2000 - 2009

Wow! - we are into another decade - 2000 to 2009 has gone, and 2010 is here.

Back in the 80's I remember seeing the movie "2010 - A Space Oddesy" and thinking - "jeez! that' so far away" - and now it's here. It seems that years in between are just a touch away. I can remember them vividly - well for the most part.

The years within the last decade have seen so much. Many of us have become familiar with the "T" word (for terrorism); and the changes in how we travel.

Mother nature reared it's ugly head with deadly hurricanes such as Ivan and Katrina;

Earthquakes in China and of course the deadly tsunami in 2004 that left 270k dead.

War continues in the Middle East.

The financial markets have collapsed and there is a new US President. There is also the H1N1 pandemics and also SARS!

Y2K
The decade started off with the controversial Y2K bug - yes - the bug that would bring all computer systems down because the codes could not recognise the "double zero ("00") digits", that would abbreviate year 2000 as "00". Some said this would spark the end of the world as has been predicted by Christ some 2000 years after his birth.

Others saw this as armageddon, where we would go back to a time where there would be no credit cards; no internet; no technology - because of Y2K, all computer systems would come crashing down and throw the world into chaos.

Well, despite the big hype - companies made whatever fixes they needed and we all survived the IT meltdown that was predicted.

2001 and 9/11
Having surpassed Year 2000, and the Y2K bug we moved into 2001. I think of the last decade as two periods -

1) the time before 9/11, when air travel was easy; moving across borders was not a hassle and the west had not known that disgusting "T" word; and

2) the time after 9/11 when the whole world changed.

In remember this day well - I was home and the news came on and I could not hold back the tears. We all know what happened next and we have all blogged about it, so I would not get into it here.

But 9/11 changed everything. It lead to the US and UK combining intelligence and forces along with other G 7 countries to invade and occupy Afghanistan and Iraq, and sparked a war on terror which continues.

The years in between had seen much....

- 2002 saw the introduction of the Euro;

- remember SARS - that was 2003. I remember the pandemic that SARS had created. 2003 also led to the capture and ultimate demise of Saadam - that wretched despot (finally some justice!).

2004 was a devastating year - Mother Nature reared it's ugly head and lead to Hurricane Ivan which devastated my home; car and caused total disruption in my life. Ivan passed through Grenada; Jamaica; Cayman and Florida. 2004 was an active hurricane season, and we have not seen so many hurricanes in 1 year since then.

Also, don't forget the Tsunami that hit on boxing day in 2004, killing over 200,000 in Indonesia. This tsunami threw the world off it's axis for a fraction of a second, showing the destructive power of this force of nature.

2005 continued with an intense hurricane season with Katrina literally destroying New Orleans and causing major death; havoc and destruction. Many people's lives were suddenly changed and upturned for the worst. There was also some controversies surrounding the events that followed - some people said that FEMA was not responsive; that George Bush did not do enough and Kanye West saying that President Bush did not like black people.

Terrorism seems to have become more rampant - there was another attempted terrorist attack - this time in the London transit system, which killed about 50 people. 

Also in 2005, Pope John Paul II (one of the most beloved popes in history) passed away.

In 2006, some nations of the world seemed to be more adamant about testing of nuclear weapons - a trend which seems to be spreading up till today. Also - Sadaam is executed.

2007 personally was good for me - I met the love of my life :)

2008 is well remembered in the financial industry - the collapse of the credit market; the Madoff scandal and the demise of some of the world's biggest financial institutions (such as Lehman and AIG) lead to the US Government having to expend over $700 billion into institutions like AIG; and Citi to prevent the US and world economy from collapsing into total failure and recession. Other countries like the UK and France also had similar measures.

This lead us to another Sept 11, where we saw Lehman - one of America's oldest and most reputable financial institutions failing without a US bailout. See link (Lehman Link)

Also - don't forget 2008 - OBAMA had won the US presidential election. Obama (for me) symbolises the beauty of America - someone who has such a diverse background becoming the President - you gotta love it! Also for me - OBAMA symbolises hope not only for America but also for the world - to me - he just has that "X Factor" about him whereby most of the people of the world seems to like him.

2008 also continued with terror attacks in Mumbai where about 200 people were killed. 2008 also saw the invasion of Georgia by Russia. I remember these two events and seeing all that destruction to people's lives made me sick and also feared for the world at large.

Mother nature continued to rear it's ugly head as well - the earthquakes in China created death and destruction with a toll of about 70k.

And finally 2009 - just a few days ago we were saying goodbye to the 1st decade of the 3rd Millenium. This year there was a major focus on the world's global climate - the conference held in December 2009 in Copenhagen saw all the nations gather to talk about "global climate change" - hope that another Ice Age is not near!

Also, Obama is inaugarated - and who can forget H1N1 - Swine Flu. Panademic is predicted and all nations continue to take precautions.

Also - MJ is dead. One of the world's greatest entertainers dies just prior to his farewell tour in the UK. Michael was loved by all and through many generations! I miss him and I like his music. See link to a post I wrote (MJ)

And some recent bits here - the snow storms in the US leading to closures of airports and causing delays and disruptions for many travelers over the holiday season. And again terrorism strikes as some idiot plans to blow up a flight from Amsterdam to Detriot.

Ah yes - the world is sometimes crazy and sometimes hopeful - but the beauty of the human spirit must triumph and we must all strive to understand each other and make this world a better place.

Anyways peeps - TTYL and again Happy New Year!!!