Notations On Our World (Special Community Edition): On #MarchForOurLives

March 24 is the date March For Lives Occur.  This is as March 14 saw thousands of students march out in solidarity for the 17 students who lost their lives in Florida.        We end this with what the Principal of Aliso Niguel High School noted for the Aliso Viejo Wolverine Community: 

What we saw today inspired us. On Valentine’s Day, we hid in classrooms, in closets, while 17 of our fellow Eagles were brutally murdered, and 17 more were injured. Today, for 17 minutes, countless students across the country left their classrooms to remember those we lost, 17 minutes for those still healing injuries, and 17 minutes of solidarity with those of us still shattered by what happened. When we stood up and demanded change we could not imagine this level of support – and for that we are eternally thankful. Communities across this country walked out of classrooms to send one message – Enough. That is why 10 days from today we’re going to march and demand change. We’re going to go to our nation’s Capital, town squares, city centers, rural roads, and village parks to demand our lives be defended. We’re going to ask every “leader” what they’re doing to protect us. We are not just talking about voting – we are talking about saving lives. From these walkouts, we march on. Click here to find an event near you and tell us you’ll be there. We need you to show up again. With love and respect, The March for Our Lives Organizers NEWS We Went to the National School Walkout at the White House. Here’s What We Saw. Beginning at 10 a.m., students sat in silence for 17 minutes—one minute for each of the Parkland victims. Watch the Video

Dear Wolverine Parents,

I want to take just a moment to update you regarding today's nationwide student-led walkout as it occurred on our campus.  Ultimately, each student made their own choice as to whether or not to participate in the walkout, and as Principal, I am so very proud of ALL of our students -- both those who chose to participate as well as those who chose to remain in classrooms.  At 10:00 am, approximately 1300 students chose to participate in the walkout; all students were orderly, respectful, and followed directions to proceed directly to the gym. Student leaders then first called for a moment of silence, followed by a tribute to the Florida students, which was given by a student speaker who actually transferred to Aliso Niguel approximately 6 weeks ago from the very school in Parkland, Florida where the most recent violence occurred.  Once again, our students were absolutely orderly, respectful and engaged.  Students left the gym to return to classrooms shortly after 10:17 am.  Our amazing Wolverine students ALL showed great character today and are a credit to their parents, community, and our staff.  Again, I am so very proud.   Thank you for your continued support or our school.

Sincerely,

Deni Christensen - Principal 

Random Thought (W-End Edition): From the "Grid" On Our World....

It was quite a challenging week in our World.    Our team selected a brief sampling of Tweets from the Middle East along with the latest antics out of Washington.   This is as some very interesting events have been happening in Iran--including the detention of two key former aides to the former Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who has been speaking out in the aftermath of the protests that we've provided guidance here over the ensuing weeks.

Compelling..... 

What We Know, and Don't Know, About the Firing of Andrew McCabe Lawfare – Mar 17, 7:51 AM Anyone who is confidently pronouncing on the merits of Andrew McCabe's firing Friday night is venturing well beyond the realm of known facts. We certainly understand the instinct to rally to McCabe's defense at a time when the president is issuing…

Thing is, when Israel goes after teenage activists and their parents, uni students leader @BZU and their colleagues, @BDSmovement, even mosques and churches, and other popular non violent forms of resistance to its occupation, it’s only encouraging other forms of resistance ... https://t.co/iShEk33Yu8

— Marwan Bishara (@marwanbishara) March 12, 2018 

Great short doc on Israel’s war against #AhedTamimi -the Palestinian girl who has been detained for 83 days for slapping a heavily armed soldier. She is facing a non-public trial before a discriminatory military court system designed to secure convictions. https://t.co/RM4RnjSYM6

— Jamil Dakwar (@jdakwar) March 12, 2018 

Here are all of Trump's false claims from last week about gun violence, motorcycle imports from India, car exports to Japan and tariffs on washing machine. https://t.co/05zICBcsHV

— TorontoStar (@TorontoStar) March 5, 2018

How Trump Consultants Exploited the Facebook Data of Millions New York Times – Matthew Rosenberg – Mar 17, 6:09 AM LONDON — As the upstart voter-profiling company Cambridge Analytica prepared to wade into the 2014 American midterm elections, it had a problem. The firm had secured a $15 million investment from Robert Mercer, the wealthy Republican donor… Shared by…

Revealed: 50 million Facebook profiles harvested for Cambridge Analytica in major data breach The Guardian – Emma Graham-Harrison – Mar 17, 6:01 AM The data analytics firm that worked with Donald Trump's election team and the winning Brexit campaign harvested millions of Facebook profiles of US voters, in the tech giant's biggest ever data breach, and used them to build a powerful software… Suspending Cambridge Analytica and SCL Group from Facebook Facebook #SheMeansBusiness – Mar 16, 8:41 PM By Paul Grewal, VP & Deputy General Counsel We are suspending Strategic Communication Laboratories (SCL), including their political data analytics firm, Cambridge Analytica, from Facebook. Given the public prominence of this organization, we want…

On This St. Patrick's Day 2018

On behalf our Team, We wanted to wish all the luck of the Irish as we are privileged to share this #GoogleDoodle:

We leave you all with this Irish Blessing: