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"But what about Singapore?" Lessons from the best public housing program in the world
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As we approach the 9th World Urban Forum in Kuala Lumpur next week, one of the essential challenges in implementing the New Urban Agenda that governments are struggling with is the provision at scale of high quality affordable housing, a key part of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 of building sustainable cities and communities.
When I worked on affordable housing in Latin America, one consistent piece of advice we would give our clients was that it is not a good idea for governments to build and provide housing themselves. Instead, in the words of the famous (and sadly late) World Bank economist Steve Mayo, we should enable housing markets to work. Our clients would always respond by saying, "But what about Singapore?" And we would say the Singapore case is too sui generis and non-replicable.
[Learn more about the World Bank's participation in the World Urban Forum]
Now, having lived in the beautiful red-dot city state for two and half years, and
Singapore's governing philosophy has famously been described as "think ahead, think again and think across." Nowhere is this more apparent than how the founding fathers designed the national housing program, and how it has adapted and evolved over the years, responding to changed circumstances and needs.
It is hard to believe today but in 1947 the British Housing Committee reported that 72% of a total population of 938,000 of Singapore was living within the 80 square kilometers that made up the central city area. When Singapore attained self-government in 1959, only 9% of Singaporeans resided in public housing. Today, 80% of Singaporeans live a government built apartment. There are about one million Housing and Development Board (HDB) apartments, largely clustered in 23 self-contained new towns that extend around the city's coastal core.
At the risk of over-simplification, there seem to be four essential ingredients to this astonishing success story:
Recent research by the Stanford economist Raj Chetty and others have underlined what many urban professionals long suspected, that,
Poorly designed public housing in cities ranging from the infamous projects in the New York and the banlieues of Paris have resulted in creating poverty ghettoes that intensify and amplify inequalities and fuel social unrest. Many of these have had to be demolished.
Singapore got this fundamental fact right early on. Housing estates are carefully designed with mixed-income housing, each having access to high-quality public transport and education, and the famous Singapore hawker centers where all income classes and ethnicities meet, socialize, play, and dine together on delicious and affordable food. At least two such hawker stalls have a Michelin star!
The apartment blocks are designed to encourage the "kampong" (social cohesion) spirit with the "void decks" (vacant spaces on the ground levels of the HDB blocks) and common corridors (common linked spaces that provide access to individual units on the same floor) that foster interactions between neighbors.
[Click here for a wonderful talk by Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam on the principles of design of inclusive neighborhoods in Singapore.]
2. The smart use of urban density.
As a result, this is one of the densest cities in the world. Yet it constantly scores amongst the highest in city livability rankings.
This has been done by carefully designing the height and proportion of buildings in relation to one another. Dr. Liu Thai Ker, the legendary Singaporean urban planner, compares this to a chess board where no two pieces are of the same height.
Buildings are also interspaced with high quality green open spaces. Since the very beginning, Prime Minister Lee Kwan Yew laid the highest emphasis on Singapore being a garden city.
3. An integrated approach to housing—from planning and design, through land assembly and construction, to management and maintenance.
The Housing & Development Act (1960) gave the Housing and Development Board, as the apex housing agency, the lead role across the housing value chain. In Singapore in 1967, the Land Acquisition Act empowered the country to acquire land at low cost for public use.
Today, 90% of land is owned by the state as opposed to 49% in 1965. Great emphasis is placed on standardization and efficiencies in construction management.
For example, merit stars were awarded to contractors who performed consistently well—for every merit star earned, the contractor would enjoy a 0.5% bidding preference when tenders were evaluated. In 1982, a "Core Contractor Scheme" was introduced under which contractors with a minimum paid-up capital of S$500,000 and a minimum of five stars attained from the "Merit Star Scheme" are offered a guaranteed annual workload for a fixed number of years.
Mention the term "public housing" or "housing estate" and the vision that comes to mind is one of decrepit, poorly maintained ghettoes. Singapore housing estate are as far as you can get from this dystopian vision. They are immaculately maintained. In 1989, Town Councils were introduced to empower local elected representatives and residents to run their own estates. Today, there are 16 Town Councils managing the HDB housing estates in Singapore.
4. Long-term and strong political commitment.
Harvard economist Ed Glaeser once said that economics offers tactics not strategy, which means that politics must decide what level of support, say, public housing, will receive. Only then can economics advise the most efficient way to provide this support. The popular and political support for public housing in Singapore is strong and stable. And this has meant a high level of public subsidies to HDB (in 2017 this was S$1.19 billion).
Did I miss any essential element in the Singapore story? How replicable do you think this experience is to other countries? I would love to hear your views.
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Join the Conversation
Dear Abhas,
Such a nice piece of blog and lots of in-depth thoughts, thanks a lot for sharing. Totally agree with you the "four essential ingredients to this astonishing success story", which will surely guide other governments when designing their own housing programs. Another ingredient that may also worthy mentioned here maybe "Fair, open and transparent procedure for housing distribution"? There are many papers on this and I also believe the distribution procedure helps to enhance citizen's ownership of the project and see houses provided under the program are "public goods", rather than "pure commodity". Just some thoughts, many thanks for the sharing.
Jun Zeng
Dear Jun Zeng-thank you so much! Yes completely agree. Singapore has a very transparent system of allocation with most processes and services available online: https://services2.hdb.gov.sg/webapp/FI10AWESVCLIST/FI10SEServiceList Best, Abhas,
Dear Abhas, thank you for the interesting and thought-provoking take on Singapore public housing and the useful links. I wanted to also add another reason why I think Singapore public housing is successful – not only does HDB take great care with planning livable neighborhoods and maintain their assets immaculately, but Singapore also has a strong emphasis on good architectural design quality (exterior and interior). Attractive and human-centered design of public housing is often an afterthought since many believe it is cost prohibitive, which is not always the case – cities need to promote quality urban/architectural design guidelines and hire socially responsible designers. Great morning read! Best, Jian
It's a great idea that Singapore has a philosophy think ahead,think again and think across. I wish every leader has this king of thoughts.
I'm thinking to innovate building material that could help to reduce building cost. Anybody can help an idea to convert ashfall (vukcanic ash) to light weight cement panel through mixing if chemical hardener composition. Anyone would be intrested please feel free to contact me. I have a huge anount of ashfall in Asia.
There should also be an obligation and legislation to force the use of roof,wall insulation and double glazing , and improve the quality of building and reduce the excessive consumption of materials . The waste from the building industry should be taxed heavily , and new techniques not only studied but implemented .
I think that what makes the Singapore public housing experiment is the way that government bureaucrats experience the city they are planning for. In larger countries with many cities or a large rural population it is very hard for central planners to actually understand what the urban experience is like. Where as in Singapore it is almost impossible for the government to ignore what is going on in the urban space, and indeed the entirety of the urban space in the country. A market based approach is about decentralizing implementation in the hope (not necessarily the reality) that market participants are more effective at coordinating development in an urban space (i.e. more responsive to peoples needs and what makes a nice urban space, on a local level). But there always seems to be some kind of market failure here because individual market participants aren't able to internalize all the externalizes in urban development, and there are many potential problems that can de-rail a market. So with a centrally planned approach you have a system where the planner is responsible for the entire functioning of the market. The two big obstacles faced in this approach are 1) the central planner lacking sufficient information to run an effective policy 2) Not actually caring because of corruption. Singapore avoids these issues by having the central planners live in the city they are planning for and having an extremely professional public service
Nice article, but perhaps you missed the main benefit of Singapore having acquired 90% of the land - which allows the State to benefit from the uplift in land values over time as the economy has developed. Given the high proportion of public revenue derived from land values, it means that other taxes (such as salaries tax) are very low, which gives rise to high productivity and growth in the economy. This principle lies at the heart of the teaching of Smith, Ricardo and in particular Henry George which has been largely forgotten by neo-liberal economists.
The same principle of acquiring land for development has been applied in the commercial/industrial sector by the Jurong Town Corporation (JTC) which owns and manages (and collects the rent) on its 7,100 hectares.
You can read more about this in my forthcoming article in the IJPP Special Issue: Fair Public Ownership, some examples from Hong Kong and Singapore...
Andrew Purves
Thanks Andrew. Look forward to reading your paper.
Hi Abbas,
Thanks for your article. Am currently studying on Environmental planning and it helps broaden my knowledge.
Please share more of this strategy especially to our leaders in our country(phils), hope things will be a little help in our place.
Hi Abhas, thanks for that great post. I wanted to add the beautiful work of "Architecture of Territory" department from ETH Zürich. It may help to contextualize the Singapure case.
Best, Jan
"After its independence in the early 1960s, it looked like Singapore had low chances of survival because of its lack of natural hinterland and material resources. But today, on the surface at least, the city appears to defy limitations. Owing to its open economy and function as an entrepôt, vital resources including labour, energy and food are being supplied from the outside. No doubt, Singapore's greatly controlled and technologically oriented urban model represents a specific answer to its restricted context.
Looking further, across the city-state's borders, it is apparent that Singapore's economy uses land and labour far beyond its territorial limits. Its strategic hinterlands (agriculture zones, water sources, sand quarries, etc) are found anywhere from the neighbouring areas of Malaysia and Indonesia, to sites in Cambodia, China and the Middle East.
During the ETH autumn semester 2012, the hinterland was described through the thematic lens of resources. The origin, the flows, 'the map' and other territorial dimensions of the five key resources for Singapore – sand, water, food, energy and human labour – were the focus of the study. The investigations have shown the manner in which each resource is increasingly sought by the city-state in a geopolitical frame in the ASEAN countries and beyond."
Excellent points Jan. Thanks for sharing. Abhas.
One additional element (which many cities ask about) is how Singapore made its massive public housing scheme financially sustainable through the virtuous cycle of economic growth and CPF financing. Also sharing an earlier publication I did with CLC which covered the financing of public housing - https://www.clc.gov.sg/publications/uss2014-financing-a-city.htm - Jean Chia, NUS
Interesting article that highlighted some key success factors for Singapore's public housing. However, being concise the article have omitted several other critical factors that made public housing such a success in Singapore. One is the strong economy that created good jobs for the people allowing so many to have the income to own their owned (whether private or public). Next is deliberate policy of home ownership the benefits of which is well known. Another is pricing for affordability but also for sustainability. So public housing is affordable and cheaper that private housing but not so cheap as the bankrupt the State. Public housing currently takes up only 2-4% of Singapore's annual budget. How much should be public housing and how much private would depend on the circumstances of each country but it is only with a strong public housing programme that any country can hope to allow their people to own homes especially those in the lower middle and lower income groups. The recent IPS survey has again highlighted the great work public housing has done in integrating the country across ethnic and income groups.
Pl let me elaborate on the comments above. Without much resources, most developing countries would heed the advice of economist Steve Mayo anyway and leave housing to the private sector. Private developers would then cater to perhaps the top 50% of the population where the profits are to be made leaving the rest of the population housed in urban slums and shanty towns. Even a developed country with a mature economy like the US can only manage a home ownership of about 60+%. Also, the private sector would not be able to plan and develop on an comprehensive and integrated manner and each private development would be gated and on its own.
For Singapore to be able to succeed on such a scale for housing requires several key success factors. The first is to have a strong economy going on for a very prolonged period. This boosted the income not just for the upper segments but also for the lower middle and lower income groups. It allowed these groups to own their own homes. A rapidly rising income also meant that the government can siphon more of their incomes into the national savings fund, the CPF. This then allowed the government to tap on the fund for most of its funding needs for housing and infrastructure. A strong economy also allowed the government to collect revenues to fund its spending including subsidies for housing without having to dip into the proceeds from the sale of land as in many other countries. Next, in the first 25 years, the government was not hesitant to use the land acquisition Act to acquire up to 30% of the country's land for public housing and other uses despite the high political cost of doing so. Then there is home ownership as a deliberate policy and so the lower income group received a high subsidy to enable them to do so. Beyond nation building, home ownership would boost the self-esteem and psychology of this group contributing to better management and maintenance of the housing estates. Pricing of public housing while affordable is sustainable. While much subsidies are given to the lowest group there are little or no subsidies for the higher incomes. So spending on housing is limited to about 2-4% of the national budget.
It is because public housing covers more than 80% of the population that we can plan and design on such a scale to given us the vibrant towns and neighbourhoods with all their ancillary facilities. Public housing that caters to the higher income also contributed to this vibrancy in the housing estates. This in turn contribute to the success of public housing in Singapore. It also made possible the integration of different ethnic and income groups and the promotion of extended living in the country. The latest IPS survey again highlighted what public housing has done to integrate the different groups together to build a cohesive nation.
As the article rightly pointed out a successful public housing programme requires a government's strong political commitment. It would also require the government to be capable of igniting the economy."
-Mr Chionh Chye Khye
Fellow, Centre for Liveable Cities
Thank you for this article. I have a question with regard to the operational costs of the multi-storey buildings. In South Africa, there is a government grant for affordable housing. However, sectional title ownership of multi storey apartments has only been successful where a private developer has incorporated the affordable housing into a larger development that also includes apartments for gap and middle income earners. The money from the monthly levy is used to cross subsidise the maintenance and insurance required for the affordable apartments. However, this is only achieved in strategic areas where the land value is sufficient to justify and attract this kind of investment. The dilemma occurs in areas where the average income is extremely low. The collection of rates and taxes is almost non existent and the levies are therefore difficult to collect- hence the dilapidated buildings etc. Was the housing programme in Singapore accompanied by a local economic development strategy ? How was this implemented?
Dear Tali-thanks for your comments. Indeed one of the strengths of the Singapore housing experience has been its strong linkages with the overall economic development strategy, and in partuclar with the manufacturing strategy. The earliest housing estates like Tampines were located with a view to keeping housing close to jobs. I will be doing a separate blog post on the financing aspects. Stay tuned!
Dear Mr Abhas,
My daughter Tehmina Kaoosji sent me the link to read.I enjoyed the interview on Bernama..
With best wishes
Thank you Captain Kaoosji. I enjoyed meeting and talking to Tehmina. Best regards, Abhas.
Thank For Sharing. Your Article very useful
Thank you for a very useful article. Living in an apartment, has now become part of the lifestyle of the urban or millennial generation. Practical, modern and comfortable, it is the top reason. Do a thorough survey of the location of an apartment. It is better to choose an apartment that is close to work or daily activities.


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By Geneive Abdo, Special to CNN
Editor's note: Geneive Abdo is a fellow at the Stimson Center and a non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution. She is the author of "The New Sectarianism: The Arab Uprisings and the Rebirth of Shi'a-Sunni Divide." The views expressed are her own.
In overthrowing Mohamed Morsy, Egypt's military, the judiciary, and the secular-minded revolutionaries in central Cairo just extended the political life spans of Islamists across the Middle East.
The Muslim Brotherhood, once at the vanguard of worldwide Islamist political and social movements, failed miserably in their year in power. Most likely, President Morsy's term in office would have met a natural death during the next presidential election.
Instead, the coup has placed the Brotherhood in the uncomfortable but longtime position it had been in for decades — as the victims of a repressive, dictatorial state.
The coup has also empowered other, more socially conservative Islamist groups, whether or not they might be aligned with the Brotherhood.
The Salafists, in particular, stand to gain from the growing intensity of the broad-based Islamist movement as their vast social networks inspire popular support, and some Salafists are able to take the high ground as the true leaders of the faithful. The Brotherhood, meanwhile, could find itself more reliant upon the Salafists — adherents to a strict interpretation of the Islamic texts — if it wants to win future elections.
Since the July 3 coup, many in the media have speculated over the premature death of political Islam. But support for the Islamists will only increase the more the transitional government represses and imprisons Brotherhood leaders. Those celebrating the demise of Islamists must understand that in Egypt, the separation between religion and state has become blurred over the last 30 years, and moderate and radical groups — inside and outside Egypt alike — have called for the coup to be reversed.
More from GPS: Egypt's fever of violence
Just this week, for example, the influential Sunni cleric Yousef Qaradawi said, "It is obligatory under Islam that Morsy remains president, and it is prohibited for anyone to claim that the people have the right to remove him."
A posting on a jihadist website that announced the creation of Ansar al-Sharia in Egypt, or Partisans for Sharia in Egypt, meanwhile, outlined its goal of arming and training Muslims to wage war against the new transitional government. "We offer our blood in the place of Muslims and their honor," the post reportedly said. The group declared democracy to be "anti-Islamic" and called on Muslims to "rise against" anyone who stands in the path of implementing the Sharia.
Sheikh Abdullah Alsa'ad, a popular Salafi sheikh in Saudi Arabia, tweeted that Egypt's military had carried out a coup against Islam, while Sheikh Saud Shreim, the imam and dean of the College of Jurisprudence and Systems in Um el-Qurra University in Saudi Arabia, tweeted: "It comes as no surprise that those who call for democracy choose to manipulate words. They call injustice justice, imprisonment freedom, and a coup, a revolution."
Such outrage from influential clerics is inspiring a street movement that is demanding Morsy's reinstatement, and the former president's supporters were even more enraged this week when it was revealed that an interim cabinet did not contain anyone hailing from an Islamist group.
And the military's response to the street — shooting demonstrators, imprisoning hundreds of Brotherhood leaders and supporters — is only likely to encourage radicals to turn to violence. When Morsy was in power, moderate Islamists held some sway with the radicals by encouraging patience with the first Islamist president in Egypt. But now, as the military declares martial law and acts with impunity, it will be increasingly difficult for moderates to make the argument that violence is not necessary. "We lost what leverage we had to keep the extremists at bay," one Salafist leader told me. "Now we cannot argue to be patient, and for some, violence is the only option now."
Egyptians who led the rebellion to oust Morsy claimed that they had collected 20 million signatures — an impressive number for a population of about 80 million. However, one should not assume that all of these 20 million Egyptians are secular-leaning. In fact, religious and socially conservative Egyptians, who are now at odds with the Brotherhood, are perfectly willing to place their trust in another Islamist party.
In February and April, while conducting research in Egypt, I met residents of Imbaba, a district of Cairo that was once a base for militant Islamists in the 1990s. Many residents I met were furious with the Brotherhood over economic issues: life in Imbaba had become worse than ever with fewer jobs, no electricity on some days, and rising food prices. Yet they told me their disenchantment with the Brotherhood was not drawing them closer to secularist groups. Rather, they were looking to back another Islamist group that would govern more effectively than Morsy and the Brotherhood.
Such sentiments, widespread in economically deprived areas such as Imbaba, helped fuel the campaign for signatures. This was the reason the secularists leading the rebellion were able to get so many Egyptians on the streets to call for Morsy to step down. But the masses who signed up gave the mistaken impression that they would also back a more secular rule in Egypt than the Brotherhood.
Just as in 2011, when secular youth occupied Tahrir Square and led the massive marches for Mubarak to go, there was an expectation in the United States that secularism had triumphed. That was not true then; nor is it the case now.
The military, along with the remnants of the so-called deep state of the Mubarak era, may hold sway now, but the fact remains that this is only a transitional state. If free and fair parliamentary and presidential elections are held and the Islamists are allowed to take part, the religious nature of Egyptian society will once again emerge — and Islamists of all stripes will have their say in Egypt's future.
Religion should play no part in governing. The Islamists need to be booted from all facets of the government in any country.
Although Egypt is the birthplace of political Islam, the Muslim Brotherhood had been suppressed for decades. Only after Mubarak's fall had Islamists been able to have a taste of power.
Yet they made the mistake of riding roughshod over their opponents. Besides they hadn't brought jobs and growth to the country. They underestimated the power of the military, which has vested interests in Egypt's economy and didn't want chaos.
With the ouster of Morsi, it raises the question, whether the Muslim Brotherhood's slogan "Islam is the solution" is still realistic and has future. Now that they have refused to part of the new government, they should do some soul-searching.
They got power and look at the mess they made. They might as well pray to a rock. Oops! They do that already.....
It's there country, the citizens should have the right to choose any party or leader they feel fit to rule. Anyways, America chose a dumb president ( George Bush) for two terms and they seemed happy about it.
All very nice. But could Egypt wait another 3 years until the next election, if it was to happen, and become a truly failed state. In one year the country saw it increase its foreign debt by a quarter, unemployment increase and the economy at a standstill, while minorities – be they Christian or Shia – persecuted, and the MB trying to take over the organs of the state, be it judicial, legislative or cultural. Be real when you come up with these analysis.
The US debt is in trillions, the country is almost bankrupt and minorities are discriminated against at a higher scale than ever, in this case would you vouch for the Americans to do same by demonstrating in the streets and opt for an eventual coup or revolution as you naively call it? and in the process overthrow a legitimate democratic country and imprison the president and his members of the ruling Democratic Party ?
You keep mentioning it as a coup & ignoring the fact that tens of millions of people went on the streets calling for Morsi and his gang to get out. The MB still did plays its stupidity by staging small riots here and there and staging a sit in at Rabaa AlAdawiya mosque. Do they really believe that they will convince outside forces to come and help them back to govern? The Egyptians are fed up with them and with the interference from the US administration and the EU. We are patient and don't want to shed the blood of anyone however we will not hesitate to take action to defend our people from the the aggression of the MB. We don't want them and if the west likes.them too much then they can have them
No. Thank you. We have more than enuf.
The 10 Millions you have mentioned are mostly criminals. They are the same criminals that were used by Mubarak to kill protesters. These people were rapping women in Tahrir Sq. 2 of the victims were of them is a TV reporters. One is Britsh I guess and the other one works for France24.
In regard to the economy, since the Military own 40% of the economy, and since most of the military members are corrupted, they have done their best to sabotage Morsy. They were shutting off water and electricity to just push people to turn against Morsey and and MB. Saudia Arabia and UAE who do not want freedom in neighboring countries have stopped all investments and actually bribed the Egyptian military to perform a coup. According to may media, there were millions of dollars that they were spent to buy people to start the protest.
Also, we have all witnessed the military shooting on people were they praying..The videos are on line, showing the brutality of the Sissi and his gangs.
And also, 10 million is a big lie...You guys were not able to gather a one million..Note that some of the protesters, did not have the intention to remove the elected president. They have just protested for some changes. In another world they were fulled, and now, most of them are joining the MB after it became clear to them that the military used them for this dirty job..
The fact that millions of people went to the streets is irrelevant to it being a coup, it matters not how many people went to the streets. A coup is when a head of state is removed by the military of the same state. It doesn't matter if the military does so by the request of protesters or on its own. "We don't want them", where were you a year ago when he won the elections? So you boycott the elections, then when you don't like the guy who wins, you come to the streets and vindicate a coup against him? The "west" as you say doesn't "like" the MB, stop the conspiratorial thinking. Bringing down Morsi by coup will not result in democratic progress in your country, they will radicalize and provide a raison d'etre for the military to continue to rule your country, instead of elected leaders.
Please don't claim to know what the people of Egypt want. Most would take the military over the MB any day of the week. At least the military doesn't get involved in my religious affairs. At least the military does't claim to be speaking for God. At least the military doesn't support terrorism. The MB was as corrupt as they get, but they used religion to justify their actions. I, for one, hope that they are all charged with collaborating with terrorists, and inciting violence.
Interesting how many respectable authors including yourself make the a grand assumption that these "Islamic inspired" political parties will actually allow a democratic environment as you know it in the future and hence be potentially voted out. I do not fundamentally disagree in the sense that yes democracy should take its course and that 'eventually/ultimately' they could be voted out; this could take decades in a fast moving world where the cost would be so high. Egypt and the whole middle east can go through a middle ages phase then a renaissance as Europe did centuries ago, however, the world is a very different place now and waiting a few decades or a hundred years will only bring more misery to generations of Egyptians to come, Nothing in life is ideal, what happened in Egypt is certainly not ideal but in my view the lesser of two evils and I appreciate that others would prefer the "other evil" but that is just how life works...
Why bother having a comments section, if it censors ordinary, non-vulgar words? It's impossible to guess why the filters are censoring completely clean posts.
I c o u l d n' t d i s a g r e e w i t h t h e a r t i c l e m o r e. N o t h i n g e m p o w e r e d I s l a m i s m m o r e t h a n l e a v i n g M o r s i i n p o w e r.
T h r o u g h h i s I k w a n i z a t i o n a g e n d a, M o r s i w a s r e p l a c i n g t h e v e r y d e m o c r a t i c i n s t i t u t i o n s w i t h I s l a m i s t o n e s. T h e v e r y C o n s t i t u t i o n i t s e l f, t h a t w a s s u p p o s e d t o p r o t e c t h u m a n r i g h t s o f a l l E g y p t i a n s, i n s t e a d b e c a m e I s l a m i s t.
T o c u r t a i l I s l a m i s m, t h e i n t e r i m g o v e r n m e n t s h o u l d d r a f t a s e c u l a r C o n s t i t u t i o n t h a t p r o t e c t s t h e h u m a n r i g h t s o f a l l E g y p t i a n s. T h e n o p e n e l e c t i o n s, c l e a r l y c o m m u n i c a t i n g t h a t t h e e l e c t e d p a r t y – w h i c h e v e r t h a t m a y b e – h a s t o f o l l o w t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n. T h e y s h o u l d a l s o e x e c u t e a n y M u s l i m b r o t h e r h o o d o r S a l a f i s t l e a d e r s t h a t a r e r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e v i o l e n c e a n d t e r r o r i s m.
Where is my comment? I don't beleive I violated any rule here. Why bother having a comment section anyway?
Get over it CNN, Egypt is not supporting the Islamic Brotherhood like you want us to
believe, shame on you CNN.
Why you are supporting the Islamic Brotherhood against the wellness of the Egyptian people?
Do your job and report the truth and show how the Egyptians are happy with the outcast of Morsi who was supported by Hillary Clinton and Obama.
..بيان تحذيرى لحكومات العالم
Cautionary Statement for the governments of the world
بيان تحذيرى لحكومات العالم ..
من السيد رئيس الوزراء المصرى د.هشام قنديل وبموافقة مجلس الشورى المصرى يقول :
لن نعترف باى قروض او اتفاقيات يتم التوقيع عليها مع حكومة الانقلابيين نحن الحكومه الشرعيه للبلاد ولسنا مسؤلون عن الاموال التى سيتم اقتراضها من قبل الحكومه الجديده الغير شرعيه
من فضلك انشر هذا البيان فى كل مكان ليعرف العالم ماذا يجرى فى مصر
Cautionary Statement for the governments of the world
Mr. Egyptian Prime Minister Dr.. Hisham Qandil and with the approval of the Egyptian Shura Council says:
We will not recognize any loans or agreements to be signed with the government of the coup.
We are the legitimate government of the country and we are not responsible for the money that will be borrowed by the new government illegal
Please Share this statement everywhere for the world to know what is happening in
I agree with the Prime Minister.
Gad! That spelling is terrible. I can't make any sense of it.......
..بيان تحذيرى لحكومات العالم
Cautionary Statement for the governments of the world
بيان تحذيرى لحكومات العالم ..
من السيد رئيس الوزراء المصرى د.هشام قنديل وبموافقة مجلس الشورى المصرى يقول :
لن نعترف باى قروض او اتفاقيات يتم التوقيع عليها مع حكومة الانقلابيين نحن الحكومه الشرعيه للبلاد ولسنا مسؤلون عن الاموال التى سيتم اقتراضها من قبل الحكومه الجديده الغير شرعيه
من فضلك انشر هذا البيان فى كل مكان ليعرف العالم ماذا يجرى فى مصر
Cautionary Statement for the governments of the world
Mr. Egyptian Prime Minister Dr.. Hisham Qandil and with the approval of the Egyptian Shura Council says:
We will not recognize any loans or agreements to be signed with the government of the coup.
We are the legitimate government of the country and we are not responsible for the money that will be borrowed by the new government illegal
Please Share this statement everywhere for the world to know what is happening in
Hide behind democracy to bring the Islamic law. Treat women like parasite to men. Let lazy people justify their laziness as "investment for after death". It was impossible for your "so called legitimate" government to pay off all the loans. Unless the intention was to pay them all after death.
Tawfik should realise that he and others like him are not the only ones in Egypt. Anyways, regardless of what you all may say, this is the only true article I have read in a decade.
I agree, this is a great article..
60% of Egyptians are under the poverty line. As with Maslow's hierarchy of needs, they just want basic life necessities. The masses will want anybody who can satisfy those needs. Egyptian masses have been vaccinated against political Islam. if the current regime is able to deliver those basic needs. Progressive parties will be elected, radicals' popularity will weaken.
I just returned from Cairo a week ago. These needs people food not F16s.US should consider giving food and train police than send Tanks.I saw dirty streets, poverty and big gap between Rich and Poor.Govt is taking all aid and putting their pockets and US Aid go directly to people. Great people, loving and humble. Islamist are not Terrorist but
fighting for poor.
While I still symphatise with the Arab Spring, I think the youth initialed revolts have turned countries upside downside, and resulting in half baked new governments taking over. There are total destruction of live and properties. Over 100,100 Syrians have since died after the revolt began. Libya is totally in economic tatters and a very divided country with rebel youths forming gangs to terrorise the civilians. Eygpt is faring no better after the youth led revolution. The country appears to be split into various inseparably religious ideologies. The worst is yet to come for Cairo.
"democracy is anti islam." no doubt about it, letting people think for themselves, letting them choose who will lead them is anti islam.............and this is good? This is what they want? How pathetic to be manipulated into thinking that the individual is too stupid to be trusted to make the right choices for himself and his family and his country.
Towel Heads is what Towel Heads do.
Few years from now, the writer of this article is likely to find out how wrong she was in misunderstanding the Egyptian people.
It's no coincidence that the Middle Eastern state in which Islamists are the least popular is Iran, the state that has been ruled by them for just over 30 years now. The West should welcome the rise to power of Islamists because one of two things will have to happen once they are in power. Either they will moderate their ideology so that they can actually govern or they will fall flat on their faces and become discredited in the eyes of the public.
In all fairness, it was the West that created the problems in the ME, which has resulted in the Jihadists we have been witnessing. Had the the west never occupied Ottoman territories, they would not have sought help from the Germans. The fact that they did and lost, caused its dismantling and separate states we now have. The destruction of the Arab land to create a Biblical Israel didn't help matters either.
What should have happened, is that the west knew that the dying man of Europe, ala the Ottoman Empire was needed to control the Islamists. Had Europe tried to help the Empire, rather occupy it as strategic use to fight the Germans, the world may be a better place because of it.
Most Westerner's may cringe at the thought of a Caliphate, but a well funded one was able control the satellite states historically.
If this Caliphate were to be revived what will happen in 50 years time when the US will have to contend with an Islamic Europe? Wouldn't it be much easier to support secularism and create global alliances along principles that will be western friendly?
I feel bad for the writer,she do not know very much about Egypt and how Egyptians mind is thinking,it is better for her to write about other countries not Egypt .
Islamists seize power........they aren't empowered.
Only through conflict, can their religious dictatorship be held in check, and other religions be allowed to exist.
Great logic Fareed.......if you lose you win. It sounds like weakness is strength. Perhaps you need a vacation.
They are learning quickly that WORLDLY governments can't be run by religious organizations. It took the west centuries to get it right. I give Egyptians credit for figuring out this in a very short period of time. Now for the period of enlightenment. I see hope for Egypt.
We want democracy in every country but only if it suits us.
What absolute nonsense Mr. Zachariah. The exact opposite is true. I do wish you would apply didactic logic in your arguments.
Morsi's demise sucker punches the power out of Islamists!

subset: commoncrawl


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By R. Jai Krishna
NEW DELHI--Dell Inc. DELL, +1.05% Thursday named Suresh Vaswani as President of Dell Services, the software services arm of the U.S.-based computer maker.
"In his new role, Mr. Vaswani will be responsible for developing and delivering end-to-end IT services and business solutions for global corporations, state and local governments. He also is responsible for Dell's IT delivery, including the company's infrastructure and applications worldwide," the company said in a statement.
Prior to the appointment, Mr. Vaswani headed Dell Services' application and business process outsourcing, a post he held since joining the U.S.-company in January 2011, after a 25-year stint with India's Wipro Ltd. WIT, +0.00%.
He will be reporting to Dell Chairman and Chief Executive Michael Dell.
Mr. Vaswani succeeds Steve Schuckenbrock, who has "announced his intention to seek new opportunities outside Dell," the statement added.
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires


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Multiple mice, individual settings...
EitherMouse Setup.exe
- Instantly changes settings when any mouse is used:
- swap buttons
- mirror cursor
- adjust speeds
- and more...
- Leave multiple mice on a pc and automatically swap buttons on each mouse
- Have a left-handed and a right-handed mouse always connected and ready to use
- Match speeds across different mice, great for slow touchpad and fast mouse
- Great for multi-user/public workstations to accomodate both left and right handed users.
- Helps prevent RSI/injury issues by allowing seemless switching between hands.
- Quickly change mouse settings from system tray if only one mouse is used
- Freeware! no ads, no nags, free software, suggestions appreciated!
- Donate now!
- Tested on: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 & 8.1
Please post feedback as i'm new to AHK this app as been a test for going public for me... and i love hearing how its used! - aug '09
new website and major program revamp, started may '12
transition to ahkscript.org thread started may '14
old thread on ahk.com can be found here:
EitherMouse - auto swap mouse buttons on second mouse
- gwarble


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Welcome Friends!
Over the next several months we will building and adding additional features and capabilities to the new FGC website. One major feature will be a suite of tools to better support the work of central committee.
Until we can launch those tools, we will continue to use the old website to share documents and materials with central committee.
Thanks for your patience and support as we make these transitions!
Visit the Central Committee website here.
The username and password have not changed, if you need them, please contact QuakerCloudSupport
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If you're interesting in learning more about how the work of FGC is guided by Friends, you can contact your Yearly Meeting's nominating committee, or, you can let the FGC nominating committee know about your interests and skills by signing up here.


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I went on iplayer and this is the best shot i found of the pc. Can't make out any of the writing though. Anyone know who makes it?
bbc2 how to build a supercar pc.jpg
Here's a shot of the front. Guess they aren't going for the "integrated" look!
bbc2 how to build a supercar front.jpg


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Our volume UPS discounts are passed-on directly to you for the lowest possible shipping rates.
Deluxe 15" Base Board Supply Register:All-Steel Construction blankets wall or window area with good air flow.COLOR:Golden Sand enamel finish.* Frequently Asked Questions * What is "Free Area"• Free area is the total minimum area of the openings in the supply outlet or return inlet (usually in square inches) through which air can pass. Also known as the "see-through area". (See also "effective area"). What is "Effective Area" • Effective area is the net area (in square feet) of a grille utilized by the area stream in passing through the face openings. It is used the the equation: CFM= Face Velocity X Effective Area. This is the basis for most engineering data..


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Jennifer Garner with Ben Affleck, Samuel Affleck | Pictures
Jennifer Garner Joins Ben For Coffee and Gives Baby Samuel a Lift
Jennifer Garner Joins Ben For Coffee and Gives Baby Samuel a Lift
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner started their morning with a coffee stop in Brentwood, and later in the day, Jen was carrying her infant son, Samuel. Samuel carried a doll as Jen helped lift him out of her car while they ran some errands. Ben has been enjoying a relatively low-key week since attending Monday's Casting Society of America awards, where he picked up an honor for his latest film, Argo. The movie topped last weekend's box office but will have some tough new competition this week when Disney's Wreck-It Ralph and Denzel Washington's new drama, Flight, both hit theaters. Jennifer has been taking some time off of work since the release of her films Butter and The Odd Life of Timothy Green earlier this year, but she's reportedly close to starring with Matthew McConaughey in The Dallas Buyer's Club, his upcoming drama.


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Cut the Clutter: A Simple Organization Plan for a Clean and Tidy Home
There's a bedrock belief among the clutter-afflicted that if they could only get rid of all the clutter, just once, the clutter problem could be solved.
It's not quite so simple. True, it's easier to maintain a decluttered environment than it is to achieve it, but there's more to the problem than the mere absence or presence of clutter.
Clutter doesn't arise out of nothing. If everyone in the family dumps book bags, briefcases, handbags and outer clothing on the living room sofa, clearing the sofa today isn't going to prevent tomorrow's deluge. Twenty-four hours later, the clutter has returned. Decluttering alone will not cure the real problem: the lack of family launch pads, and the failure of family members to use them.
Once clutter has been banished, the real work of change begins. To conquer clutter once and for all, focus on these clutter prevention ideas:
Home, Home On The Range
A primary cause of clutter? It's the homeless...mail, toys, or newspapers. Without a home, common household items wander, lose their way, meet up with bad companions and make the transition to clutter.
Establish good homes for your stuff. Newspapers may be folded and stacked on a coffee table before being read, then given shelter in a box while they await recycling. Devote prime domestic real estate to use as a launch pad for each family member: a location for purses, school papers, back packs and briefcases. Give paperwork proper files so it never has to huddle in lonely stacks on kitchen counters.
With a home to go to, good stuff will never become bad clutter.
Establish Clutter Preserves
There's no such thing as clutter-free living. Even the tidiest among us still tosses clothing on floors from time to time.
Accept reality by establishing dedicated clutter preserves. Like wildlife preserves, these are limited areas where clutter may live freely, so long as it stays within boundaries. In a bedroom, one chair becomes the clutter preserve. Clothing may be thrown with abandon, so long as it's thrown on the chair.
A kitchen junk drawer can house vitamin bottles, rubber bands, clipped recipes, expired coupons and shopping receipts unwelcome outside their clutter preserve.
Children may use a flat-bottomed plastic laundry basket to corral stray playthings in bedroom or family room. A large magazine bucket in the living room is fair game for catalogs and magazines, so long as they can fit inside the bucket.
Build Good Habits To Bust Clutter
Focus on stuff-related household activities to get a handle on the clutter process. Build good habits to choke off the tendency to create clutter.
For example, establish a "returning home" habit or routine. As you shut the back door, hang the car keys on a hook just above the light switch. Remove jackets and coats two steps inside the house, and hang them on the coat rack. Place purse or briefcase in the launch pad area next to the coats.
Bringing in the mail? No more slumping down any old where to review the day's catch. Instead, form a new habit: sort mail over the trash can, dumping the junk, then file it quickly in a plastic pocket filing unit on the adjoining wall.
Habits, once adopted, kick in as a mindless protective device. To stay clutter-free, work hard on new clutter-busting habits as you declutter.
One In, One Out
For more exotic clutter contenders, adopt a one-in, one-out rule.
From here on out, when you buy a new pot, shirt or magazine, an old pot, shirt or magazine must be discarded, recycled or donated.
One-in, one-out keeps the level of stuff below the clutter point by limiting total numbers.
Want to bump up downsizing? Adopt a variation of the rule: One In, Two Out. You'll reduce surplus stuff, painlessly.
Observing the One In, One Out rule can also save money. Charmed as you may be with that colorful Italian pasta bowl, buying takes on new importance when one of your current favorites will have be discarded as a result. Old friends are best!
Outsource It
Finally, focus on out-of-house resources to whittle down the sheer number of things that enter home. For example, there's no need to buy, keep, sort and store back issues of magazines once you realize that the public library provides this very service for free!
Rent, don't buy, paint sprayers and specialty tools for home repair projects. Swap garden tools or hobby equipment with a neighbor. Borrow books, CDs, and videos from the library or video rental store.
The less you permit stuff to get a foot in the door, the less clutter will grow in your organized home!


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The recent decision by Warner Bros. to drop HD DVD support after March of 2008 and throw its lot in with Blu-ray rather obviously threw the HD DVD camp into disarray. In response to the move, the HD DVD consortium canceled its Sunday night CES presentation, but stated the following in its cancellation notice: "We are currently discussing the potential impact of this announcement with the other HD DVD partner companies and evaluating next steps. We believe the consumer continues to benefit from HD DVD's commitment to quality and affordability—a bar that is critical for the mainstream success of any format."
It's not clear where Toshiba and the other HD DVD backers plan to go from here. Multiple companies have invested a great deal of money in making the HD DVD standard a success—the cost of 'persuading' Paramount to go HD DVD-only is rumored at $150 million or more. Toshiba, in particular, has quite a bit to lose if HD DVD fails, given that it continues to manufacture and sell HD DVD players, and it includes HD DVD drives on some of its high-end laptops.
HD DVD's long-term future isn't looking particularly bright right now, but that doesn't necessarily mean a quick end to the current format war. If the HD DVD group collectively decides against capitulating to Blu-ray in favor of fighting the good fight, the battle between the two standards could still drag on for several more years. This type of maneuvering would almost certainly slow overall consumer uptake of HD players, but it would also give Toshiba time to build its own Blu-ray or combo players. Such a delay could also be useful to Microsoft, as it would give the company time to plan a Blu-ray or combo drive for the Xbox 360.


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Did you wonder what we were making last week? Well, here they are – valentine necklaces!
I literally got requests from parents at Eleanor's preschool to make beanbags again like last year, but chose to politely ignore them. They were a little more work than I was up for this year as I'm on jury duty and had no idea how much time I'd actually have.
Inspired by these gift tags over at burlap + blue, we made necklaces out of crayola model magic clay. They clay is fun and easy to work with and created light as air pendants. The only down side is that they can pretty easily be broken in half if one should try.
Best idea for preschoolers? Probably not. Certainly not as useful as the beanbags. However, they're delicate and sweet and Eleanor is very happy with them. Plus it gave me an excuse to buy a lovely little sampler pack from The Twinery.
I'm also happy to announce that we finally used up all this pink card stock. This is literally the 3rd year that it has been used for making valentines.
Not only did she happily carry her bag of valentines to school this morning, but we got her all gussied up with her felt button covers, one of these necklaces AND my 1st ever attempt at ribbon braids in her hair. Not just any ribbon braids either, ribbon braids in a heart shape. I really need to stop looking at Girly Do's By Jenn as I think I might be getting carried away. Little girl hair styling on a willing participant is a bit addictive.


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2005 Fleetwood Jamboree GT 30U 30' Class C Motorhome
2005 Fleetwood Jamboree GT 30U 30' Class C Motorhome. Ford V10 Gasoline Engine. 2 Slide Outs. Awning. Sleeps 4. AC Unit.
Step into this 30 foot Fleetwood Jamboree GT 30U featuring 2 slide outs for more interior space, an Awning, and A/C Unit. It's a virtual "home-away from-home" on wheels, FULLY loaded and equipped for short trips, lengthy vacations and/or full timing!
The kitchen features a Refrigerator/Freezer, stove, microwave convection oven and a double sink for easy cleanup. The dinette provide comfortable seating to enjoy every meal.
This unit includes so much MORE! See photos and additional specs below, and feel free to ask if you have any questions.
Additional Features:
2 TV's
Surround Sound
Cable Ready
Backup Camera
Recently Replaced Queen Mattress
Tires will need to be replaced.
Know What You Are Buying! Protect Yourself With A Pre-Purchase Inspection. Please keep in mind that the goal of an RV inspection is not just to inspect the equipment, but also to educate the potential buyer about its condition. This takes place through a hands on inspection accomplished by one of our NRVIA Certified RV Inspectors. Inspectors trained and certified by the National RV Inspectors Association RV Inspectors are located all across the USA and can travel to the location of the RV.
Recreational Vehicle Financing Request Get a quote on standard finance, lease & balloon programs Any – Make – Model – Miles 2000 & Newer Terms up to 180 months Rates as low as 6.25% fixed 24 hour turnaround Any State We handle all DMV work Certified Check for Title or Wiring Instructions First time buyer welcome i.e. Home Owner Self Employed OK 680 or better score required Funding within 48 hours .
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Before globalization and the information superhighway there was the Silk Road.
Named for the luminous fabric traded across the known world, the ancient trade route is the star of the exhibition "Traveling the Silk Road: Ancient Pathway to the Modern World" on display at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County through April 13.
The exhibition explores how innovations, culture and ideas were transformed as they moved 4,600 miles across blazing desert sands and snowy mountain passes of eastern China to the Middle East.
"We want to bring these places to life for people who haven't been there and can't imagine it, as well as celebrate this region for those Angelenos and visitors who really have some affiliation with this area," says Karen Wise, the museum's vice president of education and exhibits. Wise put together a number of special programs to complement the exhibition, including workshops on silk and beads, shadow puppetry and tea.
Visitors who enter the exhibition receive a stamp-as-you-go "passport" that invites them to imagine "what an epic adventure even one section of this road would have been for people that were doing it."
The traveling exhibition, organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York, follows the Silk Road through four cities from east to west.
The first is China's Tang Dynasty capital of Xi'an, where silk cultivation and manufacturing is told through wriggling silkworms, baskets of cocoons and a 2009 reproduction of a drawloom, as well as copies of intricate silk patterns from the era.
Silk has been cultivated in China for at least 3,500 years. Silkworms are grown on large farms for their cocoons, which are unraveled and woven into fabric. It takes about 1,000 cocoons to produce a single silk robe.
"Silk has been used in garments forever, but it's also been used for other things," says Mark Norell, American Museum of Natural History lead curator, ticking off a list that includes arrow-proof medieval battle armor and nonallergenic stitches. "It's so incredibly strong and so interesting, yet so labor intensive to produce that there's been hundreds of million dollars spent on the manufacture of silk. They've actually taken the silk genes out of spiders and put those into goats, and they're able to get silk protein from goat milk."
Some 900 miles across the desert is the oasis town Turfan, which is not only one of the hottest places on Earth but one of the most unusual. The western Chinese town is covered with grape arbors and boasts wineries irrigated by underground tunnels called karezes that transport glacial runoff from the mountain 90 miles away.
"You can be standing on the streets of Turfan in a marketplace and there will be conduits next to the road, and the water will have that icy, milky blue look like water has when it comes off of glaciers like in British Columbia or Switzerland," says Norell, who has helped lead American Museum of Natural History/Mongolian Academy of Sciences expeditions to the Gobi Desert of Mongolia for the last two decades and speaks from personal experience. "If you put your hand in, it's freezing cold."
The section on Turfan features a re-creation of a karez, pergolas and night market as it may have looked and sounded 1,300 years ago. It's filled with goods from near and far, including peacock feathers, linen and spices.
"The center of Turfan looks pretty much the way it did in antiquity," Norell says. "There's still donkey carts, there's still a big night market, there are still people who use the karez to grow grapes."
A major center for long-distance caravan merchants was Samarkand, in present-day Uzbekistan, where the invention of paper helped spread the flow of ideas and literacy through books.
It's followed by Baghdad, which was a hub for intellectual and scientific studies of geometry, engineering and astronomy.
Visitors will see a functioning water clock, a reproduction of an original. It works by filling the vessel with water, which in turn moves through a set of wheels that move a scribe in the figure's hand. There is also a navigation tool where visitors can fix on a star in the night sky as it looked more than 1,000 years ago, on Nov. 14, 1000.
The exhibition ends by touching on what the cities are about today.
"It shows how cosmopolitan our planet has become because of interchange very much like the Silk Road," Norell says. "Much of it is driven by the same sorts of things, which are material wealth, religious philosophy and wanting to travel. The Silk Road is the really earliest example we have of that in any organized fashion in human history."


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As the third largest city in Colorado, Aurora has plenty to offer for those looking for apartments to rent in the Denver area.
An active lifestyle is of chief importance to many of the people renting apartments in Aurora, and the city offers a number of different ways for them to tackle that concern. The city's seven public golf courses - Aurora Hills, Murphy Creek, Centre Hills, Meadow Hills, Saddle Rock, Fitzsimons and Springhill - offer apartment renters endless opportunities for hitting the links. Additionally, they can tee off at any one of the city's many private courses, including the John F. Kennedy Golf Course and Valley Country Club.
If apartment residents are looking for a more intimate connection with nature, they can find it at the Mission Nature Center in Aurora. The venue's trails and varied ecological habitats, including wetlands and gardens, provide apartment renters in Aurora with an incredible look at nature up close and personal. The DeLaney Community Farm is one popular location which provides home and apartment renters in Aurora with fresh supplies of food and nutritional education.
Those renting apartments in this city can also get a taste of local culture at the Aurora History Museum or the Aurora Fox Arts Center. The latter venue has hosted performances and theatrical shows in Aurora for decades, thrilling generations of apartment renters.
Looking for apartments in Aurora? Look no further than ApartmentGuide.com to find Aurora apartments for rent and learn more about this community.


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Jamaica Population: 2,970,3401 VISITOR FROM HERE!
« Previous Country | Next Country » Back to Flag Counter Overview
|The island - discovered by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1494 - was settled by the Spanish early in the 16th century. The native Taino, who had inhabited Jamaica for centuries, were gradually exterminated and replaced by African slaves. England seized the island in 1655 and established a plantation economy based on sugar, cocoa, and coffee. The abolition of slavery in 1834 freed a quarter million slaves, many of whom became small farmers. Jamaica gradually increased its independence from Britain. In 1958 it joined other British Caribbean colonies in forming the Federation of the West Indies. Jamaica gained full independence when it withdrew from the Federation in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence as rival gangs affiliated with the major political parties evolved into powerful organized crime networks involved in international drug smuggling and money laundering. Violent crime, drug trafficking, and poverty pose significant challenges to the government today. Nonetheless, many rural and resort areas remain relatively safe and contribute substantially to the economy.
Strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal
|Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba
|Geographic coordinates:
| total: 10,991 sq km
land: 10,831 sq km
water: 160 sq km
Size comparison: slightly smaller than Connecticut
|Land Boundaries:
|0 km
|1,022 km
|Maritime claims:
| measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin
|tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior
|mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain
|Elevation extremes:
|Natural resources:
|bauxite, gypsum, limestone
|Land use:
| agricultural land: 41.4% arable land 11.1%; permanent crops 9.2%; permanent pasture 21.1% forest: 31.1%
other: 27.5% (2011 est.)
|Irrigated land:
|250 sq km (2012)
|Natural hazards:
|hurricanes (especially July to November)
|Current Environment Issues:
|heavy rates of deforestation; coastal waters polluted by industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to coral reefs; air pollution in Kingston from vehicle emissions
|International Environment Agreements:
| party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
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| noun: Jamaican(s)
adjective: Jamaican
|Ethnic groups:
|black 92.1%, mixed 6.1%, East Indian 0.8%, other 0.4%, unspecified 0.7% (2011 est.)
|English, English patois
|Protestant 64.8% (includes Seventh Day Adventist 12.0%, Pentecostal 11.0%, Other Church of God 9.2%, New Testament Church of God 7.2%, Baptist 6.7%, Church of God in Jamaica 4.8%, Church of God of Prophecy 4.5%, Anglican 2.8%, United Church 2.1%, Methodist 1.6%, Revived 1.4%, Brethren 0.9%, and Moravian 0.7%), Roman Catholic 2.2%, Jehovah's Witness 1.9%, Rastafarian 1.1%, other 6.5%, none 21.3%, unspecified 2.3% (2011 est.)
|2,970,340 (July 2016 est.)
|Age structure:
| 0-14 years: 27.56% (male 416,421/female 402,283)
15-24 years: 21.13% (male 315,190/female 312,362)
25-54 years: 37.59% (male 551,384/female 565,279)
55-64 years: 5.78% (male 82,754/female 88,786)
65 years and over: 7.94% (male 105,593/female 130,288) (2016 est.)
|Dependency ratios:
| total dependency ratio: 48.6%
youth dependency ratio: 35%
elderly dependency ratio: 13.6%
potential support ratio: 7.4% (2015 est.)
|Median age:
| total: 25.6 years
male: 25.1 years
female: 26.1 years (2016 est.)
|Population growth rate:
|0.68% (2016 est.)
|Birth rate:
|18 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)
|Death rate:
|6.7 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)
|Net migration rate:
|-4.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)
| urban population: 54.8% of total population (2015)
rate of urbanization: 0.9% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
|Major urban areas - population:
|KINGSTON (capital) 588,000 (2015)
|Sex ratio:
| at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2016 est.)
|Mother's mean age at first birth:
|21.2 note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2008 est.)
|Maternal mortality rate:
|89 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
|Infant mortality rate:
| total: 13.1 deaths/1,000 live births male: 13.7 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 12.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)
|Life expectancy at birth:
| total population: 73.6 years male: 72 years
female: 75.3 years (2016 est.)
|Total fertility rate:
|1.99 children born/woman (2016 est.)
|Contraceptive prevalence rate:
|72.5% (2008/09)
|Health expenditures:
|5.4% of GDP (2014)
|Physicians density:
|0.41 physicians/1,000 population (2008)
|Hospital bed density:
|1.7 beds/1,000 population (2012)
|Drinking water source:
| improved:
urban: 97.5% of population
rural: 89.4% of population
total: 93.8% of population
urban: 2.5% of population
rural: 10.6% of population
total: 6.2% of population (2015 est.)
|Sanitation facility access:
| improved:
urban: 79.9% of population
rural: 84.1% of population
total: 81.8% of population
urban: 20.1% of population
rural: 15.9% of population
total: 18.2% of population (2015 est.)
|HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
|1.63% (2015 est.)
|HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
|29,000 (2015 est.)
|HIV/AIDS - deaths:
|1,200 (2015 est.)
|Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
|26.8% (2014)
|Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
|2.5% (2012)
|Education expenditures:
|5.4% of GDP (2015)
| definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 88.7%
male: 84%
female: 93.1% (2015 est.)
|Unemployment, youth ages 15-24:
| total: 37.8% male: 30%
female: 48.1% (2013 est.)
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|Country name:
| conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Jamaica
etymology: from the native Taino word "haymaca" meaning "land of wood and water" or possibly "land of springs"
|Government type:
|parliamentary democracy (Parliament) under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm
| name: Kingston
geographic coordinates: 18 00 N, 76 48 W
time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
|Administrative divisions:
| 14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, Westmoreland
note: for local government purposes, Kingston and Saint Andrew were amalgamated in 1923 into the present single corporate body known as the Kingston and Saint Andrew Corporation
|6 August 1962 (from the UK)
|National holiday:
|Emancipation Day, 1 August (1834); Independence Day, 6 August (1962)
|several previous (preindependence); latest drafted 1961-62, submitted to British Parliament 24 July 1962, entered into force 6 August 1962 (at independence); amended many times, last in 2015 (2016)
|Legal system:
|common law system based on the English model
|18 years of age; universal
|Executive branch:
| chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Dr. Patrick L. ALLEN (since 26 February 2009)
head of government: Prime Minister Andrew HOLNESS (since 3 March 2016)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition in the House of Representatives is appointed prime minister by the governor general
|Legislative branch:
| description: bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (21 seats; members appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister and the minority party leader, 13 seats allocated to the ruling party, and 8 seats allocated to the minority party; members serve 5-year terms) and the House of Representatives (63 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms)
elections: last held on 29 December 2011 (next to be held no later than December 2016)
election results: percent of vote by party - PNP 53.3%, JLP 46.6%; seats by party - PNP 41, JLP 22
|Judicial branch:
| highest resident court(s): Court of Appeal (consists of president of the court and a minimum of 4 judges; Supreme Court (40 judges organized in specialized divisions); note - appeals beyond Jamaica's highest courts are referred to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London) rather than to the Caribbean Court of Justice (the appellate court implemented for member states of the Caribbean Community) judge selection and term of office: chief justice of the Supreme Court and president of the Court of Appeal appointed by the governor-general on the advice of the prime minister; other judges of both courts appointed by the governor-general on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission; judges of both courts serve till age 70
subordinate courts: resident magistrate courts, district courts, and petty sessions courts
|Political parties and leaders:
|Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Andrew HOLNESS] People's National Party or PNP [Portia SIMPSON-MILLER] National Democratic Movement or NDM [Michael WILLIAMS]
|Political pressure groups and leaders:
|New Beginnings Movement or NBM Rastafarians
|International organization participation:
|ACP, AOSIS, C, Caricom, CDB, CELAC, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, Petrocaribe, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
|National symbol(s):
|green-and-black streamertail (bird), Guaiacum officinale (Guaiacwood); national colors: green, yellow, black
|National anthem:
| name: "Jamaica, Land We Love"
lyrics/music: Hugh Braham SHERLOCK/Robert Charles LIGHTBOURNE
note: adopted 1962
|Diplomatic representation in the US:
| chief of mission: Ambassador Ralph Samuel THOMAS (since 9 September 2015)
chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660
consulate(s) general: Miami, New York consulate(s): Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Concord (MA), Houston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia (PA), Richmond (VA), San Francisco, Seattle
|Diplomatic representation from the US:
| chief of mission: Ambassador Luis G. MORENO (since 13 January 2015)
embassy: 142 Old Hope Road, Kingston 6
mailing address: P.O. Box 541, Kingston 5
telephone: [1] (876) 702-6000
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The Jamaican economy is heavily dependent on services, which accounts for more than 70% of GDP. The country continues to derive most of its foreign exchange from tourism, remittances, and bauxite/alumina. Remittances and tourism each account for 30% of GDP, while bauxite/alumina exports make up roughly 5% of GDP. The bauxite/alumina sector was most affected by the global downturn while the tourism industry and remittance flow remained resilient. Jamaica's economy faces many challenges to growth: high crime and corruption, large-scale unemployment and underemployment, and a debt-to-GDP ratio of about 130%. The attendant debt servicing cost consumes a large portion of the government's budget, limiting its ability to fund the critical infrastructure and social programs required to drive growth. Jamaica's economic growth rate in the recent past has been stagnant, averaging less than 1% per year for over 20 years. Jamaica's onerous public debt burden is largely the result of government bailouts to ailing sectors of the economy, most notably the financial sector. In early 2010, the Jamaican Government initiated the Jamaica Debt Exchange to retire high-priced domestic bonds and reduce annual debt servicing. Despite these efforts, debt continued to be a serious concern, forcing the government to negotiate and sign a new IMF agreement in May 2013 to gain access to approximately $1 billion in additional funds. As a precursor, the government instigated a second National Debt Exchange in 2012. The IMF deal requires the government to reform its tax system, eliminate discretionary tax exemptions and waivers, and achieve an annual surplus of 7.5%, excluding debt payments, to reduce its debt below 100% of GDP by 2020. The SIMPSON-MILLER administration now faces the difficult prospect of having to achieve fiscal discipline to maintain debt payments while simultaneously attacking a serious crime problem that is hampering economic growth. High unemployment exacerbates the crime problem, including gang violence, which is fueled by the drug trade.
|GDP (purchasing power parity):
| GDP (purchasing power parity): $25.39 billion (2016 est.) $25.01 billion (2015 est.) $24.78 billion (2014 est.)
note: data are in 2016 dollars
|GDP (official exchange rate):
|GDP (official exchange rate): $13.78 billion (2015 est.)
|GDP - real growth rate:
|1.5% (2016 est.) 0.9% (2015 est.) 0.5% (2014 est.)
|GDP - per capita (PPP):
| GDP - per capita (PPP): $9,000 (2016 est.) $8,900 (2015 est.) $8,900 (2014 est.)
note: data are in 2016 dollars
|Gross national saving:
|12.9% of GDP (2016 est.) 12% of GDP (2015 est.) 14.1% of GDP (2014 est.)
|GDP - composition, by end use:
| household consumption: 84.5%
government consumption: 14.8%
investment in fixed capital: 22.4%
investment in inventories: 0.5%
exports of goods and services: 33.9%
imports of goods and services: -56.1% (2016 est.)
|GDP - composition, by sector of origin:
| household consumption: 84.5%
government consumption: 14.8%
investment in fixed capital: 22.4%
investment in inventories: 0.5%
exports of goods and services: 33.9%
imports of goods and services: -56.1% (2016 est.)
|Agriculture - products:
|sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, ackees, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk; shellfish
|tourism, bauxite/alumina, agricultural-processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications
|Industrial production growth rate:
|1.7% (2016 est.)
|Labor force:
|1.312 million (2016 est.)
|Labor force - by occupation:
| agriculture: 17%
industry: 19%
services: 64% (2006)
|Unemployment rate:
|13.8% (2016 est.) 14% (2015 est.)
|Population below poverty line:
|16.5% (2009 est.)
|Household income or consumption by percentage share:
| lowest 10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 35.8% (2004)
|Distribution of family income - Gini index:
|45.5 (2004) 37.9 (2000)
| revenues: $3.885 billion
expenditures: $4.033 billion (2016 est.)
|Taxes and other revenues:
|28.2% of GDP (2016 est.)
|Public debt:
|130.1% of GDP (2016 est.) 126.8% of GDP (2015 est.)
|Fiscal year:
|1 April - 31 March
|Inflation rate (consumer prices):
|Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.5% (2016 est.) 3.7% (2015 est.)
|Current account balance:
|-$456 million (2016 est.) -$484 million (2015 est.)
|$1.278 billion (2016 est.) $1.261 billion (2015 est.)
|Exports - commodities:
|alumina, bauxite, sugar, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals, apparel, mineral fuels
|Exports - partners:
|US 24.4%, Canada 16.5%, Russia 9.3%, Netherlands 8.9%, Iceland 7.2%, UK 6.5% (2015)
|$3.772 billion (2016 est.) $4.414 billion (2015 est.)
|Imports - commodities:
|food and other consumer goods, industrial supplies, fuel, parts and accessories of capital goods, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials
|Imports - partners:
|US 32.6%, Venezuela 12.4%, China 12%, Trinidad and Tobago 11.1% (2015)
|Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
|$2.9 billion (31 December 2016 est.) $2.914 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
|Debt - external:
|$16.76 billion (31 December 2016 est.) $16.49 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
|Market value of publicly traded shares:
|$6.39 billion (31 December 2012 est.) $7.223 billion (31 December 2011 est.) $6.626 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
|Exchange rates:
|Jamaican dollars (JMD) per US dollar - 125.2 (2016 est.) 116.898 (2015 est.) 116.898 (2014 est.) 110.935 (2013 est.) 88.75 (2012 est.)
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|Electricity - production:
|3.9 billion kWh (2014 est.)
|Electricity - consumption:
|2.8 billion kWh (2014 est.)
|Electricity - exports:
|0 kWh (2013 est.)
|Electricity - imports:
|0 kWh (2013 est.)
|Electricity - installed generating capacity:
|1 million kW (2014 est.)
|Electricity - from fossil fuels:
|91.7% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
|Electricity - from nuclear fuels:
|0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
|Electricity - from hydroelectric plants:
|2.5% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
|Electricity - from other renewable sources:
|5.9% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
|Crude oil - production:
|0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
|Crude oil - exports:
|0 bbl/day (2013 est.)
|Crude oil - imports:
|23,360 bbl/day (2013 est.)
|Crude oil - proved reserves:
|0 bbl (1 January 2016 es)
|Refined petroleum products - production:
|23,630 bbl/day (2013 est.)
|Refined petroleum products - consumption:
|53,000 bbl/day (2014 est.)
|Refined petroleum products - exports:
|4,526 bbl/day (2013 est.)
|Refined petroleum products - imports:
|33,970 bbl/day (2013 est.)
|Natural gas - production:
|0 cu m (2013 est.)
|Natural gas - consumption:
|0 cu m (2013 est.)
|Natural gas - exports:
|0 cu m (2013 est.)
|Natural gas - imports:
|0 cu m (2013 est.)
|Natural gas - proved reserves:
|0 cu m (1 January 2014 es)
|Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy:
|13 million Mt (2013 est.)
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|Cellular Phones in use:
|total: 3.137 million subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 106 (July 2015 est.)
|Telephone system:
| general assessment: fully automatic domestic telephone network
domestic: the 1999 agreement to open the market for telecommunications services resulted in rapid growth in mobile-cellular telephone usage while the number of fixed lines in use has declined; combined fixed-line and mobile cellular teledensity exceeds 110 per 100
international: country code - 1-876; the Fibralink submarine cable network provides enhanced delivery of business and broadband traffic and is linked to the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) submarine cable in the Dominican Republic; the link to ARCOS-1 pr (2015)
|Broadcast media:
|3 free-to-air TV stations, subscription cable services, and roughly 30 radio stations (2013)
|Internet country code:
|Internet users:
|total: 1.274 million percent of population: 43.2% (July 2015 est.)
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|28 (2013)
|Airports (paved runways):
| total 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 5 (2013)
|Airports (unpaved runways):
| total 17
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 16 (2013)
| total 22,121 km
(includes 44 km of expressways) paved: 16,148 km
unpaved: 5,973 km (2011)
|Merchant marine:
| total 14
by type: bulk carrier 4, cargo 5, container 4, roll on/roll off 1
foreign-owned: 14 (Denmark 1, Germany 10, Greece 3) (2010)
|Ports and terminals:
|major seaport(s): Discovery Bay (Port Rhoades), Kingston, Montego Bay, Port Antonio, Port Esquivel, Port Kaiser, Rocky Point container port(s) (TEUs): Kingston (1,724,928)
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|Military branches:
|Jamaica Defense Force: Ground Forces, Coast Guard, Air Wing (2010)
|Military service age and obligation:
|17 1/2 is the legal minimum age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2012)
|Military expenditures:
|0.86% of GDP (2012) 0.92% of GDP (2011) 0.86% of GDP (2010)
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|Transnational Issues
|Disputes - International:
|Illicit drugs:
|transshipment point for cocaine from South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation and consumption of cannabis; government has an active manual cannabis eradication program; corruption is a major concern; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Jamaica for illicit financial transactions
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Source: CIA - The World Factbook


text:
Ian Heys
Format: PAL
Duration: 65 minutes
First Pasture Price: £9.95
Status: In Stock
The Swanage branch meandered gently from the main line at Worgret Junction to the terminus at the pleasant seaside resort some 10 miles distant, with views along the way of meadows, riverside and heath. We start with a brief history of the branch and the varied motive power that used the line before we turn to the familiar camera of Stan Peerless for a trip down the branch in 1965. At both Worgret Junction and Furzebrook we catch Standard Tanks on China Clay trains before we reach the station at Corfe Castle. Numerous scenes show this most photogenic of locations before the cine film concludes with scenes taken at Swanage.
The second part of the programme examines what remains of the branch today and we start with the preserved railway. We have both the M7 30053 and Bulleid Pacific 34072, 257 Squadron working the service trains. We carry on travelling north to take a look at the Network Rail section from Furzebrook through to Wareham and the BP gas trains that operated daily to Avonmouth Docks. As well as looking at Wareham station we take a look inside the signal box which has changed little.
A wealth of archive photographs provide some fascinating then and now views coupled with the memories of former railway staff. The programme includes full commentary.


text:
"Guide each child on an individual path." Proverbs 22.6 At Luria, each child learns to think, observe, and reflect in their own way. Instead of teaching the correct answers, we teach our children to ask the right questions, leading them to discover the answers for themselves. Ours is a nurturing, child-centered environment dedicated to academic excellence and a sophisticated knowledge of Jewish text and Jewish tradition. Above all, Luria fosters Jewish pride – Ahavat Yisrael – and a deep sense of compassion and commitment for all mankind – Ahavat Olam.
Ours is a remarkably diverse community that models for the world what it means to learn with and from people of all backgrounds. We are a unique group of families and educators that believe deeply in the power of meaningful relationships and respectful dialogue.
Luria's curriculum encourages critical thinking, deductive and inductive reasoning, peer cooperation, and personal responsibility. Students' progress is carefully tracked based on New York State Standards as well as Montessori expectations.
Rooted in Jewish law and tradition, our approach is dynamic and vibrant, in constant dialogue with modern values and ideas. We give our students skills, knowledge, and experiences to live a full Jewish life.
At Luria, every subject is woven into another to form a meaningful web that supports a child's innate drive to find meaning in life. This is manifest through a Montessori-based holistic curriculum, in which students become attuned to the interconnectedness of all things.
Luria 2015
Luria 2018
"I love Luria! It transformed my children socially and emotionally. I witness changes each year and I am amazed at what the school has helped my children overcome."
"I can't imagine our children at any other school. Their teachers are incredible and I can spend each day trusting that my kids are safe, happy and inspired."
"Terrific experience for our granddaughter. We look forward to her second year."
"The children could not stop talking about how much fun they had in school, and how they were disappointed that they wouldn't be returning until Monday."


text: One of every five children has been diagnosed with some kind of developmental disability, reports youth minister Benjamin Conner. In Amplifying Our Witness, Conner expounds on the challenges and joys of gospel fellowship with young men and women uniquely burdened and, perhaps, uniquely gifted. Drawing upon scholarly resources and his own experiences ministering to developmentally disabled adolescents in Williamsburg, Virginia, Conner calls upon the church to "create spaces" where mutually redemptive relationships can flourish.1