Singapore haze; Indonesia forest slash-n-burn

Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly; Rujun Shen from Singapore (Reuters.com, 5-21-14)

Smoke haze obscures building under construction, Singapore March 2014 (Tim Wimborne)

  
Singapore braces for worst smoke "haze" as Indonesia slashes-and-burns forests
Singapore is approaching its yearly "haze" [dense air pollution] season, when smoke from forest clearing in Indonesia chokes the air, with this year likely to be worse than 2013's record pollution thanks to lack of action in Jakarta and an expected El Nino weather pattern.

The prosperous city-state, which prides itself on its clean air, was shrouded in heavy smog from slash-and-burn clearances on the neighbouring Indonesian island of Sumatra last June which sent its air pollution index to a record high.

Is America better than Asia about polluting?

One year on, and an election-distracted government in Indonesia has still not ratified the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) 2002 Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, and fires continue to burn in Sumatra.

That is despite outrage in Singapore as well as environmental groups putting pressure on Jakarta. Fires are used to clear land on plantations and can burn for weeks because of peat deposits below the surface.

There is also a growing likelihood of an El Nino weather pattern this year, meaning Singapore, as well as parts of Indonesia and Malaysia, could be set for months of intense haze with a knock-on effect on health and business, especially tourism. More

• Double trouble for coffee: Drought and disease send prices up
• Supreme Court ruling not enough to prevent debtors' prisons
• Obama: Any misconduct at VA will be punished
• 4 dead, several injured in California bus crash (updated)
• Modi invites Pakistan PM Sharif to inauguration
• Column: How far can Modi take India?
• Modi exploring breakup of Coal India - sources
• Column: Modi mania shows growth premium
• Twitter friendship for Asian nationalists Modi and Abe
• Russia says troops pulling back from Ukraine border
• Modi grapples with first challenge - filling his cabinetEven in Muslim heartlands, Modi racks up gains
  Five challenges for Modi's new government
  Platinum extends gains on South African strikes; gold firmChina-U.S. cyber spying turns spotlight on shadowy U.S. unit

Los Angeles, World's Music Capital (webcast)

Ashley Wells, CC Liu, Seven, Pat Macpherson, Dev, Wisdom Quarterly; KROQ.com

Acoustic X-mas weekend, FREE WEBCAST, Dec. 7-8, 2013 beginning at 5:00 pm PST

(Cage the Elephant) "Come a Little Closer" from Melophobia (I. Rentz/S. Buchanan)

Lost City of Angels rocks! (Occupy LA)

Living in Tinsel Town has its advantages. Among them is the variety of music concentrated into a smoggy basin girded by a mountain sign, golden coastline, and a smoggy desert expanse mostly covered by asphalt.
 
The intermittent heat makes artists half baked. As previously noted, America is like a box of cereal with its seams split, shaking out on both ends, littering coasts east and west with flakes, fruits, and nuts. Los Angeles has more than its share of nuts. And many of them occupy positions of influence in the music industry.

Frenzy of excitement at a big KROQ rock show in Los Angeles (craveonline.com)

 

Miley Cyrus in L.A. twerked for the holidays

The monopolistic corporate media powers that be have assembled numerous mega-concerts for the holiday season: (CBS, Inc.) KROQ's alternative "Acoustic X-mas," KPWR (Power 106)'s hip hop/gangsta rap "Cali Christmas" (to be live streamed Dec. 14, 2013), Ryan Seacrest's pop/rap KISS FM's giant Jingle Ball. Who's playing? Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande, Robin Thicke, Selena Gomez... went on last night in an enormous downtown concert stadium.

24th Annual show (kroq.cbslocal.com)

But tonight and tomorrow, all for charity, KROQ will be live webcasting a more spectacular alt-rock-pop show featuring Lorde, Cage the Elephant, Arctic Monkeys, Vampire Weekend, Grouplove, The Neighbourhood, Queens of the Stone Age, AFI (A Fire Inside), Kings of Leon, New Politics, Fitz and the Tantrums, Portugal. The Man, Bastille, Atlas Genius, Foals, Arcade Fire, and Phoenix (plus a special surprise guest).

(JK) Arctic Monkeys "Do I Wanna Know" on former KROQ DJ Jimmy Kimmel's late night show

Rap for the holidays (Power106.com)