News Stories

[HasuMasu]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Good luck to anyone here who bought vacation tickets to SEA.

Why would anyone want to go on a vacation in this region in the first place?

Unless...'Thailand'.

[NoemiChan]

Originally Posted by Hasumi

Why would anyone want to go on a vacation in this region in the first place?

Unless...'Thailand'.

I encouraged foreigners to visit Basilan and Sulu.....

[Ridwan]

Bali isn't SE Asia ?

Not that it's a novel choice though.

[ganbaru]

Insight: Why Citi wants to rack up U.S. taxes
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...95H03E20130618

Military plans would put women in most combat jobs
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...06-18-03-21-57

[Shay]

Artist has inspired new form of protest in Turkey - Standing still.
http://news.sky.com/story/1105239/tu...standing-still

[ganbaru]

North Korean envoy in Beijing seeking to mend ties: experts
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...95I06K20130619

Analysis: French EU-wariness complicates life for Hollande
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...95I06820130619

[SaintessHeart]

Haze in Singapore reaches new record high at 290 PSI

The Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) on hit a new high of 290 at 9pm on Wednesday, well into the "very unhealthy" range of 201-300, according to data from the National Environment Agency (NEA).

It leaped 100 points from the PSI reading just an hour earlier, making some wonder if the updated reading was a typo on the NEA website.

"I thought it was actually worse in the day, though -- seems pretty impossible that there would be a hundred-point jump within an hour, coupled with the fact that it isn't that windy in the first place," said systems analyst Frederick Tang, 36.

"I thought it was a mistake at first," added communications undergraduate Gina Foo, 21, who said she had been feeling "very uncomfortable" while travelling outside during the day. "But I will definitely be wary about my plans for tomorrow, given how unpredictable the situation is."

Masks and air purifiers flew off the shelves at pharmacies and medical stores on Wednesday while others venturing outside experienced a range of ailments.

"You can actually feel the haze now -- the smoke and dust particles in your eyes," said 24-year-old Ronald Loh, who was travelling around the Tampines area. "It's especially bad for people wearing contact lenses or with eye problems."

"I can smell the haze in all my clothes and towels, even though they were hung inside," added Tang.

"It's getting very hot, the fan and aircon not enough and I'm having breathing problems already," said homemaker Yasmin Abdul Razak, 47. "But nothing we can do, just wear a mask and life goes on."

27-year-old Chloe Liaw, a medical sales executive, called for action from the authorities: "Something really needs to be done at the government level, to fix this problem."

"There is nothing much we can do about it, other than dying slowly in the poor air quality," she lamented. "At least provide free N95 masks for everyone?"

The PSI has been climbing steadily since Monday from 55 at 9am to 80 at 12pm and crossed into the "unhealthy" range of 105 at 3pm, according to the National Environment Agency (NEA).

Any reading between 101 and 200 is considered “unhealthy”.

The smoky-smelling haze from Indonesia shrouded skylines and was visible on street level at various places. Marina Bay Sands was cloaked in smoke as the burnt smell pervaded the central business district.

The haze, brought about by prevailing winds from the fires in Indonesia’s Sumatra island, has affected Singapore since 13 June 2013 and is expected to continue over the next few days.

Environment and National Resources Minister, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan urged Indonesians "to enforce their own laws" in a Facebook post on Monday night.

"We are deeply concerned that the 113 hotspots in Sumatra have caused our 3 hour PSI to rise to 152. NEA has been in touch with the Indonesian authorities to register our concern, and renew our offer of assistance," he wrote.

"For too long, commercial interests in Indonesia have been allowed to over ride environmental concerns," he added, saying he would personally speak to his counterpart in Indonesia to "personally to convey the seriousness of the situation."

The last time Singapore saw such choking smog was in 1997, when the PSI index peaked at 226.

NEA advises on its website that people with existing heart or respiratory ailments should reduce physical exertion and outdoor activity. So far, the haze has not affected business or air transport.

Over the weekend, the haze situation also hit “unhealthy” levels in neighbouring Malaysia. The Malaysian pollutant index showed readings of 102 and 121 in parts of Pahang, Terengganu and Malacca on Monday.

Singapore experiences hazy weather conditions on a yearly basis when winds from Indonesian forest fires blows over the region during periods of persistent dry weather conditions.

The last time the PSI went over 100 in Singapore was on October 21, 2010, when it hit 106, according to local media.

And they are blaming Singaporeans for buying the listed palm-oil companies' stock.

EDIT @ 2305H GMT+8: It just hit 321.

[Cosmic Eagle]

Meanwhile people breathe far worse air daily...

Heck, I even went jogging in these conditions...

[SaintessHeart]

Envt Minister Vivian: Depending on seriousness of #SGHaze situation, Ministry of Manpower may issue stop-work order

YES YES YES YES YES.

But apparently the haze isn't that bad :

Fewer reported cases of dengue reported on Wednesday as compared to Tuesday http://cna.asia/12Kr3Tz

[AnimeFan188]

TWA Flight 800 crash not due to gas tank explosion, say former investigators:

"The producers of an upcoming documentary on TWA Flight 800—which exploded and
crashed into the waters off Long Island, N.Y., on July 17, 1996, killing all 230 people on
board—claim to have proof that an explosion outside the Paris-bound flight caused the
crash. And six former investigators who took part in the film say there was a cover-up
and want the case reopened."

See:

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/...141624708.html

[AnimeFan188]

The Government Is Spying on America with Drones, Too:

"FBI director Robert Mueller said the government has used surveillance drones in the
U.S. — though "in a very, very minimal way, very seldom" — at a Senate hearing on
Wednesday. "It's very seldom used and generally used in a particular incident when you
need the capability," Mueller said before the judiciary committee. "It is very narrowly
focused on particularized cases and particularized needs." He said he did not know
what happens to the images the drones capture."

See:

http://news.yahoo.com/government-spy...153501700.html

[Dhomochevsky]

Drones are just low altitude spy sattelites.
Why's that such a big deal?

[synaesthetic]

Originally Posted by Dhomochevsky

Drones are just low altitude spy sattelites.
Why's that such a big deal?

It's not. The big deal is drones with machine guns.

[Sumeragi]

Machine guns are nothing. The missiles are the problem.

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by Sumeragi

Machine guns are nothing. The missiles are the problem.

microwave beams a bigger priblem

[synaesthetic]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

microwave beams a bigger priblem

I'll buy a popcorn-popping drone.

[Endless Soul]

Then there are those drones that have missiles with machine guns on them.

Endless "Overkill" Soul

[ganbaru]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

microwave beams a bigger priblem

Aren't those the one than are used for crowd control ? The current model are kind of being too big and non-aerodynamic to be put on a drone.
Did someone though about putting one of those on a Blackhack or even a C-130 ?

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

But apparently the haze isn't that bad :

Fewer reported cases of dengue reported...

I've been too busy to check whether this reply was published. I know only that we didn't run this on radio the day I received it (June 18, Tue). I asked the National Environment Agency (NEA) whether the haze would affect the dengue outbreak.

The short answer is, "No."

NEA's media statement, in full:

There is no evidence to support the hypothesis that haze may reduce the impact of dengue. A study published by Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, National University of Singapore, Tan Tock Seng Hospital and Singapore Clinical Research Institute in 2010, had examined the relationship of dengue activity and haze (PSI) in Singapore using univariate modelling, and showed no association between dengue activity and haze.

Another scientific correspondence from Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, DSO National Laboratories, National University of Singapore, NEA’s Environmental Health Institute and University of Hawaii in 2010, also highlighted that although a haze blanketed much of South-East Asia including Singapore from late 1997 to early 1998, the number of dengue cases in Singapore during these years were the highest recorded in the 1990s. Dengue cases were also similarly high in other South-east Asian countries during this period.

[sa547]

Originally Posted by AnimeFan188

TWA Flight 800 crash not due to gas tank explosion, say former investigators:

"The producers of an upcoming documentary on TWA Flight 800—which exploded and
crashed into the waters off Long Island, N.Y., on July 17, 1996, killing all 230 people on
board—claim to have proof that an explosion outside the Paris-bound flight caused the
crash. And six former investigators who took part in the film say there was a cover-up
and want the case reopened."

See:

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/...141624708.html

Why they have to do so now? I thought we're done with this and the tinfoil theories that followed it.