A National Disgrace - message from Bernie Sanders

Sisters and Brothers -

What happened yesterday in Arizona should be considered a national disgrace. I got an email last night from a woman who waited five hours to vote in Arizona. Five hours. 

We don't know how many thousands of people didn't get to cast their ballotsyesterday in Arizona because they couldn't afford to wait that long. Scenes on cable news last night showed hundreds of people in line at 11:30pm in Phoenix – more than four hours after polls closed. Voting should not be this difficult.

One reason it is so hard to vote in Arizona is because the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act. There were 70 percent fewer polling places this year than in 2012 in Phoenix's county. They wouldn't have been allowed to cut those polling places if the Voting Rights Act was still in tact.

These cuts meant that, in a county with more than 4 million residents, there were just 60 polling places. This is unacceptable, but it's also not an isolated incident.

We need to make it easier to vote, not more difficult. One way we can do that is by reaffirming our support for the Voting Rights Act, which, when I am president, I will fight to reinstate.

Add your name to say you support reinstating the Voting Rights Act so we can make voting easier for everybody, not more difficult.

ADD YOUR NAME »

We cannot continue to see democracy undermined in the United States of America. Enough is enough.

Make no mistake: the billionaire class does not want Americans to vote. Billions of dollars are being funneled into our elections in a form of legalized bribery, even as American voters — especially minority voters — are being discouraged from voting. It is no wonder that government no longer works for ordinary Americans.

Above all, we need to remember the price that was paid for the right to vote. The Voting Rights Act was one of the great victories of the civil rights movement. Now, as then, change comes when the people demand it — in the voting booth, and on the streets in peaceful demonstrations. We must remind ourselves of what’s been achieved in the past, and resolve to do equally great things in the future. Democracy is not a spectator sport.

It is my sincere hope that the states that vote in the coming weeks and months do better than what we saw yesterday in Arizona. Too much is at stake for our future.

Right now, what we can do is show your support by adding your name to say you want to reinstate the Voting Rights Act. Click here to add your name.

No one said a political revolution would be easy. The billionaire class doesn't want to see our movement win, and so we must do everything we can to show them that we have the power.

In solidarity,

Bernie Sanders

Big increase in premium for Integrated Shield

Dear Mr. Tan
Two weeks ago, Aviva increased rider premiums by 30 to 60% Last week, AIA increased rider premiums by 13 to 35% Who else will increase their premiums in the coming weeks? 

The true costs of the PAP's so-called healthcare reform have come to roost, with health insurers raising premiums because their models predict runaway healthcare costs. What's really wrong with the PAP's tweaks to Medisave? Why are things turning out this way? What better, more appropriate reforms would you recommend instead of what the PAP has executed?

REPLY
Thank you for this useful feedback. The integrated Shield model is not working. I suggest that you cover for Medishield Life instead.

Polls showed Clinton vs Trump and Sanders vs Trump

The latest polls show Hillary Clinton will beat Donald Trump by 9.2% in the general election.

But the same polls show that Bernie Sanders will beat Donald Trump by 16,4%. The Democratic Party has a better chance to win the White House with Bernie Sanders.

Pedestrian crossing at Yio Chu Kang Road

The Land Transport Authority, in their strange "wisdom", decided to erect a barrier across the middle of Yio Chu Kang Road and force me to walk 10 meters from the bus stop to the pedestrian crossing. After pressing the light for the stop, it takes several minutes for the green man to appear.

An acceptable waiting time is 1 minute, but often it takes 2 or 3 minutes. During this time, there is usually a safe break in the traffic, so the pedestrians could cross the road safely without the traffic stop. After crossing the road, the pedestrians could look back to see the traffic light stop the traffic for nobody to cross.

This has been happening quite often.

I do not wish to give any feedback to the LTA, because they will have one hundred reasons why the current arrangement works fine.

Jetstar respond to my feedback, but are they serious?

I posted a feedback that it is inconsiderate for Jetstar to offer a voucher for $15 that carries a 20 digit number that cannot be copied by the mouse.

The corporate communications manager of Jetstar emailed to thank me for the feedback and said that they will look into the matter.

I telephoned the manager and asked, "Are you really serious about finding a solution, or is this just lip service?". I further said, "I know that you will probably find it difficult to change the 20 digit voucher number, but you could easily remove the "layer" that prevents the voucher number from being copied by the mouse. Why introduce this unnecessary "layer"?

The people who designed these kind of system, "for security" do not use their common sense. They just make life unnecessarily difficult for their customers.

It is easy to miss the boat when one is too cautious

When the ST index was dropping, I decided that 2,500 was the level to invest in the market. However, I set my buy price at 2,450 and 2,400 for 2 tranches of the index.

The ST Index probably hit 2,500 but did not touch 2,450.

Now the ST Index is at 2800, which is more than 10% higher than 2,500.

By being cautious, I missed the boat.

Bernie Sanders got more support from Democrats abroad than Hillary Clinton

This is a big deal, sisters and brothers. Yesterday afternoon, we received the final results from another Democratic primary contest:

Democrats Abroad Results - March 21, 2016
Sanders: 69% (nine delegates)
Clinton: 31% (four delegates)

Here’s why this result is important: we netted more delegates from the Democrats Abroad voting than Hillary Clinton netted with her narrow victories in Illinois, Massachusetts, and Missouri combined.

This is the result we needed. Now we wait to hear from Arizona, Idaho, and Utah later tonight, where we should do well. But we also have to focus on what’s next, and that is the CRITICAL caucus in Washington on Saturday.

Your $3 contribution today will ensure we have what we need to win Washington State’s caucus this Saturday. We need a good margin there, and your contribution could make the difference.

Jetstar Voucher - so long and complicated

The people who designed the JetStar online system are inconsiderate.

They charged me $45 for a "Plus Package" and gave me a flight voucher for $15. To use this voucher, I have to enter a 20 digit number. The voucher does not allow me to copy the number with the mouse. I have to copy down the 20 digit number and enter them carefully into the box.

My number got rejected twice, even though I entered it correctly. I tried a third time, and it got through.

Why force the customer to go to so much trouble? They could have used a 10 digit number, but they wanted to use 20 digits - just for $15.

Expect huge and loud demonstrations for Bernie Sanders

If Bernie Sanders does not win the Democratic nomination or lose the general election, I expect him to be active in the "revolution".

He will put forward proposed legislation on the topics set out in his campaign and millions of his supporters will march in the streets and telephone their representatives and senators in Congress to support the legislation.

Previously, Bernie Sanders was not well known, so he could not mount this kind of demonstration. Now, he is so well known and liked by his supporters that these demonstrations will be a common event. He will be able to draw huge crowds and loud crowds.

Whether Bernie Sanders is in, or out of the White House, we can expect to see a very different America. It will outshine the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Excellent laptop and excellent service from Dell

I bought a Dell XPS 13 for $1,300 from their online website. I find the laptop to be excellent.

However, I was soon disappointed to see the message "power on, not charging".

I sent an online feedback to Dell.They replied by email to me and asked for additional information from certain test. They soon diagnosed the problem to be adapter fault.

They sent a new adapter to me on the following day. It arrived and worked perfectly. I am impressed with the good service from Dell.

The laptop did not have a HDMI port. I bought a USB-C to HDMI adapter. It worked fine.

I am also very happy with the Dell XPS 13. It is light and powerful. It is an excellent laptop.

Bad advice from an insurance agent

Dear Mr. Tan

I need some advice from you. I am currently in my late 20s with a congenital heart disease.

My mother bought a traditional whole life insurance from company X many years ago. This policy had a loading due to my medical condition.

Recently I met an insurance agent from company Y. He introduced to me a limited payment whole life insurance where the premium period is only 25 years. He told me to surrender my current policy and switch to the new policy as this policy has a higher sum assured and a limited payment period.

This limited payment policy has an assured sum two times of my current However, the annual premium payment is also two times higher.

What should I do?

REPLY

It is usually a bad idea to switch from one life insurance policy to another policy. You will have to incur the high upfront cost all over again, as the agent will earn a high commission on the new policy and the surrender value on your existing policy is usually quite poor.

In your case, you will face difficulty in getting a new policy due to your medical condition. If the agent declares the medical condition, you will be loaded again, so your premium will be even higher than what was indicated now. The danger is that the agent will not declare the medical condition, and you will face problem many years later, when you have to make an insurance claim.

The new agent is giving you bad advice.

Government agencies should move to the 21st centruy

I have to submit my medical test to the Police to validate my driving licence. This is required after passing age 65.

I scanned the medical report (both sides) into PDF and email to the Police. They acknowledged by e-mail.

It is convenient for me, and also save work for the Police.

The Police is able to accept medical report by e-mail. They are one of the few government agencies that are up to date. Most of the other agencies still avoid email and insist on sending and receiving hard copy.

Perhaps the Police should be updating the other agencies. Perhaps PM Lee should be passing an instruction to the other government agencies to learn from the Police and update their procedures to the 21st century.

Implement apprentice programme to equip young with skills

Straits Times Online Forum, 22 March 2016
Singapore faces the challenge of preparing our young people for jobs of the future.

While a university degree is suitable for some jobs, there are other jobs where skills and working experience are more important.

In the early 1980s, I visited an insurance company in Germany.

It had two categories of employees: permanent employees and apprentices, who left secondary school and started work in the company on a three- or four-year apprenticeship programme.

The apprentices spent half their time doing actual administrative work in the office and the other half attending an insurance course in a school or polytechnic.

After completing the apprenticeship successfully, the apprentices were absorbed as permanent employees of the company.

I understand that the apprenticeship system is adopted in many types of occupations in Germany, Switzerland and other countries in Europe.

There are some advantages to the apprenticeship system.

First, the employer has a supply of apprentices who can do the actual work, for a modest allowance.

Second, the apprentices learn skills and gain experience needed for their future careers.

In Singapore, many polytechnics and universities send their students for three-month internships to get working experience. This is not the same as the apprenticeship system.

Under the apprenticeship system, the apprentice joins an employer first and is sponsored by the employer to attend a professional or vocational course.

The employer has a regular supply of young workers who know how to do the work that is needed. Most employers are happy to offer full-time careers to apprentices who have completed the apprenticeship.

I hope that the Singapore Government can provide funding for an apprenticeship system and do it effectively.

We can follow the experience of the countries that have implemented this system well.

Tan Kin Lian

By-election in Bukit Batok

I wonder if PM Lee had read my blog post here. He seemed to have acted on my suggestions, i.e.

a) Call the by-election at an early date
b) Get his assistant (i.e. Tharman) to take charge of the PAP's efforts
c) Select an "experienced" candidate from the Aljunied team.

http://tankinlian.blogspot.sg/search?q=bukit+batok

Hahaha.

What will it take for Chee Soon Juan to win Bukit Batok?

At the general election in 2015, the Peoples Action Party won 73% of the votes in Bukit Batok constituency.

The by-election in the constituency will see a contest between the PAP candidate and the Singapore Democratic Party candidate, Dr. Chee Soon Juan.

Will Dr Chee be able to get a swing of 23%, i.e. get 23% of the voters to change their mind and vote for the SDP?

At the Punggol East by-election, the Workers Party candidate, Lee Li Lian achieved a swing of 13.5% to win the by-election against a strong PAP candidate, Dr. Koh Poh Boon.

Will Dr. Chee be able to achieve a swing of 23% against the PAP candidate? It will be difficult but worth a try. As the 2015 general election gave more votes to the PAP that expected, some of these bonus votes may swing around to the opposition this time.

Bernie Sender's daily messages

I registered in Bernie Sander's website with my email address and a dummy ZIP code.

I receive a daily email from the website. The message starts with "Dear Sisters and Brothers" Trade unions address their members as "Sisters" and "Brothers" to show solidarity among the workers.

Each daily email focuses on one aspects of Bernie Sander's campaign. This is how he keeps in touch with his one million and growing supporters.

Dell XPS 13 - surprise and setback

I bought a Dell XPS 13 for $1,300 SGD. That is a good price. I was pleasantly surprised to find it to be light and the keyboard and screen were great.

I soon discovered two setbacks -
a) It does not have a HDMI port
b) The battery could not charge - the message showed "Power on, not charging".

I bought a Dell adapter - USB-C to HDMI. It worked fine. I already had an adapter from HDMI to VGA. This works well for me, as I have to give talks with my laptop.

I contacted Dell to tell them about the battery problem. They diagnosed the fault to be a faulty adapter. They delivered a replacement adapter to me the following day. That is wonderful service.

If the replacement adapter works, my feedback on the laptop will be great. I also enjoyed the great service of Dell.

Troublesome to enter a bank account

Our government agencies and banks need to exercise some common sense in the design of their websites.

For online payment, they ask the customer to enter 3 separate fields - Bank, Branch, Account No.

They provide a drop down list for the Bank and a separate drop down list for the Branch. They do not provide the format for the Account No.

I had trouble locating the bank from a long drop down list. I had to search for it 3 times before I found it.

I also had trouble in locating the branch. My branch was previously Shenton Way, but has moved to MBFC. The drop down list did not provide MBFC.

Finally, I had to enter the Account No. A car dealer told me that I have to enter the full number, including the bank and branch code. The website did not indicate that this was necessary. So I entered just the 7 digit account code.

On all of our cheque books, we have the full account number, e.g. 7171-001-1234567. The website should just ask the customer to enter the account number as AAAA-BBB-CCCCCCC and provide an explanation - AAAA is the bank code, BBB - is the branch code and CCCCCCCC is the account number. I am sure that online users will be able to figure this out.

If they wish to help their customers, they can give a message like, "You are indicating account No 1234567 in DBS Bank, Shenton Way branch".

Maintenance of MRT system

An engineer once explained this matter to me. When we built our MRT system in the 1980s, we engaged the expertise from France and Japan. They were the best in the world.

The experts advised that some of the major parts had to be replaced after 18 years, due to wear and tear.

In France, they replaced these parts on schedule after 18 years. The Japanese are more cautious. They replaced these parts before 18 years.

In Singapore, the management said that the parts are still working after 18 years. Can the replacements be delayed?

That is why our trains are now breaking down quite often. I don't know if this story is true or is exaggerated.

Defraying the cost of maternity leave

The employment law of Singapore requires the employer to provide eight weeks of maternity leave to a female employee who gives birth to the first and second child. The working mother is entitled to another eight weeks of leave paid by the government.

Some employers wish to avoid the cost of providing the maternity leave. They will not employ a female who is likely to bear a child in the near future.

To remove this discrimination, it is better for the government to bear the entire cost of child-bearing, i.e. to reimburse the employer for all 16 weeks of maternity leave,

Message from Bernie Sanders

Sisters and Brothers -

I want to tell you about something that encapsulates so much of what is wrong with our economy, our government, and our corrupt political system. Then I'm going to ask for your help to stop it.

Pfizer is a giant pharmaceutical company based in New York City that has a history of overcharging Americans for prescription drugs. It's in the process of trying to merge with another company located in Ireland.

If the merger is successful, Pfizer would technically become a foreign company, meaning it could dodge around $35 BILLION in corporate taxes here in America.

Enough is enough. Pfizer and other pharmaceutical companies cannot be allowed to evade taxes and rip off American patients who already pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs.

I sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew asking him to prevent Pfizer from taking many of the steps it wants in order to avoid paying taxes in America. Can you add your name to say you want Pfizer to pay the taxes it owes?

ADD YOUR NAME »

What Pfizer is trying to do is known as a "corporate inversion." In this case, Pfizer, an American company, is merging with a company based abroad. The result of the merger is a company with an address in another country – even though the majority of shareholders are still based in America.

Pfizer apparently doesn't want to pay the $35 billion in taxes it would owe in America. I don't think that's right.

No matter what, you can bet that Pfizer would continue to overcharge Americans for prescription drugs, too. Since 2014, the pharmaceutical company has hiked the prices of seven of its top selling drugs by an average of 39 percent.

Pfizer also charges 12 times as much in the U.S. under Medicare for these drugs as it charges in Ireland, where it’s claiming a new address for tax purposes.

All of this is the result of years of weakened tax laws, an abdication of responsibility by American companies to their country, and a corrupt political system that allows it to happen.

And I believe we can stop it.

Add your name and together we can stop Pfizer's corporate tax dodge and take a big step forward for our political revolution.

Thank you for your support.

In solidarity,

Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sander's website

I went to Bernie Sander's website, berniesanders.com and registered. It asked for a ZIP code. I provided a dummy code to get through.

I receive several emails from the website. They were well written, easy to understand and professionally done. They are doing a great job.

Some emails asked me to donate to Bernie Sanders campaign. I wanted to donate. However, the website said that I have to be a citizen or green card holder, which I am not. I am also not allowed to donate through a US citizen, as that person has to certify that the donation is not on behalf of other people.

How to improve Medishield Life

Here are some suggestions on how to improve Medishield Life, while retaining much of its current structure.

1.  Pay 80% of the hospital bill in the eligible ward, and remove the deductible. The deductible is necessary to eliminate frequent and small claims. It does not apply to hospital bills, which are infrequent.

2. Impose fee controls on hospitals that wish to claim under Medishield Life. If the hospitals want to charge what they like, they cannot claim on Medishield Life.

3. Allow an option to cover B2/C, A/B1 and private hospitals at different rates.

4. Allow insurance companies to offer Medishield Life at the regulated rates. These rates should be adequate to cover the claims, expenses and a modest profit margin. It gives the customers a choice of their preferred insurer, based on their quality of service, rather than competition over different packages and rates.

Graduate find it difficult to get a job

I know of many young people who struggled to get a university degree and are not able to find a suitable job.

Many of them would be better off by working earlier and gaining the relevant experience, practical skills and good judgment..

The economy need more practical people with real skills. We have an over supply of people with paper qualification.

http://www.transitioning.org/…/fresh-26-year-old-business-…/

Get your condo ready for the next enbloc fever

This website allows the owners of a condominium to indicate their interest in participating in an enbloc sale. This particular page is for Thomson View condominium but other pages are available for other condos.

Click on [View Message] to see a special message that is addressed to the owners in Thomson View.

http://www.tklcloud.com/colsale/register.aspx?id=2142

If you are interested to get your condo into this system, send an email to kinlian@gmail.com

Taiwan preferred not to follow Singapore's health care model

Singapore introduced Medisave, Medishield and Medifund during the 1980s. The government was extremely proud of our "3M" model and wanted to showcase it to the world.

Taiwan wanted to introduce a national health care system a few years later. They sent a study team to study the health care systems around the world. They also visited Singapore to study our "3M" system.

They introduced their national health care system based on the "single payer" government-funded model. They decided that the "3M" system was not good.

To my knowledge, no other country followed this model. It is complicated and confusing and wasteful. The health care providers, i.e. hospitals and specialists, had a great time to make a lot of profit from the system. Just look at the share prices of the listed medical groups.

Who pays? The people. Many people considered health care to be expensive and unaffordable. There is a saying in Singapore, "it is better to die than to be sick".

Each time I visit the public hospital, I get a bill to remind me about the wastefulness. The financial items, such as government subsidy through the various complicated schemes outnumbered the medical items.

The PAP government really loved to make a political issue out of every health care bill. They don't care about the waste that they are creating.

I prefer to see a total revamp of our health care system. We should get rid of the 3M model and follow Taiwan in introducing a national health care scheme.

Is anyone keeping track of bus punctuality?

On reaching the bus stop this morning, I checked the MyTransport App for the arrival time of bus 163. I was surprised that the next bus would arrive in 14 minutes and the one after that in 24 minutes.

I decided to take bus 86 which was expected to arrive in 4 minutes.

Two minutes later, I was surprised to see bus 163 arriving.

I suspect that the GPS tracker on this bus was not working and its existence was not captured in the app.

I had noticed on a few occasions during the past year that a certain bus was not being shown in the App, most probably for the same reason. I wonder if it was the same bus.

I wonder if anyone in the bus company or the Land Transport Authority monitor the movement of each bus to check their punctuality. Surely, if a bus is not transmitting its signal, it should have been noticed and the fault in the GPS tracker should be fixed right away.

I suspect that the nobody monitors the GPS locations, reflecting the low standard that exists in many parts of the Singapore system in recent years.

  

I prefer a government funded, single payor health care system

Will a health care system run by the government under a single payor system be more efficient than a system run by private insurance companies that compete against each other?

Evidence around the world suggest that the competitive private insurance model is less efficient and less effective. It lead to higher costs and inferior results. The system in America is an example of how bad a private insurance system can be.

Here are the reasons:

a) The private insurance system imposes additional cost in marketing and advertising. They spend money to attract consumers to move from one insurer to another. This is a negative sum game. It leads to higher cost and wastage.

b) The insurers do not add any value through their underwriting practices. They try to avoid the high risk customers and to push them to their competitors. They do not aim to find the most cost effective way of looking after these high risk consumers.

c) The insurers aim for a high profit margin. This margin adds to the actual cost of the health insurance coverage.

d) They find reasons to deny coverage to consumers, even though it should fall within their scope of cover, The consumer are usually ignorant or unable to take legal action against the insurer for breach of contract. This practice allows the insurers to increase their profit. It is their aim to get away with as much profit as they can.

The argument against a government funded model is that government officials are inefficient and the bureaucracy does not aim to improve the efficiency. This argument is largely untrue.

Most doctors and nurses will do their best to improve the outcome for the patients. They should not, and usually do not, prescribe medication unnecessarily. If some do, they can be easily spotted through the medical audit.

The consumers, or patients, may have high expectation from the government funded system. This expectation can be managed and handled through consumer education. The risk of waste is largely a propaganda by those who prefer a private model where they can make a good profit.

There is another argument that a private insurance system can offer more choice to consumers to find the coverage that best meet their needs. In practice, consumers do not know how to make a wise choice. So, this choice is unnecessary, wasteful and costly. It is also an avenue for the sales person or insurer to get consumers to pay more than necessary.

I am in favor of a government funded, single payor system. I doubt that the insurance companies can play a useful role and contribution to the health care system.

The disappointing results for Bernie Sanders could be due to the colleges' Spring Break

The results of the primary election on 15 March has been somewhat disappointing for Bernie Sanders. He was expected to do well, but lose quite heavily to Hillary Clinton in a few states, notably Florida and Ohio.

There was some prediction a week or two earlier that the elections will be bad for Bernie Sanders. This is the week that most colleges are on their Spring Break. The college students, who were strongly in support of Bernie Sanders, would be travelling on holiday and would not be voting. In earlier voting states, Bernie Sanders capture over 80% of the votes of young people.

At first, I thought that many of the young people would somehow vote, but it seems that many of them did not. This could be the reason for the unexpectedly poor results for Bernie Sanders.

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump achieved great success in the primary election on 15 March. It will be a big disappointment for Bernie Sanders.

Quote from CNN:
Hillary Clinton will win the Illinois Democratic primary, CNN projects, on a night when she, Donald Trump and John Kasich scored major victories that reshaped the presidential race.

A big loss in Florida prompted Marco Rubio to drop his White House bid.

Clinton took big strides toward the Democratic nomination by winning Florida and North Carolina. And in a crucial victory, she stopped Bernie Sanders in his tracks in the industrial Midwest by taking Ohio.

The drama is still unfolding in tight races for Democrats and Republicans in Missouri.

The Republican Party veered closer to a historic contested convention after Kasich, the Ohio governor, held his own state and deprived Trump of its 66 delegates. That makes it more difficult for the billionaire to reach the 1,237 delegates he needs to capture the GOP prize.

Trump did, however, prevail in the biggest contest of the night, taking all of Florida's 99 delegates. The real estate tycoon also won primaries in Illinois and North Carolina.

Trump was already looking forward to the general election on Tuesday night as he urged party unity. But in a speech that served as a thinly veiled rebuke of Trump's campaign tactics, Rubio warned that the politics of division will leave America a "fractured nation."

Sen. Ted Cruz praised Rubio warmly and appealed directly to his supporters: "We welcome you with open arms."

Medicare for All vs Obamacare

Mr. Tan
Can you explain the difference between "Medicare for All" proposed by Bernie Sanders and Obamacare, which is the signature legislation of President Obama.

REPLY
Medicare in the USA applies to seniors above age 65. All the medical fees are paid by the Federal Government, except for prescription drugs, which can be covered separately by private insurance.

Bernie Sanders want to extend Medicare to all eligible persons. Their medical fees will be paid by the Federal Government. This will be funded through a payroll tax.

The Federal Government is able to negotiate prices and fees with the hospitals, doctors and drug companies under a "single payor" system. The government is the single payor.

Bernie Sanders expect that the "single payor" system will reduce the cost of health insurance, similar to the experience in other industrial countries.

Obamacare is provided by private insurance companies. In theory, the buyers can shop for the best deal through the competitive private market, but in practice, the cost is higher than a "single payor" system due to the cost of marketing and profit margin of the insurance companies.

In short, the key difference is:

a) Medicare is run by the government as the "single payor"
b) Obamacare is provided by private insurance companies

Singapore
The system in Singapore is similar to Obamacare, as it is largely provided by for-profit insurance companies.

Making a bus transfer and taking a break for breakfast

I missed Bus 163 (which goes direct to my office) this morning. Instead of waiting for the next 163, I decided to take bus 86. I dropped off and changed to bus 162 to my office.

As the transfer is made at the same bus stop, it was quite convenient for me.

Actually, I took a break to have breakfast at Ang Mo Kio before taking bus 162. The two legs are considered as the same journey, so I only paid a maximum of 90 cents for the two legs of the journey.

Singapore has to learn from America in its next stage of development

 


Actually, Singapore has been following America in many aspects of our governance and economic development.

Here are some of the positive aspects of "following America"

a) We achieved good economic growth and prosperity under the global economic system and free trade promoted by America.

b) We achieved a high standard of living and benefit from the modern lifestyle made possible by technology.

We also suffered from the bad aspects of "following America".

a)  We have high income inequality, among the worst in the word.

b)  We have a high cost of living which is too costly for most of the workers.

c) We have high cost of health care and high cost of education, but perhaps not as bad as America.

Bernie Sanders, a leading Democratic candidate, wants to introduce the following policy changes, if he is elected as President.

a) To reduce income inequality by introducing a minimum wage of US $15 an hour over a number of years.

b) To require the top 1% high income earners to pay their fair share of tax by removing the tax loopholes.

c) To introduce a universal health care system and free college education, largely paid for from tax revenues

Singapore should take the steps that are proposed by Bernie Sanders, to overcome the problems faced by the people of Singapore. These problems are similar to those faced by the people of America.

ZIP and postal code

A large country, the USA, has a 5 digit ZIP code. Singapore is a small country with with only 2.5% of the population of the USA, has a postal code of 6 digit. We are really #1. Hahahah.

More convenient to take a bus, rather than to drive

I have scrapped my 10 year old car and will not be buying a new car. This will save me a lot of money, but really money is not an issue for me.

I do not want to buy a car because I find it a hassle to drive and to park. I prefer the comfort of taking a bus and let someone else do the driving.

I will have to walk a longer distance from the bus stop to my office. It is a good exercise anyway.

Will the government relax the property cooling measures in Budget 2016?

The government faces a difficult challenge. Should they relax the property cooling measures? These measures have hurt the property developers and the banks and slowed down the property market considerably. Many property agents and conveyancing lawyers have also seen their incomes dropped sharply. A large number of property agents have left the industry.

If the cooling measures are relaxed, there is the risk of renewed speculation in property, leading for a further runup in prices. Already, these prices are at levels which are beyond the reach of most working families.

My guess is that the government will introduce measures that will help people to buy their homes, but will still want to see the prices maintain at their current levels. No more run off in prices, but no serious drop in prices either.

The government has helped the sale of HDB flats by increasing the grant for first and second-time buyers. This grant is also available for buyers of executive condominiums. Perhaps they may extend the grants to buyers of private properties.

They may also introduce some measures to help developers to tide over the difficult period. They may allow a longer time for developers to sell their new developments by reducing or removing the penalties for not meeting the deadlines for the completion of their developments.

Whatever action is taken by the government, the recovery in the property market will be slow and painful, for the developers and existing home owners.

Scrap a 10 year old car

I scrapped my Nissan Cefiro which reached the 10 year COE expiry date. I obtained $0 as the scrap value, as there is no demand for this model. It is quite sad, as the car is still in good condition. How wasteful.

I wanted to renew the COE for another 5 years at a cost of $25,000. However, I would lose the PARF rebate of $13,180, so the actual cost was $38,000. The government gave a PARF rebate if the car is scrapped within 10 years, but do not give the rebate if it is extended by another 5 years.

I approached two workshops to buy my scrap car for a few hundred dollars. Both of them on separate occasion, offered $13,000 for my car. This was lower than the PARF rebate.

These workshops are not honest by offering me lower than the PARF rebate. Fortunately, I was aware of the PARF rebate and declined to sell my scrap car to these two workshop.

It is wasteful on the part of the government to force the car, which is in good condition, to be scrapped. It is dishonest of the two workshops to offer less than the PARF rebate.

PM Lee should think of the interest of the country

The elected MP for Bukit Batok, David Ong, had resigned unexpectedly due to a "personal indiscretion".

PM Lee said that he would hold a by-election in the constituency "in due course" and that another MP, Desmond Lee, would look after the constituency "in the meantime". Apart from looking after his own constituency, Desmond Lee is the senior minister of state for two ministries. Surely, he has enough on his own plate? Why burdened him with the task of looking after Bukit Batok?

It sounds like the by-election will be delayed for several months.

It is a simple matter and the right thing to do for the prime minister to instruct the election department to hold the election as soon as possible. After all, it is their job. The election department does not have anything else that is pressing for them to do now. So, why the delay?

If there is a burst water main pipe and the water is overflowing, we would expect the engineers to start work immediate to fix the pipe, rather than to stop the leakage "in due course".

If the PAP does not have a standby candidate, it must be a shameful state of affair. But they do have many standby candidates who lost the election in Aljunied and Hougang. Any of them would be suitable to contest the Bukit Batok by-election.

Is the prime minister trying to arrange some goodies to buy votes for the by-election? How deplorable! Does he think in the interest of the people in the constituency and of the democratic process in the country? Should he be playing politics at every opportunity?

I know that he has many pressing things to do in the country as the prime minister, for example, to deal with the forthcoming budget and the economic challenges.

But surely, arranging an election in the job of the civil servants and fighting the election could be assigned to any other leader in his formidable political party? He does not have to be personally involved in this matter. His job, as the prime minister is to set a date for the by-election.

The prime minister should do his job, and set a early date for the by-election without delay.

Members of Parliament and extra marital affairs

When the PAP leaders unleashed the mainstream media to attack Yaw of the Worker's Party over his extra-marital affair, they made a bad judgment that would come back to haunt them for a long time with its unintended consequences.

Why do I say this?

They could have asked the mainstream media, which is under their control, to downplay the episode, and said that it is a personal matter that should only concern Yaw's family.

Instead, they held the moral high ground and said that the lawmaker should be whiter than blue. Maybe, they did not realize that playing politics is never a good strategy for the long term.

They did not foresee that the same pressure and temptation would hit their own lawmakers. First, it was Palmer, now, it is Ong.

Why can't the lawmakers resist the temptation of the extra-marital affairs? Perhaps, it is the pressures that they have to face. It is quite demanding to be working day and night, to hold the job of a lawmaker and another full-time job, to be expected to be an angel as well, and be under public scrutiny all the time.

It is no fun to be a "yes-man" and not to have personal views except to parrot the official party line, whether you are blue or white. So, when a sympathetic and attractive member of the opposite sex paid some attention and lent a listening ear, it is easy to give way and have some enjoyment.

Looking at the ratio of white and  blue in our Parliament, and the pressures and opportunities available to the lawmakers, there may be more to come. Who knows?

Singapore Presidential Election, 2017

Dr. Tan Cheng Bock has announced that he will be running for the next presidential election in Singapore.

The New Paper called me and asked for my intention. I told them that I do not intend to run at the next election.

PM Lee had formed a review committee to re-examine the criteria for the elected president in Singapore. There was a mention about the need to ensure that the minority ethnic groups have a chance to become the president.

My guess is that the review committee will keep the current criteria for the president but will add a new requirement that the next election will be for candidates for a specified ethinic group, most probably a Malay. If this is the case, then Dr. Tan Cheng Bock will not be eligble to context the next election.

He may have to wait until 2029 for a Chinese to be eligible. By that time, he would be too old. That would be a major disappointment for him.

Now is your time to vote

You can win a free copy of the e-book on "Financial planning for young people" by casting your vote on any 5 issues here:
http://wisdomofthecrowd.sg/view_issue.aspx

How to avoid making a serious financial mistake

Every year, several tens of thousand of young people will fall for this mistake. Those who are successful in getting a good paying job are more likely to fall for this mistake.

What is this mistake? They are convinced by a friend or a former classmate, to buy a life insurance policy for long term savings and for protection. The friend, who is an insurance agent, is convincing. He or she is trained in marketing technique to be convincing.

Some of these young people are attracted by a "road show" where the insurance agent offer a gift for completing a survey. Many of them end up investing in a bad insurance policy.

A bad life insurance policy can lead to a loss of a few thousand dollars in the savings, if the buyer decides to terminate the policy. If the buyer continues the policy for the long term, the loss will be even higher, compared to what he or she can get by investing the savings in the right way.

How can the consumer tell the difference between a good or a bad life insurance policy? This is explained in my talk on financial planning. The next talk will be held on Saturday 9 April. More detail can be found here:

http://fisca.sg/event_det.aspx?id=1

To avoid missing this talk, you should register now. It is easy to miss this chance because you will be busy with your work or social activities.

If you cannot attend the talk, you can buy this e-book. It explains the basic concept of financial planning.

http://www.tankinlian.com/cart.aspx?ID=19

Why I support Bernie Sanders

I have watched many speeches by Bernie Sanders on Youtube. His strong views and convictions are based on his core values, which I identify to be:

a) Honesty and integrity. He speaks the truth about what is good for America and what is bad.
b) Justice and fairness. He is strong about social and economic justice and believes in treating people fairly regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation and age.
c) Courage. He has the courage to come forward and serve the nation, and to put forward an agenda of what needs to be done to change the current system of governance.
d) Positive. For each of the problems that is faced in America, he puts forward a solution. This reflects his positive attitude.
e) Public service. He believes in public service and that publicly elected officials should serve the people, rather than enrich themselves.

These are the same core values that have guided me throughout the years. I can identify with the values of Bernie Sanders.

I wish him all the best in overcoming the big obstacles to be elected as President of the United States and to solve the daunting challenges faced by the country.

Oil price and petrol price in Singapore

Oil price peaked at US110 in June 2014. It has dropped by 70% over this period. Petrol price dropped by 30% from $1.80 to $1.30.

Our civil servants need to exercise common sense and take responsibility

The writer describes the difficulties that he faced in importing an electric car into Singapore.

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/open-letter-singapore-penalty-ele…

This is a reflection of the very depressing state of affairs in Singapore with the PAP government and its civil servants. The problems are:

a) Nobody wants to take the responsibility
b) They only know how to push the problem to another person, i.e. the EMA and VICOM
c) There is a total lack of common sense.

If LTA were properly run, the decision would be to register the car and see what happens. Does it break down? Does it cause any problem?

A terrible survey form

I have often been invited to participate in a survey. The survey is usually designed by a "professional" survey company and follows a "terrible" survey format. This format has:

a) Many pages
b) Over 100 detailed questions

I often give up after answering three pages with 30 questions. That is the limit of my tolerance.

Nowadays, I always decline any survey that is designed on this "terrible" format with many pages. If I see the survey organized in "pages", I will always conclude that it will have over 100 detailed questions.

The people who design these surveys live in their ivory tower. They think that the respondents have all the time and the patience to complete a "terrible" survey. They are likely to get incomplete or inaccurate answers after passing the 30th question. People are just too tied and fed up.

Some of the survey companies even engage telemarketers to call my mobile phone. I tell them that my mobile phone is on the "Do Not Call" register and they are breaking the law by calling me.

I will answer a survey if I can see all the questions in 1 page and the number of questions does not exceed 20.

Statement from Mitt Romney about Donald Trump

From CNN

Mitt Romney called Donald Trump a "phony, a fraud," and a "con man" in a national speech urging Americans to disavow the GOP front-runner Thursday.

The former GOP presidential nominee called Trump's policy proposals "flimsy, at best," and said he'd trigger a trade war, drive up the deficit and lead the nation into a recession.

"Now, I know you say, 'Isn't he a huge business success, and doesn't he know what he's talking about?' No he isn't, and no he doesn't," Romney said. "His bankruptcies have crushed small businesses and their workers. He inherited his business; he didn't create it."

Trump's foreign policy proposals are "recklessness in the extreme," Romney continued, before turning to a more personal attack.

"Dishonesty is Donald Trump's hallmark," Romney said, pointing to Trump's "bullying, the greed, the showing off, the misogyny, the absurd third-grade theatrics."

"If we Republicans choose Donald Trump as our nominee, the prospects for a safe and prosperous future are greatly diminished."

Be prompt in giving a statement

In his ministerial statement to Parliament on the case of Benjamin Lim, the Minister for Home Affairs said

Quote:
And we have refrained from commenting in detail, on the matter for two reasons:
i. One: Out of respect for Benjamin’s memory, and to protect the young girl as well.
ii. And two, because it would be inappropriate to discuss the facts in detail, which may be disputed, prior to the Coroner’s Inquiry (CI).
Unquote:

I do not accept the lame excuse from the minister. My reasons are:

a) It is possible to give a statement without stating the names of the boy and the girl who are involved.
b) The statement can be made based on the facts that are known at that time. If the facts are found to be wrong, they can be corrected. If the facts are not certain, the uncertainty could also be stated.

The delay in giving a statement does not help to stop the speculation from the public. Surely, our ministers and government know that it is counter productive to keep the public in the dark for so long?

Face recognition software - do I look like Bill Gates?

I tried a face recognition software on the internet. They asked me to load a photo. They can display similar images. Here are the results.

The software seemed to think that I look like Bill Gates!. Hahaha
1 But at least they pulled out human beings, and not animals or objects!

Electronic health records in USA will take a major step

This is an interesting development. America will be taking the lead to make electronic health records available to doctors and patients. It will improve the treatment of patients and reduce the duplication of tests.

The challenge faced in America of using the EHR is 50 times the challenge faced in Singapore. I hope that our Ministry of Health can monitor the development in America and be ready to implement these measures in Singapore.

One major issue blocking the sharing of EHR is unclarity about the application of privacy laws. This is addressed in the agreement.

When I was in Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, I was asked by the doctors and nurses half a dozen time - do I have any drug allergy? Do I have asthma? Do I have high blood pressure? Diabetes? Etc.

All of these questions are not necessary if they have access to my EHR.

Read more about the development in America here:
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/02/29/new-pact-to-make-electronic-health-records-work-better.html

Many cities stay away from ERP because it brings more bad than good

Some people are proud that Singapore is taking a lead in implementing ERP for the world to follow.
That is not the case. Most cities found it to be a bad idea after balancing the pros and cons.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_pricing.

Quote:
Many recent road pricing schemes have proved controversial, with a number of high-profile schemes in the US and the UK being cancelled, delayed or scaled back in response to opposition and protest. Critics maintain that congestion pricing is not equitable, places an economic burden on neighboring communities, has a negative effect on retail businesses and on economic activity in general, and is just another tax.

A 2006 survey of economic literature on the subject, however, finds that most economists agree that some form of road pricing to reduce congestion is economically viable, although there is disagreement on what form road pricing should take. Economists disagree over how to set tolls, how to cover common costs, what to do with any excess revenues, whether and how “losers” from tolling previously free roads should be compensated, and whether to privatize highways.
Unquote:

Bank charges a cable charge of $20 for overseas payment

I wish to make a payment to a bank account in India. DBS Bank said that I have to pay a commission of 1/8% (which is fair) and a cable charge of $20.

I asked - why the cable charge? We are in the world of the Internet now. Is this outdated? Or is the bank just wanted to make extra fee? Is this too much?

I know that most banks probably have a similar charge. I think it is unfair to consumers.

www.leaseproperty.sg

www.leaseproperty.sg

This portal is now operational. Listing is free. It is suitable for owners who wish to look for tenants. Can be used for renting of apartments, rooms, houses, offices, shops, etc. Agents can also post on behalf of owners.

I have just received an inquiry from a prominent tenant. Hahaha.

Here are some listings:

Apartment

http://www.leaseproperty.sg/ViewListing.aspx?idlisting=1

HDB flat

http://www.leaseproperty.sg/ViewListing.aspx?idlisting=3

Serviced apartment

http://www.leaseproperty.sg/ViewListing.aspx?idlisting=6

Shop

http://www.leaseproperty.sg/ViewListing.aspx?idlisting=4

Office

http://www.leaseproperty.sg/ViewListing.aspx?idlisting=2

Polling for Democratic Presidential Nomination

Hillary Clinton is still ahead in the national polling, but Bernie Sanders is catching up fast. The gap has now reduced to only 5%.

A few months ago, the gap was 25%. Bernie Sanders managed to close the gap in an impressive way.

Singapore needs a stimulus package to tide over the difficult times ahead

The Singapore economy will go through a very difficult time. It could be worse than 2008.

During the global financial crisis in 2008, the world was saved by the quantitative easing introduced by the Fed in America. But it did not solved the underlying problem. It only postponed the problem to a later date.

This time round, the Fed could not save the problem with quantitative easing.

The Singapore economy will be badly affected by events around the major economies and by events in Singapore.

What can be done to save jobs and incomes in Singapore. We need a stimulus package - Singapore style. What type of package?

Kenneth Jeyaretnam has some ideas. Read what he has been saying in his website.
https://sonofadud.com/…/plunging-exports-will-result-in-ma…/

Ridiculous protocol followed by Sing Tel call center

I called SingTel hotline to check if a SIM card that they gave to me 2 years ago is still active.
I had to go through their call center maze and press all kinds of buttons to reach a person.

That is just the first part of a stressful experience. More to come.

TKL - I want to check if this mobile number is still active.
The call center staff asked for my company registration number, address, how we pay the bill, etc.
TKL - I only wanted to check if this number is active. Do you really need to provide so many layers of verification?
Staff - Sorry sir. This is our protocol.

I lost my temper. I told the staff to send the telephone conversation to the service quality manager to change their "stupid" protocol.

Earlier, my staff could not go through their protocol, so I had to take over.

The person who wrote Sing Tel's protocol is an idiot. And that idiotic protocol is being practiced day in and day out for many years.

Useful announcements on Tokyo trains

I took the Yamanote Line several times during my stay in Tokyo. The Yamanote Line is a circle line connecting all the interchange stations. It must be the busiest line in Tokyo.

I am impressed with this very busy train. Before reaching each station, they will make an announcement in Japanese and English about the name of the next station and the door will open on the right or left side.

There is also a digital display that shows the names of all the stations on the line and the number of minutes to arrive at that station. This display is updated on reaching each station.

When I take the MRT in Singapore, I often have to look out of the window to see if the door will open on the left or the right side at the next station. In some trains, there is a digital display (which is often confusing) but in other trains, there is no such display.

The people in Tokyo knows how to provide relevant and useful information to the commuters. I hope that SMRT and LTA can learn from them.

I spoke to a friend today about my experience. He confirmed that he encounters this problem often, and often ended up on the wrong side of the train.

Dealing with refugees

Many countries in Europe are facing a crisis. They have allowed hundreds of thousands of refugees from Syria and other countries into their country as an act of humanitarianism. Some of the refugees behaved badly and caused problems with the locals. 

Looking at the videos, I am surprised to see that many of the refugees came from Africa. Most of the videos showing the bad behavior of the refugees involved this group. I thought that the problem was with the war in Syria. How are the Africans involved among the refugees?

The European governments faced a dilemma. They have to deal with a humanitarian crisis and show compassion towards the genuine refugees who are freeing the bombs, shootings and fighting. But other people from the poorer countries, who are not affected by the war, are joining in the bandwagon to enter into the European countries for their welfare and a better life.

The Singapore experience

In the 1970s, there were boats of refugees freeing Vietnam. Some of them wanted to land in Singapore. The Prime Minister, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, was far sighted. He refused entry to all of them. His reason was - Singapore is too small. We are not able to accommodate large numbers of refugees into our country.

The few refugees that entered Singapore were confined into a refugee camp and were sent to third countries who were willing to accept them. The refugees were not allowed to become part of the society.

This may seem harsh, but it was necessary. Mr. Lee foresaw that a soft attitude will encourage more refugees to brave the seas on their flimsy boats to come to Singapore.

Lesson from Singapore

The European countries could learn from Mr. Lee's approach. If the refugees enter into the country, they should be allowed temporary refugee in special camps that are secluded from the local population. After the end of hostilities, they should be sent back to their home countries.

Some of the refugees can apply to be allowed permanent residency.  This should be handled according to their eligibility and their ability to integrate into into the host countries. It should be separate from the humanitarian factor.

Conclusion

I hope that the approach taken by Singapore in the 1970s could be useful to the European countries in dealing with the refugee crisis.

 

Compare governance of Singapore with the United States

When we compare the governance of Singapore and the United States, we have to remember that Singapore is a city state of 5.5 million people and the United States is a large country with a population of 318 million people (nearly 60 times of Singapore) living in 50 different states and a few hundred large cities.

The government of the US comes at three levels - federal, state and local. They have election for their President, Senators, Representatives at the federal level, governors and legislators at the state level and majors and city officials at the local level.

The job of the President of the US is many times more complex than that of the Prime Minister of Singapore.

Track your vehicle

Do you want the ability to track your own vehicle on your mobile phone?

This will come in useful when your vehicle is driven by an employer or family member. In the case of a family member, you want to know that they are safe.

If your vehicle is stolen, you can find out where it went and where the vehicle is now located.

The tracking device has a SOS button. When it is pressed, a SMS is sent to your mobile phone.

You can play back the route taken by your vehicle for any day and time period during the past 60 days.

If this service is available for a modest fee, or is provided free by your insurance company, would you be interested to join it?

Platform to track vehicles - prototype

This is the prototype of a vehicle tracking system. To view this prototype, take the following steps.

a) Go to tklcloud.com/fleet
b) Click on [Testing]
c) Select a user, e.g. S03
d) Go to Play Back
e) Select a vehicle from the drop down list
f) Click on Go

Watch the play back of the route taken by the vehicle for the current date.
Try other dates and time period and watch the play back.
Go to Live Track and select on [All vehicles]. What where are your current fleet of vehicles.

Note - the movements of the vehicles are simulated in this demo. When it goes live, the actual movements will be recorded.

Nevada State Democratic Primary Caucus - 20 Feb 2016

The Gravis poll showed that Clinton's lead over Sanders had been falling from the high 30s to 23%. A recent poll from TargetPoint showed a tie for both candidates. Take note that the TargetPoint poll is the most recent and has the largest number of respondents.

Bernie Sanders is likely to Nevada caucus on 20 Feb.

Bad investment in Profitable Plots

I met a security guard in Midview City. He is bitter about losing all his savings (more than $200,000) in the UK land sold by Profitable Plots. Because of this loss, he now has to work as a security guard.

He spoke to me about this matter two years ago. This is the first time that I saw him again, after two years. He is bitter that the government allowed this type of company to operate in Singapore and sell the overpriced land to the people.

He said that he still holds the title to the land plots and asked me if there is a hope that the land will appreciate in value when the UK government gave approval for rezoning to residential land.

I said that the real value of the land is probably one tenth of what he has paid for it. So, it will be difficult and will take a long time and some good fortune for the land to show a profit.

It is sad. But there is nothing that can be done now. I asked about his family, and he said that his children are now doing okay.

I hope that the government and MAS should be more proactive in preventing this kind of businesses to operate in Singapore.

Outsourcing of jobs

Government agencies and government owned companies should set the example and employ their workers directly and pay decent wages to set the benchmark for other employees.

It is deplorable when they start to outsource for the purpose of cutting cost. By doing it, they are depressing the forcing the same workers to accept lower wages from the contractors.

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/manpower/outsourcing-has-depressed-wages-of-many-low-wage-workers-zainal-sapari?utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&link_time=1455330715#xtor=CS1-10

Nevada Primary Election on 20 Feb

This must give a scare to Hillary Clinton. From a lead of 23% in Nevada, the polls now show a tie with Bernie Sanders. The Nevada caucus will be held on 20 Feb.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/…/nevada_democratic_presid…

Living in a time of deception

Book by Dr. Poh Soo Kai - Living in a time of deception.

http://theindependent.sg/singapore-story-cannot-masquerade…/

Oldest candidate get the highest support of young voters

Which candidate for the US Presidency is most popular with young people?

Surprise! It is the oldest candidate - Bernie Sanders, age 74. In the New Hampshire election, he got 84% of the votes of young people - which is really fantastic. Here are his messages that resonate with young people:

a) We have to act on the problems caused by climate change
b) Public colleges should be tuition free
c) We have to reduce the burden of student loans
d) We need to create jobs for young people, instead of allowing them to idle and get into trouble and jail.

The support from young people towards Bernie Sanders is, in a word, fantastic - and I mean it in a positive sense.

Bernie Sanders - as viewed by my friend

My friend, Lindell Lucy, created this Facebook page to show his support for Bernie Sanders. He has posted many speeches made by Bernie during the campaign for the US Presidency. Read the postings in the page and the comments of the people in the group, including me.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/123941524658733/