Wednesday, November 09, 2005 - 11:09 am

Don't Sue Me!

Disclaimer /dıskleımə(r)/ noun (formal) a statement in which sb says that they are not connected with or responsible for sth, or that they do not have any knowledge of it. ~Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 7th Edition
What has happened to free speech? Two Singaporean bloggers were charged under Sedition Act. I agree that the world has no place for racists and extremists, but these bloggers had Muslim friends who could attest that they didn’t have racist sentiments. And, what? S$10,000 each to be on bail? If that happens to me, I'll be sleeping in the lockup for good!

Disenfranchised Girl has just put up a disclaimer in her blog for the sake of “protecting [herself] from whatever laws”. She’s quite right. Being a frequent blogger myself, who knows one day the police would come knocking at the door and arrest me for something I’ve posted on my blog?

Besides, suing people can be lucrative too. Haven’t you heard of the news about a smoker who sued a tobacco company, demanding compensation for not warning him apropos the dangers of smoking? What else couldn’t be possible when there’s such a preposterous case? If you have enough money to hire an attorney who is clever enough to manipulate the law, filing lawsuits can be a profitable investment.

Better be safe than sorry. It’s time for me to put up a disclaimer too. Unfortunately, I’m simply too poor to hire a lawyer to draft it. So, I’ve to pen it myself.

I don’t know enough Latin to make it sound like a formal disclaimer. Neither is it long-winded enough like those clauses found in the constitution. Never mind, this is for the benefit of laymen out there like me. But, let’s just hope it’s legit in court… Anyway, voila! Here it is!

Disclaimer: The blogger is a busy man who tends to form opinions before getting his facts right, just for the sake of saving time. He is also known to be too smart sometimes to understand what he says. A priori, he shall not be held responsible for any opinions posted in this blog. Should you be offended by his subjective and partial views, kindly send him a death threat via email.

I hate to disappoint you, but, just forget about sending me the death threat. My mailbox is currently full with fan mail and love letters.

16 comments:

Cheng Eng Aun said...

Hmm... perhaps Blogger should provide a page for us to post those thousand-pages disclaimer... The disclaimer clause I put on my site is just one sentence only though :-P

Zzzyun said...

I'm thinking of changing my disclaimer coz don't u think that my current one seems to incriminate me? hmmm...

anyway, the smoker filing that case is not the most ludicrous claim. Have u heard of ppl from the US of A filing lawsuits against McD?? no kidding, and i think they won (they're obese though). what a funny + ironic world we live in..

sjune said...

who got sue?which blogger?

samuel_lhc said...

i believe in freedom of speech, it is my right to speak my mind. so sue me! :P

out of topic: some ppl claim they can prove quantum physics is wrong http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,3605,1627424,00.html thought you might be interested

Kryptos said...

cheng>> huh? thousand-pages disclaimer? does the consitution hv a thousand page? ;P

zyun>> incriminating? how so?

june>> sam got sued ;P

sam>> anda ditahan di bawah akta ISA kerana bercakap bukan-bukan.

Cheng Eng Aun said...

Haha, I believe if the disclaimer is written in 50+ languages covering any eventuality, then it would worth a thousand pages... :P

Cheng Eng Aun said...

By the way have you seen the photo on Kenny Sia's blog that caused heated debate?

Kryptos said...

what the heck! 158 comments! walau leh! i think osama's going to recruit him... the durian suicide bomber! wow!

sjune said...

sam?who is sam?

Anonymous said...

yeah....so what do u guys think??(about kenny's pic)

Kryptos said...

it's COOL and HILARIOUS!!! But if i do that, i'll hv problems sleeping at night worrying about bush, isa, osama.......

sjune said...

who is kenny?

Cheng Eng Aun said...

Kenny Sia, really got me impressed! Once upon a time I got a blog that's more extreme than his, but I deleted it due to 'safety concern'...

Kryptos said...

really? aww, that means i dun hv the chance to hv a look! how "extreme" was it?

Anonymous said...

yeah yeah...do tell...how extreme was it??

Cheng Eng Aun said...

Ah... How to say this le? Maybe if you really know the 'classics' written by me, then you get the idea...