It is astonishing how time flies! I cannot believe it is one year already since I had started “This Blogging Thing,” an unlikely name for a blog. Yes, my friends, today, September 7, 2012 is exactly one year since This Blogging Thing, and I came together, and we are extremely proud of the union. Things were rough in the beginning. There was a time when we were not sure whether we belonged. However, as the year progressed, we grew closer and closer. Today we are inseparable.
Still, none of this would have been possible without WordPress who has given us the platform and most of all, my beloved blogging buddies, who have embraced and invited us on their computer screens. To all, I would like to say thanks for your support. Your kinds words and encouragement have been tremendously inspiring. For that, I am extraordinarily grateful.
I look forward to your continued support over the next months, and years to come.
Being happy doesn’t mean that everything is perfect. It means you’ve decided to look beyond your imperfections. -Unknown
The recently concluded Olympic Games were a success, but that depend on who you talk to. There were tears of joy and tears of disappointment.
Many Olympians spent most of the last four years training—training really hard to get to the games. Some set their expectations very high. Anything less than a gold medal is considered a complete failure–a bust, and a letdown. Still, many were satisfied that they got the chance to compete.
One such athlete is Oscar Pistorius, (or Blade Runner, as he is also called) of South Africa. He was elated that he finally got the chance to compete at the Olympics; to show off his talents. Pistorius spent the better part of eight years fighting weighted red tapes and barriers designed to prevent him from competing against world class able bodied athletes. Barred from competing at the Beijing Olympics, Pistorius kept fighting, and in the summer of 2012 he got the chance to fulfill his life long dream.
The Pistorius story is singularly fascinating and inspiring. We will remember it for many years to come. He was born without a fibula in either leg.
Both of his legs were later amputated below the knee when he was eleven months. But Pistorius learnt to look beyond his imperfections and be content with who he is.
“I grew up in a household with my elder brother, Carl, where my mother didn’t ever mention my disability,” Pistorius says.
“She didn’t treat me any differently. She was probably harder on me because of it and she never let me pity myself.
“She said to me: ‘Carl puts on his shoes in the morning and you put on your legs, and that’s the last I want to hear about it’.”
“People ask why I want to run in the Olympics, what am I trying to prove,” Pistorius says.
“Well, I just want to prove to myself that I am the best I can be.
Oscar Pistorius of South Africa (or Blade Runner, as he is also called) did get the chance prove to himself and the world, that he is a world-class athlete. He silenced his critics when he ran in the men’s 400-meters race as well as the 4×400 meters relay in London, making history as the first double amputee to compete in the Olympic Games. And though Pistorius did not medal in his events, he told reporters that his experience in London had been “phenomenal.
On July 7, 2012, Tennis superstar Serena Williams, won her fourteenth grand slam titles and her fifth at the All England Tennis Club (Wimbledon). Serena joins her sister Venus who also won five Wimbledon titles. It was an emotional win for Serena and her family as well as many of her fans.
However, without putting a damper on Serena’s spectacular win, the high point of the Tennis championships were her conduct and her performance. Serena seems to have finally come to grips with her mortality and grows up. This time around, she did not cause any media buzz, nor was she clad in any outlandish, over-the-top sexually provocative attire. Her grace and power was the focal point, and she conducted herself like a lady through out.
Still Serena’s 2012 story is an extraordinary and inspiring one. For her to come back from a life threatening illness to win Wimbledon, is no small feat. In her post game interview she talked about how she prayed to get back doing what she loves doing–playing tennis.
Bill O’Reilly makes no secret about his disdain for OWS protesters. So, it’s not surprising that he continues to attack them with contempt. He seems to forget that OWS protesters have the right to protest–just like he had the right to protest in a TV studio, some years ago.
In his recent article on Townhall.com, titled, “Memo to the Occupiers,” Mr. O’Reilly continues his subtle but vicious attack on the movement, referring to protesters as “you protest people,” and “hypocrites.” He even interject Cuba in his argument, as if to say if protesters did not like it here, they should go to Cuba.
This is how O’Reilly addressed the OWS movement:
Listen up, you protest people! You have gone and alienated Newt Gingrich, who wants you to take a bath and get a job. Or vice-versa. And his words were greeted with applause from coast to coast. You guys should take notice.
A couple of months ago, the polls showed that many Americans sympathized with your movement. After all, who likes greed-head Wall Street folks manipulating the financial markets? They bathe, but so what? They’re corrupt, and you are right to demand that the government provide oversight on them.
But that point has been largely lost because the Occupy movement is now perceived as radical and incoherent. The loons moved in, and the sincere protesters ceded the spotlight. All of a sudden, the Sons of Anarchy were getting all the camera time. Most Americans are willing to listen, but not to guys with scorpions tattooed on their necks. And then there were the ugly displays of police-baiting and mindless destruction.
The result: According to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, just 28 percent of Americans now approve of the Occupy movement, and James Carville will no longer take their calls.
But the primary reason this correspondent has turned bearish (sorry) on the Occupy Wall Street movement is hypocrisy. Recently, the feds announced that executives at the near bankrupt Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac agencies would receive close to $100 million in bonus money. Also, the guy who ran Solyndra into bankruptcy got a nice departure package despite the fact that the solar-panel company wasted about $500 million of taxpayer money.
So where are you on those things, Occupiers? Why are you besieging a Burger King in San Diego when the real corruption is in Washington, D.C.?
What Bill O’Reilly and his heartless conservative friends at Fox News, and elewhere fail to understand is this: OWS protesters or( the 99%) are the 99ers, who have lost their jobs, homes and personal belongings as a result of reckless behaviour on Wall Street. These are the same people who had their unemployment benefits ran out because Republican in congress refused to extend them. These protesters are hurting, and they are crying out for help. Politics and government have failed. The only alternative is to take to the streets in protest.
Your failure is now complete. You were faced with a generational challenge to save Americans from the type of collapse European countries are now facing and you blinked. Actually, you did worse.
titles and her fifth at the All 
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