Mitch Perry
I’m sure that after you got yourself up this morning, you might have reached for a cup of coffee, juice or water.
It’s something that we don’t have to think too hard about, usually.
Now let’s go across the globe — to Aleppo, Syria.
The United Nations on Tuesday called for a “humanitarian pause” in the fighting in Aleppo to allow for immediate access to repair the electricity and water networks. They report that between 250,000-275,000 people have been trapped in east Aleppo for more than a month following the closure of a local road, the last road into that specific area.
“Since 6 August, Khanasser road, the main access route into west Aleppo has also been cut, bringing the total number of civilians living in de facto fear of besiegement to over two million,” their statement said yesterday.
Yes, I’m referring to the civil war in Syria, now deep into its fifth year, and a war that rages on without any immediate hope in the future. But as the fighting continues, there are literally two million people in Aleppo who can’t get access to fresh drinking water.
This should be unacceptable in 2016. There’s obviously a reason why this war rages on — President Obama has said President Bashar al-Assad must go as a precondition for any settlement talks. But that was before the Islamic State began conquering large swathes of land in Syria. Then there was Russia’s intervention a year ago, supposedly to go after the terrorists. However, it’s hard to tell if they’re there just to go after the groups who want to bring down Assad.
It’s a total mess, and has been for years. And there’s been little discussion of Syria on the campaign trail.
So the world doesn’t really pay too much attention to it. But today, two million people are in need of water in Aleppo.
In other news …
Eric Lynn has a poll out showing him leading Ben Diamond in the House District 68 race by 12 percentage points. But wait, Diamond has his own poll that shows him leading Lynn by 9 points.
The Kevin Beckner campaign accuses Pat Frank of failing women and minorities in the hiring and paying of salaries at the clerk’s office — but Frank fires back, and says Beckner has never hired a person of color in his office.
A Latina activist blasts the Florida Democratic Party for failing to hold to their promise and hire a bilingual communications official.
A sampling of conversations with Hillary Clinton supporters in St. Petersburg shows they feel confident she’ll be able to work with Republicans in Congress if elected in the fall.
The Hillsborough County PTC meets this morning, the first time since Chairman Victor Crist was cleared of an ethics complaint.
Mark Bircher says if David Jolly can’t “get there” in backing Donald Trump for president, Pinellas GOP should back him, and not Jolly, in the name of party unity.
Daniel Webster has another ad up in the CD 11 contest.
The Debbie Wasserman Schultz campaign doesn’t think much of Tim Canova’s complaint with the FEC that she was conspiring against him by using DNC resources.
