Singapore Port

Maybe it was River Valley. There are and have been some very good Noodle shops there, like this one:

One more bunker supplier bite the dust:
https://worldmaritimenews.com/archives/235674/singapore-charges-bunker-supplier-staff-with-cheating/

The bunker suppliers are monitored tighter than ever:
https://shippingwatch.com/Services/article10109644.ece

Wilhelmsen Ship Management move it’s global HQ from KL to Singapore:

Sailing between Hong Kong and Singapore in the sixties the problem was for a young man was spending Singapore dollars like Hong Kong dollars when one was worth double the other. Other recollections are somewhat hazy, it must have been something I ate.

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In the early 1960’s official exchange rates were still set by the Brentwood Agreement, but black markets were common in many countries in the Far East.
When I sailed on Wilhelmsen Line ships on the Europe - Far East run, it was an art to know where to change your money and what currency to buy where to “optimize your return on investment”.

Singapore was a place to sell GBP or German Marks and buy Philippine Pesos and/or Thai Bath, depending on the rotation ahead.

The money changers in Change Alley were competing for your business, but quickly understood if you were gullible, or knew how to bargain.

The “old cheat” as we called him was one of the better to deal with. He is still operating at the Raffles Place entrance to Clifford Centre and can be recognized by his long gray hair in a pony tail. As sharp as ever.

Indonesian Rupiah was better to buy by selling cigarettes, which you could get for NOK in the slop chest.

Hong Kong was also a place to trade money, with numerous money changers off Nathan Road.

Singapore is consolidating it’s position as a major Shipping hub:


Place to be if you are young, inventive and ambitious. (Too late for me)

A bit of history and future for Singapore as a container port:
http://splash247.com/future-port-operations/​​​​​​​

except there wont be anybody there with all the robots and automation going in.
I dont quite get what they are announcing the port will create 5 to 20,000 new jobs ( depending what day the press release is)
automation and consolidation of 3 ports into 1 and you create jobs?

https://www.gov.sg/factually/content/do-you-know-how-many-types-of-foreign-workers-we-have-in-singapore

Singapore has quite a bit in common with other countries with a high standard of living, especially with regard to low-skilled jobs that others do not want to do. Similar to U.S. states along the southern border.

A couple of quotes from the article:

it is important to realise that the overwhelming majority of non-resident foreigners in Singapore are here to do jobs that Singaporeans do not want to do.

work permit holders make up the largest group of foreigners working in Singapore at 46%,

This essentially means that majority of non-resident foreign workers in Singaporeans are not here to compete with Singaporeans for high-paying professional or managerial jobs. Rather they are here to help build our homes, keep our roads clean, and make our lives just a little more comfortable.

Not commenting one way or another, just pointing out similarities.

An article from The New Paper for your enlightenment and enjoyment:


OK, I know, TNP is not known as the most reliable of publications, but I believe they are just quoting MPA here.

Skilled foreigners working in Singapore have become a problem for the government as they are pushing lots of locals aside in high tech industries for various reasons.
Getting work permits for both low skill and high skilled are getting difficult to get.
The gov has worked on this and has given huge subsidies to up skill the work force and try to get businesses to automate but with 2 generations having been trained that when margins are squeezed you just get cheaper idiots has caused very low productivity compared with any OECD country.
Unfortunately idiots are getting more expensive as they are getting more skilled and wages back home are coming up.

As you may know many of the foreign workers in Singapore are also receiving training to upgrade their skills. When they return to their home countries they may use these skills and any funds they have saved to start a business, or to train others.

This may be better Foreign Aid than what many other developed countries offer.
Throwing money at corrupt regimes, or paying “experts” from own countries hugh sums to do very little good, is of little use in my opinion.

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The US is able to make available 250,000 trainable, hardworking “temporary” El Salvadorans to Singapore, Norway or any other “non-shithole” country that needs them.

There are 2 million El Salvadorans living in the US, most of them immigrated within the last 20 years. They send $4 billion a year in remittance payments back to El Salvador.

There are 6 million in El Salvador, 99% of which are anxious to come to the US, but most of them would also be happy to go to either Singapore or Norway for training and employment.

If the El Salvadoreans are able to send USD 4 Bn. a year back to El Salvador they must be contributing to the US economy, pay taxes and generally do something good for their host country??

The problem is that we have many millions of American Citizen multigenerational welfare receipents who are permanently unemployed. We need to carve out a niche in the labor market where these American Citizens can find entry level jobs and dignity. And hopefully, their children and grandchildren will not be born into permenent unemployment and dependency on welfare.

I’d be happy to send 20 million of these people to Singapore and Norway for training and employment, but they would refuse to go, and Singapore and Norway would refuse to take them.

There are two very large El Salvadoran gangs: MS 13, the and smaller Barrio 18, that make $ billions from selling drugs, murder for hire, protection rackets, and other violent and serious crime in the US.

El Salvador is a beautiful country with gorgeous mountains, biodiversity, and hundreds of miles of beautiful undeveloped beaches, and only two hours from the US. It has enormous potential. I’d be happy to keep the other hardworking El Salvadorans, but El Salvador really needs these honest and productive citizens back to help rebuild their country.

El Salvador’s biggest problem is that we have deported so many highly trained and brutal criminals in MS 13 and Barrio 18, that they have taken over the country, and turned it in to an ungovernable murderous “shithole.”

No. It’s a shadow society that operates on cash and largely bypasses the banking system and the IRS. They send most of what they make to their extended families outside the US.

If I’m not mistaken the MS 13 gang have their roots in Los Angeles?? They have now returned to their root.

I would suggest that instead of sending your under trained and undereducated welfare recipients to Norway and Singapore, you should send some of your School Board and Union official to learn about re-education and re-training of workers that lose their jobs to automation.

Germany would also be a good place to learn about vocational training and apprenticeship schemes.

as if Germany needs more people.

Germany actually DO need more people to maintain their workforce (Alternatively, more automation)

But I did not recommend sending every member of the school boards and unions to Germany, only a few to learn how to ensure that people remain relevant to the changing job market.

Once they know how they should go home and implement necessary changes in their home country.