I refer to the article S'pore IRs ruin Johor families, says lawmaker on Asiaone.com (link: http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Malaysia/Story/A1Story20101126-249250.html). The article asserts that the integrated resorts in Singapore lure housewives from Johor into Singapore through attractive travel packages to the casinos, and this in turn forces them into a life of vice and ruins families. I have to disagree with the article with the point it's trying to bring across, that is, that casinos, specifically the Singapore IR, ruin families. I am going to talk about why I believe that the IR is not at fault for the ruin of the Johor families in the following points.

It is unfair to blatantly blame the IR for the ruin of families caused by the gambling addiction of a family member. Before going to a casino, one should have already been adequately versed in the consequences of irresponsible gambling. Think about it, you go to a casino and you gamble away all your savings, and then you blame the casino. Think about how childish and ridiculous that sounds. The only finger you should be pointing at is yourself, no one else is to blame.

Some say that it is unfair

I agree that Singapore IRs are ruining the families in the johor. In fact, i believe that all casinos are responsible for such family behaviors.

Many of these house domestic may think of casino as a way of earning big money. They are all so into it that some of them are oblivious that the casino has already taken over their life and have caused them into unnecessarily trouble such as borrowing money with the loan shark.

In fact, singapore should actually limit the number of patronage of casinos so as to reduce internal conflicts with the families. Casinos should also be more considerate and have a limitation on how much a person can gamble in the casino. Singapore should also restrict the allowance of loan sharks in Singapore and also the amount of time each person can go in for.

Casinos should really be responsible in such upturn in the society. Domestic would be less chaotic if it isnt for the Casinos.

Jeranne low

Upon reading the earthquake disaster in haiti, I sympathize with the people and reading it made me treasure my life and everything i have. It also shows me how precious and vulnerable life can be. Thousands of lifes can be destroyed in a split second shows how dangerous natural disasters can be.

In my opinion, the people should be taught of what to do if they were to be caught in such pedicament. The people will be more prepared and less death will occur. An good example would be japan where they are taught how to evacuate during any natural diasaster and how to protect themselves.

From here, we also know that education plays a huge role over here as well and it further emphasize the importance of it.

I really sympathise with the council over there as well, as they'll need a lot of funds to rebuild the destroyed infrastructures, clean up the water and it may be poisoned by the sewage from broken pipes. Money are also spent to burry the dead

Jeranne low jiaying

Haiti and earthquake.

Many were killed during the earthquake. Natural disasters are merciless. As we know, earthquake is unpredictable, nobody knows when it will striked and also people do not foresee that. It comes without any warning and devoured thousands of lifes.

A magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck the Dominican Republic and shook Haiti on 4 August 1946, producing a tsunami that killed 1,790 people and injured many others. This case is somehow similar to the earthquake that happened reccently - History repeats.

Houses and infrastructures are not only destroyed, their lifes are destroyed and disrupted too. For those who have survived should count themself lucky. However, it still left an impact on them. They have to suffer losing their loved ones and try to rebuild their homes and move on with life.

It is a heartwrenching news. (May god bless them. Amen)

-TRICIA

HAITI AND ITS EARTHQUAKE

Natural disasters, too unpredictable, too fast to even see it coming. That's how it was in Haiti, as the January 12 earthquake failed to release all tensions, and once again bringing yet another disaster to Haiti just 9 months later, 25th October (date of the article).


Neither study gave any indication of when this feared earthquake could occur.
No indicaations of when the next fearful event will happen, it could be a good thing. Afterall, why would one want to know when he'll die in a natural disaster instead of living his life till the day has come? However, I'm not a victim there, neither have I been through such terrible experiences, therefore I could only sympathise with their situation.

Its stated in the article that "The culprit (Earthquake) was initially thought to be a well-known but poorly understood fault called the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden Zone (EPGZ), where 7.0 quakes occurred in 1751 and 1770.". I was quite amazed by this finding, or rather, puzzled. Never have I imagined that the the damage done in 1751 and 1770 could last for so many centuries; 3 centuries. A teenager like me have more to uncover.

In my entire 17 years of life, I've heard about quakes, floods, droughts. Never have I experienced ANY of them. Yet when I see this "for the January quake was very big and occurred close to the surface.", I tried to imagine the impact then, yet being inexperienced, my imagination just shut off.

I actually salute all these seismologists for being so detailed in their findings, and how much they actually went through. Through sympathising, I can only pray for the people's safety.

-MELISSA

Haiti fault capable of another big quake

Haiti fault capable of another big quake


Mon, Oct 25, 2010
AFP



PARIS - The January 12 earthquake in Haiti failed to release all the tension in a notorious seismic fault, leaving its capital exposed to the risk of another seismic disaster, US scientists reported Sunday. The magnitude 7.0 event, which killed a quarter of a million Haitians, occurred to the west of the capital Port-au-Prince.

The culprit was initially thought to be a well-known but poorly understood fault called the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden Zone (EPGZ), where 7.0 quakes occurred in 1751 and 1770.

The complex 270-kilometre (168-mile) -long fault runs along one of the narrow western prongs of the island of Hispaniola, which Haiti shares with the Dominican Republic.


A team of geologists led by Carole Prentice, of the US Geological Survey (USGS) at Menlo Park, California, say assumptions that the EPGZ was to blame may be wrong.

They carried out satellite imaging, aerial photography and boots-on-the-ground investigation to look for surface evidence of earthquakes along the fault.

They found plenty of evidence of ground rupture, uplifted land and diverted streams that must have occurred in the 18th-century shakes - but nothing similar that could be pinned to the 2010 event.

While not unprecedented in seismology, this is highly unusual, for the January quake was very big and occurred close to the surface. Prentice's team did some computer modelling to try to explain what could have happened.

One suggestion is that the EPGZ did indeed slip, but at depth, while another is that the quake occurred on a "blind" sub-parallel structure. Either way, the visual observations and the computer models all indicate that the January quake did not ease the nearly two and a half centuries of accumulated strain at the EPGZ's surface.

"The EPGZ remains a serious seismic hazard for Haiti, particularly for the Port-au-Prince area," warns the study, which is published online by the journal Nature Geoscience.

It raised special concern over a 110-km (65-mile) stretch that runs from Lake Miragoane in the west to Dumay in the east, tracking just south of the Haitan capital.

"These sections of the fault remain capable of generating an earthquake of up to 7.0 magnitude and, in the case of the Momance and Dumay sections, which are closer to Port-au-Prince, potentially causing stronger ground shaking in the urban area than the January 12 event."

On October 10, a separate team of geologists, also publishing in Nature Geoscience, found that the January gave only "limited" release to the EPGZ. Calculating the pentup strain since the 18th century, they said "an earthquake larger than the 2010 is certainly possible" if the fault ruptured adjacent to Port-au-Prince.

Neither study gave any indication of when this feared earthquake could occur.

Seismologists say they are gaining more and knowledge about how earthquakes happen and are better at predicting the magnitude of some kinds of quakes. But pinpointing, even roughly, when these events will happen remains elusive.