Beltway Insider: Biden/Ukraine, Maxwell Guilt/Judicial Blindness, COVID Omicron/Vaccine Totals, Betty White, Eric Adams

President Biden at the request of Russia President Vladimir Putin held a phone conference over the holiday to discuss the instability along the Ukraine border and the possibility of continued violation of Ukraine's territorial sovereignty through invasion.

The President's job approval rating, according to the website fivethirtyeight.com, for the period ending January 2, 2022 decreased by 0.6% to 43.3% of those polled who approve of his effectiveness as President and those who disapprove of his effectiveness increased by 1.1% to 51.6% 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/Kentucky, GOP/Jan 6, Omicron, COVID/Vaccine Totals, JFK, Perdue Pharma, Big’s Death


Biden, Putin Talk on Ukraine

After the telephone call, a senior White House official held a remote press conference detailing the telephone call and the expectation of the United States. Key takeaways from the call include the importance of the upcoming summit in Geneva, Switzerland.

"The leaders agreed to the sequence of Strategic Stability Dialogue starting on the 9th and 10th in Geneva, a NATO-Russia Council conversation on the 12th, and an OSCE meeting on the 13th.  They both discussed the importance of pragmatic, results-oriented diplomacy.  President Biden was very clear that the United States will be operating on the principle of "nothing about you without you": no conversations about issues that are of ultimate concern to our partners and allies without the full consultation and participation of our partners and allies — which President Putin said that he understood," the Official said.

The telephone call led President Biden to reach out to European partners and allies to discuss the January summit and the expectation of adherence of Putin to participate in in-good faith negotiations.

With the President also expects a de-escalation of troops along the Ukraine border. The second path the president laid out in the phone call was an explanation of the consequence Russia will confront should they continue the escalation of troops and further invasion of Ukraine.

President Biden was also clear as to the consequences Putin would bring upon his nation should he choose to continue the present course of action which included economic sanctions, adjustments to NATO forces, including augmentation of troops in the region which will allow Ukraine to defend themselves against any aggression.


Ghislaine Maxwell, Longtime Companion of Jeffrey Epstein, Found Guilty


Ghislaine Maxwell Guilt Leads Prosecutors Down the Rabbit Hole

The recent conviction of Ghislaine Maxwell, 60, and the initial evidence secured in the raid of her former companion, Jeffrey Epstein, has provided federal prosecutors with enough evidence to ensure this recent conviction won't be the last in the once permitted predilections of Manhattan's power brokers.

A sentencing date for Ms. Maxwell has yet to be announced, and maybe held remotely due to the shockingly high spike in Omicron cases. The former socialite could be facing up to 70 years in prison which means she will likely die behind bars unless she agrees to assist prosecutors with evidence and bring the other high profile and powerful men Epstein regularly provided underage girls to for the purpose of sexual assault and rape.

In August of 2019, at the time of Epstein's death by suicide while awaiting trial in Manhattan's Correctional facility, the reported The New York Post, "Thousands of documents unsealed Friday in connection with a defamation case against the perv's alleged recruiter revealed dozens of high-profile names that a self-identified victim, Virginia Giuffre, said she was forced to perform sex acts with, from former Maine Sen. George Mitchell and ex-New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, money manager Glenn Dubin and MIT professor Marvin Minksy."

Other names, in addition to those the New York Post has printed, linked to Epstein's pedophile power elite include Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and famed First Amendment lawyer, Alan Dershowitz, who also played a key role is the defense of O.J. Simpson who had been accused of the 1994 murder his wife, Nicole Brown-Simpson and a witness, Ronald Goldman.

While exposing this group of perverts may appear to provide closure and justice to those injured, until the double standard is erased and the once Wall Street free for all which allowed professional courtesy to those with enormous wealth, prestige, the power elite, and corporate lawyers is destroyed and everyone brought to justice, then the recent small victory will be a footnote, a salve on old wounds, and the appearance of a new day.

Justice is hard pressed to survive when perception bias and not evidence is weighed and contributes to the decision-making process. When corporate alliances and future benefits, a quid pro quo of judicial favors, are the guiding factor. Unless corrected Lady Justice, blinded for fairness, becomes the latest victim in a gang rape of the system and remains unable to identify her assailants, drugged the power elite rob the foundation for personal gain, favors, and freedom from prosecution.

Omicron Spikes in Northeast

The Omicron variant, the latest and most transmissible of the coronavirus, is swiftly spreading across urban and metropolitan areas across the Northeastern region of the United States, exponentially causing record surges in confirmed cases.

Many wonder how and when then next variant will arrive and what can the population do to control the surge and provide protection to themselves and their families.

Without deep diving into the science and losing the needed facts in jargon, the number one protection against any variant is the same protections: vaccinations, boosters when applicable, personal protective gear (masks) and back to the 20 second handwashing, and use of hand sanitizer.

How variant spread? According to Lisa M. Lee, associate vice president for scholarly integrity and research compliance, and professor of public health at Virginia Tech, "Variants develop when a virus is transmitted. Every time it reproduces in a new host, a virus has an opportunity to mutate, to reproduce incorrectly. Most of the mutations are harmless, but sometimes the change will result in a stronger or more contagious version of a virus. And when that happens, it hurts us."

Ms. Lee continues to explain through a Q & A completed before the surge in Omicron the possibility of continued variants which are "muted version of the virus the produced when the virus replicates when it is transmitted," and can only be controlled by vaccination.

The science remains, unfortunately, the same, until the population is 85% vaccinated the potential for variant or greater transmissibility and potency will develop and develop each time the virus is transmitted.

Vaccine Totals

Bloomberg.com has built a vaccine tracker which can be seen here. "In the U.S., 508 million doses have been given so far. An average 1.35 million 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.

For the one-week period ending January 2, 2022 coronavirus cases globally increased by 15,071,890 new confirmed cases, bringing the total of confirmed cases worldwide to 289,298,081 people with a total worldwide death toll of 5,439,010 deaths, and a 14-day death rate increase of 90,271 (Data from The New York Times).

COVID US Totals

Infections rates in the United States are also on the rise. For the two-week ending January 2, 2022, the total confirmed cases rose to 54,850,527 people with new confirmed cases increasing by 5,005,318 with a 14-day average of 357,523 cases per day. The coronavirus has claimed 824,190 total deaths, adding 19,437 more deaths over the 14-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.

Betty White Dies 18 Days Before Centennial B-Day

Betty White, the last of Hollywood's Golden Girls, died over the Christmas holiday season just 18 days shy of her 100th Birthday. Social media was instantly ablaze with tributes from former DISNEY Chairman Bob Iger to Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock who worked with the longtime comedian whose career spanned seven decades.

White, who had been collaborating with People Magazine editorial staff throughout December, was featured on the cover of the celebrity/lifestyle magazine with the headline "Betty White Turns 100!" The magazine began an instant collector's item and has been selling for more than 100 times is cover price.

A consummate performer, White continued working, in fact experiencing a surge in her career through her 90's. She was often referred to as the First Lady of Television, and after making the transition in the 1950s from radio to the new medium, launching successful television shows. By the 1960s she became a staple on many of the gameshows where she met her third husband, Allen Ludden, a likeminded television host and executive who did not see his wife's success as a threat. The two were married for eighteen years.


World News: French Presidential Election Fringe, Extremes, and Identification


Over the course of her seven-decade career, recognized globally for her comedic wit, Ms. White won five Primetime Emmys, one Daytime Emmy, one Grammy award, two SAG awards and was nominated for four Golden Globes. In 2010, at the age of 90 she won a teen choice award for her role opposite Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds in The Proposal.

The film "A 100 Year Young – A Birthday Celebration," a new documentary-style movie about her, was scheduled to "be released in US theatres on her 100th birthday, January 17, 2022. It is set to feature a cast of friends including Ryan ReynoldsTina FeyRobert RedfordLin-Manuel MirandaClint EastwoodMorgan FreemanJay LenoCarol BurnettCraig FergusonJimmy KimmelValerie BertinelliJames CordenWendy Malick, and Jennifer Love Hewitt," reported Wikipedia.

Producers have announced the film will be released as planned.

No further information is available as to a public or private memorial for Hollywood's First Lady of Television.

Journo's Killed for Exposing the Story

2021 will go down in the record books for many reasons, the lowest number of Journalists killed globally will be one of the lesser recognized.

"A total of 45 journalists were killed worldwide in 2021, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) says, adding it was "one of the lowest death tolls" it had recorded for any year. The toll included nine in Afghanistan – the highest number suffered by a single country, eight in Mexico, four in India and three in Pakistan," Al Jazeera reported.

The reduction in global conflicts have played a large role in the reduction of journalists killed in pursuit of the story. While the death toll may be down, the number of imprisoned journalists has increased with close to 500 freelancers and on-assignment reporters, in prison around the world for exposing the truth of governments, cartels, and corrupt regimes.

Reporters without Borders provides a World Press Freedom Index detailing the global ranking of the world's 180 countries. The nations with the most restrictive press include Asia, the Middle East, and as expected North Korea, China, Syria, Iran, and Saudi Arabia all rank as the most controlling of the press.

"This is the sixth year in a row that CPJ has documented record numbers of journalists imprisoned around the world," said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon in a statement. The number reflects two inextricable challenges – governments are determined to control and manage information, and they are increasingly brazen in their efforts to do so. Imprisoning journalists for reporting the news is the hallmark of an authoritarian regime," Al Jazeera reported.


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


Eric Adams Sworn in as New York City Mayor

At the stroke of midnight, January 1, 2022, in Times Square, Eric Adams, the newly elected mayor, was sworn in as the 110th leader of New York City and became the second African America to lead the largest city in the United States.

Adams who won the November 2021 election, handily defeating Curtis Sliwa, his GOP rival, during a lull in the coronavirus pandemic which had seen unprecedented closures of American cities, is now facing the unthinkable as New York State once again becomes the epicenter as the Omicron variant causes catastrophic rises in confirmed cases and hospitalization.

Refusing to allow his administration to be defined by the Omicron variant "Adams held his first cabinet meeting then gave his mayoral address at noon where he told New Yorkers, "We will not be controlled by crisis. I wanted New Yorkers and the world to be reminded of two things right away as my administration begins. First, that despite COVID-19 in its persistence, New York is not closed. It is still open and alive. Because New Yorkers are more resilient than the pandemic, and second, that New York can and should be the center of the universe again – bustling, thriving, electric with the energy of people," Gothamist.com reported.

 

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

Sources: Various © Articles covered by Copyright protection

Haute Tease