Singapore, 2014
Balmy day
Award, award, my kingdom for award
In his dotage Unspun forgets things and gets worked up with what he has forgotten. What's been making Unspun envious and full of FOOM the past two days is his timeline on Linked in and FB of colleagues in the PR Industry beating their chests in absolute humility and congratulating themselves, being grateful to their... Continue Reading →
The Blogger, the Crowd, and the Prime Minister
One of the early promises of the Net was its ability to democratise, to level the playing field. Then the Net became ubiquitious, Facebook and others let the barbarians and trolls in to play and many of us got disenchanted with it. So it is particularly heartening then to read about the power of the... Continue Reading →
A cautionary tale for expats in Asia
Don't shit where you live and work sounds like common sense. We all now, however, that common sense is not common. But when this surfeit is combined with the sensitivity of a prat, the mixture is disastrous. Take the case of Anton Casey, a well-heeled expat banker in Singapore, who has been raising heckles in... Continue Reading →
Who let the dogs out?
The phrase "dog in the manger" comes to mind. Rp 64 trillion investment could have helped cushion the Rupiah's fall and checked some capital flight, reassuring investors that Indonesia is a good place to do business. And what for? Sabre rattling? National pride? Bank Mandiri Says Indonesia Attractive as DBS Takeover Scuttled - The... Continue Reading →
Inside the mind of the self-censors
Unspun's often wondered what makes a self-perceived journalist want to be a practicing journalist in Singapore or Malaysia today, when you know before you plunge in that you will have to self-censor or be censored. Why go in to the lion's den and then after that complain about the nature of the lion? Is it... Continue Reading →
In a haze over forest fires
"What we know is that there are several foreign investors from Singapore involved. But we can't just blame them for this since we still need to investigate this further," said Hadi Daryanto, a senior official at Indonesia's Forestry Ministry. In this age of satellite imagery what further investigation is needed to zoom in on the... Continue Reading →
A bypass in life II – the second and third opinion
The adventures of Unspun's heart problems...continued from A bypass in life - the discovery. Speaking with a friend in Singapore I also learned of another blogger with a heart problem. He's none other than Singapore's Khaw Boon Wan who apparently also, like Unspun, showed almost no symptoms of heart disease yet had to undergo a... Continue Reading →
When an MP does PA
This is an interesting development. Wonder how the MP can maintain credibility while working openly as a PA gun for hire. H&K recruits Singapore MP Global PR and PA provider Hill & Knowlton has recruited a local Singaporean member of parliament to its expanding public affairs practice. Baey Yem Keng, who represents Tanjong Pagar GRC... Continue Reading →
Sexually responsible Singaporean ham sap loh*s?
clipped from http://www.wisdomofwhores.com Force for good in Sinagpore Singapore wants its citizens to take more responsibility for their sexual behaviour, Bloomberg reports. “We’re trying to find a way essentially to ask them to be responsible for their own actions,” said Koh Peng Keng, the Health Ministry’s senior director of operations.” “Them”, in this case, is... Continue Reading →
Purple in Singapore
Good to see Cyril Wong, whom Unspun had the privilege of meeting when Unspun moderated a discussion group on Pamphlet Poetry at the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival, getting the acclaim he deserves. Unspun can just imagine Cyril delighting in contemplating what a difficult spot his fame puts the apparatchiks in Singapore. Good one Cyril!... Continue Reading →
Cool or Ah Beng Remixed?
Singapore's Media Development Authority trying to look cool and hip. Does it work? Unspun is not sure...what do you think?
Unspun 