VOL.041 OCT 15 - OCT 21 , 2021
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IRS Plan to MONITOR ALL TRANSACTIONS OVER $600 Sparks Opposition
By Vision Times Staff Vision Times
More than 100 million Americans, as well as millions of businesses would be affected by the regulation
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Biden administration proposal that would allow tax officials to scrutinize all transfers of money over $600 in value has led to significant backlash and criticism, despite assurances that the policy targets tax-evaders among the wealthy as opposed to ordinary Americans. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is currently alerted to transactions worth $10,000 or more. That requirement, according to senior correspondent Damon Linker of The Week, already “sometimes results in hassles (audits, investigations, and even civil asset forfeiture) for individuals and small business owners.”
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- the Times.
According to a report by The New York Times, the proposal came as the Biden administration brainstormed ways to pay for an upcom-
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ing multi-trillion-dollar infrastructure bill — and eyed the estimated $7 trillion in unpaid taxes. The White House estimates that lowering the reporting threshold to $600 would help earn the government an extra $460 billion in tax revenue over the next decade. “It's hard to imagine the IRS effectively processing the tsunami of data this rule would require banks to send their way. But it's even harder to believe banking customers will be content to go along,” Linker wrote. Currently, banks submit information about their customers’ interest gains. Under the new rule, banks would also have to give up account balance information. This would allow the IRS to check for discrepancies between declared income and assets present in the accounts
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of businesses and individuals. The New York Times piece, published Oct. 11, observes that “banks from Denver to Philadelphia say they are being deluged with calls, emails and in-person complaints from both savers and small-business owners worried about the proposal.” Biden’s Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen rebuffed criticism of the proposal, claiming that the IRS checking for and possibly auditing discrepancies found among transactions in the $600 to $10,000 range would be aimed at “very high-net worth, high-income individuals and businesses.” "There's a lot of tax fraud and cheating that's going on," she told Norah O'Donnell of CBS News in a televised interview. Continued on A2
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NATION Southwest Airlines Cancels More Than 1800 Flights; Blames Air Traffic Control Issues, Weather
A2 | OCT 15 - OCT 21 , 2021
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By Victor Westerkamp Vision Times
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ince Friday, Southwest Airlines has canceled more than 1800 flights, igniting speculation about a massive walkout of staff after the company announced mandatory vaccination for all employees. Instead, Southwest blamed the cancellations on the weather, ATC understaffing, and a faulty software program for causing all the trouble.
Southwest Airlines is working to catch up on a backlog after canceling hundreds of flights over the weekend, blaming air traffic control issues and weather. (Image: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Problems started on Friday afternoon when bad weather conditions in the southeast compelled
the airliner to revoke 808 flights on Saturday and another 1044 on Sunday. On Monday, approximately 350 Southwest flights were canceled, according to airline tracker FlightAware. “We experienced significant impact in the Florida airports yesterday (Friday) evening after an FAA-imposed air traffic management program was implemented due to weather and resulted in a large number of cancellations,” Southwest said on last Saturday. However, other airliners that
operate in the same region did not seem to be affected. Consequently, many customers were not convinced by Southwest’s explanation and demanded openness and a clear explanation of why the airliner failed to honor their commitments.
President Murray dismissed all speculation
Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA) President Casey Murray dismissed all speculation of massive sick leaves being the Texas Gov. Greg Abbott . (Image: Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
cause of the dramatic number of recalled flights. Some 28 percent of all Southwest’s scheduled flights were canceled on Sunday. Murray said in a statement: “There are false claims of job actions by Southwest Pilots currently gaining traction on social media and making their way into mainstream news,” adding that, “I can say with certainty that there are no work slowdowns or sickouts either related to the recent mandatory vaccine mandate or otherwise.”
IRS Plan to Monitor All Transactions Over $600 Sparks Opposition Continued from FRONT
Texas Governor Signs Executive Order Banning COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates executive order. Upon the passage of such legislation, the executive order shall be rescinded.
By Jonathan Walker Vision Times
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epublican Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, has issued an executive order banning any entity from imposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates in the state. Abbott has also sent a message to the Secretary of Senate and the Chief Clerk of the House, adding the vaccine mandate issue as an item of consideration at the Third Special Session agenda of the 87th Legislature. The session is presently convened until Oct. 19. Lawmakers will have a chance to pass legislation that fulfills the purpose of the
The COVID-19 vaccine is safe, effective, and our best defense against the virus, but should remain voluntary and never forced. -- Governor Abbott.
“No entity in Texas can compel receipt of a COVID-19 vaccine by any individual, including an employee or a consumer, who objects to such vaccination for any reason of personal conscience, based on a religious belief, or for medical reasons, including prior recovery from COVID-19. I hereby suspend all relevant statutes to the extent necessary to enforce this prohibition,” the executive order states. Abbott’s executive order against COVID-19 vaccine mandates is in conflict with President Joe Biden’s mandate. This can create complications for businesses. Brian Dean Abramson, a specialist and author on vaccine law,
is not sure that Texas will seek to enforce the law against vaccine mandates by going after businesses that do not comply with them. Meanwhile, firms might choose to eventually comply with Biden’s order rather than Abbott’s. Biden plans to enforce the mandate via the emergency workplace safety rules which is expected to soon be issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). However, if states can show that the federal government cannot prove there is a “grave danger” nationally, the rule could be blocked. This can allow Abbott’s executive order to have more weight in Texas than Biden’s mandate.
O'Donnell questioned the need for the IRS to focus on transactions under $10,000, given Yellen’s statements that the policy targeted the rich and their “opaque” sources of income. "I think this proposal has been seriously mischaracterized. The proposal involves no reporting of individual transactions of any individual," Yellen responded, before saying that the IRS lacked sufficient information on certain “individuals.” “Namely, a shortfall in the amount that the IRS is collecting due to a failure of individuals to report the income that they have earned," she said. O’Donnell responded, "But that's among billionaires. Is that among people who are transferring $600?" In September, Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), criticized the proposal at a hearing, telling Yellen that the "$600 threshold is not usually where you're going to find the massive amount of tax revenue you think Americans are cheating you out of.” Yellen defended the threshold, saying, “ it's important to have comprehensive information so that individuals can't game the system and have multiple accounts."
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NATION
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OCT 15 - OCT 21, 2021 |
Prison Inmates Have Taken Over Parts of Rikers Island: NYT By Neil Campbell Vision Times
Southern States See Decline in COVID-19 While Infections in Northern States Increase By Jonathan Walker Vision Times
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arts of the Rikers Island prison facility in New York City are under the control of inmates, according to a new investigation by the New York Times. The correctional facility into chaos An Oct. 11 article by the Times titled Inside Rikers: Dysfunction, Lawlessness and Detainees in Control based on interviews with “seven current and former detainees and seven jailers,” paints a grim picture of the conditions inside the island. NYT said the interviewees “spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss workplace problems.” “Detainees in some buildings have seized near total control over entire units, deciding who can enter and leave them, records and interviews show. In other buildings, they have wandered in and out of staff break rooms and similarly restricted areas, with some flouting rules against smoking tobacco and marijuana,” reads the article. “Sometimes they have answered phones that were supposed to be manned by guards. Several have stolen keys and used them to free others in custody, who went on to commit slashings and other acts of violence.” Based on information present on Wikipedia, Rikers has a staff of more than 9,000 officers and 1,500 civilian employees, a more than 2:1 staff-to-inmate ratio. NYT says the prison currently holds approximately 4,800 people on any given day, “a majority of whom are awaiting trial and have not been convicted of a crime.” “Most do not commit violent acts, and a significant number struggle with mental illness.” Wikipedia says 85 percent of those held at Rikers are pretrial defendants. New York State spends upwards of $860 million per year operating the prison. Twelve prisoners have died at the facility this year, the most since 2015. The article claims the chaos within the facility’s walls are as much a problem of corrupt and incompetent staff as they are out
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Rikers Island on January 5, 2018 in New York City. Conditions at the prison have degenerated from a law enforcement and corrections facility to a state of chaos, according to a report by the New York Times relying on interviews with anonymous prisoners and staff. (Image: Debra L Rothenberg/ Getty Images)
One of the major issues plaguing Rikers is a man-made staffing shortage.
of control prisoners, “Correction officers have participated in beatings or failed to intervene in hangings and other urgent situations. Last week, a guard was charged with providing a razor blade to a detainee who planned to use it as a weapon.” “At the height of the staffing crisis, about a third of the jails’ roughly 8,000 guards were failing to show, forcing those who remained to work double and triple shifts that could last 24 hours or more. Now, the officials said, that number is closer to about a quarter of the jails’ work force,” says the article. On Sept. 20, NYT reported that New York City had sued the Correction Officers Benevolent Association, alleging a “coordinated campaign of absenteeism.” “While it recorded an average of 645 such absences per month in 2019 and 773 in 2020, there have been 2,304 per month this year, on average, an increase that the lawsuit described as ‘staggering’.” A June article by the outlet spoke with two anonymous late-20s and early-30s female guards at the facility, who recounted working as many as 15 24-hour shifts since the fall of 2020. In May, a 342-page report by a court-appointed federal monitor examining Rikers said, “The department struggles to manage its large number of staff productively, to deploy them effectively,
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to supervise them responsibly, and to elevate the base level of skill of its staff.”
The prison’s infrastructure is collapsing
The Times also says, “doors that do not lock properly, cells that are too deteriorated to contain detainees and aging objects like radiators that can be ripped apart and turned into weapons.” One anecdote recounted in the article by civilian staff paints a frightening picture of the lawlessness that has taken root inside an iconic American correctional facility. “Civilian staff members who arrived at one jail in September were greeted by a group of detainees who offered to escort them through the building to keep them safe.” “Moving farther into the jail, the employees were alarmed to see incarcerated people moving about freely, passing them in the halls and milling on staircases, with no guards in sight.” “In another area, they watched as an officer in a control station allowed men to move casually from one unit to the next.” “As the employees were leaving, they encountered three guards who were taking in the scene without intervening and a captain who ignored their requests to be let out of the housing area. A fourth guard heard the staffers yelling for assistance and opened the gate.”
he COVID-19 pandemic is now displaying a regional divergence in its rate of spread in the United States. While infections in southern states are declining, the number of cases being reported in northern states are rising. In the southern state of Mississippi, one of the worst affected in the country, the number of cases fell by around 87 percent between Aug. 19 and Oct. 7. The rate of hospitalization during this period declined from 1,667 to 403. Other southern states like Florida, Texas, Alabama, Georgia, and Arkansas have also seen a reduction in COVID-19 cases. However, this is not true for the north. In North Dakota, the number of active cases has risen by more than 30 times between July 5 and Oct. 7, with hospitalizations rising by over 19 times. In Vermont, infections went up from one case on July 5 to 286 on Oct. 1. Experts believe that this is an emerging pattern of the COVID-19 virus. Last year, cases in the southern states had dropped around this time while the number of infections in the northern and upper Midwest regions climbed. Nationally, the daily rate of infections, hospitalizations, and deaths is falling. Data from John Hopkins University shows that the daily average number of infections declined by over 15,000 last week. Deaths have fallen by 200 per day. Despite southern states showing better recovery than the north, some have criticized these states for their low vaccination rates. Less than a third of eligible adolescents in states like Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi are fully vaccinated. However, the idea that vaccinations alone are key to mitigating the pandemic is something that is being seriously challenged of late. A recent study found that widely vaccinated nations like Portugal and Iceland have higher rates of new COVID-19 infections than countries like Vietnam and South Africa that have a low proportion of people fully vaccinated.
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CHINA ‘Solemn Warning’: China Executing Assault Drills in Province Across From Taiwan A4 | OCT 15 - OCT 21 , 2021
By Ashok Ramprasad Vision Times
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he past few weeks have seen tensions between Communist China and Taiwan soar to alarming levels. A record number of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force warplanes have intruded into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) since the beginning of October. The PLA has now revealed that it carried out beach landing and
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assault drills in Fujian Province, situated across the strait from Taiwan. If or when Beijing decides to attack, Fujian will be a key launching site for the PLA. Beijing’s beach exercises come as President Xi Jinping pledged in a speech on Oct. 9 that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Taiwan — officially called the Republic of China (ROC) — will have a “peaceful reunification.” “Taiwan independence separatism is the biggest obstacle to achieving the reunification of the
motherland, and the most serious hidden danger to national rejuvenation… ” Xi said. However, ROC President Tsai has already stated that the island will not submit to Beijing and that they are prepared to defend its sovereignty and democratic way of life. According to Beijing, the military exercises that are conducted frequently near Taiwan are a “solemn warning” to separatist groups on the island and its foreign backers like the United States.
A soldier of the People's Liberation Army stands on a tank during a parade to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, at Tiananmen Square on Oct.r 1, 2019 in Beijing, China. (Image:Andrea Verdelli/Getty Images)
National Republican Coalition Passes Resolution Against Forced Organ Harvesting By Ryan Wu Vision Times
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he National Federation of Republican Assemblies (NFRA), a political organization dedicated to promoting conservative principles and candidates in the Republican Party, passed a resolution calling for an end to the Chinese Communist Party’s religious persecution and organ harvesting of prisoners, mainly Falun Gong practitioners, during its national convention in Scottsdale, Arizona, on October 9. The resolution calls on the U.S. Congress and state legislatures to pass legislation condemning and stopping forced organ harvesting by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and called on the Chinese government to immediately release all Falun Gong practitioners and other prisoners of conscience, and to oversee the U.S. Department of State’s ban on granting visas to those involved in forced organ harvesting. The resolution states that Falun Gong is a qigong practice centered on the values of “truth, kindness, and forbearance.” It gained popularity in the 1990s. However, in July 1999, the CCP launched an intensive nationwide persecution campaign to eliminate Falun Gong. It reflects the party’s long standing intolerance of large independent civil society groups. Since 1999, hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have been detained extrajudicially in reeducation-through-labor camps, detention centers, and prisons, where torture and abuse are commonplace. They called on the Chinese government to strengthen accountability and transparency in the organ transplant system and to punish those responsible for
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Protesters re-enact a live organ harvesting to spread awareness of the human rights abuses occurring in Communist China. There is growing scrutiny by the international community towards the crime of forced organ harvesting, which is an extremely lucrative business for many hospitals in China. (Image: Getty Images)
(From left) Bill Cardoza, chairman of the Sacramento Republican Assembly; Norman H. Reece, chairman of the Solano Republican Assembly and wife Jeanine Reece; and Solano Republican Assembly vice-chairman Mike Comez. They and other GOP figures supported resolutions to condemn the forced organ harvesting of prisoners of conscience in China. (Image: The Epoch Times)
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abuses. Killing religious or political prisoners to sell their organs for transplantation is an egregious and intolerable violation of the fundamental right to life. Therefore, the National Republican Coalition calls on the United States Congress and state legislatures to pass legislation that would; (1) Reprimand the People’s Republic of China for its state-sanctioned practice of forced organ harvesting. (2) Call on the government of the People’s Republic of China and the Communist Party of China to immediately stop the practice of harvesting organs from all prisoners of conscience. (3) Demands that the government of the People’s Republic of China and the Communist Party of China immediately cease the 22-year persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and immediately release all Falun Gong practitioners and other prisoners of conscience. (4) Calls on the People’s Republic of China to allow a credible, transparent, and independent investigation into the abuse of organ transplants. (5) Calls on the U.S. Department of State to include in its annual human rights reports a more detailed analysis of state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting of prisoners of conscience and to report annually to Congress on the implementation of Section 232 of the State Department Authorization Act
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for Fiscal Year 2003, which prohibits the granting of visas to Chinese and other nationals who engage in a coercive organ or body tissue transplants. The Solano County chair of the California Republican Assembly, Norman Reece, sponsored the resolution and introduced a similar resolution at the California Republican Alliance in 2018, which was passed unanimously. This year, he hopes to reintroduce the resolution to the National Republican Coalition convention to “draw more attention to the atrocities taking place in China.” Independent investigators have accused the Chinese government of systematically harvesting organs from prisoners of conscience on a large scale for organ transplants and soliciting “organ tourism” for profit. The victims have primarily imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners and members of other religious and ethnic minority groups. David Jogow conducted the most significant independent investigation in his work titled, “Report on the Allegations of Organ Harvesting by the Chinese Communist Party.”
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The allegation has been included in reports by the United Nations, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Congress, and other agencies for years. The Republic of China, the European Parliament, the Senate of Australia, the Senate of Italy, the Irish Parliament, and the U.S. Congress have all passed resolutions condemning the forced harvesting of organs from Falun Gong practitioners and other prisoners of conscience. The European Union has also adopted the European Council Convention against Trafficking in Human Organs, and Israel, Spain, and Taiwan have completed legislation to ban organ transplant tourism to China. On June 17, 2019, in London, the China Tribunal, established by the International Coalition to End the Abuse of Organ Transplantation in China (ETAC), and handed down its final verdict in the case of forced organ harvesting by the Chinese government. The tribunal’s chairman, Sir Geoffrey Nice, QC, who served as a prosecutor in the war crimes trial of former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic at the International Court of The Hague, convicted the Chinese government in the forced organ harvesting case. A key witness in the trial was Dr. Enver Tohti, who was himself asked to harvest the organs of a prisoner alive.
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CHINA
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OCT 15 - OCT 21, 2021 |
A5
News analysis
China’s Purged Justice Minister Fu Zhenghua Reportedly Undermined Xi Jinping’s Leadership
Fu Zhenghua in a file photo. (Image: File photo via Sina) Web Image
By Juliet Wei Vision Times
Fu, who served as vice public security minister, also played key roles in the persecution of top human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng and the deadly Lei Yang incident
F
u Zhenghua, the retired Chinese justice minister and vice minister of public security who was placed under investigation for corruption on Oct. 2, had a long record of human rights abuses. He also appears to have undermined the authority of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, leading to his downfall. He shares the same fate as hundreds of other senior officials in the Chinese regime’s security apparatus who have been purged in the nearly nine years since Xi came to power. During his long career in China’s police force, known as public security, Fu was directly responsible for the “709” crackdown on Chinese human rights attorneys, so named for the mass arrests that began on July 9, 2015. That same year, Fu also took up post as head of the 610 Office, an extralegal Communist Party commission set up to coordinate police and propaganda assets in carrying out the repression of Falun Gong, a popular Chinese spiritual faith. Fu’s downfall led to the curious phenomenon of both Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials and rights activists celebrating the same occasion. WeChat postings indicated that the number of people cheering on Fu’s investigation exceeded those celebrating Oct. 1, Communist China’s National Day.
Mobilizing 4,000 officers to throw dirt on Xi
According to insiders, Fu had a hand in the official response to the death of Beijing environmentalist Lei Yang, who died violently www.visiontimes.com
When Xi came to power in 2012, his consolidation of power and anti-corruption campaign aimed at clearing out the influence of the Jiang faction. Lawyers who were illegally sentenced to prison during 709 crackdown.
in police custody on May 7, 2016. On Dec. 23, prosecutors in Beijing decided not to charge the five police officers allegedly involved in Lei Yang’s death; the local police instead accused Lei of soliciting prostitutes at a “foot massage parlor,” creating even greater public outrage. Despite Xi’s giving explicit instructions on the Lei Yang case, and the five offending officers being arrested by the Beijing Municipal Procuratorate, the Beijing Public Security Bureau stonewalled the judicial progress. More than 4,000 officers from the bureau signed a joint letter threatening resignation if the five policemen were tried, compelling the authorities to dismiss the case. The insiders said that the Xi leadership had launched an investigation into the public security apparatus as a result of the incident. Three months after Lei’s death, in August 2016, Fu was removed from his position in the Communist Party’s Political and Legal Affairs Commission, though he still held his posts in the civil government.
Mastermind behind the 709 crackdown
As then-vice minister of public security, Fu Zhenghua played the main role in the July 9, 2015 mass arrests of human rights lawyers, who are known for representing clients in politically sensitive cases. During the 709 crackdown, at least seven lawyers were illegally sentenced to prison for terms of up to eight years. According to Chen Guangcheng, a blind rights activist and exile who now resides in the U.S., more than 200 people were threatened and summoned
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in his native province of Shandong alone. The number of people thus implicated nationwide exceeds several thousand. The 709 crackdown marked a major turning point for attorneys defending petitioners, persecuted religious believers, and other disenfranchised members of Chinese society. Though human rights lawyers had faced many challenges in their profession earlier, such blatant repression was not so common. Following the crackdown, lawyers who did not follow the Communist Party’s political requirements were subject to increasingly overt kinds of pressure, with many being disbarred or detained. The 709 crackdown also elicited attention internationally. The U.S. State Department condemned the arrests, and has commemorated the anniversary. This July 8, Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a statement calling the crackdown “a campaign to intimidate and silence those who sought to work within the PRC’s legal system to help it live up to its human rights obligations and commitments and to effect positive change in their society.” Fu’s human rights abuses allegedly extend to Gao Zhisheng, who during the 2000s was known as
Undermining Xi’s leadership
Fu Zhenghua played the main role in the July 9, 2015 mass arrests of human rights lawyers, who are known for representing clients in politically sensitive cases.
Gao Zhisheng, Chinese human rights lawyers. His whereabouts, or whether he is still alive, is unknown. GettyImages
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one of China’s top 10 lawyers. A devout Christian, Gao was an outspoken defender of persecuted Falun Gong practitioners facing torture, imprisonment, and trial for their faith. For this, Gao and his family were continuously harassed, and the lawyer himself subject to excruciating torture, which included electric shocks to his genitals. The policemen who tortured Gao Zhisheng answered directly to Fu Zhenghua. At the time, Fu allegedly told the lawyer: “So you speak for Falun Gong? “We are dealing with you using the same methods that we use to deal with Falun Gong practitioners.”
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Many of those officials punished in Xi’s anti-corruption campaign are distinguished by their career ties to former Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Jiang Zemin, who wields significant influence behind the scenes. All the recently purged high ranking officials in the judicial system, such as Fu Zhenghua, Sun Lijun, who was arrested on September 28, including Li Dongsheng, the previously arrested Vice Minister of Public Security, have all served as directors or vice directors of the “610” Office, which was created by Jiang on June 10, 1999, weeks before the persecution of Falun Gong began. Despite stepping down from his positions in the early 2000s, Jiang retained much influence in the political and legal affairs commissions, 610 Office, and other organs, which were stacked with his allies. When Xi came to power in 2012, his consolidation of power and anti-corruption campaign aimed at clearing out the influence of the Jiang faction. SinoInsider, a New York-based political risk consultancy, notes that more than 10 former senior heads of the 610 Office have been purged this year. The analysts believe that this is due to Xi targeting the “negative political legacy” — the human rights abuses committed against Falun Gong practitioners, particularly live forced organ harvesting — left by Jiang and his allies.
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A6 | OCT 15 - OCT 21 , 2021
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Merck’s COVID Pill ‘Will be Incorporated in the DNA’: Researcher By Neil Campbell Vision Times
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erck’s newly announced pill to treat Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) based on the molnupiravir compound has the downside of serious mutagenic risks in mammalian cells, according to researchers. In response, the pharmaceutical giant has disputed the study and its methodology, resulting in an unclear situation for consumers. Molnupiravir had demonstrated a 50 percent success rate in preventing hospitalization and death over the placebo group in a clinical trial, said an announcement from the company on Oct. 1, causing shockwaves in the price of various pharmaceutical stocks. The press release stated t he trial was t r u ncated halfway through at the advice of the Food and Drug Administration and that Merck would seek Emergency Use Authorization as soon as possible. The celebration has not been without its controversy. Only a few days later, news that the nowresigned Francis Collin’s NIH and Anthony Fauci’s NIAID had funded development of the compound at Emory University to the tune of $35 million since 2013 emerged in conjunction with analysis from a Harvard researcher that Merck had resold the product to taxpayers for $1.19 billion USD at a 3,500 percent markup over production costs. At the same time, Barron’s reported on Oct. 5, updating the article on Oct. 8, that molnupiravir’s efficacy was not all roses, as it had shown to be mutagenic in mammalian cells, “Molnupiravir works by incorporating itself into the genetic material of the virus, and then causing a huge number of mutations as the virus replicates, effectively killing it,” reads the article. “In some lab tests, the drug has also shown the ability to integrate into the genetic material of mammalian cells, causing mutations as those cells replicate.” Raymond Schinazi, a professor at the same Emory University where molnupiravir was developed, told the outlet, “Proceed with caution and at your own peril.” According to Barron’s, Schi-
In some lab tests, the drug has also shown the ability to integrate into the genetic material of mammalian cells, causing mutations as those cells replicate.
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nazi, who was not involved in the development of molnupiravir, has studied NHC, the active compound that the Merck pill synthesizes in the body to produce its antiviral effect, for decades. Schinazi was further paraphrased as stating that “he did not believe that molnupiravir should be given to pregnant women, or to young people of reproductive age, until more data is available.”
Muddy Waters
However, this is where the waters become muddy. Schinazi, the article notes, nonetheless has something of a conflict of interest, “He was a founder of the biotech Pharmasset, which he says considered developing NHC as a treatment for hepatitis C in 2003, but chose not to because of the risk that it could cause mutations.”
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Barron’s continues, “Pharmasset created the hepatitis C drug Sovaldi, and Gilead Sciences (GILD) eventually bought the company for $11 billion.” Gilead Sciences is the company that controls the first FDAapproved treatment for COVID19, remdesivir. In an October of 2020 article published in Science critical of remdesivir’s approval, the author states that the “FDA never consulted a group of outside experts that it has at the ready to weigh in on complicated antiviral drug issues.” “The European Union, meanwhile, decided to settle on the remdesivir pricing exactly 1 week before the disappointing Solidarity trial results came out. It was unaware of those results, although Gilead, having donated remdesivir to the trial, was informed of the data on 23 September and knew the trial was a bust.” The Solidarity trial the outlet refers to was conducted by the World Health Organization and “showed that remdesivir does not reduce mortality or the time COVID-19 patients take to ADVERTISING INQUIRIES
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recover,” according to the report. Schinazi’s opinion was backed up by research he conducted with Ralph Baric and his team at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, a researcher and an organization that has ties to the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s gain-of-function on bat coronaviruses research. In a May 7 study, Baric’s UNC team notes in the Abstract, “Besides remdesivir, which blocks the replication of several coronaviruses, limited therapeutic options are available for treating severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2) infections.” The experiment found that NHC was highly effective at introducing lethal mutagenesis into SARS-CoV-2, but that “NHC also displays host mutational activity in an animal cell culture assay, consistent with RNA and DNA precursors sharing a common intermediate of a ribonucleoside diphosphate. These results indicate highly active mutagenic ribonucleosides may hold risk for the host.” An April of 2020 study by a similarly constructed Ralph Baric/ UNC team found molnupiravir was very effective against the original and much more deadly SARS coronavirus and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), another highly infectious and fatal coronavirus. UNC researcher Zhou Shuntai was rather direct in statements he made to Barron’s for their article, “There is a concern that this will cause long-term mutation effects, even cancer.”
Researchers from the University of North Carolina have said Merck’s new COVID-19 pill based on molnupiravir “Will be incorporated in the DNA.”
Biochemistry won’t lie. This drug will be incorporated in the DNA. - UNC researcher Zhou Shuntai
In a July 12 Letter to the Editor published in the Oxford Journal Betancur/Getty Images
of Infectious Diseases, Merck scientists took issue with the UNC study’s findings and methodology, “In contrast, we have conducted a more comprehensive series of in vitro and in vivo genotoxicity studies, which, based on the totality of the data, demonstrate a low risk for genotoxicity…in clinical use.” “It is important to note that the assay conditions used by Zhou et al for their in vitro HPRT assay differed significantly from standard protocols conducted under regulatory test guidelines,” continued the criticism. “The mutation results provided by Zhou et al were reported as total mutant colonies rather than mutant frequency, which does not allow for comparison of negative and positive control data to publicly available literature.” The Letter continues, “The rationale for the NHC concentrations used in the assay (or concurrent control compounds) was not provided. To avoid potential false-positive results, the highest concentration tested should avoid producing precipitation in the culture media, marked changes in pH or osmolality, or excessive cytotoxicity.” “Finally, information regarding the origin and purity of the NHC material used was not provided, and it is uncertain whether the stability or impurity of the material was characterized.” A third party opinion was provided by Barron’s from NYU Grossman School of Medicine professor in the department of microbiology, Nathaniel Landau, who said,
Given the possibility that the drug could be incorporated into cellular DNA, it will be very important to demonstrate a lack of cancer in animal models and in humans. “Even though it looks good in preliminary animal models, it will be important not to rush this into clinical use before being very confident that it does not cause cancer even at very low frequencies.”
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British Man Thrown Off Train for Wearing The Wrong Face Mask By Prakash Gogoi Vision Times
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Pfizer Expects FDA Approval
to Vaccinate Children Under 12 by Halloween By Victor Westerkamp Vision Times
P
harma giant Pfizer/BioNTech announced on Thursday that the company is seeking FDA approval for its COVID-19 mRNA vaccine to be administered to children between the ages of five and eleven. Three scientists from the company were recently recorded acknowledging that natural immunity, or the protection provided from getting COVID-19 and recovering, is similar to or better than the protection from the company’s vaccine. “Since July, pediatric cases of COVID-19 have risen by about 240 percent in the U.S. — underscoring the public health need for vaccination,”
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Participants 5 to 11 years of age, the vaccine was safe, well tolerated and showed robust neutralizing antibody responses.” -- According to the announcement.
Albert Bourla, chairman and chief executive officer of Pfizer said in the statement on September 20. “These trial results provide a strong foundation for seeking authorization of our vaccine for children 5 to 11 years old,” he said, adding that, “and we plan to submit them to the FDA and other regulators with urgency.” “Children generally do not get severely ill with COVID19 as much as older people do,” it said, “but there were still almost 175,000 cases among children in the week ending Sept. 30, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).” The company said it only administered onethird of the regular dose for children under 12 on two
instances at 21 days apart during the test run, which Pfizer claims did not reveal any out-of-the-ordinary side effects. Dr. Bill Gruber, a Pfizer senior vice president said, “The kid dosage also proved safe, with similar or fewer temporary side effects — such as sore arms, fever, or achiness — that teens experience.” In its press statement, Pfizer expressed hope it would “submit these data to the FDA, EMA and other regulatory agencies around the world as soon as possible” and that, “results in children under five years of age are expected as soon as later this year.” The Pfizer application is expected to be met with little objection. Chief Medical Advisor to the President, Anthony Fauci, previously during an appearance on MSNBC said about his expectations of vaccines becoming available for children, “I think there’s a really good chance it will be before Halloween,” about the chances that there will be a COVID-19 vaccine available for children from five up, with Fauci adding that, “I believe there’s a reasonably good chance that it will be.” When asked whether he was in favor of mandatory vaccination for children, Fauci said, “When you hear, ‘would I be in favor of mandating?’ in fact, I would be. But that gets taken out of context like I’m trying to impose some novel, new restriction on somebody, of taking away their rights,” he said.
Zoom Technical Failure Results in Vaccine Passport Approval in Wales By Prakash Gogoi Vision Times
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n Oct. 5, the Welsh assembly passed a motion to implement a COVID19 vaccine passport by a narrow margin of one vote. The decision has turned controversial as one lawmaker from the conservative side could not participate in the vote, held via Zoom, due to a technical glitch. The vaccine passport proposal, put forward by the Labor party, was approved by the Senedd parliament by 28 votes to 27. If the result had turned out to be a tie, the presiding officer would have been required to break it by voting against the measure. This would have resulted in the ruling Labor party losing its COVID-19 passport camwww.visiontimes.com
paign. The voting result would actually have been a tie had Conservative MS Gareth Davies been able to vote. Davies was unable to log into the Zoom call and was deprived of his right to vote. The Senedd functions in a hybrid mode due to COVID-19 restrictions, giving members the choice between attending in-person or through remote access applications such as Zoom or electronic voting. At the time of the motion, Davies was attending the Tory party conference in Manchester. Some have questioned the legitimacy of the voting result given that Davies was unable to have his say. “I was already on a call at that time frantically speaking with Welsh Conservative staff members in an attempt to solve the ICT problems and wasn’t able to call you
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CARDIFF, WALES - MAY 12: Plaid Cymru Members of the Senedd pose for a photograph on the steps of the Senedd, home of the Welsh Parliament in Cardiff Bay, on May 12, 2021 in Cardiff, Wales. (Image: Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)
directly in the short space of time that was given… In future, I will not rely on technology,” Davies said in a statement. With the Labor party winning, the Welsh government has now made the NHS COVID-19 passport mandatory for people attending social events or nightclubs. Health Minister Eluned Morgan stated that COVID-19 passports are nothing new since event organizers have already been using such measures. 212-730-6963
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olice escorted a British National off a Eurostar train after the train manager reported that the passenger was wearing the wrong type of mask. The female manager believed the man’s face mask could not stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus, and accused him of being aggressive and removing the covering. The unnamed British passenger, who is reportedly in his forties, had boarded the train bound for London from Gare du Nord, Paris on the afternoon of Oct. 7. At Lillie, the train made an unscheduled stop. Eight officers entered and escorted the man out. One of the police officers from Lille confirmed the arrest. But when asked why the man was arrested, the officer stated, “We don’t know why, we’ll have to find out.” “I’ve done nothing wrong and respect all coronavirus rules – this is absolutely outrageous,” the British national said while being escorted out. He later added, “I have absolutely no idea what this is all about, except that a Eurostar staff member has taken a very strong dislike to me, and accused me of not wearing the right type of mask.” The man from Liverpool was left stranded at Lille. Ian Gavan/Getty Images for Eurostar
Eurostar train on the platform.
Other passengers aboard the Londonbound train expressed their irritation over the delay of around 15 minutes just because someone was not wearing the right kind of face mask. “During the journey, the passenger became aggressive and intimidating towards the on-board team when they politely reminded him to wear a mask as is required under our conditions of carriage. As a result, the passenger was asked to leave the train at Lille station and in this situation, it is normal procedure for the police to attend and assist,” Eurostar said in a statement. One of the passengers, a 32-year-old woman from London who was a witness to the events said that the passenger who was removed from the train was “actually being very reasonable.” The woman further detailed that he was not swearing or acting in a way that was aggressive. “The Eurostar woman was telling the police what to do and insisting that the poor guy should be removed like he was some kind of criminal,” the woman told the Mirror. The media outlet further reported that the man was in a coach where many passengers had removed their face masks to eat and drink. Yet, the manager only found an issue with the British national who was sitting alone by a window. The man even apologized and replaced the black mask he was wearing with a blue one provided by a passenger. Despite this, he was removed. Though Eurostar stipulates all passengers to wear a mask while aboard the train, a spokesperson admitted that there are no specific rules about what type of mask needs to be worn. 703-868-1509
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ART
A8 | OCT 15 - OCT 21 , 2021
VISION TIMES
“The Coronation of the Virgin,” from “The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry,” Folio 60, back; between 1412 and 1416, by the Limbourg brothers. Tempera on vellum; 8.8 inches by 5.3 inches. Condé Museum, France. (R-G Ojéda/RMN/PD-US)
“Christ Being Led to the Praetorium,” from “The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry”. (PD-US)
July, from “The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry” . (R-G Ojéda/RMN/PD-US)
A n I l lu m i n a t i ng C a lend a r From
April, from “The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry” . (R-G Ojéda/RMN/PD-US)
The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry By Lorraine Ferrier
I
n the first half of the 15th century, Western Europe was at the tail end of the Hundred Years’ War, a series of conflicts between France and England to win the powerful kingdom of France. War and plague were rife. Turmoil, heartache, and despair were the mainstay for many medieval Europeans.
August,, from “The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry” . (R-G Ojéda/RMN/PD-US)
“The Feeding of the Multitudes,” from “The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry,” Folio 168. (PD-US) www.visiontimes.com
No one was left unscathed.
During such tumultuous times, strong faith and a mustering of some form of hope is necessary for day-to-day survival. As sure as the ebb and flow of night and day, the only constant in such challenging times is time itself. As such, a calendar helps us to move forward and to hope for both regularity and something better—the future. In Western art, one of the most exquisite calendars to be found is at the beginning of the 15th-century devotional manuscript “The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry.” The calendar contains lavishly decorated, idyllic scenes of medieval courtly and pastoral life alongside stunning medieval
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architecture—all painted in rich and often rare colors, embellished in gold. The entire 15th-century masterpiece by the Limbourg brothers is lauded as one of the best surviving examples of the late International Gothic style of illumination. As such, the illuminations had a huge impact not only on the style of illuminated manuscripts thereafter but also on the process of painting. For instance, art historian E.H. Gombrich in his book “The Story of Art” said of the preeminent 15th-century Netherlandish painter Jan van Eyck, “He rather pursued the methods of the brothers Limbourg, and brought them to such a pitch of perfection that he left the ideas of medieval art behind.” Van Eyck may have left medieval art behind, but the Limbourg brothers’ art continued to inspire artists. For instance, 16th-century Flemish artists copied the figures and sometimes whole compositions found in the calendar.
The Book of Hours
In Europe, books of hours were most popular between 1350 and 1480. In France, the manuscripts became popular in 1400 when
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pious patrons commissioned artists to create their personal book of hours: a lay version of the breviary used by clergy that consists of prayers and readings to be read at certain times of the day and night (the canonical hours of the liturgical day). Generally, each book of hours contains, at the beginning, a calendar of church feasts and saints’ days, often illuminated with the Labors of the Months. The order of the prayers and devotional practices differs in each book depending on the book’s owner and home region. Of all the illuminations, the Hours of the Virgin were deemed most important and were often the most opulently decorated.
‘The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry’
Commonly known as the Limbourg brothers, who were three Flemish miniature painters and brothers, Paul, Herman, and Jean created “The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry.” The brothers’ uncle Jean Malouel was the court painter for Philip the Bold (the Duke of Burgundy). For two years, Paul and Jean worked for the duke as well, and when the duke died in 1404, all three brothad.ny@visiontimes.com
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ers began working for the duke’s brother Prince Jean, the Duke of Berry, the third son of King Charles V of France. The duke was an extravagant art collector. He compiled a vast collection of illuminated manuscripts and a library of astronomical treatises, cartographical folios, Bibles, psalters, missals, and breviaries, including 15 books of hours. The duke commissioned the brothers to create two illuminated manuscripts. The first was “The Beautiful Hours of Jean of France, the Duke of Berry. Then between around 1412 and 1416, the brothers created “The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry” in France, now held at the Condé Museum in Chantilly, France. Production of the book halted in 1416 when the three brothers (all under 30 years old) and their patron, the Duke of Berry, died, many presume of the plague. The book was described as “The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry” in an inventory after the Duke of Berry’s death, in honor of its very ornate decoration and to distinguish the unbound, unfinished book from the 15 other books of hours in the duke’s collection. Many unknown experts such as
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September, from “The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry”. (PD-US)
October, from “The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry”. (PD-US)
January, from “The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry,” Folio 1, back; between 1412 and 1416, by the Limbourg brothers. Tempera on vellum; 8.8 inches by 5.3 inches. Condé Museum, France. (R-G Ojéda/RMN/PD-US)
painting that upheld the Byzantine tradition. The brothers painted using perspective, and they painted truer to life by incorporating solid figures, architecture, and even introducing shadows. But the figures still took on the more elongated look that was characteristic of the International Gothic style of painting. In addition, rather than incorporating the calendar’s illuminations into the text, as per tradition, the brothers included standalone miniatures that were set apart from the calligraphy.
Pioneering Illuminations
Winter
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November, from “The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry”. (PD-US)
May, from “The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry,” Folio 5, back; between 1412 and 1416, by the Limbourg brothers. Tempera on vellum; 8.8 inches by 5.3 inches. Condé Museum, France. (R-G Ojéda/RMN/PD-US)
calligraphers, gilders, and artists specializing in decorative borders made their mark on “The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry.” Besides the Limbourg brothers, two other illumination artists are known to have contributed to the manuscript. The first artist is thought to be the Netherlandish artist Barthélemy van Eyck, although some scholars disagree and call him the “intermediate painter” who, around 1440, finished some of the incomplete illuminations. Then between 1485 and 1489, the Duke of Savoy commissioned French miniature painter Jean Colombe to complete certain illuminations for the hours. Scholars have distinguished the different artists by the styles and costumes the figures wear. The Limbourg brothers’ style of illuminating was pioneering. Their illuminations are important in the development of the Northern traditions of landscape and genre painting. Of the 206 leaves that “The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry” contains, there is an unusually large number of illuminations: 66 larger miniatures and 65 smaller ones. According to the Visual Arts Cork website, when Paul visited Italy, he was inspired by the frescoes of the Italian painters Taddeo Gaddi (Giotto’s godson) and Ambrogio Lorenzetti. After his trip, Paul’s illuminations imitated and surpassed the Italian painters’ naturalistic renderings and simple linear perspective. In addition, all three brothers were influenced by Byzantine art, which they observed in the Sienese School of
The Calendar
At the top of each calendar illumination are the solar chariot, the days of the month, and the sign of the zodiac. Normally, December would show a pig being hunted in readiness for the duke’s Christmas feast.
Instead, Barthélemy van Eyck’s illumination is a scene deep in the forest, where hounds skin a wild boar. Vincennes Castle, the duke’s birthplace, peeks out above the trees. An abundant feast is underway in January, for which the Limbourg brothers have depicted a sumptuous meal with expensive food, drink, and tableware. The Duke of Berry sits at the table to the right in a distinctive fur hat and deep-blue cloak with gold motifs. Fleur de lis and swans are depicted up high on a tapestry. And the tapestry at the back indicates past battles won. February shows the duke’s servants working his land in the height of winter. The farmers have tended the sheep, and there are beehives on the land too. One man is goading a donkey up the hill to deliver goods to the village, another is chopping a tree for firewood, and others are inside warming themselves by a fire.
Spring
February, from “The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry,” Folio 2, back. (R-G Ojéda/RMN/PD-US)
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Farmers prepare the land in March in readiness to plant grapevines. A man steers two oxen pulling a plow, another readies himself with seed, and others seem to be tending the previous year’s grapevines. And in another field, a shepherd tends his sheep. In the top right corner of the illumination, a winged dragon, flying above the Duke of Berry’s Castle of Lusignan (Poitou), represents the fairy Mélusine. Mélusine is featured in folklore in France, the Low Countries, and Cyprus, as a lady with her lower body as either a fish or a serpent. In April, a couple exchange rings
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December, from “The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry”. (PD-US)
March, from “The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry,” Folio 3, back; between 1412 and 1416 and then circa 1440, by the Limbourg brothers and Barthélemy van Eyck. . (R-G Ojéda/RMN/PD-US)
as they get engaged in front of witnesses. The scene is full of graceful figures in both their dress and mannerisms, accentuated by their elongated limbs. The castle in the background could be Dourdan Castle, that still survives, or Pierrefonds Castle. Continuing April’s gaiety, trumpeters in May lead a party of youths into the forest to collect twigs and leaves to wear as crowns or necklaces, a spring tradition. The architecture in the background could be the City Palace in Paris, where the kings of France lived from the sixth to the 14th centuries.
Summer
In June, peasants on the banks of the river Seine can be seen making hay in a harmonious composition. The men to the right rhythmically scythe the grass, and the women rake the hay. More people can be spotted in a boat, complete with their shadows, and to the right of the boat on the castle walkway, people can be seen ascending the stairs in the distance. June’s backdrop is the City Palace in Paris (also seen in the April illumination). The church tower to the right is the palace chapel, St. Chapelle, a Gothic masterpiece. Pleasant and productive pastoral scenes continue in July, where peasants shear sheep and cut the harvest, with Poitiers Palace in the background. In August, a group on horseback, led by a falconer on foot, go out for a hunt. The falconer holds a stick that he will use to beat the bushes and encourage the game to take flight. Hunting dogs are there to encourage the birds to come out of hiding and to capture a bird once ad.ny@visiontimes.com
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it’s been shot. Étampes Castle is in the background, and the middle ground shows peasants working the fields, harvesting the sheaves of what may be wheat.
Fall
The Limbourg brothers, Barthélemy van Eyck, and Jean Colombe all contributed to the September illumination. In the foreground, farmers harvest the land. These figures are thought to have been painted by Colombe and don’t appear as elegant as those painted by the Limbourg brothers or van Eyck. Indeed, some of Colombe’s figures bring a humorous air to the calendar, but always at the farmers’ expense. Saumur Castle in Anjou is depicted in the September illumination in exquisite detail right down to the lily flower weathervanes seen on the castle’s turrets. For October, farmers on the banks of the Seine in Paris are plowing the land and sowing seed. Attention has been given to every little detail: The man sowing seed on the right has made footprints in the wet mud and the three boats further back behind him cast shadows. Louvre Castle is pictured in the background. The castle no longer exists, but Louvre Palace now stands on the site. Colombe painted the November illumination, which again contrasts with the more dainty illuminations by the other artists. Colombe depicted a peasant with his dog tending his swine. The swineherd is beating the oak trees with his stick to feed acorns to his pigs.
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ART
A10 | OCT 15 - OCT 21 , 2021
VISION TIMES
The Strength An d Fo r t i t u d e Of A Mu s i c a l Genius:
Tchaikovsky
Sleeping Beauty / Edward Frederick Brewtnall
By Vision Times Staff
Challenges and Setbacks
However, life as a musician was no smooth sailing for Tchaikovsky. Throughout his professional career, he was judged mercilessly, and many of his finest works were harshly criticized. His only concerto for violin,Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35, was written in 1878. Tchaikovsky intended its premiere to be performed by Leopold Auer. But Auer refused, expressing doubts about its “intrinsic worth” and believing it to be “impractical.” This piece was only performed in 1881, a full three years later, by Adolph Brodsky in Vienna. And even then critics called it “long and pretentious,” “odorously Russian,” and one critic said “the violin was not played but beaten black and blue.” If you listen to this piece of controversial violin concerto, performed by ShenYun Symphony Orchestra, you can judge for yourself. Did you hear the Russian tunes’ influence in this piece?
I
t was a cool spring in 1840, when a boy was born into a traditional military family, in the dusty industrial town of Votkinsk, 1300 km from Russia’s capital, Moscow. At that time, Russia had no system for public education in music and there was little opportunity for a musical career. This boy received an education to become a civil servant, and a civil servant he became. His father, Ilya, was a lieutenant colonel and engineer in the Department of Mines; his grandfather was city governor of Glazor in Viatka; and his greatgrandfather, Fyodor Chaika, served a distinguished service under Peter the Great in the Battle of Poltava in 1709. Despite his non-musical background, or perhaps because of it, this boy, Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky (Пётр Ильйч Чайковский), showed a keen interest in music and would grow up to become one of the world’s greatest composers in the Romantic Era. His works exhibited impressive harmonies and colorful melodies. They include a violin concerto, a string sextet, 3 ballets, 3 piano concertos, 3 string quartets, 4 cantatas, 5 suites, 7 symphonies, 11 operas, 11 overtures, 20 choral works, and more than 100 songs and piano pieces. Many of his pieces were renowned classics, such as Swan Lake Op. 20, The Sleeping Beauty Op. 66, Concerto No. 1 for Piano Op. 23, The Nutcracker Op. 71, and Roméo and Juliet Fantasy Overture. Listen to Tchaikovsky’s Waltz from Act I of the Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66 – ShenYun Symphony Orchestra:
(Public Domain)
Listen to Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35, 3rd Movement– ShenYun Symphony Orchestra:
Ironically, one of Tchaikovsky’s greatest achievements was his ability to integrate Russian Folk Tunes into Western musical traditions. In the words of Russian-born composer Igor Stravinsky, “Tchaikovsky drew unconsciously from the true, popular sources of our race.” Many claim that his music touches their hearts. Frequently overlooked was Tchaikovsky’s courage in facing up to criticism and challenges, and his determination to overcome his personal weaknesses.Tchaikovsky continued writing music and experimenting with new techniques and ideas, despite harsh criticism against his style of composing. The musician also suffered from irrational stage fright; he reportedly held his head while conducting, in fear that it would detach from his body. He conquered this fear in 1887, during the premiere of his opera Cherevichki. In 1891, he was invited to the US for the inauguration of Carnegie Hall in New York City. During his visit to the states, he successfully conducted before audiences in New York, Baltimore, and Philadelphia. Tchaikovsky’s admirable fortitude and strength are intrinsic values that no money could buy. Perhaps, in understanding the difficulties he overcame to create music, we can appreciate his work to an even greater extent.
Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky, born in Votkinsk, Russia in 1840, overcame many difficulties to become the world renowned composer we know and love today. Wikimedia Commons Public Domain
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CULTURE
VISION TIMES
OCT 15 - OCT 21, 2021 |
A11
The A nc ient Rom a n s bel ieved t h at t he gem cou ld help prote ct aga i n st poi son a nd c h a nge color when da nger wa s nea r to wa r n it s wea rer. The Eg y pt i a n s bel ieved t he stone re ceived it s color f rom t he golden g low of
Topaz, known as the stone of light, comes in many colors; the most valuable being the brilliant golden orange “Imperial Topaz.”
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Natural blue topaz is quite rare, but the blue color can also be achieved through heating methods applied to the more common clear topaz.
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opaz is an aluminum silicate mineral with fluorine. This gem grows as crystal formations within the veins and cavities of igneous rocks. Associated with minerals such as Gem enhancement quartz, fluorite, and tourmaline, it can be found in large orthorhombic crystals with vitreous luster and white streaks, The methods of artificial enhanceWith a Mohs hardness scale rating of ment have not changed much over 8, topaz is the third hardest gemstone the years. Many known types of treaton the planet after diamond (10) and ment are generally accepted, with the sapphire and ruby (both 9). As a piezo- exception of the extremely thin coatelectric gem, it can accumulate an elec- ings applied to quartz and topaz which trical charge when exposed wear and tear if not handled to pressure, which is said to with care. last for hours. Heat treatment is generally Yellow, pink, orange, red, considered a continuation of purple, and blue topaz are the natural process, since it among the most expenonly uses heat, and produces sive and uncommon natstable colors. Heating brownural topaz hues. The Porish-orange topaz (known as tuguese people refer to the ‘pinking’) removes the brown colorless topaz as “pingos from the color, leaving a pure d’água,” which translates pink. Heating will make yelas “drops of water.” Since low-brown or blue topaz colorthe vast majority of topaz less, but color can be restored through oils or other agents is colorless, cut stones are Topaz ring stone that are ‘impregnated’ into the often referred to as “silver Hermes holding the topaz.” kerykeion (herald's staff) stone to restore the hues. Natural pink and natu- and chlamys.Adaptation In terms of both value and ral blue topaz have always of a Greek work of the appeal, blue topaz is unquesbeen extremely rare. Nat- 4th century B.C. tionably the most significant ural blue topaz deposits (Image:CC0) irradiated gem. Various radimay be found worldwide, ation procedures determine with the finest material whether the stone is sky, Swiss, coming from Brazil, Russia, and Zim- or London blue. Other hues range from babwe. Blue topaz is considered one electric blue to neon blue. of the birthstones for November and Topaz is also known as a pleochroic December, or Sagittarius, in Western gemstone, which means that various Astrology. hues may be seen from different angles when the gem is moved about in the light. For example, a Red Topaz may exhibit dark reds, yellows, and pinkish reds depending on the angle from which it is viewed.
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The wo rld o f g e m sto n e s is v ib ra nt a nd d y n am ic, wi t h p re ci o u s s to n e s have l on g hav in g b e e n con s id e re d to h ave gre a t aes the t ic, s p i r itu al , an d p ra c t i c a l si gn ifican ce. To p a z , i n it s d az z l i ng va r iety of co l or s , i s o ne of t he m os t p o p u l a r and go rge o u s g e m s aro u n d . Ma ny h u e s are n atu ral l y o ccu rrin g, w h i l e othe rs are c re a t e d u si n g s t on e t re a t me n t techn iqu e s .
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History and lore Although the term Topaz has a long and illustrious history, it is likely that it often referred to a completely different stone called chrysolite, or peridot, in the ancient past; as all yellow stones were called topazes. Pliny the Elder (23 – 79 AD), author of Natural History, connected the name to a legendary gem island in the Red Sea via the Greek term “Topazos,” which means “to seek.” The island lies about 60 miles southeast of Egypt’s Ras Banas Peninsula and is now called Zabargad Island. The term ‘imperial topaz’ was first coined in Russian literature in the eighteenth century. At the time, the Ural Mountains were the world’s largest source of topaz, and the pink topaz mined there was named in honor of Czar Nicholas II, who reigned during that time. The gemstone was so rare it was only available for purchase by members of the royal family. Topaz is unique in that it can develop into massive crystals. In 1944, a 350tonne crystal was claimed to have been discovered in Mugui, Brazil. Another large crystal was discovered in Brazil in 1740. Believed to be a 1680 carat diamond, it was brought to Portugal to be set in the Royal Crown jewels. The diamond turned out to be a huge clear Topaz. This stunning gemstone is still on display today. Topaz was considered to be a source of power by the ancient Greeks. During the Renaissance (roughly the time between the 1300s and the 1600s), many in Europe believed that topaz could break magic spells and remove rage.
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The Ancient Romans believed that the gem could help protect against poison and change color when danger was near to warn its wearer. The Egyptians believed the stone received its color from the golden glow of the Sun God – Ra. In ancient India, a Hindu magician possessed one such stone, which he would loan out on occasion. This restorative jewel was requested once by a great raja during the heat of a battle. The magician took it to the fighting scene, but while searching for the rajah, he was overcome by an evil force and fell, dying to the ground. As he breathed his last, he heard a wounded soldier crying for help. With the last of his strength, he threw the topaz to the man gasping that he must place the gem against his heart. The soldier did so and miraculously lived to tell the tale. That is why for ages, many people in India have held the belief that wearing topaz over the heart ensures a long life for themselves and their loved ones. A legendary story about the beautiful gem tells how Lady Hildegarde, the wife of Theodoric, Count of Holland, reportedly gave a huge golden topaz to a convent in the 1100s. The stone was so bright that it used to illuminate the chapel at night by which the congregation read their prayers. At one point, a thieving monk was said to have stolen the precious specimen. Though he did not repent of his crime, the monk became afraid that he would be accused of sacrilege, so he threw the topaz into the sea. Neither the monk nor the topaz was ever seen again.
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HEALTH
A12 | OCT 15 - OCT 21 , 2021
VISION TIMES
Traditional Chinese Tips
for Boosting Your Immunity This Fall Part 2
3
By Crystal Fang, MD
Learn to manage stress and regulate emotions
Continued from the previous issue
2
Nourish your body with a healthy, antiinflammatory diet
From years of research, it is becoming increasingly clear that chronic inflammation is the root cause of many serious diseases, including heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease. Stress, lack of exercise, genetic predisposition, and exposure to toxins (like secondhand tobacco smoke) can all contribute to this condition, but dietary choices have an impact as well. Research has found that diet plays a big role in changing the inflammatory milieu of the body. Dr. Andrew Weil, world-renowned integrative medicine expert, has written extensively on the anti-inflammatory (AI) diet. According to him, the AI diet is aimed at selecting and preparing anti-inflammatory foods based on scientific knowledge of how they can help our body maintain optimum health. Along with influencing inflammation, this diet will naturally provide steady energy, along with ample vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, dietary fiber, and protective phytonutrients.
General recommendations of the AI diet:
• Aim for variety and include as much fresh food as possible • Consume omega-3 fatty acids from fish, or Taking fish oil supplement • Avoid processed food and simple carbs (to prevent rapid blood sugar surge) • Eat plenty of vegetables and fruits Some integrative medicine experts recommend at least 5–7 servings of vegetables and 2–3 servings of fruit daily. A large lunch salad can provide 3-5 servings. Onions, garlic, parsley, celery, apples, tomatoes, oranges, nuts, and berries are highly recommended. Also, green tea and Curcumin are potent antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents. Dr. Weil recommends adapting one’s commonly used recipes to include these anti-inflammatory foods. If it is difficult to meet the recommended quantities, he suggests taking supplements such as Vitamin C, Vitamin D, and Zinc. Food to protect the lungs and cleanse the intestines According to Chinese medicine, the element metal, associated with fall and the lung/large intestine, is linked to white color and pungent taste, thus many foods, especially spicy, white foods, have an essence that supports the lung and its partner, the large Intestine. Excessive spices, however, can be irritating so caution is warranted. Individual tolerance, body disposition and health condition are equally important in diet modification.
Some integrative medicine experts recommend at least 5–7 servings of vegetables and 2–3 servings of fruit daily. A large lunch salad can provide 3-5 servings. Onions, garlic, parsley, celery, apples, tomatoes, oranges, nuts, and berries are highly recommended.
Some good choices of food to strengthen the lungs include:
• Grain: Fiber rich grains such as brown rice • Vegetables: Sweet potato, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, celery, watercress, turnip greens, mustard greens, and all the root vegetables, including daikon radish, carrots, lotus root, turnip. • Beans: soybeans, navy beans, great northern beans, tofu, and tempeh. • Fish: haddock, herring, flounder, halibut, scrod, and carp. • Fruit: Pears, peaches, loquat. • Herbs: Dill, basil, fennel, bay leaf, coriander, thyme, and licorice. • Spices: Garlic, dill, fresh grated ginger, horseradish
Stress weakens one’s immunity and increases our risk of getting all kinds of sicknesses, from the most basic respiratory infection, to cancer. Prolonged, tense and unresolved emotions can magnify the impact of stress. There are many different strategies to regulate stress and emotions, whether it’s long walks, deep breathing, guided imagery, yoga, tai chi, meditation, or qigong. The goal is to help one relax. Choose a method that works for you and stick with it. Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes being in tune with our bodies and how nature affects us; so adjusting our lifestyles to coincide with the change in season becomes instinctual. Along with relaxation exercises, eating healthy foods, and following a sleep schedule to enhance lung and intestinal health will help prime our immune functions, and facilitate the management of stress and emotion.
Tips for Everyday Lung Health
• Maintain good posture to open up the chest • Maintain regular bowel movement • Clean up both physically and mentally • Rearrange furniture to open up space • Declutter: Let go of things you no longer need • Donate, helping yourself and others • Avoid smoking • Bundle up in windy and cold weather, especially your chest and neck to conserve lung energy Learning to honor the changing needs of our bodies within the cycles of the seasons is a powerful way to become one with nature and maximize our innate immune power. Still, relapses are normal with the process of developing new healthy habits. Negative thinking and foul moods will test us during the process of changing.
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