Obama or Hillary?

It is not a secret that the two frontrunners in the present Democract race to the White House are Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

From available statistics, Hillary as of now has a slight edge over Obama. The question is who wins if Obama loses? Or, should it be, who loses if Hillary wins?

Again, according to statistics, a lot of Americans are not really concerned about who gets to the White House first. The issue paramount in their minds right now is whether USA can withstand the tsunami of a recession that has already entered their front doors.

The credit crunch crisis, pluning global markets and escalating oil price all contribute to the real and imagined fears of a worldwide population.

If American slips into recession, as it already has (according to some economic experts), the rest of the world which trade with America will get the jitters.

What does that all entails? The scenario is not of catastrophic proportions but prolonged economic frustrations that could drag on for years. It simply slows down the engines of growth in Asia and in turn kickstart an economic chain-reaction that will rock the nations of lesser endowed economies.

Desperate countries with powerful armies may resort to desperate measures. Your guess is as good as mine.

For too long some industrialised nations have been recklessly managing their own economies. In a way, they can beat the clock, as most grand chessmasters are wont to do.

There are some things that can only be resolved through sheer hardwork, diligence and an overpowering sense of conventional wisdom and sacrifice.

But before all this economic ill wind blows over, there will be plenty more people making the streets their home. The years of plenty are fast coming to an end.

Frankly, most people really never learn. I guess the hard way is simply the best teacher.

Rain gently sweeps over the land

Soft sheets of water drops
Wind buffets the distant trees
Air circulates through the halls
Campus activities on hold

The Wealth Trap

Sometimes being wealth is such a pain. The fear of losing your millions never leaves your side.

You can't differentiate between friends, relatives and swindlers. You feel you have to keep up with appearances.

You can leave your home without being followed by cameras and news hounds. Life becomes a pain when your children think they own the world. Worse, your wife you owe her and not vice versa.

Nothing is a challenge anymore. You can buy most things. Even diamonds and cars lose their lustre. Who cares about automobiles when you have 50 in the humungous garage.

Colleagues and friends become too fawning and ingratiating. Who's the real friend? Poverty brings out the truth in all of us. Wealth blurs the lines of friendship. It is the harbinger of sad trails and even more sorrowful tales.

Fame is that elusive companion who keeps dogging you for all the wrong reasons. There's only so much you can accumulate without being de-sensitised and de-sanitised about living's truer paths and meaning.

If money is the arbiter of happiness, then only tycoons and moguls will be the only ones who have the key to peace of mind. Unfortunately, life plays jokes on all of us.

Wealth is not legal tender in the happy ranch. There's no currency but simplicity, honesty and integrity in the land of contentment.

Millionaires beware! The money trap buys not satisfaction but only a sense of well-being which, if allowed to fallow, leads to distraction and subtraction.

2008 may prove to be a year that dreams fall apart. So in a way, the playing field where joy is found will be levelled before long. Thus, we will find that at the end of life's journey, wealth is but another test that could make or break us.

Many rich people die unhappy. In fact, a large number of them are the saddest people in the world. If there's but one lesson we can learn from them, it is that true wealth like true happiness cannot be bought.

The real treasure is embedded in all our hearts and many of us wander all over the place and around the world looking for it when all the time, it is within us.

Oh dear! It's raining cats and dogs outside

It is now 6pm, Equatorial time. Here I am, fresh from a tea session at the office cafeteria, with nothing to kill but time.

Already, the distant sounds of the rolling thunder have penetrated the confines of this thick-walled office. Thoughts meandered like an ox-box lake in the labyrinth of my mind.

My spirit has already left for home even though the body is still here. Truly, our thoughts travel faster than our bodies. As if you don't know that!

It is Jan 4, 2008. We are now eight years into the 21st century. The world has nothing much to show except regional conflicts, blizzards, sporadic violence in the African continent, nuclear uncertainty in North Korea and Iran, and the race to the White House is gathering momentum.

If you are an ordinary Joe like me, you really can't spare a thought for these global concerns. The only one that has held my attention for some time is global warming and all its unnatural consequences.

It is a bit late in the evening to think of what we can do. The scientists are trying to rationalise that the situation is not as serious as Al Gore made it out to be, even though some eggheads are genuinely concerned.

As in the past, the world will only wake up when the earthquakes have shaken their homes to their very foundations or when the lava has reached their front doors.

Otherwise, nobody is really bothered. So much for the progress of manking. We are often too busy with our little and pathetic selves. Thank God for some really conscientious people who battle for all mankind against great odds.

What would we do without these good people? The thunderstorms that shake the trees and sometimes break the sound barriers portend an interesting time ahead (for want of a better word).

Humans on the whole are always Johnnys-come-lately. We never really learn until the last minute of our lives.

I have always had a morbid fascination for dark clouds, thunder-and-lightning and flash floods. One of the reasons is because I have been caught in the maelstrom of these natural occurrences once too often.

Like they say, if you have been staring at the eyeballs of adversity too many times, you begin to develop an unusual fascination, not fear, for Nature's angry brother.

I like to believe that one day when the earth has released all its pent-up fury, we can all begin to rebuild our lives and our homes. It's all part of the celestial game plan.

Good luck to us all. We really need it.