Beltway Insider: Biden/SCOTUS, Ukraine Bucha Massacre, Jan 6 Committee COVID/Vaccine Totals, Tiger Woods, Will Smith

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President's Biden's first Supreme Court nominee, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, was confirmed this week, in a 53-47 vote with three republicans supporting the nomination, becoming the first African American female to serve on the nation's highest court.

The President's job approval rating, according to the website fivethirtyeight.com, for the period ending April 10, 2022 increased by 0.7% to 41.8% of those polled who approve of his effectiveness as President and those who disapprove of his effectiveness decreased by 0.6% to 52.5% 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/Title 42, Ukraine War, Russia/Wagner Group COVID/Vaccine Totals, Jen Psaki, Will Smith


Bucha Region Massacre: UN Suspends Russia from Human Rights Commission

Shocking images of atrocities are only now escaping the cities and countryside's of Ukraine, where parallel to genocides in recent history, mass graves and murdered citizens are being discovered, recorded and with greater speed sent to the civilized world, in hopes of bringing the slaughter of Ukraine citizens to an end.

The United Nations voted on Friday to suspend Russian from the Human Rights Commission, who had only been asked to join the UN Human Rights Commission in January 2021. With 47 member nations sitting on the Commission, a two-thirds majority was needed to suspend Russia. When it became clear the UN would achieve the vote, Russia abruptly resigned from the commission.

The vote was presented to the General Assembly, all 193 member nations of the United Nations. Falling along expected global geopolitical lines, 58 nations abstained, 24 voted against, which still provided the necessary votes to secure Russia expulsion from the UNHCHR committee.

In what has been compared to the Rwanda Genocide, Sergiy Kyslytsya, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations said "Bucha and dozens of other Ukrainian cities and villages, where thousands of peaceful residents have been killed, tortured, raped, abducted and robbed by the Russian Army, serve as an example of how dramatically far the Russian Federation has gone from its initial declarations in the human rights domain. That is why this case is unique and today's response is obvious and self-explanatory."

Train Bombing Leaves 50+ dead, countless injured

Russian Military launched an attack on a civilian train station, in the eastern Ukraine city of Kramatorsk, where scores of Ukrainians had gathered to flee the advancing war, killing 52, including five children, and injuring nearly 100.

In what can only be described a terrorist attack, the first missile struck the large group, and was followed by five cluster bombs. Horror stories of body parts scatted among the luggage, strollers and toys, and the aftermath of injured children, families all hoping to escape.

"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called an "evil" Russian shelling attack on a train station where hundreds of civilians were attempting to flee ahead of expected attacks," The Washington Post reported.

As Russian Forces see the easy victory dragging on, front-line soldiers have lost motivation and have adapted the mind set "no resistance, no war." Removing psychological strengths of resistance, they have ramped up the use of terror attacks, murder of civilians, mass graves, the rape of citizens, all tactics used by aggressors in wars past, including Adolf Hitler's SS and Serbian Leader Slobodan Milosevic, will derail some and create a cemented determination in others to see that justice is exacted.


World News: Russia and Post-War Options


Ukraine Surprise Attack on Russian Navy

Ukrainian military launched a surprise attack on a Russian Alligator-class landing ship moored at the port city of Berdanysk, sinking the vessel.

"The attack took place around 07.45 local time on 24 March. According to several OSINT reports, Russia's Alligator class landing ship, probably Orsk, was hit with a tactical ballistic missile (possibly OTR-21 Tochka). The strike caused a significant explosion onboard the ship," Navel News reported.

Russian News Agency TASS had announced the arrival of the warship as "epic" in its battle to regain Ukraine, as the ship was rumored to carry supplies and other replenishments for the Russian military. The ships payload is 1500tons.

Days after the announcement the ship was bit by two ballistic missiles. Satellite images have shown a red-orange fireball followed by billowing black plumes of smoke arising from the Russian PR 1171 Alligator Class landing ship. Casualties have not been reported.

U.S. Announces Additional Supplies to Ukraine

The Defense Department released a fact sheet this week announcing they are working "around the clock" to provide Ukraine with the requested military weapons supplies, and delivery of needed security assistance requests.

The Biden Administration has also appropriated an additional $100 million in the form of military supplies, including providing more than 50mm rounds of ammunition, as well as stealth war systems, stinger missiles, and additional supplies to outfit the Ukrainian military with needed body armor to engage the enemy, as well as medical supplies. To date the Biden Administration has appropriated by than $2.4billion in aid to the Ukraine.

More than thirty nations are assisting Ukraine with military supplies, weapons and support as the war enters its seventh week.

Ukrainians seek Asylum through Tijuana

As millions of Ukraine refugees flee to nations close to their homeland in hopes of a swift end and returning to rebuild, many others are leaving Eastern Europe behind permanently and are lining up at the United States border in Tijuana with hopes of making a new life in America.

California has one of the largest Ukraine populations in the United States, and many who are waiting for asylum have relatives in the region, and "are traveling to Mexico, a country they can enter without a visa, to try to seek asylum in the United States, a country they cannot," reported The New York Times.

The numbers of Ukraine asylum seekers are continuing to grow, with more than 600 reported last week. The recent announcement by President Biden, that America would allow up to 100,000 Ukraine Refugees has brought new hope to those who are fleeing their homeland.

The process of asylum, even in this unprecedented time, is slow and can take moths or even years.

"White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that officials are working on an "expedited process" to admit war refugees, calling it "a different process that we'll have more details on soon," reported The Washington Post.


World News: Countdown to the French Presidential Elections


Is the Ukraine Turning into the Balkans War?

Arriving in Gjakova, Kosovo in the summer of 1999, the Balkans War had ended and then President Bill Clinton who was present at the signing of the peace treaty. Riding through the countryside, entering the war-ravaged city, the humanitarian group that I traveled with began to see the remnants of what had been, shelled out buildings, piles of destroyed homes, and lives.

The atrocities of Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic have been well documented, and for many the words on the pages could not compare to the realities of lives lost, of son's, husbands, brothers, sons-in-law grabbed at gunpoint, never to be seen again.

Nor does it describe the mass graves which many describe, and few have seen. As we drove into Gjakova, two people, one could ascertain they were parents of a missing man, were walking near a dozen or so neatly stacked white shrouded corpses unearthed from the oblong shaped hole in the ground. The stench was clear, as the man covered his nose with a cloth. The woman would not be deterred by the sight, smell, horror, or shock. She was there for a purpose to find her loved one, her son.

We stopped, like tourists, for pictures. My camera, buried in the bags packed neatly by German K-4 Troops, was unavailable, others snapped away. I remember vividly and now as the situation unfolds in Ukraine, the United Nations and The International Court of Justice at The Hauge should hold Russian President Vladimir Putin to the same measure of law as Slobodan Milosevic unless, of course, we, the civilized world, are willing to allow history to repeat itself knowing what will unfold and eventually be found in Ukraine.

Jan 6 Committee: Ivanka Trump Testifies

Information from Ivanka Trump, released from the January 6 Committee, explained that she, along with others in the White House tried and failed to get her father, former President Donald Trump, to call off the attacks at the capitol.

"That is a president in a very real way, waging war against the United States, even his own daughter couldn't stop him. That is deeply incriminating information," former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner said Business Insider reported.

Trump, the former Senior Advisor, testified freely without invoking any privileges.

Shanghai Lockdown: No End in Sight

"Nearly a week into a citywide Covid-19 lockdown, Shanghai residents are turning to social media to get food and medicine—and, for those taken away for quarantine, advice on what to do with pets. The city on Wednesday reported nearly 20,000 new local infections, more than 80% of China's total. Some companies in Shanghai have asked workers to stay in their offices for days or weeks at a time to keep the financial hub running. One office worker forced to huddle for two nights with roughly 100 colleagues said the city pitched in with a package that included sleep masks, plastic slippers, soap, toothbrushes, and disposable underwear," The Wall Street Journal reported.

Vaccine Totals

Bloomberg.com has built a vaccine tracker which can be seen here. "In the U.S., 565 million doses have been given so far. During the last week, shots were administered at an average rate of 119,163 doses a day," Bloomberg.com reported.

Coronavirus Totals

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 April 10, 2022, coronavirus cases globally increased by 7,472,384 new confirmed cases, bringing the total of confirmed cases worldwide to 498,041,903 people with a total worldwide death toll of 6,174,632 deaths, and a 7-day death rate increase of 26,019. (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 April 10, 2022, the total confirmed cases rose to 80,237,553 people with new confirmed cases increasing by 185,577 with a 7-day average of 26,511 cases per day. The coronavirus has claimed 983,708 total deaths, adding 4,720 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.


Academy Announces Sanctions Resulting from Will Smith's Oscar Night Conduct


Tiger Woods Returns to Augusta

Tiger Woods returned to golf this week, teeing off at Augusta Master's Championship, in what many had hoped would be a Cinderella story for the five-time Master's champion, who just fourteen months ago sustained critical injuries in a high-speed rollover crash.

The near-fatal single-car accident crushed his right leg and ankle, which required extensive orthopedic surgeries, and rehabilitation, coupled with a complex medical past that included five surgical operations for his knees and five surgeries for his back, proved to everyone even champions are not superhuman.

Woods, by Sunday of the three-day PGA event, fell out of contention shooting a 78 and tying for 41st place.

While the end appeared grim in sport's dream, the fact that Woods competed at all is a medical miracle, and a lesson in determination, will power, and resolve.

"Asked what he hoped to show sports fans at this year's Masters, he replied: "Never give up. Always chase after your dreams. And I fight each and every day. Each and every day is a challenge. Each and every day presents its own different challenges for all of us. I wake up and start the fight all over again," reported The New York Times.

Academy Slaps Will Smith with Ban

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the decision on sanctions against the award-winning actor, Will Smith, who shocked the world with his unrestrained violent verbal and physical assault of Chris Rock during the recent 94th Oscars ceremony.

Smith appeared limitedly contrite during his more than five-minute acceptance speech after winning the Oscar for his performance in King Richard, and in the fallout following the telecast resigned his membership from the Academy.

After his resignation, further sanctions were somewhat challenging to determine. On April 8, 2022, David Rubin, Academy President and Dawn Hudson, Academy CEO, announced, "in addition to accepting his resignation. The Board has decided, for a period of 10 years, Mr. Smith shall not be permitted to attend any Academy events or programs, in person or virtually, including but not limited to the Academy Awards."

The email, a letter to Academy members and friends, they expressed "our deep gratitude to Mr. Rock for maintaining his composure under extraordinary circumstances."

The academy has also clearly explained violence is unacceptable.

 

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

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