So it's less than 48 hours away to the US presidential election 2020. Trump or Biden? In a "normal" presidential election, pre-Trump era, a 10-point lead in a final poll is nothing but a foregone conclusion. Game over. Khalas. But to quote John Kasich, former Ohio Republican-governor-turned-Biden-supporter, "these are not normal times." Nobody is taking the polls as seriously as before, especially after what happened in 2016. The polls are no longer as reliable or as believable as they used to be. Joe Biden could very well win the popular vote but end up losing the electoral college, just like Hillary four years ago and Al Gore in 2000. But 2020 is not 2016 . The Covid19 pandemic has shattered America's "invincible" image and exposed the failure of Trump's leadership. I mean, how do you explain statements like, "I take full responsibility, but it's not my fault"? That is "fascinatingly" one of the most Trumpi

Coverage from Utusan Malaysia on Anwar Ibrahim's "16 September 2.0" plan: "Dakwaan Anwar Sama Kes 2009 di Perak" - 24 September 2020 "KUALA LUMPUR: Dakwaan Presi­den PKR, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim mempunyai asas yang jelas untuk tidak menunjukkan akuan bersumpah ahli-ahli parlimen yang bersama beliau bagi membentuk kerajaan baharu selagi belum menghadap Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah. Ini kerana situasi yang berlaku pada 23 September lalu itu sama seperti krisis politik di Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Perak pada 2009 yang menyorot kejatuhan pentadbiran Pakatan Rakyat (PR) terdiri daripada DAP, PKR dan Pas setelah menyokong Barisan Nasional (BN). Penganalisis politik Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Shah Alam, Shahnon Mohamed Salleh berkata, tidak dinafikan dalam mana-mana sistem demokrasi dan berperlembagaan, sebarang perkara berkenaan undi majoriti perlu disuarakan di Parlimen. Bagaimanapun, katanya, jika menyin

Media coverage from The Star: "Public health and communications experts have acknowledged that the ministry and MKN had a commendable track record of disseminating timely and sufficient information to the public. Senior lecturer of communication and media studies Shahnon Mohamed Salleh said their communication had improved tremendously since the onset of the pandemic in the country. “During the earlier stages of the movement control order that started on March 18, there was a lot of confusion and speculation due to the absence of a proper command or channel of communication. “Generally, the communication is already there now and the government has been quite transparent but, of course, additional information is always good, ” said the Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) lecturer. Shahnon said details of a specific location where Covid-19 cases were prevalent should be made public so that people were aware of where they could travel to and which places to avoid." Full news: Publ

  The UAE-Israel "peace deal" is officially the worst Arab-Israeli deal since the Egypt-Israel peace treaty 1979 and Oslo Accord 1992.  Despite Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and the UAE state media's best effort to frame the deal as an Israeli "compromise" - which is nothing but a big joke - the ground reality remains the same. Nothing changes. Israel has been and is still occupying West Bank and East Jerusalem since 1967. There is nothing "historic" or "breakthrough" in this deal as claimed by President Trump.  It's all status quo for Israel, and nothing for the Palestinians. #FreePalestine

What are the similarities between rubber, palm oil and coffee in Southeast Asia? They were all smuggled here via South America, Africa and the Middle East by European agents from the 17th to 19th century. 1. Thanks to the British smugglers who smuggled rubber and palm oil seeds from Brazil and Africa to Malaya. It's because of them that Malaysia become one of the major producers of rubber and palm oil.  World War II would probably end up differently without Malayan rubber and Nutella would not taste as good as it is without the high quality Malaysian palm oil. 2. Thanks to the Dutch smugglers too, who smuggled coffee seeds from Yemen in the 17th century. Initially they tried to plant it in their home country, the Netherlands, but it didn't work out. So they brought it to Java.  And as they say the rest is history. Indonesia is the fourth largest coffee producer in the world today and producing one of the world's best coffee, and my favourite, Aceh Gayo (pic). Th

Just when you thought you have seen the worst from the Orange in the White House, he doubles down with more of his buffoonery. 5 years ago this would've been a satirical news headline from  The Onion   (a popular satirical website). But in 2020, it's the "new normal". His crazy idea to inject disinfectant to kill the  covid19  virus is officially the 'Brawndo moment' in American politics. (Note: Brawndo is the sports drink brand used in watering the plants in "Idiocracy" (2006). Netflix should consider airing this Trump-ish dystopian comedy to all subscribers) :p

"Bernie Sanders suspends presidential campaign" - BBC . So Bernie has officially suspended his presidential election campaign. What is the meaning of it?  Bernie's exit from the race means that Joe Biden would be the Democratic party's candidate against Donald Trump. And THAT is as good as handing over the 2020 election to the Orange in the White House.  Joe Biden is, I think, the worst Democratic candidate in 20 years; he is worse than Al Gore or Kerry or Obama or Hillary. All of these 'status quo' establishment Democrats lost against their respective Republican opponents, except Barack Hussein Obama who won twice (2008 and 2012). Biden has the least support among young Democratic voters in a generation. You don't win a presidential election without energising a key group of voters - in this case the youth votes - like how Trump did in 2016 by energising the purple state working class (those who previously voted Obama) and the rural conservatives.

So a few days ago I gave an email interview to Malay Mail  on the issue of fake news and the on going Wuhan Virus or the novel Coronavirus. Here's an excerpt of the story by Soo Wern Jun and Danial Dzulkifly. --- “Looking at the trend over the last few years, you can almost see a pattern; that the intensity of fake news and conspiracy theory tend to increase whenever there is a crisis such of MH370, MH17 or a big event like the GE14. “The ongoing coronavirus outbreak is no exception. There are many reasons for this. One of them is the fact that it is so easy to produce fake information and secondly, people are sharing unverified news from unreliable/unknown sources online. “But we are not alone. The rest of the world is facing the same problem too, including China. For example, not all of the pictures and videos of some people consuming wild animals are actually in Wuhan or related to the coronavirus. But this has been (made viral) and shared and viewed by possibly millions

JUST-ISTAC first Annual Lecture series featuring pro-Palestine Israeli historian, Prof Ilan Pappé. Prof Pappé outlined some of the biggest challenges and identified solutions to the Palestinian issue. One of it is of the need to change the language and the conversation. For example, the term "peace process".  For decades, the US has dominated the so-called "peace process" and talked about compromises and the need for both sides to "compromise", but Pappé argues that the framing of the issue is wrong. Peace process to Israel is colonisation by other means. And getting legitimacy without international rebuke. But what is the reality on the ground? Life became more difficult for the Palestinians after the "peace process". More Palestinian lands were grabbed, houses demolished, and more illegal Israeli settlements were built after the so-called peace process (the 1993 Oslo Accord). There is no peace process between a coloniser and the colonised.