1/22/2015

Notations From the Grid: On #Davos2015 , Iraq & Yemen

This is as there was yet another London Conference on Iraq and a lot of "Happy Talk"--as the Merchants of Death of Daesh (known in Western Media as IS/ISIL) continue to wreck havoc on the innocent.   What was striking also was how there continues to be a tacit acknowledgment yet again that Iraq has to be rebuilt.     It was ever so gratifying to hear the US Secretary of State refer to them as Daesh as he spoke in London after the meeting with the British Foreign Secretary and the Iraqi Prime Minister..

As we went to press with this latest edition of "Notations from the Grid", we saw this on the Al Arabeya Twitter feed:




The Huthis in Yemen seem to have prevailed--and Al Qaeda will further make inroads as this power vacuum develops--which wrecks the policy considerations by the United States and Saudi Arabia.



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1/21/2015

Notations From the Grid On Our World : On #Iran, #Syria, #Israel & Other Thoughts

It is the day after the State of the Union.   President Obama has gone to Idaho to make the case for his initiatives before heading off to India for India's Republic Day.   It appears that India has truly laid out quite a welcome for him:


What was surprising was an invitation by the Speaker of the House to the Prime Minister of Israel to come before the Congress to address "radical Islam" and the Iran Nuclear Threat.    The White House was understandbly irritated by this:


The President said that all options were on the table, but talking is better than shooting.   Yet, it is so unfortuante that someone who has done so much to undermine the Peace Process is being asked to speak before Congress.    This headline truly underscored the ironic nature of it all:


It is also quite unfortunate that the Republicans have elected to intervene in as overt a way as they have to support the Israeli Prime Minister's bid for re-election.    It is also not surprising that the Israeli Prime Minister has accepted this because he also snubbed the French President as he said he would go to Paris after the French President told him not to--based on some very telling reporting from Haaretz.   Iran, though, buried the General that was killed in the Israeli Drone strike inside Syria:

 As we finished "going to press" here on this latest developments, we saw this :


Whether this scandal engulfes Ahmadinjead, the former President is another matter.  Although he may not spending a day in jail, the fact that this was headlined on IRNA, the Official Iranian Government News agency, is in and of itself huge.    Is this part of the subtle openness Rouhani has been pushing despite profound odds--as exemplified by the demand by the head of the Basij for an "apology" from Foreign Minister Zarif remains to be seen.

 Interesting times.....




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1/20/2015

Notations on Our World: On #SOTU , Yemen & Other Thoughts

The Annual State of the Union is to be delivered by President Obama tonight.   The US Media is abuzz and is "Gearing up" for it with wall-to-wall coverage.    This is as the GOP is preparing for its' response by a number of emerging starts including a newly elected Senator from Iowa.

 There are a number of interesting initiatives the President has proposed.      It will be interesting to see whether the GOP is receptive to such proposals.    The President has noted that this is the 4th Quarter for him--but it appears that he is bound to go out on a bang.  It will be on the White House Website when it begins @ http://www.whitehouse.gov/sotu   The view from the across the pond was also quite telling (and somewhat hopeful):




 Hopefully this will be translated into concerte achievements and overcome the paralysis of the last number of years.   The President will be on the road later on and will be visiting India.    India is gearing up in a major way to host the President and the President will be treated to a private tour of the Taj Mahal.   We reported on it during the "Daily Run on the Grid" Earlier:





We have also been following the very worrisome developments in Yemen: 


The Shitte Rebels attacked the President's private home while he was inside.   As the Yemen drama is unfolding, there is the latest out of the Daesh merchants of death as they have demanded a $ 200 Million ransom from the Government of Japan or they will execute two Japanese hostages--and as Israel's latest foray into Syria resulted in a number of Hezbollah Commanders and an Iranian General being killed.    

 Truly Challenging Times......




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