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Singapore becoming a 'garbage city', says ESM Goh Chok Tong Published on Jan 29, 2015 2:57 PM 1112 364 0 0 PRINT EMAIL The scene at Meadows by the Bay after 13,000 festival goers attended the Laneway music festival over the weekend. -- ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN By Chew Hui Min SINGAPORE - On Wednesday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong called out festival goers for not picking up their litter, and asked Singaporeans to make Singapore a clean city rather than a "cleaned" one. A day later, Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong has taken to Facebook to do the same. Comparing Tokyo and Singapore, he said that the Japanese capital had no rubbish bins in public places, but it is still litter free. "Without foreign workers, Singapore is likely to become a 'garbage city'," Mr Goh said in the post. Last Saturday, Meadows by the Bay was covered with discarded plastic ponchos, cups and other garbage after 13,000 festival goers attended the Laneway music festival there. [email protected] - See more at: http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/environment/story/singapore-becoming-garbage-city-says-esm-goh-chok-tong-20150129#sthash.sQwVdhVu.dpuf

It is the time of difficulties when our world is facing money crisis. The term guarantor doesnt seems to be a strange word to many of us out there easpecially when one need to take a secure loan from agencies. Main point is, how do some of you guys see the term guarantor???? Apart from contacting every single number saved in the mobile to borrow money from , asking friends or relatives to be guarantor supposingly is the next thing which many consider as mission impossible???? I have a friend who owned several credit company debts amounting to 30K finds it rather impossible to find people as guarantor while on the other hand at first , I dun see the difficulties to it since you dun actually ask them(friends) to fork out hard cash??? Later realised the term mission impossible especially people of Asian country like Singapore holds. I myself agreed to pen in as his guarantor as I persoannally find it no big deal upon analizing several points : 1) Stability of loan company 2)Mode of instalement payment which deducts directly from his pay before reaching his account makes it rather impossible to void payment 3) Credibility of the person meaning my friend taking the loan 4) Urgency of taking the loan. (meaning life and death situation) 5) Percentage of risk factors etc etc.... However later discovered that it is harder than I thought upon seeing him gotten slam from door to door. Almost impossible to convice people to be a guarantor especially upon presented the amount needed to loan. Haiz.... well perhaps it is really true to say that no matter how close the friendship or how thick the blood relationship of fellow relatives seems, when issue of money...NO correction, large amount of money arises, relationship may seems to be nothing more than scandals and blood may seems to look as clear as soda water. Some like my friend resorted to offering a token of appreciation to people who are willing to be guarantors(2 to 3K) and those who are willing to recommand a token of $500 each may seems stupid but even naive to expect people to help for free???? Impossible.... Anyone may wanna share his side of the story of guarantor seeking quest or his personal point of view towards such. Actually, my pay is too little to be eligible for the guarantor thing earning a basic of less than 1.5K . Wish him all the best in his quest tho. I believe many of us are living in our own comfort zone too long , not going out of the circle nor having the chance to experience hardship out of the circle to truely understand how difficult the word survival is to some others????? Someday , who knows....I myself may deem to be caught in a life and death situations whereby all my friends and relatives leave me. THE world is round afterall.BEWARE!!!! [rolleyes] [rolleyes]

1. What do you guys think of the above-mentioned subject? 2. Some said for a car to become a Taxi, it must be proven in term of reliability, fuel econcomy and drivability. So which MIC do you think have high hope in becoming a TAXI? Regards,

pleass stick to one thread for goodness sake...we hav enaother here ppl never learn thread closed

More and more people in their 30s and 40s driving taxi nowadays. Singapore no longer controlling? And the dress code and behaviour are getting bad to worst. Their image is becoming a talking point for tourists soon. Saw few examples , T shirt with Bermudas, Round collar cartoon T shirt, whole body tattoo including head, smoking while driving....................... omg

Are our Roads becoming dangerous because of young brats? Recently I was driving as usual on a 60kmph road in the middle lane. All of a sudden a black Hyundai Matrix with a P-Plate swerve and filter from the right into my path barely 2 meters from my front bumper. I had to brake to prevent hitting the Matrix. There were no signs of apology and the Matrix drove in a brazen way. Hence I decided to take a look and filtered right and paced the car. It was a teenage girl apparently unaware of her deed continuing to chat with a male passenger happily. As she was not too attractive I didn't take a longer look and decided to filter in front of her. I gave her about half car length with signal lights, I think she felt belittled as my car was incidentally more than double her car both in price and performance, she quickly filtered left. So i follow suite and since we were both were at about 80kmph, i decided to quickly follow the speed limit and kept at 55kmph.. for some distance toward a traffic light. While doing so, i looked at the rear view mirror. The teenage girl made some signs and hand gestures which I do not understand. She show a hand sign as if filtering, followed by a "so what" gesture. I didn't respond but kept looking. At that point we were stationary at the red lights. I kept looking... I think they couldn't take it anymore and got annoyed. The male passenger show his middle finger. I saw a immediate reaction from the teenage girl as if trying to push away his hand... then they started to smile and laugh. As I am a Methodist, I have a cross at my rear windshield. The male passenger and the female started to make sort of a "Praying" hand gesture and jeering at the same time. I kept my calm. So when the lights turned green, I drove on and as they passed me on the left I showed them a $50 note and make a gesture that says "you do not have money". Through some means I have identified the duo and their residence. If you were in my shoes what would you have done?

I am seriously comtemplating such a move. But it has to be part time. So i am thinking will doing it part time reap any substantial gains (if any at all)? My day job is not too busy at the moment Any thoughts?

Anyone know what is the procedure to become one? Got licensing requirement? Also anyone knows what is the standard commission for insurance and loan?

Just wondering if pedestrains think that they are becoming impervous to cars and their flesh and bones are even tougher than steel..... Cause near my house (consist of several small 2 lane roads), the way the pedestrians cross is really scary, they love to cross the road holding a phone and looking at opposite direction instead of looking for oncoming vechicles. Some see you come but still just cross at a leisure pace. Then some loves to cross at the exit of a T junction. There is also problem with Zebra crossing. Remember how we were taught in school to ensure vehicle has stopped before crossing? They see a car coming in fast and they still cross. Of course, I am not saying they are wrong. Cars should look out for pedestrains at zebra crossing and should stop. Some drivers are either blind or brainless or whatever and never stop one (I seen several cases myself). But the thing is when accident occurs, whos at the losing end? Car damage can repair or replace, person dead can replace? I feel as our tiny island gets more and more crowded with cars and people, there is a strong need to promote road safety for drivers and pedestrains.

Hi all.... Am really glad to announce I will be joining the ranks of fatherhood in a few months..... wife is 14 wks pregnant.... with twins :) Needs A LOT of advice from those in the know.... Just when I thought deciding on a car is difficult, buying strollers are worse!!! Should we get a twin stroller? or 2 single strollers? We really can't decide. We went to quite a number of wholesale places for the various brands, and this is what we had gathered... Twin strollers Advantages: one adult to handle. novelty. disadvantages: bulky and cumbersome. unable to access some places like escalators, lifts, etc We also bought a clip that can clip two single strollers together for that twin stroller effect (aftermarket mod, my wife calls it) Advantages: still single strollers if just need to bring one child to the doc. DIsadvantages: the strollers can only have small wheels (so quite bumpy); and the clipping and unclipping is quite troublesome (3 clips in all) We want those facing-parents strollers (I think only Combi has them) so our choices are further limited. Some nice souls did recommend one but it's only available in US and it costs over a grand. Any daddies can suggest? thanx. next problem will be the car seat.

A SINGAPOREAN beauty is asking her compatriots for a 10-cent donation each - and hopes to become a millionaire within a year, reported Sin Chew Daily. The 21-year-old woman known as Holly made her intention known through a self-recorded video clip posted on YouTube last week. In the clip, Holly said she was unemployed and did not wish to work either. She hoped Singaporeans would help realise her dream of becoming a millionaire by the time she turns 22. Holly even read out her bank account number in the clip. She, however, did not reveal how she will repay her donors' "kindness". Her action was widely condemned by online users. Some censured her for trying to "reap the fruits without sowing the seeds", while others suggested that she undergo a psychiatric check-up.

Laid Off in Singapore: Ex-Pats Have to Downsize By Neel Chowdhury On the northern fringe of Singapore, overlooking the slate gray waters of the Johore Strait, the public-housing project where Anthony Fulwood lives is so far from the city's affluent expatriate enclaves that cabdrivers are stunned when he announces his address. " 'For God's sake, why do you live there?' they regularly ask me," says Fulwood. " 'You're white!' " Fulwood isn't the only Western expatriate to take up residence in the cheaper peripheries of this Southeast Asian city. An English teacher and community volunteer whose duties include helping integrate Westerners into the Bukit Panjang neighborhood, the 30-year-old Englishman sees a small but steadily growing number of Americans, Australians and Europeans in the fluorescent-lit coffee shop where locals often gather after work around cold pitchers of beer. These foreigners are economic refugees of a sort. Because of the global recession, expat bankers, traders and corporate managers have lost their high-paying jobs with multinational corporations. But instead of returning to their home countries, they've decided to stay in Asia, even though that means moving into cheaper housing and giving up privileges that once set them apart from ordinary Singaporeans. Just a few years ago, when an economic boom was pulling a flood of Western professionals into Singapore, a Western face in a working-class neighborhood like Bukit Panjang was a rare sight. According to investment bank Credit Suisse, Singapore's population grew 18%, to about 4.8 million, from 2004 to 2008. More than three-quarters of that growth, Credit Suisse estimates, came from newly arrived foreigners taking lucrative positions at expanding private banks, oil-exploration firms and shipping companies. Foreigners filled 61% of the 796,000 jobs created in Singapore during that four-year period. As the expat ranks swelled and foreigners put down roots, the city's tonier districts filled up. Prices for apartments in Western enclaves like Tanglin and Orchard doubled in value from 2004 to 2008 as buyers snapped them up. Waiting lists for coveted spots at international schools like the Singapore American School or United World College of South East Asia were so long that expats were encouraged to register their children at birth in order to gain admission four or five years later. The cost of joining the Singapore Island Country Club and the American Club soared as transferable memberships were bought and sold on the open market like hot stocks. Today, as beleaguered investment banks shutter offices and commodity prices and trade flows plunge, Credit Suisse estimates that hundreds of thousands of expat jobs are disappearing from Singapore. Property prices, particularly of high-end homes, are expected to fall some 50% as the recession gathers force. But in a departure from previous downturns, some expats are electing not to return to banking centers such as New York City and London. This recession is global, and the implosion of the financial-services industry means job prospects back home are even bleaker. American Marc Rudajev, a 37-year-old ex

Barack Obama, car guy From FORTUNE MAGAZINE By Alex Taylor III, senior editor Last Updated: December 31, 2008 Before his presidential campaign, President-elect Obama drove a Chrysler 300C like this one. NEW YORK (Fortune) -- One of the least explored personal sides to our new president is the amount of gasoline in his veins. We know all about his affection for the basketball court and his tendency every now and then to sneak out for a cigarette. But we've heard very little about what drove him to acquire one of the least politically-correct cars on the planet: a Chrysler 300C. With its high torque and horsepower, voracious appetite for fuel and gangsta-car persona, it is hardly the kind of vehicle you'd expect a consensus-building politician to drive. But those are Obama's wheels. Or were. During the campaign he sold the 300C in favor of a hybrid Ford Escape, and as president of the United States, he won't be getting into the driver's seat very often - unless he's at a military base or some other secure location where he can let loose. He'll be spending all his time in the back seat of an armor-plated Cadillac. But let's hope that he doesn't lose any of the love for automobiles that may have attracted him to the Chrysler. Because he's in a position to do more for the auto industry than anyone since Henry Ford or Daimler and Benz. Now that General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) and Chrysler have been temporarily removed from intensive care, courtesy of a federal bailout, Obama will be in charge of the effort to permanently return them to financial health. As such, he could ensure their long-term survival - as long as the market cooperates - or doom them to some interminable government-regulated hell.

1. Do you think Geylang will overtake the current Bullock cart water in becoming the next Chinatown? 2. The current Chinatown has lost its attraction and lack the soul. I don't mind Chinatown to be shifted to Geyland though . Regards,

Well...this thought came across my mind yesterday night while I was getting onto CTE(Towards North Direction) from PIE (Towards West Direction)...As the lane merge and narrows...everyone is like trying to squeeze two car into one lane....Everyone whom have driven this road know that right to the end before joining CTE...the lane will become so narrow that it can only accomodate one car...so this is the bottle neck...no matter how many cars we can squeeze before...the bottle neck is still there...by squeezeing will not enable more car to go through the bottle...probably it will just bring you one or two vechicles ahead but at the expense of other inconvenient and possibility of accident.... Now for the story yesterday night...right after the flyover...I am merging with traffic going into CTE from PIE (Towards East Direction)...There is small section where there is two lane...one for vehicles coming from PIE East Bound and one from PIE West Bound..So I move into the outer lane...there is a honda odessey coming very fast behind me...the front is all slow traffic(Because of the bottle neck)...Without me he also need to slow down...well he flash his light at me...i think maybe he is not happy with me for being in front of him...anyway we move on...right after the bottleneck..I move 1 lane left into CTE...Else I will be in the lane for turning into braddell...I can see he trying to move left too...but isn't a courtesy to let the vehicles in front move out first...please don't think I am bragging...but he is not as fast as me...so I filter first and he is still behind me...then he put on his damm stupid action...he squeeze his way out into the next lane and trying to move into my lane from beside me...yes...trying to knock into me...I move as much as possible away from him...he is crazy and a loser...that's what I think...it is common on the road to have people drive into your way...is singaporeans becoming a sore loser in some sense....anyway...driving to me is to get from point A to B...I am never proud to be a car owner...Its a negative asset... [/color]YES>>>ARE WE SORE LOSERS ????

Fellow Skoda owners, Anyone care to comment ??