Found from another blog a copy of the letter which ODEX apparently sent to an anime downloader, which at paragraph 3 states :

Please note that the infringement of copyright may constitute a criminal offense (sic), which are (sic) punishable upon conviction by fines of up to $10,000 per infringing article and / or imprisonment of 5 years.

This doesn’t strike me as entirely honest.  Section 136(2) of the Copyright Act provides that :

(2) A person who at a time when copyright subsists in a work has in his possession or imports into Singapore any article which he knows, or ought reasonably to know, to be an infringing copy of the work for the purpose of —

  (a) selling, letting for hire, or by way of trade offering or exposing for sale or hire, the article;

  (b) distributing the article for the purpose of trade, or for any other purpose to an extent that will affect prejudicially the owner of the copyright in the work; or

  (c) by way of trade exhibiting the article in public,

shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 for the article or for each article in respect of which the offence was committed or $100,000, whichever is the lower, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both.

Quite apart from the issue of whether ODEX has a right of civil action against downloaders, the Act provides that the mere downloading of an infringing copy is not a criminal offence; the offender must furthermore have carried out one or more of the acts in (a), (b) or (c) (eg. selling, renting out or distributing).  If the mere downloading did indeed constitute a criminal offence, ODEX could have just filed a police report, and let the authorities take it from there.  For reasons best known to itself, it did not.

——- Postscript ——-

Although mere downloading would not be a criminal offence under section 136(2) of the Copyright Act, section 136(3A) makes wilful infringement (which would include reproduction through downloading) an offence where the extent of the infringement is significant (or where the infringer does the act to obtain a commercial advantage).  Penalty : maximum $20,000 fine and / or 6 months jail.

Haven’t had time to blog because it’s been a terribly, terribly busy past week - only other colleague is having in-camp training.  But this incident set me thinking.

My sister asked this morning if I had read the latest issue of TIME.

"It’s so shocking loh - do you know that Mother Theresa actually did not sense God’s presence for 50 years ?"

I told her I wasn’t surprised (and this has nothing to do with my bias against Catholics).  I explained that while many Christians today make it sound as if God speaks to us in dramatic, over-the-top ways, the reality (in my humble opinion) is that there will be periods of seeming silence.  It’s not that God is not there, but that we just don’t sense or hear him in the dramatic, over-the-top way that we wish to (or are told that we should expect to). 

True, the Bible records how God spoke to Abraham (then Abram) to leave his hometown to go to the future land of Israel, promises him in a vision that he will have an heir, and even appears to him personally to give the covenant of circumcision, and confirm the promise of an heir and discuss the future of Sodom and Gomorrah.  True, the Bible records other dramatic incidents like God appearing to Moses in the burning bush.  But Christians forget that at the first and second time that God spoke to Moses, he was 75 years and (probably) 99 years old respectively - that’s almost a good 25 years.  These were, I believe, pretty much years of silence.  Of Abraham worshipping God through regular sacrifices at the altar, but of seeming divine silence and the continued barreness of his wife Sarah.  Why else would Abraham, when God finally appears to him again after 25 years, laugh and say to himself : "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old ?  Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety ?" (Genesis 17 : 17).

How about Moses ?  He languished in the desert for a good 40 years before God finally appeared to him in a burning bush !

We forget that there are intervening years that the Bible often does not record; it cannot, for the Bible would otherwise be too long and boring ("and Abraham woke up, ate his breakfast, fed his sheep, had lunch, watered his camels, had dinner, and went to sleep.  Thus passed the second day of Abraham’s journey to Canaan").  And that in these intervening years, God often appeared silent to the protagonist - if there was another dramatic incident this would probably have been recorded in the Bible.  I therefore deduce from the lack of a record, a seeming silence.

But what encourages me is that God never forgets us, or His promises to us.  The delay in God’s answer may seem long by human standards, but is in fact perfectly timed for our greater benefit and His glory (ie. so that it is clear that what we have was not attained through human ability).  For example, the birth of Issac would be a lesser miracle and would hardly be an encouragement to our faith, had it not occurred when Abraham and Sarah were well past child-bearing age.  Similarly, the exodus would seem less of a miracle, if it had been led by Moses the youthful and brash prince of Egypt, instead of Moses the aged shepherd and political has-been.

What also encourages me (as I’ve said many times before) is that the Bible also records how spiritual giants also had to struggle with God’s seeming silence.  Jeremiah accuses God of betraying him (Jeremiah 20).  Habbakuk complains against God’s failure to deliver them from injustice.  Even Jesus, quoting King David, cries out that God had forsaken Him (Matthew 25 : 46, quoting Psalms 22 : 1).

Many Christians today - especially those who worship at more exuberant churches - make it appear as if something is seriously wrong with spiritual life if we don’t "sense" or "hear" God in some mystical way daily.  I would like to profer my humble opinion that God does not interact with everyone in that way all of the time.  Anyone who wants to hear from God everyday should begin by reading the Bible everyday - God’s letter lovingly written for all Christians - rather than chase after mystical experiences and spiritual highs. 

Does God speak to Christians today ?  Yes, first and foremost through the Scriptures.

——- Postscript ——-

Intrigued by my sister’s comments, I read the TIME article on Mother Theresa’s "Crisis of Faith".  I do not think that her private notes (which discloses her struggle with God’s distance or absence) will damage the Christian / Catholic faith as some atheists would hope to believe.  Rather, it reminds us of what we already know through the Bible - that there may be times of dryness and doubt in spiritual life, and that it is possible to remain faithful in such times.

Her notes (which also discloses her deeply mediative life) will also serve as an interesting foil to the exuberant (but perhaps unthinking) faith of many of the Christians caught on film in Jesus Camp, which according to movie reviews does not cast Christians in the most flattering light.  An example of zeal with knowledge, a reminder that "it is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way" (Proverbs 19:2).

These are the covers of the yogurt cups I’ve been downing for lunch two to three times a week in the past couple of weeks, in a desperate bid to return to my (sigh) youthful figure.  Sad to say, it appears to only have worked insofar as I do not seem to have grown fatter.

(No, I’m not anorexic).

Jed reaches another milestone in toddler development, as he masters the skill of stacking his blocks.

… for the next two-and-a-half weeks, as colleague goes on ICT.

Just came to mind that the first stanza incorrectly refers to the city of Mumbai by its former name, "Bombay".  Hope no one’s offended !

I’ve walked the streets of Cairo and Bombay
I’ve seen the neon signs on ole Broadway
I’ve climbed the Eiffel Tower
The Great Wall in one hour
Experienced the sweet and sour but that’s okay

The wife asked if I was going to watch the National Day parade on TV.

"No, it’s boring, the same every year."

"So unpatriotic !"

"I’m still in service.  That shows that I’m a lot more patriotic than many others." 

(As a matter of fact, I was checking and replying to urgent e-mails on the night before and on National Day).

Was listening (involuntarily) to the NDP 2007 song when it was played over the radio this morning and thought it was very "unheartlander".  A weak attempt to tug at the heartstrings of the well-educated or well-heeled Singaporean working or studying abroad, in the hope that he will miss Singapore (but who will have better things to do than listen to national songs on 9 August), and gross neglect for the existence and feelings of our heartlander uncles and aunties who have never seen, and who can never hope to see, Cairo, Bombay, Paris, Beijing, LA, London. 

Interestingly, someone pointed out that every other city, but Singapore, is named in the lyrics ! 

I’ve walked the streets of Cairo and Bombay
I’ve seen the neon signs on ole Broadway
I’ve climbed the Eiffel Tower
The Great Wall in one hour
Experienced the sweet and sour but that’s okay

Seen Hollywood the sunsets of LA
The London Bridge, Big Ben, Thames, UK
I’ve crossed the River Kwai
Yet I still don’t know why
I think of you each night and day

There’s no place I’d rather be
You’ll always be a part of me
And even though I’ve roamed the world
It’s still my home I long to see

This is where my family
And my friends grew up with me
So I’ll cross the skies and sail the seas
To be where I wanna be

Cos there’s no place I’d rather be !

With all the respect due to Kit Chan’s vocal prowess, given the lame lyrics, I’d rather listen to Michael Buble’s "Home" anytime.

Jed has recently mastered the new skill (technically advanced by toddler standards) of lining up objects (blocks, cards, etc.) in a row.  It is quite fascinating and amusing to watch him engrossed in his new pastime, and looking very pleased with himself once the mission is accomplished.