Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Working Away w/Brief Thoughts on the Eve of Veterans Day.....

As #Outsiders goes dark for Veterans Day, I wanted to share this clip on Iran that a friend shared to underscore the true nature of Iran beyond the "hype" out there.    I was reflecting upon this as I caught a glimpse of the "Kids" Debate (that Chris Christie and Mike Huckbaee got demoted to) as all talked about a "Bad Iran Deal" without a clear alternative and constantly bashed Government.    

As I write this, the "leaders" are beginning their debate with the pundits hard at work saying Jeb has to have a stellar performance, Marco has to emerge stronger, etc. etc.     Our team decided not to watch the debate and will continue to assess the state of the campaign as has been done with outreach efforts, direct virtual engagement as necessary along with a sense of what is before it by consulting.   It is interesting that Bobby Jindal's campaign that "Bobby Crushed it".    My reaction was: So!?!?!   What the country needs to realize is that the conservative alternative is in full force in Kansas:  It is not working unless one talks to Sam Brownback, The Governor.

I have not formally decided on who to endorse--but what I did find very hillarious was what Hillary's Campaign did which I wanted to share:




















(Update:  Marco Rubio's Campaign apparently is already fundraising on it...the team will have some updates on it later on this week--as the team is also working on change in Canada and change in Colombia).

On a More Important note, I wanted to wish all Veterans in the United States and their families a Happy Veterans Day and underscore that their service will never be forgotten as I also hope all enjoy this beautiful clip depicting the real Iran: 






Monday, November 9, 2015

On Another Day in #Outsiders: Brief Thoughts.....

It was another busy Monday here in #Outsiders as our team finished off a series of Notations for the day before being "off the grid" to work on on-going research for on-going initiatives including "NASSIM", Daily Outsider 2.x in addition to the on-going daily assessment.    It has been yet again a whirlwind.

As I prepare to go "dark for the night", I saw this on Sea World stopping the Orca shows.   I personally never attended one and frankly am glad I never did and welcome this development:

 


 
SeaWorld to End Killer Whale Shows
 










But this does not negate the broader challenge we face as I saw a very disturbing story in the Orange County Register (my Home Town Paper) on why fishes are no longer off Catalina Island.   Our team will be pursuing this as part of its' on-going research on the environment as it released a Notation in the Education Channel earlier tonight. 

There is one ray of hope I was quite gratified that the team reported on in the #outsider twiter feed:  Elections in #Burma (known as Mynamar).    Two of the top leaders have conceded defeat and it clearly appears that "Madame" (Aung San Suu Kyi') has won.   This is as I have seen very disturbing reports that 500,000 Syrian kids are shut out of schools in Turkey and as the violence continues in Israel, Sisi continues his reign of terror in Egypt as the insurgency rages on.    

Truly challenging times.....
 


Sunday, November 8, 2015

On the Eve of the New Week: Personal Thoughts (Updated)

Our team released a Notation earlier tonight on the changing Iran.    It prompted me to remember another milestone as I remembered the Green Movement and looked up this beautiful clip as Mir Hossein Mousavi launched his campaign: 

As I write this, he is still under house arrest along with his wife.      The other leading internal opposition leader, Mehdi Karoubi, continues to be under house arrest as well.   I welcomed President Rouhani's warning against the media--even though what I view as dead-enders in Iran seem to have the upper hand as reported so eloquently by the New York Times' Thomas Edbrink earlier.      This was picked up by Jeb Bush on Twitter as an example of why the "Mullahs" cannot be trusted--even though he did not seem to reaize the realities on the ground.   

Our team also released a Notation on India and the aftermath of the elections--it is one of the on-going projects we'll be working on in the aftermath of the elections.    Part of the explanation has to do with the so-called commuanlization of the country that the BJP had which led one of my favorite actors, Shahrkoh Khan, to speak out on it:

Interesting times as a new week is before us.....