What now for City Harvest?
By Angela Lim – June 2nd, 2010
First NKF, then Ren Ci, then Youth Challenge. And now City Harvest Church.
The reaction online to our Yahoo! Fit-to-Post story about 17 City Harvest members, including founder Pastor Kong Hee, being investigated for misuse of funds has been nothing short of staggering.
In less than a day, over 2,000 remarks flooded the comments section, many applauding the move to audit the church’s finances.
Some defended the church while proclaiming their faith in its leadership and a rare few were downright nasty and insensitive.
It is obvious the probe has touched a raw nerve, and rightly so, because religion is and always will be a touchy and delicate subject in the multi-racial, multi-faith context of Singapore.
So before I continue, let me first say this — let us not jump to conclusions: Pastor Kong Hee and his staff are innocent until proven otherwise.
But it’s clear something is amiss.
Reports of the largest mega-church in Singapore (over 32,000 members) having amassed millions of dollars in reserves started to raise eyebrows years ago.
From a small church which started in 1989, City Harvest now boasts a 14,000 sq foot office in Suntec and its own $47 million building in Jurong West. It has 45 affiliate churches in Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan and Australia with a total of 48,000 members. It employs 154 full-time staff and has 15 committees overseeing all its operations.
The Straits Times reports that it spent $40 million alone in the last financial year.
Despite the much publicised fact that Kong Hee, 46, hasn’t been paid a salary by the church since 2005, the Pastor and his pop-star wife Sun Ho continue to attract their fair share of detractors.
City Harvest member Wayne Chen, 31, told the same paper that the Pastor is ”humble, caring and family-oriented” and always emphasises “family values and loving God and people”. Yet others criticise his wife for her celebrity lifestyle, raunchy music videos and daring dress sense.
But what the startlingly similar scandals involving the NKF, Ren Ci and Youth Challenge have taught us is that excess often leads to temptation. By all accounts, the leaders of all three non-profit organisations started off humbly and upheld genuinely noble ideals, until money — more than they knew what to do with — quickly led them down the path of greed, materalism and corruption.
In July 2005, CEO of the National Kidney Foundation, T. T. Durai, was arrested for making false declarations on NKF’s accounts. Lurid details of first-class air travel, a fleet of luxury cars at his beck and call, a $600,000 annual salary and even a golden tap in his private office suite emerged. During a much publicised trial, it was revealed in court that NKF had amassed $262 million in reserves.
A year later in 2006, Youth Challenge, which sends students overseas to do humanitarian work, came under fire for poor management practices and was subsequently voted for closure. Its leader, Vincent Lam – a former police officer who set it up in 1985 to keep aimless youths off the streets — was found to have an extravagant annual pay package of nearly $250,000 - 56 % of the charity’s total income. He resigned a year later. In March this year, Youth Challenge folded.
In 2008, Reverend Ming Yi, the chairman of Ren Ci Hospital and Medicare Centre, was charged with forgery, conspiracy and misuse of funds. He allegedly approved million-dollar investments for Ren Ci, but the funds included loans for himself. Stories of BMW cars, lavish condos and excessive splurging were revealed in court with the monk defending his lifestyle as that of “a modern monk”. Just last week, his jail sentence was reduced from 10 months in jail to just six.
And now, City Harvest Church, which recently invested in a whopping S$310 million stake in Suntec City Convention Centre. In its 2009 audit, it was found to have S$103 million in reserves.
From March next year, CHC will be renting a convention hall from Suntec Convention Centre which will include a 12,000-seat main auditorium, 10 meeting rooms, a multi-purpose hall, theatre and concourse on the top floors.
Check out how it raised funds for the impending move.
Benjamin Tan, 26, who makes regular contributions to his own church, told Yahoo! Singapore, ”When it comes to religious organisations like City Harvest, the money they receive should be more than enough to cover the maintenance of the church. I see no need for a reserve fund, or the investment of excess.”
“The role of religion is the worship of God, not a tool or vehicle to make money,” he adds.
Another senior church leader agreed, saying the sums of money being reported made him uncomfortable.
“Money is meant to flow through the church. There is no need for it to amass so much money because the Bible teaches us that, at the end of the day, we must have faith that God will provide,” he said.
Others disagree.
A 22-year-old City Harvest churchgoer, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “Any organisation that wants to do anything on a large scale needs a large amount of finances, be it charity work or even day-to-day administration.”
“City Harvest Church needs such a large amount of funds partly because it runs one of the largest community service organisations in Singapore – City Harvest Community Service Association (CHCSA),” he explains.
The CHCSA sent teams to Banda Aceh after the 2004 tsunami as well as sent medical and relief teams to help in the Haiti earthquake in January this year.
Whatever the reasons behind the financial complications in these organisations, one thing is certain — it is often the needy and those who really depend on them for prayer, food, treatment and life’s basic necessities who suffer the most.
Ren Ci Hospital, for example, suffered a severe plunge in donations from S$9.3 million in 2007 to just S$1.1 million in 2008. A drop in NKF donations also saw the organisation dipping into its reserves to keep its commitments to Singaporeans suffering from kidney failure.
Perhaps even more damaging is that instead of celebrating the many success stories by these charity and religious bodies which so often go un-noticed, the general public begin to question and doubt.
“Do my tithes or donations really help the needy?”
“What’s my money being used for?”
“How much do they already have in their offers?”
So, tell us, just how much money is needed to run a charity or a religious organisation? Is it right that they be run and financed like a private corporation? Or is the concept of a simply-run, no-frills church an out-dated model in this day and age?
http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2010/06/02/what-next-for-city-harvest (accessed on 3 June 2010)
Comment
Regarding to the City Harvest news, I feel that this topic attracted many people to leave their comment is because religion is a sensitive issue to touch on especially in a multi-racial and multi-faith society in Singapore. A big organisation like City Harvest naturally would catch the attention of public that is why people are so eager to know the truth towards the excessive investments or the reserve funds. Since there have been issues about people who cheats their organisation of the donations by other people. I feel that the reserve funds are essential for the day to day expenses. But the amount of reserves maybe too much for an organisation or rather a church should have. A church is operated for a purpose, which is to allow people coming from different places of the same faith to praise and worship their God in a wonderful premise. Also I do not believe that the pastor would embezzle the funds like the people that were named in the article for comparisons. Comparison is hurtful, therefore, reporters should not write about such stuffs to hurt the church and the people working to make the church a great place for people to come together to worship their God.
From now we’ll manage without maids
A maid who hit and tied up her employer's daughter was yesterday sentenced to five months' jail.
The domestic worker, Utami, pleaded guilty to four charges of criminal intimidation, causing hurt, wrongfully restraining the girl and remaining here after her work permit had been cancelled.
The mother of the 15-year-old teen who was tied up told The New Paper yesterday that her daughter had put the episode behind her.
But, she said in Mandarin: "I've decided not to employ any maids or have any of them staying over."
The girl's parents own the maid agency which brought in Utami, 25, from Java.
After arriving here on March 1, she went through a three-day orientation programme and was assigned to an employer on March 6, but ran away three days later.
She was found by the maid agency owners the same day and was staying with the family while waiting for new employment.
Said the girl's mother: "I had no problems with her and she seemed happy with her work. During the one week she stayed with us, she never mentioned she missed home or that she wanted to return to Indonesia."
The woman said she has had three maids, but she would rather do the housework on her own from now on.
Comment
The domestic helper, Utama should be grateful that they can at least work in a home to earn money to bring back to their family rather than being ungrateful and hurt the employer’s daughter. People nowadays rely too much on domestic workers. It is true that sometimes domestic workers is very useful in some ways like helping to do the household chores when the employer has no time or does not want to do the chores. But, I feel that people should not rely too much on them. We never know anyone unless we have known them for a long time. Moreover, if some children are being taken care by the domestic workers, some may treat the children like their own but some simply won’t. It is still the best option that parents would take care of their children themselves. The childhood of every individual is very important. When the children grow up, they may question their parents, why did you not take care of me? Why did my memories only contain the memories of me and the auntie (domestic helper)? I may not want my children to question me in the future, thus i would not hire any domestic helpers in the future so as to create good memories with my children in future and also not to put my family at risk if the domestic helper is not someone desirable.
Five more firms join YOG as Official Supporters
Posted: 07 July 2010 1728 hrs
Photos 1 of 1
2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore
SINGAPORE : Five more companies have come on board as Official Supporters to the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG).
They are Anderco, Cathay Organisation, Eng Wah Cinemas, SDS Media and TTG Asia Media.
Anderco will be offering housing and facilities in the form of containers for use at YOG venues as temporary offices, booths and for broadcast use.
Cathay Organisation will be sponsoring vouchers, event and media spaces to display YOG advertisements on their poster space and video wall across its chain of Cathay Cineplexes. Electronic direct mailers about the Games will also be disseminated to its database.
Similarly, Eng Wah Cinemas will also be sponsoring airtime on their cinema hall
screens and lobby TV screens across its chain of cinemas.
SDS Media will be sponsoring advertising airtime through its single point network of integrated tourism service via its hotel TV platform to more than 20 hotels in Singapore.
TTG Asia Media produces titles such as The Official Guide & Map, a monthly tourist guide, and will be sponsoring advertising space in the publication as well as dedicated editorial content.
Mr Goh Kee Nguan, chief executive officer of the Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee, said: "Official Supporters sponsor a variety of products, from containers to media spaces and advertising platforms to aid in the promotion and publicity of the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games.
"This series of sponsorship is necessary for operational requirements and also enhances our efforts in building buzz for the first Youth Olympic Games."
comment
Hosting YOG in Singapore is something that the people should be proud of as it is a rare chance that a small country like Singapore can be the country to host the YOG. The authorities would have put in their best to make the first YOG to be a happening occasion in Singapore. As a Singaporean, I am very happy that Singapore is able to host this YOG. This may bring more people who are not aware Singapore s a country to come and notice us. Being able to host YOG is an honourable thing but there are expenses that the country would have to bear too. That is why Singapore would need to have the support of companies so that expenses to run the event would be split up. Even before YOG started, there are people already planning for the show that is going to be presented. I hope that more and more companies will join the big family of the official supporters and i pray that the YOG would be a success and it would mark the history of YOG as a meaningful one.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
What now City Harvest?
What now for City Harvest?
By Angela Lim – June 2nd, 2010
First NKF, then Ren Ci, then Youth Challenge. And now City Harvest Church.
The reaction online to our Yahoo! Fit-to-Post story about 17 City Harvest members, including founder Pastor Kong Hee, being investigated for misuse of funds has been nothing short of staggering.
In less than a day, over 2,000 remarks flooded the comments section, many applauding the move to audit the church’s finances.
Some defended the church while proclaiming their faith in its leadership and a rare few were downright nasty and insensitive.
It is obvious the probe has touched a raw nerve, and rightly so, because religion is and always will be a touchy and delicate subject in the multi-racial, multi-faith context of Singapore.
So before I continue, let me first say this — let us not jump to conclusions: Pastor Kong Hee and his staff are innocent until proven otherwise.
But it’s clear something is amiss.
Reports of the largest mega-church in Singapore (over 32,000 members) having amassed millions of dollars in reserves started to raise eyebrows years ago.
From a small church which started in 1989, City Harvest now boasts a 14,000 sq foot office in Suntec and its own $47 million building in Jurong West. It has 45 affiliate churches in Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan and Australia with a total of 48,000 members. It employs 154 full-time staff and has 15 committees overseeing all its operations.
The Straits Times reports that it spent $40 million alone in the last financial year.
Despite the much publicised fact that Kong Hee, 46, hasn’t been paid a salary by the church since 2005, the Pastor and his pop-star wife Sun Ho continue to attract their fair share of detractors.
City Harvest member Wayne Chen, 31, told the same paper that the Pastor is ”humble, caring and family-oriented” and always emphasises “family values and loving God and people”. Yet others criticise his wife for her celebrity lifestyle, raunchy music videos and daring dress sense.
But what the startlingly similar scandals involving the NKF, Ren Ci and Youth Challenge have taught us is that excess often leads to temptation. By all accounts, the leaders of all three non-profit organisations started off humbly and upheld genuinely noble ideals, until money — more than they knew what to do with — quickly led them down the path of greed, materalism and corruption.
In July 2005, CEO of the National Kidney Foundation, T. T. Durai, was arrested for making false declarations on NKF’s accounts. Lurid details of first-class air travel, a fleet of luxury cars at his beck and call, a $600,000 annual salary and even a golden tap in his private office suite emerged. During a much publicised trial, it was revealed in court that NKF had amassed $262 million in reserves.
A year later in 2006, Youth Challenge, which sends students overseas to do humanitarian work, came under fire for poor management practices and was subsequently voted for closure. Its leader, Vincent Lam – a former police officer who set it up in 1985 to keep aimless youths off the streets — was found to have an extravagant annual pay package of nearly $250,000 - 56 % of the charity’s total income. He resigned a year later. In March this year, Youth Challenge folded.
In 2008, Reverend Ming Yi, the chairman of Ren Ci Hospital and Medicare Centre, was charged with forgery, conspiracy and misuse of funds. He allegedly approved million-dollar investments for Ren Ci, but the funds included loans for himself. Stories of BMW cars, lavish condos and excessive splurging were revealed in court with the monk defending his lifestyle as that of “a modern monk”. Just last week, his jail sentence was reduced from 10 months in jail to just six.
And now, City Harvest Church, which recently invested in a whopping S$310 million stake in Suntec City Convention Centre. In its 2009 audit, it was found to have S$103 million in reserves.
From March next year, CHC will be renting a convention hall from Suntec Convention Centre which will include a 12,000-seat main auditorium, 10 meeting rooms, a multi-purpose hall, theatre and concourse on the top floors.
Check out how it raised funds for the impending move.
Benjamin Tan, 26, who makes regular contributions to his own church, told Yahoo! Singapore, ”When it comes to religious organisations like City Harvest, the money they receive should be more than enough to cover the maintenance of the church. I see no need for a reserve fund, or the investment of excess.”
“The role of religion is the worship of God, not a tool or vehicle to make money,” he adds.
Another senior church leader agreed, saying the sums of money being reported made him uncomfortable.
“Money is meant to flow through the church. There is no need for it to amass so much money because the Bible teaches us that, at the end of the day, we must have faith that God will provide,” he said.
Others disagree.
A 22-year-old City Harvest churchgoer, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “Any organisation that wants to do anything on a large scale needs a large amount of finances, be it charity work or even day-to-day administration.”
“City Harvest Church needs such a large amount of funds partly because it runs one of the largest community service organisations in Singapore – City Harvest Community Service Association (CHCSA),” he explains.
The CHCSA sent teams to Banda Aceh after the 2004 tsunami as well as sent medical and relief teams to help in the Haiti earthquake in January this year.
Whatever the reasons behind the financial complications in these organisations, one thing is certain — it is often the needy and those who really depend on them for prayer, food, treatment and life’s basic necessities who suffer the most.
Ren Ci Hospital, for example, suffered a severe plunge in donations from S$9.3 million in 2007 to just S$1.1 million in 2008. A drop in NKF donations also saw the organisation dipping into its reserves to keep its commitments to Singaporeans suffering from kidney failure.
Perhaps even more damaging is that instead of celebrating the many success stories by these charity and religious bodies which so often go un-noticed, the general public begin to question and doubt.
“Do my tithes or donations really help the needy?”
“What’s my money being used for?”
“How much do they already have in their offers?”
So, tell us, just how much money is needed to run a charity or a religious organisation? Is it right that they be run and financed like a private corporation? Or is the concept of a simply-run, no-frills church an out-dated model in this day and age?
http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2010/06/02/what-next-for-city-harvest
Regarding to the City Harvest news, I feel that this topic attracted many people to leave their comment is because religion is a sensitive issue to touch on especially in a multi-racial and multi-faith society in Singapore. A big organisation like City Harvest naturally would catch the attention of public that is why people are so eager to know the truth towards the excessive investments or the reserve funds. Since there have been issues about people who cheats their organisation of the donations by other people. I feel that the reserve funds are essential for the day to day expenses. But the amount of reserves maybe too much for an organisation or rather a church should have. A church is operated for a purpose, which is to allow people coming from different places of the same faith to praise and worship their God in a wonderful premise. Also I do not believe that the pastor would embezzle the funds like the people that were named in the article for comparisons. Comparison is hurtful, therefore, reporters should not write about such stuffs to hurt the church and the people working to make the church a great place for people to come together to worship their God.
Serene Chow
By Angela Lim – June 2nd, 2010
First NKF, then Ren Ci, then Youth Challenge. And now City Harvest Church.
The reaction online to our Yahoo! Fit-to-Post story about 17 City Harvest members, including founder Pastor Kong Hee, being investigated for misuse of funds has been nothing short of staggering.
In less than a day, over 2,000 remarks flooded the comments section, many applauding the move to audit the church’s finances.
Some defended the church while proclaiming their faith in its leadership and a rare few were downright nasty and insensitive.
It is obvious the probe has touched a raw nerve, and rightly so, because religion is and always will be a touchy and delicate subject in the multi-racial, multi-faith context of Singapore.
So before I continue, let me first say this — let us not jump to conclusions: Pastor Kong Hee and his staff are innocent until proven otherwise.
But it’s clear something is amiss.
Reports of the largest mega-church in Singapore (over 32,000 members) having amassed millions of dollars in reserves started to raise eyebrows years ago.
From a small church which started in 1989, City Harvest now boasts a 14,000 sq foot office in Suntec and its own $47 million building in Jurong West. It has 45 affiliate churches in Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan and Australia with a total of 48,000 members. It employs 154 full-time staff and has 15 committees overseeing all its operations.
The Straits Times reports that it spent $40 million alone in the last financial year.
Despite the much publicised fact that Kong Hee, 46, hasn’t been paid a salary by the church since 2005, the Pastor and his pop-star wife Sun Ho continue to attract their fair share of detractors.
City Harvest member Wayne Chen, 31, told the same paper that the Pastor is ”humble, caring and family-oriented” and always emphasises “family values and loving God and people”. Yet others criticise his wife for her celebrity lifestyle, raunchy music videos and daring dress sense.
But what the startlingly similar scandals involving the NKF, Ren Ci and Youth Challenge have taught us is that excess often leads to temptation. By all accounts, the leaders of all three non-profit organisations started off humbly and upheld genuinely noble ideals, until money — more than they knew what to do with — quickly led them down the path of greed, materalism and corruption.
In July 2005, CEO of the National Kidney Foundation, T. T. Durai, was arrested for making false declarations on NKF’s accounts. Lurid details of first-class air travel, a fleet of luxury cars at his beck and call, a $600,000 annual salary and even a golden tap in his private office suite emerged. During a much publicised trial, it was revealed in court that NKF had amassed $262 million in reserves.
A year later in 2006, Youth Challenge, which sends students overseas to do humanitarian work, came under fire for poor management practices and was subsequently voted for closure. Its leader, Vincent Lam – a former police officer who set it up in 1985 to keep aimless youths off the streets — was found to have an extravagant annual pay package of nearly $250,000 - 56 % of the charity’s total income. He resigned a year later. In March this year, Youth Challenge folded.
In 2008, Reverend Ming Yi, the chairman of Ren Ci Hospital and Medicare Centre, was charged with forgery, conspiracy and misuse of funds. He allegedly approved million-dollar investments for Ren Ci, but the funds included loans for himself. Stories of BMW cars, lavish condos and excessive splurging were revealed in court with the monk defending his lifestyle as that of “a modern monk”. Just last week, his jail sentence was reduced from 10 months in jail to just six.
And now, City Harvest Church, which recently invested in a whopping S$310 million stake in Suntec City Convention Centre. In its 2009 audit, it was found to have S$103 million in reserves.
From March next year, CHC will be renting a convention hall from Suntec Convention Centre which will include a 12,000-seat main auditorium, 10 meeting rooms, a multi-purpose hall, theatre and concourse on the top floors.
Check out how it raised funds for the impending move.
Benjamin Tan, 26, who makes regular contributions to his own church, told Yahoo! Singapore, ”When it comes to religious organisations like City Harvest, the money they receive should be more than enough to cover the maintenance of the church. I see no need for a reserve fund, or the investment of excess.”
“The role of religion is the worship of God, not a tool or vehicle to make money,” he adds.
Another senior church leader agreed, saying the sums of money being reported made him uncomfortable.
“Money is meant to flow through the church. There is no need for it to amass so much money because the Bible teaches us that, at the end of the day, we must have faith that God will provide,” he said.
Others disagree.
A 22-year-old City Harvest churchgoer, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “Any organisation that wants to do anything on a large scale needs a large amount of finances, be it charity work or even day-to-day administration.”
“City Harvest Church needs such a large amount of funds partly because it runs one of the largest community service organisations in Singapore – City Harvest Community Service Association (CHCSA),” he explains.
The CHCSA sent teams to Banda Aceh after the 2004 tsunami as well as sent medical and relief teams to help in the Haiti earthquake in January this year.
Whatever the reasons behind the financial complications in these organisations, one thing is certain — it is often the needy and those who really depend on them for prayer, food, treatment and life’s basic necessities who suffer the most.
Ren Ci Hospital, for example, suffered a severe plunge in donations from S$9.3 million in 2007 to just S$1.1 million in 2008. A drop in NKF donations also saw the organisation dipping into its reserves to keep its commitments to Singaporeans suffering from kidney failure.
Perhaps even more damaging is that instead of celebrating the many success stories by these charity and religious bodies which so often go un-noticed, the general public begin to question and doubt.
“Do my tithes or donations really help the needy?”
“What’s my money being used for?”
“How much do they already have in their offers?”
So, tell us, just how much money is needed to run a charity or a religious organisation? Is it right that they be run and financed like a private corporation? Or is the concept of a simply-run, no-frills church an out-dated model in this day and age?
http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2010/06/02/what-next-for-city-harvest
Regarding to the City Harvest news, I feel that this topic attracted many people to leave their comment is because religion is a sensitive issue to touch on especially in a multi-racial and multi-faith society in Singapore. A big organisation like City Harvest naturally would catch the attention of public that is why people are so eager to know the truth towards the excessive investments or the reserve funds. Since there have been issues about people who cheats their organisation of the donations by other people. I feel that the reserve funds are essential for the day to day expenses. But the amount of reserves maybe too much for an organisation or rather a church should have. A church is operated for a purpose, which is to allow people coming from different places of the same faith to praise and worship their God in a wonderful premise. Also I do not believe that the pastor would embezzle the funds like the people that were named in the article for comparisons. Comparison is hurtful, therefore, reporters should not write about such stuffs to hurt the church and the people working to make the church a great place for people to come together to worship their God.
Serene Chow
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
My Reflection (Saiful)
It’s one issue to snidely insult a person’s personal predilections but another to spew forth unmitigated labelling such as `gullible costumers’. Mr Yeo’s commentary has sparked hatred of Apple’s overzealous fans towards the scornful government head figure. There have been speculations as to why the statement was even made in the first place but I think the motive behind the slanderous words is more profound than what we care to consider.
A nerve pricking commentary is sure to grab more spotlight as oppose to a conservative speech where words are choose wisely to avoid offending any concerning parties. Human are cynical beings, we are right even when we are wrong and we just loved to see the fall of others. We relish in knowledge that others are suffering and what is more joyous than seeing the fall of a preeminent CEO who has everything to lose? However, after all the hoopla is wrung out, curiosity will eventually get the better of us and we will start to dig deep into the many possible interpretations of the message highlighted. Placing out mint IPADs and up-to-date notebook side-by- side, we will weight its benefits and realise that there is nothing that the IPAD has to offer that haven’t been covered by the electronic book. Hence, the concept of wasteful spending arises.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Philip in a flap over Apple ‘dummies’ remark
By Angela Lim – May 13th, 2010
SPRING Singapore chairman Philip Yeo has enraged Apple’s legion of fanatical followers in Singapore over comments they feel are derogatory.
The Straits Times reports that Apple fans are furious about his claims that people who buy applications for Apple products are “gullible customers” and that they were wasting their money on “all sorts of useless applications”.
Mr. Yeo made the comments last week when he was the guest speaker at the Fullerton-St. Joseph’s institution leadership.
“I always tell my daughter, make products and services to sell to the dummies”, he added.
The YouTube video clip, that was first posted on Razor TV, has since garnered more than 3,000 views.
While Apple declined to comment on Mr. Yeo’s statements, local Mac, iPod, iPhone and soon-to-be iPad fans in Singapore have plenty to say.
YouTube user, Cryfamm, commented: “This is so downright ignorant and lack of respect for the Apple consumers (sic). Never should anyone of certain political background dispute the grounds of any customers preference in whatever they are spending their money on (sic).”
Popular local illusionist and J.C Sum was quoted on the same newspaper as saying he was upset not by the “dummy” label but because “he is the chairman of Spring Singapore!” SPRING Singapore is an agency responsible for incubating and funding small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
YouTube user, jeremyfoo, added: “And yet if a company comes along with an idea that has the potential to make money using the same model that Apple has, he wouldn’t hesitate to have SPRING invest in it”.
Others worry that Yeo’s remarks might have harmed Singapore’s chances of securing future investments from Apple.
The 64-year-old has since clarified to the newspaper that he had simply been misunderstood. He explained that he used the word “dummies” to mean “laymen, which is the major market” and not as an insult.
“If I was calling them idiots, I would have used ‘idiots’,” he was quoted as saying.
He added that, in fact, he too has ordered an iPad and will receive one from overseas soon. He further explains that his point (that many had missed in the video) was that Singapore should learn from Apple, a company that has found a very lucrative customer base.
This is not the first time the former A*Star chairman has courted controversy.
In 1998, as Chairman of EDB, he publicly named government scholarships holders who broke their bonds in order to shame them, sparking a major debate on bond-breakers.
In 2005, The New Paper published an article on his book in which he remarked that Singapore men were “wimps, whiny, and immature” even after undergoing National Service. The reason Yeo gave was that all bond-breakers since the early ’90s were Singaporean men.
A year later, Dr. Lee Wei Ling, head of the National Neuroscience Institute and Lee Kuan Yew’s daughter, publicly questioned the policy of Philip Yeo and A*Star, asserting that they were wrong by putting public money on competing with western countries on cutting-edge research. She said that Singapore should instead focus on niche areas in Biotech research.
http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2010/05/13/philip-in-a-flap-over-apple-dummies-remark
It’s one issue to snidely insult a person’s personal predilections but another to spew forth unmitigated labelling such as `gullible costumers’. Mr Yeo’s commentary has sparked hatred of Apple’s overzealous fans towards the scornful government head figure. There have been speculations as to why the statement was even made in the first place but I think the motive behind the slanderous words is more profound than what we care to consider.
A nerve pricking commentary is sure to grab more spotlight as oppose to a conservative speech where words are choose wisely to avoid offending any concerning parties. Human are cynical beings, we are right even when we are wrong and we just loved to see the fall of others. We relish in knowledge that others are suffering and what is more joyous than seeing the fall of a preeminent CEO who has everything to lose? However, after all the hoopla is wrung out, curiosity will eventually get the better of us and we will start to dig deep into the many possible interpretations of the message highlighted. Placing out mint IPADs and up-to-date notebook side-by- side, we will weight its benefits and realise that there is nothing that the IPAD has to offer that haven’t been covered by the electronic book. Hence, the concept of wasteful spending arises.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Philip in a flap over Apple ‘dummies’ remark
By Angela Lim – May 13th, 2010
SPRING Singapore chairman Philip Yeo has enraged Apple’s legion of fanatical followers in Singapore over comments they feel are derogatory.
The Straits Times reports that Apple fans are furious about his claims that people who buy applications for Apple products are “gullible customers” and that they were wasting their money on “all sorts of useless applications”.
Mr. Yeo made the comments last week when he was the guest speaker at the Fullerton-St. Joseph’s institution leadership.
“I always tell my daughter, make products and services to sell to the dummies”, he added.
The YouTube video clip, that was first posted on Razor TV, has since garnered more than 3,000 views.
While Apple declined to comment on Mr. Yeo’s statements, local Mac, iPod, iPhone and soon-to-be iPad fans in Singapore have plenty to say.
YouTube user, Cryfamm, commented: “This is so downright ignorant and lack of respect for the Apple consumers (sic). Never should anyone of certain political background dispute the grounds of any customers preference in whatever they are spending their money on (sic).”
Popular local illusionist and J.C Sum was quoted on the same newspaper as saying he was upset not by the “dummy” label but because “he is the chairman of Spring Singapore!” SPRING Singapore is an agency responsible for incubating and funding small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
YouTube user, jeremyfoo, added: “And yet if a company comes along with an idea that has the potential to make money using the same model that Apple has, he wouldn’t hesitate to have SPRING invest in it”.
Others worry that Yeo’s remarks might have harmed Singapore’s chances of securing future investments from Apple.
The 64-year-old has since clarified to the newspaper that he had simply been misunderstood. He explained that he used the word “dummies” to mean “laymen, which is the major market” and not as an insult.
“If I was calling them idiots, I would have used ‘idiots’,” he was quoted as saying.
He added that, in fact, he too has ordered an iPad and will receive one from overseas soon. He further explains that his point (that many had missed in the video) was that Singapore should learn from Apple, a company that has found a very lucrative customer base.
This is not the first time the former A*Star chairman has courted controversy.
In 1998, as Chairman of EDB, he publicly named government scholarships holders who broke their bonds in order to shame them, sparking a major debate on bond-breakers.
In 2005, The New Paper published an article on his book in which he remarked that Singapore men were “wimps, whiny, and immature” even after undergoing National Service. The reason Yeo gave was that all bond-breakers since the early ’90s were Singaporean men.
A year later, Dr. Lee Wei Ling, head of the National Neuroscience Institute and Lee Kuan Yew’s daughter, publicly questioned the policy of Philip Yeo and A*Star, asserting that they were wrong by putting public money on competing with western countries on cutting-edge research. She said that Singapore should instead focus on niche areas in Biotech research.
http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2010/05/13/philip-in-a-flap-over-apple-dummies-remark
Chinese tycoon jailed for bribery
Chinese tycoon Huang Guangyu jailed for bribery
Mr Huang's vast personal wealth put him in the authorities' spotlight
Chinese tycoon Huang Guangyu has been sentenced to 14 years in prison after being found guilty of bribery, insider trading and illegal business practices.
Huang, who was for a time the richest man in China, was also fined 600 million yuan ($88m; £59m), the official Xinhua news agency said.
He built a billion-dollar business from almost nothing, after dropping out of school nearly 30 years ago.
His business grew into a chain of more than 1,300 stores across China.
The court in Beijing said the Gome chain and Huang's property development company Beijing Pengrun Real Estate had between them paid out 4.56m yuan in bribes between 2006 and 2008.
The bribes, in the form of cash and properties, were paid to five government officials in exchange for corporate benefits.
The Gome chain of domestic appliance shops was the second largest in the country.
Canny investments in property helped Huang build a fortune estimated to be between $2.7bn (£1.72bn) and $6.3bn at the time of his arrest, and in 2008, he topped the Hurun Report's China rich list.
But a few months later he was arrested and he went on trial in Beijing last month.
He stepped down as Gome's chairman last year.
Bribery and corruption are ongoing problems in China, says our correspondent, but Huang may have failed to cultivate the right contacts, fallen out with influential backers or simply pushed things too far for the authorities to turn a blind eye.
Huang appears to have brought several government officials down with him, with various convictions for accepting bribes apparently connected to his case.
Those convicted include Zheng Shaodong, the former assistant minister of public security, his deputy and government personnel in the southern cities of Guangdong and Shenzheng.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8688623.stm (accessed on 18 May 2010)
Serene Chow comment
This article is about a tycoon in china jailed for bribery. It is reported that this is not the only bribery case. Previously, I have heard from my teachers that in china, for things you want to get done, like application of the business to go through efficiently without any mishaps, you will need to bribe the authorities that are handling the processing of the application. When I heard my teacher told me this, I did not believe him until now. It is so unbelievable that most businesses in china would resort to bribery to ensure that their business is on the right track or even growing.
For this Chinese tycoon, he built a billion-dollar business from almost nothing into something big today. But from what he did now, I am starting to suspect that he also bribe officials to achieve the achievements that he has today. Personally, I feel that he deserves to be jailed because he did something that is illegal. When anyone has done something wrong, they should be punished for their wrongdoings. I hope that when he is in jail, he would know that the mistake that he made is very disastrous and also would not repeat what he has done. Also I hope that this situation would bring to a stop in people china to continue the bribery.
Mr Huang's vast personal wealth put him in the authorities' spotlight
Chinese tycoon Huang Guangyu has been sentenced to 14 years in prison after being found guilty of bribery, insider trading and illegal business practices.
Huang, who was for a time the richest man in China, was also fined 600 million yuan ($88m; £59m), the official Xinhua news agency said.
He built a billion-dollar business from almost nothing, after dropping out of school nearly 30 years ago.
His business grew into a chain of more than 1,300 stores across China.
The court in Beijing said the Gome chain and Huang's property development company Beijing Pengrun Real Estate had between them paid out 4.56m yuan in bribes between 2006 and 2008.
The bribes, in the form of cash and properties, were paid to five government officials in exchange for corporate benefits.
The Gome chain of domestic appliance shops was the second largest in the country.
Canny investments in property helped Huang build a fortune estimated to be between $2.7bn (£1.72bn) and $6.3bn at the time of his arrest, and in 2008, he topped the Hurun Report's China rich list.
But a few months later he was arrested and he went on trial in Beijing last month.
He stepped down as Gome's chairman last year.
Bribery and corruption are ongoing problems in China, says our correspondent, but Huang may have failed to cultivate the right contacts, fallen out with influential backers or simply pushed things too far for the authorities to turn a blind eye.
Huang appears to have brought several government officials down with him, with various convictions for accepting bribes apparently connected to his case.
Those convicted include Zheng Shaodong, the former assistant minister of public security, his deputy and government personnel in the southern cities of Guangdong and Shenzheng.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8688623.stm (accessed on 18 May 2010)
Serene Chow comment
This article is about a tycoon in china jailed for bribery. It is reported that this is not the only bribery case. Previously, I have heard from my teachers that in china, for things you want to get done, like application of the business to go through efficiently without any mishaps, you will need to bribe the authorities that are handling the processing of the application. When I heard my teacher told me this, I did not believe him until now. It is so unbelievable that most businesses in china would resort to bribery to ensure that their business is on the right track or even growing.
For this Chinese tycoon, he built a billion-dollar business from almost nothing into something big today. But from what he did now, I am starting to suspect that he also bribe officials to achieve the achievements that he has today. Personally, I feel that he deserves to be jailed because he did something that is illegal. When anyone has done something wrong, they should be punished for their wrongdoings. I hope that when he is in jail, he would know that the mistake that he made is very disastrous and also would not repeat what he has done. Also I hope that this situation would bring to a stop in people china to continue the bribery.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Thai premier says protesters will be cleared
By DENIS D. GRAY,Associated Press Writer - Monday, May 3
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BANGKOK – Thailand's prime minister said Sunday the government was preparing to clear an area of Bangkok defended by thousands of anti-government protesters, seeking to end a crisis which has virtually paralyzed the capital.
Many Thais have grown increasingly frustrated with the stalemate, which has dragged on for nearly eight weeks, claiming the lives of at least 27 people and costing the country tens of millions of dollars. It has sparked concerns of a flare-up of civil unrest.
"We are sending a clear signal that we have given people enough time to leave (the occupied zone). We are now in the process of sealing off and cutting off support before we actually move in," Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said in an interview with several foreign journalists to be nationally televised.
Thousands of so-called Red Shirt protesters have occupied a barricaded encampment in the commercial heart of Bangkok, centered on its most upmarket shopping district, forcing the closure of several malls and hotels.
Abhisit declined to elaborate on an earlier announced plan to end the crisis which he said did not include the declaration of martial law. In an emergency meeting Sunday, the Cabinet approved special funding for the police to contain the demonstrators.
"My belief is that the majority of the people want the protest to end. Increasingly their patience is running out. This is a situation we have to handle," he said in the interview.
The protesters, mostly from the rural and urban poor, view the government as an illegitimate puppet of Bangkok's elite and the military, are demanding Abhisit resign, dissolve Parliament and call new elections.
Abhisit has rejected the call for quick elections and publicly suspended talks with the protesters but says he still hopes a political solution will persuade the Red Shirts to leave.
Speaking at a closely guarded military camp on the city's outskirts, Abhisit gave no indication when any operation against the entrenched protesters would be launched. But he said the demonstrators, who include a large number of women and children, would be given prior warning.
"I can say that we continue to exercise restraint and patience and the first, best solution is one that does not involve violence," he said.
In a small concession, the demonstrators on Sunday shifted their tire barricades away from a hospital on the edge of their encampment in a move intended to allow the medical facility to reopen.
Abhisit said earlier Sunday he was reluctant to give in to demands from a group of pro-establishment protesters who have called for a declaration of martial law.
"So far, from what we have discussed, we (the government and the army) think that the situation doesn't warrant martial law," he said in his weekly television broadcast.
The Red Shirts said they would ignore any declaration of martial law anyway.
"Even if they announce that, we are not going to go home, we are going to stay put," said Nattawut Saikua, a Red Shirt leader.
The Red Shirts drew intense criticism last week after raiding Chulalongkorn Hospital on the edge of their protest site, prompting medical officials to evacuate it of patients.
On Sunday, the demonstrators dismantled the barricade blocking access to the hospital and rebuilt it about 50 yards (meters) away, on the other side of the entrance to the facility. Police then used a crane to assemble a short barrier of concrete blocks in front of the new barricade, effectively fortifying the protest camp.
Maj. Gen. Vichai Sangparpai, a top police official, said the blocks were intended to keep the protesters away from the hospital, which was guarded Sunday by large groups of police officers.
Nattawut said the Red Shirt raid on the hospital was a mistake and offered an apology.
Since the Red Shirts moved into Bangkok in mid-March, there have been several clashes between protesters and security forces. With negotiations between the protesters and the government on hold and hopes for a peaceful end to the standoff dwindling, calls have grown for international mediation.
The International Crisis Group think tank said Saturday that Thailand's political system had broken down and expressed fears the standoff could "deteriorate into an undeclared civil war."
But Abhisit, in the interview, said that only in three or four of the country's provinces was there "a (protest) movement in parallel with Bangkok that has to be handled. The rest of the country is well under control."
____
Associated Press Writers Ravi Nessman and Thanyarat Doksone contributed to this report
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/ap/20100502/tap-as-thailand-politics-3rd-ld-writethr-7934085.html (accessed 3 May 2010)
This article is about a group of anti-government Thai protesters, also known as the Red Shirt protesters living in the rural and urban areas of Bangkok, Thailand. What actually happened was many Thais were frustrated with the stalemale that is ongoing in Thailand for eight weeks since the 3rd of May. Due to this particular matter, it had sparked concerns of a flare-up of a civil unrest. Protesters have even occupied a barricaded encampment in the commercial heart of Bangkok which ultimately forced the closure of most shopping malls as well as hotels. The protesters were unhappy with the government due to the fact that the government wanted to impose a martial law on the citizens, in which the citizens were not willing to abide. Protests were sparked off because the current Prime Minister, Abhisit, undemocratically pushed himself up to his current position.
I personally think that if the Thai government wanted to bring down the recent protest, they should put themselves in the citizen’s shoes and think in their point of view. From the article, it is reported that Thailand’s political system had broken down, and I feel that the way to repair the system is not to force military or government decisions on the people to cause more unhappiness among them. What the government should do is to listen to what the protesters have to say and to resolve the issue democratically.
The government of Thailand including Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva had decided to clear an area which is defended by many anti-government protestors. This decision was made to put an end to the stalemate conflict between both parties due to political issues. The incident has been around for 8 weeks up till 6 May 2010, which resulted in lives lost, closure of several hospital and malls, resulting in an economical downturn for the country. Military support was used to gain control of the situation, however citizens in that area were told to evacuate women and children were given prior warning. The situation have improved by a little when the Red-Shirt protestors moved the barricade away from a hospital , enabling medical care to be given out to those who are injured. I personally feel that the raid on the Chulalongkorn hospital was unnecessary as the protestors did not spare a thought about the injured and the sick at that moment in time and even took a week’s time to release it. Despite the rest of the country being well controlled, the government should make a firm stand on political decisions and have ample military support in the beginning to prevent such breakouts. (Benjamin)
The chaotic situation in Bangkok has started since March 2010. There have been protesters mostly coming from the rural and urban poor places occupying posh Bangkok shopping area, causing business operations to be impossible to operate. The protest has lasted for almost 8 weeks, claiming the lives of at least 27 people and costing the country tens of millions of dollars. Now plans have been made (election in November) to make the situation come to an end. The protesters call themselves ‘’ Red shirts ‘’. They view the government as an unlawful puppet of Bangkok’s elite and the military. This is also the main reason why they want to invade the streets so that something can be done to improve their lives. This protest, i believe is rather meaningless and it puts the economics of Bangkok at risk. The government should review on the reasons of the protest and come out with a proposal to satisfy the ‘’Red shirts’’. Personally I do not believe that violence can solve any problem, not to say the protest that has lasted for nearly 8 weeks. The leaders of the ‘’red shirts’’ should have a peaceful talk with the government with no violence incorporated to have a both win-win situation to restore the streets back to its original position. I really hope that Bangkok will be peaceful again as I view Bangkok as a beautiful country with enriched culture. (Serene Chow Hui wen)
The civil unrest which centred Bangkok, Thailand, has dragged on for 8 painstaking weeks. Anarchy and lawlessness has governed the once law abiding country. Death toll has amounted to 27 and irrevocable damages to public property in the sum of 10s of million. The protestors are marching around with their placards voicing out the same tune of unjust and dissent to the government’s mind puppetry for the military purposes. They demanded that Abhisit step down from power along with his parliament affiliates. In retaliation Abhisit is imposing martial law to the general public.
Not speaking from any hindsight, I view that civil disobedience is a vindicated form of patriotism. However, when it turns egregiously dirty for both government and protestors a line has to be stepped to prevent any further futile bloodshed. Violence will only beget more violence and no form of solution will be derived from a pile of rotting fleshes. We have all seen this profound depiction in WW2. A peace talk will be the more viable solution, one which will both satisfy the needs of the dissenters and ones regulating the welfare of the people.
The path of least resistance will bore the most effective of result.
(Saifullah)
By DENIS D. GRAY,Associated Press Writer - Monday, May 3
• Send
• IM Story
BANGKOK – Thailand's prime minister said Sunday the government was preparing to clear an area of Bangkok defended by thousands of anti-government protesters, seeking to end a crisis which has virtually paralyzed the capital.
Many Thais have grown increasingly frustrated with the stalemate, which has dragged on for nearly eight weeks, claiming the lives of at least 27 people and costing the country tens of millions of dollars. It has sparked concerns of a flare-up of civil unrest.
"We are sending a clear signal that we have given people enough time to leave (the occupied zone). We are now in the process of sealing off and cutting off support before we actually move in," Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said in an interview with several foreign journalists to be nationally televised.
Thousands of so-called Red Shirt protesters have occupied a barricaded encampment in the commercial heart of Bangkok, centered on its most upmarket shopping district, forcing the closure of several malls and hotels.
Abhisit declined to elaborate on an earlier announced plan to end the crisis which he said did not include the declaration of martial law. In an emergency meeting Sunday, the Cabinet approved special funding for the police to contain the demonstrators.
"My belief is that the majority of the people want the protest to end. Increasingly their patience is running out. This is a situation we have to handle," he said in the interview.
The protesters, mostly from the rural and urban poor, view the government as an illegitimate puppet of Bangkok's elite and the military, are demanding Abhisit resign, dissolve Parliament and call new elections.
Abhisit has rejected the call for quick elections and publicly suspended talks with the protesters but says he still hopes a political solution will persuade the Red Shirts to leave.
Speaking at a closely guarded military camp on the city's outskirts, Abhisit gave no indication when any operation against the entrenched protesters would be launched. But he said the demonstrators, who include a large number of women and children, would be given prior warning.
"I can say that we continue to exercise restraint and patience and the first, best solution is one that does not involve violence," he said.
In a small concession, the demonstrators on Sunday shifted their tire barricades away from a hospital on the edge of their encampment in a move intended to allow the medical facility to reopen.
Abhisit said earlier Sunday he was reluctant to give in to demands from a group of pro-establishment protesters who have called for a declaration of martial law.
"So far, from what we have discussed, we (the government and the army) think that the situation doesn't warrant martial law," he said in his weekly television broadcast.
The Red Shirts said they would ignore any declaration of martial law anyway.
"Even if they announce that, we are not going to go home, we are going to stay put," said Nattawut Saikua, a Red Shirt leader.
The Red Shirts drew intense criticism last week after raiding Chulalongkorn Hospital on the edge of their protest site, prompting medical officials to evacuate it of patients.
On Sunday, the demonstrators dismantled the barricade blocking access to the hospital and rebuilt it about 50 yards (meters) away, on the other side of the entrance to the facility. Police then used a crane to assemble a short barrier of concrete blocks in front of the new barricade, effectively fortifying the protest camp.
Maj. Gen. Vichai Sangparpai, a top police official, said the blocks were intended to keep the protesters away from the hospital, which was guarded Sunday by large groups of police officers.
Nattawut said the Red Shirt raid on the hospital was a mistake and offered an apology.
Since the Red Shirts moved into Bangkok in mid-March, there have been several clashes between protesters and security forces. With negotiations between the protesters and the government on hold and hopes for a peaceful end to the standoff dwindling, calls have grown for international mediation.
The International Crisis Group think tank said Saturday that Thailand's political system had broken down and expressed fears the standoff could "deteriorate into an undeclared civil war."
But Abhisit, in the interview, said that only in three or four of the country's provinces was there "a (protest) movement in parallel with Bangkok that has to be handled. The rest of the country is well under control."
____
Associated Press Writers Ravi Nessman and Thanyarat Doksone contributed to this report
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/ap/20100502/tap-as-thailand-politics-3rd-ld-writethr-7934085.html (accessed 3 May 2010)
This article is about a group of anti-government Thai protesters, also known as the Red Shirt protesters living in the rural and urban areas of Bangkok, Thailand. What actually happened was many Thais were frustrated with the stalemale that is ongoing in Thailand for eight weeks since the 3rd of May. Due to this particular matter, it had sparked concerns of a flare-up of a civil unrest. Protesters have even occupied a barricaded encampment in the commercial heart of Bangkok which ultimately forced the closure of most shopping malls as well as hotels. The protesters were unhappy with the government due to the fact that the government wanted to impose a martial law on the citizens, in which the citizens were not willing to abide. Protests were sparked off because the current Prime Minister, Abhisit, undemocratically pushed himself up to his current position.
I personally think that if the Thai government wanted to bring down the recent protest, they should put themselves in the citizen’s shoes and think in their point of view. From the article, it is reported that Thailand’s political system had broken down, and I feel that the way to repair the system is not to force military or government decisions on the people to cause more unhappiness among them. What the government should do is to listen to what the protesters have to say and to resolve the issue democratically.
The government of Thailand including Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva had decided to clear an area which is defended by many anti-government protestors. This decision was made to put an end to the stalemate conflict between both parties due to political issues. The incident has been around for 8 weeks up till 6 May 2010, which resulted in lives lost, closure of several hospital and malls, resulting in an economical downturn for the country. Military support was used to gain control of the situation, however citizens in that area were told to evacuate women and children were given prior warning. The situation have improved by a little when the Red-Shirt protestors moved the barricade away from a hospital , enabling medical care to be given out to those who are injured. I personally feel that the raid on the Chulalongkorn hospital was unnecessary as the protestors did not spare a thought about the injured and the sick at that moment in time and even took a week’s time to release it. Despite the rest of the country being well controlled, the government should make a firm stand on political decisions and have ample military support in the beginning to prevent such breakouts. (Benjamin)
The chaotic situation in Bangkok has started since March 2010. There have been protesters mostly coming from the rural and urban poor places occupying posh Bangkok shopping area, causing business operations to be impossible to operate. The protest has lasted for almost 8 weeks, claiming the lives of at least 27 people and costing the country tens of millions of dollars. Now plans have been made (election in November) to make the situation come to an end. The protesters call themselves ‘’ Red shirts ‘’. They view the government as an unlawful puppet of Bangkok’s elite and the military. This is also the main reason why they want to invade the streets so that something can be done to improve their lives. This protest, i believe is rather meaningless and it puts the economics of Bangkok at risk. The government should review on the reasons of the protest and come out with a proposal to satisfy the ‘’Red shirts’’. Personally I do not believe that violence can solve any problem, not to say the protest that has lasted for nearly 8 weeks. The leaders of the ‘’red shirts’’ should have a peaceful talk with the government with no violence incorporated to have a both win-win situation to restore the streets back to its original position. I really hope that Bangkok will be peaceful again as I view Bangkok as a beautiful country with enriched culture. (Serene Chow Hui wen)
The civil unrest which centred Bangkok, Thailand, has dragged on for 8 painstaking weeks. Anarchy and lawlessness has governed the once law abiding country. Death toll has amounted to 27 and irrevocable damages to public property in the sum of 10s of million. The protestors are marching around with their placards voicing out the same tune of unjust and dissent to the government’s mind puppetry for the military purposes. They demanded that Abhisit step down from power along with his parliament affiliates. In retaliation Abhisit is imposing martial law to the general public.
Not speaking from any hindsight, I view that civil disobedience is a vindicated form of patriotism. However, when it turns egregiously dirty for both government and protestors a line has to be stepped to prevent any further futile bloodshed. Violence will only beget more violence and no form of solution will be derived from a pile of rotting fleshes. We have all seen this profound depiction in WW2. A peace talk will be the more viable solution, one which will both satisfy the needs of the dissenters and ones regulating the welfare of the people.
The path of least resistance will bore the most effective of result.
(Saifullah)
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Huang Guangyu who was used to be one of the richest man in China was convicted of corruption along with a few government officials. Being a dropout in the past, his success was an inspiration for him as he was able to build his fortune from scratch by starting a small business ending up with over 1300 stores across China. In order to get more corporate benefits he bribed 5 government officials with cash and property. It is human nature to gain more benefits for themselves as well as increase their fortune and greed got the better of them. With increasing fortune and living a luxurious life they are afraid of losing it all and hence will stop at nothing just to continue leading their sort of life. Greed made them turn a blind eye towards up righteousness and they resorted to illegal concepts to gain more personal benefits. In the eyes of the law, corporate benefits should not be illegally given out through bribes but should be earned respectfully. The arrest of these men is the first stepping stone to enable more businessmen and women to be more knowledgeable about the seriousness of corruption. (Bribery, etc) In conclusion, a successful business would only be respected if it is through hard work and determination but not through such underhand activities.
-benjamin
-benjamin
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
WORLD NEWS
US approves massive sea burn to stem oil disaster
Posted: 29 April 2010 0136 hrs
Photos 1 of 1
File picture shows fire boats battling the blazing offshore oil rig Deepwater Horizon.
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana: Crews began controlled burns on Wednesday of a giant oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico, but a cruel wind shift raised fears the spill could hit Louisiana's fragile shores by the weekend.
The leading edge of the crude was about 16 miles (26 kilometres) off the Louisiana coast by Wednesday evening and winds were expected to strengthen and crucially change direction on Thursday to start coming from the southeast.
Two skimming vessels dispatched by the US Coast Guard and energy giant British Petroleum (BP) swept the thickest concentrations of oil into a 500-foot (150-metre) fire resistant boom.
They then towed it to a five mile "burn zone" set up inside the slick roughly 50 miles south of the mouth of the Mississippi where it was set alight a few hours before nightfall.
"They lit it with a little float that has a fuel source on it that floats into the oil and ignites. It did successfully ignite," Coast Guard petty officer Cory Mendenhall told AFP.
The decision to start burning the slick, which has a 600-mile (965-kilometre) circumference, gained even greater import when the US government's weather service warned that the previously kind winds were about to shift.
"Stronger southeast winds are forecast to persist from Thursday night through Saturday night," a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecast chart presented to journalists showed.
"These onshore winds will move floating oil towards the delta with possible shoreline impacts by Friday night."
If large quantities of the crude, which is leaking from the debris of a rig that sank after a deadly explosion last week, drift into Louisiana's marshy wetlands, mopping up would be next to impossible.
It would be disastrous for natural parks full of waterfowl and rare wildlife and could also imperil the southern state's 2.4-billion-dollar a year fisheries industry, which produces a significant portion of US seafood.
As miles of inflatable booms were set up to protect the Louisiana coast, Governor Bobby Jindal evoked memories of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated his southern state in August 2005.
"As I've said many times before, we must hope for the best and prepare for the worst," Jindal said, after a flyover of the spill. "We're approaching this situation just as we would do before a hurricane comes ashore."
"We're doing everything we can to protect the livelihood of our citizens who make their living in the fishing industry and the wildlife that grace our coastal areas."
Oil, at the rate of 42,000 gallons a day, is spewing from the riser pipe that connected the Deepwater Horizon platform to the wellhead before the rig sank last Thursday, two days after a huge explosion that killed 11 workers.
The widow of one of the dead has filed a lawsuit accusing the companies that operated the rig - BP, Transocean and US oil services behemoth Halliburton - of negligence.
The accident has not disrupted offshore gulf oil production, which accounts for more than a quarter of the US energy supply.
BP, which leased the semi-submersible rig from Houston-based contractor Transocean, has been operating four robotic submarines some 1,500 metres (5,000 feet) down on the seabed to try and cap the well.
They have failed so far to fully activate a giant 450-tonne valve, called a blowout preventer, that should have shut off the oil as soon as the disaster happened but only partially reduced the flow.
As a back-up, engineers are frantically constructing a giant dome that could be placed over the leaks to trap the oil, allowing it to be pumped up to container ships on the surface.
Another Transocean drilling rig is also on stand-by to drill two relief wells that could divert the oil flow to new pipes and storage vessels.
But that would take up to three months and the dome is seen as a better interim bet even though engineers need two to four weeks to build it.
Coast Guard Rear Admiral Mary Landry, who is leading the government's response to the disaster, warned on Tuesday that if BP fails to secure the well it could end up being "one of the most significant oil spills in US history." - AFP/de
My comments:
The soaring oil prices are partially due to these kinds of incidents. Firstly, the accident was a human error and commuters like us are paying the price due to the mistakes of others. The approval of burning the oil spills in the ocean by the U.S to prevent pollution but why didn’t they try to store some of the oil and save it up instead of wasting it all away. Oil, at the rate of 42,000 gallons a day, is spewing from the riser pipe that connected the Deepwater Horizon platform to the wellhead before the rig sank last Thursday, two days after a huge explosion that killed 11 workers. Robotic submarines have been sent to cap the well but to no avail. They have failed so far to fully activate a giant 450-tonne valve, called a blowout preventer that should have shut off the oil as soon as the disaster happened but only partially reduced the flow. As a back-up, engineers are frantically constructing a giant dome that could be placed over the leaks to trap the oil, allowing it to be pumped up to container ships on the surface. In conclusion, burning of the oil should not be the only solution.
US approves massive sea burn to stem oil disaster
Posted: 29 April 2010 0136 hrs
Photos 1 of 1
File picture shows fire boats battling the blazing offshore oil rig Deepwater Horizon.
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana: Crews began controlled burns on Wednesday of a giant oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico, but a cruel wind shift raised fears the spill could hit Louisiana's fragile shores by the weekend.
The leading edge of the crude was about 16 miles (26 kilometres) off the Louisiana coast by Wednesday evening and winds were expected to strengthen and crucially change direction on Thursday to start coming from the southeast.
Two skimming vessels dispatched by the US Coast Guard and energy giant British Petroleum (BP) swept the thickest concentrations of oil into a 500-foot (150-metre) fire resistant boom.
They then towed it to a five mile "burn zone" set up inside the slick roughly 50 miles south of the mouth of the Mississippi where it was set alight a few hours before nightfall.
"They lit it with a little float that has a fuel source on it that floats into the oil and ignites. It did successfully ignite," Coast Guard petty officer Cory Mendenhall told AFP.
The decision to start burning the slick, which has a 600-mile (965-kilometre) circumference, gained even greater import when the US government's weather service warned that the previously kind winds were about to shift.
"Stronger southeast winds are forecast to persist from Thursday night through Saturday night," a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecast chart presented to journalists showed.
"These onshore winds will move floating oil towards the delta with possible shoreline impacts by Friday night."
If large quantities of the crude, which is leaking from the debris of a rig that sank after a deadly explosion last week, drift into Louisiana's marshy wetlands, mopping up would be next to impossible.
It would be disastrous for natural parks full of waterfowl and rare wildlife and could also imperil the southern state's 2.4-billion-dollar a year fisheries industry, which produces a significant portion of US seafood.
As miles of inflatable booms were set up to protect the Louisiana coast, Governor Bobby Jindal evoked memories of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated his southern state in August 2005.
"As I've said many times before, we must hope for the best and prepare for the worst," Jindal said, after a flyover of the spill. "We're approaching this situation just as we would do before a hurricane comes ashore."
"We're doing everything we can to protect the livelihood of our citizens who make their living in the fishing industry and the wildlife that grace our coastal areas."
Oil, at the rate of 42,000 gallons a day, is spewing from the riser pipe that connected the Deepwater Horizon platform to the wellhead before the rig sank last Thursday, two days after a huge explosion that killed 11 workers.
The widow of one of the dead has filed a lawsuit accusing the companies that operated the rig - BP, Transocean and US oil services behemoth Halliburton - of negligence.
The accident has not disrupted offshore gulf oil production, which accounts for more than a quarter of the US energy supply.
BP, which leased the semi-submersible rig from Houston-based contractor Transocean, has been operating four robotic submarines some 1,500 metres (5,000 feet) down on the seabed to try and cap the well.
They have failed so far to fully activate a giant 450-tonne valve, called a blowout preventer, that should have shut off the oil as soon as the disaster happened but only partially reduced the flow.
As a back-up, engineers are frantically constructing a giant dome that could be placed over the leaks to trap the oil, allowing it to be pumped up to container ships on the surface.
Another Transocean drilling rig is also on stand-by to drill two relief wells that could divert the oil flow to new pipes and storage vessels.
But that would take up to three months and the dome is seen as a better interim bet even though engineers need two to four weeks to build it.
Coast Guard Rear Admiral Mary Landry, who is leading the government's response to the disaster, warned on Tuesday that if BP fails to secure the well it could end up being "one of the most significant oil spills in US history." - AFP/de
My comments:
The soaring oil prices are partially due to these kinds of incidents. Firstly, the accident was a human error and commuters like us are paying the price due to the mistakes of others. The approval of burning the oil spills in the ocean by the U.S to prevent pollution but why didn’t they try to store some of the oil and save it up instead of wasting it all away. Oil, at the rate of 42,000 gallons a day, is spewing from the riser pipe that connected the Deepwater Horizon platform to the wellhead before the rig sank last Thursday, two days after a huge explosion that killed 11 workers. Robotic submarines have been sent to cap the well but to no avail. They have failed so far to fully activate a giant 450-tonne valve, called a blowout preventer that should have shut off the oil as soon as the disaster happened but only partially reduced the flow. As a back-up, engineers are frantically constructing a giant dome that could be placed over the leaks to trap the oil, allowing it to be pumped up to container ships on the surface. In conclusion, burning of the oil should not be the only solution.
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