Notations On Our World (Special Weekly Edition): On Our World

As the election season has begun in earnest in the United States,  the World has continued to be a profoundly challenging place.    We have been on the prowl as we  have been assessing the latest out of Iran as the leading Civil Rights Campaigner, Nasrin Soutodeh, has gone on a hunger strike and joined by 72 other Political Prisoners from the November 2019 protests.   This is as Ms. Soutodeh's Daughter was detained during a raid at their family home and released after a heavy bail to intimidate Ms. Soutodeh.  Our team will continue to be on the prowl assessing the state of affairs.  As we went to press, another leading Opposition Activist, Mohammad Nourizad, was sentence to 8 months in prison along with lashes and internal exile as he had been enduring a year of detention without charge--and as his Son received a three year sentence for joining protests regarding the downing of the Ukrainian Flight PS752.  This is as we continue to assess the 25-year agreement with China as China continues its' effort having had a devastating impact on the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.  This is as Nationwide Strikes have continued as workers have not been paid in months.     

President Trump, though, expressed optimism:

Trump says he expects not only Saudis, but also Iran, to make Middle East peace BY ERIC CORTELLESSA AND TOI STAFF President tells reporters he thinks Riyadh will follow Abu Dhabi’s lead and open up relations with Israel, then adds he believes Tehran will ‘ultimately come in too’

Iran had two anniversaries this week :  The 1953 Coup organized by Britain and the tragedy of The Cinema Rex that was first blamed on the Last Imperial  Government that was a major trigger of the Revolution--but people at the highest level of the Islamic Government were implicated and in subsequent years admitted to killing over 400 people.

 Beyond Iran, there is also the Middle East as progress continues.   The United Arab Emirates and Israel have agreed to establish diplomatic relations.    It must be noted that they were not formally at war and have had dealings for over 20 years.    There are discussions about Oman and Sudan opening up diplomatic relations--although Saudi Arabia said no.    This is as the internal political dynamics in Israel continues to be in a state of flux with a potential 4th Election being imminent.   Our team will continue to assess progress on that end.   We have also been continuing to assess the aftermath of the Beirut Disaster.   Change is on the horizon  This is as we have been assessing the aftermath of the rigged election in Belarus as the people continue to be in the streets.  We were monitoring reports of a Russian Security Force Contingent on its' way to Belarus--we will continue to assess it and share updated guidance in our Twitter Corner from independent journalists in Belarus who have been at the forefront of it all.   We have also been on the prowl on the continued rise in COVID-19 cases as the World continues to grapple with it.  Every country continues to deal with it.   

We present a snapshot of our World courtesy the team at the Real News on the week that was: 

Today is the anniversary of the US organizing a coup in Iran

CIA documents offers key details on how the U.S. and Britain overthrew Iran’s democratic government in 1953, says the National Security Archives’ Malcolm Byrne. (From the archives)

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Will Biden do enough to fight the climate crisis?

Biden has a climate plan. It’s good—but does it go far enough?

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DSA-backed challenger has a shot at Baltimore’s city council

Educator Franca Muller Paz saw the way COVID-19 impacted her students and that inspired her third party run.

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Can California’s prison firefighter program be reformed?

California’s Conservation Camps put prisoners to work fighting climate change-fueled fires for pennies on the dollar.

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Our electoral ‘choices’ aren’t enough, say activists

Marc Steiner talks with voters from marginalized communities, including Native, transgender, Black and Latinx voting blocs about creating their own agendas when faced with voting for the lesser of two evils in the 2020 presidential election.

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Antifa crackdown is the new red scare

The Nation’s Ken Klippenstein discusses the United States government’s recent push against antifa.

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Lebanon’s future is uncertain after this month’s massive explosion

After protests, citizens are looking to end corruption once and for all.

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Congress, Trump-appointed CEO battle it out over latest purge at federally-funded network

Having fired and suspended top leadership at USAGM, CEO Pack is one step closer to turning VOA and other federally-funded broadcast networks into Trump propaganda machines.

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Supreme Court ruling prevents 1.4 million from voting in Florida

Eddie Conway talks with an attorney about what the impact of this ruling will be in one of the most contentious presidential elections in history.

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Kamala Harris; It’s Complicated

Stir Crazy! Episode 78: With sociologist Taure Brown, political consultant Adriel Hampton, and Communications Director for Detroit Action Kenneth Williams. Hosted by Kim Brown.

This is also the week that saw one milestone:  The World's First 2 Trillion Business:

 

Notations On Our World (#Election2020): On the Virtual Prowl at the Virtual Democratic Convention

 

As the Third Day of the Virtual Democratic Convention is forthcoming,  we curated a sampling of some of the scenes from the Convention discourse last night as Joe Biden was formally nominated and accepted the nomination for the Democratic Party:

Notations On Our World (Special Edition): On #Election2020 Watch In the United States

The 2020 Democratic Convention has begun to formally nominate Former Vice President Biden and Senator Harris.    As this Virtual "All America" Convention gets under way, we wonder if it is a wave of the future if the Democrats are able to pull it off.