Belated Best Wishes to those that assist the Nonprofits around the globe

Belated best wishes to all who offer assistance to nonprofit organizations around the globe ... We are truly indebted to you for without your kind assistance we would be very limited in our efforts to improve the well-being of the poor around the globe.  

I take this opportunity to offer my deepest gratitude, heartfelt thanks and best wishes for 2009 and beyond to these individuals and organizations that have specifically helped us at FINCA ... 

• Mary Ann Zirelli and Chuck Rozwat at ORACLE for their huge, humongous assistance;
• Kevin Turner and Joe Matz at Microsoft for their huge assistance; 
• Kevin Gropp, Keith Angell, Tung OuYang, Nathan DeWitt, Marcia Bennet, Alberto Jimenez of IBM for their valued assistance;
• David Murray and Mike Champlin at Google for offering non-profits access to GMail;
• Dave Peranich at Riverbed for the piloting of their key WAN Optimization blackbox technology;

And special thanks to my peers at Accion, Opportunity, WomensWorldBanking, Unitus and Grameen

Again, many, many, many thanks

jiten

 

Thanksgiving to Remember in Nicholls, Georgia

We had a really nice, happy, all consuming Thanksgiving in Nicholls, Georgia with family that we had not met in a long while. We met cousins and their cute, wonderful and growing offspring, and my uncle (mota-kaka) and aunt (budiee-mum).

Travelled down on Wednesday, a loooong (13.5 hr) drive down from NJ to first Brunswick, Georgia. This was my first trip down the east-coast since 1996, when we drove down to watch the Olympics in Atlanta. I was okay up until we got to Virginia; then once we got to North Carolina, I forgot that I was in the wonderful United States, the road system had not changed since my last trip in '96 ... still the two lanes in each direction, seemed somewhat out of step with the the powerhouse of the economic might of the United States ... fine I grant that that was before the dog-day-afternoon of the current economic and financial disaster that we are in; 

this was a major artery connecting the North to the South down the East Coast, and yet the road system conjured up an image of the 60's and likely 70's, and how progress had not quite made it to here. And much to my surprise, I see these billboards, for miles on end, about "south of the border". Hmmm, which border are they alluding to? For even though it depicted a Mexican looking hombre on the billboards, I thought I knew my geography  in that there was no Mexico anywhere near the Carolinas or Florida ... Ahhh perhaps the current economic recession may have caused a seismic reaction and shifted the tectonic plates under our feet whereby bringing the state of Mexico next to Georgia or Florida  ... one never knows!!!

 

We finally, torturedly (if there can be such a word; getting people to move from the outside lane to the inside lane, especially when they just sit there hogging the lane doing 50mph with the speed limit being 70mph and have no desire to shift) got to Brunswick, Georgia at around 10:30pm. 

Met up with my cousin who had recently moved down here; it was really nice to see them and their little ones; had a nice cup of chai (Indian style tea) and some nasto (Indian snacks); before it had time to settle in my stomach we exchanged our brief pleasantries, hellos, and moved onto our goodbyes, and left for another reunion ... 

Left for the uncharted waters of a state park in Nicholls ... my navigation indicated that we were entering uncharted waters and could not provide turn-by-turn directions.  

We got to Nicholls, around 1:00am in the morning ... and low and behold the family was up waiting and excitedly and warmly embraced us ... it felt really good after a loooong trip to be in such company ...

The next two days were fun-filled, hearty eating (and yes little merriment sipping of alocoholic beverages, yes sipping rather than gulping), oodles of laughs, bonding of different generations between the youngsters and the adults, sitting by a bonfire drinking apple cider, watching the flames slice up the air and generate warmth, and watching the twinkling stars brightening up the sky ... it warmed the cockles of our hearts. It was a beautiful feeling.

I look forward to another year, and another gathering over Thanksgiving. 

Thoughts on the economy, rising dollar, and lower price of the barrel of oil ...

As a result of the financial crisis of the past year and the recent collapse and specifically the loss of trust and confidence in the banking sector (though not just limited to them), and the spiraling and worsening economic woes here in the US  and abroad ... brings both good and bad in its wake. 

The good … we will now get back to some level of reasonableness or perhaps over-reasonableness of regulating the financial services sector, more stricter regulation would not necessarily be a bad thing.  Also in the aftermath of this economic crisis, precipitated by the financial services collapse, and with the winds of “change” swirling and ready to blow across the Potomac we will  have major investments in infrastructure and like which portends well for job opportunities and for volunteerism to help the country back to good health. 

The bad … Against most, if not all, foreign currencies, the USD has strengthened, it is everyone's favorite currency and only by default for it is the only one that offers a safety net, and only because of the size and might of the US economy and the stability and confidence in its democratic principles, and at one time I would have added confidence in its capitalist ways … though one can forget that last piece. This does not bode well for the following reasons …

• It spells doom for exporters … especially the tech companies like IBM, ORACLE, HP, CISCO, etc;
• It increases our trade deficit … increases our dependence on the likes of China and others;

However it does offer good news for importers … makes imports cheaper (Wal-Mart must be feeling just a little giddy, more so than anyone else). 

Now add into this concoction, the reduction in the price of barrel of oil … which really is a mixed blessing.  This is about the only good news for the US consumer, having to pay less at the gas-pump, however this also has the likely affect of slowing down the clamor for finding alternative sources of energy. The auto industry who for years paid lip service to innovation and squat about improving fuel efficiency, has now all of a sudden got the speed bug to race to Washington with a begging bowl in hand, having seen greenbacks being doled out to one and all who could spell “finance” …  want some for themselves. 

My emotional recommendation to the auto industry … let capitalism run its course and let the fittest survive; do not give them a single penny; they have thwarted innovation at every turn, and the only time they have embraced any innovation is when they have been under duress from Congress.  Speaking with a small dose of hallucinating drug, I realize that we must help them, however I would want conditions as specified by the Detroit Editor of the WSJ, to first demand the complete ouster of all management and the full Board.