Ian and the Condom

Hurricane Ian tore across Florida, USA – a monstrous Category 4 hurricane and one of the strongest storms ever to hit the country. 

Photos and videos on social media showed the scenes of devastation: Orlando inundated by floodwaters, boats wrecked in Fort Myers, trees snapped like toothpicks in Punta Gorda. Part of the Sanibel Causeway was destroyed, blocking vehicles from crossing the bridge. 

Ian left an estimated 2.67 million customers without power as of Thursday afternoon. A number of hospitals had no water, and thousands of residents were trapped in their homes. At least 14 people were reported dead in counties across the state, a number that's expected to rise significantly. 

I am doing this post on Ian only because of the accompanying story below. 

As local journalists covered rescue efforts in the wake of Hurricane Ian, Florida television viewers found comic relief in a viral post featuring a local reporter. 

On Wednesday, NBC-2 reporter Kyla Galer made headlines when residents questioned whether or not she'd placed a condom over her microphone while covering the storm ahead of its landfall. 

Of course, she felt obligated to set the record straight.

“A lot of people are asking what is on my microphone. It is what you think it is”, Galer wrote on her Instagram stories. “It’s a condom. It helps protect the gear. You can’t get these mics wet. There’s a lot of wind and a lot of rain, so we gotta do what we gotta do and that is put a condom on the microphone”. 

ABC7 news anchor Jeff Butera chimed in on the issue in support of his colleague.

“Yes, it's a condom”, Butera tweeted alongside an image of Galer’s hand holding her mic. "Nothing better to waterproof a microphone. My Waterman Broadcasting colleague @kylagaler has been fielding lots of questions, haha. Moment of levity in this nasty storm…”. 

Ian is now reportedly heading northward toward South Carolina.

Quiet Quitting Is Not About Quitting

Since July this year, the concept of "quiet quitting" has exploded like a supernova across the media universe. 

The big bang began on TikTok, with a video uploaded by a 20-something engineer named Zaid Khan. With the sound of a piano playing a ragtime-style tune and summertime shots of New York City flashing across the screen, Khan narrates a 17-second video that has introduced millions of people to the idea. 

"I recently learned about this term called quiet quitting, where you're not outright quitting your job, but you're quitting the idea of going above and beyond", Khan says. "You're still performing your duties, but you're no longer subscribing to the hustle culture mentality that work has to be your life. The reality is it's not – and your worth as a person is not defined by your labor". 

Quiet quitting, in other words, is not really about quitting. It's more like a philosophy for doing the bare minimum at your job. 

In Japan, there's a concept called shokunin, which refers to an artisan who is deeply dedicated to their craft, always striving for perfection in what they make. 

Quiet quitting is like the opposite of that. It's about divorcing your ego from what you do for a living and not striving for perfection. Setting boundaries and simply completing the tasks you're supposed to complete within the time that you're paid to do them – with no extra frills. No more kowtowing to your boss or customers. No more working nights and weekends, incessantly checking your email. 

It's important to know that the mantra of quiet quitting, at least according to TikTok, is not really about failing to do your job. As Khan highlights, it's about "quitting the idea of going above and beyond".

Meaning, workaholism is out. Coasting is in. Maybe, you can even call it the work-life balance manifesto?!

The Liz Truss Tax Plan

Liz Truss (right) became UK Prime Minister on September 06, 2022 – after winning an internal Tory party leadership election of just 120,000 members, following BoJo’s resignation. 

She had advocated for the upending of what she called the economic "orthodoxy" of the Treasury and reversing tax hikes introduced by her predecessor. Now, her Chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng is putting her economic agenda to the test. 

And last Friday, he announced a sweeping plan to slash taxes, which he believes will spur growth and take the edge off a looming recession – although few economists agree. 

There was an immediate reaction in financial markets, as the British pound did a historic nosedive and UK stocks fell. In fact, the currency plunged over 3 percent on that day itself. It was trading at levels last seen in the early 1980s. Early Monday morning, it dipped as low as $1.0349 per US dollar but then rebounded to $1.0671, down 2.3 percent. To the relief of many, the currency recovered Tuesday, rising more than 1% to $1.08. On Wednesday, the pound was trading as low as $1.05, although it popped a bit to an also-very-low $1.07. 

For reference, a year ago, the pound was above $1.35 against the greenback and above $1.15 at the start of September.

Monday’s upheaval was triggered by investor fears that the “mini-budget” to increase government borrowing – some economists think this borrowing could climb to £120 billion within three years – to pay for this massive tax cut that is supporting the wealthiest in British society. In fact, Truss had admitted cutting tax for the rich was “not necessarily popular” but claimed it "helps everybody because it helps grow the economy"!

For sure, it will worsen inflation, which is already nearing 10 percent. 

The country's crisis is largely homegrown, as Truss and her government grapple with the lingering effects of Brexit, the economic fallout from the Covid pandemic and a cost-of-living crunch with soaring energy bills. And winter is coming. 

The first major poll is out, and UK's Times reported on this latest YouGov survey on Monday which put Truss's approval rating at a lowly 15%. And a mere 11% think the government are managing the economy well. It's good news for the Labour party because they surge to a 33-point lead over the ruling Tories – crucially the former’s lead has been fuelled by Con to Lab switches. Seventeen percent who backed Boris Johnson in 2019 now say they would vote Labour. 

An election could be more than two years away. But if the poll results were replicated at an election, it could be an extinction-level event for the Conservative Party!

The Process of Integration into the Russian Federation Begins

As per my post “Voting to Join Russian Federation” dated September 23, up to four million people were asked to vote in four regions of Ukraine – the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk as well as the war-torn areas of Kherson and Zaporizhia – which together make up about 15% of Ukraine's territory. 

Russia has defended the referendums, saying they were designed to stop the persecution of ethnic Russians and Russian-speakers by the Ukrainian government. 

These plebiscites were held even as Ukraine rained bombs in a desperate bid to disrupt the voting – and according to one news report, at least one election official was killed, in a Ukrainian missile attack in the Zaporizhia city of Berdyansk. 

Anyway, election officials have announced that 99.23% and 98.42% of the ballots cast in Donetsk and Luhansk respectively were in support of joining Russia as were 87.05% and 93.11% of ballots in the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions respectively. 

[The votes mirrored a 2014 referendum in Crimea after 97% of its population had voted to secede from Ukraine and join Russia]. 

Now begins the process of integrating the four regions into the Russian Federation. 

Slava Rossiya!

Mary Poppins Sings Death Metal

Have you ever headbanged to supercalifragilisticexpialidocious? 

One of those mornings when I need to surrender myself to the deafening stridency of death metal!

 

Copyright Disclaimer: Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. 

Vocals by Sera Hatchett and Thomas Hinds. Music arranged, played, and recorded by Andy Rehfeldt and who also sang the background vocals. 

Useful instructions for the audiophile: 

For funeral doom, play at 0.5 speed 
For doom metal, play at 0.75 speed 
For trash metal, play at 1.5 speed 
For grindcore, play at 2x speed 

Super fun! 

I would love to see the above spliced into the original movie without anyone at Disney knowing and have that broadcast on Disney Plus! LOL!

Crashing Ringgit And Rising Inflation

Whether Malaysians are fully aware or not, but we too are experiencing our own worrisome issues that call for priority attention. Minister of Finance Tengku Zafrul Aziz appears nonchalant – no surprise here – but Opposition leader PH's Anwar Ibrahim is sounding the alarm on the crashing ringgit and rising inflation. 

At 6 PM on Monday, the ringgit depreciated to 4.6030/6045 against the greenback from 4.5775/5800 from last Friday’s closing. That’s a new 24-year low! 

And Malaysia’s inflation rate for the year rose to 4.7 percent year-on-year as of August, driven up by food and beverage prices that have gone up by 7.2 per cent on average in the year to date. 

If we're not careful, life is about to get harder for Malaysians.

It would appear that Ebola is as persistent as Covid!

If I’m not mistaken, the last time I blogged about Ebola ravaging the Democratic Republic of Congo was in February 2021. 

Anyway, the country has declared an end to its latest Ebola virus outbreak – the 15th recorded in the country – when one case was confirmed in the eastern city of Beni, in North Kivu province, on August 22, according to its National Institute for Biomedical Research. 

Thankfully, the outbreak was the virus’s “least catastrophic” since no other case was recorded, the World Health Organization said in a statement on Tuesday. Testing showed the case was genetically linked to the 2018-2020 outbreak in North Kivu and Ituri provinces, which killed nearly 2,300 people. 

But neighboring Uganda races to tackle a new virus outbreak of its own. 

Its health ministry said Ebola’s latest flare-up in the country has already claimed five lives so far and is the probable but still unconfirmed cause of another 18 deaths. 

I fear this may turn out to be a much more serious problem for Uganda!

Donate Blood at Vampire Film Museum Exhibit

"Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror" (German: Nosferatu – Eine Symphonie des Grauens) – filmmaker Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau's German Expressionist masterpiece about a fearsome Transylvanian, whose curling facial expressions reveal the vampire in all his macabre glory – turns 100 this year. 

If you didn’t know, this 1922 film was an unauthorized and unofficial adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula – and instantly became an icon of the German silent film era that has been heralded by many critics as one of the best films ever made. 

Note that Murnau's “Nosferatu” wouldn't be considered scary in the modern sense. It is admired more for its artistry and ideas, its atmosphere and images, than for its ability to manipulate  emotions like a skillful modern horror film. It knows none of the later tricks of the trade, like sudden threats that pop in from the side of the screen. Still, “Nosferatu” remains effective – it doesn’t scare us, but it haunts us. It shows not that vampires can jump out of shadows, but that evil can grow there, nourished on death.

To celebrate, Berlin's Nationalgalerie are staging an exhibition about the film and its influence on cinematic horror and pop culture. And brilliantly, the exhibit also features an opportunity to donate blood to the Red Cross! 

Phantoms of the Night: 100 Years of Nosferatu runs December 16, 2022 to April 23, 2023.

Hybrid Working May Hold Back Women’s Careers

The shift towards hybrid working may hold back women’s career progression, as research suggests employers are overlooking people who spend more time working from home. 

There is real concern that the post-Covid return to work is entrenching the gender pay and promotion gap, with employers failing to monitor its impact or properly design jobs for hybrid and remote working. This especially affects women, who are more likely to choose flexible hours or work from home for childcare reasons. 

Male managers are significantly more likely to mostly or completely work from the office (48% vs 38%), according to a survey of 1,300 managers from the Chartered Management Institute. 

Two in five (40%) managers surveyed said they had already observed opinion or behaviours suggesting an inequality between those who work flexibly and those who do not. Female managers were more likely than their male counterparts to believe hybrid working could negatively impact career progression. 

Anthony Painter, the director of policy at the CMI, said: “Women could end up in a lose-lose situation if employers aren’t careful, needing to balance work and home life through flexible working but missing out on many opportunities that arise through in-person office interaction. That is intolerable and damaging for women and employers alike”.

The CMI study was echoed in the 2022 Deloitte’s Women @ Work which reported findings about the “new normal” of work, and that almost 60% of women working in hybrid situations (arrangements that include any combination of remote and inoffice work) felt excluded. 

Female hybrid workers had reported more instances of being kept out from informal but important interactions and conversations, being given opportunities to speak in meetings, and having colleagues take credit for their ideas. For these reasons, and many others, most women indicated that they plan to leave their current employers within the next few years! 

Prof Rosie Campbell, the director of King’s College London’s Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, said the impact of hybrid working on female career advancement was something she was “concerned about”, and required more research. 

She said hybrid working could worsen the existing “two-tier workforce” for those who work flexibly and get “stuck in the mommy track”, unable to progress in their careers, by creating a “three-tier workforce” of people who are in the office all the time, those who are hybrid, and those who are fully remote. 

She added that there is huge variability between employers in terms of how visibility, “presenteeism” and overwork impact promotion opportunities. “Anecdotally it seems in male-dominated sectors with high prestige such as financial services, there is real pressure to get into the office as many days as possible, and I think that’s deliberately exclusionary”, she said. 

The solution, she suggested, is for hybrid jobs to be carefully designed, rather than allowed to develop on their own “because existing inequalities might be reinforced”.

I daresay, it’s not just women. Anybody who chooses to work remotely benefits from a degree of freedom but it also comes at a cost. Meaning, women as well as others opting for remote work may sacrifice career opportunities in the process.

Hong Kong's No-frills Meals

It is not a newly anointed Michelin bistro or the latest photogenic, Instagram-friendly confection that has captivated Hong Kong, a famously epicurean city. It is a humble takeout box of white rice and two pre-cooked main dishes of the diner’s choosing. 

Bare-bones restaurants offering these simple meals have become an unexpected food fad in Hong Kong, prompting an explosion of vendors, the fascination of food bloggers and even a 88.7K-member Facebook fan group (香港兩餸飯關注組). 

This in a city pummelled by two years of riots, economic downturn and pandemic controls. Already, finance chief Paul Chan (right) warned Thursday there is a “very high chance” Hong Kong will end the year in a full-blown recession while the fiscal deficit is expected to balloon to HK$100 billion (RM58 billion), twice the initial estimates. 

Therefore, it is not surprising that the two-dishes-and-rice places have become a lifeline. 

For struggling restaurant owners, this business model is a rare source of surging demand. For diners, the food is an inexpensive and convenient staple, the “two-dish mealbox” offering the comforting flavors and variety that define Chinese home cooking. 

The mealbox boom “is similar to the emergence of dollar shops during the (2008) financial crisis”, said Andy Kwan, director of the ACE Centre for Business and Economic Research think tank. 

“People tend to spend less when the economy is not well and confidence is low”, he told AFP. 

The humble two-dish rice meal has long been a feature of the city – but “the consumers’ perception has changed and these mealboxes are no longer a symbol of relatively low income”. 

I read that the mealboxes go for anything from HK$25 to HK$80 depending on ingredients and shop locations, and many include a drink or soup. [Note: To calculate how much is a Hong Kong Dollar in Malaysian Ringgit, multiply by 0.5831098. The HKD MYR rate changes constantly]. 

In Malaysia, we know it as “economy rice”. 

Economy rice stalls typically have anywhere from 10-20 troughs of cooked food, including meat, vegetables, eggs and tofu dishes. Customers select any combination of these dishes, which are served accompanied by a portion of steamed white rice. 

Economy rice evolved as a way for the general public to obtain a quick, and most importantly, cheap meal option outside of home. An economy rice meal is usually one of the most affordable options available for a meal, especially if one is judicious in choosing the less expensive dishes (generally vegetables and tofu).

Coffin-shaped Office Chair Because Sitting Kills

Sitting kills. 

There is purportedly, a study that finds sitting six to eight hours a day increases your chances of dying. By design, humans aren't created to sit on chairs for eight hours a day. 

Interestingly, there is a law in the UK that makes employers provide standing desk options at their offices. The awareness may be there but it's not enough. 

What's shocking is that it's widely accepted by society – this submissive embrace of a work norm that we should spend almost all of the daylight hours at work. Little do we realize that we are slowly killing ourselves and getting almost nothing out of it. 

This whole grind culture is just wrong, it feels like voluntary slavery. We've been gaslit into thinking that this is life as it supposes to be. 

And so, artist and maker, Chairbox, created a limited-edition The Last Shift Office Chair as a statement on office "grind culture" and the unhealthiness of sitting all day:

It’s tragic, I suppose, that we sit in those coffins and generate value for the stakeholders – but once the time has come, they nail the lid and roll us to the corporate cemetery. 

This reminds me of what Jack Ma, co-founder of online shopping giant Alibaba advocates – the "996 system" – a 9 AM to 9 PM working day, six days a week!

Optimism for India-China Relations

I see optimism. The fourth breakthrough has been achieved between India and China! 

The two countries confirmed that the process of disengagement from a friction point in the western Himalaya in Ladakh has begun, breaking more than a year-long deadlock in peace talks to resolve the border dispute. 

Their defence ministries announced in a joint statement two Thursdays ago that withdrawal of troops, armaments and dismantling of temporary structures have begun in a “coordinated and planned way” by Indian and Chinese troops. The move was “conducive to the peace and tranquillity in the border areas”, the statement said. 

The latest round in the ongoing series of peace talks between two Asian giants is centred in the area of Gogra-Hot springs, Patrolling Point 15, in the western Himalayan region of contested Ladakh, where troops from both countries have been locked in a standoff for more than two years. 

The two countries previously disengaged from Patrol Point 14 in Galwan Valley in 2020, Pangong Tso in 2021 and in Gogra (PP-17A) in August last year. However, the dispute is far from resolved as friction points Demchok and Depsang remain unresolved. 

Indian English-language daily newspaper Hindustan Times claimed on September 08 that despite four rounds of disengagement, the two armies still have around 60,000 troops each and advanced weaponry deployed in the Ladakh theatre. 

That's as maybe but I believe political wisdom will prevail. It must.

Surely we know the peace process is a long and winding road – but both India and China must travel together to secure a permanent peace. 

After all, Albert Camus, French novelist, essayist, and playwright did say “Peace is the only battle worth waging”. Hear, hear!

Emulate Batman’s Billionaire Alter-Ego

No bat signal is required to access luxury lifestyle label Wayne Enterprises merchandise starting September 22. 

Warner Bros. Consumer Products have joined forces with men’s buying guide Uncrate.com, on a high-performance range of fashion, accessories, fitness gear, electronics, home goods, personal care and other Bruce Wayne-worthy essentials. 

For the debut collection ($55 to $4,800), Wayne Enterprises tapped a slew of classy Uncrate-approved brands to create limited edition products with a cool edge that can stand up to life in Batman’s Gotham City. 

That includes motorcycle-ready gear such as suede lace-up boots by Danner and Kevlar jeans by Nashville-based denim label Imogene + Willie, as well as a structured wool jacket with a faux fur collar by Rogue Territory, handmade sunglasses by Barton Perreira (a Hollywood favorite also worn by fictional hero James Bond), timepieces by Bell & Ross, a watch winder from Kross Studio (also behind that $100,000 Batman piece) and noise-canceling headphones by Porsche Design. 

There are also Patricks anti-aging skincare and aluminum-free deodorants, pre-workout and wellness supplements from Asystem, luxe gym equipment by Fysik, leather boxing gloves and punching bags by Modest Vintage Player and protein powders by Ascent. Of course, everything is in Dark Knight-approved hues and hardware. 

“Our guiding motto is that this is something that Wayne Enterprises would put out to make Batman a better Batman”, says Robert Oberschelp, Warner Bros. Consumer Products senior veep global franchise management and global brand product. “While the design looks really cool, there’s also a little bit of tech, a little bit of something to make you stronger and better; [for example], if you look at the denim, they’re made of a woven Kevlar tech fabric”. 

“Instead of leaning into the franchise of Batman, it’s ultimately about who is Bruce Wayne, and what does he look like? It’s not [about] one actor or a single brand”, he points out the non-Batman concept that was born nearly two years ago. 

FYI, Batman debuted in 1939 and was dreamed up by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. Rather than directly referencing specific scenes in the DC Comics books, TV series and films, Wayne Enterprises’ brand partners opted to pull inspiration from the myth that is Wayne and WayneCorp, his fictional multinational conglomerate, Oberschelp tells The Hollywood Reporter. 

Boeing To Pay $200M To Settle SEC’s Probe

Boeing are to pay out $200m over charges that they misled investors about two fatal 737 Max crashes. 

The US stock market regulator said on Thursday, the aviation giant and their former chief executive Dennis Muilenburg made false statements about safety issues. Boeing "put profits over people" in an effort to rehabilitate their image, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

The 737 Max was grounded for 20 months after two crashes in 2018-2019 killed 346 people. 

As part of the settlement, Muilenburg will also pay a penalty of $1m. 

"In times of crisis and tragedy, it is especially important that public companies and executives provide full, fair, and truthful disclosures to the markets", SEC chairman Gary Gensler said in a statement. He added that Boeing and Muilenburg "failed in this most basic obligation". 

Still, the said settlement is largely symbolic. The 737 Max scandal has already cost Boeing tens of billions – another $200m will barely register. 

But it does give the SEC the chance to call out Boeing and their ex-head honcho (right) for making assurances about the plane's safety, when they already knew it had a serious problem – thereby intentionally misleading investors. 

Anyway, it won’t cause Boeing any meaningful harm. Their corporate reputation had already been severely damaged by the affair. As for Muilenberg, the financial consequences of the settlement won't be painful either. He received some $60m in compensation and benefits when he left the company.

Voting to Join Russian Federation

Voting begins today! And hopefully, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia are coming home!

In Malaysia, there is a real buzz in the courts today!

In Shah Alam, the high court acquitted UMNO president and former deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi of all 40 corruption charges. 

Judge Mohd Yazid Mustafa said the prosecution failed to successfully prove a prima facie case against Zahid, who is also Bagan Datuk MP, for allegedly taking bribes from Ultra Kirana Sdn Bhd, the company awarded a government contract for a foreign visa system (VLN). 

However, he is still on trial for another corruption case where he is accused of 47 criminal breach of trust, corruption and money laundering charges involving tens of millions of ringgit belonging to Yayasan Akalbudi, the charity organization he founded. 

And the sessions court in KL’s Jalan Duta granted Baling Member of Parliament Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim a discharge not amounting to acquittal on three charges of accepting bribes amounting to RM5.2 million and six charges of money laundering worth RM972,414.60 in relation to road projects in Perak and Kedah. 

Meanwhile, another UMNO leader Kinabatangan MP Bung Moktar Radin and his wife Zizie Izette Abdul Samad also attended court for the first day of their defence against charges of accepting RM2.8 million through corrupt means. However, the court granted them a stay pending the disposal of their application to review a lower court decision ordering them to answer charges against them.

Badass Beetle Farts To Escape Death

A bombardier beetle (Family: Carabidae; order: Coleoptera) often becomes an unlucky snack for frogs. 

But it is blessed with a tricky defense mechanism even after being gobbled up – that makes the frog throws it back up. 

When a bombardier beetle is swallowed by the frog, it will excrete boiling chemicals from its anus to make the frog throw it up. Basically, the beetle knows how to fart its way out of death!

If you have a desire to watch this icky yet fascinating phenomenon, here's a video of it from National Geographic:

Going Out With A Bang

Have you heard about the Loved One Launcher? 

Cremation Solutions put it this way: It “is the ultimate way to send a loved one out with the same passion they had in life. This hand-held ash scattering cannon is perfect for life celebration parties and memorial services, allowing the earthly remains of any beloved human (or pet) to be shot into the air to be scattered. A life lived to the fullest is not something to mourn – it warrants celebration, and the Loved One Launcher is the perfect way to easily and gracefully bid them farewell”. 

It is powered by two CO2 cartridges and it apparently can shoot the powdery remains more than 70 feet into the air. You can even add confetti and streamers to the mix "for a dreamy visual effect, creating a beautiful, joyful scene that sets the perfect tone". It sells for $375. 

From Cremation Solutions: “Paying homage to a loved one's life is simple and intimate with what feels almost like a daytime fireworks display in their honor. The Launcher should not be aimed at any structure or living thing as its blast is powerful. It should only be handled and operated by an adult. Avoid shooting into oncoming wind (downwind or in still air only) and note that it will take two shots to disperse all the ashes of an average adult. More shots if more confetti is desired. 

Your results and coverage will vary depending on contents of cannon, and wind conditions, if any”.

United Nations secretary general, António Guterres (right) has called on countries to impose windfall taxes on fossil fuel companies and divert the money to vulnerable nations suffering worsening losses from the climate crisis. 

In a speech to the UN general assembly on Tuesday, he said that “polluters must pay” for the escalating damage caused by heatwaves, floods, drought and other climate impacts, and demanded that it was “high time to put fossil fuel producers, investors and enablers on notice”. 

Guterres’s appeal came in his most urgent, and bleakest, speech to date on the state of the planet, and the will of governments to change course. His first words were: “Our world is in big trouble”. 

Although governments have agreed to restrain global heating to 1.5C above pre-industrial times, almost all countries are lagging in their efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions quickly enough to avoid this level of heating and therefore avert catastrophic climate impacts. 

Emissions have already rebounded to pre-pandemic levels – and it is claimed there are plenty of known fossil fuel reserves in the world still left to burn – enough to unleash 3.5 trillion tons of greenhouse gases, which would smash the carbon budget before we get to 1.5C seven times over.

China is the #1 Enemy of the United States

I saw this Nury Vittachi post on Facebook on Tuesday – and I am sharing it here. 

China was considered a friendly nation by the US – and until 2017, it was not even on the list of America’s “perceived enemies”!

But 2018 saw a series of closed-door meetings of the intelligence agencies of the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany and Japan to prepare a new “China containment strategy”. 

Over the following years, these agencies fed an endless torrent of negative stories to the international media to portray China as “destroying” Hong Kong, Tibet and Xinjiang, and being on the verge of invading Taiwan and even Australia. Given their enormous dominance, the campaign became wildly successful. 

Indeed, it becomes extremely difficult to keep telling the truth about China in the face of such powerful “state-sponsored” propaganda. In fact, the “whole system in the US”, left and right, politicians and media, are working together to demonize the Chinese.

All because China is rising and, in the process, threatens US hegemony.