Parallel lines intersect at infinity ..

There seems to be a parallel between the Nov'08 US presidential election and the March'o8 Malaysian general election. In both cases, the voters were fed up with the incumbent regimes. In the case of Malaysia, the voters were so disgusted with the BN collection of parties that they voted for the opposition to win 5-6 states, and to reduce the BN's 2/3 majority in Parliament. This time in the recent US election, the voters were utterly fed up with Bush that they voted against the Republicans. 

No matter how unsuitable the Democrat candidate was, be he or she a Brad Pitt or a Paris Hilton, the Republican would lose in any case. Poor McCain, he tried so hard to win but  the dead hand of psychohistory (to borrow from Asimov) was  against the Republican Party. George Bush was responsible for McCain's defeat just as Clinton and his scandal were responsible for Al Gore's defeat in the 2000 US election. The record voter turn out, the big win for Democrat, indeed the sweeping success of the Democrats in both Houses, can be attributed personally to Barack Hussain Obama. If Crazy Horse (Sitting Bull was a Republican) had stood as a Democrat presidential candidate, he would have won handsomely.

I believe what a lot of people say about George W Bush being the worst President that US has ever had. My only fear for Obama is that some white bigots may kill him. I don't mean those white bigots like the skinheads, the KKKs, the John Birchs and the many white supremacists that are found in abundance in the USA. What I mean are the white bigots that occupy the seats of power in Washington itself; whites who hate being commanded by a black man; whites like the Rumsfelds and the Cheneys whose very demeanor portends hatred towards those who are not of their kind. Obama has got to be aware that his enemies are not the likes of Osama bin Laden, or Ahmadinejad, or Kim Ill, but those who are in the White House and the Capitol.

Bananas ...

There's nothing like a good banana. The ones that you see in the supermarkets which carry the brand names of Montel and Dole are of the Cavendish variety or Pisang Embun as we call it in Malaysia. The Montel brand is sweeter, and slightly smaller than its imported cousin, the Dole brand. The Montel is grown locally in a big way in Johore. The Cavendish variety is also grown by smallholders in various parts of Malaysia. The Dole banana found in the better supermarkets is probably imported from the Philipines or Nicaragua or from some Central American Republics or even from Hawaii. The Dole is a fairly recent import, which is a good thing, since Malaysians, all this while, have been treated to the  Montel bananas which go bad rapidly because of poor handling. 

You can tell a Dole from a Montel by the fact that the former is bigger, denser and solid to the touch. It's less sweet than the local Montel but nearly twice the price of a better Montel. A mediocre Montel costs about RM 0.30 per kg. The Dole holds ripeness longer than the local Montel which tends to go bad in 2 days when fully ripe.

The Dole brand - banana, pineapple, sugarcane - belongs to Castle & Cooke Inc. which is headquartered in Oahu, Hawaii and is headed by David Murdock.

Barack Hussain Obama ....

Against all odds, Barack Obama emerges as the 44th President of USA today, sweeping clean the Houses of the Senate and the Representative. Just like Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the early 1930s, he becomes a complete and a powerful president. John Fitzerald Kennedy's prediction, some 40 years ago, that a black man would be president in 40 years time has finally come true. 

I salute Barack HUssain Obama.