Friday, July 31, 2009

Jerusalem and Gaza – The Israel Palestine Center of conflict

Jerusalem is regarded as a holy city for both Jews and Muslims. The never ending Israeli Palestinian conflict is all about controlling Jerusalem. West Jerusalem was under Israeli control since the time Israel was founded in 1948. After Israel captured the East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 6 Day’s War, it has been always under conflict between the Palestine and the Israeli Governments. Palestine is actually a proposed state and it lies between Israel and Jordan. The concerns of both the sides are the protection of the respective holy places which fall in Jerusalem belonging to both the parties. There have been several International attempts to resolve the area control issue between the Israeli and the Palestinian governments but to no avail. Several proposals have been made and formed by several international bodies but have failed to acquire agreement of either Israel or Palestine.

Gaza is situated on the Mediterranean Sea side of Israel. Gaza falls under Palestinian Authority but Israeli land falls between Gaza and main land Palestine. The Gaza Strip was previously controlled by Egyptian Governance and army. After 1994, Israel took over Gaza and established control over the Gaza strip. Now that Israel has completely moved out of the Gaza Strip, it is controlled by Hamas which is one of the Arabic Palestinian factions. Hamas is regarded more as a terrorist outfit by Israel than a governing body. It is alleged that Hamas has been using suicide attacks to spread unrest in the region. Peace process have been initiated several times but have always halted due to some or the other reason. Peace process went for a toss after the assassination of one of the Israeli Prime Ministers few years back.

To conclude; The Israel and Palestine are both responsible for the lives of citizen who stay in the areas of conflict. These conflicts need to be brought to an end before it develops into a human rights catastrophe.

Linus Orakles
http://www.authorclub.info/

Creativity

Creativity is nothing but an imaginative conceptualization of an idea which results in innovation. Every one is creative but has higher or low creative aptitude. The term creativity itself means to make or produce something new. Creativity can be implemented in any field of life. Creativity can be seen in art, literature, business, etc. An author is considered creative if his writing has something different to project than other authors. Plotting a story line is all about creative writing of fiction. There are millions of authors and their trillions of books, but only few make bestsellers. It is the unique way of writing and narration which makes an author, create bestsellers. A human being has senses greater than animals which allow him to live like a human being. Human being is a creation of God. And this animal undoubtedly is the result of God’s creativity. Similarly, every musician creates or performs several tracks of music but only a percentage of these tracks become chart busters. These become chart busters because they are liked by listeners more than other tracks by the same musician. This also proves that the particular track has impressed and penetrated the senses of the people the most.

Creativity in business implies the methodology of running a particular process or a project in a unique manner which would enhance the viability of the task. Just like authors, there are numerous CEOs but only few are known for their expertise in running a particular business. This means that these CEOs or managers are more creative and efficient than others. Creativity is an immeasurable ability of a person. Sometimes creativity comes with experience. Sometimes some people do not innovate even if they are creative. This is due to their inability of taking risks. Creativity goes hand in hand with implementation. Unless you implement your creativity, the result will not show.


Linus Orakles
http://www.authorclub.info/

Terror – Shrug of the fear

Terrorism is shaking its “gory locks” at humanity frightening it to death. East to West, North to South, Nadir to Zenith of this world is groaning under the trampling feet of terrorism. Fire and sword have given place to bullets and bombs. In the name of religion, caste and ideology, terror is running amok to bring about annihilation and holocaust. Nothing is spared, none is spared.

Infant to old, men and women, hospital to hotel, airport to parliament, trade towers to malls, all are included in the hit list of the terrorists. This bloody sect is constituted of some reprobates, who are in their frenzy are running amok to bring about a heinous pandemonium all over the world. They catch hold of the striplings and exploit their malleability. These fledglings are pushed to a lemming like readiness to follow their leaders to give shape to disasters of cosmic proportion. The world stands aghast at the devastating scenario machinated by this bloody sect. the miasma of panic, horror and blood seems to bring the civilization to a grinding halt. The apocalypse seems to loom up in the sky of life and the hagridden populace is scouting around for refuge. Gloom and despair overtake human breath and poses an impasse for human activity. But the world need not shudder at this. The cloud has appeared in the sky and certainly the bow is rising at its back. Doesn’t our Lord Almighty promise as follows?

“I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that bow shall be seen in the cloud” Genesis – Bible

A substance almost of same essence can be found in Bhagvat Geeta:
“Whatever and whenever there is a decline in religious practice, and a predominant rise of irreligion, o descendants of Bharata, I will descend unto thee”

let us shake off our fear and depression and let God’s words beam at us and enable us to look forward to a day of peace, love and prosperity. Such a day is not far away. As the terror poses a menace to the entire humanity, the fragmented society is now getting integrated and preparing for a decisive war against terrorism. Truth shall prevail and God will win the battle against evil.

Humanity will outfight inhumanity. As I write here, I remember the death of Prabhakaran, the head of LTTE, a terrorist outfit which had been bothering Sri Lanka and has been a major obstruction in the development of the country. He was also responsible for the assassination of a former Prime Minister of India and a former President of Sri Lanka. The execution of Saddam Hussain is another feather in the cap of goodness. More of these leaders will be killed and more will run away because truth and goodness are the most dreadful enemies of evil.
“If winter comes, can spring be far behind?” Shelly

Linus Orakles
http://www.authorclub.info/

Terrorism – A Prelude to

What a piece of work is man! How noble is reason! How infinite in faculty! In form in moving how express and admirable! In action how like an angel! In apprehension how like a god! The beauty of the world! The paragon of animals!

Hamlet – Shakespeare
Above passage is not an empty panegyric on human attributes. “God created man in his own image, “and let him” have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth”

Genesis – Bible
This planet that we call earth was divided only in land, sea and sky. God left these and theirs to human care. Lo and Behold! With the passage of time, this raw and rough start transformed into a replica of Garden of Eden, from where man was expelled on account of his principal offence of disobedience to his creator.

Here, on this earth, man became the second creator. History of his onward journey stretches from striking of fire to invention of the wheel, which is carrying the cart of his success and achievements to an ever receding destination. The child asked for stars and moon and he got it.

God decked Adam with all godly attributes but as punishment against his offence, encumbered him with mortality. Some demoniac tendencies, besides ailments, were implanted in human life and nature to prevent him from attaining immortality. These demoniac forces contribute to divert Adam of his celestial qualities. In some individuals the divine tendencies overpower the demon inside and add to his creative power but those who are otherwise prone to destruction. All kinds of pernicious tendencies – avarice, anger, jealousy, etc, spring from the devil that lurks in human mind and whose aim is to maim and mutilate a thing of beauty which “is joy for ever”.

His motto is: “to do ought good never will be our task, but ever to do ill our sole delight” Paradise Lost – Hilton

As the saying goes, birds of same feather flock together, people having common propensity always tend to confluent and work together to achieve a common goal. Mortals sharing same profane design get together and play the devil with anything that is good for humanity. This vicious circle has no caste or creed. It is a clan by itself and the only religion followed by it is destruction, annihilation, blood and massacre. These sadists cannot live in peace.

History is nothing but a chronological record of human and satanic achievements, of course there have been conflicts for good causes also – but these are better termed as revolution, i.e. The French Revolution, India’s Revolution for Independence, Bolshevik Revolution etc. Meliorism is the goal of all revolutions. But genocide of the Jews in Germany, persecution of Protestants under Louis XIV and many such episodes of violence and bloodshed that tar the pages of history, tell the story of triumph of devil over divine. Over the period, the satanic forces have been fulfilling their obnoxious designs because the opponents were unorganized due to segregation of interest.

With passage of time man has accelerated his onward journey in one hand and on the other, the demoniac forces have consolidated into a new form to foil all human efforts to bring forth the celestial. Its quenchless thirst for blood is creating palsy and panic in human life. Anarchy is its sole motive and terror is the means. The name by which this new for is recognized is “Terrorism”. And hence we can conclude that “terrorism” is an age old existence and not a new term.

LTTE – Prabhakaran Dead or Alive?

For the past 1 and half months or more, the Sri Lankan Army has been closing in on the LTTE stronghold Mullaithivu in Northern Sri Lanka. The LTTE till sometime back had saving itself behind the human shield. They were not letting the civilians vacate Mullaithivu because they knew that the Sri Lankan Army would capture them if they clear the civilians from the place. However by the 15th of May 09 almost all of Mullaithivu was vacated and the LTTE remnants were the only ones left in the Prabhakaran Capital. After years of struggle and millions of life and property losses, the Sri Lankan Army could achieve the almost impossible task of wiping out the LTTE. Latest reports suggest that Prabhakaran and his core team have committed suicide by consuming cyanide in view to avoid arrest by the Sri Lankan forces. These reports are still not confirmed because the bodies have not been recovered yet.

The point of contention here is whether Prabhakaran, the LTTE Leader, is dead or not. If he is dead then is there any other leader of the LTTE who will emerge as a Prabahakarn II on the future? If Prabahakaran is caught alive, will he be extradited to India for his alleged involvement in the assassination of the late Indian Prime Minister Shri Rajiv Gandhi? As per the Sri Lankan government, Prabhakaran has hundreds of criminal charges against him which might add up to probably 250 years of jail term. These are all secondary issues. The primary issue is the cause of the LTTE for which they were supposedly fighting for the past 30 years or more. Will the Tamilians of Sri Lanka rise again and ask for an independent state? Was it really so easy and quick to wipe out one of the most disciplined terrorist outfit of the World, The LTTE? Or is it that the LTTE has different plans for later. Whatever it is, Prabhakaran and his team has been wiped out of Sri Lanka, this is for sure. There has been a lot of support from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu for the LTTE’s causes. So does this mean that the LTTE core team has already taken refuge in southern India? Were they able to manage a sneak out with the civilians who were getting evacuated from Mullaithivu?


If we notice, the heads of all terrorist outfits around the world have been either very difficult to catch or have not been caught at all. Prabhakaran should not be taken lightly. The LTTE which have been controlling half of Sri Lanka at one time and had even got an offer from the Sri Lankan Government once to govern the country together with the government is not a cake walk. There should be international vigilance on the ongoing conflict between Sri Lankan forces and LTTE till the time LTTE is completely assuredly wiped out. The areas of Sri Lanka is still not safe and there are still chances of a bolt from the blue.


Linus Orakles
http://www.authorclub.info/

Advertising – The Biggest Market

Brand Consciousness is one style statement that the young generation boasts of today. A shirt is a shirt is a shirt. Million times this is true. A shirt will always remain a short if it is bought from the “Vettorio Frattini” exclusive showroom or it is bought from the street side vendor. Just think, how many times have people asked you about the brand of shirt you are wearing to a party? I am sure there must have been just one in a hundred times. People have become more and more brand conscious day by day. The irony is that most people who are brand conscious do not actually know why they prefer a couple of brands only. Most of them buy their branded clothes because of the price tag they can boast about amongst friends and colleagues. There are some people who might just be having millets for dinner but spending loads on wearing branded garments.

Lets get back to our heading. Advertising is one of the most flourishing industries in the world today. It is through advertising that the companies increase brand visibility and awareness. The buying capacity of the developing nations has increased substantially and people have a habit of buying what they see on TV or any other media. Let’s take for example, a country like India.

India is soon to become one of the biggest economies of the world. India has a population of more than 100 million. We will just talk about the 1 million people who watch TV regularly. This means that an advertisement of a brand of Shirts is viewed by 1million people every hour. Out of these 1 million people if only 10% buy the advertised shirt, imagine how much money the product makes. And we are “just” talking about 1 million not 100 million. The middle class or the Neo rich people are the easiest target of brand awareness and marketing through media.

Companies design the best of advertisements with the top most of actors to be the product’s brand ambassador. They can afford long air time and expensive actors to campaign for their product because they know that even if 1% of the viewers who watch the advertisement buy the product, it will mean thousands sold. Advertising has tremendous scope and it also plays the most important part in a company’s growth. Before growth comes the introduction of the product via advertisement to the end user. Unless the people know about the product why will they buy?

Advertising is but not an easy task. An advertisement should be catchy and should be intelligently made. It should be more informative than jazzy. Today’s buyer is but an intelligent buyer. He knows how to choose between the ranges of products presented by different companies. There can be volumes written on advertising and its scope. Advertising is s creative art which boosts the commercial viability of any product or service. This art does have some thumb rules to follow but creativity and innovation is the key.

Linus Orakles
http://www.authorclub.info/

Suppositions of Origination of Music

The subject “Origination of music” has given rise to a great deal of debates. All of them are quite interesting. Indian mythologies are mainly vocal in this regard. The substance of some of them is as follows.

Lord Brahma is attributed the honor of being the originator of music. Later this art was handed over to Shiva who in his turn transferred it to Goddess Saraswati. It is because of this reason that Goddess Saraswati is represented as holding a book and a “Veena” and is worshiped as “Veena Pustak Dharini” (the holder of Veena and book). Veena is a string musical instrument, Pustak is book and Dharini is one who holds something. Narada was a music teacher and he taught the Kinnars (court dancers)and Apsaras (Angels) in Swarga (Paradise).
Narada, Bharata and Hanumana descended on earth to promulgate music, the knowledge of which they gathered from the Gods and the Goddesses.


According to another Mythological story, after a prolonged meditation, Narada could appease Shiva who in return granted him the boon of music. Yet another such story tells that the idea of the structure of the “Rudra Veena” occurred in tehmind of Lord Shiva on looking at the reclining posture of Parvati, his wife. He himself remitted five Ragasa from his five mouths. Here it is worthwhile to note that Lord Shiva is known as “Panchanana” (one with five heads). The Sixth Raga emerged from Parvati’s mouth. Five profiles of Lord Shiva – eastern, western, northern, southern and skyward produced Raga Bhairav, Hindol, Megh, Deepak and Shree, respectively. Parvati is said to have produced Raga Kaushik.


Before we proceed further, it will be wise to explain the word “Raga”. “Raga” is derivative of the Sanskrit word “Ranj”, which means “to regale”. Any musical composition which brings about mellifluence is called Raga. Indian maestros have conceived few major structures of Swaras (notes) and Swara Sangatis (musical notes couplings) having characteristic style and movement.


Well to resume the myths regarding the origination of music, according to “Shiv Pradosh”, hymn of praise, at one dawn Lord Shiva took to dancing around the Golden Throne on which he seated Goddess Parvati. All the Gods and Goddesses gravitated towards this splendid sight and thronged around. By and by they made a concert by themselves and accompanied the dance of Lord Shiva. Saraswati played the Veena, Indra and Brahma, pairs of cymbal, Laxmi sang and Vishnu played the Mridangam (percussion). This spellbinding dance concert regaled the entire populace of Swarga (Paradise).


Another belief says that music is latent in nature. A sensitive ear can hear music in all natural objects and creatures. It is believed that the conception of the seven notes in the octave took place by listening to various characteristic sounds in the flora and fauna.


According to a Persian folklore once when holy man Hazrat was rambling amidst the beauty of nature, a voice was heard from above calling Hazrat and commanding him to strike his walking stick on a particular rock. Hazrat complied with the devine command and then lo and behold the stone was split in seven pieces from each of which a crystal clear brook started flowing. It is believed that the sound of each of these flow created a particular note of the Octave.


According to Western psychologist Froyed, music is nothing but a natural articulation of euphonious sounds. This is as natural as crying, laughing and exclaiming, etc to human being. Man is subject to his emotions and music is an expression of such emotions.


James Long has more or less the same kind of explanation. He classifies music under other natural reflexes.


Music is a natural gift to Human being. No particular time or process can be ascribed to its origin. As it is part and parcel of aesthetics, it is committed to nurture the divine aspect of human existence.


Linus Orakles
http://www.authorclub.info/

A Man who knows he has cancer

He has been a hale and hearty sportsman. He never ever had bad habits of smoking or drinking. A complete teetotaler, he has retired from a manufacturing company after working for 37 years. He represented his country at the Common Wealth games, when he was young. He was an avid foodie. One day he experienced a stinging pain in his stomach. His age was 70 then. He was immediately taken to the hospital by his son. The doctor advised some tests. He went through all the tests and the reports were taken to the doctor. The doctor declared that he had a tumor in his intestine and that had developed further into cancer. As if the world shattered before him.

The first words that he spoke to the doctor were, “I have never had any bad food habits. I have always had healthy food because I was a sportsman. I have never ever cursed anyone in my life. Then why have I been cursed like this?” he broke into mild tears but he did not have any thing else to think about than this bolt from the blues.


His cancer was in the last stages and the doctors had given him just 3 months’ time. Suddenly he knew that he was here only for 3 months. This is his last month of life as per the doctors. He has bound himself in a shell. He has isolated himself from the world. He does not go to his card club anymore and his friends keep visiting him at home. He sits at home watching TV and passing his time by reading novels. He is now 70 and he has lost all hopes of life. His weight has reduced by 12 kgs in the past 3 months.


Imagine the state of mind of a person who knows that he has cancer and he is going to live for just another couple of months. The world seems to have shut down for him. He would not like people around. He would start hating people who would have fun. He would not like the every day breakfast and the morning news too. His time would pass counting days to the D Day.


In such a situation, a person should try to be more active and friendly with others. When one knows that the time is near, one should try to spend it in a happier way. I have seen people suffering from deadly diseases spend their time happily which has resulted in longer life for them. Moreover, when one is already 70 years old, one has already seen through life and should not be regretting about the known end. Hence, one should spend time with the family and friends and get engaged in some sort of recreation rather than brooding upon health. However, it is easier to speak and advice than to suffer or doing it. Only he who knows his end is near, knows how it looks from a distance.


Linus Orakles
http://www.authorclub.info/

Learn from a Cripple

I was sitting on a bench and waiting for my train to arrive at my local station one day. There was a man with crutches who was standing at a distance waiting for his train. In sometime his train arrived and he limped to a door to board it. There was a crowd which was pushing and pulling to board from the same door. This lame man just waited for his turn and was getting pushed around. The train blew a whistle and started moving. This man stepped back and saw it going.

Nothing he could do about his failed attempt to board his train. He would have to wait for another half hour to try boarding the next one. I kept looking at the misery he was going through because of his inability to board his train. I immediately thanked God for giving me healthy limbs and the ability to walk and board the train like others. I also prayed for the health of this man. The whole day I was just thinking about how people with physical health shortcomings lead their lives. They can’t participate in any sport, their day to day activities get hampered and they have to live on a support. There are millions of organizations which help the physically challenged people but when we actually get into their shoes and think, we will be scared to lead a life like them.


It is a moral responsibility of all the people who are physically fit, to extend support to the physically challenged. They are no ways lagging behind us in intelligence and behavior. In fact from them we should learn how to bear a smile even in a state of problems. No one else is more unlucky than a physically challenged person. Hence we should be thankful enough and less complaining to God that we have our set of problems.


Linus Orakles
http://www.authorclub.info/

Indian Premier League – The fall and fall of Kolkata Knight Riders

When the first season of IPL was about to start in 2008, there was a lot of hullabaloo. ShahRukh Khan’s Red Chilies Entertainment company jointly owned by Juhi Chawala and Jai Mehta and Khan, bought the franchise of the Kolkata Cricket Team and named it Kolkata Knight Riders. The television was flooded with the advertisement campaigns of Kolkata Knight Riders depicting them as the clear winners of the IPL Season 1.

For those who have joined in late, Indian Premier League is not a football event. It was established as a money making cricket program by the “Board of Cash Control India”, sorry, “The Board of Cricket Control India”. Millions of Dollars, Crores of Rupees has been spent by the franchisees to buy players and build their respective teams. Millions of dollars have been spent for organizing a dazzling cricketing extravaganza like the IPL seasons. Many of them got jobs some of them got over paid though. Some players at least got a chance to play some cricket with international players under television cameras and massive crowds.


Ok I guess we were talking about Kolkata Knight Riders. IPL Season 1 was a disaster for them. After making so much glitter, they started the IPL Season 1 well with a 158 run unbroken record made by Brendon Mccullum. This record is still unbroken by any player in the 20 Twenty cricket structure. Brendon Mccullum hardly made runs after that record. Kolkata Knight Riders lost crucial matches in the first season and could not reach the semis. Shahrukh Khan and his team got involved in a lot of controversies within the team. Season 2 started again with controversies around the Knight Riders. Sourav Ganguly was removed from captaincy and Brendon McCullum replaced him. Oh Yes! There was also a wave at the 11th hour that John Buchanan, their Coach, was planning to have four captains for the team. This got later deluged. Kolkata Knight Riders have been able to win only one match out of their 11 in the Second Season of IPL which is being held at South Africa.


Shahrukh Khan has packed his bags and I guess has returned to India or probably he has gone to some isolated island into deep remorse. He I am sure would not like to see the faces of his team members any more. There are rumors that he is planning to sell the franchise to someone else. I mean he is looking for buyers, but who would buy? The more games the KKR is loosing, the more depreciating is their value. Is it fate or is it mismanagement that the Knight Riders have been failing miserably? Or is it that the players are not performing? Whatever it is, the Knight Riders have failed to prove that they are doing justice to the Golden Armor that they wear. Shahrukh Khan must be banging is head on a wall for spending millions on his team’s razzmatazz. Not to forget, designers like Manish Malhotra had been roped in to design the costume for the KKR team. Isn’t he expensive too?


What next will Mr. Khan do? Is he going to sell the team off? Is he going to kick all the players out and bring in a new set of players? Is he going to fire John Buchanan? Is he going to make Sourav Ganguly the captain again? Is he going to play himself? Whatever he does, Kolkata Knight Riders are very low on morale at this moment. They do not need cheer leaders to cheer them up. What they need is to blow lesser trumpet and perform on the field. All the Best KKR for 2010.


Thursday, July 30, 2009

Indian General Elections – Post Poll Scenario

As per the latest news and the counting results coming out, the Congress led UPA is all set for another 5 year term to for the Government of India. The Bhartiya Janata Party led NDA has faced major defeat in the 2009 General Elections of India. Now that the vote counting process is almost over and a clear win of the UPA is in sight, there will be a lot of political drama in the coming week in India. There have been small parties which have been speaking loud about their necessary inclusion to forma government because all thought that the UPA or the NDA will have to shake hands with smaller parties to add up the number of seats required to form a government. It had become a habit of leaders spinning of from these two big parties, i.e. BJP and Congress, and forming smaller parties. The objective has been to win a small number of seats and then bargain to support the bigger parties. They would bargain on becoming ministers. They would bargain on deciding on important issues or else they would topple the Government.

Eventually, it was the smaller parties which were actually landing up running the affairs of the Government. People of India were completely disturbed by the political mayhem in the country for a long time. This time people decided to elect one party to form the government and that is what has happened. People of India have proved to be democratic and they have shown the politicians that they are the ones who are running the country. People have clearly told the political parties that they will not tolerate any political instability any more. People in India want development and better lives. They do not want to live in a state of confusion.

Linus Orakles
http://www.authorclub.info/

Hitler – The Other Side

Adolf Hitler, who does not know him? The ruler of Germany from 1933 to 1945, Adolf Hitler was a failure in his early days of politics. Though he was a successful soldier during the First World War, he must have somehow realized that Wars are fought in a different manner. In 1920 he hence joined the Nazi Party of Germany and became its leader within a year of his joining. He had an ambition of ruling the entire Europe and if possible, the whole world. Within a couple of years, of becoming the leader of the Nazi Party, Hitler attempted a coup to topple the German Administration. He failed and he was jailed. But he did not give up his ambition of ruling the world. He was an excellent orator and had immense convincing power. He turned the whole of Germany in his favor and within 10 years of his imprisonment, he became the Chancellor of Germany, in 1933.

However Hitler was, he was a brave man and he did cause the outbreak of the Second World War after he invaded Poland. He along with his axis powers captured almost the whole of Europe and some parts of Africa and Asia within a span of 3 years. Hitler was a great leader though his objectives were not good. He was an amazing architect and a very good manager too. There was a problem with Hitler though. He got carried away with the winning spoilt of War. He did not think of defending his country but he thought of expanding his territory which made him take a number of wrong decisions.

His people management skills were amazing and he could convince millions of Germans to fight and capture new lands. In 1945 when the Axis forces lost the Second World War, Hitler committed suicide. Such was the courage of Adolf Hitler that he could fight against the combined Allied Forces. It was Hitler’s foolishness that he could not get information of the Allied Forces’ and their plan to attack from Normandy. Germany as the key reason to the World War II was clearly an over ambition of Hitler. He had close ties with his counterpart Benito Mussolini of Italy who had similar visions of the world.

But look what a man can do in his life span of 56 years. One can become the most hated person on earth. One can almost finish of a complete race like that of Jews. One can get so many countries running after him. Doesn’t achieving so much in life need guts and determination? Imagine how much would have Hitler gained if he used his sharp brains for good and not for evil. Being ambitious is good but over ambition kills. Never try to achieve something which would collide with someone else’s freedom. Remember, your freedom ends where others’ freedom starts. If you aim high, aim at something good and achievable. And if you aim something unachievable, achieve it by good, not by evil.

Linus Orakles
http://www.authorclub.info/

A Plea for Telephone

Hermes, the messenger of Gods has been in service of man ever since he stepped into this planet. A social animal like him cannot dispense with the aid and blessing of Hermes. This messenger of Gods began his service by speech, subsequently followed by writing, printing, wireless and presently by satellite. The Herald’s wand wields magic in sphere of information and communication. Its latest name is Information Technology. Communication through technology started with the advent of printing and then its scope has been enlarged and expanded to the sky.
Milestone followed milestones on the way of Hermes. A giant leap was taken in the field towards the end of last century in form of cell phone which is conducted by satellite. Appearance of cell phone has brought a tidal wave in human life. Its uses are amazing but unfortunately it entails some hazards and disadvantages too. Although its use and abuse depend upon its operator, for which the instrument does not need to be blamed. So far as its abuses are concerned it is playing hell with life of human both individually and socially.

Use of telephone has been conducive in making life comfortable and hazardless for decades. Sitting at home with the help of a receiver we could come in contact with people sitting miles away in their home or somewhere else having another such instrument. Of course out of your house, roaming you could not come in touch with a person who is either in his house or in the street. This lacuna was provided for by the successor of the telephone, i.e. mobile phone. The caller’s or receivers’ mobile condition was no longer a restraint in free communication. It is because of this that cell phone is more popularly known as the mobile phone.

This brilliant messenger is borne in pocket and emits various sounds at the tickling on its tiny switch by the caller, no matter from where. The hassle free handy instrument has made the remote parts of this planet come closer to each other. The four corners of the earth appear no longer far and inaccessible to each other. Thus it has promoted the warmth of fellowship in greater degree. The globe has now shrunk to as small as the size of a ball.

Another very great advantage of the mobile phone, over its predecessor, i.e. landline, is that it is feasible and affordable by the man in the streets. As it is a means of communication, larger the network, better the utility.

When all is said in the favor of the mobile phone it is now worthwhile to examine the other side too. Both in individual and social level, although this new technology has proved amazingly advantageous but the question still remains, has it minimized the tension and anxiety in little things? There is a big no here. It has rather intensified our agony. For example, previously when there was neither telephone nor cell phone our anxiety for our parted kith and kin used to remain on hold much longer than it is now. Telephone made it shorter and its successor mobile phone does not allow even a twinkling of the eye. The moment your child leaves the house, your tension starts mounting and with the help of this miniature Hermes your auricular senses keep in constant touch with him. At the event of any petty thing going wrong, may be either with the instrument or more possibly with the network, your heart starts throbbing faster. In one hand the devotees of cell phone argue that it has helped in cementing the human relationship but there is another side of the argument too. Familiarity breeds contempt. Too much nearness is also not good for keeping people amiable to each other. Frequent ding dongs between friends, relatives and spouses may be attributed to this tiny vibrator. It can be put on the dock for breaking homes and estranging friends. It panders to human impetuosity and at a moment of crisis is more likely to aggravate the situation.

Our traffic is in jeopardy. Vehicles have become prone to accidents because of the drivers’ distraction due to the tingling of this mobile device at the time of driving. Though there have been many traffic directives about the non usage of cell phones while driving, who follows?
Our post offices have been rendered workless. Letters and art of letter writing have totally phased out. In school syllabus letter writing as part of the curriculum is almost abolished. Nowadays, people prefer communicating through SMS or text messaging via mobile phones, using broken up code languages.

Famous letters of Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru, “Letter to my daughter”, Dr Johnson’s to his unkind patron and many such literary jewels are now things of the past.

Well although quiet a heavy price we had to pay to bring in this new messenger, it was fine till its use took the deadliest of turns. Throughout the world, the mobile phone started getting used by terrorists to communicate safely and easily to give and take directions of destruction, to their friends and peers.

Somehow, landline telephones were much safer because they did not have the feasibility of getting carried in the pocket. They were a bit more difficult to reach. At least they could not be taken to a remote corner of the house and could be talked over without other family members’ knowledge.

High Expectations spoil Careers

A budding sports person works hard to achieve the highest spot in the world in his sport. He competes and starts catching everyone’s eyes by achieving small but valuable milestones to the ultimate destination. Enter media and he gets immense popularity amongst the local people. He is projected to be the next Numero Uno in his sport. Through media he is known to the whole country and eventually to the whole world. But he has just achieved a couple of milestones. He has a long way to go and he knows that. In the meantime he has become a sport hero. He starts getting ad campaign signups and sees a lot of money and popularity coming his way. He has achieved a celebrity status. But he has a long way to go and he somehow knows that. Suddenly he feels that the whole nation is expecting him to be the next Numero Uno in his game.
This thought scares him and makes him think what if he looses his next game? The fear slowly creeps up in his mind but he works and practices hard to defeat bigger opponents in his tourneys.
Come next tournament and he goes to the field with a fear that his supporters and fans will be disappointed if he looses this game. His aim of reaching the zenith somehow gets buried behind his thoughts of survival. He plays but he looses the game with a bigger player. Immediately media starts criticizing his play and starts ridiculing his efforts. He gets into depression and this affects his practice. His aim to reach the top slowly gets transformed into better performance to survive the kickbacks. He drops down in his world ratings and now he fights to survive. There is no talk about him in the media anymore other than criticism. He is completely broken down. He again tries to concentrate on his game and practice in an effort to achieve his dream one day. He is now just another player in the queue.

Expectations spoil careers. People should not expect miracles from anyone. If a sportsman is promising, expect as per his capabilities. We should rather try and improve his abilities so that he can reach the top spot and make us proud, rather than expecting him to lay golden eggs. Media puts a lot of pressure on the minds of these budding sports persons because they need news. Media forgets the consequences of failures under pressure. It’s the media that makes the crowd expect the unexpected from a sportsman. And it is not only about sportsmen. We shall not expect a miracle from anyone. A sweet accident is a miracle. And miracle happens once in million times.

We should rather provide better facilities to our sports men to perform better than making them small time celebrities. This mismanagement of the media has been a big reason why sports men from big countries have never been able to take the top spot in any game.

Feminism – Its Scope

“And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made her a woman, and brought her unto man. And Adam said, ‘this is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man.”-Genesis, Chapter 2

For ages woman has been living in bondage of man. Man had taken it as his birthright to have a control over woman. Male chauvinism emerged from this. Woman too submitted to the superiority of man. She was destined to live in subjugation.

“Unto the woman” God said, “I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shall bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee” -Genesis, Chapter 3

It is admitted that nature has made woman, weaker than man. But why to pile on her agony by denying her the things that she can well avail herself of? This feeling sparked off a kind of awareness and some people came forward to support the cause of woman and gradually started being recognized as feminists and the feeling of awareness is known as feminism. So feminism is a movement in support of the belief in the principle that women should have the same rights and opportunities as men.

Well, to this extent, our feminists are absolutely right, and our governments are extending all possible measures to help them out and it is a laudatory gesture of our governments. Man and woman should only have biological discrimination as imposed by nature. Man and woman are two wheels of a cart which will absolutely be demobilized in absence or at the event of any one these becoming less strong. Hence to keep the society on an even keel both these wheels should retain equal strength.

Unfortunately, give somebody an inch, he will take a mile. When anything goes beyond rationality it tends to become pervert. It is a deplorable fact that our feminists now have taken up arms against men. So much so that they have become vocal to demand enslavement of man by woman. They are making unjustifiable demands to create disparity between man and woman. For a given crime, man would be punishable but not a woman. For example, some governments have made infidelity in man, punishable but in women it is not. That is to say, that woman is free to move around and sleep with any person other than the husband but a man is prohibited to do so. Isn’t it ridiculous and cock-eyed? This is only a tip of an iceberg of the amount of injustice being done to men, on demand of the feminists.

A conjugal life can survive and bring forth healthy posterity only when the partners have equal status in family and society, keeping in view their natural disparity. We blink the fact that man and woman were created by God to give company to each other, thus they were born as complimentary to each other and not contradictory. Again to quote from Bible, “It is not good that the man should be alone, I will make him a help meet for him”. It is because of this natural bondage between man and woman that the society is able to brave all natural and man made challenges. For God’s sake, let the feminists not be relentless on men and men on the other hand are beseeched to get rid of their male chauvinism. It is by striking this balance that we can look forward to a better society. Let’s not prove God’s creation to be worthless.

Linus Orakles
http://www.authorclub.info/

Architects of Western Music

Retaining the same ethos of music Western music is different in nature and character from that of Indian. As admitted, music is a branch of aesthetics that gives expressions to the inner world of human being which, to some extent, is a reflection of outer world too, although in a different essence. In this respect, western music is different from oriental especially Indian.

Climatic conditions influence people and their lives. Consequently the nature of different artistic expression is bound to differ from race to race, country to country and sect to sect. music is no exception to this. Western music is based on the principles of harmony whereas Indian music is based on melody. Through this tract of mine I would make a humble effort to pen down few lines on life and contribution of our western maestros, to the world of music. The constellation of music in the western sky scintillates with a number of stars. The first one to be focused here is Johan Sebastian Bach. His achievements in the field of music procure a name for him in the pages of history.

Bach was born in Eisanach of Germany in 1685 on 21st March and died on 22nd July 1750 at Leipzig of Germany. He was creator of a number of Sonatas, Symphony orchestras, suits, church cantatas, Motets etc. and majority of his compositions are ecclesiast in nature, and hence religion bulks large in them. Having been a votary of music, he dedicated his life in service of music. He became blind during his declining age. A paralytic attack was fatal to him and after a period of invalidity he succumbed to death.

Second star of the constellation is Wolfgang Amedeus Mozart, who was born on the 27th of January in 1756 in Salzburg of Austria. One of the towering musicians of that period, Haydn told Mozart’s father that he had never heard a better music composer than Mozart. It was indeed a great compliment from a celebrated singer. At as early an age as three Mozart started playing music lessons on piano and at five he started becoming famous in all of Europe. The name of his last Opera is “The magic Flute”. Mozart’s music compositions acquired the status of the most popular vogue of the time and became a symbol of honor for all music masters. “Mozart was been only one in the history of music” was the encomium paid to the great musician by a great man like Rozane. What can be a greater Ă©clat for anyone? Musical compositions and symphonic orchestras of Mozart still hold the field. He left for his heavenly abode on the 5th of December 1791 in Vienna.

The third member of the galaxy is Beethoven. Ludwig Van Beethoven was born on 16th of December 1770, in Bonn of Germany. He started taking piano lessons when he was just four years old. At as early as twenty, he became the most accomplished pianist. At this point of time, Beethoven visited Vienna, where his performance mesmerized the people. He brought revolution in the field of music. It was he who first imparted clarity, greater sonority and simplicity to the piano and symphonic orchestra. A great number of quartets, quintets, septets, sonatas, concertos, preludes, symphonies, cantatas, which still retain enthralling power, are attributed to Beethoven. None of his fraternity has outnumbered ever his musical compositions. Beethoven began to loose his hearing somewhere around 1796. This was supposedly because of the high intake of lead. Lead was used to sweeten wine and even in medicines. It was very difficult for him to listen to music and appreciate.

Unfortunately this immortal maestro was rendered confined due to several irrecoverable diseases which led him to his last ride on the 26th of March 1827 at Vienna.

Last but not a less bright star in the constellation is Franz Schubert. Schubert was a specialist in melody. He was born on the 31st of January 1797 at Vienna. He was a son of a school teacher. He was impregnated with promises for music had he been allowed to live his full term.

Unfortunately, this talented music composer dwindled into eternity at the age of thirty one on the 19th of November 1928. Approximately 600 song compositions, fifteen quartets (for string instruments), 8 symphonies were bequeathed to the world of music by Schubert. Schubert as a teenager, initially professed that Austrian music should get rid of German influence, clearly pointing out to Beethoven, but was so impressed later by his music that Schubert made Beethoven is ideal. However, they have never said to have met.

Beethoven was Schubert’s ideal. He worked on the same line as that of his model master. It is an amazing coincidence that his death took place within a period of twenty months of that of Beethoven. His mortal remains are laid beside that of Beethoven. The tombstone erected on Schubert’s grave bears the accolade: “Treasury of Music is buried here”.

Such were the maestros of Western music that they gave a completely new feel of music in the minds of people. The irony is that all these great musicians died at a very young age. Probably, people with genuine genius do not live long.

The creations and compositions of these great western music composers will always remain immortal. There works are going to remain the base of music creations for centuries to come.

Linus Orakles
http://www.authorclub.info/

A quick glimpse of Indian folk and classical music

Music is the elixir of life. It is intrinsic in human nature. A music hater is not only an oddity but has more of demoniac than godly qualities in him, albeit, all are not singers, instrumentalists or dancers. But a kind of acceptability and tolerance towards music is found in every human being.
Well, music in association with lyric is the handiest and convenient medium of letting out one’s innermost feelings related to joy and sorrow on account of many things pertaining to daily life.
If it’s in fancy music flowed in human mind in crude form. It may logically be assumed that humming had been the first form of vocal music which man copied from the bee, the rhythmic sound of his axe falling on the branches of tree, to split them in fire wood, must have given him the concept of rhythm.

Anyhow, race of music had to keep pace with the human civilization. At one stage simple humming started being studded with words, and gradually the entire lifestyle, pertaining to special occasion and day to day activities as well, started being depicted in lyrics which could be sung.

That is how vocal music was originated. Such a musical composition sounded more mellifluous when associated with rhythm. Peacock dancing in the rains must have given the concept of dancing in human mind.

Classical music (Shastriya Sangeet) is so named because it is the exponent of the exponents of the rules and regulations set by the great maestros in a consolidated form which brought about this stream of fine arts known as above.

Folk (Lok Sangeeth) or country music are composed in various dialects such as bhojpuri, bundelkhandi, santhali and the chain is endless. As this stream flourished mostly in rural areas of various parts of India it still retains its basic characteristics. Being nearer to common comprehension folk music is able to regale more listeners than classical music, which is appreciated only by selected few who have either some knowledge of basic nut and bolts of the same or has a natural liking for it.

Classical music is known as “Marg Sangeet” and folk music as “Deshi Sangeet” or also as “Lok Sangeet”.

To sum up we may affirm that classical music is based on man made theories and principals but folk music is a spontaneous outcome of human emotions and natural inspiration. One is based on prescribed directives; the other is related to social traditions, which are hard to change. One is knowledge based and other is society based. Both these forms of music are in one way are correlated to each other too. This is because music and the notes are bound by nature. Music is a sound which is good to hear. Indian folk music has been protected and nurtured by cultural societies of the country and has been given an encouragement to flourish with the help of government aid and other cultural forums. Classical music has been taken to new heights by famous maestros and their pupils all across the world.

Emotions Vs Practicality

There were two twins John and Michael. Both were brought up together by their parents. Their father was a supervisor in a company which was into under earth digging. Their mother was a home maker but she had a big vegetable farm in their courtyard. She used to grow veggies and once in a while used to sell them to vendors. It was not a financially very strong family but they were pretty happy with what they had. The twins grew gradually and it was observed that John was a very emotional person. He used to get attached to people in a manner that he would do anything for them. He would become sad when someone would narrate a sad tale to him. He would not leave his mother’s company when she would be working at the field. He had a girlfriend and he would do anything to keep her happy.

Michael was a practical boy. He would take life as it comes. Michael would only make friends who would be useful to him. He would help someone who he thought would return the favor sometime. If he did not have time, he would straight away say that and not keep anyone in dark. He never would ponder upon emotional questions, unlike John. Michael would only think about getting his own way in life.

Once, when both these brothers had completed their studies, they got an interview call from the same company. Both of them cleared the interview and got selected for the same positions. They were asked to join the company at a town around 100 miles from their county.

Both the brothers had good looking girlfriends. John told his girlfriend that he had to go out and start working. His girlfriend was happy to know but was sad at the same time because she would miss him when he would have gone. She expressed how she felt to John and she broke into tears saying repeatedly that she would miss him when he was gone. John bade her goodbye but on his way back home, he decided to stay back and her mother grow her business rather than going out of town. Michael, being practical, never told his girlfriend that he was leaving for good. He kept his career as his first priority and proceeded out of town to get a new life. He joined the company and then called up his girlfriend informing her that he had joined work but could not tell her because he wanted to surprise her with the news. His girlfriend showed the same emotions as John’s girlfriend had. But Michael told her that he would pray and try to marry her in the future but he would establish himself first so that he could keep her happy after marriage.

Five years went by now Michael is married to his then girlfriend and is also a manager in his company. They live in a bigger city and have bought a house of their own. They have their own individual cars and Michael is working on a plan to eventually start his own business and become and entrepreneur. He has been paying all medical bills for his father and has bought his mom a fresh vegetable business licensed outlet in her town.

John is still working on the fields and helping his mother in the business set up by Michael. His girlfriend ditched him three years ago blaming that he was a looser and could not be successful like his brother. He became so upset after she left that he tried to commit suicide but was saved by his father. He still has not been able to come out of the depression and sometimes isolates himself from the world.

Moral of the story is: Be practical in your approach towards life. Understand your priorities. Emotional ties can ruin your life, if they are not worth keeping. No one will care for you if you are an emotional fool but you will acquire everything that you have wanted if you are a practical winner.

The State of Mind of an Under-trial

Convicts we know they have been proven guilty and have been sentenced to a term of imprisonment. They know what they need to do through their term in jail. But there always remains a bunch of people who are neither proven convicts nor are they proven innocent but the charges levied against them makes it mandatory that they are in custody of the police till the trial is in progress. Imagine how one must feel when in jail even for sometime during the trial but later is proven innocent. Being in jail is very traumatic when you know that you are innocent but it has been not been proven. You are a socially labeled criminal even if you have been in jail for sometime regardless of you being innocent.


The psychological effect that a short term in jail as an under trail has on a person’s mind is unimaginable. People may go into irrecoverable depression. They could develop suicidal tendency unable to bear the social stigma. They loose friends and they start feeling isolated.

They loose their career and they face rejection almost everywhere because they have been in jail or they have been labeled “under trials” once. Sometimes, people who have been under trials, tend to develop criminal minds after they have seen how it is in jail. They become fearless and aggressive. And they also understand the judiciary and the law pretty well so they come to know about the loopholes as well. Under trials need a lot of counseling so that their mindset does not become negative. Most under trial victims do not rust the law and the judiciary because they had been wrongly blamed for a deed that they did not do. This is very dangerous for maintaining the sanctity of the judicial system. These very victims of wrong implementation of laws go against the law at a later stage in their lives. A lot of them become full fledged criminals and the judicial system has to be blamed for it. In most of the countries, trials take years and years because of the laid back attitude of the protectors of the law. And the under-trial is a victim to their laziness and incapability of making judgments. Some people who have been under-trials for miniscule of reasons have been behind the bars as an under-trial for several years. So how does it make a difference to them and their families if they are proven innocent at the end of the long trial? They have anyways been in jail for no reason. The governments should compensate the under-trials if they are finally proven innocent and let go. The government should restore their life back. But practically this seems to be impossible because one can restore the lost career of an under-trail but cannot compensate the trauma that he has gone through while he was rotting in jail without any reason.

To be proven guilty and serving a life term is much better than being under trial for no reason.

Linus Orakles
http://www.authorclub.info/

Spoilt Children – Parents Responsible

Children are the most intelligent living species on earth. No one else knows how much they can acquire other than children themselves. They can be very dangerous if not handled properly. Between the ages of 2 to 9 of the child parents have to be very careful about bringing them up.
It’s nice to pamper children but it’s important to identify where to draw the line. Over pampering could spoil your child. It is very important that the child must be taught basic etiquettes from the beginning. You should never delay teaching the child manners thinking that they are just kids. A child needs to learn etiquette and proper behavior right from childhood. There are parents who succumb to child’s little demands just to calm him down. Remember kids know that if they make a scene in public, they will get what they want. Kids usually make such demands at stores. If you just let the kid cry but don’t succumb to his cries, I bet your kid will not demand again. They have an unparalleled ability to test their parents’ patience.

I have seen some kids have a habit of peeping into rooms of the hosts when you take them to visit somebody’s home. I have noticed that the parents don’t stop them from doing that. This is just an example of parents spoiling their children. Remember the age old saying, “old habits die hard”. The child will not listen to you when they grow up if you don’t make them listen to you when they are kids. Discipline is the key word. It is the parents who need to identify the level of discipline for their kids. Teaching discipline does not mean that the parents have to be harsh on the children though. Majority of children need to be taught basic disciplines like value of money, respect to elders, friendly etiquette and their limits in doing anything.
We call trouble making youngsters as hooligans but they are like that because their parents have not brought them up in the right manner. We also need to remember that a child learns what he sees. Parents must behave in a manner that the child learns all the good things from them.
Children should be diverted towards better living and not towards a lavish life. Children should be given what they want but only after they have earned it. They should know the value of the gift that they have acquired. They should also be restrained from borrowing things from others. They should be taught not to compare their things with others. This comparison leads to materialistic competition within their social circle which leads to wastage of money. Children should be taught to manage their finances right from their teenage.
Today’s children are tomorrow’s managers. If they are not taught to manage themselves from their childhood, they will not be able to cope up with the competition when they face the real world. Home is the first school of a child.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Telemarketing Calls – Nuisance

You are driving and you are in heavy traffic. You have no time to even look at your watch. In this situation, you get a call from an unknown number on your mobile. You somehow pick up the call thinking that it might be an important call. You get to hear something funny like a ring-tone. Then someone starts advertising about ring-tones. The irony is that these are recorded calls and you can’t even interact with the caller. You get so frustrated with these calls, don’t you? There is a way to avoid such calls by registering your number with the “Do Not Call Registry”. The “DNC” is called other names in different countries. However, the registration process with the DNC is tedious. You need to pick and choose the categories in which you do not want the telemarketing calls.

The worst part is when you get calls from numbers which are mobile numbers. The recorded telemarketing calls should come from a number which should not look similar to a mobile number. They should consist of 5 or 6 digits so that people can identify them as telemarketing calls. The other way to control these telemarketing calls is by taking the customer’s consent when one actually takes up a new number. There should be a field in the new number application form which should ask for the customer’s willingness to receive telemarketing calls. Another effective way to make customers aware of the DNC registration is to provide the information on his monthly bills. A customer should be able to register himself for DNC through text message service and online too.

Further, telemarketing calls should be less jazzy and more informative. They should not sound like advertisements. People who would like to take advantage of the telemarketing calls would appreciate if they are informative not if they are jazzy.

Better management is required to handle telemarketing operations within telecom companies. It is becoming an increasing nuisance every day.

Linus Orakles

http://www.authorclub.info/

Perfume Vs Cologne

Majority of people I have seen or met have often asked the question about which perfume to wear. I did some research work and found out that perfume is for women and cologne is for men. I know you don’t have to get into a research for finding that. But I was never that interested in finding out about colognes and perfumes because I anyways don’t stink naturally. Ok, now why was a perfume invented? Of course, people must have been stinking real badly that led to the discovery of perfumes. Thanks to those people who discovered perfume, we have nice smelling people around.

A perfume is made by mixing varieties of fragrances, some natural and some artificial. Fragrances of flowers and fruits are mixed and concentrated into perfumes. Perfumes are mixed with ethanol, solvents and water. Perfumes have more percentage of essential oils than the colognes. Colognes usually are made of bold fragrances. Colognes are lesser concentrated than perfumes. Perfumes remain active for around 8 to 10 hours on an average but colognes stay for around 4 to 5 hours.

If you want that your perfume or cologne must linger on for a longer duration with your skin, apply a drop on the back of your neck and your wrist. These places of the body have the capacity to hold on to the perfume and spread it within the body because of the pulse rate.

It is essential these days that you wear a deodorant or a perfume or cologne when you move out of the house. Your own body odor is the last thing that you will identify yourself. It has become etiquette to smell good when you meet others. Choosing the right perfume or cologne is very essential depending upon the kind of occasion you are heading for.

Smell good and make others happy!

Linus Orakles

http://www.authorclub.info/




Misers Vs Spendthrifts

We always ponder upon our expenses. There are people who like to spend a lot and there are people who do not spend at all. It is important for all of us to categorize our expenses basis our priorities and our desires. Most of us are unable to prioritize our expenses. However, there are people who do not even spend on their needs. A human being needs some basic expenses to make. Good living, healthy food and proper communication facilities. Some people earn good money but they do not spend on their basic needs properly. And there are some who spend more than required on their needs. By good living we mean comfortable and not luxurious. People who are spendthrifts land up with burdens of loan and their repayments of other debts. On the other hand, misers save a lot and before the end of their lives do not know where to put the money.

Living a comfortable life means where you can afford a comfortable reasonable house at a convenient location. It also means eating healthy and nutritious food in a quantity that quenches your hunger. Commuting reasonably but comfortably also is a part of comfortable living.

Misers and spendthrifts can be differentiated with their definitions of comfortable living. Misers would spend the minimum money for their living. They will just spend for a shelter, to fill the stomach, to somehow travel and to just wear clean clothes, for the sake of it. Spendthrifts however prefer to live lavishly. They would spend their money to live in the best of houses with luxurious interiors and amenities. They would eat the best of food and top it up with the best of desserts. They would only wear branded garments and would commute in their own expensive car.

Being a spendthrift or a miser has its own pros and cons. A spendthrift never saves money and goes through a hidden financial crisis all the time. They are often neck deep in debts and keep running pillar to post to pay their debts. They maintain a very high lifestyle hence when they go through crisis it becomes very difficult for them to adjust to the fallen standards of living. Spendthrifts have a lot of friends and they spend a lot on socializing. Misers struggle all their lives even if they earn in millions. They do not enjoy even the basic amenities of life. They often land up with some or the other health problems because they do not spend on healthy food. Because of their forced misery, they are not social and they have very few friends. This becomes a problem when they need some people by their side at difficult times.

It is advisable to spend less but it does not mean that you live in self imposed pain. It is appreciated that you spend more but it does not imply that you fire up your bank balance. The most important is that you spend in a balanced manner and save money for rainy days as well. Maintain a moderate lifestyle and live comfortably.

Linus Orakles

http://www.authorclub.info/

Beware if you got a credit card

Credit cards are good till they help you spend when you need money. But these cute looking things can be very dangerous if you do not pay the bills regularly and keep any outstanding.

Initially the banks and credit card companies lure you to take a card by displaying unimaginable benefits and attractions. They say keeping a credit card is financial freedom. Its human psychology to acquire object of desire and this is the sentiment that the credit card companies strike on. They provide exuberant credit limits to the card holder so that he gets tied to the card with debts.

A debt is a debt. Keeping a credit card means never ending headache and tension. You pay around 2 % monthly interest rate on your credit card balance, it actually means 24% or more in a year. On top of that, if you have an outstanding balance, the interest rate is applied on the total outstanding balance. You have to add the late payment fees with the capital spent to the accrued capital on which the interest rate is applied. If you keep paying just the minimum balance due every month, you will notice that you have landed up paying more than the money spent at the end of the year and still your actual spent remains unpaid. Plus you will have to pay the compoundable interest rate on your total outstanding balance. God forbid, if you spend something new on your card when you are already paying a high amount of interest rate, your new spent will be added up to the previous balance and will be charged at a weird interest rate, not the 2%. So at the end of the year, you land up with a 36% or more interest rate on your credit card bills.

Added to the weird interest rate trauma, you need to pay annual charges which are actually baseless. The writing off of the annual fee might solve a minimum balance issue for a couple of months. This means, annual fee is an added problem. And they come with the outstanding bill. That means they get added up to the chargeable capital with accrued interest.

Lets say you don’t use your card for a quarter of the year and you have no outstanding to pay off. You will still get a minimum payment to pay every month. This is called the no usage charge. This is not all; you have hidden charges in balance transfer to some other new card. You need to pay extra interest rate on cash withdrawal.

The toughest part is, if you fail to pay your credit card bills for a long time, one day you realize that you can’t pay the outstanding any longer and you are lost. Then comes the part where you start running away from the bank’s collection agency. Enter trouble. You feel like a criminal and you can’t negotiate with the collection agencies so easily. They are a pack of goons hired to dig out money from the debtors. The irony is, first the bank comes begging to you to give you a credit card. Then you go begging to them to negotiate on the final payment. As if banks have taken an oath to label you a fraud and they are bound to deplete your credit rating. A credit card is like a witch which disguises as an angel and then leads you to the darkest of dungeons to suck your blood away.

Spend what you earn and be happy. Control your desires, kill your wants and be concerned only with your needs. Avoid owning credit cards.

Linus Orakles

http://www.authorclub.info/

An African Dictator

Mobutu Sese Seko was the president of the Republic of Zaire. He was one of the many dictators in the African continent who stood out from the rest due to his abilities of political manipulations, managing to be friendly with the west, lavish lifestyle and longevity of rule. He called himself by this lengthy name: Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga, meaning, the all-powerful warrior who, because of his endurance and inflexible will to win, goes from conquest to conquest, leaving fire in his wake.

Mobutu’s education was in a Catholic mission boarding school. A physically imposing figure, he dominated school sports. He also excelled in academics.
Mobutu once stowed away aboard a boat to his native town and met a girl. The priests found him several weeks later, and at the end of the school year he was sent to the Belgian Congolese army as a punishment where he had to serve for seven years.

Mobutu found discipline in army life. His interest for studies was kept up as he got to borrow European newspapers and books from the Belgian officers. He was often found reading them on sentry duty and whenever he had a spare moment. His favorites were the writings of French President Charles de Gaulle, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Italian philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli. His appetite for reading and writing made him quit the army and become a full-time journalist.
As a journalist Mobutu got chances to travel across the length and breadth of the country. He met many of the young Congolese intellectuals who were challenging colonial rule.

Lumumba was the Prime Minister of the country and Mobutu became closer to the prime minister and eventually became Lumumba's personal aide, though several contemporaries indicate that Belgian intelligence had recruited Mobutu to be an informer by this point.
Mobutu was then appointed as Chief of Staff of the Army. Lumumba was inclined more towards the Soviet Union. He received massive military aid from them and appointed Soviet technical advisers to assist him in his administration. The communist influence irked Mobutu. As Army Chief of Staff, Mobutu came under great pressure from multiple sources. The embassies of Western nations, which helped pay the soldiers' salaries, as well as Mobutu's subordinates who wanted him to get rid of the Soviet presence.

Mobutu took control over the country in a CIA-sponsored coup. The Mobutu era started as he assumed absolute powers.
Facing many challenges early in his rule, Mobutu was able to turn most opposition into submission through patronage; those he could not, he dealt with forcefully.
By 1970, nearly all potential threats to his authority had been smashed, law and order was brought to nearly all parts of the country. That year marked the pinnacle of Mobutu's legitimacy and power.

As he consolidated power Mobutu set up several military forces whose sole purpose was to protect him. The country was renamed to the Republic of Zaire.
Africans were ordered to drop their Christian names for African ones, and priests were warned that they would face 5 years imprisonment if they were caught baptizing a Zairian child with a Christian name. Western attire and ties were banned, and men were forced on to ethnic wear.

Early in his rule, Mobutu consolidated power by publicly executing political rivals, coup plotters, and other threats to his rule. To set an example, many were hanged before large audiences. A favorite Mobutu tactic was to rotate members of his government, switching the cabinet roster constantly to ensure that no one would pose a threat to his rule.

Mobutu owned a fleet of luxury vehicles that he used to travel between his numerous palaces, while the nation's roads rotted and many of his people starved. Infrastructure virtually collapsed, and many public service workers went months without being paid. Most money was siphoned off to Mobutu, his family and top political and military leaders. Only the special Presidential Division - on whom his physical safety depended - was paid adequately or regularly.

Mobutu was known to charter a Concorde from Air France for personal use, including shopping trips to Paris for himself and his family. He had an airport constructed in his hometown with a runway long enough to accommodate the Concorde's extended take off and landing requirements.
In 1984 Mobutu had an estimated amount of USD 5 billion, most of it in Swiss banks.

Mobutu shared a good relation with many US presidents, Mobutu's relationship with the U.S. radically changed shortly afterwards with the end of the Cold War. With the Soviet Union gone, there was no longer any reason to support Mobutu as a barricade against communism. In 1993, Mobutu was denied a visa by the United States after he sought to visit Washington D.C.

Mobutu had signed a treaty of friendship and cooperation between Zaire and Belgium. However, Mobutu tore up the treaty in 1974 in protest of Belgium's refusal to ban an anti-Mobutu book written by left-wing lawyer Jules Chomé.

Mobutu shared a cordial relationship with France. As the second largest French speaking country in the world and the largest one in Sub Saharan Africa, Zaire was of great strategic interest to France. There were many instances when France itself would send troops to aid Mobutu.

The downfall of Mobutu started when the elections were held in the country. Opposition parties during election called for Mobutu to resign. He responded by killing 100 student demonstrators at a university. This led to international outrage and uprisings throughout the country. The results were declared and Mobutu was defeated. He was unhappy with the results and he fired the new prime minister, which then outraged the west. Western countries demanded Mobutu honor the elected prime minister, which he refused.

This was the time for angered neighbors to besiege on Zaire. Rwanda planned an attack which it had been long waiting for to eliminate Hutu extremists who had been sheltered by Zaire. Rwanda had the support of Burundi and Uganda. Collectively they attacked Zaire. Ailing with cancer, Mobutu was unable to coordinate the resistance. Tutsis community had long opposed Mobutu, due to his open support for Rwandan Hutu extremists responsible for the Rwandan Genocide. Tutsis of Zaire also erupted in rebellion as they had been waiting to take revenge on Mobutu as his government had issued an order in November 1996 forcing Tutsis to leave Zaire on penalty of death. The troops attacking the capital Kinshasa and succeeded in capturing it and they renamed the country as Democratic Republic of Congo.
Mobutu went into temporary exile in Togo but lived mostly in Morocco. He then died of prostate cancer in Morocco.

Mobutu was the most corrupt African leader. By the time he was overthrown in 1997, Mobutu had stolen almost half of the $12bn in aid money that Zaire - now the Democratic Republic of Congo - received from the IMF during his 32-year reign, leaving his country saddled with a crippling debt.

Linus Orakles

http://www.authorclub.info/


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