Date: Tue, 12 Jan 2010 14:11:07 +0530 From: Tony de Sa <[email protected]>
Angry, who me? Says who? Goans who live abroad are not my targets but I am just trying to tell pontificating, holier-than-thou, Toledo (or Mississauga or Swindon or Lisbon or Melbourne)-is-better-than-Goa, you-country-yokels-haveto-learn, etc spouting NRGs to button up. Mario responds: Hey, Tony, calm down, man. We can all see that you are angry, perhaps have a tinge of a guilty conscience. If you locals had taken care of business all these years, Rajan and Carmen and Arwin wouldn't have to waste their time, now, would they? BTW, I still haven't found that mythical Goan in Toledo, even though I live close by. Tony wrote: Corrupt Politicians, you mean to insult our intelligence by telling us that America or Canada or US or wherever does not have them? Scurrilous business interests - they are absent in your adopted homeland? What have you done about them? Mario responds: Tony, I'm trying to focus your intelligence on the corruption and mess in Goa, and not on the NRGs who are trying to help. Unless you come here I cannot show you the difference, man. Yes, we have corrupt politicians and businessmen from time to time, but the difference is that when we find them we put them in jail and vote the political bums out when they do not perform. We do not keep re-electing them year in and year out. Just watch what we do with the Democrats in Congress in November of 2010. Date: Tue, 12 Jan 2010 01:44:42 -0800 (PST) From: Samir Kelekar <[email protected]> Very good point indeed. What qualifies you to come to India and fight ? What have you done in your neighborhood --- your adopted land? As they say, charity begins at home. Those who have indeed something in their adopted land --- we can definitely learn from them. Mario responds: Not a good point at all because it is speculative and argumentative and has nothing to do with the corruption and mess in Goa. What qualifies us is our Goan DNA and our interest in Goa and the fact that the locals have allowed the place go to hell, so to speak. There are all kinds of things some of us have done in our adopted homes, where they mostly operate based on common sense. BTW, the USA would not be able to function today if you removed the entire Indian community. The Protestant work ethic has been replaced by the Indian work ethic. Too bad this could not have been used in India until recently, after Manmohanji started imposing some common sense in India. For example, in every community in America we have local Zoning Boards with elected members who scrutinize every new building project to make sure it is up to the legal standards set by local interests and fits within the existing ambiance, history, architecture, etc. If anything is passed that does not conform it can be challenged in court by any citizen. Homeowners must maintain their properties up to local standards. Open faced pit miners are required to rehab and landscape the property after they have extracted the ore. There are more trees in North America now than when the first European settlers came here, even though most building construction uses wood and vast forests had to be cleared so that crops could be planted. Why? Because more trees were planted than were cut down. Common sense. When you use a lot of wood you cannot keep cutting down trees without replacing them. You cannot just stop your vehicle and urinate or defecate by the side of the road. You cannot throw thrash in a public spaces. When you drive you have to display the utmost respect for the right of way of other drivers. When you see a stop sign, you must come to a complete stop and look both ways for cross traffic before proceeding, even if there is no cross traffic at the time. Samir wrote: Or are you being hypocrites ? While you do nothing for your adopted land, you come and tell Goans philosophy and how to lead their lives. Mario responds: This snotty comment is what we call a cheap shot in America - a petulant criticism that is not based on any known facts. It also proves how little Samir understands of what is going on. What the NRG activists like Rajan, Carmen and Arwin, among others, are doing has nothing to do with Goan philosophy and how any Goan leads their lives. It has everything to do with the unholy alliance between corrupt politicians and business interests that are ruining the ambiance and environment in Goa. With all your bloviating and bluster, Samir, one would think you would at least have grasped these basic facts by now. We have a saying in America that I would recommend very highly, "Lead, follow, or get out of the way!"
