Notations On Our World: As A New Week Dawns.....

The World has again been besieged with uncertainty.   Although we here at #outsides celebrated the momentous achievement at COP21, this was tempered by the reports we received here @ #Outsiders World Headquarters on the perilous state of our World.

The Yuan is being devalued which is an indication of the continued weakness of the Chinese Economy.   As we went to press, India's currency-the Rupee--has also lost value against the Dollar as Oil Prices continue to skid and as the inferno in the Middle East Burns away.    The passage of HR158 by the US House of Representatives and its consideration in the US Senate is also of concern.   There has been a concerted effort to get the White House to consider changing the provisions.

Two key developments we have also been assessing are the latest out of Venezuela and Brazil.   It was quite a scene as this morning's Wall Street Journal had an image of massive demonstrations calling for the impeachment and removal of President Russoff.   President Maduro of Venezuela suffered a humiliating defeat as the people got tired of corruption and bad government.   We have also been assessing what the Economist deemed "a circus" in South Africa as Jacob Zuma dismissed his Finance Minister and then appointed Minister Govan (who served for 8 years).   This is as South Africa continues its on-going challenges with Unemployment, rampant crime and corruption.  

We have also continued to assess the US Political Scene.   Mr. Trumps seems to continue topping the Polls as Senator Cruz is beginning an ascend at the expense of Dr Carson.   The Polls continue to be volatile we went to press.      There is of course the budget battle in Washington (again) as there is another deadline Congress is grappling with.    It was a nice touch that President Obama gave Federal workers Christmas Eve off.    It will also be quite an event as we in the United States will be witness to the last State of Union by President Obama:

BREAKING NEWS: President Obama's last #SOTU address will take place on January 12th. https://t.co/2oEnZZ4xfk pic.twitter.com/Vo2EP9omV0
— Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) November 30, 2015 


As Trump continues to live by the Polls,   It was quite remarkable that once again polling was brought into question with what the National Front did in France.    They did not win a single regional seat---although as The French Prime Minister noted, the challenge from the right is far from over as Marie Le Pen will run for President in 2017.


We have a lot to go after as we work away on our "Notations" .    We could not help but share this from the former President of Uruguay that underscores how leaders must live: 

“We invented this thing called
representative democracy,
where we say
the majority is who decides.
So it seems to me
that we (heads of state)
should live like the majority
and not like the minority.”
~ Jose Mujica

As we went to press, we were amazed by reports out of Iran that there are deliberations going on to replace Ayatollah Khameini as the Supreme Guide (Supreme Leader).  It is a developing story which our team will be assessing over the ensuing weeks and months.   In addition, we just got word on the fact that A Federal Court has ordered a review of the parole conditions of the convicted Spy Jonathan Pollard who has expressed a desire to emigrate to Israel.

Onward with the new week!!!

 

As We Are "Dark" This W-End....

A member of our team did run across a "Thought" on the "Grid" which we wanted to report on which we have strived to live up to:

“First thing to do every morning
is read or listen to something positive.
Your mind is like a garden.
Whatever you plant grows.
Plant good stuff.”
~ Alwyn Cosgrove

Enough Said...

The Friday Musical Interlude: #WeAreHome

It is Friday here in #Outsiders and once again time for the Friday Musical Interlude. In the midst of the debate over Muslims, we thought this wonderful video by #Raef--our artist of the week-- underscored what America was about--our founder was so excited about this he was sharing it with his immediate network and sharing it as he was on the "Grid" throughout the day. The message is clear and we must all embrace it:

Notations On Our World: On #Syria & the Refugee Challenge and What #Canada is Doing....

Syrian Refugees have begun to arrive in Canada.   This headline was just beautiful and our team wanted to share it to underscore the humanity of Canada:

The Canadian Prime Minister made it a point of welcoming Refugees to Toronto as the first military planes arrived:

As this was going on north of the border in the United States, the US Congress was busy at work finalizing legislation on Visa Waivers.    There has been a massive movement on Social Media--for instance one online actvist organized a group called HR158 on Facebook that has mushroomed to some 36,000 members so far.   Groups like PAAIA and NIAC have mobilibzed their supporters in order to write letters, make phone calls and spread the word on the discriminatory nature of the legislation.   What we have also found extremely disturbing is the efforts in Texas as we note the following from the Texas Governor's Website:

Momentum Continues To Build In Support Of State Refugee Security Act
Following Governor Greg Abbott’s work with Senator Ted Cruz on the State Refugee Security Act, which gives states and governors the tools to reject the resettlement of a refugee in that state unless there is adequate assurance that the refugee does not present a security risk, Congressman Ted Poe (R-TX), Chairman of the Terrorism Subcommittee, introduced and filed H.R. 4197, the companion bill to S. 2363 (State Refugee Security Act).

Governor Abbott Issues Statement Supporting Attorney General's Request To Halt Syrian Refugee Resettlement In Texas
Governor Greg Abbott issued the following statement in support of Attorney General Ken Paxton’s decision to renew their efforts to seek emergency relief from Syrian refugees coming to Texas.

We will continue to assess this over the ensuing days.

Notations On Our World: On The US Political Scene

As we write this, we're going to be joining a panel of undecided voters in Georgia put together by Erick Erickson which should be interesting to get a sense of the state of the Republican Primary as the countdown to the Primary is before us:



We wanted to also report on this from the Washington Post that was quite interesting on their take on Donald Trump.   Our view is that his path to the Presidency is next to non-existent as he continues to make headlines as reflected below: 

Mic Smith / AP

It’s not chaos. It’s Trump’s campaign strategy.

Behind the Republican front-runner’s string of headline-dominating controversies: discipline and method.

By Paul Schwartzman and Jenna Johnson  •  Read more »

Attacks on Trump just make these voters like him more A focus group of Trump supporters say they trust him — not the media or the GOP. By David Weigel  •  Read more »

Notations On Our World: On #HR158 and the ensuing debate

In response to the San Bernardino Attack that claimed the lives of 14 innocent souls, the US House of Representatives has just adopted HR158 that has some very troubling provisions also being debated in the US Senate.   There has been a concerted grass roots effort as epitomized by this received at our World Headquarters--We will continue to monitor this over the ensuing days.

Urge Pres. Obama & Congress to put a time limit on the discriminatory provisions of the visa waiver bill.

Take Action

On December 8, the House voted for a bill to tighten the Visa Waiver Program that lets people from certain countries travel to the U.S. without first obtaining a visa.Mike Honda, Barbara Lee, John Conyers, Jan Schakowsky, Raul Grijalva, and Keith Ellison were among the Democrats who voted against the bill, [1] citing discriminatory and overbroad provisions of the bill, and the lack of a time limit on these provisions.

Urge President Obama and Congress to "sunset" the discriminatory provisions of the visa waiver reform bill by signing our petition at MoveOn:

http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/sunset-discrimination-in-visa-waiver-bill

Rep. Honda said he voted against this bill because it "unjustly targets individuals based on their nationality" and that he could not "vote for a bill that categorically bars access to the Visa Waiver Program for dual nationals of Iraq, Syria, Sudan, and Iran and people who have traveled in the last 5 years to Iraq and Syria, including humanitarian workers…Under this bill, a French citizen of Syrian descent who has never been to Syria would still fall into this blanket category.” [2]

Rep. Lee said she shares “the concerns of the ACLU, AILA, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and others that this bill would allow for the discrimination of individuals based on their nationality." [3]

Rep. Conyers said, "I believe the provisions in the legislation restricting the use of the visa waiver program to individuals who have travelled to Syria or Iraq or are dual nationals of these or other covered nations – are discriminatory…I also believe the provision should have included a sunset date so we can assess its efficacy." [4]

Like Rep. Conyers, the ACLU has called for the discriminatory provisions of the legislation to have a sunset provision [5], meaning that they would expire and have to be reconsidered and reauthorized to remain in force - just like the Patriot Act, passed after the September 11 attacks, had a sunset provision so it would have to be reconsidered. Likewise, every major Democratic proposal for an authorization for the use of force against ISIS, including President Obama's proposal [6], has a sunset provision, so that it could not continue indefinitely without Congress having to reconsider it.

It is very likely that some version of the bill will be included in the omnibus spending package expected to be passed by December 18. Urge President Obama and Congress to sunset the discriminatory provisions of the visa waiver reform bill by signing and sharing our petition:
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/sunset-discrimination-in-visa-waiver-bill
Thanks for all you do to help U.S. foreign policy become more just,

Robert Naiman, Sarah Burns and Avram Reisman 

Contact your lawmaker today to stop this discriminatory bill from passing!

Here is a very quick update on the Visa Waiver bill that threatens to force Iranian Americans into a seperate process for traveling to Europe. As we speak, Senate leaders are negotiating with the House on whether or not to include discriminatory language in a government spending measure that must pass by TOMORROW. Will you call your lawmakers before they reach the funding bill deadline on Dec. 11? The Senate's phones need to start ringing off the hook now so that they get the message loud and clear that the discriminatory language must not be included in that funding bill. So far, you have sent over 29,000 emails to lawmakers. From what we are hearing on the Hill, the message is starting to get through. But as it stands, the discriminatory language remains in the bill. We need to turn up the temperature now with urgent action to get it removed. Please call your Senators right now and tell them not to include the discriminatory language in the funding bill. Follow this link for the call-in tool that will connect you to your two Senators. Then, just follow this simple three-step script: Hi, I'm calling from [your city] to urge my Senator to oppose a Visa Waiver proposal that discriminates against Iranian American dual-nationals. Lawmakers are threatening to add this bill to the annual government funding bill. Congress must not follow the path of Donald Trump. Please oppose the discriminatory language in this bill and make sure it does not get added to the government funding bill. NIAC Action is in contact with Senate offices, the White House and embassies to work to stop this dangerous legislation. We are fighting an uphill battle, but there is still time to win this. We need your help to keep this bill from becoming law. Call your lawmakers now. Take Action Thank you for all that you do. Best, Elham Khatami

Notations On Our World: Stories of the Heart From #China

We want to report on some very heart warming stories from one of our key focus areas here in #Outsiders, China.    We hope all enjoy these stories:

I thought you might be interested in this article 12 stories that touched the heart in 2015 (Part I) 

I thought you might be interested in this article 12 stories that touched the heart in 2015(Part II)