Today outside Matt’s office, there was a pipe bomb in a suitcase. Someone discovered it, reported it, and soon, the Secret Service was swarming all over the place.
Matt was trapped inside his building as they locked it down and wouldn’t let anyone out. Why would they do that? Wouldn’t it make more sense for them to evacuate the building? It turned out that it was a fake bomb.
Read the report and see pictures here.
It was an exciting day for him!
I received a text message on my phone today from my previous employer. She was urging me to buy N95 masks and to stock up on 3 days’ worth of food just in case the swine flu hits Singapore.
It may sound like a panicky thing to do but it makes a lot of sense to be prepared. We already have a “terrorist attack” emergency kit ready from ages ago when there was a possible threat of an attack in Singapore. About 2 years ago when President Bush was in Singapore for an important convention, all Singaporeans were urged to prepare for attacks. The town councils had posters up encouraging all citizens to stock up on 2 week rations and we bought a 20 gallon water tank, we had to learn evacuation routes etc.
As a nation, I would say Singapore is prepared for many things. It may seem like an over-reaction but I found out only last week that Singapore is the second most densely populated country in the world.
As Singapore is so populated, it is very easy for people to catch germs from each other. The SARS event years ago is a perfect example of how fast an pandemic illness can spread. I am glad that I have my N95 face masks and have to go out to get more food to stock up just in case we are told to stay a home. My ex-employer told me that she bought the last box of masks and had to open it to go halves with another lady who wanted some too!
I received this disturbing email about another “tainted product” from China. I have copied it and pasted here as I felt it was something to be aware of, especially those who have girls.
These Hair bands were made from used condoms and threads. That was so disgusting, I would not want to use them!!
BEIJING (AFP) - Used condoms are being recycled into hair bands in southern China threatening to spread sexually-transmittable diseases they were originally meant to prevent, state media reported Tuesday
In the latest example of potentially harmful Chinese-made products, rubber hair bands have been found in local markets and beauty salons in Dongguan and Guangzhou cities in southern Guangdong province, China Daily newspaper said.
‘These cheap and colorful rubber bands and hair ties sell well ….. threatening the health of local people,’ it said.
Despite being recycled, the hair bands could still contain bacteria and viruses, it said.
‘People could be infected with AIDS, (genital) warts or other diseases if they hold the rubber bands or strings in their mouths while waving their hair into plaits or buns,’ the paper quoted a local dermatologist who gave only his surname, Dong, as saying. A bag of ten of the recycled bands sells for just 25 sen (three cents), much cheaper than others on the market, accounting for their popularity, the paper said.
A government official was quoted as saying recycling condoms was illegal. China ’s manufacturing industry has been repeatedly tarnished this year by a string of scandals involving shoddy or dangerous goods made for both domestic and foreign markets.