Beltway Insider: Biden/Maine, Israel-Palestine War, Refugee Camps Bombed, Hamas Seeks Negotiation, Humanitarian Aid, Mike Johnson

Details: Category: Beltway Insider; Published on Sunday, 05 November 2023 12:31; Written by Janet Walker

President Biden delivered remarks at a memorial for the survivors and families of the Lewiston, Maine massacre which killed 18 and wounded 13, invoking an unfortunate truth in America, as gun violence is a pandemic that is uncontrollable.

The President's job approval rating, according to the website fivethirtyeight.com, for the period ending November 5, 2023 decreased by 1.8% to 38.7% of those polled who approve of his effectiveness as President and those who disapprove of his effectiveness decreased by 1.3% to 55.0% of those polled who disapprove of his effectiveness. A slight 3% of the population polled have no opinion. Ratings are calculated weekly.

Beltway Insider: Biden/Israel-Palestine War, Hospital Bombed/Aid Arrives, Intel Failures, GOP House Fails, Natalee Holloway

Biden Delivers Remarks at Maine Memorial

President Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden attended a memorial service in Lewiston, Maine as the community continues to mourn for those lost and the unfathomable anguish wrought by the senseless violence.

"You know, as we mourn today in Maine, this tragedy opens a painful — painful wounds all across the country. Too many Americans have lost loved ones or survived the trauma of gun violence," Biden said.

Biden, who has attended more of these mass shooting memorials than any other president, spoke of attending the memorial at Sandy Hook, Uvalde, Buffalo, Monterey Park, and speaking with survivors all experiencing the same profound loss.

These names alone invoke memories, punctuated moments of tragedy in the collective psyche, they have become the 'where were you when you heard' moments of the 21^st century.

Las Vegas, Orlando, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, Uvalde, Buffalo, Monterey Park, Sutherland Springs, Thousand Oaks, El Paso Walmart, Parkland, Aurora, Columbine, Pittsburgh Synagogue. Never Forget.

U.S. Secretary of State Meets with Middle East Delegation

Secretary Antony J. Blinken, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, and Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi at a joint press conference in Amman Jordan, after meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, West Bank.

While the United States unequivocally supports Israel and condemns the Hamas lead attacks of October 7, 2023, the only viable answer to peace is a two-state solution.

"The United States continues to believe that the sole viable path is a two-state solution, with Israelis and Palestinians each exercising their legitimate right to live in a state of their own, with equal measures of security, freedom, of opportunity and dignity," Secretary of State Blinken said.

With each of the leaders presenting their positions on the current situation, their collective beliefs on the future of Israel and Palestine crystallized as did the determination to not allow the current conflict to escalate or spill over into surrounding nations.

Also, a unified belief that the harshness of Israel in their punishment of Hamas should be strategic and limited to those, including the leadership, that initiate the attacks.

Palestinian Leader Demands US Negotiate a Ceasefire

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas over the weekend in an abbreviated session in the West Bank, the second region bordering Israel occupied by Palestinian's and home to the governing Palestinian National Authority.

"Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas demanded an immediate Israeli ceasefire at a meeting with U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Ramallah, while Gaza's health ministry said dozens died in a strike on a refugee camp overnight," Reuters reported.

The Gaza Strip and the West Bank are both areas occupied by Palestinians. Gaza, which has allegedly been governed and ruled by Hamas since 2007, which is financially backed by Iran who has sworn to annihilate the state of Israel, and the West Bank which is the home to the President of Palestine and has been deemed as more moderate.

After the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, the retaliation which has been relentless has finally appeared to have reached across borders as Gaza refugees are seeking safety in Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, and other middle eastern nations and with-it bringing concerns of Hamas led attacks.

World News: From Bombs to Bursts of Hatred

Hamas Leader Ready to Negotiate; Hezbollah Ready to Join

After initiating the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has announced he is willing to negotiate a ceasefire even as Israeli Defense Forces continue to pummel the Gaza Strip with both a ground assault and air raids.

"We are ready for political negotiations for a two-state solution with Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine," Haniyeh said during his address, adding a caveat that the process can only begin on condition of a ceasefire and the opening of humanitarian corridors to bring more aid into Gaza," reported The Times of Israel.

Just as Haniyeh was delivering these remarks Lebanon's Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallahrallied his militia in support of Hamas and its attacks on Israel. While stopping before a formal declaration of joining the nearly destroyed Hamas stronghold in Gaza, Nasrallah made his position and the position of his nation clear. Another high-level Hamas leader Ghazi Hamad, however, has announced his followers are prepared to continue dealing death blows to the people of Israel.

Humanitarian Outrage

Images of war, dead children, mourning mothers, and families, of destroyed buildings, have seemed to have lost the urgency that is conveyed. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has become overwhelming and aid organizations which refuse to assign blame are trying to access the 1.9million Gazan refugees who are suffering over the decisions of their leaders.

United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator Martin Griffiths, who recently returned from Gaza said, "So far, 329 trucks carrying aid have entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing with Egypt, which opened on 21 October, with 100 making the journey on Thursday alone. However, he said an average of 500 truckloads were needed prior to the conflict. "These negotiations - detailed and important as they are – don't do the business. We are not keeping up with the progress towards desolation, which is the story of Gaza these days."

World News: Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Intensifies

The Geneva Convention and War Crimes

As war enters the 21^st century The Geneva Convention and The United Nations outline of war crimes, what is permitted during war and what is considered a war crime prosecuted under international law has become lost.

Just a simple review exposes that Hamas has clearly violated the treaty and as a terrorist organization it would be expected and in retaliation or punishment, Israel, a member nation, has also and must provide evidence of Hamas cells, tunnels, arsenals, using children as human shields, and intelligence that could condone some of the air raids on civilian refugee attacks.

"Some examples of prohibited acts include: murder; mutilation, cruel treatment and torture; taking of hostages; intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population; intentionally directing attacks against buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science or charitable purposes, historical monuments or hospitals; pillaging; rape, sexual slavery, forced pregnancy or any other form of sexual violence; conscripting or enlisting children under the age of 15 years into armed forces or groups or using them to participate actively in hostilities," as outlined in the United Nations charter.

Coronavirus Totals

The CDC has recommended every person from age six months, including senior citizens, should receive at least one shot of an updated covid vaccine.

Mandates have been altered or lifted in most urban areas with limited exceptions, and the population is encouraged to maintain personal protective practices. Masks are optional and tolerated. Vaccines and boosters are still considered the most effective agents against contracting the Coronavirus.

For the 14-day period ending November 5, 2023, the total of confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide reached 771,679,618 confirmed cases, an increase over the past 14 days of 488,415 cases worldwide. The total worldwide death toll increased by 4,871 to 6,977,023 deaths. The United States has stopped providing Covid data to the World Health Organization. (Data updated October 24, 2023, from The World Health Organization).

COVID U.S. Totals

As hospitalizations and infection rates continue to rise in the United States, some jurisdictions are suggesting new mask mandates. For the 7-day period ending November 5, 2023, new Covid hospitalizations in the U.S. increased by 30,312 to 6,452,832. The coronavirus has claimed 1,151,435 total U.S. deaths, adding 2,744 deaths, over the past week. (Data updated October 28, 2023, posted November 3, 2023, from the CDC).

Pentagon's Diary Gets Personal

Protecting for gain of function knowledge only aides those who initiated the constitutional violations. It does nothing to combat homegrown terrorism.

World War III: Can U.S. Help Both Israel and Ukraine

Hamas Support Spells Long Term Fallout; Career Derailment

The Israeli invasion of Gaza has caused many in the United States to speak out in support of the terrorist tactics of Hamas, labeling Israel blood thirsty war criminals, cold blooded child murders and calling for an immediate ceasefire, among other things.

Some have even gone so far as resigning from high profile and lucrative positions, throwing themselves on their sword without forethought of the long-term consequences of their actions. Supporting terrorism through words, actions, or deeds, will never be removed from one's record.

For those who need a quick historical review, a decade ago Hamas attacked Israeli, the retaliation was swift with limited loss of life.

"The last time Israel invaded the Gaza Strip nearly a decade ago, its troops pummeled an overmatched Hamas fighting force. They destroyed tunnel systems and sealed off smuggling routes, costing the Islamist group two-thirds of its missiles by the time they withdrew," reported The Wall Street Journal.

The perpetual cycle of violence between the two nations who have each expressed an extinction determination, an until tomorrow ceases to exist statement of intent, for the other is spilling into the streets of the United States and other nations.

Hamas, funded by Iran, is a terror-based network the type that strapped vest to children, that shield their leaders, like Osama bin Laden in compounds where children live in the hope of deterring assault and capture.

Support of Hamas is support of terrorism. Support of terrorism in the United States could result in complete loss of all aspects of a free life, it could result in names added to the terror watch list, loss of employment, and legal invasions of privacy.

There will never be an end to the war between these two nations. A negotiated end to the current installment is all that anyone can expect. Of course, it will include assistance from other nations to help rebuild Gaza, which will help Israel initiate new high-tech border control which peacetime sentiments refused.

In 2033 or 2034, a decade into the rebuild of Gaza, stories will be told of the Great War of 2023, where Hamas won the day and Israel won the war. Orphans will become adults with a mindset for revenge. And the next war, like this one which has seen an escalation in military weaponry and loss of life, will be played out with allies of Hamas, full scale ground battles, a regrouping of war plans, weaknesses, and a determined effort to destroy the state of Israel.

Until then negotiated and a simmering peace is all we can hope for in the region.

Hollywood Week: SAG/AFTRA Studios Near Deal, Matthew Perry Funeral, R&R Hall of Fame, Box Office

Who is Mike Johnson

Newly elected Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) has been catapulted from anonymity to congressional fame with his recent dark horse victory in the vacated house speaker position.

A born-again Christian, Johnson defines himself as an evangelical, with traditional fundamentalist beliefs with ties to the Southern Baptist Convention, which have had their share of scandals in the recent past, and adopts the traditional political agenda including anti-abortion and anti-Gay Rights.

"Mr. Johnson's sudden ascent last month to speaker of the House, second in line to the presidency, was a surprising turn in a career built quietly in courtrooms, as a lawyer representing socially conservative causes, and through the Louisiana Statehouse and the House of Representatives, to which he was elected in 2017," The New York Times reported.

Although the House Republicans were unable to agree on a leader, they seem to have decided Johnson is able to perform the job well enough and meet somewhere in the middle appeasing each alliance of republicans. We'll see.

For more information on President Joe Biden w ww.whitehouse.gov.