Obama Race Speech

Look, it’s no secret that I digg Obama, but this speech has just made me gain more respect for the man. It’s not only the media wagging their tongues, but it’s the way he has handled himself and the way that he is tackling the issue of race. He is diplomatic in his approach, yet honest. He’s not skittish about things.

If anyone is going to deal with racial issues in the US, in a fair and honest way, it’ll be Obama. He does not deny the anger that still hangs in the air, and at the same time, he does not overlook the progress that his country has gone through.

He is the man who will “Change the Conversation”…. and if I may be so bold to say – I think that he’ll be America’s Mandela in my opinion.

I strongly recommend you read the article and watch the speech - Chicago Tribune

On the Cafferty File – Jack Cafferty poses the question “Does Obama’s race matter?”. Many interesting comments have come through. While many say that his race doesn’t actually matter, others (obviously) say it does. One commenter said that he has heard people saying “I am not voting for a black guy.” That’s no shocker to me. While Obama’s race matters in terms of the racial history and the racist rut the the world (and the US) finds itself in,  it definitely  shouldn’t be the focus, his merits and ability to lead is what the focus should be on, and I see that coming through from the people who are joining the conversation on blogs and other news articles.

Someone else also said that they won’t vote for Obama because of the people he associates with. This comment is linked to the statements made be Reverend Wright – the key person who actually pushed Obama to address the issue. They likened it to associating with a Nazi.

For me this is taken out of perspective. There are many people who have a streak of racism that I associate with – both black and white and I’m sure that this person associates with them also. Just about everyone does. If you say this is a lie, you’re a liar. Now if you’re going to paint Obama in the way this person does, you are being unfair.

We work for organisations and belong to groups or organisations where people have in some way or another been influenced by racism. Again, this is a rut that the world is stuck in and to deny it is to run away form reality. I’m not saying everyone is racist – heck no, but there are a lot of ordinary, well meaning, generally good people who are unfortunately influenced by the stereotypes propagated in their communities. This you cannot deny. Now we do not necessarily disassociate ourselves from them, although we do correct them when they do throw out off colour and unfair comments. Just like Obama does. He does not excuse Rev. Wright, instead he calls for all Americans to heal.

To view more comments on this issue, visit The Cafferty File on CNN’s Political Ticker

Death by Prescripton – much like Ledger

I’m talking about one of my favourite actors who died earlier this year – something that’s still saddening and it’s in relation to his cause of death – a problem that is facing many people the world over – and is said to be on the rise due to stressful modern living.

Now the death of Heath Ledger was an accidental overdose of a combination of prescription drugs namely; narcotic painkillers, anxiety pills and sleep medication – Prof. Daya from Rhodes University calls it  a Pharmacological panel beating.

Sadly many individuals become addicted to this medication – and may do “doctor and pharmacy hopping” so they can get a hold of the drugs in unsafe proportions.

Highly stressed business professionals are named amongst the most susceptiable people to get trapped in this addiction. The drugs are meant to  be used in  small proportions and for a short duration. Addicts will eventually gain a tolerance to them but this only increases the danger of an overdose that leads to fatality.

Now I’ve got insomnia and I never take sleeping pills for fear of getting addicted to them. Obviously one can excersise self control – but that is pretty much waht’ you’d say for many of the people who are addicted to these substances, whether they be family, friends, associates and colleagues.

Arthur Clarke, Dies at 90

A phenomenal visionary of the 20th century died today…. If you’re not a science fiction fan the name may have no meaning to you, but here are a few things he envisioned and inspired people to develop. Things that influence your daily life:

- In 1945,  he first proposed the idea of communications satellites that could be based in geostationary orbits, which keep satellites in a fixed position relative to the ground  – the idea was ridiculed and a generation later there was the lunch of Early Bird, the first of the commercial satellites that provide global communications networks for telephone, television and high-speed digital communication. The orbit is now named Clarke Orbit by the International Astronomical Union.

- Oneof his short stories, “Dial F for Frankenstein” (1964), inspired British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee to invent the World Wide Web in 1989.

The man wrote 100 novels – and over 1000 short stories and essays. His work has been internationally recognized and won him many prestigious awards, and he has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

If you’re a movie junkie – you may know his work from the 2001 movie “A Space Odyssey” – regarded one of the most important Sci-Fi movies made. – WASHINGTONPOST.COM

So here’s one more name to add to your list of favourite people – depending on whether technology scares you or not. Even so  – our technophobes would die if they were faced with the life of even the 19th century.