Hello, Mr. President

So our favourite African American (after Michael Jackson) is having lunch with 200 guests in Washington DC at this precise moment. Among those guests are his erstwhile enemies, harshest critics and those looking to use him to get what they want - and of course those who genuinely and enthusiastically supported his bid for the Presidency.

In his 18 minute speech that, in my humble opinion, slightly lacked (VERY slightly, microscopically so) the sheer awesomeness of his post-election acceptance speech on November 4 that moved Jessy Jackson and millions of others to tears, he had two important things to say to the enemies of his country - 1) Don't fuck with us, 2) If you really want to fuck with us, let's discuss the terms first.

Therein lies the difference between Obama and practically every single US President of late, most significant of them being George Walker Bush. Obama will have his gun loaded and ready, but he will not pull the trigger unless he really has to. He'd much rather try talking to them.

While the conservative media led by Faux News tried to paint him as a sympathiser and even worse, an appeaser, of global terror in the run up to the elections (he was actually called a "terrorist" by overenthusiastic McCain supporters at at least one Republican rally, largely ignored (if not egged on) by that nightmare of a VP candidate, Palin). Obama appears to have silenced those critics now and today, in true American fashion, he told their "enemies" in no uncertain terms that they need to be watching their asses. "We will defeat you," he said quite convincingly. If I were an Al-Qaida dude, I'd start looking for a place to hide right about.. NOW.

BUT, he also said that he's willing to work together with the Muslim world and work towards building trust and understanding based on mutual interests (read oil).

Well, something's better than nothing, right? There's enough shit going on in the world right now. Even at the risk of letting the ice caps melt, the West and the Middle East need to CHILL, and if that means more oil politics, then so be it. Just enough with the fuckin' violence already.

And then there's Gaza, as I said in one of my previous posts, this is one issue on which Obama's stance has been... ambiguous, at best. But according to CNN he has expressed a personal interest in getting involved. Dunno how factual this is, though. If it is then, great.

But then what can he do? He's just one powerful man against a much more powerful Jewish lobby. His Chief of Staff is Rahm Emmanuel - enough said.

Anyway, let's wish the man all the best. At least he'll do a better job than his predecessor.

Oh and by the way am I the only one who felt kinda bad for Bush Jr today? I mean I know he's responsible for half the shit that's been going down and all, but I dunno... I couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy as he sat there, his expressionless face staring into nothingness as he listened to that left wing black guy make some veiled references to some of his supposed blunders. "How dare he?"

I dunno. I thought Obama should've cut him some slack there. It was Bush's last day in office after all.

Oh well. Just my two cents.

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Image courtesy Wikipedia.

It feels great to be stabbed in the back!

I'm pissed.

I was just stabbed in the back by a couple of friends who I thought I could trust. I’m pissed off to the hilt. But am I hurt and wallowing in self pity? No. Why, you ask?

Because, for some weird-ass reason, it feels GOOD to be stabbed in the back. The feeling is quite amazing really. It’s a mixture of pain, anger and, oddly enough, a really good feeling of being on moral high ground, way above the fucktards who actually did the backstabbing.

It’s weird, but, for some inexplicable reason, it makes you feel good about yourself. It’s like taking a sugar-coated pill, if you get my analogy.

You gotta feel it to know what it’s like. Hand out a few sharp knives to your friends some time. ;-)

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Sorry. Didn't want to write this shit down. Not very proud of this post. Oh well. It's just one of those days.

Why do nice guys finish last?

I mean seriously, isn't it supposed to be the other way around?

What makes a nice guy less appealing than, say, a backstabbing jerk who'd dump you for your best friend without a moment's hesitation?

As kids all of us were taught by our parents and teachers that being NICE is the way to go. You be nice to the world, and the world will not bite your ass. You treat the ladies like a gentleman and they will at least CONSIDER going out with you.

But we ALL know that that's not the case. AT ALL! I mean look around you. The hottest chicks are dating the biggest jerks you know.

I'm not a nice guy (ladies, please take note of that :D). Well I am, but I'm not THAT nice. My ex-girlfriend didn't think I was very nice to her while we were breaking up and she was probably right. But then don't all couples tend to feel that way when they're going through a bad break up? (Yes, I'm trying not to sound guilty).

Anyway, I'm generally considered a relatively nice guy. A nice-o-meter would give me a 7.5. :p

OK fine, I'm a VERY nice guy. But in my defence, I can be pretty nasty when I'm angry. Not that I ever get violent or anything but I tend to use the F word a lot when I'm pissed. However I have gotten into a couple of fistfights here and there; but then that was only because I had to defend myself.

Generally, I'm cool and don't look for trouble even in the face of extreme provocation; not that I have ever really been provoked as such, but you get the drift. However there are times when I'm so driven up the wall that I just HAVE to deal with it in a physical way, and I do that by taking out my mountain bike and riding it for miles and miles, non-stop, till I my legs start to feel like lead. And I suppose even THAT doesn't make me a non-nice-guy. Argh! But I digress.

Getting back to the point I was trying to make, or rather, the question I was trying to raise, WHY do nice guys finish last? Or do they really? Is it just one of those popular misconceptions or is there really some truth to it?

I just don't get it, man.

Did you watch the match?

Was that a nail biting finish, or what?

It was Sanga and Murali who saved the day for us. Even after getting the Bangladeshis bowled out for a measly 152 we were struggling as if we were facing Australia and South Africa combined!

But we won, and I guess at the end of the day that's all that matters. I think Sanga summed it up best when he apparently said during a post-match interview that it was our experience in playing finals that took the game away from the Bangladeshis who, to their credit, played exceedingly well.

But that's no reason to brush aside and ignore our less than perfect performance with the bat today. At one point the scoreboard actually showed more wickets than runs (6 for 5). Yikes!

Oh well... we won, and even though we SUCKED today (for the most part), we wouldn't have made it to the finals if we weren't the BEST FRICKIN' TEAM in the whole of South Asia (if not the world)... which, by the way, we ARE! (Yes, that's a fact :p ).

Sri Lankan Cricket ROCKS, man!

The System 2.0 - Change We Can Believe In?

So Barack Obama is gonna take his oaths as Number 44 in less than a week from now. So what?

The whole world watched with baited breath on November 4 waiting for Wolf Blitzer on CNN to break the news that everyone was dying to hear - that Barack Hussein Obama achieved what many thought was an impossible dream.

People of all ages, races and places were moved beyond words and got pretty emotional at the news, witnessing history in the making. If anyone tells you otherwise, they're lying. It was a historic moment of epic proportions and there's no denying its significance. Yours-truly had to exercise great self restraint to stop himself from jumping for joy (literally). :p

And now, as any two-year-old would tell you, Obama is going to hold the nuclear codes and, in essence, going be the most powerful man on Earth. But is he really?

Will they let him? (I know what you're thinking right now, "another conspiracy theorist". No, I'm not that, I assure you). :D

For a country that is said to be (and clearly is, at least on the surface) free, fair and fully democratic, the much hackneyed "system" that operates in the US of A is pretty fucked up.

Why? Simple; it's the far right (and the disgustingly rich) that controls it. Obama maybe the most liberal Democrat to have ever run for office but we can rest assured that it's not going to be him calling all the shots; well, not the ones that matter anyway.

The ever present lobbyists are.

No amount of "change" can ever stand up to the influence of these lobbies, let alone completely erase it from the picture. I'm not doubting Obama's integrity and I'm sure he'll try his best to live up to his campaign promises, but let's face it, it's gonna be one majorly uphill climb for the guy (not counting the economy crisis).

Take for instance his as yet ambiguous stance on the situation in Gaza.

Innocent people are dying over there as you read this (please tell me SOMEONE is reading this), and Obama hasn't said a word in protest. To use a cliche, his silence has been deafening. Even though he is not a Muslim himself, it's reasonable to assume that his Muslim connections (albeit very distant) lead at least a part of him to believe that there's something wrong with the US policy on the Middle East. Do you even have to be Muslim to be concerned about those poor civilians anyway? I'm not Muslim and yet here I am writing this post.

Well, I guess it all comes down to "national interest". At the end of the day, it will not be the lives of a few hundred "outsiders" that will be important, but the rich oil reserves in the Middle East and elsewhere. And it's not just the US, really. Every major power is guilty of this. What matters will not be "equality for all" as preached by practically every single world leader.

The "system" will continue to ensure that the fittest will survive, whatever the cost, and the weak is either eliminated or suppressed; OK maybe not eliminated but definitely suppressed and kept in their place. I suppose, in that sense, the system hasn't let them down.

And it won't for a long time to come.

Here's hopng that Obama will at least use his marketing skills on the powerful lobbyists (wishful thinking, I know). Oh well.

Happy New Year (I think)...

OK, it's been more than a month since my last (first ever) post. Work (read idling) got in the way of getting this thing off the ground. Can't complain, can I?

Anyway, a lot has happened during these one and a half months, but nothing that could not have been predicted.

A new year dawned, and everyone wished each other a happy and fantabulous new year. Whether or not any of us is actually having a happy and fantabulous new year is the real question. The "independent" media of this country sure as heck isn't. And neither is, it appears, this guy.

We seem to have officially started racial profiling (that dreaded website everyone seems to be talking about these days).

Kilinochchi and Elephant Pass have been captured.

King Khan still wants to say Hello to the same people who bombed him four years ago, and there's talk that at least one of the current mobile operators will have to start packing their bags soon.

WE ARE WINNING THE TRI-NATION SERIES IN BANGLADESH.

The global economic meltdown is said to start melting down the local business community, and by extension the public, "sooner or later".

Man, did 2009 start with a bang, or what?

On a much lighter note...
Have you seen this?

First post!

Ayubowan, Wanakkam, and Hello to all of you.

It is 1.47 am on the dot on a pleasantly cool December night, or should I say morning, in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The author of this post who goes by the name Paparé Boy is half asleep at the moment, not entirely sure where this post (AND blog) is headed, and not having the faintest idea as to why he's doing this at all, except that he's always wanted to do it.

Yep, moi is a newbie to the blogosphere. So please excuse any blogging blasphemies on my part. I'm just here to read and (hopefully) be read.

Anyway, here goes nothing... Wish me luck.