The long term Senator from the state of Massachusetts was laid to rest yesterday in the Arlington Memorial burial grounds in Virginia. This was after a church service in Boston that was attended by former Presidents Jimmy Carter and his wife,George Walker Bush and his wife and Bill Clinton and the present US secretary of state. The current president and his wife also attended the ceremony.
What I remember about the long term serving senator from Massachusetts is that he was the third part of the famous brothers, two of which lost their lives in the 1960s. John F Kennedy killed in office and Senator Robert Kennedy assassinated while running for the presidency of the United States. Edward Kennedy was then left with the burden of carrying on with the legacy of the family. He did run for presidency of the US and lost to Jimmy Carter in the 1976 presidential elections. He was a champion of world peace and justice and fought for the end of apartheid in South Africa. He did get to visit South Africa in the 1970s and his picture was flashed all over the local and national newspapers.
Though he lost the race for the US presidency, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise because there after he focused his attention on the senate in which he would be greatly remembered. Champion of issues such as human rights, minority rights and justice across the nation in particular and the world in general, the "Lion" as he came to be known in the senate would be greatly missed by the Democrats in general and the current president whom he helped in his race for the top job in the nation.
There was a lot in his personal life and if you want to read about it try a book titled "Senatorial Privilege" that chronicles his early life as a senator from Massachusetts.
I believe he is the last in the line of the famous Kennedy. The person that I thought would have carried on with the legacy was J F Kennedy Jr. The son of the former president, JFK, but he passed away in a tragic plane accident in 1999 and Edward Kennedy was there with the rest of the family again to mourn another lost in the great family.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
अबिलिटी तो स्लीप फॉर एइघ्त एंड हाफ hour
It read an article today on USA today about the fact that we as individuals need about 8 and a half hour of sleep a day to function properly and it got me thinking about how much sleep I have been getting of late. Lately I have been sleeping in stretches of periods that I do not believe come close to the required 8 and half hour of sleeping. What usually happens is that at around 6pm I would fall asleep and be gone for about 3 hours. The sleep would totally then disappear from my eyes. I know right away from experience that there is no way that I am going to fall asleep again. What I then do is to head to where the television set is and start to flip through the channels. I would watch a few news items about world events, local news, local and international sporting news,some music and lastly a movie if I could catch a good one. Catching a good movie depends on the characters in the movies. I would be flipping through the channels and bingo I would see an actor that I recognize and know that they have made some good movies in the past and I would stick to that channel through the movie. There are no commercial breaks in the movie channels that I watch so the flow of the movie is uninterrupted. The time sorts of passes quickly when I am watching a movie and by the time that I looked at the clock if would be around 4.30 to 5.00am and I would be ready to go back to sleep. I then get about two to three hours of additional sleep and that would be it for the day. The routine continues the next day.
Solutions.
It the past what I used to do it go get some exercise. That helps a lot.I used to play soccer,jog or go to the gym and work myself out. What it did was it made me so tired that once I get home I just kind of crash out to sleep. I did try some sleeping aids in the past through the recommendations of a doctor. What happened though is that when you start taking the pills, they work very well in the beginning. After some time though you do get deep sleep but the period of rest starts to run short. Your body adjust to the amount of drugs that you take and starts to resist. The drug that I took was called Stresstabs and they are an over the counter medication.
The second approach is to take some alcohol.
Alcohol would help get you to sleep also and this is like the approach that a lot of people take to get to sleep. The approach is good for people that do not get sick. Personally there are periods during which I take alcohol and it does not seem to have any negative effect on me. But what I have realized is that over a period of continuous intake,I get sick. Some type of stomach complication arises and If I touch a drop of alcohol I would feel so much pain to the extend that I would not only not get any sleep at all, I would feel pain throughout the night. So that is why there are periods of time that I just flat out stay away from alcohol
Music
What I do sometime if I want to fall asleep is to put about three good musical cds in my mini-system and just lie in bed. The music would be playing and by the time that I realize I would be fast asleep.You have to select a cd though that has some continuous good tracks in them. You listen to one good track after another and by the time you realize,you would be fast asleep.
Solutions.
It the past what I used to do it go get some exercise. That helps a lot.I used to play soccer,jog or go to the gym and work myself out. What it did was it made me so tired that once I get home I just kind of crash out to sleep. I did try some sleeping aids in the past through the recommendations of a doctor. What happened though is that when you start taking the pills, they work very well in the beginning. After some time though you do get deep sleep but the period of rest starts to run short. Your body adjust to the amount of drugs that you take and starts to resist. The drug that I took was called Stresstabs and they are an over the counter medication.
The second approach is to take some alcohol.
Alcohol would help get you to sleep also and this is like the approach that a lot of people take to get to sleep. The approach is good for people that do not get sick. Personally there are periods during which I take alcohol and it does not seem to have any negative effect on me. But what I have realized is that over a period of continuous intake,I get sick. Some type of stomach complication arises and If I touch a drop of alcohol I would feel so much pain to the extend that I would not only not get any sleep at all, I would feel pain throughout the night. So that is why there are periods of time that I just flat out stay away from alcohol
Music
What I do sometime if I want to fall asleep is to put about three good musical cds in my mini-system and just lie in bed. The music would be playing and by the time that I realize I would be fast asleep.You have to select a cd though that has some continuous good tracks in them. You listen to one good track after another and by the time you realize,you would be fast asleep.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
हिव-टेस्ट रिजल्ट इस NEGATIVE
I woke up late today because I was up catching up on a Nollywood movie that had two parts to it. Either the movies are getting better or I am just getting used to them. The only complain that I have now about the movies is that they always have at least a part one and a part two on a movie that can be compressed into a single unit.I then decided to take a walk down towards Likomba round-about. For people that are not familiar with where the place is, it is at the intersection that takes people to Douala, Tiko,Limbe or Buea depending on your destination. I did stop by the computer cafe at long street and bought a ticket for 500 francs CFA which allows you to get about 2 and a half hour of internet time, good for a period of 8 days.Meaning if you do not use up the minutes before the eight days expire then you lose them. I used up about 2 minutes checking on a website and continued my journey towards the roundabout. Once I got there I saw a sign about a test going on for hypertension and diabetes for free and decided to take the test,afterall I had some free time on my hands. I went and stood on the line, got a ticket number 079 after showing them my ID card and answering a few personal questions, then I was pointed to another area in which the test was to take place.
Once I got to the test area, it turned out that there were testing for HIV aids. I have never done one before and I decided to go for it. What they did is they took blood samples using a needle and told me to show back in about half an hours time for the result.I then took a cab and headed to a place called Mutengene. I was just passing the time. I reached Mutengene, check on something and decided to make the returned trip on foot to get some exercise.I have been eating too much of late. Has to be the fact that the gastric pain that I occasionally suffer from has gotten better.
I made it back to the testing area and met some friends from the past that had also taken the test. I was not worried at all. I am usually careful once it gets to getting off my pants. So what they did is they call your number then send you to the back of a four wheel vechicle with a counselor in it.
The counselor then hands you your result and you open it and it says negative. They then explain in the message what I negative test result means. It means even if you have the disease it has not developed to the stage of showing up on the test. Or better yet, you do not have the disease at all which is good news.
Once I got to the test area, it turned out that there were testing for HIV aids. I have never done one before and I decided to go for it. What they did is they took blood samples using a needle and told me to show back in about half an hours time for the result.I then took a cab and headed to a place called Mutengene. I was just passing the time. I reached Mutengene, check on something and decided to make the returned trip on foot to get some exercise.I have been eating too much of late. Has to be the fact that the gastric pain that I occasionally suffer from has gotten better.
I made it back to the testing area and met some friends from the past that had also taken the test. I was not worried at all. I am usually careful once it gets to getting off my pants. So what they did is they call your number then send you to the back of a four wheel vechicle with a counselor in it.
The counselor then hands you your result and you open it and it says negative. They then explain in the message what I negative test result means. It means even if you have the disease it has not developed to the stage of showing up on the test. Or better yet, you do not have the disease at all which is good news.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Is the World Recession Coming to an End
Most of the news articles that I have been reading or seeing recently contained good news about the economy of the leading nations in the world.From the US to the nations in the Far East there are signs pointing towards a pickup in activities that are leading indications in nations economy.This would be good news for the nations in general and individuals in particular. Recessions are bad news for everybody and this one was not any different. There is something though that can be said about recessions. It looked like it does not hit the people that are already at the bottom of the ladder in terms of economic success. The reason in my opinion is that these individuals have adjusted very well to living with the little that they have. They may be farmers, small businessmen, traders and hawkers. They have the fighting spirit in them and the recession seems to be an everyday thing to them. They just ride along with it.
The big guys though feel it the most. The adjustment that you have to make especially if a job lost is involved is pretty drastic. You can find yourself going from owning a car,renting your own apartment to losing all of that and finding yourself in the street somewhere. It happens and you have to be a very strong individual to be able to survive it. Some people do not make it and some that do are never the same after the recession is over.
I am currently living in the Republic of Cameroon and the country according to their present minister of public works, went through a recession that started in the late 1980s and lasted for a period of about 15 years. This current world recession did not seem to affect a lot of people here in my opinion. Things such as foodstuffs, gasoline prices went up a little but that was about it. There was one mass strike during the current recession period in the country and it had to do with gasoline prices that where due to go up. The strike was staged primarily in the economic capital of the country, which is Douala,though various other smaller cities were involved.
If the current world recession is really coming to an end what are the lessons that we would have learn from the current crisis. Greed drove this recession and a little bit of moderation in our lifestyles might help prevent future severe recessions. The minor ones are always going to be around due to the law of economics. You can not continue to have good times all of the time. There is always bound to be a downturn. The idea is not to make it a man made downturn as the great depression of the 1920s and this current one were.
The big guys though feel it the most. The adjustment that you have to make especially if a job lost is involved is pretty drastic. You can find yourself going from owning a car,renting your own apartment to losing all of that and finding yourself in the street somewhere. It happens and you have to be a very strong individual to be able to survive it. Some people do not make it and some that do are never the same after the recession is over.
I am currently living in the Republic of Cameroon and the country according to their present minister of public works, went through a recession that started in the late 1980s and lasted for a period of about 15 years. This current world recession did not seem to affect a lot of people here in my opinion. Things such as foodstuffs, gasoline prices went up a little but that was about it. There was one mass strike during the current recession period in the country and it had to do with gasoline prices that where due to go up. The strike was staged primarily in the economic capital of the country, which is Douala,though various other smaller cities were involved.
If the current world recession is really coming to an end what are the lessons that we would have learn from the current crisis. Greed drove this recession and a little bit of moderation in our lifestyles might help prevent future severe recessions. The minor ones are always going to be around due to the law of economics. You can not continue to have good times all of the time. There is always bound to be a downturn. The idea is not to make it a man made downturn as the great depression of the 1920s and this current one were.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Working for AT&T Wireless
I joined AT$T Wireless in the second half of 2000.The transition to AT&T wireless was made easy by a guy named Don Johnson.He used to call me Doctor Tambe all the time and I always wondered why.I had worked with him at Circuit City and during the period that employees were leaving Circuit City to join Sprint Spectrum,he left and joined AT&T wireless instead.While I was at Sprint PCS I was always in contact with him and he said that anytime that I felt as to join At&t Wireless I should let him know.I did let him know when the time came that I wanted to leave Sprint PCS and he was the one that told me of an interview that was being conducted in the Beltsville area to hire new employees for AT&T wireless.He even told me what store to insist on going to.At the time he was the Assistant Manager of the AT&T store in Rockville but he pushed to get me hired in the location in downtown Washington DC in which a friend of his was the manager.
I started working there, in the Connecticut and L street store located in NW Washington DC.I worked with them for a period that lasted for four years.My employment with them ended sometime around October of 2003.
The Training
As soon as I was hired,I was placed on the sales floor.Shortly after, a training schedule was made for those of us that were hired into the company.Training took place at the branch headquarters in Beltsville,Maryland and it was done for a period of one week.The trainer came from Atlanta and she was pretty good in looks and knowledge.I won a umbrella in training that I ended up using for an extended period of time before it was giving away by somebody that thought the umbrella was outdated.
The Original Staff
When I got hired, the store manager was Paul and Nathan was the Assistant Manager.The lead sales person was Robert.There was Dwee,a guy about my age originally from Vietnam.He would tell us some horror stories about his family's move to the US.He ended up taking a vacation to his home country during the period that I worked with him.
There was me,Eric Tambe,there was Maya Martin,the lone female member in the staff at the time.There was Darrell,there was a Lebanese fellow called Gilbert Maaloff that I had known back in my days at Circuit City.There was another fellow with a military background named Gary, divorced with a beautiful daughter that he talked a lot about.The staff composition would change after some time.
Robert was the first to leave.He was replaced by Dion Wiggins who had attended Norfork State University in his college days.He like to talk trash about how Norfork state had a better football team to my Howard University.
Then Paul would also leave for a store in the Virginia area.Dwee went along with him.Nathan also left for his own store in the Georgetown area of the city.He was replaced by John.A guy called Dwayne Freeman came in with very little cellphone knowledge but did well for himself with time.He spend a lot of time talking about his ex-wife and his son who lived with him in Washington DC.
A new store manager named Robert came along,an African-American.
A young lady named Shantee Haynes came in just about the time that Maya Martin left.Shantee Haynes was about twenty five and good looking although we did not get along on the first day at the job.She came in from within the company,the store located in the Ronald Reagan building in DC.There was another Robert who came in in sales and lastly there was Ike Wardley who came in from the West Coast.He like to talk about his California Angels and the Williams sisters who play tennis.
The pay structure.
The pay structure consisted of an hourly rate of just under 11 dollars an hour.This was less than what I was used to while working for Sprint PCS but the money was going to be in addition to a sales commission.The sales commission was broken down into different categories that included pay for all the phone accessories that you sold.The company paid you also for upgrading customers telephone.This was unlike the case in Sprint PCS where they did not pay you for selling the equipment.
There was pay for selling the services.These were the rate plans.The rate plans ran from the $29.99 range to $199.99 rate plan.AT&T wireless did not have an accelerator rate for going past your target amount of cellphone sales.I believe this is where the major difference is between the two companies in terms of potential earnings.For the close to four years that I worked with AT@T my gross salary was around 50,000k a year.That was good money and I did not have any complain with the company in that area.There were other benefits like health care that the company took care of.AT&T wireless had bonus performance plan which if reached, the company pays money to the employees.About twice we got checks that was close to 2500 dollars.On the down year it was about 1450 dollars.
I missed this one.
This one took place before I joined AT&T Wireless.What happen is that when AT&T Wireless was lunched, the company wanted to keep track of its performance,so it lunched a tracking stock that is different from that of the parent company, AT&T. This happened during the period of the dot-com boom so the idea was very appealing to a lot of employees.Stocks were issued for a price of thirty dollars per share and you were required to purchase at least one hundred shares in order to participate.So a lot of employees including managers went for the offer.The employees that I talked to said they put in about 6 grand into the stock.
AT&T wireless stock was suppose to fly like its Sprint PCS and Nextel counterparts but it never did.The stock stayed around the 29 dollar mark for a long period of time before heading downwards.By the time that AT&T Wireless announced its merger with Cingular Wireless the asking price was just under 15 dollars a share.This caused a lot of stress to a lot of employees in the company at the time.If you have ever bought stock with the hope of seeing the price go up and see the reverse happen,you would know what I am talking about.The employees that stayed with the company got some relieve though in the form of performance bonuses that were issued each year that AT&T Wireless produced some good earnings.That helped eased some of the stock pain.
The Coverage area.
For a change with AT&T wireless there was no issue in terms of coverage.The company had its own digital TDMA network and an agreement with Cingular wireless for its customers to roam while out of the AT&T network.We hardly had any complains about drop calls and lack of coverage in some areas.Some of the popular plans that we offered included something called the digital one rate plan.There were price plans for for $59.99,$89.99,$149.99 and I believe another for $199.99 each.What the price plans did was give the customer nationwide coverage no matter where they were in the country.They only get to pay the single rate.The rest of the plans, ranging from 29.99 to 199.99 dollars were plans for local and regional coverage.The local plan covers mainly the DC metropolitan area while the regional plan gives you coverage for the whole of the North East US region.Long distance calling and at times nights and weekend promotions were included in the plan.Roaming within your coverage areas came free of charge.
What the long distance calling allows you to do is to be able to make a call say from Washington DC to somebody that is based in say Denver.
While working for Sprint PCS and now for AT&T wireless, what you realize is how far the cellphone was replacing the traditional land line telephone system.Because both services had long distance included in the service plan,you could basically make all of your calls using your cellphone.For the employees,we were provided with both a free cellphone and a free monthly service plan that included nationwide usage and long distance calling.AT&T wireless later on gave us free data capability.So we could surf the net from our cellphones.I believe that before I left Sprint PCS they gave us free data capability phones also.I used mine mostly for keeping track of stocks that I owned at the time.
A typical week during my time at AT&T Wireless
A typical week for me would include getting up in the morning earliest at 6am if I am schedule to work the 9am shift or getting up around 9am if they have me coming to work around 11am in the morning.I would get up,take a shower.At times I would get something to eat or I would head to work and buy lunch in one of the many restaurants that are present in the work area.
Once I got to work though, it was all business on the days that I was scheduled.We had a sales quota and I always try to beat it before the month comes to an end.We had some down time at work and that is when you get to check out the news.World news,local news, sporting news,those are the favorite areas that I check on the website.In addition to working Monday through Friday,the stores were opened on Saturdays.On Sundays we were closed.On the Saturdays that I was scheduled to work I would drive to downtown early to try and get free parking.The Saturdays were usually slow days because most of the people that we sell to in Washington DC were employees of the Federal government.On weekends you would hardly catch them around town.So the Saturdays you hard to will yourself through the day,spending quite a few hours at times just looking at the clock.
The days that I was not scheduled to work I try to get in some excercise,playing soccer mainly to keep in shape.I used to love it when I was not schedule to work during the weekend.That is because I loved to go to the club during this period of time.If they had me off on Saturdays,you know that I would be heading to a club called Dream Night Club,located in SE Washington DC.That would not be the end of it.On Saturday nights it would be time to head to NW Washington DC, this time to a night club called DC Live.Both clubs were great and you had like the most beautiful people in the world attending week-in,week-out.So during this period of time the weekend nights were never a period that you were going to catch me at home.A typical time for me to get home at times during the weeknights would be sometime in the 4am time period.I was just having fun with the night life.This would continue until the period that I left the company.
Why I left AT&T Wireless.
I had a total of two sales managers while working for AT&T Wireless.The first one we got along pretty well,the second one the relationship was just indifferent and later degenerated to a point that I had to leave the company.There was harassment and threats of we are going to fire you which is something that I am not used to in my professional working life.It got to the point that I just had to leave the company.Something that I did in October 2003.It was bye bye AT&T wireless after about four years of service with them.
Arbitration
About I year after leaving the company, we had to come face to face again in arbitration. This was because I collected unemployment benefits that were funded partly by the state and partly by my former employer that was AT&T Wireless. After about four payments the company filed a complain with the state that they are not going to continue the payments. The controversy was whether I left the company without any legitimate reasons. In the arbitration, the company claimed that they had offered me a higher position within the company and I turned it down. I do not recollect at all when the offer was made. We met at arbitration and the company won.They had a lawyer to lay their case and I was not to familiar with the arbitration process and I went there to defend myself.
Anyway that was the end of the relationship with AT&T Wireless. The company had since merged with Cingular Wireless who were a long time rival and the Wireless part of the company is no longer independent. There is just one giant company now called AT&T like it used to be in the past. They sell land line, wireless and internet services to individuals and businesses.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
मुएया-कुम्बा Road
Muea-Kumba Road
The road was to be the second part of Mutengene-Kumba road that is sponsored by 80 percent from funds from the European Union and about 20 percent from the Cameroonian government. The first part of the road from Mutengene to Muea was completed back in 2007 and the second part was to begin immediately thereafter. But something happened and the construction of the Muea-Kumba part of the road got delayed. No reason was given for the delay despite the fact that the then Prime and some other high ranking officials in the South West Province had come to Muea where the first part of the construction ended and lunched the go ahead for the second part of the project. The company that is responsible for carrying out the road construction is called Soger Satom and they had all the materials that they needed to complete the work in their chantier in a place called Ekona.
I had been at the chantier while I was leaving in Molyko and the chantier is pretty impressive. Heavy equipment and gravel was in place. The construction company gets the gravel that they used for the road construction in a part of the Mount Cameroon. Anyway I believe the funding for the second part of the project came in and work resumed and the construction of the road is now up to the beginning of a part of the town called Buea road in Kumba. If you are similar with Kumba, the road has reached the part of Buea road just after the Cameroon college of Art and Science.
There is a big contrast now between getting into the town and trying to move around the town. The first part is now pretty easy. It took me back in 2006 when I first visited Kumba about 4 hours from the mile 17 park to Kumba town. Now from Mutengene to Kumba town can be done in just under 1 and a half hour of driving. Good time for a journey that used to be strenuous. The construction company did a decent job also. There is a bridge that used to lead you into Muyuka town that was in a pretty bad state and they fixed it. There is also a place called Ediki that had a terrible hill and the hill is now something in the past. The hill in Ediki claimed a few lives including that of one of my elder brothers who was a driver. That happened way back in the 1970s.
The road was to be the second part of Mutengene-Kumba road that is sponsored by 80 percent from funds from the European Union and about 20 percent from the Cameroonian government. The first part of the road from Mutengene to Muea was completed back in 2007 and the second part was to begin immediately thereafter. But something happened and the construction of the Muea-Kumba part of the road got delayed. No reason was given for the delay despite the fact that the then Prime and some other high ranking officials in the South West Province had come to Muea where the first part of the construction ended and lunched the go ahead for the second part of the project. The company that is responsible for carrying out the road construction is called Soger Satom and they had all the materials that they needed to complete the work in their chantier in a place called Ekona.
I had been at the chantier while I was leaving in Molyko and the chantier is pretty impressive. Heavy equipment and gravel was in place. The construction company gets the gravel that they used for the road construction in a part of the Mount Cameroon. Anyway I believe the funding for the second part of the project came in and work resumed and the construction of the road is now up to the beginning of a part of the town called Buea road in Kumba. If you are similar with Kumba, the road has reached the part of Buea road just after the Cameroon college of Art and Science.
There is a big contrast now between getting into the town and trying to move around the town. The first part is now pretty easy. It took me back in 2006 when I first visited Kumba about 4 hours from the mile 17 park to Kumba town. Now from Mutengene to Kumba town can be done in just under 1 and a half hour of driving. Good time for a journey that used to be strenuous. The construction company did a decent job also. There is a bridge that used to lead you into Muyuka town that was in a pretty bad state and they fixed it. There is also a place called Ediki that had a terrible hill and the hill is now something in the past. The hill in Ediki claimed a few lives including that of one of my elder brothers who was a driver. That happened way back in the 1970s.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
रेसस्सिओं मय्बे किंग तो अन End
Turnaround in the Economic
For the first time in 15 months the figure for the number of people losing jobs in the US fell instead of increasing and experts are saying that this is a clear indicator that the current recession is coming to an end. The recession started around 2007 and if it is true that this recession is almost over, then it would not be as bad as the great depression that started in the late 1920s. The unemployment figure itself is still high at about close to 10 percent. The worst figure of unemployment that I can remember in my years was when it hit 6.4 percent in the early 1990s.
If the recession is almost over then we have to give some credit to some individuals such as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve for his early intervention to save some of the financial institutions that started the mess in the first place. Also the President has to get some created for pushing and getting the 789billion stimulus package passed as soon as he got into office. There were rumors just about one month ago for the need for a second stimulus package and thank god that is not going to happen. The government has pumped enough money into the economy and it is time the private sector takes control as it is usually the case in a free market economic.
This current economic crisis was widely publicized because it hit the rest of the world. But it looks like the US has learnt how to deal with economic crisis by interfering in a very timely manner. Talk of a great depression never did materialize due to a number of reasons that included drop in the price of oil and how the people in charge had learned from the past. Individually, it is still going to take some time for the effects to be removed from people’s memory. I remember the situation in the early nineties when there was a little recession and some of the actions that I took to go through it set me back for about 7 years. Things like personal bankruptcy, lost homes, repossessed cars take some time to get out of the credit bureau system. Fixing your credit and trying to get a better job with a bad credit is going to be difficult and that is how though a recession may be coming to and end as a whole, individually the pain takes a much longer period of time.
Something happened in this recession though that was strange to me in that the stock market held up pretty nicely. At one point the Dow Jones industrial were down to the upper 7000s and now it sits at 9300 which is pretty good for a recession period. The NASDAQ is at 2000 which is a good figure even during periods when the economy is booming. The market has a mind of its own and just when everybody is telling you not to put money into it that is when it is taking off. When the recession would be over and people will start having disposable income to put back into it that would be the period when it would be very difficult to make some money in it.
The recession did leave its mark though. Just look at the number of companies that had to go through reorganization. The list includes GM, Chrysler and a few others.
For the first time in 15 months the figure for the number of people losing jobs in the US fell instead of increasing and experts are saying that this is a clear indicator that the current recession is coming to an end. The recession started around 2007 and if it is true that this recession is almost over, then it would not be as bad as the great depression that started in the late 1920s. The unemployment figure itself is still high at about close to 10 percent. The worst figure of unemployment that I can remember in my years was when it hit 6.4 percent in the early 1990s.
If the recession is almost over then we have to give some credit to some individuals such as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve for his early intervention to save some of the financial institutions that started the mess in the first place. Also the President has to get some created for pushing and getting the 789billion stimulus package passed as soon as he got into office. There were rumors just about one month ago for the need for a second stimulus package and thank god that is not going to happen. The government has pumped enough money into the economy and it is time the private sector takes control as it is usually the case in a free market economic.
This current economic crisis was widely publicized because it hit the rest of the world. But it looks like the US has learnt how to deal with economic crisis by interfering in a very timely manner. Talk of a great depression never did materialize due to a number of reasons that included drop in the price of oil and how the people in charge had learned from the past. Individually, it is still going to take some time for the effects to be removed from people’s memory. I remember the situation in the early nineties when there was a little recession and some of the actions that I took to go through it set me back for about 7 years. Things like personal bankruptcy, lost homes, repossessed cars take some time to get out of the credit bureau system. Fixing your credit and trying to get a better job with a bad credit is going to be difficult and that is how though a recession may be coming to and end as a whole, individually the pain takes a much longer period of time.
Something happened in this recession though that was strange to me in that the stock market held up pretty nicely. At one point the Dow Jones industrial were down to the upper 7000s and now it sits at 9300 which is pretty good for a recession period. The NASDAQ is at 2000 which is a good figure even during periods when the economy is booming. The market has a mind of its own and just when everybody is telling you not to put money into it that is when it is taking off. When the recession would be over and people will start having disposable income to put back into it that would be the period when it would be very difficult to make some money in it.
The recession did leave its mark though. Just look at the number of companies that had to go through reorganization. The list includes GM, Chrysler and a few others.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Making the Move back Home
There is always the tendency for people to want to migrate to a better life somewhere else. You have people that are moving from Africa to go to Europe, North America and Asia. You also have people that are making the reverse move from North America, Europe and Asia to Africa looking for opportunities to a better livelihood.
If you are planning to make a move to relocate back to your homeland and you have been away for a very long time it is not a good idea to just pack your bag and head back home as they say. The best manner is for you to at the very least visit your homeland first and get to relearn the ways of the society that you left behind some time ago. Societies change and that is true whether you are making the move from North America back to Africa that you used to call home. Forget about all the information that you see in the media and also forget about information that people give you. You have to come and make the assessment by yourself and then decide whether it would be a good idea to come back.
It is amazing how society changes people and that is true of all societies.
If you are coming as a result of not having any other option but to come then your situation is different. You have no alternative and you are about to be thrown into an unknown situation and you have to survive. If you have a choice, the idea is to approach your new society as if you are almost like a kid. You are coming to learn new ways and it is going to take some time.
If you are going to start a business, it is going to take some time for you to be successful. When people leave from Africa and migrate to Europe or North America they do not just become overnight success stories. It takes time for them to learn the ways of the new society and then the knowledge that they had acquired from their old society would kick in. It is the same way with trying to come from overseas and succeed here. You come in and the best way is to maintain a low profile.
Forget about all the luxurious cars that you used to drive. In fact you might want to sell your cars and come here and buy one that would make you blend into the society. If you come in here with your fancy cars and try to maintain the lifestyle that you had overseas you would get into trouble and start looking for an exit strategy.
It is at times very hard for people coming from overseas to not standout in the new society. But try as hard as possible not to do that. This means if you come in here and see that the majority of the people are taking taxi cabs to work then the is what you would want to do .If you find out that the majority of the people are taking bikes to their different destinations then that is what you would want to do. If you find out that the majority of the people walk to go to the market then that is what you would want to do also. If the majority of the people are going to church then that is what you would want to do on Sundays also.
There is going to be a time when you would know that you have succeeded and that is when you would want to start bringing out your fancy cars and clothing if that is the lifestyle that you choose to live. People are going to be criticizing you a lot especially if you are coming from industrialized countries to the homeland and you are acting like just one of them. They are going to be saying that you did not bring anything with you coming from Europe. That you came empty handed. Accept all of that and if possible keep the knowledge that you have acquired to yourself. It would come out eventually. The simplicity that made you successful once you hit Europe is the same that is going to make you successful once you make the move back to Africa.
If you are planning to make a move to relocate back to your homeland and you have been away for a very long time it is not a good idea to just pack your bag and head back home as they say. The best manner is for you to at the very least visit your homeland first and get to relearn the ways of the society that you left behind some time ago. Societies change and that is true whether you are making the move from North America back to Africa that you used to call home. Forget about all the information that you see in the media and also forget about information that people give you. You have to come and make the assessment by yourself and then decide whether it would be a good idea to come back.
It is amazing how society changes people and that is true of all societies.
If you are coming as a result of not having any other option but to come then your situation is different. You have no alternative and you are about to be thrown into an unknown situation and you have to survive. If you have a choice, the idea is to approach your new society as if you are almost like a kid. You are coming to learn new ways and it is going to take some time.
If you are going to start a business, it is going to take some time for you to be successful. When people leave from Africa and migrate to Europe or North America they do not just become overnight success stories. It takes time for them to learn the ways of the new society and then the knowledge that they had acquired from their old society would kick in. It is the same way with trying to come from overseas and succeed here. You come in and the best way is to maintain a low profile.
Forget about all the luxurious cars that you used to drive. In fact you might want to sell your cars and come here and buy one that would make you blend into the society. If you come in here with your fancy cars and try to maintain the lifestyle that you had overseas you would get into trouble and start looking for an exit strategy.
It is at times very hard for people coming from overseas to not standout in the new society. But try as hard as possible not to do that. This means if you come in here and see that the majority of the people are taking taxi cabs to work then the is what you would want to do .If you find out that the majority of the people are taking bikes to their different destinations then that is what you would want to do. If you find out that the majority of the people walk to go to the market then that is what you would want to do also. If the majority of the people are going to church then that is what you would want to do on Sundays also.
There is going to be a time when you would know that you have succeeded and that is when you would want to start bringing out your fancy cars and clothing if that is the lifestyle that you choose to live. People are going to be criticizing you a lot especially if you are coming from industrialized countries to the homeland and you are acting like just one of them. They are going to be saying that you did not bring anything with you coming from Europe. That you came empty handed. Accept all of that and if possible keep the knowledge that you have acquired to yourself. It would come out eventually. The simplicity that made you successful once you hit Europe is the same that is going to make you successful once you make the move back to Africa.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
थे अफ्रीकन कोन्तिनेंत हस अल थे इंग्रेदिएंट्स तो कोम्पेते विथ थे रेस्ट ऑफ़ थे World
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Kenya.
Hillary Clinton is making a tour of some African states and she is presently in Kenya. She would be leaving Kenya today to continue her trip that would include a stop in South Africa, Cape Verde, the Republic of Nigeria and some other African states.
South Africa and Nigeria are included in this trip to show that the US considers them strong allies in Africa despite the fact that US President choose to visit Ghana as the flagship of African democracy and I am sure that this did not sit too well in Pretoria and Abuja.
Anyway she struck on the same point that President Obama did when he visited Ghana. That is that all the ingredients are in place in Africa for the continent to take off and start competing with the rest of the world. She made that statement yesterday in Kenya which was her first stop. Kenya was the closest of the African countries to the US until they had their election trouble a couple of years back that backtrack their democracy. They would have been the logical choice for the President to visit as the first African state. That reason together with the fact that his father was born in Kenyan.
I like that fact that she would be making a stop on Nigeria. Nigeria is the most populated state in the continent with one of every four Africans being a Nigeria. So they do have an influence in the continent. They are the country that provided the most troops during the peace keeping mission in Sudan in the days when Obasanjo was President of the country. I would like to see the reaction of the people when she gets there.
Hillary Clinton is making a tour of some African states and she is presently in Kenya. She would be leaving Kenya today to continue her trip that would include a stop in South Africa, Cape Verde, the Republic of Nigeria and some other African states.
South Africa and Nigeria are included in this trip to show that the US considers them strong allies in Africa despite the fact that US President choose to visit Ghana as the flagship of African democracy and I am sure that this did not sit too well in Pretoria and Abuja.
Anyway she struck on the same point that President Obama did when he visited Ghana. That is that all the ingredients are in place in Africa for the continent to take off and start competing with the rest of the world. She made that statement yesterday in Kenya which was her first stop. Kenya was the closest of the African countries to the US until they had their election trouble a couple of years back that backtrack their democracy. They would have been the logical choice for the President to visit as the first African state. That reason together with the fact that his father was born in Kenyan.
I like that fact that she would be making a stop on Nigeria. Nigeria is the most populated state in the continent with one of every four Africans being a Nigeria. So they do have an influence in the continent. They are the country that provided the most troops during the peace keeping mission in Sudan in the days when Obasanjo was President of the country. I would like to see the reaction of the people when she gets there.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Internet Connection
What to do with the internet connection.
Most of the cyber cafés are just having a lot of problems with their connection. I used to think that is was just certain areas that have problems but I would try in this article to share my experience with you on the internet connection in the nation. I have used the internet in the cities of Tiko, Douala, Buea, Limbe, Molyko and lastly at Mutengene.
The first place that I used the internet once I got into the country in the year 2005 was in long street Tiko. I went to the place to try and get some copies made on resumes that I planned on sending out to employers. The copying part of the transaction went very well. It was the internet that was moving very slowly to me at the time. I thought that it had to do with this particular location and left the place planning on testing different internet locations. The next area that I tested the internet connection was in an area in Mutengene and it work surprisingly well. At the time the internet places that I visited did not get as much traffic as they do now. I did talk to my uncle in Buea and he told me that the University campus in Buea does have internet connection and it was relatively inexpensive also. I believe you get two hours of internet connection for four hundred francs CFA. That is one hundred francs cheaper than in the rest of the other areas.
The University of Buea does have by far the best connection in all the places that I have visited. At the time that I started to go there, my visits were about two times a month. I mainly used the internet for reading news items.
Next stop was in Douala. In Douala there were so many internet cafes and you could make your choice of many. There was one that I used in an area called Bonaberi. When it was on, it worked very well despite the fact that there were many people using it at the time. Two other places that I used the internet in the Bonaberi area worked pretty well. There is a place just at the entrance of the ancient route and the connection there was pretty good. There was no interruption of the service also. The one at the end of the ancient route entrance was pretty good also. It was not as large as the first one but it worked pretty well. I did spend some time at Bonamoussadi and there the connections were very unsteady. A lot of interruptions. That was also the case in Akwa at an office that I worked at. You would be doing some work and the connection would just go off. Also there were some days that you did not get any connections at all.
Mutengene has a good connection on a place called Buea road. There are about three other places in the small town but the one on Buea road is the better one. There is connection in Molyko and Buea town .They work most of the time but there are also problems that might include interruption of electricity.
There has been talk of bringing better connection to the nation like the use of fiber optic cables instead of the phone line. The company in the country that deals with electricity had suggested that the future might include bringing the internet connection through the electrical lines. That might improve things a bit since there is electricity in a lot of areas.
There is also the question of how many people put the internet into use in the country. I believe that is one of the problems. A lot of individuals still do not use the internet and for the moment that might be the reason why investing a lot of money into it would not be such a great investment. The internet places are run by individuals with their own personal money and they have to make a profit before they could invest more money into getting a much faster connection for the customers.
Most of the cyber cafés are just having a lot of problems with their connection. I used to think that is was just certain areas that have problems but I would try in this article to share my experience with you on the internet connection in the nation. I have used the internet in the cities of Tiko, Douala, Buea, Limbe, Molyko and lastly at Mutengene.
The first place that I used the internet once I got into the country in the year 2005 was in long street Tiko. I went to the place to try and get some copies made on resumes that I planned on sending out to employers. The copying part of the transaction went very well. It was the internet that was moving very slowly to me at the time. I thought that it had to do with this particular location and left the place planning on testing different internet locations. The next area that I tested the internet connection was in an area in Mutengene and it work surprisingly well. At the time the internet places that I visited did not get as much traffic as they do now. I did talk to my uncle in Buea and he told me that the University campus in Buea does have internet connection and it was relatively inexpensive also. I believe you get two hours of internet connection for four hundred francs CFA. That is one hundred francs cheaper than in the rest of the other areas.
The University of Buea does have by far the best connection in all the places that I have visited. At the time that I started to go there, my visits were about two times a month. I mainly used the internet for reading news items.
Next stop was in Douala. In Douala there were so many internet cafes and you could make your choice of many. There was one that I used in an area called Bonaberi. When it was on, it worked very well despite the fact that there were many people using it at the time. Two other places that I used the internet in the Bonaberi area worked pretty well. There is a place just at the entrance of the ancient route and the connection there was pretty good. There was no interruption of the service also. The one at the end of the ancient route entrance was pretty good also. It was not as large as the first one but it worked pretty well. I did spend some time at Bonamoussadi and there the connections were very unsteady. A lot of interruptions. That was also the case in Akwa at an office that I worked at. You would be doing some work and the connection would just go off. Also there were some days that you did not get any connections at all.
Mutengene has a good connection on a place called Buea road. There are about three other places in the small town but the one on Buea road is the better one. There is connection in Molyko and Buea town .They work most of the time but there are also problems that might include interruption of electricity.
There has been talk of bringing better connection to the nation like the use of fiber optic cables instead of the phone line. The company in the country that deals with electricity had suggested that the future might include bringing the internet connection through the electrical lines. That might improve things a bit since there is electricity in a lot of areas.
There is also the question of how many people put the internet into use in the country. I believe that is one of the problems. A lot of individuals still do not use the internet and for the moment that might be the reason why investing a lot of money into it would not be such a great investment. The internet places are run by individuals with their own personal money and they have to make a profit before they could invest more money into getting a much faster connection for the customers.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
त्रौब्ले इन साउथ अफ्रीका एंड Nigeria
Trouble in the Top Two African Nations.
South Africa is the richest of the African nations and they are due to host the World Cup next year. The Republic of Nigeria is Africa’s top populated country and it is also the continents top producer and exported of oil. Both nations are suppose to be the flag bearers of the continent but they are now both involved in social unrest with disturbing images being flashed across the world’s media about what is going on in both nations.
South Africa.
The first troubling sign was when workers involved in the construction of the world cup 2010 stadiums went on strike temporary demanding higher wages. That problem was taken care of in a hurry as not just South Africa but the world at large had something at stake in the world cup. The strike moved on to other areas of the work force though and it is this current strike that is having the most negative of images of the South African nation. The images are disturbing to say the least partly due to the history of the nation of South Africa. People are on the streets harassing government vehicles and littering the streets and some of the pictures look like they are going back to the days of apartheid.
Jacob Zuma got elected as President of South Africa last year amid a lot of controversy about his role in bribery and corruption that took place during his term as vice President of South Africa under the then government of President Thabo Mbeki. Jacob Zuma’s charges were dropped in the court of law and he went on to become the president of South Africa amid a lot of expectation from the masses that he was going to change their lives. Well so far that has not happened and it seems as if the same people that went to the polls to vote for him are now beginning to demand for real changes to their livelihoods in this nation in which the people have sacrifice a lot. The President has appeared on TV and he is questioning whether people have the right to be littering the streets in a move towards taking strong action against them. What I think he should be going is focusing on trying to find out what exactly the people are angry about and work towards finding a solution to the problem.
Nigeria.
Nigeria’s recent problem involves militants that are fighting to get their own nation in the northern state of Bauchi. They are of the Muslim faith and they are looking for a place in which they control and can practice a rigid form of the Islamic law. Some of their demands include no type of western education for their children, restriction on some of the rights for women and the large one is for them to have their own state. That would not happen though.
Nigeria went through a civil war in the 1960s and their leadership are quick to strike down on any actions that could lead the nation towards the path of war. The sect leader has recently been killed and some human rights groups are crying fowl. The reason that human rights organization are complaining is that the initial police report claimed that the sect leader was killed in combat. But later on a police chief said that the sect chief was in their custody when he died. So there is bound to be some investigation before the rest of the world can get a clear picture as to what really happened. The President of Nigeria, Umaru Yar’ Adua though is less concern about the group and has ordered a major crack down on them with close to about 600 people now reported dead. The President of Nigeria got elected in a democratic process but there were allegations of election violations once he got into office. He has been a very quite leader of the heavily populated nation compared to Nigerian leaders of the past. He has been working hard though. He has brought the situation in the Delta Region under some sort of control by granting amnesty to their leader and negotiating with the group. Some of their demands are being met as major constructions are ongoing in this part of the country to trickle down some of the oil revenue that is being exploited in the region.
South Africa is the richest of the African nations and they are due to host the World Cup next year. The Republic of Nigeria is Africa’s top populated country and it is also the continents top producer and exported of oil. Both nations are suppose to be the flag bearers of the continent but they are now both involved in social unrest with disturbing images being flashed across the world’s media about what is going on in both nations.
South Africa.
The first troubling sign was when workers involved in the construction of the world cup 2010 stadiums went on strike temporary demanding higher wages. That problem was taken care of in a hurry as not just South Africa but the world at large had something at stake in the world cup. The strike moved on to other areas of the work force though and it is this current strike that is having the most negative of images of the South African nation. The images are disturbing to say the least partly due to the history of the nation of South Africa. People are on the streets harassing government vehicles and littering the streets and some of the pictures look like they are going back to the days of apartheid.
Jacob Zuma got elected as President of South Africa last year amid a lot of controversy about his role in bribery and corruption that took place during his term as vice President of South Africa under the then government of President Thabo Mbeki. Jacob Zuma’s charges were dropped in the court of law and he went on to become the president of South Africa amid a lot of expectation from the masses that he was going to change their lives. Well so far that has not happened and it seems as if the same people that went to the polls to vote for him are now beginning to demand for real changes to their livelihoods in this nation in which the people have sacrifice a lot. The President has appeared on TV and he is questioning whether people have the right to be littering the streets in a move towards taking strong action against them. What I think he should be going is focusing on trying to find out what exactly the people are angry about and work towards finding a solution to the problem.
Nigeria.
Nigeria’s recent problem involves militants that are fighting to get their own nation in the northern state of Bauchi. They are of the Muslim faith and they are looking for a place in which they control and can practice a rigid form of the Islamic law. Some of their demands include no type of western education for their children, restriction on some of the rights for women and the large one is for them to have their own state. That would not happen though.
Nigeria went through a civil war in the 1960s and their leadership are quick to strike down on any actions that could lead the nation towards the path of war. The sect leader has recently been killed and some human rights groups are crying fowl. The reason that human rights organization are complaining is that the initial police report claimed that the sect leader was killed in combat. But later on a police chief said that the sect chief was in their custody when he died. So there is bound to be some investigation before the rest of the world can get a clear picture as to what really happened. The President of Nigeria, Umaru Yar’ Adua though is less concern about the group and has ordered a major crack down on them with close to about 600 people now reported dead. The President of Nigeria got elected in a democratic process but there were allegations of election violations once he got into office. He has been a very quite leader of the heavily populated nation compared to Nigerian leaders of the past. He has been working hard though. He has brought the situation in the Delta Region under some sort of control by granting amnesty to their leader and negotiating with the group. Some of their demands are being met as major constructions are ongoing in this part of the country to trickle down some of the oil revenue that is being exploited in the region.
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