Toppling The Greek Domino Other “PIIGS” To Follow

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By P Chong                               3 May 2010

Now that news is all over about Greece toppling as the first of the dominoes,  and the credit downgrading of Spain & Portugal that followed, it appears the rest of the other “PIIGS” nations are just teetering on the fringe. The crucial question is with the political and legal wrangling on what to do with these wayward “PIIGS” nations, will Euro survive?

(“PIIGS” stands for Portugal, Ireland, Italy,Greece & Spain)

Corinth Ancient City Ruins

This Mediterranean Greek nation, the first major sovereign debt domino to topple, is just the Eye of the Sovereign Debt Hurricane. Greece is buried under a massive load of debts and deficits, and the numbers are indeed shocking.

Social unrest & austerity riots, protests, strikes over fiscal cuts

According to the European Union’s (EU) statistics agency which has been combing through Greece’s books, the country’s 2009 deficit tally up to a whopping 13.6 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) & may even be as high as 14.1 percent.

That’s more than four times the official “limit” for a country in the EU. And the nation’s total debt load is now closing in on $400 billion, or 115 percent of GDP. That’s among the worst ratios on the planet.

Greece is said to be an utterly corrupt nation . . . hence this plight. Towards the end of April 2010, Standard & Poor’s Agency lowered Greek debt to junk causing ripples in the world stock market & shares fell sharply. The other “PIIGS” nations are bound to be contaminated & it would mean just days for Euro to save itself. Already, sooner than expected, Spain & Portugal have also been downgraded by Standard & Poor’s.

Greek interest rates have exploded higher, with yields on 10-year Greek government bonds surging above 10 percent. Meanwhile, two-year note yields soared past 11 percent, more than a sub-prime mortgage borrower pays in the U.S.!

That’s a recipe for disaster for a country that needs to sell $72 billion in debt to cover its deficits just in the coming months.

In a report by Vincent Fernando CFA, from the Business Insider: “ . . . there’s just a broad deterioration in perceived creditworthiness happening right now, but it is particularly severe for the sovereign nation above given that their spreads are hitting record highs.”

Dr Marc Faber, an economic commentator, believed that the “PIIGS” nations will be defaulting & slaughtered. News from BBC carried the same kind of message.

Today’s clever acronym “PIIGS” for these EU nations of Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece & Spain is quite apt.

Facing a full-scale meltdown, Greece did the unthinkable recently by asking for a bailout from the EU and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The lifeline will take the form of up to $40 billion in three-year loans from the 15 other nations that share the Euro currency. Those loans will carry a below-market rate of just 5 percent. Greece can also get its hands on another $20 billion in low-rate loans from the IMF.

Greece is far from being alone. We’ll take at one other of the “PIIGS” countries, Portugal:

  • GDP shrank 2.7 percent in 2009, the worst recession in more than six decades.
  • The unemployment rate recently hit a 23-year high of 10.1 percent.
  • Budget deficit jumped to 9.3 percent of GDP.
  • Total debt is more than 85 percent of GDP, the worst in 20 years.

What about Ireland?

  • The budget deficit is almost 12 percent of GDP.

Italy?

  • Its total debt load is on track to hit 117 percent of GDP.

Plus, Spain is battling a budget deficit of 11.4 percent of GDP.

The bottom line is among the “PIIGS” nations, Greece is just the first domino to fall. Many other European countries are next in line. If truth be told, Greece hasn’t done anything different from many other countries including the U.S.

The biggest domino of all will be the U.S.! Budget deficit is soaring . . . debt load is exploding . . . bond yields are starting to rise . . . and their risk premium is beginning to climb.

As evident as it is, it’s been reported what we could expect:

“The folks in Washington are sticking their heads in the sand, ignoring the warning signs all around them. They believe the same kind of bond market collapse that just struck Greece can’t happen there. So they’re continuing to bail out banks, brokers, mortgage companies, insurance companies, automakers, unions, homeowners and the unemployed.

But now, with demand for U.S. Treasuries waning — as evidenced by a string of disastrous auctions and continued net selling by China — the only question that remains is, “Who will bail out Washington?”

The simple fact is, no institution or group of institutions on Earth has the resources to save Washington when the bond market finally gives up on their ability to manage their own finances. When that day dawns, the bond market will come apart at the seams. Interest rates will shoot the moon. Their feeble economic recovery could just vanish.”

It’s all very well to go on a spending spree & enjoying lifge as though there’s no tomorrow, but sooner or later, the bills become due which must be paid, and if there’s no cash then what can you expect?

With well over 80% of the American population not trusting Washington with its free spending & free printing of paper money . . . doomsday is predictably not too far off!

In a recent report by Vincent Fernando of the Business Insider, he said that “the U.K. is about to crash along with the sovereign-default “PIIGS”.

Too much freedom in Democracy

Makes control go crazy!

Breaking News Over Aljazeera (Live): “Greekonomics” – Greece been granted a bailout package for 110 Billion Euros for three years from IMF & EU combined.

7 May 2010 Breaking News: Greece is paralyzed … Athens is in flames … rioters are firebombing banks, businesses and government buildings … the euro is plunging … stock markets are reeling …

And now, this great sovereign debt crisis is speeding towards US like a run-away freight train. Other “PIIGS” are cringing – UK included.

China – Now The World’s Richest Nation

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By P Chong                               1 May 2010

Shanghai

It just seems such a miracle that within one short generation China has elevated itself from a third world to the prestigious top nation. Its recent gold & currency reserves have hit the $2 trillion mark. This is no small task for a nation now boasting having a the largest state reserves in the world.

The fact is China is like no other country. It boasts of a civilisation that has withstood time, infiltration, external aggression for thousands of years, standing on its own, isolated from the rest. It’s a huge nation with a teeming population of 1.3 billion – not just in pure numerical numbers, but a reservoir of hard working people, talented, well educated, resourceful, strong & resilient with great human dignity & pride.

The greatest asset possessed by any country lies with its people. Chinese people are traditionally most frugal – never living beyond their economic means. They save as much as 75% of the nation’s GDP! Now, just think about it. This alone will constitute a tremendous solid base for a nation. The element of thrift & saving cannot be disputed.

China gained 17.8% ($177.9 billion) in its gold & currency reserves during the second quarter of 2009, and over the first quarter of the current year the reserves increase by $7.7 billion. This means that the People’s Republic of china has saved $185.6 billion during the first six months of the year, though this was $95 billion less than the same period in 2008.

According to experts, such a phenomenal growth was achieved largely by the predominance of export over import.

The point note worthy is the fact that the people’s savings are not included in the $2 trillion of gold & currency reserves. Experts are saying that China will soon replace U.S. as the world leader on the economic arena. It has predictably leaped ahead of Japan as the second largest economic power.

No one expected it to be so soon or come so quickly.

We have always known USA’s Exxon Mobil to be world ranking, or at least as late as six months ago. However, that position has now been taken over by China’s Petrochina.

Let’s take a look at China’s leaping achievement:

1. In the last 15 years, China has developed 800,000 Km of roads . . . long enough to go round the globe 19 times.

2. Under the Eastern Commercial Port Development Project by Shun YetSun Realty, the YangShan Port built in 2005 has surpassed Singapore & Hong Kong to be the largest container port in the world.

3. The landscape of city has to be updated every three months to keep up with the pace of development.

4. The eastern Sea Bridge linking YangShan Port & Shanghai is 325 Km in length, equivalent to the distance between Taipei & Tao Yuan. This Bridge is used mainly for cargo transportation, leaving the Yangzhi River Delta area open directly to the world markets.

5. A dream of the century, the 1118 Km railroad on icy land  5000 Km above sea level was completed in 5 years, allowing better control & access of Tibet & the strategic south-western corridor.

6. In 10 years, the number of universities in China has doubled, and the number of undergraduates has reached 20 million, almost equivalent to Taiwan’s population.

7. Great emphasis has been placed on education from the primary up to the university level. Further, government officers are being abroad at Harvard, Cambridge, Waseda & Seoul in various discipline such as strategic thinking, total planning, international vision & connection and practical management.

8. China has strengthened & prepared well ahead its competitiveness for the next century. Prominent speakers like Kissinger, BG Lee, CEOs of GE & Intel etc. are invited for training a pool of leaders.

The world of economic race is likened to the Grand Prix race track. As I said in one of my previous articles: “If You Stall . . . Others Roar” (Posted June 9, 2009).

In contrast to U.S. bailing out “financial mafia” with its stimulus package, China channelled it all towards the building of infrastructure & economic productivities.

Peace & stability lead on to prosperity & harmonious living.

If you care to read more, related to this title:

The Wind of Change (Posted on September 15, 2009)

New U.S. Dollars For 2010 (Posted on December 20, 2009)

US Dilemma: Is The Power Obama’s? (Posted on April 21, 2010)

Operation Eagle Crawl

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Lest We forget . . .

By P Chong                               30 April 2010

“Operation Eagle Claw (or Operation Evening Light) was a United States military operation that attempted to rescue 52 Americans from the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran on 24 April 1980. The attempt was aborted when three helicopters that were part of the operation were damaged by a sandstorm or forced to return to the carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68). As the U.S. force prepared to leave Iran, a refuelling accident led to the remaining helicopters and a C-130 Hercules refuelling aircraft being destroyed or left behind, and the deaths of eight American servicemen.”

To the Iranians, the above debacle or disaster was interpreted as an act of Divine intervention. The Iranians had but very slim chance of any success against the might of the American force.

Lest we forget!

Repainted RH-53Ds in sand camouflage and without markings aboard Nimitz.

On the part of the Americans, the Operation was meticulously planned & prepared. As with the wars in Iraq & Afghanistan (or the past wars in Korea & Vietnam), the Americans were never short of detailed planning & preparation. Their military strength & strategies were always hailed with great enthusiasm & optimism. How could they fail – Goliath against David?

Air Force AC-130

The Operation was designed as a complex two-night mission. The first stage of the mission involved delivering a rescue team of of U.S. Army SFOD-D operators to a small “staging site”, named as Desert One, inside Iran, near Tabas in the Yazd Province. The site Desert One was to be used as a temporary airstrip for the the three USAF special operations MC-130E Combat Talon I penetration/transport aircraft & three EC-130E Hercules, each of the latter installed with a pair of collapsible fuel bladders containing 6,000 U.S. gallons of jet fuel.

The burned out wreckage of one of the RH-53 with an intact one sitting in the background

Suffice for me to say that every inch of the military operation was precisely & timely planned. Nothing was left to chance. They had the helicopters, aircrafts, trucks for transporting the ground troops, aircraft carrier USS Nimitz in the nearby Indian Ocean, a “hide site” in Desert Two to conceal the helicopters, top commanding generals – just about bit of military power & strength to overpower their poorly equipped Iranians. Of course, they never left out the services of the CIA.

Yet, against all odds, disaster struck & the victims were the Americans. The Iranians were the unexpected victors! It looked like God was never kind to the Americans . . . one defeat after another . . . so unimaginable!

From the Iranians’ perspective, they deemed it as a miracle, an act of Divine intervention. It did appear to be as it was. But when will the Americans learn? When will they ever stop pushing their military weight around & threatening every nation on earth? God alone knows.

The 53 Americans were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981, after a group of Islamist students & militants took over the American Embassy in support of the Iranian Revolution. The Americans should have persevered in their release through diplomatic means, but I guess pride & haughtiness got in the way as always happened. This embarrassing & unfortunate episode is otherwise referred to as Iranian Hostage Crisis.

It ended with the signing of the Algiers Accords in Algeria on January 19, 1981. The hostages were formally released into United States custody the following day, just minutes after the new American President Ronald Reagan was sworn in.

Now, with the present Iran nuclear question, will the Americans strike the first blow again possibly as an entanglement of “vengeance and mutual incomprehension”? God forbids!

War is so senseless.

It doesn’t solve problems.

Atrocities of war spell only misery & suffering.

It’s a lose lose situation for all parties involved.

The only ones benefitting are the manufacturers of war weapons & equipments.

Source: Wikipedia & Aljazeera TV Report (26 April 2010)

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Miraculous Messages From The Sky & Sea

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By P Chong                                29 April 2010

Many wonderful stories have been told of bottle messages found floating in the sea or found on the beach. You would have read about them at least when you were young & often marvel at them as fairy tales.

Is it fate or sheer coincidence that the message is ever found, very often years later?

Be it a random message stuffed into a bottle & thrown into the sea or one that is sent up in a balloon, both messages would eventually find their way in the hands of finders. Imagine the kind of fate & consequences in store. The stories that unfold are usually unbelievable & nothing short of miracles. It’s fascinating to say the least.

It’s interesting to note here two stories that appeared to be from the fairy realm.

Story One (Source: Unknown)

Laura Buxton, meet Laura Buxton

(Technically this isn’t a “message in a bottle” story, but it’s the same concept—and the story is simply too good not to mention it.)

In June 2001, Laura Buxton (almost 10) released a red balloon into the air over her hometown of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. On one side of the balloon, she had written “Please return to Laura Buxton,” and on the other side, her home address. A few weeks later, a man 140 miles away in Milton Lilbourne found the balloon stuck in the hedge that separated his farm from the next-door neighbors. He noticed Laura Buxton’s name and address and immediately took the balloon to the neighbors’ house, showing it to the 10-year-old girl who lived there…whose name was also Laura Buxton.

Laura Buxton from Milton Lilbourne wrote Laura Buxton from Stoke-on-Trent to let her know that she had found the balloon. Thinking this coincidence was simply too amazing to be true, they decided they had to meet in person. And that’s when things got really weird.

On the day of the meeting, the two girls wore the same outfit – a pink sweater and jeans. The girls were the same height, which was unusual because they were both tall for their age. They both had brown hair and wore it in the same style. They both had three-year old black Labrador Retrievers at home, as well as gray pet rabbits. They both brought their guinea pigs, which were the same color and even had the same orange markings on their hindquarters. It was almost as though these two Laura Buxtons were the same person.

The strange events surrounding their meeting have helped the girls form a strong bond, and they remain friends eight years later. Both feel the circumstances that brought them together are too significant to be written off as mere coincidence.

Story Two (Source: Unknown)

Love in a Bottle

Ake Viking was a lonely Swedish sailor who decided to place his search for love in the hands of fate. He wrote a simple letter “To Someone Beauitiful and Far Away,” corked it inside a bottle, and tossed it overboard in the hopes that it might help him find a young woman to marry.

Two years later, in 1958, he was surprised to receive a letter from a Sicilian girl, Paolina, who said, “I am not beautiful, but it seems so miraculous that this little bottle should have traveled so far and long to reach me that I must send you an answer…” The two began writing one another and, three years after he threw a bottle into the sea, Ake moved to Sicily to marry his very long-distance love.

How do these stories, coincidences at minimum, divine intervention at best, make you feel?

Whenever such messages are found, it invokes a sense of fairy tale. The idea that two people have made a connection that would mathematically be virtually impossible gives us hope that life is more than a series of random events. Fate does play a part or if you are a believer, there is such a thing as Divine intervention.

Will we ever make contact with the outer world if wkeep sending messages into cyberspace?

A Story . . . The Unfortunate Demise of Only Child

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~ A beautiful touching story from the heart to be related over & over again . . .


A boy was born to a couple after eleven years of marriage. They were a loving couple and the boy was the gem of their eyes. When the boy was around two years old, one morning the husband saw a medicine bottle open. He was late for office so he asked his wife to cap the bottle and keep it in the cupboard. His wife, preoccupied in the kitchen totally forgot the matter. 

The boy saw the bottle and playfully went to the bottle fascinated by its color and drank it all. It happened to be a poisonous medicine meant for adults in small dosages. When the child collapsed the mother hurried him to the hospital. He died. The mother was stunned. She was terrified how she was going to face her husband. When the distraught father came to the hospital and saw the dead child, he looked at his wife and uttered just five words.

QUESTIONS : 1.What were the five words?

                                                                                        

2. What is the implication of this story?

ANSWER The husband just said ‘I am with you Darling’. The husband’s totally unexpected reaction is a proactive behavior. The child is dead. He can never be brought back to life. There is no point in finding fault with the mother. Besides, if only he had taken time to keep the bottle away, this would not have happened. No one is to be blamed. She had also lost her only child. What she needed at that moment was consolation and sympathy from the husband. That is what he gave her. If everyone can look at life with this kind of perspective, there would be much fewer problems in the world. ‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.’

Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears. And you will find things are actually not as difficult as you think.


MORAL OF THE STORY This story is really worth reading. Sometimes we spend time in asking who is responsible or whom to blame, whether in a relationship, in a job or with the people we know. By this way we miss out some warmth in human relationship.

~ Author Unknown

Best Political System in Practice With the Best Talent There Is

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By P Chong                               26 April 2010

“A government of the people, by the people & for the people.”

Clearly in this light, tiny Singapore City State & giant Peoples’ Republic of China stand supreme.

US is no longer “a government of the people, by the people, & for the people”, but a government of ‘Wall Street, by Wall Street, & for Wall Street.’ What does it mean when Wall Street is contributing $500 million to both the Democrats & the Republicans for their political campaign? People in the Main Street are deprived, cheated & in more ways than one given a very bad deal . . . homeless, high unemployment, burdened with a national debt beyond their wildest dream, while the culprits & perpetrators are being baled out & rescued. Imagine the big crooks or “Financial Mafias” escaping the full justice of the law & the average & poor public reeling with pain & suffering!

If ever any justice is to come to pass, it will be anything but a show trial or theatrical act!

It’s the quality of leadership together with the system of government that will determine the health of a nation.

The best political system there is must be evidenced & seen to be in practice. You don’t have to dominate or elect for “a change in regime” in order to impose a good government system. If it is any good, it will be copied generally by all globally. Leadership is by example & no involvement of a bargain or gamble. Goodness is clearly seen in practice devoid of all hidden agenda or any real motive.

If a system is good & operable, it’s bound to be duplicated & copied by many without any unwarranted imposition, threats of war & domination. The worst crime ever committed by any nation is the invasion & intrusion upon the sovereignty of other nations, with the resultant cruel & unnecessary deaths of women & children plus the millions of displaced refugees.

The time-tested system of leadership selection, qualitatively & quantitatively, as practised by ancient China to the present, is through examination grading or academic attainment & performance, to be followed by a period of internship & training. Singapore adopts, adapts & adjusts to the method very well indeed . . . the proof is in the pudding, so to say. I must say it’s a rather laborious way of candidate sourcing for election, filling & fitting the various political portfolios.

Singaporean politicians are well paid, from a lowly ranked minister starting with a salary of $1.5 million (Singapore dollars) to the Prime Minster with $3.8 million, with the President commanding $3.9 million. These salaries may seem excessive, but they ensure a totally “clean & transparent” government unlikely to be tempted with greed, graft or corruption. Singapore has always been known for its squeaky clean image.

 

Americans are faced with heaps of problems – self-arising from within not instigated from without (as what the US government is adept in doing with other nations in the world).

The biggest democratic system of governance is India with a population second only to China. There in India, the corporations are controlled by elite bankers, pretending to be a government of the people, by the people & for the people. Parties like Congress & BJP have changed this definition to be “a government of the relatives, by the relatives & for the relatives”.

In US, the talk of freedom in the democratic world is misleading – more like big fish eating small fish. The Free Enterprise System is really the big oil companies & corporations. Where do small enterprises stand?

 

Western democratic system is a money power game with greed, corruption, cronyism & nepotism overtones attached. It’s a system fraud with conspiracy & a network of wheeling & dealing. It’s the survival of the fittest.

 

It’s all very well to see great performances by politicians on television, repertoire of oration, great campaign speeches & promises, but when it comes to implementation & delivery, nothing or little happens. Vested interest groups got to be strong to exert enough pressure to get their demands.

 

When the late Deng Xiaoping visited Singapore & was awed by the achievement of the little city state under the capable leadership of Lee Kuan Yew, he was assured that China would do far more better. Lee Kuan Yew, while flattered by the admiration, told Deng Xiaoping that Singaporeans are after all descendants of peasants & workers from China, but what China possesses is the great reservoir of true talents & scholars from the upper society elite who never had to leave the motherland in search of economic survival & wealth. Given the right motivation & opportunities, the whole nation of 1.3 billion could be mobilised to attain far greater success than Singapore within the shortest time frame possible.

Yes, indeed . . . how prophetically true!

Never in the recorded history of mankind has any nation come close to be of any compare with China! It’s amazing to witness its phenomenal leaping success. China’s leadership & government can truly & deservedly claim the accolade of success.

A nation must sail under good captainship with the crew working in unison not opposition. Everybody got to pull together to brave the storm & then only get to savour its triumph.

 

With a scenario as below . . . what would you expect?

  • Wall Street dominating & cheating the Main Street
  • Democrats fighting the Republicans in Congress
  • No less the infighting in the Senate
  • A lame President who attempts to look good on the outside
  • Greed hovering above the political-economic-socio problematic scene
  • Vested interest groups pressuring & carving out their own goods
  • 80% of the general public not trusting Washington
  • Sinking ship braving not the storm but remaining sinking beneath the dilemma of economic ills
  • Divergent forces & influences ripping the nation apart
  • A carton portrayal: “The Bush disaster is over! The Obama catastrophe begins!” in full display by the general public
  • Unconcerned Secret Elite or Illuminati, the real power behind the throne, only laughing to the bank, which they own anyway!

How do you hope to dominate, propagate or even duplicate

when the democratic system is ripped with rot right to the core?

You can only stay strong together but weak apart.

Nations should work together in the spirit of co-operation not domination!

Chaos reigns when order feigns!

And catastrophe sets its claim!!

There’s every danger of the US destroying itself from within like the Fall of Rome.

“What does it mean” asked Stacy Herbert from Keiser Report on RT-TV, “to be a Banana Republic without the Banana?”

 

Comments by:

Mike Chong: “Many will nod their heads to this . . . the so called land for the free is land of the greedy, selfish and “live at others expense” Government/public.”

Richard Chiang: ” Yes, very well said! Yet, the Americans, etc, try to impose their system on other countries.  Unfortunately, many of the people in these countries are misled into believing the so called Western democracy is the only system.  Also, in the name of the so called human rights, they try to impose their will on other countries while their indiscriminate bombings of unarmed people, including women and children, have often been ignored!”

 

 

Miyazaki Ocean Dome: Largest Indoor Water Park in the World – Japan

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By P Chong                                  24 April 2010

From the natural to the supernatural, from reality to fantasy, from the possible to the impossible, man’s ingenuity & capacity never fail to astound you. In this DNA era, many of the greatest, largest, tallest structures have come about to fulfil the “impossible dream”!

Who said “you can’t build castles in the air”? Like what Dr Napoleon Hill, the author of “Think & Grow Rich” fame, would say:

“Whatever the mind of man can conceive & believe, it can achieve.”

Nowadays, it’s all a question of money!

The World’s largest indoor pool, Miyazaki Ocean Dome, Sheraton Seagaia Resort, is a large resort complex in Miyazaki, Japan.

It’s got the capacity to hold up to 10,000 people!

The name Seagaia is a combination of the words “sea” and “gaia”, which means earth. The Ocean Dome is listed on the Guinness World Records as biggest world indoor water park. It opened in 1993 in Miyazaki, Japan. Closed in 2007, it is now totally renovated as home to enormous indoor water park with white sandy beach, palm trees, water slides and a wave machine capable of surf-levels.

The new beach is huge approximately as many 6 football fields that allows everybody to lie on “own beach”. The temperature is like the Copacabana – about 30 C to the air and about 28 C to the water.

The central point of this artificial beach is the retractable roof, which will be opened on sunny days, on less sunny days it is closed. However the clear ceiling provides you with a perfect blue sky.

The Ocean Dome is only one part of the Sheraton Seagaia Resort, which offers several of hotels, World Convention Center for 5,000 participants, restaurants, tennis courts, shops, golf, board rental, zoo, and many other activities.

The “Niagara Falls” of India

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By P Chong                               22 April 2010

Beautiful! It’s a closely guarded secret!! Little is known of such splendour to rival the real Canadian Niagara Falls . . . by far the world’s most spectacular Falls, unmatched & beyond all compare. As it is, this Indian pretender is not greatly publicised & thus less commercialised.

This breathtaking . . . natural . . . picturesque splendour is located about 65 Km from 
Trichur (Kerala) & 60 Km from Cochin International Airport. Try to chalk out a holiday in September just after the monsoons. 
The waterfalls will then be in full force. 
A tranquil & much needed escape from the troubles & stress of life!

A beautiful true eco-escape!

The natural bounties make Kerala, God’s own Country, a paradise destination in India. The mountainous region and highlands of Kerala have some spectacular waterfalls which are popular picnic spot for the nature lovers.

There are more waterfalls than you envision. Many of the names are unheard of outside the national boundary of India such as: Idukki Waterfalls, Power House Waterfalls, Ernakulam Waterfalls, Kozhikode (Calicut) Waterfalls, Kottayam Waterfalls and several more . . . most with unfamiliar Indian names. For the hurried tourists, it will be impossible to see them all.


Let the soothing sounds take you to some of nature’s most relaxing places East of Chalakudy, near the entrance to the Sholayar forest ranges, the beautiful waterfalls of Athirampally and Vazhachal. Both these waterfalls are a part of the Chalakudy River and 5 km apart on the road to the hill station (Valpara) with its excellent tea plantation and is one of India’s highest elephant density habitat. It is a crucial corridor between Perambikulam and Malayattur.

The charm of the Athirampally and Vazhachal nature cannot be verbally described. Starting calmly from the high ranges, and crashing through gorges overhung with trees, the waterfall is one of the best places in India to re-capture a real sense of the classical idea of the “Picturesque”. . . not just calm and sweet, but something wild and natural.


Perched high above in the the Sholayar Forest Ranges on the fringes of Kerala’s famed rain forests, the waterfalls provide a restful escape for those wanting to quit the hustle & bustle of city life . . . wild and beautiful, unspoilt by the passing of time.


There’s always a paradise close & near

God’s Paradise is everywhere!

World’s Ten Amazing Subway Stations

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London's Familiar Underground Sign

By P Chong                      22 April 2010

London Underground, known commonly as The Tube, has the distinction of being the first such railway system in the world with its first section opening in 1863. It is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and neighbouring areas of Essex, Hertfordshire & Buckinghamshire in the UK. In 1890 it became the first to operate electric trains.


The name “Underground” in London can be quite misleading as some 55% of its system is above ground. Nonetheless, it was an awe inspiring experience for me when using it as a fresh young man coming from an under-developed country in 1959 & 1960.

In my recall, I still remember Madrid Metro, as a system situated right in the centre and has train doors opening at both sides to improve passenger flows. This was a real bonus considering its congestion particularly on bull fight days.

Hong Kong MTR (Mass Transport Railway) is perhaps the most busy of the systems I have seen. Its quick, frequent & efficient and for most times it’s packed to capacity with only standing room.

The world of rapid underground travel, named invariably as Underground, Metro, MTR or MRT, is most fascinating. Herein below is a pictorial presentation of the World’s Most Amazing Ten Subway Stations:

The Bund Sightseeing Tunnel in Shanghai, China. The 647-m long tunnel is a surrealistic fantastic public transportation system with its walls featuring hi-tech geometrical optics of various colors. (Below)

The Komsomolskaya Metro Station in Moscow, Russia. The metro station has become one of the landmarks in Moscow partly because it is located at the city’s busiest public transportation hub the Komsomolskaya Square. The station opened on Jan. 30, 1952

(as below)


The Bockenheimer Warte Subway Station in Frankfurt, Germany. The entrance to the station looks like a train sinking underground after an explosion. The designer of the station said he was inspired by surrealistic artists.

The Subway Station in Bilbao, Spain. The subway station, designed by Norman Foster, is well known for its efficiency and unique design style.

The City Hall Subway Station in New York, United States. The station is a beautiful and functional one. It has been the most attractive subway station in New York since it was put into operation in 1945


The O’Hare Subway Station in Chicago, United States.

It was built in 1984


The Subway Station in Dubai, UAE. Combining traditional and modern architecture styles, the station looks like a shell.


The Subway Station in Stockholm, Sweden. The station is highlighted by its inside cave paintings.


The Subway Station in Pyongyang, DPRK


The U-Bahn Metro in Munich, Germany. It opened in 1972











US Dilemma: Is The Power Obama’s?

On By Paul4 Comments


By P Chong                                21 April 2010

All this “The TIME 100 Poll: Who Are the World’s Most Influential?” is a silly exercise to say the least, when the truly powerful man or family is really behind the scene – unknown!

The Rothschilds Family

What ramifications & implications do you expect from this statement: “Let me issue & control a nation’s money & I care not who writes the law.” ~ Mayer Amschel Rothschild in 1790.

According to a Weiss Research Inc. recent survey, “more than 90% of their readers believe that Washington will NOT stop its spending or borrowing or money-printing binge in time to avoid a bond market meltdown . . . soaring interest rates . . . and, ultimately, a tragic, double-dip recession.” This is a fast changing world, faster than we can keep up with. Events are being fast-forwarded . . . there is no rewinding or replay. You’ve just got to keep in step, lest you lag behind.

Even according to a report by RT-TV, as high as 80% of the general public do not trust Washington!


Like in a Shakespearean play or the Hollywood show, the world is a stage, and all the politicians are merely acting their parts. In the social-economic-political world of US, who is really running the show? Is it Barrack Hussein Obama, the 44th & current President of the United States of America, the most powerful man on earth? What would your educated guess be – the government such as the Congress or Senate, the people we elected, the Pope, the Secret Elite or Illuminati or Others?

You’d never know through the secret maze of intrigue & conspiracy. It is a truism that powerful men can dangle their political puppets on the string & play according to their tune. Behind that apparent power lurks an even greater power – unseen, unheard without a tinge of publicity or popularity.

Retrospectively, there have been a number of events that seem to just happen – well-known assassination of Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy . . . and the most recent 9/11 disaster & the on-going wars in Iraq & Afghanistan. First we hear the news from the media with all their presentation & explanation. Then the conspiracy theories begin to surface. You go through reading & researching the information. Finally, you’d be left in limbo wondering whether you’d ever know the truth or be perpetually confused.

The truth is you cannot trust the major media owned mainly by the Secret Elite who only tell you what they want you to hear. Their purpose is to confuse & frustrate the public so that we will turn to them for answers. They want to control you in any & every way possible.

Who are the Secret Elite, alternatively known as Illuminati. Some call them the Freemasons or Socialist and some the Government, but the truth is “they are all of these & more.” Is the name “Rothchild” familiar to you? If not, it might interest you to read more about them. It is believed that the Rothschild family used the Illuminati as a means to achieving their goal of world-wide dominance as far back as history goes.

It is not expedient here for me to cover the details which are adequately & abundantly found in the web. The crux of the matter is never to believe all that you read or see in all their entirety. Like it often happens, a lot of junk & scam or hoax get circulated through the electronic mail – so just be wise & cautious.


“All that glitters is not gold” ~ the old familiar proverb.

“All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, a light from the shadows shall spring; renewed shall be blade that was broken, the crownless again shall be king.” ~J.R.R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings)

The Devil tempts you to play,

sets you astray &

then pulls you away!

LATEST UPDATE ON US DEBT CRISIS

Some days you should just stay in bed!
Every American (And Canadian) Needs to Watch This……….
This is  scary!
This is supposedly a NON-PARTISAN video produced by an
accountant, Hal Mason, retired after 27 years with IBM. He looks at
the budget, its revenues and expenses, and very simply illustrates the
problem. Amazingly, we get all the media talking heads blathering and
shouting for hours and never get clarity. This guy provides all the
clarity you need in just a of couple minutes.