Unity

Everything has to get worse in order to get better.

My blog is about what's the world facing now. It's good that humanity already knows the answer but the politicians in Europe and in the United States of America are a little slow to understand the problem.

What we need is the skill of China, India or Brazil to speak with one mouth.

We need unity, consensus like in the Dutch polder model.

Inauguration

Everything worked out. Nothing happened on the day Obama could call himself president. Okay it worried me that they organization did keep up with the time schedule. It made me nervous. 12pmm, no oath, no president, new election. Oh my god everywhere little men calling themselves George W. Bush, George A. Bush, George B. Bush, George C. Bush, John McCain, A. McCain, F. McCain. They shout McCain for President. Oh my, skip Aretha Franklin peforming on the spot. Let Barack H. Obama swear his oath on the spot. It was only a dream. Than the judge and Obama came forward for the oath. This is the finishing touch.

Then my deception came, it was a sgt. Pepper's lonely hearts club band feeling.
I heard songs from the past but still present, I saw faces from long ago, I heard a dream which came true and I heard that at 12pm Obama was already President without swearing the oath.

How's life?

So much is going on these day's.

- Israel is bombing Hamas (unbelievable why civilians, especially children and women aren't in shelters. Are they used as human shields?) and the world community is not doing it's utmost to seize fire, or is it?

- The financial credit-crunch is still going on. The impact on the man in the street is growing.

- Obama is only one week away from his presidency.

- Hillary Clinton is almost minister of foreign affairs (is this the name?) She wants the USA to lead the free world again. This leadership needs support of the allies.
When writing this I think allies will always support. It only depends on how far the allies will support the USA. Obama won the election with faith and change. That's what there must be. The situation has changed dramatically in the past years. 8 Years Bush did harm the USA and the world.

- Holland has an obligation to be in Afghanistan in a peacekeeping and rebuilding role till 2010. We might support the Afghanistan mission after 2010.

- In Holland the ice is melting but the winter isn´t over.

- In the Ukraine are again troubles with Russia about the gas-supply to Europe. Eastern Europe is held hostage to to supply gas because the Ukraine in it's role as distributor has debts to Russia. In the midst of winter Hungary, Romania, Slovakya, the Tsjech republic, Germany, Poland have gas shortages. This happening for the 3rd year now. People already died of the cold. The Russians are unreliable from this point of view. Maybe the Ukraine plays a role in it I don't know. They have the benefits of the doubt.

- Life is okay. I got a new coffee machine which makes good coffee. Having a cup of coffee I write my blog. I still cycle, even in winter. After Christmas in the cold dry weather I cycled in total 200K. I feel fine.

- 2 day's ago I made a trip of 50K and found a photo camera, worth €150,=. I made a call of it with the Municipality I found it. The Internet makes life very easy.

- What's not going very well is my neighbor. The cancer is poisoning her liver. However she gets nutrition, she doesn't gain weight. So she decided 5 day's ago to stop the supply of nutrition with a drain. She gets weaker day by day. Last time I saw her was December 27.

Foreign affairs

In a foreign country far away a new head of State will be elected. A President will be chosen. This seems to be a mayor important thing for the world. Every nation is awaiting who the next president will be. But for what? What will he bring to the world. What does the world know about the two male candidates for President of the United States of America?

Really nothing...One is talking about change and hope....but what kind of change, what kind of hope and for who?


Sunday afternoon just before cycling I had to look at an interesting political program. An interview with Kishore Mahbubani.
What the Western world not seems to realize is said by Kishore Mahbubani from Singapore. He is a philosopher and retired diplomat. The says that together with the economic growth of the power of the east (Brazil, India, China and others, also the Arab world) there will be a shift of the political and cultural center. The Asians (and Brazilians) have the future.
The Western world doesn't realize it according to mr. Mahbubani, but there will be a rapid change in structures which keep the world together.
The new President of the USA will not be able to stop the change.

For the West it's time to let the arrogance go and realize that this change is a window of opportunities.


Good luck America! Choose Obama :-)