5/20/2015

Notations From the Grid: On #Outsiders (The Why...)

Earlier today while doing the "Daily Roundup" on the "Grid" we released this to the Daily Outsider Facebook Page:

On the "Prowl" for the Day w/this "Thought 4 the Day"....
Posted by The Daily "Outsider" on Wednesday, May 20, 2015


The five principles noted here (Courtesy of the team at Quartz) is the driving principle behind what @DailyOutsider is about: a desire to be bold leave a legacy and truly do what can be done to make a difference.    We believe that we can and believe that we will live up to these admontions as @DailyOutsider continues to develop and evolve.


5/18/2015

Notations From the Grid: Briefly on #Ramadi, #Iran & Other Thoughts

As we begin a new week, we wanted to introduce the new "hashtag: for our network:  #thedailyoutsider as we did our first tweet welcoming President Obama to Twitter under the new network hashtag.   This has also been a very challenging morning in Iraq as the World is witness to Daesh yet again has been on the march as the Shitte Milita has been ordered to retake Ramadi as the political battles between the Shittes and Sunnis continue--and as Al Jazeera has just shown supposed images of Daesh supporters celebrating the fall of Ramadi.   Iran is actively engaged as well as epitomized by statement from Ali Akbar Velayati, the Senior Advisor to Iran's Supreme Guide, Ayatollah Khameini.   Iraq has no choice but to rely on the Shitte Militia becuase Iraq has no Army and has dissipated for all intent and purpose.   We have also been assessing the latest from Israel with the new Goverment which we will be commenting on over the ensuing days.

We wanted to finish this edition with this courtesy of Fortune about a very perceptive and eye opening speech by Apple CEO  Tim Cook on making a difference:

Apple CEO Tim Cook's speech at George Washington University yesterday was part product pitch, part recruiting speech, part graduation cliche. But it was also the most eloquent testament to the noble purpose of business I've heard from a CEO in some time.


Speaking on the National Mall, Cook recalled his first meeting with Steve Jobs, 17 years ago. At the time, Cook's view was that "work was work… There were things I wanted to change about the world. But I'd have to do that on my own time, not in the office." Jobs taught him otherwise - that work was about creating products that changed the world. "You don't have to choose between doing good and doing well," Cook told his audience of graduates. "Your challenge is to find work that pays the rent, puts food on the table, and let's you do what is right and good and just."


Cook drew a sharp contrast between the cynicism of Washington and the optimism of Silicon Valley, where people believe "there is no problem that can't be solved."


Meanwhile, at Fortune, we are finishing up a survey of CEOs, in which one question was: "Excluding yourself, what Fortune 500 CEO do you admire most?"  



You can watch the full Cook speech here.


 




5/17/2015

Notations On Our World: As #Ramadi has fallen to Daesh...


We have been assessing the increasingly tenous situation in Ramadi, Irsaq over the last 30 days.  This front page image from April 19 edition of the Wall Street captured the agony of the people as they escaped the fighting.   Despite vows from Iraqi Prime Minister Abadi, we here are seeing reports from +Al Jazeera English , +i24news EN and the +BBC News noting that Ramadi has fallen or is about to fall as Daesh (also known as IS/Islamic State in the West) has overrun the last major Government Compound and as Iraqi troops have fled.  The Iraqi Prime Minister had ordered his troops not to abandon their position--but no one seemed to listen as Daesh has used suicide bombers and heavy mortar shells to make their inroads.

There are profound implications as Ramadi is lost.   Despite that the US-Led Coalitoin has done, it seems as if Daesh continues its' trail of death and destruction--including the daring raid inside Syria that killed a senior Daesh/IS leader.    We have just the latest reporting by the Guardian on noting how the raid has yielded a "treasure trove" of data.     What is critical to note is that  Ramadi is only 100 Kilometers from Baghdad which will present absolute challenges for all parties fighting Daesh/IS as we are also seeing reports that the Iraqi Prime Minister has ordered Shitte Militas to join the fight for Ramadi.