The last time I covered an APEC Summit was 1997 in Vancouver.

Much of the world has changed since then...and my faith in APEC as a world body that is suppose to break down trade barriers have also faded.

Not many trade barriers were broken down, but a lot of discussions went around.

Will member "economies" achieve any break throughs in Singapore or will they only talk some more?

In 1994, APEC Leaders adopted the Bogor Goals that aim for free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific by 2010 for industrialised economies and by 2020 for developing economies -- we are no where near the implementation of this, though 2010 is just around the corner.

And who will really benefit from an APEC FTA?

Come to think of it, does anyone really care about APEC?

Former Indain President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam underwent security screening at New Delhi's airport just like everyone else, before boarding a flight to the US.

He had to take his shoes off, and be subjected to frisking by an employee of Continental Airlines.

Continental said it is as a "normal security procedure," and that "there is no special rule for VIPs ..."

However, India's Civil Aviation Minister said the airline had violated protocol for dignitaries.

If found guilty, Continental staff faces a 2 year jail term and/or a fine upwards of 20,000 USD.

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This reminded me of a recent trip back from Munich.

Knowing how strict the German airports are I opted not to wear a belt, no boots, no metal except for a watch and a ring which I was told I didn't have to remove.

But the metal detector beeped anyway, so I had to stand aside and subject myself to some roughing up by a young security officer with a bouncer-like built.

And it wasn't just a generic frisking, it was a rough frisk, that ended with one hand inside the front of my pants.

"Oh well..." it is all done for my safety and security, and the agent might be a newbie and had to show that he is attentive to detail. Afterall, my producer had to be questioned about all the cables he had in his bag anyway.

Post 9/11 paranoia lives on!

Since facebook came on line I've been neglecting this blog...but here are some video posts that you will also see on our Facebook page.

taken from http://blogs.channelnewsasia.com/timothy-go/

June 21st, 2009 by timothy-go

A new Japanese study reveals men who are a little overweight at age 40 live six to seven years longer when compared to skinny men.

And skinny men’s life expectancy is even 5 years shorter than obese men.

This should give us all reason to eat to our heart’s content — moderately.

Shinichi Kuriyama from Tokyo’s Tohoku University says heightened vulnerability to diseases and the fragility of their blood vessels are the reasons why skinny men have shorter lifespans.

Oh what a weekend!

From 4PM to 6PM last Friday, I had to pick up a loaned Audi Q5, pick up my family from the airport, drop them somewhere on Orchard, change into my national costume and proceed to Shangri-La hotel for the Phillipine National Day Diplomatic reception party.

I thought to myself, if everything goes smoothly I would make it in time, after all the party and presentation will not start without the emcee.

Flight landed on time, family out in a few minutes, traffic along the PIE to Orchard was smooth and Orchard Road itself was not as congested as I expected for a Friday night.

So I got to where I was going on time!

After the formalities and picture snapping, I went back to town to pick up my family, and brought them to Adam Rd Fodd Centre for a feast for the taste buds!

Fried oyster omelette, mee goreng, sambal kang kong, sting ray, tulang and so much more. All washed down with juices and the must have teh tarik.

After that late dinner or supper, we headed off to Mustafa or "mustasa" as mom would say ( mustasa is mustard leaves in Filipino).

My sisters have never been to Mustafa so it was an eye opener to them to see so much stuff and so many shoppers at that time of night.

We continued our food trip the next day tasting everything from duck rice to nasi lemak at Changi Village.

Straits Kitchen and Swissotel Kopitiam for Fish head curry and chili crab. Food I have never tried despite being in Singapore for so long.

It might have been convenient to drive them around but finding a parking spot in the city and making sure your car fit in it is another issue.

I may be skilled enough to drive on both sides of the car, but parallel parking from the right side is just not natural! not for me anyway.

Now I know why the US media calls Michelle Obama a stylish first lady...

She dresses like a white middle class woman who drives an SUV and hangs out at the country club.

Ladies and Gentlemen, That's IT is officially on FACEBOOK and Twitter.

So if you have questions, comments or suggestions, just visit us at "That's IT with Timothy Go" on facebook. Or Twitter us.

Barack Obama: in the Middle East.

His first stop: Riyahd, Saudi Arabia.

The first thing he did when he emerged from Air Force One: Shake King Abdullah's hand.

Wait, am I seeing things? He didn't bow to King Abdullah! I thought that was America's new energy policy, bow to the one who provides the most oil!

Anyway, expectations are high that President Obama will be reaching out to Muslims in the middle east when he delivers his speech in Cairo.

But the last time he tried to reach out to America's critics in Europe, he ended up apologizing for America's "arrogance" which he said was "divisive."

And that didn't go down well with Americans back home.

What will he say now?

Fact: WHO's Chief Margaret Chan edged out Mexico's health minister, Dr. Julio Frenk, 24-10 in 2006 for the top job.

Fact: WHO's Chief Margaret Chan's biggest headache now is Mexico's H1N1 Influenza virus.

Applaud: South Korea for bothering to inform the world that it's two cases of H1N1 have finally recovered.

Applaud: Singapore for realizing the Orange alert raised last week is no longer necessary.

I applaud the WHO's coordinated approach and global response to the new H1N1 outbreak.

But it is just an over-hyped outbreak. I've been very skeptical about the rationale for the hype. The WHO says it is a new flu virus that we don't have an immunity to, and that's why it is keeping a close watch.

That is fine.

BUT The number of cases the WHO is presenting to us seem to keep going up every day. Which makes me wonder, what happened to those who have recovered?

The US CDC says people usually recover in 1 to 2 weeks but so far the only recovered flu patient we know of is Patient Zero in Mexico.

He contracted the virus in Mid March, but is fully recovered.

How many of him could be out there that's unaccounted for -- I wonder.

Is the WHO keeping track of people who already recovered?

Is it making sure that their latest tally also reflect those who are now OK?

Or is it just too busy working with the White House to find other scare tactics and make the rest of the world believe the H1N1 will kill -- if not now then eventually.