Category Archives: Rants & Raves

Straightening the Straits Times (9)

Sometimes it’s not just our compliant newspaper that will try to mislead the public with its biased reporting. Government and semi/quasi-government officials often resort to flawed arguments to justify flawed causes. Disguised with flowery words and patronising rhetoric, these arguments can easily sway readers who are less discerning. Case in point: The reply by NKF’s… Read More »

What’s the problem?

Hello Winston, I refer to your editorial, “Why stoop so low?”, in the April 2004 issue of CHIP magazine. So, your competitors have been bad-mouthing CHIP? Welcome to the real world. Ever been to a Sun Microsystems or Microsoft event? Perhaps even an Oracleor PeopleSoft briefing? That’s what competition is all about. Even those fellas… Read More »

To be honest with you

Old habits die hard. Even more so is the habit of flogging marketing buzzwords at the drop of a hat.In a recent worldwide survey of 5,000 people in more than 70 countries by The Plain English Campaign, an independent group “fighting for crystal-clear language and against jargon, gobbledygook and other confusing language”, phrases like “at… Read More »

Straightening the Straits Times (6)

You may have noticed that the three favourite media spins in the Straits Times recently are the wonderful capabilities of the Singapore Armed Forces, the hitherto undiscovered softer side of Lee Hsien Loong, and the many benefits for having babies – though not necessarily in that order. Judging from the number of pages devoted to… Read More »