News Stories

[ganbaru]

Cokie Roberts: Some Tea Party anger is ‘racist’
http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/09/25/cokie...ger-is-racist/

The real story of the shutdown: 50 years of GOP race-baiting
http://www.salon.com/2013/10/01/the_..._race_baiting/

Millions of Poor Are Left Uncovered by Health Law
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/03/he...ealth-law.html

Where Poor and Uninsured Americans Live
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2...tml?ref=health

[SaintessHeart]

I love this headline.

Singapore becomes a destination for junk

* High-yield issuance hit record in 2013

* Southeast Asian companies bet on demand for high coupons

* Private banking fuels search for returns

By Kit Yin Boey

Oct 4 (IFR) - Companies in Southeast Asia are looking at Singapore as a viable alternative for high-yield bond issues in amounts that would be too small for dollar investors.

The push comes as so-called junk bonds became a predominant theme this year in the Singapore market, with a record number of small-cap and sub-investment grade companies selling debt in the Lion City, attracting investor interest by offering juicy coupons.

Data from Thomson Reuters showed that close to S$5bn (US$4.02bn) of high-yield deals were done to date this year, compared with an estimated S$4.4bn and S$3bn in 2012 and 2011. Many of these deals were for amounts smaller than US$100m, too small for the dollar market.

This has attracted companies such as unrated Indonesian conglomerate Rajawali Group, which this week started a series of roadshows in the island republic for a potential Reg S deal.

At the same time, Indofood Agri Resources announced its plans to diversify into the Singapore market via a new S$500m MTN programme. There were also rumors of Indian and lower-rated Thai companies looking at coming to Singapore with bonds.

YIELD HUNGER

The issuers are being attracted by the ability to print bonds at lower coupons than they would get in their home markets, which in some cases do not even have investors that buy high-yield at all.

Meanwhile, in Singapore, last year, investors became renowned for embracing perpetual securities and for chasing yields. And with most of them focused on holding on to the bonds, secondary prices very seldom fall below par.

This has helped Singapore become a consistent source of funds for issuers in the region, being available even at times when the US dollar market was tight.

In 2011, a record US$6.2bn of local currency bonds were printed in the city-state just as dollar markets froze amid the European crisis and the downgrade of the United States.

The swelling appetite from private bank is partly to blame. Various research reports estimated that the combined wealth of high-net worth individuals in the country held US$857bn in assets in 2012.

STEADY NOW

But a recent foray by Perisai Petroleum suggests that even yield-hungry Singapore investors may draw the line at some point.

The Malaysian high-yield company raised only S$23m of three-year bonds despite the backing of three joint leads and two co-leads, and a generous yield of 6.875%.

The transaction served as notice that even private bank clients, who had thrown money at any high-yielding name last year, are now hesitant about taking on unknown foreign issuers.

Rattled by indications from the Federal Reserve in May that its board could halt monetary easing policies, local investors started pulling back and increased their target yield levels to cushion expected rate increases in the future.

Syndicate desks report that private bank clients are balking at taking on more risk exposure, and that less leverage is being given to them, although no lines have been pulled.

Institutional investors have also been wary and a number of Singapore dollar bonds have recently traded below par, albeit to a lesser extent than US dollar ones.

Bankers think that the market, however, remains reliable, noticing that there is still demand for recognizable names.

"Foreign names come to Singapore because they know it is a viable and accessible market," said a syndicate head of a foreign bank. "The Singapore bond market is still substantial, and getting along quite healthily despite the last few months of volatility."

Meanwhile everything continues to inflate.........

[aohige]

Originally Posted by Skane

Frankly, it still boggles my mind how backwards the Healthcare is in the USA. I imagine the level of "mindfuck" also applied to my sister's husband (she got married to an American) when he got sick in Singapore and found the medical bill to be dirt-cheap (his opinion, not mine).

When he told me what the equivalent cost would be for a non-insured person would be in the USA, I kinda went, "Wat." USA spends more money on medical than some countries combined, but has worse coverage. It's ludicrous.

Natch.

Most well-off first world nations do. As long as you pay taxes you have national health care in Japan as well, and I think same goes for Canada, Australia, and many others.

But listen, the people who are against affordable universal health care are also the same people who think the poor in America are "freeloaders who just wants money for nothing, lazy bastards". They're so detached from realities, it's mind boggling.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by aohige

Most well-off first world nations do. As long as you pay taxes you have national health care in Japan as well, and I think same goes for Canada, Australia, and many others.

But listen, the people who are against affordable universal health care are also the same people who think the poor in America are "freeloaders who just wants money for nothing, lazy bastards". They're so detached from realities, it's mind boggling.

Many rich people think that same way. There are a number of rich people here who think that the less fortunate are mostly, if not all, freeloaders.

If we didn't have the narcotics/firearms bureau on our back, we would have been as rich as them; there are groups in Philippines and Myanmar looking for someone to sell them 7.62x39mm rounds.

[kyp275]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

Whatever happened to shooting out the tires on cars rather than shooting the driver first? The Capitol Police couldn't figure out how to establish a roadblock to stop her progress and capture her alive?

Contrary to what's shown in movies, shooting out tires does not actually stop the vehicle from moving. Roadblocks also aren't setup instantly with a radio call, and in cases like this where it's literally right down the road with almost no time to prepare, it's practically impossible.

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

I just wonder what the protocols are for situations like this. I just watched the video from the Arabic channel again. Half a dozen officers surround her car, and they all are pointing their guns at the woman. None of them is firing at the tires or doing anything else to disable the vehicle.

No different than any other police encounter, disabling a car from the outside with a pistol is impossible other than shooting the driver. Once she started to use her vehicle as a weapon, she's no different than someone wielding a gun.

[sikvod00]

Report: Woman Killed Near US Capitol Believed Obama Electronically Monitored Her

The woman who was shot dead by police after trying to breach a barrier outside the White House and lead a car chase near the U.S. Capitol believed President Barack Obama was electronically monitoring her, ABC News reported Friday.

Anonymous sources told ABC News that suspect Miriam Carey, 34, thought the president was electronically monitoring her Stamford, Conn. home to broadcast her life on television. Carey also believed she was the "prophet of Stamford" with the ability to communicate with Obama, the sources said.

Carey's boyfriend, Eric Francis, called Connecticut police twice in 2012 to report that Carey was acting irrationally and putting her toddler in danger, the sources said.

Carey's 1-year-old daughter was travelling with her when she led police on the chase in Washington on Thursday. Carey's mother, Isabella Carey, told ABC News that Carey suffered from post-partum depression after having her daughter last August.

Carey also had a family history of schizophrenia and was taking medication for a mental illness, the sources said. When Francis called police on Dec. 21, he reported that his girlfriend was "off her medication" and acting erratically, according to ABC News.

This poor woman really needed help.

[Xellos-_^]

Vo Nguyen Giap, the Vietnamese military commander and national folk hero who organized the army that defeated the French and then the Americans in 30 years of Southeast Asian warfare, is dead. That war ended in 1975 when the last remaining U.S. military forces evacuated Saigon, leaving behind a war-torn and battle-scarred nation, united under Communist rule. He died Oct. 4 in a hospital in Hanoi, a government official told the Associated Press. He was 102. No cause of death was immediately reported.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/...e59_story.html

nice little article on a Brilliant Military Leader.

Worst Mistake the US every made regarding Vietnam was letting the French try to keep it.

[Xefi]

^ dang, 102. he lives a nice and long life.

R.I.P. Mr. Vo

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

nice little article on a Brilliant Military Leader.

Worst Mistake the US every made regarding Vietnam was letting the French try to keep it.

Agreed. But then again, think of it as nature's way to get rid of the pro-Nazi soldiers in this world; after WWII alot of ex-SS were on their way to the FFL, which the French sent worldwide to do territorial retention after Algeria, then into Vietnam.

I wonder if he was also the one behind the Sino-Vietnamese war where he handed China's ass back to them. If so, he had technically beaten 3 superpowers in his entire lifetime : the French (when it still had colonies), the US of A, and China.

Wish my generals were like that when I served. I have only worked directly with a Colonel as most.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Wish my generals were like that when I served. I have only worked directly with a Colonel as most.

You might not have survived it. From what I've read, he was in the habit of losing a lot of men to get the job done...

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

You might not have survived it. From what I've read, he was in the habit of losing a lot of men to get the job done...

but he got the job done and he was fighting 1 former super power, 1 current super power and a future super power.

all better equip and better supply with greater numbers

[Fireminer]

A bow to one of the most brightest star that Vietnamese has ever saw...

Trully, his impact and essance will last forever.

@Anh_Minh: We're the People's Army. We live and die for the people. Everyman fell down is to nourished the future.

[ganbaru]

Man sets himself on fire on the National Mall
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...10-04-22-31-59

The reason for the self-immolation was not immediately clear and the man's identity was not disclosed. But it occurred in public view, on a central national gathering place, in a city still rattled by a mass shooting last month and a high-speed car chase outside the U.S. Capitol on Thursday that ended with a woman being shot dead by police with a young child in the car.

[AnimeFan188]

U.S. forces conduct raids in Somalia, Libya: Reports:

"U.S. forces launched attacks against terrorist targets in Somalia and Libya on
Saturday, according to multiple media reports.

A team of Navy SEALs raided an al-Shabab militant group in Somalia in a daring
predawn attack, The New York Times and NBC News reported Saturday.

The raid was in response to an al-Shabab attack on a Nairobi shopping mall two
weeks ago. Al-Shabab, a militant Islamist group, has claimed responsibility for the
action, which killed at least 67 people."


"Around the same time, unnamed sources told NBC News and the Times that U.S.
forces near Tripoli, Libya, captured al-Qaeda member Anas al Libi, who is believed
to have helped plan the 1998 U.S. Embassy attacks in Kenya and Tanzania. The
FBI had offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his capture.

Al Libi, whose real name is Nazih Abdul-Hamed Nabih al-Ruqai'I, was linked to
Osama bin Laden and could ultimately be brought to the U.S. to stand trial, NBC
reported. He has been on the USA's most-wanted fugitives list since 2000, when
a New York court indicted him for his role in the embassy attacks, the Times
reported."

See:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/w...malia/2928631/

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by AnimeFan188

U.S. forces conduct raids in Somalia, Libya: Reports:

"U.S. forces launched attacks against terrorist targets in Somalia and Libya on
Saturday, according to multiple media reports.

A team of Navy SEALs raided an al-Shabab militant group in Somalia in a daring
predawn attack, The New York Times and NBC News reported Saturday.

The raid was in response to an al-Shabab attack on a Nairobi shopping mall two
weeks ago. Al-Shabab, a militant Islamist group, has claimed responsibility for the
action, which killed at least 67 people."


"Around the same time, unnamed sources told NBC News and the Times that U.S.
forces near Tripoli, Libya, captured al-Qaeda member Anas al Libi, who is believed
to have helped plan the 1998 U.S. Embassy attacks in Kenya and Tanzania. The
FBI had offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his capture.

Al Libi, whose real name is Nazih Abdul-Hamed Nabih al-Ruqai'I, was linked to
Osama bin Laden and could ultimately be brought to the U.S. to stand trial, NBC
reported. He has been on the USA's most-wanted fugitives list since 2000, when
a New York court indicted him for his role in the embassy attacks, the Times
reported."

See:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/w...malia/2928631/

Supposedly the SAS messed up and took 6-man-down alongside Turkish SF before the Nairobi mall attack, which includes an officer.

And how is anyone going to get the $5m reward with the US government shutdown?

[Roger Rambo]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

You might not have survived it. From what I've read, he was in the habit of losing a lot of men to get the job done...

And Americans had a capacity of expending a ludicrous amounts of material and ordinance to get their jobs done...material and ordinance that the Vietnamese did not have access to. So I don't think that it's exactly fair to imply (such as Westmoreland was fond of after the war) that the North's willingness to take heavy casualties in combat was somehow a sign of them lacking morality.

Anyone else who was fighting from a position of material weakness, who had to rely on manpower, would have adopted the same mentality the Northern Vietnamese took about casualties...at least if they believed the cause they were fighting for was worth it.


I mean, suppose the United States was invaded by aliens. We need to be willing to routinely suffer a 30-1 kill ratio to have any hope of killing the aliens. So our choices are accepting tens of millions of dead in order to win, or we bury our heads in the sand and let the aliens win. If you feel like criticizing the Vietnamese for not being casualty averse based on moral principle, then you'd better grab a shovel and start digging when the aliens show up.

[ganbaru]

Obama to public: Don't give up on health sign-ups
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...10-05-11-44-23

Use of force to be studied in DC police chase
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...10-05-19-12-24

[risingstar3110]

Originally Posted by Roger Rambo

And Americans had a capacity of expending a ludicrous amounts of material and ordinance to get their jobs done...material and ordinance that the Vietnamese did not have access to. So I don't think that it's exactly fair to imply (such as Westmoreland was fond of after the war) that the North's willingness to take heavy casualties in combat was somehow a sign of them lacking morality.

Anyone else who was fighting from a position of material weakness, who had to rely on manpower, would have adopted the same mentality the Northern Vietnamese took about casualties...at least if they believed the cause they were fighting for was worth it.


I mean, suppose the United States was invaded by aliens. We need to be willing to routinely suffer a 30-1 kill ratio to have any hope of killing the aliens. So our choices are accepting tens of millions of dead in order to win, or we bury our heads in the sand and let the aliens win. If you feel like criticizing the Vietnamese for not being casualty averse based on moral principle, then you'd better grab a shovel and start digging when the aliens show up.

One thing that do affect Giap reputation was him sacrificing so many lives to earn victories. And while i would have preferred peace over war, negotiations over battles, however who i am to judge here. I am sitting in my comfortable room reading news with my tablet. While men like Giap would be lucky not to soak themselves in mud with an empty stomach, thinking about the life of HIS men, those he nurtured up from peasant farmers to become a capable soldiers, before being sacrificed on the battlefield for a greater cause/ victory. And for all the 60-70 final years of his life, Giap was not driven into a madman, or worse megalomania. So in someway, i do believe he knows the weight of his comrades sacrifices. That part of him earned my respect (aside all of the military achievement of course)


I means there is (even if was tiny) bit in me that also believe lots of sacrifice is worth it for the ultimate victory. As in long term it 'may' being the least (sacrifices)

Dien Bien Phu aside, as it started the end of colonial area (which we all would like to forget). But if you compare Vietnam to India-Pakistan then, we now can see peaceful liberation under mercy/compassion can still costs millions of human lives due to the power gaps it leaves (especially as future wars still can break out, and both coutnries have nuclear weapons as well). Then of course Korea Peninsula, probably the "how Vietnam could have been". But we know just like in Vietnam, peace of the whole Korea will definitely be as hard earned, as a bitter and prolonged war there now, may drive all the 50-years social developments, social stability down the sink. Then of course with half of the country, and 33% of Korean Peninsula population being isolated from the world, under military dictatorship, and suffered famine from time to time. You can't say it definitely was a better solution than Vietnam now.

R.I.P General Giap, the man who for better or worse, contributed much to shape this world today

[Fireminer]

@risingstar: You got that right! And should I mention that Gen.Giap cries Everytime he stand before once of his fallen comrade? The bond between him and the People Army is so big that some historians compare it to Father and Son relationship. Not very surprise, since he is the creator of it.

No revolution is sucess without first paving its path by the blood of Tyrants and Heroes. And so does with we.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Fireminer

@risingstar: You got that right! And should I mention that Gen.Giap cries Everytime he stand before once of his fallen comrade? The bond between him and the People Army is so big that some historians compare it to Father and Son relationship. Not very surprise, since he is the creator of it.

No revolution is sucess without first paving its path by the blood of Tyrants and Heroes. And so does with we.

I think you would be more accurate if you cast him as a warfare smart but politically dumb puppet of the Reds, much like the rest of the Cold War Vietnamese government on both sides (including Syngman Rhee, who was a PDP of the Blues). He may be a hero, but his actions, or rather his fame, just fueled more conflict and distrust in South East Asia at that time.

The rest of South East Asia nearly crapped in their pants with the defeat of US, and Thailand did a great of job of holding the border against communist influence, but at what cost? The newly formed Malaysia and Singapore became a literal South Korea of the 1960s/70s purging anyone believed to be a communist - it was literally a dictatorship (but people call it an economically-sufficient autocracy).

Everyone was afraid it would become a larger scale of the 1963 Konfrantasi with Soviet state-of-art hardware rolling down South, but luckily China and Cambodia decided to keep Vietnam occupied for silly reasons. Especially China, the troop build-up North of Vietnam means that there will not be an invasion down South as long as the standoff lasts.

Until the Soviet Union collapsed and US finally decides it is a good idea to normalise relations with Vietnam in 1994.

As Obama's Asia 'pivot' falters, China steps into the gap

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore, one of Washington's most key allies in the region, said it was disappointing Obama would not be visiting Asia.

"Obviously we prefer a U.S. government which is working to one which is not. And we prefer a U.S. President who is able to travel to fulfill his international duties to one who is preoccupied with his domestic preoccupations," Lee said after arriving in Bali.

"It is a very great disappointment to us President Obama is unable to visit."

Two things :
- That is one hell of a jab.
- It is not "key ally", it is "friend with military benefit". I wouldn't be surprised that Singapore just becomes Pakistan and plays both sides against each other for cash.