Reader’s Links for February 13, 2022

Posted on by

Each day at just after midnight Eastern, a post like this one is created for contributors and readers of this site to upload news links and video links on the issues that concern this site. Most notably, Islam and its effects on Classical Civilization, and various forms of leftism from Soviet era communism, to postmodernism and all the flavours of galloping statism and totalitarianism such as Nazism and Fascism which are increasingly snuffing out the classical liberalism which created our near, miraculous civilization the West has been building since the time of Socrates.

This document was written around the time this site was created, for those who wish to understand what this site is about. And while our understanding of the world and events has grown since then, the basic ideas remain sound and true to the purpose.

So please post all links, thoughts and ideas that you feel will benefit the readers of this site to the comments under this post each day. And thank you all for your contributions.

This is the new Samizdat. We must use it while we can.

About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

76 Replies to “Reader’s Links for February 13, 2022”

  1. MEMRI – Canadian Islamic Scholar: During Desert Storm, We Persuaded 3,000 U.S. Troops to Convert to Islam

    At the “Peace Conference Scandinavia,” which was held in Oslo, Norway in March 2010, Canadian Islamic scholar Dr. Bilal Philips, who currently lives in Qatar, delivered a lecture titled “Da’wa in Desert Storm.”

    Philips, who lived in Saudi Arabia in the early 1990s, recounted his proselytization efforts as part of a group of Muslims who preached Islam to U.S. troops deployed to eastern Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

    Philips elaborated that he had even taken troops to watch public executions and shari’a law punishments.

    “Some heads were chopped off, some hands were chopped off,” he said.

    According to Philips, 3,000 U.S. troops converted to Islam as a result of these proselytization efforts, which were conducted with the consent of the U.S. authorities.

    Some of the converted troops moved to Bosnia after being discharged and lent their military expertise to the Bosnians in the Bosnian War.

    A video of the 2010 speech was posted on Bilal Philips’s official YouTube account on February 6, 2022. According to the description, Peace Conference Scandinavia was held in Oslo on March 27-29, 2010.

    • Dawa – “the positive side to a negative incident”
      Through Violence, Terror and Gore.
      Cutting the God-Head of every child’s innocence
      And replace with a Sharia Law.

  4. “She loves each of her ‘three parents’ — for James is very much a parent — dearly. She was ‘so proud, so happy’ on the day her ‘incredibly supportive’ mother Penny walked her former husband down the aisle and gave him away to James. ”
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10504389/Lord-Ivar-Mountbattens-daughter-Alix-reveals-fathers-sexuality.html

    The daughter. The mother. The wife.
    Live in The West? Heres your life.
    Cucks rule the politic
    Sucks romance and frolic
    And Lone Bucks rape-stab with a knife

    • Communist tactics used by Far Left
      Prisons are political ( to break and bereft)
      Confuse and humiliate
      No water, unclean
      A Comrade’s godliness: become the obscene.

      “Inmates described spending two weeks packed into a segment of the jail typically used to place prisoners in solitary confinement. They said they were left hungry and in the cold while correctional officers and medical staff dismissed pleas for treatment after they developed serious symptoms of COVID-19.”
      https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/calgary-jail-inmates-infected-with-covid-19-say-they

  6. Okanagan Freedom Convoy [Intro] @ Osoyoos BC / USA Border Feb. 12, 2022 | IrnieracingNews

  8. WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND — Some countries might send in a riot squad to disperse trespassing protesters. In New Zealand, authorities turned on the sprinklers and Barry Manilow.

    Initial moves to try and flush out several hundred protesters who have been camped on Parliament’s grassy grounds since Tuesday had little effect.

    The protesters, who have been voicing their opposition to coronavirus vaccine mandates, responded to the soaking from the sprinklers by digging trenches and installing makeshift drainpipes to divert the water.

    https://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/world/new-zealand-plays-macarena-on-repeat-to-flush-out-protesters-1.5778945

    Note: the story only gets better from there

  9. Special Counsel John Durham filed a motion in federal court in Washington, DC, on Friday alleging that Hillary Clinton’s political allies paid a contractor to spy on Donald Trump — both as a candidate, and as president — using cell phone data.

    The motion was filed in the case of former Clinton Campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann, who is charged with lying to the FBI about whether he was working for the campaign when he told the FBI about a false link between Trump and Russia.

    Sussmann was a partner at Perkins Coie, which often represents Democrats and which hired Fusion GPS to produce the false Russia “dossier” on then-candidate Trump, at the behest of the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/02/12/john-durham-filing-suggests-clinton-operatives-spied-on-trump-in-2016-and-in-white-house/

  10. Biden Admin Urges Court Not To Allow Release Of ‘Secret Report’ On Dominion Voting Machines
    Tyler Durden’s Photo
    BY TYLER DURDEN
    SATURDAY, FEB 12, 2022 – 06:00 PM
    Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

    Top officials at a U.S. federal cybersecurity agency are urging a judge not to authorize at this time the release of a report that analyzes Dominion Voting Systems equipment in Georgia, arguing doing so could assist hackers trying to “undermine election security.”

    https://www.zerohedge.com/political/biden-admin-urges-court-not-allow-release-secret-report-dominion-voting-machines

  11. DUBAI, Feb 13 (Reuters) – U.S. F-22 fighter jets arrived at an air base in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday following a spate of unprecedented attacks in Abu Dhabi by Houthi fighters in Yemen, the U.S. Air force said on Saturday.

    In recent weeks, the Iran-aligned Houthis have waged a string of largely failed strikes on UAE targets that have triggered Emirati and U.S. air defenses and have even seen American troops based there briefly taking shelter.

    The jets arrived at the UAE base as part of a multifaceted demonstration of U.S. support after a series of attacks throughout January threatened U.S. and Emirati armed forces stationed at the host installation, the statement said.

    https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-f-22-fighter-jets-arrive-uae-following-houthi-attacks-2022-02-12/?utm_source=reddit.com

    • One of Brandon’s first executive orders was to remove the Houthis from the terrorist list.
      To advance the agenda of the MB and the Twisted-Ragheads. And slap the UAE for the Abraham Accords.

  15. Never has it been clearer that the strategy of those who wish to destroy Western civilization and “build back better” have division as their primary modus operandi. One need look no further than Dear Leader’s incendiary remarks painting all convoy truckers as racists. The fact he made the strategy of division so clear for all to see, however, proves his handlers have made a tactical error. While many of us knew this already, the hood to the engine has been thrown open for those who did not see it clearly, previously, to see it clearly, now.

    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/02/11/world-economic-forum-blasted-for-insane-pro-crt-propaganda-video/

  21. DEUTSCHE PRAVDA – Fast fashion – The shady world of cheap clothing

    ( 42 min 26 )

    Fast fashion has radically transformed the textile industry. These days, 56 million tons of clothing are sold every year. But cheap garments come at a high price: A precarious existence for workers and a catastrophic environmental impact.

    The clothing industry is currently deluging the planet with garments. With 100 billion items produced every year, that’s more than ever before. International companies are locked in an ongoing race to create new styles and win higher profits. And this gigantic expansion is set to continue: The sector is forecast to grow by 60 per cent by 2030.

    On the one hand, fast fashion means affordable clothes for all. Zara is known as the original fast fashion brand. The Spanish clothing giant creates 65,000 new styles every year.

    Shopping for clothes has become a veritable leisure activity stoked by social media: half of all Instagram posts are related to fashion and beauty. This is how market leaders in fast fashion influence their customers’ buying behavior, backed by relevant neuromarketing specialists.

    Fast fashion profits from e-commerce. No more trying on clothes in the store, the customer orders online and has the garment delivered – and if they don’t like it, they just send it back. Throwaway clothes and throwaway work: carried out by an army of couriers within the precarious gig economy.

    The textile industry is the sector with the world’s second-highest environmental price tag. Fast fashion manufacturers’ favorite material – viscose made from wood fibers – is marketed as a climate-friendly alternative. But producing this fabric uses a whole range of chemicals. This leads to serious health issues, not only for those working in the factories, but also for people living close by, for example in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

    Every year in Europe, four million tons of clothing ends up in the trash.

    Less than one per cent of this is recycled. The fashion industry likes to parade its sustainability credentials, but the reality is quite the opposite.

  22. A Louisiana federal district court has halted a key climate initiative from Joe Biden that he implemented shortly after becoming president last year.

    In a Friday ruling, U.S. District Judge James Cain blocked Biden’s January 2021 executive order that factored in the “social cost” of carbon emissions when creating rules regulating pollution.

    https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/louisiana-federal-judge-blocks-key-biden-climate-change-initiative

  23. “Christian disability assessor who was sacked by the DWP for refusing to call transgender woman ‘she’ takes fight to High Court – insisting his faith means he should not be forced to address a 6ft bearded man as ‘madam'”

    “Dr Mackereth, an A&E doctor with 28 years’ experience, was sacked as a medical assessor for the Department of Work and Pensions in 2018 after refusing to identify clients by their chosen gender instead of their biological sex.”

    “Dr Mackereth said during proceedings that he was asked in a conversation by his line manager: ‘If you have a man six foot tall with a beard who says he wants to be addressed as ‘she’ and ‘Mrs’, would you do that?'”
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10507853/Christian-doctor-David-Mackereth-sacked-trans-views-fight-High-Court.html

    This has nothing to do with religion, (which is the refuge of scoundrels).

    Obviously, if a person wishes to be addressed by their chosen name, say, “Mrs Bitchslap” then be courteous.

    This happens all the time with Lord, Lady, Doctor, Father, Imam and every other made up title. If you have to engage with such people, keep it brief, to the point, and get out of there fast.

    If they want you to reimagine their gender, just use “them” and “they.”

    Don’t try to win, (because you can’t fight egos), just don’t lose.

    Don’t lie to yourself. This is what they want you to do. To trick you into speaking a deception so they can judge you to gain their sense of superiority over their own damnation of submission..

    If they have xx or xy chromosomes and wish to lie about it, then this remains theirs alone.

    “She” and “He” can be made into a social-construct, a gender-fluidity, to wait after five years after a child is born to see how traumatized and neglected they have become to then celebrate their gender reveal; but the value of such terms will have gone.

    To say the shahada, and lie about your one true g_d and you not being their only prophet, to let someone else own your soul.
    Or to say “you didn’t make that,” when you worked, paid your taxes and bought the stuff you possess, to let someone else own your property.
    Or say “he and she” when they are not he or she, to let someone else own your identity.

    islam, Communism and LGBTQ hate the child. Three Queens of the world.

    • If you are not the Prophet of your G_d
      Others will call to clone you.
      If you are not the profit of your life
      Others will oath they own you.
      If you are not the pro-fit of human
      Others will cull this clown-view.

    • I think it more a question of weather or not to validate someone else’s delusion. I think reality is important.

      • Is there ever a reason to validate a delusion?

        For if you do, you are guilty for giving. Then, they will blame you for all their woes. You have a parasite.

        White Privilege only came about when Liberals rewarded their sense of guilt with virtue, by giving away free-stuff. And when their children have their
        inheritance squandered they will go for their ancestors.

        Free stuff demeans people. It demoralizes people. It impoverishes people. And in return, they work out that the more they intimidate, the more they will get in return.

        Stakeholders of Identity, appear as if by magic. More mouths to feed

        The pressure becoming so great, that it may become a new Religion for God, Communism, or the Holy Ones. No longer seen to be at a beggars’ bazar, but to willing to pay the jizya.
        http://www.saibaba-x.org.uk/6/

        Do you think there is, ‘a question of whether or not to validate delusion,’ Brian?

    • “Primary school staff on the Isle of Wight warned a six-year-old boy’s parents that he may be deemed ‘transphobic’ if he were to question another pupil wearing a dress.

      Sally and Nigel Rowe, whose sons attended a Church of England school, say they received a letter from the headteacher and chair of governors which declared pupils could be seen as transphobic if they showed ‘an inability to believe a transgender person is actually a ”real” female or male.'”
      https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10509429/School-sends-letter-parents-six-year-old-warning-transphobic-behaviour.html

      Wearing the Breastplate of Righteousness. Nothing changes.

  27. DAILY MAIL – More than 500,000 Afghan migrants are heading for Europe and the Channel coast as intelligence chiefs discuss how to tackle exodus

    More than 500,000 Afghan migrants have crossed the border since fall of Kabul

    They are heading for Europe and the Channel coast, intelligence experts warned

    Priti Patel last week held an emergency summit with her counterparts in the international Five Eyes intelligence alliance

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10506587/More-500-000-Afghan-migrants-heading-Europe-Channel-coast.html

  32. Clint Ehrlich
    Did you hear about the Russian teenager sentenced to 5 years in prison for playing Minecraft?

    The story is all over Western media.
    Too bad it’s fake news.

    The story you’ve been told is that the kid was just having fun in a video game.
    That he and his friends were planning to blow up a *virtual* FSB building.

    This makes the case sound harmless, like it involves activity that would be protected in America by the First Amendment.

    Critics of Vladimir Putin are trying to use the case as proof that he is a dictator.

    Garry Kasporov says “[i]f there’s anything you didn’t know about Putin’s Russia” the case “says it all.”
    “Dictators care about symbols, so virtual is as bad as real.”

    Before I expose the truth, I want you to consider: If people like Kasporov are lying to you about this, should you trust them about anything?

    They’ve *chosen* this story to make their stand.
    If it’s complete B.S., there should be consequences for their reputations.

    Here’s the truth: The teenagers were NOT convicted of planning to blow up a virtual building.
    They were convicted of training to blow up a *REAL* FSB building.
    They built real explosives, in real life, and practiced the operation in abandoned buildings.…

    https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1491907528132726785.html

  34. Showerthought: after what we are doing to our children here, in The West, none of us has the right to criticise FGM…

  35. Legacy media routinely prefaces claims of election fraud by a former president as “false” yet another court ruled against irregularities.

    Wisconsin’s highest court has re-instated an injunction against drop-boxes in a long-running dispute that began in June 2021.

    Advertisements
    Former President Donald Trump is routinely smeared for claiming election irregularities, if not outright fraud, cost him reelection in the 2020 general election. It is hard for election losers to prove they lost due to fraud yet more court rulings are falling in his favor. His claim that states used illegal means of padding vote counts in ways that favor Democrats is apparently not baseless or false, as this ruling proves.

    https://resistthemainstream.org/wisconsin-supreme-court-issues-ruling-on-ballot-drop-boxes-as-spring-election-comes-around-the-corner/

  36. American Twitch streamer Reydempto experiences a Strangulation of Peace. Enrichment in Amsterdam, the Netherlands:

  40. Richard, I miss you.
    …….What Superbowl?
    For you and me, THIS is the Great Game.

    Velina Tchakarova Dec 23, 2021

    The danger of a military attack by Russia in the direct European neighborhood is permanent and the most recent escalation caused by its drastic troops mobilization will send a strong signal once again that a military attack could be imminent at any time. What’s Russia’s plan? /1

    Russia‘s Putin is preparing for the „long game“, that is the systemic rivalry between USA and China. He seeks to upgrade his regional positioning by testing the American reaction (he knows that there won’t be a military involvement by US in Ukraine due to mid-term elections). /2
    https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1474133258812149764.html

  41. Ohio Rep. Mike Turner, the ranking Republican on the Intelligence Committee, said that FOX News reports that the 2016 Clinton campaign “tried to frame” President Trump saying he has “Russia ties.”

    he told FNC’s “Sunday Morning Futures” host Maria Bartiromo.

    https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2022/02/13/gop_rep_mike_turner_special_counsel_durham_has_evidence_hillary_clinton_basically_tried_to_frame_trump_about_russia.html

  42. Police made another push of force on Sunday afternoon to clear remaining protesters, tackling a few to the ground to break up a days-long occupation near the Ambassador Bridge border crossing in Windsor, Ont.

    Earlier in the day, Windsor police Sgt. Steve Betteridge said 12 people were arrested when officers from multiple police forces advanced that morning.

    Betteridge said those arrests were without incident and that police did not have to use force to detain the protesters. But later in the afternoon, as a handful protesters remained on the sidewalks, police again formed a line to disperse the demonstrators. As the line moved forward, a few demonstrators were tackled to the ground and arrested.

    He said about seven to 10 vehicles were towed and that police hoped to have the roads open and traffic moving later Sunday afternoon. He did not know when the bridge would reopen.

    Most of those arrested were charged with mischief, and some had been inside their vehicles, Betteridge said.

    Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens told CBC’s Rosemary Barton Live on Sunday that once police have the situation fully under control, the plan will move to figuring out how to properly reopen the roadway to the bridge.

    A spokesperson for the Canada Border Services Agency said it was “working collaboratively with law enforcement partners to restore normal border operations at affected ports of entry as quickly as possible.”

    https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/windsor-ambassador-bridge-police-protest-1.6350120

  43. The real story of violence at the trucker rally:

    INSTANT KARMA: Man Steals Flag From Girl and Snaps His Ankle

  44. Hungary, The Ally We Conservatives Don’t See

    https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/hungary-the-ally-we-american-conservatives-dont-see/
    ………
    The cultural purge by nationalists in Ukraine hasn’t been limited to Russian-speakers.
    https://time.com/6144109/russia-ukraine-vladimir-putin-viktor-medvedchuk/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social-share-article&utm_term=world_russia

    It’s affected the significant Magyar minority. They appealed to Mr. Orban, who tried to intercede directly but got no response. Uncle Vlad was more sympathetic.

    Is Hungary eager to host NATO forces in defense of Kiev?

  47. reuters – Ukraine’s leader invites Biden to visit soon

    – Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy invited U.S. President Joe Biden to visit Ukraine soon when they spoke by phone on Sunday, Zelenskiy’s office said.

    Tensions have been rising for weeks over Russia’s troop build-up near Ukraine and Washington has said an invasion could happen anytime. Moscow denies planning one.

    “I’m convinced that your arrival in Kiev in the coming days, which are crucial for stabilising the situation, will be a powerful signal and contribute to de-escalation,” the presidential office quoted Zelenskiy as telling Biden.

    The White House declined to comment on the invitation.

    CNN cited an unnamed Ukrainian official saying there was no positive response from Biden to the idea.

    The Ukrainian readout of the call had Zelenskiy saying Ukraine understood the threats it faced and was ready to face any scenario, while thanking the United States for its support.

    “We expect it to among other things help prevent the spread of a mood of panic,” he was quoted as saying.

    Zelenskiy has voiced frustrations with some of the dire assessments of a looming war. Such warnings have taken their toll on the economy, piling pressure on the national currency.

    https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraines-leader-invites-biden-visit-soon-2022-02-13/

    =========================
    FOX – Biden admin warns Russian invasion could come at any moment: Trey Yingst

    • J.E. Dyer:

      This whole build-up has an “off” feel to it: scripted to an almost banal degree of predictability, yet unattended by any real attempts to deter Russia or even appease Putin with concessions.

      It feels pro forma in every aspect, as if the force movements are meant to satisfy the touchstone of public expectations (the touchstone being the memory of World War II, and perhaps Desert Storm or the build-up to Iraqi Freedom), while the “diplomacy” is perfunctory, without the intention of actually achieving anything with it.

      I do think… that Putin is more likely than not to support a separatist insurrection in Donbas (of which the Donetsk region is a part), with irregular forces inside Ukraine, air support, and artillery in Russia holding Ukrainian forces at risk to a range well inside Ukrainian territory….

      Again, there’s an “off” feel to all this. It’s stately-paced and deliberate, yet seems wildly out of control, as if the world is careening into something that isn’t being stopped, but could be.

      https://theoptimisticconservative.wordpress.com/2022/02/12/russia-ukraine-an-alternative-scenario/

  48. NYT – J.&J. Pauses Production of Its Covid Vaccine Despite Persistent Need

    A crucial Johnson & Johnson plant has stopped making its Covid vaccine, though the company says it has millions of doses in inventory.

    Johnson & Johnson’s easy-to-deliver Covid-19 shot is the vaccine of choice for much of the developing world.

    Yet the American company, which has already fallen far behind on its deliveries to poorer countries, late last year quietly shut down the only plant making usable batches of the vaccine, according to people familiar with the decision.

    The facility, in the Dutch city of Leiden, has instead been making an experimental but potentially more profitable vaccine to protect against an unrelated virus.

    The halt is temporary — the Leiden plant is expected to start churning out the Covid vaccine again after a pause of a few months — and it is not clear whether it has had an impact on vaccine supplies yet, thanks to stockpiles.

    But over the next several months, the interruption has the potential to reduce the supply of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid vaccine by a few hundred million doses, according to one of the people familiar with the decision. Other facilities have been hired to produce the vaccine but either aren’t up and running yet or haven’t received regulatory approval to send what they’re making to be bottled.

    Inside Johnson & Johnson’s executive suites, the decision to suspend production at Leiden prompted concerns that it would impair the company’s ability to deliver on its vaccine commitments to the developing world.

    Johnson & Johnson’s move also blindsided officials at two of the company’s most important customers: the African Union and Covax, the clearinghouse responsible for getting vaccines to poor countries. Leaders of those organizations learned of the halt in production from New York Times reporters.

    “This is not the time to be switching production lines of anything, when the lives of people across the developing world hang in the balance, 🙂 🙂 🙂 ” said Dr. Ayoade Alakija, a co-head of the African Union’s vaccine-delivery program.

    Jake Sargent, a spokesman for Johnson & Johnson, said in an email that the company was “focused on ensuring our vaccine is available where people are in need” and that its global production network “is working day and night” to help fight the pandemic.

    He said the company was continuing to deliver batches of the vaccine to facilities that bottled and packaged doses. He also said Johnson & Johnson had millions of finished doses in inventory.

    Johnson & Johnson’s Covid vaccine, initially billed as a single shot, fell out of favor in the United States and other wealthy countries in part because of its link to a rare but dangerous blood-clotting disorder.

    Studies have found that it performs worse by some measures than the shots from Pfizer and Moderna.

    But poorer countries remain reliant on Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine, which does not require ultracold refrigeration. It has been shown to provide strong and long-lasting protection against severe disease across variants, including Omicron, when given as a two-shot regimen. As a single shot, the vaccine is less expensive and relatively easy to give to hard-to-reach populations.

    “In many low- and middle-income countries, our vaccine is the most important and sometimes only option,” Dr. Penny Heaton, a Johnson & Johnson executive, said in December at a meeting of experts advising the U.S. government on vaccines. She added, “The world is depending on us.”

    Lower-income countries now have more vaccine options than at any previous point in the pandemic, and the impact of pausing production at the Leiden plant is therefore less severe than it might have been in the past. Some African governments have asked vaccine manufacturers to pause shipments until the countries use what they have on hand. Companies have cited that as evidence that they are providing plenty of vaccines to poorer countries.

    But the reality is more complicated.

    Only about 11 percent of Africans have been fully vaccinated (and few have received boosters). Many countries lack the infrastructure — medical personnel, storage facilities and transportation — to quickly inoculate their populations. They don’t need a huge pile of vaccines all at once; they need a steady and predictable supply over many months.

    As recently as last summer, Johnson & Johnson had projected that it would deliver one billion doses of its Covid vaccine in 2021. The company badly missed that target, releasing roughly 400 million doses, according to a person familiar with the company’s vaccine production.

    Mr. Sargent said the company was continuing to fulfill its contractual obligations to the African Union, which has ordered vaccines on behalf of dozens of countries in Africa and the Caribbean, and to Covax, which buys vaccines for scores of low-income governments.

    But Johnson & Johnson failed to deliver anywhere near as many doses to Covax as it planned. The company said in May that it “aimed to supply” up to 200 million vaccine doses to Covax by the end of last year. Covax got only four million; another 151,000 arrived last month, according to Gavi, the main nonprofit that runs Covax. (Wealthy countries supplemented that with donations.)

    The African Union, which ordered 220 million doses, has fared better. It has been receiving doses on or ahead of schedule, with the bulk of the order due in the next eight months.

    Dr. Seth Berkley, who helps run Covax as the chief executive of Gavi, said the Johnson & Johnson vaccine had been at the center of the program’s strategy for fighting Covid last year. But because of Johnson & Johnson’s delay in delivering doses, Covax has increasingly looked to other vaccine providers.

    “We really needed their doses in 2021, and we were counting on them,” Dr. Berkley said. “They didn’t deliver. So we had to find other doses to meet the countries’ needs.”

    An African Union official said the bloc was also concerned by the decision to pause production at the Leiden plant because it had been assured that all of its vaccine would come from that facility. The official said Johnson & Johnson’s move raised doubts about whether the bloc would exercise an option to buy an additional 180 million Johnson & Johnson doses.

    Johnson & Johnson has already faced criticism for failing to prioritize people in developing countries for its Covid vaccine. Last summer, the head of the World Health Organization rebuked the company after The Times reported that millions of doses that had been bottled in South Africa were being exported for distribution in Europe.

    To make its Covid vaccine, Johnson & Johnson relies on a sprawling international network. In addition to the company-run Leiden facility, factories in India, Baltimore and North Carolina have been hired to make the substance of the vaccine. Others, including a plant in South Africa, handle the so-called fill-finish process of bottling and packaging doses.

    From the start, Johnson & Johnson executives told U.S. officials that they planned to eventually pull the Leiden facility out of the rotation so it could make other products, according to current and former U.S. officials.

    That was before Johnson & Johnson’s network was overrun with problems.

    Johnson & Johnson hired a contractor, Emergent BioSolutions, to produce its vaccine at a Baltimore plant that is big enough to make the equivalent of up to a billion doses a year. Emergent, however, failed to meet federal manufacturing standards, and regulators forced the plant to suspend production last April.

    The factory restarted in August, but regulators with the Food and Drug Administration have not yet determined that it can consistently operate in compliance with manufacturing standards, officials said.

    As a result, the F.D.A. has insisted on reviewing individual batches of vaccines before they are shipped to be bottled. Regulators haven’t cleared any batches made since the factory reopened, said Matt Hartwig, a spokesman for Emergent.

    Plans are underway for two other facilities — one a Merck plant in North Carolina, the other run by Biological E in India — to start contributing batches of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. But those plants are not yet producing usable vaccine substance and are not expected to do so until late spring.

    The Merck plant — whose participation in the vaccine production the White House last year hailed as a “historic” breakthrough — was supposed to be producing batches as early as last fall. That timeline has since been pushed back to late spring, federal officials said.

    The delays at Merck and Emergent increased the importance of the Leiden plant. After a renovation last year, the facility had the capacity to produce the equivalent of well over 50 million Covid vaccine doses a month, said two people familiar with the matter.

    Unlike companies such as Pfizer and Moderna, which have reaped billions of dollars in profits, Johnson & Johnson did not find the Covid vaccine to be a big moneymaker.

    Johnson & Johnson vowed to sell its vaccine on a not-for-profit basis. The vaccine generated about $2.4 billion in sales last year, less than 3 percent of the company’s total revenue.

    Since production of the Covid vaccine was halted late last year, the Netherlands plant has been manufacturing an experimental vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus, or R.S.V., that will be used for a clinical trial in older adults in wealthy countries, a person familiar with the matter said. Even if it proves effective, the vaccine is not expected to become available for several years.

    Mr. Sargent, the Johnson & Johnson spokesman, said the company’s manufacturing sites “produce multiple products, as we have an obligation to supply life-changing medicines to patients around the world.”

    Johnson & Johnson is among several companies racing to develop the first vaccine for R.S.V., which kills an estimated 14,000 older adults in the United States annually.

    As with other medical products, the company that wins the first approval is poised to have an advantage in capturing a big share of a market that some analysts think could be worth $10 billion annually by 2030.

    The vaccine is likely to be aimed at people in wealthy countries, since adults in the developing world are rarely tested for R.S.V.

    Even with the Leiden plant no longer making the Covid vaccine, Mr. Sargent said Johnson & Johnson continued to provide batches to all of the sites that were handling bottling.

    One of those is Aspen Pharmacare in South Africa. Stephen Saad, Aspen’s chief executive, said the Leiden shutdown had not interrupted the supply of vaccine to Aspen’s factory.

    Johnson & Johnson is preparing to return the Leiden facility to making the Covid vaccine next month.

    But that won’t translate into an immediate gusher of new doses. The facility’s production will undergo testing and inspections. Doses made from the restarted Leiden production most likely won’t be shipped until May or June.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/08/business/johnson-johnson-covid-vaccine.html

  49. channel 4 – ‘We have no option but to protest’: Thousands march against India’s hijab ban

    Protests have spread across India after a school banned Muslim girls wearing hijabs or headscarves in the classroom.