Posted on 10/29/2013 9:46:27 PM PDT by TexGrill
Singapore is a small nation with few of its own natural resources. Yet in the past 50 years it has transformed itself into one of the world's economic powerhouses. Here, Tenna Schoer, a Danish journalist based in Singapore, counts some of the measures where the country comes top of the class.
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Singapore's mid-life crisis Singapore profile More from Singapore Direct
1. Low crime rate
Take a ride on the subway in Singapore and you'll quickly notice that it is only the tourists firmly holding on to their bags. The locals are very relaxed about their belongings and show no hint of fear that somebody might snatch their smartphone. Unsurprising perhaps when you consider that Singapore has one the lowest crime rates in the world.
Crime has fallen in each of the past three years. Last year had the lowest recorded crime rate in more than two decades - there were 80 days in which not a single robbery or "snatch theft" was recorded.
Not only do you not need to worry about your belongings, your life isn't in very much danger either.
According to UN data, Singapore has the second lowest murder rate in the world (Data excludes tiny Palau and Monaco.) Only 16 people were murdered in 2011 in a country with a population of 5.1 million. Compare that to similarly sized Finland which had 116 murders and Slovakia with 96 murders in the same year.
You don't have to look that hard to discover why this might be, though. The little city state is well known for its harsh punishments for crime, even for low-level offences. Recently, a security guard was sentenced to three months in jail and three strokes of the cane for spray-painting "democracy" on a war memorial.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
Mmmm...
Wonder what Singapore’s immigration policy is.
Hmmmm.
Of the four times I have had the pleasure of visiting Singapore, there was quite a few things that became clear to me.
Government taxed the hell out of everything to be able to control everything.
They also took full advantage of the fact that their country was in view of some major shipping lanes -and they could provide for this.........for a price.
It seemed to me that the entire metro area was a gigantic shopping arena and entertainment zone.
But...
I was told by some locals that you would have to be a millionaire to even own a car.
No thanks.
Great place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there.
They ran all the commies out in the 50’s.
They’ll beat your ass (literally) if you do anything really stupid.
Remember that American kid who got his caned for vandalism a few years ago?
That was Michael P. Fay who was caned for graffiti in Singapore.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_P._Fay
Weird Al Yankovic did a parody of “Mmmmm mmmmm mmmm mmmm” by the Crash Test Dummies that mentions the story right at the beginning. Hilarious!
Headline News
by Weird Al Yankovic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU95v23MQ4c
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