Pictures of Clementi Flood on 4th Nov 2013

Heavy downpour at late afternoon yesterday resulted in floods in my area. Seeing other parts of the tiny island flooded pales in comparison to flood pictures of your neighboorhood showing up on the internet. The last time flood pictures of my neighbourhood appeared was almost 2 years ago - Flooding in Clementi After Heavy Rain (blogpost).

The most recent flooding near Clementi was back in Sept when the Youth Olympics Overbudget Minister posted a pic of his jogging track flooded due to heavy rain. His pic is less than 500m away from:

junction of Clementi road & Ulu Pandan road flooded yesterday. The traffic light crossing on the lower right is where i always use to cycle across to reach Ghim Moh track park connector on my way to Queenstown library, Tanglin Halt etc.

The Public Utilities Board is doing dredging of the Sungei Ulu Pandan canal. However the drainage at Albert Winsemius Lane, off Sunset Way just literally a stone throw away from the canal couldn't cope. I will post the dredging pictures taken before yesterday's flood in a later blogpost.

Flooding at the cross junction beside Clementi Mall. I wonder if the floodwaters flow into the mall's McDonalds fast food restaurant at the ground level which is the mall's closest premises to the water. How do i know is beside Clementi Mall?

• Bus service no. 183
• Elevated train tracks wide apart leading into the train station platforms.

I always ride across this cross junction (right to left of pic) for badminton sessions at the sports hall or at Clementi Town school.

A field in S'pore Polytechnic flooded. It seems like Clementi was chosen yesterday by Mother Nature as the star attraction for rain clouds to unleash the torrent of water.

I grew up in Clementi - the weather is changing.

Carbon Taxes Will Be A Boost In Making the World Smaller

Environment is a limiting factor for economic growth dependent on fossil fuels. This type of economic growth is unsustainable as the planet warms up due to increasing greenhouse gases.

I've blogged earlier that S'pore Airlines will be ending its long haul commercial flight to New York via Newark airport due to high fuel prices later this month. As if high fuel prices are not enough, we will be seeing carbon taxes on air travel which will make air travel even more expensive.

Europe collecting $$ while helping to save the planet. More environmentally conscious than profit minded. Together as a bloc, it is an effective measure as Europe is an attractive destination for tourists. Many europeans are already using high speed rail to travel around as europe's rail network is significantly denser & better than america's car & aeroplane culture. Hence europeans have a good rail transportation as backup. It is non-europeans flying in who will bear the brunt of the airline carbon tax.

Even if we don't travel to Europe, food & merchandise flown out of Europe & onto our dinner plates & shelves/cabinets will be carbon taxed which we will be paying.

With europe spearheading the way, soon other countries may also start collecting carbon taxes on their airspace. Too bad for tiny SG with its tiny airspace. I seriously doubt the hybrid regime would impose higher airline carbon taxes to compensate for the tiny airspace as it would hurt tourism.

High Petrol Price in Europe & Japan = Good Public Transport

Americans will suffer for vacation in their country if their government impose an airline carbon tax since they got a lousy rail network compared to Japan, South Korea & China. Why does USA have a lousy rail & public transportation network? Because petrol prices are low, hence america is car-centric. The europeans have good rail & public transportation infrastructure because it costs more to drive.

Less $$$ to Travel Far Means A Smaller World
As high oil prices lead to higher food prices, there'll be less $$$ to travel. Fewer trips will be made & most people would travel to nearer places instead of faraway. In short, there'll be less ticket sales. S'pore Tourism Board chief said in an interview of doubling tourism's contribution to GDP from 4% in 2011 to 8% in the future. I'm afraid the doubling is going to be problematic.

Economist Jeff Rubin said that soaring operating costs & declining ticket sales will force many airlines into bankruptcy.

According to him, in order to offset mounting fuel costs:

• Flights of half empty planes traveling to more remote secondary locations will be canceled.
• Connecting to a regional hub will become much more difficult if you don't live in a major city.
• Cost conscious airlines refocus on fewer but more profitable routes with much greater load factors.
• Safety may be compromised as planes carry less emergency fuel. Lighter weight = less fuel consumption = costs savings. If passengers afraid to fly because of safety concerns---> less ticket sales = airline may go bankrupt

Impact on Sinkies & SG
Sinkies are especially hit hard with high fuel costs & airline carbon tax. Citizens in big countries have a big backyard for tourism whereas sinkies must take a flight out of this tiny island unless is via slow train up peninsular Malaysia.

However there is a bright side. With less $$ to spare with higher food prices resulting from higher oil prices, there'll be less visitors both local & foreign to the 2 casinos. If it is bad enough resulting in a few quarters of losses, the 2 casinos can shut down. Say goodbye to the hosts of gambling problems affecting society, crime & the growing infestation of pawnshops.

Soaring fuel prices --> World is becoming smaller.

Carbon taxes --> A boost in making the world smaller.

Why Different Wages for Same Job in Rich & Poor Countries

According to economist Chang Ha Joon, 80%-90% of the workers in rich countries can be & would be replaced by workers from poor countries if there is free migration. Increasing number of peasants in this tiny island have realized this brutal truth although some of the cheaper foreign workers able to slog long hours are less productive than the locals.

The citizens of the United Kingdom suffer as well though Sillypore is much worse due to overly liberal immigration policies. What UK, SG have shown is that the living standards of the citizenry in rich countries depend on the draconian control over their labor markets - immigration control. Hence foreigners working easily in SG is guaranteed ticket to poorhouse for masses of natives (blogpost).

Taking the example of bus drivers, there is no reason why bus drivers hired from China are paid lower than their colleagues from Malaysia which is 1 of the grouses that led to the strike last year by some of them. The bus drivers from China lose out in terms of ability to converse in english but their driving skills are certainly better than malaysian & sinkie bus drivers.

Driving skills is the main factor which those drivers from China have already hone on difficult roads back home. What they need is acclimatise to driving on the left on SG roads.

Drving in SG roads is much easier compared to experience gained by those drivers in China.

2mins.


Supporters of the hybrid regime with its overly liberal immigration policies are obssessed with maximising profits & cutting costs. Short-term thinking. They seldom consider about the social costs.

lobo_arisen has given a good reply to that ignorant hybrid regime supporter. Even Warren Buffett acknowledges that he is rich because of the system of institutions that America has provided him. Warren Buffett would be condemned if he lives in country with:

• lousy infrastructure
• inferior technologies
• poorly organized firms
• badly run institutions

Bus Drivers Salaries around the world comparison (open in new window) show that drivers in rich countries are paid a few times more than China bus drivers. After watching the bus video above, you'll agree that drivers in poor countries are poorly paid & yet drive in difficult conditions while those in rich countries are decently paid (except SG) in easy road conditions.

Workers in poor countries can defintely compete with their counterparts in rich countries be it bus drivers, secretary etc.

How come they are poorly paid? They are poorly paid because the rich in those poor countries can't compete with the rich in rich countries. The rich in poor countries can't 'pull' up the rest of society unlike their counterparts in rich countries.

Bus drivers in rich countries are overpaid compared to those in poor countries. They are overpaid because the rich in rich countries are a lot more productive in pulling the masses up. There's not to say the rich in rich countries can pat themselves. As lobo_arisen & Warren Buffett have pointed out that it is the collective actions taken over generations to build up good infrastructure, institutions etc that have created a better economic environment.

Lastly, going back to over liberal immigration, it shows the obscenely overpaid hybrid regime is not able to compete with other governments in developed economies. While foreign workers can complement the local workforce, it is not to the extent of replacing the locals to push the locals down to the poorhouse.

"If native Singaporeans are falling behind because the spurs are not stuck into the hide, that is their problem." - Old man with regard to hardworking immigrants hence the liberal influx

Problem is not with us. It is with the elites.

• Dismantle worker unions already still can't compete.
• Have the peasants work the longest hours in the developed world.
• Later open floodgates wide to cheaper foreign labor to compete.
• Open 2 casinos.

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Related:
Right now, the current elites in SG are like the rich in poor countries can't 'pull' the rest of society up.
- What Google's Homepage Can Teach S'pore's Overpaid Ministers

High Oil Prices Hit Transportation & Hawker Centre Food

High oil prices will spell the doom for S'pore's hybrid regime. I've blogged earlier that Terminal 5 is too far-fetched. If oil prices stay high & soar higher we won't need to waste taxpayers $$$ to build Terminal 4 as well.

All eyes on its Asia-Pacific market as

• Americas is too far
• Europe is too far
• South America is too far
• Middle East is too far
• South Africa is too far

Similarly for other airlines long haul flights around the world, they are hit hard with high oil prices. Eventually long distance travel will be a luxury. More distance costs more $$$. The world will be smaller until something replaces fossil fuel powered airplanes & ships.

Expect the quarterly reports (Jul-Sept) of listed transportation companies to take a hit from high fuel prices.

Now that i have a digital camera after a long hiatus of at least 1.5years without such device, i can show you the deteriorating ground situation. There is much to show & i shall start with the places the peasants go for meals outside - hawker centres & coffeeshops.

Practically all the food for this tiny island are trucked, shipped & flown in. Trucks, ships & aeroplanes run on fossil fuels. High oil prices = higher food prices.

Right now the peasants are having their meals outside at hawker centres where the rental is lower instead of coffeeshops. The coffeeshops now are suffering from poor businesses. A coffeeshop has closed down in Ave 2 & another one in Ave 5 despite the fact that the population density of this tiny island is getting heavier heavier. Apparently more mouths does not translate into businesses......

• Ave 2 coffeeshop ---> CK department store
• Ave 5 coffeeshop ---> Supermarket

The 5 pictures below are taken during lunch time today.

Clementi Central hawker centre. Crowded with queues.

Directly opposite the hawker centre is the coffeeshop at Blk 442. Pretty quiet. Business is worse than usual.

Coffeeshop at blk 449 which is a stone throw from the hawker centre. Business ain't good too.

I walked over from Clementi central via a bridge over the expressway to west coast hawker centre at Blk 503. A lively place compared to......

dead coffeeshop at Blk 501 diagonally opposite the West Coast Hawker centre.

Peasants are ditching higher priced coffeeshops & flocking to hawker centres.

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Related:
2.5 years ago, Sengkang residents already can't take it with the privatized operator.
- Sengkang Kopitiam Sq's Absurb Prices