The decade began with a sigh of relief when the feared computer Y2K bug failed to materialize as companies adjusted their systems in time. And optimism prevailed when AOL and Time Warner decided to merge in a deal that epitomized the dot-com era's belief in seemingly unlimited growth, however ended up being one of the worst mergers in history, one which saw Turner owned World Championship Wrestling being bought by Vince Mcmahon and the former WCW owner out almost 10 Billion dollars because of this horrendously miscalculated deal.
But tensions grew quickly in the 2000s: There was the crash of the Concorde, the beginning of the second Intifada, the attack on the USS Cole, and a hotly disputed presidential election that wasn't officially decided until the Supreme Court halted the recount of ballots in Florida
The rest of the decade bore witness to:
• Violence. The Sept, 11th attacks were the worst of a series of terrorist attacks, the first attack on US soil by a foreign enemy since Pearl Harbor with far more casualties. Followed several years later by a train bombing in Spain and a subway blast in London. After 9/11, the United States led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Russia and their former republic Georgia tangled in later year, each side blaming the other for the conflict and with the U.N. surprisingly blaming Georgia for starting the fight!
• Natural disasters. Nearly 230,000 people spread over several South Asia countries died in a tsunami spawned by an Indian Ocean earthquake. Tens of thousands were killed by earthquakes in Pakistan and China. Hurricane Katrina tore through New Orleans in 2005.
• Economic malaise. The collapse of the dot-com and housing bubbles fostered two financial crises: The second one resulted in the worst economic climate since the Great Depression, something I call the Great Recession.
Good News:
News wasn't bad for everyone. Apple unveiled the iPod, and later, the iPhone. Their stock more than doubled.
Nintendo came out with the revolutionary Wii motion system which destroyed Sony and Xbox and prevented Nintendo from going the way of Sega and Atari, their stock jumped from 20-130 dollars a share while Sony and Microsoft barely survived the Great Recession.
The New York Giants won their second Super Bowl championship by beating the undefeated New England Patriots in one of the biggest upsets in sports history. Mixed Martial Arts, most notably, UFC went from being bankrupt to becoming a mainstream billion dollar industry on the way to compete with boxing.
The Boston Red Sox broke an 86-year drought in winning the World Series. Michael Phelps swam into the record books with eight Olympic gold medals. An airline pilot saved more than 150 lives by landing on the Hudson River safely after geese flew into the engines and forced the plane to land. The Yankees won the World Series multiple times including the 2009 World Championship....
There were plenty of firsts. First Austrian bodybuilder to become the governor of California. First woman to win an Indy race. First female speaker of the House. First Hispanic member of the Supreme Court. First African-American president.
The final year of the decade saw the death of the biggest musical star of his generation Michael Jackson; political rancor ("You lie!") over proposals to change U.S. health care, which could result in the most far-reaching government program since the Great Society; and a sex scandal surrounding professional golf's biggest draw. There is much more to talk about, but in the meantime, lets ring in this new year on tomorrow nights FIRST BLUE MOON IN 19 YEARS with a prayer that all our dreams comes true and good things happen to all those around us! Amen!
