1. Osama Bin Ladin is hunted down and killed. Can his second in command al- Zawahiri fill his shoes?
2. The Pain mounts for our country's middle class citizens. The US and state governments' legislators refuse to rein in spending and pass new taxes. States such as Connecticut and California brace for massive layoffs and cut backs to essential services (e.g. transportation, garbage collection, police duties, etc)
3. Unions flex their muscles and are refusing to make concessions on extending retirement age, delaying and cutting back on pension benefits, etc. A notable exception is New Jersey where Governor Chris Christie was able to hammer down a deal exacting 'sacrifices' from both unions and teachers.
4. The Pain mounts for homeowners whose homes are worth less than their outstanding mortgages. Millions of Americans face foreclosure especially in Florida, Arizona and California. Homes are abandoned in many neighborhoods and many Americans are living in their cars and seeking homeless shelters--even in affluent counties such as Fairfield.
5. Foodbanks have swelled and multiplied all over the country. Safeway Stores in Northern California's affluent Marin County has prepared bags of basic foodstuffs that at $10 are being purchased by those that have for those that don't have. Hats off to Safeway!
6. Unemployment is a global blight as the young are protesting the lack of job opportunities in Britain and Europe.
7. The Arab Spring is a bright sign in countries such as Tunisia Libya, Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Iran and Bahrain as the smart phone/facebook generation takes to the streets and instantly uploads images and stories of revolution and changes. They want freedom. They want an absence of military state that brooks no dissension. They want their dignity, their humanity so long denied to the youth of the middle east.
8. Unfortunately, so many of these rebels are being cold-heartedly slaughtered in the thousands by repressive autocratic leaders in Libya, Syria, Bahrain, Iran and Yemen. We in the United States are aghast at the lack of a global resolve to eliminate these tyrants holding on to the last vestiges of power.
9. The key question is when these dictators are deposed, as they inevitably will fall, what type of government will fill the vacuum. If Egypt is an example, the military will 'sweep ' into office establishing a disciplined spartan system that might just resemble the one that was replaced???!!
10. Your online information is more susceptible to hackers than ever before. As the cloud continues to clutter with personal data, you are more at risk than ever before because the 'booty' keeps mounting. Witness the attacks on Sony, Northrup Grumman, the US Senate, The CIA, PBS, etc.
And these are just the reported cases!
For goodness sake, if you live in East Hampton, NY, don't leave an unclaimed transaction receipt at the ATM window totalling $99, 864, 731.94 for all the world to see.
11. Educational leaders are harder and harder to find, let alone keep on the payroll.
Greenwich, CT has just lost its fourth Superintendent in 11 years as Sidney Freund submitted his resignation. Presumably he and a number of members of the Board of Education could not amicably share the power-- entrusted to them by the community of parents and students they serve--equitably and responsibly together.
Stamford lost Dr. Joshua Starr, its superintendent for the last 6 years, after he elected to depart to run the Montgomery County, Maryland school system; he will represent one of the country's most literate and highly educated group of parents and students. (I lived in Potomac, Maryland for a number of years and can attest to that fact!)
12. Rinderpest (literally, "cow plague"), a viral disease that has been a scourge for two millenia, has been eliminated.
It is only the second major global viral disease to be conquered (the other being smallpox).
It is thought to be one of the major reasons for speeding up the downfall of the Roman Empire, "aiding the conquests of Genghis Kahn and hindering those of Charlemagne opening the way for the French and Russian revolutions and subjugating East Africa to colonization. "
(Science Times 6/27/11. Click on Rinderpest above for full story)
What is so promising about this event is that perhaps we will see the total conquest of malaria in our lifetimes--especially with the tens of million of research dollars being poured into the cause by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Rotary International amongst others.
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