- Legislators in Singapore have passed a law that will
allow the government to jail people who it believes are using computers
and endangering its national security.
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- The amendment to the existing law means the government
will monitor all computer activity and take action against them if it wants
to.
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- And the government can also make organisations and individuals
take action on its behalf.
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- But according to local rag the Straits Times, the chairman
of the Ministry of the Interior, Chin Tet Yung, said that law abiding people
need have no fear.
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- The law would only be used in special circumstances and
ordinary people need not worry their little noddles or waste their brain
cells thinking about things like this.
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- Is Singapore a police state? No. It's run by self serving
politicians like many another state, who give orders to the police.
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- To show it's a paragon of democratic virtue, it recently
relaxed laws that prevented you chewing gum, although you still can't go
to certain web sites that the government doesn't want you to, obviously
for your own good.
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- But a recent Amnesty International report said that opposition
parties in Sinhapura, "The Lion Town", are underfunded, the Internal
Security Act allows indefinite detention without trial. The press is is
restricted, it jails Jehovah Witnesses, it canes people, and even peaceful
demonstrators can be jailed.
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- It uses "civil defamation suits" to silence
the opposition, which can result in huge fines. Conscientious objectors
who reject military service are jailed.
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- But you don't need to worry your little brain about that.
It's rich. µ
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- INQblot Draconian is named after Draco, an Athenian lawmaker
from famous democracy city-state Athens, who passed a law so severe that
his name is now enshrined in history. The laws were impartially severe,
although it's not known if he was arrested under their terms.
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