Notations For the Week-End (Part Deux) : On #Colorado Springs; #Syria & #France & Other Thoughts.....

France remembered its' victim on Friday November 27.    President Hollande led France in a solemn tribute which was attended by the entire French Cabinet, Former President Sarkozy, military officers, first responders and victims who were able to attend: 





I had the good fortune to say awake to be able to watch the entire proceedings on France24.   I was (as I am sure many around the World were) struck by the solemn way Francois Hollande walked in had a lonely chair in front of all who were in attendance.   For me, what he said struck a special cord as he spoke for all of us as he said we will sing more, dance more so that what the former Prime Minister of Australia called the Merchants of Death of Daesh will be relegated to the dustbin of history.   It was so beautiful as I saw depicition of #Daesh Fighters being photoshopped with ducks on their head.

As our team and I await to report of the ultimate fate of the #DaeshScum (what I have used in my twitter tweets),  the price paid has been such a heavy one  though as depicted by what the team released yesterday in a recent edition of Notations.   The problem, though, is that elements of what I call (Daesh Light) exists in countries like Iran right now.   One must also not forget the Afghan Inferno that continues to burn daily.    It was heartbreaking too as I caught reporting from SkyNews as the Russian Marine killed in Syria trying to rescue the fallen Russian Pilot was put to rest under the watchful tearful eye of his daughter.   Based on reporting reviewed by the team, it appears that the leaders of what Sam Kiley of SkyNews so ably noted as the "Death Cult" have apparently escaped Raqqa as the ordinary man, woman and child continues to bear the brunt of the assault by US, French and Russian Fighters--soon to be joined by British Fighters.

As I worked away supporting on-going daily commitments for the team as all wanted to be "back at it", reports from Colorado Springs here in the United States on a shooting at a Planned Parenthood Clinic which The Guardian of London provided live footage on which is now available on the Guardian Website:   

The shooter (who  is a terrorist) surrended after what I understood to be a five hour gun battle.    It resulted in a Police Officer losing his life and I shared these thoughts in his memory while I was on Facebook yesterday:  

Catching up for the AM working away before "running off"....very distressing to see this as I was seeing reports...
Posted by Mike Pouraryan on Saturday, November 28, 2015

President Obama was once again ever so forceful.   Ted Cruz released a Tweet keeping the victims in his thoughts and prayers--I made it a point of being on Twitter noting that although his thoughts were welcome, we have to go beyond prayers.      There were reporting on the Independent of London of celebrations for the shooting and quite an indictment by the Haaretz Chemi Shalev.   I was chastised for finding something "negative"--and I noted that all lives have to matter.   There needs to be a change in the manner we look at the 2nd Amendment and there are moves going on as this recent depiction in TakePart underscores:

10 Companies with Sensible Gun Policies

More than a dozen U.S. states allow residents to openly carry firearms without a permit. More than 20 other states allow open-carry with a license, while only five, plus the District of Columbia, ban open-carry outright.

Considering the wave of violent gun crimes that have rocked the country in recent years, some companies are beginning to approach gun policies as a corporate social responsibility (CSR) issue.

For these firms, allowing customers to openly carry guns inside their establishments can make the company appear complicit with its state’s lax gun laws.

With that in mind, this week we tip our hats to companies that are braving the backlash and adopting sensible gun policies. Read on>

Beyond the Issue of Guns, there is also the Climate Change Conference.    The Marches have begun Worldwide and I plan on joining the March in Irvine later on today as I also plan on joining a meeting on the impact of the Syrian War on Women.       What Dr. King noted as the "fierce urgency of now" is ever so evident now: 

"The more we delay, the more we pay" - interview w/ @jpasztor on #action2015 & #COP21 https://t.co/iRXynk0o94 pic.twitter.com/N9ljua187a

— United Nations (@UN) November 28, 2015

I was also keen to see how retailers did since 70% of the GDP of the United States is dependent on Consumer Spending.   In assessing the reporting on the aftermath of Black Friday, it seems as if it was not as vibrant--but people were apparently flocking to all the sites.   I understand from reports that Target was on track to break records and of course there is Cyber Monday which I am sure all will make a killing!!    This is as one of the retailers in our hometown, Haagens, is in the midst of its' final sale as I had a chance to visit it yesterday.   I asked how the displaced workers were doing--and the checker who served me noted that most had found places--but it was difficult because they wanted "Kids".     She noted that she was going to retire and hang out with her 92-year old Mother.   I congratulated her and was happy for the news since I had known many of them for years.

It is ever so a challenging World as our team continues its' on-going efforts.     I wanted to end this with a bit of a high note:

Stay strong and make them wonder how you're still smiling https://t.co/n1e6jU2QBL pic.twitter.com/w8ocjZpww4

— Motivational Tweets (@Tweets2Motivate) November 28, 2015

Challenging times.....

On #gratitude: Notations For the W-End.......

It has been another difficult 24 hours in the United States.    A terrorist walked into a Planned Parenthood Office in Colorado Springs, killed a police officer and took hostages until he was "talked down" and surrended.    I will have more to say on it later on.

It has been though a week to be thankful.    There is no question that every day is a day to be thankful.  As I always tell friends, as the great philosopher Pit bull reminds us, "every day above ground is a great day".   It was so appropriate as I saw this that the #Outsider team was gracious enough to share to remind me of it:

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.

- Philo 

This hit home to me in a major way as I had the pleasure to join the Fish For Life Cruise from Dana Point earlier this month.    This is a charity founded by an old and dear friend of mine, Jim Holden, that holds fishing cruises for special needs children by having their families have a day of joy under the Sun. This particular one broke my heart as I saw a girl full of heart who had lost a hand--and I was told cancer as she made her way to the cruise:  It is a pleasure to share this on the day and how joyful an event it all was: https://fishforlife.smugmug.com/Trip-Photos/November-14th-2015/   This I received from the John Templeton Fund said it all.    May the Almighty continue to bless all as we await some hopeful news from Paris as the climate change conference begins  and as we deal with the menance of Daesh:

On the Eve of Thanksgiving in the United States: On #Syria, #Daesh & #Success & #Hope & Being Grateful....

As our team went "dark", the daily twitter curation continued as the World has been witness to distressing developments around the World.    The latest one was the bombing of the Tunisian Presidential Guard which was claimed by the #Daeshscum which led to the declaration of the State of Emergency.  This is as France and Europe have been dealing with the aftermath of the horrors of Paris as France introduced a 90-Day State of Emergency and enacted A "Patriot-Act" type of  law.    What was even more distrubing to be witness to as our team continued its' daily assessment was the shooting down of a Russian Fighter Jet by Turkey.     Putin was in Iran as he attended the Gas Producer Leaders conference and went to see Khameini:

It was of note to reflect upon a recent blast from the Past that Professor Milani fo Stanford reminded the World as there has been a spat of arrests which continues even today despite some of the incremental changes seen after the election of President Rouhani: 



The wars are worrisome ever so especially as the New York Times reported earlier today of the introduction of Latin American Troops in Yemen by the Emirates as the escalation is quite worrisome which our team will continue to monitor as it gears up for December here in #Outsiders.    

In the meantime, Congress continues its' efforts to try and and impose its' views as epitomized by the latest out there as the threat of a Government Shutdown looms with the latest as noted in this excerpt reported out by the New York Times: 

TREASURY SECRETARY WARNS FOES OF DODD-FRANK Last year, Congress passed a measure dismantling a piece of the Dodd-Frank Act that governed swaps by attaching the new legislation to a wider spending bill. On Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew warned critics of Dodd-Frank against trying the same tactic again, saying he would push back against any attempts to weaken financial regulation through amendments to the spending bill, which Congress must pass byDec. 11 to avert a government shutdown, Peter Eavis reports in DealBook. "I have publicly made clear that my recommendation to the president would be that if there are legislative measures that will roll back the clock, that would take us back toward where we were before the financial crisis, I would recommend a veto," Mr. Lew said via email.

What critics of Dodd-Frank are focusing on this time around is theregulation mandating annual tests for banks to determine whether they could survive extreme stress in the markets and wider economy, Mr. Eavis writes. Currently, the rule applies to banks with at least $50 billion in assets, but legislation introduced by Senator Richard Shelby, Republican of Alabama and chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, would raise that threshold to $500 billion. Lawmakers are alsotaking aim at the Financial Stability Oversight Council, which they say lacks accountabilityMr. Lew's remarks may not deter Republican lawmakers from attaching amendments to the spending bill if they believe that the Obama administration would be more likely to compromise on financial regulation than on other areas, like health care, Mr. Eavis writes. Also, another victorious effort to weaken parts of Dodd-Frank would "establish a track record of chipping away at the overhaul each year," he writes.

  Beyond the politics though, there is the challenge of  Climate Change.    It has been gratifying to see France affirming its' commitment to go on with COP21 that our team will be assessing on a daily basis starting next week.    However, what I found extremely distressing was how the Chairman of the House Science Committee was putting pressure on Scientists to compel them to produce emails on his apparent belief that studies were doctored.  This is as the leading climate sceptic in the Country, Senator James Inhoff of Okhlahoma, plans on a one man "Truth squad" campaign as he says , "Oui" to Paris.   It is just beyond belief as the World is faced with drought, countries are dying before our very eyes as epitomized by this which was heartwrehcning to listen to--available on +TED by clicking here.  


 and some countries are being swept away by hurricances, that this man seems to be on the rampage that he is--joined by his GOP colleagues.        I look forward to joining the climate reality rally in Irvine this coming Sunday as I was also pleased to receive this in my "Virtual Office" to underscore the challenge yet hope that must be the order of the day:

Happy Thanksgiving! This Thanksgiving, we are especially thankful. We’re thankful for the incredible people around the world working hard to put an end to climate change. For the amazing progress we’ve seen from world leaders and influencers leading up to the United Nations’ climate negotiations in Paris and the prospect of a historic global climate agreement.  But most of all, we’re thankful for you, our incredible friends and supporters. So we’d like to give #ClimateThanks to all of you for what you’ve helped the climate community achieve this year: • Over 2,000 new Climate Reality Leaders working to educate and inspire their communities to act on climate change • An Open Letter to world leaders, urging a strong global climate agreement in Paris • A historic rally during Pope Francis’ US visit in support of his urgent message on climate change • The EPA Clean Power Plan’s finalization, which thousands of you supported, helping to establish the US as an international leader on climate action And that’s just the beginning. None of this would have been possible without you.  Wishing you a happy and safe Thanksgiving, As I end this before "running off" , I could not help but share this I saw while on the "Grid" when I broke my "sabatical" briefly to catch up  (and I admit I was "sneaking in")!! :-) I saw this from the ever perceptive and eloquent +DARREN HARDY as he reminded us all on the art of the possible and never ever ever ever ever ever giving up.   I couldn't agree more. Happy thanksgiving to all in the United States as I also note that everyday is a day to be thankful for all the blessings that we do have!!!