Prodigy at age 9 - perhaps a lesson we can all learn

It isn't everyday you hear about a 9 year-old attending college. Tanishq Abraham is so young, but yet contemplates about particle physics, the fate of the universe and enjoys computer programming. It's simply incredible to see someone so young advance so far, but is there a lesson waiting to be learned from Tanishq? No doubt, learning such advanced concepts at such a tender age requires more than just hard-work, this child is gifted. However, what makes him so inspiring is that he enjoys learning. The many textbooks University students like myself possibly find boring or tedious to comprehend are treasures to him. Perhaps, just maybe, this child's greatest gift (and for the many others out there) is not his mind, but his desire to learn to propel the world of tomorrow.

The Greek Meltdown - A Globalist Troika?

This was one heck of an argument made my Nigel Farage, Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP). Possibly the truth behind why Greece has been failing.

Transcript:

"Well Commissioner, you picked the right man. Puppet Papademos is in place and as Athens caught fire on Sunday night he rather took my breath away. He said, 'Violence and destruction have no place in a democratic country.'

What democratic country?

He's not even a democratically elected prime minister. He's been appointed by you guys. Greece is not run through democracy now, it is run through a Troika. Three foreign officials that fly into Athens airport and tell the Greeks what they can and cannot do.

The violence and destruction that you saw on Sunday is being caused directly because people are having their democratic rights taken from them - What else can they do?

And I must say, if I was a Greek citizen I would've been out there, joining those protests on Sunday. I'd be out there trying to bring down this monstrosity that has been put upon those people.

And in his efforts, in the Puppet's efforts to get the MPs to vote for the bailout package, he warned them, that if they didn't do so there would be a dramatic decline in living standards.

Well, has he looked out the front door?

Has he seen the fact that 50 per cent of the young people are unemployed already. Has he seen the fact, that the economy, far from stalling has contracted for five years in a row, and is now accelerating on a downward death spiral - a contraction of 7 per cent per annum.

Greece is being driven into the ground, and I think, frankly, when it comes to chaos, you ain't seen nothing yet!

These policies are driving Greece towards a revolution. They need to be set free. If they don't get the Drachma back you will be responsible for something truly, truly horrible."

Not Feeling Well? - There's an App for that

In today's world, technology has made leaps and bounds; and let me add that there is no stopping it. Today, technological advances combine what are the ordinary gadgets of everyday life into pro-health tools.

The fundamentals by which we look at our own health and make diagnoses are being revolutionized.

Mitt Romney - Can you Hear the Music?

Lately, Mitt Romney has come under a lot of fire for what he had said at Nashua, stating he likes "being able to fire people". Already, the other Republicans have jumped at the opportunity in an attempt to cause some real damage (especially Newt Gingrich, no surprise there). Even President Obama's Press Secretary, Ben LaBolt, decided to get in on the action, and re-Tweeted his comments with his own addition,"!!!".

There's nothing alarming here. The game of politics requires rival oppositions to make use of their opponents' words against them. However, what comes next, I found to be quite the dirty move by Romney. Julie Kushner, the regional director of United Auto Workers, interrupted him to ask about his position on the auto bailout. She continued by saying that the move by President Obama had saved "good paying jobs". Romney became increasingly irritated by her repeated interruptions, and responded at one point with, "Excuse me, it's my turn to talk".

Kushner continued her questioning. "Question is how could you say those people from your state would have been better off under bankruptcy, once again number one auto company?"

Romney responded with: "The answer is this: bankruptcy is not going under and losing jobs. The president ultimately did what I suggested, going through a bankruptcy process. And if you want to talk afterwards we can have a chat afterwards." (Romney further continues with his response)

Interestingly, when 'afterwards' came, that is also where trouble occurred. Kushner held an impromptu news conference after the event had finished. It was at this point, while Kushner was trying to speak, the Romney campaign instructed the individual operating the music to increase the volume. The volume had become so loud that nobody could hear Julie Kushner speak.

Sources: ABC News, CNN

An Auction of 'Titanic' Proportions

Almost 5,000 pieces salvaged from the RMS Titanic, the world's most famous shipwreck, are going to be auctioned. On April 11, 2012, nearly a century after the April 15, 1912 sinking of the famous ocean liner, a New York City auction is being readied.

The collection was valued in 2007 at approximately $189 million, and there are indeed a myriad of items up for grabs. Everything from hairpins and personal belongings, to an actual section of the hull called 'The Big Piece' have been collected. Interestingly, by court order, the items cannot be sold individually and the property must go to a buyer who agrees to maintain the collection and moreover, must make them accessible for public viewing.

A section of the hull known as the 'The Big Piece''.

2011: Top Ten Stories

Who could have imagined some of the events that have unfolded in 2011? In chronological order, here are what I consider to be the top 10 stories for 2011.

...I wonder what 2012 has in store for us?

1). The Japanese Tsunami - March 11

The magnitude 9.0 undersea mega-quake rocked the island nation of Japan. The damage to Japan was unprecedented as estimates of the damage range well into the tens of billions of U.S dollars. From ports, to dams, oil and other industrial refineries, and notably the nuclear plants were destroyed. The Fukushima meltdowns effectively left many areas out of power, and resulted in the evacuations of many as radiation levels began to rise around the area.

A massive wave striking the city of Miyako.

2). The death of Osama bin-Laden

The operation codenamed Operation Neptune Spear was ordered by U.S President Barack Obama and carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Within minutes of the release of his death, large crowds had formed by Ground Zero, the Pentagon, and Times Square as people cheered. However, it has put U.S-Pakistan relations under tension, as Osama was "right under the nose" of Pakistan's army.

3). NASA calls it Quits - July 5

NASA had decided to end the 30-year shuttle programme. The era of space exploration had come to an end - and quite silently too, I might add. American astronauts will now be doing what would have been almost unthinkable 20 years ago - hitching a ride to the International Space Station with the Russians (with their Soyuz capsule). Why did the programme end? Budgetary constraints - it costs roughly $500 million per launch and President Obama's directive for NASA changed. He believes they should send manned spacecraft's to Mars and allow private industries to control the shuttle business.

4). S&P lowers U.S Credit Rating - August

The Standard & Poor's Friday (S&P) bond rating agency had downgraded U.S debt from the triple-A rating to AA+, a move one government official called "amateur". Why? The S&P believed that government officials had fallen short of what they considered to be an adequate plan. Another reason being that Republicans refused to allow a deficit reduction deal. The New York Times reported that the S&P had over projected the debt, and the S&P acknowledged "its numbers [were] wrong". Both Moody's Investor Services and Fitch Ratings kept their credit rating at triple-A.

5). U.S withdrawal from Afghanistan - August

President Obama, along with much of the country, felt their time in Afghanistan was up. After almost 10 years since the September 11th attacks, and 7 weeks after the death of Osama bin-Laden, President Obama announced that the U.S would withdraw from Afghanistan. By 2014, the evacuation will be complete. The war has cost the United States close to $1 trillion, and President Obama announced, "Now, we must invest in America's greatest resource -- our people."

6). The death of Moammar Gadhafi - August 23

Moammar Gadhafi was captured and beaten to death by NLA fighters (National Liberation Army of Libya). His three-and-a-half decade reign had come to an end. The major democracies across the world responded with positivity, as the toppling of the Gadhafi regime meant the rise of a new and free Libya. This became the catalyst for further Arab-Spring uprisings.

7). Occupy Wall Street Movement and the Spread - September

2011 may just be remembered as the year of the revolution. What seemingly began as a concentrated movement soon exploded. Countries such as Canada, Iceland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Britain and Chile all exhibited some form of protest as the people took a stand against their broken economies and political situations.

8). U.S Unemployment remains at 9% - October

The unemployment dipped to a staggering 9% and remained there. Jobs were being created, however, at a rate that would have offered little comfort to the 14 million unemployed Americans. The fear remains that the labour market will be unable to employ this backlog of nearly 14 million people sufficiently.

9). European Economic Crisis grows - November 16

The Euro-Crisis seemed to have been on a rampage. So much so, that the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was replaced with 'Super Mario', i.e. Mario Monti. Hopes remained that he would use his expertise to help end the economic crisis as countries such as Greece, Ireland and Spain had been shaken.

Italian Prime Minister, Mario Monti.

10). The death of Kim Jong-Il - December 17

The mysterious North Korean dictator passed away and was replaced by his youngest son, Kim Jong-Un. Little is known about the man, except that his regime has driven the country into chaos. Famine and poverty remain widespread, and even the most basic necessities are in short supply. CNN's Wolf Blitzer described Korea as the United States, as it was in the 1950's and 60's. What remains certain at this point is that Korea has become even more mysterious, as the motives and thinking of the new successor, Kim Jong-Un, have yet to be unveiled.

Kim Jong-Il

Europe Summit: David Cameron "overplayed his hand"

The very coalition that had been set up to rehabilitate what is the money-craving Eurozone collapsed last night as British Prime Minister, David Cameron, vetoed the European rescue package. The U.K does not use the Euro, and decided to opt out of the deal. This was not the first time that the British refused to become closer to the European states. An excellent example of this was given back in 1992, when the U.K refused to sign the Maastricht Treaty and as a result, did not become part of the European Union.

British Prime Minister David Cameron at the Europe Summit

It now looks like as if the other 26 members of the Summit will agree to the accord, and while Britain did opt out, Labour and Liberal Democrats warn Britain is now dangerously isolated. It should be noted that Britain has 143 billion pounds in exports to Europe (more than the rest of the world combined). This alone makes the threat evident.

Cameron is blamed for caving into pressure by the right-wing in his party. "What is on offer isn't in Britain's interests, so I didn't agree to it", David Cameron stated at a briefing. However, one source close to the talks said that Cameron had "overplayed his hand".

This crisis did not go unnoticed as Asian markets fell Friday with the news that the talks at the Summit had been shattered.

• Tokyo fell 1.48%
• Hong Kong marked down 2.73%
• Shanghai fell 0.62%
• Seoul went down 1.97%
• and Sydney shed 1.82%