Any one caught the TV commercial on the Siemens Xelibri phones? Imagine a time in future when a simple phone call would get a litterbug, a jaywalker, or for that matter, any one who has stepped over the official line arrested in no time, a la “Minority Report”. Casting aside the moral justification for such… Read More »
There are more precise definitions of propaganda around, but I think the above just about sums up the purpose of it. So how can information be managed to your advantage?Take the recent case of the Iranian twins. Before the operation, the “event” was hyped until epic proportions. You could hear news about it almost every… Read More »
If you ever need evidence of government propaganda, look no further. Right here in Singapore, local celebrities are falling over themselves to become the unofficial mouthpiece of the various authorities. What is amazing about “SAR-vivor Rap” by Phua Chu Kang is that it adds a new dimension to the definition of propaganda. A new dimension… Read More »
Every breath you take And every move you make Every bond you break, every step you take I’ll be watching you— The Police, “Every Breath You Take” Remember George Orwell’s 1984? Forget the cumbersome technology depicted in this rather grim tale of a Big Brother society. If present trends continue, surveillance tools will be so… Read More »
About the only thing in common between Stephen King and myself is our first name. Other than that, our views on writing (based on those expressed in his book, titled On Writing: 10th Anniversary Edition: A Memoir of the Craft) could be worlds apart. It’s not necessarily true that I disagree with the points he… Read More »
Heard the story about how NASA spent millions to design a pen that can write upside down in zero gravity? Well, the Russians gave their astronauts pencils. Moral of the story? Technology should be a means to an end, not the other way round. Before World War II, naval power was often the deciding factor… Read More »