Beltway Insider: Biden/Poland, Ukraine War, NATO, G20, Endemic, COVID/Vaccine Totals, Madeleine Albright, Oscars

Details: Category: Beltway Insider; Published on Sunday, 27 March 2022 10:44; Written by Janet Walker

President Biden's "this man cannot remain in power" statement that ended his speech to the Polish people and the leaders of Europe, presented a clear and definitive truth of the future of Russia, Europe, and the world.

The President's job approval rating, according to the website fivethirtyeight.com, for the period ending March 27, 2022 remained consistent at 42.0% of those polled who approve of his effectiveness as President and those who disapprove of his effectiveness decreased by 0.2% to 52.8% 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/Zelenskyy, China, India, COVID/Vaccine Totals, Ukraine, Equal Pay/VAWA

Biden Send Clear Message to Allies, World

As President Biden concluded his speech ending his visit to Warsaw, Poland, he added, "For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power," a statement that has reverberated around the world.

The global media has created a firestorm over the world, as many interpretated this statement to sound as if the leader of the free world had just sanctioned a coup or an assassination of the leader of Russia. To those in attendance, members of NATO, Allies, refugees, and American Troops now stationed along Poland's border as the threat of Putin's air raids continue to inch closer to Poland, the statement seems entirely justified.

Putin can not stay in power and his options are limited.

Putin's Power Limited

Russian President Vladimir Putin, for all intents and purposes, has shown the world his troops no matter how spectacular they appear in annual Russian Armed Forces military parades, they are not war ready.

One month into the invasion, and Russian Forces have not secured the capital city of Kyiv. After months of menacing build-up, thousands of troops, armored vehicles, it has become clear to the world that the Russian Forces are unable to secure a victory, even against a lesser equipped, lesser qualified, lesser trained, rag tag band of Ukrainian fighters. The determination to keep their homeland free, is the force, the adrenaline that maintain the Ukraine military.

"Russian opposition politician Leonid Volkov, ex-chief of staff for jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, warned Putin was "crazy enough" now to use nuclear weapons. He told Sky News' Sophy Ridge on Sunday: "It is now very clear that enormous cost has to be paid to stop this war," Mirror.co.uk reported.

As each day passes, it becomes the infusion the world needs to see to move closer to assisting the Ukraine secure its homeland and push Putin back to his borders.

When this war is over, Putin, if he remains in power, will not even have Crimea as it will be restored to the Ukraine in a peace treaty.

World News: Defending Ukraine, Saving Democracy

Poland Precarious Border

Putin has shown his hand to the West, and for Poland, a NATO nation who borders the Ukraine, it is appears clear that he is willing to send air raids as close as six miles from the Polish border, striking the Yavoriv Military base to enforce his effort to stop any NATO military assistance to the Ukraine.

"The Kremlin wants to portray NATO enlargement as an imperial project aimed at destabilizing Russia. Nothing is further from the truth. NATO is a defensive alliance. It has never sought the demise of Russia," President Biden said.

G20 Suspension

President Biden announced further economic and pollical sanction against Russia, as it's leader Vladimir Putin, refuses to call for a cease fire. With economic sanctions forcing a collapse of the Russian economy, Russia continues to be ostracized from the world, western influence, and benefits to the Russian people. More than 400 companies, from oil to McDonalds corporation have stopped doing business with the nation.

When Putin invaded Crimean the G8, group of nations, agreed to a suspension of participation and since 2014 have been known as the G7, the seven largest economies in the world. Now, that Russia has taken the position as aggressor and invaded the Ukraine, suspension of the G20, the 20 largest economies in the world, must do the same and suspend Russia from participation.

Given that Indonesia, is the chair of the G20, they may have a different view. President Biden, said, "he offered an alternative, which was having Ukraine be able to participate in the G20 meetings this year. So, we will be discussing with the other G20 members, including Indonesia," White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said.

With the economic sanctions and Russia's catastrophic economic fall, they fall below the economic threshold of the G20 participation level. Essentially, they are no longer one of the 20 leading economies in the world.

Refugees

President Biden spoke to the vast sea of refugees fleeing the tyranny of Putin's invasion, many of them children will live with these moments. They will take these moments and use them to build better lives, to embrace the new nations that take them, and like Madeleine Albright, whom he explained during his speech, also fled tyranny in Europe, and had family murdered in the Holocaust, could one day become, even the United States Secretary of State.

Even as the dark clouds of war are very present, and hurt, anger, heartache, loss are all understandable, possibly, a new life in a new land will hold the promise of a brighter future.

Vaccine Totals

Bloomberg.com has built a vaccine tracker which can be seen here. "In the U.S., 559 million doses have been given so far. During the last week, shots were administered at an average rate of 106,683 doses a day," Bloomberg.com reported.

Pandemic verses Endemic

Not since the summer of 2021 have confirmed Coronavirus cases dropped so dramatically. And while the pandemic may not be officially over either for propaganda or fact, the messaging coming from respected medical leaders is that the pandemic is transitioning to an endemic.

What does this mean? "First of all, you know what you're getting: "Endemic means that the disease or infection reached a steady state where it doesn't cause large outbreaks but it still circulates, causing individual cases," explains epidemiologist Dr. Isaac Weisfuse, an adjunct professor in Cornell University's masters of public health program," NPR reported.

Most medical professionals believe the United States is entering the endemic stage. The coronavirus will never be fully abated, much like the flu, measles or other viral diseases, and the virus carries the same medical issues. It isn't magically water downed due to the belief that we are entering the endemic stage. It simply means the virus is here to stay and manageable.

BA.2, the newest variant is blazing a trail across Europe, and as in the past, medical professionals in the United States are expecting a similar outbreak trend here. The expected BA.2, the variant of Omicron, is expected to arrive in the U.S. in the coming weeks and is 30% more transmissible that the fast moving, highly contagious BA.1.

The horror stories of BA.2 are also filtering through the information. "In Hong Kong, BA.2 recently brought on a deadly outbreak reminiscent of the early days of the pandemic," Yahoo.com reported. In Europe 70% of new cases can be attributed to BA.2.

Vaccination remains the most effective tool against fighting the coronavirus.

Coronavirus Totals

With the expected arrival of BA.2, the U.S. is continuing to push for vaccinations and a return to the new normal which means a transition to the permanent endemic stage.

For your fellow citizens, who are learning to cope and process the information, and as everyone has a different level of tolerance, allow them the courtesy to deal with the concerns for their long-term health as they chose.

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 one-week period ending March 27, 2022, coronavirus cases globally increased by 10,425,629 new confirmed cases, bringing the total of confirmed cases worldwide to 480,069,916 people with a total worldwide death toll of 6,119,955 deaths, and a 7-day death rate increase of 46,485. (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 March 27, 2022, the total confirmed cases rose to 79,845,043 people with new confirmed cases increasing by 228,764 with a 7-day average of 32,680 cases per day. The coronavirus has claimed 975,465 total deaths, adding 5,466 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. The best obtainable version of the truth.

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Madeline Albright, former Secretary of State, Dies

Madeline Albright, 84, the first female Secretary of State, died this week due to complications from cancer, her family said.

Albright who had been appointed under former President Bill Clinton, to be the 64^th Secretary of State, was fearless and determined. According to Hillary Clinton, a longtime friend, confident and ally, "She pushed the envelope her entire life. She did it on behalf of women and girls, shattering the glass ceiling of diplomacy as the first woman to serve as secretary of state and calling out atrocities against women all over the world," The New York Times reported.

Ms. Albright's has been heralded in her passing by former presidents, foreign dignitaries, and leaders. As a diplomat she served with dignity, and a gritty, resolute, purpose. Few had the opportunity to be a part of the inner circle of confidents.

Hillary Clinton, also a former Secretary of State, explains her relationship to Ms. Albright in the New York Times guest essay article, "Madeleine Alright Warned Us and She was Right," rose to serve the United States explains NATO expansion, the current state of global geopolitics, and meeting North Korea's Kim Jong-II.

Albright, as a child fled her native Prague and the Nazi invasion, and moved to London with her family, once the Nazi's had been defeated, they returned to their homeland, then Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Like many she discovered that a dozen of her relatives, including three of her grandparents, had been murdered in the Holocaust. Her father, a press attaché in Belgrade, sent his family to the United States as a precaution. Albright arrived in 1948.

William Hurt, Academy Award Winning Actor, Dies

Academy Award winning actor William Hurt, 71, passed away this week due to complications from cancer, his family said. Known for his range, Hurt won the Academy Award for his portrayal of a gay prisoner in "Kiss of the Spider Woman," he would go one to earn two additional nominations, three total in three consecutive years, one of only 10 actors in history to accomplish this distinction. His life was not without controversary. He was accused of rape, and mental and physical abuse, by multiple partners.

World News: EU Geopolitics Poised Between Cynicism and Hypocrisy

Oscars Return for Full Show of Controversy

Glam, Glitz, Glitter! It's the OSCARS! Hollywood's biggest night is returning to the Dolby Theater in Hollywood for a full show this evening. Of course, notwithstanding the controversy began with the announcement of the three hosts, Regina Hall, Amy Schumer, and Wanda Sykes.

From there, controversy continued to build with the decision to eliminate eight categories from the live show, which as the disagreement brewed it was discovered that DISNEY, the parent company of ABC, who airs the Oscars live, and pays a cool $100 million to the Academy in licensing fees, threatened to cancel the entire broadcast.

A governor of the Academy explained, "This governor says that he was told that ABC had warned the Academy that it would cancel the Oscars telecast, via a clause in the Academy and ABC's deal for the Oscars' broadcasting rights, if 12 categories were not removed from the show. "We were told we'd have to sacrifice something or we were going to lose the whole show," this governor recalls," cartoonbrew.com reported.

Of course, despite the mega talent that opposed treating these categories with indifference, and not giving them a live moment to bask in this single moment, the money ruled the day, and the cats were cut.

The final brouhaha came when Academy Award winning actor, Sean Penn said "he would smelt his Oscar" which he won for his portrayal of San Francisco Gay Activist Harvey Milk, if Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was not given the chance to speak.

It's sure to be an exciting show.

The Academy Awards air live on ABC, Sunday, March 27, 2022, at 8:00pm EST. The pre-show "The Oscars Red Carpet Show" will air at 6:30 p.m. EDT/3:30 p.m. PDT, on ABC.

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