“To live is to suffer, to survive is to find meaning in the suffering” – DMX

Howzit chomis…

Another week…another month…trust your new year has started well, if so great, if not, well take comfort in the fact that things can only get better…or worse…but hey, what do they say, what doesn’t kill you can only make you stronger J.

Another addition to the family, Glynis, welcome dude, if at any time u feel that this is a waste of your mail space or head space, gooi me a line and I’ll remove u.

“Africa’s children are starving to death”….”HIV/Aids, TB, Malaria, Cholera threatens Africas development”… “The lack of proper sanitation, telecommunications, water and electricity is sure to keep Africa in the dark”…These are some of the headlines I can imagine are being printed in many a wealthy western country.

It begs the question; can World hunger and poverty be eradicated from this planet? What do you guys think? It’s a tough one to answer ain’t it? My bold answer would be a ¥€$!!!

I know there are countries other than Africa that are poor, but Africa is by far the poorest region on earth…well so they claim J. But why is this? Well its definitely the aftermath of colonialism and the corrupt leaders it bred. I can hear some of u sitting there saying…”here we go again…why can’t we just leave the past in the past”, well I couldn’t agree with you more!! The colonials came to this continent, and many others and raped it of its natural resources, built certain structures that only they knew how to administer and once they had gotten what they wanted out of the place they packed their bags, and made like a donkeys dick and hit the road, leaving, Africans with this new found freedom of self rule, which many of them construed as a self enrichment opportunity, and what started off as a vision to serve and liberate its people ended up being a nightmare of dictatorship and self advancement in many of the continents poorest countries. And so continued the slavery, but this time, cloaked in a gown known as foreign debt.

The latest research I found, stated Africa’s foreign debt burden to be well in excess of $350 billion, and that’s not Zim dollars, it’s the real deal! Most of this amount was accumulated in days gone by when the western countries sold arb things to the impressionable Africans and granted huge loans to corrupt users, who misappropriated these funds…and the grantors of such funds knew very well that these monies were going to be misappropriated.

It is said that some countries’ debt repayment burden, is more than 4 times the amount it spends on education, healthcare and infrastructure combined. Now you tell me how we’ll get it right if before we spend on the countries necessities, we are remitting so much money to service debts that were incurred by governments of yesteryear. The idealist in me would love to put forward a motion for the countries who granted funding, knowing very well that these funds would be misappropriated, step up to the plate and in the name of humanity write off these debts, actually better yet why don’t all rich nations write off all or a large portion of their debt to poor nations…hey quit laughin its not all that funny. No, honestly!! I don’t see why they don’t. Some of you might be asking why should they? And, I cant think of an answer other than, well, because they can…or we could try the humane answer…to help Africa become self sufficient, as well as facilitate its active and effective participation in the global economy. And, I have on good authority that they can. The IMF and the World Bank performed a study to establish what the impact of writing off the foreign debt to poor countries, would be on the economic activity of wealthy nations, and their results were that there would be no significant glitch in the economic activity of these countries, they may not be able to send as many space probes to Ur anus, Mars, Saturn etc., but I think I could live with that. Eish!! “Beagle 1 lands on the moon”….Beagle 2 successfully launches”… Mars probe spends hours examining a gorge that gives evidence that water once used to be on the red planet…” whoopee di do da!! How many billions are being spent in sending arb probes into space, to look at a rock for hours? …And plenty billions more being gleefully committed? What are the returns/benefits? Does it matter? People are suffering, dying and we want to look for signs of life on other planets…is it really worth the time or money? I guess it’s similar to Diaz, Columbus, etc. setting sail to reach the end of the flat earth and discovering all the other continents… I dunno!

Yes, I know that there are initiatives in place to deal with foreign debt and many western countries like Britain and Germany have pledged to write off certain of their debts to poor nations. But, how sincere are these initiatives? In the fall of 1996 (that would be autumn for those that don’t know ;-)) the IMF and World Bank proposed the HIPC (Highly Indebted Poor Countries) Debt Initiative, which was the first comprehensive approach to reducing the external debt of the world’s poorest countries. Countries that qualify are those that are eligible for highly concessional assistance from the International Development Association (IDA) a ‘soft loan’ division of the World Bank, those countries that are eligible for loans from the IMF’s Poverty Reduction and Growth facility and those that face an unsustainable debt situation after all the relevant relief mechanisms have been applied.

A good thing about this initiative is that the HIPC will have to put in place a plan to reduce poverty and enhance economic activity, which I assume will be closely monitored. Neway in terms of this initiative, a HIPC’s debt reduction is calculated based on actual data, unlike projections which was the case in the past. Members of the World Bank, the IMF and officials of the country under analysis perform a debt sustainability analysis. All creditors participating in this initiative, then share the costs of the assistance and they provide assistance in proportion to the debt outstanding to them. In a nutshell all creditors participating in the initiative provide relief by reducing the present value of their claims, to a level that will achieve debt sustainability or contribute to the HIPC trust fund. The trust fund then undertakes to provide debt relief to the HIPCs in the form of a prepayment or purchase part of the HIPC’s debt or servicing the debt as it becomes due and payable. The World Bank and IMF also undertake to provide relief in their own capacities.

This is all good in theory, but lets see it in practice!!

My humble proposal would be for the wealthy nations to write off a large part of their debt, which will enable poor nations to build their nations. In this way, the wars would be minimized (or not), health care could be focused upon, infrastructures would be set up the continent would be stable, attract foreign investment and in the end the wealthy nations would also benefit. In return the countries to which relief have been provided, have to set certain milestones, ie build roads, dams, get water to certain areas, get electricity and phone lines to certain areas, reduce their HIV/Aids infection rates etc. These set milestones have to monitored annually and if a country constantly fails to meet its targets and no valid reason can be provided, their debt is reinstated or something like that. At least in that case u can say u gave them a chance to help themselves and they threw it back in your face…so you are on your own. I have actually Cc’d Bush and Blair, I’ll let you know what they say ;-)

My bit for the week, if its all over the show, well its Friday, u should no by now that Thursday nites are generally a big one for me J.

Quotes
The worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them: that's the essense of inhumanity.
George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950),
Every gun that's made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed. This world in arms...is spending the genius of its scientists, the sweat of its laborers, the hope of its children - it is humanity from a cross of iron.
Dwight David Eisenhower
In this world, which is so plainly the antechamber of another, there are no happy men. The true division of humanity is between those who live in light and those who live in darkness. Our aim must be to diminish the number of the latter and increase the number of the former. That is why we demand education and knowledge.
Victor Hugo

U all have a great weekend till next we e-speak, and remember for comments go to http://mondaymail.blogspot.com. Respect.

Y

“Life is a roller coaster just gotta ride it” Ronan Keating

Ya, ya I missed last week I know, guess, it’s a sign of things to come, u no the old adage, if you don’t have anything useful to say don’t say anything, well it was put into practice last week. If I disappointed any of u, well my bad, accept my humblest apologies. Moving onto this week then shall we, 2 new additions to our ever growing world, Campbell and Ishmail, welcome to our little community, where we SHARE thoughts and ideas etc. Note the emphasis on share, hopefully more of that will be happening this year. If you ever want to concur or rebut anything I write, you can either do so by replying via email, or you could place your comment on http://mondaymail.blogspot.com.

What to write about is becoming a bit of a tall ask, thanks to Ed and Liv for their ideas, noted and will be discussed at a later date. Someone asked me a question in passing last week, and I heard it again in a movie I saw yesterday and I thought yip it’s a sign… The question was “do you think wo/man can change their destiny”, Interesting question I thought.

Here is a definition obtained from dictionary.com:
1. The inevitable or necessary fate to which a particular person or thing is destined; one's lot.
2. A predetermined course of events considered as something beyond human power or control: “Marriage and hanging go by destiny” (Robert Burton).
3. The power or agency thought to predetermine events: Destiny brought them together.
This brings to mind other similar thoughts such as fate and fortune, fortune being the thing that favours the brave, no, fortune being the turns of luck in ones life, and fate being a supposed force, principle or power that predetermines events….hmmm this is all getting quite complicated isn’t it.
My thoughts on this are pretty simple, and mind u I am in no way a champion on any of this, but if a person can change his or her destiny, well then that which was thought to be his or her destiny, that has been subsequently altered was never really meant to be their lot, otherwise fate would not have allowed its alteration to begin with…make sense? Fate and Fortune to me are one in the same, really… person x is faced with a dilemma, should they choose option A, result X will be achieved, should they choose option B, result Y will be obtained etc. Your fate/destiny, compels you to make your choice hence motioning you towards your destiny….
BUT!!!! In saying all of this fate, destiny, fortune…what does it all matter? Who am I? What is my purpose on this earth? Why doesn’t s/he want me like I want him or her? Why am I having all this rotten luck? Why? Why? Why? Well s/he doesn’t like you well cos she doesn’t and that’s the end of it all, u can be stubborn and pursue it and s/he will end up giving in to you and you live happily ever after, well then it was meant to be. Why are u having all the rotten luck, well why not you? Who am I and why am I here, well you are here, so get on with living. That’s the thing with us we tend to spend a lot of time trying to find meaning in our suffering, our joy, our achievements and our failures, so much so that it detracts from the fullness of the experience.
You fail an exam, lose a friend or family member, have an accident, break a finger nail, lose your girlfriend, lose the game, don’t get the job you wanted… well its hard lines really it is terrible when you are there, but these things happen to people better or worse than me, people taller or shorter than me, fatter or thinner than me, handsomer or uglier than me. They will happen and that’s what we know for a fact, cos y, cos shaite happens. The beauty though, in any of these experiences is embracing the issue, taking whatever the lesson may have been, storing it in the memory banks and proceeding forth – note all these experiences I cited were all events that don’t favour us, y? well when was the last time u heard someone who had just won the lotto saying, why? Why me?
Do what you gotta do in this life, be who you wanna be. During the holidays, I heard that I guy I knew had died from a drug overdose, so I was going to write an email about the ills/joys of our modern lives, the drugs, the booze, the sex, the partying, the aspiration to only be seen in the flashiest attire or with the ‘coolest’ or richest people, the this the that, and how its bad for us and killing who we really are and blah, then I realised who am I to judge. Who am I to say we are not meant to be smoking a joint every day and getting boozed instead of going to gym, every one of us has a choice on how we choose to live our lives, maybe boozing and being silly is how u supposed to be, and when we get sick of it we realise that its played out and move on to something else….If we meant to be a shallow asss money grabing git, then so be it, if we meant to be a non-drinking, happy clappy, then so be it, if your friends ‘chastise’ you and it bothers you, well then you know they are not meant to be your mates and you move on, or you could step back and think hmm, maybe I should change, whatever your choice though, it is what is meant to be!
Bodily and worldly possessions are not really yours, as they can be taken from you at any time, so hold them not too dear, protect and be proud of them, but don’t let them be the definition of you.
As I conclude this, I realise that most of these points I, have raised before in some or other email I have sent in the past 4 years or so, oh well, just call me “Men’s health”
Birthdays
11th My Pops
16th Little Annie
19th Priya
24th Karabo
27th Ingo
28th Gareth/Bellinda
31st Refiloe

A quote for u all…
The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind. - William James (1842 - 1910)

And some more quotes…making up for my slackness

I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances. - Martha Washington (1732 - 1802)

And so it ends, respect to the max ya?! And remember that whole mind over matter thing, u no the one that goes “if you dont MIND, it DOESN’T matter”.

Till next week or the week thereafter, take care of yourself and do what fortune and destiny direct you to do! ;-)

Ciao

And so begins another year. Hoping its a fun filled, peaceful, creative, eventful and challenging yet successful one for all of us. I hope u are all well rested, and lookin forward to shedding those extra kilos u put on over the festive period.

3 new additions Effie, Abena and Michael, welcome to the mailing list, which used to be a weekly thing, but more than likely to be scaled down this year, we'll c...I know u guys hardly check your emails so if at anytime this mail is cloggin up your inbox, let me know so i can delete u from the list. Please do send some comments either via mail or go to the site http://mondaymail.blogspot.com.

Had a really chilled holiday. started off with a leisurely drive down to Cape Town with my youngest brother. Was a tad hectic the first day or so, cos our living arragements went a bit pear shaped, but that was soon sorted out. It was 10 blissfull days, very well rounded, a bit of R and R, reading, visiting mates and hitting it hard. Drove back, that wasn't too much fun, its always so much more fun drivng down than it is driving back. Anyway got back, ran a few errands and the next plane boarded a plane headed for the heart of Africa ;-), yip back home to mother Ghana. Plane landed at 11pm to the sound of the pilots voice saying the temperature outside is 26degrees. Nice!! Luckily thought this time around, the weather was not so bad.

Got thru customs and all and were whisked away in my uncles S500 merc, NIIICE, that set the tone for the rest of the hoiday. For the first week or so, i think i slept more than i have ever slept the whole of 2003 combined, there was always food and drinks available, little kids around to send like slaves, oh what fun!! Going back to Ghana was just fantastic, i think its always good to get back where u came from, helps u keep perspective, well it does me. U remember how truely fortunate you are, u are reminded of some of the values that u had when u was a tad younger which u seem to have shelved. Was good to see the grandma and extended family and boy is my family extended, it felt like i was in some way related to everyone in that country. Met some really great people on my trip too, Ghanaians are inherently good well mannered people, that good nature tends to slide when they leave the shores of ghana though ;-). Everyone is so polite, and the spirit of community is pretty good there.And religion is so big there, honest, if u wanna make some cash, your best bet is to start a church, but then again if u have nothing but a hard life who else can u turn to but God? Maximum respect to my countrymen and women.

As expected, family members only had one question..."Yaw, are u married?" blah blah... seesh, was like they had all recited the same line of questioning, but it was all good. But mind u there are some lovely lasses floating around in those parts, my word!! Initially, when we got ther i was rather dissapointed, but men was i set straight when we started hittin the clubs and the engagements and weddings, in all honesty i dont think i have eva been in an enclosed space with so many fine...HIGH MAINTENANCE women in my life...Gucci, Fendi, and names i have not even heard off are worn there like river traders.

Managed to read 2 books this holiday, could have read more, but sleep started dominating my holiday. I'd really suggest you try get your hands on these books, the first i read was called the Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho and the other was a re-read of Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch. Both very easy reads, your approach to these books particularly the second one, should be with an open mind, very thought provoking they are.

Had lots of time to think and reflect and digest what was written in these books. The one thought that comes to mind at this stage is the one that states there is no right or wrong, good or bad, all these feelings are relative. Your perception/interpretation of any given situation is a reflection of how u see yourself. which makes sense. Lets say boozing for example, x on the one side will see getting pissed as a bad/evil thing, but then there is y on the other hand who gets broken, has a ripper time etc. and to him/her boozing is a great thing... u get my gist? Every day, every situation every action or inaction, every thought, word or deed...is a step towards the creation of Self..very deep!! Another thought is this....when you truely want something bad enough, the whole world conspires to help you achieve it.

This weeks quote is an extract from the book conversations with God...

"Man on the other hand, often feels he needs a return on his investment. If we are going to love somebody, fine - but we had better get some love back. that sort of thing. This is not passion. This is expectation. This is the greatest source of mans unhappiness...renounciation of results but never, ever renouncing passion is the way to self realisation"

Birthdays
6th Ingrid

If your birthday is this week, well happy happy to u hope your year is all you want to make it be!!

Much later to you all, hope u had a rather relaxin first day back at the grindstone, i sure did..so far....