Every Road PAY!

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/cna/20080629/tap-357200-231650b.html

Channel NewsAsia - Monday, June 30

SINGAPORE: Some six years ago, former Speaker of Parliament Tan Soo Khoon took a peek into the future when he spoke on the hot topic of Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) during a budget debate.

He said then: "Sir, the Government’s policy has been that the cost of ownership of cars would be reduced over the long run, but the cost of usage will increase. Hence, we have increases in ERP charges. We have ERP almost everywhere, or soon—to—be everywhere, (and) we are going to have ERP day and night. I think very soon, ERP will mean ’every road pay’.

"Sir, the day will be quite soon when the only safe place to leave your vehicle is at home, if you are lucky enough to own a landed property. You can well imagine that, one day, if I drive out of my house, the first thing I hear would be this ’beep’ sound coming from the little device on my dashboard, and everywhere you go, you will be hearing ’beep, beep, beep’, instead of car horns."

Mr Tan’s sagacity is well—known.

While Mr Tan’s worst—case scenario has yet to emerge, from July 7, motorists will have to face higher ERP charges and even more gantries in operation as the traffic authorities respond to growing congestion on our roads. Their argument: If ERP charges do not go up, the growing traffic congestion will have an adverse impact on the economy.

From July 7, family life in Singapore should improve, at least for those who pass through traffic gantries. Businesses, too, will become more competitive as the cost of crossing these gantries goes up, leading to faster travel times, which should then lead to lower transport costs overall.

So said Land Transport Authority chief executive Yam Ah Mee in a recent media interview: "Faster travel times lead to overall lower transport costs and ultimately, help businesses to remain competitive. Congestion also adversely impacts family life, as people spend more time on the roads."

The LTA claims that traffic speed along major routes like North Bridge Road, South Bridge Road, Stamford Road and Bras Basah Road have fallen by 22 per cent in the evenings, compared to two years ago.

Few would deny that the ERP system has helped in smoothening traffic flow, especially in the Central Business District. The main quarrel with the timing of the new round of increases is that it comes in the wake of higher petrol prices and insurance costs. Many would argue that traffic congestion here is still tolerable compared with the traffic jams in Bangkok, Jakarta and even Kuala Lumpur.

In fact, some contend that traffic in Singapore could be even smoother but for the ubiquitous road works, tree pruning and numerous traffic lights. The LTA itself has admitted that in calculating traffic speed, it included the waiting time at traffic lights, and as everyone knows, Singapore probably has more traffic lights per kilometre of road than anywhere else in the world.

And, as for business benefiting from a lower volume of traffic, why, then, is it that businesses were the first to voice their opposition to the increases? Just ask the merchants on Orchard Road and elsewhere in the CBD whether they prefer to have the car parks in their malls full, or empty. It was only when the authorities decided to introduce a "window period" in the mornings between 9.30am and noon that business at the malls in the Orchard Road area improved.

Perhaps a survey on whether motorists prefer to pay more for a smoother ride or put up with crawling traffic would have helped.

In any case, why raise costs when inflation is already raging at record levels?

And if the authorities want you to switch to public transport, why do buses and taxis also have to pay ERP charges?

Last year, SBS Transit had to pay $2.9 million (same as the previous year) in ERP charges, $5.8 million in road taxes ($5.4 million previously) and absorbed almost $37 million in output GST (up from $28.5 million). Figures for ERP charges paid by taxis were unavailable. After all, the LTA claims that the ERP system is not a revenue—raising exercise.

The present solution to smoother traffic flow also smacks of elitism, and will only serve to widen the gap between the haves and the have—nots.

And why is the preferential additional registration fee (Parf) on cars, for which the owner claims the benefit when the vehicle is de—registered, still paid with a voucher to be redeemed with the purchase of another car?

If the authorities want to see fewer cars on the road, surely a cash rebate, which may not end up with another car purchase, makes more sense.

"no chocolates, we can live on pride and arrogance"

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/afp/20080530/tts-myanmar-cyclone-c1b2fc3.html
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I was at Takashimaya Shopping Centre last week, and i had the choice of either giving aid money to earthquake China victims or Myanmar Cyclone victims.

I choose to put my money into the China earthquake victim's box because the spirit of the Chinese people and government are one of love, patriotism and courage to even welcome Japanese help although there's still some division on supporting such actions.

I did not put money into the Myanmar box because their government are just to god damn stuck up to allow aid to flow in properly. They need help but behave like we are begging them to help them. Media coverage reports that aid supplies and resources are not flowing out because of red tapping and bottle neck situations.

The news which i received on yahoo news confirms my decision. Stupid Myanmar government doesn't even know that Chocolate is a form of preserved food sustenance which has high nutritional value and cost effective to distribute. Instead, they scold aid countries for distributing chocolate. The myanmar people i'm sure are grateful for whatever help they can get. And they deserve the best effort that all countries can give. As for the government, they can go to hell. Until now, Aung San Suu Kyi's is kept as a prisoner.
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AFP - Saturday, May 31
YANGON (AFP) - - Myanmar's ruling junta lashed out at foreign aid donors Friday, saying cyclone victims did not need supplies of "chocolate bars" and could instead survive by eating frogs and fish.

The New Light of Myanmar newspaper, a government mouthpiece, also warned that foreign relief workers could snoop inside homes, and condemned donors for linking aid money to full access to the hardest-hit regions in the Irrawaddy Delta.

The tirade came as the junta tightened its political grip on the country, extending democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest and announcing that its new constitution has been enacted.

The regime says the charter will pave the way for democratic elections in two years, but dissidents say it will enshrine military rule in a country ruled by generals since 1962.

Despite the harsh statements in official media, aid agencies say they have had some success in receiving visas and securing access to the delta, which suffered the brunt of the May 2-3 storm that left 133,000 dead or missing.

An assessment team from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations was set to arrive in Yangon on Friday to determine how best to help the 2.4 million survivors in desperate need of food, shelter and medicine.

But the UN's disaster response arm OCHA said access remained patchy, especially for private charities.

"Sometimes there are hindrances, sometimes not," Terje Skavdal, OCHA's regional director, told a press conference. "Some of the larger NGOs seem to have a problem, but it's not a clear picture."

After several days of praising the work of the United Nations and charities, the regime's official newspaper renewed its attacks on foreign aid and insisted Myanmar could survive without outside help.

"The government and the people are like parents and children," the paper said. "We, all the people, were pleased with the efforts of the government."

The paper said that granting free access for aid workers in the delta means donors "are to be given permission to inspect all the houses thoroughly at will."

Myanmar needs 11 billion dollars to recover from the storm, but donors have pledged just 150 million dollars so far, it said.

"Myanmar people are capable enough of rising from such natural disasters even if they are not provided with international assistance," the newspaper said.

"Myanmar people can easily get fish for dishes by just fishing in the fields and ditches," the paper said. "In the early monsoon, large edible frogs are abundant."

"The people (of the Irrawaddy delta) can survive with self-reliant efforts even if they are not given chocolate bars from (the) international community," it added.

No aid agencies are known to have provided chocolate bars to victims of Cyclone Nargis, which struck the impoverished country four weeks ago.

The UN's World Food Programme gives rice, beans and high-energy biscuits designed to provide nutrition to people without regular food supplies.

The United Nations estimates that about one million people in the delta are still without emergency aid.

The military regime drew international outrage for three weeks of delays in allowing foreign aid workers access to the delta region, although the United Nations said Thursday that all of its staff had now been granted visas.

The official newspaper also took a swipe at a world monetary organisation for refusing to give aid -- apparently a reference to the World Bank, which has said no loans could be given because Myanmar has not been repaying its debts.

It also criticised countries for maintaining sanctions on the regime despite the cyclone devastation.

"Do such countries really have humanitarian spirit?" the paper said.

It was apparently referring to the United States, which renewed sanctions on the regime two weeks after the storm, accusing the military junta of suppressing the pro-democracy movement.

The United States has insisted the sanctions will not affect humanitarian aid, which US military planes have helped deliver into the country.

Defining Religious choice

Is democracy = also an ability to exercise choice before and after a decision?

OR . .

does it just stop after you made certain decisions.

I have an answer but yet i'm not allowed to say it.

What about you?