Beltway Insider: Biden/UN, Israel Escalates War/Bombs Lebanon, NYC Mayor Indicted, Hurricane Deaths, VP Debates

Details: Category: Beltway Insider; Published on Sunday, 29 September 2024 10:02; Written by Janet Walker

President Biden addressed the United Nations General Assembly this week, in his last speech to the world he called for vigilance against our enemies and support to our allies, as the axis of regional powers shift.

The President's job approval rating, according to the website fivethirtyeight.com for the period ending September 29, 2024, decreased by 0.5% to 39.5% of those polled who approve of his effectiveness as President and those who disapprove of his effectiveness increased by 0.3% at 55.3% of those polled. A slight 3% of the population polled have no opinion. Ratings are calculated weekly.

Averaging the National Polls, with the Tuesday, November 5, 2024 election in 36 days, Vice-President Kamala Harris' popularity with prospective voters has increased by 0.2% to 48.5% over the former president and convicted felon Donald Trump, whose popularity with prospective voters has increased by 0.1% to 45.7%. The political countdown site 270towin.com averages 10 national polls and places Vice-President Kamala Harris ahead with 49.3% an increase of 0.7% and the former president Trump with 45.7%, a decrease of 0.1%.

Beltway Insider: Biden/Fed Rate, Pres/VP Debates, Teamsters, Israel Exposes Hezbollah, War Strategy, Voter Registration

Biden Addresses UN

President Biden delivered his last speech to the world at the 79^th meeting of the UN General Assembly, the annual gathering of the member nations of the United Nations, speaking on issues that affect the world's population, he reiterated the vision of the United States.

In the 100-minute speech, Biden delivered his remarks with the same strength, and effectiveness as during his speech at the Democratic National Convention. His remarks, to the global body of leaders, were as much directed to allies, as to those who would seek to endanger the strength of the United States, both foreign or domestic.

The president reiterated the United States, under his leadership rejoined The Paris Climate Accord, and the World Health Organization, both of which were abandoned by President Biden's predecessor, who also threatened to abandon the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, (NATO), unless the Europeans nations are willing to pay, what he has called "their fair share."

Weaking NATO has been the play of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and a U.S. withdrawal could result in a weakening of the European continent's ability to protect itself from dictators, like Putin, and China's President Xi-Jinping. President Biden stated the efforts to degrade the power of NATO backfired and NATO is now stronger than ever, with the addition of Finland and Sweden.

While many see the Covid-19 pandemic as conquered, confirmed cases and variants continue to evolve, as the world will remain in an endemic stage. Through the assistance of the United States, more than 117 nations of the world received 700 million doses of the vaccine which has saved lives.

The president explained of a new threat on the horizon, "We must now move quickly to face mpox outbreak in Africa. We are prepared to commit $500 million to help African countries prevent and respond to mpox and to donate 1 million doses of mpox vaccine now."

Ignoring the outbreak and spread of Monkey Pox will develop into a global issue, if the disease, which is rarely fatal, is not managed now.

As he closed out his speech and his legacy as a public servant, he pressed the 193-nation-state assembly, stating, "we must build a stronger, more effective, and more inclusive United Nations. The U.N. needs to adapt to bring in new voices and new perspectives. That's why we support reforming and expanding the membership of the U.N. Security Council."

World News: Israel, Lebanon, and the U.S. Election

Netanyahu Rejects Cease Fire Plan, Addresses UN

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also spoke at the United Nations General Assembly. A loyalist to his country, to the roots of his nation, Netanyahu explained in his opening remarks that he could not sit by and listen as his nation was disparaged and reiterated "Israel wants peace."

He stated, "These savage murderers, our enemies, seek not only to destroy us, but they seek to destroy our common civilization and return all of us to a dark age of tyranny and terror. When I spoke here last year, I said we face the same timeless choice that Moses put before the people of Israel thousands of years ago, as we were about to enter the Promised Land. Moses told us that our actions would determine whether we bequeath to future generations a blessing or a curse," reported The Times of Israel.

Rejects Cease Fire Plan

As a broader regional war seems inevitable, French President Emmanuel Macron and President Biden, this week, proposed an immediate 21-day ceasefire. Netanyahu rejected any plan that would scale down his war strategy.

Biden said, during his U.N. speech,"Full-scale war is not in anyone's interest. Even as the situation has escalated, a diplomatic solution is still possible. In fact, it remains the only path to lasting security to allow the residents from both countries to return to their homes on the border safely. And that's what working — that's what we're working tirelessly to achieve."

Israel Bombards Lebanon

October 7, 2023, was the spark that Netanyahu needed to enact his war plans to neutralizes all threats. Before October 7, 2023, Israel and Lebanon engaged in minor missile exchanges, that were meant to keep each side alert, but never caused extensive damage or loss of life on either side. The Iron Dome protected Israel, and Israel's retaliations usually were desert targets that did not damage.

Netanyahu is not merely neutralizing the current threat; he is neutralizing the generational threat. He is determined to dismantle both Hamas supported by the Palestinians, and Hezbollah, supported by the Lebanese, both of which are funded by Iran.

A wider war, which will extend to Iran, is likely, as Israel's recent attacks on Hezbollah has dismantled the organizations communication system, in a brilliant strategy that provided radiolocation coordinates of large groupings of Hezbollah members followed by the air strikes which resulted in the killing of a U.S. wanted terrorist, Ibrahim Aqil, and 14 other members of the terror organization.

Israel, despite efforts to initiate an immediate 21-day cease fire, maintained its war strategy resulting in the death of Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, 64, who was instrumental in building and organizing the Shiite community, both for terror abroad and community service in country, which endears the organization to the nation and produces outrage when attacked by those perceived as enemies.

Nasrallah's death, which is already reverberating throughout the region, will bait Iran, who has already called for a five-day mourning period, into action.

"Iran has a whole galaxy of allied heavily-armed militias around the Middle East, the so-called "Axis of Resistance." As well as Hezbollah, it has the Houthis in Yemen, and numerous groups in Syria and Iraq. Iran could well ask these groups to step up their attacks on both Israel and US bases in the region," the BBC reported.

Stepping up attacks on Israel, through these organizations, is doubtful that the smaller attacks, on both Israel on U.S. bases, will do anything except incite a stronger more dedicated response. Netanyahu as well as every other leader, understands Iran underwrites both Hezbollah and Hamas, and as much as Iran would like to think they are capable of destroying Israel, it is a war that they cannot win.

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NYC Mayor Indicted

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has pleaded not guilty to a five-count federal indictment on federal bribery, wire fraud, and soliciting campaign donations from foreign governments.

"The 57-page indictment alleges that Adams "sought and accepted improper valuable benefits, such as luxury international travel, including from wealthy foreign businesspeople and at least one Turkish government official seeking to gain influence over him," reported The Washington Post.

As the beleaguered mayor of the nation's largest city vows to stay in office and fight the charges, his fate lies in the hands of Governor Kathleen Hochel who has the power to remove him from office.

Even as the law allows for innocent until proven guilty, the decision to remove him will ultimately boil down to if his indictment encumbers him from fulfilling his duties to the people of New York City, which encompasses the five boroughs, and then if he were unable to fully manages the duties and responsibilities of the office than, at that time he would be removed. There may be forthcoming, stipulations to the indictment which limit his ability to fulfil his duties.

The New York City mayoral election is scheduled for November 4, 2025.

Hurricane Helene Death Toll Climbs

The current death toll from Hurricane Helene, now stands at 64, and continues to climb as the category 4 storm, packing winds of 140 mph, made landfall in Florida's Big Bend area.

The storm, which immediately lost strength after landfall, moved inland with catastrophic winds and unprecedented rain for the region, causing massive mudslides, and death across six states, leaving more than 2 million homes and business without power.

"Moody's Analytics said it expects $15 billion to $26 billion in property damage from the hurricane, which by late Friday had been downgraded to a tropical storm and was a post-tropical cyclone on Saturday. AccuWeather's preliminary estimate for total damage and economic loss, meanwhile, was between $95-$110 billion, which would make Helene one of the costliest storms in U.S. history," NPR reported.

Coronavirus Total

The CDC has recommended every person from age six months, including senior citizens should receive at least one shot of an updated COVID-19 vaccine, annually. The death toll from Covid-19 has dramatically decreased, as has transmission of the virus. Even as confirmed new cases continue each week, fewer are dying from the newer variants.

For the 7 days ending September 29, 2024, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases reported by The World Health Organization increased by 76,090 confirmed cases totaling 776,281,230. The total worldwide death toll increased by 1,500 to 7,065,880 deaths. The United States has stopped providing Covid data to the World Health Organization. (Data updated September 15, 2024, from The World Health Organization).

VP Debates 2024 Election

The Vice-President debate, between Democratic Vice-President nominee Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota and Republican Vice-Presidential nominee Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, will be held Tuesday, October 1, 2024, at 9:00pm EST and will be hosted by CBS news.

The debate structure will follow the same 90-minute structure. The debate will be moderated by Norah O'Donnell, CBS Evening News anchor, and "Face The Nation" moderator Margaret Brennen.

Unlike the presidential debate, the candidates' microphones will not be muted, meaning the public could see a showdown of interpreted moments as the men jockey to deliver their responses. It is also possible the GOP nominee could become a mini-me mimicking the former president, and interjecting one liners and single word excrement bombs meant to unnerve his opponent and serve as scoring points to an audience to promote a false sense of victory.

"There will be no studio audience. Each candidate will stand at a lectern, the first time since 2008 that vice-presidential candidates have not sat at a table for their debate. (The moderators, though, will be seated.) The debate is set to last for 90 minutes, with two commercial breaks of four minutes apiece," reported The New York Times.

A coin toss determined who speaks last, so as the debate ends, the public will hear the last words spoken, in the only Vice-Presidential debate by the junior Ohio senator.

This is the first election since the pandemic's great migration where city dwellers were able to move to more affordable cities around the country that were more affordable, the vote could reflect a change in demographic.

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Voter Registration

If you haven't registered or are unsure if you can vote most states allow up to October 5, 2024, to register and vote in the November 5, 2024, election. Voting takes planning, and failing to plan is planning to fail. Know where your polling station is, hours of operation, or vote online.

If you have moved for work, or for school, and your residency is in a different state, you can vote online. Follow this link: Vote.gov

If you are outside the country, for any reason, you can vote by absentee ballot. Follow this link: Absentee

For more information on President Joe Biden: Whitehouse.gov.

Janet Walker is the publisher, founder, and sole owner of Haute-Lifestyle.com. A graduate of New York University, she has been covering international news through the Beltway Insider, a weekly review of the nation's top stories, for more than a decade. A general beat writer/reporter and entertainment/film critic, she is also an accomplished news/investigative news/crime reporter and submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration "Cops Conspire to Deep Six Sex Assaults" in the Breaking News Category. Ms. Walker has completed five screenplays, "The Six Sides of Truth," "The Assassins of Fifth Avenue," "The Wednesday Killer," "The Manhattan Project," and the sci-fi thriller "Project 13: The Last Day." She is a member of the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and the International Federation of Journalists.