CNN, Ris Low and Scientific Child Prodigy.

Bizarrely, CNN has quoted my blog, on its website. They have excerpted an article I wrote, a while back, on Ris Low's atrocious behaviour, in her nascent career - or should I say, career of atrocious behaviour.

The link is here: http://www.cnngo.com/singapore/none/miss-singapore-world-2009-aftermath-811798

If you scroll down the article, you will see "Scientific child prodigy" quoted, in the latter half of the article. That is me.

Now this is the second instance, in the past month or so, of a major news organization linking to my blog - the other was the leading Danish newspaper Berlingske. So, I am both surprised and unsurprised - if it is possible to be both at once. Surprised, because there once was a time when I never could have thought of CNN linking to my writing; unsurprised, because they are most certainly not the first media organization to do so. (Even Bild, the German daily, and one of the biggest circulation newspapers in the world, has linked to my blog, in the past).

What seems to be beginning to happen, is that I am writing on many subjects, some of which are of general interest to mass media. In searching for background, journalists are stumbling on my articles and, if they have integrity and journalistic honour, they link to them and credit me with my thoughts, if they use or quote any. (I have seen instances in which this has not been done - and thoughts have just been lifted, without credit...but I will post of that another time...soon.)

It is strange being a blogger. If done well, a blogger is as good as any journalist - but freer. So, in a way, being a blogger is better than being a journalist, since I can genuinely write whatever I please (excepting that which would constitute libel...but then that would be discourteous in most cases, too, so common decency prevents that, anyway.) The only difference is that a blogger is, usually, not paid for their work. So, some might see the journalist as a superior position. However, it is not - for the very reason that the blogger is not paid. Being unpaid and being free to say the truth, without editorial or political interference, a blogger is more likely to be able to say - and to actually say - what needs to be said, on matters of importance. Furthermore, a blogger's opinion has not been "bought" in any way - it is a free opinion, freely given (in those parts of the world, in which a blogger feels free to speak, of course.)

Thus, but for the matter of making a living - which, in most cases has to come from somewhere else - the blogger is, in fact, the ideal media source. The blogger may not have access to the huge resources of a media organization - but they have the only tool that is really essential: a mind and a view to speak. Thoughts are free to those who are able to have them. Now, with blogging, those thoughts may be freely shared with the world. It is, in my opinion, a great step forward, in human culture that blogging should be available to all. The thoughts of so many more people, will now be on record, to speak of our times - and that will, one day, be seen to have incalculable value.

Yet, perhaps that day is already here - for the Bilds, the CNNs and the Berlingskes, of the world are already linking to my blog, quoting from it and acknowledging it. That can mean only one thing: the mass media is well aware of the value of the new media - and, instead of attacking it, they are incorporating it, into their discourse, using the minds of millions of bloggers, as a resource for their own articles. As long as they continue to properly credit the bloggers so referenced, this is a good development. I am left to wonder just how common this referencing of bloggers is going to become.

Anyway, thank you, CNN, for quoting my writing. It is much appreciated.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to:http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

IMDB is the Internet Movie Database for film and tv professionals. If you would like to look at my IMDb listing for which another fifteen credits are to be uploaded, (which will probably take several months before they are accepted) please go to: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3438598/ As I write, the listing is new and brief - however, by the time you read this it might have a dozen or a score of credits...so please do take a look. My son, Ainan Celeste Cawley, also has an IMDb listing. His is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3305973/ My wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley, has a listing as well. Hers is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)

An obvious ruse.

DBS Bank is being sued by 200 investors over its now worthless Lehman linked DBS High Notes 5. (HN5). The reason for the suit is that the literature accompanying these high notes was contradictory as to what would happen in a "credit event". The suit points out that the true meaning of the literature and the correct payout cannot be determined, so the agreement should be considered void.

DBS, a bank partially owned by the Singapore government through Temasek and Maju holdings, is defending itself by stating that the literature contains "an obvious clerical error" that the investors should have been aware of, if they read it. The "error" states that the payout will be 1 minus the value of the notes, in a credit event. This means that the payout INCREASES as the value of the NOTES decrease. This amounts to an insurance against loss, interestingly.

Now, I find it very, very curious indeed, that DBS are claiming that their contract contains an obvious clerical error - for the obvious counter to that is, if the error is SO obvious - why did no-one at DBS spot it before printing the materials? Surely, it was someone's job to proofread the materials and check them carefully before approval. The very fact that this was not effective in spotting this error is proof of one of two situations: either the DBS staff appointed to approve the literature are incompetent and perhaps, even, stupid (for if it were "obvious" only a stupid or inattentive person would not have noticed) OR it is NOT an obvious error.

DBS cannot, in any way, claim that an error was OBVIOUS that was NOT noticed by their own staff who should be well-versed indeed in how such notes work. In fact, if the DBS staff did NOT notice it - which they didn't - then that is PROOF that the error is not obvious. If it were obvious, it would not be there, because it would have been spotted. Indeed, the threshold for what is obvious should be much, much lower for customers, to whom the products will be less familiar, perhaps even strange, than it is for DBS staff.

The bottom line is this: the DBS staff didn't notice the error - so the customers should not be expected to either.

Of course, this now means that DBS must make what amounts to FULL refunds to its customers for the value of the notes lost. For, of course, 1 minus zero is 1 - or the full value of the notes.

I think, if DBS are to be seen as an honest company and not one consumed by an undue lust for the customer's cash at all costs - they should own up that they were at fault - and pay up. It would be the right thing to do, given the circumstance.

We will see how much integrity DBS shows in this instance.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to:http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

IMDB is the Internet Movie Database for film and tv professionals.If you would like to look at my IMDb listing for which another fifteen credits are to be uploaded, (which will probably take several months before they are accepted) please go to: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3438598/ As I write, the listing is new and brief - however, by the time you read this it might have a dozen or a score of credits...so please do take a look. My son, Ainan Celeste Cawley, also has an IMDb listing. His is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3305973/ My wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley, has a listing as well. Hers is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)