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Shared this find on my Twitter feed and soon, others contributed their own…
Killer Whale (by @Janelleetan)
Ron Weasley Whale and Indian Whale (by @rompping)
The Prince of Whales (by @ryanicale)
English Whale (by @LizzieDali)
Hyuk hyuk hyuk!
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Photo by Mike Rohde
So many sales, better queue up at mrbrownshow.com!
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The Chinese version of Lee Kuan Yew's Hard Truths book will be launched by Mr Lee on his 88th birthday, 16th September.
I believe it is entitled 硬到李。 Or was it 阴道里?
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From CNA: Govt to boost social media usage
Experts are saying there should be more sustained engagement but this would require more resources to be pumped in.This would include having dedicated new media teams taking care of a ministry's website, revamped with social media platforms.
Nanyang Technological University's Singapore Internet Research Centre director Ang Peng Hwa said: "You need, basically, two people just to maintain one site, and typically, the respondents come (online, sometime after dinner).
Professor Ang added netizens who post live feeds on the eve of a holiday might expect a response in 24 hours.
He said this could mean staff would have to work during public holidays as a result.
"So it's not trivial," he said.
This is the first time I am hearing this. I don't know anybody who uses the internet that expects answers within 24 hours. If they do, they need to get a life.
And respondents go online "sometime after dinner"? Where did that data come from? People go online ALL THE TIME, on their computers, on their smartphones… Why must be after dinner? Research has shown that people can only surf after their hunger is satisfied?
And no, you don't need two people to maintain one site, you need a whole bloody team. But not for the reasons stated.
And once again, you don't call people who use the phone, "Phonetizens". Or people who write letters to the papers, "Lettertizens". The Net is a medium, not a country. People who use the Net are People, not Netizens. Good grief.
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Photo by @CherYuting
So many sales, better queue up at mrbrownshow.com!
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More Wikileaks goodness, another mention in this Wikileak cable in reference to a blog post of mine in 2007:
SUBJECT: SOME CYCLISTS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS - POLITICAL ACTIVISM IN SINGAPORE
Classified By: DCM Daniel Shields for reasons 1.4(b)(d).
¶1. (C) Summary: An internet blogger has revealed a double standard by the GOS on outdoor political events. In August, the opposition Workers' Party was denied a police permit to hold a mass cycling event and the GOS defended the decision in Parliament saying that no political party was allowed to organize "outdoor gatherings." The blogger then revealed that the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) Youth wing was advertising similar events on its website. This led to two PAP MPs claiming to the Straits Times newspaper that their events had already either been canceled or postponed due to a lack of interest and manpower. End Summary.
No Cycling For You
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¶2. (C) In early August, the opposition Workers' Party (WP) applied for a police permit to hold a mass cycling event at the East Coast Park on September 9. It was intended to kick off a series of activities to commemorate the party's 50th
anniversary in November, WP Chairman and Non-Constituency MP Sylvia Lim told us on September 10. On August 14, the police denied WP's application. During the August 27 sitting of Parliament, Lim questioned the GOS for the reasons for the denial. Senior Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs Ho Peng Kee replied that no political party was allowed to organize "outdoor gatherings because such activities have the potential for public disorder and mischief, and may disrupt community life." Ho then stressed that this policy applied "to all political parties." When pressed by WP MP Low Thia Khiang for any examples of WP events causing such problems, Ho replied by saying "I don't know whether Mr. Low's hearing aid is with him because I know he wears one -- I have said that there is a greater potential for law and order problem."
Blogger Reveals All
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¶3. (SBU) On September 4, internet blogger "Mr. Brown" revealed that cycling with the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) must apparently be safer for the community, as the Young PAP (YP) had listed on its website a "Night Cycling" event for July 28 and an Amazing Race outdoor event for October 1. Three days later, "Mr. Brown" noted on his blog that the two events had disappeared from the YP calendar. (Note: "Mr. Brown" was fired from his column in the Today newspaper in July 2006 for pointing out that the GOS had raised some fees and taxes shortly after the PAP's May 2006 election victory. End Note.)
Deny, Deny, Deny
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¶4. (U) This led to two YP advisers denying in a September 8 article in the Straits Times newspaper that the two events had been dropped from the calendar after what had happened to the Workers' Party cycling event. PAP MP Lim Wee Kiak said the July 28 "Night Cycling" event had been canceled due to a lack of interest and claimed that the YP hadn't even organized it, even though it was listed on the YP website as "YP Night Cycling." PAP MP Zaqy Mohamed said the October 1 Amazing Race event had been postponed due to a shortage of manpower. He asserted that the decision to postpone the activity had come before the August 27 session of Parliament and they hadn't applied for a permit yet.
Comment
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¶5. (C) This incident reveals the sporadic ability of internet bloggers to keep the GOS on its toes. However, the government's control over the mainstream media ensures that the revelation of apparent double standards or ruling party MPs insulting people who wear hearing aids will cause minimal political damage to the PAP.
I love the Animal Farm reference. Another example of the wit displayed in some of these leaked cables include this one:
SUBJECT: SINGAPORE ELECTS, UM, SELECTS ITS PRESIDENT
Ouch.
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I am mentioned in a Wikileak cable:
Satire on the Web
-----------------¶3. (SBU) The February escape of detainee Mas Selamat Kastari gave bloggers a chance to push the envelope of the current regulations (reftels). Blogs, such as Talking Cock and Mr. Brown, included sarcastic updates on the as-yet-fruitless search for Kastari. Talking Cock provided its readers with a "Terrorist Spotter": Kastari's mug shot in a variety of different disguises including a blonde wig and a pirate cap. Talking Cock's website also includes "Pac Mat," a version of Pac-Man in which players, as Kastari, try to escape Singapore,s military and police (after seven levels of evading increasingly responsive military and police forces, Kastari is inevitably caught by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew).
¶4. (SBU) Comment: While the GOS has been notably silent about bloggers' responses to the Kastari escape, this is likely an effort on their part to avoid drawing more derision. Neither the government's silence in the past few months nor the promised "lighter-touch approach" suggest that a loosening of Internet restrictions is imminent. End comment.
In other leaked cables, this one about Singapore journalists being frustrated by press controls was intriguing:
SUBJECT: JOURNALISTS FRUSTRATED BY PRESS CONTROLS
¶1. (C) Summary: Singapore journalists say they are increasingly frustrated with GOS-imposed limits on their domestic reporting. Political leaders put pressure on the Straits Times (ST) staff to ensure that the paper's domestic coverage follows the government line. Reporters say they are eager to produce more investigative and critical reporting, but they are stifled by editors who have been groomed to tow the line. Some reporters seek an outlet for their journalistic passions by serving as overseas correspondents, where ST allows reporters much greater latitude; others consider plying their trade elsewhere. Given that media restrictions are no greater now than in the past, reporters' increasing frustration may reflect this generation's rising expectations. End Summary.
¶2. (C) Comment: The traditional media in Singapore are certainly no more restricted today than they have ever been, and other than on race and religion, online speech is generally unrestricted. That raises the question why reporters seem to be complaining more, or at least more openly. We suspect this reflects in part a generational shift; younger Singaporeans are accustomed to having more latitude, and it likely grates on reporters not to be able to say in print the kind of things people routinely say in cafes or online. It may also be that the leaderships, own frequent suggestions of the need for (incremental) political reforms may be raising expectations that so far have not been met. End Comment.
Government Ensures Positive Local Press Coverage
-------------------------------------------------¶3. (C) Singapore journalists tell us they are increasingly frustrated with the obstacles they face in reporting on sensitive domestic issues. Reporters have to be careful in their coverage of local news, as Singapore's leaders will likely come down hard on anyone who reports negative stories about the government or its leadership, Chua Chin Hon (strictly protect), the new Straits Times (ST) U.S. Bureau Chief (former China Bureau Chief) told Poloff January 6. There is a growing disconnect between ST's reporters and its editors, with the reporters wanting to do more investigative and critical stories than the editors will allow. Chua lamented that the ST editors have all been groomed as pro-government supporters and are careful to ensure that reporting of local events adheres closely to the official line. Chua said that unless one of the editors is a "Trojan Horse," someone that for years has successfully concealed any non pro-government leanings, none of them has the courage to publish any stories critical of the government.
¶4. (C) The government exerts significant pressure on ST editors to ensure that published articles follow the government's line, Chua said. In the past, the editors had to contend only with the opinions of former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew (now Minister Mentor) and former Deputy Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong (now Senior Minister). However, a younger generation of government ministers is now vying for future leadership positions and one way for them to burnish their credentials with the old guard is to show they can be tough with the media, Chua said. As a result, several current ministers and second ministers (Chua did not say which ones) routinely call ST editors to ensure that media coverage of an issue comes out the way they want it. While Chua admitted that he knew of no editors who had been fired or otherwise punished for printing articles critical of the government, he said that is because all of the them have been vetted to ensure their pro-government leanings.
¶5. (C) Chua speculated that while Lee's eventual passing may encourage the media to open up, the current crop of ST staff would only dare to buck the government's line if it were clear that the majority of Singaporeans were already opposed to the government's policy. Even then, the media would tread carefully as the government has an established track record of using the press, the ST in particular, to shape public opinion.
¶6. (C) Chua admitted that domestically focused ST articles read like Public Service Announcements. Chua noted that how the government intends to push a certain policy is often foreshadowed by extensive media coverage (published before the official policy announcements). As an example, Chua pointed to the government's recent decision to assist retirees who lost investments in "mini-bonds" following the collapse of Lehman Brothers (ref A). That decision followed a spate of media coverage casting the retirees, plight in sympathetic terms.
¶7. (C) In contrast to the informal restrictions placed on domestic reporting, ST reporters are given wide latitude in their coverage of international events. Chua said he enjoyed a great deal of freedom during his stint as ST's China Bureau Chief, and he expects to enjoy similar freedom during his new assignment as U.S. Bureau Chief. However, due to the expectations placed on editors, Chua said he would likely never advance higher up the ladder at ST.
ST Reporter Confirms Local Media Restrictions
---------------------------------------------¶8. (C) Lynn Lee (strictly protect), a reporter for ST, confirmed the disconnect between editors and reporters. Lee highlighted the internal debate over the amount of coverage that the paper would dedicate to opposition icon J.B. Jeyaretnam (JBJ) following his death in September 2008. Lee said that while the editors agreed with reporters' demand for extensive coverage of JBJ political career and funeral (ref B), they rejected reporters' suggestions to limit the amount of coverage devoted to (relatively long) eulogies provided by Singapore's leaders. The leaders' statements took up a significant portion of the allotted space, Lee lamented.
¶9. (C) Lee also admitted that reporters practice self-censorship. Recalling the case of a journalist in Malaysia who was arrested for reprinting a politician's racially charged comments, Lee noted she would never write about any racially sensitive issues. However, self-censorship is not really needed as most censorship is done by the editors, Lee said. Lee, who is now one of ST's Indonesia correspondents, echoed Chua's comments about having greater freedom to report stories (without censorship) while abroad. Highlighting her discouragement with her life as a Singapore journalist, Lee said she considers her current Indonesia assignment as a one-year test case that will determine whether or not she stays in the profession.
Novice Journalists Also Wary of System
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¶10. (C) Singapore's journalism students think twice about building careers at home in the first place, according to online student journalist Chong Zi Liang (strictly protect). Chong and two classmates in the journalism school at Nanyang Technological University started their own online newspaper, The Enquirer, to write free of editorial interference after the existing University-funded student newspaper refused to cover a campus visit by opposition politician Chee Soon Juan. When asked how he would reconcile his journalistic ideals with the realities of a career in Singapore, Chong told Poloff that he feared it would be too "stifling" to remain here. Instead, he foresaw spending one or two apprentice years here before working somewhere else. Many of Chong's journalism-school classmates think the same way, he said.
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Please lah, ST. Want to spin also don't spin until so obvious lah.
Straits Times Headline: "Tony Tan gets almost 40% of the overseas votes"
Cheekily, TOC had this headline: "60 per cent of overseas voters voted against Tony Tan"
Sure, Dr Tony Tan got a couple of votes more from the 3375 overseas votes cast. But that hardly improved his low 35.2% score in Singapore where more than 2 million citizens voted.
The extra overseas votes moved his winning margin from the dismal 0.34% to a just as dismal 0.35% (mentioned inside the article but without the word "dismal")
That ST headline should have read "Overseas votes did not change Tony Tan's winning percentage by much".
It's like a kid coming home with 38/100 and telling his mother, "Mommy! I got almost 40/100 leh!"
My mother would have said, "Not even 50/100 pass ah?" and then caning would ensue.
"But Ma! Got three other students take the exam leh! I got the highest score already! 25/100 is considered Pass! Lian Lian didn't even get 5 marks leh!"
Still will get caning one lor.
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