Beltway Insider: Biden/GOP Spar, COVID/Vaccine Totals, Israel/Hamas, EU, IOC, Martin Bashir, Colonial Ransom

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President Biden announced his administration brokered a quiet, intensive, campaign in an effort to end the Middle East conflict and bring about a cease-fire as the tension between Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas escalated.

The President's job approval rating, according to the website fivethirtyeight.com, for the period ending May 23, 2021, increased by 1.4% to 54.2% of those polled who approve of his effectiveness as President and those who disapprove of his effectiveness decreased by 0.2% percentage points to 40.5%. A slight 3% of the population polled have no opinion. Ratings are calculated weekly.


Beltway Insider: Biden V-C Day, CDC, COVID/Vaccine Totals, Israel/Hamas, Colonial Pipeline, NYC


Burn the Mask Parties Premature

By June 15, it is expected that every state in the United States will reopen totally with some capacity restrictions in place and will revert to clear and defined coronavirus disaster protocols should coronavirus cases begin to increase.

With summer season activities expected to be the draw, after a year which many did not leave their homes, the possibility of vacations or other large gatherings or outings are a real possibility.

A simple Google search of the term "Mask Burning Party" resulted in pages of cities hosting mask burning parties in New York City, Southampton, Long Island, Maryland, Texas, Idaho, more than 11million results.

"While 28 million American adults remain outright opposed to getting vaccinated, an even larger number — 30 million Americans, or about 10 percent of the population — say they are open to getting vaccinated but haven't yet managed to do so, according to an analysis of U.S. census data. This "vaccine amenable" population is predominantly working class, and many of its members have scarce free time and cannot afford to take time from work if they experience side effects," The New York Times reported.

While no one wants to present scientific data that would contradict the joyous atmosphere and belief of a Coronavirus victory, the sad truth is that 4,500 died again this week, 20,000 in the month of May, and infection rates, in the United States, have continued to increase weekly. Herd immunity is still three months away, and moreover the anti-vax movement is gain strength. One additional scientific truth, the Pfizer two shot dose has a 200-day full immunity expiration. A booster will be required each subsequent year or seven months, until the annual booster can be perfected.

Vaccinated and enjoy the summer, mark your calendar for the booster and keep the mask, it is the first line in the defense of the virus.

Republican Revolt Against Biden UI Benefits

With Republican governors attempting to revolt against the Biden Administration, and coupled with the recent pronouncements from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention many in government, believe the pandemic has abated sufficiently to reopen each state's economy completely.

Repeated messaging across national news media and now becoming the chorus of the GOP indicates workers are the reason behind the lagging labor market recovery.

"With a federal intervention now unlikely, jobless Americans in at least 22 states including Arizona, Ohio and Texas are set to see their payments fall by $300 each week — or be wiped out entirely — as GOP governors try to force people back to work in response to a potential national labor shortage," The Washington Post reported.


California Squeezes The Unemployed


Throughout the pandemic the majority of the labor market in key industries who supplied labor for many industries which shut down due to pandemic restriction, are now reopening. The wages they are offering remain consistent with those prior to the pandemic. A refusal by GOP states or city governments to raise the minimum wage to $15.00 is also a stumbling block in repopulating the labor market.

A national labor shortage may motivate federal, state and state leaders to focus on raising the minimum wage. Having workers return to employment in industries which are considered seasonal, or hospitality is a boost for the state economy but may in fact be detrimental to workers who will return to employment earning less wages and facing an increase in post pandemic pricing.

The labor market in "April 2020, unemployment rate reached 14.8%—the highest rate observed since data collection began in 1948," a report from the Congressional Research Services concluded.

Biden/GOP Spar over Infrastructure Package

America's infrastructure is rotting. Eastern corridor cities, most of which have passed the century mark, are using the 'if it doesn't break, don't fix it' methodology to address the decaying infrastructure that creates the vast transportation systems that move millions of people daily.

Unfortunately, this method strains the operating budgets, and leaves the nation vulnerable to cyber-attacks and traditional forms of bioterror tactics. Infrastructure is more than a band-aid on the old, it is updating the system to propel America into the 21st century of green technologies.

"There continue to be vast differences between the White House and Senate Republicans when it comes to the definition of infrastructure, the magnitude of proposed spending, and how to pay for it," Ms. Moore said. "Based on today's meeting, the groups seem further apart after two meetings with White House staff than they were after one meeting with President Biden," The New York Times reported.

Infrastructure is more than repairing bridges, of which seven of the most traveled are included in the legislation, and outdated sewage and water systems, it is a jobs plan which will create employment opportunities across the entire nation, not simply red or blue states.

The legislation also creates a crossover to electric vehicles, long and short EVs, which as we have just witnessed, a nation dependent on fuel oil is a nation begging for cyberattacks.

EVs are the future, and many will add, what about big oil, fuel oil, won't lobbyists work diligently to keep EVs from becoming a reality as it would bankrupt the big fuel oil companies.

When computers moved from garage novelty to mainstream use, many also asked what will happen if we switch over our old system to modern system?

The process is slow, the move to EVs, either hybrid, fully electric or short distance EV's, will continue. Building electronic charging stations along the great ribbon of highway, allows for the integration of EVs into mainstream society.

"The number of electric cars, buses, vans and heavy trucks on roads is expected to hit 145 million by 2030, the International Energy Agency said on Thursday. ... In the first quarter of 2021, electric car sales were almost two and a half times higher than during the same period in 2020," reported CNBC.com.

The number of expected EVs to be on the road by 2030 isn't even half the number of drivers who were affected by the Colonial Pipeline Fuel Oil cyberattack. Easing the impact of another Cyberattack will reduce the benefits to the dark web bandits and can eventually stop this type of attack, as there is no benefit to it.

Israel, Hamas Ceasefire Holding . . .

Israel and Hamas, after an eleven-day conflict which killed nearly 300 people on both sides, have agreed to an unconditional cease fire. The cease fire became a rallying cry of victory for the Palestinian people and pro-Palestine demonstrations followed in New York and other major cities.

"Prime Minister Netanyahu informed me that Israel has agreed to a mutual, unconditional ceasefire to begin in less than two hours.  The Egyptians have now informed us that Hamas and the other groups in Gaza have also agreed, I also emphasized what I have said throughout this conflict: The United States fully supports Israel's right to defend itself against indiscriminate rocket attacks from Hamas and other Gaza-based terrorist groups that have taken the lives of innocent civilians in Israel," The President said.

Vaccine Totals

Bloomberg.com has built a vaccine tracker which can be seen here. "More than 1.63 billion doses have been administered across 176 countries, according to data collected by Bloomberg. The latest rate was roughly 28.4 million doses a day," Bloomberg.com reported.

"In the U.S., the latest vaccination rate is 1,872,697 doses per day, on average. At this pace, it will take another 3 months to cover 75% of the population," reported Bloomberg.com.


World News: Middle East Erupts


Coronavirus Totals

"The number of global deaths from the coronavirus is probably two to three times higher than the official data, the World Health Organization said. Some six to eight million people may have now died from Covid-19 or its effects since the start of the pandemic, compared with 3.4 million deaths recorded in countries' official reporting, Dr. Samira Asma, assistant director of the W.H.O.'s data division, told reporters," The New York Times reported.

While the infection rates of the coronavirus have continued to decline around the world. A new strain, a mutation, has created global concern for leaders around the world are determining the best direction for the protection of the population. The importance of maintaining personal protective practices is imperative to controlling the spread.

For the week ending May 23, 2021, coronavirus cases globally increased by 4,259,200 new confirmed cases, bringing the total of confirmed cases worldwide to 166,489,900 people with a total worldwide death toll of 3,449,200 deaths, a weekly death rate increase of 85,400. (Data from The New York Times).

COVID US Totals

Infections rates in the United States are also on the rise. For the week ending May 23, 2021, the total confirmed cases rose to 33,123,700 people with new confirmed cases increasing by 173,000 with an average of 24,714 cases daily over a seven-day period. The coronavirus has claimed 589,100 total deaths, adding 4,100 more deaths to the total of lives lost due to the coronavirus. (Data from The New York Times).

India's COVID Total

The coronavirus in India with a population of more than 1.3 billion has now become the global epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic. India is seeing a daily increase of 267,536 confirmed coronavirus cases. A drop of 78,546 daily cases which appears to show some management.

The totals continued to rise and even as nations are rallying to provide needed medical supplies and personal protective equipment, the dense population is facing daunting challenges in control as millions flee the densely populated areas and return to remote corners carrying the deadly disease with them.

EU Reopens to Tourism

The European Union bloc of nations have voted to reopen its borders to travel, which includes international tourists who meet vaccinated requirements.

"The move has been seen as an economic imperative for tourism-dependent countries such as Greece and Spain, and it has been months in the works. . . . The new rules are set to become formal policy next week after clearing some bureaucratic hurdles, and, depending on how well each country has prepared to welcome tourists, could be implemented immediately," reported The New York Times.

Martin Bashir Exposed for Deceitful Practices

Information on the dishonest practices of Martin Bashir, the BBC reporter, to secure an explosive 1995 interview with the late Princess Diana, in which she dropped a bombshell, as she explained in detail her marriage troubles, has been exposed.

"An independent inquiry into former BBC reporter Martin Bashir revealed the journalist had forged documents in order to secure an interview with Princess Diana. Bashir has since apologized and admitted his wrongdoing, but denied that the interview had any effect on Diana."


Consumers Pay the Price of Russian Fuel Pipeline Cyberattack


Colonial Fuel Hack CEO Explains 4.4million Ransom

Colonial Fuel Company, the owners of the largest fuel pipeline in the United States, targeted by Darkside paid an unspecified ransom to the Russian Hacking organization, who provided a decrypting tool which allowed the company to restart its computers.

"Joseph Blount, CEO of Colonial Pipeline Co., told The Wall Street Journal that he authorized the ransom payment of $4.4 million because executives were unsure how badly the cyberattack had breached its systems, and consequently, how long it would take to bring the pipeline back," reported The Wall Street Journal.

The attacked crippled the nation's largest fuel oil infrastructure and could have potentially caused more than 300million drivers on the eastern seaboard and southern states to lose any access to gasoline fuel.

Olympics On 

John Coates, the IOC Vice-President, said this week in a virtual conference that the Tokyo Olympic Games will go on as planned even if a state of emergency exist in Tokyo, or other Japanese cities.

"The advice we have from the WHO (World Health Organization) and all other scientific and medical advice that we have is that — all the measures we have outlined, all of those measures that we are undertaking are satisfactory and will ensure a safe and secure games in terms of health," Coates said. "And that's the case whether there is a state of emergency or not," The Associated Press reported.

For more information on President Joe Biden www.whitehouse.gov.

Sources: Various © Articles covered by Copyright protection

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