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Friday, July 5, 2024

'NATO Expected To Tell Ukraine It's Too Corrupt To Join'

Ukraine will be told that it is too corrupt to join NATO at the alliance’s summit in Washington next week, The Telegraph reported on Tuesday.

The report cited a US State Department official who said Ukraine needed to take "additional steps" before talks on its NATO membership could progress. "We have to step back and applaud everything that Ukraine has done in the name of reforms over the last two-plus years," the official said.

"As they continue to make those reforms, we want to commend them, we want to talk about additional steps that need to be taken, particularly in the area of anti-corruption. It is a priority for many of us around the table," the official added.

President Biden has frequently cited corruption as a reason for not admitting Ukraine into NATO, but that has not stopped him from spending over $100 billion on military and economic aid for the Ukrainian government with virtually no oversight.

The position is expected to be outlined in a NATO communique issued during the summit. During last year’s NATO summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was looking for a clear roadmap to membership, but the alliance’s communique only offered a vague statement that it would invite Ukraine to join "when Allies agree and conditions are met."

NATO is poised to make some gestures to show support for Ukraine, including the stationing of a senior civilian official in Kyiv, according to The Wall Street Journal. The idea is to show support for future Ukrainian NATO membership without actually offering an invitation.

The Journal also reported that the alliance will announce the establishment of a new command in Wiesbaden, Germany, to oversee military aid and training for the Ukrainian military. The idea is to have the alliance take over duties currently overseen by the US so they could continue in the event that a future US president wants to reduce US involvement in the proxy war.

The report said the steps to "Trump proof" the Ukraine proxy war have taken on a new urgency after President Biden’s poor performance in the first presidential debate. Former President Donald Trump has expressed skepticism about the war and said he would work out a deal to end it but hasn’t articulated a plan. He also backed House Speaker Mike Johnson as he moved forward an additional $61 billion in spending on the proxy war.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/nato-expected-tell-ukraine-its-too-corrupt-join

Thursday, July 4, 2024

Judge kicks out another Medicare price negotiation challenge

A Connecticut federal judge has sided with the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in Boehringer Ingelheim's challenge to Medicare’s drug price negotiation programme, rejecting the company’s position.

Judge Michael Shea denied all of Boehringer's claims that the Medicare negotiation programme the key policy in President Biden’s flagship Inflation Reduction Act, is unconstitutional.

In his order, Judge Shea said that Boehringer’s participation in Medicare is voluntary, albeit with “considerable economic incentive,” adding that the federal government is entitled to place conditions on companies who benefit from its programmes.

The verdict continues a run of setbacks for the pharma industry in its efforts to fight the programme, coming after defeats in court for Bristol-Myers Squibb and Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) trade organisation, and the US Chamber of Commerce.

Boehringer’s lawsuit has been brought on similar grounds to the others, including that Medicare is violating the due process and takings clauses of the Fifth Amendment – essentially that allowing Medicare to negotiate the prices of their drugs amounted to illegal ‘physical taking’ of their property – as well as the First Amendment right to free speech by making them sign agreements that state the prices being set are fair.

The suit also claimed that the negotiations violate the Eighth Amendment because they amount to an excise tax designed to force pharma manufacturers to accept the government-mandated price of medicines.

Overall, the assertion is that there is no negotiation, but rather mandatory price-setting by the government that is backed up by punitive fines if companies do not comply. Under the IRA, companies that refuse to reduce prices risk an excise tax starting at 65% of US sales of a product, increasing by 10% every quarter until it reaches a maximum of 95%.

Boehringer filed its challenge last August after it became clear that its big-selling diabetes treatment Jardiance (empagliflozin) – sold with Eli Lilly – was being included among the first 10 medicines subject to the first round of Medicare pricing negotiations.

A few weeks later, the company publicly committed to entering the first round of Medicare price talks. After the negotiation period, the new prices will be announced on 1st September 2024 and will go into effect on 1st January 2026 – assuming the pharma industry continues to be unsuccessful in its legal challenges.

https://pharmaphorum.com/news/judge-kicks-out-another-medicare-price-negotiation-challenge

America-hating anti-Israel protesters burn US flag on July 4th in NYC

A braying mob of around 100 anti-Israel protesters spent Independence Day burning American flags and chanting “Burn it down!” in Washington Square Park, part of a coordinated “Flood Manhattan for July 4th” demonstration.

At least one person was arrested, cops said, but they did not disclose the charges the alleged perpetrator was facing.

Video shows a New Yorker in a Yankees hat trying to reason with the group, but he’s quickly shouted down by a man in glasses who gleefully cheers “F–k Israel! F–k America! Woohoo!” as his fellow pampered trust-fund radicals giggle in approval.

The camera then pans down to a tattered Old Glory, smoldering next to a poster depicting Trump and Biden wearing crowns beneath “DEATH TO ALL KINGS” in big block letters.

The poster was evidently a reference to the Supreme Court’s ruling earlier this week granting US presidents “absolute immunity” from prosecution from “official acts” during their time in office.

Keffiyeh-wearing photographers brought their lenses in close to capture the flag desecration as chants of “Free free free Palestine” and “Burn it down” echoed throughout the park.

A woman at one point callously walks across the stars and stripes with her camera lens fixed downward at her feet.

The footage seems to take pains to avoid showing anyone’s faces, but the crowd skewed young.

https://nypost.com/2024/07/04/us-news/anti-israel-protesters-burn-us-flag-on-july-4th-in-nyc/

Americans Warned To Stop Shopping Via Chinese App Temu

by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The top prosecutor in Arkansas warned on July 2 that Americans should be wary of using the Temu marketplace app because it’s effectively a “data theft business.”

“The threat from China is not new, and it is real,” Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin told Fox Business on July 2, a week after his office filed a lawsuit against the company. “Temu is not an online marketplace like Amazon or Walmart. It’s a data theft business that sells goods as a means to an end.”

He said that it’s “common for an online marketplace like Amazon, like Walmart, to collect certain consumer data as part of the normal course of business. I think we all know that that’s not what’s going on here.”

Instead, the company is using malware and spyware to “get into your phone, your device, and to collect your data,” Mr. Griffin told the outlet.

“Not just traditional consumer data, but using malware, spyware to have complete access to your information. And [taking it] one step further, their code is written in such a way to evade detection,” he said.

Temu is operated by Shanghai, China-based parent company Pinduoduo Inc., which includes “former Chinese communist officials” in its ranks, Mr. Griffin said.

The lawsuit, filed against the firm’s parent company, is seeking a jury trial as well as a permanent block against Temu’s data-collection activities. It also seeks a $10,000 fine for each violation of an Arkansas state law known as the Deceptive Practices Act.

The suit primarily cites research from Grizzly Research, which analyzes publicly traded firms, and alleges that Temu can “purposely ... gain unrestricted access to a user’s phone operating system, including, but not limited to, a user’s camera, specific location, contacts, text messages, documents, and other applications.”

In its report, Grizzly Research said that it suspects that Temu is “already, or intends to, illegally sell stolen data from Western country customers to sustain a business model that is otherwise doomed for failure.”

“Temu is estimated to be losing $30 per order. Its ad spending and shipping costs (1 to 2 weeks from China, expedited to U.S. delivery) are astronomical,” the report states.

“One is left wondering how this business could ever be profitable. Temu is a notoriously bad actor in its industry. We see rampant user manipulation, chain-letter-like affinity scams to drive signups, and overall, the most aggressive and questionable techniques to manipulate large numbers of people to install the app.”

In a statement to The Epoch Times on Tuesday evening, a Temu spokesperson that it was “disappointed” and said the Arkansas lawsuit doesn’t cite “any independent fact-finding.”

“The allegations in the lawsuit are based on misinformation circulated online, primarily from a short-seller, and are totally unfounded. We categorically deny the allegations and will vigorously defend ourselves,” the firm stated. “We understand that as a new company with an innovative supply chain model, some may misunderstand us at first glance and not welcome us.”

The spokesperson continued, “We are committed to the long-term and believe that scrutiny will ultimately benefit our development. We are confident that our actions and contributions to the community will speak for themselves over time.”

According to analytics website Backlinko, Temu was the most downloaded shopping app around the world in 2023, with more than 330 million downloads—about 1.8 times more than the Amazon Shopping app.

On July 1, the Texas Public Policy Foundation issued a similar warning about the app, saying that it “can access almost anything on your phone,” which means that Chinese Communist Party officials “could theoretically install applications and spyware files on an individual’s smart device to use for complete surveillance of all user activity on a phone.

“This would allow China to monitor keystrokes and logs to have direct insight into login credentials for other social media, emails, and bank accounts,” the foundation warned.

Temu officials didn’t respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/americans-warned-stop-shopping-chinese-app-temu

Big Mexican Cartels Ramp Up Operations In Hawaii As America's Fentanyl Crisis Broadens

Mexican drug cartels, including Sinaloa and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), are aggressively expanding into Hawaii, flooding the islands with methamphetamines and fentanyl.

Local authorities told media outlet KHON2 that Sinaloa and CJNG are expanding business in the island state by sending drugs via passengers' luggage, mailed packages, and body carriers flying into Honolulu International Airport.

"Violent cartels, primarily the Sinaloa cartel and the Jalisco New Generation cartels, and they're killing each other," explained Gary Yabuta, executive director of the Hawaii High-Density Drug Trafficking Area.

Yabuta said, "They're competing for territory and turf to make sure that their drugs get across the border and sent throughout the nation, including Hawaii."

US Attorney Clare Connors told the local media outlet that Sinaloa and CJNG are primarily behind the new push in flooding Hawaii with drugs.

"Largely, however, it is cartel interaction with local drug trafficking organizations," Connors said.

Yabuta said, "Methamphetamine is still our greatest drug threat here in Hawaii, and that has risen, too throughout the years, including 2023 drug-related deaths," adding, "However, fentanyl drug-related deaths are catching up. It's rising at a faster rate."

One of the main reasons cartels expand across the islands is the lack of competition and law enforcement.

NewsNation noted, "An oxycodone pill selling for $2 in Los Angeles can fetch $16 or more in Hawaii."

According to Families Against Fentanyl, the surge in fentanyl overdose deaths placed Hawaii number seven nationally on a list with a 27% increase in fentanyl-related deaths in 2023.

Meanwhile, these same cartels are fueling the fentanyl epidemic across the Lower 48, resulting in a US drug death catastrophe that eclipses the Vietnam War every six months.

Last week, a new report from the Financial Times revealed details about a dark Chinese money-laundering network partnering with Mexican drug cartels.

In mid-April, the House Select Committee on China revealed that the Chinese Communist Party used tax rebates to subsidize the manufacturing and exporting of fentanyl chemicals to overseas customers.

"The West Coast Coalition is comprised of law enforcement agencies from California, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, and Alaska," Peace Officers Research Assoc. of CA recently wrote on X.

They continued, "We can't sit here and continue to let our communities suffer."

The biggest mystery here is why the Biden administration hasn't taken a tougher stance on China while America's fentanyl epidemic is killing a generation of youth. This should be a national security threat, yet elderly Joe Biden is likely too busy eating ice cream.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/big-mexican-cartels-ramp-operations-hawaii-americas-fentanyl-crisis-worsens

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