Winding Down November: Brief Thoughts....

It has been an interesting morning in #Outsiders as the team worked on the Daily Twitter Feeds and decided to bid farewell to November with a simple yet profound Madiba thought.   For me it was a profound weekend though as I had a chance to join a Community Forum organized by Iranian Circle of Women's intercultural Network.   

The keynote was given by a Syrian Journalist/Activist who shared a gripping tale of the true reality in Syria today.   Her own father died of a Brain Stroke brought about by the tortrue he suffered at the hands of the Assad Regime.  I was awe struck as I listened to her sharing her insights and what she tries to do despite all the challenges.

I am remaining hopeful about Paris as #COP21 begins--there have been a lot of handshakes so far.    The need to be hopeful is ever so critical now as is the need for courage and kindess as I "dug this up" from my own digital archicves: 

I look forward to the on-going dialogue.

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: