So many things happened in this world in 2009. I consider the following 12 events are very significant. These are my own personal views. You may even laugh at me for considering some of them as important. You may not even recognize some of the names. So here it goes:
Happy
Barack Obama, first Afro-American, was sworn in on January 20, 2009, as the 44th President of the United States.
U.S. stock markets recovered from their 2008 disaster. With only 3 days to end the year, compared to the beginning of 2009, Dow Jones Industrial Average is up by 17%, NASDAQ Composite is up by 40%, and S&P 500 Index is up by 21%. A better year financially.
Summer Bird, a horse owned by an Indian-American couple, Kalarikkal and Vilasini Jayaraman, won the prestigious Belmont race on June 6, 2009. (I wrote my first blog on this on June 8 and only one person commented and that too a month later on July 6, 2009.)
Scientists discovered water on the moon. They had long assumed the moon was dry. This will make way for growing vegetation in the moon.
Sad
Senator Ted Kennedy died on August 25, 2009, at the age of 77. As President Obama said “His ideas and ideals are stamped on scores of laws and reflected in millions of lives.”
Michael Jackson, King of Pop, died on June 25, 2009. He was 50. His album “Thriller” still remains the best selling album of all time. It sold more than 50 million copies.
Ed McMahon, long time side kick to talk-show host Johnny Carson, died on June 23, 2009, at the age of 86. As Donald Trump said "America has lost one of its great icons. Ed McMahon was a terrific entertainer and a wonderful person”. When Ed had financial difficulties during the last days of his life, Donald Trump helped him.
Farrah Fawcett, actress, model, national sex symbol (to any age group) died of cancer on June 25, 2009. She was 62. Michael Jackson’s death on the same day over shadowed this sad news.
In 2009, H1N1 (Swine Flu) broke out in many countries across the globe. Fortunately major catastrophe has been avoided.
Tiger Woods Affair. Very sad. Tiger is a child prodigy. He won a putting contest at the age of 3. He is credited with popularizing the sport of golf. He is solely responsible for other golfers to get more prize money. His picture-perfect family life and his public image as a disciplined person were all shattered. For better or worse, I consider him as Man of the Year for 2009.
Pathetic
On February 24, 2009, a triumphant President Barack Obama addressed the Joint Session of U.S. Congress for the first time. His speech was eloquent and at the same time plain-spoken. It showed how well he reads the public.
Whenever the President speaks before the nation, American television networks give equal time to the opposition party to give a rebuttal. (I do not think this practice is followed in many countries.) This rebuttal will be broadcast live immediately after the President’s speech. The opposition party, Republican Party, chose Governor Bobby Jindal to give the rebuttal. Governor Jindal is likely to run for the President of the United States in 2016. Everyone thought this rebuttal will be an introduction of Governor Jindal to all the people of USA. But what a disappointing performance by Jindal! Boston Globe wrote: "Insane, Childish, Disaster". Even Republicans criticized his performance. Some people commented since no one wanted to stand up to Obama at that time, Governor Jindal was made a scapegoat.
Blunder
Indian Government’s approval to create a separate Thelungana State. In 1956, for the first time, a new state was created based on language. Andhra Pradesh was created from the Madras State. It paved the way for creating many states based on language. If that was a bad idea, this one is worst. A state is being divided into two even though both states will be speaking the same language.
This is going to be a precedent for many more problems. Royala Seema wants to be a separate state from the proposed Thelungana State. Gorkha Land from West Bengal. Vidharba from Maharashtra. Saurashtra from Gujrat. In addition, the U.P. Chief Minister wants to divide it into 3 different states.
Mr. Karunanidhi is going to take advantage of this situation. He is already thinking of dividing Tamil Nadu into 3 different states. With Madurai as the capital, there will be Azhagiri Nadu. With Chennai as the capital, there will be Stalin Nadu. With Coimbatore as the capital, there will be Kanimozhi Nadu.
(I have a question. How did the central government approve the word “nadu” in Tamil Nadu? Nadu means country. Nadu does not mean state. Tamil Nadu means Tamil speaking country. Is there a separate country within a country? What is the motive here? After all, Karunanidhi and his party were advocating seceding South India from Indian Union and naming it Dravida Nadu. Thank God they did not have enough support in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Kerala.)
