Post Reply
421-440 of 2225
Standing up for the 'godless'
angry doc wasn't aware this special report (who reads newspapers these days anyway?), but thanks to this letter in the ST Forum, he is clued in:You don't need faith to be good
THE Saturday Special report last week ('God wants youth') stated that religious groups were determined not to lose a generation to godlessness, especially now with youth gangs in the news.
It also noted that what is at stake is the potential of losing the youth to cynicism, violence and even fanaticism.
These remarks suggest a prejudice against those without any religious affiliation.
The last census in 2000 showed that roughly 15 per cent of Singaporeans did not have any religious affiliation. The article essentially suggested that this group, 'the godless', are cynical and prone to violence.
As a society for non-believers, the Humanist Society (Singapore) disagrees.
The reality in societies everywhere is that there is no difference between non-believing youth and the religious youth in their propensity towards violence. There are actually higher levels of violence among those who identify themselves as 'religious' or 'faithful'.
As for cynicism, there is certainly no correlation between non-belief and a cynical attitude. Many non-believers are involved in the world around them, trying to make it a more humane, compassionate place.
The two largest charitable donations in the history of the world were by atheists: American investor Warren Buffett and his fellow American Bill Gates of Microsoft donated US$30 billion (S$39 billion) and US$11 billion respectively to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, a charitable organisation whose main goals are to enhance health care and reduce poverty worldwide.
I know of many non-believers, people who identify themselves as humanists, atheists and agnostics, who regularly donate to charity. Many also do volunteer work for humanitarian causes.
One does not need to have a religion to lead a good, happy and meaningful life and to have compassion for our fellow human beings.
Paul TobinPresidentHumanist Society (Singapore)
Wah ....... what happen???
please ignore that post...... KNNBCCB
haha ITS THE BIG THING NOW .......
only that its not reported on local media
The following are 20 signs that a horrific global food crisis is coming....
#1 According to the World Bank, 44 million people around the globe have been pushed into extreme poverty since last June because of rising food prices.
#2 The world is losing topsoil at an astounding rate. In fact, according to Lester Brown, " one third of the world's cropland is losing topsoil faster than new soil is forming through natural processes" .
#3 Due to U.S. ethanol subsidies, almost a third of all corn grown in the United States is now used for fuel. This is putting a lot of stress on the price of corn.
#4 Due to a lack of water, some countries in the Middle East find themselves forced to almost totally rely on other nations for basic food staples. For example, it is being projected that there will be no more wheat production in Saudi Arabia by the year 2012.
#5 Water tables all over the globe are being depleted at an alarming rate due to " overpumping" . According to the World Bank, there are 130 million people in China and 175 million people in India that are being fed with grain with water that is being pumped out of aquifers faster than it can be replaced. So what happens once all of that water is gone?
#6 In the United States, the systematic depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer could eventually turn " America's Breadbasket" back into the " Dust Bowl" .
#7 Diseases such as UG99 wheat rust are wiping out increasingly large segments of the world food supply.
#8 The tsunami and subsequent nuclear crisis in Japan have rendered vast agricultural areas in that nation unusable. In fact, there are many that believe that eventually a significant portion of northern Japan will be considered to be uninhabitable. Not only that, many are now convinced that the Japanese economy, the third largest economy in the world, is likely to totally collapse as a result of all this.
#9 The price of oil may be the biggest factor on this list. The way that we produce our food is very heavily dependent on oil. The way that we transport our food is very heavily dependent on oil. When you have skyrocketing oil prices, our entire food production system becomes much more expensive. If the price of oil continues to stay high, we are going to see much higher food prices and some forms of food production will no longer make economic sense at all.
#10 At some point the world could experience a very serious fertilizer shortage. According to scientists with the Global Phosphorus Research Initiative, the world is not going to have enough phosphorous to meet agricultural demand in just 30 to 40 years.
#11 Food inflation is already devastating many economies around the globe. For example, India is dealing with an annual food inflation rate of 18 percent.
#12 According to the United Nations, the global price of food reached a new all-time high in February.
#13 According to the World Bank, the global price of food has risen 36% over the past 12 months.
#14 The commodity price of wheat has approximately doubled since last summer.
#15 The commodity price of corn has also about doubled since last summer.
#16 The commodity price of soybeans is up about 50% since last June.
#17 The commodity price of orange juice has doubled since 2009.
#18 There are about 3 billion people around the globe that live on the equivalent of 2 dollars a day or less and the world was already on the verge of economic disaster before this year even began.
#19 2011 has already been one of the craziest years since World War 2. Revolutions have swept across the Middle East, the United States has gotten involved in the civil war in Libya, Europe is on the verge of a financial meltdown and the U.S. dollar is dying. None of this is good news for global food production.
#20 There have been persistent rumors of shortages at some of the biggest suppliers of emergency food in the United States. The following is an excerpt from a recent " special alert" posted on Raiders News Network....
Look around you. Read the headlines. See the largest factories of food, potassium iodide, and other emergency product manufacturers literally closing their online stores and putting up signs like those on Mountain House's Official Website and Thyrosafe's Factory Webpage that explain, due to overwhelming demand, they are shutting down sales for the time being and hope to reopen someday.
So what does all of this mean?
It means that time is short.
At least in Singapore that are food sources at the west side ...
Cheer
haha ITS THE BIG THING NOW .......
only that its not reported on local media
The following are 20 signs that a horrific global food crisis is coming....
#1 According to the World Bank, 44 million people around the globe have been pushed into extreme poverty since last June because of rising food prices.
#2 The world is losing topsoil at an astounding rate. In fact, according to Lester Brown, "one third of the world's cropland is losing topsoil faster than new soil is forming through natural processes".
#3 Due to U.S. ethanol subsidies, almost a third of all corn grown in the United States is now used for fuel. This is putting a lot of stress on the price of corn.
#4 Due to a lack of water, some countries in the Middle East find themselves forced to almost totally rely on other nations for basic food staples. For example, it is being projected that there will be no more wheat production in Saudi Arabia by the year 2012.
#5 Water tables all over the globe are being depleted at an alarming rate due to "overpumping". According to the World Bank, there are 130 million people in China and 175 million people in India that are being fed with grain with water that is being pumped out of aquifers faster than it can be replaced. So what happens once all of that water is gone?
#6 In the United States, the systematic depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer could eventually turn "America's Breadbasket" back into the "Dust Bowl".
#7 Diseases such as UG99 wheat rust are wiping out increasingly large segments of the world food supply.
#8 The tsunami and subsequent nuclear crisis in Japan have rendered vast agricultural areas in that nation unusable. In fact, there are many that believe that eventually a significant portion of northern Japan will be considered to be uninhabitable. Not only that, many are now convinced that the Japanese economy, the third largest economy in the world, is likely to totally collapse as a result of all this.
#9 The price of oil may be the biggest factor on this list. The way that we produce our food is very heavily dependent on oil. The way that we transport our food is very heavily dependent on oil. When you have skyrocketing oil prices, our entire food production system becomes much more expensive. If the price of oil continues to stay high, we are going to see much higher food prices and some forms of food production will no longer make economic sense at all.
#10 At some point the world could experience a very serious fertilizer shortage. According to scientists with the Global Phosphorus Research Initiative, the world is not going to have enough phosphorous to meet agricultural demand in just 30 to 40 years.
#11 Food inflation is already devastating many economies around the globe. For example, India is dealing with an annual food inflation rate of 18 percent.
#12 According to the United Nations, the global price of food reached a new all-time high in February.
#13 According to the World Bank, the global price of food has risen 36% over the past 12 months.
#14 The commodity price of wheat has approximately doubled since last summer.
#15 The commodity price of corn has also about doubled since last summer.
#16 The commodity price of soybeans is up about 50% since last June.
#17 The commodity price of orange juice has doubled since 2009.
#18 There are about 3 billion people around the globe that live on the equivalent of 2 dollars a day or less and the world was already on the verge of economic disaster before this year even began.
#19 2011 has already been one of the craziest years since World War 2. Revolutions have swept across the Middle East, the United States has gotten involved in the civil war in Libya, Europe is on the verge of a financial meltdown and the U.S. dollar is dying. None of this is good news for global food production.
#20 There have been persistent rumors of shortages at some of the biggest suppliers of emergency food in the United States. The following is an excerpt from a recent "special alert" posted on Raiders News Network....
Look around you. Read the headlines. See the largest factories of food, potassium iodide, and other emergency product manufacturers literally closing their online stores and putting up signs like those on Mountain House's Official Website and Thyrosafe's Factory Webpage that explain, due to overwhelming demand, they are shutting down sales for the time being and hope to reopen someday.
So what does all of this mean?
It means that time is short.
At least in Singapore that are food sources at the west side ...
Cheer
Next big thing 'globally' -
shortage of food .pharoah88 ( Date: 22-Jul-2011 13:34) Posted:
|
Will food prices rise after renovation?
Since the closure of the Eunos wet market for upgrading/renovation, I have been going to Haig Road market, which I notice has been renovated, like the adjoining hawker centre.
But prices there are generally higher than those at the Eunos market and there appear to be fewer stalls selling vegetables and meats. Prices at the hawker stalls are also higher compared to those at the hawker centre at Eunos.
While I am glad the upgrading/renovation of Eunos market will provide a more pleasant marketing environment, I hope that prices will not go up when it opens in the second quarter of next year.
Meanwhile, I also pity the enforced holiday for the hawkers and stall operators until then.
One wonders why the authorities did not use the field next to Eunos MRT Station to set up a temporary wet market.
Loo Sw ee Hock |
|
Overcharged for bus-fare deductions
Are fare-card readers in order?
Who to approach when it happens?
Letter from Koh Kah Huat
ON JUNE 26, I emailed SMRT after noticing for a few days that the bus fare deducted on Service No 804 from Yishun bus interchange to the stop opposite Block 367 Yishun Ring Road, after transferring from Yishun MRT Station, was S$1.49.
If the transfer was from Service No 858, the fare deducted for the same journey on Service No 804 is even higher.
But without any transfer, the fare is 71 cents.
SMRT replied to ask for my ez-link card number, which I promptly gave them. The following week, SMRT said I would have to refer to TransitLink on the status of my claims.
But on Wednesday, SMRT said that if it finds that I was overcharged, it would check whether there was any software glitch or if it was caused by a wrong setting of the card reader system by the driver.
I would like clarity on who commuters should approach, the transport operators or TransitLink, in cases of wrong fare deductions.
And what sort of audits are in place to ensure that fare deductions are correct?
Will food prices rise after renovation?
Since the closure of the Eunos wet market for upgrading/renovation, I have been going to Haig Road market, which I notice has been renovated, like the adjoining hawker centre.
But prices there are generally higher than those at the Eunos market and there appear to be fewer stalls selling vegetables and meats. Prices at the hawker stalls are also higher compared to those at the hawker centre at Eunos.
While I am glad the upgrading/renovation of Eunos market will provide a more pleasant marketing environment, I hope that prices will not go up when it opens in the second quarter of next year.
Meanwhile, I also pity the enforced holiday for the hawkers and stall operators until then.
One wonders why the authorities did not use the field next to Eunos MRT Station to set up a temporary wet market.
Loo Sw ee Hock
Include electronic panels in transport review
Letter from Denis Distant
I REFER to the article “Transport standards under review: Lui” (July 21). The review should include the electronic panels that show bus arrival timings at selected bus stops.
I use the bus stop at Lucky Plaza, which has persistent problems. Often, the electronics go haywire, with rows of red lights. When the display works, it often has other problems such as wrong timings:
The bus is already at the bus stop, but the panel indicates it is still on the way.
On Wednesday morning, I waited for Service No 106, which the panel indicated was 15 minutes away.
After five minutes, there was still no change. Then, inexplicably, the entire display blacked out and, out of nowhere, Service No 106 arrived.
There should be proper maintenance of such information systems and if a particular one is repeatedly faulty, it should be replaced.
‘Calls for video recording
have been considered’
The Ministry of Law reiterated that the ‘real check against abuse is to have clear guidelines and rules on how officers should take statements, and to enforce such rules’.
Record loss of S$10.9 billion for MAS due to strong Sing dollar
The MAS said that despite the large paper loss it would not be changing its investment strategy.
Mr Menon explained: " The whole purpose of holding foreign reserves is to hold them in foreign currencies to boost your international purchasing power.
" So our investment strategy must remain focused on that to maximise returns in foreign currency on a sustained long-term basis as well as ensure sufficient liquidity.
" Because as a central bank, we also need to make sure that our assets are in fairly liquid form to meet our monetary policy operation needs. So those are the two guiding principles and that will remain so.
" The translation loss is not a factor. It is just a reporting phenomenon where you report in Singdollar, the strength of the Singdollar diminishes the value of the reserves. Like I said, if we had reported our results in foreign currency or US dollar, this is not an issue."
The MAS said that during the year the Singdollar appreciated against most currencies. The Singdollar appreciated 9.9 per cent against the US dollar, some 5.5 per cent against the euro and 4.9 per cent against the sterling pound.
Song Seng Wun, regional economist at CIMB Research, said: " This is the difficulty when we report foreign exchange reserve holding, which is really a holding with a mixture of foreign currencies and assets. You've got US dollars in there, you've got euros, you've got yen, and a number of other currencies as well.
" The problem, as we all know, is that the strong Singdollar has certainly helped for those who do online shopping but for the government who reports reserve currencies in the reporting currency Singdollar, we've got a problem.
" And that is what we have got this time round, in that the US dollar depreciated by over 10 per cent, that is that the Singdollar has strengthened. So when we report any balance sheet in the reporting currency which is stronger, you are going to get exchange losses.
" By our estimate, we probably hold something like 60 per cent of the reserves in US dollar and if that currency depreciates by more than 10 per cent, then you will have an impact. Some of it is in euros as well, and again, many Singaporeans realise that the euro has weakened."
The MAS said that the current monetary policy stance of appreciating the Singdollar nominal effective exchange rate (S$NEER) policy band set in April this year remains appropriate.
Despite the shocking $10.9 billion dollar loss incurred by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in the financial year ending March 2011, it will have negligible impact on Singapore’s reserves.
The loss means that no money will be returned to the Government this year. According to MAS Managing Director Ravi Menon, it would not affect the reserves under the net investment return framework, in which the “Government can draw on a portion of the investment returns from Temasek Holdings, the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) and MAS for financing expenditures in the Budget.”
‘(This year) there is no physical cash transfer from MAS to the Government, because there is no cash to be given. But the Government can continue to spend on the expected real returns as it can with Temasek’s and GIC’s returns,’ he said.
Earlier media reports claimed that both Temasek Holdings and GIC have recouped their losses during the 2008 global financial crisis and have posted a ‘healthy profit’ this year.
Mr Menon added that MAS will not change its investment strategy of its foreign reserves despite the net loss last year:
‘Our investment strategy must remain focused on that, to maximise returns in foreign currencies on a sustained long- term basis, as well as to ensure sufficient liquidity. Translation loss is not a factor. It is just a reporting phenomenon.’
On thIs nOte by MAS,
lOng USD ? ? ? ?
iStock
Chili
While many of us like a little chili-padi on our food to give it a bit of a kick, the compound which causes the heat,
capsaicin, is toxic. It has been known to cause burning sensations, inflammation, irritated skin, stomach aches and, on the rare occasion,
death.
stock.xchng
Nuts
Some nuts such as almonds and cashews are a healthy snack and taste great. However, before they reach the supermarket shelves and our mouths, they are treated with heat and processed. This is essential, as the raw form of the nuts contain
cyanide.
Toxic foods
stock.xchng
Rice
While there are many benefits to rice, especially brown rice, it really shouldn't be eaten in large quantities as it contains
arsenic which, in high levels, is
extremely toxic. The odd rice bowl here or there won't do you harm, but lots of it consistently isn't good as high levels of arsenic have been linked to cancer.
No need for off-Budget measures to cushion the effects of inflation yet
TEO XUA NWEI
xuanwei@mediacorp.com.sg
SINGAPORE
They cited various reasons, including the full employment situation, moves to cool the property market, as well as downward pressures on oil and commodity prices.
Noting the full employment situation, Sembawang GRC MP Ellen Lee said: “By and large, most people will be able to cope although they may feel the pain when they have to pay more than what they used to.”
MPs dOn't eliminate the PAIN but just let their customers COPE & BEAR it.
The PAY And PAIN is AlAwAys there ? ? ? ?
— Even as headline inflation is projected to creep slightly higher, analysts and Members of Parliament (MPs) do not see a need for the Government to roll out off-Budget measures, for now.
MAS revises inflation forecast upwards
Higher COE and housing prices prompt move, which economists say was within expectations
Teo Xuanwei
xuanwei@mediacorp.com.sg
sIngApOre InflAtIOn Is
DomesticAlly drIven.
I N T E R A L INFLATION
hIgh S$ exchange rate is prOven nOt the sOlutiOn
hIgh bAnk sAvIng Interest rAtes Is THE SOLUTION
SINGAPORE — Higher property prices, rentals and car prices are among the factors that have prompted the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to revise its inflation forecast for this year to between 4 and 5 per cent, up from between 3 and 4 per cent.
DO THEY COUNT ONLY THE PROFITS ? ? ? ?
BUT THE L O S S E S ? ? ? ?
ZERO BONUS ? ? ? ?
CUT SALARIES ? ? ? ?
Search Results
-
Business Recorder |
TODAYonline - 5 hours ago
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) posted a record loss of S$10.9 billion in the fiscal year through March as the strength of its currency depleted ... 39 related articles
|
iStock
An investigation carried out by French women's magazine Journal des Femmes found that 75 percent of people regained the weight they'd lost within two years. And last year, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety slammed the diet for depriving the body of certain nutrients like
magnesium and being overly high in others, like
calcium and sodium.
iStock
This week, for example, Dukan took his archrival and another best-selling diet book author Dr. Jean-Michel Cohen to court, suing him for libel. Last year, Cohen, who advocates a
1,600-calorie diet in his book Savoir Maigrir (" Know how to lose weight" ), slammed the Dukan diet to a French magazine, saying it can lead to future health problems and heart disease.
July 22nd, 2011 | 
Author: