Dana's Back Story News Letter
Jan. 31/2021
Good Sunday morning,
Britain vs EU Vaccines
The P.M. of Ireland Micheal Martin, was just on BBC Andrew Marr’s Sunday morning show saying there is a sense in Europe Astrazeneca and “significant tension across Europe in relation to the sense across Europe that commitments entered into by Astrazeneca have not been fulfilled.” He added Astrazeneca can dispute that but there is a very strong sense across Europe “that Europe signed up, made financial commitments to Astrazeneca, and had an expectation of high volumes of vaccines to be delivered in a timely manner and it’s not now materialized”
Why is this important? It sets the stage for European anger towards a vaccine maker and resentment of Britains head start to vaccinate faster. And the anger is creating a possible vaccine trade war.
What a growing mess between Britain and The EU over vaccines. It started when Astrazeneca said it had to cut back on it’s supplies to The EU because of production problems in Belgium. While The UK meantime boasted of Brexit success in getting vaccine contracts months ahead of the sluggish European Union. There is fury inside the EU over a shortfall of vaccines while Britain is rolling out vaccines quickly despite having bungled the Covid response resulting in more than 100 thousand deaths, the highest death toll per million in the world.
The EU then decided to pressure Astrazeneca and The UK by demanding the vaccine shortfall be made up from some of Astrazeneca’s two factories in Britain. And then upping tensions by threatening Britain to impose export controls on Pfizer vaccines (Made in Germany) the UK also managed to secure with early contracts.
And finally, The Sun newspaper reporting their “row over vaccines exploded on Friday evening when Brussels said it would trigger Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol to the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement” to interrupt vaccine exports through Ireland to Britain.
P.M. Boris Johnson reacted with two blunt phone calls to EU Chief Ursula Von der Leyen. He is is said to have set out his demands in the calls, warning Ms von der by blocking the border with Northern Ireland, all of this vaccine war could threaten the Irish peace process. The EU has backed down for the moment after Johnson said it’s actions to block vaccine exports would endanger Britains elderly who would not be able to receive their second vaccine dose. People would die he said.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/13900694/boris-johnson-saves-vaccine-rollout-late-phone-calls-eu/
The Dailymail has more details on the spicy diplomatic row between The UK and The EU. Unprecedented stuff.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9206707/Boris-Johnson-told-von-der-Leyen-EUs-planned-vaccines-blockade-KILL-British-pensioners.html
Russia
Today is a major test for The Kremlin. Putin’s authorities have ordered riot police to deploy in major centres across Russia to shutdown any protests called for by those supporting jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Last weekend the protests were widespread and violent. Navalny was poisoned by Russian agents in August and narrowly surviving the attempt, returned to Russia after hospital treatment in Germany. His video investigation of Putin’s billion dollar palace has been seen over 100 million people and his arrest, and the deep corruption in Putin’s circle is firing unrest.
Today as I write this there are already arrests in Moscow and in other centres. Demonstrations seem smaller, but it’s only midday in Moscow and most of this will likely unfold later this afternoon and tonight in Russia. If authorities are seen to be brutal it will stir more anger and more demonstrations. And the Kremlin no doubt takes the view if they can’t shut down these demonstrations, they will spread and engulf the Putin regime itself.
This week members of Navalny’s team were arrested. They in turn have called for increased sanctions on Russian oligarchs and Putin’s inner circle numbering 3 dozen or so people. The actions by police today, can potentially pave the road for more international support for sanctions. I was an American TV Correspondent in Russia for 12 years and will bring my analysis to these events as they unfold here in this news letter. But clearly the show of force today shows how worried The Kremlin is, rather than how confident they are. Recent polls show Putins popularity plunging especially by youth who have rallied behind Navalny and watched the video’s of corruption.
Bees and pesticides
Bees are disappearing and studies show there are 25% less bees since the 1990's. We used to keep bees on our farm in Canada but these are not just honey bees but wild bees critical to the environment.
The problem appears to be pesticides, and on this Back Story podcast, with Dana Lewis we talk to Dr. Kiah Tasman at University of Bristol who has just done a study on how neonicotinoid insecticides are effecting bee sleep patterns and harming them.
And, Prof Dave Goulson from the University of Sussex who has studied these pesticides and bees for years and warns we have to ban them.
Save the bees and our fruit and vegetables and our flowers and our planet.
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1016881/7554691