Notations On Our World (Special Edition): On the Tragedy In #Charleston, South Carolina

Our team has been "virtually breathless" as it has been assessing the Political Scene in the United States over the ensuing weeks.   As we went to press with this latest edition of "Notations", though, we were monitoring reports out of South Carolina with an attack by a  gunman at the Emmanual AME Church in Charleston.    Known as "Mother Emmanuel", it is the oldest and largest African American Congregations in the South.    A news conference concluded within the past hour confirmed 9 victims including the Pastor of Mother Emmanuel, State Senator Rev. Pickney.   The Charleston Police Chief has noted that this is a hate crime and implored all to come together.   There was also one of the Elders of the Church noting that there will be a prayer vigil at 12:00 PM EST in Charleston.  Our thoughts and prayers are with the People of Charleston, the victims and their families at this trying hour.      Our team will observe a 24-Hour Moment of Silence throughout the #Outsider Properties in honor of the fallen and in solidarity with the people of Charleston.

Notations From the Grid: On Iran (II)

For this edition of "notations", we wanted to note two grim milestones as negotations have begun on the final "mad dash" to the June 30 deadline:

On the "Daily Roundup"..& a blast from the past and sharing it w/ @mikepouraryan ; @yasminradjy ; @ShahriarShahabi  https://t.co/PIYDnVRH3N

— The Daily Outsider (@DailyOutsider) June 15, 2015

& this which is another example of injustice that is also epitomized by the case of Jason Rezaian of the Washington Post that we have commented on here:

:-( :-(  https://t.co/9fKcWKDtON

— The Daily Outsider (@DailyOutsider) June 15, 2015

Notations On Our World: On #Greece & #Madiba

As we have been working away throughout Outsiders, we have been following the situation in Greece. As we went to press, we were especially distrubed as we reviewed reports that the Speaker of the Greek Parliament refused to accept a report from the Bank of Greece on the dire financial situation in Greece and the "uncontrollable crisis"  and as the +The Guardian reported this within the past 10 minutes:

On the prowl for @DailyOutsider seeing this :-( #Greece warns it cannot make #IMF payment w/out bailout funds : http://t.co/OCVdUeBWHi

— Mike Pouraryan (@mikepouraryan) June 17, 2015

Will what Madiba helped teach the World be taken to heart as our team chose this talk from +TED 

Boyd Varty: What I learned from Nelson Mandela

Sent from TED app for iOS

An #Outsider Newsflash: On the US Political Scene (w/an Update on the #Trump Annoucement)

Jeb Bush has made it official:  He's running for President.  It was headline news on all the major outlets throughout the United States and the World throughout the Day.    Earlier, on MSNBC's Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough noted that Jeb can be the man to move the Country forward--comparing him to Eisenhower.   There are ten other players though that would have something to say about it as we await a "Major" Announcement from Donald Trump as our team continues the development of another edition of "notations" on the US political scene--and the announcement came earlier today.   Donald Trump is now an official candidate for President promising to make America "Great" again as our founder released this to his personal Twitter Feed:

With all due respect @PJORourke...no..America is better than Donald #Trump despite his success: http://t.co/1njWht7Ugi via @thedailybeast

— Mike Pouraryan (@mikepouraryan) June 16, 2015

Fascinating to be witness to.....

   

Notations From the Grid: On #Iran

As we went to press with the latest edition of "Notations", Negotiations with Iran have been continuing as the June 30 deadline is drawing ever so closer.     We have seen reports on how negotiations have stalled and how Iran has seriously thought about moving the venue due to spying allegations against Israel.  Beyond the negotiations, there is a quite bit going on the domestic front.

One of the more interesting stories we have been quite amazed by is how the Former President has been "banned" by the Judiciary.   His pictures and images  have been officially prevented from being published.  Yet, it was quite interesting how leading figures of the regime had been quite vocal in expressing their condolences upon the passing of his mother a number of months ago.   Our founder had helped to spread the message through Twitter.   Yet, this seems to continue and this latest example on Instagram underscores how all will continue to band together to report on the latest on Mr. Khatami which is available by clicking on here.


As this debate on Instagram ensued, we found a curious comment attributed to President +Hassan Rouhani .   The President serves as the Chairman of the Supreme National Security Council and a statement came out noting that no such order was given by the Council  on the ban against former President Khatami.   As this one was going on, an Iranian Member of Parliament wrote an open letter posted on Instagram to the Prosecutor General asking the legal justification against the ban imposed on former President Khatami.   The Parliament Member, Ali Motahari, is an interesting character in taht he's been one of the vocal opponents of the so-called principlists within the Parliament who have tried to stymie President Rouhani's Initiatives.   Motahari is also the man who was beaten up in Shiraz and has had speeches cancelled by local authorities.   He reminds us of the valiant Anti-Apartheid Icon Helen Sussman who stood against injustice in South Africa at the height of the Apartheid years:

Our team ran across this image of Mrs. Sussman with Nelson Mandela.  

This is as another grim milestone was before us:  The Protests of 2009 that was violently crushed which has seen the continued detention of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi.    It was quite telling how one of Rouhani's Deputies noted how they have been cleaning up the disaster that Ahmadinejad left behind--and it is just striking how some of his ministers have begun discussions about forming another party to contest elections.

Notations For the Week-End: On A Challenging World

It has been quite a week-end in our World.    Our team has been on the "Prowl" with the US Sunday Morning Public Affairs Shows as they have had discussions on Iraq, the US Presidential Campaign and other interesting tidbits around our World.   One interesting one was on the decline of populations around the World on +Fareed Zakaria where he reported on his GPS Show on the dilemma faced by Denmark, Italy and others around Europe on declining populations.  It was quite stark how he noted the United States will continue to enjoy a sense of vibrancy due to Immigration.  The challenge for the United States is to sustain it--which we hope to have it as a regular feature soon.

One of the things as we begin our new here throughout #Outsiders is another periodic focus of us:  the Environment and climate change.    Pope Francis is slated to issue a crucial encyclical this week which will lay out a call to action on this.  This is as the Prince of Wales has called for a Magna Carta for Earth.    It was interesting how one of the Presidential Candidates, Rick Santorium, said that the Pope should leave Climate Change to the Scientists--not realizing that the Pope is a Chemist.   +Fareed Zakaria was quite poignant in his commentary on this during his show this morning.

It is also of note to underscore that we've been "Virtually Breathless" as we have been assessing the US Political Scene.   Hillary Clinton had the formal launch of her campaign yesterday in New York and +Meet The Press had an interesting show dedicated to the "Dynasty" candidates as Jeb Bush is slated to announce tomorrow in Miami.    The "Grid" has been abuzz of the "logo" to be formally unveiled as +Mashable reported on it over Twitter:

.@JebBush's very enthusiastic 2016 logo squashes campaign speculation. http://t.co/tKwM9r4Ixe pic.twitter.com/mf3Xk784KF

— Mashable (@mashable) June 14, 2015

 

Donald Trump is also slated to make an announcement on Tuesday.     

Beyond the political moves in the United States, there is the on-going inferno in the Middle East.   It was a distressing scene as Turkish forces used water cannons to hold back Syrian Refugees trying to escape the violence in Syria.   This is as we were reviewing reports this morning of car bombs going off in Iraq as Daesh (also known as IS in the West)  continues its' murderous campaign of death.  It has been one year since the Popular Mobilization Force was established in line with the fatwa from Ayatollah Sistani to push back the advances by Daesh.     It has made inroads--but the road to defeat Daesh/IS remains as daunting as ever.  

One thing is for certain: Whoever is elected President of the United States will have a very full inbox.

"The Friday Musical Interlude" : Sunshine

As part of the on-going development, we decided to rename the 'Periodic" Musical Interludes as "The Friday Musical Interludes".   We will feature a selection every Friday.

As a new day dawns here through #Outsiders,  for this Friday edition of the "musical interlude"  our team chose Paul Hardcastle's "Sunshine" which we hope all enjoy:

Notations On Our World: Briefly On the #Iran Agreement

We have just received reports that a delegation from Israel has left for Washington for a final briefing on the Iran Nuclear Deal.    This is as a grassroots efforts has commenced by a coailitoin including +NIAC , +J Street  & a number of others to help insure that Congress has its' say by approving the deal.

What we found especially stirking was the poll by +J Street on how a majority of American Jews support the moves for Peace.      We also were especially taken aback as we were "On the Grid" On this beautiful image for peace by the Iranian Artist Parvizi Kalantari that was shared by Professor Hamid Dabashi of Columbia on Facebook:

This is as our founder lent his voice for this thru his Personal Twitter feed yesterday:

Let's all work 2gether 2 #Vote4Peace and let #Congress know as well: http://t.co/5ZgX6gB6vC #Mossadegh pic.twitter.com/7blzihu5O2

— Mike Pouraryan (@mikepouraryan) June 10, 2015

Notations From the Grid: Briefly On the US Political Scene

The US Political scene has been as vibrant as ever during this past week.   Jeb Bush is slated to announce on June 15 as Hillary Clinton is scheduled to make a major speech on Saturday.   According to this morning's New York Times, she's slated to invoke the legacy of Franklin Delano Roosevelet in her speech in New York.   

Our team @ #Outsiders has been working away assessing the state of the Campaign and all the latest moves and will be releasing a series of "Notations" Soon.   Our team selected this to underscore some interesting (and potentially challenging pedigree) especially that some of the so-called GOP "A-Listers" have to contend with as this +London Review of Books noted:

A "view of the week" on the State of @GOP...tough read: Chris Lehmann in the #LRB: http://t.co/QZcxvFDiqI via @LRB

— The Daily Outsider (@DailyOutsider) June 11, 2015

What we found quite interesting was how Marco Rubio was able to raise 100,000 Dollars to counter the attacks from the so-called Liberal Media especially as the New York Times was on the Prowl earlier in the week on this.

Notations On Our World: On the Plight of the Saudi Blogger Raif Badawi & Freedom of Speech

 

We here @ #Outsiders have been showcasing the plight of Raif Badawi who as noted in the Amnesty International Call to Action Earlier today, ".... that Saudi Arabia's Supreme Court upheld blogger Raif Badawi's sentence to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for "insulting Islam through electronic channels."  We joined the call to action by Amnesty International to prevail upon Saudi Authorities to reconsider this verdict in support of Freedom of Speech everywhere and in support of Ensaf Haidar, Raif's Wife and his children.   

We will continue to monitor this case over the ensuing days and weeks.
 

Notations On Our World: Late Breaking Developments (#Iraq; #Mosul & #US Deploying Troops)

As we write this, we are getting reports from the US networks that the Obama Adminstration is dispatching a 500-strong contingent to Iraq osteinsbly to train additoinal Iraqis as they gear up to take back the City of Ramadi.      Currently there are 3,000 Advisors fighting on the frontlines and whether this is a major escalation remains to be seen.   

This escalation is as Daesh continues to expand its' footprint.   What was quite striking was how the Iraqi Prime Mniniste promised that the invasion of Mosul was evident.   Yet, it is far from it.   The BBC uncovered a blockbuster to underscore the extent of the brutality and sheer terror the people of Mosul have been subjected to--we have noted some excerpts released to the BBC site below--please click here as we wanted to have the entire spectre of reporting done by Ghadi Sary of the BBC who secured this compelling clips:

1. Inside Mosul: Persecution of minorities

   …Exclusive footage obtained by the BBC's Ghadi Sary from inside Mosul reveals how IS persecutes minorities. The fall of Iraq's second-biggest city was part of the brutal, extremist group's rapid…

   Published Date

2. Inside Mosul: Indoctrination and surveillance

   …Exclusive footage obtained by the BBC's Ghadi Sary from inside Mosul reveals how IS controls its population through indoctrination and surveillance. The fall of Iraq's second-biggest city was…

   Published Date

   
   

   

3. Inside Mosul: Control of women

   …Exclusive footage obtained by the BBC's Ghadi Sary from inside Mosul reveals how IS controls the lives of women. The fall of Iraq's second-biggest city was part of the brutal, extremist group…

It is chilling....and a developing story.....

View from the Grid: On the Price For Peace

For this edition of "View  From the Grid", our team chose this that was reported by +Haaretz הארץ  which underscored how Peace can have such a massive dividend for Israel that our team released to Twitter earlier today:

A very compelling rationale for Peace as it notes #Israel  could add $120b to her  coffers 4 #peacehttp://www.haaretz.com/business/1.660211

— The Daily Outsider (@DailyOutsider) June 9, 2015

Will courage prevail?  That's the compelling question.

Notations On Our World: Reuven Rivlin has proven that he is president of the real Israel - Israel - - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News

This is compelling:

Reuven Rivlin has proven that he is president of the real Israel - Israel - - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News

Notations On Our World: On #Iran & The Tragedy of Jason Rezian

The Washington Post Bureau Chief in Tehran, Jason Rezian, was in court again today in Tehran.  He has been in detention in Tehran for almost 1 year on unknown charges.  We here @ #Outsiders have joined thousands of others in calling for his release immediately and without delay.

+msnbc 's +Rachel Maddow Show showed scenes in Tehran as Jason's Mother and Wife were catching a Taxi in Tehran.   It showed their clearly distraught--especially as they have not been allowed to sit in the Trial and there are no lawyers allowed.   It was quite remarkable  as the Judiciary Spokesman in his recent remarks noted how everything is done "according to the Law" and how they have begun an indictment against those who have reported on the case. 

Beyond this tragedy, our team had its laugh of the day as we reviewed reports from Iran that Ministers who served under Ahmadinejad have begun the process to form a party to contest upcoming elections.   This is as another one of Ahmadinejad's Vice Presidents was detained--and as his First Vice President was convicted of corruption and sentenced to five years in Prison. 

It was of note, though, that the G-7 underscored its' support for continued negotations between Iran and the P5+1.    We will also be on the Prowl as we will continue to press for Jason's Release.

 

As A New Week Dawns...

Our team selected the following "Thoughts" courtesy of +Jonathan Huie which we hope all enjoy:

All your anxiety is because of your desire for harmony.
Seek disharmony, then you will gain peace.
- Rumi

Music, to create harmony, must investigate discord.
- Plutarch

What is happiness except the simple harmony
between a man and the life he leads?
- Albert Camus

Notations On Our World: On An Earthquake in Turkey & An #Outsider Milestone

 It is fitting that on the occasion of the 2350th Write-up here in #outsiders, we report on the triumph of Democracy in Turkey:

#Turkey #AKP appears to lose its majority in parliament, 🙏🏼💥early election results showed  http://t.co/gt4WThHD24

— Mike Pouraryan (@mikepouraryan) June 7, 2015

As this was reported on the Wall Street Journal, we have just received reports that the Turkey Ruling Party, the #AKP, is 17 Seats Short to form the next Government.    This is as Pro-Kurdish Parties and other leftists have gained ground.   It is a bright spot in the ever so challenging region whereby the inferno rages on.

It is a developing story we'd be commenting on over the ensuing days.....

Notations For the Week-End: On June 6 & A World @ War

June 6 was a pivotal day in the history of our World as the Normandy Invasion began.    The Canadian Liberal Leader, Justin Trudeau, reflected upon this yesterday on his Facebook Page: 

Posted by Justin Trudeau on Saturday, June 6, 2015

It is a tragic testament to our times as we continue to be witness to War even today as there are conflicts in over 160 Countries around the World.    Although it was gratifying to be witness to India and Bangladesh finally settling border disputes,  the inferno in the Middle East and North Africa rages on ever more.    There are reports that over 500,000 People are waiting in Libya to cross the Mediterrienan to escape to Europe in search of a better life.   This is as the BBC is right now reporting on the latest atrocities by Daesh (also known as the Islamic State/ISIS) On how children are being recruited and abused by Daesh.   

Notations For the Week-End: Thoughts From Our Founder On Beau Biden's Funeral

As I write this, I am gearing up for a day of Community Outreach Work , I am watching the Beau Biden memorial.     No matter what may think of the politics (agree or disagree with Joe Biden or Barack Obama), it is never easy to be able to bury one child--and in Joe Biden's case, two of them.   

The US Army Chief of Staff awarded him the Legion of Merit and as I write this, The President of the United States is delivering a beautiful euology for him.  May the almighty bless Beau Biden's soul and grant the Biden Family the solace to remember and to celebrate a life of service. 
 

Notations From the Grid: Happy Birthday Cool Earth!!

We here @ #Outsiders are proud supporters of  +Cool Earth .   Our Founder first got to know their work when he decided to help by sponsoring an Acre.   Our team asked him to try and track down his Certificate--he has not been able to find it yet!!! 

On behalf of all of us at #Outsiders, we wanted to extend our congratulations to +Cool Earth as it celebrates 8 years of service especially as they have seen to it that 4864 Children have been born into the villages they have been instrumental in saving.

Happy Birthday +Cool Earth ...here is to the next Eight Years!!!

When Cool Earth was born eight years ago today, Dalton was a brand new baby in a village with a very uncertain future. Thanks to you, his village has an alternative to the loggers. And what started in the Amazon is now a global movement. So we’re throwing a birthday party for Dalton… and the 4,864 other children born into safe villages since Cool Earth started saving rainforest. CELEBRATE WITH US

Notations From the Grid : On the UK Budget Cuts

George Osborne has begun his drastic cuts across the British Government in order to be able to balance the Budget.    As that assessment continues,  it was quite starking how the Guardian's Steve Bell depicted the draconian measures in his usual interesting and direct way which we released to the Daily Outsider Twitter Account yesterday:

ON Steve Bell on George Osborne's public spending cuts plan – cartoon http://t.co/RQ5AkSbLpL

— The Daily Outsider (@DailyOutsider) June 4, 2015