Notations On Our World: On the Aftermath of #SOTU (3rd in a Series)

As our assessment of the aftermath of President Obama's Last State of the Union  Speech continues here in #Outsiders , we wanted to feature two very divergent Views of what the President noted:   

In 2009, newly elected President Obama gave a stunning speech in Prague that outlined a clear vision for a world without nuclear weapons. He promised to lead the world into a future where nuclear weapons would no longer play a role in our national security. In a word, it was inspiring. But in the president’s final State of the Union address last night, those words seemed like a distant echo. There was not a single mention of American leadership to rid the world of nuclear weapons. Instead, our president seems to have taken a 180-degree turn on nuclear disarmament. President Obama has proposed an overhaul of the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal that will cost more than $1 trillion over the next three decades. This overhaul includes funding for a new nuclear-tipped cruise missile that experts say is dangerous, unnecessary and expensive.1 TAKE ACTION: Send a letter to President Obama urging him to kill the new dangerous, expensive nuclear cruise missile. Advances in U.S. conventional forces have eliminated the need for a new cruise missile. The cost of these cruise missiles would be between $20-$30 billion -- that’s money we don’t have for a weapon we don’t need. And because these missiles can be launched without warning, the likelihood of miscalculation or escalation to nuclear war is huge. President Obama needs to abandon plans to fund the new nuclear-tipped cruise missile. At the moment, the proposal to fund the new cruise missile is just that -- a proposal. But the President plans to submit his final budget proposal as president to Congress in early February. We have an opportunity right now to pressure him to remove the unnecessary cruise missile from his final budget proposal before it’s too late. But we must act quickly. If the new cruise missile makes it into the president’s final budget proposal to Congress, it will be much harder to fight. Urge our president to eliminate funding for this dangerous, unnecessary and expensive nuclear weapon. Fight on, Ryan Rastegar Digital Engagement Manager Global Zero The latest news and analysis from Reason.com Wednesday, January 13, 2016 Obama's Final SOTU Is a Dud, Like His Presidency Domestically and abroad, he has set more fires than he put out. by Nick Gillespie Video: Obama Moves the Goalposts Again Is there a better way to deal with this annual State of the Union exercise in empty pageantry? by Matt Welch and Jim Epstein Obama Promised Optimism at State of the Union -- We Don't Need Politicians For That Optimism about America comes despite politicians not because of them. by John Stossel In State of the Union Rebuttal, Nikki Haley Takes on Donald Trump The South Carolina governor defended immigrants of every race and religion. by Stephanie Slade

Notations On Our World: On The Aftermath of #SOTU (First in a Series)

As President Obama spoke, the office of the House Speaker released the following in rebutttal to the President's remarks: 

We Can Do So Much Better... January 12, 2016 | Speaker Ryan Press Office | View Online | http://spkrryan.us/1ZrxQ1Z We’re about 30 minutes into President Obama’s final State of the Union address and it isn’t going so well. Lofty platitudes and nostalgic rhetoric may make for nice soundbites, but they don’t explain how to defeat ISIS, fix our critical safety net programs, and get our economy back on track. This isn’t a real path forward to restore a confident America. We can do so much better. By listening and bringing people together, here are just some of the things we’ve accomplished over the last two months: We boosted funding for our military to ensure our troops are well-equipped to accomplish their mission. We passed a bill requiring the president to put forward a real, comprehensive strategy to defeat ISIS. We replaced No Child Left Behind with an educational system that gives power back to the states. We made a down payment on tax reform by making permanent key tax breaks to foster certainty for hardworking families and business. We overhauled our customs laws for the first time in a generation so that American businesses can compete globally on a level playing field. We lifted the outdated, 40-year ban on crude oil exports, which will create an estimated 1 million American jobs and add $170 billion annually to our GDP. And we're only getting started. Already in 2016, we’ve put a bill on the president's desk to repeal Obamacare, showing that there’s a clear path to do this without 60 votes in the Senate.Tomorrow, we’ll send a bill to the president’s desk that rejects one of his most harmful regulations, the EPA’s Waters of the U.S. rule. This is just the beginning of a year in which we’ll present a bold, pro-growth agenda to address the big challenges the country is facing. Because, frankly, the American people deserve much better than what we’ve heard so far tonight. For a positive vision of America’s future, be sure to tune in to Nikki Haley following the President’s address at www.sotu.gop.gov.

--it was also of note that some of the more conservative elements within the Republican Party attacked the Governor of South Carolina as outlined below:

• Breitbart headlined its story: “Republican Party Uses State Of The Union Response To Attack Trump.”
• “Trump should deport Nikki Haley,” Ann Coulter wrote in one ofsix-anti Haley tweets.
• Radio host Laura Ingraham chimed in:  “The country is lit up w/ a populist fever & the GOP responds by digging in, criticizing the GOP candidates dominating polls?! NOT SMART.”
• Former Ted Cruz aide Amanda Carpenter wrote: “Haley’s speech would’ve been good except for the GOP self-loathing.”

The "establishment" within the GOP was different: 

• Charles Krauthammer, on a Fox News panel, called it the best State of the Union response he can ever recall hearing.
• The Washington Examiner’s David Drucker said Haley’s response “will likely elevate her to the top of the list of potential vice presidential contenders.”
• National Review editor Rich Lowry said it’s “always a tough assignment”: “Haley was a little shaky at beginning, but moving treatment of Charleston shooting and nice riff on GOP agenda.

 

Notations From The Grid: On #SOTU, #Clinton, #Istanbul & Other Thoughts

It is State of the Union Day in Washington as the President is gearing up to speak later on tonight.  As a build up to this, the Guardian of London compiled an analysis of the key promises of President Obama and the record.  

Some of the guests include as noted by the Heritage Foundation's Daily Signal:

Meet 18 VIPs in the Audience for the State of the Union

Guests include a 4-year-old, the mom of a Navy SEAL killed during the Benghazi attacks, the co-founder of Black Lives Matter, a college president who criticized students during the protests in the fall, and family members of veterans.

Read More 

 This is as another interesting development occured: Fox Business Network dropped Carly Fiorina and Rand Paul from what we here @ #Outsiders like to call the "A-Listers". Reports we reviewed this morning note that Senator Paul plans not to participate.

As we went to press, this was published by the Washington Examiner on the on-going investigations related to Bill and Hillary Clinton:

'150 agents' said to be working Clinton Foundation probe A former U.S. attorney said the FBI's reported investigation of "public corruption" at the Clinton Foundation has actually been going on for months, although it made headlines for the first time Monday. "There are now, I am told, 150 agents working on this case," Joseph DiGenova told the Washington Examiner, noting that was "a very unusually high number" of investigators to be working on one case. NO COMMENT FROM FOUNDATION SPOKESMAN

Beyond the Politics of the United States, though, the World has been witness to another horrific day as a tourism center in Istanbul was bombed and scenes of utter chaos were the order of the day: 



Ten persons have lost their lives.     In discussions we had with our founder, he  recalled the fond memories he had as he walked that beautiful and historic district.

We will be sharing observations on the State of the Union soon.    However, we wanted to end this by featuring this very interesting compilation by the team at +Muftah that has gone beyond the now in sharing the stories of the forgotten which we are pleased to feature here: 

Special Creative Writing Collection: Invisible Communities In an increasingly interconnected world, with technology and media making knowledge of other peoples and places accessible at the click of a button, it sometimes feels like we know all there is to know about the world around us. But what about those communities that cannot share their stories via the Internet, that do not have the technology or the connections, to make themselves visible to the rest of us? The purpose of this collection of creative writing is to unearth the stories of these “invisible communities,” that have been marginalized, overlooked, or forgotten, and whose narratives rarely, if ever, have made it into the mainstream. These communities include religious and ethnic minorities, the socio-economically disenfranchised, and those who have otherwise been sidelined to the edges of society. They are the slum-dwellers and the refugees, the bedouins and the sex workers, the political prisoners and the immigrants. They are the ones who stand before us, but who we rarely see. The pieces featured in this collection give us a glimpse into the lives of some of these forgotten communities. They include a personal essay on the experience of fleeing persecution in Afghanistan as a member of a minority community; a reflection on working with battered and abused women in Saudi Arabia; a poem about the immigrant experience in the UK; a look at the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through the eyes of a little girl; and the poetic ruminations of a political prisoner watching the sun through his cell. We encourage you to share your thoughts and reactions to these pieces on the site, as well as on Twitter and Facebook. Engage with the authors, ask questions, and share your own perspectives. Please also take a moment to visit our Creative Writing section, where this collection is housed. We look forward to continuing the conversation and providing a platform for powerful, creative voices that refuse to be marginalized.  Prisoner's Sun by Tasnim Qutait  A Woman's Intifada against Domestic Abuse in Saudi Arabia by Fatima Albanawi  Standing on the Crowded Border between Afghanistan and Pakistan by Maryam Laly The Xmen Immigrants by Zena Agha  The Conflict between a Palestinian Girl and an Israeli Soldier by Hadeel Salameh

Notations On Our World: On #Iraq & #SOTU

It has been a challenging day in our World as we reported earlier about another attack in Baghdad at a Mall claimed by #Daesh during our daily Social Grid Roundup over Twitter.  We also have been assessing another potential disaster out of Iraq on the potential disaster  that may befall Iraq as a result of the collapse of the Mosul Dam.  It was also quite a day as two major earthquakes were felt in Asia in the so-called "Ring of Fire".

It is also the prelude to a big day in Washington tomorrow on the eve of the State of the Union.   We received here @ our Virtual Studios an update from Speaker Ryan's Office as America and the World awaits the momentous day:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 11, 2016 http://spkrryan.us/1mQArkZ CONTACT AshLee Strong, Doug Andres, Mike Ricci 202-225-0600 Speaker Ryan Announces Guests for State of the Union WASHINGTON — The following guests will be seated in House Speaker Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) box in the House gallery during President Obama’s last State of the Union address tomorrownight. Hero in the Balcony Logan Barritt, Milton, WI. Inspired by a Veterans Day lesson, four-year-old Logan Barritt asked his mother if he could use change from his piggy bank to send care packages to servicemembers stationed overseas during Christmastime. “I want to give it to the soldiers,” he told his mother. All told, starting with the $1.90 Logan contributed, more than $1,300 was raised from around the community for the effort. In December, representatives of the Janesville U.S. Army recruiting station and local veterans’ service organizations surprised Logan with a thank-you ceremony at his preschool and a letter of appreciation from his congressman, Speaker Ryan. Logan will be joined in the gallery by his parents, Nick and Becky. “Kids can be heroes too,” Speaker Ryan said. “Logan reminded us that a little pocket change goes a long way, especially when it comes to giving back to the men and women who give everything for us. I look forward to welcoming the Barritt family to the Capitol.” Poverty Fighters Speaker Ryan’s guests include front line poverty fighters from Wisconsin’s First District and around the country: Rev. Melvin Hargrove, President of Racine Unified School District, Racine, WI. A native of Racine, Hargrove is also the Founder and Senior Pastor of Zoe Outreach Ministries, where he has created programs to combat poverty and drug addiction. Bishop Shirley Holloway, Founder, House of Help City of Hope, Washington, DC. Bishop Holloway gave up a successful career with the U.S. Postal Service to found a non-profit organization that has helped more than 40,000 people dealing with addiction and homelessness. Speaker Ryan highlighted her work in a TedxPennsylvaniaAvenue talk last June. Pastor Omar Jahwar, Founder, Vision Regeneration, Dallas, TX. The first gang specialist hired in Texas state prisons, Jahwar leads an organization that provides gang prevention, counseling, and mentoring services to 17 Dallas public schools. Antong Lucky, Founder, We Make Real Music, Inc., Dallas, TX. A former leader of the Bloods gang in Dallas, Lucky created a program while still in prison to help young people get out of gangs. After his release in 2000, he joined Vision Regeneration to help end gang violence in Dallas, and has now launched a recording studio to combat the glamorization of violence in music.   Robert Woodson, Founder and President, Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, Washington DC. Widely considered to be the “godfather” of the movement to empower neighborhood-based organizations, Woodson led Speaker Ryan on a “listening and learning” tourwith faith-based neighborhood healers around the country. Joanna Wynn, Founder, Walkin’ In My Shoes, Inc. Kenosha, WI. In 2004, Joanna Wynn was jobless and homeless until, after assistance from Speaker Ryan’s office, she began to receive disability benefits. Today, she leads a non-profit organization dedicated to helping young people break the cycle of poverty. “The answer to poverty isn’t the money in Washington,” Speaker Ryan said. “The answer to poverty is entrepreneurs and innovators like these who are actually making a difference, community by community.” Little Sisters of the Poor The Little Sisters of the Poor are an order of Catholic nuns who have been serving the elderly poor since their founding over 175 years ago. The Sisters have asked the Supreme Court for protection from the Affordable Care Act's HHS mandate through which the government is forcing them to change their healthcare plans to offer drugs that violate their religious beliefs and threatening them with $70 million in fines per year. The Court will likely hear their case in March. A bipartisan group of 206 Members—including Speaker Ryan—filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of their case. Pope Francis highlighted the organization’s work with a surprise visit to their residence in Washington last September.  Sister Loraine Marie Maguire, the organization’s Mother Provincial, and Sister Constance Veit will represent the Little Sisters of the Poor in the Speaker’s box. “All we ask is that our rights not be taken away,” Sister Loraine said in a recent release. “The government exempts large corporations, small businesses, and other religious ministries from what they are imposing on us – we just want to keep serving the elderly poor as we have always done for 175 years.” “For us, this has nothing to do with politics,” Sister Constance said in an interview. “We just want to take care of the elderly poor without being forced to violate the faith that animates our work.” “The Little Sisters of the Poor care for the most vulnerable among us, and they should be free to practice their faith without the threat of government interference or intimidation,” Speaker Ryan said. “The Sisters’ stand in defense of religious liberty – one of our most fundamental rights – is nothing short of courageous, and it’s my privilege to support their cause.”

	Speaker Ryan’s Press Office | H-232 The Capitol | 202-225-0600

Notations From the Grid (W-End Edition): On #Americas Watch w/the State of The US Campaign & The Final State of the Union

The State of the Campaign is getting to be quite interesting as Iowa and New Hampshire comes ever so closer.  The White House fired off an opening salvo with this guidance on it late last week as the final State of the Union By President Obama draws near: 

This  President Obama will deliver his final State of the Union Address. Yes, this is his last one!  And he doesn’t just want you to tune in, he wants you to lift your voice too. 

For a little sneak peek, WATCH President Obama’s State of the Union Trailer.  

And here are some things YOU can do! 

1.       Send a Tune In message to your list serves/members

2.       RSVP on Facebook to President Obama’s final State of Union

3.       Share with your list serve/members on Facebook. Click "Join" and then share the post with your followers by clicking "invite" and "share event."

4.       Host a State of the Union Watch Party!  Screen it live through go.wh.gov/WatchSOTU

5.       Stay Tuned by sending us your Digital POC for SOTU and get real time updates from the White House Digital Team

Regards,

Jesse Moore







On the day after, the White House Will host:

















In the meantime, the week also saw Congress quite busy as it passed a bill to repeal "Obamacare" and defund Planned Parenthood.  The President vetoed it and based on the assessment at hand, we believe that the veto will be sustained.  It will be also interesting to see the GOP Response by the Governor of South Carolina will be received.

Beyond the daily affairs in Washington, there is also the Campaign itself.     Jeb Bush sent this out based on the latest polling it saw in New Hampshire:    

 

—Begin Forwarded Message—

From: Team Jeb
Date: January 09, 2015
Subject: New Hampshire poll just released

BREAKING: Breitbart: Bush in 2nd as Rubio Fades

Last night a new poll was released showing Jeb in 2nd place in New Hampshire. That’s right, he’s beating Marco Rubio, Chris Christie, John Kasich and even Ted Cruz.

Jeb is surging just at the right moment with only 23 days until voting starts and 31 days until the New Hampshire Primary, but unless we can raise $100,000 in the next 48 hours, we could lose this momentum.

Please, Mike, we need all hands on deck for this. Contribute just $1 right now to help us hit this goal.

Our opponents are preparing to spend millions in the coming weeks on TV, radio and online ads misinforming voters about the Governor’s conservative record, so this cannot wait.

Every day you don’t help us fight back is a day that more false attacks will go unanswered.

That’s why it’s so important for us to hit this $100,000 goal in the next 48 hours. Show Jeb you have his back and you’re committed to victory by contributing just $1 right now:

Jeb2016.com/Stand-With-Jeb/

Thank you,

Team Jeb
 

Trump, in the meantime, continues to dominate the polls.    He had opponents ejected from events in Vermont and reports note that he ordered their coats to be seized so that they could freeze.   He also ordered a Muslim participant , Rose Hamid, be ejected as well.     His latest interesting comment had to do with The North Korean Leader, Kim Jung Un.   He spoke up for him by admiring how he "wiped off" his Uncle and took on the General.   Ted Cruz--so far the front runner in Iowa--has been trying to deal with his citizenship status as Trump has been attacking him.   Whether the attacks will work is an open question.

In the meantime, on the Democratic side, it continues to be Hillary Clinton's to lose as Bill Clinton was deployed.    As Bill Clinton hit the campaign trail, the allegations against him has resurfaced--although many of these were litigated over 20 years ago.   

It is bound to be interesting for the ensuing weeks.

The Friday Musical Interlude (2016): The Music of AR Rahman

As the year has begun in earnest here in #Outsiders, our team settled on a bit of an unconventional choice for the first Friday Musical Interlude of #2016:  The Indian Maestro AR Rahman.   As noted in the tribute by the Hindustan Times, he's got  "... two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, two Grammy Awards, four National Film Awards, a Golden Globe, 15 Filmfare Awards and 13 Filmfare Awards South to his credit. It was his Birthday this week and we hope all enjoy this (as we hope all enjoy the selections we're releasing throughout our properties):

Notations On Our World: On #Iran, Saudi Arabia & The On-Going Challenges

As we are going to press right now, we are monitoring a live feed from Russia Today as it has a panel on the challenges being faced in the aftermath of the It has been very troubling times in relations throughout the Muslim World.     It must be noted that we would be refraining from referring to the Middle East as the "Near East" (which will include Afghanistan): The Russia Today panel featuring Professor Marandi of Tehran University whose views typically reflects Iranian Government Views.   What he deemed as the "View from Tehran" was summarized as follows: This is a Wahabism vs. everyone else Saudis believe that everyone else is beneath them They are trying to divert attention from their profound domestic challenges It is clear that Saudi Arabia has profound challenges before it.   The war in Yemen is not going well at all.     Bahrain has been under defacto occupation of Saudi Arabia since Saudi Arabia sent its' National Guard to crush the uprising.   Syria remains an inferno ever more as the schism between the two major powers in the region continues in a major way.   What was interesting was how the Saudi Foreign Minister noted that Iran had to behave like a "Normal Country" as Saudi Arabia's record is less than stellar on Human Rights, Women's Rights and other key metrics under which countries are measured.   On the Yemen Front, it was of note that Kuwait has been the latest country to contribute ground troops to the Yemen War Effort--as it also stepped up its support of Saudi Arabia.  The recent announcement by Saudi Arabia on the massive budget deficit has contributed to the challenges being faced right now by the Saudi Royal Family.     There are also apparent schisms within the Royal Family as well which continues to contribute to the on-going challengs being faced.      The move by Saudi Arabia to cut ties has seen a rise of support for Saudi Allies and those dependent on Saudi support.    As we went to press, Qatar was the latest country to join the stampede to cut relations with Iran.   Egypt and Oman (a traditional neutral go-between) have also expressed sympathy with the moves by Saudi Arabia. As this war of words continues, Iran has tried to dampen the aftermath of the attacks.     On the night of the attack, the Tehran Chief of Police underscored that the attackers acted on their own--but our team's subsequent review of late breaking developments reflects the fact that those who have been opposing Rouhani's moves for openings to the west helped orchestrate this move to undermine potential electoral gains by factions supporting the reformist movement

What is striking is how Iran has sought out to criticize Saudi Arabia even though its' own record on human rights is extremely problematic.     A day does not pass by for us here at The Daily Outsider Virtual Studios as we see the plight of writers and screen writers who have been detained for months at at time.   Rozbeh Ghilasian and Elaheh Soroshnia were two such brave souls who have been detained for a number for a number of months:    Mohammad Reza Ali Payam, another writer, wrote an open letter to the Minister of Health noting that no one even bothered to ask about how he was doing for 8 hours after he was transferred from Prison to the Hospital to be checked.     This is also as Jason Rezayian of the Washington Post continues to be detained.   The schism within the ruling establishment in the country is also underscored by the attacks on Rafsanjani as he has come out saying that the Assembly of Experts that has 'oversight" responsibility for the Supreme Leader (Supreme Guide) needs to be enhanced further which has incurred the wrath of the Conservatives.    As the elections draws close, further challenges are ever so evident in the Country--One very troubling statistic was a very dubious distinction for Tehran:   The 30th polluted City in the World Today--and the 8th Worst City in the World for Traffic as this recent image from Tehran reflects:       The figure that blew us away was an admission by a Iran Government Offical that 18 divorces are being filed every hour on an average basis in Iran Today.    This is as Iran may have to contend with $ 15/Barrell price for Oil. Truly challenging times.......

Notations On Our World: On the "Virtual Beat" w/the US Election Campaign

It has been quite a week as January has begun on the campaign trail. Bill Clinton hit the campaign trail and was in his element as he noted, "...I am not mad at anybody..and I'm a happy Grandfather".    This is as the other campaigns were busy raising money by selling calendars (like the Marco Rubio Campaign) and attendance at the upcoming GOP debate in South Carolina.   Hillary Clinton's campaign raised 112 Million Dollars during the year as it gears up for the primary campaigns coming up.   

Donald Trump has also been on the attack prowl yet again especially as news was breaking on President Obama's moves on Gun (which our team released a notation on it yesterday).    His latest attack has been on Ted Cruz.    There was some controversy over Ted Cruz' status as a United States Citizen which was addressed--and Ted Cruz has been on the prowl attacking back as our team was on the "grid' yesterday.  What was telling was a pronouncement by Nate Silver noting that Donald Trump's chances to secure the GOP nomination was Next to nil as we noted in our Daily "Social Grid" Roundup:

On #Americas watch as @NateSilver538 says @realDonaldTrump unlikely to win nomination" https://t.co/53Jog6UiY2

— The Daily Outsider (@DailyOutsider) January 6, 2016

This was also a sampling of the latest Jeb Bush outreach that underscores the state of the Campaign right now: 



The 2016 election year is officially upon us, and Iowans vote in just 30 days. The fight to take back the White House starts right now with you.

Because you were such an important member of our team in 2015, I need you again.
Our team calculated it, and we need 10,000 2016 Founding Members in order to fund our efforts over the next thirty days before Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.

When you become a 2016 Founding Member, your money will go directly to advertising, field operations, campaign materials and orchestrating the most ambitious Get-Out-The-Vote operation of all the campaigns.

More than that though, this is about knowing you have my back in the crucial days that lay ahead.

Mike, if I can count on you, please contribute just $1 and become a 2016 Founding Member now:


Because of you, we’ll start 2016 prepared to win.



Onward,

Jeb


This is as the challenges beyond the shores of the United States are ever so with the blast in North Korea (roundly condemned around the World including China in a firm way) and the continued schism that has been going on in the aftermath of the Executions in Saudi Arabia.