All hail to the ox (Obama is one)

[ensho]

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/KA24Ad01.html


The Year of the Rat has ended in a global economic meltdown and a crisis of confidence unseen since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Can the ox - the strong, hard-working symbol for next year, which begins on January 26 on the Chinese lunar calendar - carry us forward to better times?

While feng shui experts, like other prognosticators, are inclined to cover their backsides with hedges and qualifications, on the whole the Year of the Ox holds great promise. After all, can things get much worse?

Many financial experts say they not only can but certainly will, but the ox offers hope that these dour analysts are victims of their own pessimism.

-snip-

So it’s easy to despair - especially when considering that the previous two ox years (1997 and 1985) were periods of economic decline for many Asian economies. That said, however, despair is not a quality usually associated with this year’s bovine mascot. The ox, one of 12 animal signs in the Chinese zodiac, represents stability and perseverance - precisely the characteristics that need to be invoked in the wake of the turbulence and chaos unleashed on the world in the Year of the Rat.

People born in ox years tend to be tolerant, strong-willed, fearless and resolved. Like their quadruped brethren, they toil long and hard without complaint and, while results may be slow in coming, they are clear and tangible in the end.

In perhaps the most uplifting sign of better things to come, US President Barack Obama, who was sworn in this week after stirring not just Americans but people around the world with his eloquent rhetoric of hope and change, was born in an ox year, 1961. Many a fortune-teller senses something beyond coincidence in this and expects Obama to do great things as the 44th president of the United States. They also point out that in Chinese, the number four sounds like death and that the Obama presidency is bringing us a double dose of it.

Whatever happens, look for the ox-in-chief to shake the world this year.

-snip-

The world’s financial markets could take a cue from Sichuan, where horrible destruction has been followed by hope and renewal. The pace of Sichuan’s rebirth is slow but steady. It’s like watching oxen at work.
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[Amerigo Vespucci]

1. Apparently this is NOT the John Entwistle Tribute Thread I thought it was gonna be...

...my mistake.



:rofl: