When the Global Sumud Flotilla set sail towards Gaza, it was not just another humanitarian mission. It was a voyage of conscience, a collective cry against injustice, against silence, and against the ongoing breach of international law that the blockade of Gaza represents.

For Malaysians, this is not a distant story on the evening news. Our fellow citizens are on those boats. They are singers, students, activists, and volunteers, ordinary people doing extraordinary things to defend the dignity of a besieged population and their courage deserves not only our admiration, but our unwavering support.

Their mission was not merely about the tonnage of food and medical supplies, which were critically important but about the cost of empathy. They understood that the price of challenging a long-standing naval blockade was their own freedom, and they chose to pay it willingly to deliver a singular, powerful symbol of hope. They understood that a prayer and an action must come hand in hand.

Malaysians on Board: Ordinary Citizens, Extraordinary Courage

For the 23 Malaysians on board, the journey was a pilgrimage of conscience.

They traveled thousands of miles from a nation with deep, unwavering solidarity for the Palestinian people. Their training included preparing for communication blackout, water cannon assaults, and, ultimately, military interception. 

This was a non-violent strategy executed with military-like precision.

As the vessels were surrounded, the activists did not resist. They documented, they prayed, and they prepared their final video messages.

Malaysian celebrity, Zizi Kirana in a pre-recorded statement released upon interception, stated: “If you are watching this video, it means I have been abducted… Our mission was peaceful, non-violent, and fully in compliance with international law.”  

This message was the strategic core of the mission. By remaining unarmed and compliant, they forced the intercepting power to act against unarmed civilians delivering aid.

The commitment of the Malaysian delegation, organized under Sumud Nusantara, was measured not just in collective political will but in profound personal sacrifice.

A Personal Mission

For Abdul Rahim Azhari, a 33-year-old father, the mission to break the siege on Gaza demanded a commitment that transcended fundraising appeals.

Rahim made the ultimate donation, he sold his family car, a Proton X50, to personally fund his participation and contribute directly to the aid cargo.

“I needed to buy the basic food necessities for our brothers and sisters in Gaza,” Rahim stated before his departure.

Rahim’s choice to sell his car shows what the movement truly believes, that caring for the people trapped in Gaza is more important than his own comfort.

The Moral Weight of the Blockade

The Sumud (Steadfastness) of the Malaysian activists was not just personal, it was national. Their sacrifice has unified the country, with both the Prime Minister and His Majesty, Sultan Ibrahim strongly condemning the interception and demanding their immediate release.  

His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim described the mission as a “noble symbol of borderless humanitarianism,” noting that the detention of volunteers carrying only food supplies “goes against universal humanitarian values.”  

The moral insight here is crucial.

The flotilla’s act of defiance forced the blockade to become publicly visible again. It exposed the military measure as an effective instrument of collective punishment.

The true blockade is not merely a few nautical miles of sea, it is the wall of international silence that has long surrounded Gaza.

The boats may now be towed to port in Ashdod, and the activists awaiting deportation, but the core objective has been achieved, to break the silence for the world to know that this was an ultimate fight and justice for the humanity.

Sumud: More Than A Flotilla, A Reflection

The Global Sumud Flotilla is not just about boats, sails, or aid packages. It is about conscience. It is about whether the international order that says “rules matter” will mean anything when civilians suffer.

The word sumud in Arabic means “steadfastness.” It is the philosophy of enduring oppression with resilience and dignity. This flotilla embodies that spirit, carrying food, medical aid, and messages of solidarity to a population that has endured almost two decades of blockade.

The blockade has not only strangled Gaza’s economy but also denied its people access to adequate healthcare, electricity, and reconstruction materials. In doing so, it violates both international humanitarian law and basic principles of human rights.

For Malaysia, the flotilla has revealed bravery in ordinary people, artists, faith-leaders, students. It has revealed a moral alignment with what our law, our treaties, and our values demand. And it has revealed that an act of compassion at sea can shine a harsh light on violations that too often escape accountability.

Let us not allow the actions of 40 vessels to be treated as a fringe event. Let them be a mirror: reflecting what we stand for and what we are prepared to resist. – NMH

The post Global Sumud Flotilla, The Cost of Empathy & Why Malaysian Activists Accepted Detention first appeared on NMH.

KUALA LUMPUR – Experts and policymakers gathered at the Asia-Europe Institute (AEI), Universiti Malaya, on Friday for a thought-provoking forum examining the potential impact of a second term under former U.S. President Donald Trump on foreign, economic, and security policies concerning Malaysia, ASEAN, and the broader Indo-Pacific region.

The event, held in collaboration with the Malaysian Association for American Studies (MAAS) and the American Universities Alumni of Malaysia (AUAM), sought to provide a nuanced analysis of the shifting geopolitical and economic landscape under a possible Trump presidency in 2024.

Titled The 2024 U.S. Presidential Election – The Second Trump Administration: Implications for U.S. Foreign, Economic, and Security Policy for Malaysia, ASEAN, and the Indo-Pacific Region, the forum featured prominent figures in international relations and economics. Distinguished Professor Dr. Rajah Rasiah, Tan Sri Mohamed Jawhar Hassan, Datuk Siobhan Das, and Mr. Oh Ei Sun shared their insights, with Prof. Dr. K.S. Nathan serving as the chairperson.

U.S.-Malaysia Trade Relations in Focus

In his keynote address, Professor Dr. Rajah unveiled findings from his co-authored analysis, “Trump’s 2024 Presidential Elections Victory: Likely Scenario for U.S.-Malaysia Trade Relations.” Dr. Rasiah highlighted how Malaysia’s evolving political alignments and U.S. foreign policy under Trump could reshape bilateral trade.

His analysis pointed out a slight decline in Malaysia’s exports to the U.S. in 2022, which stood at just 10.8 percent, reflecting the growing economic influence of China over Malaysia’s trade dynamics.

“The trajectory of U.S.-Malaysia trade is shifting,” said Dr. Rasiah, noting that while the two nations’ economic ties have deepened since the mid-20th century, recent developments suggest that Malaysia’s future economic strategies will need to adapt to the evolving global landscape.

The Geopolitical Implications of Trump’s Policies

Tan Sri Mohamed Jawhar Hassan, a veteran of international relations, addressed the broader implications of a potential second Trump term, focusing particularly on his protectionist trade policies and tariffs on Chinese imports. Jawhar highlighted the significant challenges Malaysia could face as the U.S. seeks to strengthen its domestic economy while pressuring China.

“Malaysia must navigate the fine line between its economic interests with the U.S. and its growing ties with China,” Jawhar said, cautioning that the region’s economic future could be influenced by the U.S.’s hardline stance on China.

Strengthening Malaysia’s Position in the Global Economy

Datuk Siobhan Das, CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce in Malaysia (AMCHAM), shared insights on how Malaysian businesses could leverage their competitive advantages in response to the evolving trade environment. Highlighting the opportunities within Malaysia’s technology-driven sectors, she emphasized the importance of agility in adapting to both U.S. trade policies and the broader regional economic shifts.

“Malaysia’s success will depend on how well it can diversify its partnerships and maintain a competitive edge in high-growth industries,” said Das.

Trump Administration, Regional Stability and ASEAN’s Role

Mr. Oh Ei Sun provided a geopolitical perspective, examining how a second Trump administration could affect regional stability and ASEAN’s strategic positioning. He pointed out that ASEAN nations would need to bolster multilateral cooperation to mitigate risks posed by the U.S. pivot away from traditional alliances.

“ASEAN must adapt by enhancing its economic resilience and political cohesion to face potential uncertainties brought about by U.S. foreign policy shifts,” Oh noted.

Looking Forward: A Call for Strategic Engagement

The forum concluded with a consensus that Malaysia and ASEAN must remain adaptable in the face of potential policy shifts under a second Trump term. Participants emphasized the need for Malaysia to strengthen its bilateral ties with the United States while simultaneously diversifying its global economic relationships.

As the world watches the lead-up to the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election, this timely forum underscored the complexities Malaysia faces as it seeks to maintain its strategic position in the rapidly evolving Indo-Pacific region. – NMH

The post Trump 2.0 And Possible Ramifications for Malaysia and ASEAN first appeared on NMH.

Frankly, I don’t care one way or another about the US presidential elections, especially the now concluding contest between ex-President Donald Trump and the current vice-president Kamala Harris. But I should.

What happens in the US reverberates across the globe (or platform, for the flat earth believers). It affects all of us. For one, the winner’s mug that’s going to appear day in day out on newspapers and media portals online, and I would have preferred someone better looking, a gal especially. Too bad, Harris.

So, we are back at seeing the infamous Republican candidate Donald Trump’s bloated face and the roadkill hair for another 1460 days (that’s four years, by the way; stop scratching your head). What does this say about the US of A?

Since many of us do not follow these sort of news – our source of news usually comes from phone screens through social media shares (when our friends and family are not preaching on moral values). The only representation of the US for most of us are the celebrities, sport folks and fast food.

Speaking of celebrities, folks from these damned screen trade and music business have traditionally been leftist, big fans of the Democrats. Watch how they cosy up with the candidates, and we saw how ex-president Obama was too comfortable with Hollywood, even appearing in Saturday Night Live, a show notorious for its political satires that had often relentlessly poked more fun at the Republicans than the others. And now, it looks like Alec Baldwin has a new set of work cut out for him. Famous for satirising Trump through his performance on SNL, he himself had thrown his support towards Harris’ direction.

Tinseltown Endorsement

I mean, look at the overwhelming endorsement from Tinseltown and the recording industry, backing Harris. You will see big names on that link. And surprise…surprise! Even Trump’s fellow party member, Arnold Schwarzenegger (Conan the Republican, as the media used to label him), said good stuff about Harris and slammed Trump for some “unpatriotic” stuff the latter has resorted to or has remarked about. Yes, the Austrian born knows a lot about patriotism, which he can regale in Austrian accent.

It was almost a no-brainer that, at that point of time, everyone thought that Kamala Harris is going to have the cake and eat it too, and Trump is the loser goofball with unpopular policies such as the immigration issue that smacked of racism, as some criticised.

But whaddya know? At the time of this writing, with two states left to be called, Trump has 295 electoral votes, while Harris has 226. Indeed, Harris has already conceded the 2024 presidential election to President-elect Donald Trump.

Interestingly, the analysts are unfazed by Trump’s lead. Some of them are very certain indeed, having noted what had failed the last four years. “Donald Trump has been elected president again because the future of American democracy was not on the ballot in 2024. What was on the ballot was the record of a failed administration led by President Joe Biden and Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris,” says Jonathan Tobin, the editor-in-chief of JNS.org, from an analysis piece in the Newsweek magazine. 

“As it turned out,” he continued, “a majority of Americans didn’t buy the smear that Trump was an authoritarian or a Nazi or that the only thing mattered in determining our future as a nation was a Capitol riot that was falsely inflated into an ‘insurrection’.”

Muslims for Trump

It’s no secret that the Muslim community too played an important factor in Trump’s win, with the latter having had already warming up to them, despite his earlier stance before he was the President for the first time.

In my own personal observation for the last one year at least, there is the rise of conservatism in that country, especially in the media, such as podcasters and commentators from conservative front like Ben Shapiro, Matt Walsh, Candace Owens, and a host of others. Even the provocative, wildly popular podcaster Joe Rogan lent his last-minute support to Trump, something that the latter kept bragging about during his campaign rounds. 

One thing I suspect that may have taken place is the backlash against the rise of the woke culture that has been permeating the US, no thanks to those very celebrities mentioned earlier. Not to mention, overtly, the trans rights issue that sort of crosses the boundaries, irking even more detached disinterested blokes like me. 

All these contributed to the rise of conservatism, not only in the US but all over the world. It’s not surprising to find more folks returning to their religious roots, with Islam being the most popular one now and no matter which faith—the conservative route is the way the majority of the world population is taking on currently as religious nationalism is definitely on the rise.

Assassination Attempt

Let us also not forget the assassination attempt, where, though the assassin was not within the earshot, still got Trump’s ear shot (thank you) that created waves of sympathy for the old man (surprised to note that no one brought up conspiracy theory that it was staged for publicity except these two women, I suppose)

There have also been complaints that Trump is going to be the first president with criminal charges hovering over him like a death drone—currently standing at four criminal indictments in four different cities as he reclaims the White House, totaling in 91 felony counts among others.

The US, which prides itself on being modern, open-minded, so on and so forth, is a nation of murderers and lots of other horrible stuff that I have covered before in pursuing the argument that it is not a great nation. Hence, this time, it deserves the comic relief leader it has chosen. It’s going to be a great time for stand up comics, and the comedy circle in general.

Look, the current guy, Biden, who’s going to hand over the baton is basically a zombie and will not be missed. Obama may be good, but he is boring—he is just a nice guy, a supposedly virtuous family man, and, again, dull as dishwater.

Trump, with his criminal cases, his penchant to stick his feet in the mouth, and being inappropriate, rude, and dumb—incredibly all three at the same time—makes for great content, traditional or social media. I, for one, am really looking forward to his years as the president of the most decadent country in the world at the moment. Come on, for being the greatest nation in the world 18% of US adults (approximately 57.4 million people) are illiterates.

I am glad that Kamal Harris didn’t win. Gosh, if only she did, the amount of bragging by the Indian community world over, as if she is directly related to and have cooked Biriyani for them, would be unbearable. Welcome back, Donald Trump; and boy, are we in for great fun or what. – NMH

Aside: Talking about colour, what’s with the orange hues? Here are some possibilities!

Exclusive: Why is Donald Trump so orange? Make-up artist solves mystery after wild theories

Fake news or fake tan? Photo of ‘orange face Trump’ goes viral

The post The Trump Card: Why The Americans Want The Orange Dude Back first appeared on NMH.

WASHINGTON – In an election year marked by heightened public interest, early voting for the 2024 U.S. presidential election has reached historic levels, with more than 78 million Americans casting ballots before Election Day.​​ ​​This surge underscores the critical stakes as voters decide between Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican nominee former President Donald Trump.​​ ​​

​​The high turnout reflects deep national divisions and the importance of issues such as economic stability and national security, central to both campaigns’ final messages.​​ ​​Key battleground states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin remain pivotal, with each candidate focusing substantial resources to sway undecided voters.​​ ​​

​​Harris concluded her campaign with a rally in Philadelphia, emphasising unity and democratic values.​​ ​​Trump held multiple rallies across swing states, highlighting issues like border security and economic concerns.​​ ​​

​​Security measures have been heightened nationwide due to concerns over potential unrest, particularly in Washington, D.C.​​ ​​Authorities are preparing for various scenarios, including the possibility of a contested election.​​ ​​

​​The election’s outcome remains uncertain, with both candidates needing to secure key swing states to reach the required 270 electoral votes.​​ ​​The final results may take days to finalise, especially if the race is tight and legal challenges arise.​​ ​​- NMH

More to follow …

Related articles:

Step Down, USA. You Ain’t The Greatest Nation In The World No More

UK 2024 Eerie Similarities With GE15 And Modi 2024

The post U.S. Presidential Election – Record Early Voting Sets Stage for Tight Final first appeared on NMH.

Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon was among 2,800 other people who were wounded by the simultaneous blasts in Beirut and several other regions.

Hezbollah, backed by Iran, stated that the pagers belonged to “employees of various Hezbollah units and institutions” and confirmed the deaths of eight fighters.

The group blamed Israel for what it called “this criminal aggression” and vowed to seek “just retribution”. The Israeli military declined to comment.

The question on everyone’s minds is if anyone anywhere worldwide can be targeted by blowing up their handheld devices. 

It’s a known fact that Israel has the best spyware technology that it often sells to security agencies and military. During the ongoing genocide in Occupied Palestine, Israeli Occupation Forces often use mobile phone data supplied by genocide-supporting countries such as the United States and Britain to target so-called “Hamas terrorists” but most often unarmed civilians. 

Israel’s ability to remotely detonate pagers poses a global risk, as many critical facilities, such as hospitals, still rely on pagers for emergency communication. Pagers operate on a separate frequency from mobile phones, ensuring that they can be used to page doctors and emergency responders even when mobile networks. Reliance on pagers is common practice in emergency services work are down. 

In Lebanon, over a thousand pagers were simultaneously hacked, all of which were Motorola devices. This raises concerns about the potential for a country’s emergency services to be compromised, either by a foreign entity like Israel or through the sale of technology to agencies supported by Israel to destabilize a country. This situation poses a threat to anyone who could be targeted.

“How do we know if this issue is limited to Motorola? Mobile phones use lithium-ion batteries that can overheat and explode. Phones have circuits that can stop this from happening. For example, the iPhone shuts down when it overheats. If Israel cannot only disable the safety mechanism but also cause the battery to overheat – this is a global problem.

Why Israel? No one else has the technology or has a grouse with Hezbollah. Or pretty much with anyone else. Zionist supremacy is ingrained into their nature and it’s a known fact that Israel routinely assassinates foreign citizens. Much recently the Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Iran by Israeli terrorism.

As for Hezbollah or anyone else, threats of occupation and invasion ensure that this is a mere stumbling block. It will not stop any coordinated resistance to free Palestine or defence against Israeli terrorist aggression. More importantly, it would have the opposite effect to coordinate against Israel. Israeli defence is weak, unlike the wars of decades to boast about the Iron Dome defence system. But the rules of engagement have changed. Recent drones can get through Israeli defences and attack critical military targets. Hezbollah (and Iran) have yet to launch large-scale attacks against Israel which would not only decimate its defences, it will also destroy Israel’s fledging military. Israeli military commanders know about this.

For the rest of us – the world has become much different in the last few days. Airline travel will now be extra problematic. Up till last week, one had to worry if someone had a spoon or a fork in their luggage. Now they need to worry if their mobile phones will explode mid-air. Your children’s screen time could be their last. Israel has turned their terrorism into a global concern. 

Free Palestine. 

The post Should The World Be Worried About Exploding Devices first appeared on NMH.

On the other hand, social media has changed the way we experience the world. It has offered up new opportunities for activism, and forever altered the ways and means that we use to access information from parts of the world that are invariably different to those we live in. From the onset of Israel’s bombardment in October 2023: the young aspiring journalists of Gaza took to social media to share footage and stills of the devastation around them. Just as the images of Shani Luok’s broken body and videos of seemingly terrified Israelis being forced onto the backs of motorbikes by Hamas militants came to symbolise the horrors of 7 October, the suffering of Gaza’s people would be captured in the faces and cries of the individuals who featured in viral posts. The fact that such individuals—a terrified toddler still shaking in fear after his home had been bombed and his family killed, a grandfather opening his granddaughter’s eyes one last time as he bids her goodbye—would become the subjects of placards at anti-war protests is a testament to just how powerful this imagery has been. The reign of terror unleashed by Israel upon the population of Gaza is frequently referred to as the first genocide that occurred right before our eyes, enabled by social media platforms. It is incredibly telling that so many of those who have taken to the streets to oppose governmental inaction, and orchestrated other protests such as the university encampments, belong to the generations most active on Instagram and TikTok.

Social media has allowed us a direct relationship of sorts with the people of Gaza. Frequently this relationship is cited as a cause of distress, and this is a legitimate point: the suffering of children is and has always been incredibly unsettling. But more unsettling is the broader sense of apathy that we are faced with. In some cases, we have witnessed the expulsion of those who dare to speak up: think of (think of Senator Fatima Payman, Antoinette Lattouf). We have watched as those in power have not only refused to take action but dismissed our calls for them to show some semblance of humanity as trivial and lacking information. We are being gaslit. Worse still, protesters and those who support them are being accused of conjuring violence, of anti-Semitism. Police presence at protests continues to increase and become more heavy-handed. Every time a politician speaks on the issue it feels as though they are telling people who have taken a stand and spoken out against Israel to pipe down, and just let the people of Gaza die quietly. It’s as if our political leaders cannot rush to denounce us fast enough. Even White settler-Australians who are speaking up about Palestine are being treated with disdain. For those of us who are new to activism or have not faced significant social disadvantage, being treated as a political football is probably new, and jarring. But if White people should take anything from this, it’s that even as the favourite children of the settler-colonial state, we are not safe from its punitive reprimand.

The knock-on effect of this systemic indifference is cognitive dissonance and apathy in our communities. It is the averted eyes and shifting discomfort of when Palestine is mentioned. It is the routine claims from our friends and family that they simply cannot look at such horrors, and the advice to disconnect, take a break or look away. After watching eight months of genocide live on our phones, perhaps it is time that we ask ourselves who we are actually serving by defaulting to individualist notions of self-care as a solution to indifference and despair. Who are we really prioritising by turning away from settler-colonial brutality? The brilliant work of Saira Rao and Regina Jackson has highlighted the critical importance of the niceness of White women to maintaining White supremacy. They urge us to choose kindness when faced with a choice of remaining ‘nice’ or using our privilege to challenge the status quo. Now more than ever, we should take heed of such words of wisdom. After all, we are not left with a sense of despair because we ‘are not supposed to see’ such atrocities, as so many would have us believe, but because such atrocities are not supposed to happen. This anguish is compounded by the fact that our government, our media and so many in our communities are insisting that we just shut up and think of something else.

On a personal note, as someone who has lived with a mental illness since my teens, my despondency does not improve when I turn away from the war crimes that are being perpetrated upon the people of Gaza on a daily basis. These horrors continue whether I bear witness to them or not—whether anyone does. If your heart is bleeding because of that, it should be, for the pain of having been alive while this happened lives there, and it always will. The humanity that we as a collective have lost in the decimation of Gaza and the Palestinian people cannot ever be reclaimed. It is only by sitting with and accepting this reality, by sharing it with those around us and by being compelled to action and solidarity that we are likely to find any sustained sense of relief.

We would do well to find inspiration in the words of the remarkable Gunditjmara writer and activist Sissy Austin, who writes that ‘Palestinians will forever have First Nations peoples’ from not just so-called Australia, but across the world, for generations to come, walking and fighting by their side’. Rather than finding comfort in switching off and turning away, I feel liberation in a newfound sense of connectedness with my brothers and sisters in Palestine and elsewhere in the world. I am solaced by having joined a global movement of fellow mothers whose activism is fired by our maternity rather than existing in spite of it. There is true hope in this sense of unity. As the Black Canadian writer and mother Bee Quammie tells us, ‘Lives have been taken, but beautiful children exist. The solidarity of motherhood is a global effort, and we carry each other’s pain and joy’. We cannot possibly wish for a better tomorrow for our own children unless that tomorrow also offers a safe and more loving world for ALL children.

The many Australians who have stood up for Palestine have an opportunity to continue on this journey, to cast aside the indoctrination that leads us to understand indifference as freedom and silence as comfort. For White settler-Australians like myself, who historically have been bystanders to imperialist violence, this feels particularly poignant. In humanising others (including the Indigenous people of this land we ourselves occupy), we honour own humanity. Now that we have come this far, we simply cannot go back. Like Sissy Austin, I would urge us to take hope from the words and music of Uncle Archie Roach, who once so beautifully compelled us to ‘Let Love Rule’:

Oh we hear the children crying

And we don’t know what to do

Gotta hold on to each other

And love will see us through

Let love rule, let it guide us through the night

That we may stay together and keep our spirits calm.

Free Palestine. And then the world.

About the author

Lora Chapman

Lora is a writer and practicing social worker. She holds a PhD in anthropology and is passionate about social issues that impact children and young people.

This article was originally published in Arena Online on 23 August 2024

The post Policing Protest In An Age Of Hypervisible Genocide: Lessons For Settler-Australia first appeared on NMH.

Mohandas Karamchand Ghandhi once said, “A nation’s greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members.”. Let’s turn it around, and we get, “A nation’s awfulness is measured by how much its own citizen wants to kill its president.” We are looking at you, USA.

With the recent assassination attempt against former US president Donald Trump, we can surmise one thing: the United States of America is not the greatest nation, as it always beats its bullet-riddled chest and proclaims. I agree that it had the world’s greatest screen actor (one; the rest are from England and other parts of Europe), most gorgeous actresses (classic), and the greatest range of ice cream flavours (or flavors). That’s it.

Measuring the Greatness of USA

They are so enmeshed with dope that the co-founder of Pay Pal, Peter Thiel (an American, duh!), proposed Enhanced Games. What is it? Well, this one is the Olympics for athletes who use performance-enhancing drugs. How about that?

Of course, there are other ways of measuring the USA’s greatness, like its performances in sports, for example. But there is more mess there than you can shake your baseball bat at. Check these guys out, for instance. Known as the 1919 Black Sox Scandal, eight players from the Chicago White Sox team conspired to throw the World Series for money (the World here consists of the USA and Canada, by the way). Then, there are doping scandals, especially in the swimming category—occurrences as regular as pickles in their hamburgers—with swimmers failing the tests again and again at international events. And you thought they were bright.

Coming back to Trump, let’s face the facts; no country has blood thirst against the head of state (or former) like this country does. Allow the facts and figures to speak for themselves.

According to this report (dated 2009, so you hafta add the Donald in on your own; don’t be lazy): Direct assaults against presidents, presidents-elect, and candidates have occurred on 15 separate occasions, with five resulting in death. Ten incumbents (about 23% of the 43 individuals to serve in the office), including four of the seven most recent presidents, have been victims or targets. Four of the 10 (and one candidate) died as a result of the attacks.

If you look at that site, you will notice that one of the assassins is a gal, looking like a 1950s TV housewife straight out of a washing machine commercial. Talk about equal opportunity.

Now, look at this chronology chart, courtesy of Al Jazeera:

Gosh, they really hate their presidents, whom they voted democratically for. Sure, it has become—ever since the country’s inception in 1777—a breeding ground for president killers, but while underground, it distils chambers filled with serial killers.

Here, just take a look at the difference between the first entry and the second on the nation with the highest number of serial killers taken from Data Panda.

Based on that I asked Chatgpt as to why USA is holding the flag to having most number of the worst human beings on earth. The response:

The prevalence of serial killers in the USA can be attributed to several factors. While it’s a complex issue, here are some contributing factors:

1. Population Size: The U.S. has a large population, which naturally increases the likelihood of having more criminals, including serial killers.
2. Media Influence: American culture places significant emphasis on crime and violence. Movies, TV shows, and news coverage often sensationalize serial killers, creating a sort of “infamy” that may attract disturbed individuals.
3. Mobility and Urbanization: The U.S. has a highly mobile population, with people moving across states and cities. This mobility makes it easier for serial killers to operate without detection.
4. Access to Weapons: The availability of firearms and other weapons makes it easier for individuals to commit violent acts.
5. Historical Context: The U.S. has a history of notorious serial killers, such as Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and John Wayne Gacy. These cases have left a lasting impact on public consciousness.
6. Cultural Anonymity: In large cities, people can remain relatively anonymous, allowing serial killers to blend in and avoid suspicion.

Remember, though, that this is a multifaceted issue, and no single explanation can fully account for the phenomenon.

Yeah, in the last line, basically, the AI is throwing its artificial hands up.

Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the US has also been frequently rated as the worst country to live in. According to this report, safety is the biggest concern. …About 69 percent of expats reported feeling safe in the U.S., but that number is far less than the 81 percent average worldwide.”

Even Forbes says that the country is uninhabitable.

Point four is especially the most off-putting factor. You have an organisation like the National Riffle Association that is still fighting for gun rights despite the frequency of school shootings that killed many innocent kids.

Just to give you an idea of where this so-called advanced, developed nation stands, check out these 2024 statistics on gun violence by the World Population Review site.

The higher number of suicides compared to homicide surely lets us non-Americans know that we do not have to hate that country; there’s enough self-loathing. Speaking of which, it has often been recorded that more soldiers in that country died of suicide than in actual combat, with the rate going up to 127 per day. Dig this chart taken from its veteran affairs site. 

Then there’s the friendly fire—yeah, accidentally shooting your own team members. According to the report here (I couldn’t get the latest) during the Gulf War (part one, not the sequel), 35 Americans and nine British soldiers lost their lives due to friendly fire, accounting for nearly one-quarter of the total 148 combat deaths.

Now, leave all that aside. If you can live there dodging bullets and blindsiding, you have to face another bigger obstacle: racism.

Right now, forget about the African Americans there; they are destined to experience racism in that country for the rest of its existence. It’s the Muslims who are the new blacks. The PEW research in 2021 found out that ever since the 9/11 incident (or tragedy) and with the increase in the population in the country, “Muslims have reported encountering more discrimination. In 2017, during the first few months of the Trump administration, about half of Muslim American adults (48%) said they had personally experienced some form of discrimination because of their religion in the previous year. This included a range of experiences, from people acting suspicious of them to being physically threatened or attacked. In 2011, by comparison, 43% of Muslim adults said they had at least one of these experiences, and 40% said this in 2007.

Let’s face it, the Americans and United States of America are in a mess. They voted in an orange guy with a gift for foot-in-mouth disease and then a zombie as their presidents. The orange is poising for a comeback (the walking dead’s ain’t gonna return, as mentioned in the same story in the link). It must be the beaming Trump and that sunny glare from the follicular creature on top of his head that had the assassin missed the aorta and gave Trump free ear piercing.

You gotta admit, America is ailing. The sad truth is, with trash piling up in its own gutter, it wanted to clean other homes, sometimes out of the neighbourhood. I am reminded of the rock band Led Zeppelin’s song lines: “If it keeps on rainin’, the levee’s goin’ to break; when the levee breaks, I’ll have no place to stay.”.

Who wants to stay in the USA, anyway? – NMH

Other articles by the writer:

The Rise of Hinduism: A Worrying Trend to Be Wary About

Blackrock And Malaysia: The Fourth Round Of Colonisation?

Influencers. How Influential Are They?

The post Step Down, USA. You Ain’t The Greatest Nation In The World No More first appeared on NMH.

Commentary and Analysis . . . It’s true that people get the government they deserve. Still, the British people could have done better on UK 2024 on 4 July.

The figures and further analysis on UK 2024 can be found in the following link: Majority Without a Mandate

The following links degenerate into looks on the British election: Who won the popular vote? A breakdown of the main parties

Labour sweeps to power, but Keir Starmer’s honeymoon may be brief: the key takeaways from the UK’s general election

Ideally, voters should pick party/candidate, not vote against party/candidate. Those supporters against the government party/candidate should stay at home lest the Opposition party/candidate wins by default.

Likewise, supporters against the Opposition party/candidate should stay at home, lest the government party/candidate wins by default.

The issue that emerges from the UK general election remains the lack of the consent of the governed for legitimacy.

Many seats were declared although no one collected at least 51 per cent of the votes counted.

There should be runoff between the top two contenders in the seats where no one obtained at least 51 per cent of the votes counted.

The 1st past the post voting system only works when there are two parties/pre-election coalition in the fray.

Voters who were against the Tories, but not for Labour, should have stayed at home.

UK 2024

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, an econometrist, would have done better in UK 2024 if he had pushed through legislation in Parliament on runoff if there were more than two parties in the fray in any seat.

Man does not live by bread alone. It’s principles that matter.

It has been estimated that the Reform Party in the UK, for example, would have collected 100 seats if there had been runoff. The party won only four seats on 4 July 2024.

Runoff will not only ensure no landslide but makes government with majority even more difficult and minority government the reality.

The caretaker Prime Minister, being incumbent, will head minority government. Legislation needs the support of the Opposition unless quorum with more government MP present was sufficient for passage in Parliament.

The 1st past the post system only works if there are only two parties in the fray in any seat. In Europe, pre-election coalition was considered undemocratic.

There are parallels between the UK 2024 election, GE15 in Malaysia in late November 2022 and Modi 2024 in India in June 2024. There are no runoffs in all three countries. The Labour Party, under the 1st past the post system, came in with “landslide” on 4 July 2024 i.e. more than 400 seats.

GE15

In Malaysia, no party/coalition secured majority in GE15. The Agong decreed unity government. Perikatan Nasional (PN), in rejecting Agong’s decree on unity government, sits in the Opposition with 72 Muslim MP — i.e. before defection — and two Orang Asal from Sabah and Sarawak.

PN claimed majority in GE15 after collecting SD (Statutory Declaration) from Sabah and Sarawak.

Agong was left with no choice but appoint opposition parliamentary leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as Prime Minister based on the Decree that “SD was no proof of support”.

In India, Modi 2024 did not see the BJP landslide predicted by pollsters who were only right in 2019. All exit polls, unlike in UK 2024, were proven wrong.

Instead, despite the 1st past the post system, the result in India was like in Malaysia in GE14. No party secured majority on its own. However, BJP was in pre-election coalition and secured comfortable majority in Modi 2024.

In Malaysia, pre-election coalition did not ensure majority in GE15 for any coalition.

Runoff System

It’s unlikely that Malaysia and India would bring in the runoff system.

In the UK, the first past the post system would only be observed with caveats if the people demand the runoff system as well.

The Constitution, which calls for electoral integrity, cannot be seen as going against itself.

The Constitution, Parliament, and the court of law — colour blind institutions — cannot get into “race”, religion, theology, DNA, and geographical origin, among others.

In GE14 on 9 May 2018, in digressing a little, no party in Malaysia secured majority but the outgoing Barisan Nasional (BN) had the largest number in Parliament. There was breach of Protocol and convention when Caretaker Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak wasn’t invited by the Istana on having first go at forming government. This incident wasn’t surprising. The people aren’t noted for any great ability on counting and/or buying at loss and selling at profit.

Indeed, in further breach, Najib wasn’t even invited by the Istana for offering formal resignation.

Chaos

The UK will probably be in economic chaos for the next one year. In that case, the Labour government under Keir Starmer will collapse and implode.

Econometrics — combination of economics, mathematical directions and statistics — and banking and finance have since become easier with AI. There are mathematical directions on the behaviour of forces in nature.

Most of the subject matter experts in econometrics can be found at the IMF and World Bank, among others.

Labour may have economists, but not econometrists, coming out of its ears.

Having said that, these Labour economists may not speak up and speak out, or would be disregarded and/or rejected without explanation by government, if otherwise.

The UK, at the moment, isn’t plugged into any major economy post-Brexit.

Japan, for example, has been in and out of deflation for decades. Deflation has shrunk the Japanese GDP. India will overtake the Japanese economy this year and Germany after that. It has already overtaken the UK.

The UK should plug into the Indian economy for both India and the world. However, the relationship between India and the UK has never been worse.

India isn’t factory of the world. Eighty per cent of India’s economy was internal and more than 50 per cent consumption based.

Factory of the World

China remains factory of the world and the economy less than 50 per cent consumption based. The domestic consumption economy in China has been lagging and the export-led economy has been badly hit by tariffs in India, America and the EU. Ironically, tariffs are paid by consumers in the importing country. It can only make the government, based on bad business practices, even richer.

China risks going in and out of deflation. The phenomenon has plagued Japan for many years. Deflation means low domestic consumption. That shrinks the GDP.

Japan has been in and out of deflation for decades. It has been reported that India will overtake the Japanese economy this year and Germany after that. It has already overtaken the UK.

China expert and former Harvard University Economics Professor Dr Subramaniam Swamy, who cautioned India against emulating China, said “the China story was over”.

He urged that India should pace America on innovations since it adds most for GDP growth and enlarging the GDP.

Innovations, new way of doing old things, was brought by technology which follows creativity and inventiveness.

Dr Subramaniam remains elected member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Parliament, in India. — NMH

Related Internal Links . . .

The post UK 2024 Eerie Similarities With GE15 And Modi 2024 first appeared on NMH.

Commentary And Analysis . . . Those who have been saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was Hindutva fanatic and that India was Hindu Rashtra, extremist, and anti-Muslim, were proven wrong on 4 June as the rule of law triumphed. The 85 per cent Hindu majority in India did not put all their votes under one political platform. There are parallels here with Malaysia on GE15 in late November 2022.

Caretaker Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in coming in with 240 seats, failed in winning simple majority of 272 seats on his own. Allies in the ruling coalition will make up the rest of the numbers.

The question that arises was whether Modi and Alllies are on the same page, or whether the latter will hold him for ransom. The plus point, in the Allies being the proverbial tail wagging the dog, was in the best democratic traditions based on the rule of law.

BJP lost 63 seats while the India National Congress, the next single largest party, gained 47 seats and came in with 99 seats. The Opposition, on paper, can try and cobble together simple majority through coalition, but convention was against the President inviting them on formation of government. In any case, there would be too many parties in the Opposition for coalition.

Narendra Modi

India, Modi or no Modi, remains about the rule of law, the basis of the Constitution. In law, there can be no discrimination save as provided by law under sunset clause which must have expiry date. All are equal under the law. There’s no one above the law.

No court will go into conventions, i.e. the working of the Constitution, and/or prerogative and discretionary powers of government and management, or Decree of the head of state on Freedom, Pardon or house arrest. These are not law. The court has no jurisdiction (authority). These are not matters for judicial consideration and resolution. The court of law remains only about law.

The right of judicial review remains on decisions, made by the government, on procedures. The judicial power of the Federation, even if taken away by Parliament, remains with the judiciary.

Those who alleged that Modi and Hindu were fanatics can either accept the rule of law or leave India.

There cannot be 3rd wannabe Islamic state in the Indian subcontinent after Pakistan in 1947 and Bangladesh in 1971. Already, Bangladesh has dropped Islam from the Constitution. Ironically, both Pakistan and Bangladesh are about the rule of law, just like giant neighbour India, although Islam permeates the local politics as in Malaysia.

Rule Of Law

The High Court in Islamabad, in novel development in law, conceded that Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK) was foreign territory. India has since demanded, in upholding the rule of law, that Pakistan and China end the occupation of land in India.

Islam, as the Saudi King told then Prime Minister Imran Khan of stillborn Islamic state Pakistan, entered the Indian subcontinent i.e. it was from outside.

It’s true that India can only be Hindustan, as codified by the Mughal Emperor, but not only for Hindu, as Modi 2024 shows.

India will never be theocracy despite the population being 85 per cent Hindu and privately pledged on Sanatana Dharma, the civilisational values of ancient India. It’s secular state.

The Mughal Emperor, in codifying Hindu as administrative term, discovered that there was no God the Creator in Hinduism, the way of life being about local practices which varied from place until place.

Spiritualist, mystic and yogi SadhGuru has YouTube video where he pointed out that “India was the most godless country in history”. Even so, the people have always felt from ancient times that there was great spirit — paramatma — which permeates everything. There was one spirit, i.e. form of feeling, and no my spirit, and no your spirit.

Einstein said that Buddha found what he was looking for and came the nearest for science. That may be stretching the truth more than little bit. All our science, being Word of God i.e. eternal laws based on eternal truth, are about illusions. Buddha realised, during enlightenment, that reality does not exist. There was no work in nothingness — eternal bliss, heaven, nirvana — on the nothing side where the great spirit permeates as well.

Colour Blind

The Constitution, Parliament and court of law — all colour blind institutions — can’t get into “race”, religion, theology, DNA and geographical origin, among others.

The rule of law remains the basis of the Constitution.

There’s greater emphasis on the spirit of the law in the rule of law, the basis of the Constitution, albeit read with the letter of the law.

The greater emphasis on the spirit of the law trumps the letter of the law.

The letter of the law, by itself, isn’t law.

It isn’t possible that anyone knows law.

It’s the court of law that upholds the rule of law.

The court of law isn’t about truth or justice.

It’s only about law.

The court isn’t about ethics, moral values, civilisational values, theology, sin, God, or righteousness.

Anti-Multiculturalism

The anti-multicultural Opposition in Malaysia, rooting for the past, should take note that there are parallels with India, both being Commonwealth jurisdiction, as ex-British Empire territories, on the rule of law.

It’s true that the court in Malaysia doesn’t even mention the rule of law. It may fall back on the letter of the law, by itself, and act with impunity.

The Malaysia government, which pays lip service on the rule of law, falls back on prerogative and discretionary powers — not law at all — and acts with impunity.

We can recall Chief Justice (CJ) Richard Malanjum, in farewell address in 2019, where he more than implied that Malaysia wasn’t always about the rule of law. He failed in persuading the legal fraternity and the court that “the letter of the law, by itself, cannot be passed off as the rule of law”.

Again, Rule BY Law, as in letter of the law by itself, isn’t law. There’s no democracy, it’s dictatorship, it’s rule by Man, and law of the jungle where anything goes.

Human Relationship

If the nature of human relationships needs regulating, it can be done by the rule of law and/or by other approaches like out of court settlement based on the rule of law and recorded by the High Court, and/or by other approaches like war i.e. the continuation of politics by other means.

No war lasts forever.

All wars eventually end at the negotiation table, for out of court settlement, and recorded by the High Court based on the rule of law.

India, no matter who comes and goes in New Delhi, has been consistent on foreign policy.

There are parallels here with Washington.

Self-proclaimed leading Independent candidate on US 2024 Dr Shiva Ayyadurai explains in YouTube video that Washington has always been about the lesser of two evils. Dr Shiva, untouchable from India in his own words, has been recognised as scientist and systems engineer and holds patent rights as the inventor of intellectual property right registered as “EMAIL”.

Illegalities

India will not be party to illegalities like pitting one country against another. India remains the only nation on Earth which can persuade America, based on the rule of law, for restraint on China.

Trump, on a separate but related matter, said that India was the only nation on Earth which can “put China in its place”.

It’s true that unlike China which lies open and exposed, geography being unkind, India has defensible borders. Chins owns no water. Borders, under international law, must be defensible. Otherwise, as seen in Ukraine where Russia seeks buffer zone with NATO, the international community would be helpless.

The law of conquest, under international law, exists when there’s unprovoked war. The right of self-defence, under international law, remains another form of protection at the risk of being party for illegalities like genocidal activities.

Pacer Nation

The reality remains that India, with 1.4b people and diaspora in 210 countries, has always been pacer nation. It can pace any earthly nation on anything, thereby conserving energy, and beat the sxit out of them.

It was Trump who included India in the global security framework as the most important country after America. The others, in order of importance, were China, Russia and Japan.

Trump said Ukraine would not happen if Biden had not dropped Russia from the global security framework. Biden also brought back NATO for offence and revived the war-mongering UK-US Special Relationship. Trump has sworn that the war in Ukraine would end in 24 hours if he becomes President again on 3 November 2024.

India remains unhappy that the US-led QUAD, initiated by Trump, covers the Indian Ocean as well in the Indo-Pacific War Theatre. QUAD excludes China and Russia but includes Australia.

If there must be regime change in China, based on the rule of law, India — unlike America — isn’t pushing for it.

The people of China have lost sovereignty — ownership — since the Long March of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) in 1949. That doesn’t mean that Xijinping should be hanged, like Saddam Hussein in 2006, for restoration of sovereignty. However, it’s true that small unelected group holds absolute power in China. There’s no consent of the governed for legitimacy.

The onus remains on the international community, under international law, if there are any human rights violations anywhere in the world. Human rights, the basis of international law, has force of law arising from international customary practices. — NMH

The post Narendra Modi Victory Based On Triumph Of Rule Of Law first appeared on NMH.

There is something about George Lucas’s seminal classic, Star Wars (1977), that easily connects to the Second World War, as most film fans and critics know, and to what’s happening now, thanks to the US and Israel.

It’s no secret that George Lucas’ Star Wars films (the original three) used Nazis as the models for the bad guys.

It’s no secret that the bunch of rebels against them were not too far removed from the ragtag bunch of Jewish resistance fighters that existed then.

It’s no secret that the evil emperor was modeled after Hitler (initially it was supposed to be Darth Vader, but when the whole dad-son plot came into being and redeemed Vader, the sneering emperor was kept as evil as possible).

It’s no secret that the wars took place in the desert in Star Wars, which is not unsimilar to the Middle East terrain.

It’s no secret that those rag tag rebels get the biggest AID from some foreign force (the Jedis) who uses …. The force. Or in Israel’s case, their own Jedi master, the US, which has three different forces (Air, sea and land) in fact.

It is no secret too that in the 80s Ronald Reagan, the president of the mother hen of a country that kept little chick like Israel by its wing, started a military program called Strategic Defence Initiative which is also referred to as …

…Star Wars.

It’s no secret at all.

Hitler’s Army

In fact, even the Stormtroopers, the evil soldiers in the Lucas films, were the name of Hitler’s army. How blatant is that?

But Lucas may be on to something there. The good guys, led by the swaggering, hatless cowboy Han Solo, is America herself (himself?). The Americans, forever thinking of themselves as the white-hat cowboys walking into some town and saving the town from some black-hat baddies, are still in that mode in this age of social media, gender pronoun confusion, and millions of cat videos.

I went to AI chat (on the Bing browser) and tried to query about the connection between the non-stop war and the US military industrial complex, but instead it gave me a Namaste (Indian/Southeast Asian welcoming and goodbye gesture), see for yourself:

Either it really sincerely didn’t want to talk about it, or the son of a gun was being sarcastic. So, I said “screw you, AI” in my best Schwarzenegger voice and did the old-fashioned googling.

The search result revealed pretty much what you expect and more. You see, the Gringos had given altogether more than US 260b since 1948 (the year of the formation of Israel), as it says here that the US has ”committed over $3.3 billion in foreign assistance to Israel in 2022, the most recent year for which data exists… About $8.8 million of that went toward the country’s economy, while 99.7% of the aid went to the Israeli military.”

Here’s a chart from USA Facts:

That’s overall aid; some of it may have been used to create pageant beauties, future Wonder Women, or both. How about the military, precisely?

I may be colour blind, but boy, I sure can see the length of the dark side of the force. Since 2000, over 86% of annual American aid to Israel has been used to fund military efforts.

Aid for Gaza?

And when talking about the military and Israel, thoughts will go to Gaza? Of course, US does contribute some aid to Gaza—a couple of million here and there, pocket changes for the Yanks. This will not occupy much space in this article. We all know how it has been difficult for Aid to reach the Gazans. And Gaza has been refused those aids, no thanks to Israel. In fact, even medical equipment like bloody scissors was turned away at the posts. Perhaps they are worried that some Hamas terrorists might creep up on some orthodox Jews and snip their side curls away.

What will all this amount to—apart from a dead Gazan or 35,000? Why? The entire world is in peril, of course. How can the US military industrial complex affect an ordinary Malaysian who’s currently, as you are reading, is taking a snapshot of his meal for Instagram?

Pollution

It is established that the US is the biggest polluter, especially with the military industrial complex, which is said to pollute more than 140 countries put together. And we don’t even know what exact amount of throat choking, lung puncturing poisons the Yankees are putting away because, at their own “behest,” the military emissions were exempted from the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty where the member countries signed commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Meanwhile, take a gander at this:

Look at that again. That’s not the US  country. That’s pollution from her military alone that’s being compared to other nations.

It certainly makes one wish that Gretha Thunberg— that finger-pointing kid —would turn to the West and, instead of berating the third and developing world, yell “How dare you?” facing the turret of a M1 Abrams tank.

This is why the whole boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement is about as effective as yelling at the sky for rain. Instead, it may do damages, like killing businesses that are operated by locals and deprive employment for those who need it, like the disabled and elderly who work at McDonalds, for instance.

This needs a stronger voice from leaders, not those who throw stones and hide their hands. There must be constant bombardment of protesting words, like Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who probably has a pair of male vital organs made of brass, to the point that the US’s Bruce Wayne has to send his Robin the Wonder boy down to calm the Brazilian president down..

You see, this is not only a humanitarian issue, it’s also about physical global health. Everyone has the right to speak out about the spread of war and the growth of the military industrial complex, which exists only for one reason and one reason alone: death and destruction. Sacrificing Prosperity Burgers ain’t gonna cut it. – NMH

Articles by the same writer:

The Boycott Issue: More Than Just Socks!

Greenwashing: Consigning Conscience to Consumers

The post US, Israel, and Greta Thunberg’s Nightmare first appeared on NMH.