Welcome to Saturday's Potluck - August 26, 2023
“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
Pablo Picasso
A few bits of news this week which I anticipate effecting my future years. Time to start planning.
The local hospital system has been proactive for years on optimizing dollars fed into its system. It systematically bought all the community hospitals, now using them as a feeder system to the main hospital. The hospital system is the only choice without traveling over a 100 miles.
Local quirk or beginning of a national trend - time will tell.
‘26,000 may be affected’: St. Charles’ possible Medicare Advantage withdrawal prompts questions, concerns KTVZ News Aug 18,2023
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Citing concerns related to patient care, access and affordability, St. Charles Health System says it may withdraw its participation in all Medicare Advantage plans, including those from Humana, PacificSource, HealthNet and WellCare, and urged participants to consider shifting to traditional Medicare. That has prompted concerns by patients and others, including Summit Health Oregon.
St. Charles said in Monday's announcement that if it makes that move, it will continue to accept original (or traditional) Medicare, which is funded and operated by the federal government. Medicare Advantage plans are funded by the government but run by private insurance companies.
...
Chief Financial Officer Matt Swafford said, "Often what happens is that the Medicare Advantage plan gets in the way of the patient and the provider and makes choices that either delay a discharge or prevent access or change the financial situation retroactively, after the care has already been provided."St. Charles also cited the burden of paperwork, staffing shortages and delays in transferring patients as more reasons to potentially drop Medicare Advantage coverage.
Dr. Mark Hallett, the system's chief clinical officer, explained more scenarios where the Medicare Advantage insurance plans don't cover what people think they do.
...
St. Charles is not alone in expressing concerns about Medicare Advantage plans. According to the American Hospital Association, the AHA “is increasingly concerned about certain (Medicare Advantage) plan policies that restrict or delay patient access to care, which also add cost and burden to the health care system.” Additionally, Medicare Advantage plans are under investigation for fraud and delays and denials in coverage.“We are seeing different outcomes for patients based on the type of insurance they have; with those on Medicare Advantage experiencing higher rates of denials and longer hospital stays, meanwhile our providers must jump through hoops in order to get the care their patients need approved,” said Matt Swafford, chief financial officer for St. Charles.
“We recognize changing insurance options may create a temporary burden for Central Oregonians who are currently on a Medicare Advantage plan, but we ultimately believe it is the right move for patients and for our health system to be sustainable into the future to encourage patients to move away from Medicare Advantage plans as they currently exist. We want to share this notification with seniors in Central Oregon so they have enough time during open enrollment this fall to sign up for traditional Medicare.”
International Relations Theater
BRICS just changed the dynamics world relationships.
'Welcome to the BRICS 11' The Cradle by Pepe Escobar Aug 25, 2023
(alternative link if The Cradle is non-responsive. I have had trouble with the site today)
In the end, History was made. Surpassing even the greatest of expectations, the BRICS nations performed a giant step for multipolarity by expanding the group to BRICS 11.
Starting on January 1, 2024, the five original BRICS members will be joined by Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
...
Here is the Johannesburg II Declaration of the 15th BRICS summit. BRICS 11 is just the start. There’s a long line eager to join; without referring to the dozens of nations (and counting) that have already “expressed their interest”, according to the South Africans, the official list, so far, includes Algeria, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Belarus, Bolivia, Venezuela, Vietnam, Guinea, Greece, Honduras, Indonesia, Cuba, Kuwait, Morocco, Mexico, Nigeria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkiye and Syria.By next year, most of them will either become BRICS 11 partners or part of the second and third wave of fully-fledged members. The South Africans have stressed that BRICS “will not be limited to just one expansion phase.”
...
Pay attention. That’s Russia-China in synch on connectivity corridors, and they are preparing to further link their continental transportation projects.On the financial front, the Central Banks of the current BRICS have been instructed to seriously investigate and increase trading in local currencies.
Putin made a point of being very realistic on de-dollarization: “The issue of the single settlement currency is a complex issue, but we will move toward solving these problems one way or another.” That complemented Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva’s remarks on how the BRICS has started a working group to study the viability of a reference currency.
In parallel, the BRICS’ New Development Bank (NDB) has welcomed three new members: Bangladesh, Egypt, and UAE. Yet their road to prominence from now will be even steeper.
Pepe Escobar: BRICS 11 - Strategic Tour de Force Sputnik News Aug 26, 2023
It will take time for the Global South, or Global Majority, or “Global Globe” (copyright President Lukashenko), not to mention the stunned collective West, to fully grasp the enormity of the new strategic stakes.
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India wanted 3 new members. China wanted as many as 10. A compromise was finally reached, with 6 members: Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Argentina and Ethiopia.
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Now let’s get into the strategic stakes. For all practical purposes, in Eurasian terms, BRICS 11 is now on the way to lord over the Arctic Sea Route; the International North South Transportation Corridor (INSTC); BRI’s East West Corridors; the Persian Gulf; the Red Sea; and the Suez Canal.That blends several overland corridors with several nodes of the Maritime Silk Roads. Nearly total integration in the Heartland and the Rimland. All with just a single strategic move in the geopolitical/geoeconomic chessboard.
...
By incorporating Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, BRICS 11 instantly shines on as an oil and gas powerhouse. BRICS 11 now controls 39% of global oil exports; 45.9% of proven reserves; and at least 47.6% of all oil produced globally, according to InfoTEK.With BRICS 11 possibly including Venezuela, Algeria and Kazakhstan as new members as early as in 2024, it may control as much as 90% of all oil and gas traded globally.
Inevitable corollary: operations settled in local currencies bypassing the US dollar. And inevitable conclusion: petrodollar in a coma. The Empire of Chaos and Plunder will lose its free lunch menu: control of global oil prices and means to enforce “diplomacy” via a tsunami of unilateral sanctions.
...
In the G20 last year, China was the first nation to lobby for the inclusion of the 55-member African Union (AU). That may happen at the G20 summit next month in New Delhi; in that case, Global South representation will be close to parity with the Global North.
Claims that Beijing was organizing a malign conspiracy to turn BRICS into a weapon against the G7 are infantile. Realpolitik – and geoeconomic indicators – are dictating the terms, configuring the Shock of the New: the G7’s irreversible irrelevance with the rise of BRICS 11.
Can BRICS Dethrone US Empire? (56:45) Aug 22, 2023 (pre-BRICS summit)
Vladimir Soloviev speaks excellent English (no need for the translator), lived several years in Arkansas, expresses strong opinions and is well versed in Russian and American cultures. He has met Putin multiple times and has interviewed him twice.
Discussion on Putin.
(4.22 min)
Full interview.
Scott Ritter Show Ep. 42 with Vladimir Soloviev (52:34)
Economic Theater
US extends China chip curb waiver for allies’ fabs Asia Times Aug 26, 2023
The United States government has decided to extend a waiver to allow mainland China-based Taiwanese and South Korean firms to import chip-making equipment for another year from October.
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This move, together with the US Commerce Department’s recent decision to remove 27 Chinese firms from its unverified list, is welcomed by Beijing.In early July, Chinese officials held deep talks with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in Beijing and persuaded the Biden administration to reduce to the scope of its investment curbs against China’s high technology sectors.
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On August 17, the US Commerce Department said it will set preliminary anti-dumping duties of 122.5% on tin mill steel imported from China, 7.02% on imports from Germany and 5.29% on imports from Canada to protect domestic steelmakers. No duties will be imposed on the steel products imported from Britain, the Netherlands, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey.China’s duties were higher as a major producer refused to cooperate in the investigation while other respondents could not prove that they were independent of the Chinese government, according to a Commerce Department official.
Ukrainian Theater
A plane fell from the sky this week killing all on board. The story has disrupted reporting on Ukrainian lives lost and thwarted attacks on Russia.
The narrative from earlier in the week in various media sources has changed from "Putin did it" to "Who did it?"
Who Killed Prigozhin? POWER PANEL: w/Ritter, Johnson, McGovern Intel Roundtable (29:17 min)
The livestream videos this week by Judge Napolitano channel ongoing discussions regarding current Ukraine/Russia conflict. The interviews are generally posted on Monday through Thursday if would like to view them in a more timely manner. The link opens in the LIVE column, occasionally an interview only appears in VIDEOS section.
What is on your mind today?
Comments
2 possibilities. My money's on both
1, the hospitals are finally sick of losing patients to those damn Medicare Advantage ripoffs.
2, the doctors are finally sick of sharing the money they make overcharging Medicare patients.
On to Biden since 1973
Good morning
Thanks for this potluck soe. You hit 3 biggies today: healthcare, BRICS and Ukie war.
On the health insurance front, I found this book review today.
An expensive quilt filled with holes.
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2023/08/book-review-two-critiques-of-ame...
good luck!
question everything
Good morning...
Already warm today, but the heat is due to break next week. We might even get a tropical depression coming through. Trade day was very small this morning. I guess the heat had people scared off.
As to our health (sick care) system, I wish the focus was prevention not treatments (drugs and surgery). BRICS+ is the future as the US empire declines, and the proxy war in Ukraine looks to be waning as all the western soldiers and weapons are being decimated. What a waste.
well thanks for the OT!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Good morning soe. Thanks for the potluck and thanks for
the OT. Farmers' market today, so, of course, much indulgence in either will wait a bit.
Cooler yesterday and same predicted for today, maybe hot 80 around noon and than slow gradual cool down from there into the night. Have crickets, can't recall when they started, a while ago, for sure.
Russia has a government - something US residents, by and large, can't fathom.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Good morning, SOE et. al.
Great topics in this OT. I have some errands to run this afternoon, but this evenings' entertainment will be the videos posted.
Speaking of videos, I listened to a 2 hr. 29 min. Duran podcast episode with Robert Barnes. Barnes is a Republican, seemingly a Trump supporter, but he is, nevertheless, a lawyer of great reputation and renown.
Seems he is also well-read in ancient history, American history, and the topics ranged from the Trump indictments, to election integrity, to empire, and other topics that affect the world.
The Trump cases in NY and Ga. are not only critically important to the defendants, but will forever change the attorney-client privilege, and any speech that questions or expresses doubt about election outcomes, should the cases result in a guilty verdict. (Imagine going to prison for going through proper procedures to get a vote recount. Imagine being a lawyer advising a client on those procedures winding up in the cell with the client.)
The Duran Podcast, Aug. 22, 2023. I don't seem to be able to post the link. My apologies, but it is easy to find.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Good afternoon soe et. al. It's not quite noon here,
but might be when I'm done and sure is there. Farmers' market was crowded today, which is a good sign. I was pruning the apricot some, it's already that time of the year, but I'm limited in what I can do and for how long, if only by my wife, heh. So, a quick sandwich and a quick note and then clean up what I've already downed.
The "Intelligence Roundtable", even though there wasn't really any new information or outlooks, but it was good to have those people confirming what we already knew or had figured out Too bad we couldn't have that piped in to all of the msm stations simultaneously, and several times a day for a few days. Hah, already really afternoon here.
Also really liked the 4 minutes with Soloviev and would like to see it much more widely viewed and disseminated as well.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Good news on the semiconductor waiver
....There was a link in the kyodo news report SOE posted above to a Nikkei report on the same subject. I found the conclusion revealing.
https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Tech/Semiconductors/U.S.-to-extend-Chin...
In other words, Biden's anti China people screwed up again. They bollixed up the supply chain after it was already adversely affected by the covid interruptions. That the Biden administration puts itself in the position of being the approving authority for whether or not its allies can do business inside and with their largest trade partner, looks like another case of shooting itself in the foot and then yielding to common sense. First posture as being tough on China, and then pose as being wise for making piece meal concessions to the obvious. I guess the industry and allies will have to get on their knees every year.
Great Potluck today, thanks SOE!
語必忠信 行必正直
With luck, our clout will diminish sufficiently that enough
of the world will 1) ignore our illegal unilateral sanctions and 2) petition the UN and WTO to do something about them that we'll stop this idiocy, or sit there and watch it become ineffectual (like our politicians themselves are.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
For the past 2 days,
It is been so hot that the door handles on my vehicles, and the steering wheels, are so hot, they burned my fingers. I have never experienced this before.
Also, we needed some paper goods, canned goods, and condiments, we went to Walmart. The store shelves were empty here and there.
Something is going on.
Plan ahead, for sure.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
SOE,
bringing to us the Ritter/Soloviev video is what makes this site great.
I fell in love with Russia, with various Russians, on a tour maybe 5 or 6 years ago. I have an immediate family of WWII vets, their opinions on Russia, everything from the Russian officers that came to the US Horse Cavalry installations in the 30s to teach American soldiers how to ride a horse correctly, and how to inspire WWII soldiers to never, ever give up, or give in. Think: the siege of the now named St. Petersburg.
A hallmark of Russian national character is that they do not like surprises. They may not like the "now", but they want gradual, planned changes, historically. As it happens, they love the "now".
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
CNN has taken stenography from an unnamed source
.
and says that Russia is laundering propaganda through unwitting westerners.
That CNN could write this next paragraph with a straight face is beyond ridiculous because they have been mouthpieces for the government going back decades and they are certainly aware of what they have been doing. The press was created to hold the government to the truth and report on its misdeeds.
I can’t see what the person got wrong.
Caitlin had something to say about this article in her usual style.
https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/another-day-another-cia-press-release
Caitlin asks that if this is true then why isn’t the intelligence agency telling us themselves instead of laundering its information through the media? And just what are we supposed to do about except do another 2 minutes of hate towards Russia? Good grief why aren’t people asking this question themselves instead of having to have it spelled out for them?
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
If we hate them enough,
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
I haven't read all the article yet,
but I was interested to read this ...
Really, how many Russian civilians have the means to build relationships with influential American individuals? By influential, I assume that means either American politicians or uber-wealthy. Americans.
If America were so concerned with Russian and Chinese participation interfering in their country why are they happy to sell so many assets to them? Who's actually benefiting here, and what's their game?
South Front and Strategic Culture websites were removed from the
.
internet last week and both have found new homes to continue to write the truth about things that the PTB would rather they didn’t.
The globalists are doing an all out attack on anyone who doesn’t toe the line on what message they want told. I wrote about CJ Hopkins being charged for furthering the agenda of Nazis in Germany and how he has been found guilty of the charges that are absurd and absolutely ridiculous. A lot of countries that don’t have a constitutional right to free speech are passing law after law criminalizing it. Unless people start paying attention to this then anyone who writes something that is different than what the PTB are telling us we are going to be left with no rights whatsoever.
The WHO is getting ready to destroy national sovereignty and human rights so that they can install their one world government and it’s going to happen sooner than expected unless people get off their buttocks and start paying attention to what they have been doing openly for the last 3 years. I can’t stress enough how hard they have been working on this. I don’t know exactly what we can do, but paying attention to it is an important first step.
And it sure looks like Alex Jones was right about the Covid mandates coming back into effect. Colleges, hospitals and big businesses are reinstating mask mandates and Biden is once again throwing money to people, businesses, churches and colleges to push people into getting another worthless jab that has done jack on stopping the spread of Covid. I just read a diary about the new variant that OMG has 33 mutations and lots of people are saying that they have just gotten over their 4-5th round of Covid, but are looking forward to getting the new jab that is coming out next month. Good lord! If their previous 5 jabs hasn’t kept them from getting infected and sick then do they really expect the 6th one to do it? The CDC is warning people that they might not be protected from getting the Rona again after being 'vaccinated' for it is the exact definition of antibody dependent just like doctors, scientists and the Dose warned about 3 years ago. If the ‘vaccines' aren’t sterilizing then they will push for more variants to be created. This ain’t rocket science, it’s just science.
As the old adage goes: the first casualty of war is the truth.
Hence Julian Assange being locked in solitary confinement for 4 years even though he has never been convicted of any crime. He exposed the crimes of the PTB and they are getting revenge on him for doing so. Meanwhile the world yawns.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
Is this why Strategic Culture was destroyed on the web?
Karloff from MoA thinks that it’s a good possibility.. It’s Rona related so I’m just posting the link without excerpts or discussion. But I highly recommend reading it.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
very possible
as per a recent Scott Ridder post about being 'deplatformed'
It is one thing to challenge establishment spin, but one gets
banned whenever those voices reach a high number of views.
Guess we won't have to worry about that here
question everything
Let’s hope not
I’m worried about substack being taken down. That would be a huge blow for truth. But still it’s getting worrisome that the censorship has been taken to this level.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
From MoA coverage of this
.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
St. Charles and...
About all I know of Medicare is that I'm automatically signed up for one part and not the other.
For the other, as an expat, I am given the unpalatable choice between signing up and paying for something I can't use or not signing up and if I ever need to sign up in the future to have to pay a steeply higher premium...
Don't have warm and fuzzy feelings about St. Charles - happens that my father died there. Issues with them, but more with the clinic and hospice they are associated with. Would be interested to know how much they raked in from the Plandemic, but maybe that revenue stream has dropped off a bit and they are looking to augment it elsewhere.
As SoE states, there is now no ready alternative to dealing with them as they have a regional monopoly - my brother in law recently opted to travel to Portland (200+ miles away) for an operation because St. C was insisting on a far more invasive and expensive operation than the situation called for. Many, of course, are in no position to pursue options besides what they are presented with.
Of course, with the perverse incentives prevailing - increasingly steep payouts the more deadly interventions employed, the biggest being for a 'Covid death' it was probably naive to believe that hospitals would not take full advantage - dead patients a cost of doing business (of course not a cost borne by those raking in profits).
I posted this re: the St. Charles Covid experience in Dec. 2021 (Spoiler alert: spouse contact denied, off-label therapeutics denied, patient dead)
https://caucus99percent.com/comment/554774#comment-554774
By the way SoE - I see I missed your reply to that comment re: your own experience with your father there. Sorry about that, glad I found it when checking just now.
Here's another case - from Sarasota FL, August, 2021 - note the disturbing - and probably not coincidental - parallels to the Oregon case above:
https://rumble.com/vl2a0d-er-doctor-witness-at-sarasota-memorial-hospita...
I'm all about Nuremberg 2.0 at this point...
FWIW - affordable healthcare would be a major issue re: ever moving back to the 'Homeland'.
In Japan, for modest premiums I get 80% coverage for medical and basic dental - no co-pay.
Japan's system is not without problems, but they do achieve better outcomes for a bigger % of their population for only about half (as % of GDP) of healthcare costs in the US...