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Central United Methodist Church was one of the first Protestant congregations in Michigan. The church was organized in 1810, incorporated in 1822, and the church building was built in 1865 ( with modifications to the sanctuary in 1867 ) .
cultivate our difference / cultiver notre difference
Serie... See the world
Olympus EP2 + Voigtlander Nokton 50 1.1
Note: this photo was published in an undated (Mar 26, 2011) Everyblock NYC zipcodes blog titled "10024."
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What a difference a year makes: on the first day of spring in 2010, I noted (in this Flickr set that "all 8 million New Yorkers were ready to take advantage of [spring]. The sun was out, the temperature was in the 70s, the sky was blue, and the clouds had disappeared to some other part of the country. There was no way a sane person could stay indoors..."
This year, spring arrived about 6 hours earlier (1:32 PM, as compared to last year's 7:21 PM), and while the sun was out, the temperature was in the low 40s rather than the 70s. Like last year, I decided to celebrate the arrival of spring by walking in Riverside Park, and began my usual stroll at the entrance on 72nd Street. I walked a couple blocks south, to the newly-constructed pier that juts halfway out into the Hudson River (or so it seems, anyway), and saw that the outdoor cafe at the base of the pier, where one can usually find a tasty hamburger and a cold beer, was still completely shut down. So I began walking north -- eventually past the 79th Street boat basin, where the Boat Basin Cafe (which you can see more about in this Flickr set ) was open, though protected by gas heaters and wind baffles.
Like last year, there was bright sunshine, blue skies, and no wind -- so people were indeed outside. But because the temperature was about 30 degrees colder, there weren't any picnics and there wasn't any sunbathing. Instead of finding people sprawled out on park benches, enjoying the Sunday newspaper in the sunshine, about the only activities I noticed were bicycling, jogging, brisk walking, and skating.
I was frustrated by the lack of the usual springtime "photo-ops," but then remembered the old adage: if life hands you lemons, then make lemonade. Since there was a steady stream of joggers, cyclists, and skaters, I decided that I might as well photograph them. So I situated myself on a bench near a spot where the walkway along the river splits in two directions: you can turn east and pass under the West Side Highway, up some stone steps and into a playground and elevated section of the park at 82nd Street; or you can continue straight along the river, and follow a newly-constructed narrow two-bike-lane path that connects the "lower" section of Riverside Park (i.e., below 82nd Street) with the "upper" section (starting at roughly 94th Street).
People were coming and going in all directions, so I situated myself with the sun behind me, facing north towards the George Washington Bridge in the far background, and basically ignored everyone coming up the walkway from behind me. There were plenty of people heading south, with the bright springtime sun shining directly on them, and I sat there for about an hour, until I had collected some 500 images with my new Sony SLT a55 camera ...
At that point, I decided I had gotten enough, so I strolled over to Broadway, and took a bus uptown to my own neighborhood. Only a few of the images that I uploaded to my computer were complete disasters -- e.g., out of focus, or missing a head, arm or leg because the subjects were moving so quickly past me. But I had to reject quite a few because they were a little too ordinary ... i.e., your reaction would have been something like, "Oh. There's a guy on a bike. Just like the last guy on a bike, and the one before that." So I ended up with about 70 "keepers" that I felt were sufficiently interesting to warrant uploading to Flickr.
And so that's it for Riverside Park in March, at least this year. Indeed, I may well wait until May before returning -- by which time I hope it will be warm enough that I'll see the sights and scenes that I more commonly associate with springtime in New York City.
Sound-wise this was like a crotch rocket racing a muscle car with a 427. There were great sounds from the leading two units as a result of the effort to climb the hill west of Neenah by M347.
It's Sullivans!
Bus: ALX6 (LY02 OAX)
Company: Sullivans Buses
Destination: Barking
Location: Upminster
Route: Rail Replacement Service D
Two differing buses based at Kendal are seen here at an impromptu gathering at Keswick when returning home from the Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancs. West Cumbria(Lillyhall) depot open-day on 26/05/2018 with the two preserved outer buses having Stagecoach connections indirectly with preserved Ribble 1481, TRN481V, an ECW bodied Leyland Atlantean AN68/1R, Ribble being acquired by Stagecoach and preserved Barrow Corporation 169, CEO956, a 1958 Park Royal bodied Leyland Titan PD2/40. Stagecoach this time acquiring the assets and some buses from Barrow Borough Transport in 05/1988. The two current Stagecoach buses are, on the left, 36104, MX59JCO, an ADL E200, new to Stagecoach Manchester in 12/2009 for Stockport area services while on the right is Stagecoach 12671(RML2671), SMK671F, a Park Royal bodied AEC/PRV Routemaster R2RH/1. This immaculate RML was one of the last supplied to LT in 09/1967. © Peter Steel 2018.
The 2013 Classic Snow White Doll is photographed new in her unopened box.
The 2013 Classic Snow White doll has many differences from the 2012 model, many of which are improvements in my view. The biggest changes are to her hairdo, her skirt and her legs, and the addition of a cape. There were also minor changes to her bow, collar, shoes and painted on underwear. Her head, face, arms and upper torso have remained the same. I like this doll much better than last year, and she represents the movie character much more faithfully.
Her face has remained the same, but I think she is beautiful, lively and very movie accurate. She has a round face, big brown eyes glancing to her right. She has three short thick black lashes over each eye, and short thin black eyebrows. She has small button nose, small full dark pink lips in a sweet open mouthed smile. She has pale flesh colored skin, and her cheeks are lightly rouged.
Her hair is greatly improved over the 2012 doll, mostly due to the redesign of her side curls. She is jet black shoulder length hair, in a bobbed hairdo. The main curls on each side of her head are now much larger, and the upper curls now curve in the same direction (clockwise) as the main curls. The upper side curls are now sewn to her hair, keeping them in place, as was done in the Snow White dolls before 2012. Her hair looks very movie accurate, and is much neater than the old style. There is a bit of gel in the curls, both on the sides and in the back, but the hair is still fairly soft to the touch.
Her dress is yet another version of her iconic blue, yellow and red gown. And with the addition of a red satin cape, her outfit is much closer to the movie character than any Disney Store Classic Snow White doll in recent years. Her bodice is the same as last year. It is dark blue satin covered in blue glitter, with puffy short blue satin sleeves. On her sleeves are oval bright red appliques. Her high white satin collar is rounded looks much better and movie accurate than last year's square cornered collar. Her newly added red satin cape is half-length (about four inches long), and is unfortunately sewn to the back of her dress. It is shorter than the movie cape, but matches the doll's shorter skirt. Her yellow satin skirt has changed a bit from last year. It is a couple of inches shorter, less full, and stiffer with the addition of a golden glitter floral pattern. It's color is more golden than last year. The width of last year's skirt was wasted as there was no petticoat underneath to keep it full. This year's skirt keeps its shape much better due to its stiffness. The glitter does tend to shed, finding its way in the dolls body, legs, face and hair, as well as your hands and the general neigborhood of the doll.
Her shoes are pale yellow flats that are shorter and slighter darker in color than last year's. Their soles are also rounded upwards at the toes, similar to the flats that the Mulan doll always wears. This design looks better on a doll with angled feet, than would the 2012 style flats, which had very flat soles. The red satin ribbon in her hair is thinner than last year's, with a much smaller bow. Last year's ribbon and bow were much prettier, but her bow was placed halfway down the right side of her head. Now the bow is in the center, at the top of her head, where it belongs.
Her body is fully articulated in the arms, but now has the rubber legs of 2011 and earlier dolls, which has internal knee joints and fixed angled feet. I would rather that they fixed the problems with the fully articulated 2012 legs, but when exposed the rubber legs do look a lot better, with the disadvantage of being much less posable. Also the glitter tends to stick to the rubber legs, and it cannot simply be brushed off. Although both dolls are wearing flats, the 2013 doll is about 1/4 inch taller since she has angled feet, wearas the 2012 doll has flat feet.
The packaging for the dolls is much improved. The box art has been completely redesigned, with beautiful decorations unique to each Princess (actually for each movie), and a cameo of the animated movie character. Also the way the dolls are packaged is much simplified, making it much easier and quicker to remove them from the box. Greatly reduced or eliminated are the tiny plastic T-bar fasteners, which secured the outfits to the backing and left little holes and sometimes runs in the fabric. There are still large T-bar fasteners tacking the back of the doll's head to the backing. Also the dolls with free flowing hair no longer have them flattened and sectioned into two parts, making it hard to even out the back of their hair after deboxing. Instead, their hair is gathered up and placed to one side of the doll, and secured by thread. It looks good as is in the box. Or if the doll is deboxed, it is easy to shake out the hair and even it out using just your fingers.
The 2013 Disney Princess Classic Doll Collection, released on June 10, 2013. They consist of 11-12'' articulated dolls of the 11 official Disney Princesses, from Snow White to Merida, as well as Princes, Villains and Sidekicks. I now have all 11 Princesses, Queen Elinor, Charlotte and Gaston. I will photograph them boxed, during deboxing and fully deboxed. I will also post reviews and comparative photos.
Classic Disney Princess Snow White Doll - 12''
US Disney Store
Released online June 10, 2013.
Purchased online June 13, 2013.
Received June 24, 2013.
$14.95 (was on sale for $10 at time of purchase).
As usually happens someone didn't agree with what this fellow was saying and chose to show their displeasure by hoisting their own thought of what we deserved. In the end the police passed judgement on both and had them go their separate ways.
This is Part 22 of 50 in a sporadic series.
Alabama's story is a lot like Mississippi's story, and it involves a lot of the same players. The difference is that Alabama was a little off the beaten path. Mississippi benefited from having that river right there, while Alabama was off to itself in a sort of no-man's land of conflicting claims. Things didn't really take off until the Americans came along and figured the place out, and then it tried like hell to catch up.
The first European guy to set foot in Alabama was probably one of the Spaniards connected to the 1528 Pánfilo de Narváez expedition I mentioned in the Louisiana story, but the main thrust of that tale involved people who were lost all the time. If they touched Alabama, they didn't write it down anywhere. They started out in Florida and followed the coast to present-day Galveston, Texas, though, so they probably at least saw Alabama from the raft. A decade later in 1539, Hernando de Soto made things more official by making an arduous trek along several of the rivers that pass through Alabama on their way to Mobile Bay. Along the way, he met some of the last remnants of the dying Mississippian mound building culture intermingled with the forerunners of the cultures that would exist when the United States finally came along, and he probably contributed to everybody's downfall by giving everyone small pox.
Next up were probably the French, though things start getting a little muddled for a while. England's King Charles II included portions of Alabama in charters he granted to a few North Carolina colonists in 1663 and 1665, and the North Carolina folk probably made a few expeditions along the Alabama River to trade with the natives in the 1680s. But no European lived in Alabama until the French built a fort near the mouth of the Mobile River in 1702. A small, short-lived settlement grew up around the fort and lasted until a flood wiped it out in 1711. The settlers then moved a short distance south to build what would become the current city of Mobile in 1712.
But nothing much more happened in Alabama for a long time. The problem with the place was that it was stuck out almost literally in the middle of nowhere. It was too far west for the English in the Carolinas or Georgia to take any real interest. Aside from the little piece of northern Alabama that dips into the Tennessee Valley, all the rivers flowed directly to the Gulf with no inland connection to the growing French commercial ports along the Mississippi. And though the Spanish liked to say their Florida claim included at least the southern half of Alabama, they never committed all that much to settling Florida, much less anything north of it. European settlement thrived throughout the 1700s all around Alabama, but almost nobody settled inside the territory.
Things started shifting between the two Treaties of Paris of 1763 and 1783. The first, you'll recall, kicked the French off the continent and gave Britain control over Spanish Florida. The second ended the American Revolution and gave Florida back to Spain. At some point in the interim, an English surveyor made note of a spot along the Tombigbee River that might make for a good inland port. The English never did anything with the information, but in 1787, the Spanish governor at Mobile had a fort built at the spot, and a settlement called St. Stephens soon grew up around it. But the settlers of St. Stephens weren't Spanish. They were Americans, citizens of the newly-minted United States who started pouring themselves west from the former English colonies with a vengeance. They all knew the Spanish claim was weak, anyway, and they figured possession of the land would be 9/10ths of the law. And, as it turned out, they were right.
Spain tried to hold onto its claim of at least the southern halves of Alabama and Mississippi, which it saw as an extension of both the old Florida claim and the more recent claim on the Louisiana territory Spain had been given in 1763. But the American settlers just kept coming, as was their way, and the Spanish crown had too much on its plate back home to really commit to holding onto everything it wanted. It finally let the Americans have most of Alabama and Mississippi in the Treaty of San Lorenzo of 1795, granting the Americans everything north of Florida and keeping only a narrow strip of the territory--the segments of both states I think of as the "stems"--along the Gulf Coast to connect Florida and Louisiana. The Americans would eventually just claim that strip outright in 1812, and the Spanish would be too distracted by Napoleon by that point to stop them.
This all happened just as the United States was getting the ball rolling on its project of western settlement, and for a while there was a fight over what to do with the new territory. At first, Georgia tried to pull a Virginia and claim all of Mississippi and Alabama for itself, but the other states weren't having any of that. The federal government finally talked Georgia into establishing a firm western border for itself in 1798, and everything south of Tennessee and north of what was left of Spanish Florida between Georgia and the Mississippi River was declared the Mississippi Territory.
Stars (and Settlers) Fell on Alabama
So just who were all these new settlers finally flooding into the Alabama half of the Mississippi Territory? The answer here looks a lot like the people who came flooding into the Mississippi half, only with a few differences imposed by geography. Unlike the western half of the Mississippi Territory, there was a lot of Alabama that wasn't suited for the big cotton plantations the wealthier settlers in the west wanted to build. The swampy country in the south and the hilly country in the north were better suited for small-hold farms--or in some cases, for nothing at all. The men who dreamed of cotton were better off if they kept to a narrow strip of Alabama just south of the centerline known as the Black Belt.
Now, you might think the term "Black Belt" applied to a segment of Alabama was meant to be a descriptor of race, and in the modern era, that's largely what it is. But in settlement days, the term was meant to describe a particular type of dark soil that had developed over centuries above an impermeable layer of chalk. The nature of this soil meant that though fertile, the land tended to dry out in the summer, and the region's landscape was mostly dominated by short-grass prairie. But it was particularly good soil for growing cotton, so the wealthiest and most successful Alabama cotton plantations built over top of it. And because this strip was where most of the plantations were founded, it was where most of the slaves were bought and sold. And once the Civil War freed all the slaves, this strip was where the slaves stayed.
Just to get ahead of myself for a moment, this makes for some interesting maps in the modern era. The blue on this map of Alabama soils shows where the Black Belt prairie soils dominated. Here's how Alabama's African-American population was distributed in the 2000 census. Here's a map of Alabama poverty. And almost any map of Alabama elections results looks like this.
It's interesting to ponder just how much this pattern of racial population distribution would affect the nation as a whole in the coming century. Montgomery is in the middle of this belt, where Rosa Parks would kick off a bus boycott. Martin Luther King, Jr. would lead a march to a bridge located in this belt. The Civil Rights Movement as a whole would rise from this place, and it all traces back to the geographic oddity of a particular type of soil.
Heart of Dixie
Once the Americans started coming into Alabama and settling, the place grew quickly. This soon turned into a bad thing for Alabama's population of Native Americans, who had up to this point mostly been left alone. The Choctaws and Creeks and other regional tribes tried their best to assimilate into American culture as it advanced, and for a while the natives of the area were known to Americans as the "Five Civilized Tribes." But as I've pointed out many times before, Americans would only allow so much assimilation among people with darker skin, and they soon started working as hard to drive the Indians out of Alabama as they had anywhere else. There was an Indian war against the Creeks wrapped up in the War of 1812, and the policy from that point on was that all of Alabama was United States territory meant for United States men. Mostly of the white variety.
And what to do with that territory? It was all part of Mississippi, after all, and it would have made a certain amount of sense to have kept the thing whole and have it all join the Union as a single state.
But there was this thing going on I've referred to a couple of times now as the Americans have carved new states from the western wilderness. There was a kind of political arms race happening in the frontier between states that wanted to allow slavery and states that wanted to prohibit it. American shorthand for this paints it as a fight between "slave states" and "free states." The number of each type of state matters because of the way the framers of the Constitution had set up the Congress, with each state getting two representatives in the US Senate without consideration of the state's size or population. If slave states had a numerical advantage in the Senate, they could drive legislation that would expand slavery throughout the nation and ruin things for the abolitionists. (And also the slaves.) If free states had an advantage, they could establish laws limiting or even banning slavery. Both sides wanted the advantage, and the settlement patterns of the first half of the 19th century were driven in large part by each side trying to get one up on the other.
And how did that affect the Mississippi Territory? Well, the Mississippi Territory was just large enough to justify breaking the thing up into two states, each with its own set of senators. So the western half of the territory was admitted to the Union as a slave state in 1817, bringing the number of slave states and free states into balance. Illinois gave the free states a brief numerical advantage in 1818. But in 1819, slave-holding Alabama brought it all back into balance when it was admitted as the 22nd state of the Union. With Alabama, the count of slave states to free states stood at an 11-11 tie.
The last photo I posted was taken of our last big tree decorated.
This photo is what we have now. It has one string of lights and hand-carved Santa icicle ornaments.
The age difference between the two vessels is not as great as one would think by looking at them. The Gato Class Submarine USS Cobia, on display at the Maritime Museum, was constructed in late 1943 while the Kaye Barker across the river started life as the Edward B. Greene a mere eight years and two months later in January of 1952.
(more details later, as time permits)
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What a difference a year makes: on the first day of spring in 2010, I noted (in this Flickr set that "all 8 million New Yorkers were ready to take advantage of [spring]. The sun was out, the temperature was in the 70s, the sky was blue, and the clouds had disappeared to some other part of the country. There was no way a sane person could stay indoors..."
This year, spring arrived about 6 hours earlier (1:32 PM, as compared to last year's 7:21 PM), and while the sun was out, the temperature was in the low 40s rather than the 70s. Like last year, I decided to celebrate the arrival of spring by walking in Riverside Park, and began my usual stroll at the entrance on 72nd Street. I walked a couple blocks south, to the newly-constructed pier that juts halfway out into the Hudson River (or so it seems, anyway), and saw that the outdoor cafe at the base of the pier, where one can usually find a tasty hamburger and a cold beer, was still completely shut down. So I began walking north -- eventually past the 79th Street boat basin, where the Boat Basin Cafe (which you can see more about in this Flickr set ) was open, though protected by gas heaters and wind baffles.
Like last year, there was bright sunshine, blue skies, and no wind -- so people were indeed outside. But because the temperature was about 30 degrees colder, there weren't any picnics and there wasn't any sunbathing. Instead of finding people sprawled out on park benches, enjoying the Sunday newspaper in the sunshine, about the only activities I noticed were bicycling, jogging, brisk walking, and skating.
I was frustrated by the lack of the usual springtime "photo-ops," but then remembered the old adage: if life hands you lemons, then make lemonade. Since there was a steady stream of joggers, cyclists, and skaters, I decided that I might as well photograph them. So I situated myself on a bench near a spot where the walkway along the river splits in two directions: you can turn east and pass under the West Side Highway, up some stone steps and into a playground and elevated section of the park at 82nd Street; or you can continue straight along the river, and follow a newly-constructed narrow two-bike-lane path that connects the "lower" section of Riverside Park (i.e., below 82nd Street) with the "upper" section (starting at roughly 94th Street).
People were coming and going in all directions, so I situated myself with the sun behind me, facing north towards the George Washington Bridge in the far background, and basically ignored everyone coming up the walkway from behind me. There were plenty of people heading south, with the bright springtime sun shining directly on them, and I sat there for about an hour, until I had collected some 500 images with my new Sony SLT a55 camera ...
At that point, I decided I had gotten enough, so I strolled over to Broadway, and took a bus uptown to my own neighborhood. Only a few of the images that I uploaded to my computer were complete disasters -- e.g., out of focus, or missing a head, arm or leg because the subjects were moving so quickly past me. But I had to reject quite a few because they were a little too ordinary ... i.e., your reaction would have been something like, "Oh. There's a guy on a bike. Just like the last guy on a bike, and the one before that." So I ended up with about 70 "keepers" that I felt were sufficiently interesting to warrant uploading to Flickr.
And so that's it for Riverside Park in March, at least this year. Indeed, I may well wait until May before returning -- by which time I hope it will be warm enough that I'll see the sights and scenes that I more commonly associate with springtime in New York City.
Look at my two index toes and compare them... See how my left one is really swollen and there's some bruising? Well yesterday, I was laying on the couch and had to get up to spit out some flemy stuff that I coughed out of my lungs, because I'm pretty sure I've got the H1N1 virus, anyway.. Everytime I would sit up my head would start throbbing, so I figured if I rolled off the couch and then stood up from there my head wouldn't start throbbing like crazy... But what ended up happening was my left foot hit the floor REALLY HARD and my index toe was what came in contact with the floor first, resulting in A LOT of sudden pain and a popping noise... Its not broken, but it is either sprained or I have a hairline fracture, cause it got really swollen and there's A LOT of bruising... Just wait till you see the next picture I upload. Now I have to limp around everywhere... =(
I welcome advice from anyone who might know about this sort of thing.
"To learn to appreciate difference, you must attentively contemplate apparent sameness."
- Venkatesh Rao, from "On Staying Grounded"
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For Yule this year, my aunt gave me a beautiful Word of the Day calendar -- the kind where the same words spiral through every month as the dates and days of the week change and shift around them. I keep it on the windowsill by my desk, and now each day when I sit down to work, the first thing I do is shuffle the little cards into place and sit for a moment contemplating that day's word.
It's the second month of the year, and already the practice is deepening. What praise do I have to give today, the 10th of February? What new things will I have to praise when the tenth rolls around again?
I love what Venkatesh Rao says about the role of ritual in helping us ground in meaningful relationship with the world around us. "Generalities are scaffolding that help me find, appreciate or relate to fertile particulars," he says, and I find myself nodding along and saying, Yes! Exactly!
To dig my soul-toes deeper into this fertile soil, I've decided that for the next 40 days, I'm going to pair my Word of the Day practice with reflections on the #UULent Photo-A-Day:
"As Unitarian Universalists, we share theological roots with our Christian siblings, who observe Lent from Ash Wednesday until Easter. However, rather than a practice of self-denial, we offer this opportunity to spend the Season of Lent engaged in a spiritual discipline of deep intention and appreciation of our world, our place in it, and an openness to Grace in our daily lives."
My WotD calendar is full of verbs. The #UULent reflections are mostly nouns. What intriguing combinations will I spiral through over the next six weeks?
What better way to begin, than to begin today: praise mindfulness.
#UULent #praise #mindfulness #meditation #spirituality #ritual
'Wait, this thing is falling in my eyes!'
'You wanted to wear the thing darling so don't complain'.
'But I can't take pictures like this!'
'We have 15 minutes to get to the London Eye'.
Today is "Red nose day" in the U.K. it's a big charity event lasting all day, this years slogan is "Do something funny for money" you can see more info here
A documentary film by Tod Lending
PBS Airdate: Season 29 of POV (September 12, 2016)
Caption: Fisk University at sunset
Credit: Tod Lending
Photos are for press and private use only. All rights reserved. All uses of the photos must be credited as indicated in the captions. For additional information on rights or for any clearance issues, please contact communications(at)pov.org.
Singapore (Listeni/ˈsɪŋɡəpɔːr/), officially the Republic of Singapore, and often referred to as the Lion City, the Garden City, and the Red Dot, is a global city and sovereign state in Southeast Asia and the world's only island city-state. It lies one degree (137 km) north of the equator, at the southernmost tip of continental Asia and peninsular Malaysia, with Indonesia's Riau Islands to the south. Singapore's territory consists of the diamond-shaped main island and 62 islets. Since independence, extensive land reclamation has increased its total size by 23% (130 km2), and its greening policy has covered the densely populated island with tropical flora, parks and gardens.
The islands were settled from the second century AD by a series of local empires. In 1819, Sir Stamford Raffles founded modern Singapore as a trading post of the East India Company; after the company collapsed, the islands were ceded to Britain and became part of its Straits Settlements in 1826. During World War II, Singapore was occupied by Japan. It gained independence from Britain in 1963, by uniting with other former British territories to form Malaysia, but was expelled two years later over ideological differences. After early years of turbulence, and despite lacking natural resources and a hinterland, the nation developed rapidly as an Asian Tiger economy, based on external trade and its human capital.
Singapore is a global commerce, finance and transport hub. Its standings include: "easiest place to do business" (World Bank) for ten consecutive years, most "technology-ready" nation (WEF), top International-meetings city (UIA), city with "best investment potential" (BERI), 2nd-most competitive country (WEF), 3rd-largest foreign exchange centre, 3rd-largest financial centre, 3rd-largest oil refining and trading centre and one of the top two busiest container ports since the 1990s. Singapore's best known global brands include Singapore Airlines and Changi Airport, both amongst the most-awarded in their industry; SIA is also rated by Fortune surveys as Asia's "most admired company". For the past decade, it has been the only Asian country with the top AAA sovereign rating from all major credit rating agencies, including S&P, Moody's and Fitch.
Singapore ranks high on its national social policies, leading Asia and 11th globally, on the Human Development Index (UN), notably on key measures of education, healthcare, life expectancy, quality of life, personal safety, housing. Although income inequality is high, 90% of citizens own their homes, and the country has one of the highest per capita incomes, with low taxes. The cosmopolitan nation is home to 5.5 million residents, 38% of whom are permanent residents and other foreign nationals. Singaporeans are mostly bilingual in a mother-tongue language and English as their common language. Its cultural diversity is reflected in its extensive ethnic "hawker" cuisine and major festivals - Chinese, Malay, Indian, Western - which are all national holidays. In 2015, Lonely Planet and The New York Times listed Singapore as their top and 6th best world destination to visit respectively.
The nation's core principles are meritocracy, multiculturalism and secularism. It is noted for its effective, pragmatic and incorrupt governance and civil service, which together with its rapid development policies, is widely cited as the "Singapore model". Gallup polls shows 84% of its residents expressed confidence in the national government, and 85% in its judicial systems - one of the highest ratings recorded. Singapore has significant influence on global affairs relative to its size, leading some analysts to classify it as a middle power. It is ranked as Asia's most influential city and 4th in the world by Forbes.
Singapore is a unitary, multiparty, parliamentary republic, with a Westminster system of unicameral parliamentary government. The People's Action Party has won every election since self-government in 1959. One of the five founding members of the ASEAN, Singapore is also the host of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Secretariat, and a member of the East Asia Summit, Non-Aligned Movement, and the Commonwealth of Nations.
ETYMOLOGY
The English name of Singapore is derived from the Malay word, Singapura, which was in turn derived from Sanskrit (Singa is "lion", Pura "city"; Sanskrit: सिंहपुर, IAST: Siṃhápura), hence the customary reference to the nation as the Lion City, and its inclusion in many of the nation's symbols (e.g., its coat of arms, Merlion emblem). However, it is unlikely that lions ever lived on the island; Sang Nila Utama, who founded and named the island Singapura, most likely saw a Malayan tiger. It is also known as Pulau Ujong, as far back as the 3rd century, literally 'island at the end' (of the Malay Peninsula) in Malay.
Since the 1970s, Singapore has also been widely known as the Garden City, owing to its extensive greening policy covering the whole island, a priority of its first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, dubbed the nation's "Chief Gardener". The nation's conservation and greening efforts contributed to Singapore Botanic Gardens being the only tropical garden to be inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The nickname, Red Dot, is a reference to its size on the map, contrasting with its achievements. In 2015, Singapore's Golden Jubilee year, the celebratory "SG50" branding is depicted inside a red dot.
HISTORY
Temasek ('Sea Town' in the Malay language), an outpost of the Sumatran Srivijaya empire, is the earliest written record relating to the area now called Singapore. In the 13th century, the Kingdom of Singapura was established on the island and it became a trading port city. However, there were two major foreign invasions before it was destroyed by the Majapahit in 1398. In 1613, Portuguese raiders burned down the settlement, which by then was nominally part of the Johor Sultanate and the island sank into obscurity for the next two centuries, while the wider maritime region and much trade was under Dutch control.
BRITISH COLONISATION 1819-1942
In 1819, Thomas Stamford Raffles arrived and signed a treaty with Sultan Hussein Shah of Johor, on behalf of the British East India Company, to develop the southern part of Singapore as a British trading post. In 1824, the entire island, as well as the Temenggong, became a British possession after a further treaty with the Sultan. In 1826, Singapore became part of the Straits Settlements, under the jurisdiction of British India, becoming the regional capital in 1836.
Prior to Raffles' arrival, there were only about a thousand people living on the island, mostly indigenous Malays along with a handful of Chinese. By 1860, the population had swelled to more than 80,000 and more than half were Chinese. Many immigrants came to work at rubber plantations and, after the 1870s, the island became a global centre for rubber exports.
After the First World War, the British built the large Singapore Naval Base. Lieutenant General Sir William George Shedden Dobbie was appointed General Officer Commanding of the Malaya Command on 8 November 1935, holding the post until 1939;
WORLD WAR II AND JAPANESE OCCUPATION 1942-45
in May 1938, the General Officer Commanding of the Malaya Command warned how Singapore could be conquered by the Japanese via an attack from northern Malaya, but his warnings went unheeded. The Imperial Japanese Army invaded British Malaya, culminating in the Battle of Singapore. When the British surrendered on 15 February 1942, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called the defeat "the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history". Between 5,000 and 25,000 ethnic Chinese people were killed in the subsequent Sook Ching massacre.
From November 1944 to May 1945, the Allies conducted an intensive bombing of Singapore.
RETURN OF BRITISH 1945-59
After the surrender of Japan was announced in the Jewel Voice Broadcast by the Japanese Emperor on 15 August 1945 there was a breakdown of order and looting and revenge-killing were widespread. The formal Japanese Occupation of Singapore was only ended by Operation Tiderace and the formal surrender on 12 September 1945 at Singapore City Hall when Lord Louis Mountbatten, Supreme Allied Commander of Southeast Asia Command, accepted the capitulation of Japanese forces in Southeast Asia from General Itagaki Seishiro.
A British Military Administration was then formed to govern the island. On 1 April 1946, the Straits Settlements were dissolved and Singapore became a separate Crown Colony with a civil administration headed by a Governor. Much of the infrastructure had been destroyed during the war, including the harbour, electricity, telephone and water supply systems. There was also a shortage of food leading to malnutrition, disease, and rampant crime and violence. High food prices, unemployment, and workers' discontent culminated into a series of strikes in 1947 causing massive stoppages in public transport and other services. In July 1947, separate Executive and Legislative Councils were established and the election of six members of the Legislative Council was scheduled for the following year. By late 1947, the economy began to recover, facilitated by a growing demand for tin and rubber around the world, but it would take several more years before the economy returned to pre-war levels.
The failure of Britain to defend Singapore had destroyed its credibility as an infallible ruler in the eyes of Singaporeans. The decades after the war saw a political awakening amongst the local populace and the rise of anti-colonial and nationalist sentiments, epitomized by the slogan Merdeka, or "independence" in the Malay language.
During the 1950s, Chinese Communists with strong ties to the trade unions and Chinese schools carried out armed uprising against the government, leading to the Malayan Emergency and later, the Communist Insurgency War. The 1954 National Service Riots, Chinese middle schools riots, and Hock Lee bus riots in Singapore were all linked to these events.
David Marshall, pro-independence leader of the Labour Front, won Singapore's first general election in 1955. He led a delegation to London, but Britain rejected his demand for complete self-rule. He resigned and was replaced by Lim Yew Hock, whose policies convinced Britain to grant Singapore full internal self-government for all matters except defence and foreign affairs.
SELF-GOVERNMENT 1959-1963
During the May 1959 elections, the People's Action Party won a landslide victory. Singapore became an internally self-governing state within the Commonwealth, with Lee Kuan Yew as its first Prime Minister. Governor Sir William Allmond Codrington Goode served as the first Yang di-Pertuan Negara (Head of State), and was succeeded by Yusof bin Ishak, who became the first President of Singapore in 1965.
MERGER WITH MALAYSIA 1963-65
As a result of the 1962 Merger Referendum, on 31 August 1963 Singapore joined with the Federation of Malaya, the Crown Colony of Sarawak and the Crown Colony of North Borneo to form the new federation of Malaysia under the terms of the Malaysia Agreement. Singaporean leaders chose to join Malaysia primarily due to concerns over its limited land size, scarcity of water, markets and natural resources. Some Singaporean and Malaysian politicians were also concerned that the communists might form the government on the island, a possibility perceived as an external threat to the Federation of Malaya.However, shortly after the merger, the Singapore state government and the Malaysian central government disagreed on many political and economic issues, and communal strife culminated in the 1964 race riots in Singapore. After many heated ideological conflicts between the two governments, on 9 August 1965, the Malaysian Parliament voted 126 to 0 to expel Singapore from Malaysia with Singaporean delegates not present.
INDEPENDENCE 1965 TO PRESENT
Singapore gained independence as the Republic of Singapore (remaining within the Commonwealth of Nations) on 9 August 1965. Race riots broke out once more in 1969. In 1967, the country co-founded ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and in 1970 it joined the Non-Aligned Movement. Lee Kuan Yew became Prime Minister, leading its Third World economy to First World affluence in a single generation. His emphasis on rapid economic growth, support for business entrepreneurship, limitations on internal democracy, and close relationships with China set the new nation's policies for the next half-century.
In 1990, Goh Chok Tong succeeded Lee as Prime Minister, while the latter continued serving in the Cabinet as Senior Minister until 2004, and then Minister Mentor until May 2011. During Goh's tenure, the country faced the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the 2003 SARS outbreak and terrorist threats posed by Jemaah Islamiyah.
In 2004, Lee Hsien Loong, the eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, became the country's third Prime Minister. Goh Chok Tong remained in Cabinet as the Senior Minister until May 2011, when he was named Emeritus Senior Minister despite his retirement. He steered the nation through the 2008 global financial crisis, resolved the disputed 79-year old Malayan railways land, and introduced integrated resorts. Despite the economy's exceptional growth, PAP suffered its worst election results in 2011, winning 60% of votes, amidst hot-button issues of high influx of foreign workers and cost of living. Lee initiated a major re-structuring of the economy to raise productivity, improved universal healthcare and grants, especially for the pioneer generation of citizens, amongst many new inclusive measures.
On 23 March 2015, its founding prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, who had 'personified Singapore to the world' for nearly half a century died. In a week of national mourning, 1.7 million residents and guests paid tribute to him at his lying-in-state at Parliament House and at community sites around the island.
Singapore celebrated its Golden jubilee in 2015 – its 50th year of independence, with a year-long series of events branded SG50. The PAP maintained its dominance in Parliament at the September general elections, receiving 69.9% of the popular vote, its second-highest polling result behind the 2001 tally of 75.3%.
GEOGRAPHY
Singapore consists of 63 islands, including the main island, Pulau Ujong. There are two man-made connections to Johor, Malaysia: the Johor–Singapore Causeway in the north and the Tuas Second Link in the west. Jurong Island, Pulau Tekong, Pulau Ubin and Sentosa are the largest of Singapore's smaller islands. The highest natural point is Bukit Timah Hill at 163.63 m. April and May are the hottest months, with the wetter monsoon season from November to January.
From July to October, there is often haze caused by bush fires in neighbouring Indonesia, usually from the island of Sumatra. Although Singapore does not observe daylight saving time (DST), it follows the GMT+8 time zone, one hour ahead of the typical zone for its geographical location.
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
Singapore is a parliamentary republic with a Westminster system of unicameral parliamentary government representing constituencies. The country's constitution establishes a representative democracy as the political system. Executive power rests with the Cabinet of Singapore, led by the Prime Minister and, to a much lesser extent, the President. The President is elected through a popular vote, and has veto powers over a specific set of executive decisions, such as the use of the national reserves and the appointment of judges, but otherwise occupies a largely ceremonial post.
The Parliament serves as the legislative branch of the government. Members of Parliament (MPs) consist of elected, non-constituency and nominated members. Elected MPs are voted into the Parliament on a "first-past-the-post" (plurality) basis and represent either single-member or group representation constituencies. The People's Action Party has won control of Parliament with large majorities in every election since self-governance was secured in 1959.
Although the elections are clean, there is no independent electoral authority and the government has strong influence on the media. Freedom House ranks Singapore as "partly free" in its Freedom in the World report, and The Economist ranks Singapore as a "flawed democracy", the second best rank of four, in its "Democracy Index". Despite this, in the 2011 Parliamentary elections, the opposition, led by the Workers' Party, increased its representation to seven elected MPs. In the 2015 elections, PAP scored a landslide victory, winning 83 of 89 seats contested, with 70% of popular votes. Gallup polls reported 84% of residents in Singapore expressed confidence in the government, and 85% in its judicial systems and courts – one of the highest ratings in the world.
Singapore's governance model eschews populist politics, focusing on the nation's long-term interest, and is known to be clean, effective and pragmatic. As a small nation highly dependent on external trade, it is vulnerable to geo-politics and global economics. It places great emphasis on security and stability of the region in its foreign policies, and applies global best practices to ensure the nation's attractiveness as an investment destination and business hub.
The legal system of Singapore is based on English common law, but with substantial local differences. Trial by jury was abolished in 1970 so that judicial decisions would rest entirely in the hands of appointed judges. Singapore has penalties that include judicial corporal punishment in the form of caning, which may be imposed for such offences as rape, rioting, vandalism, and certain immigration offences.There is a mandatory death penalty for murder, as well as for certain aggravated drug-trafficking and firearms offences.
Amnesty International has said that some legal provisions of the Singapore system conflict with the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, and that Singapore has "... possibly the highest execution rate in the world relative to its population". The government has disputed Amnesty's claims. In a 2008 survey of international business executives, Singapore received the top ranking with regard to judicial system quality in Asia. Singapore has been consistently rated among the least corrupt countries in the world by Transparency International.
In 2011, the World Justice Project's Rule of Law Index ranked Singapore among the top countries surveyed with regard to "order and security", "absence of corruption", and "effective criminal justice". However, the country received a much lower ranking for "freedom of speech" and "freedom of assembly". All public gatherings of five or more people require police permits, and protests may legally be held only at the Speakers' Corner.
EDUCATION
Education for primary, secondary, and tertiary levels is mostly supported by the state. All institutions, private and public, must be registered with the Ministry of Education. English is the language of instruction in all public schools, and all subjects are taught and examined in English except for the "mother tongue" language paper. While the term "mother tongue" in general refers to the first language internationally, in Singapore's education system, it is used to refer to the second language, as English is the first language. Students who have been abroad for a while, or who struggle with their "Mother Tongue" language, are allowed to take a simpler syllabus or drop the subject.
Education takes place in three stages: primary, secondary, and pre-university education. Only the primary level is compulsory. Students begin with six years of primary school, which is made up of a four-year foundation course and a two-year orientation stage. The curriculum is focused on the development of English, the mother tongue, mathematics, and science. Secondary school lasts from four to five years, and is divided between Special, Express, Normal (Academic), and Normal (Technical) streams in each school, depending on a student's ability level. The basic coursework breakdown is the same as in the primary level, although classes are much more specialised. Pre-university education takes place over two to three years at senior schools, mostly called Junior Colleges.
Some schools have a degree of freedom in their curriculum and are known as autonomous schools. These exist from the secondary education level and up.
National examinations are standardised across all schools, with a test taken after each stage. After the first six years of education, students take the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), which determines their placement at secondary school. At the end of the secondary stage, GCE "O"-Level exams are taken; at the end of the following pre-university stage, the GCE "A"-Level exams are taken. Of all non-student Singaporeans aged 15 and above, 18% have no education qualifications at all while 45% have the PSLE as their highest qualification; 15% have the GCE 'O' Level as their highest qualification and 14% have a degree.
Singaporean students consistently rank at or near the top of international education assessments:
- In 2015, Singapore topped the OECD's global school performance rankings, based on 15-year-old students' average scores in mathematics and science across 76 countries.
- Singaporean students were ranked first in the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, and have been ranked in the top three every year since 1995.
- Singapore fared best in the 2015 International Baccalaureate exams, taken in 107 countries, with more than half of the world's 81 perfect scorers and 98% passing rate.
The country's two main public universities - the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University - are ranked among the top 13 in the world.
HEALTH
Singapore has a generally efficient healthcare system, even though their health expenditures are relatively low for developed countries. The World Health Organisation ranks Singapore's healthcare system as 6th overall in the world in its World Health Report. In general, Singapore has had the lowest infant mortality rate in the world for the past two decades.
Life expectancy in Singapore is 80 for males and 85 for females, placing the country 4th in the world for life expectancy. Almost the whole population has access to improved water and sanitation facilities. There are fewer than 10 annual deaths from HIV per 100,000 people. There is a high level of immunisation. Adult obesity is below 10%
The government's healthcare system is based upon the "3M" framework. This has three components: Medifund, which provides a safety net for those not able to otherwise afford healthcare, Medisave, a compulsory health savings scheme covering about 85% of the population, and Medishield, a government-funded health insurance program. Public hospitals in Singapore have autonomy in their management decisions, and compete for patients. A subsidy scheme exists for those on low income. In 2008, 32% of healthcare was funded by the government. It accounts for approximately 3.5% of Singapore's GDP.
RELIGION
Buddhism is the most widely practised religion in Singapore, with 33% of the resident population declaring themselves adherents at the most recent census. The next-most practised religion is Christianity, followed by Islam, Taoism, and Hinduism. 17% of the population did not have a religious affiliation. The proportion of Christians, Taoists, and non-religious people increased between 2000 and 2010 by about 3% each, whilst the proportion of Buddhists decreased. Other faiths remained largely stable in their share of the population. An analysis by the Pew Research Center found Singapore to be the world's most religiously diverse nation.
There are monasteries and Dharma centres from all three major traditions of Buddhism in Singapore: Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana. Most Buddhists in Singapore are Chinese and are of the Mahayana tradition, with missionaries having come into the country from Taiwan and China for several decades. However, Thailand's Theravada Buddhism has seen growing popularity among the populace (not only the Chinese) during the past decade. Soka Gakkai International, a Japanese Buddhist organisation, is practised by many people in Singapore, but mostly by those of Chinese descent. Tibetan Buddhism has also made slow inroads into the country in recent years.
CULTURE
Singapore has one of the lowest rates of drug use in the world. Culturally, the use of illicit drugs is viewed as highly undesirable by Singaporeans, unlike many European societies. Singaporeans' disapproval towards drug use has resulted in laws that impose the mandatory death sentence for certain serious drug trafficking offences. Singapore also has a low rate of alcohol consumption per capita and low levels of violent crime, and one of the lowest intentional homicide rate globally. The average alcohol consumption rate is only 2 litres annually per adult, one of the lowest in the world.
Foreigners make up 42% of the population, and have a strong influence on Singaporean culture. The Economist Intelligence Unit, in its 2013 "Where-to-be-born Index", ranks Singapore as having the best quality of life in Asia and sixth overall in the world.
LANGUAGES; RELIGIONS AND CULTURES
Singapore is a very diverse and young country. It has many languages, religions, and cultures for a country its size.
When Singapore became independent from the United Kingdom in 1963, most of the newly minted Singaporean citizens were uneducated labourers from Malaysia, China and India. Many of them were transient labourers who were seeking to make some money in Singapore and they had no intention of staying permanently. A sizeable minority of middle-class, local-born people, known as the Peranakans, also existed. With the exception of the Peranakans (descendants of late 15th and 16th-century Chinese immigrants) who pledged their loyalties to Singapore, most of the labourers' loyalties lay with their respective homelands of Malaysia, China and India. After independence, the process of crafting a Singaporean identity and culture began.
Former Prime Ministers of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong, have stated that Singapore does not fit the traditional description of a nation, calling it a society-in-transition, pointing out the fact that Singaporeans do not all speak the same language, share the same religion, or have the same customs. Even though English is the first language of the nation, according to the government's 2010 census 20% of Singaporeans, or one in five, are illiterate in English. This is a marked improvement from 1990 where 40% of Singaporeans were illiterate in English.
Languages, religions and cultures among Singaporeans are not delineated according to skin colour or ancestry, unlike many other countries. Among Chinese Singaporeans, one in five is Christian, another one in five is atheist, and the rest are mostly Buddhists or Taoists. One-third speak English as their home language, while half speak Mandarin Chinese. The rest speak other Chinese varieties at home. Most Malays in Singapore speak Malay as their home language with some speaking English. Singaporean Indians are much more religious. Only 1% of them are atheists. Six in ten are Hindu, two in ten Muslim, and the rest mostly Christian. Four in ten speak English as their home language, three in ten Tamil, one in ten Malay, and the rest other Indian languages as their home language.
Each Singaporean's behaviours and attitudes would therefore be influenced by, among many other things, his or her home language and his religion. Singaporeans who speak English as their native language tend to lean toward Western culture, while those who speak Chinese as their native language tend to lean toward Chinese culture and Confucianism. Malay speaking Singaporeans tend to lean toward the Malay culture, which itself is closely linked to the Islamic culture.
ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS
At the national level in Singapore, meritocracy, where one is judged based on one's ability, is heavily emphasised.
Racial and religious harmony is regarded by Singaporeans as a crucial part of Singapore's success, and played a part in building a Singaporean identity. Singapore has a reputation as a nanny state. The national flower of Singapore is the hybrid orchid, Vanda 'Miss Joaquim', named in memory of a Singapore-born Armenian woman, who crossbred the flower in her garden at Tanjong Pagar in 1893. Many national symbols such as the Coat of arms of Singapore and the Lion head symbol of Singapore make use of the lion, as Singapore is known as the Lion City. Other monikers by which Singapore is widely known is the Garden City and the Red Dot. Public holidays in Singapore cover major Chinese, Western, Malay and Indian festivals.
Singaporean employees work an average of around 45 hours weekly, relatively long compared to many other nations. Three in four Singaporean employees surveyed stated that they take pride in doing their work well, and that doing so helps their self-confidence.
CUISINE
Dining, along with shopping, is said to be the country's national pastime. The focus on food has led countries like Australia to attract Singaporean tourists with food-based itineraries. The diversity of food is touted as a reason to visit the country, and the variety of food representing different ethnicities is seen by the government as a symbol of its multiculturalism. The "national fruit" of Singapore is the durian.
In popular culture, food items belong to a particular ethnicity, with Chinese, Malay, and Indian food clearly defined. However, the diversity of cuisine has been increased further by the "hybridisation" of different styles (e.g., the Peranakan cuisine, a mix of Chinese and Malay cuisine).
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