Photograph of the Day: A Cozy Country House

A house in Ahrenshoop, Germany. (Credit: ©Pixdaus.com)

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The Future Generations of Panamanians

The development of a country is not determined by its size, natural resources, weather, technology or its geographical position.  These of course are important development factors, but not the real strength of a nation.  In my dictionary, the potential of a country is determined by the attitude of its people.  People is what makes a country great.

Germany and Japan were both defeated during the Second World War.  The latter suffered the massive destruction of two powerful atomic bombs.  It’s the only nation in the world where not one, but two atomic bombs were dropped—Little Boy and Fat Man.  That was in the mid forties.  These are the only attacks with nuclear weapons in the history of warfare.  That was in 1945 and caused the end of the war.  Now, 65 years later, Japan is the second economy in the world only behind the United States.  Germany is currently one of the leading economic powers of Western Europe.  These two economic miracles happened because of the attitude of the German and Japanese people.  I call it people power.

In Panama, after the U.S. invasion of 1989, the Panamanian people returned to democracy.  Ever since, they have struggled to find its way into becoming a First World country.   It has been a steep and treacherous uphill effort.  But we all know there’s no such thing as a free lunch.  “There’s no gain without pain,” the saying goes.  This is true.

Even as we speak, the Panama Canal is being improved with an investment of approximately 5.25 billion dollars.  The blueprints for a subway are being drawn by an international consortium.  The subway or metro is  expected to be finished in three-and-a-half years, during the current administration of Ricardo Martinelli.  Universal scholarships and free books and school supplies will be distributed to all public school students.  During 2010, Panama will have a modern infrastructure of WiFi communication to enable free access to the Internet to every student with a laptop.  This will dramatically push the quality of education in Panama to record heights.  A bright future lies ahead and future generations of Panamanians  will make it happen.

It doesn’t take a crystal ball, seer stone, scrying pool or any other spooky stuff to see that Panama is destined to play an important role in Central and South America.  It has the people power to accomplish this great feat.

The Wikipedia Encyclopedia defines generation:   “Generation (from the Latin generāre meaning to beget), also known as procreation, is the act of producing offspring.” Another way of defining a generation is, “All the people living at the same time or of approximately the same age.”

Below is the face of a Panamanian who will carry the baton of our country to unprecedented levels of development.  Her name is Angélica. I met her during a recent visit to the Mercado de Artesanías in Panama City, Panama.  Here we go.

The angelical face of Angélica, a healthy baby I met at the Mercado de Artesanías in Panama City, Panama. (Credit: ©Omar Upegui R.)

This is the image of a member of the next generation who will have the responsibility to transform our country into a a First World nation. (Credit: ©Omar Upegui R.)

Take a close look at this baby.  She could be in the front page of Times Magazine in the future.  You never know. I’m sure her hard-working mother will feel very proud of her daughter.  Good Day.

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Photograph of the Day: Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavarian Alps

Photograph of one of the most photographed castles in the world. (Credit: Pixdaus.com)

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The Ten Best Cities to Live – 2008

If money were no problem, where would you like to build your nest?  This is a very interesting question.  I’ve asked this question before when I can’t sleep late at night. Most of the time I’ve selected Munich, the capital of Bavaria in Germany. This city fascinates me, but that’s another story.

According to a recent study made by Mercer Consulting, below are the world’s best places to live in 2008. The rankings are based on a point scoring index, with Zurich scoring 108 and Baghdad scoring 13.5. Cities are compared to New York as the base city, with an index score of 100.

The quality-of-living survey covers 215 cities and is conducted to help governments and major companies place employees on international assignments. The survey also identifies those cities with the highest personal safety ranking based on internal stability, crime, effectiveness of law enforcement, and relationships with other countries.

This is the list of the ten best cities to live in 2008:

1. Zurich, Switzerland
2. Vienna, Austria (tied with Geneva in second place)
3. Geneva, Switzerland (tied with Vienna in second place)
4. Vancouver, Canada
5. Auckland, New Zealand
6. Düsseldorf, Germany
7. Munich, Germany
8. Frankfurt, Germany
9. Bern, Switzerland
10. Sydney, Australia

As you can see, Germany and Switzerland have the privilege of having the best cities in the world to live. The best continent to settle in is Europe.

Our leaders should pay close attention to what these cities are doing to support a high-quality life for their population. I’m sure our government officials have a lot to learn from these places.

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