Showing posts with label 2016. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2016. Show all posts

Thursday, July 07, 2016

The FBI - Saviors of the American Dream - Once again coming to the Rescue of America in Hillary Clinton Case

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Did FBI Director James Comey stand alone in defending America's Future?

The FBI Hoover Legacy

Twice in the past century the FBI stood alone in saving the American Dream for future generations and it appears Director James Comey did it a third time with his stunning, provocative, and explosive news conference on Tuesday, just hours before President Obama was to appear with Hillary Clinton on the Presidential campaign trail.

For those with no sense of history controversial FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover stood alone in the dangerous world of politics and used the resources of the FBI he built to alter the course of American history.


The first happened early in Hoover's career when he stood up to the La Casa Nostra, better known as the Mafia.  This criminal syndicate from Sicily set out to control the major towns of America through corruption of public officials, control of all entertainment vices, coercion, black mail, and strong-armed techniques.


With their iron-fisted control of cities like New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Miami, Havana, New Orleans, Kansas City, and Los Angeles among others, not to mention their safe havens of Las Vegas and Atlantic City, much of the American law enforcement and judicial systems were under the control of the mob.


Hoover, alone among all public servants, set out to destroy the mafia control of America in one of the most prolonged and bloody periods of our domestic history.  It was a battle waged from the 1930's until his death in 1972.

During the same period, the threat from Communism also shook the foundations of American intelligence, and the FBI under Hoover was America's front wall for counter-intelligence against the Soviet Union.


Competition among the nation's intelligence agencies and Communist infiltration of the agencies left Hoover as the last line of defense for the nation.  This activity continued from the 1930's through the 1950's in earnest.


Such was the power of Hoover that even presidents could not touch him as both President Truman and President Kennedy failed in efforts to get rid of him.  Appointed the sixth director of the Bureau of Investigations in 1924, the predecessor to the FBI, Hoover founded and became first Director of the FBI in 1935.

During his career as Director of the BOI and FBI, an astonishing span of forty-eight years, he served eight presidents from Calvin Coolidge to Richard Nixon.  Congress even granted Hoover a waiver from the mandatory retirement law.


The James Comey FBI of Today

Now we jump to the present with the FBI under the control of the seventh director, James Comey.  He spent most of his career in the Justice Department earning appointments from Presidents George Bush, Jr. and Barack Obama.

His reputation for honesty, integrity, and non-partisanship helped him secure major nominations from both presidents and their respective political parties.  No one has questioned his decisions and actions as Director, until Tuesday of this week.

In order to understand the potential role he played in American political history, one must first know the bizarre situation that evolved in this presidential campaign like no previous campaign in political history.


Not only do we have two candidates with the highest unfavorable rating in history, both Democrat and Republican parties face a citizen's revolt against the establishment.  Unfortunately, for those in power, the establishment includes the politicians, news media, Wall Street, the financial sector, special interests, the one percent, and the one-tenth of one percent super rich.

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are the sole survivors to this point in the nominating process.  Both operate under a cloud of suspicion and neither has done much to counter the mistrust.  No matter who wins, they will be among the richest presidents in our history.


Clinton is the by-product of the Bill Clinton family legacy which covers everything but family values.  She is the ultimate establishment candidate, pledged to carry on the many unpopular and failed policies of President Obama from war to health care to protection of Wall Street and big business.

The Hillary candidacy faces many problems including the provocative reputation of her husband, and the fact she and Bill are card-carrying members of the one percent and one-tenth of one percent demons labeled the super rich.  Her income the past two years, thanks to Goldman Sachs, was staggering.

Bernie Sanders and wife Jane reported an income of $205,000 last year.  The same year, Hillary Clinton made an average of $233,600 per speech.  Clinton gave 45 speeches in 2014 for a total sum of $10.5 million.  Hillary and Bill Clinton's total income in 2014 is $27.9 million.

From the Clinton Foundation to the Goldman speeches the Clinton's are the Golden Family of Wall Street and the super rich.  Hundreds of millions of dollars flow from the corporate giants to the Clintons.
 

Such is the playground of the super rich that the cost for a couple at the head table with Hillary Clinton, George Clooney and his wife, attorney Amal Clooney, at an April 15 California Bay area fundraiser, was a whopping $353,400 — a huge ticket price even by Hollywood standards.

A second event starring Hillary and the Clooneys, on April 16, where Clinton and the Clooneys reunited at the Clooney Los Angeles mansion, cost $33,400 per person to dine at the table with one of Hollywood’s most glamorous couples.

“An obscene amount of money,” is how George Clooney described the estimated $15 million raised at the weekend Hillary Clinton fundraisers Clooney co-hosted.


“The Bernie Sanders campaign, when they talk about it, is absolutely right,” Clooney told NBC’s Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd in an interview after the events.  “It’s ridiculous that we should have this kind of money in politics. I agree completely.”

“Yes, I think it’s an obscene amount of money,” Clooney told Todd. “I think that, you know, we had some protesters last night when we pulled up in San Francisco and they’re right to protest. They’re absolutely right. It is an obscene amount of money.”

To put this in perspective, Hillary plans to spend nearly $1.5 billion, yes billion, during the presidential campaign while Trump may spend substantially less, though the billionaire already contributed over $50 million of his own money to his campaign.


The Clinton email FBI Investigation

Hillary has faced another difficult challenge, resulting from her contentious relationship with a Congressional Committee investigating her handling of the Benghazi disaster in Libya when she was Secretary of State and terrorists murdered four Americans, including the US Ambassador.

During the course of the investigation, Hillary revealed she had a private server in her house that managed all her email correspondence during her term as Secretary.  Because the White House and State Department did not approve it and she handled classified and top secret information on it a firestorm erupted.


The FBI launched an investigation of the Clinton email server and handling of classified and top secret documents.  This week that investigation finally ended, just a couple of weeks before Hillary's formal nomination for president.  Before I offer the details, let me add a couple of more pieces to the puzzle.

With Hillary under investigation by the FBI, President Obama several months ago declared the investigation would find no evidence to indict Hillary, his heir apparent to the presidency.  It was an extraordinary action taken by a president when the investigation was still underway.


The Bill Clinton Caper

On June 9 Obama endorsed Clinton even though Bernie Sanders was, and still remains, in the nomination race, another bizarre event.  Then on Monday, June 27, Bill Clinton threw a monkey wrench into the mix when he secretly met, he thought, with the Attorney General of the United States Loretta Lynch.

As the leading Justice Department official in the Obama Administration who also oversees the FBI, she would decide the email case against Bill's wife Hillary.  Unbeknownst to the players, someone was watching, and reported it to the press.


Later Ms. Lynch said the meeting with Mr. Clinton was unplanned, largely social and did not touch on the email investigation. She suggested that he walked uninvited from his plane to her government plane, both of which parked on a tarmac at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

A chance meeting between the husband of the woman under investigation, and the person in charge of the investigation, while the investigation by the FBI was still in progress, does not meet the rules of conduct for officers of the judiciary.  Apparently, no one was present during the thirty-nine minute meeting and another firestorm erupted.


In response to the press uproar and the Republican tirade against a "fixed" investigation, the Attorney General held yet another bizarre event, a news interview, to say she would accept whatever recommendation came from the FBI regarding the Clinton investigation.  As the head of the Justice, she could approve, reject, or change the results of the FBI report.

Hillary's Secret Meeting with FBI 

The next day, Saturday of the Fourth of July weekend, Hillary secretly gave her testimony to the FBI in Washington for three and one half hours, a meeting not disclosed until Monday, July 4.  Now suspicions raged as the Obama Administration had already announced that the President would take Hillary on Air Force One, and campaign with her on Tuesday, July 5, in North Carolina.


No matter what the two candidates did or said the Fourth of July weekend it was buried in the controversy over the meeting of Bill Clinton with Lynch, and Hillary campaigning with the president.

Then, just before President Obama and Hillary boarded Air Force One on Tuesday, July 5, the series of bombshells morphed into a nuclear explosion.

With no advance notice and no fanfare, the FBI Director called a News conference to announce the findings of the FBI investigation of the Hillary emails, though it had been less than seventy-two hours since his agency interviewed Clinton over the July 4 weekend.


Pandemonium broke loose as the news media scrambled to cover the Washington, D.C. news conference in FBI headquarters since most media staff were already on the road covering campaign stops.

FBI Director ends Clinton Investigation

James Comey stepped to the microphone and proceeded to describe in astounding detail all the ways Hillary Clinton and her staff had violated federal laws and regulations and endangered the national security of America with her careless handling of classified material.

CNN lies (Double click for full view)


After over ten minutes of detailing the mismanagement and reckless nature of the Clinton people, including saying it was probable foreign adversaries hacked her private system, he closed by dropping yet another nuclear explosion when he said the FBI would not recommend prosecuting Clinton or her staff.

RNC lies (Double click for full view)


Then he walked away without taking any questions.

The news media and Internet exploded with information about the unscheduled news conference by the FBI Director, as the President and Hillary flew off to North Carolina.  At the political rally in North Carolina Obama and Clinton did not mention the FBI report.

According to Director Comey, he did not notify the Attorney General or the White House about the crucial news conference to avoid the appearance of impropriety.  The entire government seemed paralyzed by the news conference and the findings as the FBI never discussed the details of an investigation before a resolution of the case was completed.


Now, the firestorm has become an inferno as Republicans and the media have questioned how the FBI Director could provide a condemning investigation of Hillary filled with documentation of her reckless and dangerous actions, yet refuse to recommend an indictment.

Congressional Committees summoned both Comey and Lynch to appear before Congressional hearings this week to explain the bizarre sequence of actions which Donald Trump calls the fixed and rigged system in America.  Obama and Clinton have been silent except for a Clinton campaign comment that the action ends the case.

Today, Wednesday of the same week, Attorney General Lynch announced she supported the FBI action of no indictment and declared the case closed.  Shortly after it was reported she was offered an appointment by the Clinton's to remain as Attorney General, yet another illegal act according to federal law.


The FBI to the Rescue again

So how do such rapidly accelerating events that overpowered the media and divided our nation result in the FBI saving America again?

Suppose for a moment that as Director of the FBI James Comey was well aware of the pressure to whitewash the Clinton email criminal investigation.  President Obama had declared there was no crime long before the conclusion of the investigation.


No matter what Comey recommended regarding the FBI probe, there were several additional opportunities for the Administration to change the recommendations.  First, the Justice Department and prosecutors would review it and then the Attorney General would review and approve it.  Finally, if it was crucial like this ruling would be, the White House and President could step in to the review and approval process.

Thus, there were four very strong reviews after the FBI delivered recommendations that could derail any effort to indict Clinton, the Justice Department, federal prosecutors, Attorney General Lynch, and President Obama and the White House.


Since Obama had long before declared Hillary's innocence, she was now the Democratic Party candidate for President of the United States, and Obama was going out on the campaign trail to help her beat Trump, what chance was there for any FBI recommendation to pursue an indictment.

Two decades ago, the Clinton family had demonstrated how to manipulate the federal government and congress with the multiple affairs of the sitting president, and his impeachment for lying to congress.  He spent seven million dollars in legal funds and walked away as one of the most popular presidents in modern history.  Goldman Sachs then helped pay off the legal fees and over the next sixteen years made the Clintons multi-millionaires.

Make no mistake America is in the hands of special interests thanks to Wall Street, the financial institutions, and their stranglehold over corporate America and our political campaign financing.  Hillary is the Golden Girl of Wall Street.  What chance did a recommendation from the FBI Director have of approval by the very Administration relying on Clinton to protect the Obama legacy?


Faced with a hopeless situation to expose the truth about Clinton, a huge break came when the Lynch - Bill Clinton meeting was exposed.  The Attorney General, forced to say she would guarantee the FBI recommendations would face no interference from her, assured that the FBI findings would be independent of the Justice Department.  The meek effort at transparency would come to haunt the Administration.

After Clinton's secret interview with the FBI over the holiday weekend and the President announced plans to campaign with Hillary the day after Independence Day, it was clear the White House thought the Clinton affair was over.  Obama decided to move forward in his support for Clinton as if the email case was a done deal.

A Secret Strategy to Expose the Truth?

Only one strategy would enable the release of all the investigation findings in time to impact on the 2016 presidential election.  It was not to recommend an indictment when four more reviews could throw it out.  The FBI Director must issue a damning report to the media, which detailed the massive carelessness and national security exposure of the Clinton classified email abuses.


With the pledge of FBI independence from the Attorney General, Comey was free to set his own method, timing, and format for releasing the FBI report.  He scheduled it at the last moment before the President and Hillary boarded a plane to campaign in North Carolina.

The media, caught totally off guard, had political reporters waiting in North Carolina and following the Trump campaign.  The White House and Clinton campaign were shocked when they learned the FBI Director was issuing his report without anyone from the Administration reviewing it in advance.

As Director Comey stood before the national media and gave a litany of all the abuses by Clinton and her staff, and the dire consequences for national security, everyone listening waited for the confirmation of an indictment.


There was a final trick up the sleeve of Comey, and it would once again send shock waves through the political system.  He did not call for an indictment but expressed a lame excuse about intent not being sufficient.  Once again, there was total shock.

When he refused to be questioned by reporters, and walked off the platform, everyone was bewildered.


The next day the Attorney General approved the FBI recommendation and closed the Hillary Clinton case.  As a result, the entire records of the investigation were no longer secret because it was no longer an active investigation.

Could it be that the Director of the FBI knew there were powerful forces manipulating behind the scenes to keep control of the White House by exonerating Clinton and making her president?  Is it possible he knew no recommendation for an indictment could survive the review process?
 

It is possible the FBI Director knew the only way to get the full story out including all the findings of the FBI investigation before the presidential election was to refuse to indict, thus causing a firestorm reaction from the GOP and public.  This, in turn, would result in Congressional hearings where he would be compelled to disclose the entire FBI investigative case.

There was only one way to stop the Clinton, Obama, and Wall Street machine from controlling the outcome of the investigation and the presidential election and that is full disclosure and true transparency.  Both will result from the provocative actions by James Comey.


In the end, FBI Director Comey may be the true hero for exposing the truth.  If so, once again the FBI will have come to the rescue of America during our time of greatest need.

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Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Happy days are here again - Trump versus the Bionic Tongue - Hillary's Secret Weapon

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Thought for the day - OMG two of them!




The Fall Reality TV Hit - Three's Company Returns



Look what Bernie lost!


Trump versus the Bionic Tongue


"She might be a Harvard professor but she speaks like an Okie oil rig Roughneck!"


Warren on the issues


Warren's Last Partner


Too Big To Fail motto



What a sicko. 


Bet he can't smile like this.


Facts should never get in the way of truth


Soul Mates Forever - Beats Bill


What does Warren use on her hair - axle grease?


This was not part of the deal you made with me God!

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Friday, May 27, 2016

China's Proudest Moment at Harvard - A Celebration Honoring He Jiang

The first Chinese citizen to give a Harvard graduation speech recalled why his mom lit his hand on fire

Zheping Huang,Quartz

A biology student from rural China became the first Chinese citizen to deliver a graduation speech at Harvard University this week.
On Wednesday (May 26), He Jiang, a doctoral student in biochemistry, spoke about the time his mother set his hand on fire when he was a boy, after a poisonous spider bit him. The incident inspired him to bring scientific knowledge to where it’s needed the most, he said.
The graduate explained he grew up in a village in central China’s Hunan province. When he was bit by the spider 15 years ago, there was no doctor in the area. So his mother wrapped his hand with layers of cotton, soaked the cotton in wine, and ignited it. The pain made him want to scream, he said, but “all I could do was watch my hand burn—one minute, then two minutes—until mom put out the fire.”
Heat deactivates proteins, which is what a spider’s venom is made of, so his mother’s cure was actually effective. “I now know that better, less painful, and less risky treatments existed… why didn’t I receive one at the time?” he asked in the speech. He said he is “troubled by the unequal distribution of scientific knowledge throughout the world,” and dedicated to communicate what he has learned to those who need it, like “the farmers in my village.”
He was one of the three graduate speakers at Harvard’s 365th commencement. China’s state media outlets bragged he was “making history” and have run many profiles of him leading up to the graduation.
He was the first in his family to attend college. “If you don’t study hard and leave this village, you will be farming your whole life,” he said his father always told him.
Here’s the full text of He’s speech, in both English and Chinese, from financial publisher Caixin.

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昨天,中国学生第一次在哈佛毕业典礼致辞(含视频)

2016年05月27日 10:14 来源于 财新网
何江获得了相当于哈佛大学给予毕业生的最高荣誉——从全校数万名毕业生中各选出一名本科生和研究生代表作毕业演讲
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  编者按:       
  美国东部时间526日上午10点,哈佛大学生物系博士毕业生何江作为优秀研究生代表发表演讲。何江是哈佛大学历史上第一位享此殊荣的中国大陆学生。
  这位1988年出生于湖南农村、家境一般的中国学生,凭借自己的努力,在中国科技大学获得了最高荣誉奖——郭沫若奖学金后,进入哈佛大学硕博连读,如今又获得了相当于哈佛大学给予毕业生的最高荣誉——从全校数万名毕业生中各选出一名本科生和研究生代表作毕业演讲。
  何江在毕业演讲中讲述了一个自己中学时代被毒蜘蛛咬伤的农村故事,进而推及到自己在哈佛大学所切身体会到的先进科技知识,他说道,作为一名科学家,积极地将我们所会的知识传递给那些急需这些知识的人是多么地重要
  改变世界可以非常简单。在演讲的最后,何江说,改变世界也意味着我们的社会,作为一个整体,能够更清醒地认识到科技知识更加均衡的分布,是人类社会发展的一个关键环节,而我们也能够一起奋斗将此目标变成现实。
  撰文 | 何江
  责编 | 李晓明、陈晓雪


  何江毕业演讲三连
  在我读初中的时候,有一次,一只毒蜘蛛咬伤了我的右手。我问我妈妈该怎么办,妈妈并没有带我去看医生,而是决定用火疗的方法治疗我的伤口。
  她在我的手上包了好几层棉花,棉花上喷撒了白酒,在我的嘴里放了一双筷子后,妈妈打火点燃了棉花。热量逐渐渗透过棉花,开始炙烤我的右手。灼烧的疼痛让我忍不住想喊叫,可嘴里的筷子却让我发不出声来。我只能看着我的手被火烧着,一分钟、两分钟,直到妈妈熄灭了火苗。
  你看,我在中国的农村长大,那个时候,我的村庄还是一个类似前工业时代的传统村落。在我出生时,我的村子里面没有汽车,没有电话,没有电,甚至也没有自来水。我们自然不能轻易获得先进的现代医疗资源。那个时候,我妈妈也找不到一个合适的医生可以来帮我处理蜘蛛咬过的伤口。
  在座各位如果有生物背景的,你们或许已经理解到了我妈妈使用的治疗手段背后的基本原理:高热可以让蛋白质变性,而蜘蛛的毒液就是一种蛋白质。这样一种土方法实际上有它一定的理论依据,想来也是挺有意思的。但是,作为哈佛大学生物化学的博士,我现在知道在我初中那个时候,已经有更好的,没有那么痛苦的,风险也没那么大的治疗方法了。于是我忍不住会问自己,为什么我在当时没有能够享用到这些更为先进的治疗方法呢?
  被蜘蛛咬伤的事已经过去大概十五年了。我非常高兴地向在座的各位报告,我的手还是完好的。但是,我刚刚提到的这个问题这些年来一直在我的脑海徘徊,而我也时不时会因为先进科技知识在全球不同地区的不平等分布而感到困扰。
  现如今,我们人类已经学会怎么进行人类基因编辑了,也研究清楚了很多癌症发生发展的原因。我们甚至可以利用一束光来控制我们大脑内神经元的活动。每年生物医学的研究都会给我们带来不一样突破和进步,其中有不少令人振奋,也极具革命颠覆性的成果。
  然而,尽管我们人类在科研上已经有了无数的建树,但怎样把这些最前沿的科学研究带到世界最需要该技术的地区,我们做得仍然不尽如人意。世界银行的数据显示,世界上大约有12%的人口的生活水平仍然低于每天2美元。营养不良每年导致三百万儿童死亡。将近3亿人口仍然蒙受疟疾带来的痛苦。在世界各地,我们经常看到类似的由于贫穷、疾病和资源匮乏导致科学知识流动受阻。现代社会里习以为常的那些救生常识经常在这些欠发达或不发达地区未能得到普及。于是,在世界上仍有很多地区,人们只能依赖于用火疗这一简单粗暴的方式来治理蜘蛛咬伤事故。
  在哈佛读书期间,我切身体会到先进的科技知识能够既简单又深远地帮助到很多人。本世纪初的时候,禽流感在亚洲多个国家肆虐。那个时候,村庄里的农民听到禽流感就像听到恶魔施咒一样,对其特别的恐惧。乡村的土医疗方法对这样一个疾病也是束手无策。农民对于普通感冒和流感的区别并不是很清楚,他们并不懂得流感比普通感冒可能更加致命。而且,大部分人对于科学家所发现的流感病毒能够跨不同物种传播这一事实并不清楚。
  于是,当我认识到将受感染的不同物种隔离开等简单的卫生举措可以减缓疾病传播时,当我能够为将这些知识传递到我的村庄贡献力量时,我的内心第一次有了一种作为未来科学家的使命感。但这种使命感不只停在知识层面,它也是我个人道德发展的重要转折点,我自我理解的作为国际社会一员的责任感。
  哈佛的教育教会我们敢于拥有自己的梦想,勇于立志改变世界。在毕业典礼这样一个特别的日子,我们在座的毕业生都会畅想我们未来的伟大征程和冒险。对我而言,我在此刻不可避免还会想到我的家乡。成长的经历提醒我,作为一名科学家,积极地将我们所会的知识传递给那些急需这些知识的人是多么地重要。因为利用那些我们已经拥有的科技知识,我们能够轻而易举地帮助我的家乡,还有千千万万类似的村庄,让他们生活的世界变成一个我们现代社会看起来习以为常的地方,而这样一件事,是我们每一个毕业生都能够做的,也都能够做到的。
  但问题是,我们愿意来做这样的努力吗?
  比以往任何时候,我们的社会都更强调科学和创新。但我们的社会同样需要关注的一个重心是将知识传递到那些真正需要的地方。改变世界并不意味着每个人都要做一个大突破。改变世界可以非常简单,它可以是作为世界不同地区的沟通者,找出更多创造性的方法将知识传递给像我母亲或农民这样的群体。同时,改变世界也意味着我们的社会,作为一个整体,能够更清醒地认识到科技知识更加均衡的分布,是人类社会发展的一个关键环节,而我们也能够一起奋斗将此目标变成现实。
  如果我们能够做到这些,或许,将来有一天,一个在农村被毒蜘蛛咬伤的少年或许不用火疗治疗伤口,而是去看医生接受更为先进的医疗。



  何江在哈
  何江毕业演讲英文原文:
  The Spider’s Bite
  When I was in middle school, a poisonous spider bit my right hand. I ran to my mom for help—but instead of taking me to a doctor, my mom set my hand on fire.
  After wrapping my hand with several layers of cotton, then soaking it in wine, she put a chopstick into my mouth, and ignited the cotton. Heat quickly penetrated the cotton and began to roast my hand. The searing pain made me want to scream, but the chopstick prevented it. All I could do was watch my hand burn - one minute, then two minutes –until mom put out the fire. 
  You see, the part of China I grew up in was a rural village, and at that time pre-industrial. When I was born, my village had no cars, no telephones, no electricity, not even running water. And we certainly didn’t have access to modern medical resources. There was no doctor my mother could bring me to see about my spider bite. 
  For those who study biology, you may have grasped the science behind my mom’s cure: heat deactivates proteins, and a spider’s venom is simply a form of protein. It’s cool how that folk remedy actually incorporates basic biochemistry, isn’t it? But I am a PhD student in biochemistry at Harvard, I now know that better, less painful and less risky treatments existed. So I can’t help but ask myself, why I didn’t receive one at the time?
  Fifteen years have passed since that incident. I am happy to report that my hand is fine. But this question lingers, and I continue to be troubled by the unequal distribution of scientific knowledge throughout the world. We have learned to edit the human genome and unlock many secrets of how cancer progresses. We can manipulate neuronal activity literally with the switch of a light. Each year brings more advances in biomedical research-exciting, transformative accomplishments. Yet, despite the knowledge we have amassed, we haven’t been so successful in deploying it to where it’s needed most. According to the World Bank, twelve percent of the world’s population lives on less than $2 a day. Malnutrition kills more than 3 million children annually. Three hundred million people are afflicted by malaria globally. All over the world, we constantly see these problems of poverty, illness, and lack of resources impeding the flow of scientific information. Lifesaving knowledge we take for granted in the modern world is often unavailable in these underdeveloped regions.  And in far too many places, people are still essentially trying to cure a spider bite with fire. 
  While studying at Harvard, I saw how scientific knowledge can help others in simple, yet profound ways. The bird flu pandemic in the 2000s looked to my village like a spell cast by demons. Our folk medicine didn’t even have half-measures to offer. What’s more, farmers didn’t know the difference between common cold and flu; they didn’t understand that the flu was much more lethal than the common cold. Most people were also unaware that the virus could transmit across different species. 
  So when I realized that simple hygiene practices like separating different animal species could contain the spread of the disease, and that I could help make this knowledge available to my village, that was my first “Aha” moment as a budding scientist. But it was more than that: it was also a vital inflection point in my own ethical development, my own self-understanding as a member of the global community. 
  Harvard dares us to dream big, to aspire to change the world. Here on this Commencement Day, we are probably thinking of grand destinations and big adventures that await us. As for me, I am also thinking of the farmers in my village. My experience here reminds me how important it is for researchers to communicate our knowledge to those who need it. Because by using the science we already have, we could probably bring my village and thousands like it into the world you and I take for granted every day. And that’s an impact every one of us can make! 
  But the question is, will we make the effort or not? 
  More than ever before, our society emphasizes science and innovation. But an equally important emphasis should be on distributing the knowledge we have to where it’s needed. Changing the world doesn’t mean that everyone has to find the next big thing. It can be as simple as becoming better communicators, and finding more creative ways to pass on the knowledge we have to people like my mom and the farmers in their local community. Our society also needs to recognize that the equal distribution of knowledge is a pivotal step of human development, and work to bring this into reality. 
  And if we do that, then perhaps a teenager in rural China who is bitten by a spider will not have to burn his hand, but will know to seek a doctor instead. ■



  颇有节日气氛的毕业典礼现
  何江演讲原标题为《蜘蛛咬伤轶事》,本文获搜狐教育授权刊载,略有修订。
  《知识分子》是由饶毅、鲁白、谢宇三位学者创办的移动新媒体平台,致力于关注科学、人文、思想
知识分子
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