Notations From the Grid (Special Edition): On Being Safe Online

 We here at the Daily Outsider take online safety very seriously.     Our banking partner, Wells Fargo Bank, shared this guidance which we hereby present as a special edition to all our Platforms so that all are aware and take the necessary precautions.   We implore all to be careful out there:

Important Information Dear Wells Fargo Customer, Keeping your accounts and information safe is critically important to us. That’s why we’re proactively advancing our security and continually investing in account safety measures, such as strong encryption software and ongoing monitoring of suspicious activity. We also want to help you avoid fraudulent schemes. Email and text message scams, known as phishing, can be difficult to distinguish from legitimate messages. They may impersonate a reputable company and include an urgent request for you to update your information, secure your account, verify your identity, or confirm a transaction. You may be prompted to call a phone number, sign on to a fraudulent website, or respond with personal or account information. What you can do to help protect yourself • Don’t click on links, open attachments, or respond to unexpected emails or text messages from suspicious or unknown senders. • Don’t share your online banking password with anyone. • Don’t sign on to your account from a link in a suspicious message. Access a company’s website by using a reputable search engine or typing the entire URL into your browser. For Wells Fargo, type https://wellsfargo.com or use the Wells Fargo Mobile® app. If you receive an unexpected request for information from your bank Verify it by calling the number on the back of your debit or credit card. For more information on how to spot and report suspicious emails or text messages that appear to be from Wells Fargo, go to https://wellsfargo.com/nophishing. Thank you for banking with Wells Fargo. Sincerely, Your Wells Fargo team

Notations From the Grid (Thursday Edition): #RandomThoughts On Our World

We begin with the Democratic Primary.    Bernie Sanders won New Hampshire and the race has turned into a three-person contest going into Super Tuesday with Pete Buttegig and Amy Klobuchar very much in the running.    The team at Counterpoint released a depiction of Mike Bloomberg when he declared--and he is betting on Super Tuesday as he continues to spend heavily on political advertising.    

Beyond the US National Political Scene, the business of governing continues.  The California Budget has been submitted to the California State Legislature by the Governor.   A snapshot of the budget presented by our local State Senator, Senator Pat Bates, is hereby noted with her observations--our team will continue to note this as the State Budget of 222 Billion Dollars works its way through the California Legislature: 

Governor Newsom released his 2020-21 budget proposal on January 10th. Click here to read my thoughts and click here to read highlights and analysis on the budget proposal. This was also a week that President Trump presented his 2021 Budget to Congress.  An analysis presented by the National Alliance for the Homeless is hereby noted below: President's Budget Proposal Released: What Funding Cuts Will Mean for Homelessness Systems The President’s budget proposal for FY 2021 was released yesterday. While homelessness programs were spared the kinds of extreme budget cuts that other programs saw, there will be important work ahead to secure appropriate investments for homeless assistance.  Some notable points from the budget proposal: Homeless assistance funds for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development are proposed to be cut by $4 million Proposed 2.2% decrease in funding for Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (which funds Housing Choice Vouchers) Changes and cuts to Medicaid that would make it more difficult for low-income people to get health care, including mental health treatment and addiction treatment Read the Alliance's analysis of the proposed FY2021 budget >>> We also wanted to provide updated guidance as we went to press as of Feburary 11 on the Corona Virus--as we also went to press, China had begun a purge of local officials as well as the battle or what the President Xi called "The People's War" has continued:

Our Team has also been assessing the aftermath of Brexit as the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, gears up for his expected Cabinet Reshuffle later on today: 

We conclude with Iran.   During the Tuesday Edition of Notations, we provided guidance on the latest out of Iran.    Iranian Government Officials were dealing with the aftermath of an Earthquake and a major Snowstorm in the North of the Country as it also tried to organize Parliamentary Elections.   This is as it touted the large turnout during the Anniversary of the Revolution as proof that the People had faith--The reality was otherwise as exemplified by this captured by a skydiver above Azadi Square in Tehran as Hassan Rouhani, The President, Spoke:

Notations From the Grid (Special Tuesday Edition): #RandomThoughts on #Iran On the Eve of 41 Years of Islamic Government

Iran is in the midst of celebrating the 41st Anniversary of the Revolution--and also shortly thereafter having parliamentary elections.    The twelve people above--appointed by the Supreme Guide (Supreme Leader) have vetted candidates and have disqualified some 9,000 of them--including 90 sitting members of Parliament.   They are the members of the Guardian Council.   

Many have noted that this is not going to be an Election, but an appointment in effect.  The head of the Guardian Council, 95-year old Ayatollah Janati, has said that it is going to very competitive.   When our team saw that comment, we found it to be laughable--and State Media itself published a poll underscoring the digust by the people on the upcoming Elections.   The caption above, by the academic Sadegh Zibakalam of Tehran University, condemns the actions by the Guardian 

On the eve of the 41st Anniversary of the Revolution, the Iranian President hosted an event attended by Ambassadors as he touted Iran's Economic Achievements in spite of the sanctions and the reality of life exemplified by the homeless in the Capital, Tehran:

The true realities is otherwise exemplified by the collapse of the Rial, Iran's Official Exchange Rate and a severe recession.    It is also 40 day since the assassination of the Quds Force Commander, Qasem Sulemaini.   They are elevating his status as exemplified by this released to Social Media: 

His role in crushing internal dissent is starting to be evident--as his role in Syria and Iraq has been evident as well.

As we went to press,  preparations have been going on and the State Media has been busy as exemplified by the following:

We also found it unfortunate how this image captured by the Guardian of London on the extent of the publicity stunts by the Regime in trying to convey its' messages: 

As we also went to press, our team reviewed a letter written by one of the leading opposition figures and Nobel Prize Winner, Shirin Ebadi, who wrote a letter of apology to her daughter and the new generation on how her generation betrayed them.    

Iran also tried to, again, send a satellite into space--and it failed miserably: