectively put Odex’s enforcement activities out of legal procedures. So what now for those that had been served the letters from Odex?

Their options are limited. For one, Odex did sent to alleged downloaders from Singnet and Starhub a letter, proclaiming that their names had been sent over to the Japanese companies, effectively putting responsibility away from them. So, those on the “waiting list” can only proceed to initiate a “libel suit” against Odex. The possibility is there, but given the high costs of initiating a suit, and less probability on actually winning a suit (as seen in the $20,000 fee Odex has to pick up for PacNet), it’s slim to see a high-level slinging, “David vs. Goliath” case.

Those that had already settled with Odex are in even more bad news. Effectively, their chances of recouping their “paid fees” from Odex is nil. The wording of the Letter of Undertaking made it that they signed their admission of guilt to Odex, and that Odex, now in what I believe is “in between a rock and a hard place,” would never hesitate to give their names over to the Japanese companies should push comes to shove.

I have only just started on the tip of the iceberg.

The repercussions of this news are less exaggerated than what most “end-of-world believers” would like to exalt. This ruling meant that the ball is now in the Japanese companies’ hands. They now must act on the list of names that are being handed over by PacNet (if PacNet agrees to handover the names — that’s a big if), and the ones Odex had ill-gotten demanded from SingNet and Starhub. But on hindsight, the Japanese companies will only acknowledge the existence of such list, and do little else.

The reason for the expected inaction would be this: it takes a lot of effort and money to come down to Singapore, engage in a competent attorney/lawyer to represent them (and because they are big companies, the lawyers are going to demand a hefty sum of money out of them), find out who the individual downloaders are (which, as shown by Odex, can be stupidly handled, as in the case of “OOPS!”), pay more money to initiate a suit, and then proceeding to court. By then, all that effort would’ve been better spent making effort in better effective distribution of their shows, and staying true to what they do all the time: making more shows!

Also, repercussions for the Japanese companies are endless: why are they targetting overseas downloaders, and not local uploaders of the very shows they owned? Why Singapore, not the United States? Why the double standards? Why not spent a better time making their distribution better? Are they employing tactics that invade other people’s privacy? What are the jurisdictions of invading other people’s privacy from other countries? etc. It simply brings too much responsibility on the companies to do so, when they could actually be hitting on a straw man?

This saga will echo the fiasco that is the IFPI, RIAA and the whole copyright issue, and the last thing Hollywood wants is more fodder for anti-copyright coalition.

Granted that since the proverbial ball is in the Japanese companies’ court, everything is up to them. Therefore, alleged downloaders are still at the mercy of them.

Unfortunately, the latest ruling doesn’t even state the legality of BayTSP’s monitoring activities, and whether they could even be used for court evidence. As such, it implies that Judge Woo Bih Li accepted the monitoring activities of BayTSP as tantamount to admission of guilt — which is entirely baseless and there are precedents that BayTSP’s activities do not hold water in most of the RIAA cases.

In the end, however, these alleged downloaders might heave a sigh of relief, now that Odex has been squashed of its supposedly “authority to act on illegal downloads.”

Other reads:

• Siew Kum Hong — Odex Redux
• Anime News Network — Singapore’s Pacnet Ordered to Name Anime Downloaders

Currently, I am in a state of anger and loss.

Anime viewing has no longer taken a centre stage in my interest now. With national service still in progress, the lethargy of going through the standard operating procedures (S.O.P.) has taken a toll on my health, leading to my previous news.

My interest in current affairs still kindles my need to read newspapers, but it has flagged somewhat. With the role of local newspapers being as they are, I would kill myself if they can lampoon local policies. Heck, I’m no longer interested in many of its articles anymore: nobody deserves to be shielded and candy-wrapped with words like “Govt still confident”, “Economy grows by 5%” or “Tourist numbers are at XX million.” It’s all a veiled cover to the important news.

Today, I looked at my existence in Singapore, and the only words I can come up, is utter humiliation, both at myself and at the country itself.

I find it humorous when the country fashions itself as “unique,” when in actual fact, it has all the trappings of other smaller nations. I don’t wish to put down all the factors: there are signs everywhere, and the only reason I put this into writing, is because I hated it when Singapore thinks itself as a “superior entity by virtue of unlikeness.” The “superiority complex” Singapore exudes is reeking. Just previously, they announced to make their Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) as transparent as possible. Why now? Why wasn’t it being practised earlier? Is it because other sovereign wealth funds has been making the headlines now, and everyone is questioning the motives of these funds? Was it an exercise in PR to make Singapore “the good guy?” Singapore was never a good guy to begin with. Neither with intentions of being altruistic.

The people. I admit that I can see the behaviour in Singaporeans in other cultures, but nobody does it on a national scale like Singaporeans. Being well-travelled, I have travelled alongside Singaporeans, and the feedback I received from hosts I visited usually remarked of the “ugly Singaporean:” greedy, cheapskate, uncouth, uncivilised. Words I would make sure I will always shed my Singaporean identity whenever I travel overseas.

The drive for excellence. At what price? It seems that if one tries to slow down and smell the roses in this country, the breakneck speed of progress will ensure that you will forever be sidelined in the nation’s blueprint for national excellence. Failed in business? Too bad, get rich or die trying. Failed in studies? I not stupid, lah. Failed in social life? Sorry, not interested. Many a time such grouses appear, the newspapers will carry an article or two, be it the mainstream or tabloid newspaper, on how some people make it despite all odds. To be honest, I’m sick and tired of the tit-for-tat reactions newspapers have been doing to silence critics. The “moral authority” of the Government is not to be questioned, so all those around told me to.

I think I might harbored the ideals of the American dream, but I know the American dream is all but shattered: lousy public image, lousy economy, lousy foreign affairs, and lastly, lousy culture (from the way their Hollywood machinations exuberate their higly opulent lifestyle). I shared the ideals of the American tenets, but not the way Americans had led themselves into.

I don’t admire the Chinese either. At this point of time, there is no stopping China in their economic meteor-like rise. But I will always know that someday, that momentum is going to be overblown like a steam engine being too overheated for its own good. Besides that, there are some quirks with the Chinese I find it a bit horrendous. The myth, “they eat anything that has two & four legs, except chairs and tables,” might not hold ground, but I challenge anyone to find endangered animal parts in their medicinal halls.

I think that applies to all Sino/East Asian cultures. They are all pretty weird. Look at Channel News Asia. Their Korean documentaries are all done in tasteless fashion, eating whole food into their mouths. The Japanese? Don’t get me started on the whaling controversy!

I think I might have said things I’m not supposed to be said, but hey, X’Ho has always treaded in that path. I think, this writing has let up a lot of latent anger within me. If there is something I look forward to, is the day I took that pink IC of mine and uproot myself out of here. If people ask, “Where to?”, I’d ask back, “What business do you have with me?” and be gone.

To credit, it wasn’t me, but my significant other, who stumbled upon this lady on YouTube (no, YouTube has not gone “social networking”) on his/her/its usual Net-surfing.

I can deduce that whether she actually worked in a voice acting studio, or just a fantastic girl waiting to be discovered, but with the latest video (embedded below after the jump) I saw from her, I can imagine her being a stand-in for Mikuru Asahina. She just sounds… soft.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet revolcism.

At first glance, I thought she was going to be another one of those “crappy singers” that floats around YouTube, but as the Kumikyoku song progress, I was taken aback when she, in fact, can really sing, albeit a bit amateurishly, given the cheap microphone. But yes, if you want another better example, here:

Now, I’ve made her famous. Touché, revolcism.

I feel embarrassed to be infected by such a disease at such a late age. Nevertheless, it felt not as bad as I thought it was. No matter. I’m still “uncontactable” with people around me, and yes, a face that looks like a zombie from those… zombie flicks will deter anyone from coming 1m near me.

Anyways, I’ve not been in a blogging fashion lately, so I’ll do a quick justice for this blog: on temporary hiatus until further notice.

As Singapore’s inflation is expected to rise to 6.5% in the next year, something came to my mind when I pondered upon the similarities between Singapore and Tokyo.

1. Both are urbanized communal societies.
2. Prices are jack expensive (at least that’s what Singapore is going to be).
3. Geriatrics will be an issue (Japan is there, Singapore will have a large elderly population by the end of next decade).
4. The politics are similarly styled (except that Singapore doesn’t have an Upper and Lower Houses that are commonly found in other democratic societies).

There are a lot of exceptions that differentiates Singapore and Tokyo completely, but if there are any indications on to the state of life in Singapore, let’s just say I’ve been to Tokyo, albeit for an 8 day stay. While I loved the city for its exuberance, I don’t fancy staying there. $3.50 for a tin can? Forget it!

But this is what Singapore is going to be for the next decade or so. The upcoming F1 GP will also deflate whatever hopes of reconciliation of the perceived income gap that I see. The economic situation in Singapore will make the rich, filthy rich, and the poor, damn poor. The middle-income groups will have to be sacrificed, and I won’t be part of that sacrificial lamb exercise.

Looks like I will have to invest in more money to be nomadic.

When I woke up today, I see the oil prices shooting up to US$100 per barrel. How untimely, when in Singapore, the GST hike, the increasing commodity prices, the inflation and the rising of taxi fares has becoming increasingly painful for the middle- to lower-income groups.

Elsewhere, the US democracy is funny: people elect “electors” to elect the next president. Myanmar’s democratic progress is laughable, Pakistan is reeling from the loss of a moderate voice, and China is increasing its net against dissentors. The French voted for what I deemed the most repressive, and adulterous, president ever. Stupid clashes everywhere because of polling fraud. Infighting over “demands for fair and rights.”

On the Internet, it’s not much worse. We’ve heard stories of how some corporations abused the legal IP system for their ends, now read this: somebody sued OLPC for “patent infringement.” In my opinion, this stinks of the SCO saga.

Don’t even talk about copyright or anything related to intellectual property: a stupid copyright coalition declared intellectual theft “worse than burglary, fraud and bank robbery.” GTFO this world, you stinking greedy pigs. Words fail me to describe the audacity to equate copyright infringement — in its course a civil infraction — worse than potentially life-killing criminal activities. Wow, solipism at its highest levels.

Speaking of which, I forgot to add on: the entire copyright laws are “broken”, not accommodating to the new realities of the Internet revolution.

So much over cyberspace. I think I can say that Gundam 00 and Command & Conquer: Tiberium Wars are my catharsis in regards to the events that are happening around the world.

Let me digress a bit here.

It would sound like something out of a science fiction fantasy. But when I say disenchanted, Internet-driven people would actually be willing to escape from the real world, and drowned themselves in “alternate realities”, where the system gives them ultimate freedom to “die, respawn and fight back,” they’d be willing to be immersed. If it sounds like the Matrix, it’s because it is. To choose between accepting the hard realities of life, or continue living in the cocoon of bliss idealism, disenchantment can drive people to madness, I guess.

But back to topic.

What I see right now, is not just “dumb rule of mob.” Increasingly, there is a collective trend of “consolidation of power to a select few,” an oligarchy. Maybe it’s beyond my hindsight/foresight, whichever fits the description. I saw that the US are increasingly bigot in both domestic and foreign affairs: it has become Rome in all but name.

Individual freedoms are still intact, but with the increasing level of security amidst the fear of “terror” and “insubordination,” I guess the dsytopic 1984 scenario is going to become a reality anytime soon. Why I said so: biometrics. I never liked having parts of my body being used against me (not that I engaged in “illegal activities”, but when trying to be naughty can lead to instances of “Cheater-like confrontation,” and the potential abuse of the surveillance systems ala “Minority Report”, you know individuality is going to be sacrificed for the greater good.)

*Sigh* So much for my emo rant. Welcome 2008, I longed for humanity to live up in space, and leave me on Earth alone for [insert vulgarity/deity/adverb here] sake.