Tag Archives: China

Current Events

Biden’s Vaccine IP Debacle

4 Comments

Okay Mr. Joe Sanders-Pelosi-Harris-Warren-Ocasio-Cortez , you have done it now. How dare you do this to companies who have spent billions on research and development providing the world with safe, effective vaccines. You sir are a blooming idiot. If I were the CEO’s of Pfizer and BioNTech. I would tell you to go pound sand and refuse to give up the ingredients and processes for my vaccines. What would that fool do, close my business? Yeah, right. How would that settle with the American public? This is a travesty that we as Americans should not put up with. Note my opening sentence, Biden’s name isn’t there since I feel certain he was not able to come up with this communist scheme, they did! WHO IS IN CHARGE IN AT THAT PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE BUILDING? It sure isn’t him. 

Date: May 9, 2021 at 8:29:31 AM PDT

 “In one fell swoop he has destroyed tens of billions of dollars in U.S. intellectual property, set a destructive precedent that will reduce pharmaceutical investment, and surrendered America’s advantage in biotech, a key growth industry of the future.”

His patent heist is a blow to the Covid fight and U.S. biotech.

By The Editorial Board

May 6, 2021

We’ve already criticized President Biden’s bewildering decision Wednesday to endorse a patent waiver for Covid vaccines and therapies. But upon more reflection this may be the single worst presidential economic decision since Nixon’s wage-and-price controls.

In one fell swoop he has destroyed tens of billions of dollars in U.S. intellectual property, set a destructive precedent that will reduce pharmaceutical investment, and surrendered America’s advantage in biotech, a key growth industry of the future. Handed an American triumph of innovation and a great soft-power opportunity, Mr. Biden throws it all away.

***

India and South Africa have been pushing to suspend patents at the World Trade Organization for months. They claim that waiving IP protections for Covid vaccines and therapies is necessary to expand global access, but their motivation is patently self-interested.

Both are large producers of generic drugs, though they have less expertise and capacity to make complex biologics like mRNA vaccines. They want to force Western pharmaceutical companies to hand over IP free of charge so they can produce and export vaccines and therapies for profit. Their strategy has been to shame Western leaders into surrendering with the help of Democrats in the U.S.

But suspending IP isn’t necessary to expand supply and will impede safe vaccine production. The global vaccine supply is already increasing rapidly thanks to licensing agreements the vaccine makers have made with manufacturers around the world.

Pfizer and BioNTech this week said they aimed to deliver three billion doses this year, up from last summer’s 1.2 billion estimate. Moderna increased its supply forecast for this year to between 800 million and a billion from 600 million. AstraZeneca says it has built a supply network with 25 manufacturing organizations in 15 countries to produce three billion doses this year.

AstraZeneca and Novavax have leaned heavily on manufacturers in India to produce billions of doses reserved for lower-income countries. But India has restricted vaccine exports to supply its own population. IP simply isn’t restraining vaccine production.

Busting patents also won’t speed up production, since it would take months for these countries to set up new facilities. Competition will increase for scarce ingredients, and less efficient manufacturers with little expertise would make it harder for licensed partners to produce vaccines.

There’s also the problem of safety. Johnson & Johnson has experienced quality problems at an Emergent plant making its vaccines, and that’s in Baltimore. Imagine the potential problems with unlicensed producers in, say, Malaysia or Brazil. If vaccines made there have complications, confidence in licensed vaccines could plummet too. And who would Pfizer and Moderna sue to get their reputations back?

The economic self-damage is also hard to fathom. The U.S. currently has a competitive advantage in biotech and biologics manufacturing, which could be a growing export industry. Waiving IP protections for Covid vaccines and medicines will give away America’s crown pharmaceutical jewels and make the U.S. and world more reliant on India and China for pharmaceuticals.

Moderna has been working on mRNA vaccines for a decade. Covid represents its first success. Ditto for Novavax, which has been at it for three decades. Small biotech companies in the U.S. have been studying how to create vaccines using nasal sprays, pills and patches.

Thanks to Mr. Biden, all this could become the property of foreign governments. Licensing agreements allow developers to share their IP while maintaining quality control. Breaking patents and forcing tech transfers will enable China and low-income countries to manufacture U.S. biotech products on their own.

China’s current crop of vaccines are far less effective than those in the West, but soon Beijing might be able to purvey Pfizer knock-offs. The U.S. has spent years deploring China’s theft of American IP, and now the Biden Administration may voluntarily let China could reap profits from decades of American innovation.

***

Instead of handing over American IP to the world, Mr. Biden could negotiate bilateral vaccine agreements and export excess U.S. supply. If Mr. Biden wants to increase global supply safely, the U.S. could spend more to help the companies produce more for export. Then the jobs would go to Americans. We thought this was the point of the production deal Mr. Biden negotiated between J&J and Merck.

Alas, this President seems to be paying more attention these days to Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Nancy Pelosi. They think vaccines and new drugs can be conjured by government as a public good with no incentive for risk-taking or profit. This really is destructive socialism.

Mr. Biden ought to listen to Angela Merkel. Pfizer’s partner BioNTech is a German firm, and the German Chancellor said Thursday that she opposes the WTO heist: “The protection of intellectual property is a source of innovation and it must remain so in the future.”

At least IP is safe in Germany. Mr. Biden has sent a signal around the world that nobody’s intellectual property is safe in America.

There is nothing I can add to this pitiful, destructive, and downright idiotic  decision by that fellow who is supposed to be our president.

 

Originally posted 2021-05-10 12:37:20.

Current Events, Recent Posts

Back to Chinese Checkers

1 Comment

LOL,  Can you name the above group?  LOL Another barn burner from Mustang. I just love this one! Read and enjoy, and if you like it go to his website and say so. He has a great website, well researched, thought out, and usually with a tad of humor, such as this one.

Back to Chinese Checkers

by Mustang

April 13, 2021 — bunkerville

A few interesting developments among the so-called China watchers.  There is nothing for you to do about this, of course, but I thought it would provide at least some amusement.  So, there is this fellow named Sandeep Dhawan who writes advice to the US State Department suggesting what they ought to do about China.  I’m sure the State Department appreciates this advice — the Lord knows if anyone needed advice, it’s the US State Department.  Sandeep’s bona fides include the fact that he’s a former commander in the Indian navy.  I found this curious, so I did a few minutes of G-searching and could not find one single incident where the Indian Navy ever distinguished itself in a combat role at sea.  Well, it may not matter.

Russia, India, and China

Sandeep is concerned because, as the United States withdraws from its foreign outposts, China is moving in to “fill up the vacuum.”  Moreover, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s latest visit to the Middle East seems to indicate (to Sandeep) that China is definitely “moving in.”  Now, maybe it’s just me, but … so what?  Yi’s vow to “work with Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran, UAE, Bahrain, and Oman to “help protect their core interests against foreign interference” doesn’t bother me in the least.  More to the point, if Iran invaded Saudi Arabia tonight at midnight, I couldn’t care less.  Remember, I have long advocated that the solution to the petty tyrants in the Middle East is to convince the Saudis that the Iranians are good to eat.  Sorry, my friends, but I don’t care if China spends all of its silver taels on Algeria, Egypt, Palestine, Eritrea, or on Huey, Dewey, and Louie.  In fact, I think China should spend all their money in the Middle East.  We American taxpayers need a break.

Note:  I wonder if China realizes that all those countries hate each other almost as much as they hate us?

What does concern me, however, is that given America’s hunger for Chinese-made plastic bowls, it will be OUR spending at Wal-Mart that will actually fund China’s mischief in the Middle East.  Painfully, we all know that the average female shopper at Wal-Mart would trade in her first born son for a set of eight plastic storage bowls if they come in multiple colors.  Yeah, patriotism is important, so long as it doesn’t interfere in plastic storage ware.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Putin and China’s Xi are forming a mutual support arrangement.  They didn’t do this when Trump was president, of course … they know what a war hungry maniac Trump was.  But now that Joe Biden’s in the White House … well, off come the gloves.  Truly, this IS the danger of electing a nitwit to the presidency, and a former prostitute as his Vice … do you think anyone in the old country will respect America’s leadership, or will they take advantage of the opportunities handed to them by the American voter?

Note:  I don’t know for a fact that Kamala Harris ever was a prostitute, but that’s what Peter, who comments here, said — and it may all boil down to how one defines prostitution, but for the record I trust Peter, and this should go a long way toward reducing what I owe him.

But let’s be optimistic … even assuming that China and Russia “divide the world” among them, so what?  At some point in the future, the American dim-bulbs who voted for Biden will be called away and we’ll end up with a president with cajones.  After this new president nukes everyone one who is friends with China or Russia, the world will belong to us.  Then we can start fighting among ourselves, which is what we like to do almost better than anything (except Wal-Mart shopping).

LOL, What a great post for today, Thank you Mustang!!!

Originally posted 2021-04-13 14:39:04.

Recent Posts

Feminize the U.S. military

10 Comments

Bunkerville God, Guns, and Guts Comrades!

He does it again with a great post involving two pieces. Read about Joe’s new maternity flight suits and the name of that fellow (it’s a she, I think, of course one never knows today) over there in that building (it’s the Pentagon Joe).

And the superb piece he posted on China, it’s a great read, and makes complete sense to me, I think? Hell, there is so much going on today, it’s becoming difficult to keep it all straight, but the maternity flight suits seems to top them all. I mean How many “G’s” can a pregnant woman handle? Maybe we’ll find out soon. Go for it ladies. Oops. is that word a sexist comment? Oh well, so be it. Call me a sexist, I’ve been called worse.

 

Joe Biden and his China strategy – feminize the U.S. military

Originally posted 2021-03-10 11:10:27.

Recent Posts

Send in the Clowns

8 Comments

Remember the song “Send in the Clowns” written by Stephen Sondheim for the 1973 musical A Little Night Music? Numerous artists sang the song e.g., Frank Sinatra, Barbara Streisand, and Judy Collins to name only a few. I personally liked old Blues Eyes’ version.

Anyway, a retired Marine Master Gunnery Sergeant who taught me how to spell recruiting forwarded the following to me from one of his friends. I loved it it so much I thought I’d share it with you. 

Outdated due to being “post-election”, but still on-point with accomplishments that are grossly under-appreciated.  Never did plan to invite him over for brunch, but always did plan to live in a better USA, which we had the last 4 years.  Didn’t vote for the personality, just the sound policies of a successful president.

Hey, anyone starting a pool as to the date Biden steps down, for the pre-planned entrance of Kamala into the white house?  A charade I fully expect will take place in the next 4 years as sleepy-Joe isn’t remotely qualified or physically able for the job.  I’ll bet he does not last a year before the Ho replaces Joe

Subject: Fwd: The Resume of a Clown

The clown in the White House just brokered four Middle East Peace Accords, something that 71 years of political intervention and endless war failed to produce.

The buffoon in the White House is the first president that has not engaged us in a foreign war since Eisenhower.

The clown in the White House has had the greatest impact on the economy, bringing jobs, and lowering unemployment to the Black and Latino population of ANY other president. Ever.

The buffoon in the White House has exposed the deep, widespread, and long-standing corruption in the FBI, the CIA, the NSA, and the Republican and Democratic parties.

The buffoon in the White House turned NATO around and had them start paying their dues.

The clown in the White House neutralized the North Koreans, stopped them from developing a further nuclear capability, sending missiles toward Japan, and threatening the West Coast of the US.

The clown in the White House turned our relationship with the Chinese around, brought hundreds of businesses back to the US, and revived the economy. Hello!

The clown in the White House has accomplished the appointing of three Supreme Court Justices and close to 300 Federal Judges.

This same clown in the White House lowered your taxes, increased the standard deduction on your IRS return from $12,500 for Married Filing Joint to $24,400, and caused your stock market to move to record levels over 100 times, positively impacting the retirements of tens of millions of citizens.

The clown in the White House fast-tracked the development of a COVID Vaccine – it will be available within weeks – we still don’t have a vaccine for SARS, Bird Flu, Ebola, or a host of diseases that arose during previous administrations.

The clown in the White House rebuilt our military, which the Obama administration had crippled, and had fired 214 key generals and admirals in his first year of office.

This clown in the White House uncovered widespread pedophilia in the government and in Hollywood, and is exposing world wide sex trafficking of minors and bringing children home to their families.

The clown in the White House works for free, and has lost well over 2 billion dollars of his own money in serving – and done all of this and much more in the face of relentless undermining and opposition from people who are threatened, because they know they are going to be exposed as the criminals that they are if he is re-elected.

I got it, you don’t like him. Many of you utterly hate and despise him. How special of you. He is serving you, and ALL the American people. What are you doing, besides calling him names and laughing about him catching the China virus?

And please educate me again as to what Biden has accomplished for America in his 47 years in office?

I’ll take a “clown” any day, versus a fork tongued, smooth talking hypocritical, corrupt liar. Please let it be known, I am not sure I would want to have a beer with him (if he drank, which he doesn’t), or even be his friend. I don’t care if I even like him. I want a strong leader who isn’t afraid to kick some ass when needed. I don’t need a fatherly figure – I already have one. I don’t need a liar – that’s what Hollywood and CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, CBS and the New York Times are there for.

I don’t need someone to help me, but I also don’t want an obstacle or a demented, senile washed-up Swamp Monster.

God bless Donald Trump – the most unappreciated President in history. And, in the immortal words of Yosemite Sam, “Forget Hell.”

Pass this on if you agree.

Besides President Donald J Trump, who do you think was the last Clown? I’ll vote for Ronald Reagan.

Yes, PLEASE “Send in the Clowns”! The more the merrier.

 

Originally posted 2021-01-18 09:56:40.

Recent Posts

Mr. Mattis Again!!

5 Comments

To begin, I want to update again on my post of 9 June entitled ” An Open Letter to Mr. Mattis.” That post has gone absolutely crazy. It has well over 1,000 views from just about every country around the world and it continues to get hits every single day. In fact, I stopped counting, since I doubt it will ever stop getting hits.

And of course , Mr. Big Mouth (aka Mattis) still runs his mouth on things about which he knows nothing. Yes, he is a retired four star, so I guess he believes that makes him a diplomacy expert. Maybe President Trump should have made him  Secretary of State. LOL He may have made a mistake; however, taking on the Honorable Mr. Pompeo.

A column this week in the Washington Times by former Defense Secretary James N. Mattis that blasted President Trump‘s “America First” theme did not disclose that Mr. Mattis holds a senior position at the Cohen Group, a firm that dedicates itself to making business deals in China.

Mr. Trump‘s get-tough approach toward China — tariffs and prohibitions on Beijing‘s cyber products — is generally counter to the Cohen Group‘s objective of bringing Chinese and U.S. companies together in multimillion dollar deals. For what purpose?

The Cohen Group, founded by former Defense Secretary William Cohen and staffed by a number of former high-ranking government and military leaders, has two of its four overseas offices in China.

Mr. Mattis’ (I’m so happy to see the author got his title correct) Nov. 23 ForeignAffairs.com column was co-authored with three other national security experts, (that assumes Mr. Mattis is one also. LOL) but it was his name that gave it weight in the news media. The article’s thoughts resemble the Obama administration‘s China approach. It could be a window into how presumptive President-elect Joseph R. Biden pulls back from Mr. Trump‘s hardline.

Mr. Mattis is identified in his column as a former defense secretary (Fired) and fellow at the Hoover Institution, but not as a senior counselor at the Cohen Group global consulting firm in Washington.

In the column, Mr. Mattis rejects Secretary of State Mike Pompeo‘s campaign of rallying Asian countries against China‘s drive for dominance. Mr. Mattis does not mention China‘s declared economic war against U.S. ally Australia in retaliation for Canberra calling for an international investigation into the origins of the coronavirus.

China has yet to explain and document exactly how the pandemic began in Wuhan, where the virus was first discovered in 2019.

Mr. Mattis wrote, in a broad indictment of Mr. Trump‘s foreign policy: “Crucially, the United States should not press countries to choose outright between the two powers. A ‘with us or against us’ approach plays to China‘s advantage, because the economic prosperity of U.S. allies and partners hinges on strong trade and investment relationships with Beijing. Rather than treating countries as pawns in a great-power competition, a better approach would emphasize common codes of behavior and encourage states to publicly promulgate a vision for their country’s sovereign future and the types of partnerships they need to pursue it. You have got to be kidding me!

“It would also expand the cooperative space in which all countries supporting a rules-based order can work together to advance shared interests. Cooperation across different ideological systems is difficult but necessary, and there should be opportunities to cooperate with China in areas of overlapping interests, such as pandemic response, climate change and nuclear security.”

Mr. Mattis urged Mr. Biden to remove “America First” from all foreign policies.

The Cohen Group announced Mr. Mattis’ hiring in September 2019 as a “senior counselor,” calling him a “national treasure.” Which kind of treasure? His photo is prominently featured on its home page. “China is a market of enormous opportunity and complexity,” the firm states. “The Cohen Group’s (TCG) China Practice has a solid record of success with professionals in offices in Beijing, Tianjin and Washington, D.C.  Name just one.

“Building upon decades of experience, on-the-ground management expertise, and longtime personal and professional relationships throughout the region, TCG‘s China Practice helps companies succeed in the Chinese market. TCG enables Fortune 500 companies, as well as small- and medium-sized enterprises, to achieve their commercial goals in China through tailored government, business and media relations strategies.” While they steal our technologies and jobs.

Citing a recent “success,” the website said, “TCG facilitated discussions between a global pharmaceutical company and relevant Chinese government entities regarding the regulatory framework for a high-profile drug, resulting in a mutually beneficial solution for both the company and the Chinese healthcare community.” I still ask why are we buying drugs from these communists?

Mr. Mattis, a highly decorated and respected Marine Corps four-star general (Really? Who says he is a “respected four star general” and by who?) who oversaw all Middle East troops as Central Command head, resigned Come on guy’s, tell the truth, he was FIRED, he even admitted it )as Mr. Trump‘s defense secretary to protest planned troop withdrawals from Syria.

American forces are backing Syrian rebels fighting Islamic State terrorists. Mr. Trump argues he smashed the ISIS hold on Syrian territory. About 500 American troops remain in Syria.

Robert Gates, a Republican and President Barack Obama’s first defense secretary, has praised Mr. Trump‘s foreign policy.

“At least he has not started any new wars,” Mr. Gates said on “Meet the Press.” “And he has robustly funded the military. … I thought his challenging China was about time.”

Mr. Gates has said that the Western powers welcomed China into the family of nations some 20 years ago and China reacted by violating trade rules to gain advantages. (Yep)

Led by Mr. Pompeo, the Trump administration unleashed a series of actions against China‘s drive to lead the world. It uses tariffs to rein in what it calls unfair trade practices and calls out China for the illegal theft of U.S. inventions and personal identities and for rampant spying in colleges, businesses and government. And in a subsequent Op-ed piece, Mr. Pompeo shot down Mattis’ BS with mere facts!

The FBI says it opened numerous counter-intelligence probes into Chinese nationals. It estimates that China has broken into computer networks and stolen the personal information of half the American population. The FBI? Really, Is this to say they really do something besides work for the Deep State. The whole organization is as crooked as a dogs’ leg.

The Trump administration shut down a Chinese consulate in Houston, calling it nothing more than an intelligence collection hub. Mr. Trump has blocked U.S. businesses from doing deals with Chinese companies supporting the People’s Liberation Army. It has called China‘s telecommunications giant Huawei a spying tool. He has required China‘s propaganda arms in the U.S. to register as foreign agents rather than continue operations as journalists.

Mr. Pompeo and congressional Republicans have accused China of covering up the coronavirus outbreak by telling the world initially that it was not contagious as travelers arrived in the U.S. and Europe where the virus went on to infect millions.

As vice president Mr. Biden was the Obama administration‘s point man on China while his son, Hunter, engaged in networking with Chinese billionaires. He eventually worked out multimillion-dollar deals for himself and uncle James Biden. Excuse me, but where is the FBI on this?

A Senate Republican report documented the flow of cash based on Treasury Department suspicious activity reports (SARS) filed by lending institutions because they suspected illegality such as money laundering.

In 2011, Mr. Biden delivered a speech in China as Hunter was making business contacts there, promising to integrate China into American life.

“In order to cement this robust partnership, we have to go beyond close ties between Washington and Beijing, which we’re working on every day, go beyond it to include all levels of government, go beyond it to include classrooms, and laboratories, authentic fields and boardrooms.” Classrooms? LOL

Mr. Biden returned to China in 2013 with Hunter onboard Air Force 2.  Undoubtedly to seal some more cash deals for the “Boss” as Hunter referred to Basement Joe.

Originally posted 2020-12-04 15:39:53.