Notations From the Grid: On the Eve of New Hampshire

We just received these from the Marco Rubio  & Hillary Clinton Campaigns:

Tomorrow is the New Hampshire primary.   It’s hard to believe that this day we have been working towards for months is finally here.   mike p, before I go to sleep for a few hours, I wanted to send you a note to just say thank you.   Thank you for being a committed supporter and a loyal friend. Thank you for standing by our campaign even when the going got tough. Thank you for your commitment to restoring our nation.   This election has not always been easy, and I know the road ahead won’t be either. But I know that the things worth fighting for aren’t always easy, and that’s why I’m dedicated to this campaign and our conservative message.   No matter what is thrown our way or what the media says about our campaign, I will never waver from our values and beliefs. And I will always remember -- focused as I am right now on winning -- that my most important job will always be as a husband and father, and that the goal of all our lives is eternity, not some political fight. Even in the most intense moments, you can always count on me to remember that.   I hope I can continue to count on your support -- tomorrow is a big day. Marco Paid for by Marco Rubio for President         We're facing long odds in New Hampshire tomorrow -- we're down in the polls, our opponent has been outspending us for weeks, and his campaign has been outraising ours in big ways. But I know nothing can scare my mom away from a tough fight -- it's one of the reasons I'm so proud to be on this team. It would mean a lot to my mom to have you by her side as we head into tomorrow's election. Chip in $1 before tomorrow's primary, and show her that you're with her: Thank you, Chelsea  This is as today's Wall Street Journal noted that Marco got "polo'd" during the debate by the Governors on the Stage.  We will be "on the Virtual air" Wednesday as we assess the results and the assessment by the "punditry".  The True that counts is tomorrow that will make or break a number of remaining GOP candidates and assess the true viability of the Hillary Clinton campaign. It is fascinating to be witness to it all.....

Notations From the Grid (Special Edition): سونیتا علیزاده هم وطن , On One Brave 18-Yr Old Making a Difference:

As our team continued its' daily assessment today, we wanted to share this from our archives especially as we have been assessing the dire situation in Afghanistan with the latest reports out of Helmand Province.    Earlier, the  Guardian reported on additional deployments in Afghanistan--although apparently the "cap" on the number of troops will not change.

Afghanistan is a country who has been at war for thirty years--we could not help but marvel at the bravery of this 18-year old who made a difference which we wanted to share with all.



Afghanistan is among the myriad of challenges that the next President will be faced with as the Presidential Campaign Season gets under way.   

As we went to press, we also got reports from France that the French National Assembly has voted ot enshrine the State of Emergency provisions within the French Constitution.

Notations On Our World: On #SB50, #Syria, #ChineseNewYear & #happy

The Denver Broncos won the Super Bowl 50.   We here @ #Outsiders congratulate the Denver Broncos and Peyton Manning on this momentous achievement.    It was quite fascinating for us as we saw Peyton Manning fight back after his potential career-ending injury to be able to achieve this.   Our team did not see the Super Bowl--but we received reports on it throughout the game as underscored by these images reported by the +The Guardian :

 

Beyond the hype of the Super Bowl (including the 5 Million Dollar a second ads), though, the reality of the brutality of the game as documented by the film Concussion has to be addressed--as epitomized by reports that Ken Stabler was diagnosed with CTE  after he donated his brain after he passed away of Colon Cancer--The list is upwards of 100 Former Players including Frank Gifford:   



The challenging times in our World continues onward.   Syria continues to burn as Assad Forces continue their onslaught and reports we've reviewed over the weekend reflect a march towards the Turkish Border as refugees have fled Aleppo as the fighting has intensified.  Although we welcome reports out of Syria of the profound challenges faced by Daesh, the plight of the ordinary faces continues to be of profound concern.    We've also been assessing Afghanistan as Helmand continues to be under siege from the Taliban.    We are also continuing to assess the latest out of Burma and we will have an edition of "Notation" here soon on it as we are getting reports of positive comments on continued talks about the formation of the new Government. 

We wanted to end this by wishing all our Chinese Brothers and Sisters Around the World a Happy New Year of the Monkey:  

& this nice touch by the team @ Qantas:

Wishing everyone a happy and prosperous Year of the Monkey! #LunarNewYear #chinesenewyear https://t.co/bIbD2vwQov

— Qantas (@Qantas) February 8, 2016

We also thought to begin this week with a bit of a high note as we hope all enjoy this clip that helped launch our regular feature, the Musical Interlude:

Notations From the Grid (W-End Edition): On the Virtual Beat w/the US Presidential Campaigns

The Candidates are crisscrossing New Hampshire as the pivotal day draws closer.     Here is a sampling of what we received here @ #outsiders from the Clinton & Rubio Campaigns--This is also as the "endorsements race" is also continuing as the June primary looms in California.   Some insights from the Nooner, published by Scott Lay, is worth noting:

ENDORSEMENTS: Presidential race plays out in Congress: Which candidates do California's members support? [Sarah D. Wire LAT] - "At least 83% of the Democrats representing California in Congress support former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential bid. . . Half of the 14 Republican members also have endorsed candidates. Others, including House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield), haven’t publicly announced who they will support."

California Here They Come, Maybe. Really. [Sherry Bebitch Jeffe and Doug Jeffe @ Fox & Hounds]:

If all three now-top-tier candidates remain viable until June, it is hard to foresee who would come out ahead in delegates garnered from the CA Primary, in which 159 GOP delegates are distributed winner-take-all by Congressional district.

It is hard to imagine that the Hillary Clinton-Bernie Sanders fight for the Democratic nomination will come down to California. Even with a big win in New Hampshire, it is doubtful that Senator Sanders can sustain momentum in states whose populations are more diverse than those of Iowa and New Hampshire. The rosy scenario for Secretary Clinton is to prevail in the delegate count before the uber-expensive California primary and without alienating Sanders’ base of younger voters.

Here is a sampling of the latest snapshots--Our team could not help but marvel at how customized they are and truly targeted they are from http://www.hillaryclinton.com: 

After our win in Iowa on Monday and Thursday night's debate, I've never been so proud of our team. We've got quite a gap to close before the New Hampshire primary -- we're being outspent on radio and TV by a candidate with home-field advantage. But we’ve made history once already, and we’ll do it again, Mike. Thank you, Hillary The Hillary Clinton you saw at this week's debate is the person I've seen every day of my life: Unbelievably well-informed on issues at home and around the world, graceful, funny, and lightning quick on her feet. Now's the time to show her that you're with her. Will you chip in $1 today and show my mom you're willing to do whatever it takes to help her win this election? Thank you, Chelsea  (Update:  This was just received from the Bernie Sanders Campaign thru MoveOn.Org: Mike— When we started our campaign, we were down 44 points in New Hampshire. Today, just three days away from the state’s primary, our political revolution has a real chance to win. As I said in Thursday's debate, I believe what is required in this moment is to think big. I believe that we can provide health care for every man, woman, and child in this country. I believe that we can create an economy that works for everyone, and not just a handful of wealthy elites. And I believe that we can put an end to millionaires and billionaires buying our candidates and elections. But we have to do well in New Hampshire if we’re going to move that vision forward. So I have to ask directly: Can I count on you to contribute ahead of Tuesday's New Hampshire primary? It is a critical state for our campaign, so your contribution right now is more important than ever before.  Click here to contribute $10 to our campaign and MoveOn's efforts to help us win New Hampshire, win the Democratic nomination, and win the White House. A few days ago, the people of Iowa showed that, against all odds, our political revolution has a chance to win this election. I don’t take money from millionaires and billionaires. There is no super PAC waiting in the wings. But I know that if we stand together, I believe we can do even better in New Hampshire next week. Please add your contribution now before New Hampshire votes on Tuesday. In solidarity, Bernie Sanders PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Authorized by BERNIE 2016. This is from the Marco Rubio Campaign as it sent out fundraising appeals & as the Policy Director sent out a detailed defense of his record after questions came out after Rick Santorum ran into difficulties in an interview with MSNBC on defending Senator Rubio:  $240,000 in 24 hours. That's the goal our campaign has set out to raise before tonight's debate. We are just days away from the New Hampshire primary, and what happens at tonight's debate will set the stage for Tuesday's all-important Primary Election. Mike , tonight most of the attacks will be coming my way. All of my opponents know that our campaign is the biggest threat to their success. They know that we are garnering the support of more Americans every minute, and they are going to throw every attack possible our way to see us defeated. I need your help to fight back. I'm emailing you today because if we are able to raise $240,000 before I step on the debate stage, it will send a strong message to my opponents, and the media as well, that we're going to win this thing. We have less than 24 hours before the debate begins. Will you chip in before it does? Mike , I know the next ten months are going to be grueling but, Mike , our nation is worth it. I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't truly believe that America deserves a better leader. I know that with your urgent help today, we will be successful in November and finally take our country back. I hope I can count on you before I step on the debate stage tonight. Sincerely, Marco Rubio Republican Candidate for President P.S. Time is running out. I'm completing my final preparations for tonight'sdebate, and I need to know I have your support. In fact, I've asked my Campaign Manager to send me an updated list of supporters so I can review it before I step on the debate stage. I hope I'll see your name on that list. As the primary season heats up, there’s a lot of talk about various candidates’ records -- what they’ve done in office, what it means about what they value. I wanted to give you a quick primer on Marco’s record of accomplishment and what it says about him. First off, in office, he’s always been unabashedly conservative: At all three levels of government, from the West Miami city council to the Senate, he’s stood up for free markets, property rights, and conservative values. In the Senate, he’s distinguished himself from some other conservative senators by achieving real legislative results, not just grandstanding. The most prominent example is the fact that he led the charge on the most successful thing Republicans have done to undermine ObamaCare: blocking the Obama Administration’s attempted bailout of insurance companies. Marco’s effort has saved taxpayers billions, and, because insurers are losing so much under the law, it may unravel entirely without the bailout. One conservative health care expert summed it up this way: Marco “has done more than pretty much anyone to actually push back against Obamacare.” He is a highly regarded leader on foreign policy issues, and has successfully pushed through new sanctions on Hezbollah and Venezuela -- in the latter case, against strong opposition from the Obama Administration. He led the passage of the Girls Count Act, which will combat sex trafficking by using U.S. foreign-aid know how to help ensure women and girls in poor countries are registered at birth. Marco’s record as Speaker of the Florida House was impressive, too: He balanced the budget both years without raising taxes, and earned a 100 percent rating from the Florida Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business. And he got a lot else done: He won the speakership on a platform of 100 ideas that he gathered from talking to Floridians across the state, and dozens of them eventually became law. The victories included things like encouraging innovation in schools, moving to pay health care providers based on value provided, privatizing parts of the state’s transportation system, modernizing hurricane insurance, and more. When the Supreme Court’s infamous Kelo case massively expanded the power of governments to seize private property via eminent domain, Marco led the successful effort to curtail eminent domain power in Florida, protecting people from abuse. That’s a whole lot of policy talk, I know -- and as Marco’s said, the most important accomplishments he has, and will have, come not from his work as a politician but as a husband and a father. That’s the most important job he’ll ever have. But I’ll sum it up this way: No one in the Republican field has dealt a blow to ObamaCare like he has, and no one in the field has demonstrated better understanding and judgment about foreign affairs at a dangerous time for America. If you’d like to learn more about Marco’s stance on the issues and Marco’s record of getting things done on them, check outMarcoRubio.com. Thanks for reading, and thank you for your support, Jonathan Slemrod Policy Director Marco Rubio for President

Notations On Our World (W-End Edition): On #Iran (Updated)

It is election season in Iran and our team has been  continuing to assess the on-going fight between the two ruling factions in the Islamic Republic.   It was quite an interesting move by the 3 Members of Congress to send this letter off as they submitted Visa Applications to be observers at the Elections.  As we assessed the latest out of Iran,we found it curious that there was not a response to this letter in official State Media.

Iran has also in the midst of remembering the Revolution.    Khameini had met with the families of the fallen including recent ones--this particular one is the son of a Colonel who had been killed in Iraq:



Here is the Letter that was sent out:




(Updated Notations: O ne of the regular features we will be having is to showcase the plight of prisoners as we assess the latest out of Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch in Ira.    After we released this, we reviewed reports of the detaining of Bahman Darleshaghi (Farsi:  بهمن دارالشفایی) by agents of the Intelligence Ministry.    His plight was brought up with the Iranian Foreign Minister and he noted that he noted that he was not aware of his plight and underscored the independence of the Judiciary.    He was working for the BBC Farsi Service and decided to return to Iran and began working as a Translator/Consultant before he was detained. We will continue to be on the prowl for his case and others.)

The Friday Musical Interlude (Special Edition): Remembering Maurice White, The Founder of Earth, Wind & Fire

February is African American History Month.    As we welcome you all to Friday here in #outsiders, we wanted to use the interlude this week to remember and honor the legacy of Maurice White, the Founder of Earth, Wind & Fire.   He passed away this week from complications from Parkinsons.

Please enjoy the selections we have chosen throughout our Network: 

Notations On Our World: On #Europe

As the drama over the UK and Europe continues to play out on the world stage, the refugees keep on coming despite all the efforts to the contrary.    The Economist' KAL once again underscored the dilemma faced by Europe as the so-called open borders are under strain as never before.   

What was so dramatic is what the German Chancellor noted recently.    He noted how it was shameful how Europe could not accomodate 1 Million Refugees with a population of 500 Million--yet Lebanon with a population of 5 MIllion is hosting 1 Million Syrians.  Jordan is also dealing with the same as well.    

Will Europe survive?  That's the key question and this depiction by KAL underscores the drama.