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Wall Street Behemoths Ate Reddit’s Gamestop Lunch By Neil Campbell

China’s Sharp Eyes Project Serves as Warning to Free World About Pandemic Surveillance

By Neil Campbell

he Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to roll out its “Sharp Eyes Project” facial recognition technology in an attempt to cement its increasingly tenuous grip on power over the world’s largest and oldest country. In mid-January, Dajiyuan, the Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times, received leaked documents from mainland China issued by the “work leadership group for public security video monitoring construction and networking” in Liuhe District, Nanjing city, Jiangsu Province. The documents show how the Nanjing government installed facial recognition in 2017 to monitor citizens. Dajiyuan said the documents used a Party-jargon heavy rhetorical basis about initiating “the three defenses” and sought to surveil “near province- and citylevel highways; district-level roads; and core governmental zones, transportation hubs, hospitals, squares, and communities… Pedestrians should be videotaped every 10, 20, and 30 minutes, according to the document. In another leaked document, Chinese police issued a report celebrating their “achievements” in implementing the so-called Sharp Eyes Project (雪亮 “Xue Liang,” translating literally to “Bright as Snow”), a surveillance program designed to persecute rural civilians. The Party justifies the program under the pretext of fighting crime more effectively. ny@visiontimes.com

When a resident of Anxi village in the Sichuan province of China set a match to a small pile of garbage in the gutter two years ago, a loudspeaker blared out his name and address and ordered him to extinguish the blaze immediately. He jumped with fright, quickly put out the flames and scurried away.

“According to the report, the project successfully recognized 1,158 photos of various local ‘key targets.’ The system identified more than 60 targets for its local ‘Domestic Security’ and more than 10 people accused of crimes. China’s Domestic Security Bureau offices make up a secret police force tasked with neutralizing individuals that the Communist Party deems to be political threats,” said Dajiyuan. In a report by Bitter Winter on the Sharp Eyes Project, a local in Xian City, Shaanxi Province described how living under technocratic totalitarianism feels: “The CCP is already monitoring us in our homes, what privacy do we have left? It’s like we’ve all got ropes around our necks and are being led on leashes. We’re all living under a microscope, and it’s terrifying.” A 2018 article by Los Angeles Times illustrated a realworld anecdote of living under the Party’s omniscience: “When a resident of Anxi village in the Sichuan province of China set a match to a small pile of garbage in the gutter two years

ago, a loudspeaker blared out his name and address and ordered him to extinguish the blaze immediately. He jumped with fright, quickly put out the flames and scurried away.” “Everyone knew who the culprit was, so he would never dare to do that again,” boasted Communist Party Secretary Yin Xiuqin smugly. According to the article: “Fear of public shaming is the essence of Sharp Eyes.” A 2018 article by Radio Free Asia (RFA) is particularly prescient in warning North Americans of things to come if they allow their democracy to degenerate into technocracy under the excuse of combatting the SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus pandemic. “The internet and our smartphones have been under government surveillance for a long time already,” an anonymous Chinese internet user told RFA. “A friend of mine in Anhui is under surveillance, and he tried to buy a plane ticket to go overseas, but he couldn’t leave the country… We can be placed under restriction or persecuted by them, or asked to ‘drink tea,’ [with state secu-

Picture of Hikvision cameras in an electronic mall in Beijing on May 24, 2019. Shares in two top Chinese surveillance firms plunged on May 22 following reports Washington is considering banning them from buying U.S. components, just as the blacklisting of telecoms giant Huawei fanned their escalating tech war. (Image: FRED DUFOUR / AFP via Getty Images)

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rity police], or placed under surveillance, at any time… Overall, it feels as if we’re not free at all.” The article also describes the troubling implications of a perpetually monitored “social credit” system: “Under a pilot social credit scheme, people who are considered to be ‘troublemakers’ by the authorities, including those who have tried faredodging, smoked on public transport, caused trouble on commercial flights or ‘spread false information’ online will now be prevented from buying train tickets, the government announced earlier this month.” “Employers who fail to pay social insurance or people who have failed to pay fines will also be on the restricted list,” says the article. The article boasted that the Chinese state-run enterprise that created Sharp Eyes, the aptly-named Bell New Vision Co., was happy to report the Party could link up its surveillance cameras with any “smart” device in the home, especially those with cameras, resulting in 24/7 monitoring whether you’re at home or outside. Biometric Update reported that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA)-connected Hikvision was awarded a $33 million contract to install cameras in Shanghe. Hikvision was added to a Pentagon blacklist by the Trump Administration for being owned and/or controlled by the PLA. A series of Executive Orders by the outgoing President blocked U.S. based companies from doing business with or holding securities in PLA-connected companies.

ccording to Wall Street behemoth JPMorgan, the fairytale spun by pundits about Reddit’s WallStreetBets organizing to “squeeze” badly positioned hedge fund short sellers of video game retailer Gamestop (NYSE: GME) in what has been affectionately dubbed the “Gamestop Rebellion” is simply false. Peng Cheng, the JPMorgan quantitative and derivatives strategy analyst, wrote to clients in a note: “Although retail buying was portrayed as the main driver of the extreme price rally experienced by some stocks, the actual picture may be much more nuanced,” according to CNBC.

BlackRock Chair and CEO Laurence D. Fink attends a session at the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 23, 2020. BlackRock is Gamestop’s largest owner at more than 9.2 million shares. (Image: by FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP via Getty Images)

According to data provided to CNBC by JPMorgan’s quants team based on higher-level data and proprietary analysis methodologies not available to the public, while the top 10 most purchased stocks by retail-level investors included names like Apple, Tesla, Coca-Cola, and AMC, Gamestop “was number 15 on the firm’s retail buying list for January.” JMP Securities analyst Devin Ryan told CNBC the obvious: Institutions were naturally trading Gamestop while the mirage and hype around Reddit, a social marketing platform rather than a social media platform, served as a screen. “I think that it’s reasonable to say that institutional investors were also very active in those stocks last week because there are institutional investors that participate in names that have elevated volume. I think most likely that was also expressed in some of the options activity last week as well,” he said. According to data from Citadel Securities, retail traders were actually net sellers of Gamestop last week, finding that from Monday to Thursday, amateur investors sold 719,932 more shares than purchased. This was likely the result of popular trading apps like Robinhood restricting buying of select “meme stocks” like Gamestop after being hit with a $3 billion deposit requirement from the Deposit Trust & Clearing Corporation to cover clearinghouse volatility. Continue on A3 212-730-6963

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Twitter Faces Lawsuit for Refusing to Remove Pedophilic Content By Arvind Datta

isa Haba is a partner at Haba Law Firm in Florida. On Jan. 20, the firm, together with Matiasic Firm and the National Center on Sexual Exploitation Law Center, filed a lawsuit against Twitter. The social media platform had refused to take down pedophilic content even after several victims’ requests. The suit accuses Twitter of profiting from the exploitation of Haba’s client. In an interview with The Epoch Times, she narrated her client’s ordeal, John Doe (name

withheld for anonymity), who is presently 17 years old. When John Doe was 13, an abuser manipulated him to send nude photos of himself over Snapchat. John Doe mistakenly thought the person to whom he was sending the images was a 16-yearold girl. In reality, the “girl” was merely a fake identity created by online sex traffickers. Once these traffickers received his photos, they began blackmailing him. They threatened to send them to school leaders, parents, and pastors if he did not act as demanded. After

he spent some time ‘complying,’ John Doe eventually broke away from the racket. He presumed that the ordeal was over. But when he turned 16, John Doe noticed that some of the abusive content had appeared on Twitter. He only came to know about this from classmates who tortured him emotionally after watching the videos. John Doe became suicidal. His mother discovered the dangerous situation her son was in and gave him her full support. She contacted Twitter and requested that the abusive content be taken

down. However, Twitter refused to do so. They even said that the videos were not in violation of their policies, due to which “we’re going to take no further action.” It was only after the Department of Homeland Security took action that Twitter pulled the content down. However, by that time, the content had received over 2,223 retweets and more than 167,000 views. Twitter profited from retaining abuse videos online “There are known hashtags out there that are directly linked to child pornography and the distribution of

it… Those hashtags are not only operational on Twitter, but if you type them into the search bar, it offers suggested phrases to help you find it more efficiently. When you look at the incredible quantity of material of that nature and how easy it is to find on the platform, you know the right hashtags. It’s horrifying,” Haba told The Epoch Times. The concern about Twitter promoting pedophilia is not new. Last year, an Australian academic, Michael Salter, warned that Twitter had changed its policies to permit discussion about

“attraction to minors.” A Twitter spokesperson dismissed the allegation, saying that they have a “zerotolerance policy” for child exploitation. The company updated its policy, removing the idea that discussions related to attraction towards minors are permitted. “Discussions related to child sexual exploitation are permitted, provided they don’t normalize, promote or glorify child sexual exploitation in any way… Depictions of nude minors in a non-sexualized context or setting may be permitted in a limited number of scenarios (e.g., artworks by internationally renowned artists that feature minors, news media reportage, media created and shared for scientific or educational purposes),” states Twitter policy.

Impeachment Trial: Democrats Make Appeal to Mainstream Narratives By Neil Campbell Vision Times

he House of Representatives presented its opening arguments in former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial on Wednesday, Feb. 10. Democrats presented a litany of first hand video evidence of the Jan. 6 breach of the Capitol building captured from Parler, internal security footage, and a variety of statements and tweets made by President Trump leading up to and proceeding both the Nov. 3 general election and the Jan. 6 Joint Session of Congress. Democrats assert that the former president incited the crowd to break into the Capitol, where several people lost their lives, including one woman shot by police inside the building. However, as of press time, the Democrats’ claim so far hinges on narratives carried by major leftleaning media outlets in the weeks following the break-in, which have been criticized as incomplete and misleading. House Manager Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) took the lead in presenting, focusing on both the damage the break-in caused and Trump’s tweets and reaction, and lack thereof, to the event, “If anyone had a doubt as to [Trump’s] focus that day, it was not to defend us it was not to console us, it was to praise and sympathize and commiserate with the rampaging mob. It was to continue to act as ‘Inciterin-Chief’, not Commanderin-Chief, by telling the mob their election had been stolen from them.”

‘The Big Lie’

Raskin followed closely with the prevailing mainstream media narrative that there is “no credible evidence” of fraud in the 2020 election, calling Trump and his supporters’ assertion to the contrary “The Big Lie”. “Even after that vicious attack, he continued to spread ‘The Big Lie’...But Donald Trump refused to 212-730-6963

accept this loss even after this attack. And he celebrated the people who violently interfered with the peaceful transfer of power for the first time in American history and did that at his urging.” Rep. Raskin’s basis for the claim that Trump “celebrated” those who committed violence is the video Trump tweeted before he was banned from Twitter, three hours after protestors entered the building. After calling for no violence and asking his followers to go home, he said “We love you. You’re very special”. The Democrats made frequent reference to that line in their opening arguments, saying that “We love you. you’re very special” constituted tacit support for those who had committed acts of violence and vandalism.

How about instead of thank you, Donald Trump on that day acted like our Commander in Chief and stopped this as only he could, and told those people to leave.

The full text of Trump’s 61-second video is as follows: “I know your pain. I know you’re hurt. We had an election that was stolen from us. It was a landslide election and everyone knows it. Especially the other side. But you have to go home now. We have to have peace. We have to have law and order. We have to respect our great people in law and order. We don’t want anybody hurt. It’s a very tough period of time. There’s never been a time like this where such a thing happened, where they could take it away from all of us. From me, from you, from our country. This was a fraudulent election, but we can’t play into the hands of these people. We have to

Lead House impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin leaves after the first day of former President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial on Tuesday. (Image: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)

have peace. So go home. We love you, you’re very special. You’ve seen what happens. You’ve seen the way others who are treated that are so bad and so evil. I know how you feel, but go home and go home in peace.”

A three-pronged case

House Manager Sen. Joe Neguse (D-CO) broke down the Democrat case into three points: “The Provocation, The Attack, and The Harm”. In his presentation, Neguse argued that “The Big Lie” around election fraud was a narrative used by Trump because the former president was upset he lost. The “Stop the Steal” campaign and events were used to build public sentiment, culminating in Trump’s statement, “If you don’t fight like hell you’re not going to have a country anymore” at the White House in the morning of Jan. 6. During the presentation, the House managers took aim at citizens protesting at the Capitol building and at earlier events in the wake of the Nov. 3 election — focusing especially on the fact that some protesters bore arms. Many times, Democrats’ arguments relied on“authoritative sources”:

headlines and articles from big articles from major media outlets. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) repeated Neguse’s arguments that Trump systematically and premeditatedly primed his believers to violent action from well before the time the election began, “The only way their victory would be lost is if it was stolen. So that way President Trump was ready if he lost the election to light the match,” Swalwell said.

The ‘Court of Public Opinion’

In fact, for more than seven hours, Democrats repeated the same rhetoric over and over again from slightly different angles. Swalwell described the small minority, who acted with behaviour more consistent with agents provocateurs from revolutionary groups than Trump’s supporters that smashed windows and walked into the building as “Thousands of people who were armed to the teeth”. House managers did as much as they could to pander to sentiments and prejudice, since the facts they had to present were neither greater nor more persuasive than what has already been aired in the court of public

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opinion during the 5 weeks since the Joint Session. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA), a Taiwanese immigrant, asked “Is this America?” before telling a story about how he’s from a poor family, claiming Trump ran out of “non-violent options to retain power.” Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA) referenced headlines from mainstream media about court cases that were dismissed on procedural or standing issues before a hearing of facts or evidence could occur in order to assert Trump intended to ”Steal votes from Americans so he could steal the election for himself.” While House Delegate to the Virgin Islands, Stacey Plaskett, conflated the violence she described as “foreseeable” and “not planned in secret” to being the same level as 9/11. Plaskett claimed Trump “Spent months cultivating groups of people who following his command repeatedly engaged in real, dangerous violence”. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) took a 3:13 p.m. tweet completely out of context, lambasting the President for ending his sentence with “thank you” because it, apparently, did not call for an end to the violence.

“You’ll notice one of the things he says to his mob, to these insurrectionists, rather than to stop or to leave, was to say ‘thank you.’ Thank you. Thank you for what?,” asked Castro. “Thank you for shattering the windows and destroying property? Thank you for injuring more than 140 police officers? Thank you for putting in danger all of our lives and the lives of our families?” “How about instead of thank you, Donald Trump on that day acted like our Commander in Chief and stopped this as only he could, and told those people to leave.” Trump’s actual tweet, which was presented via video at the time of the statement, said “I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!” Rep. Swalwell, who was caught with his hands in a Chinese Communist Party “honey pot” with a special agent in December, claimed he was so scared for his life during the break-in that he “sent a text message to my wife: ‘I love you and the babies. Please hug them for me.’” ny@visiontimes.com

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FEB 12 - 18, 2021 |

‘Green gold.’ Politicians will make big money from marijuana legalization. (Image: pixabay / CC0.1.0)

Marijuana Legislation Being Used by Politicians to Cash In By Jonathan Walker

report, Profiles in Corruption: Abuse of Power by America’s Progressive Elite, authored by Peter Schweizer, president of the Government Accountability Institute (GAI), claims to expose how American politicians are using marijuana legislation to enrich themselves. In an interview on Sean Hannity’s radio show, Schweizer warns politicians are using their powers over the regulatory apparatus to secure money from businesses that wish to enter the market. The state will only give out a limited number of marijuana sales licenses. People who get to pick who gets the licenses are the state’s governors and other officials from the cabinet.

Eric Eggers, a member of the GAI, reveals the names of three people within political circles who stand to gain massively from legalizing Marijuana:

By virtue of the fact that they get to pick who gets the licenses, it’s not just the state governments who are going to make money, it’s actually the politicians themselves… The people who are making the money are the politicians, the politicians’ family members, and lobbyists connected to the politicians. They’re all getting rich through this legalized scheme… It’s not really about personal freedom. It’s not about medical marijuana. It’s about politicians finding yet another pocket in which they can enrich themselves Schweizer says in the interview.

• Republican John Boehner might net as much as $20 million from the mari-

the failed prohibition of the product. In November, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy argued that legalizing marijuana will reduce minor drug crimes.

Black people are more likely to be arrested on marijuana charges than white people

Nancy Pelosi and other politicians will make millions on the legalization of marijuana. (Image: Greg Skidmore via flickr CC BY-SA 2.0)

juana industry. He is a board member of a marijuana investment company called Acreage Holdings, involved in the cultivation, processing, and sales of the drug. • New York Governor Democrat Andrew Cuomo was firmly against marijuana legalization in 2017. But by 2019, he was a huge supporter of legalizing it due to close ties with marijuana lobbyists. Cuomo reportedly received more than a million dollars. • The son of House Speaker

Democrat Nancy Pelosi, Paul Pelosi Jr., is chairman of the Board of Directors at consulting firm Freedom Leaf Inc. that advocates for the marijuana industry. When the company entered the business of distributing CBD (a chemical compound in marijuana), Paul bought over $100,000 in shares.

The marijuana industry is being used as a channel to funnel money from foreign nations

There’s an investigation by the FBI whether the marijuana industry is being used as a channel to funnel money from foreign nations, especially Russia. Eggers believes that the government and the marijuana industry’s strong ties were responsible for marijuana products classified as ‘essential’ during coronavirus lockdown measures. Cuomo justifies legalizing marijuana by calling it an opportunity to increase state revenues as well as end

Politicians from the state could also include a social equity tax for recreational marijuana. The Legislative Black Caucus is lobbying the tax. It argues that the prohibition of marijuana has hit black communities the hardest since black people are more likely to be arrested on marijuana charges than white people. “I’m highly confident that today we will achieve a great milestone, and it is overwhelmingly a step toward, at long last, social justice… When I came into office, the widest white/nonwhite gap of persons incarcerated in America and the overwhelming reason was low-end drug crimes. And please, God, we will finally wrestle this to the ground,” Murphy told the radio station.

Wall Street Behemoths Ate Reddit’s Gamestop Lunch Continue From FRONT

amestop peaked on Jan. 28 at $483 per share. Senvest wasn’t the only fund playing the game. Permit Capital LLC owned as many as 3.1 million shares according to Sept. 8, 2020, SEC filings. GME closed that day at $7.70 per share. Black Rock Inc . is Gamestop’s largest institutional owner, holding 9.2 million shares, a 13.2 percent stake. The firm is a partner of the globalist bloc World Economic Forum, and Chairman and CEO Laurence Fink is a WEF Contributor. “It is not just little people on the long side here. There are huge players playing both sides of GameStop,” said Thomas Peterffy, Chairman of Interactive Brokers to WSJ. University of Chicago Law Professor Todd Henderson, a ny@visiontimes.com

Hedge Fund Senvest Management walked away with more than $700 million in gains from the Gamestop Revolution, according to a Feb. 3 report by Wall Street Journal. The firm was buying Gamestop prior to October of 2020, ending up holding more than 5 percent of Gamestop at an average price of less than $10 per share.

specialist in corporations and securities regulation, said in a webinar: “I know people are hung up on Reddit and the little guy sort of teaming up on the big guys… I think this was just big guys teaming up on big guys. “All of that price inflation was likely driven by vindictive hedge funds trying to squeeze out a hedge fund that was short GameStop.”

Reddit reality check

While Gamestop closed January at $325 with a high of $483, the first week of February showed gravity, and reality, taking hold as GME closed at $63.77, the same price as its previous 2007 all-time high. The faltering video game retailer trades under $50 during Tuesday afternoon’s session. Trading pundit Michael Swanson, the lead editor of

Wall Street Window, aptly cut to the chase: “It wasn’t small fries who won. They had no chance to destroy the hedge fund industry by shorting the stock, because it was other giant hedge funds that got in way before they did. The ‘kitty’ character on Reddit was simply acting as front for these hedge funds lions whether he knew it or not. “The small fry who thinks they can make money by getting on a message board and becoming a member of a herd has no chance in these markets.” Swanson’s words were a grave caution to retail traders on the reality that amateur, self-driven investment in volatile markets is a huge risk to financial health and wellbeing: “It didn’t matter to them [Redditors] that it was giant hedge funds they

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were helping buying the stock when they heard someone on the radio or the TV repeat a little guy against the system story that they just wanted to believe in. “…well it is their fault for trying to gamble in the stock market like this. If they want to make money they have to take what they are doing seriously. They need to do research and buy into real companies with real potential. They need to have a trading method.” Swanson described trading on Robinhood as your primary tool as “like taking a knife to a gunfight.” He continued: “A few will learn from this experience to become winners. Most will wallow in a new victim narrative and the only way to get a few to stop is try to shake them up, even be mean for a moment at them to do it.

Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets. A Bloomberg Terminal costs $24,000 per month to operate. (Imagese: Focalphoto on Flickr / CC2.0)

“What was most fascinating to me is how everyone last week had to have an opinion on Gamestop everywhere on the internet as it dominated the news cycle as a viral story.” “The internet phone is destroying people’s lives. Reddit is the ultimate hellhole, the type of place John Milton wrote about,” he said. 212-730-6963

CHINA

A4 | FEB 12 - 18 , 2021

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Biden : China Should Expect 'Extreme Competition' By James Battaglini Vision Times

resident Biden has warned Communist China that it should expect “extreme competition” from the United States. But he also says that he does not want to forge a conflict-oriented relationship with Beijing. In an interview with CBS, Biden said that he has not yet spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping since assuming office. They have met several times previously while both served as vice president of their respective countries. “I’m not going to do it the way Trump did. We are going to focus on the international rules of the road… We need not have a conflict but there is going to be extreme competition… I know Xi pretty well… He’s very bright and he’s very tough and – I don’t mean it as a criticism it’s just a reality – he doesn’t have a democratic...bone in his body,” Biden said in the interview. While promising that Washington will deal with communist China’s economic abuses head-on, Biden said that China is America’s “most serious competitor.” However, Biden also stated that his administration is

Then-Vice President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping toast during a State Luncheon for China hosted by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at the Department of State in Washington on Sept. 25, 2015. (Images:Paul J. Richards/AFP via Getty Images)

willing to work with Beijing on matters concerning U.S. interests. Biden’s tough talk on China is in line with the expectation of many experts who had predicted that the new administration would not immediately change Trump’s stance

towards Beijing. Firstly, a soft approach would be viewed as the US compromising with the CCP. It would create a negative image of Biden and the Democratic Party in the US. Secondly, the compromising attitude would send a negative message to Ameri-

ca’s allies in the Indo-Pacific, who might perceive the US as having weakened. Some nations might even switch their allegiances to Beijing. Such a development will inevitably harm American interests in the region. Therefore, Biden has no choice

but to present a strong front against Communist China. Biden administration silent as China slaps sanctions on 28 American citizens Despite Biden’s promises, his administration has remained silent as communist China has slapped sanc-

tions on 28 American citizens. Those sanctions include individuals who were part of the Trump administration. Beijing accused these individuals of undermining Chinese interests and disrupting bilateral relations. One of the sanctioned individuals is former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. He is concerned that Biden has the wrong policy when tackling China, which would harm the United States in the long run. It would create a world that is “deeply different.” In an interview with Fox News, Pompeo said that Biden’s China policy would strongly influence American employment. “If we get this wrong… we will live in a world that is so deeply different. We will see these sanctions on our leaders pale in comparison to the pain and the absence of prosperity that will be here in the United States of America if we don’t get this right. It’s one of the things that I’m proudest of that we did. We protected American jobs. We protected American businesses. We made sure that our intellectual property was in a better place. These are the things that will ultimately matter,” he said in the interview.

China’s Use of Illegal Vaccines Causes African Swine Fever Wave expansion.

By Prakash Gogoi

forms a milder version of the ASF disease. Since the vaccine is illegal, it’s unknown how many vaccines were injected into the pigs. In August, the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs had launched a crackdown on the production of illegal ASF vaccines. Provincial authorities were tasked with inspecting pig farms, drug producers, and veterinary labs to find more information on these illegal vaccines sold throughout the communist regime. Though some people have been arrested, the illicit vaccines apparently continue to be produced and sold to pig farms. The farm owners, who are under pressure to keep

China’s pork output

new wave of African Swine Fever (ASF) is spreading through pig farms in China. Industry experts say it’s not the result of natural causes. It’s due to farmers injecting pigs with illicit vaccines. It comes when the country is under the stress of new outbreaks of the novel coronavirus. China is the largest producer of pork in the world. In 2019, China’s pig population fell by 40 percent due to ASF. In 2020, the pig industry rebounded as the shortage had spiked prices and netted pig farms enough profit for business development and

The National Bureau of Statistics claimed that China’s 2020 pork output only fell by 3.3 percent from a year before to 41.13 million tons. This statistic had surprised many experts who had predicted that the decline would be somewhere around ten percent to 15 percent. But pig farm owners were then hit with a new threat – a wave of ASF infections that the increased use of illicit vaccines had triggered. Chinese authorities are working on an ASF vaccine with scientists from the Harbin Veterinary Research Institute. Their vaccine in development

The use of illegal vaccines is triggering African Swine Fever in communist China. (Image: pixabay / CC0 1.0)

has seven genes deleted. However, some pig farmers have resorted to using vaccines from dangerous sources. Among these illegal vaccines, a double-gene deleted vaccine is the one responsible for triggering the

ASF outbreak. According to Dr. E. Wayne Johnson, a US pig veterinary consultant in Beijing, even though the two deletions weaken the virus, it does not make them innocuous. Instead, the weakened virus

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their business afloat due to the threat of ASF, get conned by the illicit vaccine sellers. The upcoming Lunar New Year festival has meanwhile triggered a rise in food prices. However, the prices of pork seem to have declined. In December, pork prices fell by 1.3 percent due to a recovery in stocks. “Consumer prices may slip back into deflation over the next couple of months due to a jump in pork prices a year ago, but this should prove temporary,” Capital Economics’ senior China economist Julian Evans-Pritchard told RTE. Iris Pang, chief economist for Greater China at ING, expects pork prices to stabilize after winter.

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Wall Street Behemoths Ate Reddit’s Gamestop Lunch

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About Pandemic Surveillance

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on January 23, 2020. BlackRock By Leo Timm is Gamestop’s largest owner at “According to the report, ago, a loudspeaker blared out rity police], or placed under more than 9.2 million shares. the project successfully rec- his name and address and surveillance, at any time… (Image: by FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP via Getty Images) ognized 1,158 photos of ordered him to extinguish Overall, it feelselly as if we’re not Craf various local ‘key targets.’ the blaze immediately. He free at all.” dor to t, U.S. amb assahe Chinese Commu(STEPHA the Unit NIE KEITH / GETTY ed Natio nist Party (CCP) conThe system identified more jumped with fright, quickly The articlewill also not describes According to data proIMAGES) ns, wan , the trav el vided tinues to roll out its than 60 targets for its local put out the flames and scur- the troubling implications to Tai- to CNBC by JPMortrati on. anno unce Dep artm ent In three “Sharp Eyes Project” facial of prev a perpetually ‘Domestic Security’ and ried away.” quants team based on d Jan. moni- of gan’s Gettyimages ton has year s, Wash 12 follo State auth orize ious credit” logy.10The ingwing anno recognition technology in an more than people accused “Everyone knew who the tored “social system: higher-level data and propritechno lion in unce men a she woul ence and defe nse d over $15 bilhas even d spen than one attempt to cement its increasof crimes. China’s Domestic culprit was, so he would “Under pilot social credit t sayin etaryg analysis methodologies unde r sales to regime d three iting athe on how more Trum p, communist Taiw an with days sto self$1 that of ingly tenuous griprates on powerUyghu rs, Chinese Security Bureau offices make never dare to do that again,” scheme, people who are connot rule d islan vis-available to the public, ed manife Com mun Oba ma’s billi on mor e in million i- a publish up a secret d that Made term . Chin over the world’s largest and police force tasked boasted Communist Party sidered beist ‘troublemakers’ while the top 10 most purentir e of its to s who are predomin a catchy name… 8-ye ar terri tory. a claim s is part to citizen wants Cui Liru jailed oldest country. with neutralizing individu- Secretary Yin Xiuqin smugly. by the authorities, including chased stocks by retail-level China Secre statement Muslim, are tary of China 2025.” nately the Taih , a senio r resea State expl aine A March 2020 In mid-January, Daji- banned from worals biotech that the nology Communist Party According to the article: those who have tried fare- investors included names like Mike e Insti tute, rche r at ate the Pompeo and d that en townsh ip domin ties camps Li Guanw belie their the with Taiw develop was due smoked on canc yuan, the Chinese-lan- or speaking in deems in to be political threats,” “Fear of public shaming is dodging, public Apple, Tesla, Coca-Cola, and from ves that By Steven as a leader ellat to work an will g southwestern the inco shippin be done caused ion sector that need AMC, Gamestop “was numguage edition of The Epoch said Dajiyuan. the essence of Sharp Eyes.” transport, on ion s and preciming Bide softe n unde officials in the to turn trouble found by ed r language. Collect - ment of vaccine tion. How n offover native n Province, ber 15 on the firm’s retail In a report by Bitter WinTimes, received leaked docuA 2018 article by Radio Free the commercial or auth ‘spread to inco mingflights biomet ever, Joe adm inist rabring ing ne. pub- Sichua unab le Bide n adm ority to Strategic Pol- China, and Bide n will DNA and other minor- sion medici ofChina to the largto the U.S., ments from mainland ter on the Sharp Eyes Project, Asia (RFA) is particularly tion. falseCong information’ will ast year, China the Austra lian inist buying list for January.” y with be ress confonline the pre-T imm ediat ely that the jobs back The countr d plans to data from these ally to to Shaanxi prescient in warning North crati retur n irme Demra- JMP Securities analyst rum p appr cand issued by the “workric leadera local in Xian City, nowc be prevented likely Institute, states alreadyshore responded, “The Bidene licly declare to idate Joefrom dbuyis most sidel ined oDNA icy oach , Pres engag is “used specific other est dataset Yellen ities Taiw fossil fuels Province train tickets, theBide governship group for public secudatabase has n as U.S.Devin Ryan told CNBC the of global t-ele “Think of how liv- Americans of things to come of ingiden tion will expand iersits tus in favor an’s diplomatiwhic h ct in the explains: described people, target to state DNA used to ramp up sur- admi nistra -of-government Jan. 7.announced win, You ing U.S. Secre on the suppl earlythis tax faster identif c staInstitutions earlier rity video monitoring con-y under technocratic te treas- total- if they allow their democracy ment se of ing hour s obvious: se. Accord ment” with of warm er been tary of Statewere rs and refine desire to databa an increa Taiwan, as the ultima feels: “The in a whole China that uses “eng ageemis-, at Craft atten with Xinhua ssed her family Mike Pomp until organ month.”officially naturally trading struction and networking” in membe software.” DNA itarianism ce efforts. ion d theGamestop anda of double- CCP to degenerate into technoc- Repu “The Trum Beiji ng. er has expre ach to veillan to ensure a kind inflat is propag a Unite ition ess in eo revmann know appro a New Sum(R) blic than Project The s’ in d Nations congr and ure map,is already monitoring p adm inist n as of Chinwho fail to facial Leader mirage Liuhe District, Nanjing city,recogn paythe while the York [Taiw an ing the us in racy under the excuse ofU.N. “Employers City. and hype are met. for this work with (UN) Gene U.S. Ambassad The Sharp Eyes progra m our available tools achieve our 15th G20 ment has to ie Cho ration and the goals Pres iden chart contain seat to the a (ROC), lost sion to ral Assem se will occur By Debb or to the 21, 2020, ber buted will spar Jiangsu Province. The The docu-U.S. governactions by helixed our homes, what privacy do combatting the SARS-CoV-2landsocial insurance or peopleits around Reddit, a social marbe distri t] Tsai Ing-w g from surveil lance communist no increa bly on Septe U.N. is designed al security, on Novem rangin remo val mit would e in the local increa for traits ofses Vision Times en neighbors to that main keting mber 24, Kelly rts enue , and nation US-Taiwa no effor ts to platform rather than a ments show how the Nanjing have left?suscepIt’s like we’ve novel coronavirus pandemic.switcwho1971 have failed to pay fines of prot criticized these Jinping group. Xioffset nt to holds ment as code we 2019, prom ote that encourages for suspi- economic, policy goals. U.S. US-R OC to our ocol gove Yellen suppo By Neil hed diplo the United State n relat ions Preside house color y costs. hand s Chinese govern ity. n Campbel our eye all wage unist Party diplo matiserved rnin g In addition, media platform, got ropes around will also bemati on the restricteds social government installed the facial “The internet and our s. If our until Trum to Beiji each other Comm c reco over pow disease of highereenerg l human in and foreigmaintain its technominimum The inChines ng later repo rted plan s to certain c relat gnition asand to report p pose is er. Thei , former chair tibility to , especia lly a screen. “Isend think that it’s ions says theinarticle. recognition in 2017 to monnecks andDNA are being a feder al “We need a crime against by sam-led on smartphones have beenCraflist,” edge, to ing the per hour. efforts to Kelly t, who anet Yellen Board that Was Chinese com(CCP) said,ions policies cious activity The U.S. Reut ers on Jan. Craf t, 10,000 se to $15 innovation tions to raise US-Taiwa r purthe preswas boasted deca t Office al Reser ve Taiw an The article you have itor citizens. leashes. We’re all livingy under under government surveilthat de. the reasonable hingthat Additionally, nize ience a relat 12. ing with to say a logica l and areas where n relaton insti- sayharmo ive 'dualthe Feder k Obama, has increaressional Budge Chin between slate d to visit goes back -RO C relat ed to share ts could possibl further has adm inist heig ht that the fire.” Onwerewas had exper “plays the to Wor estab- rural police and securit y including in sensit ions hip 15, wou e could Jan. 13 enterprise Dajiyuan said the doca microscope, and sit’s Chinese state-run tutional investors in terri- lance for a long time already,” mun panies are obligat and are ples, scientis ratio n cann in Xinji rds and Bideang” Yellen Jan. also under Barac to become the Cong es this, “mov must focus and Jan. Ame rican Trum ’s centra l ld have ist Chin standa pldadm n wher ence of 11, Com War n Alth ough and the genetic marker say, ely low. use' technologies, al supply in-II, when high -ran istration’s ot “the believ with China to faciliated e he calle with the CCP revernatu auments used a Party-jaran anonymous Chinese interthatking createdbeen Sharp Eyes, the spok very espe active in ese those stocks last force isolate fying.” forei relativ of 3.7 millio ’s working data is Bide the s se…re devalu tracks’ again gn s rds with, final been nomin Secretary servn privacy critic aide third d reno ted ‘fast g the 2015 mini US-Taiwa will not upwa rson Zhao st the Japa same hourds Chin lish durin that on reshoring U.S. offic after U.S. per- camera ury l Agent, FBI DNAAassocia Com that unce their 2018 article by Los Ange- net user told RFA. “A friend aptly-named New week because there are insti- stry 19, U.S.woun hand le of the Chinese flow ofmaron. cost rs a job,” but in Yellen d down a not given the nese bank the Ame Lijia activists worry Secre tary Bell ialVision isory Speciagon heavy rhetorical basis new Treas orderly United the cancer. But if you have has, his n relat ions like mun ist Party rica woul sed global n said — the Presi belie aut hori on inva administrati Hum anCo., tate that surpri the world Jan. sion. worke ed Rights You, Superv had se will fuel of Heal give Chi- chains.” Edward resol adm inist ist-Le ” a ”Mar ions as in the Trum about initiating “the three les Times illustrated a realof mine in Anhui is under was happy to report the tutional investors that particyuan d propos will dent breast ties be increa Trum se tion Serv has policy ute protect staninis confronts fs before th “met a p ing the Biden a fiscal dove and science this wish new able respo nses and n x- tice?” ices Alex China ratio n won’ s, your t regim n in China genetic lating the Chine onU.S. Und admp adm inist ed und to take h Chin p er t he sonnel. be this injus .” have ele-with defenses” and sought to surworldsample anecdote ofthe living surveillance, and he tried toer Secr Party could linkAzar up its sur- State ipate -bac in names that her opinio ration the steps toinistration kets whenmecha sign ifica powe be the e that exerts nism ties unrestricted Toug st the the my by stimu of the Trum r tover States. The situatiocompa nies 10 million Known to etary to reve and asked have taken again luck and finding ked med boos t relat Krac h — economist, nese authori nt collects ofParty’s of State with the econo the workers benglobal American rse the awas longand been a hallmark which advoTime actio In his farew from like was devalued ition chance Chin health be under the omniscibuy a plane ticket to go overveil “near provinceand cityveillance cameras any vated volume. I think most pei. secrets of s to ia ns entities ions tistical publ Keit curr by uation a Keynesian to support low ese set soon tiIn s would was resto Glob on, genetic She foreign ished an h with Taient situa people throu suffering foot on deval in the last recogn after e drama istrati a l its success,addi spending is access to tiontotopray for achthe dent Trum ell address, Presi of red mutual , Amazon, and increase. the artic ving human s improv washing joining tion the mov while ence: “When a resident of seas, but he couldn’t leave level highways; district-level the “smart” device in the home, inglikely thatewas also expressed dollar. The based gh brain nucleic a form preference and low unemle accu s- keyrank ing on there are he takes offic e, tions. The data admin eyed appro t about from the p wishe lifted from and millions were somesend such as Google required to marker ing high such senio six months. Prev islan d China ing or preser - ing as lasta clearbe hesitan membersoffic ials to be to be n to in of the The nessin” some becauseand brute force family connec g the mini- certific htates is why e.Nigeria more urge g efiting in China cated poverty in been the ditchactivBiden-Har d the incomas ces being thoug regim which iousl by “raisin form to roads; and core governmenAnxi village in the Sichuan country… We can be placed especially those with camof the options r ragin Pomp ok interest rates such offic issue Unit of the the the resour ulatio already that .” cally, “mad unist in y, his short years trials, nt dom eo recalled ited the ials had Trump just a few s to islan d, of milof it.” genetic manip ris administr stated Chinese ed State sstaff - thearms while encou clinical ed aes, ncy results the comm much tion collected has to the CIA human Facebo estic islan d in adm not vis-mon-tion.ityItlast acid . It the Nure curretest after thed p pursu countri will lift tens Commun hasput tal zones, province China set a under restriction or perseresulting week as well,” heinist said. to get so of rringtransportation argu the Sout be reso lved ,”berg Trial ployment regulation to aid nology com- to under aincre ased African ed that exporytsaccepte m- to luck and asked Ame ra- (CCP) onsales 40 yearin 24/7 But what was a miracle.” give information ls in mul- wants On Jan. eras, mum wage icans out of povCui tolds at the end ist Party t and transfe the ly nology h Chin the ROC boosttionall and otherTrum .squares, pullded grea terblastto the used by a biotech ineering, U.S. interna s. you’re atgove rnm biotech “pray for 9,itoring order of abroad War a private the ricans Officia value Chin es expan governmen hubs, hospitals, cuted by them, or asked to match to a small pile of garwhether According to data from Mor of , ent d. global Amer s U.S.more push in for Worl have top of Taiw and my. s The also II its success emphasize the 45th President need s to ning ese tion of its perse Bioeng Taiw U.S. diplo that brou lions d Ame oppo se We hope official announce econo anes genetic resourc 60 Minutes on deman cy. ding acces dollar rose s other ng indusCCPwar in the Uygh cu- ed for e in keeping pany, Anke reso lutel . U.S.codes.” thus suspid tion is also an milit ary ler’s Post the Securities, mat rica safe in a stable spent a good part a boomi ght Hitse curren to variou bageisin the gutter two years ‘drink tea,’ [with state and communities… Pedessecuhome or outside. trad-y Falun urhigh U.N, to the vacof naccess Skynet ” trade ntatio while expan count less QR mech“self Muslimspart icipa tion “pro vocaretail ately was the most passionChine coopperp and prosp push Citadel U.S. Secre -imp osed d the removal tiple states were thewill join thisthat An episode rights the a big sour again for era-etrators of light ed demGong n ed ns due sector an estimated worth thewere mic erty stated thatas andTaiw build a “DNA surveil- confro tion the value “Left ing up es “Fou of Yellen had to for ocra from erous inco tunity huma was all countri acade intentio tary ” pract restr trians should be videotaped Biometric Update reported ers actually net sellers of titled, r the regu crim and an years nse tic ce ming .” BGI’s st humanity wide.” as s America’s of State restrict founding News PRC ition such of worr ictio ns” syste to oppor istration video Pompeo try with late how es a ago we launc Outg cious of the oing m ers. fields on CBS per year, n adm y in cont an’s Mike China’s respowas in prepa racines, may be esses nation fathers left Rear Adm . In Nove mbe (R) shake Race, grea to canc ellastBide of her career lecturer at instithat integrates Ame cide to justic and geno every 10,Biodat 20, anda30 minutes, its close ties with the CCP, that the People’s that LiberationAparGamestop finding inter act ’sSecre in- Mike CCP rast authtary to $4 trillion to create and tech.ticipants. ity more small busin climate change, anism.” r 2020 , e, leadi to postertes develhad theweek, , The and . Mich ael orita - rebu t national effor hed State Departme s hands with uation with Taiw rican offic ials ofriani to new polic t based Pompeo Statesm, to the of up Behind t from the valand big data deval Yellen China Xi promo head of than at rd, The nonpar Janprofessor than marke elimi lance on . ild accept on a While had ng 2020, comb mad 200 years Stud t that from Monday to Thursaccording to the document. Army (PLA)-connected Hikto nt Harva an. to y. more our Craf tax aired did To to at Large and natio as Ambassad is n Taiw an U.S. Indo and been States, g system Thes e rules ema country, Sale,” not minc “Above InInearly n, n of the Nazi to the ago. canc elled words with Beijin e grea to Trumpby for Intern tion to tmove rts a carbo the United man d’s its spiri trip, Pom t’s DNA For or d and refused with COVID- which Amazon and Apple up large awarded of technologies tutions such l of Economics, to renew giou all, we e ante and Com draw ing setvision a powerf ul policin ned that of the islanter guar reportedocuIn another leaked investors sold data t, ational Reliopposdition intel ligen -Pac ific fascis-m his planday, amateur Biden suppo fossil fuels such opmenmy. cut ly to avoid a $33 have reasserted the e s Freed a means genetic diplo mati was as voiced uation of 31, 2021 and Senate from the Party allegianc and to restore s to visit peo calle d off the surveillanc g, descr econo unification offers to help visit ed d’s secu ibing are concer of moves to comce direc China gathere ts the uary London Schoo ley. She transiom n has othe In to cers that ion stage sacre Sam gation Activis back c oil. In --Yelle million contract to install ment, Chinese police issued 719,932 more shares than to nse Euro rity. the Euro world Taiw Given global r react ions tirad es e state produ . Hee,noted torat d idea e of this a Jan. Brow in Ame Berke (L) durin far as jiang and pe after pean offic an on ’s ment administrat quesPicture of Hikvision cameras In respoabove ittee’s of an investi Americananies in Xinal gas, and combined. the SARSclose d and a prothat 19 testing. 7 Twit and U.C. from the that the s will go so gove an thepost, “pros acquir ing at the State g a press evenn- answ rica, the gove se tech comp ials This was top trip. to ete results to collikelymitte a reports efforts celebrating their cameras in Chin Shanghe. to mee tpurchased. her role as gov- as coal, natur the Brook ings of rising atrocPom und ister intentions clear, in an electronic mall Com possibility of ce Comm irus for- official panitiespeo in Bei-mun ist Part e at crime off Chine as Compl rnment products, d perpetrat trials we emba its citizens. In rn- 29, jing, whic This infu riate ecute t with him,decli ned ers to the has made its ese Departme d againthe Although the comChina’ tioned from desc ribed , Finannovel st with coronav to U.S. y (CCP was e to be eting with s T he C DNA evidenc Flickr crim again panies , such The short, stren gthe on from st Uygh 2018, in in impleadded to the result of popular tradinging Sep- into“achievements” ors for nt May people. rked serving within ent a podca Dollars and Sense CoV-2 ). as DNA. on comp notinclu guiding Shares ding plant CP Hikvision kind . Studh vowe d to respodesBeiU.S. must continugenetic jing on May 24, 2019.the DNA collecti addres y frame and from access wouldInstifle ning short of U.S.-RO urs in it2013. st hum fessor to noth Our Presid make Ame on a mission Americans’ light, our (Alex Won Washington, bed tion coun that tries, same crim e s te dblacklist by the he does State Depa prot in, Bill the Genom the ing.ics comCesallia - of the pt lect menting the so-called Sharp direct Pentagon apps like Robinhood restrictscenes to unfairl nts. first as the Bank of Institute, to D.C. demic, ines being anity, the our unwa north star, g / Getty claim humanity for “crim Yellen descri such trips ema n counterednd eign nce again and the swabs is uncerta of the vigilant to protect s. While in two top Chinese surveilernment, artm biotechnology all Ame rica great again 2020, a bankru vering conv Images) ” andthe perpetrated largest in in Feb. 2019, a $40 tax per ton privacy concerns ation. al Reser ve tember Trum p st unde r r that aign Eyes Project (雪亮 “Xue nasal Trumpent’s Administration for ing buying of select “meme“Thi rican for group, lance firms plunged on May prosecute disside that addi- innov “geno citizen been that BGI ang.” nece ssary are norm al, Xinji iction has to Chinang cide.” adm inisof the Feder and eventually a, the directo The presi sold camp s is a data of its in the world, ng 22 following reports Wash“This weeks.” we are here and of a widespread the 2020 pany implementi isco being owned and/or con- stocks” like Gamestop after Liang,” translating literally Evanin Counterintelligence dent again Newsweek reportsCCP may GNC Since was and Taiw to ensu re that On aaresimi lar the noble aceuramifications tragic set very serious and has sharp to serve benefits of analyzi ing the we inau demned San Franc , a New China and reportal BidenPharm in the a certain the becom new of every an conIndeed , Nation Harbin of note e. to elmbased Amb gura Team U.S. the are is goals ington is considering banning adm le day citize based China to “Bright as Snow”), a surtrolled by the PLA. A series being hit with a $3 billion , U.S. assad te Capi trail, riots in read aggr essio America. taking place actions that are DNA databas to multip d tional leading up Federal Reser ve y Center (NSC), data are overwh the ns of Coonfor $770 the extend our inistration and coun or at Large rhetoric n by main y to Our alleg ate the biotech ened sent letters its natio Group them from buying U.S. comarticle reveale conthe there in as edly e and Securit BGI was likely genetic we Sessi tol during the Jan. U.S. to the veillance program designed of Executive Orders by the deposit requirement from it will iance is not be to “domin land ChinnalterReligious for Interern part best wish Chair of York Times the West Chinesethat 23 g to “provid gleast positive, such g genetic tical ainin speci workthat we 6 ny@v on 2017. p ingly Joint been offerin of es. ponents, just as the blacklistal amassin to At a of also Sam . warned of has Freed by in interests, isiontimes. Trum And maint Congress, to persecute rural outgoing President blocked the Deposit Trust & Clearing want them h partmillion of what thenies rations, or om, luck, are states the regioBrownbac industry” position forced labor China… This provide from 2014 that the CCP that “all se,” civilians. com Huawei ial development “biologisaying ting to establis k, challenge ing of telecoms giant much global entiti corpoleaving the Yellen is n. al experti map of its to the CCP American Yellen ted compa a ies potent technic The Party justifiessequen the proU.S. based companies from Corporation to cover clearc- attemp and treatassocia After her our child started.genetic ilization, , this is forced sterdata and to developd to target tinue d Trum very important have rified by es. It’s to for onperform s were horing on a genetic hput l reserve, fanned their escalating tech s with U.S. companed. life-sav ing cures ren, force persecutio its 21-year-lo word,” 700 million p said. administrati ted toBiden s designe the assau Adminisgramthroug under theadditio pretextnal of nership doing business with or hold- inghouse volatility. ing truth to our natio our citizens, and at the federa guished Fellow kind of thing d abortions. The ng cit- “high Capitol.” approx imately collecting cal weapon lt on our States .” Chi- accredi later be exploit Trump’s Distin n practice n of the spiritual ments, the underly data iswar. (Image: FRED DUFOUR / AFP via stated, “The and “make g to make on United ings s that we ethnic groups fighting crime more effec- that could ing securities in PLA-conbecame a testing seen in approval “We resto itself,” he said. Falun to ers,” be willinaccess genetic haven’t Getty Images) males by forcibly “Politica at the Brook Specia l Agent in certain on leavi to help with an claim that seek of tools to that private as the force Gong, as well red the tration will rating and Superv isory s beginning ng profit in Residence earned speak ing continue on A3 tively. ons” nected companies. donati that in this worldawfully long time principle investi- is full array workin nese state media the largest izens, attack on l violence is blood sample companies to cent accor office was 51 perDisease 2019 and . Ourg use of the data byntable d You, a FBI ing of its d organ harvestan citizea nation exists to has everything ,” said Pom Street Institute ating in the crein a way for ding to Coronavirus accou an inter genetic serve adherents ish as Ame . BGI Edwar d China already ers. In the case nies ns. Our peo in major Wall we cher2014, culmin Rasmussen background Reports, view with compa focuse hold China back wrot . agenda was its e in the world l database D-19) testing off of consum fees from gator with a date has geneal although ment, about America to ogy Fox New e: “What Brown- polls be tolerated.ricans. It can neve r- (COVI . with not ation of a nationa ities have genetic databas , stated, “The ach — d in collectall approach23andMappro Reports. Chinese govern e. Furthe s number r abou right or left, it banks. 212-730-6963 million profiles ny@visiontimes.com Now more been involve biochemistry teral as of of the has VISION 6,600 mean does the ing show his approvalother ever we artificialTIMES Pompeo such ment of wasn unila t ethnic have a has Repu late 2017. Author in par- with over 80 ation in govern on from ’t than must said that could approxima betw data ? CCP ,agenda the combin authoritarian this many genetic the result crat, but blican or Dem and boys ment had his depa policies te 212-7ber It’s the 47 perce een 29 perce rat- shared value unify around our more, to ing genetic survei llance, and, as a ced ve. oleader Xi Jintargeted men about the rtit To gather effortsforreceived $1.5 nt and tioners that num by Going Monetary past week’s Senof 63 ihas employed nt. Trum intelligence, s and rise they “comm nation, China and its good of exhaustiv conducted “a Uyghurs and more effecti ive toinese the pa meet Falun 30-69pract pe been reinfor profiles, the CCP in an earboldly open a data have paved uring the icular because inese govds. been

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ent of rian governm ing The authorita leader Xi Jinp China and its t their ly open abou and have been bold beat the west in ambitions to fits of advances reap the bene technology. The and DNA science has a regime even communist a catchy with o ifest published man in China 2025. e name... Mad

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FEB 12 - 18, 2021 |

Russian and Chinese EMP Weapons Threaten Critical US Infrastructure By Steven Li

ussia and China are both long-term rivals of the United States, and recent U.S. intelligence indicates that they are prepared to launch “Cybergeddon,” a type of large-scale sabotage of critical U.S. electronic networks and systems by using EMP weapons.

Russia’s SuperEMP weapons

In January 2021, Dr. Peter Vincent Pry, Executive Director of EMP (electromagnetic pulse) Task Force on National and Homeland Security, released a report titled “Russia: EMP Threat.” The United States and other NATO countries are commonly victims of Russian cyber-attacks, which target critical infrastructures such as electric power, telecommunications, and transportation. He describes how a nuclear weapon can be detonated at least 30 kilometers in the air, creating an intense high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP). In contrast to a nuclear weapon exploding near the surface that would result in shock waves, thermal radiation, and soil mixed with fission products gradually falling back to Earth, the effects of a high-altitude explosion are limited to a HEMP. Pry states that Russia has “Super-EMP” weapons that were specifically engineered for HEMP attacks, which “potentially generate 100,000 volts/meter or higher, greatly

exceeding the U.S. military hardening standard (50,000 volts/meter).” He speculates that the Soviet Union and Russia’s HEMP nuclear tests have likely allowed Russia to outpace the U.S. in terms of knowledge and experience. By employing hypersonic vehicles that fly at an altitude of 50 to 100 kilometers or keeping nucleararmed satellites in orbit for years in preparation for a surprise attack, Super-EMP warheads could be deployed as a “first-strike weapon” against the U.S. Russian warheads have now reached the capability of traveling at a speed of Mach 20, 20 times the speed of sound. Also, these warheads can skim the top of the upper atmosphere and are maneuverable, decreasing the ability of U.S. earlywarning satellites and radars to detect them. In the words of Dr. Mark Schneider, a former senior Defense Department official: “The main reason for Russian hypersonic missiles is a nuclear surprise attack — and America has no defense against them.”

Russian nuclear weapons regulations may not apply

Given that a vast majority of America’s infrastructure is dependent on electricity, an EMP attack could be disastrous. Transformers used to power electrical grids require long manufacturing and transport times, thus prolonging the recovery of electrical systems in the event of an EMP attack. A HEMP attack could poten-

Security analyst James Carafano states: “If you had a largescale EMP event in the United States, everything would be disabled… the electrical grid is going to be gone, there’s going to be no way to do traffic lights, there’s going to be no way to land ships, there’s no way to get fuel to the gas stations to refill your car. If you got there, the gas pumps wouldn’t work.”

This photo taken on April 24, 2018, shows J15 fighter jets on China's sole operational aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, during a drill at sea. A flotilla of Chinese naval vessels held a 'live combat drill' in the East China Sea, state media reported on April 23, 2018, the latest show of force by Beijing's burgeoning navy in disputed waters that have riled neighbors. (Image: AFP / Getty Images)

tially neutralize U.S. ballistic missile submarines, a key objective that the USSR failed to achieve during the Cold War. Furthermore, since HEMP attacks are categorized as Information, Electronic, or Cyber Warfare, the already loose Russian nuclear weapons regulations may not apply. Pry writes that Russia’s overarching goal is to “win World War III at the speed of light.” Just this past year, in 2020, Russia successfully performed one of the most advanced and dangerous attacks on the U.S. government and private sector in history. Russia bypassed the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which is America’s major defense organization against threats to critical infrastructures. Between March and December 2020, Russian cyber-spies remained undetected. They infiltrated the National Nuclear Security Administration in charge of U.S. nuclear weapons, the Department of Energy, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which oversees national electric grids, defense contractors that design advanced U.S. weapons, and 18,000 other government and corporate victims. The extent of the damage is still unknown. It could range from a mere intelligence gathering operation

to a full-fledged sabotage mission containing logicbombs, viruses, and cyberbugs that could be exploited in the future.

China’s total information warfare

In a separate report published on June 10, 2020, titled “China: EMP Threat,” Dr. Pry elaborates on how China has similarly been plotting against the U.S. The preeminent People’s Liberation Army textbook by Shen Weiguang, entitled World War, the Third World War — Total Information Warfare, outlines China’s intentions. “As soon as its computer networks come under attack and are destroyed, the country will slip into a state of paralysis, and the lives of its people will ground to a halt. Therefore, China should focus on measures to counter computer viruses, nuclear electromagnetic pulse… and quickly achieve breakthroughs in those technologies to equip China without delay with equivalent deterrence that will enable it to stand up to the military powers in the information age and neutralize and check the deterrence of Western powers, including the United States.” In June 2015, China successfully executed cyberattacks on virtually every federal agency, stealing personal information on mil-

lions of federal employees. Hacking and potentially planting cyber bugs could serve as reconnaissance for future nuclear HEMP attacks, a combined military tactic known as “Total Information Warfare.” According to Taiwan military intelligence, China reportedly has a Super-EMP atomic weapon designed based on stolen information from U.S. nuclear weapon labs. China allegedly “used spies in the United States and engaged Russian technical consultants, resulting in the successful manufacture of a mini bomb using implosion technology. Military experts believe the Communist Armed Forces are capable of deploying a kiloton grade EMP warhead today.” The partnership between Russian and Chinese forces was on full display in Russia’s VOSTOK-18 in September 2018, one of the most extensive military exercises in history. Russia had 297,000 personnel in attendance, while China sent 3,200 personnel, 1,000 military vehicles and equipment, and 30 fixed and rotary-wing aircraft. Clearly, both Russia and China have shown that they have elite cyberwarfare and EMP capabilities. Experts worry that by revoking President Trump’s order to shield the U.S. power grid, President Biden has left the U.S. even more vulnerable to foreign attacks.

Greta Thunberg Could Face Indian Criminal Probe for Support of Protests methods. The farmers who do not like these bills are angrily protesting against the government.

By Prakash Gogoi

limate activist Greta Thunberg attracted the anger of the Indian government and citizens after she supported violent farmers’ protests in the country. Many farmers are protesting against three laws that the government recently passed. Tens of thousands of farmers have been camping on the outskirts of New Delhi since November while protesting against the laws they fear will allow large corporations to squash them. While claiming that the laws will be detrimental to them, there are other farmers who support the move, as they believe it will significantly boost their livelihood. The three bills would unlock the country’s excessively regulated agriculture market and allow farmers to get investment from large companies. ny@visiontimes.com

Greta Thunberg’s toolkit tweet

Greta Thunberg might face a criminal investigation due to inflammatory tweets. (Image: European Parliament /Wikimedia/CC BY 2.0 )

It may enable farmers to use modern technology to boost productivity. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stated that the bills can modernize ancient, out-of-date farming

Doing so, they have gained the support of Thunberg. In one of her tweets, the activist shared a farmers protest “toolkit” outlining a global campaign to step up violent protests against the Indian government under the guise of human rights. Thunberg deleted the tweet shortly after that. The initial inquiry has revealed that the “toolkit” was created by a pro-Khalistani Organisation “Poetic Justice Foundation,” police said in a statement. Many of the protesters are from the Punjab state. They appear to be creating a separate homeland in Khalistan, Punjab. Following the toolkit tweet,

Delhi police have filed a complaint regarding instigation acts that threaten social harmony. However, Thunberg is not currently a target for the case. “We haven’t named anybody in the FIR, it’s only against the creators of toolkit which is a matter of investigation & Delhi Police will be investigating that case… Sections in FIR are 124 A IPC-spreading disaffection against Govt of India, it’s regarding sedition, 153 A-promoting hatred amongst various communities on social/ cultural/religious grounds, same is 153 & 120 B for criminal conspiracy to give shape to such a plan,” Praveer Ranjan, Delhi Police Special Commissioner of Police (CP), said in a statement.

Some of the planned actions mentioned in the farmers’ toolkit include:

• A Global Tweet Storm:

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Posting exact tweets detailed in the document is to gain international attention. It lists several organizations and propaganda websites that support the movement. • One of the influencers mentioned in the document that would extend support to the farmer’s protests is the American singer Rihanna. • The intention to discredit India’s image of being a land of yoga and chai (tea) and to create a negative impression of the country. • The toolkit details the plan to demonstrate at various Indian embassies. One of the organizations listed in the document supporting the farmers’ protest is “FFF India,” a climate activist group. In a Facebook post, FFF India has tagged “Extinction Rebellion,” which received strong support from Thunberg.

“Extinction Rebellion is a global environmental movement which was established in May 2018 and is headquartered in the United Kingdom. In the course of its existence, Extinction Rebellion has exploded in popularity across the world, including a presence in India… In the brief history of Extinction Rebellion, it has been tarred with numerous allegations of violence, extremism, class bias, and more,” as stated in an article by OpIndia. One Indian official said that the document also had a plan to misrepresent India even if it had revoked the three farm bills. The protests caused injury to hundreds of police officers and one death: the government and the public view Thunberg’s support of the violent protests as an act of rebellion against India’s authority. 212-730-6963

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Fascinating

Rituals and Customs

Day 2

Surrounding Chinese New Year

By Emma Lu

hinese New Year is a traditional festival with a long history. It’s the most important holiday for Chinese people, and thus much attention has been paid to it since ancient times. Its preparation starts seven days before New Year’s Eve, from the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month. The activities and customs during the festival are listed according to the lunar calendar. According to traditional customs, there are specific foods to prepare and rituals to perform on each day leading up to the Chinese New Year. We’ve put together a quick fact list of what to do every day before the Festival begins. This year is 2021 — the Year of the Metal Ox. The Chinese New Year starts on the 12th of February. So let’s talk about how to prepare for the Chinese New Year. This is how the Chinese end the old year and bring in the New Year. These customs begin on the 23rd lunar day, which is February 4, 2021.

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New Year’s Eve Kanzhongguo

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27th Lunar Day

It’s the day to make chicken dishes and go shopping for goods to prepare for the New Year. Kanzhongguo

23rd Lunar Day

The family burns a paper effigy of the Kitchen God to send him to Heaven and report to the Jade Emperor whether the family members were naughty or nice.

It’s the time for married women to visit their birth parents. In ancient times in China, women usually didn’t visit their birth parents’ places much once they got married. Though nowadays women can do that at any time, this custom, to visit birth parents on Jan 2, remains.

30th Lunar Day

Depending on the moon cycle, New Year’s Eve either lands on the 29th or 30th of the 12th lunar month. Regardless, this day is also known as the 30th of the year. This is the most important day for the whole family. Traditionally, people travel home for a family reunion, and dinner is a very formal occasion. people eat dumplings and have fish for dinner, which is supposed to bring good fortune and an overabundance of money for the new year. Both young and old stay up late to let off firecrackers and welcome in the New Year. Chinese New Year is the biggest annual celebration. A hive of festivities take place during this period — parades and fireworks to traditional dragon dances and holidays starting on the first day of New Year.

25th Lunar Day

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Day 3

This day is also called Goat Day, a day on which people cannot kill sheep or goats. In southern China, people think quarrels can easily happen on this day, so they don’t visit each other.

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The Jade Emperor comes down to the human world and visits households. Kanzhongguo

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Day 4

It’s the day to welcome the Kitchen God back.

28th Lunar Day

Make assorted cakes and steamed dumplings, write spring couplets, and make Fu Character and Chinese paper cuttings to decorate the home and keep away evil spirits.

24th Lunar Day

This is the day to begin cleaning before the end of the year, starting with the house. The word ‘dust’ in Chinese is a homophone for ‘old.’ The act of cleaning the house represents sweeping away bad luck from the past year, allowing for a new start.

26th Lunar Day

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Prepare any meat for the New Year by visiting your local butcher or grocery store. There are 15 days worth of celebrating, so lots of food and vegetables are needed. In the past, people might take their ox, pig, or sheep to the butcher to slaughter on this day.

29th Lunar Day

This is the day for sweeping the ancestral shrines to show our respect for Buddhas and Gods.

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New Year’s Day

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Day 1

The first thing to do on the morning of New Year’s Day is to set off firecrackers to drive away evil spirits. Afterward, the Chinese will have the first meal of the year, which is as important as the reunion dinner for most Chinese people. Most people choose to eat dumplings, hoping to have good fortune in the New Year, because a dumpling’s shape is similar to gold ingots, which was the currency used in ancient times. People in South China prefer to eat rice cakes, because rice cakes are a symbol of wealth. Young people visit their elders, and in return, elders give them red envelopes with money inside for good luck. Traditionally, children would kneel to receive their red envelopes from their elders. And it was a custom to give and receive using both hands and never open the envelope in front of the gift giver.

Day 5

People welcome the God of Wealth from all directions and routes. It’s a custom to eat dumplings on this day and set off firecrackers.

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Chinese New Year: A Celebration of Divinity By Leo Timm

F Day 6

People drink and get soaked in holiday spirit.

Day 11

It’s Sons-in-Law Day. Fathers-in-law treat sonsin-law with leftovers from Jan 9th. Kanzhongguo

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Day 7

Happy birthday to all people! It’s said that Chinese people were made on this day, so everyone celebrates this day as their birthday.

Day 12

People begin to set up stalls and awnings in preparation for the Lantern Festival.

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Day 8

People free birds and fish to bring blessings. Kanzhongguo

Day 13

People in ancient times lit fires underneath stoves to get ready for the Lantern Festival. Kanzhongguo

ollowing the traditional lunar calendar of East Asia, the Chinese New Year falls on Feb. 12 this year. Its zodiac animal is the Ox and the year’s position in the 60-year cycle is Xin Chou (辛丑). The lunar new year is celebrated not just in China, but also in neighboring Asian countries, as well as among millions of ethnic Chinese living overseas. The celebration is most visible in mainland China, where it is responsible for the world’s largest annual migration. Over a 40-day period, hundreds of millions of people working or studying away from their hometowns crowd the nation’s vast rail network, reaching around 2.9 billion passenger-journeys. By contrast, Thanksgiving in the United States musters just 50 million trips each year.

Giving thanks and honoring the gods

According to the Han Dynasty dictionary Shuowen Jiezi, the Chinese word for “year” (年), pronounced nian, refers to the preparation of the five major grains cultivated by farmers as an offering to the gods. The nian rituals expressed gratitude for the previous harvest, as well as prayer for good fortunes in the coming year. Though New Year’s itself is only one day, there are so many festivities and rituals that they extend all the way to the 15th of the first lunar month, the day of the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 26. Traditionally, the Chinese New Year events began on the eighth day of the 12th lunar month (Jan. 20 this year). In Chinese Buddhism, this is the day on which Shakyamuni became enlightened as the Tathagata Buddha. Festivities continued for another 15 days, during which the Chinese and other East Asian cultures prayed to and respected various deities — including the goddess Nü Wa, who created humanity. She has her own festival, aptly-named renri or “day of man.” On the 23rd day of the

Day 9

It’s the birthday of the Jade Emperor. People have gatherings and play operas to celebrate in his honor.

Day 14

It’s the birthday of the Goddess of Birth.

It’s the day of Earth, symbolized by rocks. Any handling of rock products is forbidden on the day.

/ CC0 1.0)

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Day 10

Kitchen God (Image: ancient.eu

Day 15

People celebrate the Lantern Festival today! New Year holidays are officially over.

12 lunar months, families would burn effigies of the Stove King, known in Chinese as the zaowangye (灶王爺). Placed in the kitchen where everyone ate their meals, the Stove King was a heavenly emissary, watching over the deeds of the family. Burning his image sent him back to the heavenly court, where he would report to the Jade Emperor the merits and demerits of each individual. Belief in the Stove King is part of the traditional Chinese view that Heaven and man are one, and that “there are deities three feet above one’s head” (三尺頭上有神

Menshen, or door gods, are often posted on the entrances of homes to protect against evil. (Image: YouTube/Screenshot)

新年納餘慶嘉節號長春

The new year brings celebration in mass A splendid festival to issue a lengthy spring

and eventually capture the man-eating fiend by hanging up red lanterns, wearing red clothing, and lighting firecrackers. The character used for nian is the same as that used to mean “year”, and resembles the character 牛, meaning cow or ox. In Chinese, one way to say “celebrating the new year” literally means “passing the year,” which hints at the legendary calamity. Auspiciously themed poetic couplets, called duilian (對聯), are written on strips of bright red paper and pasted to the sides and top of doors. This tradition was started during the time of the Five Dynasties (907960), when the lord of Later Shu, Meng Chang (孟昶), adorned his entrance with the following lines:

Traditions endangered

靈), reminding people to guard their moral conduct, even when not seen by mortals. Chu Xi (除夕), or the 30th of the 12th lunar month, is the major day of the lunar new year celebrations. It is a time to worship the gods and pay respects to one’s ancestors. A “heaven and earth table” is prepared and offerings to the gods are placed upon it. People post images of menshen, or door gods, on the entrances to their homes to protect against evil. Common “door gods” include fierce warriors — martial gods — or proud and honest officials, civil gods. Seven days after returning to Heaven, the Stove King resumes his station in mortal kitchens, and new effigies are set up for the coming year. Ancestral worship, another central aspect of the New Year, is one of the main rites taught by the philosopher Confucius. Living members of the family, from old to young, approached the altar to pay respects to the ancestral tablets and burn incense. Attending to ancestral funerary rites, Confucius said, strengthened the morality of the entire people by passing on the virtues and memory of the ancient generations. Though greatly overused today, the color red is associated with the New Year celebrations due to its ability to defeat evil. By legend, in ancient times, the people and their children were plagued by a ferocious beast, the nian. They were able to ward off

Though the Chinese New Year is associated with a rich history and spiritual heritage, much of it was actively suppressed in mainland China beginning with the rise of the communist regime in 1949. The ideology of the Chinese Communist Party held that traditional Chinese culture was the culture of an oppressive feudalistic society, and so it moved to purge the national heritage of anything related to religious worship and other “superstitious” activity. The CCP renamed Chinese New Year, calling it the “spring festival” to remove its association with the gods and leave only the agricultural aspect. Even the name of the lunar calendar was changed, from the “calendar of the Yellow Emperor” that paid homage to the legendary ancestor of Chinese civilization, to the “agrarian calendar.” In the early decades of communist rule, instead of worshipping the gods, Chinese were instructed to “recall the bitter days [of Old China] and think about the sweet days [of communist rule.]” Communist campaigns replaced traditional rites. In order to “recall bitter” and maintain their “revolutionary spirit,” people would prepare a hardly edible meal made from wild roots, rice bran, and other scraps. By today, while Chinese are more busy making money and trying to improve their lot in life than fighting for the CCP’s revolutionary schemes, most of the deep spiritual and religious meanings of the Chinese New Year have been consigned to history. Association with the gods, Buddha, and traditional morality is discouraged by the Communist Party, which has only expanded its persecution of religions in recent years.

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SCIENCE

Some Food Contamination

Begins in the

Soil

By Troy Oakes

hen most people hear “food contamination,” they think of bacteria present on unwashed fruits or vegetables, or undercooked meat. However, there are other ways for harmful contaminants to be present in food products. Angelia Seyfferth, a mem-

ber of the Soil Science Society of America, investigates food contamination coming from the soil where the plants grow. Seyfferth explained: “It all comes down to the chemistry of the soil.” Most recently, Seyfferth has been studying rice. The elements arsenic and cadmium can be present in the paddies where rice is grown. She presented her research at the virtual 2020 ASACSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting. Seyfferth said:

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and how much of it someone eats that determines if an individual experiences a negative health effect. High concentrations of arsenic and cadmium are harmful to the body. Consuming low doses over a long period of time can even cause cancer. Elements like arsenic and cadmium can be in different chemical forms depending on their environment. Contaminants are taken up by plants when their chemical form in the soil resembles a nutrient the plant needs. Seyfferth said: “How food is grown affects not only the concentration of contaminants, but also where the contaminants are stored within the food. If we understand the chemical forms of contaminants in soil, we can design solutions to decrease plant uptake of them.” In rice, arsenic and cadmium uptake results from opposite conditions. Arsenic can be taken up when the field is flooded. Cadmium is more likely to be taken up when the field is not flooded. Seyfferth’s work has searched for a way to prevent plants from taking up arsenic and cadmium from the soil. This is often done by adding materials to the soil called amendments.

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“Contaminants being taken up by crop plants is a route of dietary exposure to contaminants that is understudied. We can help decrease human exposure to toxins by applying our knowledge of soil chemistry.”

Small amounts of arsenic and cadmium are present all over the globe and can be detected in many food products. It’s the concentration in the vegetable or fruit, the chemical form of the element,

An amendment helps change the soil environment. By changing the soil environment, researchers can help control the chemical forms and plant uptake of contaminants in the soil. In this case, Seyfferth found that adding rice husk residue to rice paddy soils can help lower the amount of arsenic and cadmium taken up by the plants. Rice husk residue is plant material left over after processing rice for human consumption. This solution is simple, yet effective. Rice husk residue is high in the element silicon, which is an important nutrient for rice. The chemical form of silicon is similar to the form of arsenic taken up by rice plants when fields are flooded. This similarity helps “distract the plant,” which prevents it from taking up as much arsenic. In soils where cadmium is a problem, rice husk residue helps make the soil less acidic. This helps to lock up cadmium in the soil. The silicon in the husk may also help

“How food is grown affects not only the concentration of contaminants, but also where the contaminants are stored within the food. If we understand the chemical forms of contaminants in soil, we can design solutions to decrease plant uptake of them.”

decrease the toxicity of cadmium. Seyfferth said: “Not all sources of silicon behave the same way though. In order for it to be effective, the silicon source must provide silicon in a high enough concentration during the time the rice plant is filling grain. Rice husk residue is a successful source because it breaks down slowly and releases silicon throughout the growing season.” High arsenic can decrease grain yield, but Seyfferth’s work shows that adding rice husk residues can help prevent yield loss. Half of the world depends on rice as a staple food, so this research has exciting potential for positive impact. In the past, Seyfferth has studied similar contamination issues in mushrooms. For most American adults, the amount of arsenic and cadmium they consume from rice and mushrooms is not enough to cause concern. But there are other populations that eat these products more frequently and from an early age. Seyfferth explained: “People need to be aware of their daily load of contaminants, which depends on their body weight, the concentration and chemical form of the contaminant in the food, and the amount consumed. “The daily load is highest for people who consume rice multiple times a day and who may also have arsenic in their drinking water. Some examples include populations in South and Southeast Asia.” Provided by: American Society of Agronomy

Is SpaceX Retrofitting Oil Rigs as Launchpads? By Armin Auctor

paceX has hosted many land-based prototype launches from their site in Boca Chica, Texas. For example, in December 2020, the first launch of the Starship prototype, which the company hopes will eventually lead to commercial space flights to Mars, took place. But now, is SpaceX retrofitting oil rigs to conduct launches from platforms located off the Texas coast as well? Deimos and Phobos, wellknown as the names of Mars’ moons, are also the new names given to two oil rigs that appear to have been 212-730-6963

bought by SpaceX right off the Texas coast. NASASpaceflight, a well-known space news website, reported that SpaceX intends to transform these rigs into spaceflight launchpads for their Starship rockets. NASASpaceflight identified the buyer of the oil rigs as Lone Star Mineral Development LLC. The LLC was incorporated in June 2020 and is registered under the name of Bret Johnson, who is a SpaceX executive. While SpaceX has not yet made public its involvement in the purchase of the oil rigs, the news wouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. Public records show that the sale of the two oil rigs

off Texas’s coast from the oil company Valaris, now bankrupt, took place in August 2020. The oil rigs were sold for US$3.5 million each. They are ultra-Deepwater and semi-submersible, but significant and sizable retrofitting is needed to make the oil rigs ready to support space operations. Elon Musk also tweeted about SpaceX building superheavy-class f loating spaceports for the Moon, Mars, and hypersonic travel around the Earth. It seems they are hiring engineers for the same. Musk sent the tweet a week before Lone Star Mineral Development LLC’s incorporation. SpaceX, since last year, has

been recruiting people for many offshore positions. The company also posted that it was assembling a team of technicians and engineers to help design a functioning offshore rocket launch facility. There are some significant advantages to floating launchpads over the landbased ones. The major ones are less noise and a drastic drop in risk for the people living nearby. Offshore launchpads will also be beneficial in dealing with the logistical complications of launching and landing the rockets. At the same time, there will be less disruption to other aviation and aerospace operations.

VISION TIMES

There are some significant advantages to floating launchpads over the land-based ones.(Image: Adobe Stock )

Rice plants growing hydroponically, meaning in nutrient solution without soil, under different arsenic and silicon levels.(Credit: Matt Limmer)

Interestingly enough, SpaceX would not be the first to use an offshore launchpad. A consortium led by Boeing transformed a semi-submersible deep-water drilling unit into a launchpad in the 1990s. Conversion of the Ocean Odyssey was completed in 1997 and more than 30 rockets carrying satellite payloads were successfully launched from the floating facility between 1999 and 2014. Elon Musk envisions that his company will be offering commercial space flights for passengers to Mars by 2026. For now however, the future use of the oil rigs and of SpaceX’s Texas operations in general remains up in the air since the Federal Aviation Administration released a call for public input about the Boca Chica launch site. ny@visiontimes.com

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LIFESTYLE

Valentine’s Day

Boy Meets Girl (1984)

Leos Carax’s first feature film and a late entry into the French New Wave, Boy Meets Girl is a black-and-white film set in Paris that bursts with a romantic, spontaneous atmosphere. As the title suggests, this film is about the chance meeting of two people. They are wounded lovers and fate brings them together in the most imaginative scenes. A party scene with a bedroom full of babies, tap dancing Parisian style, walking with eyes tightly closed on the streets of Paris at night while listening to David Bowie. It has a moody tone, which you might like, or if you’re after something lighter, head to number 3.

Dolls (2002)

Takeshi Kitano got the idea for this film from a scene he saw in his childhood of two real-life beggars, bound together by a piece of string, wandering the suburbs of Tokyo. He was fascinated at the beggars’ love for each other. It is a highly stylized film with vivid colors and extravagant costumes by designer Yōhji Yamamoto. It is told from the perspective of Banraku, traditional Japanese puppets, and how these puppets might imagine the lives of humans in three stories of blind love.

Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

Wes Anderson knows how to bring out the adventure in love. The film is set in the summer of 1965 on an island off the coast of New England, and tells the story of two 12-year-old’s who fall in love, make a secret pact, and run away together into the wilderness. I’m a fan of all those little details that make up Wes Anderson films. I thought it was a nice touch in the film with the map of New Penzance, a pair of islands right next to each other can be seen labeled as “Fidelity Island” and “Honesty Rock.”

Eclectic

By Jessica Kneipp hether or not you celebrate Valentine’s Day, it’s nice to pause and appreciate L-O-V-E. It doesn’t have to be with the love of your life, but lucky you if it is. So on this Valentines’s Day, you can go for a nature walk with some friends you love. Take your dog for a long walk on the beach. Dance in your bedroom to the Sparks. Tell your mom she’s beautiful. Maybe even find the courage to tell that secret someone how much you fancy them, or send them a bouquet of flowers. Or if you’re like me, make it an excuse to stay in, watch some films, snuggle up, and enjoy the magic of cinema. This would be my Top 10 to fit the day:

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Movies ‘Boy Meets Girl’ — Leos Carax. (Image: Screenshot / YouTube)

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‘Dolls’ — Takeshi Kitano (Image: Screenshot / YouTube)

‘Moonrise Kingdom’ — Wes Anderson. (Image: Screenshot / YouTube)

‘Tokyo Story’ — Yasujirō Ozu. (Image: Screenshot / YouTube)

‘Life is a Miracle’ Emir Kusturica. (Image: Screenshot / YouTube)

‘City Lights’ — Charlie Chaplin (Image: Screenshot / YouTube)

‘Shadows in Paradise’ — Aki Kurasmäki. (Image: Screenshot / YouTube)

‘Samson and Delilah’ — Warwick Thornton. (Image: Screenshot / YouTube)

‘Lovers of the Arctic Circle’ — Julio Medem. (Image: Screenshot / YouTube)

Tokyo Story (1953)

Yasujirō Ozu’s Tokyo Story is a ref lective film about morals, selfishness, and youth’s treatment (or mistreatment) of the elderly. But it’s also a deeply moving love story, while never being manipulative or oversentimental, as Ozu achieves the most moving emotions through his trademark simplistic style.

Life is A Miracle (2004)

Set during the Bosnian war in a remote corner of Yugoslavia, a Serbian engineer falls in love with his Bosnian Muslim hostage. The couple begin to cling to each other as the war escalates, and baffled by the hatred around them, they emanate love. If you have never seen a film by Emir Kustirica before, you can expect a brass band to be in it somehow, animals in almost every shot, levitating fish, magical turkeys, flying beds, tragedy, comedy, and a lot of heart.

City Lights (1931)

City Lights is a silent tale of a lovable vagrant falling for a young blind woman who sells flowers on the street and mistakes him for a millionaire. Chaplin uses the Girl’s blindness to remind the tramp of the precarious nature of romanticism in the real world as she unknowingly assaults him multiple times. Shot in 1931, Charlie Chaplin films have a kind of magic to them — they just don’t grow old. This is my favorite Charlie Chaplin film: a silent comedy full of charm that will make your heart laugh and ache.

Shadows in Paradise (1986)

Set in Aki Kurasmäki’s native Helsinki, Ilona is a supermarket checkout clerk who meets Nikander, a lonely garbage man, and they develop romantic feelings toward each other. Both of them are extremely shy so this hinders any fast development of their relationship; an issue that Valentine’s Day can help with. Kurasmäki is like no other director in the way he seems to marry social realism and visual stylization along with dry comedy and warmhearted humanism. He focuses on the hardships of Finland’s working class with deadpan comedy. No glamor, just beauty.

Samson & Delilah (2009)

Warwick Thornton’s brave and tender teenage love story is set in an isolated community in the Central Australian desert. Samson has feelings for Delilah, but she ignores him. Her grandmother encourages her to follow her heart so they begin to date. They both become victims of violence and hit the road looking for a town where they can live a better life. The two leads had never acted before and exchange almost no dialogue throughout the film. They give the most captivating performances that will leave you deeply moved. Warwick Thornton says: “It’s my life — everything in that film I’ve seen and I wanted to show the world what Alice Springs is like.

Lovers of the Arctic Circle (1998)

Julio Medem based part of this film on his own experience of unrequited teenage love from his next door neighbor. This melodramatic film starts in Spain and ends at the Arctic Circle/Finland. The story is about Ana and Otto, who meet as 8-year-olds and feel destined from each other. As teenagers, they consummate their love, and when adults after they have been separated for a long time, try desperately to find each other again. There are some stunningly beautiful shots and interesting ideas about the role played in our lives by coincidence and circular circumstance.

In the Mood for Love (2000)

The film’s original Chinese title means “the age of blossoms” or “the flowery years” — Chinese metaphors for the fleeting time of youth, beauty, and love. Set in 1962 Hong Kong, two neighbors, a woman and a man, form a strong bond after both suspect their spouses of extramarital activities. However, they agree to keep their bond platonic so as not to commit similar wrongs, making the characters’ restraint more poignant and ennobling. Wong Kar-Wai is known for his poetic filmmaking and collaborations with cinematographers Christopher Doyle and Mark Lee Ping-bin. The film is breathtakingly beautiful with its exquisite images, music, and the mood it creates. Happy viewing and cheers to all on Valentine’s Day!

‘In the Mood for Love’ — Wong Kar-Wai. (Image: Screenshot / YouTube)

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ARTS

A10 | FEB 12 - 18 , 2021

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Raphael Sanzio’s ‘The Small Cowper Madonna.’ (Image: Sharon Mollerus via flickr CC BY 2.0 )

Antonello da Messina’s ‘Christ at the Column.’ (Image: Rodney via flickr CC BY 2.0 )

Beauty + Realism = Classical Art By Vision Times Staff

ealistic painting has a long and revered history going back to the ancient Greeks. Just as classic Greek and Roman art strove to depict the perfect form, artists of the high Renaissance revived classicism by painting beauty realistically. Classicism emphasizes harmonious proportion, simple structure, and asymmetry. The result is a natural beauty that is noble, dignified, and peaceful. Classical art is not only about realistic portrayals of natural objects, but 212-730-6963

about presenting an ideal form and perfection, that is, art that portrays an eternal spirit and noble values. For painters of the classical style, the perfect form embodies stillness, containment, and elegance. Inspired by ancient sculptures and artifacts discovered at the time, Renaissance artists saw how to depict both ideal beauty and realism. They incorporated this understanding in their work and created works of art that would set the standard for generations of painters to come. Italian painters of the Renaissance set a high

Jacques-Louis David’s ‘Death of Socrates.’ (Image: Rodney via flickr CC BY 2.0 )

bar for artists throughout Europe who came to Italy to study the archaeological discoveries, as well as new techniques and knowledge. This gave birth to art academies that nurtured artists and passed down art techniques and knowledge. Influenced by Flemish paintings, Antonello da Messina, properly Antonello di Giovanni di Antonio (c. 1430-1479), was the first painter to introduce oil painting techniques to Venice. The popularity of this technique later spread throughout Italy. Now, with an improved medium for oil painting,

Italian painters, known for their realistic techniques, were able to make greater strides in perfecting their output. The new oil paint also simulated new techniques. Venetian painters normally applied a layer of underpaint to condition the canvas and drew cartoons in the fresco style. However, this approach darkened the work. With the help of oil paint, Leonardo DaVinci utilized his unique chiaroscuro effect to achieve volume in modeling three-dimensional objects, such as the human body, and created a tender, peaceful, and inspired effect.

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As shown in the “The School of Athens,” fresco painter Raphael Sanzio learned from previous masters. Then, in his The Small Cowper Madonna, Raphael portrayed the purest, beautiful image of Blessed Mary. His Madonna and Holy Child are noble and elegant. Madonna's clothing and accessories look very vivid and refined. In Transfiguration, painted in his later years, Raphael ingeniously melded two different scenes on one canvas. They echo each other. The vivid facial expressions and the body language of the figures draw in the viewer.

With this painting, Raphael took Renaissance oil painting to another level. Rich merchants commissioned Renaissance artists to create mural paintings. Large canvasses replaced panels, creating oil paintings of large proportion. This popularized canvas paintings throughout Europe, and oil paint became the dominant medium because of its convenience and its wide range of expression. Napoleon’s official court painter, Jacques-Louis David, favored mythological subjects as well as contemporary events to espouse the classical approach. ny@visiontimes.com

ARTS

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FEB 12 - 18, 2021 |

A11

Raphael Sanzio's 'The Transformation.' (Image: Drew Maust via flickr CC BY 2.0 )

Nicolas Poussin’s ‘Achilles and Daughters of Lycomede.’ (Image: cea via flickr CC BY 2.0 )

Academic art

In 1562, Giorgio Vasari established the world’s first academy of art in Florence, Italy — Academia del’ Arte del Disegno. Here, students learned painting techniques, or the “arti del disegno,” as well as anatomy and geometry. A decade later, Rome founded Accademia di San Luca, which laid a stronger emphasis on art theories and education. In 1648, Louis XIV reorganized the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture (the Royal Academy ny@visiontimes.com

of Painting and Sculpture) modeled on Rome’s. The French Academy taught that drawing should appeal to the mind and intellect rather than emotions. Students learned to accurately depict objects. Basic training included perspective, proportions of the human figure, geometric composition, and color contrast. Other academies, such as England’s Royal Academy, followed the French model. These schools made possible the systematic and continuous development of art theories and training, and propelled Western classical art to its zenith.

The French Academy taught that drawing should appeal to the mind and intellect rather than emotions. Students learned to accurately depict objects. Basic training included perspective, proportions of the human figure, geometric composition, and color contrast.

Jacques-Louis David’s ‘Detail of The Coronation of Napoleon.’ (Image: bongo vongo via flickr CC BY-SA 2.0)

“A drawing must bear utmost moral significance, which is presented with intelligent structure,” remarked Nicolas Poussin, a 17th-century French painter and founder of the French classical tradition. Poussin’s comment reflects the backbone of the teachings of academic art. It’s not just about using techniques to realistically reproduce the world on a flat surface. Art represents the classical spirit and serves as a positive example for society. In the mid-18th century, the discovery of Pompeii and its sister city Herculaneum inspired a new

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interest in classical art. The unearthed artifacts, paintings, and buildings allowed people to directly study Greek and Roman classical arts. In the early 19th century, Napoleon fully embraced the style that became known as Neoclassicism. Admiring the majestic style and spiritual ideals depicted in ancient art, Napoleon led scholars to study and collect classical artifacts. Not just a simple imitation of Greek and Roman art, the Neoclassic style revives the classical aesthetic, and embraces moral values and spiritual

pursuits. Napoleon’s official court painter, Jacques-Louis David, favored mythological subjects, as well as contemporary events, to espouse the classical approach. He presented lofty moral themes in a theatrical manner. David skillfully emphasized logical linear representation, and is admired for his faultless composition inspired by Renaissance drawings. He distinguished himself with classical elements, such as linear contours, even lighting, pure colors, and realistic details. 212-730-6963

HEALTH

A12 | FEB 12 - 18 , 2021

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Knock on the Brain to Prevent Dementia!

By Raven Montmorency

he human brain is the largest, most complex, most amazing, and most miraculous organ of the human body. It is the most developed brain on planet earth. It is difficult even to know how to fathom and categorize it. Neurologists tell us that we use only a tiny portion of our brainpower, capacity, and potential. What is even more amazing is that we have two of them: a right brain and a left brain. Over time, the brain can lose its sharpness from various types of injury, neglect, self-abuse, or deterioration. When you are about to go out, do you often have the thought: “Oops, I forgot to bring my mobile phone and wallet!” Or you suddenly turn around and say to yourself: “I just put my car keys down a minute ago, where are they now?” The problem of early memory and brain decline in modern people is becoming more common. We need to be aware of the risk of dementia in the long run. We can do “brain knocking” exercises every day, combined with a lot of other painless steps, such as exercise, meditation, listening to calming music, and eating a well-balanced diet to help improve our memory and prevent dementia.

Modern life is taking its toll on the brain, leading to memory loss and dementia

Ayi is an office worker who is under 30 years old. He rode his motorcycle out for a business meeting. After dealing with his client, he could not find his motorbike. So he had to go to the police station to report a crime. After searching high and low, he finally discovered that the motorcycle was locked up where he had left it, causing a big mixup and embarrassment. Modern people are showing signs of forgetfulness from a young age. People generally accumulate a lot of pressure from work, working overtime, eating fast food, snacking, staying up all night, irregular work and rest routine, texting, phoning, keeping up with social media, and the list goes on and on… The brain is constantly running like a train, deluged and churning with all kinds

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of challenges, problems, and worries. Modern people are suffering from fatigue; further the body and brain are not getting enough sleep. Premature memory loss is likely to occur and tendencies to get dementia are getting younger and younger. Our overworked brain needs a holiday; otherwise, we lose all perspective on life. Fortunately, there are very sensible ways that are free of charge, such as meditation, to calm down, ease the mind, and get off the neverending treadmill. The pressures of life will never ease up, but you can learn to work with the pressures instead of fighting against them.

At the top of the head, there is an acupuncture point called the “Baihui Point.” It is at the midpoint of the intersection of the two ears’ tips.

‘Brain tapping’ exercise to prevent the gray matter from aging

When you have some spare time, you can do a “brain knocking” exercise to prevent the brain from aging. At the top of the head, there is an acupuncture point called the “Baihui Point.” It is at the midpoint of the intersection of the two ears’ tips. There are a total of four acupuncture points that are 1 inch (about the width of a thumb) at the front, back, left, and right sides of the Baihui acupoint. Knock on these acupoints with your hands or with a wooden or horn comb — this can enhance memory and brainpower, as well as prevent dementia. You can do this simple exercise at any time — waiting in a traffic jam, traveling on a long-distance flight or high-speed train, or watching TV.

Shenmen point

Zusanli point

Memorystrengthening acupoints on the hands and feet

There are two acupuncture points on the hands and feet that can also enhance memory. • Shenmen point The Shenmen point is an acupuncture point on the heart meridian. It is located on the transverse lines of the palm at the wrist and the depression on the inner side of the little finger side tendon. Pressing the Shenmen acupoint can make you feel peaceful, help you sleep well, and promote better memory. • Zusanli point We often mention the Zusanli acupuncture point, located at the width of four transverse fingers under the outer knee, which is a very

good acupoint for improving digestion. So why can you massage it to improve memory? When your digestion and absorption become better, all the nutrients can reach the brain to keep it in the best state.

Relax the hippocampus of the brain 15 minutes per day.

The knowledge you absorb and the processing of it into your understanding requires a brain-sorting step. For example, the “brain knocking” exercise or regular exercise

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Taking it easy. Meditating and listening to soft music can calm down the mind. (Image: Freepik)

can make your head empty and calm. When your head becomes vacant, the brain starts to process and organize the information itself. Walking and cycling for 15-20 minutes every day can strengthen your heart health, activate your brain, reduce memory loss, and make your logical expression ability better. Meditating and listening to soft music can also calm down the mind. It is recommended to listen to slowpaced music, such as music with one beat every second, to calm your mind down. Sometimes when playing plodding music in a clinic, the clinic became quieter. The children sitting there, who were initially very noisy, then gradually become peaceful. When you listen to slow music, you feel relaxed. So the hippocampus becomes like a relaxed sponge, and it is easy to memorize knowledge and details.

Two kinds of soup to wake up the dormant memory

• Longan and lotus seed porridge Recipe: 0.2 oz (5 grams) of red dates, 0.5 oz (15 grams) of dried longan, 1 oz (30 grams) of glutinous rice, 0.5 oz (15 grams) of lotus seeds. This porridge is suitable for children as an afternoon or late-night snack. When your children studies late at night, you can cook a bowl of longan and lotus seed porridge for them. Longan can make the memory better. Lotus seeds can calm the mind and replenish the spleen and stomach. Red dates and glutinous rice also have the function of improving the spleen and stomach. The spleen and stomach will feel very comfortable when drinking the porridge, which promotes digestion and absorption of nutrients. • Brainpower and concentration enhancing soup Recipe: walnut, fushen, jujube seed, dried longan, and white fungus. Traditional Chinese med-

icine (TCM) says that like nourishes like. The shape of a walnut is like the human brain, and can replenish the brain. Fushen is a fungus that grows out of pine wood roots, and can calm the mind and help sleep. Jujube seed is an essential medicinal material to help sleep. Dried longan is beneficial in enhancing memory, nourishing the spleen and stomach. Tremella can help sustain the stomach. Soak the white fungus for several minutes, tear it into small pieces, and put it in a pot with other herbs. Cook it and drink it when it is warm. Tremella can replenish gelatin, so it can also make the body’s joints more smooth.

3 foods to keep the brain from rusting

Here are three kinds of brain-enhancing foods that can prevent brain disfunction and memory loss: • Pumpkin: Pumpkin is rich in beta-carotene, has good anti-oxidation and antiaging ability, and prevents brain function degradation. It also contains selenium, which can protect eyesight. • Strawberries: Strawberries contain anthocyanins, which can effectively prevent brain aging. Because strawberries are susceptible to pests and diseases, farmers often sprinkle a lot of pesticides on them. Choosing organic strawberries to consume is more healthy and wash them thoroughly before eating. • Eggs: Eggs can make your spirit and brain “jump.” Eggs are rich in lecithin, which is the primary raw material for acetylcholine, an essential neurotransmitter in the brain. It can also form and repair damaged cell membranes. Some people are worried that eggs contain cholesterol. Eggs do not have much cholesterol, and lecithin itself can eliminate cholesterol and keep dementia away from your brain. Remember, sometimes your brain needs a holiday. Translated by Joseph Wu and edited by Helen

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