Singapore's declining birth rate a cause for concern: SM Goh
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/225737/1/.html====================================-we're going to become extinct-Singaporeans are not replacing themselves with more babies, with the ageing population and declining birth rate, we should all be worrying. Unless we want to become extinct Singaporeans, we should do something about it.Though the birth rate has increased slightly in the first half of the year, it is still not enough to replace the ageing population. Those who have double income but no kids (DINKs) should seriously consider having one or two little ones of their own. The economy is picking up, they should be financially stable, so why not? The problem is to convince young couples to have more children,Obviously the baby bonus is not working as expected. People comment that more money is needed than what is give to raise a child. Even with maid levies and longer maternity leave, people still aren't geared up to raise a child. I think the root of the problem lies with education. People may or may not see the need for an increasing birth rate, and they should be taught this from a young age so that they see the necessity to have more children. SM Goh commented that the government cannot do much about the problem of low fertility rate, because only the people themselves can solve this problem by having more children.It will take time, but eventually I think that this problem can be solved. In this case, I think education is key, and we better start teaching, or convincing young people of Singapore to have more children. Otherwise, the species of Singaporeans might keep declining and then some. -- DE
British police find suitcase with bomb materials
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/225451/1/.html====================================-okay that's not good-I find it rather frustrating that terrorists make life more inconvenient for us all. First time round many Muslims were shunned because many generalized them as terrorists. After that, no sharp items such as penknives, nail clippers, even a compass needle (mathematical kind) wasn't allowed on board flights. Now things get even worse: liquids and gels are not allowed on board either, and passengers, especially those travelling from the UK have only transparent plastic bags carrying their personal belongings such as passport, wallet and medication. Even baby milk is only allowed on in small amounts.Police found a suitcase containing everything necessary to assemble a bomb, and this shows that these inconveniences are only to make life safer for us all. I would not mind the inconvenience if it meant that the flight I am boarding would not blow up in mid air with all the passengers blasted into smithereens.It is indeed comforting to know that the police and other authorities are getting into action, but the 1994 Bojinka bombing whereby liquid explosives were involved makes one think that they should have gone into action much earlier. Yet back then the threat of terrorism was not so frequent as it is today.I am just glad that no planes have been bombed by liquid explosives yet. Now all we can do besides tighten up security is to wait and see what happens next. -- DE
Iran says ready to discuss nuclear freeze
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/225223/1/.html====================================-this is good-i think that this is good news because the possibility of a conflict arising from the issue of Iran's uranium enrichment program is now lessened because Iran is ready to discuss a nuclear freeze with incentives offered by various countries.Doubts of whether Iran was using the uranium enrichment for the production of nuclear fuel may or may not be cleared in the discussion, but this much we can be sure of, and that is a violent conflict has been avoided. The consequences of Iran not meeting the deadline to halt nuclear activities are sanctions, but it is not known if Iran would suddenly turn violent in view of being forced to halt nuclear activites.If they were really enriching uranium for fuel, then they should not have anything to hide. They will only increase rumours that they are building a nuclear bomb if they keep the issue a hush-hush one. Now all we have to do is wait and see what happens after the discussion and hope that it does not turn ugly. -- DE
New water filtration system doubles output of NEWater
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/223158/1/.html====================================-more water, slurp-Singapore has always had a water problem, but now it seems that this problem might soon become a problem of yesterday.Newly developed 16 inch diameter membrane filters have been tested and results show that they double the output of NEWater. The Bedok NEWater plant is still using the 8 inch filters, but when the new membranes are implemented, the plant will produce at least 17 million gallons of water instead of the current 7 million.This is good because it means that we won't need to rely so much on neighbouring countries for water and become self sufficient. Then other countries will not be able to threaten us with the refusal to import water to Singapore.For some people, more NEWater might not be a good thing. I heard that some people find the taste not as nice as what they are used to, but like it or not, NEWater is going to be the future, and it is already becoming a part of our tap water anyway, so they should just get used to it. -- DE
Phone numbers to be truly "portable" by end-2007
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/222727/1/.html====================================-consumers can have just one number when they switch between mobile service providers-This means greater convenience for consumers, especially since they find themselves changing phone plans and service providers whenever they find that they get better value for their money.That means you keep the same SIM card, the same phone number and all that. there is no more need for inconveniences where you have to notify people that you have changed your number or a service where the caller calling the old number will get their call forwarded to the new number.I think that this is great for us consumers who can now swap mobile providers as and when we want, but it spells more challenges for the mobile service providers.now that it will be easier to swap service providers, the job of holding onto customers will become an increasingly difficult one as they become more slippery. they will just change to whichever service provider can give them the best value for money depending on their needs. it means increased competition between Singapore's three telcos in terms of offering the best they possibly can.also, it is estimated that they will each have to spend $10m to $20m to upgrade their networks with a neutral, central database that will make it easier to port numbers. So not only do the telcos have to work extra hard to keep their customers and attract new ones, they also have to shell out more money to upgrade themselves.however, i think that paying the etra money will certainly be worth it, because it means that they can provide better services for customers, and with globalisation turning this world into an "instant" world where everything happens very quickly, the move to improve convenience of services is a good one. We won't have to go through all the trouble to change our phone numbers anymore. -- DE
