TR EMERITUS

Adevarul.ro, 12 April 2010 Translated from Romanian using Google Translator Before the accident in Singapore, killing a pedestrian, Silviu Ionescu was involved in a road incident in 2004 in Greece. If in Singapore said the inquiry "is a circus," about the accident in Greece, Silviu Ionescu, Romania's former consul in Thessaloniki, claims that resulted in a blackmail.Road accident on December 15, 2009, when one person was killed and two others were seriously injured in Singapore is not only questionable case of former career diplomat Silviu Ionescu (50). According to diplomatic sources, during the Ionescu was Consul General in Thessaloniki, Greece, he was involved in another accident. Former diplomat acknowledges the accident, but is entangled in explanations. From file Information about another accident where Silviu Ionescu was involved as an employee in Romanian diplomats began circulating soon after the announcement of the Singapore incident. For the first time, however, diplomatic sources Embassy in Athens, who worked with during his tenure Ionescu Greek admit its involvement in a car accident, but there is a police file of Thessaloniki.Accident there indeed. You check and the embassy in Athens, but the police in Thessaloniki. Was an employee who did what he wanted. Always had negative reactions about how the orders Ionescu. By contrast, deals with gender bazaconii "Miss Romania", said the "truth" sources among staff who worked for the embassy in Greece at the time when Ionescu was consul in Salonika. Ionescu: "There was no victim 'Silviu Ionescu recognize the existence of the accident, but say that "forget" all important aspects of their production. In addition, former diplomat, is entangled in details: say it was an accident easily, without casualties, but an investigation completed by NUP, opened on his behalf. Moreover, although says he was blackmailed by Greek Ionescu no longer remembers it any name, no exact date or place of the accident."I was hit from behind by a Greek citizen in 2004, I tried to do right. I blame recognized then, as things move faster. Finally they gave initiate prosecution. There was no victim, Greeks went to hospital to be hospitalized, but have not received because there was nothing. Later, he tried to blackmail me, to draw money from me, "said Silviu Ionescu. Even more curious, Ionesco has provided us the phone number of Ms. Adriana Grosu, translator at the Consulate in Thessaloniki, one that should be followed, according to former diplomat, to prove any of 2004 blackmail. Contacted by telephone, said Adriana Grosu do not remember any such incident. Service and dancing women Another controversial element of diplomatic activity Silviu Ionescu link to a personal loan, amounting to 28,000 euros granted by former diplomat George Karastergios Greek citizen. This is the company manager Elaboration Ltd, officially presented as "a recruiting firm for Singapore companies. The company name is but one of the most important job portals in Romania and Moldova, by posting ads for "girls between 18 and 30, willing to become escorts in major karaoke clubs in Singapore. Doritoarele were informed that "upon them" if they earn up to 3,000 euros a month, but that "supports the management club night at the end of working hours, employees accompany customers."It's my friend and I borrowed, that man has health problems and is in hospital. Elaboration is indeed LTD company, but I know that trying to recruit women to work in Indonesia and the Philippines to bring them to work in Romania, "said Ionescu.  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent With many Singaporeans still feeling sore about the astronomical salaries of the PAP ministers, the Straits Times is actively trumpeting the "accomplishments" of the PAP to justify their impending pay hike. In an article with the most misleading title "Highest growth in 16 years" today, ST journalist Fiona Chan reported that "Singapore has raised its forecast for 2010 growth after the economy strengthened massively in the first quarter of this year" An unsuspecting reader would have been misled and deceived completely by the title of the article into thinking that the Singapore's economy is indeed doing very well under the PAP which is obviously not. According to a press statement from the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), the economy is expected to grow by 7 to 9 percent which is higher than its previous prediction of 4.5 to 6.5 percent growth. GDP has shot up by 13.1 percent in the Jan - Mar period to the same time last year which Fiona described as the "biggest year-on-year jump in 16 years". How this "growth" can be misconstrued as the "highest growth in 16 years" is beyond anybody's imagination. The GDP had increased by such a huge margin simply because it was very low to begin with last year when Singapore was still mired in recession and cannot be used to assess the strength of the economy. Singapore's economy experienced negative growth of between 5 to 7 percent in the first quarter of last year. Therefore the 7 to 9 percent growth now will naturally translate to an seemingly impressive increase of between 12 - 16 percent. GDP growth has been criticized by many prominent economists including Nobel Prize Laureate Joseph Stiglitz as a poor indicator of quality of life and welfare of the people in a particular country. High GDP growth does not mean that the fruits of the economy will be distributed equally to everybody on the ground. Singapore's GDP growth is driven largely by the easy availability of  cheap foreign workers which help keep labor costs down thereby inflating the GDP figures artificially. An unknown percentage of the PAP ministers' multi-million salary package is pegged to GDP growth - the higher the growth, the more money they bring home. While Singapore's economy has been growing on the whole this year, the wages of Singaporeans remain stagnant, prompting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong to issue a call to employers to restore wage cuts. With prices of HDB flats continue to climb, young Singaporeans are finding it especially hard to get married and start a family with their meager wages on top of competing with foreigners in a competitive job market. It was projected earlier in the year that the PAP ministers will get a hefty 8.8 percent pay rise this year. They are now expected to get more with the new revised growth figures.   EDITORS’ NOTE: Please join our Facebook page here and invite your friends to do so to create awareness of the current affairs affecting Singaporeans.  Read More →

By P.R. VENKAT, SAM HOLMES And COSTAS PARIS from Wall Street Journal Singapore's central bank tightened monetary policy aggressively Wednesday to cool an economy that posted the fastest growth on record in the first quarter and faces rising inflationary risks. The government also raised its projections for economic growth and inflation for this year, highlighting the sharp rebound in the bellwether for Asia's economy, a driving force behind the world's recovery from the financial crisis. Gross domestic product soared 32.1% in the quarter ended March 31 from the previous three months in annualized, adjusted terms, leaping from a 2.8% contraction in the fourth quarter of last year. That was the fastest pace on record going back to 1975, and topped all forecasts in a Dow Jones Newswires survey of 10 economists. The poll tipped an expansion of 19.9%, with estimates ranging from 9.5% to 28%. "This is not only a Singapore story. It's an affirmation of Asia's strength compared with the rest of the world," said Endre Pedersen, executive director of fixed income at MFC Global Investment Management. "The fact that MAS decided to act now rather than waiting six months, even though inflation is not yet a pressing issue, is very significant" after the "extremely good" GDP numbers and higher forecast for this year. The force of the Monetary Authority of Singapore's tightening was unprecedented. It revalued upward its targeted trading band for the Singapore dollar—its main policy lever—and shifted its stance to a "modest and gradual appreciation" from zero appreciation of the local currency. Read rest of article here.  Read More →