Plugging South Asia

So what happens when the education system fails us, and we are left to stew in our ignorance bubble? As Jon Stewart brilliantly pointed out: Wars, and global crises, God's way of plugging geography. So here is a little Geography 101 for our attention deficient brains.

First up, South Asia. Now, now, the only reason South Asia is getting preferential treatment here is because it won't be around for too long.


Country: Afghanistan
Why we care: "The Kite Runner", and "A Thousand Splendid Suns". Thankfully, Khaled Hosseini's bestsellers have provided us with an easy access to the "worldliness" badge.
Plug: When Steve Curry's famous 'Afghan Girl' refugee photograph didn't really do it for us, the Taliban came into the picture, to prove that we may have transcended race, but ignorance is the highly esteemed western value we cannot renounce.

Country: Pakistan
Meaning: The land of pure; and people say Muslims don't have a sense of humour.
Why We Care: America loves Pakistan for two reasons. Firstly, Bin Laden is believed to be hiding somewhere in the Northern region of Pakistan. But, it is not just the search of their estranged ally that has put Pakistan on the map. You see, back in 1998 when Bill Clinton was busy "not lying" to the American people; Pakistan, the most unstable country, somehow went under the radar, and became a nuclear power. So this lovin' maybe out of guilt, but who cares, at least now we know that Pakistan is an actual country, and not all brown people come from India.
Plug: Since, Africa has dibs on malnourishment, and illiteracy, so Pakistan needed to elect an idiot of a President to get our attention.

Country: India
Why We Care: Slumdog Millionaire. But, if you are really looking for some humanitarian street cred, in addition of talking about the slum kids, you could discuss child hunger in India.
Plug: India's negligence to provide education in Bihar, and spurring of sectarian violence in Gujarat; may give it an edge over China to have our undivided attention for a day or two, in a couple of years. We don't care unless the problem comes with casualties. And, let's just face it, something like human trafficking would never become a part of our collective social conscious. After all, slavery is so 19th century.



Country: Nepal
Why We Care: Well, we care because now that the Maoist have turned Nepal into a republic, it is safe for us to go trekking in the Himalayas.
Plug: Since this country has been a bit MIA lately, here is hoping human trafficking would make Nepal a media regular.



Country: Bangladesh
Why We Care: Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel laureate who pioneered microfinancing. A concept our governments are still struggling with.
Plug: In the midst of the swine flu outbreak, it's hard to draw attention to the diarrhea epidemic that has affected thousands of poor Bangladeshis. So, sorry Bangladesh, looks like we would have to rely on the floods, again.

Country: Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
Why We Care: Last year, cyclone Nargis killed 150,000, and devastated the lives of 2.4 million other Burmese; making the junta's brutalities finally newsworthy. But, then, we got distracted by the earthquake, and the Olympics, in China. So in this case, China is at fault for stealing Myanmar's thunder. For the sake of our attention deficient brains, one global crisis at a time, please!
Plug: Myanmar shows how important politics is. HIV-AIDS patients are dying because the clinics do not have the facilities to treat them. Here is hoping they would find oil in Myanmar, so our governments would be willing to establish "diplomatic relations" with the junta, and we would be able to help the locals. The 49-year-old man in this photograph died two weeks after the picture was taken.

Country: Sri Lanka
Why We Care: Frankly, my dear, we don't care. Since late January, more than 6,400 civilians have been killed, and 13,000 wounded.
Plug: These deaths have not made it to the front page, because we are more concerned about how Obama has "faired" during his first 100 days. Also, we have already gone through a similar atrocity, albeit in a different region, Middle East, earlier this year. That is more than enough geography for us.

Paging Descartes: Afghan Dreaming

I have to admit my subconscious' humanitarian efforts always put my awake state to shame.

Last night, I had a dream that I was in Afghanistan. I was in Kandahar where the Canadian forces are stationed. Across the street past the barricades, I could see little Afghan children playing under the watchful eyes of the Taliban.

I believe one of the grave mistakes, the US made in Pakistan was that they just handed over 10 billion dollars to the former Pakistani President Musharraf, without any accountability. I think the drone attacks, which Obama supports, further polarize Pakistanis. Before 9/11 there were hardly any extremist groups in Pakistan, but now the Taliban control majority of the Northern Pakistan.

Handing out weapons, and backing corrupt governments is not the way to secure our borders. In Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson shows us that with education we can eradicate the spread of extremist ideology in the region. But, sadly, we would rather solve the problems with weapons, and power exertion; than providing them with the basic necessities, such as proper health care, and education. Poverty nurtures terrorism. Not religion.

I see the US repeating the same mistake in Afghanistan. The US backed Karzai government in Afghanistan is corrupt and weak. Instead of funding the military to tame the ungovernable Afghanistan, we can spend the same money on setting up pharmaceutical industries in Afghanistan, which would not only put an end to the opium drug trafficking, but would also create jobs.

I have no faith in the world leaders to solve our problems, but what gives me hope is people like Fatima Gailani, who are changing lives in one of the most intolerant countries.

Quotes of the Day

*and my two cents.

Zahi Hawass, Egypt's chief archaeologist, after a bust of Cleopatra and coins showing her image were found; Hawass says the discovery counters the fact that some scholars say Cleopatra was ugly:
"The finds ... indicate that Cleopatra was in no way unattractive."
*Does this profound, and oh so productive discovery mean, I shouldn't have broken my mirror, when it reckoned Cleopatra to be the fairest one of all?!

Barack Obama, affirming his unwillingness to prosecute CIA interrogators who used waterboarding on terrorism suspects during the Bush Administration:
"We must provide them with the confidence that they can do their jobs."
*Because after waterboarding one suspect 183 times, and another 80 times; it is the confidence that the CIA is lacking!

Hillary Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State, on of the Taliban's recent gains in Pakistan, including gaining control over a district just 70 miles from Islamabad:
"The Pakistani government is basically abdicating to the Taliban and to the extremists."
*After 8 years of abdicating to the Bush administration, you cannot get mad at Pakistan for being spineless now. You should have thought of that when instead of providing education to Pakistanis, you figured it would be more fun to stuff their faces with weapons.

Rod Blagojevich, the former Illinois governor facing corruption charges, on why he asked a judge to let him film a reality-TV show called I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here; the request was denied:
"I have two little girls and a mortgage to pay. Obviously, I'm looking for a new line of work."
*Now, that's a new low for a former governor. What's next, going on Fox News to discuss the financial crisis, a la Spitzer.

Neil Fees, Texas resident, on the ammunition shortage in central Texas that may be caused by fear that Obama will regulate, ban or tax guns and ammo:
"I've got a gun but no bullets."
*Now, here is a "famine" that needs our immediate attention.

You know the economy is in shambles when:
Dimmick, Chuck P.
born December 29, 1958 in Riverside, CA passed away suddenly on April 18, 2009 while attending a NASCAR race to watch his favorite driver, Jeff Gordon. Chuck was the loving husband of Kristen and devoted father of Dillon. Chuck was the Director of Marketing for the Lund Cadillac Group. We are sure he would still want all to know that 0.9% financing is still available on all New 2008 Hummer H2's. A mass celebrating Chuck's life will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday, April 24th at St. Patrick's Church - 10815 N. 84th St. Scottsdale, AZ. Arrangements handled by Hansen Desert Hill Mortuary 480-991-5800. In Lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Dillon Dimmick Donation Fund at any Bank of America.

Blogworthy: The Great Incomprehension

Okay, here is the third edition of 'Blogworthy'. I am a dork, I know.

1. "If Only Literature Could Be a Cellphone-Free Zone" [The NYT]

This is one of the most amusing, and clever pieces I have read recently. Imagine if Romeo and Juliet lived in the cellphone era!

2. "The iPhone Gold Rush" [The NYT]

Speaking of cellphones, the recession might be kicking everyone's butt. But, software engineers, and programmers can find some sort of refuge under the Apple umbrella.

3. "Generation OMG" [The NYT]

So what of the youth shaped by what some are already calling the Great Recession? Will a publication looking back from 2030 damn them with such faint praise? Will they marry younger, be satisfied with stable but less exciting jobs? Will their children mock them for reusing tea bags and counting pennies as if this paycheck were the last? At the very least, they will reckon with tremendous instability, just as their Depression forebears did.

I remember the '90s. The huge bonus checks, and the I.T. bubble. But, my generation, which is the oldest of the recent "Recession Generation", does not have the luxury to make grand plans about the future. I know three people who got laid off this past week. And, one of them has decided since the job market is so bad for the engineers of the world, he would be better off going back to school, than finding another job.

Things are bad, and this article discusses the affects the recession is having on the recent graduates, university students, and the high schoolers. We do not know how long this recession is going to last, and what sort of lifestyle changes we would be required to make. But our youth culture is embedded in commercialism, and consumption. I wonder, if people can make the same sacrifices that our predecessors did in the '30s.

4. "Help, My Degree Is Underwater" [Slate]

The article poses the question, "In the recession, does advanced education really pay off?" More people are going into "safer" professions, such as teaching. When the tuition is sky high, and over-qualified university graduates cannot find jobs, does it really pay off to go to university?

5. "Torture Versus War" [The NYT]

When the Central Intelligence Agency obliterates a dozen suspected terrorists, along with assorted family members, with a missile from a drone, the news rarely stirs a strong reaction far beyond Pakistan.

Yet the waterboarding of three operatives from Al Qaeda — one of them the admitted murderer of 3,000 people as organizer of the 9/11 attacks — has stirred years of recriminations, calls for prosecution and national soul-searching.

What is it about the terrible intimacy of torture that so disturbs and captivates the public? Why has torture long been singled out for special condemnation in the law of war, when war brings death and suffering on a scale that dwarfs the torture chamber.

Obama has strongly condemned waterboarding, and other terror tactics that the previous administration used, to interrogate "enemy combatants". However, he supports the drone airstrikes, which have killed hundreds of Pakistanis, children and women included. This article explains what makes torture the subject of public outrage, and the airstrikes unworthy of the same outrage.

Survival of the Fittest

Often times when I think of contemporary Pakistan, I wonder what my life would be like, if I lived there. I think about the rich Pakistanis, in their fancy air-conditioned cars. I think about rich people driving hummers, in the narrow crowded streets of Karachi, Pakistan's largest city. I think about the small percentage of Pakistanis who are rich, speak fluent and proper British English in their Anglicized-Indian accents. I think about the rich Pakistanis with better health care plans than the average American.

Then these words of Charles Dickens' come to mind.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

I believe, the above passage effectively describes the contradictions one finds in Pakistan. Pakistan is full of surprises, inconsistencies, and cultural shocks. The only way to survive a trip is to shut off your brain, and leave it at home. My parents are from Pakistan, and after spending every single high school summer in Pakistan, I still cannot fully understand this country of pretences. I cannot seem to find my place in their society.

Last week, The New York Times did a cover piece about Pakistan. The article was centered around Pakistan's bleak future, under Asif Ali Zardari's presidency. The cover story had a picture of Asif Ali Zardari sitting in front of a big portrait of the country's founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah. On the table to his right, there rests a closeup framed photo of his late wife, Benazir Bhutto. On the table to his left, there is a framed photo of Ms. Bhutto taken at a political rally. In front of the said picture there is a Kleenex box, depicting Zardari's sensitivity. If anyone out there knows how to send out a pictorial message of patriotism, spousal devotion, and sensitivity, it is definitely the people who orchestrated this photo shoot.

Pakistan is a country where the rich are ostentatiously rich, and the poor are extremely poor. The weak government is corrupted. The country is in the epicentre of terrorism, both by the government and the Taliban insurgents.

The country is in shambles. Which prompts the question, what happens to failed nations? In 60+ years of its independence, Pakistan has never had a stable government. People are dying of hunger, infectious diseases, and illiteracy. The Urdu language, Pakistan's official language, is dying.

So, who should bail out Pakistan? What happens to failed states? Who comes to their rescue? Bush believed he was saving Iraqis from Saddam Hussein. G20 nations have their own economic problems to overcome. But, at the same time there are flattering nations like Pakistan, Haiti, Myanmar, which need our immediate focus. Or, is it all about survival of the fittest? Something I know Dwight Schtrute would attest to:

Michael Scott: No no no no, I mean have this kind of party. I look around and I see all these beautiful people who are alone on Valentine's and I think that there are other single people out there too. We just need to find 'em. There's a girl out there for all of us. Maybe even in this office park. There has to be a way to get all these lonely people together.

Dwight Schrute: What do you have in mind?

Michael Scott: I was thinking maybe like a mixer.

Dwight Schrute: Oh God that's a terrible idea.

Michael Scott: Old-fashioned meat market. I don't think it is.

Dwight Schrute: No. Lonely people mixing with one another? Breeding? Creating an even lonelier generation? You're not even allowing natural selection do its work. Pssh. You're like the guy who invented the seat belt.

The Office

I am hoping, The Office fans would appreciate the above picture :).

In other television ramblings, I am really enjoying the new comedy called "Better Off Ted". Since it's 2ish in the morning, and I am absolutely tired, I would just share with you what The New York Times has to say about this hilarious show.

The show's satirical sense of humour is on the same par as say The Office, and 30 Rock. The last two episodes were HILARIOUS. So give this show a try, before the mighty mouse (ABC) cancels it for some other Paris Hilton wannabe reality show.

Sweet Tooth

I believe the recession has improved my culinary skills. For instance, a few weeks ago I baked whoopie pies which would have otherwise cost me about $3 each. Normally, I don't think I would have tried the recipe because it literally took me hours to make them.

On this beautiful, sunny day, I am making apple pie. So I figured that I would do Martha Stewart a favour and share this delicious recipe that has been in my uncle's family for generations.

So enjoy!

Apple Pie

Filling
½ cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp cinnamon
Dash Salt
5 cups thinly sliced apples
1 tbsp butter

Mix Sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon & salt
Pour on apples & toss
Turn filling into pastry-lined pan
Dot with butter

Heat oven to 425 degrees
Cover filling with top crust which has slits cut in it
Seal & flute
Cover edge with strip of aluminium foil to prevent excessive browning
Remove foil last 15 minutes of baking
Bake until crust is golden brown and juice begins to bubble through crust (40-50 minutes)
Cool slightly on wire rack

Pastry for 8-inch two-crust pie
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
¾ teaspoon salt
½ cup + 2 tbsp shortening
3 tbsp water

Into mixing bowl add flour and salt
Cut into shortening.
Sprinkle in water gradually mixing with fork until all flour is moistened
Shape dough firmly into ball
Divide dough in half
Shape one half into flattened round on lightly floured cloth-covered board
Roll dough 1 ½ inches larger all around than pie pan
Carefully lift dough occasionally if it sticks rub a little flour into cloth beneath & continue rolling
Ease pastry into 8 inch pie pan
Turn filling into pan
Trim overhanging edge of pastry

Now I can format my computer in peace.

Running To Stand Still

There are two reasons why I am so impatient about finding the one.

One, I feel the longer it takes me to find him, the fewer years we will have together. I don't want us to only have 40 to 50 years together. I am greedy. I want more than that. I want as many years/decades as we can possibly get together.

Two, I have been wanting to have kids since high school.

I don't know about you, but I am still of the opinion that love is, and should be simple. You meet the person. You fall in love. You get married. Maybe this makes me naive, and/or very old school. My best friend thinks you need a good story for your kids, and grandkids. Just saying, "you met, and fell in love" does not sound exciting.

But, I find myself getting drawn to the simplicity of love. No drama. No stupid chase. Just simple, upfront, blunt love.

Charles Darwin made a list of the reasons why he should and shouldn't marry his wife. Ross, on "Friends", did something similar, and almost lost Rachel because of it. I also have a table with columns and everything consisting of guys I have encountered, and the reasons why it didn't work out. My best friend suggested that the list would provide me with some sort of perspective about what is that I am actually looking for. Plus, she suggested that when I finally meet the guy I can show the list to him, and it would provide him an ego boost, which, trust me, he would need after marrying me.

But, I guess the hard part is recognizing "the one" when he finally does show up. Scientists say the trick is not to be fooled by the surging dopamine levels, and instead let oxytocin do all the deciding. Dopamine is a feel good hormone which causes a heightened response to the outside world. You know when you meet someone for the first time, and you get the butterflies? Well, all of that happens because of dopamine. The initial infatuation is also due to dopamine.

Whereas, oxytocin, which is also called the love hormone, is a good marker of our true everlasting feelings. It is released when the mothers and babies first bond. It is also found during intense emotional situations. It increases intimacy, and helps in building trust. It is released when a couple eats together, and looks into each other's eyes. No wonder, Picasso never neglected to draw a woman's eyes.

So, I guess, dopamine is necessary for building chemistry and the initial attraction, but oxytocin is what we need to form an everlasting bond. I don't know if this discussion of the two hormones contradicts my theory about love being simple. Or, should we wait for dopamine to wear-off so oxytocin can do its magic? Or, when I look out my window at the beautiful full moon, and think that it would be nice to share the beauty with the one; does this wish have anything to do with either of the two hormones? Or, is it just me being a sad insomniac?

Bittersweet Playlist

Love, Save The Empty by Erin McCarley: It's one of my hairbrush sing-along songs :) - "Loooveee, saaaaave the eeeeempttty".

La Meme Histoire/We're All In The Dance by Feist: I know it is a little biased to say this, but I think Canadian singers are so talented. Feist can sing beautifully both in French and English. This song provided the perfect ending to Paris, je t'aime, one of the most riveting movies I have seen.

Cartoons and Forever Plans by Maria Taylor: It's a cute song, and the video is also very adorable.

Black and Gold by Sam Sparro: It's a shame this song never really made it here.

Prettiest Friend by Jason Mraz: I love how this song is so simple, and love the way it unravels.

Time To Pretend by MGMT: Is it just me, or these guys sound very feminine? It is one of the "cheery" songs on my playlist these days. Even though, the lyrics are pretty bittersweet.

Lose You by Pete Yorn: This song was not supposed to be on this list. Heard it for the first time last night, and it made me bawl my eyes out. (Whatever you do, do NOT read the YouTube comments.)

What lies behind a smile?

The above woman abuse advert made me think of an ex-friend of mine.

When I witness domestic violence in the media, I can predict how people who have never been exposed to abuse would react. I can also predict how the victims of abuse would react. But, I wonder what an abusive person thinks about, when he or she watches the above ad? Does this ad validate him? Does it remind him that there are other men out there who are living by his barbaric code? Or does he think that his situation is different, in his case the object of his abuse actually deserves the beatings?

My really good high school friend, unbeknownst to me, turned out to be abusive. It is ironic when I saw this ad, a couple of days ago, it made me think of him, and today I actually ran into him after not seeing him for more than 5 years.

He was a good kid. He got the highest average in school. He was excellent in sports. He helped everyone, and volunteered at a hospital. In grade 12, he started seeing someone, and by the second semester their relationship got a bit strange. They started skipping classes, and only hung out with each other. We witnessed them fighting in school hallways. I went to a very small high school so the word travelled really fast. His girlfriend was held responsible of their public outbursts. After all, he was the apple of everyone's eye.

High school ended, and we all went our separate ways. Those two stayed together for another year, until she reported him to the police, and got a restraining order. He tried getting help, but repeated the same cycle of abuse with his next girlfriend. At this point we had stopped talking so I don't know what happened next. I really hope he is better now.

The reason I am writing this post is because domestic violence exists in our so-called liberal society. These men may appear pleasant on the outside, but nobody knows what lies behind a smile. Majority of the women end up going back to their abusive partners. It really takes a lot of courage to break this vicious cycle of abuse, and put all the missing pieces together.

Duplicity

I finally got around to watching Duplicity last night. It's written by Tony Gilroy, who also wrote the screenplays for the Bourne movies, and Michael Clayton. Duplicity is a spy-thriller with some romantic comedy on the side.

I found the movie interesting, and enjoyed it very much. But, it was not as mysterious as say Michael Clayton, or as engaging as the Bourne series. It was entertaining, but something was amiss.

The major asset this movie has is Julia Roberts and Clive Owen's undeniable chemistry. Both of them are extremely charming in the movie. Clive Owen reminded me of the old school "Bond. James Bond", which is all a girl could ask for :).

The corporate rivalry between the two medical companies, shown in the movie, reminded me of the 3 Big North American automobile companies, GM, Chrysler, and Ford. These companies are lagging behind in terms of coming up with new innovative car models. In 2008, for the first time Toyota sold more cars than GM. For decades they have been relying on their staples, vans and trucks. Whereas, Toyota is constantly coming up with new models, which are both good for the environment and also provide a solution to the hiking gas prices.

In the movie, one of the company's CEO mentions the concept of "corporate evolution". GM et al. received the bailout money, and they still have not been able to come up with a plan to recover their flattering companies, and productivity. This really makes one wonder, whether these companies have exhausted all of their options and creativity. They have not been able to come up with new car models, recently. Ford's Model T of the last century still seems Detroit's biggest and innovative contribution to the automobile industry.

The New York Times columnist, Thomas Friedman, wrote about an electric car network, called Better Place. The Better Place, in association with Nissan, is planning on installing charging spots in parking lots, and major intersections. The company has already installed plug-in outlets in Israel, in December of 2008. They are planning on utilizing renewable energy, wind and air, for a national car charging infrastructure. This would not only make them oil independent, but would also help the environment. This is how Friedman explained The Better Place's plan:

"Under the Better Place model, consumers can either buy or lease an electric car from the French automaker Renault or Japanese companies like Nissan (General Motors snubbed Agassi) and then buy miles on their electric car batteries from Better Place the way you now buy an Apple cellphone and the minutes from AT&T. That way Better Place, or any car company that partners with it, benefits from each mile you drive.
[...]
The first Renault and Nissan electric cars are scheduled to hit Denmark and Israel in 2011, when the whole system should be up and running. On Tuesday, Japan’s Ministry of Environment invited Better Place to join the first government-led electric car project along with Honda, Mitsubishi and Subaru. Better Place was the only foreign company invited to participate, working with Japan’s leading auto companies, to build a battery swap station for electric cars in Yokohama, the Detroit of Japan."

Going back to the movie, I think the competition that they show, between the two companies, is healthy. This is exactly what we need to resuscitate our economy. Microsoft, and the cellphone industry carried us through the 90's, and changed the way we communicate. In 2001, Apple reappeared with their new idea, the mighty iPod. The reemergence of Apple computers, inspired Microsoft to come up with their cheap knock-off of Mac's OS X, in the form of Windows Vista. If it was not for the epidemiology program I use, I would throw away my Vista in a heartbeat. Now, Microsoft is about to launch Windows 7 this year.

This sort of healthy competition and the drive to find the next big thing to feed our consumer minds is what we need. Bailing out already handicapped corporates would not really provide us with a long-term solution. Yes, I am being profound today :).

Here is an Onion video for your pleasure. I think which you have earned after being subjected to my above gibberish. Beware of the profanity below :).

Sony Releases New Stupid Piece Of Shit That Doesn't Fucking Work

You Made a Mistake

I am writing this post with all the stereotypical Canadian politeness, to inform you, my dear American readers, that you made a mistake by electing Barack Obama in the midst of the global economic crisis.

So ever wonder where all the taxpayer dollars are going?
Well apparently, your elitist of a President thinks, the phrase "War on Terror" is just not zen enough. War on Terror shall now be referred as "Overseas Contingency Operation". Yes, we get it Obama you went to Harvard, and you have written two books, but why must you turn war into a snobfest is beyond me. Furthermore, terrorist attacks will now be called "MAN-made Disasters", which sounds extremely sexist. Seriously, whatever happened to equal opportunities for all?!

As Jon Stewart mentioned, Obama wants you to start calling the Obesity Epidemic as "Enhanced Biological Jollification", which sounds so much more palatable, eh? My advice to all the haters out there: Instead of blaming immigrants for stealing your jobs and money, blame the linguists for coming up with this huggy-feely Orwellian speak.

Obama's recent no-expense spared trip to London to resolve the global economic crisis, ought to have put some serious dent in the American budget-wallet. The guy is travelling with his own personal chef. Way to stick it to the Brits, eh?

In Obama's defence, he maybe a diva, but he has transcended geographical barriers, and created jobs for other black look-alike men. Look how far we have come. Here is a black man selling a South Korean made car:



Also, I love The Office for introducing a black character as Michael Scott's boss. Nothing cracks me up more than the fact how Angela and Kelly Kapoor are going all ga-ga over this new black dapper authority figure. Obamamania, anyone?!

Oh, Obama, the ways in which you have undone your wrongs.