Free Republic

MUMBAI: Relying excessively on central banks to bring real growth back is "illusory" as low interest rates would not help overcome the structural imbalances plaguing global economies, Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tarman Shanmugaratnam today said. "It is the fiscal imbalances arising out of negative real interest rates and lack of investments in infrastructure that are holding back the global economy. "Relying too much and too long on central banks, as has been the case since the 2008 crisis, to bring growth back is an illusory measure," Shanmugaratnam, who is also the finance minister of Singapore, said in...

The parents of a U.S. engineer found dead in Singapore last year said on Wednesday they will not take part in the rest of a coroner’s inquiry into his death, which they say was linked to a project involving the transfer of sensitive technology to China. In a statement issued through their lawyers, Rick and Mary Todd said they had lost confidence in the system investigating the death of their 31-year-old son, Shane, who was found hanging in his Singapore apartment last June. The Todds did not appear in court on Wednesday, the day after a U.S. medical examiner they...

BELCHERTOWN (CBS) – Shortly after midnight Tuesday, seven people were caught trespassing at the Quabbin Reservoir. State Police say the five men and two women are from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore, and “cited their education and career interests” for being in the area. The men told police they were chemical engineers and recent college graduates. Update: MWRA: Quabbin Reservoir Water Safe The Quabbin, in Belchertown, is one of the country’s largest man-made public water supplies. Boston’s drinking water comes from the Quabbin and the Wachusett Reservoirs. State Police say there were no warrants or advisories on any of the...

Seven foreigners from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Singapore were arrested for trespassing at the Quabbin Reservoir on Tuesday. The Quabbin Reservoir in Massachusetts is one of the country’s largest man-made water supplies. (VIDEO-AT-LINK) CBS Local reported, via Free Republic: Shortly after midnight Tuesday, seven people were caught trespassing at the Quabbin Reservoir. State Police say the five men and two women are from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore, and “cited their education and career interests” for being in the area. The men told police they were chemical engineers and recent college graduates....

BELCHERTOWN (CBS) – Shortly after midnight Tuesday, seven people were caught trespassing at the Quabbin Reservoir. State Police say the five men and two women are from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore, and “cited their education and career interests” for being in the area. The men told police they were chemical engineers and recent college graduates.

An outspoken nationalist mayor said the Japanese military's forced prostitution of Asian women before and during World War II was necessary to "maintain discipline" in the ranks and provide rest for soldiers who risked their lives in battle. The comments made Monday are already raising ire in neighboring countries that bore the brunt of Japan's wartime aggression and that have long complained that Japan has failed to fully atone for wartime atrocities. Toru Hashimoto, the young, brash mayor of Osaka who is also co-leader of an emerging conservative political party, also told reporters that there wasn't clear evidence that the...

My love is enduring and so it must be with you "My children" for I AM a just and loving God visiting these Virtues upon those that choose love in an enduring manner, for to see My River of Life "TRULY" flow through you there can be NO Guile or sorrow, no hopeless desires for My hope in you "IS" Christ Jesus and his desire is My will and My will alone and so as you enter into my will all guile and tribulation begins to subside and a new and fresh awakening begins. So take on my will for...

My Spirit IS The Fruit ! Let Me Flow ~ ~ ~ Do you see my children I have come to bring you my love ; In Correction , Guidance , Promises , Blessings and more but in all these things I bring , as I look down upon some I see a talent hidden or buried not bearing fruit ?! So let My spirit as your eternal gift move and flow Freely for it is The Fruit I Bear through you my children ~ ~ ~ So Do My will and do not fear the enemy for I AM...

NOTE The following text is a quote: www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl1908.aspx Treasury Identifies Kassem Rmeiti & Co. for Exchange and Halawi Exchange Co. as Financial Institutions of “Primary Money Laundering Concern” 4/23/2013 In First Use of Section 311 Against a Non-Bank Financial Institution, Treasury Acts to Protect the U.S. Financial System from Foreign Exchange Houses Tied to Global Narcotics and Money Laundering Networks and Hizballah WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury today named two Lebanese exchange houses, Kassem Rmeiti & Co. For Exchange (Rmeiti Exchange) and Halawi Exchange Co. (Halawi Exchange), as foreign financial institutions of primary money laundering concern under...

Graffiti artists The Yok and Sheryo swear they’re not on drugs. “It seems like we’re just taking acid and putting all this s--- together, but it really is a collection of what we’ve seen,” The Yok said. The duo, who now live in Brooklyn, just put up a city-commissioned mural along 16th and Morgan streets as part of 25th Ward Ald. Danny Solis’ public art initiative. The viaduct wall now sports a Vulcan-eared monkey eating deep-dish pizza along with a sunglasses-wearing skeleton head wearing a hat that says “Zap Rap.” The Yok and Sheryo won’t give their full names because...

The EU Commission decided to keep the trade agreement with Singapore secret until it enters into force in order to avoid pressure that may prevent it’s passing from the European Parliament according to the Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII). FFII analyst Ante Wessels says: "The European Parliament overwhelmingly voted down the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) after citizens pointed out it would violate their human rights. This time the Commission hopes to have a 'better result' by keeping the text secret until it enters into force. This is nothing less than an assault on democracy. Without democracy, the union...

Sometimes I myopically focus on fiscal policy, implying that the key to prosperity is small government.But I’ll freely admit that growth if maximized when you have small government AND free markets.That being said, our goal should be to expand freedom, not merely to have the largest possible GDP.Which is why the Freedom Index is a good complement to Economic Freedom of the World.It shows, for instance, that Singapore may be ranked #2 for economic freedom, but it is only #39 when you look at all freedoms.We also have a comprehensive ranking of economic and personal freedom for the 50 states.Here...

Singapore likes to promote itself as a business-friendly country where the government has a soft touch. But by firing a professor known for criticizing the government's censorship strategies, ruling elites have demonstrated that they still have a firm hand in controlling political conversation. It should make U.S. universities rethink their research partnerships with universities in Singapore, because such relationships actually help launder the regime's reputation.As one of Singapore's most high profile censorship critics, Cherian George is guilty of several things. In his teaching, he is guilty of corrupting several cohorts of young journalism students with ideas about press freedoms. In...

Singapore Income Tax System & Tax Rates Investors turn to Singapore for establishing their operations for several reasons. The ease of setting up and operating businesses is a prime motivator. Another central determinant is Singapore’s tax regime – well-known for its attractive corporate and personal tax rates, tax relief measures, absence of capital gains tax, one-tier tax system, and extensive double tax treaties. Persons, including corporations, partnerships, trustees and bodies of persons carrying on any trade, profession or business in Singapore are chargeable to tax on all profits (excluding profits arising from the sale of capital assets) arising in or...

The Japanese have said “Enough.” After a generation of stagnation, they’ve chosen an all-of-the-above policy to boost economic growth. The nation’s new prime minister, Shinzo Abe, is promising a “three arrows” strategy: bold monetary easing, increased public-works spending, and structural changes, such as regulatory reform. He’s throwing the ramen against the shoji and hoping something will stick. Some of those ideas are good ones, some probably aren’t. But it’s clear that Tokyo’s priority is growth, growth, growth. Time to get Nippon moving again. Nations probably never choose decline, at least not consciously. More likely they become victims of a creeping...

China has leapfrogged the US to become the world’s biggest trading nation, bringing an end to the US’s post-war dominance of global commerce. The total value of US exports and imports in 2012 was $3.82 trillion (£2.4 trillion), the US Commerce Department has revealed. China’s customs administration has already announced that the country’s total trade last year was worth $3.87 trillion. “It is remarkable that an economy that is only a fraction of the size of the US economy has a larger trading volume,” Nicholas Lardy, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, told Bloomberg....

Four ex-SMRT bus drivers have been jailed in Singapore for their part in last November’s strike. Wang Xianjie, Gao Yue Qiang and Liu Xiangying were sentenced to six weeks in prison, while He Junling was sentenced to seven weeks. On top of organising and participating in the strike, he had also posted on social media network Baidu encouraging others to join in. All four had pleaded guilty in court. Choo Zheng Xi, lawyer for He Junling, presented a mitigation plea, saying, “It was never Jun Ling’s intention to startle or alarm the public, nor was it a calculated plan of...

As China enters the "Year of the Snake," Singapore stands as a beacon of sound currency in a world gone mad. China's renminbi remains pegged to the US dollar, while even steadfast Switzerland has followed the US, UK, EU, and Japan into an impoverishing strategy of currency debasement. Singapore, alone, has been able to sustain genuine economic growth in the context of a strong national currency. The Currency Snakes In most major economies, a corrective recession has become politically unacceptable. In order to conceal negative real economic growth, politicians and their central bankers have resorted to the irresponsible policy of...

In the wake of increased tension with Japan over disputed islands, China’s soldiers have been directed to be ready for a war in 2013 and also win it. Government Chinese media disclosed this in a report. The report also said the soldiers are being prepared to the best possible level and that they are being trained for the purpose. According to reports, in 2012, no such directive- of getting ready for a war and winning it- was given. The Chinese army has also been told to improve its activities and enhance information and intelligence gathering techniques. In 20th century, Japan...

President Barack Obama offered on Saturday to provide any assistance the Algerian government needs after a deadly hostage siege at a desert gas plant and said the United States was seeking a "fuller understanding" from Algerian authorities of what took place there. "The thoughts and prayers of the American people are with the families of all those who were killed and injured in the terrorist attack in Algeria," Obama said in his first comments on the hostage crisis. Obama's written statement was issued by the White House after the Algerian army carried out a dramatic final assault to end a...

SINGAPORE -- While the U.S. unemployment rate "dropped" to 7.7 percent last month -- a figure even the Washington Post acknowledged was due "in large part because the labor force fell by 350,000" -- here in this modern and prosperous city-state of slightly more than 5 million people, unemployment is practically nonexistent at 1.9 percent. In part, this is due to a work ethic that seems to be in the genes here. But there is something else at work that should astound Washington politicians struggling with expensive "entitlement" programs and with those who receive them. The Economist wrote about it...

The most emotionless society is Singapore's despite its reputation for being among the world's richest, a new survey has revealed. Gallup looked at 150 countries where about 1,000 residents were asked whether they experienced five positive and five negative emotions a lot during the course of a day. The results were based on interviews taken over a three-year period. Questions included whether people felt well-rested or enjoyment, smiled and laughed or felt worry, sadness, stress or anger. The 36% in Singapore who reported feeling anything is the lowest in the world, the Washington-based research and analytics organization found. This figure...

A random South-East Asian girl steps up to a karaoke machine in a store in front of a grocery shop and sings Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You. She absolutely floors everyone

Nigeria's navy says it has rescued a Singapore-owned oil tanker hijacked by pirates on Tuesday night with 23 Indian sailors on board. A navy spokesman told the BBC the crew was safe, the hijackers had fled and the vessel, the Abu Dhabi Star, was being escorted into the port of Lagos. Earlier, the navy denied reports that the tanker was seized in the port. There has been a significant increase in the number of pirate attacks in parts of West Africa. The BBC's Will Ross in Lagos says unlike the piracy off the coast of Somalia where hostages are held...

Louie Huang, a Porsche-driving, millionaire Shanghainese, has stumped up the sizeable investment needed to buy himself residency rights in Singapore.... Meanwhile, Chinese entrepreneurs with at least half a million dollars to spare are being encouraged to invest in the US economy at a seminar in a plush office suite with a spectacular view of Shanghai. Their reward is a green card under the EB-5 visa scheme, as long as the investment can be shown to have created at least 10 jobs. In 2006 Chinese nationals were granted just 63 visas under the scheme. [T]his year it is already above the...

If you enjoy peering inside the minds of the world's super rich, take a spin through the 2012 "Wealth Report." Compiled by Citibank, and a property consultancy called Knight Frank, it's a lengthy analysis based partly on interviews with the super rich. (Definition: people with more than $25 million in investable assets.) Yes, the report contains musings on why yacht sales are down and the pros and cons of buying a sports franchise. But that's not the most interesting part. The study predicts that Singapore -- that little Southeast Asian city-state with loads of Type A zeal -- will be...

China recently declared that most of the 3.5 million square kilometers South China Sea had become Sansha, the latest Chinese city. The area China claims is within the city limits comprises over two million square kilometers of largely open ocean and a few hundred tiny islands and reefs, many of which are only above water during low tide. Sansha is administered from one of the Paracel islands (Woody Island). The U.S. government responded by asking that China obey international law. China currently claims South China Sea areas close to neighboring nations, except for areas about 22 kilometers from the coast....

Earlier this month, I decided to see how hard it would be to set up my own offshore bank account. I figured it would be pretty difficult, because I’m not rich and don’t have a team of tax lawyers to oversee my money and because the E.U. and U.S. governments have been cracking down on tax havens by imposing stricter tax-sharing requirements. So I proceeded with some caution. First, I Googled “company registration tax haven” and randomly picked three firms that set up accounts in offshore jurisdictions. Then I called each and explained that I was hoping to minimize my...

Rising debt and regulatory constraints continue to damage the reputations of the U.S. and Europe as business-friendly locales, but America's northern neighbor is doing the right things to encourage entrepreneurship with robust tax reform, strong investor protections and a lack of red tape. 1 Canada 3.1 39,400 -3.1 34.0 2 New Zealand 1.5 27,700 -2.3 4.3 3 Hong Kong 6.8 45,900 6.6 7.1 4 Ireland -1.0 37,300 -0.7 4.7 5 Denmark 2.1 36,600 5.5 5.5 6 Singapore 14.5 62,100 20.8 4.7 7 Sweden 5.5 39,100 6.3 9.1 8 Norway 0.4 54,600 12.9 4.7

The United States on Thursday exempted China and Singapore from sanctions over purchases of oil from Iran, hours before restrictions would have entered into force against their banks.

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – On the heels of the discovery of a 1991 publicity brochure stating Barack Obama was born in Kenya comes the unearthing of a 1990 Vanity Fair article stating Obama grew up in Singapore, not in Indonesia. In both instances, the question immediately arises: Who was the source of the information that contradicts Obama’s accepted narrative? In the case of the “born in Kenya” brochure, it’s almost certain that Obama was the source, -snip- Was Obama the source of the “raised in Singapore” statement in the Vanity Fair profile, or was it an error by the writer...

From a citizen: A relatively safe country as we have strict laws and practise a sensible approach to public liberty and freedom. One does not carry a knife with blade longer than 5cm or small arms in public. An assembly of more than five persons is also not legal. There has been no incidence of mass shootings, serial killing, etc. However do not take safety for granted ---it is better to go out at night with a partner and it is not recommended to go out drinking in sleazy spots after midnight.

Bankers have always been a worldly crew, and since Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin renounced his U.S. citizenship and moved to Singapore, we've thought that island deserved our attention. So we started digging and we found out that bankers are heading there in droves. In a recent Telegraph survey Singapore dominated a list of places that bankers said they wanted to work, with 27% of the vote it even beat out NYC. Boston Consulting Group recently named Singapore the country with the world's densest population of millionaires -- 17 percent of all households, to be exact. It's no surprise then that...

This horrifying footage serves as a reminder of the deadly potential of one of the world's fastest sports cars. Three people died when a Ferrari 599 GTO ploughed into the side of a taxi while speeding across a city centre junction in Singapore.

House Speaker John Boehner has become the latest politician to attack Facebook billionaire Eduardo Saverin for ditching his U.S. citizenship to avoid paying tax. Speaking on ABC's This Week, Mr Boehner labelled the move 'absolutely outrageous' and said he would support legislation to stop wealthy expats relocating to dodge tax. Mr Saverin, who pocketed more than $2billion when the social-networking site listed on the stock exchange on Friday, could avoid paying hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. taxes after he relocated to Singapore.

<p>Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, who moved to the United States at age 13 in order to escape being kidnapped by Brazilian gangs, has been in the news this week for renouncing his American citizenship in order to dodge taxes on his Facebook stock. He’s headed to Singapore to keep being rich in a place where he’s (a) safe, (b) can speak English, and (c) doesn’t have to pay a capital gains tax.</p>

Singapore gets new early-warning aircraft Singapore gets new early-warning aircraft as four Gulfstream jets went operational on Friday in a ceremony at Tengah Air Base, officiated by Minister of Defence Ng Eng Hen. With a detection range of more than 200 nautical miles, the Gulfstream 550 Airborne Early Warning (G550-AEW) aircraft allows the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) to see farther, and respond more effectively to aerial threats in various operational situations. The four Gulfstream 550s are the same business jets used by the rich. They were converted for military use and replace the RSAF's E-2C AEW Hawkeye that...

Harare - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, 88, is fighting for his life in a Singapore hospital after handing over power to Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa. The Australian said Mugabe was undergoing intensive treatment in a hospital in Singapore. Some of his family members joined him Saturday. When Mugabe was admitted to hospital has not been announced. There has been no official announcement of Mugabe’s illness, but the Zimbabwe Mail, reported his Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU)-Patriotic Front (PF) party is pressing for early elections. A cabinet meeting set for today has also been postponed, the Mail said.

The Singapore health system – achieving positive health outcomes with low expenditure John Tucci explores the current set-up. In the 39 years since achieving independence, Singapore has developed into one of the wealthiest countries in Asia Pacific with annual GDP (on a per capita basis) being amongst the highest in the region. This is an impressive accomplishment for such a small country with very limited natural resources other than its people. What is equally impressive, although less well known, is that Singapore is generally acknowledged as having one of the most successful healthcare systems in the world, in terms of...

SINGAPORE - Singapore, better known for its clean-cut image and electronics exports, is seeking a place in the global arms industry by exploiting technological expertise honed on its own amply funded military. From armoured personnel carriers used by British forces in Afghanistan to ammunition and firearms, the city-state is trying to enlarge the overseas market for its homegrown weapons and defence systems. Its arms exports were in the limelight recently when India's defence ministry banned six weapons manufacturers for alleged involvement in a 2009 bribery case -- one of them a relatively little-known company from Singapore. ST Kinetics, part of...

Gripen: Long-Term, Cost Effective Multi-role Combat Aircraft (Source: Bernama; published March 7, 2012) BANGKOK --- As Malaysia listed the Swedish-made Gripen multi-role combat aircraft (MRCA) as one of its possible choices for its new generation fighter jets, Saab, the manufacturer of the aircraft, is harping on its long-term cost effectiveness. Saab media relations manager Peter Liander said the cost of the whole life cycle of its MRCA in terms of maintenance, operations and flying was more effective as compared to other MRCA of its class. "Generally, potential buyers should not just look at the buying price only, but also the...

Fighters, radar, marine patrols top Asia's military wish-list (Reuters) - Singapore hosted military brass from across Asia this week at the region's biggest arms and aerospace bazaar, almost 70 years to the day since it fell to Japanese forces sweeping across Southeast Asia during World War Two. Japan has since become allied with most other Asian nations. It is now China which is the behemoth others are eyeing with unease. And bigger defense budgets, means sales of fighters, weapons and other tools of death and destruction are higher than ever before. At the Singapore Airshow, salesmen in business suits escorted...

HONOLULU: Canada, Mexico and at least two other countries have expressed interest in joining US-led talks for a pan-Pacific trade pact, a US Republican lawmaker said on Friday after Japan asked to take part. “There’s a good deal of momentum for the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership),” Representative Kevin Brady said after meetings with members of President Barack Obama’s administration at the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. That momentum was evidenced by Japan’s announcement earlier on Friday that it was interested in joining the talks “and what seem to be very solid inquiries from Canada, Mexico and a few others,” Brady...

Jon Huntsman was endorsed by Columbia, S.C.'s The State newspaper on Sunday. The endorsement comes less than a week before the South Carolina primary and comes as Huntsman quickly tries to gain traction in the Palmetto state. The State's endorsement is actually similar to what happened just before the New Hampshire primary: Mitt Romney's hometown paper, The Boston Globe, backed Huntsman in a long editorial in which it compared Romney with the former Utah governor. Like the Globe endorsement, The State praised both Romney and Huntsman but said Huntsman was the better candidate. "There are actually two sensible, experienced grownups," The...

U.S. Navy Expects to Base Ships in Singapore By SHAUN TANDON, Agence France-Presse Published: 17 Dec 2011 13:04 WASHINGTON - The United States, facing a rising China but a tighter budget, expects to station several combat ships in Singapore and may step up deployments to the Philippines and Thailand, a naval officer said. The United States has been increasingly vocal about defending freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, where tensions over territorial disputes between Beijing and Southeast Asian nations have been on the rise. Related Topics In an academic article forecasting the shape of the U.S. Navy in...

“I’d rather go to war in a Typhoon than in a F-18 (Super) Hornet” an Aussie exchange pilot says December 5, 2011 “I’d rather go to war in a Typhoon than in a F-18 Hornet”. This alleged Australian exchange pilot’s statement is one of the most interesting outcomes (and marketing slogans) of BERSAMA LIMA 11 an exercise marking the 40th Anniversary of the Five Powers Defence Agreement (FPDA) the only multilateral defence agreement in South East Asia with an operational element commitment undertaken by five nations (UK, Singapore, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Australia) to consult in the event of an...

Tiny Singapore to spend $23 bln on defence by 2015-Jane's SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Tiny Singapore, with a population of 5.2 million and a land area half the size of Greater London, is likely to spend $23 billion on purchases of patrol aircraft, helicopters and other military equipment by 2015, according to a new report by IHS Jane's. The Southeast Asian city-state, flanked by Indonesia and Malaysia, sits on one of the busiest sea lanes in the world and lists piracy as one of the main security threats in the region. IHS Jane's said while ties with China were cordial and...

US offered F-16s ‘to anticipate rising China’ Mustaqim Adamrah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The United States has reportedly asked for Indonesia’s help to counter the increasing influence of China, particularly in the South China Sea, which some foreign policy analysts say reflects the US’ strategy of “proxy by war”. An Indonesian source, who closely followed the contacts between the two countries, recently told The Jakarta Post that the US had asked Indonesia to receive 24 used F-16 fighter jets from the US, rather than purchasing new ones that would come in a fourth number of the granted units. The Indonesian...

Somebody forgot to tell Panama about the eurozone crisis. While the rest of the world is slowing, its economy is set to expand by 10 per cent this year and 7.5 per cent next. And those are real figures, as Finance Minister Frank de Lima told beyondbrics. In the nominal terms most people use, those numbers hit the teens. Few countries, perhaps none, can match that. The canal is responsible for most of this growth. Indeed, since the country took it over in 1999, Panama’s economy has tripled in size. That remarkable performance is because Panama runs the canal more...

forum.internet-haganah.com/showthread.php?272 "Sign that the goods are meant for the IRGC?" (October 27, 2011) SNIPPET: "The modules in question are radio transmitters used in IED's that killed and wounded American service members in Iraq. They were purchased from a US firm through intermediaries in Singapore. Final destination? Tehran." SNIPPET: "Mahan Air is no ordinary airline. Rather it appears to be the official air transport arm of the IRGC's Qods Force."