E@zyVG’s Vichar::World Connected

Getting up each day without the prospect of having something to look forward to is a grim reality for many people. The ill or elderly at home, the imprisoned, the homeless, the poverty-stricken, or the depressed of the world all may have many, if not most, days when their hopes of interaction with people or activities are bleak. For these people, having something to look forward to would positively impact the quality of their lives.

Even young people in our world today describe times when they feel like they have no hope for the future. Nothing to look forward to. Nothing to brighten their days or the weeks and months to come. Depressed youth who are self-medicating with drugs (including alcohol) to minimize the feeling of hopelessness or to numb their emotions talk about having nothing exciting on the horizon. If they truly feel as though they have nothing to look forward to, they are at risk.

The disenfranchised of today have no dreams, and dreams are what make up our optimistic feelings for the future. Many people let it get the best of them and succumb to hopelessness. Others realize that no matter how far the downward spiral of despair goes, there is always reason to hope and begin an upward climb. There is always something to look forward to.

This realization is what gives people the spark of hope they need to keep going. Through the doubts and fears of day to day life and the challenges they must overcome to stay on an even keel, they cling to the hope that their circumstances will improve. The significance of this hope, even if it is just a glimmer or a ray, is what keeps them trying to make headway. It’s what keeps them trying to move forward, if just a step at a time. It is what distinguishes them from the hopeless.

What can we look forward to? For the believer, there is life after death. Sometimes that is enough to look forward to when all else in life seems to have failed. For others, it can be the next hot meal, the comfortable, warm place to sleep, or the visit or phone call from a loved one, friend, or neighbor. For the youth who has little hope for the future, it can be encouragement from a parent, a teacher, a pastor, or a friend. It can be an upward climb to a better education and success in the world. It can be getting a job, or getting a better job, or having a suitable career. For the seriously depressed, it can be as simple as a day when the sun shines brightly through the bedroom window.

Looking forward to another day is important to us. Not just to those who have serious problems in their lives, but to all of us. A fresh cup of coffee, a prayer, a warm shower, and a day free of stressful encounters are enough for some of us. A good grade, a well-written article, or a pat on the back will do for others. Looking forward to a way to help someone else on their journey through life is something many of us cherish. No matter how our lives are fulfilled, having something to look forward to each day is important for measuring how rewarding our lives are.

Until recently when he relinquished his post to his successor Ban ki-moon (the current Secretary General of The United Nations), Kofi Annan was the man of the moment, the man at the helm of it all, presiding over the job of ultimate responsibility from January 1997 to December 2006.In that context his immense contribution in the public sphere and the UN in particular holds great relevance. Annan was the first person to emerge from the ranks of United Nations staff and also the first from a black African nation, Ghana to serve as Secretary-General.The Charter describes the Secretary-General as “The chief administrative officer” of the Organization, who shall act in that capacity and perform “such other functions as are entrusted” to him or her by the Security Council, General Assembly, Economic and Social Council and other United Nations’ organs. Annan though described by friends and associates as a soft-spoken man known for dispensing his role with utmost dynamism and often with tangible results vis-à-vis the various tasks competing for his attention. In an interview with the BBC, he said, “I’m not one of those who believes that you have to pound the table or shout to be tough.”

Diplomatic Milestones

Annan has played his diplomatic card quite successfully. In 1998, he was instrumental in implementing civilian rule in Nigeria. In the same year, he went to Iraq in an effort to resolve a stalemate between over compliance with resolutions involving weapons inspections and other matters — an initiative that averted an outbreak of hostilities at that time. In 1999, he can be largely credited for the emancipation of Timor-Leste gained from Indonesia. He was responsible for enabling Israel ’s withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000, and in 2006,it was through his efforts that hostilities between Israel and Hizbollah were dissolved. Also in 2006, he acted as a mediator of resolving the crisis between Cameroon and Nigeria over the Bakassi peninsula through implementation of the judgement of the International Court of Justice.

The Secretary-General was known for his relentless initiatives in strengthening partnerships with civil society, the private sector and others outside of government. His “Global Compact” initiative, launched in 1999, has become the world’s largest effort to promote corporate social responsibility.

It was under Annan’s leadership that, in 2005,two new intergovernmental bodies were established: the Peacebuilding Commission and the Human Rights Council. He played a pivotal role in the initiation of a Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, the adoption of the UN’s first-ever counter-terrorism strategy, and the agreement by Member States of the “responsibility to protect” people from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. Moreover, the post of The Deputy Secretary-General was established by the General Assembly at the end of 1997 during Annan’s tenure as part of the reform of the United Nations, to help manage Secretariat operations and to ensure coherence of activities and programmes.

For Annan, heading the UN was more than a mere job. In his own words, “Service with the United Nations is more than just a job. It is a calling. No one joins the Secretariat to become rich and famous.”

Formative years

Annan’s elevation to the highest position has to be seen in the perspective of his early years when he left Africa for the first time on being spotted by a Ford Foundation talent scout earning a full scholarship to Macalester College, a small, liberal arts college in St. Paul in the United States. There he completed his undergraduate work in economics in 1961. From 1961 to 1962, he undertook graduate studies in economics in Geneva. As a 1971- 1972 Sloan Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Annan received a Master of Science degree in management. Annan joined the UN in 1962

He never expected or aspired to be The Secretary-General. As he is known to have confessed to a journalist, “I figured that after my schooling I would make some money in the business world, then I would — at, say 45 — enter politics in Ghana and help develop the country.”

In fact Annan did not campaign for the position and simply said: “If it’s to come to me, it will; if not, it won’t.”

However destiny had this surprise package in store for him and he became The Secretary General. After several vetoes from the French — who championed Boutros-Ghali — the Security Council finally came to a consensus and nominated Annan. The General Assembly elected Annan as the UN’s seventh Secretary-General who immediately rose to the challenge. And the rest was history. In his acceptance speech he said, “Applaud us when we prevail, correct us when we fail; but, above all, do not let this indispensable, irreplaceable institution wither, languish or perish as a result of Member States’ indifference, inattention or financial starvation.”

His share of controversies

It would be too facile to assume that Annan was never put to the test.He courted a few controversies while holding office.In June 2004, he was given a copy of the Office of Internal Oversight Services report on the complaint of sexual harassment abuse of authority, and retaliation against UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Ruud Lubbers. However,Lubbers was declared innocent by Kofi Annan .But OIOS in its annual report to the UN General Assembly found Lubbers guilty, a development which weakened Annan’s position.

Another incident spelling trouble for Annan was in December 2004 when reports surfaced that the Secretary-General’s son Kojo received payments from a Swiss company which won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food-Program. Kofi Annan called for an investigation into this matter.The Independent Inquiry Committee was led by former US Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker.The committee cleared Annan of illegal actions, but found irregularities with the UN management structure and the Security Council oversight. Some believe the committee and its outcome to have been politically motivated.

Kofi Annan also drew flak for supporting his deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown,who openly criticized segments of the United States media in a speech in 2006.But these anomalies are just like a drop in the ocean and unfazed Annan soldiered on.And laurels followed.

Acme of recognition

In 2001, the Nobel Committee conferred the Nobel Peace prize on Kofi Annan, who shared the Prize with the UN, for “bringing new life” to the UN and for his ability to rise to new challenges such as AIDS and international terrorism.

It is a known fact that the UN has many a time been criticized for being toothless and ineffective in front of the superpowers. Commenting on the invasion of Iraq in an interview to the BBC, Annan could express his condemnation in only so many words: “I have indicated it was not in conformity with the UN charter from our point of view but from the charter point of view, it was illegal.” But such an instance in no way discounts or defeats the very existence of the world body.

Perhaps the sheer importance of the UN’s quest for an utopian peace can be best summed up in Kofi Annan’s own words:

“In a world filled with weapons of war and all too often words of war, the Nobel Committee has become a vital agent for peace. Sadly, a prize for peace is a rarity in this world. Most nations have monuments or memorials to war and bronze salutations to heroic battles. But peace has no parade and no pantheon of victory. What it does have is the Nobel Prize – a statement of hope and courage with unique resonance and authority. Only by understanding and addressing the needs of individuals for peace, for dignity, and for security can we at the United Nations hope to live up to the honour conferred today, and fulfill the vision of our founders. This is the broad mission of peace that United Nations’ staff members carry out every day in every part of the world “.

Based on the true story of how Charlie Wilson, an alcoholic womanizer and Texas congressman, persuaded the CIA to train and arm resistance fighters in Afghanistan to fend off the Soviet Union. With the help of rogue CIA agent, Gust Avrakotos, the two men supplied money, training and a team of military experts that turned the ill-equipped Afghan freedom-fighters into a force that brought the Red Army to a stalemate and set the stage for conflicts in the Middle East that still rage to this day.

Despite the victory, Avrakotos warns that unless there is a serious effort to help Afghanistan rebuild back into a stable society, there could be dire and unpredictable repercussions for both that nation and the U.S. Unfortunately, Wilson finds exceptionally little enthusiasm in the government for even the modest measures he proposes to heed this warning. As usual, things are left as it is after Soviet withdrawal. The implied warning involves both the rise of the extremist Taliban regime and probably even the September 11th terrorist attacks.

The United Nations General Assembly has decided to declare October 2 - the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi—as ‘International Day of Non-Violence’ in recognition of his role in promoting the message of peace around the world.

The move to get the international community to pay tribute to Gandhi’s ideology was a follow-up to the Satyagraha conference organised by the Congress early this year and a subsequent campaign launched by the government. Speaking at the conference, titled ‘Peace, Non-Violence and Empowerment — Gandhian Philosophy in the 21st Century’, Congress president Sonia Gandhi had called for steps to get the Mahatma’s birthday marked as the International Day of Non-Violence.

The resolution to respect the apostle of humanity and peace, has been moved in the UN General Assembly by India and co-sponsored by 120 of total 191 members. The resolution expected to be passed on Friday, reaffirms the universal relevance of non-violence, the gospel taught by Gandhi through out his life and followed by many leaders world over to win the heart of the enemy.

Almost all major players of the world like the U.S., Russia, China, Britain, France, Germany and countries from subcontinent like Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bhutan are among those co-sponsoring it. More countries are likely to join in sponsoring it by the time the Assembly considers it.

The resolution stresses the need for non-violence, tolerance, full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, democracy, development, mutual understanding and respect for diversity as reinforcements for peace and growth of mankind.

Great leaders such as Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela achieved immortal success following the Gandhian method of truth and non-violence where everything was perceived impossible by many.

If interested in more what and who Gandhi was, here is a nice document presented by UNESCO - Commemorating 125th Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi (.pdf)

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and Apple CEO Steve Jobs took the stage at the D5 conference Wednesday night for a rare joint appearance.

The great Silicon Valley soap opera has come full circle. Not since Apple CEO Steve Jobs famously interviewed Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates as a possible suitor during the “Macintosh Dating Game” back in 1984 have the two men appeared in a joint bill. And at D5, the two shared a stage for the first time in more than 20 years for a historic discussion.

Bill Gates and Steve Jobs highlights at D5:

Videos of the complete Steve Jobs and Bill Gates interview:

• Steve Jobs and Bill Gates Prologue
• Steve Jobs and Bill Gates Part 1
• Steve Jobs and Bill Gates Part 2
• Steve Jobs and Bill Gates Part 3
• Steve Jobs and Bill Gates Part 4
• Steve Jobs and Bill Gates Part 5
• Steve Jobs and Bill Gates Part 6
• Steve Jobs and Bill Gates Part 7
• Steve Jobs and Bill Gates Highlight Reel

Or it’s available at the Cult of Mac blog - pulled the whole thing together into one page for easy consumption.

(1895, с. Константинове Рязанской губ.- 1925, Ленинград) Родился в крестьянской семье. В 1912-1915 годах учился в Народном университете Шанявского в Москве. Первая книга - “Радуница” (1916). Один из основателей имажинизма. Есенин, может быть, самый русский поэт, ибо ничья другая поэзия настолько не происходила из шелеста берез, из мягкого стука дождевых капель о соломенные крыши крестьянских изб, из ржания коней на затуманенных утренних лугах, из побрякивания колокольцев на шеях коров, из покачивания ромашек и васильков, из песен на околицах. Не будучи риторическим гражданским поэтом, он дал пример высочайшего личного мужества в “Черном человеке” и во многих других стихах, когда шлепнул на стол истории свое дымящееся сердце, содрогающееся в конвульсиях, в комках кровавой слизи, настоящее живое сердце, непохожее на то сердце, которое превращают в червовый козырный туз ловкие поэтические картежники. Он повесился, написав кровью последнее стихотворение. По другим версиям - был убит.

Эту сравнительно небольшую поэму Сергей Есенин закончил в двадцать пятом году – это год его смерти. Раздумья о «днях, растраченных напрасно», неустроенность личной жизни − всё это тяжёлым бременем ложилось на душу поэта.

По началу он положительно воспринимал революции, надеясь на улучшение жизни такой милой его сердцу деревне, но позже, как и многие деятели культуры и искусства, разочаровался в новой власти.
Сама структура поэмы, ритм и стиль разительно отличаются от произведений раннего периода его творчества. Последние – написаны гораздо более ярче, живее, красочнее. Тогда Есенин верил в светлое будущее, чего не скажешь о нём за некоторое время до смерти – это и пьянство, и больница, и неадекватное поведение. В «Чёрном человеке» поэт буквально изливал душу: «Сам не знаю, откуда взялась эта боль …Осыпает мозги алкоголь». «…читает мне жизнь какого-то прохвоста и забулдыги, нагоняя на душу тоску и страх» − можно предположить, что Все права защищены и охраняются законом © 2001-2005 олсоч.ру Есенин писал про себя, осмысливая пройденный жизненный путь. В качестве доказательства можно привести такие строки: «Был он изящен, к тому ж поэт… и какую-то женщину, сорока с лишним лет, называл скверной девочкой и своею милою». А вот слова о Рязани, где родился и вырос Есенин: «…может, в Рязани, жил мальчик в простой крестьянской семье, желтоволосый, с голубыми глазами».

Действительно не по себе становится от абстрактного образа «чёрного» человека: «Чёрный человек, чёрный, чёрный, чёрный человек… спать мне не даёт всю ночь… Водит пальцем по мерзкой книге и, гнусавя надо мной, как над усопшим монах… ».

Для создания атмосферы безысходности, автор использует оксюмороны: «…где-то плачет ночная зловещая птица»; «снег до дьявола чист». Очень удивляет и наличие неологизмов, что свойственно, главным образом, футуристам: «Копытливый стук».

Hа мой взгляд, вполне справедливо назвать поэму «Чёрный человек» криком погибающий души Есенина, это реквием по оставленной позади жизни. Однако понять это произведение сможет далеко не каждый, оно слишком уникально, слишком насыщенно болью и горечью.

Eсенин, я считаю, как никто другой смог рассказать, что с человеком делает жизнь.
ЧЕРНЫЙ ЧЕЛОВЕК

Друг мой, друг мой,
Я очень и очень болен.
Сам не знаю, откуда взялась эта боль.
То ли ветер свистит
Над пустым и безлюдным полем,
То ль, как рощу в сентябрь,
Осыпает мозги алкоголь.

Голова моя машет ушами,
Как крыльями птица.
Ей на шее ноги
Маячить больше невмочь.
Черный человек,
Черный, черный,
Черный человек
На кровать ко мне садится,
Черный человек
Спать не дает мне всю ночь.

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I believe that the civilisation into which India has evolved is not to be beaten in the world. Nothing can equal the seeds sown by our ancestry. Rome went; Greece shared the same fate; the might of the Pharaohs was broken; Japan has become westernised; of China nothing can be said; but India is still, somehow or other, sound at the foundation. 

I am a Hindu because it is Hinduism which makes the world worth living. I am a Hindu hence I Love not only human beings, but all living beings.

- Mohandas Gandhi

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (Владимир Владимирович Путин) is one of the persons who is today shapping the world, and especially the future of Russia and its people. Here is his short biography:

• Vladimir Putin was born in Leningrad on October 7, 1952.
• In 1975, he graduated with a degree in law from Leningrad State University. He later earned a Ph.D. degree in economics.
• After graduation, Mr. Putin was assigned to work in the KGB. From 1985 to 1990, he worked in East Germany.
• In 1990, he became assistant to the rector of Leningrad State University responsible for international affairs.
• His next position was an advisor to the chairman of the Leningrad City Council.
• In June 1991, he became chairman of the St. Petersburg City Council’s International Relations Committee and, starting with 1994, he combined this post with the position of First Deputy Chairman of the St. Petersburg City Government (First Deputy Mayor).
• In August 1996, he was appointed deputy head of the President’s Administrative Directorate (Property Management Directorate).
• In March 1997, he became deputy head of the Executive Office of the President (Presidential Administration) and head of the Central Supervision and Inspections Directorate.
• In May 1998, he was promoted to first deputy head of the Presidential Administration.
• In July 1998, he was appointed director of the Federal Security Service and, as of March 1999, he combined this position with that of Secretary of the Security Council.
• In August 1999, he was appointed Prime Minister.
• On December 31, 1999, he became acting President.
• On March 26, 2000, he was elected President of Russia and was inaugurated as president on May 7, 2000.
• On March 14, 2004, he was elected President of Russia for the second term.
• Speaks German and English.
• Married to Lyudmila Putina. They have two daughters: Maria (1985), Katerina (1986).

THE KREMLIN, MOSCOW. Vladimir Putin in his working office.

BARENTS SEA. On board the heavy nuclear cruiser Peter the Great during the Northern Fleet military exercises.

In his first decade as a KGB agent, Putin’s job was to help prevent change. In 1985, only months before Mikhail Gorbachev arrived in power and started to advocate glasnost and perestroika, Putin was assigned to the Soviet Union’s hardline ally East Germany. True, it was not “exile”; but psychologically, Putin’s isolation in Dresden may have been experienced as emigration. Like a true emigrant, he kept his home alive, sweet and unchanged, in his heart: the Soviet rodina, the place of his youth, his parents - and his tongue.

While his generation personally experienced the erosion of Soviet power, Putin spent the Gorbachev years in an East German time-bubble, isolated both from a Russian society in transition and (as a KGB bureaucrat) from his crumbling host country as well. He missed the moments of awakening, the years full of hope as the Soviet empire crumbled, when millions took to the streets and democracy was a dream. It was only after the fall of Soviet power that he returned from Germany to his native St Petersburg.

To this day, Putin seems to be nostalgic for the pre-Gorbachev USSR - like the people of a decade older than him, who have been unable to make the transition. He has even reinstated some of its insignia, such as the Soviet anthem and the red banner for the military. And his team consists mostly of so-called siloviki, former Soviet military and security-apparatus officers who also speak the language of the past.

It is not Putin’s connection to KGB, which makes him noteworthy, but his Russian version of Gaullism. Like De Gaulle, Putin is a nationalistic, populist leader, insistent on a strong presidency, and determent to actively encourage a `multi-polar’ world, in order to check US dominance. All these have clear earmarks of French Gaullism a la Russe, and, incidentally, and not surprisingly France has been the closest Russian ally in the world.

Putin’s Russia is not a trivial authoritarian state. It is not “Soviet Union lite”. It is not a liberal democracy either. It is some sort of “managed democracy”, which time will tell if this was the best option for his country and people when he was the head of state. As for Putin’s legacy, in many respects he deserves credit for curbing the excesses of the Yeltsin period and bringing financial resources back under state control as well as introducing a lot of programmes that is helping to bring more stability into Russian society.

Time is ticking …..

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” - Nehru

Children prepare to mark the 117th birth anniversary of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in Bhopal. (PTI)

Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964) was a great Indian nationalist leader who worked for independence and social reform. He became first prime minister of independent India, a position he retained until his death. He initiated India’s nonalignment policy in foreign affairs.

Free India’s first elections in 1951-1952 resulted in an overwhelming Congress victory. Economic planning and welfare were the first claims on Nehru’s attention. He inaugurated a diluted version of socialist planning: concentration of public investment in areas of the economy that were free from private interests. The Planning Commission was created in 1950 and launched the First Five-Year Plan in 1951, stressing an increase in agricultural output. Nehru also took pride in the Community Development Program, established to raise the standard of living in the villages. He saw the Third Five-Year Plan operative before his death on May 27, 1964, in New Delhi.

Are We, as in humans, mostly a loving or hating creatures? I always thought that though we see so much hatred present in this world, we still are much busier with loving each other and expressing positive feelings, rather than hating and having negative opinions for each other. At least this is true when it comes to internet - a medium which connects humanity through out the world and makes us closer to each other. Though I agree that both love and hate can indeed coexist, let’s say in a relationship.

What is hard for me to understand from the above graph is while the hate factor stays more or less on the same level, the loving factor on the contrary bounces (if I can say so) much frequently and on a greater scale.

So, do you love to hate or hate to love or love to love or hate to hate or perhaps love and/or hate both at the same time!

P.S.> Maybe this is a stupid post, but a good one to give it a little thought.