NEW YOR K | DC EDITION
0 0
In the News
NEWS
The U.S. intelligence com-
munity has assessed that
violent extremists in the
country are posing a “height-
ened threat” in 2021, an un-
classified threat assessment
shows. ... A7
The IRS is extending the
deadline for taxpayers to file
their taxes to May 17. ... A4
Sen. Rand Paul and Dr.
Anthony Fauci have clashed
over whether people need to
continue wearing masks due
to the CCP virus. ... A2
Iowa’s General Assembly
has approved a bill that would
let residents carry and pur-
chase guns without a permit.
... A3
The House has passed the
Violence Against Women
Act, a bill designed to pro-
tect women from domestic
violence. ... A8
The European Union’s drug
regulator says that the As-
traZeneca CCP virus vaccine
is “safe and effective” follow-
ing reports of death and ad-
verse effects. ... A11
A House resolution that
would remove a deadline
for states to ratify the Equal
Rights Amendment is “bra-
zenly unconstitutional,” Rep.
Tom McClintock says. ... A2
House Minority Leader
Kevin McCarthy has filed
a resolution to remove Rep.
Eric Swalwell from the House
Intelligence Committee over
alleged ties with a Chinese
Communist Party spy. ... A5
Facebook says that it has
implemented changes that
seek to reduce the reach of,
and in some cases ban, groups
that violate its policies. ... A6
CHINA
The National Association
of Manufacturers has urged
President Joe Biden to adopt
a tough China policy to ensure
a level playing field for Ameri-
can businesses. ... A9
Japan’s popular messaging
app LINE recently admitted
that its users’ personal data
stored on its server in Japan
could be accessed by China-
based contractors. ... A9
BUSINESS
Corporate “woke-ism” is
fueling a populist surge in the
Republican Party that threat-
ens to upend its longstanding
pact with big business, an in-
sider says. ... A17
U.S. jobless claims rose to
770,000 last week, suggest-
ing that layoffs remain high
despite the U.S. economy’s
steady recovery from the
pandemic. ... A17
OPINION
Betsy McCaughey: The Bor-
der Crisis May Be Coming to
Your Kids’ School... A13
Brian Cates: Why Haven’t the
Durham or Hunter Biden Inves-
tigations Ended Yet?...A14
Cal Thomas: Now Come the
Taxes... A16
FEATURES
The tiny Hawaiian island
of Kauai, home to 67,000
residents, has a relaxed and
welcoming feel. ...B4
Few places match the mod-
ern energy of Cairo, Egypt’s
capital, which serves as a gi-
ant, open-air museum. ...B1
DON’T DELAY.
SUBSCRIBE TODAY.
READEPOCH.COM
Published in New York,
Washington, Houston, Chicago,
Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
| F R I D A Y, M A R C H 19 , 2 0 21
Police hold up warning banners to pro-democracy supporters gathering ahead of court
US–CHINA appearances by dozens of dissidents charged with subversion, in Hong Kong on March 1, 2021.
Lawmakers Voice Support for Sanctioning
Chinese and Hong Kong Officials
State Department to sanction 24 officials over Chinese
Communist Party’s crackdown on Hong Kong’s freedoms
BY FRANK FANG
U
.S. lawmakers from both
sides of the aisle have ex-
pressed support for the
State Department’s de-
cision to sanction 24 Chinese and
Hong Kong officials over Beijing’s
continued clampdown on Hong
Kong’s freedoms.
“The timing of the announcement Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) speaks at a
sends a clear signal that the U.S. Senate hearing in Washington on April
government remains serious about 11, 2019.
Miles of unused pipe, prepared for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, sit in a lot
outside Gascoyne, N.D., on Oct. 14, 2014.
ENERGY
21 States Sue Biden Administration
Over Revoking Keystone XL Permit
BY JANITA KAN
A coalition of states has filed a law-
suit against President Joe Biden and
his administration over the presi-
dent’s decision to revoke a permit
for the Keystone XL pipeline.
Led by Texas and Montana, 21
states have jointly filed a lawsuit
against Biden arguing that the presi-
dent didn’t have the authority to uni-
laterally change an energy policy that
Congress had set when he revoked
the permit on his first day in office.
PANDEMIC
Most K-12 Parents
Want Schools to
Reopen: Poll
BY ZACHARY STIEBER
Republicans overwhelmingly want
schools to reopen, and most Demo-
crats and independents do as well,
according to a recently released poll.
Some 94 percent of Republican
respondents to a Gallup survey said
they support providing in-person
Continued on A4
Accuracy The Epoch Times was founded in 2000 as an independent newspaper with the goal to restore accuracy and
integrity in media. We have received numerous awards for our reporting, including from the Society of Professional
& Integrity Journalists, the Society for News Design, and the New York Press Association.
Truth & Tradition
ALEX WROBLEWSKI/GETTY IMAGES
ANDREW BURTON/GETTY IMAGES
The lawsuit argues that only Con-
gress has the power to regulate inter-
state and international commerce,
including granting or rejecting per-
mits for oil pipelines that cross an
international border.
“Since his first day in office, Presi-
dent Biden has made it his mission
to undo all the progress of the previ-
ous administration, with complete
disregard for the  Constitutional
limits on his power. His decision
to revoke the pipeline permit is not
Continued on A7
BORDER SECURITY
Former ICE Chief: ‘Whole Nation a
Sanctuary’ for Illegal Immigrants
BY CHARLOTTE CUTHBERTSON
Actions taken by the Biden
administration have creat-
ed a “sanctuary” for illegal
immigrants, shielding them
from immigration enforce- Former ICE
ment across the nation, ac- Acting Director ministration issued a memo
cording to Tom Homan, for- Tom Homan. to temporarily suspend de-
mer acting director of Immigration portations of illegal aliens, a key
and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Continued on A6
PETER PARKS/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
holding the Chinese government
accountable,” said Sen. Jeff Merkley
(D-Ore.) and Rep. James McGovern
(D-Mass.), who lead the Congres-
sional-Executive Commission on
China, on March 17.
“We will continue to speak in
defense of the Hong Kong people
against the oppression of an au-
thoritarian system.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken
said in a statement that the sanctions
Continued on A9
NEW YORK
Columbia
University Plans
Extra Graduation
Ceremonies
Based on Race,
Income, Gender
Critics see leftist
indoctrination sowing
division and imposing
segregation with
‘multicultural graduation’
BY MATTHEW VADUM
Columbia University in New York
is planning to conduct six addi-
tional graduation ceremonies for
students according to their race,
ethnic backgrounds, income level,
and other self-identifications—a
move that critics labeled as undo-
ing the work of the civil rights era
and taking a step toward re-segre-
gating society.
The school’s website provides de-
tails of upcoming graduation cer-
emonies for Native, Asian, “Latinx,”
and black students scheduled for
late April for Columbia College,
Continued on A3
During his first day in of-
fice, President Joe Biden
issued a slew of executive
orders on immigration and
border security.
Aside from halting border
wall construction, the ad-
VOL . X V I I I | N O . 2 , 9 21 $1.
NIGERIA
Daring School
Abductions
Embarrass
Nigerian Army
BY DOUGLAS G. BURTON
Bandits are kidnapping masses of
students and teachers with impu-
nity in Nigeria’s wild northwestern
states, prompting calls for the tem-
porary closure of schools.
Students heading into class on
March 15 at 9:00 a.m. at an ele-
mentary school in Rama village in
Birnin Gwari, 40 miles west of Ka-
duna City, were confronted by ban-
dits on motorcycles who abducted
three of their teachers and drove
off to their forest refuge nearby, ac-
cording to media reports.
This copycat mass
kidnapping by bandits on
the most vulnerable citizens
is happening all over again
and is appalling.
David Otto, consultant, Geneva Centre
for Security and Strategic Studies
Just a day earlier, an abduction at
the Government Science Second-
ary School at Ikara, in Kaduna state,
was thwarted by security guards
who responded promptly to dis-
tress calls from students, accord-
ing to the Stefanos Foundation, a
Christian NGO.
Yet, 39 students and faculty at the
Federal College of Forestry Mech-
anization who were abducted the
morning of March 12 have been
less lucky. They were spending their
seventh day of captivity under a for-
est canopy, according to a police
commissioner who spoke to The
Epoch Times.
Continued on A10
CHRISTIAN PETERSEN/GETTY IMAGES
Women compete in the women’s
60-meter hurdles final during the 2020
Toyota USATF Indoor Championships
in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Feb.
15, 2020.
CONGRESS
Female Athletes
Denied Chance to
Testify to Senate Panel
About Equality Act
BY MARK TAPSCOTT
Three present and former Connecti-
cut high school biological female
athletes were barred from testify-
ing on March 17 before the Senate
Judiciary Committee hearing on the
Equality Act that recently passed
the House of Representatives. The
Equality Act prohibits discrimina-
tion on the basis of sex, sexual ori-
entation, and gender identity.
Continued on A5
US–CHINA
BLINKEN ON
BOYCOTTING BEIJING
OLYMPICS
“For now, we’re
just listening to
the concerns
we’ve heard
expressed from m
many countriess
around the world,”
ld,”
Secretary of State
ate
Antony Blinken said.
Read more on A2
A2 | NATION
Resolution Axing Deadline to Ratify Equal Rights
Amendment ‘Brazenly Unconstitutional’: Rep. McClintock
TOM OZIMEK
The House on March 17 adopted
a resolution that would remove
a deadline for states to ratify the
Equal Rights Amendment (ERA),
a move that Rep. Tom McClintock
(R-Calif.) called “brazenly uncon-
stitutional.”
The resolution to repeal the ERA’s
ratification deadline passed 222–
204, with four Republicans join-
ing all Democrats in voting for the
measure. The amendment would
abridge the U.S. Constitution by
adding language that bans dis-
crimination on the basis of sex.
But besides substantive debate
around the merits of the amend-
ment, there is the question of a
deadline for its ratification—one
that both the Department of Jus-
tice (DOJ) and a federal court have
stated has long since passed.
McClintock on March 17 cited
the late Supreme Court Justice
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, one of the
biggest advocates of the amend-
ment, as saying that it was time to
start the process from the begin-
ning and renew the discussion on
its merits.
“This measure is brazenly un-
constitutional,” McClintock said.
“If the majority were serious, they
would reintroduce the ERA and
debate it openly and constitution-
ally as Ginsburg suggests.”
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.),
chairman of the House Judiciary
Committee, argued that Congress
has the authority to extend or re-
move any deadlines it chose to set
previously.
“We are on the brink of making
history and no deadline should
stand in the way,” Nadler said.
Supporters of the ERA, includ-
ing President Joe Biden, see it as
an important provision to protect
women’s rights under the Consti-
tution.
In a March 17 statement, Biden
noted that he supported the ERA
when he was a young senator.
“Nearly 50 years later, it is long
past time that we enshrine the
principle of gender equality in our
Constitution,” he said.
Opponents have raised various
arguments against the measure,
including that it is superfluous, as
Sen. Paul, Fauci Clash Over
COVID-19 Mask Requirements
JACK PHILLIPS
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and in-
fectious disease expert Dr. An-
thony Fauci clashed over whether
people need to continue wearing
masks due to the CCP virus.
“You’re telling everyone to wear
a mask,” Paul said. “If we’re not
spreading the infection, isn’t it
just theater? You have the vaccine
and you’re wearing two masks,
isn’t that theater?”
Fauci then accused Paul of en-
gaging in “theater” and stated
that emerging COVID-19 variants
are a good reason “for a mask.”
“You’re making policy based on
conjecture,” Paul said, saying that
Fauci wants people to wear masks
“for another couple of years.”
In recent weeks, Fauci has faced
increasing criticism for making
predictions about the virus that
ultimately didn’t materialize
while also repeatedly issuing
warnings about the CCP virus
spreading due to a relaxation in
lockdowns.
“You’ve been vaccinated and
you parade around in two masks
for show,” Paul told Fauci. “If you
already have immunity, you’re
wearing a mask to give comfort to
others. You’re not wearing a mask
because of any science.”
According to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), individuals who have
been vaccinated are advised to
still wear a mask.
Fauci responded that “masks
are not theater” and he “totally
The U.S. Capitol in Washington on March 8, 2021.
the 14th Amendment already af-
fords equal rights to all citizens,
which implicitly includes women.
Some have argued that the amend-
ment could potentially even weak-
en protections for women by ne-
gating the enactment of laws that
benefit only women. Others have
argued that, since the amend-
ment doesn’t specify women, its
language could be used to upset
traditional gender norms, and it
could pave the way for more per-
missive laws on abortion.
Speaking on the House floor
ahead of the vote, Rep. Vicky
Hartzler (R-Mo.) called the mea-
sure “a path that has already
proven to be a threat to women’s
privacy, safety, and equality.”
“Don’t take it from me. Talk to
the nine women in California
who were sexually harassed in
a women’s shelter by a biological
male identifying as a woman,”
Hartzler said. “The Equal Rights
Amendment would not only
codify inequality for women but
also destroy the rights of the un-
born. ERA advocates have been
unequivocal about their support
for abortion and using the ERA to
overturn pro-life laws.”
The text of the ERA reads:
disagree[s]” with Paul’s state-
ment.
In January, Paul said during a
Fox News interview that people
who have been vaccinated should
discard their masks.
“If you’ve had the disease or
you’ve been vaccinated and
you’re several weeks out of your
second dose, throw your mask
away and tell Dr. Fauci to take a
leap because, once you have im-
munity, you don’t need to do this,”
the Kentucky Republican said at
the time.
This week, Fauci suggested that
three-feet distancing between
schoolchildren, rather than six
feet, could be good enough fol-
lowing a study that was published
last week.
The CDC stated in updated
guidance on March 8 that fully
vaccinated people don’t have to
wear a mask or physically dis-
tance themselves from others
who are also fully vaccinated or
those who are unvaccinated but
“are at low risk for severe COV-
ID-19 disease.”
“There are some activities that
fully vaccinated people can be-
gin to resume now in their own
homes,” CDC Director Rochelle P.
Walensky said in a press release.
“Taking steps towards relaxing
certain measures for vaccinated
persons may help improve CO-
VID-19 vaccine acceptance and
uptake.”
Meiling Lee contributed
to this report.
“Section 1: Equality of rights un-
der the law shall not be denied or
abridged by the United States or by
any state on account of sex.
“Section 2: The Congress shall
have the power to enforce, by ap-
propriate legislation, the provi-
sions of this article.
“Section 3: This amendment
shall take effect two years after
the date of ratification.”
The fight over the ERA began al-
most a century ago. The amend-
ment was first proposed in Con-
gress in 1923 and was passed in
1972, where it then went to the
states for ratification, according
to the Alice Paul Institute. Con-
gress gave the states a seven-year
deadline, which was then extend-
ed until 1982, but only 35 states
had ratified the amendment, fall-
ing short of the necessary 38 state
ratifications, or three-quarters of
the 50 states, as required by the
Constitution.
In January 2020, the DOJ issued
a legal opinion arguing that the
deadline to ratify the ERA had
already expired despite recent
efforts to revive the proposed
amendment.
Just weeks ago, a federal district
judge dealt a further blow to ad-
‘Listening to Concerns:’ US Secretary of State Doesn’t Rule
Out Boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics
ZACHARY STIEBER
The U.S. secretary of state on
March 17 didn’t rule out a U.S.
boycott of the 2022 Beijing Win-
ter Olympics.
“We’ve heard the many con-
cerns around the world about the
prospect of those Olympics given
the actions that China has taken
both at home in terms of its abuse
of human rights when it comes to
the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, other
minorities, or, of course, what’s
happening in Hong Kong, the
increasing tensions as a result
of its actions with regard to Tai-
wan,” Secretary of State Antony
Blinken told an outlet in Japan
while traveling.
“And we’ve heard a lot of those
concerns, and we will continue
to talk to other countries around
the world to hear what they’re
thinking, and at the appropriate
time we’ll decide what to do. But
for now, we’re just listening to the
concerns we’ve heard expressed
from many countries around the
world.”
A number of prominent voices
in the United States have urged
the Biden administration to con-
sider a full or partial boycott of
the Winter Olympics, given how
the Chinese Communist Party
(CCP) is committing what U.S.
officials have described as a
genocide against the Uyghurs, a
predominantly Muslim Turkic
ethnic group.
Both President Joe Biden and
Blinken have agreed with the
FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021
ALEX WONG/GETTY IMAGES
An activist holds a copy of the U.S.
Constitution during a news confer-
ence calling for the ratification of the
Equal Rights Amendment on Capitol
Hill in Washington April 30, 2019.
vocates of the ERA, ruling that the
deadline to ratify it “expired long
ago” and three states’ recent ratifi-
cations of the amendment arrived
too late to count.
In 2020, Virginia, Illinois, and
Nevada sued the archivist of the
United States to compel the pub-
lication and certification of the
ERA as the 28th Amendment to
the Constitution. The three states
recently ratified the ERA, with
Virginia claiming to be the 38th
Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a virtual meet and greet
with U.S. Embassy staff at the U.S. ambassador’s residence in Tokyo on
March 16, 2021.
genocide assessment.
The CCP is also carrying out oth-
er human rights abuses, such as
the persecution of the Falun Gong
spiritual group and a continued
crackdown on Christians.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) recently
asked Biden to meet with him to
discuss his efforts to relocate the
2022 Games.
“Under no circumstance should
the global community give Com-
munist China an international
platform to whitewash its crimes,
which is what will happen if they
are allowed to host the 2022 Olym-
pic Games in Beijing,” Scott wrote.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) re-
cently floated an economic and
diplomatic boycott, while allow-
ing athletes to participate in the
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
state to ratify—and the final one
required to meet the threshold for
adding it to the Constitution.
One of the ERA’s opponents,
Washington-based pro-life orga-
nization National Right to Life, in-
sists that the deadline to pass the
amendment expired decades ago
and that congressional resolutions
that seek to revive it are unconsti-
tutional.
Douglas Johnson, National Right
to Life’s senior policy adviser, told
CNN that the idea that the act  has
been ratified or is close to ratifica-
tion is “political theater.”
“The Constitution does not em-
power Congress to employ time
travel to resuscitate a 42-year-dead
amendment,” Johnson told the
outlet, adding that the congressio-
nal resolution is part of a “political-
pressure campaign to intimidate
the federal courts into permitting
them to air-drop the long-expired
ERA into the Constitution.”
Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), the
sponsor of the resolution to repeal
the ratification deadline, said, “We
demand that we be put into the
Constitution.”
Janita Kan and The Associated
Press contributed to this report.
KIM KYUNG-HOON/POOL/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
Beijing Olympics.
White House press secretary
Jen Psaki said on Feb. 25 that the
United States hasn’t made a “final
decision” on the country’s par-
ticipation in the Olympics, adding
that it would look for “guidance
from the U.S. Olympic Commit-
tee.” Earlier in the month, Psaki
signaled that there were no plans
to boycott the Games.
Blinken and Biden’s national se-
curity adviser Jake Sullivan are set
to meet with Chinese officials in
Alaska on March 18. It will be the
first high-level in-person meet-
ing between the two nations since
Biden took office.
Cathy He and Frank Fang
contributed to this report.
 FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021
University Plans
Extra Graduation
Ceremonies Based on
Race, Income, Gender
CONTINUED FROM A1
Columbia Engineering, General
Studies,  and Barnard College.
Another ceremony, “FLI Gradua-
tion” is for “first generation and/or
low income community,” and the
“Lavender” graduation is intended
for the “LGBTIAQ+ community.”
Because of continuing pandem-
ic-related restrictions, the events
are expected to take place online.
Congratulations
are in order for lib-
erals and Colum-
bia University for
successfully bring-
ing segregation
back by packag-
ing it as ‘diversity
inclusion.’
Candace Owens,
conservative commentator
“In honor of Columbia’s di-
verse student community and
complementing the school- and
University-wide graduation cer-
emonies, we are proud to also of-
fer Multicultural Graduation Cel-
ebrations, which provide a more
intimate setting for students who
self-identify in a variety of ways,”
a university webpage states.
“These events invite community
members to reflect on personal
growth and community experi-
ences that have impacted their
time as students through to gradu-
ation. All students are invited to
participate in these celebrations.”
The university is also offering
participants a “multicultural
graduation gift (e.g., stole, tassel,
pin, or other gift).”
Critics weren’t buying Colum-
bia’s explanation for the gaggle
Democrat Congressman to Introduce
Resolution to Expel Rep. Greene
JACK PHILLIPS
A Democratic lawmaker said he will
introduce a resolution to expel Rep.
Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) from
Congress.
Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) said
Greene should be removed from
office because she “had previously
supported social media posts call-
ing for political violence against the
Speaker of the House, members of
Congress, and former President
Barack Obama.” According to his
office in a statement on March 18,
he said about 72 Democrats support
the resolution.
For Congress to expel a member, it
requires a two-thirds majority; that
would require the support of a num-
ber of Republicans in the House.
Greene criticized Gomez’s resolu-
tion in a March 18 statement to The
Epoch Times.
“There is nothing more threat-
ening to Democrats than strong
Republican women,” she said via
a spokesperson. “Democrats are
trying [to] overturn the will of the
American people who voted for both
myself and Congresswoman Miller-
Meeks. This is a continuation of the
House Democrats’ war on women!”
The freshman lawmaker was refer-
ring to a House panel’s investigation
into the Iowa congressional race be-
tween Rep. Marianne Miller-Meeks
(R-Iowa) and Democrat Hita Hart.
Miller-Meeks won the race by six
votes.
Gomez, in his statement about
the resolution, echoed comments
made by fellow Democrats weeks
ago, saying that Greene’s com-
ments and the fact she is in office
of graduation gatherings. Mary
Grabar, resident fellow at the Al-
exander Hamilton Institute for
the Study of Western Civilization
and the author most recently of
“Debunking the 1619 Project,” sees
the multiplicity of graduation cer-
emonies as the inevitable product
of leftist indoctrination in the edu-
cation system.
“This is the logical outcome of
replacing literary classics with
‘multicultural literature’ and
American and World history with
histories of various groups. What
category are they reserving for
white students who are neither
gay nor first generation? ‘White
Privileged?’ Of course, these will
be the pariahs, and that has been
the plan all along,” she told The
Epoch Times.
“The plan is to sow division and
implement demonization.
“I saw it coming when I started
teaching in the 1990s. This is the
logical outcome.”
Conservative commentator Can-
dace Owens mocked the ceremo-
nies in a tweet.
“Congratulations are in order for
liberals and Columbia University
for successfully bringing segrega-
tion back by packaging it as ‘diver-
sity inclusion.’ Just one question:
which ceremony do bi-racial chil-
dren attend?” she wrote.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) also
criticized the university’s plans on
his Twitter page in a series of posts.
“The endpoint of critical race
theory: segregation. Critical race
theory is the belief that people
have value based on the color
of their skin, and that our race
defines everything about us. It’s
not just false—it’s dangerous.” he
wrote.
“The problem is not just one
‘woke’ university embracing dis-
crimination.
“Critical race theory is being
pushed on our kids at school,
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) speaks during a press conference on Cap-
itol Hill in Washington on Feb. 5, 2021.
There is nothing
more threatening
to Democrats than
strong Republican
women.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene
“represents a direct threat against
the elected officials and staff who
serve our government.”
House Democrats already led a
successful effort to strip Greene of
her political committee assignments
over her previous social media posts
and comments. Previously, Greene
denounced the move as a form of
“cancel culture” that is intended to
silence conservative voices.
“These were words of the past, and
A woman walks on the Columbia University campus in New York on March 9, 2020.
Then-President Donald Trump speaks during the White House Conference on
American History at the National Archives in Washington on Sept. 17, 2020.
it’s peddled by HR departments
at corporations, and the Biden
administration has embraced it
under the guise of ‘racial equity.’”
At the White House Conference
on American History on Sept. 17,
2020, President Donald Trump
rejected what he called a false,
cynical version of American his-
tory now being taught in schools.
There is a “left-wing cultural
revolution” underway that “is de-
signed to overthrow the American
Revolution,” said Trump, who also
said “left-wing rioting and may-
hem are the direct result of de-
ALEX EDELMAN/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
these things do not represent me,”
Greene said in February. “They do
not represent my district, and they
do not represent my values.”
Greene also criticized several Re-
publican House members who voted
along with Democrats in the effort
to remove her from the committees.
“There were 10 that voted for
impeachment against President
[Donald] Trump and they definitely
paid the price. They heard from
Republican voters. There were 11
that voted against me yesterday and
that’s something that our leaders
should be very upset about,” she said
at the time, adding that when “you
have Republicans in the ranks voting
against one of their own, opening
the door for Democrats to go after
every single Republican next, that
really is a big betrayal and that could
cost us the majority in ’22.”
SAUL LOEB/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
cades of left-wing indoctrination
in our schools” that has “gone on
far too long.”
“Propaganda tracts, like those
of [the late communist profes-
sor] Howard Zinn,” are used
in schools “to make students
ashamed of their own history,”
the president said.
“The left has warped, distorted,
and defiled the American story
with deceptions, falsehoods, and
lies.
“Nothing could be further from
the truth. America’s founding set
in motion the unstoppable chain
Iowa House Passes Bill to Let Residents
Buy, Carry Guns Without Permits
ZACHARY STIEBER
Iowa’s House of Representatives
approved a measure on March 17
that would allow Iowans to pur-
chase and carry firearms without
a permit, sending the measure to
the Senate for consideration.
House File 756 passed 60–37, with
all Republicans voting for it, along
with Democratic state Rep. Wes
Breckenridge. Republicans have
a majority in the Senate and pre-
viously passed a similar piece of
legislation through a committee.
Iowans currently must get a per-
mit to buy a handgun, even if the
sale is private.
Under the proposal, that re-
quirement would be annulled.
Individuals would still have to fol-
low federal law and go through an
instant background check to buy
from licensed sellers each time
they purchase a gun. They could
choose to get a permit instead,
which is issued by sheriff depart-
ments and is good for five years.
Sales between individuals
wouldn’t require a background
check. Additionally, to carry a
weapon, people wouldn’t need
to have a permit.
“These proposals recognize that
the right to keep and bear arms is
a fundamental right, not a privi-
lege, and that Iowans should not
be required to get a permission
slip and pay a fee in order to pur-
chase a firearm and practice their
fundamental Second Amend-
ment rights,” state Rep. Steven
Holt, a Republican who sponsored
the bill, said on the House floor
before the vote.
Iowa is one of 22 states, along
NATION | A3
JEENAH MOON/GETTY IMAGES
of events that abolished slavery,
secured civil rights, defeated com-
munism and fascism, and built the
most fair, equal, and prosperous
nation in human history.”
Asked by The Epoch Times if Co-
lumbia University was concerned
that it appeared to favor re-seg-
regating the races by hosting all
these various gatherings, a uni-
versity spokesperson responded
with an emailed statement.
“Columbia marks graduation ev-
ery spring with a university-wide
Commencement ceremony and
Class Days for the graduates of
each of our schools,” the spokes-
person said.
“These events bringing togeth-
er all of our graduates and their
families are a high point of ev-
ery academic year. The smaller
celebratory events held for par-
ticular communities are in addi-
tion to, not instead of, the main
Commencement and Class Day
graduation ceremonies. In most
instances, these smaller, multi-
cultural gatherings evolved from
ceremonies originally created by
alumni and students.
“The gatherings are voluntary,
open to every student who wants
to participate, and have become a
highly anticipated and meaning-
ful part of the Columbia gradua-
tion experience.”
with the District of Columbia,
that requires residents to pass a
background check before buying
a gun, according to state Rep. Beth
Wessel-Kroeschell, a Democrat.
“Background checks are the
foundation of any effective effort
to reduce gun violence and keep
guns out of the wrong hands,” she
added.
Moms Demand Action and Stu-
dents Demand Action, both part
of Everytown for Gun Safety, also
came out in opposition to the bill.
“This bill would repeal the laws
that help keep handguns out of
the hands of convicted felons, do-
mestic abusers, and other people
with dangerous histories who
can’t legally have guns. Lawmak-
ers voted to put our communities
in danger today,” Katie Albrecht,
a volunteer with Iowa Moms De-
mand Action, said in a statement.
Holt countered that the legis-
lation contains provisions that
would actually strengthen laws
that prevent criminals from gain-
ing access to guns.
Mark Olivia, director of public
affairs at the  National  Shoot-
ing Sports Foundation, told The
Epoch Times that laws restrict-
ing gun ownership have dubious
origins.
“The history of gun control laws
really has its roots in Jim Crow-
era racist laws that are designed
to deny people their rights,” he
said. “Your permit is your Sec-
ond Amendment right. The idea
of having to get a permit to be able
to exercise your Second Amend-
ment right to keep and bear arms
is antithetical to what your rights
are as an American at birth.”
A4 | NATION
IRS Extends Tax Filing Deadline by a Month
ZACHARY STIEBER
The Internal Revenue Service
(IRS) this week announced tax-
payers have an additional month
to file their taxes.
The previous deadline was
April 15. The new deadline is
May 17.
Even with the new
deadline, we urge
taxpayers to con-
sider filing as soon
as possible.
Chuck Rettig,
commissioner, IRS
“This continues to be a tough
time for many people, and the
IRS wants to continue to do ev-
erything possible to help taxpay-
ers navigate the unusual circum-
stances related to the pandemic,
while also working on important
tax administration responsibili-
ties,” IRS Commissioner Chuck
Rettig said in a statement.
“Even with the new deadline,
we urge taxpayers to consider fil-
ing as soon as possible, especially
those who are owed refunds.
Filing electronically with direct
deposit is the quickest way to get
refunds, and it can help some
taxpayers more quickly receive
any remaining stimulus pay-
ments they may be entitled to.”
Taxpayers don’t need to file
Most Republicans, Democrats
Want Schools to Reopen: Poll
CONTINUED FROM A1
schooling to K-12 students. They
were joined by 80 percent of in-
dependents and 62 percent of
Democrats.
Parents who are working were
particularly supportive of re-
opening schools for in-person
instruction. Among that group,
82 percent want schools to re-
open, versus 71 percent of those
who are not working.
Among those working, 13 per-
cent said they opted for reduced
work hours to help their children
learn online. Seven percent said
they either quit or took leave
from a job to assist their kids.
A full nine out of 10 respon-
dents living in the Northeast
want schools to welcome stu-
dents back, as well as 83 percent
of Midwest residents, 78 percent
of people living in the South, and
72 percent of those in the West.
The findings are from Gallup’s
COVID-19  probability-based
web panel survey, which was
conducted between Feb. 14 and
Feb. 21. The random sample in-
cluded 860 adults with K-12 stu-
dents. The margin of sampling
error was plus/minus five per-
THINK
THE EPOCH TIMES
BUT FOR TV
News without spin, for you to
form your own opinion.
GET NTD ON TV
NTD.com/TV
Internal Revenue Service headquarters in Washington on April 27, 2020.
any forms or call the IRS for the
automatic extension, but pen-
alties, interest, and additions to
their tax will start accruing after
the new deadline.
The extension only applies to
federal filings, but several states
have already announced exten-
sions to align with the new fed-
eral date.
Top Democrats had pushed
the IRS to extend the deadline,
which was done last year, citing
the backlog in filings in the ser-
vice’s system.
“We stand in the midst of the
Some 94 percent
of Republican, 80
percent of inde-
pendents, and 62
percent of Demo-
crats said they sup-
port providing in-
person schooling
to K–12 students.
centage points.
The survey was done shortly
after the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC)
released updated guidance on
how schools should go about
reopening.
Some critics, including re-
searchers whose research the
agency used, said the CDC’s rec-
ommendations were too strict. In
one example, the CDC said six
feet of social distancing should
be maintained whenever pos-
sible, even though its director
had last year told her local school
district that three feet was suf-
ficient.
Newly published research in-
WATCH US ONLINE
NTD.com/live
most important tax filing season
in recent memory, and taxpayers
cannot get the help they need
from the IRS. Returns received
by the IRS have fallen signifi-
cantly behind last year’s num-
bers. On top of all that, once it
is signed into law, the American
Rescue Plan will change the tax
laws applicable to unemploy-
ment benefits received in 2020
and reported on returns filed
during this filing season.
“Taxpayers need more time
to file accurate returns and get
their questions answered by the
First grade students practice their handwriting at the Green Mountain School in
Woodland, Wash., on Feb. 18, 2021.
dicates that three feet is fine, Dr.
Anthony Fauci, a top medical ad-
viser to President Joe Biden, said
over the weekend.
More schools have been re-
opening in recent weeks. Nearly
half of American K-12 students
were in “traditional” five-day-a-
week, in-person instruction as of
March 14, according to research
tracking organization Burbio.
Another 30 percent were at-
tending “hybrid” schools, where
students attend in-person but
not every day of the week.
Secretary of Education Miguel
Cardona told reporters in Wash-
ington on Wednesday that he is
convening a National Reopening
Summit next week.
PAUL GREANEY
Host of NTD Business
FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021
CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES
IRS,” House Ways and Means
Committee Chairman Richard
E. Neal (D-Mass.) and Oversight
Subcommittee Chairman Bill
Pascrell Jr. (D-N.J.) said in a re-
cent joint statement.
Rettig told legislators last
month that there were no plans
to extend the deadline.
Doing so, he said at the time,
“creates a lot of confusion for tax-
payers,” he said.
Individuals always have the
option to file for personal exten-
sions. In those cases, they have
until Oct. 15 to file.
NATHAN HOWARD/GETTY IMAGES
Officials will be hearing about
the “best practices from across
the country on how to do this
safely and how to do it quickly,
because we know there are great
examples out there,” he said.
“We know students learn best
from students, teachers learn
best from teachers, and states
will learn best from states on how
to safely reopen schools quickly,”
he said, adding: “As a parent
and as an educator, I know the
value of in-person learning. And
for those of you that are parents
here, you know there’s no sub-
stitute for in-person learning. So
I’m excited to get to work mak-
ing sure we can safely reopen our
schools as quickly as possible.”
TIFFANY MEIER STEFANIA COX
Host of China in Focus Host of NTD
and Deep Dive Evening News
Dan Bongino
to Fill Rush
Limbaugh’s
Radio Slot
IVAN PENTCHOUKOV
Conservative talk show host
Dan Bongino will take up the
radio slot previously filled by
the late-talk show giant Rush
Limbaugh,  Cumulus Media’s
Westwood One announced in
a March 17 press release.
The show will launch on May
24 and run from 12 p.m. to 3
p.m., as did Limbaugh’s mas-
sively popular program. Lis-
teners will be able to tune into
Bongino’s show nationwide,
including the major radio mar-
kets in New York, Los Angeles,
Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco,
and Washington.
“The Dan Bongino Show
will tackle the hot political is-
sues, debunking both liberal
and Republican establishment
rhetoric. As a former Secret Ser-
vice agent and NYPD officer,
Bongino is uniquely positioned
to provide commentary and
analysis that directly questions
the philosophical underpin-
nings of both the Left and Big
Government Republicans,” the
press release stated.
Since he left the Secret Ser-
vice in 2011, Bongino has sky-
rocketed to the top of the charts
among talk show hosts nation-
wide. His podcast was down-
loaded 117 million times in 2020
and ranked in the top two slots
among all podcasts on Apple
during the post-election period.
“I’m excited to embrace the
immense power of radio to con-
nect with my listeners live for
three hours every day,” Bongino
said in a statement. “This is an
incredible privilege, and I pledge
to honor the trailblazing work of
those who came before me.”
Since launching his podcast
in 2019, Bongino has provided
some of the most in-depth talk
show coverage of the so-called
Spygate scandal, dedicating
dozens of episodes to the issue.
Prominent media figures
and politicians congratulated
Bongino for landing the legend-
ary radio slot.
Bongino is an investor in the
Parler social media app. Parler
was knocked offline earlier this
year after Amazon revoked its
hosting services.
Limbaugh died at the age of
70 on Feb. 17. He was diagnosed
with lung cancer last year, caus-
ing him to miss hosting the
show. Limbaugh’s wife, Kath-
ryn, announced his death on air.
News of Limbaugh’s cancer
diagnosis prompted President
Donald Trump to award him
the Presidential Medal of Free-
dom during his February 2020
State of the Union Address in
front of the joint session of Con-
gress.
The Conservative Political Ac-
tion Conference held in Febru-
ary inducted Limbaugh into the
Conservative Hall of Fame.
KEVIN HOGAN
Host of NTD
News Today
 FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021
Amazon Can Afford to Treat Workers Better,
Union Organizer Tells Senators
ZACHARY STIEBER
An Amazon warehouse employee
in Alabama who is seeking to con-
vince her co-workers to unionize
told senators on March 17 that the
company can afford to treat its
workers better.
“Amazon brags it pays workers
above the minimum wage. What
they don’t tell you is what those jobs
are really like. And they certainly
don’t tell you that they can afford
to do much better for the workers,”
Jennifer Bates told the Senate Bud-
get Committee in Washington.
While Amazon began paying all
workers at least $15 an hour in 2018,
employees at the Bessemer site say
working conditions need improve-
ment as they press to become the
company’s first U.S.-based union.
Workers receive two 30-minute
breaks during a 10-hour shift, which
includes the time it takes to get to
and from the bathroom or cafeteria;
Bates said she’s on her feet for most
of the time, constantly walking and
climbing stairs. Some workers no-
ticeably limp from climbing four
sets of stairs in the facility; its eleva-
tors aren’t available for human use.
“We the workers deserve to be
treated with dignity and respect,
and deserve to be given the same
commitment that we give to the
job every day we go in. We give
100 percent at work, but it feels
like we’re being given back only
30 percent. We’re committed to
make sure the customers get a
nice package, the whole product
in a couple of days. But who is
House GOP Leader Files
Resolution to Remove Swalwell
From Intelligence Committee
Over Chinese Spy Allegations
JACK PHILLIPS
House Minority Leader Kevin Mc-
Carthy (R-Calif.) filed a resolution
on March 18 to remove Rep. Eric
Swalwell (D-Calif.) from the House
Intelligence Committee, following
reports that Swalwell may have
been compromised by an alleged
Chinese Communist Party spy.
“Swalwell engaged in a years-
long relationship with a suspect-
ed Chinese spy, and his conduct
makes clear he has no place serv-
ing on the committee in charge of
America’s top secrets,” McCarthy
said, referring to allegations that
he was involved in a relationship
with a woman—known as Fang
Fang or Christine Fang—accused
of spying for the CCP.
McCarthy told Punchbowl News
that “if an individual could not get a
clearance in the private sector, they
shouldn’t be on Intel,” referring to
the House Intelligence Commit-
tee. Previously, he called on Dem-
ocrats, including House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to remove
Swalwell from the panel.
Last year, Axios reported that
Fang helped in fundraising ef-
forts for Swalwell, whose district
encompasses part of California’s
Bay Area, during his 2014 cam-
paign. Fang ultimately left the
United States in 2015 following a
federal investigation.
And, according to the report,
Fang also allegedly targeted other
Democrats in California. It was
also reported that at the time of
the Axios article, Swalwell’s fam-
ily members were still Facebook
friends with Fang.
“Rep. Swalwell, long ago, provid-
ed information about this person—
People protest working conditions at an Amazon warehouse fulfillment center in Staten Island, N.Y., on May 1, 2020.
looking out for us?” Bates said.
The first talk of unionization came
one day during a break, when one
worker posited that conditions
would be better with a union, ac-
cording to Bates.
Bates is among the workers advo-
cating for joining the Retail, Whole-
sale, and Department Store Union.
Workers are currently engaged in a
mail-in election. Votes are due to be
counted on March 30.
Amazon didn’t have a representa-
tive at the hearing after declining to
send CEO Jeff Bezos. The company
SCREENSHOT/SOCIAL MEDIA
Christine
Fang with Eric
Swalwell,
then a member
of the Dublin,
Calif., City
Council, at an
October 2012
student event.
whom he met more than eight
years ago, and whom he hasn’t seen
in nearly six years—to the FBI. To
protect information that might be
classified, he will not participate in
your story,” Swalwell’s office told
Axios in December.
But the resolution from McCar-
thy declared that Swalwell “has
not denied public reporting that
a suspected Chinese intelligence
operative helped raise money for
Representative Swalwell’s politi-
cal campaigns” and “other trouble-
some elements of public reporting.”
Swalwell said on March 18 that
McCarthy’s resolution was a bid
to “deflect” from McCarthy’s “sup-
port for QAnon.” McCarthy has re-
peatedly denounced the QAnon
movement.
“Meet the New McCarthyism,”
Swalwell also wrote. “Multiple
sentences in resolution state ‘Swal-
well has not denied. ...’ Yet fails to
include multiple FBI statements of
‘no wrongdoing’ and did nothing
but ‘cooperate.’”
Officials haven’t charged Swal-
well with any wrongdoing; he
previously said he’s no longer in
contact with Fang.
When Pelosi was asked about
removing Swalwell in December,
she said, “I don’t have any concerns
about Mr. Swalwell. ... In terms of
Mr. Swalwell, in the spring of 2015,
the leadership of the House and the
committee were informed that
overtures from a Chinese person
were being made to members of
Congress. When that was made
known to the members of Con-
gress, it was over.”
Swalwell’s office didn’t respond
to a request by The Epoch Times
for comment by press time.
opposes unionization, arguing it
already treats its workers well, and
telling employees they could buy
more belongings with money they
would spend on union dues.
An Amazon spokesperson didn’t
immediately return a request for a
response to Bates’s testimony.
Senate Budget Chairman Ber-
nie Sanders (I-Vt.) condemned
Bezos during the hearing, noting
that Bezos has become $77 billion
richer during the pandemic. That
growth came as Bezos denied
workers paid sick leave and haz-
Female Athletes Denied Chance to Testify
to Senate Panel About Equality Act
CONTINUED FROM A1
Christiana Holcomb, of the Alli-
ance Defending Freedom, provid-
ing legal counsel for the women,
told The Epoch Times it was the
majority Democrats who prevent-
ed the athletes from testifying.
“It is disgraceful that Democrats
refused to hear from Selina, Chel-
sea, and Alanna on the harms that
they face from a law like the Equal-
ity Act. Our clients have lost out
on state championships, podium
spots, and opportunities to ad-
vance in competition because they
were forced to compete against bio-
logical males,” Holcomb said.
Democrats and Republicans
blamed each other.
When asked by The Epoch Times
if the majority side refused to al-
low the women to testify, a spokes-
man for the Democrats, who asked
not to be named, said: “No, they
were not barred by the majority.
The minority was able to call two
witnesses, and they chose the wit-
nesses that testified today.”
Republican committee spokes-
man Taylor Foy told The Epoch
Times that the original negotiation
between the committee majority
and minority on witnesses sought
what is known as a “consensus
hearing,” in which both sides get
three witnesses and a say on the
other side’s selections.
When the consensus hearing
talks broke down over Democrat-
ic objections to the proposed Re-
publican witnesses, the structure
reverted to a traditional format in
which the minority was only able
to provide two witnesses.
That forced the Republicans to
use witnesses who could address
the broad spectrum of issues pre-
sented by the Equality Act rather
than those addressing only spe-
cific issues such as questions about
women’s athletics, Foy said.
The committee hearing was
called to consider a Senate version
of the House-passed Equality Act,
which redefines sex as a flexible
and chosen identity rather than
fixed biological characteristics.
The state of Connecticut has used
the former definition for several
years, with a result that two biologi-
cal males were able to compete in
what were previously female-only
STEPHANIE KEITH/GETTY IMAGES
ard pay, Sanders said.
“If he was with us this morning, I
would ask him ... ‘You are worth ...
$182 billion, you’re the wealthiest
person in the world. Why are you
doing everything in your power to
stop your workers in Bessemer, Ala-
bama, from joining a union?”
Ranking Republican Sen. Lind-
sey Graham (R-S.C.) differed in his
remarks, saying he sees the govern-
ment’s role as making sure there’s a
level playing field in terms of regu-
lations and taxes, and education
opportunity.
track and field competitions.
“The Connecticut Interscholastic
Athletic Conference began allow-
ing boys who identify as girls to
compete in girls’ sports. As a result,
during all four years of high school,
I was forced to compete against two
biological boys identifying as girls,”
Selina Soule said in her prepared
testimony, which was provided to
The Epoch Times.
“In that time, these two biological
males won 15 women’s state cham-
pionship titles in track and field,
titles that were previously held
by nine different girls. And in just
three years, these biological males
set 17 new individual meet records,
records which we girls had no hope
of breaking.”
Alanna Smith, who is a junior at
Danbury High School, said in her
testimony that she loves “training
and competing. The thrill of com-
peting against girls like myself who
train hard is rewarding. I compete
to be the best, to be the fastest, to
be a champion on a level playing
field.”
The problem, Smith said, is “it’s
hard to ignore the physical differ-
ences between us and biological
males when they are lined up with
us in the starting blocks. Mentally
we know the outcome before the
race even starts. We train so hard
to compete, and yet the biological
males that compete against us rob
us of titles, podium spots, and op-
portunities to advance because
they have inherent physical ad-
vantages over us.”
“That biological unfairness
doesn’t go away because of what
someone believes about gen-
der identity. All girls deserve the
chance to compete on a level play-
ing field, but we should not be side-
lined in our own sports,” she said.
The third woman athlete who
wanted to testify was Chelsea
Mitchell, a former student at Can-
ton High School in Connecticut.
“I lost four state championships
because our state policy ignores
the biological reality and physical
advantages of males over females
in sport,” she said in her written
testimony.
“Four times I was the fastest fe-
male across the finish line, but I
didn’t get the gold medal or the
state title—the males in my race
NATION | A5
“I think that’s the role of the gov-
ernment, not picking who gets this
and who gets that and what is too
much money,” he said. “I think if
the government gets in that busi-
ness, I think that will do more
harm than good.”
Several experts told senators
during the hearing that income
inequality has become worse in
recent years because of loose an-
titrust regulations and a payment
system that encourages CEOs to
take short-term risks.
Robert Reich, a former economic
adviser to former President Barack
Obama and secretary of labor dur-
ing the Clinton administration,
called for higher taxes on the most
wealthy, stronger labor protections,
and more vigorous use of antitrust.
“Ultimately, the trend toward
widening inequality in America
will be reversed only when the
vast majority, whose incomes have
stagnated and whose wealth has
failed to increase, join together to
demand fundamental changes in
the rules,” he said.
However, Scott Winship, director
of poverty studies for the Ameri-
can Enterprise Institute, told the
hearing that the current levels of
wealth inequality don’t constitute
a crisis and encouraged lawmak-
ers to focus more on emphasizing
upward mobility.
“Many policies that would re-
duce inequality or short-term pov-
erty might be counterproductive in
terms of increasing upward mobil-
ity or reversing declines in associa-
tion of life,” he said.
COURTESY OF THE ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM
Alanna Smith.
took that honor. Losing a state
championship is hard, but losing
one because the race isn’t fair is gut-
wrenching,” Mitchell said.
“I have watched this happen over
and over again on the track in Con-
necticut—so many girls have been
impacted—missing out on their
chance to advance in competition
or take home a gold medal. It isn’t
fair and it isn’t right.
“We need separate sports cat-
egories based on biological sex in
order to fairly compete. This is what
Title IX was intended to protect
and preserve. If biological males
are permitted to compete in female
sports, there will no longer be fe-
male sports as we know it.”
The only student who testified for
the Equality Act was 16-year-old
Stella Keating from Washington
state, who told the committee “my
pronouns are she/her” and that she
is transgender.
Keating said she fears attending
college in a state that doesn’t pro-
vide equal protection to transgen-
der individuals.
“Right now, I live in a state where
I have equal protection under the
law. And as a high-school sopho-
more, I’m starting to look at col-
leges. And all I can think about is
this: less than half of the states in
our country provide equal protec-
tion for me under the law,” she said.
“What happens if I want to attend
college in a state that doesn’t pro-
tect me? Right now, I could be de-
nied medical care or be evicted for
simply being transgender in many
states. How is that even right? How
is that even American?”
A6 | NATION
Former ICE Chief: ‘Whole Nation a Sanctuary’
for Illegal Immigrants
CONTINUED FROM A1
aspect of ICE’s mandate. Texas
Attorney General Ken Paxton
sued the administration, and a
federal judge in Texas temporar-
ily blocked the executive order;
the judge’s suspension of the or-
der has now been extended in-
definitely as the case continues
to play out in court.
The Department of Homeland
Security also has issued new
guidelines for ICE agents that pro-
hibit them from apprehending a
large proportion of the illegal alien
population unless agents first get
permission from their field office
leadership.
“What Joe Biden and this ad-
ministration has done is made
our whole nation a sanctuary city,”
Homan told The Epoch Times.
He said deportation relies on de-
tention—otherwise, illegal aliens
tend to abscond.
“That’s why there’s 672,000 fu-
gitives who’ve been ordered re-
moved and haven’t left, and they
can’t be found,” he said.
Homan, who worked under the
Obama–Biden administration
during the 2014 and 2015 border
surge, said detention was a key
factor.
“We stopped it by building de-
tention facilities and detaining
people until they saw a judge. So
he forgot all the lessons learned,
and now, he’s trying to stop deten-
tion,” Homan said.
“The [administration] is turning
immigration law enforcement on
its head.”
Sanctuary Cities
Homan said ICE’s new priorities,
which narrow the agency’s focus
to illegal aliens with aggravated
Xavier Becerra, nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services,
answers questions during his confirmation hearing before the Senate
Finance Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington on Feb. 24, 2021.
California’s Becerra
Narrowly Confirmed as
Biden’s Health Secretary
ZACHARY STIEBER
The Senate on March 18 nar-
rowly confirmed Xavier Becerra
as health secretary, due to Sen.
Susan Collins (R-Maine) cross-
ing the aisle and voting with
Democrats.
Collins joined all the Demo-
crats present in the 50–49 vote.
Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii)
missed the vote.
Collins announced last week
her intention to vote for Becerra.
“Although there are issues
where I strongly disagree with
Mr. Becerra, I believe he merits
confirmation as HHS Secretary.
I look forward to working with
the Department to achieve bi-
partisan results on behalf of the
American people,” she said in a
statement, referring to the De-
partment of Health and Human
Services.
Republicans for weeks had said
they opposed approving Becerra,
arguing he wasn’t qualified.
“Mr. Becerra’s lack of health-
care experience, enthusiasm
for replacing private health in-
surance with government-run
felony convictions, still wouldn’t
capture that population in sanc-
tuary cities. ICE tries to gain cus-
tody of illegal aliens in  jail set-
tings to reduce risk and resources.
Instead, sanctuary cities often
release illegal immigrant crimi-
nals back into communities with-
out communicating with ICE. In
those cities, local and state poli-
ticians have introduced policies
that prohibit law enforcement
from cooperating with ICE, when
the agency asks them to hold a
subject to transfer custody.
Homan said it’s “meaningless”
GREG NASH-POOL/GETTY IMAGES
Medicare-for-all, and embrace of
radical policies on immigration,
abortion, and religious liberty,
render him unfit for any position
of public trust, and especially for
HHS Secretary,” a group of Re-
publican senators and House
members wrote to President Joe
Biden last month.
Becerra previously served as
California’s attorney general. His
appointment as health secretary
caused confusion because the
roles have little to do with each
other.
“You’re a very highly trained at-
torney—great, impeccable cre-
dentials. I’m a physician. What
would you as the attorney think if
I, the physician, were nominated
to be the United States attorney
general as opposed to Merrick
Garland? You would say the guy’s
not qualified,” Sen. Bill Cassidy
(R-La.) told the nominee during
his confirmation hearing in Feb-
ruary.
Becerra highlighted his expe-
rience as a congressman, tell-
ing senators during the hearing
that he helped pass the Afford-
able Care Act. He also noted he’s
for the Biden administration to
say public safety threats are a
priority when they haven’t done
anything about sanctuary cities.
“Sanctuary cities ... have been re-
leasing sexual offenders every day
for the past several years. They’re
not going to change,” Homan said.
The ICE Alerts Twitter account
hasn’t posted since Jan. 21, 2021,
the first full day of the new admin-
istration. The account was previ-
ously used to post notices about
illegal immigrant fugitives who
were wanted for crimes against
children, rape, assault, weapons
been involved with prosecuting
people in the medical industry.
“If confirmed, I will work with
you to strengthen our Medicare
and Medicaid lifeline, to reduce
the cost of health care and pre-
scription drugs, and ensure we
are accountable, spending re-
sources wisely and effectively.
And I won’t forget the other ‘H’
in HHS—human services. I want
to work with you supporting our
vulnerable children, those in
foster care, strengthening Head
Start, and expanding access to
child care. Finally, we must re-
store faith in our public health
institutions. That starts with put-
ting science and the facts first and
showing respect for our career
workforce,” he said at the time.
Biden noted during his an-
nouncement of the appoint-
ment that Becerra had 25 years
of experience as a member of
Congress.
“Xavier spent his career fight-
ing to expand access to health
care, reduce racial health dispar-
ities, protect the Affordable Care
Act, and take on powerful special
interests who prey on and profit
off people’s health—from opioid
manufacturers to Big Tobacco,”
he said.
“During the pandemic, he’s
protected the safety of frontline
healthcare workers, rooted out
fraud from bad actors taking
advantage of people, and stood
up for homeowners trying to pay
their mortgage during the devas-
tating economic crisis.”
LEIGH VOGEL/POOL/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine)
questions Xavier Becerra during his
confirmation hearing in Washington
on Feb. 23, 2021.
FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021
charges, and many more.
Most of the posts highlight
aliens who were released from
jails in sanctuary cities such as
New York, San Francisco, Hous-
ton, and Chicago.
Before the new changes, Homan
said ICE had already prioritized
public safety threats.
In fiscal year 2020, the agency
removed almost 186,000 indi-
viduals, of which 92 percent had
criminal convictions or pending
criminal charges, according to
ICE’s end-of-year report.
ICE also conducted more than
Facebook to Add Warnings, Limit Visibility
of Groups That Violate Platform Rules
ISABEL VAN BRUGEN
Facebook announced on March 17
that it has implemented a number
of changes on the social media plat-
form that will reduce the reach of,
and in some cases ban, groups that
violate its policies.
The tech giant said in a statement
that it has taken action to curb the
spread of “harmful content, like
hate speech and misinformation,”
and is making it harder for certain
groups to operate or be discovered.
“When a group repeatedly breaks
our rules, we take it down entirely,”
the announcement from Facebook’s
vice president of engineering, Tom
Alison, stated.
As part of the changes, Facebook
will notify users who want to join a
group if the group has previously
approved posts that violate the plat-
form’s “community standards.” Us-
ers can then opt to review the group
before joining.
The social media platform stated
it will also remove political and
civic groups from all group recom-
mendations.
“While people can still invite
friends to these groups or search
for them, we have now started to
expand these restrictions globally.
This builds on restrictions we’ve
made to recommendations, like
removing health groups from these
surfaces, as well as groups that re-
peatedly share misinformation,” the
company stated.
When a group begins to violate the
platform’s community standards,
Facebook will show them lower in
its recommendations list, making it
less likely that people will discover
those groups, Alison said.
Group administrators and mod-
erators will also be required by
Facebook to “temporarily approve
all posts when that group has a sub-
stantial number of members who
have violated our policies or were
part of other groups that were re-
moved for breaking our rules.”
Further, users who repeatedly vio-
late platform rules in groups will be
ICE
ICE officers
apprehend
fugitive
criminal aliens
involved in
the illegal
narcotics
trade, in
Boston on Nov.
4, 2019.
103,000 interior arrests, about
90 percent of which had a crimi-
nal conviction or charge. Those
arrested included aliens with
criminal charges or convictions
for 1,837 homicide offenses, 37,247
assault offenses, and 10,302 sexual
assault or sex offenses.
“Every crime committed by
an illegal alien is a preventable
crime,” Homan said. “If we had
true border security, true im-
migration enforcement ... thou-
sands of crimes every day could
be prevented—because they’re
not here.”
temporarily barred from posting in
any group, and will be banned from
both creating new groups, and invit-
ing others to groups.
The changes come a week before
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg
is set to testify at a hearing on mis-
information in front of the House
Energy and Commerce Committee.
Facebook has come under in-
creasing scrutiny over censorship
of its users’ speech. Facebook has
repeatedly claimed its platform
doesn’t favor one political viewpoint
over another.
Facebook whistleblower Ryan
Hartwig, who lifted the lid on the
social media giant’s pattern of
censoring conservatives, told The
Epoch Times’ “American Thought
Leaders” program on Feb. 28 that
censorship at the company has be-
come “outrageous.”
Hartwig, a former content mod-
erator at a third-party company
that provided services to Facebook,
made news in June 2020 when he
alleged that moderators were told
to enforce the social media plat-
form’s policies selectively to allow,
under certain circumstances, con-
tent that demonized the police or
white males.
“I saw that Facebook gave excep-
tions to, essentially, silence con-
servatives,” he said in an interview
during the Conservative Political
Action Conference (CPAC) in Or-
lando, Florida.
Hartwig, who worked for nearly
two years for Cognizant, a firm
hired by Facebook to handle part
of its manual content policing, said
in the interview that Facebook
provided guidance on a number of
occasions that he said was biased
in favor of left-leaning causes and
perspectives.
Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) said at
the CPAC event last month that cen-
sorship by Big Tech is “probably the
biggest problem that we face right
now in this country, as a party.”
Tom Ozimek contributed
to this report.
 FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021
21 States Sue Biden Administration
Over Revoked Keystone XL Permit
CONTINUED FROM A1
only unlawful but will also devastate the
livelihoods of thousands of workers, their
families, and their communities,” Paxton
said in a statement on March 17.
“This administration continues to tout
imaginary green-energy jobs, without any
recognition that their actions in the real
world will make it impossible for hard-work-
ing Americans to put food on the table.”
The 1,200-mile Keystone XL, which was to
be constructed as an extension to an existing
pipeline system, was designed by TC Energy
Corp. to transport approximately 830,000
barrels of oil from Canada and Montana to
junctions in the middle of America and to
refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast.
The permit to construct a 1.2-mile seg-
ment of the pipeline that was revoked had
been approved by President Donald Trump
in 2019.
The oil sands  pipeline’s construction
and operation were modeled to create and
sustain thousands of jobs and advance the
United States’ energy independence. It was
also designed to improve commercial rela-
tions with Canada and provide tax revenues
to high-poverty areas.
In his executive order signed in January,
Biden said the revocation was necessary
because the pipeline “disserves the U.S.
national interest.”
“The United States and the world face a
climate crisis,” the order stated. “At home,
we will combat the crisis with an ambitious
plan to build back better, designed to both
reduce harmful emissions and create good
clean-energy jobs. Our domestic efforts
must go hand in hand with U.S. diplomatic
engagement. Because most greenhouse gas
emissions originate beyond our borders,
such engagement is more necessary and
urgent than ever.
“Leaving the Keystone XL pipeline per-
mit in place would not be consistent with
my administration’s economic and climate
imperatives,” Biden added.
Montana Attorney General Austin Knud-
sen argued that there is no “perceived en-
vironmental benefit to [Biden’s] actions.”
“His attempt to cancel the Keystone XL
Domestic Violent Extremism Poses ‘Elevated Threat’
in 2021, Intel Community Says
JANITA KAN
The U.S. intelligence community has as-
sessed that domestic violent extremists pose
a “heightened threat” in 2021, according to a
new unclassified threat assessment.
The brief unclassified summary—assem-
bled by the Office of the Director of National
Intelligence (ODNI), the Department of Jus-
tice (DOJ), and the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS)—found that domestic ex-
tremists, motivated by a range of ideologies,
are seen as risks for violence.
The intelligence community found that ex-
tremists motivated by biases against minor-
ity populations and perceived government
overreach “will almost certainly” drive more
“radicalization and mobilization to violence.”
Meanwhile, sociopolitical developments
such as the narrative of fraud in the 2020
presidential election and the Jan. 6 breach
of the U.S. Capitol “will almost certainly spur
some [domestic violent extremists] to try to
engage in violence this year.”
The assessment was conducted after Presi-
dent Joe Biden in January tasked the DNI to
assess the threat of domestic violent extrem-
ism following the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S.
Capitol. Biden and Democrats elevated the
issue following the violence on that day, leav-
ing critics concerned that the new admin-
istration may limit their focus on assessing
domestic threats to the Jan. 6 events without
attention to the violence unfolding across the
country over the summer in 2020, triggered
by the death of George Floyd.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki at
the time described the review as a “fact-based
analysis” that could be used to shape policy.
Extremism motivated by different world
views and political ideologies has posed an
ongoing threat to the United States and has
prompted multiple FBI investigations into
individuals in recent months.
The riots last summer, perpetrated by an-
archist extremists who caused significant
economic, property, and human destruction,
had brought the issue of domestic extremism
back into the public consciousness.
Then-Attorney General William Barr over
the summer had characterized actions by
Miles of unused pipe, prepared for the Keystone XL pipeline, sit in a lot outside Gascoyne, N.D., on
Oct. 14, 2014.
Pipeline is an empty virtue signal to his
wealthy coastal elite donors. It shows Biden’s
contempt for rural communities in Mon-
tana and other states along the pipeline’s
path that would benefit from and support
the project,” Knudsen said in a statement.
Other critics have said that the ban
wouldn’t stop oil from being produced, and
that it would be transported by rail or truck
instead of through the pipeline.
The states argue that Biden hadn’t con-
sulted with them before making his deci-
sion, “nor did he consider the far-reaching
consequences his decision would impose
on Plaintiffs.”
“The pipeline States, as well as their
counties, local communities, and school
districts stood to gain tens of millions of
dollars in tax revenue from the construc-
tion and operation of the Keystone XL.
The total estimated property tax from the
Keystone XL project in the first full year of
operations would be approximately $55.6
million spread across 27 counties in just
three States—Montana, South Dakota, and
Nebraska,” the lawsuit states.
Antifa and similar groups as “domestic ter-
rorism.” However, Biden’s attorney general,
Merrick Garland, has stopped short of ap-
plying the same label to those violent ac-
tors, instead focusing on prosecuting the
hundreds of people involved in the Capitol
breach on Jan. 6.
U.S. officials in recent weeks have issued
warnings about threats of domestic violent
extremism, including FBI Director Christo-
pher Wray, who testified this month that “do-
mestic terrorism has been metastasizing,” in
particular militia violent extremism as well
as racially motivated violent extremism. The
DHS has also announced almost $2 billion in
state and local preparedness grants, with at
least $77 million allocated to directly combat
domestic violent extremism.
The summary provided a similar assess-
ment on racially or ethnically motivated vio-
lent extremists and militia violent extremists
(MVE), stating that they present the most
lethal threats. It found that some racially
motivated extremists are “most likely” to
“conduct mass-casualty attacks against ci-
vilians,” while militia groups would be “typi-
cally targeting law enforcement and govern-
ment personnel and facilities.”
“The IC assesses that the MVE threat in-
creased last year and that it will almost cer-
tainly continue to be elevated throughout
2021 because of contentious sociopolitical
factors that motivate MVEs to commit vio-
lence,” the intelligence officials wrote.
Among  racially motivated extremists,
white supremacists are the most likely to
have international connections with indi-
viduals with similar ideological beliefs. The
summary states that these extremists “fre-
quently communicate with and seek to in-
fluence each other.” However, the summary
noted that only “a small number” of such
extremists have traveled abroad to network
with like-minded individuals.
The assessment also found that lone of-
fenders or small cells of domestic extremists
from different ideologies are “more likely to
carry out violent attacks in the Homeland
than organizations that allegedly advocate
a DVE ideology.” This finding echoes Wray’s
assessment from September 2020, when
ANDREW BURTON/GETTY IMAGES
“These revenues would particularly ben-
efit poorer rural areas, providing a much-
needed influx of resources to fund impor-
tant public and community services.”
Revocation of the permit, the states con-
tinued, will cost them and their communi-
ties “tens of millions of dollars in annual
tax revenue” and business and job oppor-
tunities for residents.
The states are asking the federal court in
Texas to declare that the Biden adminis-
tration had acted unlawfully and uncon-
stitutionally when he revoked the permit
and seek to block the Biden administration
from enforcing its order to revoke the Key-
stone XL permit.
The White House and Justice Department
didn’t immediately respond to a request by
The Epoch Times for comment.
The other states that have joined in the
lawsuit include Alabama, Arizona, Arkan-
sas, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky,
Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska,
North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Car-
olina, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia,
and Wyoming.
he told lawmakers during a hearing in the
House Homeland Security Committee that
individuals who self-radicalize online and
carry out attacks pose the most serious threat
to the homeland.
“We assess that the greatest threat to the
homeland, to us here domestically, is not one
organization, certainly not one ideology, but
rather lone actors largely self-radicalized on-
line who pursue soft targets using readily
accessible weapons,” Wray said last year.
Many of these domestic extremists use so-
cial media platforms or small websites with
a targeted audience to recruit members,
plan and rally for support for in-person ac-
tions, and disseminate information that
contributes to the radicalization of indi-
viduals, the summary found.
The intelligence community also assessed
that “escalating support from persons in the
United States or abroad, growing perceptions
of government overreach related to legal or
policy changes and disruptions, and high-
profile attacks spurring follow-on attacks and
innovations in targeting and attack tactics”
could increase the likelihood or lethality of
domestic violent attacks in America.
According to the summary, domestic vio-
lent extremists are defined as U.S.-based in-
dividuals who “conduct or threaten activities
that are dangerous to human life in violation
of the criminal laws of the United States or
any state; appearing to be intended to in-
timidate or coerce a civilian population; and
influence the policy of a government by in-
timidation or coercion, or affect the conduct
of a government by mass destruction, assas-
sination, or kidnapping, as per the definition
of domestic terrorism” under federal law.
The assessment didn’t take into account
people who engage in “advocacy of political
or social positions, political activism, use of
strong rhetoric, or generalized philosophic
embrace of violent tactics,” as those actions
may be constitutionally protected.
The summary identified a number of do-
mestic violent extremist groups including
racially or ethnically motivated extremists,
anti-government/anti-authority extrem-
ists, animal rights environmental extrem-
ists, and more.
NATION | A7
CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper in
Washington on Oct. 10, 2018.
Bipartisan Group
of Senators Seeks
to Ease Partisan
Rancor
ZACHARY STIEBER
A new bipartisan group of 20 sena-
tors convened behind closed doors in
Washington on March 17 to discuss a
range of issues, including infrastruc-
ture, in a bid to avoid the partisan ran-
cor that has bedeviled Congress since
President Joe Biden took office.
“I think it was very valuable for us
to get together, and everyone is so
very committed to working together
on a host of issues,” Sen. Susan Col-
lins (R-Maine) told reporters after
the meeting.
“I could tell you that we solved all the
world’s problems and that we straight-
ened out Congress. But that would be
an overstatement.”
The group is split evenly between
Democrats and Republicans. While
Democrats hold the tie-breaking vote
in the 50–50 Senate, gridlock is all but
guaranteed without agreement from
both sides of the aisle to reach the
60-vote threshold to end a filibuster
and bring a bill to the floor for a vote.
The bloc started late last year when
many of the members got together
to influence COVID-19 relief nego-
tiations. They succeeded in punch-
ing through partisan gridlock; their
framework was adopted by Demo-
cratic leaders, and stayed mostly intact
in the final version of last year’s $900
billion legislation.
I think it was very
valuable for us to get
together.
Sen. Susan Collins
“We came together because we saw
that there was a void, we thought the
public was asking for additional COV-
ID relief, and leadership on both sides
determined that it wasn’t going to hap-
pen for different political reasons. And
we thought that needed a response,”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told
reporters on March 17. “We’re here to
be problem-solvers. I see this group as
having a role potentially in everything
that is coming before the Senate.”
While those in the group largely de-
clined to outline what was discussed
specifically during the meeting, they
indicated that the conversations will
help as the upper chamber tries to
hammer out agreements on a new
infrastructure bill, whether to alter
filibuster rules, and possibly to craft
further pandemic relief.
Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.)
said the group discussed the divisions
that have split the Senate, even as the
country faces “international challeng-
es” and “climate change.”
“We need to find ways to get to unity,”
he told reporters.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), a key
moderate, said earlier this week that
the meeting was about relationship
building and maintenance.
“It’s not just one and done or it’ll fall
apart,” he said, adding that keeping
relationships “makes it easier to talk
about everything.”
Part of the agenda was to see
“whether there’s a willingness to
forge bipartisan compromises or
whether the Democratic members
feel they have to endorse whatever
the White House would say,” Collins
said before the group met.
Biden and the White House have
claimed to be open to negotiating with
Republicans on key issues but backed
the partisan passage of his $1.9 trillion
COVID-19 relief bill. Before the pas-
sage, he met with some Republican
lawmakers, but they described their
ideas as being shot down by his chief
of staff, Ron Klain.
Besides infrastructure and the fili-
buster, the Senate is weighing pro-
posals on immigration and election
reform.
A8 | NATION
House Reauthorizes
Violence Against
Women Act
MIMI NGUYEN LY
The House of Representatives on
March 17 passed  the Violence
Against Women Act (VAWA), a
bill  designed to protect women
from domestic violence.
The bill passed the chamber by
a vote of 244–172, with 29 Repub-
licans joining Democrats.
President Joe Biden had intro-
duced the original VAWA in June
1990 when he was the chairman
of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
A subsequent version of VAWA
was included in the sweeping
crime bill in 1994 signed by then-
President Bill Clinton. Congress
has reauthorized the act three
times since—in 2000, 2005, and
2013.
Biden on March 17 issued a state-
ment in support of the bill’s reau-
thorization. He urged the Senate to
also pass the bill and said the mat-
ter shouldn’t be a partisan issue. It’s
instead “about standing up against
the abuse of power and preventing
violence.”
The bill aims to reduce domestic
and sexual violence and improve
the response to it through a variety
of grant programs.
The original act established
the  Office on Violence Against
Women within the Department
of Justice. The office was respon-
sible for implementing the law
and, along with the Department
of Health and Human Services
(HHS), providing grant programs
to state and local governments,
nonprofits, and universities.
UAW Rejects Ford’s Plan to Build New
Vehicle in Mexico Instead of Ohio
JACK PHILLIPS
The United Auto Workers (UAW)
union said that Ford Motor Co.’s
plan to build a new vehicle in
Mexico instead of Ohio might be a
violation of the auto manufactur-
er’s contractual commitments.
We expect the
company to honor
its contractual
commitments to
this membership
and when it fails
to do so we will
take action.
Gerald Kariem, vice president,
United Auto Workers
“We 100 percent reject the
company’s decision to put cor-
porate greed and more potential
profits over American jobs and
the future of our members. We
expect the company to honor its
contractual commitments to this
membership and when it fails to
do so we will take action,” UAW
Vice President Gerald Kariem
said. “We are intensely exploring
our options at this time.”
In the letter, Kariem said Ford
in 2019 committed $900 million
for a plant in Avon Lake, Ohio
(OHAP), and would include a
next-generation Ford model to
be added to the production lines
in 2023. While that would have
secured “employment well into
the foreseeable future” for auto
workers, he blasted Ford for not
“honor[ing] its promise.”
“Ford management expects us
to just hang our heads and accept
the decision,” Kariem wrote in a
letter dated March 12. “But let me
be clear, we are making a differ-
ent choice.”
Ford plant manager Jason
Moore issued a letter to Avon Lake
workers after UAW’s letter and
said the conditions surrounding
the expansion at the Ohio plant
had changed. The 2019 agree-
Such grants helped fund initia-
tives to address domestic violence
and child abuse, including funding
the investigation and prosecution
of alleged violent crimes against
women, shelters, and rape preven-
tion and reeducation programs.
Supporters said the reauthoriza-
tion would also boost spending for
training law enforcement and the
courts, according to The Associ-
ated Press.
The legislation also would pro-
hibit people who were previously
convicted of misdemeanor stalk-
ing from possessing firearms. The
provision had generated opposi-
tion from the NRA, which contin-
ues to oppose the bill today.
“The NRA did not score the legis-
lation until last Congress because
it never impacted Second Amend-
ment rights,” Jason Ouimet, execu-
tive director of the NRA Institute
for Legislative Action, said in a
statement to media outlets.
“However, Speaker Pelosi and
anti-gun lawmakers chose to insert
gun control provisions into this bill
in 2019 to pit pro-gun lawmakers
against it so that they can falsely
and maliciously claim these law-
makers don’t care about women.
“This is Washington at its filthiest.
It’s proof that anti-gun lawmakers
care more about smearing oppo-
nents than passing meaningful
legislation.”
Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (R-Texas)
threw support behind the provi-
sion on guns.
“[The bill] is based on prevention
and intervention and protecting
ment included a “reference to a
$900 million investment and a
new product for OHAP,” the letter
stated. Moore said that the firm
is investing in the plant and will
increase Super Duty truck pro-
duction there.
“While conditions upon which
the 2019 Administrative Letter
were based have changed, the
Company is investing in the
plant and increasing production
of Super Duty trucks at OHAP,”
Moore wrote.
Reuters reported that in No-
vember, Ford said it intended to
produce another electric vehicle
model in Cuautitlan, Mexico, as
well as the Mustang Mach-E.
Ford spokesperson Kelli Felker
didn’t say whether Ford would
keep its agreement to invest in
the Ohio plant.
“We are always looking at our
options,” Felker told the Detroit
Free Press. “We still plan to invest
$6 billion and create and retain
8,500 jobs in America during the
course of this four-year contract,”
she said. “We are invested in [the]
Ohio Assembly Plant and our
dedicated workforce there.”
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio)
criticized Ford’s decision.
“In 2019, Ford made a commit-
ment to invest $900 million at
its Avon Lake, OH plant - NOW,
it’s reportedly moving the entire
project to ... Mexico,” he wrote
on Twitter this week. “This is
unacceptable. At today’s Senate
Finance Committee hearing, I
called on Ford to keep its promise
to Ohio workers.”
General Motors in 2019 stopped
production of the Chevrolet Cru-
ze at its factory in Lordstown,
Ohio, which affected hundreds
of jobs in the area.
President Joe Biden, whom the
UAW endorsed for president in
2020, has reportedly sought to
focus on U.S. car manufacturing
as part of his plan to create new
auto industry jobs.
It’s not clear what vehicle Ford is
planning to manufacture in Mex-
ico. Company officials didn’t im-
mediately respond to a request by
The Epoch Times for comment.
The U.S. Capitol in Washington on Feb. 8, 2021.
those against the perpetrators
with guns who are their intimate
partners and the dating violence,
it does not have to be intimate.
We do everything we can to give
security and protection,” she said
at a March 17 press conference on
VAWA.
The legislation expired at the end
of 2018. The House passed the bill
to reauthorize VAWA in 2019, with
33 Republicans joining Demo-
crats, but it wasn’t taken up in the
majority-Republican Senate due to
partisan disputes in Congress over
issues related to extra provisions
introduced to the bill, including
on the gun control matter.
Most Republicans voted against
the measure in the last Congress.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)
told a reporter on Capitol Hill: “I
think it’s fair to say that there is
a good strong interest in trying
Students at Hillsborough High School wait in line for a temperature check
before entering the building, in Tampa, Fla., on Aug. 31, 2020.
DeSantis Doesn’t Want Florida
Schools Teaching ‘Hate’ With
‘Critical Race Theory’
ISABEL VAN BRUGEN
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis an-
nounced on March 17 that his ad-
ministration will seek to prohibit
the teaching of “unsanctioned
narratives like critical race theory”
in the state’s schools.
The Republican governor told
reporters during a press brief-
ing that he was looking to re-
form state’s school curricula to
“expressly exclude ... critical race
theory” because it “teaches kids
to hate their country.”
DeSantis stressed that he is seek-
ing legislative authorization to im-
plement the statewide measure,
named the Civic Literacy Excel-
lence Initiative, even though it isn’t
necessary to do so.
“There’s no room in our class-
rooms for things like critical race
theory. Teaching kids to hate their
country and to hate each other is
not worth one red cent of taxpayer
money,” he said.
He noted that federal money
from the latest COVID-19 relief
bill would be used to push civ-
ics education “with foundational
concepts” as opposed to “unsanc-
tioned narratives like critical race
theory.”
“We’re releasing a $106 million
FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021
to advance VAWA. I’ve talked to
both Republicans and Democrats
here in the Senate, about how we’re
moving, what we’re all working on
VAWA.”
“Last year, things got derailed
with VAWA because of gun control.
I really hope that the effort will try
to find the level of support. I think
it’s critically important that we ad-
vance VAWA,” she said, adding that
she is working on a portion of the
bill concerning Native American
tribes.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) told re-
porters on Capitol Hill that sena-
tors are working on a version of
VAWA that’s different from the
House bill.
“We have Lisa Murkowski now,
who is working on the tribal por-
tion. And so she will be ironing out
some of the difficulties we had last
year so we’ll get it introduced and
OCTAVIO JONES/GETTY IMAGES
proposal to make Florida the na-
tional leader in civics education,”
DeSantis said. “That was provided
to the state last year through the
CARES Act and subsequent ad-
ditional federal appropriation, so
the money’s there.
“We will invest in actual solid,
true curriculum, and we will be
a leader in the development and
implementation of a world-class
civics education,” he added.
The governor’s announcement
comes amid a heated debate over
critical race theory and its role in
America’s social, cultural, and eco-
nomic institutions.
Last month, the Chinese Ameri-
can Citizens Alliance of Greater
New York condemned critical
race theory, describing it as an
outgrowth of the European Marx-
ist school of critical theory that
interprets American social and
political life through the lens of a
power struggle between the race
of the oppressor and that of the
oppressed.
“From its very roots, CRT is rac-
ist, repressive, discriminatory, and
divisive,” the organization wrote,
noting that the CRT framework
is heavily influenced by promi-
nent communist, materialist, and
humanist thinkers such as Karl
SARAH SILBIGER/GETTY IMAGES
we’ll see the House version come
over,” Ernst said. “What we’re hop-
ing to show is that we have enough
Republican support on our bill and
that we’re willing to work with
Democrats on this. And hopefully
by combining forces we can come
up with the 60 votes needed and
pass a good, modernized bill that
will work for the Senate hopefully
[more] than the House bill does.”
She noted of the VAWA bill in the
last Congress: “We ran into hiccups
with some of the gun issues and
that’s a big one for a number of
us—stripping away people’s con-
stitutional rights is not something
that we should be doing. So why
don’t we just kind of backtrack a
little bit and figure out where we
can agree?”
The Associated Press
contributed to this report.
Marx, Vladimir Lenin, and Anto-
nio Gramsci.
President Joe Biden, in one of his
first executive actions in the White
House, rescinded Trump’s ban of
critical race theory in federal work-
places. Trump’s September 2020
executive order declared that “un-
American” and “divisive concepts”
should no longer be promoted in
any diversity and inclusion train-
ing for federal employees.
In place of the Trump order,
Biden issued an executive order
of his own, stating that it’s now the
policy of the federal government
to pursue “a comprehensive ap-
proach to advancing equity for all,”
and that federal agencies should
revise any steps taken in accord
with Trump’s order within 60 days.
DeSantis said teachers who are
credentialed in teaching civics
education would receive a $3,000
bonus, and earn the “Civic Seal
of Excellence.” Teachers would
be trained by civics “coaches,”
through in-person seminars and
remote learning.
“It’s not going to be ideological
or faddish curriculum that you
see some of these other states,”
DeSantis said. “They’re trying
to make people view each other
based on race. I want to do the
opposite. I want to treat people as
individuals. I want to treat people
based on character.
“But when you put this curricu-
lum in, it ends up creating more
divisions,” he said of critical race
theory. “And so, I think we under-
stand some of the things that are
not working in other parts of the
country and we don’t want that
to come to Florida.”
“This Civic Literacy Excellence
Initiative will build on the success
of the Florida Civics and Debate
Initiative that we launched last
year and I look forward to work-
ing with the Florida Legislature
to make it a fixture in schools
across our state,” DeSantis said
on Twitter.
Elsewhere, Republican lawmak-
ers in Arkansas, Georgia, New
Hampshire, Oklahoma, and West
Virginia have said that they aim
to ban the teaching of critical race
theory in schools, workplaces, and
government agencies.
GQ Pan contributed to this report.
 FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021 CHINA | A9
VERNON YUEN/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

US Lawmakers Voice
Support for Sanctions
on Chinese, Hong
Kong Officials
CONTINUED FROM A1
reflect Washington’s “deep con-
cern” about Hong Kong’s autono-
my, after China’s National People’s
Congress approved a draft plan
earlier this month to change Hong
Kong’s electoral system.
We will continue
to speak in defense
of the Hong Kong
people against
the oppression of
an authoritarian
system.
Sen. Jeff Merkley
The planned changes to Hong
Kong’s electoral law give a pro-
Beijing committee power to ap-
point more of Hong Kong’s law-
makers. The move will reduce
the proportion of those who are
directly elected and ensures that
only those determined to be truly
loyal to Beijing are allowed to run
for office—effectively shutting op-
position figures out of the political
process.
The plan has since drawn inter-
national criticism that it will fur-
ther cement Beijing’s control over
the territory by reducing Hong
Kong’s democratic representation.
Among the 24 officials sanc-
tioned are Wang Chen, a mem-
ber of the Chinese Communist
Party’s (CCP) 25-person Politburo,
the Chinese regime’s top ruling
group; and Tam Yiu-chung, the
only delegate from Hong Kong sit-
ting on the standing committee of
the National People’s Congress.
The standing committee was re-
sponsible for drafting the CCP’s
draconian’s national security law,
which has allowed the pro-Beijing
Hong Kong government to inten-
sify its crackdown on local activ-
ists and opposition figures.
A total of 14 vice chairs of the
standing committee were sanc-
tioned, including Cao Jianming
and Zhang Chunxian.
Additionally, several officers
from Hong Kong’s National Se-
curity Division were sanctioned,
including Li Wai-wah, a super-
intendent of the division. Edwin
Lau, a deputy commissioner of
the Hong Kong Police Force and
the head of the division, also was
sanctioned.
The 24 officials joined 10 who
were sanctioned in October 2020,
including Hong Kong leader Car-
rie Lam and Xia Baolong, who
heads the State Council’s Hong
Hong Kong pro-democracy activists are escorted into a van as they leave the Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre, the
day after appearing at the West Kowloon Court on the charge of conspiracy to commit subversion, in Hong Kong
on March 2, 2021.
Kong and Macau Affairs Office.
The latest sanctions represent
an update to the Hong Kong Au-
tonomy Act, which was signed into
law by former President Donald
Trump in July last year. The law
serves to punish individuals or
companies responsible for re-
stricting Hong Kong’s freedoms,
as well as banks that do business
with them.
Also on March 17, Sens. Chris
Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Pat Toom-
ey (R-Pa.), the original co-sponsors
of the Hong Kong Autonomy Act,
said the latest sanctions were “a
necessary step to support the free-
doms of the Hong Kong people.”
“The State Department’s action
under the Hong Kong Autonomy
Act yesterday has put foreign fi-
nancial institutions on notice.
Should these institutions main-
tain relationships with the 24 offi-
cials named in the report, they too
must face strong financial penal-
ties from the United States,” the
senators stated.
Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) took
to Twitter to say that the Biden ad-
ministration should do more after
sanctioning the 24 officials.
In response to the sanctions, the
Hong Kong government accused
the United States of “interfering”
in the city’s affairs.
In a daily briefing on March 17,
China’s foreign ministry spokes-
person Zhao Lijian said the sanc-
tions were a “grave interference
in China’s internal affairs.” Zhao
warned that China “has taken
necessary countermeasures.”
China’s hawkish mouthpiece
Global Times warned in an edito-
rial published on March 17 that the
United States will “run up against
a stone wall” in bilateral talks if
it refuses to “change its attitude.”
Secretary of State Antony Blink-
en and national security adviser
Jake Sullivan met with China’s for-
eign minister Wang Yi and senior
foreign policy diplomat Yang Jie-
chi in Anchorage on March 18. The
meeting marks the first in-person
meeting between top officials of
the two countries since Biden took
office.
U.S. lawmakers have called
on Blinken and Sullivan to be
tough when they meet with the
Chinese officials.

JIM WATSON/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

US Manufacturers Call on The group also called on Biden

to actively talk to trusted trad-

Biden to Be Tough on China ing partners in the Americas and

Asia-Pacific, to strengthen sup-

Trade Issues ply chain ties and address human

FRANK FANG
A Washington-based trade group
representing the U.S. manufac-
turing sector has urged President
Joe Biden to adopt a tough China
policy to ensure a level playing
field for U.S. businesses.
“For manufacturers, China has
long been a hub for unfair indus-
trial subsidies and government-
fueled overcapacity in areas like
steel and aluminum that distort
global markets,” the National
Association of Manufacturers
stated in a letter sent to Biden
on March 17.
“China continues to promote
discriminatory industrial poli-
cies, forced technology transfer,
and intellectual property theft
that harm manufacturers and
workers in the United States.”
In the past decade, China’s
communist regime has created
large state-owned enterprises in
several industries such as alu-
minum, steel, and solar panels
through hefty government sub-
sidies. At the same time, Beijing
has resorted to espionage to steal
U.S. trade secrets and also job-
recruitment programs to facili-
tate the transfer of technology to
China—to fulfill its ambitions to
be a technology powerhouse.
Former President Donald
Trump, in an effort to tackle
China’s unfair trade practices,
imposed tariffs on a long list of
Chinese imports, including alu-
minum and steel, which sparked
the U.S.–China “trade war.”
The two sides signed a phase
one trade deal in January 2020,
requiring China to buy an addi-
tional $200 billion in U.S. goods
and services during 2020 and
2021, compared to 2017 levels.
However, a report published in
January found that China has
bought just 58 percent of what it
promised under the deal.
“The new strategy must include
all available tools, including tar-
geted bilateral engagement, as-
sertive U.S. leadership in global
institutions, and close, coordi-
nated engagement with allies and
partners,” the group wrote.
“Strategic use of legislative and
enforcement tools will be critical
to pressure China to change its
economic behavior and to level
Then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden visits an aluminum manu-
facturing facility in Manitowoc, Wis., on Sept. 21, 2020.
the playing field for manufactur-
ers and workers in the United
China continues to States.”
promote discrimi- The group has several recom-
natory industrial mendations, one of which was for
the United States to apply “clear,
policies, forced consistent pressure” on China
technology trans- to fulfill its trade and economic
fer, and intellectu- commitments under the phase
one trade agreement.
al property theft. “Assertive global leadership to
National Association ensure that the United States—
of Manufacturers not China—is writing the rules
for the post-pandemic global
economy and trading system to
benefit manufacturers and work-
ers in America,” the group wrote.
rights and labor concerns.
In response to the group’s letter,
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) took
to Twitter to say that any discus-
sion between Biden and Beijing
should address China’s theft of
intellectual property.
In January, a Chinese profes-
sor at the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology was arrested and
charged for failing to disclose
his work with entities tied to the
Chinese Communist Party. In
the same month, a senior NASA
scientist pleaded guilty to lying
about his ties to a Beijing-backed
talent program.
The group’s letter comes as Sec-
retary of State Antony Blinken
and national security adviser
Jake Sullivan met with Chinese
Foreign Minister Wang Yi and se-
nior foreign policy diplomat Yang
Jiechi in Anchorage, Alaska, on
March 18. The meeting marked
the first in-person meeting be-
tween top officials of the two
countries since Biden took office.
On March 12, Sullivan said that
he didn’t expect the phase one
trade deal “to be a major topic of
conversation” in Anchorage.
U.S. lawmakers have called on
Blinken and Sullivan to be tough
on the Chinese officials.

LINE Messaging App Exposed Users to Data Access by China-Based Company

ALEX WU
Japan’s popular messaging app
LINE recently admitted that its
users’ personal data stored on its
server in Japan could be accessed
by China-based engineers that the
company had outsourced to. In an
official response, LINE admitted
that user data had been accessed
more than 32 times and that it is
now setting up a committee to
rectify the situation.
According to a report by Japan’s
public broadcaster NHK, LINE
had outsourced its system main-
tainance since 2018 to a company
in Shanghai, which allowed four
China-based engineers to access
to Japanese users’ personal data
and information stored on servers
in Japan, including users’ names,
phone numbers, emails, and even
the contents of the communica-
tion between users.
The foreign access to the person-
al data of Japanese nationals may
have been in violation of Japan’s
Personal Information Protection
Act, which requires that if user’s
personal information is trans-
ferred to a foreign third party, user
consent is required.
LINE’s parent company, Z Hold-
ings, stated that four Chinese en-
gineers were involved in the data
breach, but it is still investigating
whether any data was abused. Z
Holdings has also said it will set
up a committee within the com-
KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
pany to investigations and rectify
the situation, according to Japan’s
TV Asahi.
“We can’t say yet if Line breached
regulations or not, and we are
conducting an investigation to
find out,” a government official
responsible for overseeing privacy
regulations told Reuters.
The popular Japanese app cur-
rently has more than 194 million
users across 230 countries, includ-
ing 86 million users in Japan and
21 million users in Taiwan.
The company has said it
changed its data authorizations
in late February this year, which
makes it impossible for Chinese
engineers to view user informa-
tion. LINE also stated that it will
explain how it manages user per-
sonal data in a simpler way going
forward.
LINE Taiwan expressed on
March 17 that LINE will not co-
operate with any government to
give them free access to user in-
formation, nor will it cooperate
with monitoring or censorship.
Regarding privacy, such as user
data and message content, LINE
Taiwan said that it has never pro-
vided any personal information
of Taiwan users or users in other
countries to the Chinese govern-
ment. The global user data, in-
cluding Taiwan users, is stored in
servers in Japan and South Korea
but not in China. Judging from the
current login records, the person-
al data of Taiwanese users has not
been exposed to any unauthor-
ized access, the company said.
LINE Taiwan has apologized
publicly for the unease and se-
curity concerns among its users.
A10 | WORLD
Daring School Abductions Embarrass Nigerian Army
CONTINUED FROM A1
The 30 college students and nine
staff members, chiefly Christian
women, were taken from their
dormitories at around 3 a.m. and
brought to the forest by bandits
riding motorcycles, according to
Umar Muri Musa, commissioner
of police for Kaduna state.
It would be advis-
able to declare the
North unsafe for
boarding schools
until an effective
solution is imple-
mented to safe-
guard victims of
these incidents.
David Otto, consultant,
Geneva Center for Security
and Strategic Studies
“We have synergy between the
army and the police in the search
for the students, and we are work-
ing round the clock to get the kid-
nap victims back to the school,”
Musa said.
A viral video shows the Forestry
College hostages being struck
with a switch and pleading for
authorities to make a deal with
the kidnappers. The video, posted
by the kidnappers and shown on
Nigerian TV, shows masked ban-
dits dressed in military fatigues
and guarding the hostages with
AK-47 assault rifles. The abduc-
tors have demanded 500 million
Naira (approximately $1.3 mil-
lion) in ransom, the Stefanos
Foundation reported.
Authorities aren’t negotiating
a ransom, Musa said. However,
President Muhammadu Buhari
told state governors in a Feb. 26
tweet to stop paying ransoms to
bandits.
“State Governments must re-
view their policy of rewarding
bandits with money and vehi-
cles,” Buhari said. “Such a policy
has the potential to backfire with
disastrous consequences. States
and Local Governments must
also play their part by being pro-
active in improving security in &
around schools.”
The college is less than three
miles away from the 1st Division
headquarters of the Nigerian
army and a military training
academy, and just 12 miles from
the center of Kaduna City, a met-
ropolitan area.
‘Embarrassment’
As the richest and most populous
Mexican Army Seizes Shipment of Fake Russian Sputnik V Vaccines
JACK PHILLIPS
Mexican officials have seized a
shipment of fake Sputnik V CO-
VID-19 vaccine that was intended
to be transported via a private air-
craft to Honduras.
An investigation
between Russian
and Mexican au-
thorities will take
place, and a num-
ber of Honduran
citizens have
been arrested,
officials said.
According to a March 17 state-
ment from the government, offi-
cials found about 5,775 fake doses
of the Russian vaccine inside two
ice chests that were aboard a pri-
vate aircraft at the Campeche In-
ternational Airport. Photos taken
by government officials, who
worked with armed forces, showed
them stowed alongside soft drinks
and sweets in the plane.
The vials were seized by the
Nigerian soldiers and police officers stand at the entrance of the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization in Mando,
Nigeria, on March 12, 2021, after a gang stormed the school and abducted at least 30 students.
A view shows personal items belonging to students of the Federal College
of Forestry and Mechanisation, who were abducted by gunmen, in Kaduna,
Nigeria, on March 12, 2021.
SCREENSHOT VIA YOUTUBE
Students kidnapped from the Fed-
eral College of Forestry Mechani-
zation, in an undisclosed location,
held under armed guard, in a video
released by the kidnappers on March
12, 2021.
government and kept cold while
investigations were carried out
to determine the source of the
batch. An investigation between
Russian and Mexican authorities
will take place, and a number of
Honduran citizens have been ar-
rested, officials said.
The Russian Direct Investment
Fund, which financed the devel-
opment of the vaccine, told Rus-
sian state-affiliated news outlets
that “analysis of the photographs
of the seized batch, including the
design of containers and labels,
suggests that it is a fake substance
that has nothing to do with the
original vaccine.” The organization
said that the vials were “designed
and packaged as Sputnik V.”
State-run Russian media, in
recent days, have cited officials
as saying that there is an alleged
disinformation campaign brew-
ing against the vaccine in a bid to
discredit the Kremlin.
The Russian Direct Investment
Fund stated: “This is an example
of possible provocations against
Sputnik V just as Russian offi-
cials warned last week. Mexican
government stopped and pre-
vented this provocation possibly
aimed at discrediting Sputnik
V vaccine through shipment of
REUTERS/STRINGER
nation in Africa, Nigeria is a bell-
wether for the continent and a key
U.S. ally in the region, security
experts say.
“This copycat mass kidnapping
by bandits on the most vulner-
able citizens is happening all over
again and is appalling,” David
Otto, a security consultant at the
Geneva Centre for Security and
Strategic Studies, told The Epoch
Times from Buea, Cameroon..
“This is despite President Mo-
hammed Buhari issuing an ul-
timatum saying each successive
mass kidnap incident must be
the last—clearly an embarrass-
ment to the effectiveness of the
entire Nigerian security architec-
ture from the state to the Federal
Department of Security Services
(DSS), the Nigerian Police Force,
the Nigerian Civil Defense Force,
and local vigilantes.
“A state of emergency should be
fake vaccine.”
Mexico began vaccinating peo-
ple with Sputnik V in February
and has received 400,000 doses
so far.
At the same time, the United
States announced it would begin
sending 4 million doses of Astra-
Zeneca’s vaccine to Mexico and
Canada as part of a loan deal, Re-
uters reported. White House press
secretary Jen Psaki later con-
firmed the move to reporters.
“It is not fully finalized yet but
it is our aim,” she said.
FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021
BOSAN YAKUSAK/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
declared in the North West, North
Central, and North East while a
plan is instituted. It would be ad-
visable to declare the North un-
safe for boarding schools until an
effective solution is implemented
to safeguard victims of these in-
cidents.
“But that may be only half the
solution—because bandits will
simply target other schools.”
The bandit raids on schools in
Birnin Gwari and the Forestry
College were the latest of a series
of mass abductions, apparently
for ransoms.
Gunmen on motorcycles kid-
napped 279 schoolgirls in neigh-
boring Zamfara state on Feb.
27 and returned them after a few
days after a negotiated settle-
ment.
One week earlier, bandits dra-
gooned 42 students and faculty
from an all-boys boarding school
in central Niger state.
In December 2020, more than
300 schoolboys were abducted
in Katsina, Buhari’s home state,
even as he was visiting. Contra-
dicting claims of security spokes-
men that the government doesn’t
pay ransoms, “there is always a
ransom,” Otto said.
Bandit Gangs
The makeup of the bandit gangs is
a matter of contention, with Mus-
lims contending that the bandit
gangs are composed of criminals
from both Christian and Muslim
backgrounds, whereas Christian
activists insist that most gangs
are made up of radicalized Mus-
lims from the Fulani ethnicity, to
which Buhari also belongs.
MEXICAN GOVERNMENT
Reports of blood disorders have
prompted more than a dozen na-
tions to suspend the use of Astra-
Zeneca’s vaccine but on March
18, the European Union’s drug
watchdog said that after an in-
vestigation it’s still convinced the
benefits of that vaccine outweigh
the risks.
The United States doesn’t need
the AstraZeneca vaccine, which
hasn’t been approved by the
U.S. Food and Drug Adminis-
tration, to meet its target of hav-
ing enough doses for all U.S.
“There are more than 10 large
bandit gangs,” Salisu Hassan, a
spokesman for Sheikh Ahmad
Gumi, who negotiated recent re-
leases of three mass abductions
of college students, told The Ep-
och Times. “Each of the gangs
has between 300 and 500 armed
members.
“The Mallam (Sheikh Gumi) has
served as an intermediary with
the gangs to arrange an amnesty
in return for the bandits to lay
down their arms and surrender.
But because the Nigerian authori-
ties refuse to negotiate with the
bandits, everything has become
a disaster.”
Critics of the sheikh’s nego-
tiations have called his efforts a
surrender to criminals and ap-
peasement.
The uptick of bandit attacks as
well as the government’s con-
tinuing fight with ISIS allied
insurgencies in its three north-
eastern states portends a turn for
the worse, according to Nigeria
watchers.
“Nigeria is quickly fading as
a failed state,” Kyle Abts, a co-
founder of the International
Committee on Nigeria, told The
Epoch Times.
Nigeria is a coun-
try ravaged by
militants and com-
pletely pillaged.
There is total war
and absolute crisis.
Sayo Ajiboye,
founder, Mission Africa
“Nigeria’s steady descent into
lawlessness also may be linked
to a genocide against Christians.
The bandits, often wearing mili-
tary fatigues, are using revenues
from abductions to fund their
forced removal of farmers from
rural areas, many of which are
Christian.”
Sayo Ajiboye, founder of Mis-
sion Africa, wrote in an email to
The Epoch Times: “Nigeria is a
country ravaged by militants and
completely pillaged. There is total
war and absolute crisis.
“The Fulani [terrorists] are mak-
ing a desperate last-ditch bid for
a homeland and will fight to fin-
ish. Even so, Nigeria is a beautiful
nation of great people. I am per-
sonally and positively shocked at
the resilience of the people in the
face of this massive insecurity.
Pressed down but not forsaken,
they are finding a way through a
wild space littered with episodic
violence.”
Mexican officials
announced that
they had seized a
shipment of fake
Sputnik V COVID-
19 vaccine that
was intended to be
transported via a
private aircraft to
Honduras.
adults by the end of May.
Reuters contributed
to this report.
COR R EC T ION
The article “WHO Scientist:
‘No Documented Death’ Linked to COVID-
19 Vaccine,” published on March 18,
gave an incorrect date for a news
conference where WHO scientist Soumya
Swaminathan spoke. The conference
was held on March 15, 2021.
The Epoch Times regrets the error.
 FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021
UK Could Use Overseas Territories
for Space Launches, Experts Say
LILY ZHOU
The UK can use its overseas territo-
ries to get ahead in the space race,
according to experts, as it prepares
to launch spacecraft from home
soil for the first time.
Some of the British overseas
territories are “positioned in in-
credibly strategic spots,” Robert
Clark, a research fellow at the
Henry Jackson Society, a London-
based think tank, told The Epoch
Times on March 16.
Experts have called
for the UK to de-
velop its own space
capabilities as
space becomes
more contested
both commercially
and militarily.
“For example, Diego Garcia in
the British Indian Ocean territo-
ry, the Ascension Islands, and the
Falklands. These are ... perfectly
suitable for things like space-based
programs, and satellites, and radar
facilities,” he said.
Experts have called for the UK to
develop its own space capabilities
as space becomes more contested
both commercially and militarily.
In the biggest military spending
boost since 1991, Prime Minister
Boris Johnson announced in No-
vember last year that the UK will
establish its first Space Command,
and launch satellites and its first
rocket from Scotland in 2022.
However, there’s a limitation
AstraZeneca Vaccine Deemed ‘Safe’ by EU Agency After Countries Suspend Use
JACK PHILLIPS
The European Union’s drug regu-
lator announced March 18 that
the AstraZeneca CCP virus vac-
cine is “safe and effective” follow-
ing reports of recipients develop-
ing blood clots or even dying after
getting the shot.
The European Medicines Agency,
in essentially clearing the vaccine
for usage, said the Oxford-Astra-
Zeneca shot isn’t associated with
an increase in the overall risk of
developing blood clots, and the
benefits of using the vaccine con-
tinue to outweigh its possible risks.
“There is no evidence of a prob-
Behind the
Subscription
Y
our subscription will not only provide you with
accurate news and features, but also contribute
to the revival of American journalism and help
safeguard our freedoms for future generations.
We aim to tell you what we see, not how to think; we
strive to deliver you a factual picture of reality that lets
you form your own opinions.
“Factual.”
to space launches from Britain
owing to the island’s location.
Spots near the equator can take
the most advantage of the Earth’s
orbiting speed so that less propel-
lant is needed to launch a bigger
spacecraft.
This disadvantage, Clark said,
can be compensated for by the
UK’s overseas territories.
“The overseas territories that I
mentioned, for example, espe-
cially the Ascension islands, are
extremely close to the equator.
Diego Garcia is [also] close to the
equator,” he said, adding that they
are “geographically and strategi-
cally placed to help with UK space
more broadly.”
“These are capabilities that, for
example, other European space
powers don’t necessarily have.”
Mark Hilborne, a lecturer in the
Defence Studies Department at
King’s College London, also set his
eyes on these islands. He told The
Telegraph on March 9 that the UK
can plant sensors on these terri-
tories to monitor satellites from
adversaries.
“It’s sort of theoretical footprint
on the ground, and that will give
you coverage of different areas,”
he said, noting that the UK could
help fill in gaps in the Southern
Hemisphere not covered by the
United States to get “an overall
picture of what’s in space and
who’s doing what.”
“From a military perspective ...
if China does things, we need to
know about it, and the same with
Russia.”
New Approach Meets Challenges
China Will Pose
Space plays a significant role in
lem related to specific batches of
the vaccine or to particular manu-
facturing sites,” the agency said in
a statement. “However, the vaccine
may be associated with very rare
cases of blood clots associated with
thrombocytopenia, i.e. low levels
of blood platelets (elements in the
blood that help it to clot) with or
without bleeding, including rare
cases of clots in the vessels draining
blood from the brain (CVST).
“The number of reported events
exceeds those expected, and cau-
sality although not confirmed, can-
not therefore be excluded. How-
ever, given the rarity of the events,
and the difficulty of establishing
“Completely
straightforward.”
Learn more at
modern defense in terms of intel- year onwards, they’re looking at
ligence, surveillance, and recon- launching their own International
naissance. Integrated with cyber- Space Center, and the incorpora-
space, it will give the UK “a much tion of their civil and military tech-
more clear understanding” from nology will only potentiate the role
the intelligence aspect, Clark said. that Chinese military will have in
With China completing its Bei- space,” he said.
Dou satellite-based navigation BeiDou, Clark added, is “funda-
system, the West has recognized mental to Chinese space ambitions
that demilitarisation of space is in- going forwards more broadly, and
creasingly impossible, or, as some it really heralds the fact that China
say, delusional. is an ever-increasing space power.”
Clark said that space has already In the Integrated Review of Se-
been militarized for a while, and is curity, Defence, Development,
increasingly militarised by Russia and Foreign Policy published on
and China, in particular. March 16, the UK government
“If we look at the Chinese space promised to make the UK a mean-
program, particularly from next ingful actor in space.
baseline incidence since COVID-19 weigh its risks—and its use should
itself is resulting in hospitalizations continue to save lives.”
with thromboembolic complica- The announcement came after
tions, the strength of any associa- Spain, Germany, Italy, France, and
tion is uncertain.” Sweden joined a list of countries
In a separate news briefing on to suspend using the AstraZeneca
March 18, the World Health Or- shot. In Italy, a local prosecutor in
ganization Regional Director for the Piedmont region said a crimi-
Europe, Hans Kluge, called on nal manslaughter probe would be
EU countries to use the vaccine opened into the death of a 57-year-
for now. old music teacher who reportedly
“As of now, we do not know died hours after receiving the shot,
whether some or all of the con- while prosecutors said they seized
ditions have been caused by the about 400,000 doses of the vaccine.
vaccine or by other coincidental Before that, a 60-year-old Dan-
factors,” Kluge said. “At this point ish woman died after developing
in time, however, the benefits of what Danish health officials de-
the AstraZeneca vaccine far out- scribed as “unusual symptoms,”
We believe that we live in truly epochal times, where
the faithful representation of our current events won’t
just be important for the people of today, but also for
the generations to come. The records we keep now will
directly inform the foundations of the history they’ll learn
and the values they’ll cherish—and this knowledge is
what drives us.
From the readers’ testimonial videos at ReadEpoch.com
“Bringing morality back to “You’re presenting the facts “Not emotionally going up
newspapers.” and letting the reader decide. ”
EpochSubscription.com
TRUTH AND TRADITION
WORLD | A11
A person walks through snow in Falkland,
Scotland, on Feb. 9, 2020.
JEFF J MITCHELL/GETTY IMAGES
The review laid out an integrated
space strategy “which brings to-
gether military and civil space pol-
icy for the first time.” Clark said he
thinks it’s the right time for the UK
to take such an approach, which
will “be to meet the challenges that
I mentioned China will pose to the
space domain going forwards from
a military perspective.”
Another thing that needs to be
discussed further, Clark said, is
how to devise a particular set of
internationally agreed laws and
treaties that can limit and safely
coordinate military activities in
space, and will suit the benefits of
all parties concerned.
prompting Denmark to suspend
usage of the vaccine.
Some European nations such as
Greece and Belgium have contin-
ued using the vaccine. Australia,
Canada, and India have also con-
tinued to use it. The vaccine has not
yet been approved for use in the
United States by health regulators.
The United Kingdom, where
AstraZeneca developed the vac-
cine, has criticized EU countries
for suspending usage, with some
officials saying the move may have
been political in nature.
The  AstraZeneca shot is the
world’s most widely used COV-
ID-19 vaccine.
and down. ”
A12 FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021

I N A W O R L D O F C E N S O R S H I P, T H E T R U T H I S Y O U R W E A P O N .

PASS IT ON.
WE LIVE IN A TIME when actions can help words speak louder—and travel farther.
ensorship of social media
Your print edition of The Epoch Times is free from the censorship
companies and the hidden agendas of legacy media. Help more Americans cans see the
whole picture at a time when special interests are trying to manipulate what they
see, think, and believe. Share your copy of The Epoch Times. After you’re done with
your paper, leave it with a friend, a family member, at the library, in a waiting room,
or maybe on a neighbor’s doorstep. Every little bit helps. Because print news can’t be
deplatformed and your actions can’t be demonetized.

PLEASE SHARE YOUR COPY OF THE EPOCH TIMES

TRUTH and TRADITION

UPDATED

HELP IS JUST A CLICK AWAY!

TheEpochTimes.com/help
It’s quick and easy!
FROM THIS PAGE YOU CAN: You will never have
to wait again.
FIND ANSWERS FROM A COMPREHENSIVE FAQ SECTION
• Troubleshoot common problems
• Learn our terms and conditions

SUBMIT REQUESTS ONLINE*

• Report delivery and other subscription issues
• Provide editorial and other feedback

USE OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE LIVE CHAT

• Tell us your subscription inquiries or concerns

ACCESS THE CUSTOMER PORTAL

• Manage your subscription account
*Cancellations are processed on the hotline only.

Border Patrol agents arrest seven illegal immigrants who tried to evade capture near Penitas, Texas, on March 15. 2021.
The Border Crisis May Be
Coming to Your Kids’ School
BETSY MCCAUGHEY
The Biden administration
is scrambling to shelter
thousands of unaccom-
panied minors crossing
the southern border
from Central America.
The media are declaring the
crush at the border a “crisis.”
Truth is, this crisis could be heading
to your school district. If your kids are
in public school or you pay school taxes,
you need to know the facts.
The media show photos of young
migrant children. Don’t fall for that.
Three-quarters of these unaccompanied
minors are young men ages 15 to 17.
Think tattoos, not teddy bears.
These teens are carrying the name and
phone number of a relative in the United
States who will sponsor them. A few
weeks after surrendering to border offi-
cials, they’ll board buses to Los Angeles,
Houston, or New York City—the three
most frequent destinations—or else-
where in the United States where their
sponsor lives.
It’s the beginning of a hard road. The
law requires them to go to school. But
they’ve endured trauma on their trek
and missed months or years of school-
ing. Few speak English, and many don’t
know Spanish, only Mayan.
Truth is, this crisis could be
heading to your school district.
If your kids are in public school
or you pay school taxes, you
need to know the facts.
Their education will cost thousands of
dollars a year more than for the average
student because they’ll need linguistic
experts, tutors, psychological counsel-
ing, vaccinations, and other support.
They also consume most of a class-
room teacher’s attention, leaving the rest
of the class to make do with less.
Even so, only 66 percent of students
FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021 • A13
JOE RAEDLE/GETTY IMAGES
without English skills ever graduate.
They will struggle, but so will our own
kids. This migration wave is hitting
schools just as they’re reopening after
the pandemic. Students have missed an
entire year of school activities.
For school districts with tight bud-
gets, the added costs of educating these
young newcomers will mean an end
to art classes, band and orchestra, and
other enrichment activities.
School districts in four states will likely
be most affected—Florida, California,
Texas, and New York. But Connecticut
also has Central American communities
and will likely be receiving minors.
In 2014, New York City schools rolled
out the red carpet for 1,662 migrants
from Central America, committing a
whopping $50 million for special pro-
grams. At the time, parents asked the
question they should be asking again
now: Why is the federal government
allowing this influx of needy students
when New York City already has chal-
lenges? Over half of city students read
below grade level.
President Joe Biden seems oblivious.
Last week, he announced a program
to enable Central American children
to apply for admission to the United
States from their home country. That
would spare them the dangerous trek.
But it doesn’t alleviate the strain on our
schools.
The Democratic Party pays lip service
to reducing economic inequality. But
their open border policy is doing the op-
(Left) Students from Mar-
jory Stoneman Douglas High
School leave school together
in Parkland, Fla.,. on April 20,
2018.
(Right) Elementary school
students are welcomed back
as New York’s public schools
reopen for in-person learning
on Sept. 29, 2020.
Like this article? Share it
with your friends and family.
Use the camera on your
smart-phone to scan this code
and receive a shareble link.
CHARLOTTE CUTHBERTSON/THE EPOCH TIMES
SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES
posite—fostering a permanent under-
class working for low wages.
In the Chicago suburbs, these young
teens labor nights in meatpacking
plants and auto parts plants, come
home at 6 a.m. when their shift ends,
and then go to school two hours later
on almost no sleep, according to a
ProPublica expose. No wonder they
fall asleep in class and age out of high
school before getting a diploma. The
Dickensian era of child labor is be-
ing resurrected in our country today,
thanks to open borders.
Teens who fail to get a diploma are
almost doomed to poverty. Nearly half
the Central American adult migrants
in the United States don’t have a high
school diploma. Their education levels
are lower than other immigrants or the
U.S.-born population. And no surprise,
they are also poorer.
Worst of all, allowing this wave of mi-
gration to continue now will cripple our
public schools and further set back our
kids, just when they’re struggling to get
back on the learning track.
Message to Biden: close the border,
protect our schools, and put our own
kids first.
Betsy McCaughey, Ph.D., is a political
commentator, constitutional expert, syn-
dicated columnist, and author of several
books, including “The Obama Health
Law: What It Says and How to Overturn,”
and “The Next Pandemic.” She is also a
former lieutenant governor of New York.
A14 | OPINION
Why Haven’t the
Durham or Hunter
Biden Investigations
Ended Yet?
BRIAN CATES
It’s widely assumed in much of
the media commentary I’ve
seen in the past few months
that neither the Durham
special counsel’s office nor the
federal investigation into Hunter
Biden’s tax affairs are real.
Pundits and commentators make it
clear in their pronouncements that they
believe neither investigation is credible
or, if they ever were, they were subsumed
by politics long ago.
If it’s true that both always were or soon
became bogus investigations, this brings
up a relevant question: Since President
Joe Biden is now safely installed in the
White House, and there’s no longer any
reason to keep up the pretense that any-
thing is happening, why are both inves-
tigations continuing? Why haven’t they
been ended yet?
Counter to most of the media pontifica-
tions about this ongoing federal investi-
gation, I’m convinced they are quite real.
While a federal probe of a presidential
candidate’s family during an election is
a very politically sensitive endeavor—
especially if that candidate happens to
win the election and assume office as
the president of the United States—the
agents and officials handling the Hunter
Biden investigation have thus far been
completely professional about it.
DILBERT
PEANUTS
RED AND ROVER
GRAND AVENUE
MUTT & JEFF
They haven’t leaked anything to the
media about their investigation and even
during the intense media scrutiny that
followed the publication of The New York
Post’s laptop story in October 2020, they
refused to leak anything.
Even though the media has known
about the Hunter Biden investigation
since the laptop story broke, not one me-
dia outlet has been able to crack the FBI’s
wall of silence in the past four months.
Why do you suppose that is?
Now, let’s look at the other investigation
that’s claimed to not be real or to have
become a moot exercise.
A special counsel’s office (SCO) makes
and unseals its own indictments. It can
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE VIA AP investigate and prosecute cases with its
own prosecutors completely apart from
the Department of Justice (DOJ). I’m
quite frankly surprised at the number of
media reporters and pundits who don’t
seem to understand this.
The popular—and wrong—under-
standing of how an SCO functions is that
while it can do its own independent in-
vestigations and can build cases against
targets, if the SCO wants to proceed with
criminal indictments, suddenly the at-
torney general and the DOJ take over at
that point and begin approving or reject-
ing the charging decisions of the special
counsel.
That is flatly false.
You would have a major political
John Durham, then scandal of epic proportions if an SCO
the U.S. attorney for assigned to investigate former top DOJ
Connecticut, in 2018. officials for criminal conduct wanted to
bring charges against one or more of the
former officials, but the attorney general
forbid them from doing it.
Such a scandal would directly lead to
calls for that attorney general to be im-
peached for obstruction of justice.
While this silence Nobody seems to remember how the
seems to tell many Mueller special counsel investigation
ended with one of the most unusual
media observers developments ever.
that the Durham Special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe
investigation isn’t real, ended with his unwillingness to decide
whether then-President Donald Trump
that same silence tells should be charged with obstruction of
me the opposite. justice. Instead of coming to a resolution
COMICS
GARFIELD
GINGER MEGGS
BIG NATE
DRABBLE
FRANK AND ERNEST
FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021
about that, Mueller handed that decision
to the DOJ, Attorney General William
Barr, and Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein.
Both Barr and Rosenstein publicly
expressed surprise and disappointment
that Mueller and his team of indepen-
dent prosecutors declined to make their
own charging decision.
Reluctantly, Barr and Rosenstein then
did Mueller’s job for him and made the
decision to dismiss the charge rather
than make the indictment.
And yet, here we are just two years
later after these very high-profile public
events at the end of Mueller’s probe and
everybody in the media seems to be suf-
fering from some strange kind of collec-
tive amnesia.
I’m sure Durham was informing Barr,
and now Merrick Garland, of the prog-
ress of his work. But giving someone up-
dates on your progress and asking them
for permission to do your job are two
different things, and it would be great if
the media stopped confusing the two.
This idea that Durham must run each
of his charging decisions by Garland for
an official thumbs-up or thumbs-down
before he can proceed to file his own
independent indictment is absurd.
Yet that’s what many people have been
led to believe.
And it’s not true.
By all indications, Durham isn’t Mueller
2.0, and I don’t think he has any plans to
punt any of his charging decisions to the
DOJ so Garland can make them for him.
And as with the Biden investigation,
ever since the Durham SCO was formally
announced last November, and while it
was expanding its number of prosecu-
tors, not one journalist has had any suc-
cess getting any leaks out of that office.
I find the silence compelling. While
this silence seems to tell many media
observers that the Durham investigation
isn’t real, that same silence tells me the
opposite.
Not only is it real, Durham is still coming.
Brian Cates is a writer based in South
Texas and author of “Nobody Asked For
My Opinion ... But Here It Is Anyway!”
 FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021 OPINION | A15
SPECIAL SERIES: HOW THE SPECTER OF COMMUNISM IS RULING OUR WORLD

Chapter Sixteen: The Communism Stephen Gregory, Publisher

Jasper Fakkert, Editor-in-Chief
Channaly Philipp, Life & Tradition,

Behind Environmentalism Travel Editor

Chrisy Trudeau, Mind & Body Editor
Crystal Shi, Home, Food Editor
Sharon Kilarski, Arts & Culture Editor
AHMAD ZAMRONI/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

The Epoch Times here serializes

an adaptation from the Chinese ABOUT US
of “How the Specter of Communism
Is Ruling Our World,” a new book The Epoch Times is a media
by the editorial team of the “Nine organization dedicated to seek-
Commentaries on the Communist ing the truth through insightful
Party.” and independent journalism.

Standing outside of politi-

1. Communism and the
Environmental Movement
(cont.)
b. The Marxist Roots of
Environmental Movements
Eastern tradition views human beings
as the spirit of all matter and one of
the Three Talents (heaven, earth, and
human beings), while Western reli-
gions teach that man was created by
God in his own image. Thus, human
life is endowed with higher value,
purpose, and dignity. Nature exists
to nourish humankind, and humans
have an obligation to treasure and
care for the natural environment.
In the eyes of atheists and materi-
alists, however, human life has no
such special quality. Engels wrote in
one of his essays, “Life is the mode of
existence of protein bodies.” [6] In this
view, human life is no more than a
configuration of proteins, no different
in any essential manner from animals
or plants—thus, it is only logical that
humans may be deprived of freedom,
and even their lives, for the supposed
cause of protecting nature.
In the update to his 1840s book on
organic chemistry, German chemist
Justus von Liebig criticized British
farmers for using imported guano as
a fertilizer. British agriculture had
benefited from the bird manure, an
efficient fertilizer, and crop yields
had significantly increased. By the
middle of the 19th century, the Brit-
ish had ample high-quality food
sources. Von Liebig listed various
arguments against overreliance on
the imported fertilizer, among which
was the impact that collecting the
guano had on island bird popula-
tions, as well as its long-term unsus-
tainability. He also objected to the
longer lifespans and larger families of
the well-fed British populace, argu-
ing that more people meant more
environmental damage. [7]
Marx carefully studied von Liebig’s
work when writing “Das Kapital”
and used his arguments to attack the
capitalist system. Marx praised von
Liebig’s work for having “developed
from the point of view of natural sci-
ence, the negative, i.e., destructive,
side of modern agriculture.” [8] Marx
regarded any effort to create wealth
by using natural resources as a vi-
cious cycle, with the conclusion that
“a rational agriculture is incompatible
with the capitalist system.”
After Vladimir Lenin and his Bol-
shevik Party launched their 1917 coup
in Russia, they quickly promulgated
the Decree on Land and the Decree
on Forests to nationalize land, forest,
water, mineral, animal, and plant re-
sources, and prevent the public from
using them without authorization.
American meteorologist and author
Brian Sussman wrote in his 2012 book
“Eco-Tyranny: How the Left’s Green
Agenda Will Dismantle America”
that Marx and Lenin’s ideas form
the basis of those of today’s envi-
ence on Environment and Develop-
Indonesian activ- ment. He was deeply influenced by
ists roll a giant his cousin, Anna Louise Strong, a
inflatable globe on well-known pro-communist journal-
the street during ist who supported the Chinese com-
a “clean air, save munist movement and was buried in
climate” cam- China. Strong described himself as
paign in Jakarta, “a socialist in ideology, a capitalist in
Indonesia, on Nov.
methodology.” [10]
16 2007.
Strong came to occupy an important
place in the global environmental
movement. The views espoused by
the U.N. agency led by Strong appear
almost identical to Marxist theory;
the preamble to the report of the 1976
World Conference on Human Settle-
ments read: “Private land ownership
is a principal instrument of accumu-
lating wealth and therefore contrib-
utes to social injustice. Public control
of land use is therefore indispensable.”
[11] Strong lived in Beijing after his re-
tirement, but died in Canada in 2015.
Natalie Grant Wraga, an expert on
the Soviet Union’s disinformation tac-
tics, wrote in a 1998 article: “Protec-
tion of the environment has become
the principal tool for attack against the
West and all it stands for. Protection
of the environment may be used as a
pretext to adopt a series of measures
designed to undermine the industrial
base of developed nations. It may
also serve to introduce malaise by
lowering their standard of living and
implanting communist values.” [12]
Eastern
tradition c. Ecological Marxism
views At the juncture of the 19th and 20th
human centuries, British scientist Arthur
beings as Tansley originated the ideas of ecol-
the spirit of ogy and the ecosystem. Tansley was
all matter, the first chairman of the British Eco-
logical Society, and while attending
while University College, London, he was
Western
deeply influenced by Darwinian zo-
religions
ologist Ray Lankester. [13] Both were
teach that Fabian socialists. Lankester was a fre-
man was quent houseguest and friend of Marx;
created he once wrote to Marx saying that he
was studying “Das Kapital” (Marx’s
by God in 1867 text) “with the greatest pleasure
his own and profit.” [14]
image. Thus,
The originating links between eco-
human life logical ideas and Marxism appear to
is endowed emerge in these connections between
with higher Tansley, Lankester, and Marx. While
environmentalism is an ideology
value, concerned with protecting the envi-
purpose, ronment against general damage and
and dignity. misuse, ecology concerns the rela-
conflict leads to ecological crisis. [15]
The last century has proven wrong
the Marxist prediction that capital-
ism would collapse in on itself. On the
contrary, it continues to prosper. To
keep up the fight against capitalism
and private business, communists
hijacked legitimate environmental
concerns and created an environ-
mentalist ideology rooted in Marxist
theory, adopting the new rallying cry
of “ecological collapse.”
d. Ecological Socialism
As its name suggests, ecosocialism is
an ideology combining ecology and
socialism. Inserting typical social-
ist demands, such as “social justice,”
along with ecological concerns is an
attempt to advance socialist ideology
in new ways.
A good illustration of ecosocialism
is “The Ecosocialist Manifesto,” writ-
ten in 2001 by Joel Kovel and Michael
Löwy. Kovel was an anti-Vietnam War
activist and later psychiatry professor
who ran unsuccessfully for the Green
Party presidential nomination in
2000. Löwy, a sociologist, is a member
of the Trotskyist Fourth International.
In the manifesto, the authors resolve
to “build a movement that can replace
capitalism with a society in which
common ownership of the means of
production replaces capitalist owner-
ship, and in which the preservation
and restoration of ecosystems will be
a fundamental part of all human ac-
tivity.” They did not view ecosocialism
as merely a branch of socialism, but
rather as the new name of socialism
in a new era. [16]
Notes
6. Friedrich Engels, “Notes and Fragments,”
in Dialectics of Nature, trans. Clemens Dutt
(Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1883),
295–311, accessed via Marxists Internet
Archive on April 30, 2020.
7. Brian Sussman, “Eco-Tyranny: How
the Left’s Green Agenda Will Dismantle
America” (Washington, D.C.: WND Books,
2012), 8–9.
8. Karl Marx, as quoted in Sussman, “Eco-
Tyranny,” 10.
9. Ibid., 11–15.
10. Maurice Strong, as quoted in Grace
Baumgarten, “Cannot Be Silenced” (Grand
Rapids, Mich.: WestBow Press, 2016).
cal interests and the pursuit of
profit, our starting point and our
goal is to create a media for the
public benefit, to be truly respon-
sible to society.
We endeavor to educate read-
ers about today’s most impor-
tant topics, seeking to broaden
and uplift minds. We believe that
rational, balanced debate is key
for fostering a healthy democ-
racy and a compassionate
society.
As an independent media out-
let, we use our freedom to inves-
tigate issues overlooked—or
avoided—by other media outlets.
We seek to highlight solutions
and what’s good in society rather
than what divides us.
We report respectfully, compas-
sionately, and rigorously.
We stand against the destruc-
tion wrought by communism,
including the harm done to cul-
tures around the world.
We are inspired in this by our
own experience. The Epoch
Times was founded in 2000 to
bring honest and uncensored
news to people oppressed
by the lies and violence in
communist China.
We still believe journalism is a
noble vocation, but only when it
genuinely seeks to serve its com-
munities and help them to flour-
ish. In all that we do, we will hold
ourselves to the highest stand-
ards of integrity. This is our
promise to you.
CONTACT US
The Epoch Times Association Inc.
229 W. 28th St., Fl. 7
New York, NY 10001
Advertising
advertisenow@epochtimes.com
Subscriptions
Help.TheEpochTimes.com
General Inquiries
Help.TheEpochTimes.com
Letters to the Editor
lettertoeditor@epochtimes.com

ronmentalists. In their view, no one
has the right to profit from natural
resources. “Whether it’s saving the
forests, whales, snails, or the climate,
it all comes back to a deep-rooted
belief that the quest for such profit is
immoral and will ultimately destroy
the planet unless ground to a halt,”
Sussman wrote. [9]
The global environmental move-
ment has involved a large number
of thinkers, politicians, scientists,
social activists, and media personali-
ties. This text does not have sufficient
space to enumerate their thoughts,
speeches, and actions in full, but one
figure cannot be ignored: Maurice
Strong, the founder and first execu-
tive director of the U.N. Environment
Programme. Strong, a Canadian, also
organized U.N. conferences including
the 1972 Conference on the Human
Environment and the 1992 Confer-
tionship between living things and
their environment, and thus provides
the theoretical basis for defining the
harm done to the environment. Eco-
Marxism takes these ideas a step fur-
ther, adding the concept of ecological
crises to augment its arguments about
the economic collapse of capital-
ism. It seeks to expand the supposed
conflict between the bourgeoisie and
the proletariat by adding an inher-
ent conflict between production and
the environment. This is the theory
of double crisis or double conflict. In
Marxist theory, the primary conflict
of capitalism is between productive
forces and the relations of production,
while the secondary conflict happens
between the environment of produc-
tion (the ecosystem) and the produc-
tive forces (capitalism). In a Marxist
view, the primary conflict leads to
economic crisis, while the secondary
SUBSCRIBE
11. Sussman, “Eco-Tyranny,” 35.
12. Natalie Grant Wraga, as quoted in
Vernon, “The Marxist Roots.”
13. John Bellamy Foster, “Marx’s Ecology
in Historical Perspective,” International
Socialism Journal 96 (Winter 2002).
TODAY
14. Ray Lankester, as quoted in Lewis Get the
S. Feuer, “The Friendship of Edwin Ray
Lankester and Karl Marx: The Last Episode independent news
in Marx’s Intellectual Evolution,” Journal of
the History of Ideas 40, no. 4: 633–648. you won’t find
15. James O’Connor, “Natural Causes: anywhere else.
Essays in Ecological Marxism” (New York:
The Guilford Press, 1997).
Subscribe and get the
16. Joel Kovel and Michael Löwy, “The First insights only The Epoch Times
Ecosocialist Manifesto,” September 2001 can provide, delivered to your
door every week.
See next edition for the next installment.
ReadEpoch.com
To purchase the books, visit Epoch-
Shop.com
A16 | OPINION
Now Come the Taxes
CAL THOMAS
The front-page headline
in Monday’s Wall Street
Journal said: “Biden
weighs how to pay for
Agenda.” Who purchas-
es something they know
they can’t afford, and then
worries about paying for it later? Only
government.
After less than two months in office,
President Joe Biden and a majority Dem-
ocrat Congress have engaged in record
spending with insufficient money to pay
for it. That may be about to change.
Bloomberg.com reports the president
wants to raise individual income taxes,
as well as taxes on corporations (and
expand the estate tax) to pay for another
round of spending on infrastructure and
programs and policies dear to liberal
hearts. We are already hearing the man-
tra Democrats have used for decades to
justify tax hikes: The rich must pay their
“fair share.” They never tell us what is
fair, or the amount of confiscation they
wish to impose. It is always a moving
target.
As mentioned in previous columns, the
federal government doesn’t lack rev-
enue; it lacks self-control when it comes
to spending. Some Democrats are even
talking about the return of earmarks,
those add-ons to legislation that Re-
publicans voted to ban when they had a
House majority. Democrats think they
Super Straight: The Latest Sexual Identity
JENNIFER LAHL
You’ve probably heard of
Curtis Mayfield’s Super
Fly soundtrack for the
film of the same name,
Rick James’s Super Freak,
The Book You’ve Been
Waiting for...
“Extremely well “The Truth, as horrifying as it is,
researched and true.” shall set us free. This should be
on this country’s academia’s
list of required reading.”
HOW THE
SPECTER OF COMMUNISM
IS RULING OUR WORLD
The specter of communism did not
disappear with the disintegration of the
Communist Party in Eastern Europe
ORDER NOW!
EpochShop.com
can revive them to tempt GOP members
into going along with their spending
plans.
Unrestrained by a Republican majority
in either house of Congress, or a Republi-
can president, Democrats have the votes
to push legislation through, at least until
the 2022 election, showing little con-
cern for voter anger. It doesn’t matter to
them that the Trump tax cuts produced
tremendous economic results for busi-
nesses that then create jobs and hire
workers. Democrats cling to the false
notion that more spending and higher
taxes solve everything. If it did, would it
not have by now?
The left—and that is what today’s
Democratic Party represents—believes
that by spending more it can addict
more people to government, enhancing
the careers of politicians. In various ads
and fundraising appeals over the years,
Democrats have claimed that electing
Republicans will lead to canceled Social
Security checks and other government
benefits. They never speak of individual
responsibility, liberty, or the proper role
of government. Oh, how we need term
limits, but that would mean career politi-
cians would have to vote for them, which
they will never do.
Democrats will likely begin with rais-
ing corporate taxes, because they have
been successful in portraying corpora-
tions as evil and greedy. Trouble is, those
corporations hire people and employees
also pay taxes, contributing to economic
and the Super-Size Me film from 2004.
Now, added to the transgender word salad
fight is the newest sexual identity, Super
Straight.
Kyle Royce, a TikTok social media
personality and influencer, started a
stir when he introduced the term super
NOW
BIGGER SIZE,
EASIER TO READ
FORMAT
growth. If corporations must pay more
in taxes, they are less likely to hire and
lay off current employees. Anytime is a
bad time to raise taxes but raising them
while people are still struggling with the
consequences of government shutdowns
is immoral.
The Washington Post said this about
raising the corporate tax rate: “Some tax
experts, business groups and Republican
lawmakers say raising the rate could
damage U.S. competitiveness. Countries
around the globe have both recently and
over the past several decades joined the
United States in reducing tax rates to at-
tract corporate investment ... The average
tax rate among countries is 24 percent,
according to the Tax Foundation, a right-
leaning think tank. Just last year, nine
countries, including France, lowered
their corporate tax rates.”
The current federal corporate tax rate
is 21 percent. Then-President Donald
Trump cut it from 35 percent. As we
straight. Royce was fed up with being
called transphobic because he only dates
women, as in real women (cisgender or cis)
who were born women. He also refuses to
call a transwoman a woman, since they
are biologically male and not female. And
he pushes back on the transphobic label
because he will not date a “woman” who
has or had a penis.
The fallout began when he first posted
his video on TikTok, declaring himself
super straight. His video had more than 2
million likes before TikTok pulled it. Tik-
Tok also banned Royce’s account, as well
as the hashtag #superstraight.
Royce then posted the video on YouTube.
His videos have been integral in the take-
off of the Super Straight movement, which
is catching on and growing rapidly, with
others launching campaigns on Twitter,
Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and even
a LGBS Super Straight group, for Lesbians,
Gays, Bisexuals, and Straights, the “T” for
“transgender” being intentionally omitted.
Royce’s viral video explicitly identifies
himself as Christian, giving more fuel to
the Trans Rights Activists (TRAs) to claim
Royce is just a right-wing hater. But others
played the Nazi card.
Seems people just can’t miss an
opportunity to brand people as
transphobic just because they
aren’t attracted to trans people.
TRAs didn’t waste any time with their
claims that “the ‘super straight’ trend on
social media (where users claim a ‘new
sexuality’ which demands the same
respect as those with marginalized sexual
identities) is actually just blatant trans-
phobia mocking LGBTQ people and their
activism.”
Snopes got in on the act, too, with fact-
checking the question, “Did the ‘Super
Straight’ Trend Originate with Nazis on
4chan?” They gave this claim an unproven
rating with a caveat that “regardless of
who started it, be aware that the social
media trend is strongly associated with
transphobia now.”
Seems people just can’t miss an op-
portunity to brand people as transphobic
just because they aren’t attracted to trans
people.
So, what is super straight and why do we
need a new sexual identity?
First, the super straight movement de-
fines supersexual, like heterosexual or ho-
mosexual, as a “sexual orientation based
on the sexual, emotional, and romantic
attraction only toward biological men
(adult human males) and or biological
women (adult human female).” It doesn’t
acknowledge a sexual orientation toward
transmen or transwomen and is a sexual-
FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021
MIKE SIMONS/GETTY IMAGES
A woman
works on tax
returns at the
Cincinnati
Internal
Revenue
Service Center
in Covington,
Ky., in this file
photo.
emerge from the pandemic, it should
stay at 21 percent and Biden should keep
his hands off the money we earn.
What’s needed is a nonpartisan panel
to conduct a top-down review of all
government spending, eliminating waste
and reforming outdated programs that
are outdated, or can be better done by
the private sector. Don’t look for Demo-
crats to do that. It isn’t their nature.
Republican hands aren’t clean when it
comes to spending, either. Voters not
addicted to government will have to de-
mand more fiscal responsibility. As with
nations of the past, massive debt and
high taxes have contributed to national
decline.
John Calvin Thomas has been a syndicat-
ed columnist, author, and radio commen-
tator for more than 35 years. His latest
book is “America’s Expiration Date: The
Fall of Empires and Superpowers and the
Future of the United States.”
SCREENSHOT/YOUTUBE
Kyle Ross, the founder of the Super Straight
movement.
ity that is rooted in biology, versus ideol-
ogy. It rejects the notion that a transman (a
biological woman) is a man and a trans-
woman (a biological male) is a woman,
and people who are cis aren’t transphobic
for not being sexually attracted to trans
people.
Why do we need a new identity classifi-
cation of super straight and supersexual?
On one hand, this can be seen as total
parody or absurdity. But given how quickly
the TRAs have moved to shout down with
slurs of transphobia and bigotry and hate
speech those who disagree with them,
I believe we do need to keep saying as
loudly and clearly as possible that biologi-
cal sex is real.
We need to boldly defend material real-
ity and unapologetically resist the peer
pressure that insists we play make-believe
or indulge nonsensical tropes like “men
can have vaginas” and “women can have
penises.”
It has been super fun to see how super
fast super straight has taken off. I think
people are beginning to wake up to the
realities of the trans ideology movement
and how it isn’t about human rights for
trans-identifying individuals, but how it
is a movement that seeks to obliterate the
sexes, male and female, and force people
to deny human biology.
It isn’t wrong that a man or woman isn’t
sexually attracted to a trans person, and to
label this as hate or bigoted or transphobic
minimizes what true hate and bigotry are.
As for me, I identify as super straight, not
out of hate or bigotry, but out of reason,
science, and facts.
Follow me on Twitter. I am Super
Straight @JenniferLahl
Jennifer Lahl is the founder and president
of the Center for Bioethics and Culture and
producer of the documentary films, “Egg-
sploitation,” “Anonymous Father’s Day,”
“Breeders: A Subclass of Women?” “Mag-
gie’s Story,” and “#BigFertility,” which was
an official selection in the Silicon Valley
International Film Festival. She is back
behind the camera, producing a film on the
ethics of allowing children to medically and
surgically transition.
 FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021
Republican Insiders Say Corporate ‘Woke-ism’
Threatens Pact Between GOP and Big Business
TOM OZIMEK
A lobbying and communications outfit
with deep ties to GOP leadership argued
in a recent memo that the rise of “woke
CEOs embracing avant-garde social agen-
das” is fueling a populist surge in the Re-
publican Party that threatens to upend its
longstanding pact with big business.
There’s “trouble ahead for the tried-and-
true coalition of Republicans and corpo-
rate America—and the issues they care
about,” CGCN Group wrote.
That coalition has, for years, pushed back
against what it saw as big government, an-
ti-free market policies, the authors argued.
But as more members of the Republican
old guard retire and young up-and-comers
hardened by battles on the barricades of
America’s culture wars gain more influ-
ence in the GOP, the memo’s authors see
the stirrings of a realignment within the
party that they characterize as an “anti-big
business bent.”
“Whether on issues related to technol-
ogy and social media, immigration, taxes,
trade, and much else, congressional Re-
publicans—many of whom are under the
age of 50—are gravitating more and more
to the views and demands of their conser-
vative base,” they wrote.
“As noted, ‘woke-ism’ is a central target of
GOP voters, and their younger leaders are
attacking what they perceive is its unholy
grip on the nation’s major social, cultural,
and economic institutions.”
The policy implication of this shift, the
memo argues, is a Republican Party “in-
creasingly unwilling to listen simultane-
ously to corporate priorities on, say, tax
and trade policy, alongside their CEOs’
latest cultural forays.”
While the memo did not offer specifics on
how executives are playing social justice
politics, the “sharp left turn” of corporate
America—in the words of Wall Street Jour-
nal editorial board member Kimberley
Strassel—is a phenomenon that has come
increasingly into the limelight over the
past four years, and surged to the forefront
after the deplatforming of former President
US Jobless Claims Rise to
770,000 With Layoffs Still High
WASHINGTON—The number of Ameri-
cans seeking unemployment benefits
rose last week to 770,000, a sign that lay-
offs remain high even as much of the U.S.
economy is steadily recovering from the
recession.
The  March 18 report from the Labor
Department showed that jobless claims
climbed from 725,000 the week before. The
numbers have dropped sharply since the
depths of the recession last spring but still
show that employers in some industries
continue to lay off workers. Before the pan-
demic struck, applications for unemploy-
ment aid had never topped 700,000 in any
one week.
The four-week average of claims, which
smooths out weekly variations, dropped
to 746,000, the lowest since late November.
A total of 4.1 million people are con-
tinuing to collect traditional state unem-
ployment benefits, down 18,000 from the
previous week. Including separate federal
programs that are intended to help workers
displaced by the health crisis, 18.2 million
Americans were receiving some form of
jobless aid in the week of Feb. 27, down by
1.9 million from the week before.
The continuing layoffs are occurring
even as the overall job market has shown
solid improvement. Last month, U.S. em-
ployers added a robust 379,000 jobs, the
most since October and a sign that the
economy is strengthening as consumers
spend more and states and cities ease
business restrictions.
With vaccinations accelerating, hopes
are rising that Americans will increasingly
travel, shop, eat out, and spend freely after
a year of lockdown-induced restraint.
The $1.9 trillion relief package is also
expected to help accelerate growth, espe-
cially with most adults this week receiv-
ing $1,400 stimulus checks that should
fuel more spending. An extension of $300
weekly unemployment benefits into early
September will provide support, too, along
with money for vaccines and treatments,
school reopenings, state and local govern-
ments, and ailing industries ranging from
airlines to concert halls.
Donald Trump.
“Big Business over the past four years has
increasingly signed up for leftist politics,”
Strassel wrote in a recent op-ed, pointing
to examples like “‘wokewashing,’ peddling
causes or figures for brand benefit—think
Nike’s Colin Kaepernick commercial or
Lacoste’s replacement of its crocodile logo
with endangered species.”
“Some was spinelessness, caving in to
the liberal mob—think Goldman Sachs’s
refusal to finance fossil-fuel projects. Some
was strategic—Twitter and Facebook at-
tempting to ward off regulation with ever-
changing policies on ‘misinformation.’”
This trend veered more sharply to the
left, she wrote, when some companies—
Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube—banned
Trump or clamped down on his content,
and others—like Stripe and Shopify—re-
stricted his ability to process campaign
contributions or do business. She also
STEPHANIE KEITH/GETTY IMAGES
A man stands in front of the New York State
Department of Labor in Brooklyn, N.Y.,
on May 7, 2020.
“Labor market strains are ongoing, but
we expect filings [for unemployment aid] to
start declining as restrictions are lifted and
more normal operations resume,” Rubeela
Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Fre-
quency Economics, said in a research note.
“As businesses return to full capacity, job
and income prospects will improve and,
combined with fiscal support, will provide
a powerful lift to the economy.’’
At the same time, the nation is still rough-
ly 9.5 million short of the number of jobs it
had in February 2020. And Federal Reserve
Chair Jerome Powell suggested March 17
after the Fed’s latest policy meeting that the
overall economic outlook remained cloudy.
“The state of the economy in two or three
years is highly uncertain,” Powell said at
a news conference after the Fed signaled
that it expects to keep its key interest rate
near zero through 2023 despite some solid
economic gains and concerns about rising
inflation pressures.
By most barometers, business activity in
the economy’s vast and hard-hit service
sector is still far from normal. The data
firm Womply said, for example, that as of
early last week 63 percent of movie theaters,
galleries, and other entertainment venues
were closed. So were 39 percent of bars,
32 percent of gyms and other sports and
recreation businesses, and 30 percent of
restaurants.
By Paul Wiseman
From The Associated Press
BUSINESS & ECONOMY | A17
DOMINICK REUTER/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
A woman
walks past
the elephant
logo of the
Republican
Party in
Cleveland
on July 18,
2016.
pointed to the bevy of companies that an- Dictatorship of Woke Capital: How Political
nounced they would withhold donations Correctness Captured Big Business,” told
to Republicans who supported Trump’s The Epoch Times’ “Crossroads” that Amer-
election challenges. ican big business had traditionally served
“Business titans are positioning them- as a free-market-loving shield against what
selves as arbiters of political speech and he said was a long, leftist march for control
activity—by withholding essential services of the institutions of Western civilization.
to conservative individuals, companies, But that’s changed, Soukup said, arguing
and groups,” she wrote. “They’ve turned that the left “effectively took over business
themselves into political entities, raising within the last decade.”
constitutional and antitrust questions.” Soukup urged conservatives to take ac-
She said that corporate America was tion to save American big business from
“moving from captives of wokeness to falling deeper into the grip of the “woke”
active accomplices.” movement.
Big business abandoning its role as a bul- As for CGCN’s advice for corporations,
wark against anti-free market impulses “the business community needs to rethink
and big government encroachment is an how it engages the GOP on issues they con-
argument increasingly being made by sider fundamental, because their list of pri-
critics who accuse corporate America orities and the GOP’s may not always over-
of falling into the clutches of the “woke” lap in the same way it once did,” he said.
movement.
Stephen Soukup, author of the book “The Joshua Philipp contributed to this report.
Need to Adjust Your Epoch
Times Email Preferences?
TheEpochTimes.com
It’s fast and easy from our customer portal!
Access our email preferences dashboard in three easy steps.
1. Log In Log in to your account at TheEpochTimes.com
Click on your name in
2. Click the top right-hand corner of the page
Welcome, John
Click on the sidebar option for
3. Email Newsletter “Email Newsletters”
You’ll then see a list of the Epoch Times emails you’re currently subscribed to
—and can change your preferences to what best fits your inbox.
Welcome, John!
My Account
3UR¿OH
Subscription Subscribe
Email Newsletters
Premium Content
Digital Newspaper
Unsubscribe
(ePaper)
You can also unsubscribe
from a newsletter by
clicking Manage your Copyright © 2021 The Epoch Times, All rights reserved.
email preference here at
The Epoch Times, 229 W 28th St, Fl.5, New York, NY 10001
the bottom of our emails.
With social media censorship sidelining many important
headlines, our Breaking News email is how we make sure
you get the latest developments that our reporters have
curated from around the world. It’s our way of keeping you
truly informed so that you can make the decisions that
align with your values. We hope you enjoy our coverage.
Manage your email preferences here
A18 | OPINION FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021

CROSSWORD CONSTRUCTED BY TOM HOUSTON

EPOCH TIMES STAFF 11. “CSI” evidence 4NUMBERS CONSTRUCTED BY C. CHANG
AT 4NUMS.COM DAILY BRIDGE CLUB
12. High-strung
Use the four numbers in the corners, and Cy’s partner problems
13. Spread rumors the operands (+, - X, and ÷) to build an BY FRANK STEWART, TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY
14. Pig out equation to get the solution in the middle.
©2021 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
There may be more than one “unique” so-
15. 4 o’clock silver lution but, there may also be “equivalent”
20. “Dry” in a bar solutions. For example: 6 + (7 X 3) +1 = 28 Cy the Cynic’s social life — he usually dates
and 1+ (7 X 3) + 6 = 28 at least three women a week — had hit
27. “To Autumn,” e.g. a rocky patch, so Cy sent his profile and
28. College V.I.P. photo to a local lonely hearts club.
30. Commonly “Did they respond?” I asked him.
“They returned my photo,” the Cynic
31. “Kapow!” growled. “They said they weren’t that
33. Design detail lonely.”
34. Chamber group, Cy also has trouble keeping partners; all
it takes to keep him happy is perfection.
maybe When Cy was today’s West in a penny
37. 100 bani game, he led a heart against five clubs, and
East took the king and ace and led the jack
38. Piercer of diamonds.
39. They make old TVs
useful MAKING FIVE
Declarer won and cashed the A-K of
40. What a keeper may Hard 1 - 1 Solution trumps. When Cy showed out, South got to
keep dummy with the ace of spades, led a trump
to his nine and took the rest. Making five.
41. Settles “I’m getting too old to play this game
45. “The ___” (sci-fi flick) alone,” Cy muttered.
47. Rajah’s wife The bidding marks South with at least
10 minor-suit cards. His pattern is probably
48. Christmas ___ 1-2-5-5. To protect his trump holding,
49. “I need to know how East must lead a spade at Trick Three. He
much food to order,” for removes South’s only dummy entry before
South learns about the trump position.
short
50. Zig or zag DAILY QUESTION
You hold: { K 9 6 A K 6 5 J 4
51. “C’est la ___!” y J 5 4 3. Your partner opens one
52. “A Midsummer diamond, you respond one heart and he
Hard 2 - 1 Solution bids one spade. What do you say?
Night’s Dream” quartet
ANSWER: Your hand has enough strength
Across 37. Desktop publisher’s 79. Half a dozen 56. Airplane in flight, to invite game but not quite enough to
1. Frank Morris’s specialty need 80. Secondary effect often force, especially if your partner believes in
opening lightish distributional hands. Bid
9. Char. of Jell-O pudding 42. Reply to “Shall we?” 84. Scrape (out) 57. Anthropoid 2NT, suggesting 11 or 12 points, balanced
13. Period 43. Yeanling producer 85. Kenny G’s sax 58. Complete array pattern and a trick in the unbid suit. If
16. Balustrades 44. Paris bisector 86. Summer quencher 59. Black bowling ball your partner doesn’t bid again, you may be
where you belong.
17. Awesome 45. Wacko 87. Lo-___ material South dealer
18. “ ___ got a brand new 46. Far-right 88. Like Easter eggs 60. Tartare E-W vulnerable
pair of roller skates” (K. 53. Besmirch 89. Babbles 61. Well-kept secret, for
McPhee) 54. “Electronic babysit- some
19. Junior varsity athlete ter” Down 66. “I ___ You Now,” mas-
21. Irish ___ 55. Pacific ___ 1. Gossip seur’s song Easy 1 - 1 Solution
22. Knock off 56. “Are you for real?!” 2. Russian alternative 67. Med research org in
23. Leprechaun’s land 58. Dwells on to excess 3. Pond denizen Bethesda, MD
24. “... for what ___ 62. Class B violent felony 4. “... cakes and ___?”: 69. Twofold
worth” 63. Legal org. Shak. 70. Eat away at
25. “48 ___” (1982 Nick 64. Bluenose 5. Cassis-flavored aperitif 71. Punishes, in a way
Nolte movie) 65. Behind the scenes 6. A while ago 75. Go to a different
26. Beat 68. Mediterranean sailing 7. Wrinkly fruit state?
29. One whose ‘win’ is ship 8. Nicholas I or II 76. From square one
challenged 72. U.N. workers’ grp. 9. “Fake” things under- 77. N.Y.C. cultural center
32. The loser gets left in it 73. ___ fat yogurt classmen have 81. Pea’s place
35. Charge 74. Muslim holy man 10. Candidate for an 82. Up-to-date
36. Terrific, in slang 78. Portfolio part, in brief award 83. Conclude Easy 2 - 2 Solutions

WORDSEARCH CONSTRUCTED BY TOM HOUSTON

EPOCH TIMES STAFF SUPER KAKURO CONSTRUCTED
BY EPOCH TIMES STAFF

Help with Today’s Crossword Puzzle? Kakuro puzzles are like crosswords that use numbers instead of words. The goal is to fill the blank squares associated with a clue (called a “run”) with the numbers
1-9 so that the numbers add up to the corresponding clues. Like Sudoku, digits in a run cannot repeat. When the grid is filled, the puzzle is complete.

BINAL KNEAD SET-TOP BOXES

BREAK OUT LEMONADE SPATTER
BRUIT MANLIKE SPLAT
BURSAR MATRIX TEA SETS
CANES NESTS TENSE
CONTESTEE NOMINEE THROB
CRUISER OVEREAT TV SET
DISH THE DIRT PANOPLY TWADDLES
EBONITE RAILINGS UNBEKNOWN
EIDER RANCH UNDERCLASSMAN
EPIPHENOMENON RANEE XEBEC
ERODE SEINE

SOLUTIONS
CROSSWORD SUPER KAKURO
4 NUMBERS
HARD 1

HARD 2

EASY 1

EASY 2
 FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021 PUZZLES | A19
SUDOKU CONSTRUCTED
BY KANNAN SANKARAN SUPERSUDOKU CONSTRUCTED
BY KANNAN SANKARAN

Fill in the boxes using numbers between 1 and 9 so that each column, each Fill in the boxes using numbers from 0 to 9 and letters from A to F so that each column, each row, and
row, and each 3x3 square contain all nine numbers only once. each 4x4 square contain all ten numbers and six letters only once.
Hard

Easy FEEDBACK@EPOCHTIMES.COM

WE HAVE MADE SOME CHANGES TO

OUR PUZZLE PAGE IN RESPONSE TO
PUZZLER’S FEEDBACK. LET US KNOW
WHAT YOU THINK!
FEEDBACK@EPOCHTIMES.COM

CRYPTIC QUOTE

EPOCH DOKU CONSTRUCTED

BY EPOCH TIMES STAFF

WORK SPACE

KAKURO CONSTRUCTED
BY EPOCH TIMES STAFF JUMBLE BY DAVID L. HOYT
& JEFF KNUREK

Kakuro puzzles are like crosswords that use numbers instead of words. The goal THAT SCRAMBLED WORD GAME
is to fill the blank squares associated with a clue (called a “run”) with the numbers By David L. Hoyt and Jeff Knurek
1-9 so that the numbers add up to the corresponding clues. Like Sudoku, digits Unscramble these Jumbles,
*HWWKHIUHH-867-80%/(DSS‡)ROORZXVRQ7ZLWWHU#3OD\-XPEOH

in a run cannot repeat. When the grid is filled, the puzzle is complete. one letter to each square,
to form four ordinary words.
Easy NUDMO
EPOCH ESCAPE MAZE
RNWOS

TASEWY

LLWIWO
Now arrange the circled letters
©2021 Tribune Content Agency, LLC to form the surprise answer, as
All Rights Reserved. suggested by the above cartoon.

“ ”

WORK SPACE

SOLUTIONS
SUPERSUDOKU SUDOKU: EASY JUMBLE EASY KAKURO
WAS “SNOW” WONDER Thinking cap
the total accumulation —
strong winter storm, so
They predicted a very
Answers:
WILLOW
SWEATY
SWORN
MOUND
Jumbles:
SUDOKU: HARD EPOCH DOKU

CRYPTIC QUOTE
didn’t have television then.
saving France in 1946 - I
I might have had trouble
A20 | FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021

‘You and I have

a rendezvous with destiny.’ – Ronald Reagan

A
s a nation, we are once again facing the
same darkness that President Reagan
faced decades ago, one that we
thought that we had fought off—the
specter of communism.
We at The Epoch Times are far too familiar with
this beast. Many of us are survivors of communist
regimes and know their methods well.
This is why we’ve been able to keep going for
two decades, despite being one of the Chinese
Communist Party’s biggest media targets. We
work for nobody and nothing other than our
readers and our mission of Truth and Tradition.
Now, when the United States has once again
reached a point of decision, of whether we
shall preserve the last best hope of man on
earth or take the first step into a thousand
years of darkness, we at The Epoch Times
want to give you more than just-the-facts
journalism. We want to make sure we are all
on the right side of history.
As history has shown time and time again,
the truth will always prevail, regardless of
how many attempts there are to cover it up.
With you by our side, we will bring the truth to
light and see justice restored in our nation.
In history, communist regimes have fallen
because their people ultimately decided that they
had had enough. There’s no reason to believe
that the socialist forces we see in America today
won’t be defeated in the same way.
We at The Epoch Times want
to give you more than just-the-
facts journalism. We want to
make sure we are all on the
right side of history.
The Epoch Times will continue to report as
we always have—with integrity and the best
interests of our readers in mind. It is our duty
as Americans to preserve the best of the country
PUBLIC DOMAIN
that has given us so much.
Now, we’d like to ask for your help in getting
our reporting in front of more Americans so
that they can also have the truth at such a
critical juncture in our history.

YOU CAN HELP IN ONE OF THREE WAYS:

1. Tell 5 of your friends 2. Request a sample paper 3. Buy a gift subscription

to subscribe to The Epoch Times for your friends and family for someone who you think will appreciate it
EpochSample.com TheEpochTimes.com/profile ReadEpoch.com/gift

TRUTH AND TRADITION

What Our
Readers I’m grateful there are still brave warriors dedicated to
Say (#28) writing truth and protecting freedom. If you’re reading
this, you feel that dedication is lacking elsewhere in
modern journalism, too … Support The Epoch Times.

All of the real raw information
available in the free world comes
through The Epoch Times and its
associates (21 affiliates worldwide).
I’m grateful there are still brave
warriors dedicated to writing truth
and protecting freedom. If you’re
reading this, you feel that dedication
is lacking elsewhere in modern
journalism, too. America is the
center of the free world and we keep
it that way by protecting our First
Amendment Rights. Support truth in
journalism. Support The Epoch Times.
SARAH LAVERY
It is the only honest and truthful
newspaper left. I quit reading all
the rest.
MALINDA K. FOSTER
The Epoch Times has the best
quality content of any paper I have
read. The current events reporting
is detailed and more importantly,
it offers historical as well as
pertinent links to related events
which creates broad perspective.
The papers are fun to read and
are composed in such a way as to
present informational coherence
from article to article, including the
opinion pieces. The structure and
content is thought-provoking as well
as objectively informing.
WESLEY FORTNEY
It’s honesty in its coverage.
LACEY SAXON
Learn more at EpochSubscription.com
Truth is spoken here, unvarnished
and unadulterated!
JOHN COMMERS
Excellent level of writing. Strong
evidence-based reporting and
analysis. Important variety of topics.
Interesting and useful information.
I feel best informed after reading.
MARISA NOVAK
It is the rock of truth that I stake
my reputation on.
ALAN KWIATKOWSKI
I discovered The Epoch Times
about a year ago, and it’s my
go-to news source. While the
mainstream media attempts to
silence their voice through smears
and disinformation, I encourage
everyone I know to follow, read
and take notes as their stories
and information are always
accurate. Honestly, I count on
The Epoch Times to bring truth
to the forefront. I appreciate their
investigative tenacity and how
quickly they jump on essential
news items. My family also
subscribes to their newspaper,
which is fantastic. In the end, I’m a
loyal follower because The Epoch
Times reporting is honest; their
points of view are interesting, and
overall they are one of the most
reliable and trustworthy news
sources. My thanks to all who work
so hard to bring truth and integrity
back to journalism.
CYNTHIA PHILLIPS

TRUTH AND TRADITION

OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
Mother Nature’s Hidden Gems
A bit of research can reveal often-overlooked places
that offer a variety of environments to meet any
preference.
See B6
DESTINATIONS | TRENDS | TIPS
Exploring Ancient Wonders
The Pyramids
and the Nile
TIM JOHNSON
H
eaded west, we cross the broad
expanse of the Nile, so storied
in our collective knowledge
and memory, from carrying
the baby Moses in a basket
to running red in the biblical plagues. But
today, nothing feels so ancient, the surface
below buzzing with small boats, busy with
the flow and urgency of day-to-day life.
Leaving the cacophony of Cairo’s center
behind, the traffic on the highway remains
thick, maintaining its languid pace, the four
lanes spreading to six, or even eight, as every-
one looks for an angle, pushing to get ahead.
And then, just like that, the dusty outer
districts fall away, the endless march of
half-finished high-rises ceasing at the edge
of the sand. Sitting in the back of a minivan,
the only guest for this day’s tour, I crane my
neck to see out the window. Three unmis-
takable peaks rise from the desert floor,
their image so familiar yet almost surreal
in person, this iconic trio standing here in
the same place for some 4,500 years.
An Open-Air Museum
I’m in Egypt, exploring Cairo and Giza.
Now home to more than 20 million peo-
ple—Africa’s largest city, and one of the
largest metropolises in the world—few
places match the modern energy of Egypt’s
capital. But all that’s new is a mere patina
How the
Pyramids at Giza
were built remains
a mystery.
HAWAII
Return to Kauai:
A Salve for the Soul
The tiny Hawaiian island, home to 67,000 residents,
has a relaxed and welcoming feel.
See B4
FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021 B1
ALL PHOTOS BY SHUTTERSTOCK
over thousands of years of history, the city
serves as a giant, open-air museum. I’m
here to explore it all, taking a trip back in
time as I travel all over town, from the color
of chaotic markets to impromptu boat rides
on the river to a climb deep inside the pyra-
mids themselves.
The Pyramids at
Giza were erected
in a relatively short
window of time by three
successive pharaohs—in
less than a century.
While they date back to around 2500 B.C.
and were built with eternity in mind, the
Pyramids at Giza were erected in a rela-
tively short window of time by three suc-
cessive pharaohs—in less than a century.
Pharaoh Khufu (also known as Cheops)
built the first and largest, the Great Pyra-
mid, whose base covers 13 acres of land
and which once rose to a height of 481 feet.
It stood as the tallest man-made structure
in the world for about 4,000 years.
Continued on B2
B2
Behind the
Subscription
Your subscription will not only provide you with
accurate news and features, but also contribute
to the revival of American journalism and help
safeguard our freedoms for future generations.
We aim to tell you what we see, not how to think; we
strive to deliver you a factual picture of reality that
lets you form your own opinions.
We believe that we live in truly epochal times, where
the faithful representation of our current events
won’t just be important for the people of today, but
also for the generations to come. The records we
keep now will directly inform the foundations of the
history they’ll learn and the values they’ll cherish—
and this knowledge is what drives us.
Learn more at
EpochSubscription.com
TRUTH AND TRADITION
Ying and Yang by Sandra Kuck
Original artworks, canvas wraps,
and prints of Award-winning oil
paintings now available at
InspiredOriginal.Org/Store
The reconstructed solar barque of Khufu.
Exploring Ancient Wonders
The Pyramids
and the Nile
Continued from B1
Once surrounded by a complex that in-
cluded temples and chapels, the pyra-
mids were built as burial tombs, con-
taining everything the pharaohs would
need in the afterlife as gods. There were
even pits containing “solar boats,” which
some scholars believe were designed to
ferry the pharaohs, together with the
sun god Ra, across the heavens. The
Khufu ship found in the complex has
been recognized as the world’s oldest
intact ship, and it could still sail today
despite being thousands of years old.
Building the Pyramids
Today, we still don’t quite understand
the engineering mastery that built them.
The Great Pyramid includes blocks
weighing as much as 15 tons—2.3 mil-
lion of them. Archaeologists note that a
paid workforce living in a nearby tem-
porary city did most of the work. Com-
munities across the Old Kingdom put
forth both workers and other resources,
such as food. But many of the details
remain a mystery.
Both the quarrying of the stone and
its actual assembly present questions.
While copper tools used at the time
would’ve made quick work of the lime-
stone used for most of the construction,
the pyramids also include thousands of
tons of hard granite, which came from
Aswan, some 500 miles away. Trans-
FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021
OLAF TAUSCH/CC BY 3.0
porting and stacking the stones would
have required herculean efforts, and a
number of hypotheses for how this was
done exactly have been posited. And
the Great Pyramid is aligned to within
1/15th of one degree of the four cardi-
nal directions (north-south-east-west),
leading to a variety of theories about
how the ancients achieved this remark-
able achievement in astronomy.
Arriving there in the minivan, my
guide has few answers but plenty to
show me. First, I ride a camel. After driv-
ing around the pyramid complex to take
photos from a variety of angles, we pass
a vendor pulling a chain of dromedaries
and pull over to negotiate a reasonable
price. I approach the animal with some
trepidation—I have a mixed history with
camels, having once been bitten by one
at a festival in Rajasthan. In that case,
the animal’s flat, blunt teeth hadn’t
even broken my skin, but, shocked, I
had reeled back, tripping over my own
feet and falling flat onto the sand.
Once, these beasts of burden were
the “ships of the desert,” hauling hu-
mans and cargo for vast distances. Their
documented presence in Egypt actu-
ally predates the pyramids, going all the
way back to the Early Dynastic period,
which began around 3100 B.C. Today,
the ride is short. I climb on its back, with
some trepidation, and hang on tight as
the animal makes the lurching transi-
tion from sitting to standing. We make
The Great
Sphinx of Giza
faces from west
to east.
 FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021
The entrance to the Pyramid of Khufu on the Giza Plateau.
a little loop, in the shadow of the Great
Pyramid.
Next, I go inside. Climbing up to the
entrance, scrambling over big limestone
blocks, I can’t quite believe I’m using
this Wonder of the Ancient World as my
jungle gym. Entering, the cheer of a sun-
ny day quickly disappears and I proceed
through an airless tunnel, feeling rather
claustrophobic as I proceed through the
tight confines of an ascending passage-
way to the Grand Gallery. Arriving, I ap-
preciate that this is a once-in-a-lifetime
moment. But, finding no treasure, I’m
eager to get back to the warm breezes
blowing fresh air outside.
Adventures in Cairo
After a stop to see the Great Sphinx of
Giza, my adventures in Cairo continue.
The city reveals itself, bit by bit, always a
new surprise around every corner. Cairo
is what I like to call a “late city,” where
denizens are never eager to get to bed. I
like late cities, they suit me. Visiting the
bazaar at Khan al-Kahlili well into the
evening, I find a night market crammed
with locals, the stalls piling their stock-
in-trade high, layer upon layer, on each
side of the passageways. People have
bought and sold items in this place since
the 1300s, and they continue to do so
with fervor tonight.
I browse awhile before getting direc-
tions, getting a little lost several times
before I reach my destination. Pushing
open a small door reveals a whole new
world that feels like a secret club. Set-
tling into a table at the Naguib Mahfouz
Café, so-named for the late Nobel lau-
reate, I order up a mixed grill of lamb
and chicken, paired with rice, brought
to the table by a server in a fez. Musi-
cians play traditional instruments. Men
and women smoke shisha. The night
stretches out and I’m in no hurry to get
back to my hotel.
The city seems to have a million mar-
kets. Another day, I spend a hot after-
noon at a textile bazaar, wading into
an ocean of humanity under towering
minarets. An unofficial guide offers an
unofficial tour and leads me through
the mayhem, eventually leading me up
a back staircase to the top of a mosque,
above the rooftops, the call to prayer
sounding out in competition with the
din of the crowd below.
And I finally find my way back to the
Nile. After wandering among mummies
at the Egyptian Museum, just off Tah-
rir Square, I make my way to the Cor-
niche, bartering a little with one of the
many small-tour operators there before
B3
ALL PHOTOS BY SHUTTERSTOCK UNLESS NOTED OTHERWISE
The Khan el-Khalili souk.
boarding a covered boat for a spin on
Few places this famous river.
It’s a natural wonder, of course.
match the One of the world’s longest rivers, the
Nile stretches more than 4,000 miles,
modern energy through 10 African countries, from Lake
of Egypt’s Victoria to the Mediterranean Sea. But
the history here is even more remark-
capital. able. Simply put: Without the Nile, there
would’ve been no ancient Egypt.
The river was its lifeblood. Regular
flooding provided nutrient-rich soils,
which fed and clothed the populace and Toronto-based writer
fueled economic development. People Tim Johnson is always
built irrigation channels and grew cot- traveling, in search of
ton, flax, wheat, and beans—as well as the next great story.
papyrus, which they used to make paper. Having visited 140
The Nile was their source of drinking countries across all
water and their bathtub. The pharaohs seven continents, he’s
used its resources to build empires. tracked lions on foot
And the river is still the heart and soul in Botswana, dug for
of this nation, with 95 percent of today’s dinosaur bones in
Egyptians still living within a few miles Mongolia, and walked
of it. Cutting a swath through modern among a half-million
Cairo, we cruise the Nile, rolling un- penguins on South
der bridges and past high-rise hotels. Georgia Island. He
Soon, the sun begins to set. Another contributes to some of
busy night is about to begin. But for the North America’s largest
moment, I relax on the boat’s weathered publications, including
cushions and watch the orange meld CNN Travel, Bloom-
Camels were once known as with the oncoming gloaming, feeling berg, and The Globe
“ships of the desert.” very far from home in all the right ways. and Mail.
Unmoved
Oil on canvas
Size: 29 1/2 x 39 1/2 in
Original artworks, canvas wraps,
art posters, and framed prints of
Award-winninvg oil paintings
now available for purchase at
I ns piredOrigina l.Org
B4
Return to Kauai
A salve for the soul
JANNA GRABER
I
didn’t expect to feel a lump in my
throat, but as the plane touches down
along the lush green fields of Kauai, I
feel a rush of emotion. Like so many,
I’ve missed the ability to travel. Most-
ly, though, I missed some of my favorite
places—and Kauai is one of them.
Granted, things are different right now.
I’m wearing a mask, as is everyone around
me, and we’ve followed Kauai’s strict travel
protocols.
Travel Requirements for Hawaii
To visit the Hawaiian Islands, travelers
must follow the Hawaii Safe Travels pro-
gram. To bypass the state’s mandatory
10-day quarantine, travelers to the islands
can present a negative COVID-19 test taken
within 72 hours of departure.
Before traveling to Hawaii, all visitors
need to register for Hawaii Safe Travels,
the state’s online portal. After receiving
a negative COVID-19 test result, travelers
need to upload it to their Safe Travels ac-
count. Then, they’ll receive a QR code to
be presented upon arrival at the airport.
Travel Requirements for Kauai
Due to its small size and limited hospital
space, Kauai has its own additional re-
quirements. While all visitors must pres-
ent a negative pre-travel COVID-19 test as
part of the Hawaii State Travels program,
mainland travelers to Kauai must also first
spend the first three days of their visit at a
“Resort Bubble.”
This modified quarantine program al-
lows guests to enjoy time at a specific re-
sort, but they must stay on that property.
Participating Bubble Resorts pick guests
up from the airport, as travelers can’t rent
a car until released from quarantine.
At the Bubble Resort, guests will take a
second PRC or antigen COVID-19 test after
72 hours. With a negative test result, visitors
are then released from quarantine.
Kauai has seen recent success in its
JANNA GRABER`
JANNA GRABER
Mainland
travelers to
Kauai must
also first
spend the first
three days of
their visit at a
‘Resort Bubble.’
JANNA GRABER
(Above) The gour-
met treats at Holey Grail
Donuts in Hanalei Town.
(Left) Kauai Coffee Com-
pany’s more than 4 million
coffee trees benefit from
the rich volcanic earth and
cool trade winds.
(Below) Electric bikes
make pedaling up hills
much easier while enjoying
the Kauai Coastal Trail.
Copperband
butterfly fish.
ASAWINIMAGES/SHUTTERSTOCK
vaccination program, so Kauai’s Mayor
Kawakami has requested this requirement
be removed on April 5, but this hasn’t been
formally announced yet.
There are 10 Resort Bubbles on the is-
land. I can heartily recommend The Cliffs
at Princeville, where I’ve stayed multiple
times. The resort has condos, with full kitch-
ens, overlooking Kauai’s North Shore. They
will arrange to have your personalized gro-
cery purchase in your condo when you ar-
rive, and there are food trucks on property
two nights a week. They also have a medical
service to offer COVID-19 tests at the resort,
with results available in 15 minutes.
Island Time on Kauai
Yes, there are several steps to go through
to visit, but it’s all worth it to be in Kauai.
Even with the additional travel require-
ments, my pace has already settled into “Is-
land Time.” The tiny island, home to 67,000
residents, has a relaxed and welcoming feel.
Kauai does seem a little different right now,
of course. While many restaurants, shops,
and activities are open again, others are still
closed, waiting for more travelers to return.
Though they are very welcoming, like the
rest of us, Hawaiians are weary. They’ve
been fighting this thing for a year now
and have worked hard as a community.
Wearing masks when in public is a local
mandate and everyone follows it.
Several locals told me: “We are a mask-
wearing community. Here it’s not just
about safety, but also a sign of respect for
each other, especially our elders.”
Happily, it’s easy to follow the guidelines,
and you can spend most of your time out-
Aquarium Encounters Offers
Play With Sea Creatures
FYLLIS HOCKMAN
Decked out in snorkel equipment and wet-
suit—getting into and out of which was
admittedly the most challenging aspect
of the whole experience–I entered the
200,000-gallon coral reef tank. It was filled
with large and small residents—more than
50 species of fish, sharks, and eels—into
whose life I was about to intrude at the
Aquarium Encounters complex in
Marathon, Florida.
In the tank, I swam with
tarpon, common snook,
French grunts, permit fish,
horse-eyed jack, and assorted
friends. The cownose rays were especial-
ly playful. At every turn I was greeted by
another underwater inhabitant: puffers,
porcupine and butterfly fish, snappers and
groupers—not that I really had any idea as
to their individual identities at the time.
The sharks here are behind a Plexiglas
shield and fed through small holes, so I
carefully followed the instructions on how
FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021
doors in Kauai. The island has miles of hik-
ing trails, beaches, and coastal scenic paths.
Princeville
Kauai has dozens of beautiful towns and
locations to choose from, but there are
several main regions that are popular with
travelers, including Princeville, Poipu, and
Waimea.
Princeville is located on the lush North
Shore of Kauai and is home to many luxury
resorts. It’s also home to the tiny commu-
nity of Hanalei Town, which is quintessen-
tial Kauai. I spent an afternoon shopping in
Hanalei’s small boutiques and art galleries,
and then visited the historic Waioli Huiia
Church and Mission House.
Hanalei has several popular restaurants
and food trucks, like Hanalei Tara & Juice
Co., which serves authentic Hawaiian food
and products from a local farm family. Af-
ter a yummy Hawaiian lunch, I buy a se-
lection of Taro Donuts from nearby Holey
Grail Donuts. They are like delicious works
of art. If I wasn’t so full, I would also stop
for a shave ice filled with macadamia nut
ice cream at Wishing Well Shave Ice.
Another popular destination nearby is
the historic Princeville Ranch. Although I
won’t have time to visit during this trip, I’ve
been several times for their popular Ride,
Hike, and Swim adventure.
After a gentle horseback ride in the shad-
ow of the dramatic Hanalei Mountains, you
can take a short hike to an 80-foot waterfall
for a picnic and a swim. It’s a great way to
see the island’s nature up close. Just wear
your swimsuit under your clothes and take
a towel and sunscreen.
the feeding was to be done.
Instructor Dan intoned, “I’ll open the win-
dow and see how fast you guys can swim.”
“Cool,” said my ever-eager 10-year-old
snorkel companion. Fortunately, his
shark-challenged swimming capabilities
remained untested.
Once back on land, I found touring the
grounds almost as spectacular. Walking
around the complex, I felt like I had entered a
magical forest of tropical plants, mangroves,
and palm trees surrounding multiple pools
of a wide variety of fish from grouper to sting-
rays to angelfish and parrotfish to turtles,
sharks, and spiny lobsters. The extensive ed-
ucational signage everywhere would satisfy
the most eco-curious of visitors.
Throw food in one lagoon and rainbow
parrotfish appear from nowhere and
brighten up the water immediately and
immeasurably. A surprising thrill!
Carousing with stingrays in their private
pool, I felt snuggled most of the time, as if
by a soft lightweight blanket caressing my
body. As lions travel in “prides” and fish in
 FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021
Ke Ala Hele Makalae
(Kauai Coastal Trail)
During this trip, I was excited to explore
Ke Ala Hele Makalae, the multi-use coastal
trail which follows Kauai’s scenic Royal
Coconut Coast.
After picking up a rental at Eco e-Bikes
Kauai, I meet up with Tommy Noyes at Ly-
dgate Beach Park for a ride. A passionate cy-
clist, Tommy has been instrumental in the
path’s development. He explains how the
path was started by paving a short coastal
walking trail near Kapaa, taking advantage
of abandoned railroad bridges.
Since then, Kauai residents have worked
together to create the path while preserving
and protecting the land. Today, it covers
eight miles in two segments that are used
by locals and visitors alike.
Biking the trail is an opportunity to see
the island’s coastal landscape. At times,
the path meanders through quiet neigh-
borhoods; other times, it follows the shore.
Eventually, we pedal higher to the top of the
hills overlooking the dramatic coastline.
With an e-bike, climbing the hills are
no problem, and I enjoy every minute of
the ride. Later in the week, I return sev-
eral times to walk the trail, even at sunrise
and sunset. Many small restaurants and
shops line the trail, so it’s easy to spend
time along the trail.
Kauai Coffee Estate
Another day, I visit the largest American
coffee grower—Kauai Coffee Company.
Their more than 4 million coffee trees ben-
efit from the rich volcanic earth and cool
trade winds.
“schools,” a group of stingrays is a “fever,”
and a bunch of sharks is a “shiver.” I clearly
was surrounded by a fever of stingrays.
There are multiple touch tanks and feed-
ing options. At Big Shark Bay, the sharks—
relatives, I assume, to those in the coral reef
tank—react to a sound and light show that
brings them to an area to be fed and petted.
But if they don’t choose to respond, no one
B5
MARIDAV/SHUTTERSTOCK
In normal times, Kauai Coffee Com-
pany offers tours and has a small onsite
museum. Currently, self-guided tours are After a gentle
available. As a passionate coffee lover, I’m horseback ride in
enthralled by the tidy rows of trees, some
with small white blossoms, as well as the the shadow of the
estate’s hilltop views of the coast.
dramatic Hanalei
Beaches in Kauai Mountains, you
One of the most popular reasons to visit
Hawaii is to spend time at the beach, and can take a short
Kauai doesn’t disappoint. Some of the best
snorkeling and swimming beaches are Ke’e
hike to an 80-foot
Beach, Poipu Beach, Haena Beach Park, waterfall for
Anini, and Salt Pond.
If you plan to swim at any beach in Kauai, a picnic and a
it’s important to ask for local advice before swim.
you go. At certain times of the year, there
are large swells and rip currents that can
be dangerous. It’s best to swim at a life-
guarded beach.
Poipu Beach Park
That’s why I spent several afternoons at
Poipu Beach Park on the South Shore. This JANNA GRABER
lovely beach and park is a local favorite,
and it’s especially good for families with
children. There is a lifeguard on site, along
with restrooms, picnic tables, and showers.
The crescent-shaped beach slopes gradu-
ally and has a protected lagoon for swim-
ming. There’s even a bodyboarding site near
the front of the park for older kids and adults.
The reef, which acts as a protective barrier
in the lagoon, also promises good snorkel-
ing. Grabbing my snorkel gear, I head into
the water. The ocean is rich with sea life. I
see tiny angelfish, sea cucumbers, sea ur- JANNA GRABER
chins, and more. I even heard the sounds
of a large parrotfish crunching on the coral.
In the protected bay, there are few waves,
so I allow myself to simply float face-down,
watching the scene below.
Slowly, I feel all the stress and tension I’ve
been carrying around this past year leave
An aerial view of the my body. I let it all go, and simply float, soak-
Napali Coast. ing in the sights and sounds around me.
Tomorrow, of course, there will be more
challenges to face. But here, right now, I’m
in Kauai, and it’s a moment to savor.
Janna Graber has covered travel in more
than 55 countries. She is the editor of
three travel anthologies, including “A Pink
(Top) Treats from grocery stores in Kauai.
Suitcase: 22 Tales of Women’s Travel,” and
is the managing editor of Go World Travel (Above) Hanalei Town in Princeville on Kauai’s north shore has
Magazine. restaurants, food trucks, and shops.
GEORGE FRANKIV/SHUTTERSTOCK
The tiny island,
home to 67,000
residents, has
a relaxed and
welcoming feel.
The beach at
Poipu in Kauai.
COURTESY OF MARATHON ENCOUNTERS
but ironically considered a dining delicacy.
Whether just traversing the grounds or
In the tank, actively participating in an underwater ad-
I swam with venture, Marathon’s Aquarium Encounters
is a thoroughly interactive experience that
tarpon, common leaves you ever more appreciative of the
many denizens of the deep.
snook, French
grunts, permit Fyllis Hockman is a freelance writer. To
read features by other Creators Syndicate
fish, horse- writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators
Syndicate website at Creators.com. Copy-
eyed jack, and right 2021 Creators.com
assorted friends.
WHEN YOU GO
For more information:
FloridaKeysAquariumEncounters.com
COURTESY OF VICTOR BLOCK
is going to force them. They’re big—and
well—also they’re sharks.
The African-spurred tortoises are the third- (Left) A flurry of different
largest species of tortoise in the world and it’s types of fish greet under-
difficult to distinguish them from the huge water visitors at Aquarium
boulders sharing their exhibit. And then Encounters in Marathon, Fla.
there are the incredibly bizarre-looking, (Right) Visitors to Aquarium
colorful, very distinctly shaped lionfish, who Encounters in Marathon, Fla.,
are terribly destructive to the environment carefully feed the sharks.
B6 FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021

Mother Nature’s Hidden Gems

VICTOR BLOCK

S
ure, it’s great to ooh and aah
at the grandeur of the Grand
Canyon, be overwhelmed by the
blistered desert floor and extinct
volcanic craters in Death Valley,
and hear the thunderous roar of Niagara
Falls. But Mother Nature also has created
countless other treasures throughout
the country that while less well-known
are no less magnificent and wondrous in
their ways.
No doubt some of these natural hidden
gems are located within an easy auto-
mobile drive from where you live. A bit
of research can reveal often-overlooked
places that offer a variety of environ-
ments to meet any preference.
Coastal Louisiana, for example, is the
setting for tours of brooding swamps
where alligators like to hang out and
fishing for fresh- and saltwater prey off
piers, from the shore, in inland bodies of
water and at sea.
Its location along a major migration
route also provides a treasure-trove of
opportunities for birdwatchers. The Cre-
ole Nature Trail in Lake Charles alone is
home to more than 400 species of winged
life, including waterfowl, wading birds,
and raptors.
Bottlenose dolphins rather than high-
flyers are an attraction off Gulf Shores than 2,000 feet within less than a half- wood forests.
and Orange Beach, Alabama. Kayak and mile. This sheer drop creates the condi- Even without leaving the confines of
other tours through the waterways of Mother Nature also tions for more than 300 waterfalls, 100 of Branson, visitors can experience this
Bon Secour Bay provide close-up and has created countless which are accessible to the public. beauty in some unusual ways. Ziplines
personal encounters with dolphins and Continuing to wander in search of and other adrenaline-boosting trips car-
other resident wildlife. other treasures water, we come to Table Rock, Taneyco- ry riders through a cloud of tree branch-
Gulf State Park provides an introduc- mo, and Bull Shoals lakes nestled in the es. The Runaway Mountain Coaster at
tion to the nine different ecosystems throughout the Ozark Mountains of Missouri. Adding the Mountain Adventure Park allows
found in the area. A good way to experi- country that while to their pristine appeal is their location people to choose to pass by the foliage at
ence the diversity is to walk or bike along just outside of the excitement and go-go speeds more than 30 miles an hour or to
the 28-mile backcountry trail. less well-known are entertainment of Branson. use the brake to slow the descent.
A very different water-related experi- While most people visit that popular Farther west, Utah is known as home to
ence awaits visitors to the northwest-
no less magnificent playland for the stage performances, five of the most magnificent and most-
ern corner of South Carolina, which is and wondrous in thrill rides, and other amusement park visited national parks in the country:
referred to as “Upstate.” It boasts the attractions it offers, some in the know Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands,
highest concentration of waterfalls in their ways. also take advantage of the surrounding Capitol Reef, and Zion. Far fewer people
the United States. This proliferation is beauty and recreation. The Ozarks are an make their way to another natural attrac-
caused by the Blue Ridge Escarpment, ancient mountain range that while worn tion that is as inviting as it is unique.
a geographical phenomenon where the down by time and nature still are home The Fishlake National Forest is home to
mountains dramatically plummet more to verdant peaks surrounded by hard- a grove of aspen trees that might appear

Virtue of the Brush

in a Time of Chaos

“When things are chaotic to the extreme,

order must be restored.”
- “The four books” by Zhu Xi

The original calligraphy is now available for purchase at

Ins p ired O rig inal.O rg

 FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021   B7

visitors with a camera who chance upon

COURTeSy OF RObeRT bROWN//DReAMSTiMe.COM

it is how to stop shooting scene after
scene.
Fishlake National The main attraction is a herd of some
Forest in Utah.
200 Roosevelt elk that spend the spring
and summer munching on blackberries
and peering back at humans who come
to watch them. In June, visitors see new
calves, and in September, rutting elk
battle it out in the meadows to establish
their dominance.
Those magnificent animals, which can Roosevelt elk graze at the Jewell Meadows Wildlife Area on the
weigh as much as 1,200 pounds, share their coast of Oregon.
habitat with many other creatures. Among
frequent sightings are black-tail deer, coy-
otes, bald eagles, and red-tailed hawks.

JAiMie TUChMAN/ShUTTeRSTOCK
If none of these natural settings is close
to your home, many others likely are. A
few clicks on a computer can result in a
selection with something-for-everyone
diversity and appeal.

Victor Block is a freelance writer. To read

features by other Creators Syndicate writ-
ers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syn- The Louisiana wetlands.
dicate website at Creators.com. Copyright
2021 Creators.com

When You Go

KeviN RUCK/ShUTTeRSTOCK
(Below) A couple enjoys TourLouisiana.com; GulfShores.com;
fishing in Lake Charles, La. LakeHartwellCountry.com;
(Below right) Missouri’s ExploreBranson.com;
Table Rock Lake offers Utah.com/fish-lake-national-forest;
all manner of outdoor myodfw.com/jewell-meadows-wildlife-
activities. area-visitors-guide
KReiG RASMUSSeN/ShUTTeRSTOCK
Wildcat Falls near Greenville, S.C.

normal at first glance yet are anything

but. Called the Pando, a Latin word that
translates to “I spread,” all of the ap-
proximately 47,000 trees are genetically
identical and share a single root system.
Estimates of the age of the grove stretch
back as far as 1 million years, and some in-
COURTeSy OF JUSTiN hOFFMAN OUTDOORS/DReAMSTiMe.COM

dividual trees are more than 130 years old.

Another attraction is the “quaking aspens,”
named for their leaves that stir easily in

COURTeSy OF CheRi ALGUiRe/DReAMSTiMe.COM

even a gentle breeze. This fluttering sound,
emitted by tens of thousands of trees, ac-
counts for the nickname “Trembling Giant”
by which this unique grove is known.
Fauna rather than flora is the attraction
at a wildlife refuge hidden on Oregon’s
coast and unknown to even many resi-
dents of the state. The 2,940-acre Jewell
Meadows Wildlife Area lives up to its
name in beauty, and the challenge facing

PRELIMINARY SEMI-FINAL & FINAL

TAIWAN JUN, 2021 NEW YORK SEP, 2021
NEW YORK SEP, 2021
REGISTER
NEW YORK +1-888-477-9228 , dance@globalcompetitions.org
TAIWAN +886-2-5571-3838#1133 , dance@ntdica.org.tw

Waltz Among the Blossoms of Spring

with Shen Yun-Inspired Beauty
Limited Time Only
Free Domestic Shipping

ShenYunShop.com | TEL : 1.800.208.2384

B8 FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021

Send FREE Newspapers

to Your Friends
Are you looking for a way to introduce
The Epoch Times to your friends?
Thousands of subscribers asked us to send
free copies of the paper to their friends and family.
Now we can!

Let’s spread the news!

If you’re currently a subscriber to The Epoch Times, simply follow these steps:

Welcome, Jenny

1. Log In 2. Click 3. Request Papers

Log into your account Click “Request Free Papers”
Click your name to manage your account.
at TheEpochTimes.com. on the left menu bar.

4. Enter the Name 5. Submit 6. Send More

Enter the name and shipping address Click “Submit” after you finish Repeat the process to send papers
of your first friend. entering the info. to more friends.

Request as many as you’d like—there’s no limit!

For any questions, please visit ReadEpoch.com/Help or call (917) 905-2080.

I N A W O R L D O F C E N S O R S H I P, T H E T R U T H I S Y O U R W E A P O N .

PASS IT ON.
WE LIVE IN A TIME when actions can help words speak louder—and travel farther.
ensorship of social media
Your print edition of The Epoch Times is free from the censorship
companies and the hidden agendas of legacy media. Help more Americans cans see the
whole picture at a time when special interests are trying to manipulate what they
see, think, and believe. Share your copy of The Epoch Times. After you’re done with
your paper, leave it with a friend, a family member, at the library, in a waiting room,
or maybe on a neighbor’s doorstep. Every little bit helps. Because print news can’t be
deplatformed and your actions can’t be demonetized.

PLEASE SHARE YOUR COPY OF THE EPOCH TIMES