Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Fat Burning Furnace: How to lose belly fat quickly-5 easy and effective...
Fat Burning Furnace: How to lose belly fat quickly-5 easy and effective...: Many individuals are searching for how to lose belly fat quickly. The main reason for this is that many people today live stress...
Fat Burning Furnace: Fat loss diet That work
Fat Burning Furnace: Fat loss diet That work: Weight loss and fat loss have become synonymous in most circles. However, these terms can be very different. A diet can cause weig...
Fat Burning Furnace: Fat loss diet That work
Fat Burning Furnace: Fat loss diet That work: Weight loss and fat loss have become synonymous in most circles. However, these terms can be very different. A diet can cause weig...
Fat Burning Furnace: How to lose belly fat quickly-5 easy and effective...
Fat Burning Furnace: How to lose belly fat quickly-5 easy and effective...: Many individuals are searching for how to lose belly fat quickly. The main reason for this is that many people today live stress...
How Saudi Arabia Will Kick Its Oil Habit Read more:
Saudi Arabia, the Middle East’s biggest economy and the world’s largest oil producer, is running out of its black gold. Some estimate that the wells will run dry as early as 2030. That’s a huge deal. Oil revenue reached $312 billion this year and accounts for almost half the economy and 90 percent of export revenue. It also makes the kingdom the Persian Gulf’s economic powerhouse.
That’s why diversification is no longer a luxury. Opening its notoriously insulated stock exchange to foreign investors and investing in solar power, poultry, dairy, petrochemicals and innovative technology — these are the threads stitching together the kingdom’s safety net. Here are the companies leading the way forward:
The Pitch: Global petrochemical leader
Size: $103.4 billion market value
CEO: Mohamed Al-Mady
Recent Moves: Recently crowned the Middle East’s big-biz king, SABIC is among the world’s largest petrochemical companies. Petrochemical usually means plastics and fertilizer, but SABIC is looking ahead with a host of new polycarbonate technologies, like solar panels, a film for touch screens and the first polycarbonate automobile wheel. Though it’s rolling back European operations, it’s venturing eagerly into the U.S., attracted by the shale oil boom. And with Saudi Arabia about to crack open its stock market to foreign investors, non-oil multinationals are poised for global prominence. Expect SABIC to receive the most lavish treatment from foreigners.
The Pitch: Leading the kingdom’s startup revolution
Size: Acquired for $16 million by SAS Holdings
Founder: Khalid Alkhudair
Recent Moves: To kick their country’s oil addiction, Saudi leaders have launched hundred-million-dollar venture funds and incubators nationwide. The goal? A knowledge-based economy by 2025. The pre-eminent career portal for Saudi women is a poster child for the kingdom’s startup offensive, not to mention female workplace empowerment. Glowork’s market is potentially tremendous: A third of women are unemployed, and because most of them are college educated, they represent a real opportunity cost. And a government cost, too, because the jobless receive $800 a month from the government — a total of $1.6 billion down the drain, according to Alkhudair.
An oil exploration rig operated by the Saudi Arabian drilling company Saudi Aramco near Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia.
SOURCEBarry Iverson/Alamy
Saudi Aramco
The Pitch: Jolly green oil giant
Recent Moves: The Saudi government is planning an ambitious solar renaissance — the kingdom wants its energy mix to include 23 percent solar by 2030 and 39 percent by 2050. With lots of sunshine, low-cost funding and abundant space, Saudi Arabia has already developed one of the world’s cheapest solar models. Saudi Arabia might be the site of a perfect solar storm.CEO: Khalid A. Al-FalihSize: 9.5 million barrels of crude oil production daily; 54,000 employees
Saudi Aramco is poised to helm it. The state-owned behemoth and undisputed world petroleum champion was once valued at $7 trillion, almost half of the U.S. GDP ($16.8 trillion in 2013). The coming oil crunch has it staking a claim in solar and other alternative energies.
Although progress toward solar salvation has been slow, Aramco is still investing heavily in other potentially revolutionary alternative energy solutions. This month, it spearheaded a $30 million investment in San Francisco-based Siluria Technologies, which plans to produce low-cost gasoline from natural gas — for $1 per gallon.
Almarai
The Pitch: Moving Saudi Arabia from fuel to food
Size: $10.4 billion market cap; 16,000 employees
Founder: Prince Sultan bin Mohammed bin Saud Al Kabeer
Recent Moves: The region’s largest food company is in the right place at the right time. Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest importer of broiler meat, mostly chicken, to the tune of 875,000 metric tons in 2013. Domestic competitors like Almarai are ripe for growth. Already, poultry production is on the rise in the kingdom and is expected to swell 52 percent by 2018.
Almarai is showing other signs of international ambition. In partnership with PepsiCo, it launched a $345 million investment in Egypt this June, and its CEO has stated he plans to boost that figure to $560 million in five years. The funds will go toward a new juice factory, a 5,000-cow dairy farm and expanding existing facilities for Egyptian beverage firm Beyti. Drink and eat up!
Read more: OZY - Smarter, Fresher, Different
How Saudi Arabia Will Kick Its Oil Habit Read more:
Saudi Arabia, the Middle East’s biggest economy and the world’s largest oil producer, is running out of its black gold. Some estimate that the wells will run dry as early as 2030. That’s a huge deal. Oil revenue reached $312 billion this year and accounts for almost half the economy and 90 percent of export revenue. It also makes the kingdom the Persian Gulf’s economic powerhouse.
That’s why diversification is no longer a luxury. Opening its notoriously insulated stock exchange to foreign investors and investing in solar power, poultry, dairy, petrochemicals and innovative technology — these are the threads stitching together the kingdom’s safety net. Here are the companies leading the way forward:
The Pitch: Global petrochemical leader
Size: $103.4 billion market value
CEO: Mohamed Al-Mady
Recent Moves: Recently crowned the Middle East’s big-biz king, SABIC is among the world’s largest petrochemical companies. Petrochemical usually means plastics and fertilizer, but SABIC is looking ahead with a host of new polycarbonate technologies, like solar panels, a film for touch screens and the first polycarbonate automobile wheel. Though it’s rolling back European operations, it’s venturing eagerly into the U.S., attracted by the shale oil boom. And with Saudi Arabia about to crack open its stock market to foreign investors, non-oil multinationals are poised for global prominence. Expect SABIC to receive the most lavish treatment from foreigners.
The Pitch: Leading the kingdom’s startup revolution
Size: Acquired for $16 million by SAS Holdings
Founder: Khalid Alkhudair
Recent Moves: To kick their country’s oil addiction, Saudi leaders have launched hundred-million-dollar venture funds and incubators nationwide. The goal? A knowledge-based economy by 2025. The pre-eminent career portal for Saudi women is a poster child for the kingdom’s startup offensive, not to mention female workplace empowerment. Glowork’s market is potentially tremendous: A third of women are unemployed, and because most of them are college educated, they represent a real opportunity cost. And a government cost, too, because the jobless receive $800 a month from the government — a total of $1.6 billion down the drain, according to Alkhudair.
An oil exploration rig operated by the Saudi Arabian drilling company Saudi Aramco near Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia.
SOURCEBarry Iverson/Alamy
Saudi Aramco
The Pitch: Jolly green oil giant
Recent Moves: The Saudi government is planning an ambitious solar renaissance — the kingdom wants its energy mix to include 23 percent solar by 2030 and 39 percent by 2050. With lots of sunshine, low-cost funding and abundant space, Saudi Arabia has already developed one of the world’s cheapest solar models. Saudi Arabia might be the site of a perfect solar storm.CEO: Khalid A. Al-FalihSize: 9.5 million barrels of crude oil production daily; 54,000 employees
Saudi Aramco is poised to helm it. The state-owned behemoth and undisputed world petroleum champion was once valued at $7 trillion, almost half of the U.S. GDP ($16.8 trillion in 2013). The coming oil crunch has it staking a claim in solar and other alternative energies.
Although progress toward solar salvation has been slow, Aramco is still investing heavily in other potentially revolutionary alternative energy solutions. This month, it spearheaded a $30 million investment in San Francisco-based Siluria Technologies, which plans to produce low-cost gasoline from natural gas — for $1 per gallon.
Almarai
The Pitch: Moving Saudi Arabia from fuel to food
Size: $10.4 billion market cap; 16,000 employees
Founder: Prince Sultan bin Mohammed bin Saud Al Kabeer
Recent Moves: The region’s largest food company is in the right place at the right time. Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest importer of broiler meat, mostly chicken, to the tune of 875,000 metric tons in 2013. Domestic competitors like Almarai are ripe for growth. Already, poultry production is on the rise in the kingdom and is expected to swell 52 percent by 2018.
Almarai is showing other signs of international ambition. In partnership with PepsiCo, it launched a $345 million investment in Egypt this June, and its CEO has stated he plans to boost that figure to $560 million in five years. The funds will go toward a new juice factory, a 5,000-cow dairy farm and expanding existing facilities for Egyptian beverage firm Beyti. Drink and eat up!
Read more: OZY - Smarter, Fresher, Different
Where's the Next Arab Spring?
Where's the Next Arab Spring?
It was a time of hope, excitement, change. There were peaceful gatherings and widespread protests, social media came to the forefront as a resistance technique, and leaders toppled in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Yemen. For a time, it seemed as if revolution might be sweeping the entire Middle East, with unknown consequences. So whatever happened to the so-called Arab Spring? The biggest beneficiary may surprise you. And looking ahead, what other Arab countries are ripe for revolution? As with all things Middle Eastern, it’s complicated.
When the Arab revolutions were in their early stages – primarily in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya – hope ran high that a wave of democratic reform would wash across the region. Events kicked off with the Tunisian revolt in late 2010 and crested in Egypt’s Tahrir Square with the overthrow of the Mubarak dictatorship in early 2011. These revolutions were unique in modern Arab history for two reasons: first, they were internally and spontaneously generated and second, they were about universal values and aspirations – a desire for freedom, democratic representation, educational opportunity and decent jobs.
At the time, many people opined that this was very bad news for Al Qaeda and other extremists because the change had come about without the resort to violence that they had long urged.
But as Henry Kissinger presciently remarked in 2011, this was “only Act One of Scene One of a Five Act drama.” I’m not sure what act or scene we are now witnessing, but it is a far cry from the 2010 curtain raiser. The key event since then has been the collapse of the Egyptian revolution – or one might say its reversal, given that the democratically elected government of Islamist Mohammed Morsi was overthrown in a military coup in July, Morsi is now in jail and Mubarak out, and the country appears headed for a new government headed by the Armed Forces chief General Abdel Fatah al-Sissi.
Al Qaeda is now in “I told you so” mode – pushing its narrative that Islamic parties are wasting their time trying to gain power peacefully and democratically.
This turn of events is a gift to Al Qaeda, which is now in “I told you so” mode – pushing its narrative that Islamic parties are wasting their time trying to gain power peacefully and democratically. There will doubtless be other twists and turns in this drama, but for now, the heady early days of the Arab Spring are unlikely to be recaptured. To be sure, the government that replaced Ben Ali in Tunisia survives but is dealing with deep disenchantment and fighting an extremist insurgency in parts of the country. Libya is now ruled by a weak central government that controls little territory and competes for influence with dozens of armed militias. And Syria of course is mired in sectarian war.
So what does all of this mean for Arab countries that managed to avoid revolutionary turmoil – specifically Morocco, Algeria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia? Given that most Middle East certainties have been blown away in the last two years, predictions are perilous, but let’s take a stab at it.
First, all of these governments have been sobered by what they’ve seen elsewhere and they have taken steps to head off or blunt similar demands. Second, many of the discontented groups in these societies are probably off balance and divided over strategy in light of what’s happened in Egypt.
1. Morocco
Morocco is the country least likely to experience an upheaval like those we’ve seen. King Muhammed VI has been introducing reforms gradually for a decade, including substantial new rights for women, and in 2011 unveiled a new constitution featuring a democratic parliament and separation of powers – essentially a constitutional monarchy. There are still some protest groups, but they seem unable to gain traction against the backdrop the King has created.
So what does all of this mean for Arab countries that managed to avoid revolutionary turmoil – specifically Morocco, Algeria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia? Given that most Middle East certainties have been blown away in the last two years, predictions are perilous, but let’s take a stab at it.
First, all of these governments have been sobered by what they’ve seen elsewhere and they have taken steps to head off or blunt similar demands. Second, many of the discontented groups in these societies are probably off balance and divided over strategy in light of what’s happened in Egypt.
So what does all of this mean for Arab countries that managed to avoid revolutionary turmoil – specifically Morocco, Algeria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia? Given that most Middle East certainties have been blown away in the last two years, predictions are perilous, but let’s take a stab at it.
First, all of these governments have been sobered by what they’ve seen elsewhere and they have taken steps to head off or blunt similar demands. Second, many of the discontented groups in these societies are probably off balance and divided over strategy in light of what’s happened in Egypt.
2. Algeria
Algeria is tougher to assess. Arguably the most authoritarian of Arab countries, and the largest geographically, it has many of the conditions that sparked revolution elsewhere, including high unemployment in a population that is 70 percent under the age of 30. It is also led by rulers who are aged, and in the case of President Boutefika, ill. This said, it has an internal security service that has a proven record of detecting and stamping out dissent. Algeria benefits from sizeable oil and natural gas revenues, and since 2011 the government has spent large sums on improved public services and price supports in an effort to counter dissatisfaction. The bottom line is that Algeria bears close watching because of this finely balanced mix of factors.
What is clear is that most of our earlier assumptions about the Middle East have been turned on their head.
3. Jordan
Jordan is led by a progressive monarch, King Abdullah, who has largely been a modernizing force for his country. He remains broadly popular, and enjoys substantial support from the United States. But his government is under more direct pressure and has fewer resources than most other countries in the region. There is frustration with the slow pace of political reform and with the austerity essential in hard times for Jordan’s resource-poor economy. Added to this are enormous pressures coming from Jordan’s demographics and geography – spillover of both refugees and fighters from the Syrian conflict next door and a teeming Palestinian population disgruntled by its marginal influence in Jordanian politics and lack of progress in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. There is no doubt the King and his government are walking a perilous tightrope but if I had to bet, I’d say that with ingenuity, a little luck, and continued support from the United States he can navigate through this period.
4. Saudi Arabia
On the surface, oil-rich Saudi Arabia would seem to be a good candidate for revolution given its highly conservative policies, restrictions on women’s rights, aging royal family and the same sort of “youth bulge” demographics that contributed to rising and frustrated expectations elsewhere in the Arab world. But the 89 year-old King Abdullah has been sensitive to these pressures, appointing a number of competent younger princes to government posts and spreading around literally billions of dollars in projects designed to ease tribal pressures, soothe public concerns and discourage a coalescence of discontent. It’s impossible to rule out a surprise, but the royal family has been defying predictions of its demise for years, and chances are they will do so yet again.
Keeping in mind Kissinger’s caution, it is probably too soon to say the Arab Spring has run its course. But what is clear is that most of our earlier assumptions about the Middle East have been turned on their head. And this virtually guarantees there will be more surprises ahead.
Where's the Next Arab Spring?
Where's the Next Arab Spring?
It was a time of hope, excitement, change. There were peaceful gatherings and widespread protests, social media came to the forefront as a resistance technique, and leaders toppled in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Yemen. For a time, it seemed as if revolution might be sweeping the entire Middle East, with unknown consequences. So whatever happened to the so-called Arab Spring? The biggest beneficiary may surprise you. And looking ahead, what other Arab countries are ripe for revolution? As with all things Middle Eastern, it’s complicated.
When the Arab revolutions were in their early stages – primarily in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya – hope ran high that a wave of democratic reform would wash across the region. Events kicked off with the Tunisian revolt in late 2010 and crested in Egypt’s Tahrir Square with the overthrow of the Mubarak dictatorship in early 2011. These revolutions were unique in modern Arab history for two reasons: first, they were internally and spontaneously generated and second, they were about universal values and aspirations – a desire for freedom, democratic representation, educational opportunity and decent jobs.
At the time, many people opined that this was very bad news for Al Qaeda and other extremists because the change had come about without the resort to violence that they had long urged.
But as Henry Kissinger presciently remarked in 2011, this was “only Act One of Scene One of a Five Act drama.” I’m not sure what act or scene we are now witnessing, but it is a far cry from the 2010 curtain raiser. The key event since then has been the collapse of the Egyptian revolution – or one might say its reversal, given that the democratically elected government of Islamist Mohammed Morsi was overthrown in a military coup in July, Morsi is now in jail and Mubarak out, and the country appears headed for a new government headed by the Armed Forces chief General Abdel Fatah al-Sissi.
Al Qaeda is now in “I told you so” mode – pushing its narrative that Islamic parties are wasting their time trying to gain power peacefully and democratically.
This turn of events is a gift to Al Qaeda, which is now in “I told you so” mode – pushing its narrative that Islamic parties are wasting their time trying to gain power peacefully and democratically. There will doubtless be other twists and turns in this drama, but for now, the heady early days of the Arab Spring are unlikely to be recaptured. To be sure, the government that replaced Ben Ali in Tunisia survives but is dealing with deep disenchantment and fighting an extremist insurgency in parts of the country. Libya is now ruled by a weak central government that controls little territory and competes for influence with dozens of armed militias. And Syria of course is mired in sectarian war.
So what does all of this mean for Arab countries that managed to avoid revolutionary turmoil – specifically Morocco, Algeria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia? Given that most Middle East certainties have been blown away in the last two years, predictions are perilous, but let’s take a stab at it.
First, all of these governments have been sobered by what they’ve seen elsewhere and they have taken steps to head off or blunt similar demands. Second, many of the discontented groups in these societies are probably off balance and divided over strategy in light of what’s happened in Egypt.
1. Morocco
Morocco is the country least likely to experience an upheaval like those we’ve seen. King Muhammed VI has been introducing reforms gradually for a decade, including substantial new rights for women, and in 2011 unveiled a new constitution featuring a democratic parliament and separation of powers – essentially a constitutional monarchy. There are still some protest groups, but they seem unable to gain traction against the backdrop the King has created.
So what does all of this mean for Arab countries that managed to avoid revolutionary turmoil – specifically Morocco, Algeria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia? Given that most Middle East certainties have been blown away in the last two years, predictions are perilous, but let’s take a stab at it.
First, all of these governments have been sobered by what they’ve seen elsewhere and they have taken steps to head off or blunt similar demands. Second, many of the discontented groups in these societies are probably off balance and divided over strategy in light of what’s happened in Egypt.
So what does all of this mean for Arab countries that managed to avoid revolutionary turmoil – specifically Morocco, Algeria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia? Given that most Middle East certainties have been blown away in the last two years, predictions are perilous, but let’s take a stab at it.
First, all of these governments have been sobered by what they’ve seen elsewhere and they have taken steps to head off or blunt similar demands. Second, many of the discontented groups in these societies are probably off balance and divided over strategy in light of what’s happened in Egypt.
2. Algeria
Algeria is tougher to assess. Arguably the most authoritarian of Arab countries, and the largest geographically, it has many of the conditions that sparked revolution elsewhere, including high unemployment in a population that is 70 percent under the age of 30. It is also led by rulers who are aged, and in the case of President Boutefika, ill. This said, it has an internal security service that has a proven record of detecting and stamping out dissent. Algeria benefits from sizeable oil and natural gas revenues, and since 2011 the government has spent large sums on improved public services and price supports in an effort to counter dissatisfaction. The bottom line is that Algeria bears close watching because of this finely balanced mix of factors.
What is clear is that most of our earlier assumptions about the Middle East have been turned on their head.
3. Jordan
Jordan is led by a progressive monarch, King Abdullah, who has largely been a modernizing force for his country. He remains broadly popular, and enjoys substantial support from the United States. But his government is under more direct pressure and has fewer resources than most other countries in the region. There is frustration with the slow pace of political reform and with the austerity essential in hard times for Jordan’s resource-poor economy. Added to this are enormous pressures coming from Jordan’s demographics and geography – spillover of both refugees and fighters from the Syrian conflict next door and a teeming Palestinian population disgruntled by its marginal influence in Jordanian politics and lack of progress in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. There is no doubt the King and his government are walking a perilous tightrope but if I had to bet, I’d say that with ingenuity, a little luck, and continued support from the United States he can navigate through this period.
4. Saudi Arabia
On the surface, oil-rich Saudi Arabia would seem to be a good candidate for revolution given its highly conservative policies, restrictions on women’s rights, aging royal family and the same sort of “youth bulge” demographics that contributed to rising and frustrated expectations elsewhere in the Arab world. But the 89 year-old King Abdullah has been sensitive to these pressures, appointing a number of competent younger princes to government posts and spreading around literally billions of dollars in projects designed to ease tribal pressures, soothe public concerns and discourage a coalescence of discontent. It’s impossible to rule out a surprise, but the royal family has been defying predictions of its demise for years, and chances are they will do so yet again.
Keeping in mind Kissinger’s caution, it is probably too soon to say the Arab Spring has run its course. But what is clear is that most of our earlier assumptions about the Middle East have been turned on their head. And this virtually guarantees there will be more surprises ahead.
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Lee Kuan Yew - SINGAPORE
Lee Kuan Yew brought prosperity to Singapore with an authoritarian system designed to outlast him, but that legacy may be ill-suited for the 21st-century challenges facing the tropical city-state.
One of the last of a generation of Southeast Asian strongmen, Lee died Monday at age 91 after being hospitalized in early February, suffering from severe pneumonia. The famously blunt-speaking autocrat stepped down as prime minister in 1990, but for decades after remained a commanding presence in Singapore politics and the region. His son is the current prime minister.
His death is an inflection point for Singapore. After gaining self-rule from Britain in 1959, the island at the tip of the Malay Peninsula was transformed under Lee's iron leadership into a wealthy finance and manufacturing powerhouse.
To give his government a free hand to fashion a new society, Lee systematically crushed dissent, muzzled the press and imprisoned political opponents. A social compact of authoritarian government in exchange for a guarantee of prosperity has endured for two generations.
Now, it is increasingly under strain.
Singaporeans prize the pluses such as low crime, harmony between the Chinese majority and Malay Muslim minority and almost zero corruption in a region where graft is rampant. But an increasing number fret that the ruling party has pushed their country of 5.4 million in the wrong direction in the past two decades. Income inequality has soared and large-scale immigration has increased competition for jobs and depressed wages. Destitute elderly Singaporeans pushing carts along the city's immaculate streets, collecting cardboard and plastic that they sell to recyclers, are vivid evidence of the gaping holes in its social safety net.
"There's dissatisfaction, you can feel it, and people are stirring for change," said Lynn Su-lin, a 56-year-old business owner. She is of a generation that hails Lee's achievements as "amazing" and worries younger Singaporeans don't fully appreciate their inheritance. Without Lee, "we're a bit frightened of what will happen."
The ruling party suffered a stinging setback in 2011 elections. By the standards of Western democracies it was an overwhelming victory, but the People's Action Party's share of the vote fell and the tiny opposition picked up seats. In response, the government has doled out more social welfare in recent budgets and slowed immigration, but the changes may not yet be bold or fast enough to placate an increasingly vocal electorate.
"The idea that people only vote for the opposition when they are desperate is no longer true, if it ever was true," said Garry Rodan, a Southeast Asia expert at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia. "Some of the last budget measures may not have come without opposition gains in elections."
Singapore, said Yeoh Lam Keong, a former chief economist of Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC, is being buffeted economically and politically by "huge transformative forces."
Like other developed countries, it is facing the pains of globalization. New technology is displacing middle- and working-class jobs and competition from the vast labor forces of China and India is holding down wages. At the same time, a well-educated and Internet-connected generation of young Singaporeans with high expectations has reached voting age. In Asia, that generation's aspirations were underlined by last year's student-led pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong that shut down parts of the city for weeks.
"I respect Lee Kuan Yew for his contributions to building our nation yet disagree with some of the things he has done," said 22-year-old university student Tan Guan Hong. "I hope we take a step back. I hope that the future opens up opportunities to revisit the problems."
The Singapore government has strong fiscal resources and with a moderate increase in its ultra-low tax rates can afford to markedly boost social spending in a sustainable way, Yeoh said. But compromising with Singaporeans who want less top-down rule and a greater say in their own lives will be its more profound challenge.
"Democratization is the trickier part because Lee Kuan Yew's legacy is also benevolent authoritarianism," he said. "They are standing against the tide in the long run, 10 to 20 years. They really need to lead that rather than get dragged along by it. I'm not sure if they have the inclination to do that."
Under the current prime minister, Lee's son Lee Hsien Loong, the government has maintained control over the media, tried to stifle online criticism and kept Speakers' Corner, a small park, as the only location in Singapore where protests can be held.
In his heyday, Lee Kuan Yew reinforced his hold on power with dire and widely believed predictions that all of Singapore's progress could be undone and the country hurled back into the developing world if voters opted for the opposition.
In reality, and unlike the "From Third World to First" title of Lee's memoirs, Singapore never knew grim poverty. Before independence, it was by the standards of the region a prosperous commercial hub of the British Empire.
Yet after its split in 1965 from a short-lived and acrimonious federation with Malaysia, Singapore's future was highly uncertain. It lacked natural resources, having to import even water, and was surrounded by hostile neighbors. In control of all policy levers, Lee and his government obliterated independent trade unions, reconfigured the education system to produce workers that met the needs of foreign investors and pushed through other changes to make the island competitive. Whenever the economic model faded, a new plan would be announced and implemented in sweeping fashion.
Today, its GDP is among the highest in the world at $54,000 per head, according to the World Bank, and it consistently ranks at the top of surveys of competiveness, while Malaysia and other Southeast Asian nations lag far behind.
But even that remarkable success has produced its discontents.
"My big grouse about Singaporeans is that they're so obsessed about money and getting ahead that they've lost their humanity," said Su-lin, the businesswoman. "They admire success so much that there's no room for people who don't want to chase all those dreams."
And nowadays, predictions of economic demise from a greater opposition role in politics are not as easily believed.
"The worst-case scenario for Singapore economically is being the No. 10 city instead of the No. 1 city or No. 2 in Asia," said Cherian George, a Singaporean academic and commentator who now lives in Hong Kong. "But it would still be prosperous."
___
AP writer Jeanette Tan contributed to this report.
___
Follow Stephen Wright: https://twitter.com/stephenwrightAP
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Lee Kuan Yew - SINGAPORE
Lee Kuan Yew brought prosperity to Singapore with an authoritarian system designed to outlast him, but that legacy may be ill-suited for the 21st-century challenges facing the tropical city-state.
One of the last of a generation of Southeast Asian strongmen, Lee died Monday at age 91 after being hospitalized in early February, suffering from severe pneumonia. The famously blunt-speaking autocrat stepped down as prime minister in 1990, but for decades after remained a commanding presence in Singapore politics and the region. His son is the current prime minister.
His death is an inflection point for Singapore. After gaining self-rule from Britain in 1959, the island at the tip of the Malay Peninsula was transformed under Lee's iron leadership into a wealthy finance and manufacturing powerhouse.
To give his government a free hand to fashion a new society, Lee systematically crushed dissent, muzzled the press and imprisoned political opponents. A social compact of authoritarian government in exchange for a guarantee of prosperity has endured for two generations.
Now, it is increasingly under strain.
Singaporeans prize the pluses such as low crime, harmony between the Chinese majority and Malay Muslim minority and almost zero corruption in a region where graft is rampant. But an increasing number fret that the ruling party has pushed their country of 5.4 million in the wrong direction in the past two decades. Income inequality has soared and large-scale immigration has increased competition for jobs and depressed wages. Destitute elderly Singaporeans pushing carts along the city's immaculate streets, collecting cardboard and plastic that they sell to recyclers, are vivid evidence of the gaping holes in its social safety net.
"There's dissatisfaction, you can feel it, and people are stirring for change," said Lynn Su-lin, a 56-year-old business owner. She is of a generation that hails Lee's achievements as "amazing" and worries younger Singaporeans don't fully appreciate their inheritance. Without Lee, "we're a bit frightened of what will happen."
The ruling party suffered a stinging setback in 2011 elections. By the standards of Western democracies it was an overwhelming victory, but the People's Action Party's share of the vote fell and the tiny opposition picked up seats. In response, the government has doled out more social welfare in recent budgets and slowed immigration, but the changes may not yet be bold or fast enough to placate an increasingly vocal electorate.
"The idea that people only vote for the opposition when they are desperate is no longer true, if it ever was true," said Garry Rodan, a Southeast Asia expert at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia. "Some of the last budget measures may not have come without opposition gains in elections."
Singapore, said Yeoh Lam Keong, a former chief economist of Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC, is being buffeted economically and politically by "huge transformative forces."
Like other developed countries, it is facing the pains of globalization. New technology is displacing middle- and working-class jobs and competition from the vast labor forces of China and India is holding down wages. At the same time, a well-educated and Internet-connected generation of young Singaporeans with high expectations has reached voting age. In Asia, that generation's aspirations were underlined by last year's student-led pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong that shut down parts of the city for weeks.
"I respect Lee Kuan Yew for his contributions to building our nation yet disagree with some of the things he has done," said 22-year-old university student Tan Guan Hong. "I hope we take a step back. I hope that the future opens up opportunities to revisit the problems."
The Singapore government has strong fiscal resources and with a moderate increase in its ultra-low tax rates can afford to markedly boost social spending in a sustainable way, Yeoh said. But compromising with Singaporeans who want less top-down rule and a greater say in their own lives will be its more profound challenge.
"Democratization is the trickier part because Lee Kuan Yew's legacy is also benevolent authoritarianism," he said. "They are standing against the tide in the long run, 10 to 20 years. They really need to lead that rather than get dragged along by it. I'm not sure if they have the inclination to do that."
Under the current prime minister, Lee's son Lee Hsien Loong, the government has maintained control over the media, tried to stifle online criticism and kept Speakers' Corner, a small park, as the only location in Singapore where protests can be held.
In his heyday, Lee Kuan Yew reinforced his hold on power with dire and widely believed predictions that all of Singapore's progress could be undone and the country hurled back into the developing world if voters opted for the opposition.
In reality, and unlike the "From Third World to First" title of Lee's memoirs, Singapore never knew grim poverty. Before independence, it was by the standards of the region a prosperous commercial hub of the British Empire.
Yet after its split in 1965 from a short-lived and acrimonious federation with Malaysia, Singapore's future was highly uncertain. It lacked natural resources, having to import even water, and was surrounded by hostile neighbors. In control of all policy levers, Lee and his government obliterated independent trade unions, reconfigured the education system to produce workers that met the needs of foreign investors and pushed through other changes to make the island competitive. Whenever the economic model faded, a new plan would be announced and implemented in sweeping fashion.
Today, its GDP is among the highest in the world at $54,000 per head, according to the World Bank, and it consistently ranks at the top of surveys of competiveness, while Malaysia and other Southeast Asian nations lag far behind.
But even that remarkable success has produced its discontents.
"My big grouse about Singaporeans is that they're so obsessed about money and getting ahead that they've lost their humanity," said Su-lin, the businesswoman. "They admire success so much that there's no room for people who don't want to chase all those dreams."
And nowadays, predictions of economic demise from a greater opposition role in politics are not as easily believed.
"The worst-case scenario for Singapore economically is being the No. 10 city instead of the No. 1 city or No. 2 in Asia," said Cherian George, a Singaporean academic and commentator who now lives in Hong Kong. "But it would still be prosperous."
___
AP writer Jeanette Tan contributed to this report.
___
Follow Stephen Wright: https://twitter.com/stephenwrightAP
Some background on the reported weather conditions in southern France before the crash-witness tells of series of noises before crash
The Latest: witness tells of series of noises before crash
The Latest: Witness tells of series of long noises before passenger plane crashed in the Alps
The owner of a French Alpine camping ground says he heard a series of loud noises in the air before a Germanwings passenger plane carrying 150 people crashed to the ground.
Pierre Polizzi told The Associated Press the noise began at 11:30 a.m.
"There are often fighter jets flying over, so I thought it sounded just like that. I looked outside but I couldn't see any fighter planes."
"The noise I heard was long - like 8 seconds - as if the plane was going more slowly than a military plane speed. There was another long noise about 30 seconds later."
No survivors are expected in the crash of the plane that was traveling from Barcelona to Duesseldorf, Germany.
Polizzi said it would be difficult to get to the site of the crash. "The mountain is snowy and very hostile."
___
1:45 p.m . (1245 GMT, 8:45 EDT)
Spanish King Felipe has canceled his state visit to France following the crash of a plane in the southern French Alps.
The plane was flying from Barcelona to Duesseldorf in Germany, and Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria told reporters in Seville that there were 45 people aboard the plane with Spanish last names but that authorities have not confirmed how many of them were Spanish.
Felipe met with French President Francois Hollande on Tuesday morning before ending his visit.
Airline Germanwings says there were 150 people on board the Airbus 320. Hollande has said no survivors are expected to be found.
___
1:40 p.m. (1240 GMT, 8:40 a.m. EDT)
Airline Germanwings says there were 144 passengers and six crew aboard a plane that crashed in the French Alps.
Manager Oliver Wagner did not say whether there were any survivors and added it was not currently possible to give more information on how the crash occurred. "I promise that we will do everything to clear up the events thoroughly," he said. "We are endlessly sorry for what has happened."
Other officials have given slightly differing figures for the number on board.
The Airbus 320 crashed Tuesday morning during a flight from Barcelona to Duesseldorf, Germany. French President Francois Hollande has said no survivors are expected.
The Germanwings logo, normally maroon and yellow, was blacked out on its Twitter feed.
___
1:25 p.m. (1225 GMT, 8:25 a.m. EDT)
The Airbus 320 plane that went down in the French Alps is a workhorse of modern aviation. Similar to the Boeing 737, the single-aisle, twin-engine jet is used to connect cities that are between one and five hours apart. Worldwide, 3,606 A320s are in operation, according to Airbus, which also makes the smaller but near-identical A318 and A319 and the stretched A321. An additional 2,486 of those jets are flying.
The Germanwings A320 crashed Tuesday crashed in the south of the Alps while flying from Barcelona to Duesseldorf in Germany. No survivors are expected.
The A320 family has a good safety record, with just 0.14 fatal accidents per million takeoffs, according to a Boeing safety analysis.
___
1:10 p.m. (1210 GMT, 8:10 a.m. EDT)
The CEO of Lufthansa, the parent company of Germanwings, says he doesn't yet have any information about what happened to its flight from Barcelona to Duesseldorf that French officials say has crashed in the Alps.
"My deepest sympathy is with all the relatives and friends of our passengers and crew on 4U 9525," Carsten Spohr was cited in a tweet by Lufthansa as saying. "If our fears are confirmed, this is a dark day for Lufthansa. We hope to find survivors."
Antonio San Jose, spokesman for Spanish airport authority AENA, told the Onda Cero radio station that authorities do not yet know how many Spaniards were on the jet but that the authority's best information is that 147 people were aboard the plane.
"It would be a miracle if there were survivors but hopefully there will be. We do not know the causes, simply that it lost contact," San Jose said.
___
1 p.m. (1200 GMT, 8 a.m. EDT)
French President Francois Hollande has spoken briefly with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to express solidarity following the crash of a Germanwings plane in southern France.
The German ambassador is leaving imminently with Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve for the area of the crash.
The Airbus A320 crashed in the south of the Alps while flying from Barcelona to Duesseldorf in Germany. Holland says no survivors are expected.
Spanish King Felipe and his wife are in France on a previously scheduled visit and are currently meeting Hollande.
___
12:40 p.m. (1140 GMT, 7:40 a.m. EDT)
French Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet says debris from the crash of an Airbus A320 has been located and the plane crashed at 2,000 meters altitude in the Alps.
Brandet told BFM television that he expected "an extremely long and extremely difficult" search and rescue operation because of the area's remoteness.
The airplane sent out a distress signal at 10:45 a.m. Tuesday, Brandet said.
He said the passenger manifest is being verified.
___
12:30 p.m. (1130 GMT, 7:30 a.m. EDT)
French President Francois Hollande says no survivors are likely in the Alpine crash of a passenger jet carrying 148 people.
The Germanwings Airbus A320 crashed Tuesday in the French Alps region as it traveled from Barcelona to Duesseldorf, French officials said. Eric Ciotti, the head of the regional council, said search-and-rescue teams were headed to the crash site at Meolans-Revels.
In a live briefing Tuesday, Hollande said the area of the crash was remote and it was not clear whether anyone on the ground had been hurt. Hollande said it was probable that a number of the victims are German.
"It's a tragedy on our soil," he said, adding he would be speaking shortly with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The French newspaper La Provence, citing aviation officials, said the Airbus plane carried at least 142 passengers, two pilots and four flight attendants.
Investigators looking into the cause of the French Alps Airbus plane disaster may well be able to rule out bad weather.
Conditions in the region of the crash were "nothing out of the ordinary," officials say.
But the experienced French air crash investigation branch, the BEA (Bureau d'Enquetes et d'Analyses) will no doubt take everything into consideration in their inquiry.
Dr. Rob Thompson, a meteorologist at the University of Reading, said: "The weather conditions in the area of southern France where the crash is reported to have occurred look like nothing out of the ordinary for this time of year.
"At around 10 a.m. temperatures at the inland Le Luc - Le Cannet Airport, which is roughly between Marseille and Nice, was 15-16C (59-61F), with partial cloud cover. Wind speeds on the ground showed breezy conditions, although this does not indicate the conditions higher up in the atmosphere."
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Chris Parsonsedited by Dylan Stableford
UK Prime Minister PM: Today's plane crash in the Alps is heartbreaking news. The UK will do everything it can to support the French emergency services.French prime minister Manuel Valls said a helicopter had managed to land near the crash site. Gilbert Sauvan, an official with the local council, told Les Echos newspaper: "The plane is disintegrated. The largest debris is the size of a car."
A spokeswoman for the northwestern German town of Haltern am See said on Tuesday that there was reason to believe that 16 school children and two teachers from the town were on the Germanwings airplane that crashed. "There is a strong suspicion" that the students and teachers were on the doomed airplane, said the spokeswoman from the town in North Rhine-Westphalia state. "We don't have any official confirmation yet." It has been reported that the children were from the Joseph König Gymnasium School and had visited Spain on an exchange program.
Full csv file with positions and altitude of flight #4U9525flightradar24.com/GWI18G_2015032…
Some background on the reported weather conditions in southern France before the crash-witness tells of series of noises before crash
The Latest: witness tells of series of noises before crash
The Latest: Witness tells of series of long noises before passenger plane crashed in the Alps
The owner of a French Alpine camping ground says he heard a series of loud noises in the air before a Germanwings passenger plane carrying 150 people crashed to the ground.
Pierre Polizzi told The Associated Press the noise began at 11:30 a.m.
"There are often fighter jets flying over, so I thought it sounded just like that. I looked outside but I couldn't see any fighter planes."
"The noise I heard was long - like 8 seconds - as if the plane was going more slowly than a military plane speed. There was another long noise about 30 seconds later."
No survivors are expected in the crash of the plane that was traveling from Barcelona to Duesseldorf, Germany.
Polizzi said it would be difficult to get to the site of the crash. "The mountain is snowy and very hostile."
___
1:45 p.m . (1245 GMT, 8:45 EDT)
Spanish King Felipe has canceled his state visit to France following the crash of a plane in the southern French Alps.
The plane was flying from Barcelona to Duesseldorf in Germany, and Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria told reporters in Seville that there were 45 people aboard the plane with Spanish last names but that authorities have not confirmed how many of them were Spanish.
Felipe met with French President Francois Hollande on Tuesday morning before ending his visit.
Airline Germanwings says there were 150 people on board the Airbus 320. Hollande has said no survivors are expected to be found.
___
1:40 p.m. (1240 GMT, 8:40 a.m. EDT)
Airline Germanwings says there were 144 passengers and six crew aboard a plane that crashed in the French Alps.
Manager Oliver Wagner did not say whether there were any survivors and added it was not currently possible to give more information on how the crash occurred. "I promise that we will do everything to clear up the events thoroughly," he said. "We are endlessly sorry for what has happened."
Other officials have given slightly differing figures for the number on board.
The Airbus 320 crashed Tuesday morning during a flight from Barcelona to Duesseldorf, Germany. French President Francois Hollande has said no survivors are expected.
The Germanwings logo, normally maroon and yellow, was blacked out on its Twitter feed.
___
1:25 p.m. (1225 GMT, 8:25 a.m. EDT)
The Airbus 320 plane that went down in the French Alps is a workhorse of modern aviation. Similar to the Boeing 737, the single-aisle, twin-engine jet is used to connect cities that are between one and five hours apart. Worldwide, 3,606 A320s are in operation, according to Airbus, which also makes the smaller but near-identical A318 and A319 and the stretched A321. An additional 2,486 of those jets are flying.
The Germanwings A320 crashed Tuesday crashed in the south of the Alps while flying from Barcelona to Duesseldorf in Germany. No survivors are expected.
The A320 family has a good safety record, with just 0.14 fatal accidents per million takeoffs, according to a Boeing safety analysis.
___
1:10 p.m. (1210 GMT, 8:10 a.m. EDT)
The CEO of Lufthansa, the parent company of Germanwings, says he doesn't yet have any information about what happened to its flight from Barcelona to Duesseldorf that French officials say has crashed in the Alps.
"My deepest sympathy is with all the relatives and friends of our passengers and crew on 4U 9525," Carsten Spohr was cited in a tweet by Lufthansa as saying. "If our fears are confirmed, this is a dark day for Lufthansa. We hope to find survivors."
Antonio San Jose, spokesman for Spanish airport authority AENA, told the Onda Cero radio station that authorities do not yet know how many Spaniards were on the jet but that the authority's best information is that 147 people were aboard the plane.
"It would be a miracle if there were survivors but hopefully there will be. We do not know the causes, simply that it lost contact," San Jose said.
___
1 p.m. (1200 GMT, 8 a.m. EDT)
French President Francois Hollande has spoken briefly with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to express solidarity following the crash of a Germanwings plane in southern France.
The German ambassador is leaving imminently with Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve for the area of the crash.
The Airbus A320 crashed in the south of the Alps while flying from Barcelona to Duesseldorf in Germany. Holland says no survivors are expected.
Spanish King Felipe and his wife are in France on a previously scheduled visit and are currently meeting Hollande.
___
12:40 p.m. (1140 GMT, 7:40 a.m. EDT)
French Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet says debris from the crash of an Airbus A320 has been located and the plane crashed at 2,000 meters altitude in the Alps.
Brandet told BFM television that he expected "an extremely long and extremely difficult" search and rescue operation because of the area's remoteness.
The airplane sent out a distress signal at 10:45 a.m. Tuesday, Brandet said.
He said the passenger manifest is being verified.
___
12:30 p.m. (1130 GMT, 7:30 a.m. EDT)
French President Francois Hollande says no survivors are likely in the Alpine crash of a passenger jet carrying 148 people.
The Germanwings Airbus A320 crashed Tuesday in the French Alps region as it traveled from Barcelona to Duesseldorf, French officials said. Eric Ciotti, the head of the regional council, said search-and-rescue teams were headed to the crash site at Meolans-Revels.
In a live briefing Tuesday, Hollande said the area of the crash was remote and it was not clear whether anyone on the ground had been hurt. Hollande said it was probable that a number of the victims are German.
"It's a tragedy on our soil," he said, adding he would be speaking shortly with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The French newspaper La Provence, citing aviation officials, said the Airbus plane carried at least 142 passengers, two pilots and four flight attendants.
Investigators looking into the cause of the French Alps Airbus plane disaster may well be able to rule out bad weather.
Conditions in the region of the crash were "nothing out of the ordinary," officials say.
But the experienced French air crash investigation branch, the BEA (Bureau d'Enquetes et d'Analyses) will no doubt take everything into consideration in their inquiry.
Dr. Rob Thompson, a meteorologist at the University of Reading, said: "The weather conditions in the area of southern France where the crash is reported to have occurred look like nothing out of the ordinary for this time of year.
"At around 10 a.m. temperatures at the inland Le Luc - Le Cannet Airport, which is roughly between Marseille and Nice, was 15-16C (59-61F), with partial cloud cover. Wind speeds on the ground showed breezy conditions, although this does not indicate the conditions higher up in the atmosphere."
Share
Discussions
Likes7
Chris Parsonsedited by Dylan Stableford
UK Prime Minister PM: Today's plane crash in the Alps is heartbreaking news. The UK will do everything it can to support the French emergency services.French prime minister Manuel Valls said a helicopter had managed to land near the crash site. Gilbert Sauvan, an official with the local council, told Les Echos newspaper: "The plane is disintegrated. The largest debris is the size of a car."
A spokeswoman for the northwestern German town of Haltern am See said on Tuesday that there was reason to believe that 16 school children and two teachers from the town were on the Germanwings airplane that crashed. "There is a strong suspicion" that the students and teachers were on the doomed airplane, said the spokeswoman from the town in North Rhine-Westphalia state. "We don't have any official confirmation yet." It has been reported that the children were from the Joseph König Gymnasium School and had visited Spain on an exchange program.
Full csv file with positions and altitude of flight #4U9525flightradar24.com/GWI18G_2015032…
Airbus A320 Crash In French Alps-As many as 150 people are feared dead after an Airbus A320 passenger plane crashed …
Too tragic for words...In this case, 8 minutes of sheer terror for all on board. I can't imagine such terror. Crashing on a 6,000'+ mountaintop makes it even worse. It is so true, we humans are not in control of our very lives as we like to think. Anything can happen at any time. So sad...If each person has minimally 1 or 2 loved ones? The "toll" is really over 300-400 lives changed forever...If not more.
GERMANWINGS AIRBUS A320 CRASHES IN SOUTHERN FRENCH ALPS
144 PASSENGERS AND SIX CREW ON BOARD —ALL FEARED DEAD
PASSENGER JET HAD BEEN TRAVELING FROM BARCELONA TO DUSSELDORF
GERMANWINGS CEO: PLANE DESCENDED 31,000FT IN 8 MINUTES BEFORE CRASHING
DEBRIS HAS BEEN LOCATED ON THE ALPS AT AN ALTITUDE OF ABOUT 6,500 FT
FLIGHT 4U9525 ISSUED EMERGENCY "7700" SQUAWK TO AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL BEFORE DESCENDING
16 GERMAN SCHOOLCHILDREN BELIEVED TO BE ON BOARD
MAJORITY OF A320 PASSENGERS WERE SPANISH OR GERMAN
WEATHER WAS CALM AT TIME OF CRASH AND THERE DIDN'T APPEAR TO HAVE BEEN TURBULENCE
CAPTAIN HAD FLIGHT EXPERIENCE OF MORE THAN 10 YEARS AND MORE THAN 6,000 FLIGHT HOURS
Airbus A320 Crash In French Alps-As many as 150 people are feared dead after an Airbus A320 passenger plane crashed …
Too tragic for words...In this case, 8 minutes of sheer terror for all on board. I can't imagine such terror. Crashing on a 6,000'+ mountaintop makes it even worse. It is so true, we humans are not in control of our very lives as we like to think. Anything can happen at any time. So sad...If each person has minimally 1 or 2 loved ones? The "toll" is really over 300-400 lives changed forever...If not more.
GERMANWINGS AIRBUS A320 CRASHES IN SOUTHERN FRENCH ALPS
144 PASSENGERS AND SIX CREW ON BOARD —ALL FEARED DEAD
PASSENGER JET HAD BEEN TRAVELING FROM BARCELONA TO DUSSELDORF
GERMANWINGS CEO: PLANE DESCENDED 31,000FT IN 8 MINUTES BEFORE CRASHING
DEBRIS HAS BEEN LOCATED ON THE ALPS AT AN ALTITUDE OF ABOUT 6,500 FT
FLIGHT 4U9525 ISSUED EMERGENCY "7700" SQUAWK TO AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL BEFORE DESCENDING
16 GERMAN SCHOOLCHILDREN BELIEVED TO BE ON BOARD
MAJORITY OF A320 PASSENGERS WERE SPANISH OR GERMAN
WEATHER WAS CALM AT TIME OF CRASH AND THERE DIDN'T APPEAR TO HAVE BEEN TURBULENCE
CAPTAIN HAD FLIGHT EXPERIENCE OF MORE THAN 10 YEARS AND MORE THAN 6,000 FLIGHT HOURS
Monday, March 23, 2015
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