Victoria Nuland Shreds the Ukraine Narrative

US State Department fixture and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland (left), aka “Regime Change Karen”, apparently woke up one day and decided to shred the West’s Ukraine narrative. 

 

Until now, Americans have been told that all the US taxpayer cash being earmarked for Ukrainian aid is to help actual Ukrainians.

 

According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German research institute, the US contribution to Ukraine is said to be $76.8 billion for the period between January 24, 2022 and July 31, 2023. This includes humanitarian (5%), financial (34%), and military support (61%). [Note: This figure does not include all war-related US spending, such as aid to allies].

 

And so, Nuland dropped a massive truth bomb on CNN on February 22. She had started off with the usual talking point of doing “what we have always done, which is defend democracy and freedom around the world”. Then she added: “And by the way, we have to remember that the bulk of this money ("referring to the US aid to Ukraine") is going right back into the US to make those weapons”. 

 

Meaning, Ukrainians are a convenient pretext to keep the tax cash flowing in the direction of the US military industrial complex. This gives a whole new perspective to the “as long as it takes” pledge. It’s just the usual endless war and profits repackaged as benevolence. 

 

As political strategist and columnist Rachel Marsden explained in an RT piece dated Tuesday: "Thanks to Nuland’s nuking of any plausible deniability on Ukrainian 'aid' not going to Washington, it’s now clear that Ukrainians continue to die so poor weapons makers don’t end up shaking tin cans on street corners. She has also removed any doubt about the ultimate US goal being Russian regime change, calling Putin’s leadership 'not the Russia we wanted'”! 

 

Celtic hit form to thrash Dundee 7-1 yesterday, but they remain two points behind Rangers at the top of the Scottish Premiership.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cameron Carter-Vickers jumped highest in the seventh minute to head home Matt O'Riley's free-kick and open the floodgates. 

 

Adam Idah glanced Alistair Johnston's cross past the Dee goalkeeper to double the lead in the eighteenth minute and O'Riley was then afforded acres of space to cushion a header into the bottom corner four minutes later and make it three. Daizen Maeda got in on the action, bending a delightful left-footed shot into the far corner in the 30th minute after cutting inside as Dundee capitulated at the back. 

 

Things went from bad to worse for the visitors from the east coast of Scotland when Greg Taylor ghosted into the box in the 36th minute to make it five. And then, Callum McGregor stroked home a left-footed shot to make it six before the break – the biggest half-time lead in the Scottish top flight for at least 20 years.

 

Celtic eased off somewhat after the break, but 18-year-old substitute Daniel Kelly scored his first senior goal in the sixty-third minute to add further gloss to the scoreline. Dundee, however, did get on the scoresheet and earned a consolation goal in the 84th minute.

 

Next, Celtic are away to Hearts on Sunday.

C919's Demo Flights in 5 ASEAN Countries

The Chinese-developed C919 (and ARJ21) aircraft, which debuted at the Singapore Airshow, have started their demonstration flights in five ASEAN countries, i.e. Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia and Indonesia, the Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC) announced on Tuesday. 

 

The demonstration flights have a significant meaning for Chinese passenger aircraft going abroad, as the flights can get international customers and the public to take a closer look at Chinese commercial aircraft. The demonstration flights, which will be carried out over two weeks, aim to verify the planes' adaptability for airports, suitability of ground service equipment, applicability of special flight procedures and economy of route payloads, laying a foundation to explore Southeast Asian markets, COMAC said.

 

[Note: At the just-concluded Singapore Airshow, China's Tibet Airlines have sealed a deal for 50 aircraft consisting of forty C919 and ten ARJ21 planes. And total orders for the C919 alone have reportedly surpassed 1,200 aircraft].

 

Liverpool's quadruple hopes are still alive! On Wednesday, Liverpool won 3-0 against Southampton in the FA Cup fifth round to progress to the quarter-finals. Thanks to two 18-year-olds.

 

With injuries to a host of first-team players, Jürgen Klopp named six players aged 21 or younger in his starting XI and, just as in Sunday's EFL Cup final, the youngsters delivered. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Southampton had a host of chances in the first half but having failed to make them count, they were punished when Lewis Koumas collected Bobby Clark's pass and found the bottom corner as his low shot deflected off the Saints captain a minute before the break. FYI, Koumas (18 years 162 days) became the fourth youngest player to score on his senior debut for #LFC.

 

The Saints had further opportunities to level in the second period but remained profligate in front of goal. Again they were made to pay as Jayden Danns, on for Koumas, ran on to Harvey Elliott's pass to score with a lovely dinked finish in the seventy-third minute. 

 

And Danns struck again two minutes from time, thumping the ball home after the Southampton goalkeeper had parried Conor Bradley's shot into his path.

 

Again FYI, Danns only made his senior debut for Liverpool on February 21 against Luton Town, before coming off the bench to feature as the Reds beat Chelsea in the EFL Cup final on Sunday where he won his first medal. And yesterday, when he hammered in his second, the striker at 18 years and 43 days, became the youngest Liverpool player to score two or more in a game since Michael Owen scored a League Cup hat-trick against Grimsby in November 1997 aged 17 years, 339 days. 

 

A matchup with Manchester Unite is now on the horizon.

The Case of Two Lions Named Akbar and Sita

The government of India’s northeastern state of Tripura has suspended the principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife and ecotourism), Prabin Lal Agrawal, following a row over the naming of a zoo lion and lioness as Akbar and Sita. 

 

The suspension came after a complaint was filed by the right-wing group Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Indian media reported on Monday. 

 

While Sita is a deity married to Lord Ram in the Indian epic Ramayana, Akbar was a 16th-century Muslim emperor of the powerful Mughal dynasty that ruled India and is seen as ‘invaders’ by some Hindus. 

 

The VHP, in their plea heard by the Kolkata High Court, claimed that religious sentiments were being hurt by housing the two animals together at the Bengal Safari Park. The duo was transferred from Tripura’s Sepahijala Zoological Park to the Bengal Safari Park in Siliguri, West Bengal on February 12. 

 

The court said that animals should not be named after any religious deities or figures. 

 

“Why should you draw controversy by naming a lioness and a lion after Sita and Akbar?” Justice Saugata Bhattacharya, who weighed in on the case, was quoted by PTI news agency as saying.

 

“Sita is worshiped by a larger section of this country”, the judge stated. “I also oppose naming the lion after Akbar. He was an efficient, successful, and secular Mughal Emperor” . 

 

The court called on the state government to consider renaming the lioness to avoid controversy. 

 

The lawyer representing the state, meanwhile, said the lion and lioness were born in Tripura in 2018 and 2016 respectively, but no protest was made about the names. 

 

The seven-year-old Akbar and five-year-old Sita were taken to Siliguri as a part of an animal exchange program along with other animals, including two langurs, two leopard cats, and four blackbucks. India has another big cat named Sita – a white tiger in the Delhi Zoological Park.

Malaysia is a Top Global Destination for CNY

This year's Chinese New Year celebration witnessed a significant resurgence in consumer spending in cross-border tourism in Malaysia, signalling a robust rebound post-Covid-19. 

 

Malaysia became the fifth most popular destination globally for Chinese tourists, according to data from Alipay+ and Paynet. Other countries in Asia on the list of preferred travel locations for Chinese travelers are Japan, Thailand, Singapore and South Korea by their Alipay spending.

 

The data stated that spending in Malaysia in the first seven days of CNY was two times that of the same period in 2019 and more than 10 times that of 2023.

 

In fact, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore combined saw a 7.5 percent increase over 2019 and a 580 percent leap over 2023, with Thailand leading in total volume and Malaysia showing the most significant growth, according to a news report from New Straits Times published February 27. 

 

New visa-free policies from major Southeast Asia destinations, including Malaysia, are critical enablers of the cross-border travel boom, it is said.

 

[Note: Since November 2023, Alipay+ has been accepted by more than 1.9 million DuitNow QR merchants, giving Chinese tourists greater convenience to pay via their home e-wallets no matter where in the country they visit]. 

 

And if you exclude Chinese tourists, Malaysia ranks as the sixth most popular destination amongst other Asian tourists. 

 

The same New Straits Times had on January 23 highlighted Malaysia as the third most popular destination – after Japan and Thailand – for tourists to celebrate the Lunar New Year, according to digital travel platform Agoda. 

 

Booking data showed that Singapore, Brunei, China, Indonesia and South Korea as the top inbound markets to Malaysia, marking China's return as a top-five source market for the first time since 2019. 

 

And the five most popular destinations visited within Malaysia are Kuala Lumpur, followed by Johor Baru, Kota Kinabalu, Malacca and Penang", said Agoda in a statement.

Malaysia's Debt Burden is Also Alarming

Malaysia's debt burden is also alarming.

In fact, it is projected to be around 64% of GDP as at end-2024 – only one percent away from the 65% statutory debt limit, according to the Ministry of Finance in their Fiscal Outlook and Federal Government Revenue Estimates Report as reported by The Edge Malaysia.

At 64% of GDP, the federal government debt is estimated to be RM1.263 trillion, higher than RM1.147 trillion (62%) in 2023 and RM1.079 trillion (60.3%) in 2022. 

The report said the increase in the federal government debt is for the financing of strategic development projects under the 12th Malaysia Plan, among others, the flood mitigation programme, the Central Spine Road (CSR), the Pan Borneo Sabah and Sarawak highways, the Rapid Transit System Link (RTS Link) project between Johor Bahru and Singapore as well as the National Fiberisation and Connectivity Plan (Jendela).

Already, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Ibrahim (right) in his inaugural address to the Dewan Rakyat yesterday had said he was disappointed ("berasa keweca") with Malaysia’s growing debt levels, adding that this was caused by Putrajaya perpetually being in a deficit position since 1998.

The Agong declared that he will vet government’s expenditures to ensure that every proposed spending is really necessary. And he expressed his wish that during his rule, the government will achieve a fiscal surplus every year.

We don't need to be an economist to know that the government should prioritise productive investments to ensure sustainable fiscal management and reduce public debt while carefully avoiding wasteful spending.

No matter how much we deny, rising levels of government debt are, after all, a symptom of an ailing economy.

Mounting Debts

America’s gross national debt exceeded $33 trillion for the first time on September 18, 2023, providing a stark reminder of the country’s shaky fiscal trajectory. In fact, the debt is on track to top $50 trillion by the end of the decade.

 

As at today at 10:25 AM (Malaysian time), the US debt has ballooned to $34,369,041,396,438. That's $102,259 for every single person in the country.

 

The government now spend more on interest payments than they do on funding the Pentagon. Already, the fiscal situation may be too large to ignore. It is said debt management will likely bedevil whoever wins the White House in 2024.

 

Talking about debts, one individual, former President Donald Trump owes a lot of money currently! And there's a new website that will help him and the rest of us keep track of the growing interest on his debts!

 

The website called "Donald Trump's Debt Live Tracker" is the brainchild of Pennsylvania-based Democratic strategist Johnny Palmadessa. It also includes a Trump quiz and a chatbot that allows visitors to ask Trump questions that he’ll refuse to answer. 

 

Palmadessa announced the new website in a Threads post on Sunday, writing, “It is the only website actively being monitored by an accountant to ensure accuracy”.

 

The live counter is keeping a running total on how much Trump owes to New York after losing a civil fraud trial on February 16 that showed he lied about his wealth. The initial verdict ruled that Trump owed $355 million in penalties, but the total is now close to $454 million due to interest. Although he is appealing the ruling, the interest on the debt will continue to accrue at a rate of $112,000 a day until Trump pays up or the amount is changed.

 

According to the said website, Trump (left) now owes $464,969,660.86 (also at 10:25 AM today).

 

I reckon for a well-connected billionaire, that debt is merely a temporary inconvenience; after all, Trump could always liquidate some of his assets or borrow even more money to cover his short-term obligations.

In Two Years, Only 31,000 Ukrainian Soldiers Killed in Battle

Whether you believe [V]olodymyr [Z]elensky is snorting cocaine or not is not the issue here. The fact is, he is hallucinating. Again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Speaking at the “Ukraine. Year 2024” forum in Kiev yesterday, the Ukrainian president disclosed that in the two years since Russia launched its Special Military Operation, Ukraine has lost only 31,000 soldiers while Russia has lost 180,000. 

 

IF YOU BELIEVE LAH!

 

Celtic moved back within two points of Scottish Premiership leaders Rangers when they beat Motherwell 3-1 yesterday. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celtic gave a sloppy first half performance and got punished as the Steelmen took a deserved lead in the 43rd minute. However, Celtic were much improved after the break and substitute Adam Idah made an instant impact, heading Greg Taylor's cross into the goalmouth for the equaliser in the 51st minute. 

 

Idah then grabbed the second goal as he turned Alistair Johnston’s low delivery into the near-post with a wonderful striker’s finish (90+4). Two minutes later, Celtic pounced again, this time Luis Palma tapped in from close-range following Hyun-Jun Yang's ball across the goal.

 

Three goals and three important points gained in very late fashion at Motherwell as the Celts move on to Dundee at Celtic Park on Wednesday.

Liverpool’s First Trophy of the 2023-2024 Campaign

Liverpool landed their first trophy of the 2023-2024 campaign, the EFL Cup in dramatic fashion as Virgil van Dijk’s header late in extra-time sealed a 1-0 win against Chelsea at Wembley yesterday.

 

The Reds were without key players through injury: forwards Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez, goalkeeper Alisson, defenders Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joel Matip, and midfielders Dominik Szobsozlai, Curtis Jones and Thiago Alcantara. 

 

It meant that five players aged 20 or under featured, with the average age of the team that ended the game being below 22. 

 

Jürgen Klopp’s injury-ravaged side finished a grueling clash with these youngsters and they all deserved huge credit for their contributions to this win.

 

Special mention must be made of Caoimhin Kelleher who kept out a frankly ludicrous 2.95 xGOT (expected goals on target) in making nine saves across the 120 minutes, almost single-handedly keeping the Reds’ chances of victory alive at times.

 

As well as their experienced captain who clinched the club’s 10th League Cup triumph. Van Dijk had seen a header contentiously ruled out for offside on the hour but there was no reprieve for Chelsea when he glanced home another from Kostas Tsimikas' corner in the 118th minute.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quadruple-chasing Liverpool sit top of the Premier League, face Southampton in the FA Cup fifth round on Wednesday and take on Sparta Prague in the Europa League last 16.

Funny Animal Cartoons

Some time back, on October 19, 2021, I had featured cartoons about anxious animals. Today, I am sharing funny animal cartoons:

 

Bloomberg Makes 2024 a Visit Malaysia Year

Visit Malaysia Year 2026, as outlined by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim during Budget 2024 may not be needed after all. Even better, the money allocated to promote the country can be put to better use. 

 

This is because Bloomberg has, in fact, already started advertising Malaysia this year itself!

On Wednesday, the global financial news and information source urged travelers to visit Malaysia, saying  'your dream Malaysia vacation just got cheaper", thanks to a weak ringgit, which is boosting tourists' spending power. 

The currency on Tuesday fell to its lowest level since the Asian financial crisis 26 years ago – the beleaguered ringgit momentarily slipped below 4.80 against the US Dollar to 4.79, the weakest it has been since plunging to an all-time low of 4.8850 in 1998. 

Singaporeans, of course, are “already piling across the border, keen to make the most of their dollar's unprecedented strength against the ringgit”.

But for Malaysians, these are very troubling times!

Even Rafidah Aziz (left), the international trade and industry minister from 1987 to 1990, in a Facebook post today, has described the erosion of the ringgit’s value, increasing cost of living, and the ballooning public debt as untenable. 

Anwar Ibrahim's government appear to be failing big time and seemingly unable to disentangle the country from this messed-up quagmire! Expect bleak times ahead!

On the second anniversary of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, [V]olodymyr [Z]elensky is still insisting his country will win! ROTFL!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I tend to believe that [Z]elensky is, oftentimes, high on drugs. It helps explain why he is almost always seriously hallucinating!

The Fifteenth Day of the First Lunar Month

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, is another important traditional Chinese festival, the Chinese Lantern Festival or Yuan Xiao Jie or Yuanxiao Festival (元宵节). It marks the first full moon of the new lunar year and the end of the Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) period. 

Malaysians tend to call this day as Chap Goh Meh (which is Penang Hokkien for what might be best translated as "the ending on the 15th"). 

In olden times, Chinese women were allowed to venture out only on the last day of the new year celebrations. For the guys, it is the chance for them to catch a glimpse of these maidens. This explains why Chap Goh Meh is regarded as the Chinese Valentine’s Day. 

A popular Chap Goh Meh tradition is the mandarin orange-tossing ceremony for single women wishing to find love. Customarily, young single women write their names and phone numbers on mandarin oranges (Citrus reticulata) before throwing them into the lake (or any body of water), in the belief it will bring the ladies good luck in finding a good boyfriend or husband. The single men will wait eagerly on the opposite bank to collect the floating oranges.

The Chinese Lantern Festival 2024 or Chap Goh Meh is today, in case you don't know. 

And give a listen to a classic Chinese poem on the Lantern Festival read by CGTN's digital avatar:

Stunning 240 Million-year-old 'Chinese Dragon' Fossil

Scientists have unveiled stunning fossils of an ancient seaborne "dragon" discovered in China. 

 

The 240 million-year-old animal – nicknamed the "Chinese dragon" – belongs to the species Dinocephalosaurus orientalis, a reptile that used its remarkably long neck to ambush unsuspecting prey in shallow waters during the Triassic period (252 million to 201 million years ago). 

 

The species was first found in ancient limestone deposits in southern China in 2003, but scientists have now pieced together remains to reconstruct the full 16.8-foot (5 meters) span of the spectacular ancient carnivore for the first time.

 

The researchers revealed the new findings in a study published February 23 in the journal Earth and Environmental Science: Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 

 

"It is yet one more example of the weird and wonderful world of the Triassic that continues to baffle paleontologists", Nick Fraser, keeper of natural sciences at National Museums Scotland said in a statement. "We are certain that it will capture imaginations across the globe due to its striking appearance, reminiscent of the long and snake-like, mythical Chinese Dragon". 

 

Dr Nick Fraser, from National Museums Scotland, who was part of the international team that studied the fossil, said this was the first time scientists had been able to see it in full. He described it as "a very strange animal". 

 

"It had flipper-like limbs and its neck is longer than its body and tail combined", he said. In fact, its neck, which stretches nearly 7.7 feet (2.3 meters) and contains 32 separate vertebrae – in comparison, giraffes (as well as humans) have only seven neck vertebrae.

 

The snake-like shape of the dragon's articulable neck likely gave it a remarkable ability to sneak up on its prey, which it did after maneuvering into position with its flippered limbs. Some of the fish snared in the dragon's serrated teeth are still preserved inside the sea monster's belly.

 

The researchers note that though the strange creature may be reminiscent of the Loch Ness Monster, it is not closely related to the long-necked plesiosaurs that inspired the famous mythical creature.

 

"We hope that our future research will help us understand more about the evolution of this group of animals, and particularly how the elongate neck functioned", first-author Stephan Spiekman, a post-doctoral researcher based at the Stuttgart State Museum of Natural History, said in the statement.

Give Us All Your Heavy Weapons, EU Told

Denmark will transfer all of its artillery to Ukraine, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (left) announced on Saturday. 

 

According to her, despite production issues, Copenhagen and the EU in general have enough arms stockpiled to supply the country with the necessary weaponry. 

 

"We have weapons, we have ammunition, we have air defense, that we don’t have to use ourselves at the moment, that we should deliver to Ukraine”, Frederiksen added and pressed other EU member-states to follow suit.

 

Denmark is among the major suppliers of weapons to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. It also spearheaded an effort to help Ukraine procure F-16 fighter jets and train its pilots to fly the warplanes last year, and is a member of the "drone coalition", a group of countries led by Latvia and the United Kingdom that have pledged to give Kiev one million drones to fight Russia.

 

On Wednesday, Ukrainian national security council chief Aleksey Danilov (right) repeated: "The EU should donate all their heavy weapons to Kiev", and he even boasted that Ukraine would have defeated Russia already if it had been given enough arms.

 

"We are prepared to achieve the task of destroying the Russian Federation", he declared.

Methinks, it's an idea worth considering because the more arms supplied to Ukraine by EU states, the faster their stockpiles get depleted. And so, it won't just be the demilitarization of Ukraine, but the whole of the EU as well! Then, the West won't be warmongering anymore!