So, during the Thanksgiving break, what should have been a fun time with family, turned out as an anxious viewing period with late night reading and trying to follow the events as they occurred in Mumbai. Just the thought that someone could come in and take over a hotel – causing so much distress – was beyond my comprehension. A part of me was in denial that these acts were actually occurring. To think that some idiot – in the name of religion – had planned these events and taken these kids to kill with no remorse was sickening. I have never quite understood how anyone is able to brainwash people to kill in the name of religion, and if anything this incident proved that that is not the case. These individuals were not there to fight for religion or a cause, but to get a paycheck at the end. For them, this “cause” was not about justice but about earning some money and I have always felt that this has been an underlining cause with a lot of these attacks in the past and will continue to be in the future. In Kashmir, this act has been going on for some time where young boys are taken from poor families and then trained to become militants. It goes back to the whole “nature versus nurture” argument and what this proves is that you can indeed, after constantly bombarding an individual with propaganda, make them believe what you want them to.

These militant leaders are probably the worst kind of people because as they spend their lives hidden in caves and then send these young men out to kill innocent civilians. If indeed you have a cause to fight for, learn from such individuals like Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi who took on nations of grand stature and changed our societies for the better. But the reality is, and you don’t have a cause that is just, it’s a mission of hate. Ironically, these groups are first built by the US and then we go in to dismantle them. Where are all these weapons supplied from for these idiots to perform these acts – the developed nations who want to profit from guns and ammunition. We need the money they need the goods, but does that make us just as guilty? In a court of law, guilt by association is often cited as an enough to indict someone. So, shouldn’t we hold nations – even our own – accountable for giving these tools of destruction? Think about it for a second, where are these militants getting money to purchase these goods. I can’t imagine they are raking up profits in the caves and from hiding. What we need to focus on is those who are aiding these groups. We have to cut off the supply to eradicate the problem. I sincerely hope that instead of India and Pakistan arguing over whether these militants were Pakistani or not they instead focus on the issue of militants’ period. That is remove the association of nation or religion and deal with the fact that this breed of people exist and we have to go to the root them out no matter where they may reside. We have to do this for a better society everywhere – focus on our common enemy: terrorists!

India and Pakistan are now at a point in time where they can truly work together to make the world a safer place. The US has always in the past blindly sided with Pakistan but today there is hard evidence to prove that these people are training and creating these militants in Pakistan and now as a global society – because truly now we are a global environment – we must demand that action be taken to root of these people. Also, as ordinary citizens we must display a sense of unity that indeed it is us against them: that is, we, the global society who wants peace and harmony against them, the terrorists whose sole purpose is to instill hatred and fear. We can do this, and we must do it.

I’m really amazed at skeptics to Obama in regards to his “lack of experience.” This gentleman has run a very well organized campaign. I don’t think anyone can argue that his campaign has been run much better than Senator McCain’s; in fact, his campaign has been referred to as an well oiled machine so why would we think he can’t do the same when he runs a nation? Seriously, the argument against is experience, especially when coming from McCain and his party is ludicrous: It’s like the pot calling the kettle black. McCain’s age is an issue and the chances of Palin taking over as our nations’ president are far greater than any other Vice President in history and her lack of experience scares the daylights out of me. I don’t trust her and she has proven over and over again she was a bad choice.

It’s hilarious to me that McCain keeps on ridiculing Obama but the arguments he uses against Obama can be directly applied to his own running mate. His number one doubt against Obama was his “lack of experience” yet who does he go out and choose to be his running mate? Hello, maybe I’m not well versed in political campaigning but I do feel that he first decision he made as president to be was to pick his running mate and his report card has gone down ever since. He attempted to get a little shock factor with Palin and it worked but did he really think he could drag it out till November? Voters are not that stupid and, as I’ve said before, I’m actually disgusted with the fact that he feels that women should vote for Palin just because she is a woman. Its not a matter of gender; it is a matter of our future and that of our upcoming generations and I do not think she will be able to bring is out of this economical mess and other important matters. All she knows how to do is open her big mouth and put her foot right into it; I can totally see that working in this global environment. Well, I guess one good thing would be our list of nations not liking us would grow rapidly.

Anyways, I’m really looking forward to this election being over and nation being able to move forward. I think having Obama as president would be very good for our nation; its time for change and I believe he will be that change. Heck, if he can run our nation as well as his campaign we are going to be very blessed. Our nation needs some fine tuning; maybe he will be the one to provide it.

The second of three debates is over and much as expected there wasn’t any new or revealing about either candidate that stands out. Hence, I’m not going to even bother to say who won or lost because it was really a no-changer debate. What I will talk about is my observations during the debate. I thought it was interesting how Obama made a few up to date remarks allowing me to think that he was at least making an effort to keep up to date with what was going on. For example, his mentioning the gas prices in Tennessee made me think he was being observant about his surroundings or has people who are at least paying attention to such small details. Also, his talking about the AIG’s recent actions once again showed me that he is aware of what is going on.

Another observation was how McCain was so antsy. Seriously, Obama came across as being someone who was calm, charismatic, and presidential; McCain, on the other hand, was like a wounded dog. He was all over the place, couldn’t sit still, probably wrote a novel in the 90 minutes he was sitting there because his thoughts were probably all over the place (whereas I didn’t see Obama having to write down anything) and was just so desperate to try to get a zinger in here or there. And the icing on the cake was how he vanished so quickly after the debate; whereas, Obama and Michelle hung out and mingled with the audience. To me that shows someone who cares about what is going on with the people.

I truly have to say that I honestly do believe that McCain wants to lose this election race. From his selection of his running mate to his current ads and constant flip flopping on the issues, he seems like a candidate who has given up. Think about when he wanted to suspend his campaign to work on the bill in the Senate; can’t he multitask more than one issue at a time or did he just not want to go out and campaign? Maybe his travelling must be taking a toll on his health; he did look uncomfortable at the debate (at one point I really thought he was going to ask for a bathroom break and that was why he wasn’t able to sit and be comfortable).  Whatever may be the reason, I think its only fair that Obama wins this election because he is a candidate that I do see working for us. Honestly speaking, there is a lot of work to be done and we need someone with energy and vigor but at the same time someone who is cool under pressure. Just remember go out and vote because, now more than ever, our vote matters for us and our upcoming generations.

That old saying, “you’d better be careful what you say or it may come back to haunt you?” Well, McCain’s latest character attacks via his running mate Palin seem to exhibit that to the fullest. In April he stated that he was “… making it very clear, as I have a couple of times in the past, that there’s no place for that kind of campaigning, and the American people don’t want it.” Well, what changed between then and now? Obviously the major change is the fact that he is falling behind in the polls. He and his running mate are so desperate right now that they are going to the old school tactics. They too like Bush in 2004 are succumbing to character assassination – as you can see this ticket is just a repeat of Bush and for claiming to be different they just went to prove yet again how similar they are to Bush. Imagine the sense of déjà vu if they get elected?  Na, its time for change and Obama is that change. I have one question for you all – had he been a white candidate would you think we’d be sitting here even contemplating if there was any chance he wouldn’t win?  Seriously, in this day and age with such diversity it’s amazing we are still having these discussions based on color. I truly hope with all my heart that Obama wins and that he paves the way for other minorities to follow suit.  America is a nation blessed with diversity and its time for some of the diversity to make it to the nation’s highest position.

So have we really become so hi-tech that we don’t need to parent anymore? Everything comes with parental controls and now from 2010 so will cars. First let me start out by saying I think this is a cool idea, but it does sadden me that we require such a tool instead of just being able to parent like how our parents did. I always tell my mom that she has it so much easier raising us then we do today; and I think the various parental control options go to prove it. My mom didn’t have to worry about the remote, the phone, the internet and the car – but I do. Or do I?

I don’t think all these mechanisms are required and in fact just like hackers and programs; kids figure out ways to get around them. The only true way to parent ones child is to become actively involved in day to day activities. Spend some time with your kids today; honestly, you’ll see the impact it will have. Let’s get our lazy asses off the cruise control and jump back into getting involved in our kid’s lives.