text:
Calls intensify for Bishop Malone to resign over sex abuse scandal
By Dan Herbeck
Published Fri, Aug 24, 2018 |Updated Sun, Aug 26, 2018
Bishop Richard J. Malone walks down the aisle in the procession during the ordination of four new priests at St. Joseph Cathedral on Saturday, June 2, 2018. (Derek Gee/Buffalo News)
Public pressure mounted on Bishop Richard J. Malone on Friday as a congressman, two other public officials and a prominent Buffalo businessman who serves as a church deacon called upon him to resign because of his handling of clergy abuse cases.
A Catholic radio station in Buffalo – WLOF-FM, Station of the Cross – posted a statement on its website, saying Malone "covered up for predatory priests" and should resign "immediately" as bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo.
Paul L. Snyder III, chief executive officer of the Snyder Corp., told The Buffalo News it is time for thousands of Catholics in Western New York to "rise up" and insist on changes in their church.
Snyder, a longtime church volunteer who serves as a deacon in his parish, said he believes that recent news reports about Malone's handling of clergy abuse allegations show that he and other top diocesan officials have been involved in a "cover-up" and that it is time for Malone to resign.
In his letter to Malone, Snyder said the bishop's "conduct to mask the truth from our Community, demonstrates that you have been seriously negligent in your duties as the leader of our Diocese," Snyder wrote to the bishop. "I … respectfully ask for your resignation from the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo."
Similar comments came from Rep. Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo, Erie County Legislator Patrick B. Burke, D-Buffalo, and Buffalo Councilman Christopher P. Scanlon, all of whom also called for Malone to resign.
"Overwhelming evidence recently released clearly shows that Bishop Malone has exhibited poor leadership and knew about children and others put in harm's way. He must resign," Higgins said. He called on Erie County District Attorney John Flynn Jr. and state Attorney General Barbara Underwood to "immediately launch a full investigation" into clergy abuse and cover-ups.
"I do believe that we are going to see a statewide investigation of how dioceses throughout the state handled these cases," Higgins said after a lengthy talk with Flynn. "I urge the Attorney General's Office and the district attorneys to move forward with all due diligence."
Burke accused Malone and other diocese leaders of orchestrating a cover-up that "perpetuated sexual crimes against children."
"If any other organization were responsible for conspiring to hide pedophiles among its ranks, the public would demand the immediate resignations of anyone in leadership," said Burke, a Catholic who is running for state Assembly.
Scanlon tweeted, "Bishop Malone knowingly and repeatedly put children in danger, he should resign immediately."
Malone and other Buffalo Diocese officials declined to comment Friday on calls for the bishop to resign. A diocese spokesman, George Richert, sent an email to all the diocese's priests and deacons, advising them of the calls for the bishop's resignation and asking them to pray for Malone.
Paul Snyder III, president and CEO of Snyder Corp., called on Buffalo Diocese Bishop Richard J. Malone to resign. (Derek Gee/News file photo)
Snyder, 57, of Amherst, said he has been deeply concerned about the diocese and its handling of clergy abuse incidents since before he became a church deacon 15 years ago. Deacons serve as volunteer leaders at many parishes in Western New York. A deacon does not have all the sacramental powers of a priest. They assist priests at Masses and other religious services and sometimes preach sermons during Masses.
He said those concerns have peaked in recent months, with revelations in the local news media of child molestation incidents involving more than 60 priests who have served in the diocese. He said he was outraged earlier this month when a massive Pennsylvania grand jury report on clergy abuse criticized the Buffalo Diocese for sending the Rev. Michael Freeman to work in Pennsylvania after he had been involved in five molestation incidents in the Buffalo area.
But for Snyder, the final straw came this week when a WKBW report alleged that Malone and other diocese leaders were involved in covering up allegations that Snyder's own pastor – the Rev. Robert Yetter of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Swormville – engaged in inappropriate conduct with adult men, including one who said Yetter tried to kiss him and grab his groin.
"I've served with this man for 15 years, served on the altar with him for many Masses," Snyder said. "I cannot believe that our bishop would fail to notify our parish members and those of us who serve as volunteers about these allegations."
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Religious order targeted in suits calls Child Victims Act unconstitutional
Insurance firm sues Buffalo Diocese to avoid paying for sex abuse claims
"For me, it has been 36 hours of shock, anger and hurt since I saw this report about Father Yetter, our pastor," Snyder told The News. "This breaks my heart. Father Yetter made a sudden announcement in July that he was retiring. None of us were told why, but now we know why."
Although the diocese declined to comment, The News obtained a copy of an email sent to Snyder from Terrence M. Connors, who has been lead attorney for the diocese during the clergy abuse scandal.
Connors defended the bishop's handling of clergy abuse cases and asked that Snyder meet with the bishop to discuss his concerns.
"(You) raise issues that our Bishop has carefully considered," Connors wrote to Snyder. "I have personally sat with him as he agonized over tough decisions addressing the delicate balance that exists on the many issues that surround the sexual abuse crisis. I am confident that if you saw the commitment and effort I have witnessed personally that you would have a better understanding of the devotion Bishop Malone has displayed to the management of the Diocese. I recommend that you consider scheduling a meeting with Bishop Malone to air your issues when he has an opportunity to respond."
Higgins, who is Catholic, said he was especially upset by a report on clergy abuse and cover-ups put out by a Pennsylvania grand jury earlier this month, and WKBW's investigative report on Malone's handling of allegations against Father Arthur Smith.
According to the WKBW report, Malone assigned Smith last year to a Depew parish, Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta Church, despite repeated allegations that Smith had engaged in improper conduct with children and adults in his role as a priest. According to the TV report, Malone was fully aware of accusations against Smith and that he had been treated at a psychiatric facility.
And although he was aware that Smith in 2013 had been relieved of his duties at a Clarence nursing home after two men made allegations of improper sexual advances, Malone wrote a glowing letter of recommendation for Smith to an organization that provides priests to act as "chaplains" on oceangoing cruises, the TV report said.
Smith is "a person of good moral character and reputation," Malone wrote in the letter of recommendation, adding that he was "unaware of anything in his background which would render him unsuitable to work with minor children." Smith wound up getting his job as cruise ship chaplain, according to the TV report.
[RELATED: Despite warnings, past Buffalo bishops returned abusive clergy to parishes]
Flynn, the Erie County district attorney, said his office is investigating Smith, Yetter and how their cases were handled by the diocese.
"If we find criminal wrongdoing, and it is within the statute of limitations, we will move forward," Flynn said. "I am also in discussions with the criminal division of the Attorney General's Office about taking part in a statewide investigation. I told them I am on board 100 percent."
"I think it has been made very clear that the Buffalo Diocese cannot be trusted to investigate itself when it comes to these issues," Higgins said. "There are many good priests in Western New York, but there are serious systemic problems."
In addition to serving as a church deacon, Snyder the Buffalo businessman, has also been active in other church activities. He is a former board member of Catholic Charities, of Baker Victory Services and of Christ the King Seminary, where priests are trained.
He said it was no easy decision for him to ask Malone to resign. He said he has been worried about local clergy abuse of children since 2002, when he was working on his studies to become a deacon. He said he asked then-Bishop Henry Mansell to meet with him on the clergy abuse issue.
"I met with Bishop Mansell and asked him, man to man, face to face, if there was a cover-up in this diocese," Snyder said. "He told me, there's no cover-up, the problems have been dealt with, there is no longer a problem in this diocese."
Snyder said his worries were reignited earlier this year, as victims of clergy abuse began to come forward in stories in The News and other local media.
"Clearly, there is a problem, and there has been a cover-up," Snyder said. "The Pennsylvania grand jury report was horrific, and I think the time has come for our state to conduct the same kind of investigation. Yesterday, we found out that our diocese is ending its adoption program because they don't want to help homosexual couples to adopt children. So our diocese covers up for priests who molest children, but they won't allow homosexual couples to help children. To me, that is the ultimate hypocrisy. If you ran a business this way, and covered up for child molesters in your company, you'd be put in jail."
Snyder said he does not believe the situation will improve until "thousands" of Western New York Catholics demand a new approach.
"This is not just about the problems at my parish. It's a much broader problem," Snyder said. "It's time for the Catholic community to rise up."
Read Snyder's letter below:
Paul Snyder Letter to Bishop Malone by Michael McAndrew on Scribd
Story topics: Clergy sex cases
Dan Herbeck– Dan Herbeck is an investigative reporter who has been at The Buffalo News for nearly 40 years. He is a graduate of Sweet Home High School, Erie County Community College and St. Bonaventure University. He and Lou Michel wrote a best-selling book in 2001 about Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City bombing, "American Terrorist."


Digitalirony: Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year!
Merry Christmas everyone. Wishing you a very merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year. This is my 100th post and I'd like to thank every one who has taken the time to read my articles, to thank very much those of you who have left comments and thank very, very, very much anyone who has clicked on one of the ads ;).
'Twas a pleasure...likewise with the christmas joy and spreading thereof.


text:
Grand Marshall
It is known and revered throughout Ohio and beyond, the perfect fall festival, the quintessential homecoming event.
It is the Jackson Apple Festival
The Jackson Apple Festival has been welcoming people into Jackson from near and far for 74 years and become one of the largest and most respected festivals in Ohio. While there have been many changes over the years, still there are many things that are still the same, the reason why so many Jackson natives who have left the home of their youth come home every year the third week in September so they and now their families can enjoy the Apple Festival once more.
It was in the early spring of 1937 a group of members from the Jackson Chamber Of Commerce were interested in developing some idea that could really mean something to all of the people in the county, either directly or indirectly. It was decided to promote particularly one of Jackson County's leading industries, namely the production of apples. There were more than 40 farmers who were producing apples as a commercial product. It was also felt that something should be done that would have a tendency to bring the people of the rural areas and the cities together in a cooperative effort and the idea of a festival was born. The hope was this project would advertise all of Jackson County's industries with a special emphasis on the apple production, and in doing so would give the former residents of the area at least one time each year when they could come home to visit relatives and friends. The idea was new to Jackson County and it had been many years since that kind of festival had been held, but the interest grew rapidly and the first festival was a successful one in many ways.
The initial Apple Festival was not a financial success, but not to worry. In order for all debts to be paid, about ten of the promoters of the festival borrowed the necessary money by personally signing a note at the local bank. They were not discouraged and their faith has been rewarded many times over.
The festival was only five years old in 1941 when the attack on Pearl Harbor launched the country into World War II. Like so many other events of the time, the Apple Festival was silenced "for the duration", but resumed again in 1946. By the time the 20th anniversary of the Apple Festival rolled around in 1957, the festival organizers were still trying to attract patrons with new ideas. Unlike today, the biggest festival parade was the opening Wednesday night parade, and many of the honors from the opening day were gained by Lick Local School. Thursday was big in 1957 because of the establishment of "Old Fashion Bargain' Days". Saturday was Shriner's Day and the festival ended on Saturday night with the annual Apple Festival Ball, beginning at 10 p.m. There was also a change in leaders about this time.
The Jackson Jaycees, which incidentally stands for Junior Chamber of Commerce, was chartered in Jackson in 1955 and within five years was making a mighty impact on the community. By 1960, the Jaycees had taken over the sponsorship and coordination of the Apple Festival from the Jackson Chamber Of Commerce, and continued as the sponsoring organization through 2012. In 1961, one of the top festival events was a foxhound show and one of the top displays came from the Jackson Camera Club.
In 1963, "Apple and the Orient" was the theme and in honor of Jeno Paulucci, president and founder of the Chun King Corporation. Chun King was Jackson's largest employer and the Chun King was the largest maker of oriental food in the world. Ohio Gov. James Rhodes, a Jackson County native, brought his entire cabinet to Jackson and held the first cabinet meeting of the Ohio government in southeastern Ohio. The featured musical entertainer was nationally known bluegrass balladeer Hylo Brown while nightly musical entertainment was provided by Lloyd White and his band. . When not performing, White also served as the festival president that, year. By the time the 30th anniversary of the first Apple Festival rolled around in 1967, it was starting to find its niche. Jackson High School had a home football game, and it was dubbed "The Apple Bowl". With county rival Wellston as the opponent, it was a perfect "Apple Bowl" game. There was the school parade at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Mr. Cartoon from WSAZ-TV in Huntington, W. Va. On Saturday for the kids, with the feature entertainment happening on Thursday night with Dave Dudley and the Road Runners, featuring Kenny Price.
By 1977, some 40 years since the first festival graced the streets of downtown Jackson, many of the events loved and anticipated in the Apple Festival of today were beginning to become regular fare on the Apple Festival's agenda. Saturday had replaced Wednesday as the biggest day, and the Saturday Night Parade was now the festival's biggest event and still is today "the largest lighted parade in Ohio".
In 2012, it became obvious that it was time for yet another new era for the Apple Festival. In order to ensure the future of the Apple Festival, a corporation was established, the Jackson Area Festivals and Events. This corporation was chartered as an Ohio Tax Exempt corporation, and it is awaiting it's classification as a 501(c)(3) Tax Exempt Status from the IRS. On April 1, 2013 the Apple Festival, now to be known as the Jackson Apple Festival became part of the Jackson Area Festivals and Events Corporation. This change opens the way for making tax exempt contributions to the festival, and broadens the membership base, both of which will ensure the strength and longevity of the Apple Festival.
It is the Saturday Night Parade that has brought the Apple Festival some of its finest moments in the last 15 years. Twice in the early 1990s, courtesy of Budweiser, the famed Clydesdale Horses were a part of the Apple Festival Grand Finale Parade. Arguably one of the greatest moments in Apple Festival history occurred on September 21, 2001 when the world renowned full Ohio State University Marching Band came to Jackson for the Apple Festival. Believed to be appearing for the first time at a festival in Ohio, the band performed a "halftime show" at the Jackson High School football field that filled every available seat. That night, the town of 7,000 people seemed to be bursting at the seams as a crowd estimated at more than 80,000 people, and eight to ten deep all along the parade route, cheered with ecstasy as the band made its way throughout the downtown parade route. It was moment in time never to be forgotten.
It is often said there are 51 weeks of the year in Jackson, and the Apple Festival. Like clockwork come a Saturday in the middle of September, the downtown streets are closed and booths are constructed along the street. The festival now opens at noon on Tuesday, draws tens of thousands of people, ends on Saturday night, but without the Apple Festival Ball. By Sunday at 5:00 p.m. the streets are clear, open to traffic, and the 51-week wait begins for the next Jackson Apple Festival and another moment in time.
This article was written by Jackson Area Chamber Of Commerce Executive Director, Randy Heath,
a member of the Jackson Area Festivals & Events.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


give me the a list of the foods you can eat and ill do the rest.!!!!!
I could use help with ground turkey.. I but the 98% fat free ground turkey all white breast meat.. I usually just cook 2 packages and then throw in a full can of salsa and eat a side of veggies usually dark green veggies... I'll leave it up to your imagination as far as ingredients... Sodium is not a concern... Unhealthy fats is... No butter, margarine, etc.. And no carbs or trace amount..
head of your favorite lettus.
olive oil in a large skillett.
start to cook off the turkey, and when its about half way done add everything except the lettus.
Try to stay under 60g carbs per serving, 40 is preferable. Must yield high protein upwards of 40g per serving also. Fats should always remain low unless from healthy sources (and still shouldnt be TOO high) like fish or nuts. In the instance it is high in fats due to fish or nuts or a healthy fat source, the carb content should be drastically lower. Saturated and trans fats are a big no no. Dairy is usually out of the question. Fatty meats are also out of the question (sausage, bacon, some steaks etc..). When cooking it is best to avoid olive oil (unless on keto diet) and use something with no calories for pan coating like PAM.
All seasonings are acceptable (unless you are sodium restricting). All vegetables are also acceptable.
Carb sources need to be low GI (no sugars). You can check most GI lists that will have a full listing on most foods you could incorporate.
If anyone else has anything to add, please do.
Last edited by TooPowerful4u; 05-04-2008 at 12:13 PM.
Ok, can you give me slow cooker recipe for chicken, with minimal ingredients, and readily available ingredients (like chicken broth, onions, mushrooms, celery, etc..).
Also ne other recipe for chicken, doesnt have to be slow cooker, once again which is fairly simple and has easily available ingredients..
Your first recipe sounds delicious but, we dont have lean ground turkey, scallions, shallots, or saki.. here.. LOL.. So thts the reason i ask for basic simple vegetables in my recipe..
2 dash cayenne pepper if you want it spicey.
put it all in a slow cooker and stir it ever 1/2 hour for 1 hour. cook for another 2-3 hrs.no more that 3 hrs total.
if your not restricting carbs you can always add come bow tie pasta.
1/2 cup shitake mushrooms are preffered butif you cant get them any mushroom will do.
slice the chicken breast in half but not all the way through so you can make a pocket.
sautee all the veggies salt and pepper to taste(now that im thinking about it you can even use a no calorie cooking spray) except the spinach.
lay the spinach inside the chicken uncooked and spoon in the rest of the veggies.
bake a 400 for 15 min.
i love this over a bed of brown rice with grilled asparagus.
Hey thanks man.. I will try it soon. Hopefully I wont mess up..
Chicken marsala over brown rice.Just made this today!
cook the chicken just until it turns opaque seasoning as desired with salt and pepper.
throw in the shallots and mushrooms and continue to sautee for 2 min.
add the wine and let it reduce by 1/2 its origional volume.
cook for 10 more min turning the chicken a couple of times.
Serve over brown rice with your favorite vegetables.
How bout something with Chicken and Natural Peanut butter..
just break out the old grill and go ahead and use this sauce like you would use a BBQ sauce. tour going to want to go ahead and grill some fresh corn on the cob with a light dusting of chinese 5 spice.
sweet saki is usually called MIRIN, you can find it near the regular saki in the liqour store. im glad you liked it though.
Thanks again for the tip... I have another request.. Im about to purchase a nice grill to accompany my outside deck... Im looking forward to grilling most of my food from now on..
My request: 2 or 3 healthy liquid marinades for skinless chicken breasts that i could make in bulk.. Store in my fridge and use at will when i need to grill up some chicken..
whisk it all together, to make more just double or triple all the ingredients.
If you can have any healthy fats like olive oil try this.
1/2 diced small red onion.
whisk it all together just remember that alittle of this goes a long way, use sparingly.
This one actualy gets better after it sits for a good 24 hours.
after you marinade and grill the fish(black bass is my favorite) take some of the left over marinade and toss it in a frying pan for a min or so with freshly steamed or grilled veggies, no need for any kind of oil .
Tkav I need your help!!! I have a 5 pounds of lean ground sirloin sitting in the freezer that needs to be eaten. Do you have any low fat meatball or meatloaf recipes? ...Or any other creative ideas, I should try? Thanks!
get urself a bunch of green bell peppers!
in a big bowl mix the rice, meat,spices,garlis,onion, scallions...well u get the idea...everything but the pureed tomatoes.
if you want to you can use the canned tomato sauce , not flavored or anything just plain.
place them tight together in the baking dish so it looks like they cant fall over.
pour the rest of the tomatoes over top.
the meat and peppers will flavor the sauce perfectly.
My other suggestion is meat balls!
if it wont hold add the bread crumbs 1 tbsp at a time until it holds together.


text:
Coronavirus: Turkey bans smoking in public areas amid surge of COVID-19 patients
A man wearing a protective face mask smokes a cigarette amidst the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the old quarters of Delhi, India, October 20, 2020. (Reuters)
Reuters Thursday 12 November 2020
Turkey on Wednesday banned smoking in crowded public places to slow a recent surge in symptomatic coronavirus patients, the Interior Minister said, as the government warned citizens to abide by protective measures.
Daily coronavirus cases in Turkey have recently spiked, with 2,693 patients identified on Wednesday. Ankara only reports the number of those who show symptoms, a decision which critics have said hides the true scale of the outbreak in the country.
Visit our dedicated coronavirus site here for all the latest updates.
In a nationwide notice, the Interior Ministry said the smoking ban aimed to ensure citizens comply with rules to wear protective masks properly in public because people were seen to lower them while smoking.
"For this reason, in order to ensure that masks are worn at all times and properly, as of November 12, 2020, a smoking ban will be imposed in areas and regions such as streets and avenues where citizens are or can be crowded together, necessary public squares and public transportation stops," the ministry said.
Earlier, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca urged citizens to comply fully with mask wearing and social distancing rules. "I am only asking you to do what you can. Nothing more," Koca wrote on Twitter.
Earlier this week, a partial lockdown on senior citizens was also imposed in some provinces, including the capital Ankara and its largest city Istanbul, banning citizens over 65 from being outside between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
President Tayyip Erdogan announced last week that all business, including restaurants, cafes, pools and cinemas, would close at 10 p.m. daily as part of measures against the pandemic.
More than 400,000 people have been infected with COVID-19 in Turkey and 11,145 have died from the respiratory disease, according to Health Ministry data.
For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Coronavirus: Turkey interested in producing Russia's Sputnik V vaccine
WHO calls on Turkey to follow coronavirus guidelines
Coronavirus: Turkey's Erdogan orders businesses closed at 10 p.m. to fight COVID-19
Last Update: Thursday, 12 November 2020 KSA 00:16 - GMT 21:16


text:
Waterford falls in Senior Legion state baseball tournament
Alex Tuneski went 3-for-4, but the 23rd-seeded Waterford Senior American Legion team saw its season come to an end in a 7-4 loss to No. 10 Norwalk on Wednesday in a state tournament play-in game.
Pat Rogers, Eric Hamler and Mike DelosSantos all had two hits for Waterford. Both of Rogers' hits were doubles, and Hamler contributed a triple.
Jason Dargie took the loss on the mound.
Norwalk will face seventh-seeded Niantic, the Zone VI champion, in its next state tournament game at 12:30 p.m., Saturday, at Muzzy Field in Bristol.
BABE RUTH 14
Adam Goss struck out nine batters while walking three and allowing two earned runs on six hits as Waterford rallied to advance to the state tournament championship.
After Simsbury took a 2-0 lead in the top of the third, Waterford, which hasn't lost a game in the double-elimination tournament, came back on Griffin Beaney's two-run single to score Griffin Beaney and Goss.
Waterford added three runs in the fourth inning when Griffin Archambault (2-for-3, two runs) knocked an RBI double to score Tom Pezzolesi, Dylan Konakowitz (2-for-3, two runs) singled in Archambault and Goss singled to score Konakowitz.
Simsbury was knocked down to the losers' bracket, and will play Stamford today. The winner will play Waterford at 5:30 p.m., Friday at Babe Ruth Field in Waterford. If Waterford loses, the two teams will play again to determine the champion.
JAYCEE-TD BANK
Colchester 15
WETHERSFIELD — Colchester unleashed a 13-hit, 15-run attack and scored in every inning but the sixth. Brendan Violette went 3-for-4 with four runs scored and an RBI, while Matt Scheidel was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs.
Teammate Hayden Couture contributed two hits and two runs scored.
NECBL
Navigators 10
Schooners 9 (10)
LYNN, Mass. — Kevin Casey and Joe Hudson each homered and had a pair of RBIs for Mystic, but it couldn't hold off North Shore in an extra-innings loss.
The Schooners (12-16) jumped on starter Dan Slania, scoring eight runs on 13 hits in five innings. Mystic's Anthony Kliniskie evened his record at 2-2 after giving up a run after coming on for the final two outs of the 10th inning.
Hudson was 3-for-5 in the game with a run, two RBIs and a double. Simon Kudernatsch was 3-for-5 with two runs and a double.
9-10 BASEBALL
Norwich 13
Griswold 11
Griffin Pontbriant earned his second win of the B Division District 11 Little League tournament, while teammate Jon Synott added two singles and three runs scored. Vincente Rodriguez contributed a double, triple and three runs scored.
Norwich next plays Sprague-Franklin-Canterbury.
For Griswold, Austin Drabinsky had a single and double.
UConn's dates set
STORRS — UConn's season-opening game against Fordham at 7:30 p.m., on Sept. 1, will be streamed live online on ESPN3.com.
The Huskies' game at Vanderbilt will be at 7:30 p.m., Sept. 10. It will be televised in the south on CSS-Sports. Television plans in Connecticut are to be determined.
COLLEGE TENNIS
Conn College honored
NEW LONDON — Connecticut College's men's and women's squads were honored by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association for their achievement on the court and in the classroom.
The women's program finished 10-11, including 3-5 in the New England Small College Athletic Conference, while the men were 12-10. Both teams also maintained a minimum of a 3.2 grade-point average. Eight players also were honored individually as ITA Scholar Athletes.
O'Neill ousted
BLOOMFIELD — New London Country Club's Jim O'Neill fell to Nick Bogannam, 1-up, in 19 holes in a quarterfinal match at the Senior Match Play Championship at Gillette Ridge Golf Club.
Dave Szewczul, William Lee, Jim Tierney and Rick Lawrence all advanced to today's semifinal round.
Cichon inducted
CROMWELL — The late Wally Cichon, a Willimantic native, will join three other individuals as the newest inductees into the Connecticut Section PGA Professional Hall of Fame.
Cichon, who died in 2009, served Ellington Ridge Country Club for more than 30 years as its golf professional. He was runner-up in the Connecticut State PGA championship multiple times and was named the 1979 Golf Professional of the Year and the 1987 Teacher of the Year in the Section.
Cichon, who was born in 1925 in Willimantic, began his career at the Willimantic Country Club (now University Club of Connecticut) as a 16-year-old in 1941 before eventually moving on to Ellington Ridge in 1958.
Harry Bontempo, Don Gliha and Joel Smith also will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Nov. 21 at MGM Grand at Foxwoods.
FROM WEDNESDAY
ECML
Johnny Rockets 11
Modestos/Sonics 0
NIANTIC — Scott Chiasson struck out 13 and allowed two hits over five innings to lead Johnny Rockets (10-2). Chris Wojick, Bob Fournier and Jesse Sturges had two hits apiece, while Wojick, Fournier, Terence Farina, Bob Chmiel and Frank Eucalitto each scored twice.
Austin Free took the loss for Modesto's/Sonics (4-11).


text:
Jámski trdožív je drobna jamska žival, ki jo je prvi opazoval slovenski jamar in raziskovalec France Velkovrh, zato se po njem strokovno imenuje Velkovrhia enigmatica. Prva sta vrsto sicer opisala Janez Matjašič in Boris Sket leta 1971.

Po načinu razvoja spada trdoživ med korme. To so združenja posameznih pripadnikov iste vrste, ki so med seboj povezani in ki izhajajo iz istega roditelja pri postopku brstenja (na primer nekatere spužve). Zelo zanimivo je opazovati predvsem način sodelovanja med raznimi pripadniki istega korma. Razvidna je namreč nekakšna specializacija dejavnosti. Nekateri pripadniki korma so na primer zadolženi za prehrano, drugi za razmnoževanje, itd. To seveda močno vpliva na razne oblike in lastnosti posameznika.

Jamski trdoživ ima obliko drobnega polipa, dolgega od 1 do 2 centimetra. Na enem koncu se podaljšuje v skupino lovk (od 5 do 10), s katerimi lovi plankton in ga nosi v žrelo. Kakor pri večini kormov, se razmnožuje z brstenjem. Lahko pa se razmnožuje tudi spolno. Zgornji polip, verjetno roditelj korma, ima majhno rumeno culico z jajčeci, iz katerih se razvijejo ličinke.

Trdoživnjaki
Jamske živali
Taksoni, opisani leta 1971
Favna Evrope
Favna Slovenije

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Had a busy weekend doing some re-shoots with Chelsea. We re-shot all her greenscreen stuff and it looks so much better now! Then we shot some inserts of her that will be used when we flashback to the first movie, since we had a different actress playing this character then. I also took a photo of her face that I'll be using to do a face replacement on the original actress for some shots that we couldn't redo. I'm not too excited about having more effects shots to do, but it's all going to be worth it. We finished the weekend off by doing Chelsea's ADR and then watched the rough cut. Slowly but surly we're getting done!
Man, it's been a long day. I've been busy working on a trailer. Cutting a trailer is hard enough, but it's even worse when you've only done ADR for three actors. I'm hoping to keep it more visual than dialogue based. We'll see how this goes.
Not a lot to update on right now. I've spent the past week showing around our rough cut to people I trust and getting honest feedback. We've also been hacking away at the ADR and it's coming along. Other than that, nothing exciting.


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Tricks For Renting a Roll Off Container in Altoona, Wisconsin!
Everyone wants to get the best prices on whatever they're renting, and dumpsters are no exception. A lot of homeowners in Altoona are looking to start new renovation project, but never think ahead to the great amount of waste they'll be producing, and the need they will have to dispose of it. No matter what type of project you're working on you'll be able to find a dumpster rental that will fit your weight, material and size needs.
It's vital to consider the various types of costs you can encounter when renting a dumpster in Altoona. The main expenses in your rental will include size, weight and the composition of your garbage. Another point that may effect your budget is any permit fees that may be applicable in Altoona. You should always check with your rental company and ask specific questions before moving ahead.
The most common roll-off dumpster size is the 20 cubic yard option, which will take care of most average projects. If you aren't sure what size you will need, you can always explain your task to the rental company and they can advise you on which dumpster would be the best fit for you. Generally most home improvement jobs in Altoona can be completed with a 20 cubic yard dumpster, unless you have large materials you're working with. If you're remodeling a home or getting a roof replaced, you're probably better off going with a 40 cubic yard dumpster, as it's always better to have more space than less. It never hurts to have a little leftover space for waste in your dumpster, and if you find yourself having an area leftover, you can always get rid of of any waste you've got sitting around.
Depending on the waste you're disposing of, your dumpster can fill up very rapidly. Also, it's not just about space, but also about the weight of the garbage you're tossing into the dumpster. Often times companies have weight restrictions on their dumpster that can quickly be exceeded, even if it isn't completely filled. Having too much weight in your dumpster could easily damage your driveway or property, so be mindful of where you are putting it. You should always let the dumpster rental company in Altoona know what types of materials in general you'll be throwing away, that way they can tell you what to expect.
Considering the manner of items you'll be putting in the dumpster is also an important step to take before you make a choice on which one to rent. If you're only trying to get rid of a handful of appliances or furniture, such as couches, then you could probably look into a junk removal service that might be more effective. Depending on the job you're doing, a 10 or 20 cubic yard dumpster might fit your needs, since they are ideal for cleaning out garages or junk piles. One thing you'll also want to do is ask your dumpster rental business about any prohibited items that they don't allow you to dispose of. Often times dumpster companies in Altoona will not allow items like large appliances, batteries, grease, cans of points or oil and antifreeze bottles.. It's very important to ask these kinds questions when talking to your rental company.
Rental prices are effected by a broad variety of factors. The majority of dumpster service providers give you a no-cost estimate for their services. Obviously, larger dumpsters can carry far more volume and weight. It is going to be more work to transport a large container, even if it's not at capacity, since it requires more effort. Because of this, renting larger containers is more expensive than smaller dumpsters.
It's always best to select a dumpster company within the local area of Altoona. This is because locally owned companies can save you a lot of time and hassle going through paperwork, since they will already work with local recycling and waste disposal businesses. They'll also have a heads up as to where the ideal locations to dispose of waste materials are. Take your time when looking for dumpster rentals to choose the best one for your job, and plan accordingly to provide your rental company with as many details as you can.


Mitchell Technical Institute's state-of-the-art Technology Center is available to serve your training needs. Look inside to see how your organization can use this Center's high-tech capabilities to provide training, instruction or just a great place to meet for your business or organization.
Situated just off I-90, the MTI Technology Center is centrally located in the eastern part of the state and can be a convenient meeting place for your employees or clients.
The 170-seat amphitheater features a 12-foot fixed polymer screen. All available technologies are at your fingertips at the "smart podium": wireless internet, computer w/software, document camera, videoconferencing, VHS, DVD, and more.
We can provide technical support or training to your presenter. The amphitheater also features wired and wireless Internet connections if you wish for your clients to use laptop computers. A computer lab is only steps away for breakout sessions.


Leatherman has a new "wearable tool" that's actually a lot like its classic multi-tool, but in the form of a bracelet. It's called Leatherman Tread.
Tread is made up of "high-strength, corrosion-resistant 17-4 stainless steel links", and each one comes with distinct functional tools. The idea is that you'll wear the Tread on your wrist and have easy and immediate access to 25 or so tools including box wrenches and screwdrivers.
Ben Rivera, Leatherman's president, said he first imagined the tool when Disneyland wouldn't let him into the amusement park due to the Leatherman Skeletool he was toting around. Rivera has experiences as an engineer, so he wondered if Leatherman could make a chain-link bracelet with functional tools. He even wore a bike chain around his wrist to see how it would feel.
He obviously didn't mind the weight of metal around his wrist, because Leatherman is announcing Tread. The rugged bracelet is fully customisable with slotted fasteners, allowing you to rearrange links and add new ones. The clasp even serves as a bottle opener and a #2 square drive. Other handy tools include a cutting hook, hex drives, and a carbide glass breaker.
Tread should launch this summer. Another version that includes a Swiss-made timepiece with precision quartz movement and shock resistant sapphire crystal will launch around autumn. There's no word yet on price, but watch the video above for more details.


text:
MM Lee's interview with NatGeo – transcript
Transcript of Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's interview with Mark Jacobson from National Geographic on 6 July 2009.
Q: "I don't think you'd be dazzled but this is what they give when they interview a big shot."
Mr Lee: "Okay. Barbara Poulson, she's the CEO, owner?"
Q: "She's the editor. The writers don't deal with the CEO. The writers go economy class."
Mr Lee: "Thank you."
Q: "It was interesting. The thing about National Geographic is the joke but it's not really a joke, I guess, the photographers go business class and the writers go economy class. I never cared for that very much myself."
Mr Lee: "The writers go by economy class."
Q: "The photographers go business class."
Mr Lee: "They'd get tired. They don't have, what do you call it, DVD?"
Q: "No, you can watch it. In the airplane, the DVD is about this close to your face, so you can't really move very much. It's sort of like sitting in the first row of the movie theatre. So actually I've interviewed Presidents and I was born in 1948, there've been 10-12 American Presidents. They come and they go. But I've never interviewed anybody who has stayed the length that you have. It's like interviewing George Washington and Thomas Jefferson rolled up into one, so it's kind of nice."
Mr Lee: "It was one of these cataclysmic moments in history when empires dissolved and invading armies came in and lorded it over us for three-and-a-half years, in this case the Japanese Imperial army who were quite brutal and then the Communists who were armed to fight the Japanese, made a bid for power. So after all that, we came through as the Communists would call it the crucible of fire."
Q: "The crucible of fire. In your book, you said that the three years of Japanese Occupation were the most, probably the most important years of your life. Do you feel that way, do you still feel that way?"
Mr Lee: "Yes, of course. First, I was in my late teens, they captured Singapore in February 1942. I was 18-plus and they didn't leave until 1945 when I was 21-plus."
Q: "Those are significant years in anybody's life."
Mr Lee: "So I was Chinese male, tall and they were going for people like me because this was the centre for the collection of ethnic Chinese donations to Chungking to fight the Japanese. So when they came in, they were out to punish us. So they slaughtered 50,000, well the numbers estimate go up to about 90,000 but I think verifiable numbers would be about 50,000. And just randomly but for a stroke of fortune, I would have been one of them."
Q: "Well, 1945 seems to be a, if you look back over history, 1945 was a cataclysmic year for humanity in general. You see difference between the combination of the detonation of the atom bomb and the discovery of the Nazi camps. So at that point, tell me what you think? It seems that humanity began to stop thinking of itself as made in the image of the creator so maybe it weren't so wonderful."
Mr Lee: "I don't think I ever started off with that hypothesis or that basis. I always thought that humanity was animal-like and that Confucian theory was Man can be improved. I'm not sure it can be but it can trained, it can be disciplined. I'm not sure you can actually change the character of a man but you can discipline him and make him, you make a left-hander write with his right hand but you can't really change his natural born instincts to use his left hand. But a Confucianist belief Man is perfectible which is an optimistic belief."
Q: "I would say so."
Mr Lee: "And there are many American sociologists who also would like to prove that to be correct, the latest one being the professor who has done some research insists why ethnic Jews and Asians and West Indian Blacks do so well in America and they came to the conclusion that's because they emphasised upbringing and education."
Q: "Actually, I went to the University of California at Berkley back in the 1960s and early 70s, I never graduated, then I went back and finished my degree in 2004 to show my children their father wasn't a bum and it was interesting to see how the demographic composition of US, that's the number one public college in the United States. It was like half of the graduating class was Asians and it was interesting and it made me feel like I would never have gotten there."
Mr Lee: "Most of the Asians settled in California because of the climate."
Q: "It was sort of striking because you feel like, what you're saying is interesting because it's like some people seem to thrive in certain environments and some people don't, I don't know why."
Mr Lee: "Well, we've got ethnic Chinese and ethnic Indians here. The settled ones have become less hard-driving and hard-striving and we've got recent migrants, they are hungry, they're determined to succeed having uprooted themselves and they're doing better."
Q: "Is that okay? Is that fine, I mean?"
Mr Lee: "No it worries the old citizens. They say look this is fierce competition, my children won't be getting the scholarships because they're doing well in schools, they push their children very hard. In fact, they need no pushing. They come here from China with no English language and they know that without English, they won't get along. So there are many cases of boys and girls aged 12, 13 who come into our secondary schools and by the time, they finish the schools, they top the class in English."
Q: "That's interesting, it's like my grandparents came to New York. When they came in, they don't speak English and they did great. They just really tried hard and made a life for themselves and I think after a number of generations, it's very difficult to keep that kind of drive up."
Mr Lee: "Of course, of course."
Q: "Do you think that's inevitable or do you think that people just get lazy or what?"
Mr Lee: "No, I think the spurs are not stuck on your hinds. They are part of the herd, why-go-faster? But when you're lagging behind, you must go faster to catch up with the herd. I'm quite sure that there are children of the migrants who strive arduously. When they grow up in the same schools as the Singaporeans, the same playing fields, same environment and they begin to adopt Singaporean habits in the ways of living and thinking. So I'm quite sure they'd become like us. Well, because we're shrinking in our population, our fertility ratio is about 1.29.
Q: "I actually wanted to ask you about that."
Mr Lee: "So it's a worrying factor. So we'll need a constant inflow but we're a small population, so we get the inflow and we get the inflow from the educated end of the population, both Indians and Chinese and they've got surplus populations. Well, I won't say surplus but they've got huge population, huge numbers."
Q: "They have people to spare, that's for sure."
Mr Lee: "No and they've got fierce competition there, so when they come here, higher standards of living for the time being, better social environment with jobs."
Q: "What would you say the parents of the second or third generation of Singaporeans and their children are not able to compete with the new people? How do you tell them?"
Mr Lee: "We tell them look they have got to work harder or they'll become stupid. It's just that they don't see the point of it. Why race when you can canter and save your energy and do other things? Art, ballet, sports whereas these new migrants, they spend all their time slogging away in the library or at home."
Q: "You're not saying that arts, sports and ballet are not important, are you?"
Mr Lee: "No, I'm not saying they are not important but an inordinate amount of time is spent on extra-curricular activities."
Q: "I told my son if you stop playing basketball, you do better on these tests but I like playing basketball. I said, well."
Mr Lee: "Well, I think it's an inevitable evolution of any society and therefore, a regular inflow of migrants without too huge a deluge will keep that society on its toes."
Q: "You have 25 per cent here of people who are expatriates. Is that too much?"
Mr Lee: "Well, there's a little discomfort in some areas because in some areas, they seem to congregate, the new ones. The Indians somehow find the East Coast congenial. They concentrate there, so they become very obvious. The Chinese are more scattered, not so obvious except in the food courts where they are doing the hard work because Chinese cooks from China are willing to work for $1,000 less a month and they're just as good. So the employer looks for them."
Q: "Well suppose, if you were the owner of a restaurant and you were going to hire a chef."
Mr Lee: "I'd choose the best chef."
Q: "You'd chose the best chef. It wouldn't make a difference how much you have to pay."
Mr Lee: "Well, because the customer will make up for any difference. I mean, good chefs are difficult to come by. That's as simple as that."
Q: "The talent."
Mr Lee: "It's the taste buds, your nostrils, sense of colour, et cetera."
Q: "We ate dinner at Iggys, somewhere at the Regency Hotel. He was telling us, we were eating the food and he's sitting there watching us eat which is so disconcerting I have got to say and he was explaining how they put together each dish. It was like listening to a painter telling you."
Mr Lee: "Yes, they make it an art."
Q: "It was an art form."
Mr Lee: "It's not only just food. It's presentation, it's for the eyes, for the smell, for the texture and so on."
Q: "You have a favourite food hawker?"
Mr Lee: "I can't go."
Q: "Or is it really too good to say?"
Mr Lee: "Well, I can't go anymore because so many people want to shake my hands and I become a distraction, I can't really get down to my food."
Q: "So can you have take-out?"
Mr Lee: "Well, that's not quite the same. I tend to go to restaurants when I go out and I try restaurants with a quiet corner where I can sneak in and sneak out with my friends and not have a crowd wanting to shake hands with me."
Q: "One of the things that I did when I came, I've been here about two weeks, and I know I have this interview with you. So they say what are you doing in Singapore? I say well, I'm going to interview the MM and they said, oh yeah. I said well, what would you ask him if you have a chance and people have a lot of question. So I have integrated my questions with their questions."
Mr Lee: "That's all right."
Q: "I thought probably you would appreciate that."
Mr Lee: "I'm 85 coming on to 86 this September. I've had many eggs thrown at me."
Q: "One thing that really struck me, coming from an American perspective is how much people, as much as they may seem to complain, they obviously feel a sense of home here and they love this place and this is their home and whatever problems they may have with whatever, that love of it comes through which I don't think the people really in a place like America can really appreciate that. In America, what do they know about Singapore? They know it has an exotic name, the chewing gum and the guy that got caned. That's it. And one of my missions here is to kind of like explode certain mythologies that people might have about this place."
Mr Lee: "Well, the Americans who've been here and done business, stayed here especially, if you ask them, they produced, the Americans get together and help each other, so they produced a book for new commerce, new entrants. So every three, four years they change and they give out all the eccentricities of the Singapore society, where do you get good food, what you have to watch out for, where they give you a bum rap and so on. And I think high on the list is the clean environment, no graffiti, safe personally, health et cetera, clean air, clean water and clean food except for some isolated cases and a safe environment for their children. I mean, where can you go out and jog at three o'clock in the morning and nothing happens? I think you can see them. You're staying at the marina around there?"
Q: "I'm staying at Merchant Court."
Mr Lee: "Merchant Court? Opposite?"
YY: "In fact, just next to Clarke Quay."
Mr Lee: "Yes, yes. You can. Nobody has been mugged, nobody has been raped. The crime rate is the lowest in Southeast Asia because we have a fairly disciplined population. Everybody is educated, nobody, there are a few dropouts who go in for glue sniffing and drugs and so on but we keep the numbers down and we rescue as much of them as we can. But the social delinquency rate amongst young people is at a minimum."
Q: "One thing that struck me is how you never see a policeman. I live in New York and I see police, cops all the time."
Mr Lee: "You have got to show your presence to scare people, I mean, that I'm around. But in Singapore, we've got what you call neighbourhood police, that they are stationed in the neighbourhood. There's a little neighbourhood post for each precinct and they stay there for two, three, even four years, so they get to know everybody there. So any stranger comes in they know and they become friends with the neighbourhood. So apart from the occasional round in a car, they make sure that houses are properly locked up and not left open inviting thieves."
Q: "It's not necessary to be driving around with the search light and all of the stuff like that. That's the way it is in most places, really. This is a law abiding society in general."
Mr Lee: "Well, it's the education in the schools and at home partly because we're such a densely populated kind of buildings, all high rises, so you have got to develop habits which are considerate to your neighbours. If you have loud blaring noise going through the walls, partition walls to the neighbours, they'll soon complain to the the neighbourhood police or somebody will come up to say will you tone your volume down because you're waking up the neighbourhood. And they learn to accommodate each other because we don't allow our ethnic groups to choose to live together. When they are resettled, they have got to ballot for their neighbours, so you get Malays, Indians, Chinese all shuffled around together when in the first generation, they used to sell and relocate themselves, so we have quotas and no precinct should have more than this quota of the population. So in other words, we bring about an integration by spreading them which means we spread them in the schools too."
Q: "And it's worked."
Mr Lee: "It's worked. And so we have a more homogenous and more homogenous in the sense that they haven't changed their religions, the Malays are still Muslims and they go to the mosques every Friday and they've slightly different habits. The influence from the Middle East has made them have head-dresses for no rhyme or reason."
Q: "Actually, it's an interesting question that just came up recently that I was going to ask you about. I know that you put a premium on racial harmony and religious harmony and it's actually more or less legislated here, right?"
Mr Lee: "Yes, because you can have enormous trouble once religions clash."
Q: "Well, the two things I've been interested to ask you about that because I agree with you is number one, the recent rise of Evangelical Christians in Singapore."
Mr Lee: "As a result of American efforts."
Q: "I don't know if it's American efforts but I went to the New Creation Church and you might as well have been in Tennessee , it was exactly the same. As soon as you walked through the door, it was exactly the same but it seemed very popular. Is that a new monkey (?) ranch in there?"
Mr Lee: "No, I don't think so. You see most Chinese here are Buddhists or Taoist ancestor worshippers, I'm one of them, so it is a tolerant society, it says whatever you want to believe in, you go ahead. And these youngsters, the educated ones, Western-educated especially, now they are all English-educated, their mother tongue is the second language. Therefore, they begin to read Western books and Western culture and so on and then the Internet. So they begin to question like in Korea that what is this mumbo-jumbo, the ancestors and so on? The dead have gone, they're praying before this altar and asking for their blessings and then they have got groups, Christian groups who go out and evangelize. They catch them in their teens, in their late teens when they're malleable and open to suggestions and then they become very fervent evangelists themselves. My granddaughter is one of them. She's now 28. My wife used to tell her look, don't go for any more of these titles, just look for MRS. It's just around the corner, God will arrange it."
Q: "Well, in the US, as you say, it's import from the US or an export. These people have been very politically active."
Mr Lee: "Well, they know here that if you get politically active, you will incite the Buddhist, the Taoist, the Muslims, the Hindus and others to do similar response. We used to teach in the schools in the 1980s to get back some moral values as a result of Westernisation, Confucian culture as a subject in itself for the Chinese whereupon the Malays, the Indians and so on, they reacted. They wanted not Confucian culture, they wanted their religion, so we decided we'll stop this. So we took the concepts of Confucianism and put it into civic subject, that society is more important than the individual, that the individual must care for the society and the interests of the society must take precedence over the individual, which is contrary to the American or Western system which says the individual trumps everything, freedom trumps everything, freedom of speech, freedom of whatever you tolerate even at the expense of making others feel inconvenient. If I don't like abortion, you're a doctor who aborts people, I shoot you."
Q: "That may happen, that's valid I think there is a rather large emphasis on individual autonomy in Western cultures that is sometimes detrimental to the larger society. But that's the way you're brought up, that's what we're used to, so it becomes…."
Mr Lee: "No, it's the philosophy of society you start with. You get all the Kantian theories and the Rousseau and so on, so gradually it evolved and then along comes Maddox and Jefferson's the right to happiness of the society and so on. So it's an optimistic sort of approach to life. The Chinese start off with a completely different end of the stick that all men are born the same and you have got to educate them and perfect them, otherwise, they will not improve. So they put a lot of emphasis on upbringing at home and in the schools. Well, we're losing part of it because the Chinese schools have disappeared. We're trying to preserve it or introduce it into the English speaking schools but the teachers now are also educated in English speaking schools and have lost the old traditions. So they're trying to get them to go to China and see how they preserve these qualities. But we find that in the cities, they're also changing."
Q: "So when, don't take this the wrong way, but when you decided to close the Chinese stream education and the college, what was the rationale behind that and do you ever regret doing that?"
Mr Lee: "No, I regret not doing it faster because politically, if there'd been a violent electoral protest in the next elections because they're so wedded to the idea that language means, culture means, life means everything. But I'm a pragmatist and you can't make a living with the Chinese language in Singapore. The first duty of the government is to be able to feed its people, to feed its people in a little island. There's no hinterland and no farming, you have got to trade and you have got to do something to get people buy your goods or services or get people to come here and manufacture themselves, export, ready-made markets and multinationals which I stumbled on when I went to Harvard for a term in 1968 and I said oh, this could solve my unemployment problem. So we brought the semiconductors factories here and one started, the whole herd came and we became a vast centre for production of computers and computer peripherals. But they all speak English, multinationals from Japan, Europe, whatever European country they come from, they speak English. So Chinese-educated were losing out and they were disgruntled because they got the poorer jobs and lesser pay. So eventually our own Members of Parliament were Chinese-educated and graduates from the Chinese university said okay, we have got do something. We're ruining these people's careers. By that time, the university was also losing its good students and getting bum students. Because they took in poor students, they graduated them on lower marks and so the degree became valueless. So when you apply for a job with a Chinese university degree, you hide your degree and produce your school certificate. So I tried to change it from within, the Education Minister was Chinese-educated and English-educated to convert it from within because most of the teachers have American PhDs. So they did their thesis in English but they've forgotten their English as they've been teaching in Chinese, so it couldn't be done. So I merged them with the English speaking university. Great unhappiness and dislocation for the first few years but when they graduated, we put it to them do you want your old university degree or you want English university degree? All opted for the English university degree. That settled it."
Q: "In recent events as China begins to ascend, I mean, would you?"
Mr Lee: "No, no. It makes no difference. We are not going to tie ourselves to China to the extent it makes us hostage. I mean, we have many investments there because the older generation are Chinese-educated, they feel comfortable but the younger generation, they have enough Chinese who want to go there and do business and they can ramp it up if you want because once you are able to listen and speak and read without writing, you can pick it up. And not everybody wants to go there and we've been offering scholarships to their top universities, Beijing, Qinghua, Hudan, very few takers. They say nah, I want to go to America or Britain because they know they're coming back here and competing in English."
Q: "Do you think that, I mean, one question I wanted to ask you was building a country from scratch is obviously an enormous achievement, accomplishment."
Mr lee: "No, it's not a nation. It's a society in transition. You need a few hundred years to build a nation."
Q: "Oh really?"
Mr Lee: "Yes."
Q: "You have a lot of countries running around claiming they're nations. You don't think they really are nations?"
Mr Lee: "Well, we make them say the national pledge and sing the national anthem but suppose we have a famine, will your Malay neighbour give you the last few grains of rice or will she share it with her family or fellow Muslim or vice versa?"
Q: "Depends on the person, doesn't it? No, it doesn't?"
Mr Lee: "No, I think there comes a time, I read a book by Edward Wilson who was Harvard."
Q: "I know who he is."
Mr Lee: "And he wrote about human beings."
Q: "Actual past ones."
Mr Lee: "And he described the Maoris. So when two tribes were fighting, the third tribe will come and see which tribe is more our side, more genes like us and they joined that side. So it's an instinct. Can you overcome that instinct? Edward Wilson says culture can overcome because he's American, he knows a mix of Europeans and others. But it takes many, many years. Yes, they all do the military service, equal treatment, equal pay, equal hardship, job opportunities but we live in concentric circles. Cross marriages, yes a few, usually the parents are most unhappy. Then where do you belong, the children of the cross marriages? Sometimes they get reabsorbed in their father ethnic group and they carry the father's surname. Sometimes, if you become a Muslim then whether you're male or female, you join the other side. But it has happened to the margins more and more. But I think the instinct, the human instinct is still there. I mean, it's in America."
Q: "I live in New York which is similar to Singapore in a way."
Mr Lee: "No, I mean, I used to talk to an Indian. He was the administrator of Agra and we were driving back to Delhi. This was in the late 1970s. So he was telling me he was writing a thesis on Shakespeare, a highly-educated man. At that time, English-educated, that generation. So I said, supposing I pretend as a caste, supposing I pretend I'm a Brahmin, high caste and I invite you to dinner, he said yeah I'll come. You give me a good dinner, I'll come. Now supposing I want to marry your daughter? He says that's different. The most thorough inquiries will be made. So I said supposing I tell you I came from Calcutta and how you're going to find me. He says no, you've got to live somewhere in Calcutta, you must have your family, your neighbours, your friends in Calcutta, we'll find out. Then we'll know what caste you belong to."
Q: "So as long as you have enough human trail people will figure out who you are."
Mr Lee: "Yes, and in Japan, they do it a different way. They exclude the Chinese and the Koreans who have been there for generations. They're still not Japanese citizens. Some had become since the West started criticizing them because you may have a Japanese name and you speak perfect Japanese, but for promotions, where is your home village? Never mind, I come from Tokyo, Osaka or Kobe. No where is your home domicile and they will trace you there."
Q: "So what you're saying now is this somewhat contradictory to the programme that you have here where you have the quotas? It's really human nature, the people hang out with their own kind. Can you legislate that? Can you do anything about that?"
Mr Lee: "It takes times. You can have a certain, as I said, concentric circles. They overlap at the outer circles. You start with your family, your relatives, your immediate friends and then your school friends and other friends in the outer fringe. In the outer circles, you have common ground but you can even invite them into your home and visit each other on festive occasions and so on but when it comes to marriage and becoming part of the family, that's a very different happiness."
Q: "Is it, will it be your goal to break down those barriers or it's not worth doing, it's just a waste of time?"
Mr Lee: "I think we just leave it alone."
Q: "You just leave it alone."
Mr Lee: "You try to break it down, you're going to cause a lot of unhappiness and the older generation vote solidly against."
Q: "As Singapore moves along, I mean, answer me this question, who has the hardest job?"
Mr Lee: "Hardest job?"
Q: "You or your son?"
Mr Lee: "It's to keep going at the same pace, same quality of governance at all levels, more integrated. I mean not assimilated but more integrated, more easy to get along with each other, a more cohesive society and a better-educated society at all levels, not just the few at the top at universities or polytechnics. Even the dropouts now we're putting them into technical institutes where they learn hands-on preparing engines, electrical equipment and so on in a fairly splendid surroundings because otherwise the old trade schools, they'll say ah, already you're a failure. But now they go into air-conditioned buildings looking the same like polytechnics. You don't feel shy about being seen there. You come out with a certificate and if you make the grade, they will go up one step to the polytechnic where you'll learn nearly a degree status and if you do well in the polytechnic, you go on to university."
Q: "Do you think that the world is more complicated now than it was when you were a young man, when you were in the 1960s when Singapore first became independent?"
Mr Lee: "Of course, I mean everyday is more globalised and more complicated. You look at this swine virus. In the old days, it'd have died in the village where the Mexican got it. He wouldn't have been traveling to Mexico City. Now it goes to Mexico City, it infects people there, within 24 hours, it's around the world."
Q: "That's one thing I want to ask. As the country moves along, we won't call it a nation, as the country moves along…"
Mr Lee: "It's a nation in the making. The optimistic view. We must have optimism."
Q: "Absolutely or else why bother to get up in the morning?"
YY: "Mark, MM has another appointment if you want to spare two minutes."
Mr Lee: "I give you 45 minutes, you carry on."
Q: "Carry on?"
Mr Lee: "Yeah, yeah, it's all right. If you've come all the way two weeks, I can postpone my appointment later."
Q: "I appreciate that very much. But I will stick to only the questions I have."
Mr Lee: "No, when you say you spent two weeks here, that means you're doing a serious piece."
Q: "It's a serious piece and also as I told you, I'm very anxious to give a realistic portrayal of the place that people have a lot of illusions about. So therefore, I want to find out really what's going on. Let's ask you a question about Singapore. One of the things that people say about Singapore is it's too, life is too easy here. People have lost their curiosity and that's the problem. How do you respond to that?"
Mr Lee: "No, I don't think that is so much.., that's a stereotype view. If they've lost their curiosity, they wouldn't be striving so hard to get to university, to travel abroad, to go to higher education institutes abroad, to learn higher skills. I mean, I'm undergoing physiotherapy because I had a fall on the bicycle, so I'm stuck there for one hour talking to the physiotherapist and she's upgrading herself, she's done her training here. Her next stage is to go to Australia and get a degree in physiotherapy. I said is the hospital sending you? She said no, I'm paying on my own. I said will you get a pay rise when you come back? She said no but my chances of promotion will be there. So you see it's not that they have lost the curiosity. I mean, they're prepared to spend two years in Perth or Brisbane or Sydney. That's where they get the most physiotherapists because their children are great sportsmen."
Q: "It's truly they keep on driving their motorcycles into the wall and then they get up and say, let's do it again."
Mr Lee: "So there is this curiosity to find out about the world and it's affecting how they live. I mean, she was 32-years-old. I said are you married. She said no. I said you shouldn't leave it too late. She said well, I haven't found the right person. I said how is that? you are meeting fellow nurses, you better join, you have got a social development unit where you meet men above board, they are looking for spouses, you are looking for spouses and you meet in groups, unless you decide we are friends, and you want to cultivate a closer relation, and she said no, no, no, I'm a Christian, that limits my choice to 20 per cent of the population and we meet in Church."
Q: "Do you feel a complacency among the people here?"
Mr Lee: "No, a complacency in the sense that their expectations are high and they expect their expectations to be met. But they want higher and higher opportunities, more and more opportunities."
Q: "Why does Singapore have to be number one in everything? Why can't you just be one of the ten great cities of Asia? What's wrong with that idea?"
Mr Lee: "If we don't strive to be number one, you won't be number ten. You will be number ten. You try to be number one, you might be number two or number three. Do your best. You don't have to be number one but do your best and try to be number one. That's our attitude. Look, we have got no natural resources, we have got nothing except human beings in a small strategic location."
Q: "You have got a good location."
Mr Lee: "But you must have people with training, with skills, well-organized, disciplined and productive. I mean so if we didn't have an efficient port, we wouldn't be the biggest container port in the world. Where are the container TEUs from? We are not a big manufacturing China centre, they are from China, they are from Europe or Japan, but they transit through to Singapore because that's where they come in and six hours before they are in, they telegraph what containers they want removed, where they are."
Q: "I was there, I was very impressed. It was pretty cool."
Mr Lee: "So they arrive, immediately work starts, cleared, loaded, off they go in four or five, six hours depending on the number of containers."
Q: "Do you use a personal computer?"
Mr Lee: "Yes, I do."
Q: "And do you are really up on this stuff?"
Mr Lee: "Well otherwise I'm out of the loop. I used to correct my copies and fax it back. Then I find the young ministers are all correcting each other's copies on the net. So I decided I better learn this or I'll be out of it altogether."
Q: "What do you think really the overall effect that the internet is going to be in the general sense and especially in a government like the one that you have here where suddenly like there is this degree of personal freedom as given to people by using the internet and a lot of this stuff on the internet is not stuff you really want your children to see for instance."
Mr Lee: "What can you do?"
Q: "What can you do? Is that the answer?"
Mr Lee: "You have got to decide as the Chinese have decided that they have to take the risk and they try to minimize the risk and censor this and censor that."
Q: "Do you approve that?"
Mr Lee: "No, but we cannot censor it because you just go to some server outside and you have got access, so it's a waste of time."
Q : "And also no matter what you do, you are not going to be able to, these hacker guys, you can't beat them."
Mr Lee: "You have got to leave it to the parents and the schoolteachers and peer groups, to say look don't waste your time doing this."
Q: "One thing that puzzles in Singapore is actually a very interesting place because of different paradoxes I find in this country. What would be, forgive me if this a little bit on the lewd side, why would you ban Playboy for instance and allow prostitution?"
Mr Lee: "We banned Playboy in the 1960s when it was a different world in a different standard. It is still banned, that's all. I mean why do you want buy Playboy now if you can go into the internet? You get more than what you get in Playboy, that's that."
Q: "I'm not going to ask you if you looked at it recently."
Mr Lee: "No, you can't, I mean it's not possible. It's part of the globalized village we live in and we have got to learn to adapt and live a sufficiently wholesome life to succeed. If you become addicted to all this porn and drugs and gambling on the net, then you are finished. I mean in Korea, they have become addicts at this."
Q: "I think that there is a lot of addiction in that, yes, there's no doubt about it. Speaking of that, so what made you decide to have these casinos?"
Mr Lee: "When I was a student in England, the only casino in Europe was in Monaco."
Q: "I remember that."
Mr Lee: "The younger ministers have said look, we must have a casino, otherwise, we are out of the circuit of this fast set that goes around the world, with F1 and so on. And it will increase the tourist trade because the casino will pay for all the shows. Otherwise, the shows are too expensive. So I've been resisting it and I've told the Prime Minister, I said no, no, don't do that, you'll bring mafias here and money laundering and all kinds of crime."
Q: "I think it is a definite risk."
Mr Lee: "Then I see the British having casinos and Switzerland having casinos. I said God, the world has changed. If I don't change, we'll be out of business. So alright, we'll put up two casinos, so obviously they are not going to target Singaporeans because there are not enough numbers for two casinos. So they got to bring them in from China, India and elsewhere and we have passed legislation to say that any family can ask for a ban on …"
Q: "A person from that family."
Mr Lee: "And the Singaporeans when they go in, they have got to pay $100."
Q: "That doesn't sound quite fair."
Mr Lee: "No, they are going, driving up to a place called Genting, Star Cruises come in and they go outside the territorial limit and they gamble. So I said you do that because I do not want to be blamed and the Prime Minister doesn't want, and his Cabinet doesn't want to be blamed for those who get addicted. And there will be those who will get addicted."
Q: "How do you, are you still morally opposed to them or does pragmatism always take precedence in your thinking?"
Mr Lee: "Well, it is useless to resist when it is everywhere."
Q: "Well, the fact that it's everywhere, maybe it is the reason to resist."
Mr Lee: "No, you cannot stop it. You want to cut off the internet? You want to cut off your cellphones? You want to cut off satellite TV? Then you will become like Myanmar. It's not possible."
Q: "No, thank you. That's interesting. I hate to be jumping around but I don't want to take so much of your time. What do you do about this kind of thing? I would assume in a government, it is easier to legislate people having less children than it is to legislate having them more children."
Mr Lee: "No, we can't legislate. We don't legislate, we just encourage and we say if you have the third child, you will get these benefits."
Q: "Well, legislate is the wrong word but …"
Mr Lee: "We encourage them with incentives. Yeah, we pay for full pay leave, we don't burden the employer because the employer will then say look I'm not going to employ these women. So the government pays for them, the employer is entitled to two-three months, three months?"
YY: "Four months now."
Mr Lee: "No, no. Employer two months, we pay two months and it will become six months and so on."
Q: "During the 1960s and the 1970s, you ran a programme 'Two is Enough'. Did the government succeed too well?"
Mr Lee: "No, it has happened all over Asia. It has happened in Hong Kong, it has happened in Korea, they never had this Stop at Two, it has happened in Japan, it is the education that the women and equal job opportunities. Once the women are educated, they have equal job opportunities, some of them earning as much if not more than men, there is a certain independence of choice. I mean they say what's the hurry? Singlehood is no burden, my daughter is 55, unmarried, mother has been nagging her when she was in her 30s, she's quite happy."
Q: "Do you feel an urge to have more grandchildren or is it."
Mr Lee: "I've got two boys who have got grandchildren but I feel sad for her. Because when my wife is gone and I'm gone, this hotel which keeps her going. She will have to manage it."
Q: "I mean the thing is like, occasionally, it seems like the Singapore Government succeeds as I was talking to a gentleman today, he said in India, they propose a lot of things, and fairly high percentage are never going to get done right but in Singapore, things are proposed and you do it. And you finish it. Therefore, if it is a mistake, then you have to redo it."
Mr Lee: "No, what is the mistake? We can't undo women's education, equal job opportunities. But the whole problem springs as I was talking to this physiotherapist, I said suppose you were not educated to a point where you are independent, your mother and father would have got you matched off."
Q: "Matched off, what does that mean?"
Mr Lee: "Father and mother will look for another father and mother with an appropriate background, no inherited diseases and similar social affluence and then they marry them off, they get them together and meet and no objections and then you are married. Then you love the man, or you love the woman you marry. But she's educated and she's thinking of a degree in physiotherapy and upgrading herself and so…"
Q: "There is this feeling that you want to keep the society going."
Mr Lee: "Well, fortunately for us."
Q: "And reproduction is an important part of that, right?"
Mr Lee: "I've been urging them. The only developed societies that have succeeded are Sweden and France and that's not that they have succeeded, they have just about reached replacement rate. And we've studied their incentives and they are enormous. Crèches, full pay leave for husband and wife, nine months and you can extend it and so on and free nurseries, factories and offices have nurseries and feeding rooms for the mothers. We will get to that stage eventually but meanwhile, it takes a long time to change mindsets."
Q: "That's true."
Mr Lee: "Since we are small population and we can top up, we are topping up. The trouble is the moment they come here, they also have one or two children because they begin to think like Singaporeans. Why? I will lose my chance of promotion. So I'm out of business for six months, nine months, I come back, the others have overtaken me."
Q: "Well, I think that's what I've heard. A lot of people say like well, foreign workers have come here and they've just come to work. That's what they do, they are here to work, so it's hard to compete with people who are just don't have any other distractions. I mean I've heard this several times."
Mr Lee: "Without them, what will happen to us? We will shrink and eventually, one- and-a-half workers will have to support two parents and is that sustainable?"
Q: "I don't know, probably not."
Mr Lee: "Therefore, the one worker will move out rather than pay the heavy taxes. And move out and give remittances to his parents wherever he is."
Q: "So, well, this is a question that came up several times when I have been driving around in the taxicab, all I have to do is say "how's business?" and then you don't have to say another word. The Singapore people, they just start talking."
Mr Lee: "The tourists have gone down."
Q: "And they have all these life stories."
Mr Lee: "Swine fever and so on."
Q: "Then I would say I'm going to see the MM, what would you ask him? And he goes…and one thing did come up which is not, I don't mean to…one of the things he said well, he's the father but he should let us go. Then with words like as a patriarch of the country, is there a point in which you should step away because the perception is I guess that I know what you really do, but the perception is that you are still the face of the country."
Mr Lee: "Well, no, that's a public perception which is not held by those in the know. I mean all the top executives know that they are dealing with the ministers and the decisions are made by the ministers. My job is really as a long-range radar to look out for opportunities and for threats. So I can sit down and talk to you because I have got nothing urgent in my tray."
Q: "I'm glad to hear that."
Mr Lee: "I cannot work at that old pace. I can work with subjects that require contemplation, time, which really is backed up by my experience and my feel of how things will develop."
Q: "Well, nobody knows Singapore better than you."
Mr Lee: "I mean, I guess, supposing I had not intervened in the casino debate, the religious groups would fought tooth and nail to stop it and the Prime Minister and his Cabinet were in a lot of trouble, so I stood up and said look, I understand the views, I was of the same view but I'll tell you the reason why I have changed my mind and that had a calming effect because if you don't do this, you are not going to be part of the modern world. Either you accept that this is part of today's globalized world and you have F1 and all this glitzy events, closed roads, light up the city and so on, or you are out of business. And in Singapore, if you are out of business, you are out of food."
Q: "Singapore is always been about business. They say in America, business of America's business, I think it's true here too, right?"
Mr Lee: "It has to be. Otherwise, we won't survive."
Q: "When you look out the window, and you see all these big buildings, is this what you envision? Is this the world that you hoped to be?"
Mr Lee: "After we were booted out from Malaysia, before Malaysia or during Malaysia, we thought we'll grow together as a commercial centre of the federation, the capital being Kuala Lumpur, like Washington, we'll be a kind of New York. But once we were out on our own, I studied what happened to Malta, Gibraltar, all the island colonies and Hongkong and I thought we were in a similar position to Hongkong, so I knew that high-rises will be inevitable. And Hongkong is all economy, they have packed all of them together in a little piece of flat land across the Bay, across the harbour, and very few houses up on the hills, on the peak, because that's where the British overlords used to stay and moreover it's costly because they have got to have retaining walls otherwise, you have landslides and so on. So we decided we'll have to spread out over the whole island and have high density living but with lots of green spaces and room for recreation and breathing space. The school I was at was the best school in Singapore, Raffles Institution, now we have Raffles City, four big high rises designed by I M Paye. But what's the choice? It's a prime site, so the school has now got spanking new buildings, where is it now? Bishan which is near Bishan Park but it has lost, but that old school we thought, I thought about it hard and it was made of bricks and mortar and boards, so they keep it going in a tropical climate, prone to white ants, will be a very expensive business. So I said let's give up."
Q: "I mean one of the things, what is the value of past place like Singapore? Several people actually use the same metaphor, it's interesting, I have two movies in my head, I have the movie of the world that I grew up in, and I have the movie of the way things are now. One in my head is getting very frayed of the past and I'm sure you know what I'm talking about."
Mr Lee: "I used to cycle to school. Empty roads, when it rains, I have got to have a raincoat. Now it's just not done, with all these huge buses and cars, so my grandchildren are advised not to travel by bicycles. London has lost a lot of its ancient buildings but it's got enough solid buildings of stone like St Paul's Cathedral or Westminster Abbey or the Houses of Parliament which are very costly to maintain and they keep that as icons. Well, also the Oxbridge Colleges, they are very uncomfortable to live in, I mean you want a brand name, you try and get there but choose a nice new building annex that they have built, if you are put into one of the old rooms, then you are cold and it's several centuries old."
Q: "I mean they didn't have central heating then."
Mr Lee: "Now, they have put in some central heating, I mean they are piped."
Q: "Never so cold as I was in London."
Mr Lee: "But that's a trade off. So we keep a few along the riverside and amongst the better buildings which are worth preserving because it's not so expensive and they are also architecturally interesting. So there are few landmarks. In my own constituency, I've got two streets which have been kept up and the rest have just gone high rise but they have been kept up and used for other purposes, no longer domestic but boutique restaurants, studios and so on. Otherwise, you can't justify the economic costs of maintaining them."
Q: "As you get older, do you get more sentimental?"
Mr Lee: "Sorry."
Q: "As you get older, do you feel more sentimental and nostalgic or do you manage to avoid that? I mean I know you are a pragmatist."
Mr Lee: "No, it was a nice leisurely place, large spaces, I would travel along what is called now Mountbatten Road, used to be called Grove Road and there was a swamp on one side and now we have all built up areas, it was an airport, now the airport is gone, the British flying boats used to land on the river which I remember. I mean look, do you want to, if we were the size of let's say the US, lots of empty spaces, then you might be able to keep more of it. But I see New York hasn't kept much of it either."
Q: "Well, it's a mix. In Manhattan, it's true."
Mr Lee: "You have kept the churches because they are made of stone."
Q: "The Empire State Building is still there."
Mr Lee: "But the Empire State Building now looks tacky compared to the others…."
Q: "It looks great!"
Mr Lee: "It looks old fashioned."
Q: "Well, the view, I mean the Chrysler Building is a work of art. Most of the buildings they've built since then are not works of art."
Mr Lee: "That's what you think but the architects. Their grandchildren would say what a wonderful architect that was. I mean aesthetic taste varies with each generation."
Q: "I don't know. I think there's a kind of, did you see that building, a picture from China and the building just fell over. I know you don't have that kind of construction processes here."
Mr Lee: "You see the Chinese are nouveou riche and the contractors want to be part of the nouveou riche, so they …"
Q: "I mean how does it feel if you were living in a building next door, I feel I have got to move."
Mr Lee: "They are in a very fast transition and they see their neighbours getting very wealthy and they say I must get wealthy too because my children, the money that I have got a house, got a car and so on. So they take these shortcuts at the expense of public safety. Bridges have fallen down, when they built this enormous barrage up the Yangtze River and the Three Gorges, Jiu Rongji had a very hard time knocking heads together. It's the process of getting rich in transition and watching your neighbours get rich and you say I must get there too quick or I lose my opportunities. That's that."
Q: "I don't want to take more of your time. Let me just ask you a couple more things. How would you like to be remembered?"
Mr Lee: "I don't think I can decide that. I live my life in accordance to what I think is worth doing. I never wanted to be in politics. I wanted to be a lawyer and make a good living, to be a good advocate but I was thrown into it as a result of all these political earthquakes that took place. So I was saddled with the responsibility and I just have to be responsible to get the place going. That's all and I mean we've got here and I can't decide what posterity is going to do. I studied law and in the law, the British said you can will yourself, you can will your property, the longest you can do it is life and lives in being and 21 years thereafter. After that, you can't control your trust. So in my case, I can't go that long. All I can do is to make sure that when I leave, the institutions are good, sound, clean, efficient and there's a government in place which knows what it has got to do and is looking for a successive government of quality. That's all I can do."
Q: "If you were to leave the stage in the larger sense, and say in ten years, I think you are seen as a cult figure as you have just said about the casino thing, I mean does it have to be somebody like you to keep the place going or …"
Mr Lee: "No, I mean look America got going long after Jefferson, George Washington and all that."
Q: "But I think …(indistinct)… who did big things."
Mr Lee: "Nobody, Charles de Gaulle says nobody, I am not indestructible. When I read his biography, I read in English, and he said that, I said that is a wise man. So I remembered that and I know that come a certain time, and I didn't expect to live so long either, it's just good medicine and good surgery that has kept me here."
Q: "We used to have a joke, if I knew I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself."
Mr Lee: "Well, it so happened and I just do what I think I can contribute to make the place, to consolidate what has been gained and it can still go to waste. It can still spiral down."
Q: "Through no fault of anybody's?"
Mr Lee: "Look, I once had to make an impromptu speech in Sydney, I've just come from New Zealand. So in the end they said no speech, no speeches and the Premier of the state made a very well-prepared speech so I had to respond. So what do I say off the cuff? I said I've just come from New Zealand and I'll tell you what my thoughts were. In 100 years from now, I go back to New Zealand and there will be the grass, the sheep, the cows, the tornados or hurricanes at Wellington, and there will always be this green pleasant place and not industrially developed because it's the last stop in the bus line and in 100 years from today, I'm not sure that there'll be a Singapore. It depends on what my successors do. I mean that's the cards we were handed. So it's not up to me. What is up to me is make sure the place is ticking, make sure the institutions are there, the systems are in place, make sure there is a government that is fit for the job and then it is up to them to ensure continuity. That's that."
Q: "Do you feel satisfied that that's moving along quite well? Or do you worry?"
Mr Lee: "I think for the next ten years, with this team in charge, it is going to be fine. Whether they will do well for the next 10-15 years depends on whether they get a younger team in place, well imbibed into the methods of the government, integrity, ability, and making decisions for the public good, and not for your personal benefit. That's all. It is difficult because it means sacrificing privacy and sacrificing pay. Now we solved the pay problem or semi-solved it by giving them 80 per cent of the average of six major salary earners."
Q: "Is that how you arrived at it?"
Mr Lee: "Yeah, but we are always lagging behind because whenever there's a downturn, we don't give the rise. Whenever there's an upturn, the private sectors goes up, shoots up suddenly and we can't keep pace because the public says no, this is too much."
Q: "Well, when people are getting US$16 billion bonuses for bringing the country into the ground, it is hard to keep up."
Mr Lee: "I was once asked about the enormous, the best paid ministers in the world. I said you should look at the wives. The lowest-paid ministers have wives who are glittering with jewels and with big mansions."
Q: "So that means they are corrupt."
Mr Lee: "No, I didn't say that."
Q: "That was pretty way to be said."
Mr Lee: "But it's true. So Singaporeans have to decide. Do you want to underpay a minister and you have the kind of shenanigans as you have in the British Parliament? You know they repair their homes in the country and in London and charge it to their account. Or you pay them a proper wage and said after that, look after everything. Nobody gets any special perks. That's your salary, you buy your car, you do what everything is yours. Official entertainment, you have got an expense account. Your secretary monitors it and audits channel clears it. So everything is above board and the public knows that. So whatever they grumble, they know that they are not being shortchanged."
Q: "There are grumbles but there are always grumbles."
Mr Lee: "There must be. Singaporeans are champion grumblers."
Q: "Thank you so much.


text:
Burma's No. 2 General Visiting Moscow
A top leader in Burma's military junta is in Russia Monday on an official visit to Moscow.
Vice Senior General Maung Aye, who is vice chairman of Burma's State Peace and Development Council and commander-in-chief of the army, and Russian officials are expected to discuss cooperative efforts to combat drug trafficking, organized crime and terrorism.
The Burmese general is traveling with a party of senior officials responsible for foreign affairs, science, stock farming, economics, energy and fisheries.
The Russian Foreign Ministry says strengthening ties with Burma is one of Moscow's foreign-policy aims in Southeast Asia.
News in Burmese (RealPlayer) - Download 130KB
Russia, Burma Agree to Step Up Ties


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