Governments are using Covid-19 as an excuse to crack down on press freedom

‘Cases abound of how the “Covid-19 excuse” has led to the inability of journalists to do their job of reporting medically endorsed effective public health measures, or to challenge lethal disinformation...

‘According to RSF’s [Reporters Without Borders] data, journalism is currently completely blocked or seriously impeded in 73 countries and constrained in 59 countries. Taken together, these figures represent 73% of the 180 countries assessed. Only 12 out of the countries ranked are deemed to have a free and favorable environment for journalism (one fewer than last year): Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Costa Rica, Netherlands, Jamaica, New Zealand, Portugal, Switzerland, Belgium, and Ireland.’

Read here (Nieman Lab, Apr 21, 2021)

Bar council slams ‘disturbing’ new fake news law

‘The latest clampdown on fake news comes as a shock for lawyers, with Bar Council president Salim Bashir describing the powers the government has given itself to clamp down on such news as “disturbing”. Speaking to FMT, he also said the “imprecise definition” of fake news that includes anything related to Covid-19 and the proclamation of emergency, was “worrisome.”

‘Gazetted today, the Emergency (Essential Powers) (No. 2) Ordinance 2021 penalises those who create, publish or distribute fake news with a fine of up to RM100,000, a jail term of up to three years or both. If they fail to apologise after being ordered to do so by the court, they can be fined an additional RM50,000, and those who pay to “create” such news can be fined up to RM500,000. All fines come with jail terms as well.’

Read here (Free Malaysia Today, Mar 12, 2021)

Emergency ordinance gives Muhyiddin carte blanche – P Gunasegaram

‘The Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance, already in effect from January 11, gives unfettered powers to Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in the name of the king, going far beyond what is required to control the Covid-19 pandemic.

‘It provides numerous avenues for a substantial abuse of power, without any checks and balances whatsoever, including the power to appoint a committee that could potentially extend the life of the emergency, and the power to temporarily seize land, building and movable property, and unilaterally decide the compensation for this.’

Read here (The Vibes, Jan 15, 2021)

The Delinquent Dozen of pandemic profiteers -- A report on billionaire wealth versus community health

‘There are few stories more sordid than the surging wealth gains of the world’s billionaire class during a pandemic when so many have lost their lives, health, and livelihoods. A handful of billionaires and corporations have seen their wealth surge to record levels, in part as a result of their monopoly status and opportunism during the pandemic...

‘Meanwhile, private equity firms have bought up essential businesses in the health care, grocery, and pet care industries, only to aggressively cut costs, skimp on worker safety, and load companies up with debt to boost their own profits. Hundreds of thousands of essential workers employed by these companies have remained vulnerable and exposed. These frontline workers risk their lives every day to do the work that increases already obscene corporate wealth.

‘This report focuses on a list of 12 emblematic bad actors. We call them the Delinquent Dozen — corporations that should do significantly more to protect their workers as their owners and executives continue to reap billions.’

Read here (Inequality.org, Nov 18, 2020)

Will Covid-19 change the global balance of power?

‘Populist parties, which have already used this growing disillusionment [with national and global institutions] to increase their influence and to take power in many countries, are likely to grow stronger. A critical consequence will be that the isolationism seen in the past decade or so will increase with slogans such as “America First”, “Make Britain Great Again” and “Prima gli Italiani” gaining traction.

‘These factors are all pointing to a very different world from what we have been seeing. The traditional powers of the west are neither as strong economically, nor as confident of their social and organizational superiority. China, along with developing countries in Asia and Africa that have better weathered COVID storm, will likely increase their global footprint at a much faster rate that they have been doing in the past decades.’

Read here (IPS News, Oct 5, 2020)

Lancet editor spills the beans and the unfolding of a pharmaceutical scandal

‘In a videotaped interview on May 24, 2020, Dr [Philippe] Douste-Blazy provided insight into how a series of negative hydroxychloroquine studies got published in prestigious medical journals. He revealed that at a recent Chatham House top secret, closed door meeting attended by experts only, the editors of both, The Lancet and the New England Journal of Medicine expressed their exasperation citing the pressures put on them by pharmaceutical companies... [Douste-Blazy is a cardiologist and former French Health Minister who served as Under-Secretary General of the United Nations. He was a candidate in 2017 for Director of the World Health Organization]

‘The alarming findings and serious negative impact of the Lancet report led numerous scientists around the globe to scrutinise the report in detail. That scrutiny by legitimate, independent scientists has led to many serious questions about the integrity of the study, the authenticity of the data, and the validity of the methods the authors used... [many details are provided in this story]

Demonisation of favourable HCQ-AZ treatment studies: ‘Since publishing favourable reports about a treatment combination of two cheap, widely prescribed medicines: hydroxychloroquine and the antibiotic azithromycin, as a treatment of choice against Covid-19, Dr [Didier] Raoult has become the subject of intense demonisation by the corporate-influenced medical establishment, the media, and the [sic] who resort to this tactic whenever they lack evidence or legitimate grounds to support public health policies that cause people harm.’

Read here (Health Impact News, received on June 13, 2020)

Coronavirus has not suspended politics – it has revealed the nature of power

‘In recent years, it has sometimes appeared that global politics is simply a choice between rival forms of technocracy. In China, it is a government of engineers backed up by a one-party state. In the west, it is the rule of economists and central bankers, operating within the constraints of a democratic system. This creates the impression that the real choices are technical judgments about how to run vast, complex economic and social systems.

‘But in the last few weeks another reality has pushed through. The ultimate judgments are about how to use coercive power. These aren’t simply technical questions. Some arbitrariness is unavoidable. And the contest in the exercise of that power between democratic adaptability and autocratic ruthlessness will shape all of our futures. We are a long way from the frightening and violent world that Hobbes sought to escape nearly 400 years ago. But our political world is still one Hobbes would recognise.’

Read here (The Guardian, March 27, 2020)

Yuval Noah Harari: The world after coronavirus

‘Humankind is now facing a global crisis. Perhaps the biggest crisis of our generation. The decisions people and governments take in the next few weeks will probably shape the world for years to come. They will shape not just our healthcare systems but also our economy, politics and culture. We must act quickly and decisively. We should also take into account the long-term consequences of our actions. When choosing between alternatives, we should ask ourselves not only how to overcome the immediate threat, but also what kind of world we will inhabit once the storm passes. Yes, the storm will pass, humankind will survive, most of us will still be alive — but we will inhabit a different world...

‘In this time of crisis, we face two particularly important choices. The first is between totalitarian surveillance and citizen empowerment. The second is between nationalist isolation and global solidarity.’

Read here (Financial Times, Mar 20, 2020) 

Pandemic rules and the law: Shad Saleem Faruqi

‘Those in positions of authority must also remain cognisant of the rule of law dimension. Power is not inherent. It must be derived from the law and its exercise must remain within the four corners of the enabling legislation.

‘From the rule-of-law point of view, an executive order, policy, directive, instruction or scheme does not amount to ‘law’ (and thereby require obedience) simply because of expediency, workability or reasonableness. It must be anchored in and derived from legislation or subsidiary legislation.‘

Read here (The Star, March 26, 2020)

The Thucydides Trap: Are the US and China headed for war? (written in 2015)

‘But if anyone’s forecasts are worth heeding, it’s those of Lee Kuan Yew, the world’s premier China watcher and a mentor to Chinese leaders since Deng Xiaoping. Before his death in March, the founder of Singapore put the odds of China continuing to grow at several times U.S. rates for the next decade and beyond as “four chances in five.” On whether China’s leaders are serious about displacing the United States as the top power in Asia in the foreseeable future, Lee answered directly: “Of course. Why not … how could they not aspire to be number one in Asia and in time the world?” And about accepting its place in an international order designed and led by America, he said absolutely not: “China wants to be China and accepted as such—not as an honorary member of the West.’

Read here (The Atlantic, Sept 24, 2015)