The Middle East protest continues

Now that Egypt and Tunisia have quieted down as the demands of the protesters have been met, it has increased or started in other countries namely Libya, Bahrain, Yemen and renewed in Iran. The flame of change that started in Tunisia has spread widely in the Middle East and caught the governments and the West off guard and worried. The people in the Middle East are completely fed up with their long server rulers who are unable to deliver them opportunities in jobs and a higher standard of living and a say in how their lives should be run. Before the governments were able to put lid on the protests by isolating the areas where the protests were occurring and then clamping down on protesters without igniting more broad protests.

But with the advent of face book, twitter and other social media outlets, the governments are slow to response to the spread of protests. The protesters were used to get silenced by the heavy handedness of their government but now they are ready to bring about a change even if they have to lay their lives for it and that is what happening in the Middle East. The governments in trying to maintain their power are using their usual security apparatus to kill the protests but are facing an increasing determined and restive public. How many more governments are going to fall, only time will tell as the events are quickly unfolding.

Love for chocolate

I have never met a person who hates chocolate. In fact for some (including me) chocolate is just super delicious and incredibly irresistible. No matter where I am I never hesitate to eat chocolate. And in this case I have my favorites too, since some chocolate does not click with me. Even when eating ice cream or get a cake, I try to buy chocolate flavor of them. I like peanut coated chocolates but also chocolates from countries where they are famous for it, like Britain, Switzerland and Belgium. But chocolate is not restricted to these countries alone but several countries of the world make world class chocolates, the trick is to find a place where they sell it, which has become easier due to the internet.

Chocolate chip cookies and generally cookies where chocolate is involved heavily is also one of my favorites. Chocolate is just so irresistible and despite all the efforts of my family not to each too much, I have a hard time stop eating it. And if you eat too much of it then you have to make sure you go to the dentist regularly since the sugary stuff in the chocolates can clearly give you cavities and enough of these can also upset your stomach. So eating moderate amounts of chocolate can be sure way to enjoy this treat.

The Need for instant gratification.

People are becoming more demanding nowadays and that is because in this day and age, people don’t want to wait for the next day to see news coming in their newspaper and by the time they have it in their hands, the world has moved on much farther away. Although, different people buy newspapers for different reasons like sports perspective, comics, advertisement etc but the whole internet phenomenon has changed the way people read and watch news. Now everything they want is live or instantly. They may still read the newspapers but not for stale news but for in-depth analysis of a news event.

I, for one am a news junkie and read almost eight to nine news websites each day and sometimes even more than that to find out different articles and perspective of different experts on a wide range of topics. The best thing about the internet is that it satisfies the need for speed as on any given hour, the web sites are updated two to three and maybe more times. This flexibility and instant update feature can never be achieved with newspapers, magazines or any other printed media. And the best thing is that you can reach out to the internet while you are at the go since smart phones with internet ready capabilities are readily available. This need for speed has made people more informed and updated about events due to the instant availability of the internet anywhere they are.

The Bankruptcy of Borders

It is a sad day that Borders the second biggest book store chain in the United States filed for bankruptcy. You can blame their misfortunes on discount retailers, both offline and online but they were also slow to adapt to changing times like having their own website late in the game and not being fast enough on electronic books. Another thing is that although it is nice to go to a book store and browse the books there but still if you can get the same book for 30 percent or more off the retail price why would you pay the whole price unless you want to get it that instant and do not want to wait for a few days to arrive in your mail box.

I can understand that having a physical location with its numerous overhead costs and other issues can put any store at a disadvantage against online retailers, but still despite this many stores are indeed thriving both offline and online. This is what happens when some company is slow to adapt to the environment in which it is working and the lack of vision to take the company to the next and evolving new level. Although they have said that they will close many stores and operate on leaner workforce and inventory, and I am sad that we would not be seen that many Borders bookstores, hopefully they have learned their lesson and come out of this stronger than before.