As We Go Dark In Our Properties For 2018......

We hereby extend best wishes to all during this joyous holiday season and a wonderful and successful 2019.

Notations From the Grid (Special Edition): On the Eve of #2019 **Briefings Courtesy Goldman Sachs**

How to Invest in 2019: GSAM's Investment Outlook The aging economic expansion is likely to continue through next year with some possible advantages for investors after a challenging 2018, according to Goldman Sachs Asset Management's (GSAM) 2019 investment outlook, A Better Deal. For investors, late-cycle fears will continue to drive episodic volatility and drawdowns, creating opportunities to invest at attractive valuations. In terms of market views, the GSAM team prefers equities over corporate credit, credit over interest rates and emerging markets over developed markets. "End-of-cycle signs -- including contracting corporate profit margins, excessive central bank tightening and systemic financial imbalances -- are not evident and we think we are unlikely to see them through the first half of 2019, though the risks will rise towards the end of the year," says Neill Nuttall, GSAM's co-chief investment officer of the Global Portfolio Solutions Group. "While there is enormous uncertainty around the length of the cycle, we feel it is too early to start to take down risk to prepare for the end of the cycle." Read report China Economic Outlook: Testing Resilience With policymakers in easing mode after 2018's sharp slowdown, further deceleration in China's economy should be modest next year, according to Goldman Sachs Research economists. They forecast China's GDP growth will slow to 6.2% from 6.6% as the nation looks to balance mounting debt with the risk of another growth slide. Fiscal policy will be the preferred tool for stabilizing growth, with an emphasis on greater infrastructure investment. An escalation in the US-China trade dispute is the main risk to the forecast, but for now, the drag on Chinese growth from tariffs looks manageable. Read report & watch video The 2019 Outlook for Tech IPOs For technology companies, 2018 was a very good year, representing one of the industry's biggest for IPOs since 2000, according to the Goldman Sachs Investment Banking Division. In particular, large global IPOs, especially from China, dominated the scene as investors looked for growth opportunities, says Nick Giovanni, co-head of Global Technology Investment Banking. What's the outlook for 2019? "Assuming market conditions continue to be supportive, we expect a large group of companies will access the public markets for capital, brand visibility, and liquidity for employees, founders and early investors," says William Connolly, head of Investment Banking's Technology Equity Capital Markets group. Watch video SHARE: Talks at GS: Michael Beschloss on Leadership, War and the American Presidency Above (L to R): Presidential historian Michael Beschloss and John F.W. Rogers of Goldman SachsIn his new, bestselling book, Presidents of War, historian Michael Beschloss explores how war has fundamentally redefined the power of the American presidency and shaped the people who have led the nation. During a recent episode of Talks at GS moderated by John. F. W. Rogers, chief of staff of Goldman Sachs, Beschloss said, "I began with the idea that only eight or nine people in American history have had this experience of sending large numbers of Americans to risk their lives, put their lives in harm's way, and what did they have in common?" He continued, "Every single one of them became more religious in the course of being war leaders. Abraham Lincoln, for instance, when he was a young man in Illinois was a skeptic, thought of as an agnostic. But when he was late in the Civil War, he was visited by an old friend from Illinois who found Lincoln reading the Bible and was astounded. And Lincoln said, 'I can't imagine how any war president could have this experience of causing the deaths of so many people without finding some kind of spiritual comfort.'" Watch video

Notations On Our World (Special Edition): On the Aftermath of the #MichaelCohen Drama

As the ramifications of the Cohen sentencing continue, there is reporting by the Wall Street Journal and also reported by CNN that the Trump Inaugural Committee is under criminal investigation by the US Attorney's Office in Manhattan. This is as President Trump went on a Twitter Offensive and also appeared on Fox News to dismiss Mr. Cohen and the whole investigative process--as the President himself has been implicated in the scheme in the aftermath of the agreement with the owner/publisher of the National Inquirer.    Our team captured this from Pete Souza on Robert Mueller:

Please enjoy this retrospective on the profound times the President has to deal with: 

Notations From The Grid (Weekly @POTUS Edition): Mo’ Mueller, Mo’ Problems,,,,,.

It has been quite a week--There was a meeting at the White House yesterday between President Trump and Congressional Leaders and it was quite a spectacle as the President threatened a shutdown if there was no border wall.  The Gif we captured above reflects this concern.

This is as the legal troubles surrounding the President continues to multiply --and as Republicans are being dismissive.    Trevor Noah and Seth Meyers share their perspectives:

Notations From the Grid (Weekly Edition): On @realDonaldTrump & Our World

Seth Meyers, Trevor Noah, Stephen Colbert et. al were relentless last week as the investigations continue Our team selected some alternative views on our World along with some interesting statistics courtesy of the Nooner on the reality in California as we await 2019:

TURNOUT as of November 30, 2018

Eligible to register: 25,200,451
Registered voters as of 10/22: 19,696,371
Ballots tallied: 12,465,464
Turnout of eligible: 49.47%
Turnout of registered: 63.29% 

Outlook (as of 11/30/18)
	U.S. House of Representatives	State Assembly	State Senate
As of Nov. 6, 2018	39 Democrats 14 Republicans	55 Democrats 25 Republicans	26 Democrats 14 Republicans
After Nov. 6, 2018	46 Democrats 7 Republicans	60 Democrats 20 Republicans	29 Democrats 11 Republicans

This is as we note this perspective from the Real News Network regarding perspectives on the realities of our World as well with Qatar, Yemen & Saudi Arabia: 

Pentagon Engaged in Unfathomable Financial Mismanagement

Around the same time that auditors declared that the Department of Defense’s finances are unauditable, The Nation published an extensive exposé of just how deliberately falsified and mismanaged the Pentagon’s accounts are. We speak to the report’s author, investigative journalist David Lindorff      

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Sen. Graham Wants a More Reliable Fascist in Saudi Arabia – Paul Jay

Senator Lindsey Graham wants to overthrow the Saudi crown prince MBS in order to have a more reliable ally against Iran and to suppress the Arab masses

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Black communities denied $156 billion in property value says new Brookings report

“The pipes in Flint, Michigan could have been replaced 3,000 times with that money” says lead study author Dr. Andre Perry

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Council Proposes Income-Based Water Billing Amid Rate Hikes

Just days after the city proposed another rate increase, Baltimore’s Council President unveiled legislation that promises water bill affordability and accountability. The proposal will be taken up by the Council’s Taxation, Finance and Economic Development Committee in the coming weeks

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Rattling the Bars: Stopping Corporate Exploitation in Prisons (Pt 2/2)

Eddie Conway talks with Bianca Tylek, found of the Corrections Accountability Corporation about thousands of corporations funding private prisons and immigration detention centers and what citizens can do about it

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Amid Middle East Realignment & Saudi Blockade, Qatar Withdraws from OPEC

Qatar is withdrawing from oil organization OPEC, while Saudi Arabia continues its blockade. Colonel Larry Wilkerson says this is part of a larger realignment in the Middle East, as Turkey exerts more influence

Notations On Our World (Special Friday Edition): #Remembering41

President Bush was laid to rest Thursday at his Presidential Library.   We decided to headline this brief Notation as we leave you with highlights courtesy of the Guardian Of London: 

Notations From The Grid ((Special Edition )); our & about w this from @trevornoah

Notations On Our World (Weekly Edition): As #2019 is Before Us

The US National Christmas Tree in Washington 

The Holiday Season is Upon us epitomized by the lighting of the National Christmas Tree last week in Washington.  As we welcome the Holiday Season here in our properties, we begin to wind down the Year as we present views courtesy of the team at Goldman Sachs as we look to a very challenging 2019:      

2019 US Economic Outlook: The Home Stretch US economic growth will slow significantly in 2019 due to tighter financial conditions and a fading fiscal stimulus, according to Goldman Sachs Research. The forecast also calls for quarterly rate hikes as the Fed looks to keep the economy from overheating amid rising inflation and unemployment on a downward trajectory towards 3% by early 2020. For now, neither overheating nor financial imbalances -- the classic causes of recessions -- appear worrisome. As a result, the economic expansion remains on track to become the longest in US history in 2019. Read report Watch video

Notations On Our World (Special Edition): We're Watching Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100 LIVE, presented by Johnson

Please enjoy

Notations From the Grid (Final Month-End Edition): On Our World

As we bid farewell to November, our team decided to present a brief snapshot of some of the alternative media in our World as we await December and look forward to being of service in 2019--beginning with a tribute to the Syrian Activist Raed Fares that was gunned down in Idlib as we pay tribute to him and all the valiant fighters for truth and justice in our World: 

The Doomsday Machine and Nuclear Winter – Daniel Ellsberg on RAI (11/12)

An H Bomb first strike will create firestorms and smoke that ends most human life; this is a fact ignored by military planners and by the Trump administration which doesn’t believe in climate science – says Daniel Ellsberg on Reality Asserts Itself with Paul Jay

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Trump Considering to Put Venezuela on ‘State Sponsor of Terrorism’ List and Intensify Sanctions

According reports in Washington Post and Reuters, the Trump administration is actively exploring the option of placing Venezuela on the state sponsor of terrorism list, to further intensify sanctions that have already caused significant damage to Venezuela’s economy. We speak to Steve Ellner about the sanctions’ effects

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Amazon Gets $3 Billion in NY Tax Breaks While Underfunded Public Transport Enters ‘Death Spiral’

Prof. Richard Wolff explains why the $3 billion subsidy for one of the world’s largest corporations is a terrible waste of public money

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Antitrust and How Kleptocracy Corrupts What Markets are Supposed to do Well

Bert Foer, Senior Fellow at the American Antitrust Institute speaks at the forum, “Destroying the Myths of Market Fundamentalism,” held in Washington DC, on October 19, 2018

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China Intensifies Crackdown on Marxist Student Activists

Chinese university students, inspired by their studies of Marx, are facing an increasing state crackdown on their movement in support of workers who have been trying to organize Shenzhen’s Jasic Technology. Prof. Zhun Xu analyzes the situation

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Ralph Nader: Destroying the Myths of Market Fundamentalism

Market fundamentalism’s ideological tyranny is metastasizing, afflicting the young, silencing politicians and hoodwinking the media. Too few progressives have a handle on the powerful arguments that can be made to counter market fundamentalism. It’s time to confront the myths with compelling empirical reality that deconstructs and destroys the plutocratic hoax. A roundtable recorded at the…

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Can a $1.8 Billion Gift to Johns Hopkins University Spark National College Affordability Policy Changes?

TRNN’s Khalilah Harris discusses critiques and possible implications of Michael Bloomberg’s historic donation with Lester Spence, political commentator and Hopkins Associate Professor of Political Science and Africana Studies

#RandomThoughts On Our World On This #Thanksgiving2018

On The Road in Irvine, California at the San Juan Creek Reservoir 

It is dawn of Thanksgiving Week here in the United States.    It has been quite a challenging week in our home state as epitomized by this courtesy of the Daily Overview:

What was reported by the LA Times on how the Northern California Started is absolutely horrific as we picked this during our daily assessment On the Grid: 

Please read their work: https://t.co/rQVNNxjP0i

— Paige St. John (@paigestjohn) November 18, 2018

The Culpability of Pacific Gas and Electric will be quite a development as the investigations continue.   We welcome President Trump's visit to our home state yesterday.

The Mid-Term results keep coming in.  Although the Republicans will pick up a net gain of 2 seats in the US Senate, it is being negated by the profound Blue Wave.  Orange County, California--our home county--will not have a single Republican Representative for the next Congress in the US House.  

Beyond the Shores of America, there are profound developments around the World.   We're seeing reports of pending elections in Israel with profound implications for the region. 

We are also taking some time to reflect upon all that we're thankful for during this holiday season here in the United States.   As we go "dark" in our properties, our broadcast pod along with our Twitter Channel will have updates daily along with our updates in our Google Corner as we leave you all with some Random Thoughts on the Week That was:  
  

Public Access Channels Threatened Under FCC Proposal, Advocates Say DAVE NYCZEPIR  |   Proponents, however, argue changes are needed because localities charge licensing fees at the expense of cable companies' efforts to expand broadband access. After Midterms, Democrats Now Hold a Majority of State AG Offices LAURA MAGGI  |   "They've been very aggressive, banding together across state lines to challenge a variety of policies," one expert said about Democratic responses to the Trump administration. Amazon Is Ready to Make Its HQ2 Picks Official MICHAEL GRASS  |   STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | California's deadliest wildfire on record … recession worries as Nevada's economy hums along … why Santa Fe really needs a city engineer … and more confirmed measles cases in Mich.

Americans for Peace Now's New Settlement Map App

It is our pleasure at Peace Now to share with you that our sister organization in the United States, Americans for Peace Now, has just released its new and improved settlement map mobile application, Facts on the Ground. The app is a staple of our tours and is used by many of the journalists, public figures and diplomats who wish to quickly access Peace Now data when they are out in the field. We highly recommend you download this app and explore the wealth of information it features. Facts on the Ground Map App There are numerous reasons for the persistence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with rejection of Israel’s right to exist, denial of Jewish history, and Palestinian terrorism among the most devastating and pernicious. But the 51-year-old occupation – which denies Palestinians their rights, corrodes Israeli society and democracy, and continually damages prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace – is fundamentally anchored in the Israeli settlement enterprise in the West Bank. Settlements stand in the way of a two-state solution by preventing a viable, contiguous, independent state of Palestine, a purpose for which they were explicitly designed. That’s why Americans for Peace Now is today releasing Facts on the Ground, a new, completely revamped and upgraded version of the groundbreaking settlements map app, available for free on iPhone and Android.

With the help of Peace Now‘s Settlement Watch – the most authoritative, credible source on settlements – Facts on the Ground gives users the ability to track, explore, and gain a comprehensive understanding of the settlements. As a mobile app designed to be used by policymakers, diplomats, journalists, teachers, students, and anyone else interested in the Israeli settlement enterprise, Facts on the Ground is truly one-of-a-kind. Originally released in 2010, APN’s Facts on the Ground was the first-ever interactive online map of West Bank settlements. The new version features up-to-date statistics and data, including individual “snapshots” of every settlement and outpost in the West Bank. The app includes informational video, a comprehensive glossary, and a new, expansive statistics section from Peace Now. Facts on the Ground also marks the re-launch of APN’s Settlements in Focus publication. New issues, each profiling different West Bank settlements, will be featured on the app and available to all users.   Happy Thanksgiving Week from us to all of you and your loved ones...