VISION TIMES
VOL.039 OCT 1 - OCT 7 , 2021
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SECRET SERVICE,
eStock) s: Adob (Image
FBI BUY CHINESE DRONES
From Supplier on Commerce Department Entity List By Neil Campbell Vision Times
T Jan Schakowsky.
(Images: Leigh Vogel /Getty Images)
The apps automatically uploaded what was captured to cloud servers in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and mainland China. Gus Bilirakis. (Images: Greg Nash-Pool/Getty Images)
he Biden administration has purchased 27 drones from a Chinese company that was flagged under the Trump administration as providing critical infrastructure and law enforcement data to the Chinese Communist Party(CCP). First reported by Axios on Sept. 22 via documents received from IPVM, a paid video surveillance industry information outlet, the U.S. Secret Service spent slightly less than $13,000 purchasing Da Jing Information (DJI) Mavic 2 Pro and Phantom 4 Drones through a Florida-based retailer. The deal was approved by Shauntynee Penix of the Department of Homeland Security, according to the document. Axios also says the FBI also purchased 19 DJI drones at a cost of
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almost $60,000 from a company in New York just days earlier. In August of 2017, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement issued an intelligence bulletin warning it had “moderate confidence” that DJI “is providing U.S. critical infrastructure and law enforcement data to the Chinese government.” The bulletin noted DJI began prospecting U.S. companies in 2015, and by 2017 had secured deals with “at least ten large companies and organizations operating in the railroad, utility, media, farming, education, and federal law enforcement sectors” to purchase its equipment. The most frequent uses noted for the equipment were “mapping land, inspecting infrastructure, conducting surveillance, and monitoring hazardous materials.” ICE said the drones have to be operated through Android apps created by DJI, which “automat-
ically tag GPS imagery and locations, register facial recognition data even when the system is off, and access users’ phone data.” “Much of the information collected includes proprietary and sensitive critical infrastructure data, such as detailed imagery of power control panels, security measures for critical infrastructure sites, or materials used in bridge construction.” Meanwhile, in December of 2020, the outgoing Trump administration added DJI to its Commerce Department Entity List, which prevented U.S. companies from supplying DJI with parts or carrying its equipment. Continued on A2
The apps “capture user identification, e-mail addresses, full names, phone numbers, images, videos, and computer credentials.”
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NATION
A2 | OCT 1 - OCT 7, 2021
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Secret Service, FBI Buy Chinese Drones From Supplier on Commerce Department Entity List Continued from FRONT
New York: COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Triggering Hospital Staff Shortages By Jonathan Walker Vision Times
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n Sept. 27, New York State’s vaccine mandate for healthcare workers came into effect. The mandate requires employees working in the state’s public and private hospitals as well as nursing homes to have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine by midnight on Monday if they want to remain employed. According to state data, around 83 percent of New York’s 145,000 nursing home employees and 84 percent of its 450,000 hospital workers are fully vaccinated. However, tens of thousands of healthcare workers remained unvaccinated as of Sept. 22. Many of them have refused vaccines due to worries about potential side effects, concerns that the mandate violates their personal freedoms, or simply because they already have developed natural immunity. Northwell Health, New York’s largest provider of healthcare, calculated that it might have to terminate thousands of people due to the vaccine mandate. At NewYorkPresbyterian — NYC’s biggest private hospital network — over 200 employees have been fired. Erie County Medical Center
People participate in a rally and march against COVID-19 mandates on September 13, 2021 in New York City. President Joe Biden has supported and ordered mandates for federal workers as a growing movement has emerged of Americans against both the vaccine and the work mandates to get a vaccine.(Image: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Mandating vaccines to healthcare workers could create problems for New York when it comes to finding employees - Dr. Rochelle Walensky.
Corporation estimates that it might have to fire 400 employees which could force the hospital to limit the number of intensive-care patients they receive and to force them to suspend elective in-patient surgeries.
One hospital in Rochester has postponed elective surgeries. Some nursing homes have halted new admissions. According to Michael Balboni, executive director of the Greater New York Health Care Facilities Association which represents nursing homes in and around New York City, they are “anticipating a problem” with regard to staffing. Several lawsuits have been filed against the vaccine mandate. Gregory Serafin, registered nurse at the Erie County Medical Center and lead plaintiff of one such lawsuit, points out that a patient is given a Bill of Rights that allows them to choose what tests, procedures, or
medications they can be subjected to. In the same way, healthcare workers also “deserve the same medical autonomy” when making such decisions, she insists. Meanwhile, New York Governor Democrat, Kathy Hochul, has remained firm on her decision to mandate the vaccines. During a visit to Rochester last week, she called unvaccinated healthcare workers as being replaceable. “To all the healthcare providers, doctors, and nurses in particular who are vaccinated, I say thank you. Because you are keeping true to your oath… To those who won’t, we will be replacing people,” Hochul said. On Sept. 25, the governor’s office issued a press release addressing the potential issue of staffing shortages in healthcare facilities due to the mandate. Hochul had earlier talked about recruiting “temporary workers” from Ireland or the Philippines. The issue of religious exemption for COVID-19 vaccines remains uncertain. A federal judge from Utica had issued a temporary restraining order that prevented New York State from implementing the mandate on people who sought such exemptions. The order is valid until Oct. 12 when the judge will decide how to move ahead on the issue.
In April of 2020, National Pulse reported that DJI had “gifted” 100 drones to U.S. “police, fire, and public safety organizations” to “fight COVID-19.” The outlet reported the devices had been used to surveil U.S. citizens under pandemic pretexts. “If you have a 103 fever, that’ll come in handy letting us know at a glance: ‘Are you someone who possibly has the virus?’ ‘Do we need to make sure you have extra precautions?” said Daytona Police drone unit chief Sergeant Tim Ehrenkaufer in a statement. On Aug. 31, Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Gus Bilirakis (R-Fl), Chair and Ranking Member respectively of the House Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee and members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, wrote to Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, asking the Biden administration to maintain DJI’s Trumpera status on the Entity List. “Reporting over the past few years suggests that DJI drones may have been used by Chinese security forces in Xinjiang engaged in human rights abuses. Prior to reporting in 2020, the DJI website outlined a deal for ‘strategic cooperation’ to provide police drones to the public security bureau of Xinjiang,” noted the letter. The duo said they were concerned DJI had cornered the U.S. market, noting the Chinese firm currently controls 77 percent of U.S. market share, while its next closest rival controls only 4 percent. Schakowsky and Bilirakis said DJI attained its competitive advantage through “extremely low pricing” by slashing prices by 70 percent in 2015, which drove three of their largest competitors out of the market. “These tactics have harmed consumer choice while making DJI the default consumer drone provider in the United States. We respectfully request that the Department of Commerce investigate DJI’s pricing of its consumer drone products and its successful effort to drive competitors out of the market,” read the letter.
Facebook Refuses to Release Closed Accounts Related to Rohingya Violence By Ashok Ramprasad Vision Times
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n Sept. 22, a U.S. federal judge instructed Facebook to release records of closed accounts connected to the Myanmar government’s violence against the Rohingya community. U.S. Magistrate, Judge Zia M. Faruqui, criticized Facebook for failing to provide information to countries that are pursuing a case at the international court against Myanmar. He stated that allowing Facebook to withhold such data would “compound the tragedy that has befallen the Rohingya.” www.visiontimes.com
Facebook refused to release the data citing privacy issues. According to the social media giant, such a move would be a breach of a U.S. law that prevents electronic communication services from disclosing the interactions of their users. But the judge noted that the deleted posts would not be covered under the law. “Locking away the requested content would be throwing away the opportunity to understand how disinformation begat genocide,” Faruqui wrote in the ruling. He added that Facebook taking up the mantle of privacy rights is “rich with irony,” pointing out that “news sites have entire sections dedicated to Facebook’s sor-
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did history of privacy scandals.” A spokesperson from Facebook told Forbes that the company was appraising the decision and noted that it has already made “voluntary, lawful disclosures” to the United Nations’ Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM). The government of Gambia is seeking the data of closed accounts as it wants to prosecute Myanmar’s government at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in Hague. Myanmar has been accused of violating the 1948 United Nations Convention on Genocide by Gambia. Back in 2018, UN investigators blamed Facebook for playing a role in spreading hate speech that trig-
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gered violence against the Rohingya. The accounts, which were closed in 2018, include those of senior Myanmar military leaders such as Sen. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing whose troops were involved in the violent “clearance operation” in Rakhine State. More than 700,000 Rohingya were forced to abandon their homes after the military crackdown. Allegations of mass murder and rape were made. Rights groups also noted that villages were set ablaze and mass killings were carried out. However, authorities in Myanmar have denied the claims of genocide. According to them, no planned atrocities were committed as they were only combating ad.ny@visiontimes.com
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an insurgency. The suppression of Rohingyas did not create much of a clamor in the Buddhist-majority state of Myanmar at the time. The Rohingyas are considered to be illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. “Facebook can act now. It took the first step by deleting the content that fueled a genocide. Yet it has stumbled at the next step, sharing that content. Failing to do so here would compound the tragedy that has befallen the Rohingya,” Faruqui said in his judgment.Shannon Raj Singh, human rights counsel at Twitter, called the decision “momentous” and “one of the foremost examples of the relevance of social media to modern atrocity prevention & response.”
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A3
Milley Fires Back Against Accusations He Circumvented Chain of ommand in Calls to Chinese General By Todd Crawford Vision Times
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n Sept. 28, America’s top general, Mark Milley, at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing fired back against accusations that he had circumvented the chain of command when he made two calls to his Chinese counterpart, Gen. Li Zuocheng, on Oct. 30 of last year and on Jan. 8, 2021. The accusations were levied by Washington Post associate editor Bob Woodward and journalist Robert Costa in their recently published book titled, Peril. Woodward and Costa imply that Milley, fearing that the rhetoric and actions of then-President Donald Trump would spark a war with China, clandestinely contacted his Chinese counterpart outside of standard norms to defuse the situation. According to Woodward and Acosta, the general placed the calls to Li in an attempt to reassure the Chinese general that the situation in Washington was “stable” and that the U.S. had no plans to attack China, according to anonymous sources. The accusations went as far as to say that Milley did not inform the White House about either call. “General Li, I want to assure you
(Image: Alex Wong/Getty Images)
that the American government is stable and everything is going to be okay,” Milley allegedly told the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). “We are not going to attack or conduct any kinetic operations against you.” The general allegedly told his counterpart that, “You and I have known each other for now five years. If we’re going to attack, I’m going to call you ahead of time. It’s not going to be a surprise.” This quote was widely condemned by leading political figures in the U.S.. Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.), said that Milley’s calls amounted to undermining the proper chain of command, adding that “I don’t care what you think of President Trump, the Chairman of the JCOS working to subvert the military chain of command and collude with China is exactly what we do not accept from military leaders in our country. He should be court-martialed if true.”
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army General Mark Milley participates in a news briefing at the Pentagon August 18, 2021 in Arlington, Virginia. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and General Milley held a news briefing to discuss the current situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban took control of the country.
Milley fires back
After the accusations were levied, White House Press Secretary Psaki and other Biden officials claimed that Milley’s calls were not inappropriate; claiming the chaos of the Jan. 6 riots were an important context surrounding the matter and that Milley was a “patriot” acting in line with his constitutional duty. During the hearing on Sept. 28, Milley said that his task at the time “was to deescalate. My message again was consistent. Stay calm, steady and deescalate. We are not going to attack.” The general said that he made the calls in accordance with the responsibilities placed on him by his role in the military. The general was in possession of intelligence that indicated China was concerned that the U.S. was about to conduct a first strike on the Chinese mainland and he made the calls to assure his counterpart that
no attack was imminent. “By law, I am not in the chain of command, and I know that. However, my presidential directive, and DOD instruction, I am in the chain of communication to fulfill my legal statutory role, as the President’s primary military advisor,” Milley said. Contradicting claims that he made the calls in a clandestine manner the general explained that during his call on Oct. 30 that eight people sat in on the call and that he had read out the call within 30-minutes of the call ending. “Shortly after my call ended [with] Generally Li, I personally informed both Secretary of State Pompeo, and White House Chief of Staff Meadows about the call among other topics.” the General said, adding that he had briefed Acting Secretary Miller on the call shortly after as well.
Harvard, Despite a 95 Percent Vaccination Rate, Returns to Remote Learning After Breakthrough Outbreak By Neil Campbell Vision Times
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arvard Business School (HBS) is moving all first and some second year MBA students from in person to remote learning after suffering a rash of breakthrough Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID19) cases in its graduate program despite an almost ubiquitous vaccination rate. Head of communications for HBS, Mark Cautela, told website Poets & Quants, “In recent days, we’ve seen a steady rise in breakthrough infections among our student population, despite high vaccination rates and frequent testing.” The representative said that in response to the cluster, the school had instructed pupils to “eliminate unmasked indoor activities, limit inperson interactions with others outside their household, move all group gatherings online, and cancel group www.visiontimes.com
(Image: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
(Image: AdobeStock)
A view of the campus of Harvard Business School on July 8, 2020 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. HBS returned to remote learning for a week to curb a breakthrough outbreak on campus despite its 95 percent vaccination acceptance rate.
The site notes that all graduate students and undergrads living off campus must submit tests based on their vaccination status.
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travel,” and would now be conducting thrice-weekly PCR testing. According to the school’s COVID-19 Testing Dashboard, 96 percent of employees and 95 percent of students have accepted vaccination. The Dashboard notes its figures are based on “the number of undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff, and researchers authorized to be on campus for the fall semester.”
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Harvard’s Testing & Tracing website says, “All testing is done through unobserved self-swabs.” The site notes that all graduate students and undergrads living off campus must submit tests based on their vaccination status: once per week if jabbed and twice per week if not. According to the dashboard’s 7-day average as of Sept. 29, the school has conducted 30,591 tests, returning 48 positive cases. 33 peoad.ny@visiontimes.com
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ple are classified as in quarantine and 88 people are in isolation. The move to remote learning is scheduled to last for the week of Sept. 27 to Oct. 3. In a message sent to students, Harvard attributed the outbreak to “a result of numerous unmasked, indoor activities – everything from sharing an Airbnb for the weekend, to dinner gatherings in an apartment, to larger parties.”
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CHINA
A4 | OCT 1 - OCT 7, 2021
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Newly Elected Head of Taiwan’s KMT Pledges to Mend Ties With Mainland China, Re-establish Presence in US
Eric Chu (C), Taiwans newly-elected main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) chairman, poses with supporters following his election victory for the party's leadership at the KMT headquarters in Taipei on September 25, 2021.
(Image: SAM YEH/Getty Images)
By Leo Timm Vision Times
Winning 45 percent of the Kuomintang vote, Eric Chu defeated dark horse contender Chang Ya-chung, an open proponent of unifying Taiwan with the Chinese mainland.
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ric Chu Li-luan, the newly elected chairman of Taiwan’s largest opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), says he will facilitate greater exchanges and communication between the democratically run island and the communist People’s Republic of China (PRC), while also fostering unity within the KMT in order to defeat the incumbent Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Chu won with 85,165 votes, or 45.78 percent of the more than 370,000 KMT members who cast votes in the Saturday, Sept. 25 election. He beat incumbent chairman Johnny Chiang, as well as dark horse candidate Chang Ya-chung, head of the NGO Sun Yat-sen School. The party should prioritize balancing relations with the PRC — which regards Taiwan as a renegade province — as well as with the United States, Chu said in debates leading up to the election. The KMT, which translates to
“Chinese Nationalist Party,” is the remnant of the government that unsuccessfully battled with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for control of mainland China and fled to Taiwan in 1949 following decades of civil war. Taiwan is still officially known as the Republic of China (ROC), reflecting that legacy. However, attitudes are shifting, with a large majority of the island’s people identifying themselves as Taiwanese only, rather than Chinese or even both. Growth of a separate Taiwanese identity, as well as rising belligerence from the PRC, have posed a steep challenge for the KMT, which has in recent decades become known less for its anti-communism and more for its pro-business and Bei-
jing-friendly policies. The KMT’s position is that cooperation with Beijing is necessary to secure Taiwan’s safety, as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has vowed to invade the island if proindependence forces grow too strong. During the election campaign, Chang Ya-chung emerged as a dark horse candidate, whose focus on Chinese identity and reconciliation with the mainland resonated with many “deep-blue” — referring to the KMT’s traditional color — party members. Eric Chu, a former mayor of New Taipei City, disagreed with Chang’s proposal to work towards a formal peace treaty between the ROC and the PRC. While advocating restoration of
good ties with the mainland, Chu also said he would strengthen links to the U.S, such as by re-opening the KMT’s representative office in America, which has been shuttered since 2008. Chu, as described in an editorial published by The Diplomat, has also criticized many of his KMT comrades as being overly reliant on the PRC. In recent years, the KMT has made some gestures to emphasize its commitment to Taiwan’s defense. For example, following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the country’s subsequent fall to the Taliban, Chu said that were it not for the KMT’s defense of Taiwan in and after 1949, a similar fate could have befallen the island. During the Chinese civil war, the U.S. had withdrawn aid to the KMT, deeming the Chinese Nationalist government a lost cause. After the ROC’s retreat from mainland China, the U.S. did not support Taiwan until the 1950s, when the Korean War broke out and put political pressure on Washington to check the spread of communism in Asia.
Power Cuts, Coal Shortages and Evergrande Failure Threatening Chinese Economy By Jonathan Walker Vision Times
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hina is facing an acute power crisis, something which can have a severe impact on one of the biggest economies in the world and a critical global manufacturing center. The power crisis has been triggered by at least three factors: strict carbon emission targets, surging coal and gas prices, and increasing demand for electricity. Last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced at the United Nations that communist China will cut down carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by over 65 percent from the 2005 levels. The target is to be achieved by 2030. Xi pledged more investments in renewable energy capacity. China had promised to cut energy intensity by roughly three percent this year as part of its commitment towards climate goals. In the first six months of 2021, www.visiontimes.com
only 10 out of 20 mainland Chinese regions have achieved the carbon emissions target as set forth by Beijing according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the main planning agency in communist China. These 20 regions account for 70 percent of China’s GDP. NDRC announced this month that regions failing to fulfill their emission targets will be punished; local officials will be held responsible. Local administrations in provinces like Yunnan, Jiangsu, Guangdong, and Zhejiang have instructed factories to either reduce electricity consumption or curb their output. Some electricity providers have asked heavy users to shut down operations completely for two or three days a week or halt production between the peak power periods of 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. In some instances, businesses have been asked to close shop until otherwise notified. This is the case with soybean manufacturing plants in
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(Image: Analogicus/Pixabay)
Combine this with the power shortage and the resultant shut down of industrial activity, experts believe that the Chinese economy might be faltering. eastern China’s Tianjin municipality that have been shut down since Sept. 22. The price of heating coal futures in communist China has risen by four times in the past month due to concerns regarding pollution con-
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straints and the safety of mines. With Beijing continuing to ban coal imports from Australia, a top supplier of coal in the world, the upward pressure on prices remains in place. In Liaoning province in northeast China, surging coal prices have been a key factor in forcing the administrations to order emergency power cuts in 14 cities. In the Jiangsu province, some cities are shutting down street lights at night and steel mills have closed. In Zhejiang, 160 companies have shut down, including those in the textiles industry. “The peculiar nature of the Covid shock has made the economy more energy-intensive, at least temporarily… Meanwhile, efforts to reduce coal-fired related emissions and a reduction in coal imports have affected supply levels at least on the margin, contributing to a sharp increase in prices,” Goldman Sachs said. It pointed out that exports had boomed after the pandemic eased, which led to higher ad.ny@visiontimes.com
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power consumption by Chinese industries. The power supply crunch comes as global investors are watching the unfolding Evergrande situation with keen eyes. Evergrande, one of the biggest real estate companies in communist China, has taken loans in excess of $300 billion. It’s now unable to service these debts. The company has missed interest payments to its lenders. Many contractors and suppliers have also not been paid. The collapse of Evergrande is expected to have a massive impact on communist China’s economy. Morgan Stanley has warned that fourth-quarter GDP can fall by one percent if production cuts continue. Seven percent of China’s aluminum production capacity has been suspended; 29 percent of cement production has been affected. Industries like glass and paper might face supply disruptions soon, analysts at the company warned.
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CHINA A5 As Tesla’s Reliance on Shanghai Gigafactory Grows,
VISION TIMES
OCT 1 - OCT 7, 2021 |
Musk
“
Tesla will continue to expand our investment and R&D efforts in China ” - Elon Musk.
Doubles Down on China, Promises More Investment By Neil Campbell Vision Times
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esla chief Elon Musk praised China’s business practices for the second time in as many weeks, doubling down on his commitment to invest in and offshore research and development spending from the United States to the communist country that hosts a factory that now comprises almost half of the company’s Model 3 and Model Y production. In a pre-recorded question and answer clip given by Musk to the World Internet Conference on Sept. 25, hosted by the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) internet regulator, the Cyberspace Administration of China, Musk made conciliatory comments praising the Chinese government’s business policies. “My frank observation is that
(Image: MARK SCHIEFELBEIN/AFP via Getty Images)
Tesla CEO Elon Musk (L) speaks as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang listens during a meeting at Zhongnanhai in Beijing on January 9, 2019. Musk renewed his commitment to providing investment to the Chinese Communist Party as Tesla becomes more and more reliant on production from the Shanghai Gigafactory.
China spends a lot of resources and efforts applying the latest digital technologies in different industries, including the automobile industry, making China a global leader in digitalization.” “Tesla will continue to expand our investment and R&D efforts in China” Elon Musk said. Just nine days earlier, Musk made similar comments in an analogously prepared question and answer video for the World New Energy Vehicle Congress, hosted by seven different ministries of the Chinese government, where he said, “I have a great deal of respect for the many Chinese automakers for driving these (EV) technologies,” adding that his Chinese rivals were “most competitive in the world.” In July, Breitbart reported that both Tesla and Musk’s verified accounts on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, donned themselves in customized red graphics celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the CCP’s founding. In 2019, Tesla opened a massive “Gigafactory” on the outskirts of Shanghai, breaking from a growing trend of main-
taining, enhancing, and developing U.S.-based production under the Trump administration’s America First initiative. In Tesla’s 2018 vehicle production and deliveries press release, the company blamed Donald Trump’s trade war with the CCP for a 40 percent tariff imposed on Tesla’s imports by Beijing. The presser also said Tesla was at a financial disadvantage arising from a “lack [of] access to cash incentives available to locally produced electric vehicles in China that are typically around 15% of MSRP or more.” “Taking ocean transport costs and import tariffs into account, Tesla is now operating at a 55% to 60% cost disadvantage compared to the exact same car locally produced in China. This makes for a challenging competitive environment, given that China is by far the largest market for electric vehicles,” said the release. “To address this issue, we are accelerating construction of our Shanghai factory, which we expect to be a capital efficient and rapid buildout, using many lessons learned from the Model 3 ramp in North America.”
(Image: Patrick Pleul - Pool/Getty Images)
Huawei Expects Losses Up To $40 Billion in Smartphone Revenues By Jonathan Walker Vision Times
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hinese company Huawei is expected to see revenues from its smartphone business drop by $30-$40 billion this year, according to Eric Xu, the company’s rotating chairman for 2021. At a press conference in Beijing, Xu said that the company is “accustomed to working and living with the [U.S.] Entity List.” In May 2019, former President Donald Trump added Huawei to the Entity List due to security concerns. The trade blacklist prevents American companies from conducting transactions with Huawei without getting permission www.visiontimes.com
from the government. Washington then placed a blanket ban on Huawei in Sept. 2020 that blocked the firm from securing chip supplies from America. The Chinese company consequently failed to get advanced chips necessary for manufacturing smartphones. Huawei’s business has since suffered. In the first half of 2021, the company’s sales from its consumer business, made up largely of smartphones, declined to 135.7 billion yuan (approx. $21 billion) from 255.8 billion yuan (approx. $39.6 billion) a year earlier. Its total revenues have fallen by 29.4 percent in the same period. With Xu announcing that Huawei expects up to $40 billion more loss in revenues this year in its smartphone segment, the company seems to
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have given up its struggle against U.S. sanctions. To strengthen business resilience, Huawei is investing in Chinese companies that focus on chip-making tools and materials. However, Xu admitted that it will take some time before communist China becomes self-sufficient in the semiconductor sector. U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo recently stated that Washington could take further actions against Chinese telecommunication firms. It would do so if lawmakers raised enough concerns about the recent approval given to Huawei to buy chips for its car component business. When questioned about how Huawei plans to deal with future trade restrictions, the rotating CEO responded that
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the company is confident of securing the supply chain.
Huawei is downsizing in certain areas
“When we decided to expand into the new business areas… we fully evaluated our ability to secure chip supplies. If we didn’t feel that we could solve this problem, we wouldn’t have made such a decision in the first place,” Xu stated. He said that the company is downsizing in certain areas while expanding into others to ensure its survival. Among many businesses, it is focusing on 5G solutions. Xu believes that Huawei’s 5G business can increase the company’s revenues. In addition, the firm expects that its 5G technologies can “cread.ny@visiontimes.com
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U.S. sanctions are crippling Huawei’s consumer business. (Image: JOSEP LAGO/ AFP via Getty Images)
ate value for different industries.” A report published in the statebacked media outlet CGTN on Sept. 18 stated that Huawei has teamed up with China’s State Grid, the biggest utility company in the world, to develop next-generation charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.
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WORLD
A6 | OCT 1 - OCT 7, 2021
VISION TIMES German Finance Minister, Vice-Chancellor and the Social Democrats (SPD) candidate for Chancellor Olaf Scholz waves on stage at the Social Democrats (SPD) headquarters after the estimates were broadcast on TV in Berlin on September 26, 2021 after the German general elections. (Getty Images)
2021 elections
According to statistics provided by Al Jazeera, there were about 2.8 million citizens who were voting for the first time, making up 4.6 percent of the overall vote bank. The largest percentage of voters were represented by senior citizens aged 70 and above who represented 21.3% of the vote bank. After 16 years in power, Chancellor Angela Merkel, leader of the CDU, did not contest for the chancellery; the first time since the country’s reunification at the end of the Cold War. During the campaign, issues such as climate change and carbon emissions, the fight against COVID-19 and its impact on the economy, social welfare, digital innovation, and support for the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty and economic policies and planned Organization (NATO) were given on tackling climate change through the utmost attention. planned raises on CO2 prices and Once the election exit polls were eliminating done, the results showed a small but combustion engines. They significant lead for are critical of the SPD with 25.7% of the nation’s votes, the communist governnarrowly beating ment of China the CDU/CSU alliand opposed ance and its 24.1 t he Nord percentage of the Stream 2 gas vote. According to Armin Laschet, chancellor candipipeline. analysis on the exit date of the Christian Democrats The Free polls, the CDU lost (CDU/CSU) union. (Getty Images) Democratic about 1.4 million Party (FDP), who has been in a coa- votes to the SPD and more than lition with past governments, cam- 80,000 to the Greens. paigned for low tax and deregulation. They wanted to restore the The formation of binding debt break, and opposed a a coalition With the SPD’s victory, Scholz eurozone fiscal union. The Left Party, formed from hopes to form a pre-Christmas coaSPD defectors and “remnants” of lition. Despite challenges from the communist East Germany, fought conservatives, he is bent on coopfor tax increases on the rich and erating with other parties for the reconsidering Germany’s involve- SPD’s goals. ment with the NATO alliance. “You should know that Germany The far-right Alternative for always has coalitions, and it was Germany (AfD) are anti-immi- always stable,” said Scholz. grant, consisting of deniers of the Hoda Abdel-Hamid from Al Jazeera pandemic and climate change. predicts that there will be weeks or Through the 2015 migrant crisis, months of lengthy negotiations for they took advantage of the trou- Scholz’s administration plans. bles and emerged to become the Despite a disappointing loss, the official parliamentary opposition. Greens, who leaned towards the There was also a Danish minority SPD, have also achieved sufficient party, the South Schleswig Voters’ gains in this election, and are still Association (SSW), which cam- bent on making climate change the paigned for improved conditions “leading issue” for the succeeding in the South Schleswig region. administration.
Germany’s Social Democrats
Score Close Victory in National Elections By Darren Maung Vision Times “ The voters have been very clearly spoken… They strengthened three parties – the Social Democrats, Greens and FDP – and therefore that is the clear mandate the citizens of this country have given – these three should form the next government. ” Scholz said to his supporters on Monday.
O
n Sept. 26, millions of voters across Germany went to the polls to select the 20th Bundestag, Germany’s Federal Assembly which possesses federal legislative power. Following a tight race, Germany’s centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) were declared the winners.
The Germany's Green party's candidate for chancellor Annalena Baerbock (L) and co-leader of the party Robert Habeck(R). (Getty Images)
succeeding government with what he describes as a “clear mandate”. Electing the Bundestag is determined directly by the German people and the states’ representative, the Bundesrat. Via a two-vote system, citizens must first vote for their representative before voting for a party, but both votes do not need to be for the same party. At least 598 members are elected by these two votes – 299 seats are given to directly elected nominees and another 299 for parties that gain more than five percent of the overall vote. The federal chancellor, the leading figure of the parliament and government, is elected by all the members of the Bundestag, followed by a president who holds a ceremonial position.
The parties of the Bundestag Christian Lindner, Free Democratic Party (FDP) chairman and top candidate. (Getty Images)
With his party’s victory, chancellor nominee Olaf Scholz has been awarded the opportunity to form the
There were a total of six parties vying for power. The Christian Democrats (CDU) and its Bavarian counterpart, the Christian Social Union (CSU) fought for lower taxes and budget discipline. The party is known for its conservative-liberal values. The centre-left SPD, Germany’s oldest party, were initially struggling to make a name for itself, but continued its focus on investment, combating inequality and adopting green policies. The Greens fought for better social
Fumio Kishida Set to Become Japan’s 100th Prime Minister By Todd Crawford Vision Times
F
umio Kishida, 64, is set to become Japan’s 100th prime minister following a leadership vote on Wednesday, Sept. 29, by the incumbent Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Kishida won the runoff 250-170 against rival Taro Kono who was considered to be more popular and is said to have more appeal among younger voters. His victory means that it’s almost certain that he will become premier after the upcoming parliamentary session on Oct. 4 due to the LDP’s majority in the legislature. www.visiontimes.com
“Kishida is considered a moderate-liberal politician and is expected to govern his party slightly more to the left than his predecessor, Yoshihide Suga.” Suga announced last month that he would not be running again amidst plummeting approval ratings. He was concerned that managing the ongoing COVID19 pandemic and campaigning would “divide his energies” and opted to focus on the COVID-19 crisis. Suga himself took over from Shinzo Abe, also of the LDP, who was famous for his right-wing policies and his nine years in office — the longest career of any Japanese prime minister. One of Kishida’s major accom-
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plishments as a foreign minister was to strike a deal with South Korea over the “comfort women” — who in World War II were forced by the Japanese military into sex-
Fumio Kishida. (Getty Images)
ual slavery. The issue remains a diplomatic impasse between the two countries to this day. Japanese citizens will be watching their new prime minister to
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see if he listens to the public or is more influenced by the power politics of his party. As the current term for the country’s House of Representatives ends on Oct. 21, Kishida must maintain a high enough approval rating to secure election in the upcoming nationwide vote on Nov. 28. It’s expected that Kishida’s priorities will remain “boosting Japan’s defenses, preserving economic ties with Beijing and strengthening security ties with the U.S. and partners like QUAD group, which includes Australia and India,” as reported by Newsweek. According to a recent survey by Japan’s Kyodo News, just 18.8 percent of respondents chose Kishida as the politician most fit to replace Suga as prime minister, compared with 31.9 percent choosing Kono. Kishida’s campaign promises include an economic package worth ad.ny@visiontimes.com
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“Kishida is considered a moderate-liberal politician and is expected to govern his party slightly more to the left than his predecessor, Yoshihide Suga.” tens of trillions of yen (billions of U.S. dollars) as a pandemic stimulus, as well as cash handouts for lowerand middle-class Japanese. However, according to Meiji University’s Prof. Masamichi Ida, approval ratings in Japan rely on solid economic performance. Regardless of Kishida’s performance, the LDP is unlikely to lose its super-majority position in the House of Councilors, Japan’s lower legislative body.
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WORLD
VISION TIMES
A7
Excessive COVID-19 Lockdowns
House of Commons MP:
After Afghanistan’s Fall, Only the Indian Military Prevents Taliban Occupation of Jammu and Kashmir
OCT 1 - OCT 7, 2021 |
Have Australia Verging on Authoritarianism
By Kalina Valqurey Vision Times
I
n remarks put forth by a UK Parliamentarian on the floor of the House of Commons, the Indian region of Jammu and Kashmir hangs in the balance now that the Taliban has control of Afghanistan.
Police arrest construction workers and demonstrators with tear gas on the steps of the Shrine of Remembrance during a protest against Covid-19 regulations in Melbourne on September 22, 2021. (Image:WILLIAM WEST/AFP via Getty Images) Indian paramilitary troopers guard behind the turret of their vehicle near the under construction Zojila tunnel which will connect Kashmir with Ladakh in Baltal 100 km east of Srinagar, reducing travel time from 3 hours to about 15 minutes. (Image: Yawar Nazir/Getty Images)
Since the mid-twentieth century, India, Pakistan, and China have vied for control of this disputed Himalayan region of India, rendering it among the most militarized places in the world. Last year’s clashes with troops who crossed from the Chinese side of the border into India here were heavily publicized and continue to cause tension as China’s Foreign Affairs spokesperson attempts to fault India for China’s aggressive incursion. In the face of continued tension, according to Bob Blackman, a Conservative who spoke recently on the floor of the House of Commons, “It is only the Indian Army and the sound footing of the Indian military democracy that has stopped the region of Jammu and Kashmir from resembling Taliban-occupied Afghanistan.” Jammu and Kashmir is the name of one amalgamated area, and it borders the narrow connection of Afghanistan with China. It is also solidly between Pakistan to the west and China to the east. In February of 2021, the Biden administration State Department stated that there had been no policy change on the recognition of Jammu and Kashmir as a disputed territory between India and Pakistan. This was following a tweet from the State Department referring to the territory as “India’s Jammu & Kashmir”. MP Blackman, who was concerned about human rights in the region, added, “Islamist forces will eliminate democracy in Jammu and Kashmir as we saw in Afghanistan if Indian troops are withdrawn.”
By Todd Crawford Vision Times
A
ustralian authorities have taken a “zero covid” approach to navigating the coronavirus pandemic and have implemented strict lockdown control measures in the name of public health while facing accusations that the political class has been largely insulated from the consequences. Victoria and New South Wales — Australia’s two largest states — make up approximately 60 percent of Australia’s population and these states have been in lockdown for some time. Melbourne, Australia’s second-largest city, has been locked down for months. Citizens have to contend with a strict curfew between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., are not allowed to travel more than three miles from their homes, and can be fined up to US$15,000 for contravening the public health orders. There does not appear to be any shortage of police officers willing to enforce the health orders and hand out fines. Each state government has imposed convoluted entry requirements for interstate travellers and borders between states are often closed all together. This particular problem has been emerging along the borders between Victoria and New South Wales. The issue has gotten so bad that Australia now has a class of internally displaced people.
Quarantine camps
Travelers, whether they hail from Australia or somewhere else, must quarantine, at their own expense, for 14 days upon arriving in the country. Per the Government of Australia’s web-
site, “Individuals entering into mandatory supervised quarantine in the Northern Territory will be charged a rate of $2,500 per person or $5,000 for a family of two or more people for 14 days.” Any person found breaching the quarantine regulations is liable to be fined. In Australia’s Northern Territory, authorities have resurrected a former mining camp that they now describe as “a stylish, innovative and sustainable accommodation village.” Authorities warn travellers that the intake process could take several hours and are handed a rule book outlining the expectations on behavior by ‘residents.’ People under quarantine are told that the regulations they must follow are “law” enacted by the Chief Health Officer and if broken will be punishable by fines. People, whether they are infected with COVID-19 or not, are not allowed to leave their allocated room, including any veranda space that is allocated. Persons are also subjected to two mandatory testings per stay via nose and throat swabs and, if one refuses the tests, they are subjected to a further 10-days of incarceration at the person’s expense. Three meals a day are provided as there are no cooking facilities in any rooms. They are delivered by staff in full protective equipment and left outside a person’s room.
Protests erupt
Australian police arrested 235 people in Melbourne and 32 in Sydney on Sept. 18 following “unsanctioned” anti-lockdown rallies where several police officers were injured in clashes with protesters, Reuters reported. In Sydney, hundreds of people managed to gather which prompted authorities to suspend all public transportation in the city.
Riot squads, highway patrol, detectives and general duties police were deployed to the streets in an attempt to prevent the large gatherings. The protesters are being widely characterized as “anti-vaccine” protesters however the scale and scope of the protests appear to include Australians from every persuasion and opinion.
No end in sight
Authorities have said that restrictions will ease once 70 percent of the population is fully vaccinated. As of Sept. 29, 77.3 percent of people aged 16 and over have received a first dose of vaccine and 53.4 percent of people aged 16 and above have received a second dose. There is still significant progress needed in order to ease restrictions and it is contingent on many Australians being willing to submit themselves to a vaccination regimen. On Sept. 29, authorities reported that of the seven people who had died due to COVID-19 on Sept. 28, six of them were fully or partially vaccinated. A Chief Health Officer said on Sept. 25. “We will not be ever having to go back to pre-COVID levels. We will always going to have to be mindful that COVID exists. We are going to have to engage with booster shots, we are going to have to engage with advice from time to time, when we see outbreaks, We are going to have to respond. It’s not going to go back to normal. We can’t deny that we are going to have to live with COVID.” The country, with a population of approximately 25.7 million people, has recorded a total of 102,729 cases of the virus and 1,278 people have died.
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NATURE
A8 | OCT 1 - OCT 7, 2021
VISION TIMES
The B e aut y a nd G en iu s of Bi rd s’ Tre a su re s
Feathers From a tropical parrot’s vibrant array of colors, to the soft and subtle iridescence of a city pigeon, a bird’s feather is nature’s extraordinary work of art. While all birds have feathers, not all feathers are for flying. Some birds, such as the penguin, kiwi, and emu have feathers adapted for other purposes. Likewise, not all animals that fly have feathers. So what is it that makes feathers remarkable? And how do they serve multiple purposes?
Feathers for the water Anatomy of the feather
No flight, no problem
According to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, feathers are made of keratin, the same material that makes up our hair and fingernails. Light and flexible, keratin is also sturdy enough to handle forces during flight. An individual feather is intricately designed. The hollow shaft, or rachis, down the middle of the feather is flanked by a “vane” on either side. The vanes consist of thousands of barbs, which in turn branch out many tiny barbules, enabling them to interlock with one another. Thanks to little muscles at the base of each feather, birds are able to maneuver individual feathers, shifting them to allow or prevent air flow, present mating displays, and more. The amount of muscle power a bird needs depends on both the size of the wings, and the weight of the animal. Since flying birds have exceptionally light and hollow bones, an entire coat of feathers can be heavier than the bird’s skeleton.
While clearly crucial for flight in the skies, what purpose do feathers serve for flightless birds? Grounded avians like the penguin have highly adapted feathers that keep them warm and dry, among other things. Because they are warm-blooded animals, birds need to keep their body temperatures at about 40° C, or 104° F. Feathers are key components of temperature control. Birds use their feathers to trap pockets of air, called plastrons, close to their bodies as insulation. An Arizona State University study confirmed that by shifting their feathers, birds are able to control the amount of air to trap, and thereby adjust according to the surrounding temperature. This is especially important for birds like the penguin or the puffin, that live where the temperature can drop to extreme lows. Feather color is important in areas of attracting a mate, as when a peacock fans its beautiful tail; or in various approaches to camouflage. Many female birds have understated colors, as they are the main brood watchers and want to attract the least attention.
Feathers are also instrumental in helping water-fowl swim and float on water. The outermost feathers, or contour feathers, on water birds like ducks, swans, geese and seabirds are waterproof, keeping the animals dry and safe from water Moreover, speand wind. cial glands at the base of the tail secretes waterproof oil. When birds preen their feathers, they spread this oil to coat the entire feather. In cold ocean waters, the bottom layer of feathers (down), works like an insulator that keeps water birds warm. Diving birds, like penguins and cormorants, use this combination of a waterproof outer layer and warm inner layer to help them swim or float in frigid waters. The streamline design of the feathers allow these birds to become graceful swimmers, spearing into the waves to hunt for fish. A feather study conducted by scientists from MIT and researcher Professor Andrew Parker of the Natural History Museum has determined that the plastrons dissipate when these birds dive beyond a certain depth, causing their skin to get wet. However, as a bird returns to the surface, the pressure drops, and water is pushed away by the structuring of the feathers. “It’s totally reversible,” said Professor Parker. “The bird gets into trouble, and then instantly gets back out of trouble again.” This helps explain why cormorants sit and stretch their wings after a dive. They are getting the water out of their feathers. Whether adapting for a life in the air, in the water, or on land; feathers are a perfectly designed instrument of nature unique to birds. Observing how simple mechanics can be so powerful and so effective might inspire anyone toward greatness.
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CULTURE
VISION TIMES
Bluebells
OCT 1 - OCT 7, 2021 |
T HE G ORGE OUS , Y E T P OIS ONOUS , ENCH A N T R E S S Adobe Stock
By Simone Jonker
Bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) is a bulbous perennial plant that belongs to the Liliaceae (Lily) family. Commonly called Fairy flowers, English Bluebells, Wood bells, and Wild hyacinth, bluebells are one of the most easy-to-recognize protected woodland flowers in the world.
B
luebells are mainly found in the Western regions of Atlantic Europe, ranging from north-western Spain to the Netherlands and the British Isles. However, 70 percent of all common bluebells are found in Britain. Throughout the months of April and May. The Ancient Woodlands, affectionately known as “Bluebell Woods,” are characterized by a profusion of the nodding heads of Bluebell blossoms. Five years are required for a bluebell seed to mature into a bulb. Bluebells develop in racemes, or clusters of flowers connected by a pedicel. Each raceme has around 20 Unsplash blooms. The plant forms buds while in an upright position. In bloom, the stalk bends and the flowers droop to the side (often the south). The flowers are mostly blue, but may vary from white to light blue, lavender and pink. Every spring, underground bulbs produce a magnificent display of bluebells in forests and throughout the countryside along hedgerows, marshes and meadows. Early blooming bluebells attract a broad range of insects, including woodland butterflies, bees, and hoverflies. Following the blooming of fertile flowers, fruit appears in the form of papery capsules with three lobes, each of which contains seeds. Immature fruits are green, ripening to a light brown and opening up. The small black seeds then drop out and germinate naturally on the ground.
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A9
Myths and magic
In Greek myth, Hyacinthus was a handsome and brave young man who drew Apollo’s attention. Apollo inadvertently killed Hyacinthus and a hyacinth bloomed where his blood fell. Apollo’s falling tears, supposedly spelled out AI AI (meaning “Alas!”) on the flower petals. Carl Linnaeus, the Swedish botanist who formalized the system of binomial nomenclature, saw that there were no such letters visible on the petals, and thus assigned the mysterious name “non scripta” (unlettered) to the bluebell flower. Bluebells have been said to summon fairies.
Cultural significance
Adding to their prominence in mythology and tradition, Bluebells have also been featured in art and literature symbolizing solitude and yearning. In Emily Bronte’s poem “The Bluebell,” she describes the beauty of a Bluebell wood, the lack of color in the blooms during winter, and how the flowers’ reappearance in the spring makes her long for her home in the countryside. English painters have been inspired by the charm of Bluebell landscapes. Artist Jack Wiggins captured the charm of Springtime’s sunlight-dappled Bluebell meadows in his paintings of the Bluebell Woods, which make viewers yearn for the warmth of Spring. As observed by poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, bluebells were ‘all hanging their heads one way.’ Floriography, or f lower language, was very popular in the Victorian period. It’s a secret language where each flower has its own meaning, and communication is achieved through flower arrangements. Bluebells were associated with the expression of feelings and thoughts. For the same reason that bluebells seem to bend humbly when they tip down on their flower spikes, Bluebells symbolize kindness, humility, and constancy, and pink bluebells represent everlasting love and devotion.
A bluebell could be “rung” like a regular bell, and the fairies would come running to greet you. Concerning Bluebells, however, fairy lore has some rather strict warnings. It is suggested that you walk with care and maintain your composure in a bluebell forest, lest you become disoriented by the intoxicating fragrance and become lost. Fairy lore cautions against picking bluebells. Since the plant is poisonous, it would be wise to heed this advice. In fact, the bulbs can be easily mistaken for ramsons, or wild garlic; so the warning that you might never leave if you ate anything within the wood might also be worth considering. Apparently, the fairies hold that it is permissible to pluck one flower and request good luck, after which you may place it in your shoe. If nothing else, at least you will have sweetsmelling toes! Flipping a bluebell inside out without breaking it is said to bring forth your soulmate, while bluebells planted near your front entrance are supposed to bring good luck, since they will chime to warn you if someone unexpected comes.
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Practical applications
Bluebells have historically been used for a number of practical purposes. Their toxic sap was formerly employed to bind the pages of books and prevent insects from snacking on them. The sticky glue was also used to fasten feathers to arrows. Bluebell bulbs were crushed to create starch for the ruffs of collars and sleeves worn by the Elizabethans during the Tudor period. Because of their toxicity, bluebells have had limited use in contemporary medicine until recently. It was revealed that their bulbs contain diuretic (increases urination) and styptic (helps to stop bleeding) components. Research into how these flowers may be able to help fight HIV and cancer is still in its early stages. In the Middle Ages, Bluebells were thought to cure leprosy, consumption, snake and spider bites.
Threats to bluebells
While the bluebell is still common in Britain, it is endangered by habitat destruction, non-native bluebell hybridization and illegal bulb trafficking. Damage from trampling may take years to repair, and crushed leaves might prevent the photosynthesis of Bluebells. Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) protects bluebells. According to this Act, landowners are prohibited from digging bluebells to sell, as Schedule 8 of the Act forbids commerce in wild bluebell bulbs and seeds.
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LIFESTYLE
A10 | OCT 1 - OCT 7, 2021
VISION TIMES
Ma
To
Po Fu
u f o T o P Ma
h f s i o D y e a r u t W a n y g r i S e i s ’ F n a e u h c Th i S –
By Simone Jonker
M
a po tofu can also be found on menus in many American res-
taurants. The dish consists of custard-like tofu cubes in a spicy beef or pork sauce over rice. The recipe contains a fermented bean curd called doubanjiang, red chile oil, chile flakes, and an abundance of Sichuan peppercorns, with the meat occasionally left out. Mushrooms are sometimes included accord-
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Method
Ma po tofu is a classic Chinese dish of Sichuan cuisine that has grown in popularity and seems to be leaving a flaming path in all Cantonese and Hong Kong restaurants, as well as those in Japan (where it is known as mabo dofu.)
ing to the customer’s preference. Sichuan peppercorns produce a tingling, numbing effect and are often added together with chili peppers to create a flavor known as málà (Chinese: 麻辣; “numb-spiciness”). People have said that the traditional fermented bean curd, doubanjiang, is the heart and soul of Sichuan culinary tradition. There is an interesting story behind the dish. “Ma po” actually means something like “smallpox-scarred grandmother,” and it alludes to the dish’s creator, who was afflicted with the disease as a child. In the early 1900s, she resided in Chengdu, the current capital of Sichuan Province. It all started on a rainy night when a wealthy businessman came to her door to seek shelter from the storm. She was delighted to have a visitor and quickly ransacked her sparse kitchen cupboard and put together a meal that included tofu and pork. After tasting her savory dish, the visitor was so impressed that he sent additional travelers in the direction of Ma Po’s Tofu. She is said to have finally set up a roadside food business on the outskirts of town called Chen Ma Po, do meet the demands of hungry travelers. There is a now a tofu restaurant bearing the same name.
1. Heat a wok over high heat until smoking. 2. Add the vegetable oil 3. Add minced beef and stir-fry until browned for around 3 minutes. 4. Add the garlic, spring onion whites, and bean sauce 5. Stir until fragrant, for around 30 seconds. 6. Add the stock, Shaoxing cooking wine, soy sauces, sugar, and salt. 7. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer, allowing the liquid to thicken for about 6-8 minutes. 8. Remove from heat. 9. Add tofu, Sichuan pepper, and sesame oil and combine. Garnish with chopped spring onion greens and serve. In place of beef, minced chicken, pork, duck, shrimp, or mushrooms may be substituted. The spicy peppers along with the mild tofu will enhance any flavor combination.
Beef Ma po tofu
Recipe • 2 tbsp vegetable oil • 200g minced beef • 1 clove garlic, chopped • 2 spring onions, white section sliced into thin strips • 2 tbsp chili bean sauce • 125ml fresh chicken stock • 1 tsp Shaoxing cooking wine • 1 tsp light soy sauce • ½ tsp dark soy sauce • 2 tsp sugar • ¼ tsp salt • 300g silken tofu, cut into 2cm cubes • pinch Sichuan pepper • ½ tsp sesame oil
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TRAVEL
VISION TIMES
OCT 1 - OCT 7, 2021 |
(Image: Mark Dhawn /Wikimedia)
A11
(Image: Adobe Stock)
Skeleton Coast is a 500 km stretch of harsh desert along the northern Atlantic coast of Namibia. Known for shipwrecks, whale bones, and a ghost town, it is a tourist attraction to some 800 visitors per year.
Skeleton Coast of
Namibia: a n A f r ic a n T re a su re
(Image: Adobe Stock)
By Simone Jonker
M
any people associate the Skeleton Coast with golden orange desert dunes tumbling into the sea. While this is true of some parts of Namibia-Skeleton Coast National Park, in other areas the landscape is harsh, barren, and frightening, and yet, its starkness can be fascinating. 40 km wide by 500 km long, Skeleton Coast is part of Namibia’s northern Atlantic coast, south of Angola. The contrasts are dramatic in this unique landscape where the wild open seas and Atlantic breakers resound and collide with the time-worn sand dunes of the “world’s oldest desert,” the Namib. Countless stranded whales have perished along the coast, leaving their bones visible in many places. The Ovahimba people who lived in the far northeastern area of Namibia used to construct their dwellings from whale bones. This, along with the sun-bleached remains of many shipwrecks, gave rise to the name, originally coined by writer John Henry Marsh in his book Skeleton Coast, about the shipwrecked Dunedin Star.
Skeleton Coast National Park
The almost 500 km of barren wasteland is also a National Park, which hosts a plethora of fauna and flora. Tenebrionid beetles, chameleons, and about 75 different kinds of seabirds regard this harsh environment as home, along with Cape Fur Seals, dwelling in huge colonies along the eastern coast of Cape Cross. The Park is also inhabited with black-backed jackals, hyenas, giraffes, zebras, rhinos, elephants, and even lions. Several plants, such as welwitschias mirabilis, a huge succulent gymnosperm that looks like a large lump of washed-up seaweed, have adapted to be exceptionally suited to the arid climate of the Skeleton Coast. Relying entirely on the fog from the Atlantic Ocean for survival, Acanthosicyos horridus, or Nara melons, a sweet yet spiny fruit that grows on a thorny woody shrub of the cucumber family; various lithops, a genus of stemless sucwww.visiontimes.com
Countless stranded whales have perished along the coast, leaving their bones visible in many places.
culent in the Aizoaceae family known as “living stones;” lichen, a plant-like composite organism actually belonging to the Fungal kingdom; and Euphorbia Tirucalli, or pencil plant, a succulent named for its tube-like branching structure; are among the vegetation that relies on the sea mist for hydration.
The Skeleton Coast has the world’s only ‘roaring dunes,’ created by a unique mix of wind, air, and sand, the sound which has been compared to that of a low flying aircraft. (Image: Adobe Stock)
The world’s largest ship cemetery
Many ships and their crew, and even some aircraft were stranded along this unforgiving coastline with its treacherous currents, reefs, waves, and year-round coastal fog. Ship and crew stood little chance of surviving, and even seafarers who made it to shore inevitably died of thirst. The desert landscape continually shifts and changes, sometimes moving up to 50 feet in a year, thus concealing or revealing a variety of skeletons, animal, ship, and sometimes human. A group of twelve human skeletons was discovered lined up in a row in the 1940s. A slate was found on which someone had desperately scrawled: “I am proceeding to a river 60 miles north, and should
Welwitschias Mirabilis. (Image: Petr Kosina)
Surfs Up
(Image: Johan Jonsson /Wikimedia).
The long abandoned mining town of Kolmanskop – now a tourist destination outside Lüderitz in Namibia, is reminiscent of the “ghost towns” of the Wild West.
anyone find this and follow me, God will help him.” The remains were from a wrecked ship that met its fate in 1869, 80 years before the discovery.
Cape Fur Seals.
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Kolmanskop
(Image: Adobe Stock)
Kolmanskop is reminiscent of a Wild West ghost town. The ruins of a 19th-century German diamond mining community, it lies just south of Skeleton Coast Park. While the colony grew rapidly after the discovery of its first diamond, it declined after WWI, and intensive mining depleted the area by the 1930s. In 1928, the town’s fate was sealed when the richest diamond fields ever known were found on the coast to the south. The villagers all left, abandoning their desert homes. By 1956, Kolmanskop was completely deserted. Now, the forsaken houses have faded to the color of the invading dunes, which creep inside the empty domiciles and cover the streets deep in sand.
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The southern Benguela current provides world-class surf and long powerful barrels along this coast. Although incredibly cold, difficult to get to, and full of sharks, this does not deter the devoted surfers who brave the frigid waters to catch a good wave. Most of the best surf locations are located south of Swakopmund, around Luderitz and Walvis Bay. Surfers who are looking for a more daring experience may go north to Skeleton Coast sites such as Cape Cross and Ovahimba Point. Other point breaks are known mainly by word of mouth. Skeleton Coast Namibia is indeed a land of the brave and the fearless. Despite the severe climate and hostile conditions, it is also a place of life and preservation. While the Portuguese mariners called the coast “The Gates of Hell,” and the indigenous Khoisan bushmen describe it as “The Land God Made in Anger,” the area is known to locals as a Fisherman’s paradise.
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HEALTH
A12 | OCT 1 - OCT 7, 2021
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esides being a healthy aerobic exercise, singing out loud has been found to be an effective stress reliever and mood enhancer; and when our mood improves, our health follows. Sarah Wilson, clinical neuropsychologist and head of the School of Psychological Sciences at the University of Melbourne, led a study to see what happens in the brain when we sing. MRI scans showed that the “singing network” in the brain includes areas not only in the language hemisphere, but also those in the areas involved with emotion, sound-producing motion, and articulation.
Why we stress less when we sing Like any aerobic exercise, singing releases endorphins, the ‘feel good’ hormones, or peptides, released from the pituitary gland in the brain. We may not think of singing as an aerobic exercise; but the deep breathing required to fill our lungs, the concentrated control of our vocal chords, and the mouth and body movements involved, all require physical exertion; so yes it is! These endorphins reduce stress directly by improving our mood; and indirectly, as with a more positive outlook our immunity is strengthened, improving our ability to deal with stress. The breathing itself can also be considered a stress reliever. Our parasympathetic nervous system, linked with quiet and restful physical situations, is stimulated when diaphragmatic (deep) breathing enables a high rate of oxygen exchange in the cells of the lungs. A study of the neurophysiological factors behind therapeutic breathing found that the focus required to control our breathing also stimulates areas of the brain linked to emotion and awareness.
Positive physical effects of singing
Group singing builds empathy and sense of belonging So, music is good. Singing is better. And singing in groups may be the best. As Wilson says in her report, “There is evidence that, in general, singing in a group enhances our sense of empathy and social connection. We see this at football clubs… people in congregations at church. It’s a community-building activity because we’re united in our voice.” In addition to endorphins, oxytocin, or the “love hormone” is also released in the act of singing. Oxytocin as a hormone is instrumental in childbearing, breastfeeding and sexual activity. As a chemical messenger, it is believed By Ila Bonczek to be linked to the sense of trust and bonding. So when singing in a group, we sense a warm feeling We are all familiar with the power of music. It can evoke a of connectedness. wide range of emotions, from lifting our spirits, to helping us A 2014 study, involving over process grief; yet singing can be even more powerful than 11,000 school children, found that children developed a strong sense listening to music. of community when placed in a singing and musical engagement program. Likewise, a smaller study of adults showed a greater sense of meaningful conSinging is better. nection and wellbeAnd singing in ing for those who sang groups may be in groups than those who sang the best. solo. This feeling of social connection is also believed to boost pain tolerance.
Singing Can Relieve Stress and So Much More
Singing and spirituality
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In a 2004 study that looked at the effects of singing versus just listening to music, singers were found to have higher levels of immunoglobulin A, an antibody we use against infection, thus measurably enhancing the immune system. A 2008 study on snoring, a symptom of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), found that singers were less likely to snore than their non-singing spouses. Researchers thus suggested singing as a ther-
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apy for snoring. Playing a wind instrument also appears to reduce snoring, and both activities may be considered helpful in treating OSA. The deep breathing and controlled use of respiratory muscles required for singing may also improve lung function. Individuals suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), asthma, and cystic fibrosis may benefit from the strengthening effects of regular singing on the
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respiratory system. The exercise of recalling song lyrics may improve memory. A 2016 study found that Alzheimer’s patients were not only able to remember song lyrics more readily than other things, but singing familiar songs also triggered memories that they had previously forgotten. Many participants were able to recall detailed autobiographical information after singing a song from their youth.
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Research has also been done to determine whether singing can help those whose speech is affected by neurological conditions. Studies have found that singing does improve speaking ability for individuals with autism, Parkinson’s disease, stroke related aphasia, and stuttering. Perhaps because singing engages many areas of the brain, communication can be achieved through compensating the impaired area with a different active area.
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Sarah Wilson believes that singing is “fundamental to our biological makeup,” and one of the “innate things that bring us connection and strength.” Indeed, singing has been a basic part of life since ancient times as a form of devotion to the divine. All major religions have their own devotional hymns, chants, songs, or sung scriptures. Such an expression of love and gratitude to the divine helps quell anxiety, depression and tension. As one sings, fears and worries are forgotten, and the heart fills with joy and radiance, much like a powerful meditation. In an offering to the heavenly spirit, sincerity in love and devotion are more important than your singing voice. Does your voice matter for other practical purposes? Yes and no. Non-singers exercise only the language network of their brains when they sing, so some of the above-mentioned benefits are not realized. However, as we engage in singing, we can develop the specialized singing network in the brain, and reap the physiological rewards as well. In short, while you don’t have to be a songbird to benefit from singing, practice will improve not only your musical experience, but also your health and happiness.
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