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.

Notations On our World: On a Historic Day in #Washington & #Havana

Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov

This letter from President Obama formalized the new "normal" after the announcements by Raul Castro and Barack Obama.  Today was a historic day as The United States and Cuba re-established Diplomatic Relations.  It is a milestone that continues the interesting transformation in US Foreign Policy that Barack Obama has tried to undertake during his Presidency.     Our team was following the developments closely throughout the day as the Cuban Foreign Minister led the celebrations that rose up the Cuban Flag:

Source; http://www.reuters.com

The last time the Cuban Flag was raised was in 1958.   In our research, we also realized that the Cuban Embassy was actually built in 1917 and is now officially an Embassy as reflected in the update on the Cuban Embassy Website: http://www.cubadiplomatica.cu/sicw/EN/ConsularServices.aspx.  John Kerry, the Secretary of State, will formally travel to Cuba next month to formally inaugurate the New Embassy even though the Embassy is now officially in operation.     

The Cuban Foreign Minister lobbied for some long-standing contentious issues including the fate of Guantanamo and the lifting of sanctions.     There is not much that is going to be possible with the current Republican-Dominated Congress.    It is also highly unlikely that an Ambassador will be confirmed by the United States Senate due to the charged political atmosphere.   Two of the declared US Presidential Candidates, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, have roundly condemned this move.    They are Cuban-Americans.

It was once again exciting here @ #Outsiders to once again be witness to history.

Notations For the Week-End: On #IranTalks, the Perilous #Vote4Peace & the Latest From the Middle East

The Economist's KAL "chimed" in on the new Agreement this week.   Beyond "KAL", though, The fast and furious debate on the Iran Deal continues throughout the US Political Scene. 

 Most Republican Presidential Candidates have come out in strong opposition to the deal--vowing to rescind the deal on day 1.    In contrast, Jeb Bush noted that he would not rescind it because he noted that he will not have his National Security Team in place and he had to make an assessment before making any decisions.   He also, interestingly enough, did not criticize the President for negotiating with Iran--he said he would have negotiated harder.   

Beyond the US Political Scene (which is vibrant especially after Donald Trump's latest tirade regarding Senator McCain which we hope to release a "Notation" soon), there is also the opposition that is spearheaded by +AIPAC (The American Israeli Public Affairs Committee): 

The perilous #Vote4Peace road latest minefield 😨😥 https://t.co/6rRkVBEjov

— Mike Pouraryan (@mikepouraryan) July 18, 2015

They have a budget of $ 20 Million to initiate a campaign against the deal.   This is as +J Street has also begun a targeted multi-million campaign as well.      Our team continued to assess the JINSA view that was outlined in their conference call on Friday July 17 led by their CEO and chief analyst.   The JINSA CEO had also released an editorial that was published on +The Weekly Standard , the publication led by Bill Kristol that has been at the forefront of opposition to the policies of the Obama Adminstration.     What was underscored consistently by the JINSA team was how the deal was the "Biggest Mistakes for US National Security" and a "Huge Blunder" with Surprises that came out.  The technical analysis was somewhat positive in addressing the 4 Pathways to a Bomb but were also not enthusiastic about the milestones and used the "false dichotomy " in addressing the roadmap for sanctions to be relieved.

The JINSA team went on to discuss Iran's assets.    They were  quite taken aback by the $ 140 Billion in windfall Iran will receive within 6 Months.  What was not made clear that the $ 140 Billion is Iran's Money.    They also noted that Iran's Ballistic Missile Capability was not addressed and how It was in Iran's DNA to cheat.    What was also quite interesting was how they were dismissive of the Administration View and was looking for a long-term strategy--looking for a Republican President that  would rescind the deal.   When the "God Father" analogy was cited during this briefing, it underscored how dismissive they truly were--this is as the same debate is continuing in Tehran.   The Iranian Supreme Leader (Supreme Guide), Ayatollah Khameini, spoke on the occasion of Eid and reiterated his support and call for full Unity--while underscoring his deep mistrust of the United States.    

As the #Vote4Peace march is continuing worldwide, this published by the Heritage Foundation's "Daily Signal" was also quite notable:  

Obama Doubles Down on Using UN to Undermine Congress

Commentary: This deliberate effort by the president to gut the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act is disgraceful.

Read More

The word  "disgraceful" explains the entire view by the entire Conservative Establishment.     As we've noted in our Notations on this, the UN is slated to vote on this Monday and all indications are that it will pass.  This is as The Economist Reminded The World This Week that it is better than the alternative in this cover:

As this debate enuses, Iraq and Syria continue to burn.   As we went to "press", we received shocking news from another bombing in Iraq during Eid Celebrations that resulted in 120 People having lost their lives.    Algeria saw an Army Convoy ambushed with 11 soldiers killed.   Egypt saw terrorists who claim to be  Islamists attack Army Posts yet again.    Saudi Arabia is in the midst of a major security crackdown in the aftermath of the car bomb in Riyadh--the Capital.    It announced 451 People have been arrested...

Truly Challenging Times....

The Friday Musical Interlude: Keiko Matsui Live in Tokyo

As another weekend dawns here in #Outsiders, our team chose this from Keiko Matsui which we hope all enjoy as we wish all the most beautiful of Week-Ends: 

Notations On Our World: On the #IranDeal & the #Vote4Peace Quest (Late Breaking Notations)

Our team earlier today joined the JINSA Briefing on Iran.    The team @ JINSA provided both a technical and a political analysis of the deal and their assessment of it--which they advised is some 159 pages in length and quite complicated.      This is as we have also seen guidance from +NIAC on its' view of the Iran Deal as noted below which is available by clicking here:

  

We have also been assessing the view from the team at the +Bipartisan Policy Center as they have also shared a line by line analysis that could be accessed by clicking here.   Beyond this, there is Congress itself--as a resolution has been introduced in the House of Representatives co-sponsored by all but 8 Republicans designed to torpedo the deal.

It will be a fascinating 60 Days to be witness to in the United States as the World is also moving fast to take advantage of the Window.    It will begin Monday with a UN Security Council Resolution to begin dismantling all UN-Mandated resolutions against Iran-which has caused profound concerns in conservative circles as epitomized by this from the Heritage Foundation.     

It will a  fascinating 60-Days to be witness to.....