Showing posts with label TODAY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TODAY. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Japan Disaster - Japanese inspired, angered, resigned

Today, Tuesday March 15, 2011, Page 8 (Japan Disaster)
From http://imcmsimages.mediacorp.sg/CMSFileserver/documents/006/PDF/20110315/1503HNP008.pdf
Source Website: http://www.todayonline.com/World/EDC110315-0000255/Japanese-inspired,-angered,-resigned
By Agencies, 04:46 AM Mar 15, 2011



PHOTO: Japan earthquake and tsunami
From Mypaper, Monday, 14 March 2011 (Chinese Section), Page B1


TOKYO - While images of brutal destruction wreaked by a devastating earthquake and tsunami have stunned the nation and the world, the Japanese are finding both inspiration and reasons to vent in the aftermath of the disaster.

One sentiment that is emerging is that such a calamitous event could occur again at any time, in any place.



PHOTO: Residents buying food at a temporary supermarket in Sendai. REUTERS
Copyright © MediaCorp Press Ltd
http://imcmsimages.mediacorp.sg/cmsfileserver/showimageCC.aspx?300&450&f=2223&img=2223_352750.jpg&h=300&w=450
http://www.todayonline.com/World/EDC110315-0000255/Japanese-inspired,-angered,-resigned
Today, Tuesday March 15, 2011, Page 8 (Japan Disaster)


"We don't know when it will happen to us," said Mr Masatoshi Masuda, 52, a seal carver in the south-west city of Kagoshima, far from the deadly, 3m-high waves that surged across farmland, villages and cities in Japan's north-east on Friday.



PHOTO: Twin shocks at stricken nuclear plant A grief-stricken woman amidst the destruction in Natori, northern Japan. AP Copyright © MediaCorp Press Ltd
http://imcmsimages.mediacorp.sg/cmsfileserver/showimageCC.aspx?271&450&f=2223&img=2223_352754.jpg&h=271&w=450
Today, Tuesday March 15, 2011, News, Page 1 (Japan Disaster)


Mr Masuda noted that an active volcano, Mount Sakurajima, spews ash onto Kagoshima almost daily. And not far away is Shinmoedake, another volcano that began erupting in late January in its most significant activity in some 300 years.

"We're worried about what will happen next time," Mr Masuda said. "But whatever happens, it won't be a surprise."

A clearer picture of the deaths from the massive quake was emerging with estimates reaching at least 10,000, and damage at least in the tens of billions of dollars.



PHOTO: Buildings burn in Yamada town, Iwate prefecture (state) after Japan's biggest recorded earthquake hit Friday. ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://www.toledoblade.com/image/2011/03/11/800x_b1_cCM_z_%232235/Japan-earthquake-damage-fire-Yamada.jpg
http://www.toledoblade.com/frontpage/2011/03/11/Major-tsunami-damage-in-northern-Japan-after-quake.html


Letters to the editor printed in the Asahi Shimbun newspaper on Sunday ran through a range of emotions, from praising the spirit of extending helping hands to strangers to fuming about why infrastructure could collapse in this technologically-advanced country.

Ms Akiko Takushima, 46, of Yokohama, which neighbours Tokyo, said the tragedy brought out the best in people. She was forced to walk for more than six hours to get home on Friday night when train service in the Tokyo region was shut down.



PHOTO: Japan-Earthquake-3 Tsunami Hits Japan After 8.9 Earthquake! By Adele | Published March 11, 2011 | Full size is 980 × 552 pixels
 http://thatgirladele.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Japan-Earthquake-31.jpg
http://thatgirladele.com/?attachment_id=4404


"It was terrible but I was touched by many warm hearts along the way," she said, singling out people who served passers-by tea or recharged mobile phone batteries.

Others found things with which to find fault.

Mr Naohiro Hoshina, a 47-year-old worker with a shipping company in Fujisawa, west of Tokyo, wished tsunami victims a swift recovery but fumed at how local mobile phone systems had failed. "Isn't the basic point of having a mobile phone to make phone calls?" he asked.



PHOTO: The globe was rocked by the news March 11, as an 8.9 earthquake in Japan caused widespread destruction and set off a 23-foot Pacific tsunami. This has been called the fifth largest earthquake in recorded history.
http://bionicbong.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Japan-Earthquake-3-580x369.jpg
http://bionicbong.com/featured/ways-japan-massive-earthquake/


Government aid efforts have also fallen short, Ms Akemi Kanno said on Sunday in Rikuzentakata, a town in the north-east prefecture of Iwate that was devastated by the tsunami.

"At the quake response headquarters, they are not providing food. All the lifelines are down," Ms Kanno, 53, told Reuters.

"I went to the headquarters but the mayor was standing outside laughing, and that made me upset," she said. "I do not know what the national government is doing."



PHOTO: Earthquake hits Japan
http://www.bharatchronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/japan-earthquake-tsunami5.jpg
http://www.bharatchronicle.com/japan-earthquake-and-tsunami-pictures-videos-12648/japan-earthquake-tsunami5

Ms Naomi Shioda, 52, from Niigata City, said she trusted the authorities. "I think the government understands the best. So, it is in the best position to speak and to save lives."

While some Japanese living near one of the nuclear reactors have fled their homes, most people, however, do not have anywhere to go and are stuck where they are until help arrives.

But spirits remain high among people.



PHOTO: Japan earthquake and tsunami
http://www.aolcdn.com/photogalleryassets/newsuk/991412/japan-earthquake-tsunami-14Mar2011-24.jpg
http://news.aol.co.uk/article/pictures-videos-japan-earthquake-and-tsunami/19878244/20110314/


"People are resilient here and used to earthquakes," said Mr Robert Murphy in Fukushima City, the capital of the prefecture and home to the troubled Fukushima nuclear plant, where the threat of a meltdown looms large.

"But I have to say that this quake, and the tsunami and nuclear incidents, have startled people far more than usual."
By Agencies, 04:46 AM Mar 15, 2011



PHOTO: The devastation caused by the earthquake and tsunami across Japan.
http://blogs.aljazeera.net/sites/default/files/imagecache/FeaturedImagePost/images/201131114364961738_8.jpg
http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/asia/live-blog-japan-earthquake



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Sunday, April 25, 2010

Count your blessings not troubles

TODAY, FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 2010, VOICES, PAGE 16
http://imcms2.mediacorp.sg/CMSFileserver/documents/006/PDF/20100423/2304VOC018.pdf
Email your letters to voices@mediacorp.com.sg
www.todayonline.com/voices
By Tabitha Wang



PHOTO: Simple church version of Count Your Blessings http://wendyusuallywanders.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/countblessings.jpg


Budget tai tai count your blessings
Times are hard, but Singaporeans shouldn’t grumble

Maybe we should stop seeing the Government as our parents, expecting them to shelter us from all harm all the time. Banks collapse, economies fail, property prices balloon ... these things happen.

A friend recently lost his job. He had been working with the same firm for 20-odd years and had anticipated retiring from that company in a few years’ time.



PHOTO: letter C...and you are invited to count your blessings along with me.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidwdzbQ5_pTQeYMfTu3-yMexC6hivaDTe1NQ4oxoGJvd-HKeLmxvY_AQQEW4gH-Cs4803UuA3W5sucBd8zWO3txkuGgselJrcd2LFF4sqBeWk5GP39QHNh_wAsBJOjCVl19AyF-RFOs1E/s400/bladeofgrass.jpg


Instead, the bosses called him into a room, told him his work was unsatisfactory and fired him on the spot. All he had to show for almost all his working life was two months’ pay in lieu of notice.

As an American working for a British company in Singapore, he found he was not protected by any country’s law. He tried to sue for compensation but all the lawyers he consulted, whether in his home country or host country, told him he had no case.

To make matters worse, he and his family had to leave Singapore almost immediately because his employment pass had been cancelled by his firm.

His kids, who had lived in Singapore all their lives, had to leave their school mid-term while he and his wife scrambled to look for somewhere suitable to live.

The whole thing was a mess.



PHOTO: Count your blessings, not your troubles
http://www.desicomments.com/dc/18/43024/43024.jpg


When I met him in Hong Kong, he looked like he had aged 10 years in a couple of months. He was bitter, angry with everything in general.

I could well understand this unfocused rage, because I have had lots of it myself.

As you know, my husband too lost his job in Hong Kong. Since then, he has been applying assiduously (Constant in application or attention; diligent) for one position after another.

It’s been soul destroying to see all his applications come to nothing. He was over-qualified, said some, not experienced enough, said others.

Mindful of advice to “just accept anything”, he tried for jobs as shop assistants, only to be passed over for someone with more experience.

Even driving a taxi is out of the question.

Unlike in Singapore, licences in Hong Kong are controlled by individuals. It costs HK$4 million ($706,000) for a licence for a taxi and HK$6.5 million for one to drive a minibus.

As we are in a foreign country, we can’t look to anyone for help. Yes, there are times when I feel like lashing out at someone, anyone.



PHOTO: http://torothetiger.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/wallpaper2.jpg


But apart from my husband’s unfeeling ex-employers, who can I blame?

Since my earlier column on hardship allowances, I’ve been accused of being anti-expat. How can I be, seeing as I’m one myself?

I may be anti-fat cat bonuses but I have a lot of sympathy for expats struggling to make a living on local terms.



PHOTO: COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS. Sterling Silver Cuff Bracelet COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS http://shop.detchisonjewelry.com/images/12337781184741666646554.jpg


Especially when you have no one to rely upon but yourself. There is no “gahmen” to blame or call upon to get you out of your mess.

Our Minister Mentor once called Singaporeans “champion grumblers”. Well, Hong Kongers are too.

Get into a Hong Kong taxi and the driver is full of opinions about what the government should do. My local friends are always railing against this policy or other.

I told a colleague about my American friend’s dilemma and she immediately said: “The Government should do something about it.” It is exactly the same when I read some Singapore blogs, which start with “the Government should ... ” followed by “dampen rising house prices/create more jobs for Singaporeans/stop closing down wet markets ... ”

Maybe the Government should. But maybe we should stop seeing the Government as our parents, expecting them to shelter us from all harm all the time.



PHOTO: TODAY, Thursday April 22, 2010, BUSSINESS, PAGE b4 (OWELL Bodycare - A Mother's Love, A Timeless Gift)


Banks collapse, economies fail, property prices balloon ... these things happen.

We can wait for the Government to come up with policies to shield us from the fallout. Or we can just hunker down and try to work things out ourselves.

Can’t find a job? It’s painful, but shouldn’t you be concentrating your efforts in looking for one rather than writing blogs against foreign workers?

Can’t afford that penthouse unit in Bishan but have a point-block flat in Bedok?

You still have a roof over your head. At least you have an HDB flat rather than squatter homes or wire mesh cages; yes, they still exist in Hong Kong.

So, if you have a job, a roof over your head and a full tummy, what more could you ask for?



PHOTO: Count your blessings instead of your calories.
http://www.brookehomedecor.com/images/originals/BBnewpic37729.jpg


Unless it’s for the Geylang Lorong 9 beef kway teow shop to start franchising. Now, that would be a cause worth fighting for.
By Tabitha Wang

Tabitha Wang wonders which Government department she should complain to if volcanoes spoil her holiday.



PHOTO: The Ultimate Start-Up Space Winner Jamie Koh & Cherilyn Tan
MYPAPER, FRIDAY APRIL 23, 2010, PAGE A9



PHOTO: http://www.desicomments.com/dc/18/43024/43024.jpg




Today
MediaCorp Press Ltd
Caldecott Broadcast Centre,
Annex Building, Level 1,
Andrew Rd,
Singapore 299939 Tel 6236 4888 | Fax 6534 4217
today@mediacorp.com.sg

Publisher: Patrick Yong
Editor Walter: Fernandez
Deputy Editor: Lee Foong Ming
Associate Editor: Chan Teck Guan
Night Editor: Richard J Valladares
Editor-At-Large: Conrad Raj
News Editor: Yvonne Lim
Foreign: Trixia Carungcong
Voices: Agatha Koh Brazil
Features: Phin Wong
Chief Sub-Editor: Razali Abdullah
Design: Edric Sng
Online: Ariel Tam
Special Projects: Jenny Kong
Advertising Admin & Production: Angela Chia
Product Manager: Joni Ng



PHOTO: letter C...and you are invited to count your blessings along with me.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidwdzbQ5_pTQeYMfTu3-yMexC6hivaDTe1NQ4oxoGJvd-HKeLmxvY_AQQEW4gH-Cs4803UuA3W5sucBd8zWO3txkuGgselJrcd2LFF4sqBeWk5GP39QHNh_wAsBJOjCVl19AyF-RFOs1E/s400/bladeofgrass.jpg


MediaCorp NewsHub
TV Building, 2nd Floor,
Caldecott Broadcast Centre,
Andrew Rd,
Singapore 299939 Tel 6251 7671 | Fax 6251 5352
mediacorpnewshub@mediacorp.com.sg

Director: Dr Chitra Rajaram
General News: Teo Chia Leen, Mustafa Shafawi, Bhagman Singh, Derrick Paulo, Clement Mesenas, Low Mei Mei, Julia Ng, Imelda Saad, Andre Yeo
Business News: Melvin Yong, Azhar Khalid, Wong Siew Ying
Sports News: Leonard Thomas, Hakikat Rai



PHOTO: http://www.popularhymns.com/images/count_your_blessings2.jpg


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Sunday, July 12, 2009

Asian Youth Games - Four of the best

From TODAY, Tuesday, July 07, 2009
http://www.todayonline.com/Sports/EDC090707-0000125/Four-of-the-best
Four of the best
Even former great Joscelin Yeo leaves impressed as Ting Wen creates a splash
by Tan Yo-Hinn


This is the Time, this is the Moment (Gallery) - Koh Hui Yu, Quah Ting Wen, Amanda Lim and Lynette Lim The Singapore Girls 4 x 100m freestyle team celebrating their 1st place victory in the finals
The picture is obtained from http://www.ayg2009.sg/page/TheGames/Gallery/0,,12804~1716378,00.html

The fantastic four romped to victory in emphatic style, setting a national record of 3min, 46.91 sec.

SITTING among the crowd on the final day of the Asian Youth Games swimming competition yesterday was Joscelin Yeo, regarded as one of the region's greatest swimmers ever.

Although the former national star and soon-to-be Nominated Member of Parliament has seen it all, she could not help but leave the Singapore Sports School buzzing after the hosts put on a magnificent display to clinch the last gold medal on offer - the girls' 4x100m freestyle relay.

The quartet of Koh Hui Yu, Quah Ting Wen, Amanda Lim and Lynette Lim romped to victory in a national record 3min 46.91sec, obliterating the previous mark of 3:53.33 set at the 2006 Asian Games.


This is the Time, this is the Moment (Gallery) From left Lim Xiang Qi Amanda (SIN), Quah Ting Wen (SIN), Au Hoi Shun Stephanie (HKG) Winners of the Girls 50m Freestyle finals The picture is obtained from http://www.ayg2009.sg/page/TheGames/Gallery/0,,12804~1716378,00.html

The South Koreans, who had dominated the Games' swimming programme, finished second, more than three body lengths behind in 3:50.56, with China taking the bronze in 3:51.34.

The win was a double celebration for Singapore, after Ting Wen and Amanda had earlier made it a 1-2 finish in the 100m freestyle.


This is the Time, this is the Moment (Gallery)
Dance to the Rhythm by First Toa Payoh Secondary School

Ting Wen won in a national record of 55.57sec - breaking the previous mark of 55.65s - with Amanda clocking 56.24s and South Korea's Kim Jung Hye 56.39.


This is the Time, this is the Moment (Gallery)
Lighting the Games Cauldron

"What struck me about this team is their sense of togetherness, supporting each other throughout," said Yeo, 30, the most bemedalled SEA Games athlete with 40 golds from 1991 to 2005.
"It's not just one or two, but a whole group coming through. They're nowhere near their full potential yet, and it's just awesome."


This is the Time, this is the Moment (Gallery)
Asia's Zest


'I just went for it'
Indeed, the victory sparked joyous celebrations, with many of Singapore's 24-strong swim team approached for pictures and autographs by star-struck fans.


This is the Time, this is the Moment (Gallery)
AYG Athletes Rachel Yeo, New Hui Fen and Isabelle Li

Head coach David Lim, a former multiple SEA Games gold medallist, paid tribute to a team who finished with five gold, two silver and five bronze medals. "To come off the Singapore National Championships just a few weeks ago and swim out of their skins here is just magnificent," said the former national backstroke star.


This is the Time, this is the Moment (Gallery)
AYG Athletes Lionel Khoo brings the AYG Torch to Greendale Secondary School

Ting Wen, 16, was the top performer with four golds - she also won the 50m and 200m freestyle - finishing level with South Korea's Chang Gyu Cheol.


This is the Time, this is the Moment (Gallery)
Ang Peng Siong and AYG Athletes

"I just went for it, went all out for it. I felt so pumped up with the home crowd cheering. We really wanted to win this," said Ting Wen.
On her four-gold haul, she added: "It means a lot to me. Coming into this meet, I didn't expect to do this well. Getting personal bests was my main goal. But this really exceeded my expectations."

It was the lanky 1.74m tall star who played an instrumental role in Singapore's come-from-behind victory in the relay.
Diving in as the second swimmer after 14-year-old Hui Yu - who finished the first leg in third behind South Korea's Jung Hae Un and China's Chen Xiaojun - Ting Wen surged ahead, giving Singapore a two-body length lead over China and Hong Kong.

With Amanda swimming the third leg, the hosts reached the 300m mark in 2:49.52, ahead of South Korea (2:54.24) and China (2:55.00), before United States-based Lynette applied the finishing touch.
"I always feel a lot of pressure being the anchor as I'm afraid of letting the team down. But I kept self-talking, telling myself I could do it," said Lynette.


This is the Time, this is the Moment (Gallery)
Mass Display of Spirit of Evolution

Yeo, a four-time Olympian, believes this group of swimmers, who are likely to form the backbone of the next generation of Singapore's team, can go far. "Swimming is an individual sport, but if they can continue to share training methods and knowledge to help each other, everybody benefits and the overall standard of the team will be raised," she said.



AYG Theme Song in the making
The picture is obtained from http://www.ayg2009.sg/page/TheGames/Gallery/0,,12804~1642512,00.html



AYG Theme Song in the making
The picture is obtained from http://www.ayg2009.sg/page/TheGames/Gallery/0,,12804~1642512,00.html
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