Digitizing Books Can Spur Demand for Physical Copies

In this era dominated by digital media, the idea that physical books could die out is regularly raised. 

 

But American researchers say that such a concern is unfounded. They say that the digitisation of the world’s literary production is not having a dramatic impact on book sales. Perhaps even more surprisingly, the dematerialisation of literature could even increase sales of “paper” books by up to 8%.

 

If you can recall, book publishers were up in arms – they mounted numerous legal challenges – when in 2004, the Google Books project digitized and freely distributed more than 25 million works. 

 

In 2005, the American Authors Guild even filed a complaint against Google for “massive copyright infringement” at the expense of individual authors’ rights in a federal court in New York. The US court ruled in favor of the world’s number one search engine, judging that the project would benefit society as a whole.

 

This phenomenon has a greater impact on lesser-known books and could even be seen with non-digitised works by writers who have seen some of their literary output digitised. 

 

Imke Reimers (left) and Abhishek Nagaraj, the two academics behind this research, came to this conclusion after analyzing the sales of 37,743 books that were digitized by Google for their Books project between 2005 and 2009. In particular, they compared sales figures two years before and after this period, to see if the American technology company’s project had had any impact on the publishing market.

 

Their findings suggest that this gigantic digital library has, in any case, had a positive effect on book sales. They found that around 40% of digitised titles saw their sales increase between 2003-2004 and 2010-2011, compared with less than 20% of non-digitised titles.

 

“We didn’t necessarily expect the positive effect on sales”, she said. “We expected a positive effect on use, because if a book is readily available online, people can find it more easily and naturally they’re going to use it more”, outlined Reimers in a press release. 

 

And interestingly, book lovers, Reimers said, are known for their affinity for physical books, as opposed to digital versions, which could also play a role. “Whenever I talk to people about my research on books,” she said, “at some point they all say, ‘I just love the feel of a book in my hand’”.

 

The findings of this study “Digitization and the Market for Physical Works: Evidence from the Google Books Project”, published October 31 in the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, show that digital will not lead to the demise of traditional bookstores. 

 

Besides, this circumstance has already been seen with Bookstagram and, more recently, BookTok, TikTok’s literary community. Internet users who take part in this massive book club recommend books to one another, sparking unexpected literary successes in the process. 

 

Proof, if proof were needed, that books are anything but obsolete.

Malaysia's CPI 2023 Ranking

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) have reaffirmed their commitment to combating corruption in light of Malaysia’s improved standing in Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), it was reported in Malaysian news media. 

 

Released yesterday, the anti-graft group’s latest report saw Malaysia's CPI ranked #57 in 2023, compared to #61 in 2022.  The country has rebounded to 50 points last year from 47 points the year before, marking the first time in two years that the country has reached the 50-point mark. Note that Malaysia had a CPI score of 53 in 2019, which fell to 51 in 2020 and 48 in 2021. 

 

The CPI measures and ranks countries by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, and countries are scored on a scale of 0 (very corrupt) to 100 (very clean). 

 

The global average for 2023 was unchanged at 43 for the 12th consecutive year. And more than two-thirds of countries scored below 50.

 

In a statement, MACC noted that TI-Malaysia attributed the improvement to factors such as MACC’s investigations, arrests, and convictions of high-profile cases over the past two years.

 

“MACC (are) committed and determined to continue eradicating corruption, abuse of power, and misconduct within (their) mandate as the sole enforcement agency entrusted to combat corruption in the country”, they declared.

 

Malaysians know corruption is still rife in this country. 

 

My post "Western Countries Stop Funding UNRWA" two days ago refers.

 

Japan and Austria said they were suspending payments to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA, as the crisis deepens over the alleged role of some staff in the Hamas military operation in Israel. 

 

According to a report in the New York Times, an Israeli intelligence dossier alleges that nearly 200 UNRWA workers are Hamas or Islamic Jihad operatives, without providing detailed evidence. The dossier also alleges that at least 12 workers crossed into Israel on October 07. UNRWA have reportedly sacked nine of those employees and say they are investigating.

 

Another report published by the Wall Street Journal, also citing the Israeli intelligence dossier, alleges that about 1,200 of UNRWA's 12,000 employees in Gaza have links to Hamas or Islamic Jihad.

Chinese Tourists Boost Global Travel Market

China's opening-up measures, including visa exemptions as well as the approaching Spring Festival holidays – running from February 10 to 17 – will see a wave of Chinese tourists traveling abroad, making China an important force in promoting the development of global tourism.

 

The bookings of Chinese tourists traveling to Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia during the festive holidays are up more than 15 times compared with 2023 on Chinese travel platform Trip.com. 

 

Bookings for Thailand and Singapore have increased by more than 13 times, while the number of bookings for Malaysia has increased by more than 22 times. 

 

In fact, according to data from Chinese travel agency U-tour, the three countries have become popular short-haul destinations for Chinese travelers, accounting for nearly 90 percent of overall bookings for the holidays.

 

The contribution of Chinese outbound tourism to the global economic recovery was evident in 2023 and is expected to continue this year, Tian Yun, a veteran economist, told the Global Times on Monday. 

 

My posts on the US border issue published January 26 and 27 refer. It is worth repeating that the Texas standoff highlights the deep divide in the United States.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The razor wire is not only installed along the US-Mexico border, but it also symbolizes the divide between the US state of Texas and the federal government, as well as between the Republicans and Democrats. So says, English-language Chinese newspaper Global Times – and I wholly agree with this POV. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Concerns are growing as the risks of heightened political discord in the US during the 2024 presidential election year become increasingly apparent, as marked by the latest state-federal government clash. [Just so you know, Texas is a Republican state while the White House are occupied by the Democrats].

 

The US faces unparalleled domestic challenges. And yet, the Joe Biden government are avoiding these issues and  instead, they have disproportionately invested their resources abroad to provoke conflict and upend the world.

Hermès Drip

An Italian influencer has gone viral for sharing a quaint video of herself hooked up to a “handbag drip”. 

 

“I need a new wish”, thirty-two-year old Giulia Nati (right) posted on Instagram last week as a caption to a video showing her lying in bed with an oxygen mask over her mouth and nose. 

 

A tube connects her arm to a reddish-pink Hermès handbag as if it were an IV drip. A beeping sound can be heard in the background – mimicking the vital signs monitor. 

 

Seven more pricey Hermès purses can be seen on her bedside table in the clip, which has drawn more than 17,600 likes on Instagram. But others thought Nati got carried away.  

“As a former oncology patient, this image doesn’t make me laugh”, commented actress and reality star Carolina Marconi (left), who was diagnosed with breast cancer. 

 

“On the contrary, I find it very sad. I would take you for a walk in these [hospital] wards to make you really understand the conditions these poor people are in”, she continued. “Then let’s see how you feel about publishing something like this”. 

 

“Hi, Carolina, you know that we can talk privately”, Nati responded. “And you know how much I respect you as a woman for your strength”. 

 

She added: “My mother-in-law’s experiencing the same illness every day, I’m experiencing it first-hand. But that’s beside the point. It was just a light-hearted video. That’s all! Sending you a hug”. 

 

“I’ve spent 8 months in the hospital recovering from severe burns. Despite that, I really enjoyed this video and adore the concept!” wrote YouTuber Týnuš Třešničková, who was badly burned when a flame stunt at celebrity chef Salt Bae’s Istanbul restaurant went horribly wrong in 2018. “People just lack sense of humor and take [the] Internet too seriously”. 

 

And another person exclaimed: “As the daughter of two cancer parents you are more terrible than funny!!”

 

Jam Press reported that Nati – who has two kids, including one named Hermes – defended the controversial post in an Instagram Story. 

 

“The video has received likes from 17,000 people”, she argued. “Below the video, there are 2,700 comments, including 2,000 insults”. 

 

She reasoned: “So, 17,000 plus 700 equals 17,700 people who approve of the video, as opposed to 2,000 who don’t”.

 

Western Countries Stop Funding UNRWA

In another act of hostility to Palestine, multiple Western countries have suspended funding for UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) as of Saturday, according to Reuters, after Israel alleged that 12 of the agency's staff are linked to Palestinian "militants" and had participated in the October 07 Hamas attack on the country. 

 

[Note: Israel has not furnished any evidence to back up its claim against UNRWA].

 

These countries are USA, UK, Canada, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, Finland, and Australia. UNRWA commissioner general, Philippe Lazzarini (left) condemned these governments, warning such actions threatened the agency’s humanitarian work in the region. 

 

“Palestinians in Gaza did not need this additional collective punishment. This stains all of us”, he wrote on X (formerly Twitter). 

 

The funding shutoff is expected to affect hundreds of millions of dollars in much-needed aid to the agency, which provides shelter and food for displaced Palestinians – a category that currently encompasses over 85% of residents of the Gaza Strip. 

 

FYI, Israel has long accused the UN and their member organizations of sympathizing with Hamas. In October, the Jewish state even demanded the resignation of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres (right), accusing him of “justifying terrorism”!

 

Yesterday, Liverpool reached the FA Cup fifth round with an emphatic 5-2 victory over Norwich City.

 

The Reds opened the scoring through Curtis Jones in the 16th minute before the Canaries drew level six minutes later. Darwin Nunez restored Liverpool's lead when he caught Conor Bradley's pass and drilled a low effort into the bottom left corner in the twenty-eighth minute.

 

And it was 3-1 in the fifty-third minute when Diogo Jota latched on to a wayward header from a Canaries defender before thumping a low shot into the net. Ten minutes afterwards, second-half substitute Virgil van Dijk, left completely unmarked from a Dominik Szoboszlai corner, headed home Liverpool's fourth before a sixty-ninth minute Norwich strike gave their fans something to cheer about. 

 

The Reds restored their three-goal lead through Ryan Gravenberch in the fifth minute of added time when he converted Bradley’s cross. 

 

Liverpool now face a home fifth-round tie with Southampton or Watford, who will replay their round-four match after drawing 1-1 on Sunday.

 

 

 

Add a Pinch of Salt for a Perfect Cuppa

If you're a Brit, how do you take your tea? One lump of sugar, two or maybe some milk? 

 

Unless you're adding salt, one scientist from across the Atlantic says, your cup won't be perfect – a notion so controversial in the UK that even the US embassy had to get involved. 

 

Author and chemist Michelle Francl's push for salt in tea came to light with the release of her new book, "Steeped: The Chemistry of Tea", published Wednesday by the Royal Society of Chemistry. 

 

In the book, Francl (left) argues that adding a pinch of salt to tea – not enough to taste – can make it seem less bitter, as the sodium helps "block the bitter receptors in our mouths", according to the Associated Press. 

 

Brits were quick to react to the suggestion – and it didn't go well. 

 

"This feels like a crime", 'Good Morning Britain' posted on social media Wednesday, sharing a video of one of their anchors saying such an addition is "absolute craziness" . 

 

"I mean I've never heard anything like it", the anchor said. "... Don't mess with a cup of tea. You can't add salt and warm the milk. I don't know what she's thinking" .

 

Popular social media account VeryBritishProblems said the book created a "bad day for special relations". "What will America recommend today, we wonder?" the account posted on Thursday. "Onions in a bowl of cereal? Mustard on Jaffa Cakes?" 

 

Adding salt to tea is seemingly so scandalous that the American embassy in London issued a statement on Wednesday, saying that Francl's "'perfect' cup" recipe landed the embassy's relationship with the UK "in hot water":

 

South Koreans Snack On Crispy Toothpick Fries

South Korean health officials are asking people not to deep fry and consume starch toothpicks, after the method, which turns the toothpicks into crunchy chips, went viral on social media. 

 

In videos posted to TikTok and Instagram and viewed thousands of times, users are seen putting the toothpicks in hot oil until they puff up, and then adding seasonings like cheese or spicy powder before consuming them. 

 

While the toothpicks, which are made from corn or sweet potato starch and dyed with food coloring, are environmentally friendly and biodegradable, it is unclear if they are safe to consume, the officials stressed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Starch toothpicks are not edible product... their safety as food has not been verified", the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety had announced on Wednesday in a post on X, formerly Twitter. "Please do not eat". 

 

Deep-fried toothpick "fries" aren't the first hazardous food trend to spread on social media. The US Food and Drug Administration in 2022 warned people not to cook their chicken in NyQuil, and back in 2018, Procter & Gamble urged consumers not to eat Tide PODS laundry detergent.

 

Misfiring Celtic still managed to chalk up a narrow 1-0 triumph over Ross County yesterday and restored their five-point lead in the Scottish Premiership. 

 

Alistair Johnston scored what proved to be the winner in the first minute with a shot from the edge of the box that took a wicked deflection and spun into the corner of the net.

 

I just gotta gripe. I can't believe how badly Celtic have regressed under Brendan Rodgers. They're lucky to get away with a win at home to Ross County.

One in 4 Gen Zers in the US Identify as LGBTQ

More than one in four (28%) Americans between the ages of 18 and 25, known as Generation Z, identified as LGBTQ in a survey published earlier this week by the Public Religion Research Institute. 

 

The figure was the largest percentage recorded for any generation by the pollsters, which conducted their research during August and September on a sample of over 6,600 people. 

 

Nearly half of the non-heterosexual Gen Zers said they were bisexual, amounting to 15% of all Gen Z adults. Gays and lesbians (5% of total) were outnumbered by “other” (8%). 

 

Generation Z were far more likely to identify as something other than straight than previous generations! 

Researchers also found that Gen Z adults were more ethnically and racially diverse than older generations and less likely to affiliate with established religions. 

 

While the PRRI’s numbers echoed previous surveys showing Generation Z were the most LGBT and liberal group to come of age in the US yet, the percentage who identified as something other than heterosexual was significantly higher in this week’s findings than in a similar poll by Gallup last year, which found 19.7% of Gen Z adults aged 18 to 26 self-identified as LGBTQ, compared to 7.2% of the general population.

 

My post "Texas Governor Declares Texas Law Supercedes US Federal Authority" published yesterday refers.

 

A total of 25 state governors have now backed Texas in an intensifying standoff with their federal government over illegal immigration. There's no denying it is a damn serious issue because in December alone, a record 300,000-plus people had crossed the border from Mexico into the United States.

 

It’s no coincidence that the surge in border traffic has been accompanied by increases in child trafficking and drug trafficking. Fentanyl transported across the border by drug cartels is killing thousands of Americans every month. More than 112,000 Americans died from drug overdoses between May 2022 and May 2023, primarily from fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. At the same time, there has been a 56-fold increase in the number of Border Patrol encounters with people who had been flagged on the US terrorist watch list. 

 

I suppose this is why many Americans don't refer to it as a migrant crisis, but rather label it as an "invasion".

Hermit Crabs Wear Our Thrash

Hermit crabs (Scientific name: Paguroidea) all over the world, which scavenge shells as armor for their bodies, are turning increasingly to plastic waste instead. 

 

The conclusion is based on analysis of photos, taken by wildlife enthusiasts, and published online. 

 

Scientists said they were "heartbroken" to see the extent to which these crustaceans were living in our rubbish. They said two-thirds of hermit crabs species were pictured in "artificial shells" – items that humans discarded. 

 

The discovery is published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, Vol. 913, February 25, 2024.

 

The study used social media and photo-sharing websites, as one of the researchers Marta Szulkin (right), an urban ecologist from the University of Warsaw, explained: "We started to notice something completely out of the ordinary. Instead of being adorned with a beautiful snail shell, which is what we're used to seeing – they would have a red plastic bottle cap on their back or piece of light bulb".

 

She and her colleagues, Zuzanna Jagiello from the University of Warsaw and Łukasz Dylewski, from Poznan University of Life Sciences, found a total of 386 individuals using artificial shells – mainly plastic caps. 

 

"According to our calculations, 10 out of the 16 species of land hermit crabs in the world use this type of shelter and it's been observed in all tropical regions of the Earth", Prof Szulkin explained. 

 

It isn't yet clear whether these materials are harmful – or perhaps even helpful – for the small, vulnerable decapods. 

 

"When I first saw these pictures, I felt it was heart-breaking", Prof Szulkin told BBC Radio 4's Inside Science. "At the same time, I think we really need to understand the fact that we are living in a different era and animals are making use of what is available to them". 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Internet-based ecological study, revealed that this use of artificial shells is a "global phenomenon". 

 

"We saw it in two-thirds of all terrestrial hermit crab species", said Prof Szulkin. "That's what we could identify just by using pictures taken by tourists".

 

The researcher said that the natural snail shells were in decline, so she suspected it might be becoming easier for the animals to find an artificial alternative. And lighter, plastic 'shells' might even help smaller, weaker crabs to survive because they are easier to carry. 

 

There is certainly a great deal of plastic in the marine environment for the animals to choose from.

 

Mark Miodownik, who is professor of materials and society at University College London told the BBC that there was a lesson for humans in these images. "Just like the hermit crabs", he said, "we should be reusing plastics much more, instead of discarding it".

Profanity-spewing Parrots Given Second Chance

Officials at a UK zoo said a group of infamously foul-mouthed parrots that were isolated from the rest of the flock are being moved in with the rest of the chatty birds in the hopes of cleaning up their language. 

 

The Lincolnshire Wildlife Park in Boston, Lincolnshire, famously received five African gray parrots (Scientific name: Psittacus erithacus) from different owners in 2020, and the new arrivals spent their time in quarantine teaching each other a combo of profanities. 

 

The birds were removed from the rest of the zoo's flock to keep them from teaching their bad habits to dozens of other parrots. But officials said the recent arrival of three more potty-mouthed parrots led them to make the decision to put all eight of the cussing birds in with the rest of the parrots. 

 

"We've put eight really, really offensive, swearing parrots with 92 non-swearing ones", Steve Nichols, chief executive of the park, told CNN. "When we came to move them, the language that came out of their carrying boxes was phenomenal, really bad. Not normal swear words, these were proper expletives". 

 

Nichols said keepers are hoping the swearing parrots will learn new sounds from the rest of the flock, instead of the other way around. 

 

"We could end up with 100 swearing parrots on our hands. Only time will tell", he told the BBC. 

 

He said integrating the parrots with the rest of the flock is worth the risk. 

 

"Parrots are flock creatures. They need to be with other parrots. The bigger the flock, the happier they are", Nichols said. "Even though they swear, the welfare of the birds has to come first". 

 

The zoo posted signs warning visitors about the potential for foul language, but Nichols said the swearing parrots have actually proven to be popular with the public. 

 

"We did hear a lot more customers swearing at parrots than we did parrots swearing at customers", Nichols said.

Texas Governor Declares State Law Supercedes US Federal Authority

Texas Governor Greg Abbott posted an open letter on Wednesday alleging that President Joe Biden and the Federal government have violated the US Constitution by failing to protect the states from the "invasion" of immigrants. 

 

He is responding to a Supreme Court ruling this week that held that Federal agents must be permitted to remove razor wire that Texas had rolled out on Rio Grande to stop migrants. 

 

In defiance of that ruling, Texas National Guard and state troopers are still setting up more razor wire.

 

On top of that, Abbott (left) is claiming that Texas's authority to defend and protect itself against migration is the "supreme law of the land" and "supersedes any federal statutes".

 

Even more interesting is that it's been pointed out on social media that the seceding states of the Civil War used similar language and justifications – just swap "slavery" for "immigration". And Abbott's accusation that the federal government have breached the Constitution by having "broken the compact between the United States and the States" is lifted nearly verbatim from South Carolina's 1860 declaration of secession!

 

Thereafter, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt came out on X, formerly Twitter, in support of Texas. And you can bet, there will be other state governors throwing their support behind Texas too.

 

Can Texas prevail? We shall see!

 

Football's world number 23 toiled on Thursday after conceding a last-minute equaliser in a madcap 3-3 draw with minnows Malaysia. 

 

Despite the heroic effort, Harimau Malaya in their last Group E match of the 2023 Asian Cup are eliminated. 

 

The draw against South Korea is a testament to Malaysia's football promise and should serve to inspire the team to continue striving for excellence on the international stage.

 

Watch the highlights here:

Israelis Celebrate Gaza Genocide

Since the beginning of the genocide in Gaza in October 2023, Israeli soldiers have been happily posting what can only be described as snuff vids on social media platforms. 

 

In the recordings, soldiers can be seen – often gleefully – committing war crimes against Palestinians. In one clip, an Israeli soldier dressed in a dinosaur costume loads artillery shells into a tank and dances as the shells are fired in the direction of Gaza. In another reel, a soldier is filmed dedicating an explosion to his two-year-old daughter for her birthday. Seconds later, a Palestinian residential building behind him is blown up. 

 

Other videos show Israeli soldiers setting alight Palestinian food supplies during a starvation campaign and mocking stripped, rounded-up and blindfolded Palestinian civilians. 

 

There has been shock and outrage over these vids that have been published on social media platforms – in fact, these videos can be used as evidence in the case against the Israeli regime for genocide before the International Court of Justice in The Hague. 

 

In fact, this latest aggression on Gaza has been one of the most visually documented atrocities in history. And genocidal intent has never been so blatantly expressed by both Israeli soldiers and political leaders.

 

Indeed, the Israeli regime has yet to face any serious consequences from third states for the crimes it has been committing against the Palestinian people since its inception. Rather, it enjoys exceptional diplomatic and trade relations with much of the Western world and has been the largest recipient of United States aid. 

 

Yara Hawari (left), Palestine Policy Fellow of Al-Shabaka at the Palestinian Policy Network, in her Al Jazeera piece "Why are Israeli soldiers sharing snuff videos from their genocide in Gaza?" published yesterday, explains that another aspect of Israeli impunity is often overlooked: Israeli soldiers routinely admit to horrific crimes they commit against the Palestinians to clear their conscience and absolve themselves of personal responsibility but never face any accountability. 

 

Israelis themselves describe the practice as “yorim ve bochim”, which translates from Hebrew as “shooting and crying”. A favorite pastime of the Zionist left, it takes centre stage in dozens of Israeli movies and documentaries.

 

Take the widely celebrated 2022 film "Tantura", named after a Palestinian fishing village that was subjected to a massacre in 1948. In this film, several Israeli veterans talk with ease about the fact that they killed hundreds of Palestinian civilians. Others openly admit to participating in ethnic cleansing, yet all are portrayed as complicated individuals who are traumatised by the trauma they inflicted on Palestinians.

 

The reality is that over the last seven and a half decades, there has been complete impunity for brutalising and slaughtering Palestinians. The ongoing genocide in Gaza and the way in which it is being so brazenly shared on social media by the perpetrators is a manifestation of that impunity. 

 

The only way to make sure that it stops and never happens again is to hold not only those who have taken part in the genocide accountable but also those who are complicit. 

 

They must pay for their war crimes!