Beltway Insider: Biden/Jan 6, Eastern Europe, Arbury, COVID Omicron/Vaccine Totals, Sidney Poitier

Details: Category: Beltway Insider; Published on Sunday, 09 January 2022 17:47; Written by Janet Walker

President Biden marked the first year of the January 6, 2021, Capitol siege with a scathing message finally naming the former president as chief instigator inciting the mob to attempt to subvert the electoral vote certification.

The President's job approval rating, according to the website fivethirtyeight.com, for the period ending January 9, 2022 decreased by 0.4% to 42.9% of those polled who approve of his effectiveness as President and those who disapprove of his effectiveness increased by 0.3% to 51.9% 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/Ukraine, Maxwell Guilt/Judicial Blindness, COVID Omicron/Vaccine Totals, Betty White, Eric Adams

January 6 and Biden's First Year

As nearly one year has passed since the President-Elect Biden was sworn into office, the president has barely mentioned the former President's name outside of campaign speeches and other pivotal moments where voters needed to remember.

That all changed on January 6, 2022, when during the memorial speech held in the very place where one year ago, members of left wind radicals stormed the capitol believing they had the "right" to demand members of congress return the electoral ballots to "stop the steal" these armed and dangerous insurrections were determined to upend the democratic process.

Invoking reflection of the 1968 when student protestors stormed Columbia University and "captured" five buildings in protest of "The Big Steal" as the university continued to land grab neighboring Harlem.

"Columbia was in the process of stealing land and resources from nearby Harlem, the flyer claimed—and students could help stop it. The students who passed out those flyers may not have realized it, but soon they'd be part of a controversial occupation of Columbia University that would spark one of the largest mass arrests in New York City history. By the end of the uprising, five university buildings would be taken over by nearly 1,000 protesters and the campus would be on lockdown after its dean was taken hostage," reported History.com.

An excerpt from President Biden's Speech held in Statuary Hall in the United States Congress.

"Close your eyes. Go back to that day. What do you see? Rioters rampaging, waving for the first time inside this Capitol a Confederate flag that symbolized the cause to destroy America, to rip us apart. Even during the Civil War, that never, ever happened. But it happened here in 2021. What else do you see? A mob breaking windows, kicking in doors, breaching the Capitol. American flags on poles being used as weapons, as spears. Fire extinguishers being thrown at the heads of police officers," reported The New York Times.

What else to we see, a nation so divided, which is not new. A nation divided has clearly begin to surface beginning with the 2000 election of former Vice President Al Gore and former President George W. Bush, when the final tally put Gore ahead with more than 500,000 votes. Since the 2000 election democrats have consistently won the popular vote and, in the case of Al Gore and former Secretary of State Hillary R. Clinton, lost the election based on the electoral vote.

The concept of a nation divided is not unexpected. The lines are clearly drawn and hard pressed to change. With the election came the trifecta, which aligned the house of Representatives and Congress with the president which allowed the president to advance his agenda through both houses.

Biden's first year has been marked by unprecedented challenges brought on by the global pandemic, which has yet to be fully under control. To the previous administration's credit, the move to quickly secure contractual obligation to precure vaccines aided Biden in creating a mass vaccination campaign for Americans.

His first year, which has been filled with so many victories, is and will be inevitably remembered for the year of the pandemic.

Retuning to his January 6, memorial speech – the words echoed in the halls where before him, leaders, future, and former presidents from the four corners of America have stood, debated, and even challenged the authorities on atrocities which had once been ingrained in the fabric of this nation.

The visions of January 6, packs of predominately men, in rugby style, attempting to force their way into the Capitol, for one purpose and one purpose only, to disrupt the electoral process on orders from their leader.

"We've all heard the police officers who were there that day testify to what happened. One officer called it, quote, a med- — "medieval" battle, and that he was more afraid that day than he was fighting the war in Iraq. They've repeatedly asked since that day: How dare anyone — anyone — diminish, belittle or deny the hell they were put through," reported The New York Times.

Those who accessed the building, some effortlessly, were determined to leave their mark on history. Disregarding warnings to leave the building resulted in death. The violence, which is marked by the deep division of political lines in our nation, is not the first battle to be fought on American soil. It may not be the last either.

World News: French Elections - Inertia or a Programmed Implosion

Eastern Europe Unrest – Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has issued a shoot to kill order to address the growing protests in his country over rising fuel prices and anti-government sentiment similar to the Yellow Vest protest in France nearly three years ago.

"At the request of Tokayev, Russia has sent "peacekeeping forces". They arrived on Thursday, amid warnings from the West to Moscow to respect Kazakhstan's sovereignty," reported Aljazeera.com.

Kazakhstan, a former soviet held nation, gained its independence nearly thirty years ago and managed to peacefully remain independent.

The protests, and subsequent arrival of Russian peacekeeping forces, forced the United States State Department to request a voluntary departure of government employees, embassy staff and all U.S. citizens as the instability of the nation continues to increase.

Russia Creates Chaos and Instability in the Region

A senior White House official commented on the continued Russian demands regarding the Ukraine:

"The main threats to European security over the past two decades have come from Russia and the forces with which it is aligned. Russia has twice invaded and occupied its neighbors. It's interfered in a myriad of elections, including our own. It's used chemical weapons to conduct assassinations and violated foundational arms control treaties, like the INF. So, any serious conversation with Russia about European security is going to have to address those issues, which, of course, are not referenced in Russia's draft documents."

Omicron Spikes Across United States

Omicron is shocking the world once again with confirmed cases exploding across the United States. With more than 53million cases confirmed, the United States has more coronavirus, and variant cases than any other nation in the world.

The recent explosion in cases, especially across urban areas, has resulted in the debate once again regarding in-person and online learning. The Chicago teacher union voted last week to return to online learning after the Christmas break as Omicron cases crippled the Windy city. To date, the Teacher Union has refused to return to the classroom.

New York City schools have returned after the holiday break to in-person learning. While school may be open in the nation's largest school district, the nation's largest transportation system has suspended several lines due to employee sickness as Omicron infects the city in record numbers, which creates challenges for students that commute to schools.

"More than one million of the country's 50 million public school students were affected by districtwide shutdowns in the first week of January, many of which were announced abruptly and triggered a wave of frustration among parents," reported The New York Times.

Vaccine Totals

Bloomberg.com has built a vaccine tracker which can be seen here. "In the U.S., 517 million doses have been given so far. An average 982,628 doses per day were administered over the last week," Bloomberg.com reported.

Coronavirus Totals

After a brief season of declining infection rates, the Omicron variant has shocked the world sending major urban and metropolitan areas into a tailspin with sharp spikes in confirmed infection rates. The importance of maintaining personal protective practices is imperative to controlling the spread.

Unless 85% of the global population is vaccinated and regularly receiving booster shots the global population will never fully control the pandemic it will always control the population.

For the one-week period ending January 9, 2022 coronavirus cases globally increased by 16,004,486 new confirmed cases, bringing the total of confirmed cases worldwide to 305,302,567 people with a total worldwide death toll of 5,483,394 deaths, and a 7-day death rate increase of 44,384 (Data from The New York Times).

COVID US Totals

Infections rates in the United States are also on the rise. For the seven-day period ending January 9, 2022, the total confirmed cases rose to 59,848,908 people with new confirmed cases increasing by 4,998,381 with a 7-day average of 714,054 cases per day. The coronavirus has claimed 835,835 total deaths, adding 11,645 more deaths over the 7-day period. (Data from The New York Times).

Pentagon's Diary Gets Personal

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

Justice Watch: And They Got Away With It (Part 4)

Arbery Killers Received Life Sentences

Ahmaud Arbery family finally received the justice that they were almost denied. Arbery, 25, had been brutally murdered, shot, and killed, on a neighborhood street on a Sunday morning while out for a jog.

Three men, Travis McMichael, 35, his father, Gregory McMichael, 66, and their neighbor were sentenced this week to mandatory life sentences, without the possibility of parole. The third man, William Bryan 52, charged in the murder of Arbery was also given a life sentence with the possibility of parole in thirty years.

"The lead prosecutor, Linda Dunikoski, asked the judge to deny the possibility of parole to the McMichaels, arguing that they had displayed a reckless history of "vigilantism" before the killing. She noted that the elder Mr. McMichael had referred to Mr. Arbery as an "asshole" as his body lay in the street and authorities responded. "There's been no remorse and certainly no empathy from either man," she said," reported The New York Times.

Justice for Ahmaud Arbery was an arduous road, filled with the standard cover-ups and refusal that many killings of African American face in places like Brunswick, Georgia, where racism is dominate and woven into everyday life and terror groups like the Klu Klux Klan are still active.

A video of the murder had been recorded and circulated on social media. It wasn't until the video escaped the nucleus of circulation and jumped to mainstream, which by that time, the men involved had been cleared of any wrongdoing, that the nation became outraged again for racial violence and injustice.

For more than two months after the February 23, 2020, murder, the three men remained free. Former Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson who has been charged with violation of oath and hindering an investigation.

"The indictment resulted from an investigation Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr requested last year into local prosecutors' handling of Arbery's slaying after a cellphone video of the shooting and a delay in charges sparked a national outcry," reported NPR.com.

Justice in America can be non-existent as those in positions of power continue to abuse their oaths and as the Fourth estate, the media, fails each victim, and the system, by failing to expose those in power who use power, money and influence to stop the judicial process.

Medical Science: COVID-19 - Is Your Mask Safe and Effective

Sidney Poitier, Icon, Trailblazer, Dies at 94

Sidney Poitier, an icon, trailblazer, actor, and legend, died this week. He was 94.

In 1964, Poitier was the first African American actor to win a Best Actor Academy Award for his performance in Lilies of the Field. His performance also earned him a Golden Globe. After this win, he made several films which dealt with the simmering issue of race, race relations and race tensions. He starred opposite Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracey in the 1967 film, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, which may have been the boldest storyline at the time to introduce the idea of humanity without color lines.

While, to some, the win may have solidified his place in Hollywood history, Pointier would continue to be recognized throughout the world for his contribution to the cinema, the arts, and the world at large. A civil rights activist he also marched with the leaders of the movement to protest the violent treatment and atrocities so frequently suffered in that era.

A man or honor and recognized globally, Poitier received the Kennedy Center Honor in 1995, and the Congressional Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in 2009. He was also knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1974.

No further information has been released regarding public or private memorials.

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