Working Away w/Brief Thoughts 4 the weekend....

It is a windy weekend here in South Orange County!!! It has been a whirlwind of a week as the new platform is continuing to take shape for #outsiders.  This is as it has been quite a week in our World in many respects.     I just ran across this that was released to our Facebook page earlier which is telling in and of itself:

“Remember,
there are no real failures in life,
only results.
There are no true tragedies,
only lessons.
And there really are no problems,
only opportunities waiting to be recognized
as solutions by the person of wisdom.”
~ Robin Sharma

Robin S. Sharma is a Canadian author, inspiring speaker, leadership expert 

and a former Litigation lawyer.

It is also of note as America celebrated National Volunteers Week this week.    The opportunity to make a difference and leave a legacy is what in the end I had envisioned #Outsiders above as the journey continues.

Onward!!!

Working Away....

It has been an interesting morning throughout the World.    As someone with a keen interest in Media and the Virtual Media landscape, I have been witness to the tragedy of Yahoo as the bidding begins for assets.   It was not entirely surprising as I saw the reports that the Daily Mail of the UK is actively looking at Yahoo along with Time and other major media players.    Whoever gets their hands on Yahoo will inherit a brand that has over a billion visitors a month to all its' properties--I don't noting how jealous I am as #outsiders continues its' perilous journey!!!   I saw a headline during the AM review on how Marissa Meyer was "toast".    She is expected to walk away with a separation package of over $ 100 Million if she's dismissed--I do wonder what will happen to her afterwards.    Will she be another Carly Fiorina?

On a side note, I was working away on the Grid too as the team was busy with the Morning Twitter Curation.     What I ran across below is helping to drive me and the team earlier also picked it up as well which I was quite pleased to see:

Moved by this hope all enjoy #quote & daily update 🙏🏻 wish all a great day #dailyqotd #qotd https://t.co/V6qA9xeGMo pic.twitter.com/Yk0y9Gfzqo

— Mike Pouraryan (@mikepouraryan) April 11, 2016

Enough said.....

Quite a Week: on ##USElections; @realDonaldTrump; #panamapapers, #Iran & Other Thoughts....

It has been a challenging weekend as the new "beta" site for Daily Outsider went live.   The team has been working to tweak-and it will be a "work in progress."       Here is the new "Beta" site for reference as the team's work continues that I have the privilege to support as a Notation was published earlier today here in our HQ on the World.      

Although the team had decided not to provide guidance on the US Elections until after the Conventions, what I saw from the Boston Globe blew me away:  

We take @realDonaldTrump at his word https://t.co/tLcadvrdQa pic.twitter.com/Z4BnNQE5Ts

— Boston Globe Opinion (@GlobeOpinion) April 9, 2016

This is as they released a very courageous editorial that I made it a point to commend them over my Personal Twitter Feed earlier tonight.    One of the most outlandish of comments was Mr. Trump's comments that the United States was on the verge of a recession which was refuted by Janet Yellin and her three living immediate predecessors.   He also underscored how The United States was poor even though it is still the largest economy in the World despite on-going challenges--including for instance an increase in the monthly deficit as reported by the Congressional Budget Office.   The trench warfare is getting nastier on both sides as they both gear up for what is bound to be one of the most exciting conventions out there.     I was also very shocked by corruption allegations in New York by 4 senior police officers that was serious enough for them to be stripped of their guns and be reassigned.    

Beyond the "Virtual shores" of our network and the US Political Scene,  the World continues to be as challenging as ever.    I was totally surprised by the unannounced visits by the US Secretary of State to both Baghdad and Kabul.    I was not too shocked as I reviewed reports that the team released to the #Outsider Twitter page on bombings in the Kabul Diplomatic Quarter.   I have been told by an old Afghan Friend that it is probably the most secure area in Afghanistan as it is near the Presidential Palace, the Arg--yet the Taliban are able to extend their reach.   It reminded me of Vietnam as I caught "Path to War".   There was a scene where General Wheeler, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs,  was lobbying for more troops and how the Troops were going to be "Trained in the Rear".   He was reminded that there was no rear--and Tet proved it.    Afghanistan is the perfect case right now.   As I was working away, this from +Jonathan Huie  was quite timely:  
  

It isn't enough to talk about peace.
One must believe in it.
And it isn't enough to believe in it.
One must work at it.
- Eleanor Roosevelt

It is not enough to say we must not wage war.
It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it.
- Martin Luther King, Jr. 

As I was researching for my column today, Europe was also of focus as Belgium continues to deal with the aftermath of the bombings.    It was great news that the "man-in the hat" was arrested.    However, the broad questions of the viability of Europe itself as Britain is in the midst of a campaign to potentially leave the Union.    It is also of note that questions about the viability of Belgium as a country continues to be questioned.   The situation is as grave as ever in Greece.   I was very jealous as I was witness to the French Economy Minister launching a "third way" political movement.    There  have been movements like it in the United States with "no Labels".   But they have not gained any traction.     I also ran across this wonderful initaitive by Women Without Borders which our team will be featuring over the ensing weeks & months that is being supported by the Austrian Government.    

Beyond the shores of Europe,  I continue to be shocked by the Panama Papers.    +The Guardian   of London has done a great job to provide a primer on it.    Governments throughout the World have begun investigations--including the United Kingdom.  The UK Prime Minister empaneled a Task force after he had to admit he profited from an offshore fund set up by his late Father.   In all the reviews done, no high level US Officials have been implicated that I am aware of.   But the dominoes are continuing to fall--including for instance the Daughter-in-Law of the President of Chile.     The Grand Canyon between the rich and the poor continues to be of profound concern ever more.  Our team will be assessing any Iran connection as the on-going transition continues.    

Iran is also back to work after the holidays of the new year as the Budget is about to be approved and the new Parliament and the Assembly of Experts (Khobregan-Rahbari) is to hold its' session that may see the long-time powerbroker, Rafsanjani, be the Speaker of it again as a new controversy arose after a tweet (taken down) was sent out by him about how Iran had to change and go beyond the belligerent view.    It was quite interesting a talk by President Rouhani recently on the recession in the Housing Market.   He talked like a conservative Republican--especially as his Chief of Staff was the head of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce before being named Chief of Staff.    Iran's National Broadcaster featured an interview with the Minister of Education as he talked about "workforce optimization" and touted how they had a net decrease in their headcount.   Despite such interesting rhetoric as the fight among the various factions intensify, the underlying philosophical foundation of Iran will have to be for another day as I caught up with some of the latest editions of the Voice of America's "last page" (in Farsi)  that focuses on the reality in Iran today up to and including questioning the essence of the Shiite Philosophy itself and how it is just a lie.        

Coming back home, I was personally "virtually breathless" as I was assessing the changing Media Landscape as #outsiders continues onward.     The challenging landscape was underscored by Mashable laying off staff and Yahoo being on the verge of being dismembered   Al Jazeera's challenges that resulted in the realignment of its' operations in the United states and the layoff of 500 Staff Members in Doha.     

What is clear is ever so true:  Never ever a dull moment.....

Working Away: Reflections On #outsiders; #uselections: #Worldwatch & other thoughts....

It has been a rather interesting week in #Outsiders as the transition to the new platform is being finalized.     This is as we have been witness to the continued exciting scenes on the US Political Scene.   As part of the plan for the quarter, our team has made a decision not to release any notation on the US Political Scene until after the two major parties nominate the candidates.    The estimates on the delegate counts are preliminary and subject to further discussions.   Although polls are being done almost daily, the indications are not sufficient enough to assess status.    Talks of Supreme Court nominees and other matters the team reviewed this morning are also headline grabbers for sure.   Promises of good paying jobs, destroying the Government and unleashing creativity is fabulous.   Repealing Obamacare is headline-grabbing.  Deporting 11 Million Illegals and forcing Mexico to pay for a wall by policing remittances is also attention grabbing.  But the reality is different.    The team will do an assessment of both candidates once the dust settles.      Our first notation for #Outsider 2.x published by tomorrow will reflect further thoughts on where things are now and a window into the road ahead on the eve of the conventions. The team decided to leave the "daily punditry" to the likes of the Washington Post (with the Daily 202 & the Fix), Fox News, Real Clear Politics, Huffington Post & MSNBC

Beyond the US political scene, there is the World.    Our team has had a particular focus on the Middle East and we will be assessing this on an on-going basis.      The team will also be continuing its' focus to build upon the daily "watch" on Twitter on China and India to assess realities out there and to assess the future.   We will also be keen to assess the latest out of the leading countries in the Muslim World.     Pakistan, Indonesia and Malaysia will be of special focus to us.     These five countries--along with the Middle East--constitute almost 50% of the World Today.    As such,  CIPIM is hereby born!!!   In our view, what happens in these countries matters.       Our team was "kind of right" when it noted almost a year ago that the old "BRICS" was dead as new scholarship has been published to underscore this as epitomized by the turmoil in Brazil, Russia and South Africa.      We will be assessing the World though with our Regional Focus weekly--and yes, the features we have had will also be part and parcel of it all:  The Musical Interlude and Thought(s) for the Week because ultimately #outsiders is  about a sense of optimism and working to transform the conversation about our World.    The challenges around the World are profound--the most crucial one of all being faced with an economic slowdown.   The IMF has been warning about it for over a year now. 

As progress continues, I could not help but again be inspired by these I ran across I wanted to pass on that +Jonathan Huie  & his team compiled 

The key to happiness is not to have what you want

but to want what you have.

- Anonymous

Life isn't a matter of milestones, but of moments.

- Rose Kennedy

The most glorious moments in your life

are not the so-called days of success,

but rather those days when out of dejection and despair

you feel rise in you a challenge to life,

and the promise of future accomplishments.

- Gustave Flaubert 

Happiness depends more on how life strikes you than on what happens.

- Andy Rooney

As the team has struggled with the transformation we've been working on (and the plan is to be simple and continually focused), this from the Champ himself was worth noting as we look forward to serve:

“I hated every minute of training,
but I said, ‘Don’t quit.
Suffer now and live the rest of your life
as a champion’.”
~ Muhammad Ali

 

Onward!!!

Working Away.......

It was a busy weekend in #Outsiders as the team has begun the transition finally to "Daily Outsider 2.x".   There was a bit of a fear which is understandable--but there is a sense of excitement because change is always good fun as the team continues its' utmost to live up to the mission of #Outsiders to work to "transform the conversation about our World one notation, one tweet, one Weibo and one Instagram  at a time".

It has also been a very challenging weekend.    On my own personal Twitter Feed late last night, I was shocked as I saw the story on the +The Guardian as the deportations began from Greece to Turkey.    This is as I saw the blockbuster #PanamaPapers and how everyone seems to be involved.  I found amusing how the Law Firm at the center of it all called it a "crime".    It looks like everyone is involved.    It was also quite a story as an anonymous letter attacking the President of China was also making the news as reported by +The Guardian  as China continues to deal with profound challenges with the new normal.  I found it especially interesting how China Daily  had no mention of the revelations on the Panama Papers:  'Not fit to lead': letter attacking Xi Jinping sparks panic in Beijing | World news | The Guardian .   I also was blown away by an affirmation of the rule of law in South Africa as Jacob Zuma is facing impeachment.    Donald Trump was also just as busy as always with pronouncements on a massive recession and noting how he will make America great again.  As an "ordinary face", I have been trying to see how--I am yet to!!!

As our team continues the long-awaited transition to 2.x, I wanted to reflect and be reminded of the "why".   What I saw from +Jonathan Huie was so timely on the "why":

You can't live a perfect day without doing something

for someone who will never be able to repay you.

- John Wooden

I expect to pass through this world but once.

Any good therefore that I can do,

or any kindness that I can show to my fellow-creature,

let me do it now.

Let me not defer or neglect it,

for I shall not pass this way again.

- William Penn  

Compassion is the universal standard of moral living.

- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

The team will be continuing the daily Twitter Curation over the course of the ensuing days as the transition project is at hand.    As I was reflecting upon this, I popped into Twitter to look out what the team at +BrainyQuote had done and picked this up that underscores why the time is right:

We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right. #brainyquote #QOTD pic.twitter.com/zx7Vo6f3XY

— BrainyQuote (@BrainyQuote) March 18, 2016

Remaining ever so optimstic as I wish all a fantastic week!!!   I will be sharing notations & updates as I also reflect upon the challenging time before us. 

On This Final Day of Q1 2016: Some Brief Final Thoughts....

It has been a very challenging 3-Months in our World.   But what was gratifying to take comfort in was a concerted effort throughout the #Outsider properties to work to live up to the Mission to "Transform the conversation about Our World One Notation, One Tweet, One Tweet at a time".    This is as a concerted effort was begun to create a Social Good component primarily through contributions to the Johnson and Johnson Donate a Good Program which I launched last year and the team has been featuring on the #Outsider Twitter Channel.     Although I was a bit shocked at some of the setbacks at Johnson & Johnson in light of the Product Liability lawsuit losses, It does not take away from what they've done with this program which I look forward to supporting and glad to see the team at #Outsiders has embraced.   .  It is also gratifying that the #outsider mission is expanding to underscore the role of Instagram in the transformation process. 

The US Presidential Campaign was one of the key focus points.    It has been exciting to be witness to it in spite of the rather unfortuante discourse at times.    It was also a watershed Quarter on the Media Front.    Al Jazeera retrenched by shutting down its' Americas' Network after having bought it for 500 Million Dollars from Al Gore to be more focused digitally and as it decided that it was going to lay off 500 People from its' headquarters.   The Independent of London went all digital and others throughout the World continued to reassess their operations.      It was also disappointing to be witness to corruption in Malaysia and South Africa--two countries that I had held out a lot of hope for.

#Outsiders will be "dark" for Quarter End though as we gear up for the new Quarter and work away o the long-awaited transition--the "SandBox" has been in what we deem "Public Alpha"--which is admittedly challenging.     But, I wanted to end these brief thoughts with once again on a high note as I feature two beautiful images courtesy of the Speaker of The House' Office as he welcomed the Boy Scouts (a cause near and dear to my heart) and he had a touching scene with his Children in his Office as I continue to support the work of #outsiders with the possibilities at hand--and continuing to be hopeful as the Nuclear Security Summit was going on in Washington.   I released my wish on the success of the Summit (the final one by President Obama) earlier on my Personal Twitter Feed.

Onward to the new quarter with all its' possibilities....

The Boy Scouts

Every year, the Boy Scouts of America present the speaker of the House with their Report to the Nation.  And this year, they came with a question too: "What's up with the lights on the clocks around the U.S. Capitol?" Click here to find out Speaker Ryan's answer.

A Special Bill Signing with Speaker Ryan's Children

It's not every day that you get to sign your own bill to send to the president's desk to become law, but that's exactly what Speaker Ryan did when he signed this anti-poverty legislation with his two oldestchildren by his sides.

 

Working Away On This Final Week of March 2016.....

It has been yet again a busy few days here in #Outsiders as the team finished the latest curation throughout the properties and finished the morning Social Media curation on Twitter.  It has been quite a morning with a hijacking in Egypt, Donald Trump's Campaign Manager Charged and of course the aftermath of the Apple Phone saga ending--for now.  It was also quite a startling development that the US Supreme Court deadlocked on Union Fees--which the Unions took as a victory.

Our team @ #has also launched a beta to be ready to transition the Properties.      The Beta for the new "Virtual Campus" for the properties is expected to be available real soon.     As I was reflecting upon this journey and assessing the roadmap, I took a few minutes to "drop in" to the Values.com site and picked up a few of the thoughts that is  ever so critical for all to be aware of--including me!!!

 

 

 

Enough Said!!!

Onward..:))) 

Working Away On This Easter Week-End......

It has been a busy Easter weekend as the team is finally gearing up to test out the new "Beta Site" as our journey continues.     It included releasing a "Thought For the Week" To the Education Channel in celebration of Easter as it underscores a sense of the possible.   The thoughts the team chose from +Jonathan Huie  was in this spirit.

We have also been witness to a horrific week in our World.    The aftermath of Brussels continues to be felt throughout the World.   A march against hate scheduled for tomorrow has been cancelled in Brussels that underscores how the City continues to be on the edge.   I have also been quite horrified by how Belgium asked for trouble as there are multiple police agencies with no one talking  As the campaign against #Daesh is continuing, #Daesh lashed out as a suicide bomber attacked a Football (Soccer) match in Baghdad killing kids as long as 10.  They were buried in Baghdad earlier today. It appears that Europe is pulling its' act together though as I am just seeing reports of an Algerian being detained in Italy based on an European Arrest Warrant by Belgian Authorities.

As I was on the prowl before being off for the night, I saw reports on two victims of hatred that I wanted to pay tribute too.    Asad Shah was a shopkeeper in Glasgow Scotland who was seriously injured and subsequently died in a religiously motivated attack.     Reports I reviewed note that the guy who committed the crime was Muslim:

He was well-liked and the GoFundMe page has raised almost 36,000 Pounds (approximately  7 Thousand Dollars).   He had written an Easter Greeting earlier in the day.    One of the other young victims was Sascha Pinczwoski who was killed with her brother and she had posted a note right before she died in the Brussels attack reminding the World to be tolerant always.    I salute both these ordinary folks who in their own way tried to make a difference.

While finishing my own "Virtual Walk-About" On the Grid, I saw this that one of my cousins released to her own Facebook Wall.   It was from an injured British Soldier that is so powerful in its' message--It was in sharp contrast to the debate that goes on today that is dominating the Republican Party and somewhat echoed by the Wall Street Journal's Peggy Noonan who cited a 10% rule in her rationale to combat what she deemed "radical Islamic Jihadism".    I hope she takes note of what this soldier reminded us all of: 

British soldier who lost leg in Iraq issues powerful message
A British soldier who lost his leg in Iraq has posted a powerful message to people "expecting racism" from him just because he "got blown up".For Chris Herbert's full message: http://bit.ly/21OyRjz
Posted by ITV News on Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Hopefully the spirit of Easter will prevail.

As our team goes "dark" For Easter Sunday, on behalf of myself and the entire #Outsider team, Happy Easter!!!


 

On This Good Friday: On this US Election Campaign (@tedcruz; @realDonaldTrump), #Gandhi & Other Thoughts

It has been quite a morning here in #Outsiders as the team worked away on the Twitter Channel with the daily hashtag watch series.     I was also on my personal twitter feed as I was just taken aback by the nasty tone in the political discourse by the leading GOP candidates.   I made it a point of noting an admonition to both Senator Cruz and Mr. Trump that they need to grow up because the people deserve better as their wives were brought into the conversation which deflects from their policy positions which are literally either non-existent.    I was glad to see I was not alone as MSNBC's Joe Scarborough underscored this specifically admonishing Senator Cruz on his call to monitor Muslims.  Senator Cruz doubled down on it as he took the criticism as a "badge of honor" as if he was doing something right.

As our team races to work on weekend editions of Notations, I am excited about the Musical Interlude that would be available on the #outsider properties within the next few hours.   The team was busy as all of us were working away on the curations.    For me, two interesting things crossed my desk that made my day: 

By popular request, 2 of @RGalbrath's rejection letters! (For inspiration, not revenge, so I've removed signatures.) pic.twitter.com/vVoc0x6r8W

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 25, 2016

J.K Rowling's story is well known.   But taking this bold step; was fabulous in making sure all understood that one must never give up.   The perservance of such people is just amazing which is a lesson for us here at #outsiders as our journey of service continues.   She noted in a subsequent tweet that, "..... I had nothing to lose and sometimes that makes you brave enough to try...." This is as I was thinking about the discourse on leadership as I saw this from the ever-eloquent Darren Hardy on Leadership during my daily review:

Click to Play

Before I ever ask someone to do or be anything, I think of a story I once hear about Mahatma Gandhi.

It is such a great example to live up to and delivers an invaluable lesson on the character of leadership...Go to post

I could not help but wonder why what Gandhi, Dr. King and Mandela taught us seems to have been forgotten.  But I remain optimstic because I see no other way.    This is what we're about in the end here in #outsiders.

Happy Easter and a Happy belated Purim to all Jewish Brothers and Sisters....

Working Away w/Thoughts on #leadership, #Belgium & #giving.....

It has been admittedly a challenging week  as our World was once again was witness to violence.   The Belgian Prime Minister called it a black day for Belgium--it was a black day for the whole World.   While on the "Grid" this morning, I saw this which I also posted on my own Facebook wall that underscores what we must all do:

It is a simple call--but was a call that Francois Hollande so eloquently noted when he spoke in Paris as France and the World remembered    It is ever so true now.    The team only decided on one formal release in the Education Channel as it also finished the daily Twitter Curation to have a day to reflect. I eagerly await what the artist of the week is as the Friday Musical Interlude looms.

It was with a point of pride as I was witness to my Community, Laguna Niguel, honoring Belgium which I featured as a Good Turn for the team--and once again appreciate of the team having featured it on the #Outsider Twitter Channel: 

 

As I worked away supporting the #outsider properties,  this from the Fortune's Alan Murray crossed my desk which was quite disturbing--excerpts of it are noted below:  

March 24, 2016

Fortune's annual list of the World's Greatest Leaders is out this morning, and you can read it here. You'll see it includes none of the current candidates for President. That's not an accident. The U.S. political system is broken, and we see little reason to think the current contenders can fix it. Start with Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. It's stunning that, well into the 21st century, the two candidates generating the most enthusiasm are throwbacks to the 20th. One is channeling a fascist strongman, the other running as a self-styled socialist. Neither has the vision or skills to take us into the future, but both have tapped into the public's deep dissatisfaction with the recent past. The failures of government since the financial crisis have handed supporters of these candidates their strongest talking point: Could it get any worse? Hillary Clinton talks about building bridges instead of walls and built a record of bipartisan cooperation in her post-First Lady life as a senator and secretary of state. But by mimicking her primary opponent - and opposing the trade agreement she once championed - she has alienated even those business leaders who once supported her. Then there's Ted Cruz, who celebrates, even as he exacerbates, Washington's dysfunction. The good news is that Fortune's search for great leaders was not in vain. Even in Washington, we found some—including House Speaker Paul Ryan and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. While unyielding in their competing worldviews, they each have that key quality of empathy essential for today's challenges. From the business world, we've included Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, who recognizes that the current political climate also demands a different kind of business leadership. Top of the list? Amazon's Jeff Bezos. His company got pummeled in a New York Times story last year depicting Amazon as a sort of high-tech sweat-shop, where the pressure caused workers to break down at their desks in tears. But leadership comes in various flavors, and the Bezos strain is yielding world-changing results. Also today, Dov Seidman, CEO of LRN, has a worthy suggestion for how Hillary Clinton could remake herself a real leader. Read it here.   It is a tragic testament as the two leading Presidential Candidates did not make the list--although Justice Ginsburg and Speaker Ryan were very interesting choices. Onward.....

On a Dark Day in Our World......

Our team began the day thinking about the US Elections as people are voting right now in a number of States, reflecting upon World Water Day, thinking about the aftermath of the Apple announcement. and an on-going assessment of the AIPAC conference in Washington. The attacks in Brussels this morning shocked us.    It is a dark day in our World as I write this.  

 Our team released a special edition of Notations this morning on the attacks in Belgium.    As I was doing my overnight review, I began by launching my New York Times App on my Kindle and had to refresh it three times before I realized what had occurred.    

For me, it brought memories of 9/11 back.   I remember I was getting ready for work as CNN was playing in the background as the first plane hit.   My wife and I could not believe it and I frankly thought for a minute it was scenes from the World Center Attack in 1993.    My Wife shouted in horror as we were witness to the second plane and the horror afterward truly changed our World  forever.  

As I write this, Brussels Airport CEO is having a news conference noting that the Airport will be closed through tomorrow as they gear up to be back in Operations as some 600 flights have been canceled.  

The team at #outsiders has decided to be "dark"  through tomorrow in honor of the fallen in Belgium as we remember them in our thought and prayers today with Belgium and Europe:

  

Working Away In #Outsiders: Thoughts on #Apple & #Twitter & Other Thoughts....

It has been quite a morning here in #outsiders as the team finished off "Notations" and worked on the AM curation for the Twitter Channel.   I have also been listening to the Apple annoucement as there are some very interesting announcements including the iPhone SE.

It is also a milestone on the Tech Front as Twitter is 10 years old today.    I have been a fan of Twitter ever since the early years and despite the stumbles, I remain a fan and our team here @ #Outsiders values it ever more.   I got this Note and wanted to extend my congratulations to +Twitter as I look forward to supporting our team as our on-going work continues in serving our world to help transform the conversation about our World "One Notation, One Tweet & One Weibo" at a time:

Thank you! Ten years ago today, it began with a single Tweet. Since then, every moment of every day, people connect live about the things they care about most — all over the world. Throughout the years, you've made Twitter what it is today and you're shaping what it will be in the future. And for that, we thank you! Twitter, Inc. 1355 Market St, Suite 900 San Francisco, CA 94107

On A Very Interesting weekend: Working Away....

The team finished off a number of weekend editions of Notations in Outsiders as also the Twitter Daily Curation is continuing as I write these thoughts.    I was quite keen to see about what was going on in Iran as Khameini went to Mashad to make a speech and Rouhani made it a point of visit the Veterans of the War during the first day of the Iranian New Year.    Our team will be assessing Khamenei's Speech and Rouhani's Speech as we see what will happen in the New Year on the eve of a new Parliament conveying.    What happens in Iran matters.

Beyond Iran, there is the chaotic scene as the Election season is gathering pace.  As I was away on a Community commitment with the Scouts yesterday, I did not have personal visibility to the on-going predicament until I saw the team releasing the Notation on the US Election scene.   The violence and protests seem to be escalating and the Republican National Convention is bound to be quite entertaining and contentious with profound implications beyond.    I caught Governor Kasich of Ohio during my own assessment of the US Sunday Morning Talk Shows as he boasted confidence that he would be the nominee.    What I saw, though, from David Brooks from the New York Times underscored as powerful a case against Trump as I have seen after the strong word by the +National Review --Although I will grant Trump this point:  his numbers have kept rising so far:

No, Not Trump, Not Ever - The New York Times https://t.co/XZeOFyFjrJ

— Brasilmagic (@Brasilmagic) March 20, 2016

When Trump noted in a response to a question on MSNBC that "I listen to myself"--that in and of itself is a disqualification.   It is also quite disturbing to me how he has encouraged violence and not stepped up to make sure that the anger of the dispossessed as noted in David Brooks' Column is channeled to help change and not encourage riots and violence.          

As I have been assessing our World and the roadmap ahead, I ran across this that is quite timely in terms of the journey here in #Outsiders and what helps to drive the on-going development work here as I wish all a great Sunday and a great week:

Turn Failure into Innovation

Don’t fear failure. Fear missed opportunities.

Before Running Off on the eve of #Spring & #Nowruz.....

As I was finishing off my "Virtual Walk-About" I decided to pop into the Iranian Student Association at Penn State.    Their website is just fantastic to showcase what is beautiful about Iran as it showcased the poetry of Saaidi reminding us all that we are one:





It was also poignant as this beautiful clip they did that gave a tour of all the regions of Iran:


Happy Nowroz & Happy Spring.....

Working Away: On #ParisAttacks, #Music & #Nooroz

Today was quite a day as the World has been privy to a major operation to arrest one of the culprits of the Paris Attack.   As I have been working in support of #outsiders, I am also seeing a live news conference by the Belgian Prime Minister and the President of France as they underscored that they have conferred with President Obama .   I view it as a major development and made it a point of congratulating France and Belgium earlier on my personal twitter feed.     There are still questions that  have to be answered as to how this man could be roaming around for so long--but it is still a good day.   I view it as quite significant the Francois Hollande is there in Brussels

I also was witness to the beauty and appreciation of life this morning while on a morning community commitment at St. Timothy's Catholic Parish.  It was the twice-a-month restocking of the Parish Pantry which I had the privilege yet again to support.    As I left this service commitment, I was struck that I was witness to a funeral mass which I joined briefly.    It underscored all that we have to be thankful for and to be hopeful constantly.   I was reflecting upon this as I supported the curation of the network for the day.   It was also gratifying as the weekly interlude was selected as it was:  Frank Sinatra Jr.   I grew up with Frank Sinatra Sr.'s music and the striking resemblance was just beyond the pale.   The music will go on!!!!

It is also the first day of spring and the eve of Nowruz.    It is about renewal and again a sense of hope.  I conclude as I go "dark" for this Nowruz Week-End to say:  Happy Nowruz--Eid Shoma Mobarak.    We Persians underscore a simple wish:  May every day be successful for you all and all days be full of joy and Happiness.

  

On the Eve of St. Patricks' Day 2016.....

The team decided to welcome St Patricks' Day with a special edition of View of the Week that will be available on St. Patricks' Day on all the #Outsider Properties.   This is as I was assessing the day being witness to Donald Trump talking about Riots if he is not named the Republican Nominee and as I saw very disturbing reports of corruption in South Africa and Brazil.

The need to be optimistic and hopeful is ever so critical always.    I decided to share this prayer on the eve of St Patricks' Day -may we always be ever so lucky.   Don't forget to wear green tomorrow!! 

An Irish Prayer

May God give you... For every storm, a rainbow, For every tear, a smile, For every care, a promise, And a blessing in each trial. For every problem life sends, A faithful friend to share, For every sigh, a sweet song, And an answer for each prayer.