Boeing CEO grilled on Capitol Hill after MAX crashes

Yahoo – AFP, Luc Olinga with John Biers in New York, October 29, 2019

Family members of those who died aboard Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 hold
photographs of their loved ones as Dennis Muilenburg (R), president and CEO
of the Boeing Company, testifies before the Senate Commerce Committee
(AFP Photo/WIN MCNAMEE)

Washington (AFP) - Boeing chief executive Dennis Muilenburg faced a barrage of criticism from US lawmakers Tuesday at a jammed hearing on the company's commitment to safety as family members of victims of two deadly MAX 737 crashes looked on.

In his first appearance before Congress since the 737 MAX was grounded in March, Muilenburg apologized for the crashes and acknowledged shortcomings, but broadly defended Boeing's development of the ill-fated aircraft.

Senators from both parties signaled clear dissatisfaction, bordering on rage in some cases.

"Boeing is the company that built the flying fortress that saved Europe," said Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth, a former National Guard helicopter pilot who lost both legs during the Iraq War.

"You have told this committee and you told me half-truths over and over again," said Duckworth, who represents Illinois, home to Boeing's corporate headquarters. "You have not told us the whole truth and these families are suffering because of it."

Muilenburg stuck to the company's longstanding stance that development of the MAX followed time-tested company procedures and defended it against charges that it cut corners on safety and was too cozy with regulators the Federal Aviation Administration.

Many analysts view the hearings as a can't-win situation for Muilenburg and expect him to exit the company in the foreseeable future, most likely after the MAX returns to service.

Asked by a reporter if he would resign, Muilenburg said, "That's not where my focus is. My focus is on the job at hand focused on safety. And we're going to do everything we can to ensure safe flight."

But Nadia Milleron, who lost her daughter on the Ethiopian Airlines crash, said the company needs a shakeup.

Muilenburg "needs to resign. The whole board needs to resign," she said. "I expect him to stop putting the blame on the FAA and other people because that is what they always do. They don't take responsibility."

Boeing president and CEO, Dennis Muilenburg arrives at a Senate hearing 

on the 737 MAX after two deadly crashes (AFP Photo/MANDEL NGAN)

Passing the buck?

Many of the questions focused on the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, an automated system that Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines pilots were unable to control, resulting in crashes.

"We have learned from both accidents and we've identified changes that need to be made to MCAS," Muilenburg told the Senate Commerce Committee.

But Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, lambasted Muilenburg as he struggled to answer pointed questions about 2016 texts from Boeing pilot Mark Forkner to a colleague that discussed the "egregious" performance of the MCAS during a simulation test and said that he "basically lied to the regulators."

Muilenburg indicated that Boeing counsel shared the documents with the Justice Department in February, but that he did not see the specific exchange until it was reported by news media earlier this month.

"I was made aware of existence of this kind of document," Muilenburg told Cruz. "I counted on counsel to handle this appropriately."

"That is passive voice," Cruz shot back. "You're the CEO, the buck stops with you.

"How did your team not put it in front of you, run with their hair on fire and say 'We have a real problem here?' How did that not happen and what does that say about the culture at Boeing?"

Senator Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington state where the 737 MAX is built, said the crisis showed that Boeing leadership was failing its employees.

"This isn't a question about line workers -- this is a question about the corporate view from Chicago, and whether there is enough attention to manufacturing and certification," Cantwell said. "You should take offense to the fact that people say, 'It's a great company that's not being run correctly.'"

Tuesday's hearing will be followed by a second session on Wednesday in the House Transportation Committee.

Boeing is still targeting regulatory approval for the MAX in 2019, a timeframe that many aviation experts still view as possible.

Senator Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican who chairs the Senate committee, told CNBC before the hearing that he intends to scrutinize Boeing's processes but said he did not see anything that would prevent the MAX from going back into service "fairly soon."

"I think this plane is eminently fixable," Wicker told CNBC. "I don't think it's a hopeless cause."

Grieving relatives tossed flowers into the sea where an Indonesia Lion Air jet crashed a year ago, killing 189 on board, after a final accident report pointed to plane design flaws as a key factor in the disaster https://t.co/vS5zwfwglo

— AFP news agency (@AFP) 29 oktober 2019

Yahoo – AFP, Denji Sari, September 26, 2019

The death appeared to mark the first fatality in days of street battles across
Indonesia (AFP Photo/STR)

An Indonesian student died Thursday as thousands hit the streets nationwide in a wave of opposition to a major overhaul of the country's criminal code and a bid to weaken its anti-corruption agency, police said.

The death appeared to mark the first fatality in days of street battles across the Southeast Asian country, which have left hundreds injured and sparked a call from Amnesty International to probe what it described as "massive police violence" against protesters.

The 21-year-old victim was rushed to hospital suffering from a chest wound and later died as riots erupted in Kendari city on Sulawesi island, where the local parliament was torched, authorities said.

But police denied playing a role in the death, amid social media claims that the engineering student was shot.

"There was an injured student among the crowd. He was taken to the hospital and declared dead as doctors tried to save him. He had a wound on his right chest, but I cannot confirm what kind of injury it was," Southeast Sulawesi police spokesman Harry Golden Hart told Metro TV.

Hundreds have been injured in the protests against a major overhaul of 

the country's criminal code (AFP Photo/Juni Kriswanto)

"None of our officers carried live bullets... or even rubber bullets," he added.

The unrest was sparked by a proposed bill that includes dozens of law changes -- from criminalising pre-marital sex and restricting sales of contraceptives, to making it illegal to insult the president.

There has also been a backlash against a separate bill that critics fear would dilute the powers of Indonesia's corruption-fighting agency -- known as the KPK -- including its ability to wire-tap graft suspects.

The demonstrations across the archipelago are among the biggest since mass street protests in 1998 brought down the three-decade Suharto dictatorship.

'Feedback'

Passage of the controversial changes has now been delayed.

The demonstrations across the archipelago are among the biggest since mass 

street protests in 1998 brought down the three-decade Suharto dictatorship

(AFP Photo/CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN)

And, on Thursday, President Joko Widodo appeared to backtrack on plans to press ahead with the anti-corruption agency law, saying he would consider revising it.

"There was a lot of feedback given to me" about the law, Widodo said during a televised press conference.

"Of course I'll consider (a revision) and after making a decision, I will announce it."

Earlier Thursday, officials said more than 500 students had been arrested after a night of street battles in downtown Jakarta between molotov-cocktail throwing protesters and riot police who shot tear gas into the crowds.

Meanwhile, a mass of students stormed and occupied the local parliament building in Sumatra's Padang city Wednesday.

Most of the Jakarta students were set free, but some were still being held after police found knives and other sharp weapons in their possession, police said.

Students have issued a list of demands including scrapping some of the 

criminal-code changes (AFP Photo/Bahauddin Raja BASO)

Students have issued a list of demands including scrapping some of the criminal-code changes, withdrawing troops from Indonesia's restive Papua region, and halting forest fires in Sumatra and Borneo that have unleashed toxic haze across Southeast Asia.

A vote on the criminal-code bill was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but Widodo has called for a delay in passing the controversial changes that could affect millions of Indonesians, including gay and heterosexual couples who might face jail for having sex outside wedlock, or having an affair.

Updating Indonesia's Dutch colonial-era criminal code has been debated for decades and appeared set to pass in 2018 before momentum fizzled out.

A renewed push this year, backed by Islamic groups, was met with a wave of criticism over what many saw as a draconian law that invaded the bedrooms of a nation with some 260 million people -- the fourth most populous on Earth.

Indonesia's Aceh whips unmarried couples after hotel raid

Yahoo – AFP, 4 March 2019

Twelve people were flogged in Aceh province for being found with a member of
the opposite sex who wasn't a relation or having intimate relations outside marriage

Six couples were publicly whipped in Indonesia's conservative Aceh province Monday for relations outside marriage, with at least two women unable to walk after the painful punishment.

Flogging is common for a range of offences in the region at the tip of Sumatra island, including gambling, drinking alcohol, and having gay sex.

It is the only province in the world's biggest Muslim-majority country that imposes Islamic law.

The twelve people whipped Monday were arrested late last year during a raid on a hotel in the province's capital Banda Aceh.

Four people were each flogged seven times after being found with a member of the opposite sex who wasn't a relation.

Flogging is common for many offences in Aceh, including gambling, 

drinking alcohol, and having gay sex

The others -- who were caught in more compromising positions -- received between 17-25 strokes for having intimate relations outside of marriage, an official said.

All 12 also served several months in prison before the public punishment.

Some women cried out in pain as a masked sharia officer lashed them, and at least two had to be carried from the scene by sharia officers.

Dozens of spectators and journalists watched quietly. Some winced occasionally after the blows, while others used smartphones and tablets to film the spectacle.

"This law is designed to have a deterrent effect, not only for the offenders but for the spectators who watch the caning," said the head of the local public order agency, Marwan, who like many Indonesian goes by one name.

Rights groups have slammed public caning as cruel, and Indonesia's President 

Joko Widodo has called for it to end

He added: "The pain of being flogged is not that bad, the embarrassment is worse."

Rights groups have slammed public caning as cruel, and Indonesia's President Joko Widodo has called for it to end.

But the practice has wide support among Aceh's mostly Muslim population -- around 98 percent of its five million residents practise Islam.

Aceh adopted religious law after it was granted special autonomy in 2001, an attempt by the central government to quell a long-running separatist insurgency.

In December, two men caught having sex with underage girls were whipped 100 times each.

In the only Indonesian province that imposes Islamic law, six couples were publicly whipped for relations outside marriagehttps://t.co/KshjjLTGZb pic.twitter.com/xm11PxnBjJ

— AFP news agency (@AFP) 4 maart 2019

Pressure mounts in Australia over Nauru refugee children

Yahoo – AFP, October 28, 2018

Domestic and international criticism of the camps on Nauru has grown amid reports
of abuse, suicides and lengthy detention periods (AFP Photo/PETER PARKS)

Public pressure was mounting on Australia's government Sunday to remove refugee children detained on the Pacific island of Nauru, possibly to New Zealand, even as the prime minister raised fears such transfers could encourage new arrivals.

Under a harsh policy meant to deter asylum-seekers from reaching Australia by boat, Canberra sends arrivals to remote Pacific camps for processing and bars them from resettling in Australia.

But domestic and international criticism of the camps has grown amid reports of abuse, suicides and lengthy detention periods, even as the government says the policy is discouraging asylum-seekers from embarking on dangerous sea voyages.

A YouGov Galaxy poll commissioned by Sydney's Sunday Telegraph -- a tabloid that usually backs the conservative government -- found 79 percent of those surveyed want children and their families transferred off Nauru.

Thousands of Australians on Saturday also rallied in Sydney and Melbourne against the offshore camp.

The children's plight was highlighted earlier this month after Nauru kicked out Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), a global medical charity that had been treating asylum-seekers in the camps.

MSF said many children were suffering "traumatic withdrawal syndrome" and were unable to eat, drink or talk.

The UN refugee agency UNHCR added in mid-October that the health situation of asylum-seekers and refugees was "collapsing".

Ahead of a crucial Sydney by-election this month, PM Scott Morrison seemed willing to work with the Labor opposition to allow some refugees to be transferred to New Zealand, although they would still be blocked from entering Australia.

But with ongoing counting pointing to a loss in the seat for the government, Morrison has since appeared to back away from a deal.

"I just want to get them off, but I want to get them off in a way which does not put more children on Nauru," he told commercial broadcaster Channel Nine on Friday.

"If one boat turns up or one child is floating face down in the water, how would Australia feel then?"

Within Morrison's Liberal Party, three MPs have so far called for children to be removed.

New Zealand has an open offer to take 150 people from Nauru, and PM Jacinda Ardern said Monday she expected women and children to be prioritised if Australia accepts the proposal.

However, she said the decision was "ultimately a matter for the Australian government".

There are 635 asylum-seekers and refugees on Nauru, including 52 children, according to Immigration Minister David Coleman.

There are also some 600 men in transition centres on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island after the camp there was closed late last year, according to refugee advocates.

Under a deal with former American president Barack Obama, 439 people have so far been resettled from Manus and Nauru to the United States, Coleman added.

Taiwan bans eating dogs and cats

Yahoo – AFP, April 12, 2017

The tradition of eating dog meat dates back hundreds of years in many
Asian countriesView photos (AFP Photo/Hoang Dinh Nam)

Taiwan has banned the eating of dogs and cats, lawmakers said Wednesday, as pressure grows to improve animal welfare after a spate of cruelty cases that stirred public outrage.

Parliament passed legislation to outlaw the consumption, purchase or possession of dog and cat meat, with offenders facing a fine of up to Tw$250,000 ($8,170).

Authorities can also name and shame those who break the law.

"This shows that Taiwan is a society with advanced animal welfare," said lawmaker Wang Yu-min who proposed the new rules.

The bill also hiked the penalty for killing or abusing animals to a maximum two-year jail term and a stiff fine of Tw$2 million.

Dog consumption -- believed by some in Taiwan to help boost male potency -- was common on the island decades ago but has become less popular amid growing calls to protect animal rights.

In 2001, Taiwan amended its animal protection law to ban the slaughter of pets -- which included dogs and cats -- for food, although there was no penalty on eating or buying the meat.

More than 10,000 canines are killed every year at China's notorious dog meat

festival in Yulin (AFP Photo/JOHANNES EISELE)

Sales of pet meat were banned at the end of 2003.

But a string of much-publicised animal abuse cases have continued to triggered deep public concern and demands for tougher protection laws.

Last year, the military was forced to apologise after a video surfaced of three soldiers torturing and strangling a stray dog to death with an iron chain, prompting several street protests.

And in 2014, a male hippo famous for regularly performing at a private zoo in central Taiwan died after breaking a leg and sustaining other injuries during transportation, sparking a public outcry.

Reactions to the new law were mixed, with some deeming it unfair to only single out cats and dogs for better protection.

"This is the cute animal protection law? only cute animals are protected while the rest deserve to die?" read one message posted on Apple Daily's website.

Dog meat consumption is also common in countries such as China, Indonesia,

Vietnam and South Korea (AFP Photo/SONNY TUMBELAKA)

"Why doesn't the parliament amend laws to toughen punishment on drunk driving, fraud and homicide? what a lousy job it is doing," said another post.

Dog meat consumption is also common in countries such as China, Vietnam and South Korea.

Last year, China's most notorious dog meat festival drew crowds despite international outrage, as more than 10,000 dogs were killed at the event in conditions activists described as brutal.

South Koreans are believed to consume somewhere between 1.5 million - 2.5 million dogs every year, but the meat farming industry is in decline, with little demand among the younger generation.

In Vietnam, cat meat -- known locally as "little tiger" -- is also a delicacy and although officially banned it is widely available in specialist restaurants.

Arrests Reveal Judicial 'Mafia': Anti-Graft Experts

Jakarta Globe, February 15, 2016

The Corruption Eradication Commission headquarters in South Jakarta.
(Antara Photo/Widodo S. Jusuf)

Jakarta. The recent arrest of a Supreme Court official in a sting operation from the antigraft agency has revealed corrupt and mafia practices within the country's judicial system, experts said on Monday (15/02).

Andri Tristianto Sutrisna, the head of the Supreme Court’s subdivision for civil lawsuits, appeals and judicial reviews, was arrested with Rp 400 million (around $30,000) in cash during a late-night sting on Friday.

He allegedly received the bribe as pay off to delay the issuance of a cassation ruling in a graft case involving businessman Ichsan Suaidi.

Ichsan and another four suspects were arrested by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in separate busts on the same day.

Yenti Ganarsih, an expert in money laundering from Trisakti University, said the arrest of the court official reveals the "mafia" practices within the country's judicial system, which has been long running and involving high ranking officials of the Court.

"This practice has long been suspected. The decades-old Criminal Code Procedures Law, if its history is carefully reviewed, organizes kinds of bribery for the judges or the Court apparatus by the lawyers," Yenti said.

In 2013, Supreme Court clerk Djodi Supratman was jailed for two years for allegedly accepting Rp 128 million  in bribes from a lawyer in connection with an appeal being heard by the court.

The judicial process mafia is a latent risk and threatens trust in the Courts, Yenti said, adding that it is still difficult to eradicate corrupt practices.

The case should be studied by lawmakers currently fight for amendments to laws governing the anti-graft agency, Yenti said. The revisions are widely believed to weaken the authority of the KPK.

Lawmakers have proposed four revisions which would alter the scope of the KPK powers in the following areas: methods of conducting investigations, wiretapping, recruitment protocols and the establishment of a supervisory body to monitor the KPK.

Aradila Caesar, a researcher at the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW), said the bust shows poor supervision and monitoring of the Supreme Court  — despite the institution already having an internal supervisory body.

He said the Supreme Court has opposed proper supervisions to the body by other parties, such as the Judicial Commission. On Oct. 7, Supreme Court won a judicial review at the Constitutional Court to annul Judicial Commission's roles in judges recruitment, letting the body to be fully authoritative in selecting the country's highest justices.

“The Supreme Court is resistant to supervisions [from other parties],”Aradila said.

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Big Tobacco Dangles Big Bucks – but at a High Costi

Jakarta Globe, Basten Gokkon, October 22, 2015

Indonesia, where two-thirds of the adult male population smokes and two-fifths
of boys aged 13 to 15 also puff, remains one of the few bright spots for international
tobacco companies amid crackdowns by governments the world over.
 (EPA Photo/Stephen Morrison)

Jakarta. Tobacco control activists have urged the Indonesian government to turn down a $2 billion investment plan from one of the world’s biggest tobacco companies, citing public health concerns.

President Joko Widodo is scheduled to visit the United States next week where he will sign several agreements with the US government and American businesses, among them Philip Morris International, which has a 98 percent stake in H.M. Sampoerna, Indonesia’s biggest cigarette maker.

The deal with PMI will reportedly see the tobacco company invest $2 billion in Indonesia.

There has been no official word on what the money will go toward, but a confidential letter from Foreign Minister Retno L.P. Marsudi to President Joko Widodo, obtained by the Jakarta Globe, states that $500 million will be in the form of capital expenditure for H.M. Sampoerna.

The remaining $1.5 billion, the letter indicates, will apparently be raised through a share divestment, with proceeds going to the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) and the Health Ministry – the very same government institution tasked with enforcing tobacco-control measures.

Health Minister Nila F. Moeloek is known to be among the officials joining Joko when he kicks off his US trip this Sunday.

Neither the minister nor a spokesperson for the Health Ministry were immediately available for comment on the reported funding from the tobacco company. The Globe was unable to reach any PMI officials for comment.

‘Poisoning Indonesians’

Kartono Mohamad, the chairman of the government-funded National Commission on Tobacco Control (NCTC), said any investment by PMI in Indonesia would do more harm than good over the long term.

“Accepting the investment offer from Philip Morris means the president is poisoning Indonesians and selling out public health over mere investment,” he told the Globe.

Indonesia, where two-thirds of the adult male population smokes and two-fifths of boys aged 13 to 15 also puff, remains one of the few bright spots for international tobacco companies amid crackdowns by governments the world over. It is the only country in the Asia-Pacific region that has yet to sign the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

PMI’s global net revenue in 2014 was $8.7 billion, down 16.9 percent from the previous year, and with countries in the region, such as Australia and Malaysia, tightening controls on tobacco sales and marketing, there is more of an incentive than ever for big tobacco to invest in Indonesia, Kartono said.

“Once Philip Morris has planted its $2 billion here, it will certainly look for a profit, and so long it still sees the benefits, we won’t be able to oust it from the country,” he said.

No political will

The government has shown little political will to act tough on cigarette sales and advertising, including to children. Last month the House of Representatives announced plans to recognize kretek, the traditional Indonesian clove-flavored cigarette, as an item if cultural heritage – thereby making it harder for the government to impose restrictions on kretek sales and advertising, and in fact obliging the state to support the manufacture and promotion of the cancer sticks.

Kartono said any measure to support the tobacco industry would have a massive public-health impact. The death toll from smoking-related illnesses in 2010, the last time the Health Ministry carried out such a census, was 190,000, and a surge in smoking-related ailments will stress an already overburdened public health infrastructure, Kartono warned.

“When a smoker gets sick, who will pay for the treatment? Certainly not Philip Morris,” he said.

He argued that most smokers would rely on the government’s BPJS Kesehatan health insurance program, which is already Rp 5 trillion ($369 million) in deficit despite only being launched earlier this year with Rp 21 trillion in state funding.

Targeting the young

“The meeting with Philip Morris will not help develop the nation and its people, but instead destroy the future of Indonesians,” said Hery Chariansyah, the executive director of Lentera Anak Indonesia, an NGO that advocates for child-friendly government policies.

He said tobacco companies in general tended to target young people, and that in Indonesia’s case this could have a devastating effect because the country’s demographic skews under 30.

“Any business-related agreement led by the government must prioritize the welfare of the people and the nation. And the meeting with Philip Morris definitely doesn’t do this,” Hery said.

He also noted that in 2009, 2010 and 2011, PMI had lobbied the House to prioritize deliberation of a contentious bill on the tobacco industry, on the pretext that it was meant to protect the interests of tobacco farmers.

With the planned signing of the $2 billion investment, and a trip to the United States last month by Indonesian legislators during which House Speaker Setya Novanto met with executives from PMI, Hery said it appeared almost certain that the bill would finally go to the House floor this time around.

Workers at risk

The tobacco lobby in Indonesia has long thwarted any attempt to more stringently regulate cigarette sales and advertising by claiming that those who would suffer the most would be the tens of thousands of Indonesians employed in cigarette factories.

The reality, however, is that greater investment in factory automation – including a transition from hand-rolled kretek production to a machine-rolled process at an H.M. Sampoerna factory in Karawang, West Java – is having the same effect of putting workers out of a job, Hery said.

According to filings, PMI’s operating profit from Asia plunged 31 percent to $3.2 billion in 2014 from the previous year, due to higher manufacturing costs, primarily in Indonesia.

With half a billion dollars in capital expenditure expected for H.M. Sampoerna, Hery warned of “even more tobacco industry workers getting fired.”

‘Blinded by cash’

Kartono of the NCTC said he was optimistic that Joko would reject PMI’s investment offer, but also warned that the president’s advisers could cloud his judgment.

“Hopefully Jokowi will not be blinded by the amount of cash being offered and fall into this investment trap set by Philip Morris,” he said.

A spokesman for the president did not respond to requests for comment from the Globe.

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"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

" ... The Shift in Human Nature

You're starting to see integrity change. Awareness recalibrates integrity, and the Human Being who would sit there and take advantage of another Human Being in an old energy would never do it in a new energy. The reason? It will become intuitive, so this is a shift in Human Nature as well, for in the past you have assumed that people take advantage of people first and integrity comes later. That's just ordinary Human nature.

In the past, Human nature expressed within governments worked like this: If you were stronger than the other one, you simply conquered them. If you were strong, it was an invitation to conquer. If you were weak, it was an invitation to be conquered. No one even thought about it. It was the way of things. The bigger you could have your armies, the better they would do when you sent them out to conquer. That's not how you think today. Did you notice?

Any country that thinks this way today will not survive, for humanity has discovered that the world goes far better by putting things together instead of tearing them apart. The new energy puts the weak and strong together in ways that make sense and that have integrity. Take a look at what happened to some of the businesses in this great land (USA). Up to 30 years ago, when you started realizing some of them didn't have integrity, you eliminated them. What happened to the tobacco companies when you realized they were knowingly addicting your children? Today, they still sell their products to less-aware countries, but that will also change.

What did you do a few years ago when you realized that your bankers were actually selling you homes that they knew you couldn't pay for later? They were walking away, smiling greedily, not thinking about the heartbreak that was to follow when a life's dream would be lost. Dear American, you are in a recession. However, this is like when you prune a tree and cut back the branches. When the tree grows back, you've got control and the branches will grow bigger and stronger than they were before, without the greed factor. Then, if you don't like the way it grows back, you'll prune it again! I tell you this because awareness is now in control of big money. It's right before your eyes, what you're doing. But fear often rules. ..."

Singapore moves against Indonesian firms over haze

Yahoo – AFP, 26 Sep 2015

The Fullerton Hotel is blanketed in thick haze, in Singapore, on September 24,

2015 (AFP Photo/Roslan Rahman)

Singapore (AFP) - Singapore has launched legal action that could lead to massive fines against Indonesian companies blamed for farm and plantation fires spewing unhealthy levels of air pollution over the city-state.

Five Indonesian companies including multinational Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) have been served with legal notices, according to a Singapore government statement issued late Friday.

The move followed a bitter diplomatic spat over Indonesia's failure to stop a severe outbreak of smoky haze which has also affected Malaysia and persisted for years.

APP, part of Indonesia's Sinar Mas conglomerate, is one of the world's largest pulp and paper groups and publicly upholds "sustainability" and forest conservation as core principles. Its products include stationery and toilet paper.

APP was asked by Singapore's National Environment Agency to supply information on its subsidiaries operating in Singapore and Indonesia, as well as measures taken by its suppliers in Indonesia to put out fires in their concessions.

The group, which has paper mills in Indonesia and China, did not immediately reply when asked by AFP for comment.

Under a 2014 law called the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act, Singapore can impose a fine of Sg$100,000 ($70,000) for each day that a local or foreign company contributes to unhealthy levels of haze pollution in Singapore, subject to a maximum total of Sg$2.0 million.

Singapore is located near Indonesia's vast Sumatra island, where fires have traditionally been set off by farmers and plantations to clear land for cultivation.

Four other Indonesian companies -- Rimba Hutani Mas, Sebangun Bumi Andalas Wood Industries, Bumi Sriwijaya Sentosa and Wachyuni Mandira -- have been told to take measures to extinguish fires on their land, refrain from starting new ones, and submit action plans to prevent future fires.

Sinar Mas is also involved in palm oil production, an industry widely blamed for forest fires in Indonesia.

In its statement issued Friday, the Singapore government said it was "examining how to apply more economic pressure against errant companies," including a review of its own procurement policies.

A soldier inspects a peatland forest on fire in Kampar district, Riau province, 
on Indonesia's Sumatra island, on August 7, 2015 (AFP Photo/Alfachrozie)

Singapore's Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan said the haze problem has lasted "for far too long".

"This is not a natural disaster. Haze is a man-made problem that should not be tolerated. It has caused major impact on the health, society and economy of our region," he said in the statement.

Singapore declared emergency shutdowns of elementary and high schools on Friday after the air pollutant index hit "hazardous" levels.

It eased to "moderate" levels on Saturday but a shift in wind direction can quickly change the situation.

The current haze outbreak is the worst since mid-2013. The recurring crisis grips Southeast Asia nearly every year during the dry season.

Singapore officials have reacted with outrage to Indonesian Vice-President Jusuf Kalla's comments that Indonesia's neighbours should be grateful for good air quality most of the year, and that Jakarta need not apologise for the crisis.

Indonesia has previously said that Singapore-based companies were among those responsible for the blazes.

About 3,000 troops and police have been sent to Sumatra to fight the fires, with Indonesian authorities saying last week that it would take a month to bring them under control.

Indonesia Wants to Use Yuan for Trades in Asean

Jakarta Globe, 2 August 2015

Jakarta. Indonesia is proposing the use of China's yuan for trade and investment purposes in Asean‎ countries in a bid to counter further impacts from the stronger US dollar against currencies in the region, a minister said on Tuesday.

The 10 members of the Asean region, including Indonesia, Myanmar, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, mostly use US dollars for international trade. But a strengthening greenback has made imports and servicing debt more expensive, pushing some to consider turning to the yuan.

"We want to push [the use of the yuan] when Indonesia trades with China in particular," Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said at the House of Representatives. "Bank Indonesia is preparing the mechanism so it will be attractive for traders."

Trade Minister Thomas Lembong also brought up the issue on Monday after a meeting with the president.

He said Indonesia should push harder for broader use of the Chinese currency in the region because Asean economies were "much more in tune" with China.

The rupiah traded at an average of 14,700 per US dollar on Monday morning, its weakest point since 1998, according to the counter price at state-owned Bank Rakyat Indonesia. It has lost about 13 percent of its value against the dollar this year.

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Taiwan adds renminbi to forex reserves portfolio

China and Iceland extend currency swap deal

China, Britain signs agreement on currency swap

China seals first free-trade deal with Switzerland

New Zealand, China May Allow Direct Currency Conversion for Trade

China and Brazil sign $30bn currency swap agreement

Boost for City as Sir Mervyn King does currency swap deal with Bank of China

China, South Korea to boost local currency usage under trade pact

China, Australia in talks over direct currency trading

China says Indonesia buys bonds in interbank market

African central banks included in RMB bond placement
China offers $20bn in loans to Africa
China and Brazil in $30bn currency swap agreement
China and Japan will start direct currency trading


"The U in Kundalini"- Oct 18, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: Kundalini, Unification, EU, Nobel Peace Prize 2012, Middle East, South America, Only 5 Currencies on Earth, Old Souls, Duality will dismiss, 3D Humanity will melt with Multi dimensional higher self, Global Unity… etc.)