PALESTINIAN man in tears following an Israeli airstrike, near the Indonesia Hospital in Jabalia, Indonesia Hospital in Jabalia (Wikipedia).

The “indiscriminate bombing” of Gaza is causing Israel to lose international support, President Joe Biden said on Tuesday on the same day the United Nations again took a stand in favor of an immediate cease-fire between Hamas and Israeli forces.

“Israel’s security can rest on the United States,” said Biden, “but right now it has more than the United States. It has the European Union, it has Europe, it has most of the world supporting them. They’re starting to lose that support by indiscriminate bombing that takes place.”

On Tuesday, the General Assembly of the UN approved a non-binding resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. The vote was 153 nations voting in favor and 10 against. There were 23 abstentions. 

Voting against the resolution were the U.S., Israel, Austria, Czech Republic, Guatemala, Liberia, Micronesia, Paraguay and Papua New Guinea. Among the abstaining were Great Britain, Hungary, South Sudan and Germany.

N.Y. redistricting could flip House seats

A decision by the New York (State) Court of Appeals on Tuesday could have a big influence on which political party controls the House of Representatives after the 2024 elections.

In a 4-3 decision, the court ordered that the “old” Congressional districts drawn by the state legislature be scrapped and the new bipartisan Independent Redistricting Commission will draw new districts, which observers believe will favor Democrats.

The “flipping” of several seats in New York State from “blue” to ‘red” helped Republicans win enough seats to gain a slender majority in the House. Democrats are hopeful that the panel will create districts which will allow them to reclaim some of the them.

A ‘Christmas gift’ for Putin?

RUSSIAN PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin (Shutterstock).

With Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by his side, President Joe Biden called on Wednesday for a package of assistance for Israel and Ukraine.

“I will not walk away from Ukraine and neither will the American people,” and pledged support “as long as we can.” Republicans in Congress are tying funding for those two nations to changes in policy at the border with Mexico, having declared a crisis in immigration.

Biden said, “Congress needs to pass the supplemental funding for Ukraine before they break for the holiday recess, before they give [Russian President Vladimir] Putin the greatest Christmas gift they could possibly give him.”

Weather: Climbing thermal ladder

It may not seem right, but in our West Orange County area, the further we get into December, the warmer it gets. The forecast for Wednesday is for a daytime high of 71 with an overnight low of 46 under partly cloudy skies. Thursday will be similar and warmer at 73 (47). Friday will be mostly cloudy and 77 (51), while Saturday is also 77 (51) but with partly cloudy conditions.