Singapore - Admiralty MRT Suicide

[update: the original click and play links have been replaced with two currently active videos but the two videos can be downloaded here

Yishun:

http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=A7208D0B338EF129

Admiralty:

http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=3958008E52F40FA0
]



The following video and others are circulating the internet. Some have now been removed from metacafe, but the one below is still working, or it was when I placed it here. The video contains no blood or gore but is still disturbing none the less. The question that has to be asked now is who from MRT posted this video or started circulating it?



Admiralty incident.mp4

Yishun MRT Accident Video
Some argue that the video above is a fake, however the video below seems to be unquestioned in its authenticity.

Yishun incident.mp4
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Singapore

Spats with neighbours 'not big problems', says Singapore FM

Causing a military coup in Thailand is not a big problem, then what in the name of all that is holy would constitute a 'big problem' in George Yeo's land of 'lah-lah'?

The Nation

SINGAPORE - Singapore's ongoing diplomatic spats with neighbours Thailand and Indonesia "are not big problems" and relations overall remain good, Foreign Minister George Yeo said.

"Our foreign relations are on the whole very good. We have excellent relations with all our major partners, with the US, China, Japan, India, Europe and Australia," Yeo said in a speech to his parliamentary constituency late Friday.

"We have some problems with Thailand and Indonesia but they are not big problems. Generally speaking, our overall relations with Thailand and Indonesia remain good."

Bilateral ties with Thailand were strained when the family of then prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra sold a 49 percent stake in Thai telecom giant Shin Corp to Singapore's state-linked investment firm Temasek Holdings in a tax-free deal in 2006.

The deal angered the Thai public and led to months of street protests which sparked the military coup that overthrew Thaksin in September.

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Agence France-Presse

Singapore

World Lawyer Gathering in Singapore Attacked by Swedish Lawmaker

John Berthelsen
25 February 2007
The International Bar Association’s October meet runs into more flak as questions are raised about judicial independence in the authoritarian city state

Lawmaker wonders what got into these lawyers. Singapore? Please. In a scorching public letter to President Fernando Pombo of the International Bar Association, Swedish parliamentarian and human rights activist Birgitta Ohlsson has asked that the legal confederation not hold its 2007 annual convention in Singapore this October.

The Asia Sentinel reported on Feb. 21 that the IBA is drawing fire from critics who say the city-state’s courts are among the least independent in the world. The bar association prides itself on believing “in the fundamental right of the world’s citizens to have disputes heard and determined by an independent judiciary and for judges and lawyers to practice freely and without interference.”

“Human rights and the rule of law have come under severe attack by the Singapore government,” Ohlsson wrote on Friday. “Opposition parties and civil society groups have almost no role to play which leaves democracy in a shambolic state in the island-nation.”

Ohlsson is a member of the Swedish Parliament representing the Liberal Party and is the party’s spokesperson on foreign affairs. The Liberal Party is part of Sweden’s ruling coalition.

“Given the circumstances it is important that the IBA, with its bright and proud reputation of defending human rights and the rule of law throughout the world does not tarnish its good standing by holding its meeting in Singapore,” Ohllson wrote. “I urge you to send a strong message to all undemocratic regimes that the IBA will not compromise its principles by moving this conference elsewhere.”

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Singapore

Thailand rally against Singapore increases tensions

I wish that a lot of these reports would refrain from refering to Singapore. The problem that led to the ousting of Thaksin was created by the People's Action Party and Temasek not the people of Singapore. The people of Singapore have no prospect of exercising any rights of protest either in agreement with the People's Alliance for Democracy or against them.


Last Updated 23/02/2007, 22:30:32
Radio Australia, Australia

Around 200 people have rallied against Singapore in northeastern Thailand in a protest outside Bangkok, as tensions continue between the two countries.

The protest was organised by the People's Alliance for Democracy, the pressure group behind last year's street demonstrations, which led to the ousting of premier Thaksin Shinawatra in a September coup.

The demonstrators marched to a military airfield in Udon Thani province, northeast of Bangkok, demanding that the air force review a Thaksin-era pact allowing Singapore's military to use the site.

It's the first anti-Singapore protest outside the capital Bangkok amid mounting tensions between the countries after Mr Thaksin, who has been living in exile since the coup, visited the city-state last month.

Bilateral ties had already been strained when Mr Thaksin's family sold a 49-percent stake in Thai telecom giant Shin Corp - founded by the ex-premier - tax-free to Singapore's state-linked investment firm Temasek in 2006.

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Singapore

Singapore's Moral Obligation

The following letter published in The Jakarta Post makes the allegation that Singapore is harbouring 500 Indonesians who have been charged with corporate crimes and 30 Billion US dollars worth of cash. Can one of the Peoples Action Party lurkers confirm or deny this allegation? We would of course prefer precise numbers rather than mere rhetoric.

I read with interest the article titled Indonesia: Big nation led by small minds (The Jakarta Post, Feb. 17).

It seems to have escaped the writer that Singapore has struck hard bargains throughout its history and likes to set the agenda. It was to its dismay that it found Jakarta no longer dancing to its tune.

Remember that it was Singapore who tried to tie the security/defense pacts with that of the extradition treaty, and they tried to deal with these as a package. This was their idea and Indonesia was obliged to comply with this set-up.

The action taken by Indonesia is very courageous because of the fact that Singapore has been dragging its feet on the extradition treaty as well as other outstanding issues.

It is an apparent fact that Singapore harbors over 500 Indonesian citizens who are charged with corporate crimes in their own country. The total wealth taken out of Indonesia and deposited in Singapore banks totals US$30 billion. Here we see the real reason for Singapore's lack of interest in making the extradition treaty work.

I'm sure Singapore can afford to buy sand from other places at a premium price with the $30 billion it is "safekeeping" for the Indonesian criminals that are living the high-life in Singapore.

Indonesia must not fall for the stick and carrot game that Singapore likes to play. Indonesia must also not shy away from its right to get these criminals back home to stand trial and to recuperate the lost wealth that left with them.

Singapore needs to be made aware of its moral obligations and should not be surprised when it is at the receiving end of someone else's grievances.

ZAKI HAMMAAD
London

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Singapore

Martyn See's films screened in Canadian film festival

21 Feb 07

Filmmaker Mr Martyn See's films are being screened in Canada at the Toronto-Singapore Film Festival. Speakers Cornered (yet to be released in Singapore) and Zahari's 17 Years will be featured among other entries.

Although Zahari's 17 Years has been rated by the Government for screening, the authorities have been warning film centres against screening them.

Speakers Cornered
North American Premiere
2006 · 27 minutes · English and Mandarin (English Subtitles)
Directed by Martyn See

Shot over several days in September 2006, when Singapore hosted the World Bank’s and International Monetary Fund’s Annual Meetings, Speakers Cornered captures the thwarted attempts of nonviolence activists to protest peacefully at Speakers’ Corner, a park designated for those with the urge to mount their soapboxes - though, as per the Singaporean way, not without first securing police blessing. In Martyn See’s latest film, the park’s legendary status as a white elephant without clothes is cast in cold hard stone. Living up to its title, its seventeen chapters reveal that to be shackled in Singapore is no metaphor. Stunning and yet strangely amusing, the litany of oppressions catalogued in Speakers Cornered are nothing if not an embarrassment to Singapore. Singapore's authorities have seen the events that unfolded that week. Why shouldn't anyone else?

Watch the teaser.


-------------------
Martyn See is an independent filmmaker whose first documentary, Singapore Rebel (2005) was banned by the Singaporean government for violating the Films Act, which prohibits the making of political films. He endured 15 months of police investigation over the alleged offence and was let off with a "stern warning". He has since made two other politically-themed films: Zahari's 17 Years and Speakers Cornered. None of them have publicly screened in Singapore.

Zahari’s 17 Years
North American Premiere
2006 · 49 minutes · English and Mandarin (English Subtitles)
Directed by Martyn See

In Martyn See's second film, 78-year-old self-exiled journalist, poet and author Said Zahari reflects candidly on his seventeen years in detention without trial - the first time a Singaporean has spoken about the experience on film.

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Singapore

Singapore’s ageing dilemma

Poverty increasing under PAP's economic strategy
AHDS Greenway
22 Feb 07
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1081329


Singapore has been energetic and resourceful in managing globalisation. But like many other countries it is also faced with difficult policy choices as the rich-poor divide has become a serious political issue. Between 2000 and 2005, the real wages of the bottom 40 per cent of households declined. Unless this gap and sense of insecurity is managed with sensitivity, there is potential for undermining Singapore's current social and political arrangements.

Singapore's globalisation strategy is based on high growth, encouraging a large number of foreigners to work and settle here, and minimal social safety nets. Singapore's 2007 budget presented last week reaffirms the government's determination to continue the current strategy.

Singapore has experienced below-replacement fertility since 1975. For a stable population, the mean number of children per woman must be 2.15. But in 2005, its fertility rate was only 1.25. If the rate stays below 1.5 for several years, it will be difficult to increase it significantly through public policies.

The long period of low fertility, combined with increasing life expectancy, will make for a rapidly ageing society. By 2030, more than one out of four persons in Singapore will be elderly ie above 65.

There will be only 2.2 workers to support each elderly person, compared to 10 workers in 2000. In spite of the rapid increase in the elderly population, the government has relied primarily on the mandatory savings system to finance pensions and health care. Studies have shown that this system, administered by the Central Provident Fund (CPF), is likely to provide 15-25 per cent of pre-retirement income. This is far lower than the two-thirds to three-fourths recommended by experts.

In Japan, Korea and Taiwan, a contested political space and higher priority for social issues have brought multi-tier pension and health care systems, with an important role for social risk-pooling arrangements. No such progress is evident in Singapore. So, the current arrangements, which place a disproportionate burden on individuals, will be felt after the full impact of ageing around 2010.

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Singapore

Four-year prison sentence for blogger "Kareem Amer"

22.02.2007

Reporters Without Borders / Internet freedom desk
EGYPT

Four-year prison sentence for blogger "Kareem Amer"
Reporters Without Borders strongly condemned the four-year prison sentence imposed today by a court in Alexandria on Abdel Kareem Nabil Suleiman for "inciting hatred of Islam" and insulting President Hosni Mubarak in his blog, for which he used the pseudonym of "Kareem Amer."

"This sentence is a disgrace," the press freedom organisation said. "Almost three years ago to the day, President Mubarak promised to abolish prison sentences for press offences. Suleiman's conviction and sentence is a message of intimidation to the rest of the Egyptian blogosphere, which had emerged in recent years as an effective bulwark against the regime's authoritarian excesses."

Reporters Without Borders continued: "As a result of this conviction, which clearly confirms Egypt's inclusion in our list of Internet enemies, we call on the United Nations to reject Egypt's request to host the Internet Governance Forum in 2009. After letting Tunisia, another violator of online freedom, host the World Summit on the Information Society, such a choice would completely discredit the UN process for debating the future of the Internet."

The organisation added: "This heavy sentence is also a slap in the face for the international organisations and governments that support President Mubarak's policies. It is time the international community took a stand on Egypt's repeated violations of press freedom and the rights of Internet users."

Suleiman, who was arrested on 6 November 2006, got three years for inciting hatred of Islam and one year for insulting the president. The judge dismissed the charge of "spreading rumours liable to disturb the peace" which had been included in the prosecution's indictment. Suleiman's blogs regularly criticised the government's religious and authoritarian excesses. He also criticised Egypt's highest religious institutions including the Sunni university of Al-Azhar, where he studied law.

Egypt is on the list of the 13 Internet enemies which Reporters Without Borders compiled in 2006 (http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=19603). The government wants to host one of the stages of the Internet Governance Forum, a series of UN-sponsored negotiations about how to regulate the Internet (see: http://www.intgovforum.org/).

On 23 February 2004, the newly-elected president of the Union of Egyptian Journalists, Galal Aref, made an important announcement: President Mubarak had just telephoned him and had formally undertaken to abolish prison sentences for journalists in connection with their work. In effect, he was promising a major overhaul of the laws concerning press offences. Three years later, nothing has changed. Journalists still risk being imprisoned despite the semblance of a reform last year. (For more on this: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=21068).


Reporters Without Borders believes that people writing online, like professional journalists, should enjoy the basic right to freedom of expression and it condemns any use of prison sentences to punish offences linked to the publication of views and information.

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Read our international blog review and create your blog with Reporters Without Borders : www.rsfblog.org

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Singapore

The World’s Lawyers Come to Singapore

John Berthelsen
23 February 2007

International Bar Association draws fire for choosing the rigid city state as the venue for its annual conference

The little publicized decision of the International Bar Association, perhaps the world’s pre-eminent legal confederation, to hold its 2007 annual convention in Singapore is drawing fire from critics who say the island state’s courts are among the least independent in the world.

In a Feb. 13 letter protesting the IBA’s decision to take its convention to Singapore, Chee Soon Juan, the head of the opposition Singapore Democratic Party , who has been repeatedly sued for defamation, bankrupted and driven from politics by former Prime Ministers Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong in the Singapore courts, quoted Subhas Anand, the president of the Association of Criminal Lawyers of Singapore, as saying that “he would represent murderers, thieves and even terror suspects but would avoid acting for dissidents in Singapore.”

On its website, the bar association says it “believes in the fundamental right of the world’s citizens to have disputes heard and determined by an independent judiciary and for judges and lawyers to practice freely and without interference.” The IBA’s Human Rights Institute was established under the honorary presidency of former South African President Nelson Mandela, once the world’s longest-serving political prisoner.

Chee added that “scores of (members of) opposition parties, trade unions, universities and media were…locked up for various periods, many for as long as 15 to 20 years and were, according to Amnesty International, tortured and abused.”

The Lee family and other officials have repeatedly used the Singapore courts to go after political opponents and the international press in cases that most observers believe would be laughed out of almost any other court in the free world.

“I can’t believe these people could be going there,” said Basil Fernando, the Hong Kong-based executive director of the Asian Human Right Commission, noting in an interview the worrying fact that increasing numbers of countries across Asia are taking their cues from Singapore to sue reporters for defamation in an attempt to prevent them from reporting independently.

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Singapore

A Falun Gong protest, underneath the Esplanade Bridge in Singapore.

From Trek Earth

Protests in Singapore are rarely seen, so I was surprised to see this demonstration in the heart of Singapore during Chinese New Year.

Falun Gong has been the focus of international controversy since July 20, 1999, when the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) began a suppression of the movement nationwide, except in the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau. The PRC government claims to have banned the group for what it considers to be illegal activities.[3] The Falun Gong claims that the ban was the result of personal jealousy of the group’s popularity on the part of Jiang Zemin, a former President of the People's Republic of China.[4] The suppression of Falun Gong is considered a human rights violation by a number of (mostly western) human rights groups and politicians

{courtesy of Wikipedia}

I know next to nothing about Falun Gong. Their posters and leaflets told stories of suppression, arrests, killings and organ harvesting. The strength of their message surprised me given Singapore's non-protest culture.

Shot in RAW. converted, slight crop, resize, sharpen and partial desaturation as I thought it appropriate for this image - I think this is allowed on TE.

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Singapore