Beltway Insider: Obama/Syria/Russia; Haiti Devastated; Yemen Bombed; Trump’s Last Stand; Girl Power; Bob Dylan

President Obama and Russian President Putin have reached a stalemate in the effort to advance peace in Syria through diplomatic channels with the beleaguered soviet leader cancelling meetings with French President Hollande.

 

According to Gallup, President Obama's job approval, over the past week, increased by three percentage points to 55% of those polled who approve of his effectiveness as President and those who disapprove of his effectiveness as President decreased three percentage points to 41%.

Obama/Syria/Russia

White House Secretary of State John Kerry has once again traveled to Switzerland to meet with his Russian counterpart and others in an effort to advance peace and end the humanitarian crisis and civil war in Syria.

"The President doesn't believe there's a military solution to the crisis in Syria, that this will only be solved diplomatically.  But this hasn't deterred us from our campaign against ISIL.  Again, this is a place, even in Syria, where we don't have a centralized government to work in.  We've been able to roll back territory controlled by ISIL, about 25 percent of their territory that they've previously held," Eric Schultz, Principal Deputy Press Secretary.

With Russian President Vladimir Putin effectively placing himself as the de-facto leader in Syria, any peace negotiation involves the Russian leader. The iron fist of Russian rule and tradition can be seen in Assad's continued effort to bomb the citizens of Aleppo into submission or death.

As the humanitarian needs escalate, the United States leads the world financial support with "$5.9 billion worth of humanitarian assistance.  That includes things like food and shelter, water, medical care in urgent relief to help address the humanitarian crisis," Schultz said.

Haiti Devastated in the Wake of Hurricane Matthew

Dame Marie, Haiti, which took a direct hit from Hurricane Matthew, was ill prepared for the Category 4 Hurricane that ripped through with sustained winds of 140mph and gusts of 215mph shredding the municipalities and tearing apart shanty town homes across the western tip of the nation.

Ban Ki-Moon, the United Nations, Secretary General is in Haiti inspecting the damage. As has been in past disasters, including the recent  2010 Earthquake, Aid trucks and arriving supplies sit on the tarmac or have been looted, stolen or held for ransom.

Unik Earnest, a Haitian citizen and the force behind The Edeyo Foundation, along with celebrity Photographer Nigel Barker, spoke about the current conditions:

 

It has been over a week since Hurricane Matthew made landfall on the coast of Haiti. We can now confirm the scale of the damage is becoming clear. Entire towns and villages have absolutely wiped out, and the livelihood of subsistence farmers and fishermen has been completely destroyed.

 

But the situation is now getting worse quickly. In the absence of effective sewage and irrigation systems, and in communities enveloped by the stench of decomposing animals and human beings, epidemic disease will soon explode and Cholera have been spreading as we speak.

 

There is a danger of a medical crisis that threatens to surpass even the earthquake of 2010. Therefore, as a non-disaster relief organization we urgently collecting medical supplies from our generous supporters and friends that will address the actual and potential spread of the following diseases: Malaria, TB, Typhoid, Tetanus. Food is definitely running short. - Unik Earnest

 

US Backed Saudi Rebels Responsible for Yemen Funeral Bomb

Yemen, a small third world nation bordered by Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Sea, is in the middle of a civil war, between Shiite Houthi fighters and military loyal to the sitting President, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

Yemen, another Arab Spring government that resisted the sweeping tide, has recently become the target of larger military action involving the United States and other nations supported by the United States.

The Houthi's are being supported by Iran and have recently fired upon the USS Mason, a United States Military Ship sailing in international waters. In response to the aggression the United States, and ultimately President Obama made the decision to fire missiles at three strategic locations.

"The self-defense strikes specifically targeted radar sites involved in the recent missile launches in the vicinity of the USS Mason and other vessels in international waters.  The intent of our strikes were to deter future attacks and to reduce the risk to U.S. and other vessels.  And we are prepared to respond if necessary to any future missile launches," Schultz said.

The escalation of United States involvement, through supported rebels or directly, have been seen as an escalation and involvement in Yemen's war.

Having refused direct involvement in the nations' dispute, the recent bombing the killed more than 100 people at a Yemen Funeral was completed by U.S. Backed Saudi Rebels which indirectly brings the United States to the forefront of the current civil war.

"So this is not any engagement in the sectarian situation on the ground in Yemen.  This is purely a self-defense measure taken in response to the missile launches threatening the USS Mason," Schultz said.

Yemen's Pedophile Tradition

Yemen, as a nation, has a tradition of child marriage, marrying girls as young as seven to grown men. Yemen is nation with deep pedophile roots, an insidious cultural principal that has wrapped itself around the minds of the leaders blinding them with a belief that what once was must always be.

The United Nations, United States and all allies have no choice but to end all relations with the Middle Eastern terrorist state lobbying sectorial sanctions against the nation until this practice is abolished and laws in place which prohibit the marriage of minors and legal condemnation for the men attempting to secure the marriage.

Also Beltway Insider: Obama Commutes Sentences; Colombian President; Assad/Aleppo; Trump Debacle; Hurricane Matthew; Oldchella

Trump's Last Stand - Besieged GOP Presidential Candidate Faces Sexist Behaviors Allegations

Donald Trump, the Republican Presidential candidate, one would venture has had better weeks. During this last week, nearly nine women have come forward with various tales of groping, attempts at kissing, the grab, and other degenerate sexist behaviors.

The most recent incident of women coming out of the shadows to report a sexually aggressive power broker was former entertainment icon Bill Cosby, who has since been arrested and is currently battling a Pennsylvania court to have the single case of more than 50 rape allegations reported, from trial.

To date the allegations faced by Mr. Trump have been sexually chauvinistic, perverted, a pretentious belief of superiority and privilege. His own statements of entitled liberties based upon his celebrity status opened the door to women who have had run in with "The Donald."

His statements and behaviors on the long running NBC television reality show, "The Apprentice" are now being recalled by crew and cast. Nothing so debase, at this point, that we haven't heard from "The Donald" himself.

During all this an actual Presidential campaign is in quickly winnowing down to the general election on November 8, 2016.

Calls for Mr. Trump to withdrawn from the race from those who are not informed of the process or simply are hoping to force change and stop the potential of a runaway train and the possibility of a fourth and ten, Hail Mary, comeback should consider the options in the off chance of a Trump surprise.

Should Mr. Trump resign the second highest primary delegate winner would take control of the party. Senator Ted Cruz and his named VP, Carly Fiorina, and a united GOP would be on a twenty-day stump coast to coast 24/7. 

At the end of this past week, when Trump should be at his lowest polling numbers indicate he trails Democratic Presidentialcandidate Hillary Clinton by only 4points.

During the Town Hall debate one week ago, when his locker room banter was exposed, shameless he stood in front of the entire country and world and continued his rhetoric. 

As a business leader, it is impossible to believe, especially with the entire clan graduating from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, one of the most prestigious MBA programs in the nation, he has yet presented to the nation a business plan. A simple step by step, point by point, plan on even one of the hot button issues.

Claiming to be able to fix it without showing how is asking the people to believe in a pipe dream. With the dismantling of Obamacare as a passion project, present the plan to fix it.

Many analogies to the leadership position, a CEO choice, and other business terminology which Mr. Trump should be most comfortable. We, the people, have not been given even a resume to peruse. We've seen him weekly in a televised performance for which he received compensation.

What are his qualification for the Presidency? And Mrs. Clinton's? Yes, we've heard thirty years of service and she (it's all her fault) hasn't been able to navigate every presidency, every legislative loophole, every senatorial vote and move the rock of change.

The Presidency is not the type of job that the most qualified candidate can jump from when the market changes so awarding the lesser qualified employee the position in hopes of building loyalty and keeping them in the position longer is not a sufficient argument. It's a four-year lock; vote like it.

The candidates meet again for a third and final debate Wednesday, October 19, 2016.

President Obama issues a statement on Donald Trump

"The President has long said that Donald Trump is not qualified to be President of the United States.  That's not just because of his misguided and unwise policies, but it's because of his temperament, his character, and his judgment. That has not just become evident over the last 24 hours, but it's become evident in a long series of views and statements that we've seen from Donald Trump," Schultz said.

First Lady Marks International Day of the Girl with Let Girls Learn Launch

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, on the International Day of the Girl, announced that since the launch, in March 2016, more than one billion dollars has been committed to the Let Girls Learn program.

In addition to the private sector support, which counts upwards of 110 corporate commitments in 50 countries, the Let Girls Learn program is included in the President FY2017 budget requesting 100 million dollars to assist in funding this program in the United States and throughout the world.

Glamour Magazine has also marked the International Day of the Girl by hosting a livestream event at Washington, D.C's Newseum with girls from Peru, Tanzania, Jordan, the UK and Washington D.C to discuss the challenges they have faced in achieving an education.

"Making sure that girls around the world who are just as bright, just as able as me, have the same opportunities to take their education seriously, to have access, has become a mission that I take very seriously.  So as I said, this is something that means a great deal.  We can't afford not to educate girls and give women the power and the access that they need.  So we're going to keep working hard," said First lady Michelle Obama.

A brave child from Tanzania brought up a threefold issue, Genital Mutilation, she indicated "most girls die due to excessive bleeding" and the long distance from home to school which she added, "along the way there are gangsters, there are rebels so most of the girls get raped, others are raped and others are attacked by thieves, get pregnant and drop out of school and finally early marriage, whereby parents marry girls off at a very young age. "At 12, she said, "you may find a girl already somebody's wife."

 

Thank you so much for sharing all of that information.  It takes a level of courage and bravery to speak up and speak out, to talk about the challenges that are facing many girls in Africa and other parts of the world.  And it's really stories like yours, stories like those that were the inspiration for me to start Let Girls Learn.  

 

Hearing about people like Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the head by terrorists who didn't believe that a girl should not only not get an education but speak out about the importance of girls getting educated; the girls in Nigeria that have been kidnapped for the sheer desire to get an education.  There are stories like these all over the world, and they are heartbreaking.

 

We have our issues here in the United States.  But I want kids here in the United States and in other parts of the world to understand that there are girls that are willing to give their life -- they are literally dying, trying to get the education that many of us take for granted.  

 

And if we really want to honor these girls, like Malala, and like the girls in Nigeria, and girls in Tanzania, who would give anything to get an education, then the very first thing we have to do is take our education seriously and not take it for granted, to be that voice.  Because it's going to be up to the girls to get that education so they can be the fighters, and the champions, and the policymakers, and the next generation of world leaders who are going to make these changes.

 

So this is one of the reasons why we can't afford to ignore this issue, and we cannot afford to ever take our education for granted.  Education is critical here in the United States and many parts of the world.  And going to high school and going on to college is critical.  And I want young girls to understand that, and to be as hungry for their education as these girls who would give anything to get theirs.  We owe it to them to make that a reality. -  First Lady Michelle Obama

Bob Dylan Named Noble Prize Laureate

Bob Dylan, the singer-songwriter who rose to fame during the turbulent 1960's with his ability to capture the social unrest and upheaval and create inspired works that have transcended time and place remaining poignant today, was awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature.

"The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2016 is awarded to Bob Dylan '"for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition,"' announced Professor Sara Danius, Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy.

Danius went on to add during a post announcement interview, "He can be read and should be read, and is a great poet in the English Tradition."

Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, joins nine other notable Americans who have been distinguished recipients of the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Dylan, headlining the Desert Trip concert in Palm Springs, California at the time of the announcement, made no statement.

In recent years Dylan has been the recipient of increasingly distinguished honors beginning with a special citation from the Pulitzer Prize jury in 2008 for "his profound impact on popular music and American Culture, marked by lyrical composition of extraordinary poetry power. 

President Obama awarded Dylan the Presidential Medal of freedom in 2012. These awarded are in addition to his entertainment, singer and songwriting awards and lifetime achievement awards.

For more information on President Barack Obama: www.whitehouse.gov

Sources: Whitehouse.gov, Wikipedia.com

Source: Noble Laureate Source –

MLA style: "The Nobel Prize in Literature 2016 – Press Release".Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2014. Web. 16 Oct 2016. <http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/2016/press.html>

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