Think of those students who are forced to stand outside this apostle not due to the lack of merit but the high fees and varying scholarship rules. The institution has recently been blamed for not being fair to every meritorious candidate. And it is true that an institution must be means blind which is not being followed by IIM. It doesn't allow every student with the required qualification due to the non-availability of means.

A panel has already been formed by the Indian government to probe into this case which has also blamed IIM of keeping out the deserving candidates. Let's hope for the best and may this issue be resolved soon otherwise the disappointed hard work loving candidates will lose their trust forever in the institute as well as in themselves. And this may also lead to the pride of the Indian education spotted in it as well as in the minds of students.

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Here we are once again twenty four years later and people are out of work, gas [prices have sky rocketed and the government is passing laws to wire tap our phones and computers to spy on the American public. Congressional leaders are not interested in helping poverty stricken Americans, hard working people trying to raise a family on seven dollars an hour. Not knowing if your ever going to have enough money to meet your bills, by your children's clothes, pay for gasoline and even worse the stripping of our rights as Americans.

I am an Independent representative of the people. I am tired of watching the average person suffer through these times. There is no relief in sight. Sure we have candidates that are telling us everything we want to hear. Why? So that once they are in office they will do whatever in the hell they want. Give themselves raises, siphon more of our tax dollars, and give out more money to other nations so they can build weapons. What about the poverty stricken Americans who are looking for a better way to survive? Where are the programs to help put people back on their feet? Why don't we have health insurance we pay for it? We can spend ten billion dollars a month on a wasted war! And the United States Government refuses to acknowledge the struggles of the American Dream.

Our very way of life is threaded on a daily basis. The government cannot agree on anything, we are living in a police state! Communism has slipped into the cracks of the American Mainstream….The federal government claims its all for our protection and that liberals are ruining America. Liberals founded America, true patriots that believed in a country where we the people; the average person had a say in their government. We desperately need reform in our government, there are so many issues in our society, a changing popular culture and the government isn't listening. A forty year health care debate? A hundred year struggle to legalize marijuana, Mainstream communists that proudly sit in the white house and declare, “The Rules Have Changed.” --Oh yes the rules have changed, we the people have no say and it is a crime against the American Public.

Most definitely the American Dream has slipped into the cracks and has died! It's time for true patriots to get out there and shake up the American Press, and indeed change our society for the better and for the future. I don't want my children and their children growing up in a country that believes you should defend it only to have the politicians kick you in the face when your down.

Volatile law and order situation discourages foreign investment because no one would like to lose his moneybags in a state of fear due to insecurity of life. Pakistan is endowed with towering mountains, glistening peaks, gushing rivers, sprawling deserts, historical monuments and unrivaled archeological sites. Despite the presence of these blessings our tourism industry is in the doldrums due to continuously worsening security situation. The developed countries issue advisories to their tourists "Not to visit Pakistan" that has tarnished image of the country in the constellation of nations. The regime should strive to improve the representation of the country at the international level. Establishment of peaceful atmosphere in the country is mandatory to ensure considerable foreign investment and to magnetize tourists. The government should launch a Herculean campaign for indiscriminate deweaponization to check the menace of street crimes. The intelligence agencies, police and Interior Ministry should regularly share information to curtail the peril of felonious activities.

Unending bomb explosions and suicide bombing incidents have tainted and damaged image of the country at the international level. Suicide bombing is the worst form of terrorism because the bombers blow themselves up at public gatherings leading to massive casualties of the innocent civilians. There is no preemptive measure to bulwark a person from exploding oneself. Majority of the suicide bombers are of young age that can be easily brainwashed by bellicose miscreants who want to impose their self-styled ideology without any sense of appreciation. Enemies of Pakistan also use their agents to trigger instability in the country because it is the only nuclear power in the Muslim World that has become a thorn in the side of colossal alligators. In order to reduce the menace of terrorist activities there is crying need to generate awareness among the public at the grassroots level because majority of the people turn a blind eye even after watching a suspicious person. It is due to lack of trust of the public in the LEAs that has been badly cracked due to the excesses of some of the officials. Therefore, it is essential to build the confidence of the public in it to control the spate of rebellious activities.

Judiciary must dispense prompt and cheap justice. There is dire need to reform the judiciary from the crown to the foot so that the filings of humanity get speedy justice at their doorsteps. The role of the touts who work intermediary between the clients and the sleaze-spattered judges should be terminated by keeping a sharp eye on of the court procedures. The government should establish committee comprising of High Court and Supreme Court judges to monitor speedy of dispensation of cases and check bribery in the judiciary. In addition, the administration should increase the number of consumer courts to safeguard customers' rights. It is called for to create awareness among the hoi polloi about the presence of these courts. These courts should disinterestedly dole out inexpensive and swift justice.

Energy is necessary to fuel the power hungry industry. Pakistan is passing through pitiable phase of severe energy crisis because no major dam has been constructed for more than 30 years to tap the country's hydroelectric potential. During the last summer episode, the situation was so worse that the gap between supply and demand touched 3,000 megawatts. Lack of national consensus and deficiency of mutual trust among the constituent units are major stumbling blocks in exploiting water resources to meet the immense challenges of water stress and energy shortage. The incumbent President has inaugurated Diamer Bhasha Dam but its fate is still in the doldrums. The government should develop inter-provincial harmony to harness water and energy resources. In addition to this nuclear, wind and solar energy should also be exploited. Coal can be used in thermal plants to tap thermal electricity.

Pakistan can make progress with gigantic strides in the economic field if successful and long term policies are introduced by the current regime. The economic growth rate of Pakistan is one of the highest. The standard of living of the people has much improved due to high income but still there are massive pockets of poverty due to which we are much behind from target of making Pakistan an Asian Tiger. Pakistan will be included in the list of the developed countries when it would develop self-reliance in the production of all commodities. The country is currently entangled in the heavy debt trap of $38.86 billion that has hampered national economy because donor agencies charge heavy interest rates. Therefore, the government should utilize the foreign aid to establish indigenous industries that can boon export and trim down import of goods. In this way Pakistan can emerge as a strong economic power in the comity of the nations.

"I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal"

Exactly 45 years, (August 28, 1963 - August 28, 2008), after the late Dr King, Jr delivered his celebrated "I have a dream", the Democratic Party of USA will declare the first nominated African American, Barack Obama, as the presidential candidate to lead their party to general elections in November 2008. For a country that has a strong history of racial and economic apartheid, this is a dream come true. I am sure the late Dr King is smiling in his grave (or Heaven) expressing unheard words "my dream has come true". However, this dream will only continue to formulate and actualize if the enemies of Democracy do not shoot Obama dead just as they did to the late Dr King. The test of democracy is here, and the world waits to see if the country who claims bragging rights as a leader in democracy will pass the test

This dream comes at a time when the entire world faces global challenges in terms of political turmoil, an imbalance in population growth, economic uncertainty and deteriorating health and social services. With fluctuating socio-political climate, and constant economic changes, global leaders are faced with growing challenges. Right now, the USA is facing one of the worse politico-economic crises in the history of the country. The war in Iraq has consumed a bigger portion of US attention. The war is like holding a snake in deep waters. You fear to let it neither go nor continue holding it. Forecloses are on the ascendancy, social service is nothing to write home about, and as the privatization of the medical industry increases, many Americans struggle to pay costly medical bills. Americans now live to work, instead of working to live. While the average Americans continue to dream of the day they will be able to partake in the American Dream, they find certain conditions inhibit their ability to actualize the dream.

Yet, in the midst of chaos, the USA still has bragging rights as a super power; a country that sneezes and the entire world catches fever. America also has bragging rights as a father of democracy, and as a nation that teaches other nations how to practice democracy, how to care for their people, how to run their economies, how to manage population growth and how to operate and supervise their security and military intelligence. While many citizens of other nations have limited freedoms, Americans enjoy a high level of freedom, so much so that at times they may take it for granted.

While all nations have defects, and exist in historical contexts often filled with oppressive legacies, and while the USA has its shares of flaws, it still is seen as a great nation with a strong capacity for leadership in the global world. While many countries and nations, view America through mixed lenses, the entire world still catches fever whenever the USA sneezes.

The challenges are phenomenal and diverse. USA foreign policies have almost being dragged to the ditch. Political landscape is shaky and being pulled to the testing board.US democracy is in the process of being tested. She is consistently losing its economic power to China and other Asian nations as she has become a consuming instead of producing nation, and owes them trillions of dollars. China has a huge manufacturing capacity, and thus a deep hunger for raw materials, including oil. Millions of barrels of oil that would have gone to USA now go to China to run their plants, and the ripple effect is the consistent hyper inflated gas prices greater than ever witnessed in the history of USA. This culminates with a huge public debt for the USA. USA is going through an economic recession and part of the cause is the diversion of funds to cater for war in Iraq. As of April 2008 the total U.S. federal debt was approximately $9.5 trillion. It is predicted that by 2020, China will produce more cars than the U.S. This is the challenge, and this is the test America has to pass. Will the US be able to continue to move forward in a changing global context? Will the US be able to rise above the ashes, and move forward as an example of change and global leadership in the midst of economic turbulence? This is the headache which awaits the next President of USA, be he McCain or Obama. The world waits to see what America's next move will be.

Other challenge that the world leaders have to deal with is population imbalance and the consequent on future socio-economic arena. Population experts have it that maintaining a steady population requires a birth rate of 2.1. When we look at birth rate in Western Europe, it stands at 1.5. This means that in thirty there will be about eighty million people short of what they have today. This is problematic because it means as older citizens die out, there will be less young people to replace them. While a work force can emigrate from other countries, countries need to make sure they are able to have the capacity to support those immigrants and that they are able to be integrated into their host country. With a lack of supportive measures will lead to a politico-economic catastrophe for a number of European countries. A look at Asian countries such as Japan, its birthrate is 1.3 and she will lose about sixty million people in the range of thirty years. While Europe has tried to use immigration as a solution for population imbalance, Japan has tried to solve the imbalance by closing schools and production facilities leading to a whole set of problems with the potential of creating economic chaos. China and India continue have stable increase of population growth which, if handle well, would supports their economic growth and development. While China captures the manufacturing industry, India slowly begins to overtake the US by surprise in terms of the Information Technology; which is the backbone of today's economy.

Africa countries are heeding to the wake-up call to practice democracy. The economies are not yet ripped for real practice of Western democracy. For the past decade, Africa south of Sahara had a little bit stability that drew a bunch of investments from Asia, Europe and America. Nonetheless, this year witnessed unprecedented political turmoil beginning with hitherto the most stable country, Kenya. The economies of African countries are still at teething age. They could do better had it not been the greedy political leaders who steal the wealth and hide in banks in Europe. With its highest population rate, Africa can do better in terms of economic growth and development. Having being recovered steadily from HIV/AIDS pandemic, Africa can improve its economic growth if they diversify their economies and concentrate on adding value to their raw materials to gain bargaining power.

In USA, the birth rate is 2.0 and this is a bit below replacement. While the English speaking American birth rate is 1.6, the good news is that the highest group of immigrants,Hispanic, have a birth rate of 2.7 which, coupled with diversity program, will help replace the baby boomers generation. This gives Latinos a stake in the bragging right of handling the problem of population growth in USA. With a growing Latino population, the need to learn Spanish becomes vital for American citizens. There may be a day in the close future when Spanish will become a second language in the USA or, worse still, the official language. The beauty of America exists in its growing diversity, a nation of immigrants, No wonder the quotation on the Statue of Liberty state, "Give me your tired, poor, your huddled masses", representing America as a place of rest for the weary immigrants. Yes, America is a land of dreams and opportunities, and those who earnestly seek to achieve them, will one day achieve them no matter how long it takes.

Challenges are many and the agitations are rift. Barack Obama's nomination appears to point to an inner restlessness in many American citizens for a change, and hope to see democracy actualize. Our desire, hope and aspirations are that we live peaceful lives where justice and mercy prevail. Indeed, leaders will come and go, and yet "unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain."

God bless the World,

September 11, 2001

On the morning of September 11, 2001, my wife sent me an e-mail and told me that a plane had just crashed into the World Trade Center. Like so many other Americans on that September morning, I thought it was an accident. What person, what kind of people, would do such a thing intentionally?

But, then I turned on the TV just in time to see the second plane hit the Towers and I knew it was no accident. It was a deliberate act of terror, designed to frighten and belittle us. This was something that no single nation state could hope to do; it was only something that we could be pushed into doing to ourselves.

Yet, what that act of terror could have gone a different way. You see, what they did on that day was try and destroy a dream. A dream that is something we here in the United States take for granted, but that the rest of the world sees quite clearly.

The Dream

The United States is many things to many people. Some see us as a cultural invader, breaking down traditional values with our movies, our products and our arrogance. But, that cultural invasion is also, perhaps, our enduring legacy. From the windswept Tibetan Plateau to the Siberian Taiga and from the vast plains of the Serengeti to the Amazonian rainforest, the dream that is America exists. Bantu tribesmen in Africa wear Coca-Cola t-shirts while never having tasted that wonderful, decadent drink. Poor fishermen in Indonesia listen to American music while they fish in a way that would be recognizable a thousand years ago. Vietnamese sit in poorly ventilated theatres to watch American movies with sub-titles, while they drink Pepsi-Cola and wish upon a star.

For all of these people and more, America is a dream. For millions, if not billions, of people around the world, cowboys still ride the vast American West. For them, if they can make it in New York, they can make it anywhere. For them, America is a land of vast spaces, unimaginable wealth, peace, prosperity and where the streets are paved with gold. It's a land of freedom, the rule of law, justice, and equality. Where, if a person is willing to work, anything can be dreamed and anything can be achieved.

Out greatest gift to the world is not our military. It is not the concept of freedom, justice and the rule of law. To most people on Earth, those concepts are simply without context. They are meaningless. But to dream? Ah that, that is our greatest gift to the world and that is something that I think, perhaps, we have lost sight of in the years since 9-11. That hope to dream was what the terrorists were trying to destroy.

Hope

You see, America is ultimately about hope. It is ultimately about being able to dream impossible dreams and see them realized. We luxuriate in our vast wealth and power, forgetting that America itself is not the envy of the world, but its hope. We forget that America is the realization of that overwhelming human need to be free to hope. That is what America is to the world. But, that isn't what the United States means to the world. The United States is a country that oppresses people, tells people what to do and then doesn't follow through on those things itself. The United States flag is the flag that the people of Iran burn, not the flag of America. The flag of America is not the Stars and Stripes. The flag of America is Coca-Cola red, Ford blue and IBM computer white, laid in full upon a field of hopes, dreams and the realization that in America, anything, anything at all, is possible.

I wonder why we Americans seem to have forgotten that?