US City to Solve Homelessness by Moving People Elsewhere

Homelessness is a prodigious predicament in urban USA! 

According to a Forbes piece published April 16, 2021, a US Department of Housing and Urban Development report said levels of homelessness have increased for four consecutive years and just over 580,000 people experienced it on a single night in 2020. 

Of that total, 61% were staying in emergency shelters or transitional housing while the remainder were forced to live in unsheltered locations such as the street, abandoned buildings or locations unsuitable for human habitation. Unsheltered homelessness in the US is primarily a problem in cities with nearly 6 out of every 10 people experiencing it living in an urban area. 

And more than half of all people experiencing homelessness there in 2020 were in just four states: California (28% or 161,548 people), New York (16% or 91,271 people), Florida (5% or 27,487 people), and Texas (5% or 27,229). 

On a single night in January 2020, slightly more than half of all Americans experiencing homelessness were in one of the country's 50 largest cities with one out of every four people experiencing it in either New York City or Los Angeles. 

Malibu, a beach city situated about 30 miles (48 km) west of Downtown LA, like the rest of Los Angeles County in California has seen an uptick in its homeless population, but Malibu City Council’s proposed solution to the crisis looks very different from strategies deployed elsewhere. 

In a March 24 meeting, Malibu City Council members voted unanimously to have the City’s Homeless Task Force pursue their proposal to establish an “alternative sleeping location” outside of city limits. 

The reason given for locating the ASL outside of Malibu is the limited availability of services and affordable housing in Malibu. These include public transportation, medical facilities, mental health and substance use treatment facilities, potential employment opportunities and continuing education/vocational training. 

This begs the question why not establish some of these services in Malibu? A concern cited in the meeting is that building housing and services will not solve Malibu’s homelessness, but rather attract more unhoused residents. 

“If we build it here, they will come because this is a great place to live… if you are just choosing to live unhoused, and by the way there’s a lot of people choosing to live unhoused, why not choose to live unhoused in Malibu if they’re inviting you to come do it?” said Councilmember Bruce Silverstein, later adding, “I don’t believe that the people of Malibu have a moral obligation to help people who come to Malibu in an unhoused state and choose to impose themselves on our residents”.  

I am reminded of a scene from the movie The Big Lebowski:

Still Blaming the US

The world must hold the US accountable for the wars that are terrorizing the world that the country evoked in the first place! 

A sign of absurdity, a stamp of ridiculousness, a sure indication of Russophobia! 

Zurich Insurance have had to remove their Z logo from social media after the letter became a symbol of support for Russia in the current conflict in Ukraine.

The West seem to have gone too far. Apart from Zurich Insurance, some other parts of Europe have also pointed their finger at the letter Z. 

Two German states, Bavaria and Lower Saxony on Saturday outlawed public displays of the "Z" symbol used by the Russian army. And two Lithuanian MPs, Freedom Party MP Monika Ošmianskienė and Social Democrat lawmaker Linas Jonauskas called on their country to ban displays of the "Z" symbol.

These practices in regard to the letter Z have triggered sneers from netizens.

One of them quipped that based on this logic, it would mean that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) should change his name as it contains the letter Z! LOL!

Essential and Just Essentials

UK's Waitrose, a relatively upscale supermarket chain, are fuming at rival Asda. 

On Monday, the latter, a relatively downmarket supermarket chain, renamed their own in-house grocery line "Just Essentials"! As expected, the former are objecting and maintaining the branding is too similar to their own Essential Waitrose range launched in 2009. 

And of course, Waitrose have sent a legal letter to Asda, citing their trademark registration. Asda have supposedly told the former to go pound sand if they think they can justify a trademark on a generic term as "Essentials". 

This branding discord accentuates the fact that groceries are becoming less available and affordable to Britons because of rising inflation, war in the grainbasket (Ukraine/Russia), a never-ending Covid pandemic and Brexit. 

Mass-market supermarkets are abandoning their cheapness signifiers ("value", "economy", "Asda Smart Price") in favor of vaguer lifestyle terms ("essentials", "basics", "Co-op Skipdiver") that aren't so obviously hung on pricing expectations. 

Predictably, this brings them into conflict with fancier retailers which have long used such branding to offer cheaper stuff without compromising their premium image. 

Methinks, the difference between supermarket brands – irrespective of how they are being price positioned – is really very slim and Waitrose's unhappiness shows just how competitive the battle for shoppers have become.

It's not just the UK but elsewhere too. This is the retail landscape today.

Slap Chris

The best browser games can be your secret anti-boredom potion between meetings, and they won't leave a footprint on your precious drive space. You also won't need a gaming PC to take advantage of them. 

There are countless great games you can run on anything from an old work desktop to an ancient laptop. They may not have the flashiest graphics, but these browser games make up for it in pure fun. Browser games require almost no effort to get going, and like locally installed games there's almost certainly something for everyone. 

Not only are there lots of multiplayer browser games, but many single-player ones are the early, free builds of games that went on to be popular full releases. If you're ready to get out there and kill some time, these are the games you should play. Besides, browser games are largely free to play! 

Anyway, Slap Chris caught my attention! It's just a simple new browser game by Tyler Hamilton in which you move an emoji hand to slap Chris Rock! 

The game helpfully measures your slap speed and rewards you appropriately. 

Sure, we shouldn't condone violence, blah blah blah…but when Will Smith mounted the stage to slap presenter Chris Rock at the Oscars on Sunday – it made the NEWS! 

It was apparently motivated by the latter’s jibe at his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s alopecia: “Jada, GI Jane 2, can’t wait to see it”! 

Rock’s joke referenced the 1997 war film in which Demi Moore, playing a navy lieutenant signing up for a reconnaissance, famously shaves her head into a close crop. In 2021 Pinkett Smith posted a video on Instagram in which she revealed her closely shaven style, writing “Mama’s gonna have to take it down to the scalp… Me and this alopecia are going to be friends … period!” 

The Oscars are always searching for a viral moment, and this slapping incident was IT! 

Anyway, the couple (left) have been targeted by gossip columnists for some time and the quip couldn't be considered a shock and awe moment! 

I mean if Will Smith is openly OK with his wife’s boyfriends, what’s the big deal about her hair loss, right?

The Diamond: The Wave Grows Taller and Stronger

The wave grows taller and stronger and it appears it has no intention of stopping! And our book sales move in lockstep!

Covid and Flu Shots Together

It would seem that Covid vaccines are not enough! There is now a call for flu shots too! 

Researchers have come out to warn that individuals who had contracted both Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, and influenza viruses were more than four times more likely to require ventilation support and 2.4 times more likely to die than if they just had Covid-19. 

The call was made after the publication of a paper in the medical journal the Lancet. The study looked at more than 305,000 hospitalised patients with Covid-19 and involved researchers from Edinburgh University, Liverpool University, and Imperial College London, all from the UK and Leiden University in the Netherlands. 

A total of 6,965 patients were found to have had Covid-19, while 227 also had the influenza virus. These individuals experienced significantly more severe outcomes, researchers found. 

Professor Calum Semple (left) of Liverpool University maintains: “It is now very important that people get fully vaccinated and boosted against both viruses, and not leave it until it is too late”. 

This point was stressed by Professor Peter Openshaw of Imperial College London. “The vaccines that protect against Covid-19 and flu are different, and people need both. The way that these two infections are treated is also different so it’s important to test for other viruses even when you have a diagnosis in someone who is hospitalised with a respiratory infection”.

The Diamond: Post-Launch Sales Reminder

A reminder to get a copy of “The Diamond in Your Speech”, if you haven’t already! 

More than 300 people have already got their copy – what about you? 

Kindly click on the web link https://bit.ly/3r9BNd4

Know that just 5 days remain for you to purchase the book at only RM53!

Didn't Get Covid?

Even as Covid-19 cases are still soaring worldwide, much of the world is determined to return to near normalcy. In fact, it has been said that it is just like a “waiting game” before you or anyone close to you catch the virus. 

However, if you have not caught the virus yet, a physician has come out to say that is probably because you have no friends! 

Dr. Ma Sang-Hyuk (near right) makes the claim on Facebook when the daily reported number of Covid-19 in South Korea exceeded 400,000. Not only that but the number of critical cases and deaths are also skyrocketing. 

The Facebook post, however, has since been deleted after sparking controversy and debate among his fellow citizens. 

Sang-Hyuk, who is also the Vice President of the Korean Vaccine Society said that the government should put more effort into treating the virus especially given that the Omicron variant is dominating the entire country. And he further clarified that his “interpersonal problems” remark was simply a metaphor to show it is impossible for people to NOT contract the virus.

Boo-hoo, I’m distraught because I’ve just learned that I have no friends! 

Just so you know, according to News 18, 86.6% of the South Korean population is fully vaccinated while 63.2% of the population have received their booster jabs. In Malaysia, it is 79% and 47.7% respectively as of March 24, 2022.

Hotels Issue Water Pistols to Al Fresco Diners

Hotels in Venice are issuing water guns to guests dining al fresco, so they can fend off annoying seagulls trying to steal food. 

On one occasion, “a gull flew off with an entire steak, just as the waiter lifted the lid off the plate he was serving it on”, Enrico Mazzocco, manager of the Monaco & Grand Canal hotel, told UK’s The Times. 

The omnipresence of these food snatchers in the famous lagoon city in Italy has become increasingly problematic over the last few years. In 2016, the New York Post said, "Violent seagulls are turning Saint Mark’s Square in Venice into a scene straight out of Hitchcock’s spine-tingler 'The Birds'". 

They steal food from bar tables, from paper bags and even directly from people's hands. But now, Venice's hoteliers' association (AVA) have decided the attacks must come to an end. And they've hit on water pistols as a novel solution – and diners encouraged to take aim to keep the thieving birds away. 

Soon, it might be common to see a tourist lounging at an outdoor table of Caffè Florian, one of the square's renowned watering holes, their hand casually resting on a bright orange gun. 

The Monaco & Grand Canal hotel have chosen to equip their customers with water pistols as have the Gritti Hotel. 

Paolo Lorenzini, Director of the Gritti, has also insisted they should be orange as bird experts have confirmed this color is particularly repugnant to the gulls. 

"As soon as they see the pistols, they fly away", Lorenzoni told ANSA news agency. "You don't even need to use them, you just need to keep them on the table”. 

The AVA have also been discussing other tactics to keep the marauding birds at bay after tourists have been understandably alarmed by their aggressive behavior! Other solutions under discussion include hiring a falconer to hunt the gulls or deterring them with a special acoustic system or unpleasant odors (albeit ones that cannot be perceived by human beings). 

Gulls have overtaken pigeons as the primary avian blight on the city in recent years

70 Degrees Warmer Than Normal in Antarctica

The coldest location on the planet has experienced an episode of warm weather last week unlike any ever observed, with temperatures over the eastern Antarctic ice sheet soaring 50 to 90 degrees above normal. 

The warmth has smashed records and shocked scientists.

“This event is completely unprecedented and upended our expectations about the Antarctic climate system”, said Jonathan Wille (right), a researcher studying polar meteorology at Université Grenoble Alpes in France. 

“Antarctic climatology has been rewritten”, tweeted Stefano Di Battista, a researcher who has published studies on Antarctic temperatures. 

He added that such temperature anomalies would have been considered “impossible” and “unthinkable” before they actually occurred. 

Parts of eastern Antarctica have seen temperatures hover 70 degrees (40 Celsius) above normal for three days and counting, Wille said. He likened the event to the June heat wave in the Pacific Northwest, which scientists concluded would have been “virtually impossible” without human-caused climate change. 

What is considered “warm” over the frozen, barren confines of eastern Antarctica is, of course, relative. Instead of temperatures being minus-50 or minus-60 degrees (minus-45 or minus-51 Celsius), they’ve been closer to zero or 10 degrees (minus-18 Celsius or minus-12 Celsius) – but that’s a massive heat wave by Antarctic standards. 

The average high temperature in Vostok – at the center of the eastern ice sheet – is around minus-63 (minus-53 Celsius) in March. But on Friday, the temperature leaped to zero (minus-17.7 Celsius), the warmest it’s been there during March since record keeping began. It broke the previous monthly record by a staggering 27 degrees (15 Celsius). 

“In about 65 record years in Vostok, between March and October, values above -30°C were never observed”, claimed Di Battista (right). 

Vostok, a Russian meteorological observatory, is about 808 miles from the South Pole and sits 11,444 feet above sea level. It’s famous for holding the lowest temperature ever observed on Earth: Minus-128.6 degrees (minus-89.2 Celsius), set on July 21, 1983. 

Temperatures running at least 50 degrees (32 Celsius) above normal have expanded over vast portions of eastern Antarctica from the Adélie Coast through much of the eastern ice sheet’s interior. Some computer model simulations and observations suggest temperatures may have even climbed up to 90 degrees (50 Celsius) above normal in a couple of areas. 

Of course, we shouldn’t attribute this one event to climate change, but if I understand correctly, rising temperatures helped prime conditions for such an event. 

I suppose climate change is “loading the dice” for more situations like this!

Hypocrisy of Media Coverage of Ukraine

“This is not a developing Third World nation. This is Europe…”.

This and many other media commentaries about Ukranians fleeing the country illustrate the hypocrisy of media coverage on the ongoing Ukraine conflict:

And during the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 second leg football match between Red Star Belgrade and Rangers on Thursday, Serbian football fans displayed banners to show US and NATO interventions around the world in the past decades!

As for what's happening in Ukraine right now, STOP BLAMING RUSSIA! Kindly know which country started it all!?!?

Image credit: Xinhua News, China

Besides, as the world's top arms exporter, the US and its military-industrial complex are profiteering from Ukraine’s strife (as well as many other conflicts elsewhere). Many countries have tirelessly called for a peaceful resolution through dialogue, but some love to fuel the fire for profit. 

The military-industrial complex in the United States are skilled at lobbying the powers that be to get more defense contracts as they routinely cheer on the government to incite and provoke tensions around the world. They never care about the tears of the populace trapped by war but only money filling their fat pockets.

Image credit: Xinhua News, China

The following Quote sums it up!

China Eastern Fleet of Boeing 737-800s Grounded

And more photos of the aftermath of Monday’s fatal incident!

Following the crash, China Eastern Airlines (including two subsidiaries) made the decision to ground all the company's 737-800 planes, sources told the Global Times.  

Aviation experts have asserted that it is unusual to ground an entire fleet of planes unless there is evidence of a problem with the model. Maybe so but it's better to err on the side of caution.

China Eastern Airlines, one of the country’s top three airlines, serving 248 domestic and foreign destinations, use the Boeing 737-800 as a workhorse of their fleet. According to data from the International Bureau of Aviation, a UK aviation consultancy, the group has 225 of the aircraft. 

In fact, China has more 737-800s than any other country – nearly 1,200 – and if identical planes at other Chinese airlines are grounded, it “could have a significant impact on domestic travel”, said aviation consultant IBA. 

Boeing 737-800s have been flying since 1998, and Boeing have sold more than 5,100 of them. They have been involved in 22 accidents that damaged the planes beyond repair and killed 612 people, according to data compiled by the Aviation Safety Network, an arm of the Flight Safety Foundation. 

Here is a list of all the previous accidents involving the said model:

Boeing should know that this latest crash is one too many times!

WSD 2022 Global Iranian Community: Continuity

WSD 2022 Global Iranian Community had their World Speech Day event for the second year running. On March 14. 

Credit to Dr. Zahra Moharrer for hosting the event on Google Meet. We're happy to see continuity!

#unexpectedvoices #worldspeechday

The durian season is upon us and Nestle is premiumizing their ice cream range with Musang King ice cream. It is made from real Musang King (6.5%) and the 750ml tub ice cream is priced at RM25. 

In fact, I fancy it so much that I finished three tubs within this month alone! 

Like most Malaysians, we love our durians and Nestle know this! Besides, when you can’t get the real thing, this’ll do!

A Boeing Crashes – This Time in China

A China Eastern Airlines aircraft, a Boeing 737-800NG crashed in China's southern Guangxi region on Monday. All 132 people on board were believed to have perished. 

According to FlightRadar24, flight MU5735 was traveling from Kunming to Guangzhou, and radar tracking showed the aircraft descending steeply. 

China Eastern’s website, mobile app and some of their social media platforms were turned to black and white in a sign of mourning. 

The China Eastern crash comes at a bad time for Boeing, which are preparing for the re-entry of their 737 Max into commercial service in the country, a lucrative aviation market. 

The aircraft involved in Monday’s crash wasn’t a new-generation Boeing Max jet. The 737-800 NG is part of the Boeing single-aisle family which preceded the 737 Max. 

As of 2018, the NG had one of the best safety records among jetliners, with just eight fatal accidents out of more than 7,000 sold, according to data compiled by Boeing at the time. 

According to Aviation Safety Network’s website, this is the first fatal accident involving a 737-800 jet since January 08, 2020. The said Boeing aircraft had been flying for more than six years. 

The plane was cruising at 29,100 feet at 0620 GMT. After two minutes and 15 seconds, data showed it had dropped to 9,075 feet, Reuters reported.