114 Million Cases and Boeing's Three Mishaps

Covid-19 has now infected 114 million people worldwide. 

And North Macedonia is the latest country to join the C100K list.

 

The eighty-three countries that make up the C100K grouping contributed 97.8% and 98.4% of global cases and deaths respectively.

Another Boeing 777 airliner made an emergency landing, this time in Moscow, Russia after pilots received an indicator warning of possible engine failure, Reuters reported on Friday – this being the third such incident involving a Boeing plane in less than a week. 

The incident followed another more dramatic event last weekend on another Boeing 777, where an engine malfunction scattered debris over Broomfield, a Denver area in Colorado, USA. That jet, a Boeing 777-200, was heading to Hawaii when it had to return to Denver International Airport after its right engine failed shortly after takeoff.

Photos by Broomfield PD via EPA 

A similar mishap occurred on a Boeing 747 cargo plane over the Netherlands this past week. 

In the meantime, US regulators have imposed $5.4 million in civil penalties against Boeing for violating terms of a $12 million settlement in 2015, and the aircraft maker has agreed to pay another $1.21 million to settle two current enforcement cases. 

Boeing’s troubles don’t seem to end.

WSD 2021 Promo Videos: Update 4

Our “WSD with CV Plus” channel on YouTube boasts a collection of 72 videos. 

This is for sure, my fifth and last report ever for WSD 2021 promo videos – and it is exactly a month apart from my last report. I can assure you it is the final update because by tomorrow, we should already be starting to upload the actual World Speech Day 2021 speeches. 

The Top 20 videos as at today, 01:10 PM are detailed below: 

• Karyn Yadlyn – 555 views (482) 
• Abegail LeeAnn – 535 views (481) 
• Stancylyn Tani Nila – 533 views (468) 
• Christal Wong – 518 views (449) 
• Zahra Moharrer – 513 views (451) 
• Robyn Grace Leo – 512 views (444) 
• Ken Chan – 485 views (434) 
• Safura Atan – 482 views (458) 
• Ang Sher Lyn – 468 views (433) 
• Sumithra Devi – 424 views (347) 
• A Suriakumar – 394 views (328) 
• Lee Chin Yee – 378 views (344) 
• Samuel Sham – 371 views (340) 
• Raihana Mohd Ghaus – 360 views (335) 
• Fazlina Fadzil – 342 views (313) 
• Rohijas Md Sharif – 325 views (311) 
• Buddhika Laknath Ranasingha – 322 views (289) 
• Mathew Philippose – 315 views (293) 
• Alan Chew – 311 views (280) 
• Mohd Farhan Abd Latib – 290 views (276) 

[Note: The figures in parentheses indicate the number of views from the last report published January 28, 2021].

Back to School

Irrespective of whether it's still MCO or not. 

But that's not all. The authorities have been busy coming up with a new punitive law and it is coming down hard on Malaysians who flout SOPs.

Any individual who breaches Movement Control Order regulations, now faces fines up to RM10,000. 

This is according to the new Emergency (Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases) (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 published in the Federal Gazette website on Thursday. 

Meanwhile, the emergency ordinance also said that companies who violated MCO regulations will be liable to a maximum fine up to RM50,000. 

The new rules come into effect on March 11. 

This is no joke for those who break the rules. 

They're going to need stacks of paper money and I don't mean Monopoly money. 

And More WSD 2021 Posters

And another set of WSD 2021 posters:

#unexpectedvoices #worldspeechday

WSD 2021 Kuala Lumpur Update 2

I did a couple of additional posters for World Speech Day 2021 Kuala Lumpur. 

The event is fifteen days away – and we have now amassed 40 registrations. Of course, we can accommodate more speakers because we’ve put aside two days for it. 

Here’s a summary of the registrants todate:

#unexpectedvoices #worldspeechday

WSD 2021 Johor Bahru Update

Registrations for World Speech Day events in Malaysia are moving along nicely – but we know we can do better. More so for WSD 2021 Johor Bahru. 

Today, we’ve reached 50 registrations – and there’s still a long way to go.

And so, I’ve developed another series of posters for the said event – to give it a boost. 

#unexpectedvoices #worldspeechday

The Humble Chamber Pot Transforms

Chinese internet users are abuzz over the humble chamber pot rebranded as an “enamel fruit basket” and sold on US e-commerce platform Amazon. 

According to Global Times, besides being tagged at a price almost 15 times its regular price in China, the ad promoted the item for “other uses”. 

A similar product sold on Chinese e-commerce platform Taobao, is priced at a much more modest 28 yuan (RM17.52). 

One Weibo user quoted by the portal expressed hope that no one would buy the chamber pot and send it as a gift to their Chinese friends. 

“Because no Chinese people would feel happy if they see a delicately packed spittoon with fruits in it”, commented the user. 

Another user joked about his childhood potty fetching such a high price of $60 (RM242.55). 

The humble spittoon, commonly seen in Chinese households in the 1980s and 1990s, went viral after an internet user posted a picture on social media with a wide range of uses, including holding vegetables and fruits, as an ice bucket, decorating the kitchen and used as a gift for housewarming and weddings. 

The post was widely circulated among Chinese internet users as they were amazed and shocked to see the spittoon being so well regarded. The hashtag “the other ways a spittoon is used” has since received more than 50 million views of comments on Chinese social platform Sina Weibo.

112 Million Cases and Facebook Capitulate Or So We're Told

We’ve reached 112 million coronavirus cases. 

And Albania becomes country #82 to join the list of countries with more than 100,000 infections todate.

 

Overall, these countries have combined to yield 97.8% and 96.6% of cases and deaths respectively worldwide. 

Facebook are now reversing their Australia news ban or so it seems. According to news reports, they appear to suggest that the former sued for peace because of the global pushback to Facebook’s hostile attack on Australian users, and their news purge had drawn stinging condemnation. 

Who knows what went on behind closed doors. 

For sure, the story has not ended because governments will want to address the monopoly power of the big "tech" companies like Facebook and their bullying behavior.

Push-ups

Here's a confession. The only exercise I do is push-ups. And I’ve not done them for years. I kid you not. 

But since January this year, I’ve started them again on a daily basis – and they have become my regular exercise routine every morning. 

Push-ups are a type of strength building exercise. Though they mainly activate muscles in the arms and shoulders, they also engage muscles in the core and legs. Therefore, push-ups are beneficial for building strength throughout the body.

"Push-ups will improve your health by building muscle, raising your metabolism to burn fat, and providing a cardiovascular benefit", says Robert S Herbst, a personal trainer and former world champion powerlifter. "They enable you to get a full body workout with no equipment". 

I started with twelve push-ups and I’ve steadily increased the number of push-ups over time. Now, I’m doing about 42 push-ups daily and working my way to do even more. 

And if I’m looking for push-up variations – here are two I could consider in the future: The decline push-up and the dumbbell hex press.

Flouting the SOP that Confuses Everybody

On Saturday, I blogged about the SOP that confuses everybody – my post titled “An SOP that is a Muddled Mess”! 

Indeed, Malaysians are getting nabbed for flouting the 10km rule – and which banned interstate and inter-district travel. 

That day itself, one hundred and thirty three people were caught for this particular offence. On February 19, there were one hundred and thirty-five cases. And on February 18, sixty-eight cases.

The New Straits Times reports, of course, did not provide any further details. I reckon it'll be nice to know if the flouting of the said SOP was intentional or unintentional. 

Anyway, I did say yesterday that Malaysians are MCO-weary, didn’t I? 

Ross County moved out of the Scottish Premiership relegation places after their 1-0 win over Celtic on Sunday. 

The latter dominated possession but created little on another dispiriting night for Neil Lennon's reigning champions. The defeat all but ended Celtic’s slim title hopes. 

They are left trailing Rangers by 18 points with eight games left. Sigh!

BAT are Back with a Vengeance

As smoking falls out of fashion, British-American Tobacco are pinning their hopes on younger users of e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches. 

BAT have aggressively embarked on a £1 billion campaign that harnesses the popular appeal of social media influencers, pop stars and even sporting events. 

According to a wide-ranging report by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, they have also attracted younger adults, non-smokers and even reached the eyes of children. They’re hoping to capture the fast-growing stream of revenue from e-cigarettes and vapes – not to mention the nicotine pouches beloved of TikTok influencers. 

BAT make much of how such products are helping adult smokers switch to less harmful alternatives, under the slogan “A Better Tomorrow”. But this is all a farce. 

Nicotine is nicotine, in whatever form it takes! 

By 2023, the company expects to be targeting 500 million nicotine consumers with £100 billion a year to spend. Products other than cigarettes are driving much of that growth. 

Therefore, the time has come for us to stop tolerating these products. 

Yesterday, Everton produced an outstanding Merseyside derby performance to beat Liverpool at Anfield for the first time since 1999. 

And Liverpool have now lost four successive home matches for the first time since 1923. 

What’s there to say? Liverpool hit a new low!

111 Million Cases and Half a Million American Deaths

The world is now at 111 million cases. 

It does look like the Covid-19 pandemic is in retreat. Numbers are declining – and hopefully they stay that way. 

Still, the No.1 worst-affected country with more than 28 million cases reached a milestone on February 16, having recorded half a million deaths. We can blame this on Donald Trump.

Malaysia is still a concern though. We’ve actually improved on our ranking. Again. 

We’re at #45 – and our caseload remains high. In the four digits. The “kayu” government is only banking on the vaccine rollout to contain the pandemic.

More than 200 million coronavirus vaccine doses have been administered in at least 107 countries and territories, according to an AFP count based on official sources Saturday.

Some 45 percent of the injections took place in countries belonging to the wealthy G7 club, whose members account for just 10% of the global population. The seven countries – US, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Italy and Japan – promised Friday to share doses more fairly with worse-off countries.

Promises, promises, promises! LOL!!!

An SOP that is a Muddled Mess

Malaysia is a country blessed with an abundance of confused inhabitants. 

Here’s another SOP that doesn’t make sense! The government have done away with the 10km radius limit – but Malaysians are still subjected to the ban on inter-district travel. 

As former deputy health minister Dr Lee Boon Chye rightly pointed out there are many places where motorists would not know when one district ends and the other begins as there are no clear demarcation of boundaries. 

Jalan Ampang is in Kuala Lumpur but the Ampang township is in Selangor. Old Klang Road is both Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, so is Jalan Puchong. 

If that’s not confusing enough, Puchong itself is under the jurisdiction of four local authorities, namely Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), Subang Jaya City Council, Sepang Municipal Council and Kuala Langat District Council. And only police would know the exact demarcation of the districts. 

But the problem is not only that. This whole SOP thing is a muddled mess. 

When it is referred to as “district” (“daerah” in Malay) – what exactly do they mean by that? And who are “they”? 

Here’s just one example of an incident that was told to me today: 

“Apparently daerah in PKP mean ikut Daerah IPD polis. Daughter came back from Subang Jaya to Bukit Jelutong kena saman merentasi daerah katanya because of different IPD. As far as I know daerah in Selangor ada 9 je... and Subang Jaya and Shah Alam are under Daerah Petaling. Called IPD Shah Alam to clarify – yes, they said kena saman because different Ibu Pejabat Polis Daerah jurisdiction. 

Called MKN asking where is the SOP definition regarding "daerah"... officer cannot answer but affirms Subang Jaya and Shah Alam under 1 daerah. Confused, asked to refer to Polis... Polis ask to refer to MKN... Polis officer confused, MKN also confused. 

Apparently, Polis issue compound on behalf of Pejabat Kesihatan because under Akta Kesihatan… kompaun have to pay to Pejabat Kesihatan in Kelana Jaya… so ask them kena mintak permit or not to go to Kelana Jaya pay kompoun… because different IPD... no need pulak. (Then) called Pejabat Kesihatan – they also confused why kena saman because same daerah. Lastly kena buat surat rayuan pembatalan kompaun – wasted whole morning making phone calls to get definition of daerah. No definite answer. 

Semua confused. Adoi Malaysia...Land of the Confused Civil Servants and Politicians!"