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Goanetter Francis Rodrigues (Vasco/Toronto) unveils his book The Greatest Konkani Song Hits. Launch dates: Goa (Kala Academy) on 9 Aug. 4 pm. U.K. (Staines) on 15 Aug. Canada on 20 Aug and US on 30 Aug. Details http://www.konkanisongbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ When I finally decided to join Goanet a few weeks ago, I did so with the intention to just concentrate on what is *happening in Goa* and for that matter *on this century* , as I mistakenly saw this net as a way to help and contribute to improve things in Goa and support our brothers and sisters in Goa in their battles against the serious issues that have been deteriorating Goa for a few years now. But Mario Goveia’s piece on Obama THE EUPHORIA HAS EVAPORATED forced me to react , as I feel his reactionary political views should not be allowed to be aired here without a challenge, and I have no intention of engaging further in this discussion beyong this reply to Mario's comments. I have met goans settled in USA that share this type of reactionary views, that make me despair . Trying to engage in any serious dialogue regarding these matters with them is a waste of time. But this is different , as this type of views on this net need some clarification. Talking of Obama’s election Mario said and I QUOTE - While that was a historical milestone that speaks well of the American electorate, there were several far more qualified and accomplished African-Americans than the one they picked, who is likely to set others from his community back an entire generation. Well, where were all those several far more accomplished African-Americans? The ones I vaguely remember were Republicans I think, that is what made them “far more accomplished” in your opinion Mario? They were out of the election race in the very beginning as far as I remember. We followed the USA election campaign here in the UK and I don’t recall any more African-Americans running for President. Where were they hiding? And what on earth is meant by QUOTE - who (Obama?) *is likely to set others from his community back an entire generation. !!!!!!?????* Are you joking? ! For your information everywhere in the rest of the world, the majority of us think precisely the opposite. Obama is admired for who and what he is, the courage of his politics, his intelligence and vision. If anything, his election has given a tremendous boost and hope to all the oppressed around the world and to the African-American population; it has given them the courage to challenge racism, it has given them the hope of equal opportunities and finally some hope of social justice and different attitude to foreign policy. It is a shame that the richest country in the world should have the levels of extreme poverty that we know exists in the USA, the total lack of universal access to health care unless you are rich, and above all the unbelievable lack of awareness of the rest of the world, poor media information and poor education in general (not talking of top univerisities of course) . That is why this misinformed population voted for GW Bush twice ! And that for me says it all! You make me laugh Mario and proved my point when you stated the following about Obama: QUOTE This is because of his over-reaching far left wing philosophies which are out of sync with most Americans as they have begun to realize after initially believing his campaign promises and giving him the benefit of the doubt. Over-reaching far left wing philosophies!!!! ??? Is this what you call the attempt of sharing a bit of your wealth with the poor down trodden Americans? Are you a Christian ? probably not, because I think Jesus Christ was the first Communist in the world! The fact is that your economic system needs fixing, your foreign policies need changing drastically, and even your so called "democratic" system needs a reform , like getting rid of the powerful lobby groups that influence and dominate the political process in favour of the privileged few. And Obama is trying to do exactly that - cleaning the system! And that takes time! I am not surprised that people like you don't like it! Tough! QUOTE - However, among Americans, six months into this presidency, the euphoria has evaporated, at least among likely American voters. Have you by any chance heard of the saying *“ **Rome** was not built in one day”?* What did you realistically expect him to achieve in 6 months given the monumental mess Obama inherited from his predecessor GW Bush?!! QUOTE - The glaring inexperience and lack of any previous achievements and inability to read the lessons of the past and from around the world have become evident with every action and decision and pronouncement. Are you here referring to Bush ? Because that is what the rest of the world thought of Bush! And what lessons from the past are you specifically talking about and from where in the world? If you have not noticed, the rest of the world is with Obama, and the rest of the world thinks that Obama has a brilliant mind, is a great speaker and knows exactly what needs to be done for a better world. CHANGE ! The fact that a bunch of rich and comfortable middle class professionals , who are feeling pushed out of their comfort zone think Obama’s poilicies are left wing, is absolutley pathetic and sad! Get down to earth you lot, the world and USA are in a big mess! Wake up and be realistic! Remember that Obama came into power just as the whole world economy collapsed ! Came into power when the world is facing the biggest ever crisis humany will ever face, which is climate change, global warming or just collapse of the climate system, or what ever you want to call it! If that is not courageous, I don't know what is! The fact is that we all around the world are in deep trouble and we need some drastic action and policies and FAST! USA needs to change and needs to lead the world in these crisis, and damn your comfort zone! Carmen Miranda
