Weekly Perspective

One of the most striking images our team caught was this from the BBC Farsi's Rana Rahimpour on the analogy between the China Protests and the Iran Protests on how one Woman dared to question the hijab in Iran and how one man dared to stand up to Chinese Tanks.   As we went to press, we have been seeing on-going images of Women continuing to populate Social Media. We have also been assessing the upcoming India Federal (Union) Budget as India gears up for its' final budget before the 2019 General Election.  We have also been assessing the challenge of Gaza as this was underscored by the UN yesterday during the donor conference--this is as Ismail Hanyia, the Senior Hamas Leaders, has been designated a "Global Terrorist" by the United States and as the European Union has agreed to provide an additional $ 53 Million in aid in response to UN Budget Cuts:  Gaza close to social, economic collapse, UN envoy says Gaza is near a total collapse and Palestinian Authority donor co

President Trump delivered his First State of the Union .     There were those who cheered (including Donald Trump Jr.) and those who opposed--including some who boycotted the speech.  .  The formal Democratic Response came from Congressman Joe Kennedy III,  Senator Robert Kennedy's Grandson and a Great Grandnephew of President Kennedy:    Bernie Sanders and Maxine Waters also delivered rebuttals as there were Fact Checkers at Work at The Washington Post and the Guardian of London Among Others. As the analysis continues, our team chose two competing narratives from the US Speaker of the House and the Chair of the California Democratic Party as the 2018 Mid-Term Elections loom with profound consequences for President Trump's agenda for the year: President Trump  said  it right— the state of our union is strong . There is still much work to be done, and the president laid out a clear agenda  tonight  with an open hand toward bipartisan cooperation. By working together to rebuild

As we went to Press, President Trump was slated to deliver his First State of the Union to a Joint Session of Congress.    Congressman Joe Kennedy is slated to give the Democratic Response.    Our team will providing a post-analysis of it later on in the week.   This is as Governors have been delivering their State of the State Address-including the Governor of our Home State, Jerry Brown . One snapshot of the US State of the Union was this that was reported by Truth in Accounting:   This is an interesting takeaway on the National Debt in the United States which we are pleased to report on for our Weekly  Edition of Notations:  Our Debt Clock This is as we assessed this before us which is a major focus of ours here in #Outsiders in the aftermath of Davos:   AI probably won't take your job; it will change it. What to expect from #AI in 2018: https://t.co/rjuwgKgbhn #wef18 pic.twitter.com/CSnQIRk6wA — strategy+business (@stratandbiz) January 23, 2018 Onward....

It was quite a weekend on the political scene in the United States as Government Shutdown Continued .    The dreamers marched in Washington Friday Night and the entire Political Punditry and Political Class was busy as some depicted a sense of shame on a broad basis.    As we went to press, there was an expected vote scheduled around Noon Washington Time. We released this to our Twitter Channel that we will headline all week here in our Main Property: Our view : a call to action we hope all including @SpeakerRyan @SenateGOP @SenateDems @realDonaldTrump @HouseDemocrats @HouseGOP embraces -country before party https://t.co/s82Gtc4qP4 — DailyOutsider (@ordinaryfaces) January 21, 2018 We also are pleased to present the whole Ted Talk for here for all as we continue to remain hopeful:

One of our must reads, Alan Murray of Fortune, relesaed this before he left for #Davos2018--our team will also be on the prowl as well as this on the drop in trust was of concern especially as OXFAM also reported that the top 1% took 83% of the Wealth last year: JANUARY 22, 2018 Good morning. The public’s trust in all institutions—government, business, media and non-government organizations—has taken a nosedive in the U.S. in the last year, according to the annual Edelman Trust survey, released this morning in advance of the World Economic Forum in Davos. The decline in trust in government was greatest, falling 14 percentage points, while trust in business fell 10 points, NGOs 9 points, and media 5 points. Worth noting is the survey was done before the government shutdown, which likely will deepen the public’s mistrust. The survey covers 28 nations, none of which recorded a decline in trust as great as that in the U.S. At the other extreme, Chinese respondents recorded a significant i

Our team picked this up courtesy of Bloomberg on the eve of #Davos2018 on  the key risks for the global elite as they head for the Davos hills.... https://t.co/9kOho03qfc by @sjhmorris #Davos2018 #WEF2018 pic.twitter.com/NsUfjZ3nW2 — Andrew Barden (@abarden) January 17, 2018  This is, as of course, one man will dominate it all, @realDonaldTrump: The #WEF in #Davos next week will host its usual line-up of industry titans, financiers and politicians, but will almost certainly be dominated by just one of them: Donald J. Trump. via @bpolitics @MattCampbel pic.twitter.com/bLH6BQvyj4 — Andrew Barden (@abarden) January 16, 2018

As we went to press with this weekend edition of "Notations" the United States Federal Government is shut down.    Women have marched throughout the United States on the first anniversary of President Trump's inauguration as the blame game is ever so on-going on Social Media with the hashtags #TrumpShutdown; #SchummerPelosiShutdown; #SchummerShutdown.    The Wall with Mexico has been central in the issue--that's why what Vincente Fox, the Former President of Mexico, said in an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation earlier this week was telling which we have noted here. As we have been assessing the state of affairs, what we picked up from Orange County Congresswoman Mimi Walters was interesting as she sent out this Tweet :  The #SchumerPelosiShutdown is causing dangerous harm to our military, and needless uncertainty to nine million American children that rely on #CHIP for health care coverage. Until the government is reopened and providing full re

We wanted to end the week here in our main property on a bit of a high note as we honor all the refugees of the World with this from the Syrian Singer Wafiaa: . @Wafiaaa is using her voice to fight for women and refugees – and we couldn't be more obsessed. Read more: https://t.co/Z1GWBV4LSo pic.twitter.com/9rb0DrUn0N — Global Citizen (@GlblCtzn) January 19, 2018 We are just as obsessed which is why we began upon the journey as we have. We also are so proud to feature this we picked up from the UN Refugee Agency Twitter Channel: Canadian entrepreneur and CEO @jimestill worked closely with a team of 800 volunteers to welcome 200 refugees and help them set up new lives. #WithRefugees pic.twitter.com/cG084wzIEt — UN Refugee Agency (@Refugees) January 19, 2018    It is of note that there are 65 Million displaced people around the World according to the UN Refugee Agency and millions who are technically Stateless including the Rohniyga in Burma (also known as Myanmar) and the Pales

A very tough read-up on the state of affairs in America Today....

As the debate ensues over #DACA and the impending showdown over the spending bill, the Garcia Family's predicament was showcased.

The US Senate Majority Leader As we are going to press right now,  The US Senate was in a late session having taken up what the House passed to fund operations of the United States Government.     The House Bill went down to defeat as Senators Mike Lee  and Rand Paul voted against it.   The minority objected to Amendments  as Government funding ends midnight Friday EST.    The US Senate has just adjourned until 11 AM EST tomorrow.

Earlier this week, "New California" was declared.    We wanted to share this courtesy of USA Today. It is always fun, in our view, to see @ordinaryfaces in action exercising their Constitutional Rights--no matter how futile it  may be.

It has been quite a week!! Our team was on the prowl in the aftermath of #MLKDay 2018 with this:  US Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona took to the US Senate Floor to denounce the President as there were a number of interesting headlines that were featured on the New York Times last week on the plight of the Democratic process, on Climate Change, the future and of course in the midst of it--companies still trying to survive:  As we reflected upon the headlines from last week, what we noted below  from yesterday's New York Times was even more challenging to assess in light of the challenges with North Korea (although we are pleased to report that North and South Korea will field a joint team:  Top News Military Quietly Prepares for a Last Resort: War With North Korea By HELENE COOPER, ERIC SCHMITT, THOMAS GIBBONS-NEFF and JOHN ISMAY It’s normal for American commanders to draw up combat plans. But recent exercises signal that the military wants to be ready for options on the Korean Penins

Governor Brown of California is entering his final year in Office.   He has just released his budget.  We received this at our Virtual Studios on a Snapshot of the budget which we hereby present courtesy of the team at Association of California Cities:   2018-2019 January Budget Release Summary   The 2018-2019 budget continues to invest in Governor Brown's strategic priorities for the State of California including: education, healthcare, infrastructure and a progressive environmental protection agenda. Since the budget difficulties of 2011, the state grew out of a $26 billion deficit and has amassed a Rainy-Day Fund, which was approved by voters in 2014 under Proposition 2.  After meeting the constitutional obligations of contributing to the Rainy Day Fund, the State of California is experiencing a budget surplus going into the budget negotiation season for the 2018 fiscal year. This years 6.1 billion dollar surplus presents many opportunities for the legislature and for Orange Cou