Friday, April 10, 2015

Our Realtor Daughter Extraordinaire! Foundation For The Defense of Democracies Reports on Khamenei's Views In His Own Words! Obama Blows More Smoke!

Our Orlando based Realtor daughter has made a name for herself in the area as a go to professional and, as her father,  I am proud to post this article about her accomplishments! (See 1 below.)
===
The Savannah Council on World Affairs has a topical program April 16.  (See 2 below.)
===
This from a board member of the "Foundation For The Defense of Democracies" , a dear friend and fellow memo reader. (See 3 below.)
===
Dick
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1) Abby Nelson and The "Great Homes Group."


Abby has lived in Central Florida since 1999. After graduating from Rollins College, where she was a member of the crew team, she began her career as a Realtor® in 2004.

In college, Abby majored in Spanish. She continued her studies in Spain, recognizing a second language would be an invaluable tool no matter what career she eventually chose.

Following graduation, Abby vacationed for several months and found unexpected ideas running through her head. A light bulb moment led her into real estate.

Her first four years, she partnered with a more experienced agent whose advice was invaluable. Working mainly with buyers, in a seller’s market, Abby quickly honed her contract negotiating skills.

In her first year, Abby was named “Rookie of The Year” by her RE/MAX office.

When her associate moved into the commercial arena in 2008, Nelson split off just as the Orlando market peaked and created her own team. As the real estate market corrected, she hit the ground running and rather than complain about  bleak conditions, Abby used them to her advantage and developed systems to sell REO (bank-owned) and short sale properties. In unfavorable market conditions, Abby and her team managed to close over 170 transactions in one year.

Since then, Abby has been honored with numerous awards from local magazines, RE/MAX, and even was featured in The Wall Street Journal. Her hi-tech marketing strategies, meticulous systems, established team, and client dedication allowed her not only to maintain her business, but also increase it significantly. In today’s demanding marketplace, Abby believes it is impossible to provide adequate service without a TEAM of specialists. Her seven-person team of professionals has roughly sixty combined years of experience in real estate. “The Great Homes Group” is quickly becoming one of the premier real estate teams in Central Florida, and offers experience, local knowledge, cutting edge technology and effective marketing, as well as 100% dedication and commitment to their growing clientele.

Early in 2012, Abby became a mom. She and her supportive husband, Brian, became the proud parents of Dagny! Then in Feb. 2014, Dagny became a ‘big’ sister to Blake. Taking on this role can be demanding in its own right. Adding this new responsibility while running a successful real estate group and attending to client needs is challenging, but Abby never misses a beat. She makes it look easy. Many of her current clients have been with her since 2004 and have become a wonderful and steady referral source. Her persistence and willingness to do anything necessary and ethical to best represent her client(s) shows in every transaction.

Edited testimonials from past clients: “The complexity involved … particularly in the current market was discouraging, but Abby clearly had the knowledge and skills to get the best possible result….We received frequent, timely communication. My inquiries were … addressed with kindness and patience…”

“…The Great Homes Group may have been the only entity that didn’t allow my faith to ebb. Professionalism, commitment, thoroughness, care, concern, and kindness are hallmarks of this team..."

 “...Abby Nelson is far more than a Realtor®. She is part Realtor®, advocate, advisor, warrior, counselor, and friend….”

 “…Words cannot express the appreciation we have … helping us … pick up the pieces after our previous contract, with a local builder, fell through. Now we know what it means to work with an experienced, educated Realtor®.”

 “…Abby’s skills as a realtor are beyond reproach. She is well versed in every aspect of the home buying process…”

Abby, assisted by her team, continues to increase her client base and enjoys working on new challenges. She uses her growing knowledge, experience and incredible organizational skills to establish and implement systems that allow her to work with both sellers and buyers on a larger scale, while maintaining the level of customer service her present clients have come to expect.

In our highly dynamic real estate market, conditions change quickly. Taking on new challenges and adapting to altering markets is how Abby ‘Berkowitz’ Nelson, has made her name so well known in the Orlando area.

When life moves you…call the powerful real estate services provided by Abby and “The GREAT HOMES GROUP” and prove to yourself the above are not “blowing smoke” words but are the factual statements of a true professional.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2) SCWA'S NEXT PROGRAM - Time to Attack Iran?
 
Date:  Thursday, April 16, 2015
Time:  Membership Social at 7:30
Program at 8:00 p.m.
Location: Coastal Georgia Center, 305 Fahm St. (behind the Visitor's Center) Directions and Map
Access: Open to the public and free for members, students and accompanying family members, educators and active military and their dependents. $10.00 charge for non-members. 


Dr. Mathew Kroenig
Associate Professor and Intenrational Relations Field Chair
Georgetown University
Dr. Kroenig makes the following assertion, and his defense of this of this position will be spellbinding:  Iran's advanced nuclear program may be the world's most important emerging international security challenge. If not stopped, a nuclear-capable Iran will mean an even more crisis-prone Middle East, a potential nuclear-arms race in the region and around the world, and an increased risk of nuclear war against Israel and the United States, among many other imminent global threats.

Matthew Kroenig, internationally recognized as one of the world's leading authorities on Iran's nuclear program, explains why we need to take immediate steps to a diplomatic and, if necessary, a military solution - now - before Iran makes any further nuclear advances. His book, "A Time to Attack", provides an authoritative account of the history of Iran's nuclear program and the international community's attempts to stop it. Kroenig explains and assesses the options available to policymakers, and reflects on what the resolution of the Iranian nuclear challenge will mean for the future of international order.
This dramatic call to action provides an insider's account of what is being said in Washington about what our next move must be as the crisis continues to develop.

Matthew Kroenig is an Associate Professor and International Relations Field Chair in the Department of Government at Georgetown University and a Nonresident Senior Fellow in the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security at The Atlantic Council. He is an expert on U.S. national security policy and strategy, international relations theory, nuclear deterrence, arms control, nuclear nonproliferation, Iran, and counterterrorism.

He is the author or editor of several books, including A Time to Attack: The Looming Iranian Nuclear Threat ( 2014) andExporting the Bomb: Technology Transfer and the Spread of Nuclear Weapons (2010), which won the International Studies Association Best Book Award, Honorable Mention. His articles on international politics have appeared in such publications as American Political Science ReviewForeign AffairsForeign Policy,International OrganizationThe New York TimesThe Wall Street JournalThe Washington Post, andUSA Today. He has provided commentary on BBC, CNN, C-SPAN, NPR, and many other media outlets.
From May 2010 to May 2011, he served as a Special Advisor in the Office of the Secretary of Defense on a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellowship, where he worked on defense policy and strategy for Iran. In 2005, he worked as a strategist in the Office of the Secretary of Defense where he authored the first-ever, U.S. government strategy for deterring terrorist networks. For his work, he was awarded the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Award for Outstanding Achievement. Dr. Kroenig regularly consults with the defense, energy, and intelligence communities.
He has held fellowships from the Council on Foreign Relations, Harvard University, the National Science Foundation, Stanford University, and the University of California. He is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
    Sponsor of this Month’s Program -ESZTER NEMZETKÖZI KFT
    The sponsor for this month's program is Eszter Nemzetkozi KFT.   They are an international investment company which focuses on central and eastern Europe.

    We thank them for their support.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    3)- Let’s see how the Administration  spins this one Khameni in his own words.  the second article with video! is former Former PM Barack calls destroying Iran nuclear program "A fraction of a night operation".  Barack is as i am sure you remember when he was the PM who offered Arafat everything under Clinton and leans left.  He is also the most decorated Israeli General in in history and does not bluff.  These are two very important articles.  Please read and pass on.  especially the first one supplied by FDD.  

    : BREAKING:  Khamenei speech English translation -- No agreement at Lausanne -- New red lines on sanctions and inspections

    Just making sure that you had Khamenei's speech from today (transcript via the Foundation for Defense of Democracies). It was a barn-burner generally - he ruled out cooperation with the US and downplayed the prospects for a nuclear deal - but those parts won't be any more problematic than his "Death to America" chants, which the White House has found ways to maneuver around. Instead, the headache for the Obama administration is going to come from what Khamenei said specifically about the Lausanne announcement and about post-Lausanne negotiations.

    (1) Politically, the most damage will probably come from Khamenei's declaration that nothing was agreed to at Lausanne, and that White House claims otherwise are "incorrect and contrary to the substance of the negotiations." The statement is likely to boost increasingly vocal claims that the administration exaggerated negotiators’ progress in order to forestall Congressional action:
    There are those who ask, why has the Leader not made his positions known concerning the latest nuclear negotiations? The reason for the Leader not taking position is that there is nothing to take a position about. The officials of the state and those responsible in the nuclear field say no job is done and there is no necessity... If the question is posed to me: ‘Are you for or against the latest nuclear negotiations,’ I would answer that I'm neither in favor nor opposed to it, since nothing has happened yet... All the trouble arises when the details will be discussed... the White House, only two hours after the end of the negotiations, published a few pages, which in most regards was contrary to the realities, explaining the negotiations... they were producing a statement which was faulty, incorrect and contrary to the substance of the negotiations.
    (2) Substantively, Khamenei's new red lines - if US negotiators ultimately accept them - would detonate the possibility of a verifiable, enforceable deal. The main areas involve sanctions and verification.

    On sanctions, Khamenei declared that all sanctions would have to be lifted at the time any deal is signed. The scenario that would trump the phase-out which the White House has declared is necessary to keep the Iranians honest.
    Instant annulment of all sanction is one of the demands of our officials... This issue is very important, and the sanctions must all be completely removed on the day of the agreement... Should the removal of the sanctions be related to a process, the foundation of the negotiations would be senseless, since the goal of the negotiations was to remove the sanctions
    On verification, he blasted inspections of military sites and ruled out any "unconventional inspection or monitoring" in general. The military sites demand would gut the IAEA's ability to ensure the Iranians aren't enriching at military bases like Fordow (which they've done) or developing nuclear warheads at military bases like Parchin (which they've also done). Administration officials have been talking about "managed access" to such sites, which is less than what former IAEA officials say the agency needs and less than the "snap inspections" lawmakers were told negotiators would bring home - but still more than Khamenei is willing to give. The "unconventional" demand would prohibit the unprecedented inspection regime President Obama has emphasized is necessary to prevent the Iranians from cheating:
    One must absolutely not allow infiltration of the security and defense realm of the state on the pretext of inspection[s], and the military authorities of the state are not - under any circumstance - allowed to let in foreigners to this realm under the pretext of inspection, or stop the country's defense development... Any unconventional inspection or monitoring which would make Iran into a special case, would not be acceptable, and the monitoring must only be as monitoring regimes taking place all over the world and nothing more.
    There's a side debate that's been happening in the policy community about whether Rouhani and Zarif have the political muscle - even in theory, assuming they want to - to force the IRGC to open its facilities to inspections. It somewhat coalesced in Lausanne after the WSJ revealed that the US was ready to cave on forcing the Iranians to come clean on the potential military dimensions of their atomic program. Khamenei’s speech will be another check in the ‘no’ column.

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    No comments: