Notations From the Grid: On #Earth; #IranDeal & Other Thoughts (with updated Thoughts on the Tragedy in #Turkey)

Our home base of Southern California has been experiencing a lot of rain.    As we went to press, humidity is at 91% and it is overcast.  It is beautiful, though.  Whether the rains as a result of El Nino will help alleviate the long-running drought remains to be seen. 

It has also been quite a challenging few hours.    We have been assessing the impact of the Toshiba scandal out of Japan as we have also been monitoring earnings that are coming in.    IBM has announced along with United Technologies and it is impacting markets as we speak.   We have also been assessing the situation in Burundi as the current President is going for a third term in the midst of violence as our team has been working on the series, "Crying For Africa".       The US Political Scene has also been quite vibrant as Mr. Trump continues to dominate the current headlines and Polls.

We have also been following the tragedy in Turkey as the victims of the attackyesterday are being buried.    32 young students lost their lives as a result of the attack.  Our team has been on the "Grid" and saw this taken moments before the blast:

 

These beautiful young souls were part of a contingent of volunteers that were gearing up to support the rebuilding of Kobane.   This was taken moments before the blast that cut their lives short.  We mourn them today.

We have also been continuing to assess the post-Iran Deal as the Defense Secretary has been making the rounds in the Middle East--having met the Israeli Prime Minister earlier today.  Our team released the remarks of the Israeli Prime Minister made after the UNSC passed the resolution endorsing the Iran Nuclear deal in its' entirety.    The Iranian Foreign Minister, Dr. Zarif, spoke at the Iranian Majlis and the text of his remarks is noted here (Original in Farsi--also available in English).    We have also reviewed reports of flash floods in Iran that caused buildings to collapse in the City of Qazvin due to the river overflow.  The scenes as reported by the BBC was horrific.

Our team ran across this that the Scott Kelly sent out from the International Space Station and was in awe.    This is as our team was reviewing this published to Slate about the latest warning on Climate Change.    We could not help but wonder why we cannot embrace this beauty and work together ever so closely and wondered if the courage actually exists to do so: 

#DSCVR today's new image of #Earth. What made the Blue Marble so special? http://t.co/JIjXTxak2J #EarthRightNow pic.twitter.com/iz9CPloUxu

— Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) July 20, 2015

Notations On Our World (Special Edition II): On the #Vote4Peace Quest//#Israel reacts to the #UNSC resolution on #Iran

We wanted to report on the reaction from Israel as the Security Council adopted the resolution triggering the 90-Day rescission of sanctions against Iran as reported by Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs: 

PM Netanyahu on UNSC endorsement of Iranian accord

The UN Security Council has given its approval to a country that has systematically violated the UNSC's decisions and which calls for the destruction of Israel, a member of the UN. The hypocrisy knows no bounds.

(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: GPO

Following is an excerpt from remarks Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made today (Monday, 20 July 2015), at the Knesset:

"On the day on which the ruler of Iran has reiterated his intention to destroy the State of Israel, the UN Security Council is giving its approval to that same country, which has systematically violated the UNSC's decisions and which calls for the destruction of Israel, a member of the UN. The hypocrisy knows no bounds. The best way to fight this hypocrisy is to tell the truth in a strong and unified manner. Here is the truth:

They say that this agreement makes war more distant. This is not true; this agreement brings war closer. First, because Iran will receive hundreds of billions of dollars and it is already openly declaring that it will use this money to finance and arm its terrorist movements and its aggression in the region and around the world. Second, there will be a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.

They also say that a UN decision is the end of the story. This is not true, because as long as US Congressional sanctions are in place – and I remind you that the American economy is 40 times as large as the Iranian economy – Iran will be compelled in the end to make concessions, and not just receive them.

They say that 'It cannot be that the whole world is wrong' and from this they conclude that the agreement is good; this is not true. First, the entire world is not wrong and many in the Middle East see eye-to-eye with Israel and concur that this agreement is dangerous, dangerous to them, dangerous to the region and dangerous to the world. Second, history has already proven that when the world is united it is not necessarily right. Just a few years ago there was broad international agreement on a nuclear agreement with North Korea and today North Korea has approximately a dozen nuclear bombs and it is on the way to attaining many more. This truth must be said loud and clear because the truth serves the interests of Israel."

Notations on Our World (Special Edition) : On the #Vote4Peace Quest//From the UN News Centre - #UNSC adopts resolution endorsing Iran nuclear deal

Our Team has been "Virtually Breathless" today as it has been assessing a good day in Our World.  Today was the day that all members of the UN Security Council endorsed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that is slated to come into effect in 90 Days.   This is as the debate in the United States continues to be heated over this as noted in the fierce debate that raged on the US Public Affairs by leading political figures in the United States. 

It is of note, though, that a speech by the Iranian Supreme Leader (Guide), Ayatollah Khameini, underscored no marked change in Iran Policy beyond the nuclear question.   The reality on the ground will dictate otherwise--as has been noted in Iraq and to a lesser extent, Afghanistan.    

The full update from the UN is available by visiting the UN Website here at :  

United Nations News Centre - Security Council adopts resolution endorsing Iran nuclear deal

As we went to press, we just received word that the French Foreign Minister will visit Iran next week. We view it as a major development.