Reader’s Links for October 21, 2022

Here is a link to the VladTepesBlog social media Mastodon Pod. Please feel free to check it out and sign up for an account if you are sufficiently annoyed with Twitter and Facebook to try something new.

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

51 Replies to “Reader’s Links for October 21, 2022”

    • JACK’S MAGIC COFFEE SHOP

      “The only way Twitter, with 217 million users, could exist as a viable platform is if they had access to tech systems of incredible scale and performance, and those systems were essentially free or very cheap. The only entity that could possibly provide that level of capacity and scale is the United States Government – combined with a bottomless bank account. A public-private partnership.

      “If my hunch is correct, Elon Musk is poised to expose the well-kept secret that most social media platforms are operating on U.S. government tech infrastructure and indirect subsidy. Let that sink in.

      More:
      https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2022/04/17/jacks-magic-coffee-shop/

  1. the American Conservative – War and Regrets in Ukraine

    Douglas Macgregor

    Washington may regret its role in the war in Ukraine.

    Of the Vietnam War, Henry Kissinger, former national security advisor and secretary of State under Presidents Nixon and Ford, said, “We should never have been there.” Before long, Americans, even the politicians inside the Beltway, will reach the same conclusion about Washington’s Ukrainian proxy war against Russia.

    No one in the White House, the Senate, or the House consciously set out to turn the proxy Ukrainian war with Moscow into a contest of “competitive societal collapse” between Russia and NATO. But here we are. No one imagined that the Biden administration and the bipartisan war party would drive Americans and Europeans into a political, military, and economic valley of death, from which there is no easy escape. Yet that is precisely what is happening.

    For the moment, Washington remains blind to these developments. Whether in print, radio, television, or online, the narrative is clear: despite horrific losses—at least 400,000 Ukrainian battlefield casualties including 100,000 soldiers killed in action—Ukrainian forces are winning. Moreover, the narrative says, America’s financial and economic dominance will ultimately overwhelm the deceptively weak Russian economy.

    The Ukrainian-victory narrative admittedly benefits hugely from Western media that actively “tune out” opposing views and depict Russia and its armed forces in the worst possible light. The fact that nearly half a century of the Cold War conditioned Americans to think the worst of Russians certainly helps.

    Yet there is also a measure of “true faith” at work, a condition of national narcissism, inside the Beltway that believes Washington can control what happens thousands of miles away in Eastern Ukraine. The message resonates in Congress because it rests on a critical strategic assumption that American citizens have yet to challenge: that American national power is limitless and unconstrained—as though a series of strategic failures, from Vietnam to Afghanistan, never happened.

    Given that American politicians are always more preoccupied by domestic affairs than foreign policy, members of Congress are quick to adopt the “true faith.” This faith explains why for the last eight years members thought a future war with Russia was a low-risk affair. Ukrainians would provide the cannon fodder and Washington would provide the expensive weaponry and munitions.

    Predictably, Washington’s governing strategic principles are unchanged from previous U.S. interventions around the world. Muddle through: masses of soldiers—in this case Ukrainians advised by U.S. and allied officers—and huge infusions of cash, equipment, and technology can and will permanently alter strategic reality in America’s favor.

    The stupefying air of self-righteousness the Biden administration assumes when it attacks erstwhile strategic partners such as Saudi Arabia or delivers moralizing lectures to Beijing’s leadership, or when its media surrogates express contempt for the Russian state, is downright dangerous. Political figures in Washington are ready to indulge any transgression if it is committed in the name of destroying Russia. They do not view U.S. foreign policy in the context of a larger strategy, nor do they comprehend Russia’s capacity to hurt the United States, a bizarre judgment of Russia’s actual military and economic potential.

    The result is a toxic climate of ideological hatred making it hard to imagine a contemporary U.S. secretary of State ever signing an international agreement renouncing war as an instrument of U.S. national policy, as Secretary of State Frank Kellogg did in 1928. But as one of Shakespeare’s characters in the Merchant of Venice warned, “The truth will out.”

    The ongoing buildup of 700,000 Russian forces with modern equipment in Western Russia, Eastern Ukraine and Belorussia is a direct consequence of Moscow’s decision to adopt an elastic, strategic defense of the territories it seized in the opening months of the war. It was a wise, though politically unpopular choice in Russia. Yet, the strategy has succeeded. Ukrainian losses have been catastrophic and by November, Russian Forces will be in a position to strike a knockout blow.

    Today, there are rumors in the media that Kiev may be under pressure to launch more counterattacks against Russian defenses in Kherson (Southern Ukraine) before the midterm elections in November. At this point, expending what little remains of Ukraine’s life blood to expel Russian forces from Ukraine is hardly synonymous with the preservation of the Ukrainian state. It’s also doubtful that further sacrifices by Ukrainians will assist the Biden administration in the midterm elections.

    The truth is Moscow’s redline concerning Ukrainian entry into NATO was always real. Eastern Ukraine and Crimea were always predominantly Russian in language, culture, history, and political orientation. Europe’s descent into economic oblivion this winter is also real, as is support for Russia’s cause in China and India and Moscow’s rising military strength.

    In retrospect, it is easy to see how Congress was beguiled by the denizens of think tanks, lobbyists, and retired generals, who are, with few exceptions, people with a cocktail level of familiarity with high-end conventional warfare. Members of the House and Senate were urged to support dubious strategies for the use of American military assistance, including reckless scenarios for limited nuclear war with Russia or China. For some reason, U.S. politicians have lost sight of the reality that any use of nuclear weapons would overwhelm the ends of all national policy.

    https://www.theamericanconservative.com/war-and-regrets-in-ukraine/

    ================

    Ben Hodge | Can Russian Survive This Economy, Population, Military Failure, Sanctions

    In this video, Ben Hodges reveals why Putin is killing the Russian economy, population and military. This shocking video will shock everyone and may change how you view Putin and Russia. Watch and see for yourself!

    If you’re interested in politics or international affairs, then you need to watch this video! Ben Hodges reveals shocking truths about Putin and Russia that will change how you view the country and its leader. From the Russian economy to the military, Ben Hodges provides a comprehensive snapshot of Putin’s recent actions that have caused Russia to struggle. Don’t miss this important information!

    • the daily beast – Putin’s Last Hope to Win in Ukraine Is a GOP Victory in November

      VLAD’S ALLIES

      Just when Russia on the ropes, Republican leaders are already signaling they’ll cut aid to Ukraine if they win control of Congress.

      Vladimir Putin is fighting a two-front war. Sure, he’s losing badly in Eastern Ukraine, but things are looking up for the Russian dictator in the West—at least on the political front that runs through every ballot box in America.

      Although the resilience, courage, and skill of the Ukrainian military has driven Putin to increasingly desperate and depraved measures to avoid further battlefield humiliation, he can see a glimmer of hope on the horizon. And it’s being provided by the leadership of the Republican Party.

      “The GOP cavalry is coming! Hang on Vlad!” is the clear message being sent by Republican leaders like House Minority Leader (who might very soon be Speaker of the House) Kevin McCarthy. In an interview with Punchbowl News, McCarthy said:

      “I think people are gonna be sitting in a recession and they’re not going to write a blank check to Ukraine. They just won’t do it…Ukraine is important, but at the same time it can’t be the only thing they do and it can’t be a blank check.”

      Based on McCarthy’s statement and those of others in the party’s leadership, it is now reasonable to assume that if Republicans reclaim control of one or both houses of the U.S. Congress, they will reduce vitally needed support to Ukraine. And, of course, should Washington back off in support of Kyiv, it would be a disaster for Ukraine’s attempts to resist Putin’s invasion, and could doom that country’s heroic efforts to remain an independent democracy.

      And all this could happen at the exact moment that a reeling and isolated Putin really needs all the help he can get.

      Ukrainian troops continue to make gains against the Russians, and new opportunities for them are emerging as Russia falters. The Ukrainian military is moving closer and closer to retaking the key city of Kherson. Putin’s efforts at shoring up his military through conscription are going badly—except where they are going terribly. The new conscripts are also very unlikely to be much help to Russia’s war effort, given how badly equipped and poorly trained they are.

      More criticism of the Russian army’s failures is appearing in the Russian media. And where there is no criticism, government-friendly Russian pundits are making grotesque, brutal suggestions that their motherland embark on even more genocidal assaults on Ukraine. Russian assaults on Ukrainian power stations, although depriving millions of electricity, are having the opposite of the intended effect, inspiring even greater Ukrainian resolve. Putin’s declaration of martial law in the four regions of Ukraine he claims—but over which he has neither a legitimate claim nor control—was seen as a gesture that, per The Washington Post, would likely produce “little change in Russia’s fortunes on the battlefield.”

      In the face of this, rather than hailing the progress being made by Ukraine (with the support of the U.S. and many Western allies) against a sworn American enemy, Republican leaders are choosing now to question that support. The sentiment on the right that Ukraine is a minor concern and a waste of American taxpayer money has been steadily growing.

      As early as last May, 57 Republicans voted against the $40 billion aid package for Ukraine, and since the invasion in February, polls have shown that the number of self-identified Republicans who believe the U.S. provides too much support for Ukraine has more than tripled. And while Biden administration officials, per a Politico report, hope that bipartisan support for aid to Ukraine holds, McCarthy’s comments are worrisome.

      After all, withholding aid to Ukraine was a signature decision of the leader of the Republican Party, former President Donald Trump (even if the way he did it was illegal and led to his first impeachment.)

      And many in the GOP have benefited over the years, as Trump did, from Russian support. This, in turn, has led to GOP politicians working hard for Russian benefactors. And even as Russia has brutalized Ukraine, it has led to a chorus of defenses of Putin from Trump and the MAGA right. (A dark irony of all this is that the GOP is hoping to ride to victory in November by stirring up public frustration with inflation, a phenomenon that is not only global and largely beyond the control of Democrats or anyone in Congress—but has actually been made much worse by Putin.)

      A recent interview with columnist Christopher Coldwell by Isaac Chotiner in The New Yorker provides helpful insights into why conservatives are drawn to Putin—from his perceived role as an ally in the culture wars to the contempt they share with him for international institutions.

      But it is clearly not simply the abstract appeal of Putin’s macho nativist authoritarianism that draws the American right to Putin. It is the result of a campaign by Putin to both win support in the West and, at the same time, to weaken the Western alliance—and with it, the resolve and means to oppose him. An illustration of this came from the Biden administration, which shared a recent intelligence community review that indicated that Russia has spent over $300 million on influencing foreign elections during the past eight years.

      Indeed, when you look at the progress made from Putin’s efforts to use active measures to subvert Western democracies (in part by winning support within them) and compare it to his abject failures as a military strategist in Ukraine, it is easy to draw the conclusion that the former KGB lieutenant colonel should have stuck to the intel game.

      That said, given the GOP’s history of support for Putin, and the rumblings that Republican leaders may seek to dial back our aid for Ukraine at precisely the wrong moment—it’s entirely possible that Putin may get the last laugh, thanks in great part to having opened that second front in the West.

      For that reason, American voters need to recognize that it is not just U.S. democracy that is on the ballot in November; it is the fate of democracies everywhere that are threatened by Putin and his Axis of Autocrats.

      It is not just U.S. rights and freedoms that will suffer should the GOP win; it is those of our friends—like Ukraine and other states currently being menaced by Russia and those that might be inspired by a Russian success in Ukraine. Thanks to reasons that the GOP leadership have made crystal clear, voters must vote like it is not just America’s future on the ballot, but that of Ukraine’s and of the Western world.

      https://www.thedailybeast.com/putins-last-hope-to-win-in-ukraine-is-a-gop-victory-in-november

      europravda – Ukraine war: US says Iran gave Russian troops ‘kamikaze’ drone training

    • europravda – Ukraine war: Hungary comparing EU sanctions on Russia to bombs is ‘inappropriate’

    • PBS – Russians who fled to avoid fighting in Ukraine reflect on their new lives

      Putin declared martial law Wednesday in parts of occupied Ukraine.

      Putin has said his military mobilization is nearing completion, but hundreds of thousands of Russians have already fled rather than be drafted.

      In Istanbul, we found Russians who escaped a war they don’t believe in.

      • Makes sense.
        Since the Kiev regime targets civilians, they might have a clue about specific vulnerabilities of a child’s anatomy. Just yesterday they murdered civilians being evacuated from Kherson.

        Or maybe it’s the Americans who are designing baby armor. It was American-designed, American precision-guided HIMARS that killed the people yesterday.

    • europravda – EU to provide Ukraine with €18 billion in financial assistance for 2023, says von der Leyen

      • I suppose in this case it’s better that this treacherous witch pocket 70% of the money rather than having it go for weapons. Of which 70% will be diverted to terrorist consumers shopping the darkweb.

    • Ukrainian president, US officials discuss war, security, rebuilding of energy infrastructure

      Visit confirms US is Ukraine’s strategic partner, Zelenskyy says
      “I welcome members of the House of Representatives of the US Congress Mike Turner, James Himes and Eric Swalwell in Kyiv. Your visit at this time is a bold step that demonstrates strong bicameral and bipartisan support for Ukraine. It confirms that the United States is our strategic partner,” Zelenskyy said on his Telegram account.

      The message noted that Zelenskyy and the US officials discussed the situation on the frontline, Ukraine’s preparation for the winter months and the need to rebuild the country’s energy infrastructure destroyed in Russia’s “special military operation” since February.

      Zelenskyy called for the strengthening of sanctions against Russia, and underlined the importance for Ukraine to receive air defense systems in the necessary quantity to create an “air shield.”

      “We appreciate the support from the US Congress, US President Joe Biden and his administration, and the entire American people,” he added.

      According to a separate statement by the Ukrainian presidency, the issues of Euro-Atlantic integration and security guarantees for Ukraine were discussed in the meeting.

      “We must keep them in the fight. Ukraine’s fight for freedom is every democracy’s fight. If they fall any of us could be next. If they succeed we all renew the promise of democracy,” Swalwell said on Twitter following the meeting.

      The US recently made new pledges of $12 billion, bringing the total to over $50 billion in military, financial and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
      https://www.aa.com.tr/en/politics/ukrainian-president-us-officials-discuss-war-security-rebuilding-of-energy-infrastructure/2717752

      ==============================reuters – Ukraine appeals for more help with air defences, warns over Iran

      President Volodymyr Zelenskiy made a new call for foreign help strengthening Ukraine’s air defences against Russian air strikes during talks on Friday with three members of the U.S. Congress.

      An air force spokesperson echoed Zelenskiy’s appeal, saying the world must prevent Tehran providing Moscow with ballistic missiles in addition to the “kamikaze” drones which Kyiv says Russia is using in its attacks on Ukraine.

      Zelenskiy said his talks with U.S. Congressmen Mike Turner, James Himes and Eric Swalwell had covered the armed forces’ priority needs, repairs to damaged energy facilities and Ukrainian demands for tougher sanctions on Russia.

      “It is important for Ukraine to receive air defence systems in the necessary quantity to create an ‘air shield’,” Zelenskiy said on the Telegram messaging app following the talks.

      He said the visit to Kyiv was “a bold step that demonstrates strong bicameral and bipartisan support for Ukraine”, adding: “It confirms that the United States is our strategic partner.”

      Air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said Ukraine’s air defences were proving increasingly effective against the drones but indicated they were less effective against missiles.

      “If we take the last two weeks and the results in taking down drones, our air defence is 85% effective,” Ihnat told a briefing. “Now we’ve learned to recognise them and shoot them down more effectively.”

      UKRAINIAN CONCERNS ABOUT IRAN

      Tehran denies supplying Shahed-136 drones to Moscow and the Kremlin denies its forces have used Iranian drones to attack Ukraine. But two senior Iranian officials and two Iranian diplomats told Reuters that Iran has promised to provide Russia with surface to surface missiles, in addition to more drones.

      “Ukraine currently doesn’t have effective air defence systems against ballistic missiles. Iran will likely supply those (to Russia), unless the world finds a way to stop it,” Ihnat said.

      The United States has dismissed Iran’s denial that it has sold the drones to Moscow and said Iranian military trainers are in annexed Crimea helping Russian forces operate the drones.

      Ihnat said this was a matter for Ukrainian and Western intelligence but added: “It’s obvious they are there, for me personally. They are teaching and maybe even participating in military action.”

      Ukraine has been aided by the delivery of sophisticated air defence systems from allies including the first of four IRIS-T air defence systems from Germany.

      “One of those systems is already working in Ukraine. The only thing is we obviously can’t say where it is and how it works,” Ihnat said. “Iris had shown itself to be very useful, and its capability has been proven under military conditions.”

      https://www.reuters.com/world/ukraine-says-world-must-stop-russian-getting-missiles-iran-2022-10-21/
      ============================================
      OCTOBER 212022 – Mike Turner + Eric Swalwell in Ukraine

    • Belarusian Defense Minister Khrenin said that Poland is preparing for war

      According to the Belta news agency, Khrenin visited the Belarusian city of Grodno and made statements about the actions of the West.

      Stating that NATO is developing its military infrastructure in neighboring states of Belarus, Khrenin said:

      The renovation process of airports in Poland and the Baltic countries is almost complete. This will allow up to 200 warplanes to be deployed at these airports. Ports to accept alliance ships are being renovated. Areas are being created for the use of equipment and material stocks belonging to the US Armed Forces.

      Noting that military training centers and polygons have been restructured in Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, Khrenin said that “camps have been created where thousands of NATO soldiers can be deployed.”

      “10 battalions will be deployed at the BELARUS BORDER”

      Khrenin said, “The American missile defense base in Poland could be put into readiness, which could significantly upset the current balance of power in the region. The base can also be equipped with offensive missiles covering the entire territory of Belarus and most of Russia.” made its assessment.

      Claiming that Poland was preparing for war, Khrenin used the following statements:

      Poland’s political course shows that Warsaw is preparing for non-defense war. In Poland, not one, but two additional mechanized units have been prepared for the ground forces. Additional troops will be stationed near the city of Bialystok in the east of the country. The composition of the Polish regional defense troops is also changing. On the Belarusian border, 10 battalions will be deployed.

      Pointing out that the intensity of the military exercises organized by the West has increased, Khrenin said, “More than 40 exercises have been held since the beginning of the year. More than 100,000 people participated in these exercises. Preparations for war are underway. Belarus and Russia are also shown as potential enemies in these actions.” he said.

      “WEST’S SUPPORT TO UKRAINE EXTENDES CONFLICT”

      Expressing that the war in Ukraine was provoked by the West, Khrenin stated that this poses a threat to the security of Belarus.

      Khrenin said:

      The support of Western countries, especially the USA, to Ukraine leads to prolongation of the conflicts. There is the possibility of armed provocation. These can turn into border events. We see that the weapons shipped to Ukraine by the West are sold unchecked on the black market. There is no guarantee that these weapons will not fall into the hands of our radical-minded citizens.

      https://turkey.postsen.com/world/amp/140934

  2. Criminal Cartels Have More Control of Our Border Than Biden Does
    The Biden Administration needs to be held accountable for its attack on America.
    By Andy Biggs

    October 20, 2022
    You know your own government is against the people when it no longer even pretends it intends to protect the citizenry. And our government, from Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to Alejandro Mayorkas, Merrick Garland, and Christopher Wray, has undertaken policies that harm Americans.

    The Mexican criminal cartels effectively control the border. North of the border, the humans and drugs they smuggle into the United States are wreaking

    https://amgreatness.com/2022/10/20/criminal-cartels-have-more-control-of-our-border-than-biden-does/

  3. QWill the Left Allow Voters to Take Back Power?
    The Left’s power of intimidation begins with a great big bluff against the far more powerful American citizenry.
    By Adam Mill

    October 20, 2022
    Ayn Rand’s 1957 novel, Atlas Shrugged, contains a message of hope for all who look to the invincible juggernaut of state power. She writes, “The great oak tree had stood on a hill over the Hudson . . . for hundreds of years . . . it was a thing that nothing could change or threaten . . . One night, lightning struck the oak tree . . . The trunk was only an empty shell; its heart had rotted away long ago; there was nothing inside-just a thin gray dust that was being dispersed by the whim of the faintest wind.”

    She set the novel in a dystopian United States with characteristics we can recognize today as we look around. An expert class reorganizing the American economy to fit social justice objectives blames unknowable causes for the steady economic decline

    https://amgreatness.com/2022/10/20/will-the-left-allow-voters-to-take-back-power/

  4. An equestrian statue of Spaniard Bernardo de Gálvez has presided over D.C.’s Memorial Park since the mid-1970s. A lot of people don’t know why. Spain contributed three crucial things to the American revolutionaries, without which the independence of the United States would have taken many more years to come about: arms, money, and brave men. Among these last was Bernardo de Gálvez, who at 33 years of age led an assault on Pensacola, Florida, wearing down the English and strengthening the American rebels

    In recent years Spain has had pro-American governments, such as that of José María Aznar; anti-American governments, such as that of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero; and irrelevant ones, such as the current social-communist one led by Pedro Sánchez. In 2004, Zapatero decided it was a good idea to remain seated in front of the American flag during the parade of the Armed Forces on Spain’s National Day as a way of showing his rejection of George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq. He was foolish enough to believe disrespecting the flag only disrespected the president, and not some 300 million Americans. The truth is that the friendship between Spain and the United States is much deeper than the stupidity of some of our leaders, and as far as independence is concerned, there are ties of brotherhood woven by our forefathers that we should not forget

    https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-american-revolutions-forgotten-spanish-hero/

    • There’s enduring anti-Americanism there too:

      • We kept Franco’s boot on their necks too long;
      • Our soldiers on Nato bases poisoned the food, raped women, abducted children;
      • Contaminated the culture with Californication;
      • etc.

  5. Mississippi State Football Player Found Dead Inside a Church, Cause of Death Remains Unknown

    On Wednesday, Sam Westmoreland, a freshman offensive lineman at Mississippi State University, was found dead at a Baptist church in Starkville, Mississippi just two days before his 19th birthday.

    The cause of death remains unknown, and the Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Office reported that they currently have “no reason to suspect foul play.”

    Westmoreland had just started his college career and was planning to major in industrial technology.

    The head football coach at MSU, Mike Leach, released a statement about the tragic passing of the young man.

    https://100percentfedup.com/mississippi-state-football-player-found-dead-inside-a-church-cause-of-death-remains-unknown/

  6. BREAKING: Coroner Orders An Investigation After 13-Year Old Boy With Healthy Heart Collapses And Dies During Soccer Match

    Questions continue to arise due to an uptick in cardiac-related deaths and injuries in adolescent males.

    The uptick has occurred since the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine.

    Florida Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo recently released a report regarding the mRNA Covid-19 vaccine.

    The report raised concerns over risks associated with the mRNA Covid-19 vaccine.

    One of the most concerning findings in the report was that the Surgeon General’s office found an increased risk of cardiac-related deaths for men aged 18-39.

    Trending:

    https://100percentfedup.com/breaking-coroner-orders-an-investigation-after-13-year-old-boy-with-healthy-heart-collapses-and-dies-during-soccer-match/

    • zero hedge – Pfizer Plans To Hike Price Of US COVID-19 Vaccine By 400%

      Pfizer is looking to raise the price of its COVID-19 vaccines in the United States by up to four times once Washington’s purchase program ends, according to the company’s U.S. president, Angela Lukin.

      Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is presently provided free for all Americans by the U.S. government. Next year, when the U.S. public health emergency expires, the COVID-19 vaccine market will move to private insurance.

      The federal government is paying roughly $30 per dose for the Pfizer vaccine.

      When the government purchase program shuts down, Lukin expects a dose to be priced around $110 to $130.

      “We are confident that the U.S. price point of the COVID-19 vaccine reflects its overall cost-effectiveness and ensures the price will not be a barrier for access for patients,” Lukin said, according to Reuters.

      MORE :

      https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/pfizer-plans-hike-price-us-covid-19-vaccine-400

      =====================================

      reuters – Pfizer expects to hike U.S. COVID vaccine price to $110-$130 per dose

      Pfizer Inc expects to roughly quadruple the price of its COVID-19 vaccine to about $110 to $130 per dose after the United States government’s current purchase program expires, Pfizer executive Angela Lukin said on Thursday.

      Lukin said she expects the vaccine – currently provided for free to all by the government – will be made available at no cost to people who have private insurance or government paid insurance.

      Reuters earlier on Thursday reported that Wall Street was expecting such price hikes due to weak demand for COVID vaccines, which meant vaccine makers would need to hike prices to meet revenue forecasts for 2023 and beyond.

      The U.S. government currently pays around $30 per dose to Pfizer and German partner BioNTech SE (22UAy.DE). In 2023, the market is expected to move to private insurance after the U.S. public health emergency expires.

      “We are confident that the U.S. price point of the COVID-19 vaccine reflects its overall cost effectiveness and ensures the price will not be a barrier for access for patients,” Lukin said.

      It is not yet clear what kind of access people without health insurance will have to the vaccine.

      Pfizer said it expects the COVID-19 market to be about the size of the flu shot market on an annual basis for adults, but that the pediatric market would take longer to build based on shots given so far.

      So far the U.S. rollout of updated COVID-19 booster shots which target both the original coronavirus strain and the Omicron strain has lagged last year’s rate despite more people being eligible for the shots.

      Around 14.8 million people in the U.S. received a booster shot over the first six weeks of the rollout of the new shots. In the first six weeks of the 2021 revaccination campaign, over 22 million people received their third shot even though only older and immunocompromised people were eligible at that point.

      Lukin said she does not expect purchasing of the vaccines to transfer to the private sector until the first quarter of 2023 “at the earliest.” The move is dependent on the government contracted supply being depleted.

      https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/pfizer-expects-price-covid-vaccine-110-130-per-dose-2022-10-20/

  7. Stunning thread exemplifies communist negation.
    One swift gulp of dialectic negation that koshers sexism, racism, terrorism, totalitarianism – anything and everything emptied of meaning:

    @hurryupharry
    Former prof David Miler SHOCKS allies by going AGAINST Iranian women’s struggle for freedom in Iran.

    He denies murder of Mahsa Amini happened, says the word ‘mullah’ is islamophobic lashes out at “secularist Palestinians”, claims an MI6, Mossad, CIA and French intel plot.

    https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1583411825588469761.html

    https://twitter.com/hurryupharry/status/1583411825588469761

  8. Oh dear, the rich get rich and the por get poorer, BUT the global footprint is all that matters. The sky is falling and you must conform to save humanity. Well maybe but not if you are an elite.

    When an elitist needs a dentist, they fly in their trusted dentist. If you are having a get together and you want an exquisite dish you remember having in Paris, you order that dish and have it sent from Paris to California – no problem.

    Oh dear if you are stuck, don’t worry, I will fly my cook to help you with your dinner party — no problem.

    Oh you must talk with my designer – I will fly her over, no worries.

    You must try my hairstylist- I will fly him over.

    My tailor is exquisite- I will fly him over..

    YOU MUST WORRY ABOUT YOUR GLOBAL FOOTPRINT, well you “little people” must.

    You will own nothing and be happy.

    OMG I ordered pizza from the gas station 4 miles away and I DID’T EVEN WALK THERE. Bad me, will it all end in 11 years now??????