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Blake, Wm. Christian Fears the Fire from the Mountain. 1804.

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A Chinese-owned energy company was the winner at Brazil’s auction for $4.4 billion in transmission lines to connect renewable-power projects to major cities.

We won’t bore you with the details, but this is yet another example of China capturing infrastructure in not just Brazil but around the world.

From Saudi Arabia to Sierre Leone, China has only accelerated its investments in other countries, exerting its influence against the West, which is increasingly seen as hostile by many developing countries.

In Brazil particularly, China has quickly become a close partner, investing in transmission lines from the Amazon and importing Brazilian goods, for instance. China and Brazil are also both members of BRICS.

Some commentators, like Tucker Carlson, have sounded the alarm on this relationship, saying it poses both an economic and military threat to the U.S.

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Blake, Wm. The First Book of Urizen, object 23. 1795.

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As we reported just two days ago, Twitch updated its policies to allow “artistic” nudity, including content that “deliberately highlights breasts, buttocks, or pelvic region” and dances like twerking and pole dancing.

However, the live-stream gaming platform (if we can even call it that anymore) has since repealed the policy after critics questioned if it is now just a full-fledged porn website.

In a press release, the website wrote: “Upon reflection, we have decided that we went too far with this change. Effective today, we are rolling back the artistic nudity changes. Moving forward, depictions of real or fictional nudity won’t be allowed on Twitch, regardless of the medium.”

Many speculate that Twitch was pressured by advertisers to repeal this policy.

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Blake, Wm. Abraham and Isaac. 1775.

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New research on Spanish children born during or just before the COVID lockdowns finds that they developed more slowly than children born before.

Specifically, the children born during or just before the lockdowns are developing language skills at a slower rate, using fewer distinct words and less complex phrases.

These children barely reached the 40th percentile in vocabulary and sentence complexity, compared to the other group of children scoring in the 50th percentile.

Researchers attribute this difference to children having limited social experiences during lockdowns. Additionally, the lockdowns introduced new challenges, such as wearing masks, that hindered children’s ability to speak and hear other people.

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Blake, Wm. Œconomy and Self Denial are Necessary. 1791.

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Americans over 65 will account for almost 60% of all labor force growth over the next decade, a rate higher than ever.

The earnings of these workers made up 7% of all wages and salaries paid by employers this year, compared to just 2% in the 1980s.

Pew Research Center notes that these boomers are also working more hours than in past decades, partly because there are now more “age-friendly” jobs that have more flexibility and less physical labor.

This coincides with another striking trend: an increasing number of young workers, particularly young men, are dropping out of the workforce. According to U.S. data, 7.2 million men of prime working age have stopped working and aren’t seeking employment.

It’s unclear what exactly is driving that trend, but if it accelerates, more older workers may have to remain in the workforce.

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Blake, Wm. The First Book of Urizen, Plate 23 Object 7. 1796.

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A massive solar flare has erupted on the Sun, with scientists warning it could lead to internet blackouts on Earth.

The flare released a burst of radiation toward Earth, spectacularly caught on video by NASA.

SpaceWeather.com reports that it “caused a deep shortwave radio blackout over the Americas.”

Some scientists have warned for years that the sun is entering a more active time, with the worst-case scenario being an “internet apocalypse” that could wipe out the internet for weeks or months. 

Professor Peter Becker of George Mason University, in November: “The internet has come of age during a time when the sun has been relatively quiet, and now it's entering a more active time. It's the first time in human history that there's been an intersection of increased solar activity with our dependence on the internet and our global economic dependence on the internet.”