Notations On Our World (Special Edition): The Nobel Peace Prize for 2015 Has Been Awarded....

We here @ #Outsiders are listening to the annoucement by the Nobel Committee in Oslo as they have awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to the Tunisian National Quartet Dialogue for their contribution to the new Tunisian Constitution.    We here @ #Outsiders congratulate them on this honor because they were able to achieve the near impossible because as the statement noted, Islamists and Securalists can work together to insure that the benefits of the Jasmine Revolution will be safeguarded.   

Tunisia continues to present profound challenges.   We echo the statement of the Nobel Committee in that we hope that it serves as an example for all.

It is always fasincating to be witness to history.

Notations On Our World: On #Israel & #Afghanistan

Taliban Fighters in Kunduz (Source: Al Jazeera/AP) 

Israeli Security Forces on Patrol in the Old City in Jerusalem

#Afghanistan continues to also be of continued concern.    Our team has been monitoring reports on Kunduz still not safe despite claims by the Afghan Presidency to the contrary.    +Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has announced that it is pulling out of Kunduz and is re-evaluating its' entire service in Afghanistan right now.  We will be assessing this continually which is ever so becoming challenging.    

Our team has been assessing the latest as attacks have continued with no apparent end in sight as some horrific murders have occurred.    As we assessed the latest, one telling comment was from Amir Oren from +Haaretz הארץ as he noted that the challenges faced are due to moves by the right wing in Israel and as The Israeli Prime Minister's image continues to suffer--especially as the Right Wing Leaders are defying him with visits to the Temple Mount--exactly like what Ariel Sharon Did 15 years ago which led to Sharon being Prime Minister.       The Possibility of a Palestinian Third Intifada seems to be on the horizon.

Notations On Our World: An #Outsider Newsflash From Washington (Updated)

As our team continues its' daily "curation", we have been monitoring the latest from Washington.    The House Majority Leader, Kevin McCarthy of California, has taken himself out of the running to replace the House Speaker.    He has said that he did not see a path to getting the necessary 218 Votes.  It will be an interesting few weeks especially as there are very crucial deadlines forthcoming in light of the power that the so-called House Freedom Caucus seems to be pushing.  

The interesting perspective our team ran across from the Fortune's Geoff Colvin is quite telling--The issue of Governing is quite a challenge which our team will be assessing because the issue of governance is ever so crucial: 

Daily insights on leaders and leadership By Geoff Colvin

October 8, 2015

America is desperately seeking Cincinnatus, and the search isn’t going well. Cincinnatus was, you’ll recall, a highly regarded Roman aristocrat of the fifth century B.C. who was forced by misfortune to support himself by working on a small farm. When the Romans faced a crisis, an impending invasion, the Senate in a panic named him dictator and sent a delegation that, in a famous scene, called him away from his plow and asked him to rescue Rome. He rallied a Roman army, personally led it in battle against the invaders, and defeated them. Then, his job done, he voluntarily surrendered his all-powerful post after just two weeks and returned to his farm. While obviously no one wants a dictator today, Americans badly want a non-leader leader, someone who disdains the ugly infighting of the capital but has the abilities to lead the nation through serious problems. The latest evidence: -House Republicans will vote today on their choice for Speaker to succeed John Boehner, resigning at the end of the month. Kevin Murphy of California is the favorite over Jason Chaffetz of Utah and Daniel Webster of Florida. But that’s only because the potential Cincinnatus – Paul Ryan of Wisconsin – refuses to consider the job. As the New York Times observes this morning, “Mr. Ryan is a singularity in the fractious House, a figure revered in most conservative circles and respected by virtually everyone else in the House Republican Conference. In a body defined by division, he is a unifying presence anchored in equal parts by strict supply-side budget dogma, social conservatism, appeals to address the poor, and old-fashioned charisma.” Trey Gowdy of South Carolina may not have realized he was practically describing Cincinnatus when he told the Washington Post on Tuesday, “If I had one draft choice and I was starting a new country, I would draft Paul to run it.” Many colleagues, like the Roman delegation, have asked him to run for Speaker. But he won’t.