Goodbye and thank you Mr Lee

Just saw the news that Mr Lee Kuan Yew has passed away at age of 91.

Even though I don't always support his views, I do respect him deeply as for all the things he has done for our nation and I think there are few leaders in history that have been as visionary  and far sighted as him.

Thank you Mr Lee for all that you have done for Singapore.

Glee star Cory Monteith found dead at hotel in Vancouver

Omg..this is too sad. Unbelievable. :(((

Glee star Cory Monteith found dead at hotel in Vancouver

(Reuters) - Canadian actor Cory Monteith, heart throb of Fox's musical-comedy television series "Glee", was found dead on Saturday at a hotel in Vancouver, Canada, police said.

There were no signs of foul play, they said, and the cause of death was not immediately apparent. Paramedics responding to an emergency call found Monteith, 31, dead at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel in the city centre, Vancouver Police Department acting chief Doug LePard told a news conference.

In April, a representative for Monteith, whose "Glee" character Finn was a high school football player turned enthusiastic glee club - or musical group - singer, said the actor was at a rehabilitation facility for an unspecified substance addiction. Monteith had checked into the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel on July 6, and was due to check out on Saturday, LePard told reporters. Others were in the hotel room with Monteith on Friday night, but evidence including his fob key entries indicate he returned to his room by himself early on Saturday and was alone when he died, police said.

LePard said he wanted to offer condolences "to the family, friends, castmates and millions of fans of Mr. Monteith". Montieth's spokeswoman, Melissa Kates, said in a statement, "We are so saddened to confirm that the reports on the death of Cory Monteith are accurate."

An autopsy on Monteith was set for Monday, LePard said.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Louise Ireland) 

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/glee-star-cory-monteith-found-dead-hotel-vancouver-055621952.html

Hurricane Sandy - The Perfect Storm

Oh my gosh, i just saw this video from abcnews about Hurricane Sandy and the weather expert was saying that the hurricane Sandy is something which happens only once in a lifetime and to think it happened in our lifetime o.O

Gives me the goose bumps when I see the scenes of the flooding in NY, its really like those scenes we saw in the US movies like Independence Day and The Day after Tomorrow!

Hurricane Sandy Aftermath Video: New York at a Stand Still



Hmm maybe its really true, the world could be coming to an end soon?!

Six million?


Singapore's ideal population size? We can afford six million, says PM Lee


Yahoo! Newsroom – Sun, Sep 23, 2012

Six million.

That's the total number of people Singapore can afford to accomodate in the near future, says Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as quoted by Channel NewsAsia.

Responding to a question from the host during a recorded panel discussion on MediaCorp, PM Lee said, "It's very hard to give a concrete figure, because the situation is evolving. We're gradually increasing our land area, and if we rebuild our older towns,then we can accommodate more people."

"Today our population is over 5 million. In the future, 6 million or so should not be a problem. Beyond that, we'll have to think more carefully," Mr Lee added.

He was responding to a question by host Chun Guek Lay who had asked what was Singapore's ideal population target.

As of December last year, Singapore's population stood at 5.26 million.

Singapore's ideal population size has been a bone of contention in recent years as the country struggles to cope with the influx of foreigners and a record low birth rate.

Darn it.

They approved the increase in transport fares by SMRT and SBS. I knew it lor, i was just telling my colleague the other day that we can predict what the govt will do. They will say its inevitable that the prices go up to cover their "increase in costs" however they will just approve maybe a small % increase and not the full amount so they appear not so bad to the public and throw in a few freebies/incentives for the elderly or students or something.

True enough....they increased it by 1%, and made it sound like so good..they didnt approve the full 2.8% that was requested. (See news) I think i can become a politician liao..

Pls lah...You try taking the bus and mrts everyday, want to vomit blood. You find yourself practically staring at pple's armits or vice versa if they are shorter than you when you are standing inside the MRT. That is, if you manage to even squeeze into the train in the first place. Usually you have to wait a few trains before you can board the MRT nowadays. My colleague was just joking the other day that she felt she almost got fed milk by this woman whose chest was right in her face (and wearing a low cut top) cuz it was so darn crowded.

if you look back 5 years ago, Singapore didnt used to be so crowded all the time when you took the public transportation. I rem i could even sometimes board the train and get a seat..now you are lucky if you can even board the first MRT that arrives at the platform. And why? of course you know the answer why if you are a Singaporean.

If they wanna increase prices, fine..but at least for goodness sake they shd at least try to improve the quality of the transportation services! (at least put on a show can anot?)

Powerful quake, tsunami kills hundreds in Japan

Powerful quake, tsunami kills hundreds in Japan



By MALCOLM FOSTER, Associated Press Malcolm Foster, Associated Press – Fri Mar 11, 6:59 pm

TOKYO – For more than two terrifying, seemingly endless minutes Friday, the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan shook apart homes and buildings, cracked open highways and unnerved even those who have learned to live with swaying skyscrapers. Then came a devastating tsunami that slammed into northeastern Japan and killed hundreds of people.

The violent wall of water swept away houses, cars and ships. Fires burned out of control. Power to a cooling system at a nuclear power plant was knocked out, forcing thousands to flee. A boat was caught in the vortex of a whirlpool at sea.

The death toll rose steadily throughout the day, but the true extent of the disaster was not known because roads to the worst-hit areas were washed away or blocked by debris and airports were closed.

After dawn Saturday, the scale of destruction became clearer.

Aerial scenes of the town of Ofunato showed homes and warehouses in ruins. Sludge and high water spread over acres of land, with people seeking refuge on roofs of partially submerged buildings. At one school, a large white "SOS" had been spelled out in English.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said an initial assessment found "enormous damage," adding that the Defense Ministry was sending troops to the hardest-hit region.

President Barack Obama pledged U.S. assistance following what he called a potentially "catastrophic" disaster. He said one U.S. aircraft carrier is already in Japan and a second was on its way. A U.S. ship was also heading to the Marianas Islands to assist as needed, he added.

The entire Pacific had been put on alert — including coastal areas of South America, Canada and Alaska — but waves were not as bad as expected.

The magnitude-8.9 offshore quake struck at 2:46 p.m. local time and was the biggest to hit Japan since record-keeping began in the late 1800s. It ranked as the fifth-largest earthquake in the world since 1900 and was nearly 8,000 times stronger than one that devastated Christchurch, New Zealand, last month, scientists said.

The quake shook dozens of cities and villages along a 1,300-mile (2,100-kilometer) stretch of coast and tall buildings swayed in Tokyo, hundreds of miles from the epicenter. Prime Minister Naoto Kan was attending a parliamentary session at the time.

"I thought I was going to die," said Tokyo marketing employee Koto Fujikawa. "It felt like the whole structure was collapsing."

Fujikawa, 28, was riding a monorail when the quake hit and had to later pick her way along narrow, elevated tracks to the nearest station.

Minutes later, the earthquake unleashed a 23-foot (seven-meter) tsunami along the northeastern coast of Japan near the coastal city of Sendai in Miyagi prefecture. The quake was followed for hours by aftershocks. The U.S. Geological Survey said 124 were detected off Japan's main island of Honshu, 111 of them of magnitude 5.0 or greater.

Large fishing boats and other vessels rode the high waves ashore, slamming against overpasses or scraping under them and snapping power lines along the way. A fleet of partially submerged cars bobbed in the water. Ships anchored in ports crashed against each other.

The tsunami roared over embankments, washing anything in its path inland before reversing direction and carrying the cars, homes and other debris out to sea. Flames shot from some of the homes, apparently from burst gas pipes.

Waves of muddy waters flowed over farms near Sendai, carrying buildings, some of them ablaze. Drivers attempted to flee. The tarmac at Sendai's airport was inundated with thick, muddy debris that included cars, trucks, buses and even light planes.

Highways to the worst-hit coastal areas buckled. Telephone lines snapped. Train service was suspended in northeastern Japan and in Tokyo, which normally serves 10 million people a day. Untold numbers of people were stranded in stations or roaming the streets. Tokyo's Narita airport was closed indefinitely.

Police said 200-300 bodies were found in Sendai, although the official casualty toll was 185 killed, 741 missing and 948 injured.

A ship with 80 dock workers was swept away from a shipyard in Miyagi. All on the ship was believed to be safe, although the vessel had sprung a leak and was taking on some water, Japan's coast guard said.

In the coastal town of Minami-soma, about 1,800 houses were destroyed or ravaged, a Defense Ministry spokeswoman said. Fire burned well past dark in a large section of Kesennuma, a city of 70,000 people in Miyagi.

A resident in Miyagi prefecture who had been stranded on his roof, surrounded by water, mud and fallen trees, was rescued by a Self-Defense Force helicopter Saturday morning, TV video showed.

Officials declared the first-ever state of emergency at a Japanese nuclear power plant and ordered evacuations after the earthquake knocked out power to a cooling system at the Fukushima Daiichi facility near the city of Onahama, about 170 miles (270 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo. They said radiation levels inside the facility had surged to 1,000 times more than normal.

Some radiation had seeped outside the plant, the nuclear safety agency said early Saturday, prompting calls for more evacuations of the area. Some 3,000 people have already been urged to leave their homes.

The Defense Ministry said it had sent dozens of troops trained to deal with chemical disasters to the plant in case of a radiation leak.

An American working at the facility said the whole building shook and debris fell from the ceiling. Danny Eudy, 52, a technician employed by Texas-based Atlantic Plant Maintenance, and his colleagues escaped the building just as the tsunami hit, his wife told The Associated Press.

"He walked through so much glass that his feet were cut. It slowed him down," said Pineville, Louisiana, resident Janie Eudy, who spoke to her husband by phone after the quake.

The group watched homes and vehicles carried away in the wave and found their hotel mostly destroyed when they reached it.

A large fire erupted at the Cosmo oil refinery in the city of Ichihara and burned out of control with 100-foot (30-meter) flames whipping into the sky.

Also in Miyagi prefecture, a fire broke out in a turbine building of a nuclear power plant, but it was later extinguished, said Tohoku Electric Power Co.

Japanese automakers Toyota, Nissan and Honda halted production at some assembly plants in areas hit by the quake. One worker was killed and more than 30 injured after being crushed by a collapsing wall at a Honda Motor Co. research facility in northeastern Tochigi prefecture, the company said.

Jesse Johnson, a native of Nevada who lives in Chiba, north of Tokyo, was eating at a sushi restaurant with his wife when the quake hit.

"At first it didn't feel unusual, but then it went on and on. So I got myself and my wife under the table," he told the AP. "I've lived in Japan for 10 years, and I've never felt anything like this before. The aftershocks keep coming. It's gotten to the point where I don't know whether it's me shaking or an earthquake."

Tokyo was brought to a near standstill. Tens of thousands of people were stranded with the rail network down, and the streets were jammed with cars, buses and trucks trying to get out of the city.

The city set up 33 shelters in city hall, on university campuses and in government offices, but many planned to spend the night at 24-hour cafes, hotels and offices.

NHK said more than 4 million buildings were without power in Tokyo and its suburbs.

Jefferies International Ltd., a global investment banking group, estimated overall losses of about $10 billion.

The tsunami hit Hawaii before dawn Friday, with most damage coming on the Big Island. The waves covered beachfront roads and rushed into hotels. One house was picked up and carried out to sea. Low-lying areas in Maui were flooded by 7-foot waves.

On the U.S. mainland, marinas and harbors in California and Oregon bore the brunt of the damage, estimated by authorities to be in the millions of dollars. Boats crashed into each other in marines and some vessels were washed out to sea.

Rescue crews were searching for a man who was swept away in northern California while taking pictures. Two people with him tried to rescue him, although they were able to return to shore.

Thousands fled homes in Indonesia after officials warned of a tsunami up to 6 feet (2 meters) high, but waves of only 4 inches (10 centimeters) were measured. No big waves came to the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory, either.

Islands across the South Pacific were hit by bigger-than-normal waves, but no major damage was reported. Surges up to 26 inches (66 centimeters) high were reported in American Samoa, Nauru, Saipan and at the far northern tip of New Zealand.

In Tonga, water flooded houses in the low-lying Ha'apai islands early Saturday, police said. Thousands in the capital, Nuku'alofa, sought refuge at the king's residence on higher ground, Radio Tonga said.

The quake struck at a depth of six miles (10 kilometers), about 80 miles (125 kilometers) off Japan's east coast, the USGS said. The area is 240 miles (380 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo. Several quakes hit the same region in recent days, including one measured at magnitude 7.3 on Wednesday that caused no damage.

"The energy radiated by this quake is nearly equal to one month's worth of energy consumption" in the United States, USGS scientist Brian Atwater told The Associated Press.

Early Saturday, a magnitude-6.6 earthquake struck the central, mountainous part of Japan — far from the original quake's epicenter. It was not immediately clear if that temblor was related to the others.

Japan's worst previous quake was a magnitude 8.3 in Kanto that killed 143,000 people in 1923, according to USGS. A 7.2-magnitude quake in Kobe killed 6,400 people in 1995.

Japan lies on the "Ring of Fire" — an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones stretching around the Pacific where about 90 percent of the world's quakes occur, including the one that triggered the Dec. 26, 2004, Indian Ocean tsunami that killed an estimated 230,000 people in 12 countries. A magnitude-8.8 temblor that shook central Chile in February 2010 also generated a tsunami and killed 524 people.


The news about the Japanese earthquake is super scary, saw the scene of water engulfing vehicles and houses in japan and pple trapped on top of their roofs in their houses. Apparently it's the largest earthquake recorded in Japan history.

I can't imagine how it must feel for the Japanese people who are affected, seeing their houses being swept away by the waves or not being able to get hold of their loved ones. but I think whatever doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, this may be a blessing in disguise and who knows? It may help to boost the japan economy in the aftermath of the disaster.

Higher night parking charge to solve residents parking woes?

Higher night parking charge to solve residents parking woes?

Seriously, is the only solution to any problem the govt can think of is to increase prices?

higher maid levies to "solve" the issue of too many maids, higher foreign worker levies to tackle the problem of overcrowding of foreigners, higher ERP charges and building more ERP gantries to help ease the road congestion problem etc. i can think of plenty more examples which singapore govt did. And now, they want to implement higher night parking charges on the pretext of solving the parking woes of the residents in hdb carparks.

Pls lah, if you want to increase prices to earn more $, just do it. dont give some lousy excuse and say that u are doing it to solve the problem. like anybody is going to believe you. Judging from the responses from the public, one can see how popular this idea is.

Uproar over parking charges

IMO, they are running our country like a profit organization with the main aim to maximize profits, they dont even care what happens to the local pple. this is what happens when they become complacent and think that they are doing such a great job running the country. crap!

wow another flood this morning in SG and at thomson road again!

apparently last nite it rained so heavily that the outdoor car park at Kelvin's place was flooded and alot of car owners found their cars in water levels that were almost halfway up the knee levels gosh..thank goodness he didnt park outdoors lol..

Jul 17, 2010

Floods hit S'pore again

By Bryan Huang

HEAVY rains lashed Singapore early on Saturday morning, uprooting trees and causing flash floods in many area.

The affected areas included Braddell Road, Changi Road and Bukit Timah, where rising floodwaters stranded several drivers in their vehicles.

At the Tessarina Condo in Bukit Timah area, waters rose to knee-high, flooding the basement carpark. Some cars were almost submerged in water, prompting frantic residents to move them out to drier grounds.

Straitstimes.com reader Jerry Chan said the flooding was 'chaotic' and it was the third time in seven months, not 'once in 50 years as suggested'.

Singapore Civil Defence Force personnel also evacuated 60 people in 20 different places, including passengers who were stuck in an SBS bus along Upper Thomson Road.

There were also reports of a fallen tree along Dorset Road, which was causing traffic congestion.

Along Upper Thomson Road, shops were reported to be badly damaged, with huge fridges overturned and smashed.

There were also reports of a flooded carpark at the Delfi Orchard, which was hit by the worst flooding in 26 years in June just less than a month ago.

Parts of Kallang and Tanjong Katong were also flooded.

Ms Grace Loh, a resident of Tanjong Katong, sent pictures of her flooded home, which she called a 'shocking sight'.

Said Ms Loh: 'The flood today seems worse than what I experienced as a child in the 1980s!'

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_554647.html
Flash floods hit Singapore again

By yahoosingapore – July 17th, 2010




A torrential downpour in the early hours of Saturday morning triggered flash floods in various parts of Singapore.

Among the hardest hit areas were Braddell Road, Joo Chiat Terrace, Changi Road, Bukit Timah and Delfi in Orchard Road.

It is the third time in recent months that heavy rain caused havoc to motorists and resulted in severe flooding.

Twitter user and Fly Entertainment CEO Irene Ang (@flyirene) commented, “My whole lane — Joo Chiat Terrace – and I heard Telok Kurau and Geylang also!” when asked by Yahoo! how badly affected her area was.

Irene Ang's Twitter comment, "Me and my neighbours' 10 houses sharing a 25meter lap pool now!"


Twitter followers of @yahooSGnewsroom, Winnilicious and PohLeng, also said Tampines and homes in Opera Estate were also hit.

The Straits Times also reported that the basement carpark in Tessarina Condominium in Bukit Timah area was submerged in knee-high waters.

Singapore Civil Defence Force personnel also had to evacuate 60 people in 20 different places, including passengers who were stuck in an SBS bus along Upper Thomson Road.

The same paper reported that shops along Upper Thomson Road were badly damaged, with huge fridges overturned and smashed.

The Delfi Orchard, which was hit by the worst flooding in 26 years in June just less than a month ago, was again submerged in waist-deep waters.

One of the building tenants, Ms Shanta Sundarason, also said Orchard Towers and Palais Renaissance were “also mopping up after the waters gushed in”.

She told the straitstimes.com, “So much for the ‘once in 50 years freak flood’ along Orchard Road. It would be nice for the problem to be addressed and dealt with, rather than a sweeping statement from the ministry.”

By about 1pm, however, most of the floods in low-lying areas had receded.

Late last month, PM Lee warned Singaporeans that they cannot expect the island republic to be completely free of floods.

“I don’t think it is possible in Singapore to expect the place to be completely free of floods,” he said, as torrential downpours are a part of the climate for “an island in the tropics”.

He also added, “We have to learn from these episodes, do post-mortems, find out what happened, and upgrade our infrastructure and systems.”

Stop suing journalists: RSF tells Singapore leaders

AFP - Friday, March 26

SINGAPORE (AFP) - – Media rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders has urged Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, his father Lee Kuan Yew and other top officials to stop taking "libel actions" against journalists.

RSF secretary general Jean-Francois Julliard wrote an "open letter" to the Singapore leader Thursday asking for a meeting about the group's observations and proposals "for guaranteeing press freedom" in the affluent city-state.

His letter followed an apology and payment of damages by the New York Times Company to the Lees and former prime minister Goh Chok Tong over an allegedly defamatory article.

"A foreign news organisation has yet again been forced to apologise to you and your father and pay you a large sum of money for publishing an article you did not like," Julliard said.

He urged the government to "put a stop to the libel actions" being taken against journalists.

The New York Times Company on Wednesday issued an apology to the Lees and Goh over an article about political dynasties it published in February in its global edition, the International Herald Tribune (IHT).

The article, entitled "All In The Family", was written by Hong Kong-based columnist Philip Bowring.

Davinder Singh, a lawyer for the three men, said the New York Times Company and Bowring would pay damages totalling 160,000 Singapore dollars (114,000 US) to the leaders, who said their reputations had been sullied by the article.

An apology that appeared in the IHT's Wednesday edition said the article may have implied that the younger Lee did not get his job on merit.

Singapore's leaders have won hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages in defamation cases against critics and foreign publications.

The leaders have defended their actions as necessary to protect their reputations from unfounded attacks.

"Freedom of expression is not a source of political unrest. Quite the contrary," said Julliard, who proposed a meeting with the prime minister.

"We have no comment," the prime minister's press secretary Chen Huai Liang said in response to an AFP query.

Last year, Hong Kong-based Far Eastern Economic Review and its editor paid more than 400,000 dollars to settle a defamation suit filed by Prime Minister Lee and the elder Lee, the founding father of modern Singapore.

A Wall Street Journal senior editor was fined 10,000 Singapore dollars in March 2009 for contempt of court over three articles that were ruled to have insulted the city-state's judiciary.

My colleague sent me an email with this forum post has been generating interest across Singapore:

Read it

People's reactions:

SGforum

mycarforum

Guess who my vote will go to? ^^ No prizes for guessing!

Read today on Yahoo Singapore news about Vivian Hsu and Stephen Fung.

Vivian Hsu Denies Relationship with Stephen Fung

Xin.sg - Friday, July 3
Taiwanese singer Vivian Hsu's relationship with Hong Kong celebrity Stephen Fung is no secret. The couple has been spotted on dates on several occasions as early as a year ago. Despite the reports, Hsu went on denying their relationship and claiming single-hood. Read more

Hmmm why do celebrities always deny they are dating each other? Just recently, Jolin Tsai declared she has not reconciled with Jay Chou (Jay and Jolin just friends). Rihanna also denied that she was dating Chris Brown (not dating) but of course we all know the truth when the news came out about the assault case. Christopher Lee and Fann Wong also said they were just friends but now they are married. And from their interviews with the media, they are always teasing each other, Robert Pattinson and Kirstan Stewart look like they have the hots for each other but they deny it. I hope this is true that they are tog though, it would be soo sweet!heh :)

I wonder if there will come a time where celebrities will finally admit openly they are dating each other at the start of their relationship....mmmm nah dont think it will happen, this is showbiz after all lol.

"People think they know me, but they don't. Not really. Actually, I am one of the loneliest people on this earth. I cry sometimes becaue it hurts. it does. To be honest, I guess you could say that it hurts to be me." - Michael Jackson

I think it's quite sad actually. MJ's parents are now fighting to gain control of his assets barely after his death (news) and funeral arrangements have not been even made because as MJ's father Joe Jackson said "We don't have a timeframe for that because I want to see how this autopsy is coming out," after a family meeting at his home in suburban Los Angeles."

He had the time to attend the BET awards and looked perfectly fine (news). He even took the opportunity to promote his new record label near the end of the interview outside the show.


Joe Jackson at BET awards

And for MJ's mom, she wants both the money and the kids. Just moments after his death, one of the family members called MJ's ex nanny and asked her where he kept his money (news).

With parents like that, I can understand now why MJ became what he was today, a little strange, eccentric and weird but extremely talented music artist..Anybody with such a sad childhood, being forced to perform to earn money for their parents when they were growing up just because they were talented would end up being misguided and lost as adults.. I really wonder, do these people even feel anything that their son is dead?? If their son was a penniless beggar with no money to his name, would they still be fighting to gain custody of his children? Would they even want to take care of the children? I feel sad when i read news about MJ's children crying when they found out their dad had passed away and they couldnt believe he was no longer around. I think for all his eccentricities, MJ was a good dad and extremely protective of his children. Which is so much more than his own dad was.

Seriously, I am not (and never was) a huge fan of MJ but i do like his songs (Heal the world, You are not alone, We are the world) and he was a top music peformer and entertainer. When we were young, I remember my brother loved MJ and bought many of his CDs like Thriller and Bad. We grew up watching MTVs during the afternoons after school and I remember watching MJ's MTVs - Black or White, Thriller, Remember the Time etc and being fascinated by them.

He was so popular when we were in our primary school days.. however along the way, the news that came out about MJ being charged for child molestation and seeing his face change so much after all the plastic surgery changed my image of him. Then there wasnt much news about him, his latest album Invincible didnt do well and I dont even remember any song from the album. Only the occasional news about MJ bringing out his children (with veils covering their faces) and about how he had a huge debt with all the court cases cuz people were suing him for money etc..Only now when the sudden news about his death made MJ famous again and so many celebrities are starting to gush how about great he was and how they were an inspiration to them.

Why do humans only start to treasure things that they have only when they have lost them? Why does it take a tragedy for people to remember good things about other people? It is a painful reminder of how we humans really are - flawed. But at the same time, when I hear inspiring and touching stories of other people faced with trials and challenges in their lives , I am reminded of the amazing capacity of people to love and some who do so unconditionally. I just hope that somewhere, somehow, MJ is now with God and is happy where he is now.

Relatives of a passenger aboard ill-fated Air France Flight 447, pray during a mass at the Our Lady of Carmo Cathedral in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Bodies of Air France Flight 447 Passengers Found; Speed Monitors Proven Faulty

Saturday, June 06, 2009

The first bodies of passengers of the doomed Air France flight that plummeted into the sea have been found, Brazil's air force said Saturday.

The Brazilian military said search crews scanning the Atlantic Ocean located two male bodies of passengers aboard Flight 447 — which crashed midway through a trip from Rio de Janeiro to Paris before dawn Monday morning.

Air force spokesman Col. Jorge Amaral said searchers also recovered a leather briefcase with an Air France ticket for the flight inside of it.

"It was confirmed with Air France that the ticket number corresponds to a passenger on the flight," he told The Associated Press.

Amaral said the bodies were recovered Saturday morning and were picked up roughly 400 miles northeast of the Fernando de Noronha islands off Brazil's northern coast.

All 228 passengers and crew perished in the accident, which is believed to have occurred when the Airbus 330's systems failed during a violent storm about four hours into the flight. There were no survivors, officials said.

Air France acknowledged on Saturday that speed monitors on some of its Airbus planes have proven faulty, icing up at high altitude, and that recommendations to change them were first made in September 2007.

Air France issued a statement with details about the monitors hours after the French agency investigating the disaster of Flight 447 said the instruments were not replaced on that aircraft — an A330 — before it crashed last week.

Air France said it began replacing the monitors on the Airbus A330 model on April 27 after an improved version became available.

Pitot tubes, located on the exterior of the aircraft, are used to help measure aerodynamic speed.

Aviation officials have said the crash investigation is increasingly focused on whether external instruments may have iced over, confusing speed sensors and possibly leading computers to set the plane's speed too fast or slow — a potentially deadly mistake in severe turbulence.

An Air France statement said that icing of the monitors at high altitude has led at times to loss of needed flying information.

However, the Air France statement stressed the recommendation to change the monitor "allows the operator full freedom to totally, partially or not at all apply it." When safety is at issue the aircraft maker issues, rather than a recommendation, a mandatory service bulletin followed up by an airworthiness directive.

Air France said that only a "small number" of incidents linked to the monitors had been reported.

Airbus has said the French agency investigating the crash found the doomed flight received inconsistent airspeed readings by different instruments as it struggled with turbulence in a massive thunderstorm.

Earlier in the week, French investigators said debris reported to have been from Flight 447 was in fact not from the crashed Air France plane, despite Brazil's assertion that it was.

In Brazil, visibility and weather conditions improved Saturday in the area searchers are focusing on but debris earlier spotted on the ocean's surface may have sunk by now.

"Debris doesn't indefinitely float, and when it sinks we will not have the means of finding them," Air Force Brig. Gen. Ramon Cardoso told reporters late Friday.

Cardoso has insisted that the debris spotted — an airplane seat, a slick of kerosene and other pieces — was from the plane. But he confirmed that Brazilian searchers had yet to recovered any of the material.

He said searchers did not pursue the reports of debris — the first sighting was reported on Tuesday — because priority was given to the hunt for survivors or the remains of victims.

Meanwhile, a German government-owned satellite spotted debris in the Atlantic on Wednesday, a German Aerospace Center spokesman said, but he added it was unclear whether the material came from the plane.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Mas Selamat Caught!

Channel NewsAsia - Friday, May 8

SINGAPORE: Mas Selamat Kastari, Singapore’s Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) leader who escaped from Whitley Road Detention Centre on February 27 last year, has been arrested.

The terrorist, who once plotted to hijack a plane and crash it into Changi Airport, was arrested in Malaysia in a joint intelligence operation involving the internal security agencies of the two countries.

It is understood that Mas Selamat was actually arrested over a month ago but had been under interrogation in Malaysia. It is believed that the fugitive will soon be brought back to Singapore.

Last December, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had said: "He is one up on us, but the game is not over. One day we will catch him."

Most security experts had expected the fugitive to head for Indonesia, where other JI members are believed to be based. So, it came as a surprise to some that he was arrested in Malaysia.
Mas Selamat gave his guards the slip while he was being taken to the toilet at the detention centre. The escape sparked the largest manhunt in Singapore’s history. Thousands of police and military personnel were roped in to comb the island for the fugitive. Checks at the borders were stepped up, road blocks were set up, officers went house to house, and forested areas were swept.

There were also offers of a million dollar reward by two businessmen for his capture.
Mas Selamat, however, remained elusive although dozens of illegal immigrants were flushed out. Posters bearing his face and description were put up everywhere and every mobile phone here was sent either a text description or a picture of him.

Mas Selamat’s escape also resulted in the dismissal of the detention centre’s superintendent over security lapses. The superintendent’s deputy was demoted. The two were the most senior officers in charge of the ground management of the detention centre, and were among six Internal Security Department (ISD) officers charged over the escape.

Mas Selamat fled Singapore in December 2001 following an Internal Security Department operation against the terrorist organisation. The militant leader had been on the run after Singapore authorities discovered plans to crash seven trucks filled with bombs at various locations around the island.

Investigations also revealed that he was the mastermind behind a plan to hijack an airplane and crash it into Changi airport.Mas Selamat was arrested by the Indonesian police on Bintan island in January 2006. He was detained for using a fake identity card.

When he was arrested, officers found literature on bomb—making on him. Based on investigations then, Indonesia’s elite anti—terror police then discovered he was the leader of the Singapore Jemaah Islamiyah network. They then deported him to Singapore, where he was detained at Whitley Road Detention Centre under the Internal Security Act.

The 48—year—old father of four was said to be involved in JI’s plans to mount attacks against foreign and local establishments in Singapore.These included the US Embassy and American Club, the Defence Ministry headquarters at Bukit Gombak and the Education Ministry building at North Buona Vista Drive. — CNA/TODAY/

The Singapore Budget is out.

Well, if you ask me frankly what i think of it, i would say the govt is trying its best to help the companies, but what they are giving the average Singaporean on the street is really insufficient.

The increase in GST credits like how much, 100 or maybe $200? How can that cover the increase in cost of living due to the hike in GST?? Hmm i wonder why they can say that the benefits from the handout for the invididuals will be more than if they had reduced the GST rate back to 5%. For example, if someone bought a new flat screen TV for 4k in a single purchase on any day, the GST would be 280 based on the current GST rate of 7%. If GST was 5%, the GST amount would be 200. That means one has to fork out 80 extra just because of the higher GST. So how much can the increase in 100 or 200 in GST credits for the year cover how much one would need to pay extra in a year due to the GST hike??

I would very much prefer if the GST had been slashed lor. Oh well, i dont think what we think matters much anyway. Even if we dont like it, what can we do rite? Btw, i found this interesting thread (The Singapore Story) on a discussion forum on Reach. Read it if you are interested haha.

The Singaporean hostage at Mumbai has been killed...its just so tragic and unjust.

Shock and sadness at Singaporean hostage’s death

I was searching for news on her on yahoo and saw her profile on friendster

I didnt know she was from MGS! but she's 28 and 2 years my senior..she looks so nice and pretty in her wedding pics too..like all the comments her friends left that she and her husband looked so loving on their wedding day and they look so sweet together..i cant imagine the pain the husband must be facing now..Hope she rests in peace.

Damn terrorists! u assholes..i hope u never able to sleep at night peacefully knowing that u've killed innocent lives and have blood on your hands that can never be wiped clean!

The Singapore F1 Grand Prix is finally happening this weekend 26-28th Sept 2008.

Bird's eye view of the night circuit

Lighting testing - the white lights are super bright man

Credit: Keith Collantine from F1 Fanatic UK

Map of the F1 circuit

I heard some offices near Suntec City are closed today cuz of the practice session today! And my office decided to let us off earlier at 5pm today to avoid the jam too! yay hahaha..I guess we'll catch the races on the tv since of course we didnt buy the tickets (no $ and not that big a fan!) hahaha.. I must say though that Lewis Hamilton is a good looker man!

Wow the news about Lehman Brothers (who managed to survive the Great Depression and civil war but did not make it through this time) collapsing and Merrill Lynch running into trouble is so scary. I think we are really on the brink of another economic meltdown man.

Now all eyes are on AIG - if AIG really closes, then i think the world markets will really come crashing down man!

Wah, I didnt know that AIA's parent company is AIG!!

News: MAS urges AIA policyholders not to terminate policies hastily

By Pearl Forss/Ryan Huang/Wong Siew Ying, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 16 September 2008 1542 hrs

SINGAPORE : The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has urged AIA policyholders not to act hastily to terminate their insurance policies, as queues formed outside AIA's offices on Tuesday, with some clients seeking to end their policies.

AIA is a subsidiary of New York-based American International Group (AIG) - one of the world's largest insurers - which has been hit by the financial meltdown. Some Singaporeans are concerned that AIG could be the next financial giant to fall after Lehman Brothers.

With regards to AIG, MAS said: "The value of these assets is not linked to AIA's or AIG's financial condition, but like all investments, their value may be affected by general market conditions."

The MAS assured the public that "AIA currently has sufficient assets in its insurance funds to meet its liabilities to policyholders".

It advised policyholders not to act hastily to terminate their insurance policies as they may suffer losses from the premature termination and lose insurance protection.

MAS explained that there are regulatory requirements, ensuring that all insurance companies maintain statutory insurance funds, including an investment-linked fund. This fund is segregated from its head office and other shareholders' funds.

Within these funds, insurance companies must maintain sufficient assets to meet all its liabilities to policyholders, which include participating policies and investment-linked policies.

MAS monitors the situation closely, and requires insurance companies in Singapore to manage their investment risks carefully.

The MAS will continue to monitor the financial health of AIA. It added that a Policy Owners Protection Fund could also be set up, if necessary.

Meanwhile, many policyholders waited outside AIA's office to find out if AIA will be among those that will be hit by the credit crisis in the US. A queue started since morning and some had to wait for up to four hours.

A few long-term AIA policyholders told Channel NewsAsia that they wanted to surrender their policies, despite incurring losses for premature termination.

One of them, 51-year-old Morgan Krishnan, is not taking any chances. He has decided to terminate three life insurance policies - for himself and his two sons.

He said: "I have been monitoring this for a few years, and I am giving up right now... I will make some returns, I will not make any loss."

Meanwhile, another policyholder said: "I just want to cash out the policy, and I have no intention of putting my money here anymore."

Yet another said: "I contemplated surrendering it a few years ago, so I guess it's about time."

And another noted: "AIG was mentioned in those reports, so we just wanted to make sure that whatever we have is going to be safe."

However, some policy holders are optimistic and confident that the MAS has the situation under control.

AIA has about two million policies which are in force in Singapore. In a statement, AIA said it maintains separate insurance funds for all policies issued by its Singapore arm.

Despite the short-term liquidity pressures, it assured that the company has sufficient capital to meet its obligations to policyholders. - CNA/ms

S'pore Ferrari Club members hit by thugs in Merc

WAS it the Singapore-registered flashy cars? Or were the harassing, the high-speed chase, the beating and robbery a flash, unplanned by thugs in a Mercedes?
By Karen Wong
08 September 2008

WAS it the Singapore-registered flashy cars? Or were the harassing, the high-speed chase, the beating and robbery a flash, unplanned by thugs in a Mercedes?

The flash was the fleet of Singapore-registered Ferraris and Maseratis out for a fun drive up to Genting Highlands. Taking part were about 20 members of the Ferrari Club.

But despite safety measures such as keeping together and communicating with walkie-talkies, it turned out to be a trip filled with the terror of high-speed car chases, three attempted robberies capped by a brutal beating of one Ferrari car owner.

The incident happened on Friday afternoon on the North-South Highway between Malacca and Kuala Lumpur.

The Ferrari Club convoy, which included some Maserati drivers, had left Singapore on Friday morning at about 10am, according to its motorsports director Chia Boon Teck, who was part of the group.

The fleet of about 20 cars was led by the president of Ferrari Club's Singapore chapter, Dr Ben Neo, the husband of Member of Parliament Lily Neo.

All was well until the group was nearing Malacca.

That was when a black Mercedes-Benz C-Class, with two men inside, flagged one of the cars down.

One of the men produced an identity card.

Meanwhile, the rest of the convoy - who were all hooked up with walkie-talkies - also pulled up along the road shoulder.

Mr Chia told The New Paper on Sunday that the two men had pretended to be custom officers.

But, he said, when the men saw that all the cars had stopped, they pretended it was a misunderstanding and drove off.

Later, the group pulled into a petrol station near Ayer Keroh to refuel.

About 10 minutes after leaving the station, the drivers in the black Merc tried their luck again, this time targeting the cars at the tail-end of the convoy.

They stopped a Maserati. But another Maserati also pulled up. (See other report).

Mr Chia was one of those who had pulled up along the road shoulder. But he stopped several metres ahead of the two Maseratis.

On hearing through his walkie-talkie that the two men were aggressive, he called the Johor police, he said.

To give the police a point of reference to their location, he drove further up where there were road signs.

Meanwhile, another Maserati driver who had stopped ahead of the two Maseratis decided to reverse his car, along the road shoulder, to back them up.

The two thugs found themselves outnumbered and left - but not before one of them snatched one of the Maseratis' keys from its ignition and made off with it.

Luckily the driver of that Maserati had brought his spare key along.

Meanwhile Mr Chia, who was on the phone with the police, did not realise that the thugs had left the group of Maserati drivers.

Suddenly, he said, while he was on the phone, the black Merc cut in front of his car.

'One of them flagged me down aggressively.

'But I quickly put my car into reverse and shot off.'

Car chase

Mr Chia said that the Merc driver then gave chase.

'I was travelling close to 200kmh, zig-zagging in between traffic. Then I hit a patch of heavy rain and lost him.'

The rest of the convoy were waiting for them at the Sungei Besi toll, the exit point for Kuala Lumpur.

Mr Chia said that while all that was unfolding, the members of the convoy knew what was happening as they were in communication with one another.

But, they did not realise that another Ferrari Club member was also making his way up to Genting. He was part of the trip, but not part of the convoy, Mr Chia said. It is not clear if he had a walkie-talkie.

As it turned out, this man was driving up behind the group.

Somehow, this driver caught up with the black Merc, whose robbery attempts had been foiled so far.

When the black Merc started chasing this driver, he sensed he was in trouble and he started speeding, hoping to lose the thugs.

'The Merc tried to bump his car three times, unsuccessfully,' Mr Chia said.

But when heavy rain came, the Ferrari driver lost control of his car and spun around, before crashing into the rail and another car.

The Ferrari driver and his wife, in the passenger seat, were shaken but fine.

Then, another danger - the black Merc pulled up alongside and used a crowbar to smash the window of his metallic-grey Ferrari.

The two thugs dragged him out of the car, and started punching and kicking him.

Mr Chia said that four more thugs joined the two men in beating the Ferrari owner, who is Malaysian. They then fled with his two watches.

By then, the Ferrari owner's wife had run off and to get help from passers-by. She was unharmed.

The Maseratis came upon the scene and helped the injured man before making their way to Genting Highlands.

Fearing for the group's safety, the group called for the representatives from the hotel to escort them to the next toll booth, Karak, from which they were escorted by the police for the rest of their journey.

He said that it was not clear to them if the attack had been pre-planned or just out of the blue.

Another Ferrari owner, who is also a member of the club but was not on this trip, said that going to Malaysia in a flashy car like a Ferrari is like 'an open ticket for any robber'.

'When there are more than 10 cars in a group, we are going to draw attention.'

This owner, who has been on more than 20 convoy trips, said that one of the safety measures was that they always drove in a group. 'The buddy-system has kept me safe so far.'

Mr Chia added that apart from ensuring that every member of the convoy is hooked up with walkie-talkies, they also try to drive 'tight', so that each car is not more than 2-km away from the other.

He said: 'The robbery victim was oblivious to what had happened to our convoy and he was very unfortunate to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.'

Taken from Electric New Paper

Wow... morale of the story - better dont flaunt your wealth in Malaysia lol. But seriously it's scary man, Msia is getting worse in terms of safety and security. The robbers seem to be getting v desperate and aggressive...dont dare to drive to Msia man!!

The govt is increasing the ERP prices again. So irritating.

Motorists feel pinch from new ERP increases

SINGAPORE: The full impact of the extensive ERP changes announced on Tuesday is beginning to sink in for many motorists and businessmen in the Central Business District (CBD).

Many feel they do not have much option but to prepare to pay more.

Come July 7, many motorists who travel frequently into the CBD will have to pay at least double of what they are paying now in ERP charges — from S$2 a day to an expected S$4 or S$5.

Multiply that by at least 20 days of work and workers are definitely going to feel the pinch.
Medical Sales Representative Muhammad Shamir said: "If I want to avoid Esplanade Drive, I can head north and use the CTE but if I’m not mistaken, there’s also another gantry there and it might be more expensive. The road to exit the PIE may be more congested, so that’s the difficulty I face."

Going home is another problem.

"Maybe I can go home later in the evening (to avoid the ERP), that’s one option because there’s not much that I can do since there’s no other way from my office to Tampines," he said.
Other motorists have mixed concerns.

"Every day, I have to travel out to go to Tuas and back to my office, and every time I have to pass through one of the gantries," one said.

"For those of us who travel, we’ll of course find the shortest way to go. If we go the long way, we will incur more petrol costs. So in the end, drivers are losing out," another added.

In an email response to Channel NewsAsia, the Automobile Association of Singapore reiterated its view that the introduction of more ERP gantries and increasing ERP charges may not help to alleviate traffic congestion and slow—moving traffic.

The association maintains that the authorities should allow more time for the proposed changes to the public transport system and the effects of its recent enhancements to kick in and stabilise, before reassessing the whole situation.

Taxi drivers make up a big group of those who will be affected by the new ERP landscape. Some taxi associations have announced different measures to help their drivers, but there is still some concern on the ground.

One taxi driver said: "The intention is good, but if we are going back into the area and my cab is empty, I’ll have to pay for the charges myself, so that’s quite a burden."

www.channelnewsasia.com

Hmmm why is the govt so $ minded? inflation already so high, still wanna increase prices for ERP so they can earn more...make everybody suffer...aiyo..