Plus ça change

The thing about struggling with paperwork all day, is that it makes it very near impossible to blog afterwards.

So for updates on all the outrageous government behaviour that's been brewing in Singapore recently, I'll have to direct you to:

• Siew Kum Hong's reflections on how the government has responded to the recent flash foods, "Sorry seems to be the hardest word".
• The Online Citizen's coverage of the arrest of British author Alan Shadrake for criminal defamation. Shadrake just launched his book Once A Jolly Hangman, about Singapore's use of the death penalty. He has now been charged with contempt of court. (See also the Guardian for reports if you prefer traditional media.) It is an understatement of the year when I say that the way the whole arrest has been handled sends a shiver down my spine.
• This last piece of news is so new, I've only seen it on a mailing list and a personal Facebook note. But it's not secret: the Media Development Authority of Singapore has ask that one of the plays participating in Short + Sweet 2010, Nuns Gone Wild!, be withdrawn. From what I understand, the 10-minute comedy was about three nuns fantasising about/re-enacting love and sex, without any references to religion.
  

The Media Development Authority, by the way, are the same people who made a police report against the British author Shadrake, and whose stated mission is to "develop Singapore into a vibrant global media city as well as foster a creative economy and a connected society." Oh, and they're also the state censors.

Can I just say again that censorship is not the way forward, that all we are seeing is the state arresting or censuring people without being beholden to give any clear, cogent and logical explanations why they are doing so? Which is ridiculous for a developed country with developed-world aspirations, and a population of people who are not clueless or uninformed.

Also, if you haven't yet, please consider signing to support the arts community's position paper on censorship and regulation.

I was going to catalogue all the mundane things I did today in the name of paperwork, but after reviewing all the weighty news above, that would be too inane. I would like to think that tomorrow's news will be brighter, but sometimes I feel like I will come back from London after a year and find everything exactly as I left it.