Jesse James, as you all know, was one of the most famous outlaws of the 19th century, in America. I refrain from using the word infamous because Jesse James is quite the iconoclast in America, with movies, songs and much lore dedicated to him.
Now, Jesse James was a first-rate thug, and a third-rate marksman. He was so unsuccessful at robbing banks that he and his brother Frank took to robbing railroad express trains. The railroad at the time was hugely unpopular in America, because it cut a swathe right through prime private property. Jesse James fooled a lot of people into thinking that he was the champion of the people, taking on the railroads, standing up to the government and protecting their rights. As a consequence of this brilliant PR maneouver, he was idolised by the very people he was robbing. This railway and the roads that followed form the infrastructural backbone of America. In any society, what benefits one section is bound to impact negatively (perhaps temporarily) on another section. The retail industry maligned for consuming large tracts of land, is the same industry that provides jobs to millions of people and is America's second largest sector. The outsourcing of jobs to India and China that is decried, keeps American companies competitive in a global economy, provides high dividends to its investors and share-holders and in turn fuels its thriving retails industry. The point I am trying to make, is that in a democracy anyone can fool people into believing untruths. All we need are a few Jesse James and in Goa these masquerade as politicians. When we close down so called polluting industries, is there an in-depth study made to find out what acceptable levels of pollution are? Are there industries of the same type operating elsewhere in the world and do they have mechanisms in place to reduce pollution? Are the industries far enough away from civilisation to allow for pollution to dissipate into the atmosphere? Are alternative industries proposed in this area? Will people working in this industry be rehabilitated in an alternative form of livelihood? Did anyone ask these difficult questions? It is so easy for rogue politicians to mislead people, to come to power merely promising to offset what the incumbent party has done. It is much more difficult to stand on principle, to evaluate what is truly beneficial and to have the courage of one's convictions. Selma -------------------------------------- --- john gomes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > POLUTING INDUSTRIES/FACTORIES CLOSED DOWN > > > > I was surprised to see an Advertisement in the > local dailies by the people of Cuncolim "Three Cheers" to some Ministers and the Municipal Council for shutting down three polluting factories. These factories did not come up overnight. There obviously was plannng, investment, __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ Goanet mailing list Goanet@lists.goanet.org http://lists.goanet.org/listinfo.cgi/goanet-goanet.org