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Friday, September 15, 2023

Blinken sounds a rallying cry for a ‘new cold war’ that US cannot win

 ;How Joe Biden's War with China is Making the USA Weaker

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The growing US' geopolitical competition with Russia and China marks the end of the post-Cold War world order, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, speaking at the Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies on Wednesday. "What we are experiencing now is more than a test of the post-Cold War order. It's the end of it," he noted. "Decades of relative geopolitical stability have given way to an intensifying competition with authoritarian powers, revisionist powers." This statement appears to be a rallying cry for a "new cold war."

Since the post-Cold War order is coming to an end, what kind of new world order does the US want? Various signs indicate that the US wants major power competition and camp confrontation in order to maintain its global hegemony, even at the expense of the interests of other countries, including allies, and partner nations. However, the reality is that major power competition goes against the trend of the times and cannot solve the US' own problems and the challenges facing the world. It will only further divide the world, leading the world to slide toward a more dangerous cliff edge.

Regarding Blinken's remarks, there are two main points to consider. Firstly, Blinken was creating a sense of crisis in the world. The underlying message to US allies and other countries is that there are challengers, particularly China and Russia, who want to change the existing order. Secondly, Blinken's remarks also reflect a sense of anxiety in the US. The US is attempting to slow down China's rise through strategic competition, while hoping to sustain its hegemony without jeopardizing its own interests. However, it seems that the US has no clear solution to this dilemma.

China is one of the beneficiaries of the existing system and does not seek to challenge or subvert this order. However, the US has viewed any legitimate demand made by China, even those that reflect the reasonable demands of the majority of developing countries, as a challenge and ill-intentioned sabotage.

Xin Qiang, deputy director of the American Studies Center of Fudan University, believes that US irrational crackdown on China will only irritate China and other developing countries. Many developing countries share common demands with China, but the US opposes whatever China proposes and intends to strangle its legitimate right for development. This will ultimately lead to the destruction of the existing international order and be counterproductive to the US' goals.

The US believes that by containing China, it will gain an advantage. However, whatever damage they're doing to China, it also backfires on the US and even the world.

The US now sees China as a competitor and challenger, opposing and obstructing anything that may benefit China, regardless of its impact on the US. This approach not only fails to maintain US hegemony but also leads it further away from the right direction. 

Today, the US is embroiled in simultaneous confrontations with China and Russia. The US needs to think carefully, as it will be more difficult to engage in a "new cold war" compared to the previous one. In the 1970s, the US GDP accounted for nearly one-third of the global total, but now it is only one-fourth. Its two major opponents are the nuclear power Russia and the economic powerhouse China. In order to defeat Russia, the US must ultimately dismantle its nuclear deterrence, which would be a thrilling adventure. 

As for China, the US is attempting to stifle its development by imposing unlimited technological restrictions, but it is unable to completely decouple from China economically. For the US and its main allies, China is either their largest single trading partner or one of the largest. Today, the US is a reckless strategic aggressor, attempting to unite its relatively weaker strength with its allies to wage a new cold war. It should be noted that the power of US allies has declined significantly, and the unity of the "West" is crippled due to the US transitioning from a "blood donor" to a "vampire".

The current generation of American elites arrogantly seeks to replicate the victory of the Cold War, but they will never succeed. Instead, the US will face a different ending.

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TikTok officially launches e-commerce services in US despite crackdown

TikTok, the popular short-video app owned by Chinese technology company ByteDance, officially launched its e-commerce business in the US after months of testing. The platform, with 150 million monthly active users, is expected to play a catfish role in North America's livestreaming e-commerce sector despite growing uncertainties about a potential US crackdown, industry analysts said.

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Wednesday, September 13, 2023

US Virus-hunting programme shut down due to pandemic fear

 

US shuts controversial $125 mn wildlife virus hunting ...




The idea behind the US virus-hunting programme was to prevent a pandemic, but after Covid-19 emerged, the fear of it accidentally triggering one instead became too real to ignore. — Freepik

For more than a decade, the US government has been funding international programmes engaged in identifying exotic wildlife viruses that might someday infect humans.

But The BMJ revealed on Sept 7 (2023) that a flagship project for hunting viruses among wildlife in South-East Asia, Africa and Latin America to prevent human outbreaks and pandemics is being quietly dropped by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) after private and bipartisan criticism over the safety of such research.

The shuttering of the project marks an abrupt retreat by the US government from wildlife virus-hunting – an activity that has also been funded by the US Department of Defense and the US National Institutes of Health, reports investigative journalist David Willman.

Risk of a pandemic

The turnabout follows warnings raised by sceptics, including officials within the Biden White House, that the US$125mil (RM584.5mil) DEEP VZN programme could inadvertently ignite a pandemic.

The misgivings continue to resonate now, as the cause of the Covid-19 pandemic – the world’s most deadly such event in a century – remains unproven.

USAID – an arm of the US State Department – launched DEEP VZN (short for Discovery & Exploration of Emerging Pathogens – Viral Zoonoses) in October 2021, succeeding an earlier, decade-long USAID programme called PREDICT, explains Willman.

The agency promoted it as “a critical next step to understand and address the risks posed by zoonotic diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans”, and said it would help the world “be better prepared to detect, prevent and respond to future biological threats”.

But in July (2023), officials at USAID quietly informed aides to Democratic and Republican members of two US Senate committees with jurisdiction over DEEP VZN that it was being shut down.

This previously-unpublicised decision comes as concerns have heightened over the many risks of working with exotic viruses, including unresolved questions about whether a research mishap or a naturally-occurring spillover of virus from an animal species to humans caused the Covid-19 pandemic.

For instance, in December 2021, two senior White House officials specialising in biosecurity and biosafety – Jason Matheny, deputy assistant to US President Joe Biden for technology and national security, and Daniel Gastfriend, the US National Security Council’s director for biodefence and pandemic preparedness – first privately shared their views with USAID Administrator Samantha Power and advised her to shut down DEEP VZN.

Later, another White House official, Dr T. Gregory McKelvey Jr, a physician and the assistant director for biosecurity with the US Office of Science and Technology Policy, also privately raised concerns with USAID staff.

Power eventually told Matheny and Gastfriend that she would initiate a review of the programme to ensure DEEP VZN could be conducted in a way that adequately managed the risks.

On Sept 6 (2023), USAID said in response to questions from The BMJ, that it had decided to “end the DEEP VZN” project.

The decision, said USAID, reflected “the relative risks and impact of our programming”.

Audit to be done

Matheny, who left the White House in mid-2022 told The BMJ: “It seems likely that the agency assessed that the risks exceeded the benefits of the programme.”

Willman also notes that in May (2023), three leaders of the Republican-controlled US House Energy and Commerce Committee asked the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) to open a scientific audit to “assess the benefits and risks of conducting predictive field research programmes for viruses”.

The US GAO’s acting chief scientist Dr Karen L. Howard estimated in an email to The BMJ that the audit would likely be completed during spring 2024, but declined to discuss any preliminary findings.

Meanwhile, USAID’s funding of the DEEP VZN programme has continued to draw scrutiny behind the scenes from members and staff with both the US Senate Foreign Relations and Senate Appropriations committees, interviews and documents show, writes Willman.

The exchanges between the US Senate and USAID culminated with a brief mention of the previously-unreported termination of DEEP VZN inside the State Department’s fiscal year 2024 appropriation, dated July 20 (2023): “The Committee notes the decision by USAID to cease funding for the exploration of unknown pathogens.”

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Monday, September 11, 2023

Invasive Alien Species (IAS) threats to the environment

 

Threat of invasive alien species is increasing worldwide: International study


Spreading awareness: Azah (centre) inspecting a Jom Kenali IAS exhibit at the National Botanic Gardens Shah Alam. — MUHAMAD SHAHRIL ROSLI/The Star

No, this is not science fiction – IAS refers to animals and plants that are introduced accidentally or deliberately into a natural environment where they are not normally found.

They will adversely affect their new environment, including plants, animals and humans.

Agriculture and Food Security Ministry deputy secretary-general (Policy) Datuk Azah Hanim Ahmad said IAS is the second biggest threat to Malaysia’s biodiversity after habitat fragmentation.

So far, IAS has cost millions of ringgit in losses to the country and its food security sector, she added.

“Some examples of the negative effects of IAS on animals are the Nipah virus, which spread in 1998 (following an outbreak at pig farms in Perak) and Lumpy Skin Disease in 2021 due to imported cows.

“For plants, 465ha of coconut plantations in Terengganu were destroyed by rhynchophorus ferrugineus (kumbang merah palma) in 2007, causing RM10mil in losses.

“And between 2003 and 2006, Papaya Dieback disease damaged over one million papaya trees, causing RM200mil in losses,” she said.Currently, she said, the Bacterial Panicle Blight, an exotic plant pest, is attacking padi fields.

“Parthenium hysterophorus (rumpai parthenium) can cause allergic reactions in humans and farm animals while Salvinia molesta (rumpai salvinia) can affect irrigation systems,” she said at the launch of the ‘2023 Public Awareness Programme: Let’s Get To Know About IAS (Jom Kenali IAS)’ at the National Botanical Gardens Shah Alam yesterday.

Currently, out of the 138 IAS identified worldwide, 64 are present in Malaysia, Azah said.

Of these, 17 are plants, 19 are animals and 28 are aquatic.

She added that due to this threat, the ministry has to continuously inspect and conduct damage control on crops and animals, which costs money and also contributes to pollution.

“This is due to the IAS management team having to use chemical pesticides and cutting down trees, which affects the productivity of the farming sector.

“This is why awareness among the public is important and we hope that today’s programme can make a big impact on the sustainability of the country’s biodiversity,” she said.

To help protect the country’s biodiversity, the government established the National IAS Committee in 2016 to manage, coordinate and prevent all IAS-related issues in Malaysia.

Meanwhile, the ministry’s Fisheries Biosecurity Division senior director Yeo Moi Eim said there are 28 types of aquatic life that have been gazetted and categorised as “prohibited fish species for import into Malaysia”. These include piranha, salmon, trout and dragon fish (arapaima).

She said the department is currently in the process of gazetting the Mekong red tail catfish (baung ekor merah Mekong), which is considered an apex predator in rivers and can weigh up to 40kg, as prohbited for import.

“The Mekong red tail catfish can be found in Perak, Pahang and Selangor rivers. It eats fish and prawns as well as their eggs, and this is harming our marine biodiversity.

“It originates from the Mekong River, but somehow managed to find its way here.

“We believe this was due to natural disasters such as floods where the fish can migrate from one place to another, which shows another impact of climate change,” said Yeo.

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Saturday, September 9, 2023

MyJPJ ‘useful but can be improved’, Elderly, regulars give JPJ runners a lifeline

 

MyJPJ app is useful but needs improvement, say Malaysians   

PETALING JAYA: It has been seven months since its implementation and the MyJPJ mobile application is proving to be a hit, with people finding it much more convenient to deal with their driving licence and motor vehicle licence (or road tax) renewals.

However, while the app has its benefits, there is room for improvement, say users.

Student Muhammad Farhan Baharom, 20, said that the MyJPJ app made it easy for people like him to keep digital copies of their driving licence and road tax.

“It is easy for us to use as we can always have the copies on our smartphones. I don’t have to be worried if I accidentally leave my licence at home and also, I don’t have to stick the flimsy road tax sticker on the windscreen anymore,” he said.

CLICK TO ENLARGECLICK TO ENLARGE

Muhammad Farhan, however, said it could be challenging for some groups of people, especially senior citizens.

“It could be more popular among the younger generation but for the elderly, perhaps they would find it hard. So, I think keeping both physical and digital copies should be okay,” he added.

ALSO READ : JPJ urges road users to use app, avoid paying runners’ fees

Another user who only wanted to be known as Salma, 43, said she has been using the app since it was launched in February and found it more convenient than having physical copies of her licence and road tax.

“However, when I was renewing my licence, I was redirected to another website.

“It was not as seamless as I thought it would be.

“Maybe the authorities can consider streamlining the process without us having to go through different platforms,” she added.

Her husband, Joe, 45, said the app should also allow individuals whose driving licence had expired to renew it easily.

He said that he had to physically go to the Road Transport Department’s (JPJ) counter after his licence had lapsed about a year ago.

“I forgot to renew it on time due to a lot of commitments. When I wanted to renew it, I discovered that I had to go to the office physically.

“It would be better if we could do it via the app,” he said, adding that he had to resort to using a third-party service provider (runner) to help him deal with the government agency.

Self-employed Gayathri, 32, from Puchong, said she hopes the Transport Ministry would allow for commercial vehicle permit renewals to be done digitally as well, saving a lot of time and money, especially for small-business operators.

“For now, I have to travel all the way to the JPJ office just to collect the lorry’s vehicle road tax and have to spend time and money just to renew it.

“If we can do it digitally through the MyJPJ app just like for private vehicles, it would be great,” she said when met at the JPJ branch office here yesterday.

Sales executive Muzaini Shariff agreed, saying that it would take up less time and cost if he could renew commercial vehicle licences via an app.

“I was helping my company register permits and road tax for a company vehicle here. I have been waiting for more than an hour.

“I even dozed off while waiting for my turn. If it can be done online, my company could do it remotely with just a few clicks,” he said at the JPJ office.

An insurance agent who only wanted to be known as Liew said while the department’s digitalisation efforts have been helpful in easing some processes, counter services still need a lot of improvement.

She said that she had to wait for three hours just to get a road tax for a commercial vehicle she was helping her client with.

“I waited for three hours. Thankfully, there was an app called JPJeQ that tells us how long we would have to wait.

“But the counter services were still very slow. And some self-service kiosks were not working well either. The authorities need to improve these,” she added.

JPJeQ is a mobile app through which the public can get a queue number by scanning a QR code at the branch office they visit.

The app tells users their queue position and expected waiting period to be served at the JPJ counter. A notification will be sent to the users’ smartphones when their turn comes up.

Launched early this year, MyJPJ was developed by the JPJ to allow road users to obtain JPJ-related services such as eLMM (driving licence information) and eLKM (vehicle insurance and road tax information).

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Elderly, regulars give JPJ runners a lifeline


PETALING JAYA: Continue issuing physical road tax stickers as many elderly vehicle owners prefer it to digital road tax, runners have urged the government.

Some runners say they have lost their livelihood as people, especially the youth, opt to use a digital road tax which enables renewal online and doesn’t require their services.

Runners are third-party service providers who also provide Road Transport Department’s (JPJ) related services such as road tax renewal, changing a car’s ownership, plate number and more.

Part-time runner Fadli Sulaiman Zulkifli, 35, said many freelance runners are facing a tough time looking for jobs and a stable income.

“Thankfully, I work for a car insurance company and have a steady stream of clients who regularly use our services so I haven’t been affected as much,” he said.

Fadli also said some JPJ centres and post offices don’t provide physical stickers when asked and expect motorists to use the app instead.

“Many elderly customers feel uncomfortable driving without a renewed licence as they aren’t digitally savvy enough to register for a digital road tax via MyJPJ.”

Part-time runner Hazbullah Hazman, 20, who does road tax collection service for an insurance company, said that the number of customers is still stable for him.

He said this was due to them being regular customers at the insurance company he is working for.

“So far, the number of customers is still stable because they regularly use our services.

“Maybe the new runners could have some difficulties because most of the motorists, especially the younger generation, are using online platforms (to renew their documents).

“Compared to the older generation, the young ones are more tech-savvy, hence they will not use runners,” the marketing student said.

On Feb 10, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said drivers can obtain digital copies of their motor vehicle licence (commonly known as road tax) or their driving licence on the JPJ portal or MyJPJ application.

Loke said Malaysian private vehicle owners will no longer need to display a physical copy of their road tax on their vehicles or carry around a physical copy of their driving licence.

On Aug 2, Loke said the digitalisation initiative will be implemented in stages and that there will come a time when road taxes will be fully digital.

While some motorists hailed Loke’s announcement, others cited concerns such as security and accessibility.

Business operator Hud Abd Samad, who hires a runner to renew his road tax, said he will continue using the services of runners.

Hud said the runners help him avoid long waiting hours at the JPJ office whenever the permit for his commercial vehicles expire.

“Renewal permits are quite a tedious process because we need to take half a day just to go to the office.

“The runners’ costs are also reasonable at around RM10 to RM15,” he said.

Hud added that the runners he has hired are honest and accommodating to requests.

Freelance runner Muhammad Aiman Muhammad Bainun, 31, who provides road tax collection services online, said the digital road tax hasn’t affected his business as his clients are mostly close family members and friends.

“Runners will always be in demand as we help clients get a physical sticker,” he said.

However, Muhammad Aiman said he supported the government’s initiative as many countries are moving towards going without physical copies of such documents.


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