I'm sure there is so much expectationz from OBAMA if he inventually become the World President. In AFRICA and MIDDLE EAST, the WORLD ECONOMY etc.
Tell me, what're your own Expectations?

I didn't know the terms Us. president and world president are interchangeable.

Petre,

Did you graduate high school? It sounds to me that you are not in Nigeria. Can I ask you a question quick? Do you smoke Igbo?

My expectation is that you will see Obama as your role model and do what he did, finish school and speak coherently and intelligently.

Obama, D Change Americans deserves,sure has alot of work if he eventually emerges the US presido: middle east and Africa will sure witness a change, His policy statement in that regards speaks volume.
But u know what, let join the 'D CHANGE' team and be part of history. How?!
He is Mr.moderator i expects

Iobafemi:

Obama, D Change Americans deserves,sure has alot of work if he eventually emerges the US presido: middle east and Africa will sure witness a change, His policy statement in that regards speaks volume.
But u know what, let join the 'D CHANGE' team and be part of history. How?!
He is Mr.moderator i expects

Obama isn't going to change a damn thing. He is more or less the same as the other crooks running for US president.

hmm! in my own thinking e go hard obama. the president do have little influnce in the real sense.obama have raised exepectation so high that i believe he can not meet does exepectations.if you want to be a successful president dont set your bar too high.it will be hard for obama to jump the bar he set.

my expectations,

1. stop the war and bring soilders back home

2. make peace with the middle east

3. Free Healthcare for everyone

4.get us out of recession

5. Lower gas prices by taxing the oil companies

6.Make america better

SeanT21:

my expectations,

1. stop the war and bring soilders back home

2. make peace with the middle east

3. Free Healthcare for everyone

4.get us out of recession

5. Lower gas prices by taxing the oil companies

6.Make america better

1) Not going to happen. He claims he is going to do so, but he will find some excuse to keep fighting.

2) With his pledged support for Israel, I don't see that happening anytime soon.

3) If you think that healthcare management is bad now, wait until the US government takes full control. Free healthcare for all seems like a good idea on paper, but in practice, it will be a mess. Health Management Organizations should stop being regulated by the government, leading to cheaper healthcare for all (overly simplistic explanation, but I will provide links later). Obama does not support such a plan.

4) Nope, not while the US federal reserve keeps printing out too much money, and citizens keep living beyond their means, causing further dept.

5) Not going to happen. At its best, gas prices may increase very slowly, but we will never see <$3.00/gallon fuel again. Alternatives, such as ethanol, is a joke.

6) Nope.

SeanT21:

5. Lower gas prices by taxing the oil companies

Of all the things you wrote,this was the acme of absurdity.

Lower gas prices by taxing oil companies. . . . .how the hell does imposing extra costs on a company,in the form of taxes,bring about a reduction in the price of products sold by that company?

Lol.

How does anyone go about making America better?? Apart from the usual "Foreign Policy" excuse people throw out when asked what is wrong with America( people who never seem able to point out exactly what these bad policies are), what is wrong america as is and what does this [b]WE NEED CHANGE [/b]mantra many seem to have adopted actually refer to ? Change the way people think? Change the man in office? Change the value of the dollar? What is it that people really want changed and at what expense, if any?

1 change involves reducing the gap between the rich and the poor,

2 making way for improved health services that will cater for everyone as we have here in the UK,

3 improving college education to reach most americans (loan improvements etc),

4 ending the war in iraq, better treatment for war veterans___lots of US military personel have committed suicide on their return from iraq . something wrong with their mental status. early this month i had the privilege of going to veterans affairs hospital in dayton, ohio. i was shocked how those soldiers were treated by their country. the medical personnele show much disregard for them. (the white trash and bloody niggers) people who actually went to fight for thier country. that must change.

if you think there is nothing wrong in america now that needs change, then we may want to begin the change with your brain.

________darfur

darfur:

1 change involves reducing the gap between the rich and the poor,

Bridging the gap between the rich and poor by forcing the poor to work harder or by taxing the rich to give more to the poor?? Does that gap not exist in all countries?? How do you go about changing such?? By playing Robin Hood?? How In theory, this sounds so much like a great idea and plan but to get this to work you have to create some sort of unbalanced system that basically hinders the rich to benefit the poor eg. Provide more opportunities to the poor at the expense of the rich, discriminate against the rich in situations to get the poor to rise to the same level. Is this really a fair deal?? or does it not matter cause we have come to accept that the rich do not deserve to be treated fairly and equally?

darfur:

2 making way for improved health services that will cater for everyone as we have here in the UK,

Does the US really envy the health care system available in the UK today? People over there also complain as much as the people here do when it comes to that topic. Why then should changing US mean switching from what we have to what is in the UK that many know does not necessarily work better Is this simply about switching problems or finding solutions better than what we have now if what we currently have is so bad?

darfur:

3 improving college education to reach most americans (loan improvements etc),

Loan improvements? What improvements would these be?

darfur:

4 ending the war in iraq, better treatment for war veterans___lots of US military personel have committed suicide on their return from iraq . something wrong with their mental status. early this month i had the privilege of going to veterans affairs hospital in dayton, ohio. i was shocked how those soldiers were treated by their country. the medical personnele show much disregard for them. (the white trash and bloody niggers) people who actually went to fight for their country. that must change.

Interesting how improvement on this has been in the works for a while now and there are numerous groups working hard on these issues, even here in Ohio. Do we really need a national mantra to get these improvements in place??

darfur:

if you think there is nothing wrong in america now that needs change, then we may want to begin the change with your brain.

________darfur

You don't necessarily need to feel threatened when asked simple questions. I understand your fear that maybe all do not see things as you do but do try to post sensible replies to my response.

[quote][/quote]

Obama will be President of United States

any person who is'nt a US citizen or who does not reside in US but believe's Obama will favour him economically is simply gearing up for disappointment.

All I expect from him as a Nigerian is to pursue a Foreign policy that makes the world more peaceful thats all.

in the UK college is practically free. some places in scotland and even wales pay their citizens to go to college.

dont know if you've been to the UK, but socio-economic gap in the uk is so small. the rich are not so much richer than the poor. go to the average UK city and looka at the rich vs poor neighbourhoods. no big difference. except the prices the neighbourhoods are very similar


health in the UK is free for everyone. universal health care. in the us, many cant afford a serious illness that may need surgery. i have seen cases where people could not afford surgery and were left to die. it cant happen in the UK, b/c it is free.

when little george came to the white house he made some changes in education loans that made it hard for some people to take loans for education. these were things clinton had put in place. but b/c he needed money to sponsor a war he cut education funding.

there is a need to ''national mantra'' to get the changes in medical care for veterans b/c this 'works' have been going on for almost 8 yrs without any change. vets are dying in numbers and little george is dancing in the white house .

if you dont notice the decline in US economy, job losses, inflation, housing crisis, etc, then you are in real cerebral poverty

McKren:

Obama will be President of United States

any person who is'nt a US citizen or who does not reside in US but believe's Obama will favour him economically is simply gearing up for disappointment.

All I expect from him as a Nigerian is to pursue a Foreign policy that makes the world more peaceful thats all.

dont count on that guy. he will disappoint. i'm glad he stopped the witch though

darfur:

in the UK college is practically free. some places in scotland and even wales pay their citizens to go to college.

don't know if you've been to the UK, but socio-economic gap in the uk is so small. the rich are not so much richer than the poor. go to the average UK city and looka at the rich vs poor neighbourhoods. no big difference. except the prices the neighbourhoods are very similar

I have been to the UK and I have to say I believe there exists a  gap which has been widening for some time now in that country. Instead of arguing this with you, I will go ahead and say we are not speaking of the same country, as the country I know has about the same gap as exists in the US.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/feb/20/polls.economy

http://www.jrf.org.uk/knowledge/findings/socialpolicy/2097.asp

http://www.oecd.org/document/17/0,3343,en_2649_34569_39352401_1_1_1_1,00.html

http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/pressAndInformationOffice/PDF/HigherEducationPaperJuneAmended.pdf

darfur:

health in the UK is free for everyone. universal health care. in the us, many can't afford a serious illness that may need surgery. i have seen cases where people could not afford surgery and were left to die. it can't happen in the UK, b/c it is free.

You mean the same UK where people are kept on waiting lists for months or even years to see doctors?? Just happened to a friend recently actually and I do remember some months ago when the BBC reported how people resorted to pulling their own tooth cause of the long list when it comes to seeing a dentist. I am not sure I want to trade what I have now for such a system. That might work well for you but I choose to stick with what I have, thank you.

darfur:

when little george came to the white house he made some changes in education loans that made it hard for some people to take loans for education. these were things clinton had put in place. but b/c he needed money to sponsor a war he cut education funding.

Can you point out one particular change that was made to the education funding program that hinders students from getting loans today?? Cause I would love to get information on the particular change you are referring to.

darfur:

there is a need to ''national mantra'' to get the changes in medical care for veterans b/c this 'works' have been going on for almost 8 years without any change. vets are dying in numbers and little george is dancing in the white house .

How many of those who subscribe to this 'national mantra' are actually involved in making changes of some sort?? Volunteering with any one of the organizations already working to help the vets would be a start?? It is one thing to tout change but how many are actually involved in implementing changes where it matters?? I happen to have volunteered with one of the many organizations some time back and one of the major problems was lack of volunteers/ people willing to work to help better the lives of these vets. Is touting change really the same as solving the problem??

darfur:


if you don't notice the decline in US economy, job losses, inflation, housing crisis, etc, then you are in real cerebral poverty

I really can not help you here. Sorry if my not seeing things as "CLEARLY" as you do offends you much but again, I can not help you. Feel free to post some meaningful responses if you can.

Obama's mantra is of course, change we can believe in. I want him to come out and explain why his change is worth believing. 'Cos all I see is another candidate running for president - needless to say he's an historical candidate.

darfur:

in the UK college is practically free. some places in scotland and even wales pay their citizens to go to college.

health in the UK is free for everyone. universal health care. in the us, many can't afford a serious illness that may need surgery. i have seen cases where people could not afford surgery and were left to die. it can't happen in the UK, b/c it is free.

College in the UK is £3000/$6000 per year. Besides,this obsession with "free" masks an obtuseness on your part. You may not have realised it but in the UK,money doesn't drop into the Govt's purse from the sky.There is no mythical heavenly creature showering the Govt with money.

The "free" healthcare(which many of us avoid and instead subscribe to private healthcare providers)is paid for through one of the most extortionate tax rates in the Anglo-Saxon world. There is no true "free healthcare" anywhere on the planet apart from commodity rich nations like in the oil-rich Gulf.

That is why life expectancy in the US is barely different from that of the UK.Some medication,like the cancer drug Herceptin up to 2007,aren't available on the NHS except via private healthcare .Thank God for BUPA.

That a country provides purportedly free healthcare/education is besides the point.The most important issue is the quality of the service.Education is free in Russia but most people would rather go to a US university than a Russian one.

when little george came to the white house he made some changes in education loans that made it hard for some people to take loans for education. these were things clinton had put in place. but b/c he needed money to sponsor a war he cut education funding.

I think it will help if you actually researched on things before paraphrasing leftist claptrap you get from the net.The DOE's appropriation for Clinton's last year in office,2000($38.4bn).Since then it has been '01($42bn),'02($56bn),'03($63bn),'04($67bn),'05($71bn),'06($100bn),'07($67bn).That is $466bn in the 1st 7 years of the Bush administration,compared to $265bn in the 8 years of the Clinton administration.http://www.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/history/edhistory.pdf

The DOE's last appropriation under Bush 1 was $32bn,when Clinton left office it was $38bn.

For many people,perception is reality.The world is more peaceful now than at any other period in human history.The ascent of 24/7 news coverage coupled with globalisation's impact on our knowledge of the outside world has a way of magnifying events and issues out of proportion.In simple terms,there are fewer wars and less poverty than there has even been in human history.

@4 Play, sorry but i have to jump in, apart from international students, college in the UK is free! Education in the UK is free except at University levels whereby loans are obtainable as well as grants and fees are subsidised. It is only about 2 years ago that Universities where allowed to charge what they wanted as fees from students whereby more support was then provided for students in higher  loans.

@Kobojunkie, the NHS has a lot of problems that is true, but the point is that it is free. The spread might be uneven whereby it is more difficult for some people in parts of the UK to get appointments than other parts however you have to keep in mind that this free health care has encouraged people to go to the doctor for the most silliest of reasons. Someone has cold they will go to doctor, head ache they will go to doctor, stomach ache doctor. That is one of the reasons why the waiting lists might be so long so put things in perspective a bit. And yes the tax rates are extortionate in comparison to other places in Europe and america where you get more value from your earnings.

Now i need to go wash off this filth i feel from replying to an Obomarama thread, never again. LOL 

Sky Blue:

@Kobojunkie, the NHS has a lot of problems that is true, but the point is that it is free. The spread might be uneven whereby it is more difficult for some people in parts of the UK to get appointments than other parts however you have to keep in mind that this free health care has encouraged people to go to the doctor for the most silliest of reasons. Someone has cold they will go to doctor, head ache they will go to doctor, stomach ache doctor. That is one of the reasons why the waiting lists might be so long so put things in perspective a bit. And yes the tax rates are extortionate in comparison to other places in Europe and america where you get more value from your earnings.

I am in a rush but I have to point out that I did put it in perspective when I replied his post on how good free is by stating that many are still on waiting lists to date @Skyblue. I will update my post later on but the point is NHS can work in the UK cause of the system they have which is not close to what we have here in the US. Most all funds for such programs here will come from the pockets of Americans. Right now about 75% of the taxes paid in the country come from the pockets of the top 5%. This program is another strategy to impose higher taxes on the rich to benefit the poor. We already have plans to tax the rich to feed the poor, where do we stop with these is my  question. Free Health care does not work everywhere and there are other solutions to be considered but sorry the NHS' system does not seem an appealing solution to me at all.

Sky Blue:

@4 Play, sorry but i have to jump in, apart from international students, college in the UK is free! Education in the UK is free except at University levels whereby loans are obtainable as well as grants and fees are subsidised. It is only about 2 years ago that Universities where allowed to charge what they wanted as fees from students whereby more support was then provided for students in higher loans.

I presume darfur was using the term college in the American sense,post-secondary education(mainly Universities).

If you are using the term,college,in reference to those institutions that offer mainly vocational training in the UK,its not free if you are not of compulsory school age.However,the US does offer free education for compulsory school age anyway so I don't get your point.

No sensible Govt,unless the oil-rich or their ilk,will continue offering free tertiary education.Even continental Europe is adopting the American model.There is a reason the Americans provide the bulk of the intellectual talent-their universities are extremely well funded because they don't rely on the State.

@4 Play it says your location is london so how come you don't know that college refers to two years after high school i.e A levels/GCE which anybody using the system has to go through before going on to University?

@Kobo i was not saying that America should adopt the NHS system as i would not even want Nigeria to adopt such a system (i have been informed Cuba has an outstanding health system) but the point is that dafur is right, it is free.

Now you guys should really stop making me feel obligated to respond to Obamamania threads i don't even know why i was viewing it sef. LOL.   

@Sky Blue

Brainiac,'college' in the US tends to be used in a different context from the UK.Darfur couldn't have been referring to what constitutes high school education in the US which is generally free.

@4 Play i am also aware of the education system in the states but considering that he was referring to the UK i assumed that he was referring to college in that context. Yes only rich oil producing states might currently offer free tertiary education but that does not mean it is impossible for others. I think it is achievable on a micro scale if it is not managed on a federal level but by states or even local government areas or counties whereby funding can be generated from taxes generated by industries and businesses that will benefit from graduate skills anyway.

@SkyBlue

As things stand today,US tertiary education(which is the main part that is not free) is undoubtedly the best on the planet.The US continues to produce the great bulk of Nobel laurettes and a high number of patents.

Its not whether services are free that is crucial but the quality of the service. Countries like Russia and Gabon offer free education but people are not queuing up to attend their universities,same applies to many in Europe.

@4 Play of course quality matters but you are making it sound as if it is only in Europe and the rest of the world that a significant ammount of students choose not to go to college (and i mean college in an american context  ) which is just not true. The reasons for such behaviour might have nothing to do with quality of education. So is it then impossible to provide free education of quality?

@SkyBlue

A graduate from say China or India who wants to study abroad will choose the fee paying nations of the US and the UK before considering other nations that offer tuition free education.That is testament to the quality of education offered.

The key reason why the US has the best universities is that their universities are not tied to the public purse.Spending as a percentage of GDP is one of the highest in the developed world.

Its impossible in this day and age to offer world-class education which is "free". That is why many nations,recently France and Germany,are conducting reforms to move away from free tertiary education.

Sky Blue:

@Kobo i was not saying that America should adopt the NHS system as i would not even want Nigeria to adopt such a system (i have been informed Cuba has an outstanding health system) but the point is that dafur is right, it is free.

Now you guys should really stop making me feel obligated to respond to Obamamania threads i don't even know why i was viewing it sef. LOL.   

But @Skyblue, I never in any way stated that he was not right about it being "FREE". Infact, if we could actually have a "FREE" system, sure, but "FREE" also has it's costs, it seems.  So at the end of the day, is "FREE" really the best and is it really "FREE"? Is free going to drop from the skies to the people?? Who is going to foot the bill for free?? Are we really in a situation that we can confidently state that free is the way to go?? I myself hate posting on these threads but I just felt to ask people who continue to push this mantra to explain what it really is they need changed and at what cost is the accepted solution to us in the end??

@4 Play you make an interesting arguement for tuition which i never disregarded in the first place, howver you might be assuming a bit too much. US has an amazing education system agreed, however why do many people flood to go to US and UK to study? Is it all because of the quality of the Education? I will have to disagree with you on that because you might not be considering the effect perceived prestige and recognition has on such choices. Let me elaborate further, unlike in US where havard is one of if not the top tertiary institution in the country based on not just status and recognition but in quality of education, in the UK Oxford and Cambridge while been known globally for status and also for quality education are not the best in all areas which they specify in. Other institutions top Oxford and Cambridge in provision of a more contemporary and relevant education.

However it would be more impressive and open more doors for you if Oxford or Cambridge is on your CV than say Bristol or Manchester or Durham or Liverpool which best Oxford and Cambridge in quite a number of a areas. A western education is deemed prestigous. Does that mean it is not earned or not prestigous? No. What i am saying is that people moving from places like Japan or China to study abroad in places like US etc might not be doing so because they can't get quality education in Japan or Singapore (which i might add have outstanding tertiary institutions) but might be doing so because of the value and prestige attatched to such places.

@Kobo i have read your post and i get what you are saying but i cannot respond toit without discussing Obama so i won't
I agree that free does in a lot of instances come at a cost but at what cost? It does not necessarily have to be at a financial cost. I don't think the issue is fundamentally about it being free or not but about a government being able to provide such a service at an affordable rate for everyone and hence take care of its citizenry. Even Cuba can apparently provide such for its citizens and at very high quality (apparently one of the best @4 Play  ).

@SkyBlue

The "value and prestige" attached to US universities is not mere hot air.For instance,how do you explain their dominance in Nobel prizes?Is that also a question of perception? How many have your free universities produced?

Japan and Singapore don't offer free tertiary education either.

@4 Play you are simply missing what i was saying but it is ok, i will just try and make it clearer. I never said it was hot air, Cambridge and Oxford are not hot air either, they are amazing institutions. However i state that the reasons many people from such countries like Singapore and Japan who also have a lot of good institutions that provide quality education go through tooth and nail to be able to study in US and Europe is not just down to quality of eduaction that they can also get at home (although to a lesser degree of qualtiy). Prestige and the doors such opens especially if you excel plays a significant role in choosing. With the current mindset of things even if Nigeria all of a sudden developed world class institutions a graduate who said he/she studied in the US will probably be easily favourable with the current mindset.

@Sky Blue

Could it not be that the prestige is a product of an impeccable record of achievement? Why isn't same "prestige" attached to other universities.The prestige is as a result of a history of success which the other free universities haven't matched.

The more pertinent question is why you want to handicap those US universities by tying them to the state's purse strings.