Re: [Goanet] Missing posters

[Santosh Helekar]

Hi Eric,

Thanks for remembering me. Have been very busy for the last 6 years or
so with more responsibilities. Cannot keep up with Goan forums any
more. WhatsApp groups have also taken over.

Cheers,

Santosh

On Thu, Jun 24, 2021 at 1:20 AM eric pinto  wrote:
>
>   It is quite regrettable to see today's indifference to both what should 
> endear us and many unfortunate facts of Goa
> life.  There is a case to be made for the element of 'information overload' 
> that can overwhelm, I know I endure it.
>  Time and the Great Reaper have taken a toll, it pained to be reminded 
> today that Alfredo is not with us to inform
> and entertain : he was a specially painful loss.
>   Our late friend out of the Bahamas served as an entertainer of a 
> variety some of us may not have savoured. He
> will be remembered, nevertheless. He was responsible for hounding our voice 
> out of Lisbon, along with a few more.
> May both rest, together and afar in the yonder.
> Santosh Helekar is specially missed : his was a voice of reason and 
> compassion. I would include him in the invitation to
> Merwyn, both of whom now take in the the joys of Texas sunshine.
> Franky's 'Flash Gordon' now thrives in a new repository where soliciting 
> for the good things in life may be more lucrative
> and find and an even more gullible audience. His hideous assaults on 
> correspondents matched the diagnosis : I recall
> in suffering the mindless venom directed at the Panjim 'gentry'
>  Bosco D'Mello used to be a reassuring voice out of Toronto ,one to be 
> missed.
> Thank you, Roland, but remember the Alamo and, yes the Titanic is back.
>
>
>
> From: Roland Francis
>
> Goanet Readers over the years have become a fairly lethargic lot.
>
> Years ago there were active, though sometimes aggressive to the point of 
> obnoxious, responses to what posters wrote.
>
> Nowadays the aggression has completely receded but replies to the posts have 
> also become comparatively rare even accounting for the direct replies from 
> responder to writer. It?s like posters writing to nobody, nowhere.
>
>
>


-- 
*
No offense meant. But let the chips fall where they may.
*

Re: [Goanet] Gone from Goanet but not forgotten! Santosh Helekar.

[Santosh Helekar]

We are doing fine so far. I appreciate your concern.

On Mon, Aug 28, 2017 at 9:12 AM, Gabe Menezes  wrote:
>
>
>  Hope you and your family as safe and sound.
>
> --
> DEV BOREM KORUM
>
> Gabe Menezes.
>
>

Re: [Goanet] DEBATE ON CELL TOWER RADIATION BY EXPERTS PANEL ON MIRROR NOW

[Santosh Helekar]

The email below addressed to Stephen contains misleading information. The
FCC article states that in the U.S. antennas typically transmit 5 - 10
watts per CHANNEL, NOT per ANTENNA. Each antenna has many CHANNELs or
transmitters. In the U. S., typically an antenna has 63 channels. The
safety limit permitted by the FCC is 500 watts effective radiated power per
channel corresponding to an actual power output of 25 – 50 watts per
channel. Please see the following quotes from the FCC article to verify
what I am saying:

QUOTE
At a cell site, the total RF power that could be transmitted from each
transmitting antenna at a cell site depends on the number of radio channels
(transmitters) that have been authorized and the power of each transmitter.
Typically, for a cellular base station, a maximum of 21 channels per sector
(depending on the system) could be used. Thus, for a typical cell site
utilizing sector antennas, each of the three transmitting antennas could be
connected to up to 21 transmitters for a total of 63 transmitters per site.
When omnidirectional antennas are used, up to 96 transmitters could be
implemented at a cell site, but this would be unusual. While a typical base
station could have as many as 63 transmitters, not all of the transmitters
would be expected to operate simultaneously thus reducing overall emission
levels. For the case of PCS base stations, fewer transmitters are normally
required due to the relatively greater number of base stations.
UNQUOTE

QUOTE
Although the FCC permits an effective radiated power (ERP) of up to 500
watts per channel (depending on the tower height), the majority of cellular
base stations in urban and suburban areas operate at an ERP of 100 watts
per channel or less. An ERP of 100 watts corresponds to an actual radiated
power of about 5-10 watts, depending on the type of antenna used (ERP is
not equivalent to the power that is radiated but, rather, is a quantity
that takes into consideration transmitter power and antenna directivity).
UNQUOTE

In  some countries like Australia there could be as many as 168 channels
per base station. Please see:

http://www.mobilenetworkguide.com.au/mobile_base_stations.html.

Regarding the various symptoms and brain tumors claimed to be caused by
cell phone and tower radiations in the email to Stephen below, none of it
is supported by evidence in humans in the medical literature. There is in
fact CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE in support of the following:

1. The incidence of all cancers put together is declining in the U.S.,
India and many other countries since 1992 while cell phone and Wi-Fi use
has gone up from 0% to 100% during that time.

2. The world-wide infertility rate has remained unchanged over the past 20
years while cell phone and Wi-Fi use has gone up exponentially.

3. The fetal mortality rate in the U.S. and many other countries has
decreased since 1990 while cell phone and Wi-Fi use has increased
exponentially.

Now regarding the so-called Bio-Initiative Report here is what I wrote in
my review of it a couple of years ago.

The report appears to have been assembled in a hodgepodge manner by two
co-editors, one a man named David Carpenter who is a physician, and a woman
named Cindy Sage who is an environmental consultant. Her consultancy
practice is called Sage EMF Design. Please see:
http://www.silcom.com/~sage/emf/cindysage.html

As I had suspected, there is a lot of biased selective reporting of
non-reproducible and flawed studies with positive results in this report.
Indeed, some research papers cited were retracted by the original authors
subsequently, presumably because they were erroneous or could not be
replicated. But the BIR 2012 does not mention this fact. The negative
studies are largely ignored, contrary to the important precept in science,
which regards even a single instance of falsification as the basis to
reject a hypothesis.

In general, it is a misleading and shoddy report. That is why many experts
and expert committees in the EMF field have roundly criticized and rejected
this report, and its 2007 version, which was, for the most part, the same
as the 2012 version.

If we follow all the ridiculous recommendations of the authors of the
Bio-Initiative Report, we would have to give up electricity, radio, TV,
radar, cordless phones, WiFi, internet, satellites, computers, cell phones,
microwave ovens, etc. and live inside a copper wire cage to protect against
cosmic radio waves and cosmic microwave background radiation. In short, we
would have to revert to the 17th century using the copper wire cage as the
only useful technological advance.


Cheers,

Santosh

Dr. Santosh A Helekar, M.B.B.S., Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Neurology
Houston Methodist Research Institute and Weill Medical College of Cornell
University
Houston, Texas, U.S.A.


On Sun, Apr 23, 2017 at 12:25 AM, Girish Kumar <prof.gku...@gmail.com>
wrote:

> Dear Stephen,
>
> Recd your following email, where you have forwarded email

Re: [Goanet] DEBATE ON CELL TOWER RADIATION BY EXPERTS PANEL ON MIRROR NOW

[Santosh Helekar]

The claims made by the TV panelists below regarding the so-called
harmful effects of cell phone and tower radiations, as well as the
power output of cell phone towers in the U.S. are entirely bogus. Here
is accurate information on this from reputed regulatory and medical
research organizations:

https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/human-exposure-radio-frequency-fields-guidelines-cellular-and-pcs-sites

https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/radiation/cell-phones-fact-sheet

None of the panelists who were scaring people about cell phones and
towers have published any research in medical journals. Please do not
trust what they are saying.

Cheers,

Santosh

> From: Stephen Dias 
> To: Goanet ; "Goa's premiere mailing list, estb. 1994!"
> ;
> Cc:  edi...@nizgoenkar.org; editor ; editor
> ; navhind times ; gteditor
> ;
> Sent: Saturday, 22 April 2017, 7:27
> Subject: [Goanet] DEBATE ON CELL TOWER RADIATION BY EXPERTS PANEL ON MIRROR
> NOW
>
> Dear Goans,
>
> I am grateful to Prof Girish Kumar who informed me about a talk broadcast
> on the "Mirror Now" channel. (see YouTube link enclosed)
>
>
> I have been acquainted with Prof Girish Kumar for some years now and I'm
> familiar with his expertise and with his newsletters and a number of
> research publications. With his guidance,  I could give a Power Point
> presentation in Goa State Pollution Control Board during the tenure of
> ex-Chairman Jose Manuel Noronha who invited me for the presentation in his
> office. I was delighted that my talk went well.
>
>
> After hearing the debate on Mirror Now, I was very impressed with Prof
> Girish Kumar's points. He said there is conclusive evidence that cell
> towers cause harm and as proof he said that he is prepared to put up an
> affidavit if required to support his claim in the court.
>
>
> My interest in sharing this message with Goans is so that they all go
> through the YouTube video and understand the concept of radiation.
> Especially because Goa has many clusters of towers at residential areas and
> on the top of houses which meams most Goans are getting radiations without
> their knowledge.
>
>
> We are sleeping on this issue and soon it will be too late for all of us.
> In  may be 50 years every second person will have to run for cancer
> treatment to Cancer Hospitals in India. We should take precautions and not
> wait until these radiations create health  hazards.
>
>
> It is pity that doctors in Cancer Hospitals have not yet done thorough
> studies on cancer patients to assess the effect of radiation. They still
> say  there is no conclusive evidence of a connection.
>
>
> Let us not wait until these doctors wake up because their knowledge is
> strictly in the medical field and not in the technical.
>
>
> On the other hand Cellular network providers have their own selfish
> interests and though they could fund and study this topic they probably
> feel it would be contrary to their interests.
>
>
> I think everyone would agree that the cellphone is here to stay.  Hence we
> must find a way for them to have networks provided their power of
> transmission is within the guidelines and norms of international standards.
> And if those standards need revision we can look to scientists and experts
> to revise them.
>
>
> During the debate I noticed that a topic or a talk on transmission by lobes
> angle whether horizontal and vertical was not touched upon.  This concept
> is very important to understand transmission technique. Also some one spoke
> about microwave oven radiation but forgot  to mentioned that all normal
> microwaves have a shield all around the walls of the oven thus not
> affecting human beings in the vicinity of the microwave oven while it's on
> full power hence you cannot compare with Cell Tower radiation.
>
>
> Once again I would like to thank Prof Girish Kumar who was an expert among
> the participants and spoke very well,  answered questions, and posed
> counter questions. I felt some of the others did not understand the concept
> on radiation techniques because they were not well qualified in radiation
> except of course for Mr. Prakash Munshi and one other Radiation expert.
> Prakash Munshi n I have kept in touch, especially during the Goa Briccs
> Summit.
>
>
> One Mr. Sanjeev Mehta,  who was a participant on behalf of Cellular Phone
> Association,  spoke against the concept and studies done by Prof Girish
> Kumar. Perhaps his knowledge was insufficient to understand these
> scientific papers.
>
>
> Medical doctors generally do not have technical knowledge and here, a
> participant, Dr. Sharma from Lilavati Hospital, argued that there is no
> conclusive evidence whatsoever in the world. But while medical studies are
> still on, the radiation experts can measure the field of transmission
> strength on standard and 

Re: [Goanet] Goodbye ... JC!

[Santosh Helekar]

Very shocked and saddened to learn about the passing of our dear
Josebab, Dr. Jose Colaco. He had been a good friend and colleague to
me since 1995 when I first met him in this forum. Although separated
in time and space we shared a common bond, having graduated from the
same medical college and holding many of the same beliefs and points
view. He was a great debater in cyberspace, as well as in person, I
hear. I had always hoped to actually meet him in flesh and blood one
day, perhaps during a cruise to the Bahamas, his adopted home. It
pains me so much that that is not going to happen now. I will also
miss his insights on wide ranging topics on which he held forth with
surprisingly convincing authority, and even the sometimes annoying
needling that he engaged in in Goan forums. It would not be an
exaggeration for me to say that he leaves a gaping chasm in Goan
cyberspace where he had been a constant fixture for the last two
decades. I will cherish his memory with great fondness, and I offer my
deepest condolences to his wife Emma, and his children, grandchildren,
relatives and friends.

Sincerely,

Santosh

From: Frederick FN Noronha * फ्रेड्रिक नोरोन्या * فريدريك نورونيا
<fredericknoron...@gmail.com>
To: "Goa's premiere mailing list, estb. 1994!" <goanet@lists.goanet.org>
Sent: Sunday, 16 April 2017, 11:08
Subject: [Goanet] Goodbye ... JC!

The sudden and unexpected death of Dr Jose Colaco was reported via
cyberspace earlier on Saturday (Goa time) and confirmed today. JC, as he
liked to sign off his emails, was an alumni of the Goa Medical College from
the 1960s and a pediatrician in the Bahamas for a long time. He spent his
youth in Pune (then Poona).

More importantly to us, he was an active and enthusiastic participant in
very many discussions in cyberspace, has long been an active member of
Goanet. He was also closely associated with The Goan Forum network, and
also the Colaco.net website through which he networked with Goans across
the globe and also shared the writings of many. See this link to his family
roots and his cherished connections to the villages of Velim (Salcete) and
Carambolim (Tiswadi): http://www.colaco.net/1/colacos.htm

The unanticipated news of his death took many by surprise, as Sweden-based
Lianne Falk-Rodrigues (journalist and alumni of Carmel's College, Goa)
said: "Just heard the sad and shocking news that Dr Jose Colaco has passed
away." Lianne added that his funeral will be in the Bahamas. He leaves
behind his wife, three children and families, and eight grandchildren.

In Canada, Michael Pinto shared a short, terse message while the day dawned
in that part of the world: "Dr.Joe Colaco passed away today."

A message shared by JC's niece Carol, shared via cyberspace, said: "Rest
peacefully my dearest Unca Jose Colaco. You were like a Dad to me... will
miss you dearly. You are now in Heaven and will see you one day. You left
so sudden without even saying 'Goodbye My Girl'. Save some red wine for me
...Love You Always ..your 19th favourite niece (I am his favourite but he
loved saying that.)"

Valmiki Faleiro, author and active cyber discussant from Margao, said: "Just
learnt from Dr. Lynette Colaco Martins, via her FB page, that her father
(and our Goanet friend), Dr. Jose Colaco is no more Doutorbab passed
away peacefully while on holiday. The funeral will be held in Nassau, she
said."

Santosh Helekar, a Goan researcher in Texas added: "Josebab passed away in
his sleep last night He died while on vacation with his extended family
in the Dominican Republic. Feels terrible to have lost another friend whom
I never got a chance to meet in person. Very sad indeed! Funeral will be
held next weekend in the Bahamas."

Dr Colaco had discussions (even arguments) with some of us, held on fast to
what he believed, but was always a gentleman in his disagreements. He was
involved with Goanet perhaps from its earliest days since its founding in
1994.

One particular incident I remember was when I asked for "Santa Claus'
address" online, in those early times in cyberspace, when few websites were
available and we communicated mainly via email. JC asked me (off channel)
what it was for, and I mentioned that a friend's daughter wanted to write
to "Santa" for a particular CD popular among kids of her age. JC gave his
own address (or created a temporary one), and received the mail as Santa.
On his way back to Goa, he made use of a halt at London to pick up the
exact CD, claim it came from "Santa" and even apologise for being so late.
It was February. I couldn't believe anyone could take so much trouble 
for a child he didn't even know.

>From all his discussions, it was obvious that Goa was always high up in his
thoughts. On behalf of Goanet, our sincere condolences to the entire
family, including Emma, Alan and Van

Re: [Goanet] OFFTOPIC - International Threat

[Santosh Helekar]

Mervyn,

It is fairly obvious that Trump has all of the worst possible
character flaws that any human being can ever have. There are two nice
euphemistic Konknni words that best describe him - rostad and ordinar.
He is therefore also attractive to people who have similar attributes.
Unfortunately, such people succeed in dirty politics and privately
owned fraudulent businesses. Above all, he is a pathological liar as
Bernie Sanders never fails to mention. That is why those who believe
anything he says or promises are ignorant fools. But I believe he is
powerless in doing any major harm as a result of his ignorance and
mendacity. The system as a whole is too resilient. Here is a nice
editorial from Los Angeles Times:

http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-ed-conspiracy-theorist-in-chief/

Cheers,

Santosh

Mervyn wrote:
>
>Santosh,dj Trump opened his Presidential record with his biggest embarrassment 
>ever.
>After wailing for 7 years that they would repeal and replace Obamacare on day 
>one, the Republicans got together and gifted their fresh leader pie in the 
>face - as the Master negotiator could not put together a deal with members of 
>his >own party.
>By the time you read this, the lionhearted Chinese leader will have already 
>made a deal with Trump that is to Trump's advantage. Let me make this clear, 
>the Chinese have already gifted Trump licences that are very difficult to 
>obtain in >China and will offer him more goodies.
>Some in the US will believe Trump when he tweets that he got the best deal 
>with China :-)
>One thing that I give dj credit for is that he is unaware of how much money 
>the US owes China. I really am looking forward to seeing China explain to 
>Trump that the US economy will collapse if China refuses to finance US capital 
>>expenditure (or military adventures).
>Mervyn



-- 
*
No offense meant. But let the chips fall where they may.
*

Re: [Goanet] OFFTOPIC - International Threat

[Santosh Helekar]

Mervyn and George,

My bet is on section 4 of the 25th amendment of the U.S. constitution
- president unable to discharge. But more likely he will hobble along,
and stumble and bumble. Immoral loud mouth bullies are invariably
mentally weak. They always end up embarrassing themselves, unable to
accomplish anything. It might be better that way. Here is another nice
piece by the conservative writer Jennifer Rubin:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2017/02/14/hillary-clinton-never-would-have-dreamed-about-doing-that/?utm_term=.7e8333bd4468

Cheers,

Santosh

On Tue, Apr 4, 2017 at 11:02 AM, Santosh Helekar <chimbel...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Nice article here:
>
> http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/04/03/is-trump-russias-useful-idiot-or-has-he-been-irreparably-compromised/
>
> Cheers,
>
> Santosh
>
>
*
No offense meant. But let the chips fall where they may.
*

[Goanet] OFFTOPIC - International Threat

[Santosh Helekar]

Nice article here:

http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/04/03/is-trump-russias-useful-idiot-or-has-he-been-irreparably-compromised/

Cheers,

Santosh


-- 
*
No offense meant. But let the chips fall where they may.
*

Re: [Goanet] Preet Bharara

[Santosh Helekar]

Looks like Bharara was fired by Trump to obstruct justice. Please see
this tweet from prior White House ethics advisor, Norman Eisen:

QUOTE
Norm Eisen‏
@NormEisen
Norm Eisen Retweeted Maggie Haberman
1/ Wed: we filed request 2 investigate Trump w Bharara
http://bit.ly/2nbodr5. Thu: Trump calls him; Fri: resignation
demanded; Sat fired
UNQUOTE

Here is the letter that Eisen, Bush's ethics advisor, Richard Painter
and others had written to Bharara last Wednesday just before the
firing:

http://www.democracy21.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Group-letter-to-US-Attoney-calling-for-investigation-Trump-Organization.pdf

Cheers,

Santosh

Roland Francis wrote:
>
>The latest victim of Trump's charge at the windmills, Don Quixote style.
>
>Remember this prosecutor who took on the Govt of India over the exploitation 
>of a housemaid by an Indian diplomat.
>
>http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/03/11/new-york-us-attorney-refusing-step-down/99055128/?csp=breakingnews
>
>Roland Francis
>Toronto.
>

*
No offense meant. But let the chips fall where they may.
*

[Goanet] OFFTOPIC - Debacle

[Santosh Helekar]

Here is a beginning of a series of nice articles about collusion:

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/02/michael-flynns-disaster/516285/

Cheers,

Santosh

*
No offense meant. But let the chips fall where they may.
*

Re: [Goanet] Jules Fausto Mendonca de Sa replies to Jim...

[Santosh Helekar]

Here is another nice article by someone who actually knows what he is
talking about:

http://prospect.org/article/impeachment-or-impairment-inevitability-trump%E2%80%99s-removal

The statement below implies that Trump is a loser, and Bannon a winner.

Cheers,

Santosh

Jim Fernandes amigo007 at runbox.com wrote:
>
>I too do not like Bannon and his views. Heck - even Trump does not like some 
>of Bannon's views. But losers dont get to cherry pick who >they want. Winners 
>do!
>

*
No offense meant. But let the chips fall where they may.
*

Re: [Goanet] Jules Fausto Mendonca de Sa replies to Jim...

[Santosh Helekar]

Mr. Mendonca de Sa and Frederick are right. The H1-B and other
immigrant visas are loopholes for inferior non-white races to invade
the U.S., from the standpoint of the white nationalists/neo-nazis who
support Trump."Legal" immigration through these loopholes, as well as
the green card and the naturalization process, are a major cause for
the destruction of America in the last 50 years, and it needs to be
eliminated. This is the case according to Trump's chief adviser, Steve
Bannon who was recently made a principal by Trump on the National
Security Council, replacing the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
of the armed forces and the Director of National Intelligence because
of his high qualifications of having been the editor of a racist
website called Breitbart.com. These folk regard the H1-B visa offered
to those who are not educated in accredited American colleges and
universities, in particular, as a scam to bring in cheap labor from
Asia because small American companies pay these temporary workers very
little compared to American citizens and those educated in good
institutions in the U.S. To them this is one of the factors that has
led to the carnage they see in the silicon valley and the major
coastal cities of America.

Cheers,

Santosh


Frederick FN Noronha फ्रेड्रिक नोरोन्या *فريدريك نورونيا
fredericknoronha at gmail.com wrote:
>
>Your friend The Donald Trump doesn't think too highly of this (if/when he's 
>thinking, that is). His ambivalence and double-speak, of course, makes it very 
>difficult to know what he will really do over it:
>..
>Jim, I understand that you're saying that H-1B was good for you, but not for 
>those coming after you.
>

Jules Fausto Mendonca de Sa  wrote:
>
>Good for you that you were a legal immigrant to the US. Would you elucidate as 
>to how this came about? Were you accepted as an entrepreneur applying through 
>a business Visa or did you come through the legal loophole of being a student 
>or being sponsored by a family >member who happened to have used the sam te 
>student visa system or an overstaying tourist.
>

-- 
*
No offense meant. But let the chips fall where they may.
*

Re: [Goanet] OFFTOPIC - A Clarifying Moment

[Santosh Helekar]

Jose colaco1 at gmail.com  wrote on Tue Jan 31 05:38:28 PST 2017
>
>I am sure you read my views on Cohen. I respect his views on the Middle East 
>as much as I respect Tony Blair's. Not very sure Why my normally very astute 
>colleague (Dr. Helekar) referred us to his spiel, that too in the Atlantic.
>

Here is another nice offtopic article from The Atlantic, which is a
very could magazine with great liberal and conservative writers:

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/01/trump-administration-jobs/514805/

Cheers,

Santosh

On Tue, Jan 31, 2017 at 9:37 AM, Santosh Helekar <chimbel...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Here is more clarity for Goanetters to prepare themselves for the global 
> threat:
>
> http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/01/31/donald-trump-our-america-first-president-is-profoundly-un-american.html
>
> Cheers,
>
> Santosh
>
>
*
No offense meant. But let the chips fall where they may.
*

Re: [Goanet] OFFTOPIC - A Clarifying Moment

[Santosh Helekar]

Here is more clarity for Goanetters to prepare themselves for the global threat:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/01/31/donald-trump-our-america-first-president-is-profoundly-un-american.html

Cheers,

Santosh


On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 4:13 PM, Santosh Helekar <chimbel...@gmail.com> wrote:
> MD mmdmello at gmail.com  wrote on Mon Jan 30 08:29:38 PST 2017
>>
>>Jeb's supporters financed the Trump  'golden showers' dossier compiled by 
>>British James Bond'000' Christopher Steele, but Jeb lost interest after he 
>>lost the primary against Trump then Democrats wanted it
>>
>
> Here is another clarifying moment on the global threat:
>
> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/27/mystery-death-ex-kgb-chief-linked-mi6-spys-dossier-donald-trump/
>
> Cheers,
>
> Santosh
>

-- 
*
No offense meant. But let the chips fall where they may.
*

Re: [Goanet] OFFTOPIC - A Clarifying Moment

[Santosh Helekar]

MD mmdmello at gmail.com  wrote on Mon Jan 30 08:29:38 PST 2017
>
>Jeb's supporters financed the Trump  'golden showers' dossier compiled by 
>British James Bond'000' Christopher Steele, but Jeb lost interest after he 
>lost the primary against Trump then Democrats wanted it
>

Here is another clarifying moment on the global threat:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/27/mystery-death-ex-kgb-chief-linked-mi6-spys-dossier-donald-trump/

Cheers,

Santosh


On Sun, Jan 29, 2017 at 11:05 PM, Santosh Helekar <chimbel...@gmail.com> wrote:
> https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/01/a-clarifying-moment-in-american-history/514868/
>
> Cheers,
>
> Santosh



-- 
*
No offense meant. But let the chips fall where they may.
*

[Goanet] OFFTOPIC - A Clarifying Moment

[Santosh Helekar]

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/01/a-clarifying-moment-in-american-history/514868/

Cheers,

Santosh

Re: [Goanet] Donald Trump Boosters

[Santosh Helekar]

Gilbert is right. 

Of course, this is a topic that would not be of much interest to Goanetters in 
general. But they need to know the truth rather than the misguided or distorted 
opinions of individuals who have not cared to follow what is going on. The fact 
is that this time a notorious New York real estate tycoon has taken advantage 
of the racist, bigoted, xenophobic, misogynist and isolationist proclivities of 
a very small segment of the American populace to secure the nomination of one 
of the two major parties for the presidency of the United States. 

Contrary to the claim here that he is a straight shooter, evidence indicates 
that he is a pathological liar with a serious personality disorder. He is also 
a scam artiste. Apart from the one business of real estate that his father 
established, all other businesses that he has run have turned out to be 
fraudulent and/or bankrupt scams. Let me give you one example that outrages me 
the most because of my special distaste for quackery in all its forms. One of 
his "ventures" was a company that claimed to sell "personalized" vitamins after 
examining your urine. He would ask his gullible customers to send him small 
samples of their urine by mail. By return mail he would then send pills which 
he claimed were special vitamins that were custom designed for them. It was 
also a pyramid scheme that promised to make you rich. Here are two links that 
tell you everything you need to know about this scam:

https://www.statnews.com/2016/03/02/donald-trump-vitamin-company/

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/432468/trump-networks-failure-harmed-small-investors

What's more, this Trump guy served as the publicist for all his scams, 
including this one. He also posed as his publicist under fake names to boast 
about his love life with gossip magazines. For example, as "John Miller" he 
told People Magazine that Madonna wanted to date him, and that he had 3 other 
girl friends, including the future wife of a president of France, in addition 
to his second wife who was his fiance at that time. 

The evidence for his personality disorder issues, bogus businesses and other 
shenanigans is too massive to be covered in a mailing list like this one. 
However, another dangerous aspect of his personality that needs to aired 
because of its public policy and national security implications is the fact 
that he is a conspiracy theorist. Here is a short list of some of the right 
wing and left wing conspiracy theories that he believes in:

1. That global climate change is a hoax created by China.
2. That the Mexican government is sending rapists and criminals across the 
border to destroy the US.
3. That the father of one of his political opponents conspired with Oswald to 
kill Kennedy.
4. That autism is caused by vaccination but the establishment is conspiring to 
discredit this fact.
5. That a U.S. supreme court justice was murdered by the government.
6. That torture of prisoners and murder of innocent family members of suspected 
terrorists is an effective policy that the U.S. and other western governments 
are avoiding because of political correctness.
7. That Obama was born in Kenya, and he faked his birth certificate to cover 
this fact.
8. That the unemployment rate in the US is 42%, but the government is lying to 
the people that it is only 5%.

Cheers,

Santosh


Gilbert wrote:
>
>Being on Goanet for more than a decade (my god time flies!) one comes to know, 
>love and respect some 'old timers' like good old >chums. 

So what is it that my good old chums (scattered all over the world) know about 
Republican presumptive nominee Donald that the world leaders do not get? 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-world-leaders-paris-mayor_us_57345c80e4b077d4d6f22cef?ir=World=us_world_hp_ref=world
 



My fear is that if Trump triumphs and these Goenkars come to Amerika  to 
celebrate, they will be met by some 'Red Necks' at the border and told "Go back 
from where you came from!"  And these self-appointed gun-totting Trumpies do 
not mean America, Canada or Europe. 

As one sensible White guy said, "I do not want a loose cannon have his finger 
on the nuclear button. Having one Bush-Cheney in a life-time is more than 
enough punishment."  So if Trump wins, Goans should sent their American 
counterparts, their "chuchure!" 

Regards, GL

[Goanet] Fraud in America

[Santosh Helekar]

http://www.salon.com/2015/10/02/the_donald_is_a_fraud_the_unseemly_truth_about_his_american_success_story_partner/

On Fri, Apr 29, 2016 at 1:50 PM,   wrote:

>
> Message: 10
> Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2016 11:22:02 -0400 (EDT)
> From: "Jim Fernandes" 
> To: "GoaNet" 
> Subject: [Goanet] Miscrap - 5
> Message-ID: 
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
>
> After the most recent primary elections in some of the late stage states, 
> it's a done deal. It's going to be Hillary against Trump in November.
>
> But Jim, what about Rafael? He has just picked his VP candidate? Does that 
> not count for anything?
>
> Who are you talking about? Carly Fiorina?
>
> I don't know what Rafael and Carly have been smoking lately, but whatever the 
> heck they are inhaling, it's working quite well to make them go delusional!
>
> This year's elections are bound to be very interesting though.
>
> On one hand, you have die hard Democrats who would be willing to do anything 
> for the Clintons, regardless of how much dough Hillary got to pocket from 
> Wall Street. Then, there are those that hate them like scourge on the face of 
> this earth. I am a big fan of Bill (not Hillary though) and if there was a 
> way for him to run again, I'd vote for him in a heart-beat. But that's not 
> reality - I am being as delusional about voting for Bill Clinton back to 
> office again, as much as Rafael is, about becoming the next American 
> president. Democrats need to understand, that just because Bill has a huge 
> fan base, they are going to vote for his wife. It doesn't work that way.
>
> Donald Trump, with his 'speaking-his-mind' attitude has garnered a huge 
> following in the US, such that, even his party bosses are dumb founded as to 
> why people vote for him. Average Joe's like me, who were supporting Sanders 
> on the Democratic side, began to like him even more as months went by.
>
> The reasons? There are many 
>
> 1. He may not sound or even speak like a politician but he is no dumb dude. 
> He is a very sharp negotiator - a skill that will come really handy if he 
> becomes the next US president.
>
> 2. He does not care about sounding politically correct. I would rather have a 
> president who speaks what's on his mind (the way it is), rather than being 
> cautious about what the press and the pundits want to hear.
>
> 3. Trump is not indebted to any political groups. He does not need to bend to 
> any Wall Street or Washington lobbyists as he is not relying on their 
> largesse to get elected.
>
> 4. He does not like illegal immigrants sucking up America's resources - a 
> stance every American should embrace.
>
> 5. He does not like American multinationals summarily offshoring large number 
> of jobs - a cause that is very dear to me and many US citizens.
>
> 6. I understand he does not like Obamacare - something that I disagree with 
> him about, but as long as he replaces it with something better - I am OK with 
> it. The Obamacare omelet has already been scrambled into law - it can't be 
> un-scrambled, but I would love if Trump could make it even more palatable.
>
> 7. He is a very good entertainer and he has made enough money on his own in 
> real estate. He does not need our money to enrich himself further. I think he 
> wants to leave a memorable legacy for America and no amount of additional 
> wealth would do that for him. On the other hand, Hillary is dumb (remember 
> she used her personal email account to conduct official US business?), boring 
> and greedy. I don't like politicians accepting large sums of money from 
> influential lobbyist groups for an hour's worth of work - specially, when 
> they were going to run for the nation's top job. This cannot bode well for 
> the country ... too much baggage to deal with.
>
> 8. Finally, I do not like what I would characterize as 'Dynasties'. There are 
> many people who can run this place - we don't need a former President's wife 
> to do that.
>
> Trumps thoughts on making Mexican's pay for the border wall, the Muslims, 
> guns, women's right to choose etc are all just sound bytes - there's nothing 
> much he could do about these issues. Even if he does attempt to tackle these 
> items, he wouldn't get past the courts.
>
> I think, given enough support by the Sander's crowd (who tend to be mostly 
> younger centrist Democrats and who helped Obama to get into the White House) 
> will be the key to putting a non-career politicians such as Trump to take the 
> White House.
>
> See attached link on Trump's next strategy - This article was published just 
> a couple of hours ago on CNN.
> http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/29/politics/donald-trump-bernie-sanders/index.html
>
>
> Jim Fernandes
> Colva / Scarsdale, NY.
>

-- 
*
No offense meant. But let the chips fall where they may.

Re: [Goanet] Secrets of Sugar - Part 1

[Santosh Helekar]

It is best not to trust public health and science-related information 
circulated by the general public in internet forums. In matters of personal and 
public health, in particular, one should only seek advice from a qualified 
physician or a public health professional. Information on health issues 
obtained from the internet by people who do not have a background in medical 
sciences or public health can often be misleading and potentially harmful.

Cheers,

Santosh



- Original Message -
> From: Jim Fernandes 
> To: "Goa's premiere mailing list, estb. 1994!" 
> Sent: Wednesday, January 6, 2016 12:06 AM
> Subject: Re: [Goanet] Secrets of Sugar - Part 1
> 
> Folks,
> 
> I watched this video and found it interesting. But for Goans in Goa, this 
> video 
> is of little value.
> 
> My response is given in two parts as this email may be too long. Here is part 
> 1:
> 
> You don't need to see a doctor just to tell you how healthy or sick you are. 
> In general, if you have fat around your belly, it means you are unhealthy or 
> heading down the wrong path.
> 
> So how do you know if you are fat? Well, according to my crude method - if 
> you 
> stand butt naked in a bathroom and look down to the floor and can't see your 
> dong - that's bad news! This most likely means you are barreling towards 
> health issues - such as heart disease, strokes, type-2 diabetes, problems 
> with 
> vision and other complications.
> 
> Humans have evolved to like sugary foods. The taste buds on the tongue send 
> signals to the brain where it triggers a rewards system. When the brain likes 
> something, it releases a chemical called dopamine. The more of that sweet 
> thing 
> you eat, the more the dopamine.
> 
> The video link given in the original thread is helpful to folks living in the 
> West. But I do not believe, Goans in Goa eat a lot of food that is high in 
> 'Added Sugars' as shown in the video. Yet, I am more inclined to believe 
> that a huge number of Goans will be type-2 diabetics within 20 years!
> 
> Why?
> 
> We eat too much rice! Rice is a high glycemic food that breaks down in the 
> body 
> into sugar. Type-2 diabetes was probably not as common amongst the older 
> generation of Goans, because they mostly worked laborious jobs - such as 
> walking 
> long distances, bicycling, working in fields etc - all of these activities 
> burnt 
> most of the rice they ate, leaving very little in the blood stream as excess 
> sugar.
> 
> So what really causes the sugar build-up? 
> 
> Check out below video:
> http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/multimedia/blood-sugar/vid-20084642
> 
> 
> Jim Fernandes
> Colva / New York
> 
> On Mon, 4 Jan 2016 10:59:48 +1100, "Con Menezes" 
>  wrote:
> 
>>   
> http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/secrets-sugar/
>> 
>>  ---
>>  This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
>>  https://www.avast.com/antivirus
> 

Re: [Goanet] DR SHEKHAR SALKAR NEEDS A INTENSE DOSE ON ETHICS

[Santosh Helekar]

Josebab,

Please post this also on the following Facebook thread because it
provides a link to a journalistic interview of Aires on a newly
created website:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/bettergoa/permalink/848026135244795/?comment_id=848270881886987offset=0total_comments

It also has comments from Drs. Darrell de Mello and Anil Desai,
setting the record straight.

Cheers,

Santosh

On Sun, Jul 5, 2015 at 11:05 AM, Jose cola...@gmail.com wrote:
 Dear all,

 I waited for a good 48 hours to see IF enough sense would prevail upon Aires
 Rodrigues for him to withdraw his attack on Dr. Salkar.

 Allow me to place the following for your attention:

 1: Aires is an LLB. I wish he had equipped himself better by doing the LLM
 or Ph.D in Law. And IF he wished to comment on Medical Ethics and
 Negligence, I wish his LLM was in Medical Law  Ethics.

 2: As Aires is NOT a physician, I expect him to be Clueless about the
 practice of medicine. Hence, I will invite him to read what my esteemed
 colleague, Dr. Santosh Helekar has written.

 3: Aires also has accused Dr. Salkar of administering Chemotherapy to DEAD
 patients (plural).

 4: AiresLast night on CNN, a Justice of one of the Appeals Courts (US)
 had a few choice words for a rather Aires-esque Prosecutor who according to
 the Court 'did NOT make his case' but was carrying on.in the press.  I
 will paraphrase them and re-address them to you:

 Be a Man. Take Dr. Salkar to court and Allow him to Defend himself in a
 court of law

 As you would NOT be QUALIFIED to talk about Medical Matters in court, Get a
 hold of some qualified Expert Witnesses who will do that for you. Let Dr.
 Salkar (or his lawyer) Cross Examine your experts.  Don't leave them
 Faceless.Bring them out in the open.

 5: Otherwise.like the Justice said (No Paraphrase): JUST SHUT UP and Go
 to the Next Case!

 PS: Am copying this to Target Goa. Let me see IF TG will give unedited and
 uncensored coverage to a view critical of your view!

 With permission of Dr. Helekar...will also post this on Goa Speaks and GX. I
 personally believe that THIS, until proved otherwise, is a senseless attack
 on the Medical Professionals of Goa.

 PN: This post of mine has zero to do with Dr. Salkar's involvement with
 politics, politicians and the tainted Goa Cricket Association. My view on
 that is clear: Physicians in Practice MUST stay clear of such involvements.

 jc
 ---
 FROM  Santosh Helekar MD. Ph.D, Houston Texas (July 3, 2015)

 Shekhar Salkar is a well-trained cancer surgeon. He obtained his specialty
 training in cancer surgery or surgical oncology in Tata Memorial Cancer
 Centre in Mumbai more than two decades ago. Medical/Surgical residency at
 this institution of high repute in the cancer field is recognized by the
 Medical Council of India and respected all over the world.

 In the medical field rigorous training at a recognized and renowned tertiary
 teaching hospital in a particular field, coupled with long clinical
 experience in that field, after one has obtained a postgraduate degree such
 as an MD or an MS, are considered not only sufficient to be recognized as a
 specialist in the field, but indeed something that trumps any number of
 paper fellowships, diplomas and certificates. Please see for example the
 fact that the following two famous surgical oncologists of Mumbai, namely
 Drs. Rajesh Mistry and Raman Deshpande have MS degrees in General Surgery as
 their highest recognized academic qualifications:
 http://www.kokilabenhospital.com/profes.../rajeshmistry.html
 http://jaslokhospital.net/DR-DESHPANDE-RAMANKANT/FAD-5

 - Original Message -

 From: Aires Rodrigues airesrodrigu...@gmail.com

 To: goanet goa...@goanet.org

 Cc:

 Sent: Thursday, July 2, 2015 8:11 PM

 Subject: [Goanet] DR SHEKHAR SALKAR NEEDS A INTENSE DOSE ON ETHICS


 The Dr Shekhar Salkar issue needs to be highlighted only to save further
 innocent patients falling victims to this quack. The issue was raised only
 after confirming with Senior Enviado do meu iPad


 Yesterday I was sent five questions on the issue and below are the answers
 that were sent by me.


 1. Would you describe Dr Salkar as a fraud? If so on what level?


 Yes I would, because a doctor who styles himself as a Super Specialist
 should possess a super specialty qualification over and above his general
 specialty qualification which Dr Shekhar Salkar does not possess.



 2. What has he been doing that can be construed as malpractice?


 Dr Shekhar Salkar has been faking himself to be an Oncologist and
 Oncosurgeon which he is not. It is a gross malpractice in misleading the
 patients and in rank violation of professional ethics.


 3. Do you know exactly what degrees he has, and what these allow him,

 ethically, to do as a doctor?


 Dr Shekhar Salkar possesses an M.B.B.S degree followed by M.S Degree in
 General Surgery. So he can only market himself as a General Surgeon alike
 all other surgeons who practice

Re: [Goanet] DR SHEKHAR SALKAR NEEDS A INTENSE DOSE ON ETHICS

[Santosh Helekar]

Shekhar Salkar is a well-trained cancer surgeon. He obtained his specialty 
training in cancer surgery or surgical oncology in Tata Memorial Cancer Centre 
in Mumbai more than two decades ago. Medical/Surgical residency at this 
institution of high repute in the cancer field is recognized by the Medical 
Council of India and respected all over the world.

In the medical field rigorous training at a recognized and renowned tertiary 
teaching hospital in a particular field, coupled with long clinical experience 
in that field, after one has obtained a postgraduate degree such as an MD or an 
MS, are considered not only sufficient to be recognized as a specialist in the 
field, but indeed something that trumps any number of paper fellowships, 
diplomas and certificates. Please see for example the fact that the following 
two famous surgical oncologists of Mumbai, namely Drs. Rajesh Mistry and Raman 
Deshpande have MS degrees in General Surgery as their highest recognized 
academic qualifications: 
http://www.kokilabenhospital.com/profes.../rajeshmistry.html 
http://jaslokhospital.net/DR-DESHPANDE-RAMANKANT/FAD-5

Cheers,

Santosh

- Original Message -
 From: Aires Rodrigues airesrodrigu...@gmail.com
 To: goanet goa...@goanet.org
 Cc: 
 Sent: Thursday, July 2, 2015 8:11 PM
 Subject: [Goanet] DR SHEKHAR SALKAR NEEDS A INTENSE DOSE ON ETHICS
 
T he Dr Shekhar Salkar issue needs to be highlighted only to save further
 innocent patients falling victims to this quack. The issue was raised only
 after confirming with Senior doctors in Goa and outside who all have opined
 that the conduct of Dr Shekhar Salkar was a sheer act of quackery.
 
 
 
 The horror stories that are now emanating from the family of his victims
 are very disturbing. His other malpractices and illegalities are also now
 oozing. Over the last four years in particular Dr. Shekhar Salkar has
 clearly misused the proximity with his mentor Manohar Parrikar while acting
 as a bouncer at times. It was long overdue that Dr Shekhar Salkar was shown
 his place. Stay tuned for further updates on Dr Shekhar Salkar’s
 mindboggling cancerous mischief.  The worse is yet to come.
 
 
 
 Yesterday I was sent five questions on the issue and below are the answers
 that were sent by me.
 
 
 
 1. Would you describe Dr Salkar as a fraud? If so on what level?
 
 
 Yes I would, because a doctor who styles himself as a Super Specialist
 should possess a super specialty qualification over and above his general
 specialty qualification which Dr Shekhar Salkar does not possess.
 
 
 
 2. What has he been doing that can be construed as malpractice?
 
 Dr Shekhar Salkar has been faking himself to be an Oncologist and
 Oncosurgeon which he is not. It is a gross malpractice in misleading the
 patients and in rank violation of professional ethics.
 
 
 
 3. Do you know exactly what degrees he has, and what these allow him,
 ethically, to do as a doctor?
 
 
 
 Dr Shekhar Salkar possesses an M.B.B.S degree followed by M.S Degree in
 General Surgery. So he can only market himself as a General Surgeon alike
 all other surgeons who practice either at Goa Medical College or
 Directorate of Health Services or in the private sector. There are so many
 of them who possess the same qualification as Dr Shekhar Salkar without
 labeling themselves as a Super specialist.
 
 
 
 4. When he claims to be an oncologist, is he faking? What proves this?
 
 
 
 Yes, he is blatantly faking that he is an Oncologist or a Oncosurgeon.
 Please note that Oncology and Oncosurgery are super specialties which
 include doctors who have obtained a DM (Doctorate in Medicine) in Oncology,
 or MCh (Master of Chirurgiaein) in Oncosurgery or DNB (Diplomate of
 National Board), in either Oncology or Oncosurgery. Dr Shekar Salkar does
 not possess any of these three Super Specialty qualifications.
 
 
 5. In your opinion, how does this effect the patients he treats at Manipal?
 
 
 
 Ethically Dr Shekhar Salkar should not have been misleading patients that
 he is a super specialist. He cannot be projected by Manipal Hospital as the
 Head of Oncology. The acts of Dr Shekhar Salkar are clearly in gross
 violation of the Medical Ethics as laid down by the Medical Council of
 India which ironically Dr Shekhar Salkar himself as President of Goa
 Medical Council is supposed to regulate amongst the doctor fraternity in
 Goa.
 
 Aires Rodrigues
 
 Advocate High Court
 
 C/G-2, Shopping Complex
 
 Ribandar Retreat,
 
 Ribandar – Goa – 403006
 
 Mobile No: 9822684372
 
 Office Tel  No: (0832) 2444012
 
 Email: airesrodrigu...@gmail.com
 
  Or
 
   airesrodrig...@yahoo.com
 
 You can also reach me on
 
 Facebook.com/ AiresRodrigues
 
 Twitter@rodrigues_aires

Re: [Goanet] CONFUSION ON DEHYDROGEN MONOOXIDE CONTENTS IN AQUAFINA /PERSI COLA NEWS IN YOUR PRIME TV CHANNEL

[Santosh Helekar]

This must be the funniest post I have read on Goanet in a long time. Perhaps, 
the TV news story is a spoof meant to poke fun at crackpot environmentalists 
sprouting everywhere like wild mushrooms in monsoon nowadays. But on the other 
hand, it might be the price that today's journalists, TV personalities and 
their audience pay for ignoring basic science in high school. 

Cheers,

Santosh


- Original Message -
 From: Stephen Dias steve.dia...@gmail.com
 To: primeads...@gmail.com; Goanet goa...@goanet.org; Goa's premiere 
 mailing list, estb. 1994! goanet@lists.goanet.org
 Cc: 
 Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2015 12:52 PM
 Subject: [Goanet] CONFUSION ON DEHYDROGEN MONOOXIDE CONTENTS IN AQUAFINA 
 /PERSI COLA NEWS IN YOUR PRIME TV CHANNEL
 
 Dear Dr.Aureliano Fernandes
 
 Editor of Prime TV
 
 St Ines -Goa
 
 
 
 I have been watching Prime TV two days ago and I thought of writing to you
 about one used prominently showing that AQUA FINA / PEPSI COLA  is
 contaminating its product in water bottles with a dangerous highly toxic
 compound called DIHYDROGEN MONOOXIDE  according to your news  scroll,  this
 is highly toxic compound in water bottle is supposed to damage kidneys etec
 according to your programme.
 
 I am surprised because I understand that Dyhydrogen Monoxide is WATER since
 you have referred to a study, please see you e-mail me all the details you
 have about the study and from where your news originated.
 
 I being Scientist is very much concerned about the information as this news
 has been affected canteen, departmental stores, and other establishment in
 Goa using AquaFina water and made our young generation panic.
 
 Awaiting your e-mail,
 
 Regards
 
 
 
 Stephen Dias
 -
 E.C.A. DIAS
 Retired as TO (E-1)
 Former Scientist A-1 and Leader of GOD/INSTRUMENTATION Group
 CSIR- National Institute of Oceanography
 Dona Paula-Goa 403004
 Email: steve.dia...@gmail.com
 Tel 0832-2452915 ( Res)
 Mob: (0) 9422443110
 

Re: [Goanet] DEBATE: The Source of Violence (Nazar da Silva)

[Santosh Helekar]

- Original Message -
 
 On Fri, 6/5/15, Naz da Silva wrote:
  This opens our eyes to a deeper truth: that we are all made in the image of 
 our Creator. 
 -snip- 
  Basically, we are wired by our animal instincts to do only that which 
 pleasures us. 
 
 
  Science tells us that life begins from the moment of conception.  Who are 
 we to argue against scientific evidence!  
 


Science tells us no such thing regarding the moment of conception or being made 
in anybody's image. All cells of the body are living cells. The sperm and the 
ovum are also alive, and so are many of the cells of the body of a person for a 
while after he/she is declared clinically dead. With scientific technology 
available today many dividing cells of the body of an individual can be 
transformed into independently growing clones of that individual.

From the scientific standpoint human beings were not made by anybody. They 
evolved from ape-like ancestors, who in turn descended from a long series of 
ancestral creatures beginning with single living cells. Life on earth is one 
long continuum that began with these cells about 3.8 billion years ago. 

Science does not validate anybody's parochial religious or political beliefs, 
least of all the confused divisive right-wing views expressed in the above 
article.

Cheers,

Santosh

Re: [Goanet] Goanetters semi-literate?

[Santosh Helekar]

Dear Josebab,

I disagree with you. Nobody on GBC or Goanet is a bad individual.

Cheers,

Santosh


- Original Message -
 From: Jose cola...@gmail.com

 Dear Gabe,
 
 I disagree with you.
 The absolute vast majority of Goans on GBC and Goanet are good individuals.
 Let us not Tar the entire 'community' because a Few are, shall I say, a 
 wee bit different.
 
 best
 
 jc
 

Re: [Goanet] What is Virgin Coconut Oil? (Sunetra Talaulikar, ICAR-PIB)

[Santosh Helekar]

I would just like to correct the misinformation circulated below. The Center 
for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is a non-profit consumer advocacy 
organization that provides accurate information about health and nutrition, and 
seeks to advocate better regulation of foods and nutritional products. Its 
board consists of many prominent medical professionals and experts on 
nutrition, such as Dr. David Kessler, past commissioner of the U.S. Food and 
Drug Administration. Please see the list of names of the board members at this 
link:

http://www.cspinet.org/about/board.html

BTW, any of the Goanetters who have an interest in technical and scientific 
details about this issue and can understand them I can provide the original 
research papers that were referenced in the article that I provided. Here is 
the list of those references:

1 Lipids 44: 593, 2009.
2 Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 87: 621, 2008.
3 Nutr. Metab. 6: 31, 2009.
4 Trends Food Sci. Tech. 20: 481, 2009.
5 Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 94: 1451, 2011.


Cheers,

Santosh




- Original Message -
 From: Dr. Ferdinando dos Reis Falcão drferdina...@hotmail.com

 
 COMMENT:
 
 
 
 Hah! Hah! A so called scientist relying on an
 article by one David Schardt, from the so called “Center for Science in the
 Public Interest”. 
 
 I guess this must be a new Medical research Center,
 with peer reviewed research? The references too are from Dieticians, they sure
 must be having more knowledge than qualified medical scientists. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Dr. Ferdinando dos Reis Falcão. 

Re: [Goanet] What is Virgin Coconut Oil? (Sunetra Talaulikar, ICAR-PIB)

[Santosh Helekar]

The health claims in the article posted in this thread about virgin coconut 
oil are bogus. Those who are marketing and selling it as a wealth loss, heart 
healthy, anti-aging, anti-HIV, anti-viral and anti-bacterial treatment are 
endangering lives. Here is an article from the Center for Science in the Public 
Interest, which should set the record straight.

http://www.cspinet.org/nah/articles/coconut-oil.html

Cheers,

Santosh




- Original Message -
 From: floriano.lobo floriano.l...@gmail.com
 To: Goa's premiere mailing list, estb. 1994! goanet@lists.goanet.org
 Cc: 
 Sent: Sunday, May 17, 2015 4:01 AM
 Subject: Re: [Goanet] What is Virgin Coconut Oil? (Sunetra Talaulikar,
 ICAR-PIB)
 
 VCO, after ridicule by non-entities for a long long time, is now coming of 
 age.
 
 Cheers to VCO.
 floriano lobo
 GSRP
 
 [AMKAM VADLELEM NAKA PUNN SANDLEM'LEM ZAI?]
 
 - Original Message - 
 From: Goanet Reader goanetrea...@gmail.com
 To: Goa's premiere mailing list, estb. 1994! 
 goanet@lists.goanet.org
 Sent: Sunday, May 17, 2015 3:22 PM
 Subject: [Goanet] What is Virgin Coconut Oil? (Sunetra Talaulikar, ICAR-PIB)
 
 
  By Sunetra Talaulikar
 
  Virgin coconut oil (VCO), extracted from fresh coconut meat
  without chemical processes is said to be the mother of all
  oils.  It is rich in medium chain fatty acids, particularly
  lauric acid and is a treasure trove of minerals, vitamins,
  antioxidants and is an excellent nutraceutical.
 
  It has about 50% lauric acids, having qualities similar to
  mother's milk, thus confirming its disease-fighting ability.
 
  When lauric acid enters human body it gets converted to
  Monolaurin, which has the ability to enhance immunity.
  Several studies have confirmed that this compound has the
  ability to kill viruses including herpes and numerous other
  bacteria.  Its antiviral effect has the ability to
  considerably reduce the viral load of HIV patients.
 
 
 ---
 This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
 http://www.avast.com
 

Re: [Goanet] Hate Crimes in India

[Santosh Helekar]

Here is a nice article on Indophobia - the hatred of India and the people of 
India:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/vamsee-juluri/indophobia-the-real-eleph_b_415237.html

Cheers,

Santosh

F. dos Reis Falcao wrote:

COMMENT: 

One just requires common sense to conclude what are the resultant 
actions due to hatred. Assault, murders, rape. Vandalism, arson, etc. are all 
aftermath of inbuilt anger and  hatred. 
Raping a septuagenarian woman is an act of showing hate towards her or her 
ilk; 
Threats issued over phones are also an act of hatred towards the recipients, 
vandalism and arson too. All that to get the self satisfaction of having 
displaced the anger and hatred. People are not gullible fools to believe 
discreetness 
by misrepresenting facts on source, 

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/03/17/uk-india-rape-school-idUKKBN0MD2K320150317
 

Dr. Ferdinando dos Reis Falcão.

Re: [Goanet] Hate Crimes in India

[Santosh Helekar]

It is very hard to find an objective, evidence-based report from a genuinely 
secular source, unconnected with any right-wing Hindu, Christian, Muslim or 
Sikh religious organization about real hate crimes in India. However, here is 
one such impartial and trustworthy article that I was able to find on hate 
crimes against scheduled castes and tribes:

http://www.thearda.com/asrec/archive/papers/Sharma%20-%20Hate%20crimes%20in%20india.pdf

Cheers,

Santosh

- Original Message -
 From: Marshall Mendonza mmendonz...@gmail.com
 To: goanet goanet@lists.goanet.org
 Cc: 
 Sent: Friday, April 24, 2015 6:16 AM
 Subject: [Goanet] Hate Crimes Against Christians in India: A Report on 2014
 
 http://www.sacw.net/article10638.html
 
 Disclaimer: This article / report is not meant for those who believe that
 the attacks on Christians and Christian institutions and places of worship
 are mere acts of 'thefts'.
 

Re: [Goanet] [Secular Goa] Convent Schools

[Santosh Helekar]

Here is a very important secular issue on women's choice raised by
Melinda Gates in the Times of India interview:

QUOTE
The Indian government is now putting out postcards on IUDs and
training people on how to insert those in young women. Over time I'd
like to see the Indian government offer injectibles or even implants.
Injection is a better option if you want to wait 6-9 months, but IUD
is better if you want to wait for 5 years. The idea is to let women
decide what works for them.
UNQUOTE
...Melinda Gates

Most right-wing religious organizations are opposed to these
practices, and letting women decide what works for them.

Cheers,

Santosh

On Wed, Apr 22, 2015 at 12:15 PM, Marshall Mendonza mmendonz...@gmail.com wrote:

 I went to a catholic school. My high school had a set of very liberal nuns 
 and they really taught us about the catholic church's vision on social 
 justice. That the world ought to be equitable. We did a lot of local 
 volunteerism in the community. Bill's very much from a background of 
 community service. We agreed while we were engaged, that the vast majority of 
 the resources from Microsoft would go back to society.
 Melinda Gates
 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Im-seeing-the-most-progress-in-Bihar-says-Melinda-Gates/articleshow/47007220.cms

 Will someone pass on this article to the Dhavalikars and HJS

 Regards,

 Marshall


*
No offense meant. But let the chips fall where they may.
*

Re: [Goanet] [Secular Goa] The Inquisition Lore

[Santosh Helekar]

There is no fun in converting to Hinduism or remaining a Catholic.
There are many new religions that you might find more interesting and
rewarding.

Cheers,

Santosh

On Tue, Mar 31, 2015 at 8:54 PM, marie dsouza.ma...@gmail.com
[seculargoa] secular...@yahoogroups.com wrote:



 I am no historian just an ordinary Catholic.

 My ancestors may have been forcibly converted as may have been many of 
 today's Goan Roman Catholics during the inquisition in Goa.
 (Kerala's Syrian Catholics were converted during the first century AD it is 
 said)

 What is important for me and should be for all other Roman Catholics is 
 whether today I want to remain a Catholic because of the faith I have in one 
 God and Jesus Christ who willingly sacrificed Himself for me.

 Bringing up the Inquisition that took place about 4 centuries ago to say that 
 because my ancestors were forcibly converted hence i should revert to being a 
 Hindu (as the extreme right would have us do) does not make sense.

 marie



 On Mon, Mar 30, 2015 at 10:23 PM, Santosh Helekar chimbel...@gmail.com 
 [seculargoa] secular...@yahoogroups.com wrote:



 Good to see that Vivek has provided a pertinent quote from Priolkar in
 which he appears to be expressing the concern that his account would
 be dismissed as biased because it was not written by a Portuguese
 historian. Legitimate specific criticisms of any scholarly work is
 always a good thing. What is wrong is its outright dismissal without
 producing contrary facts, but rather, just by using such baseless
 canards as guilt by association and various ideological devices. As
 alluded to by Vivek, there is no detailed alternative historical
 account on Goan inquisition based on primary sources. I understand
 that this is in large part due to destruction or loss of original
 records. In this context, I remember that Teotoniobab de Souza once
 mentioned that some of the remaining records were transferred to the
 Biblioteca Nacional do Brasil. So all we need is a competent,
 committed and dispassionate secular historian, and proper funding from
 a secular source.

 Priolkar's book relies naturally on secondary sources. But it was
 well-received by eminent historians such as C. R. Boxer. Regarding
 Dellon and Buchanan, I should have said that they are eyewitness
 accounts rather than well-researched. No independent facts contradict
 what they have written. They have been maligned based on pure
 speculations and biases of their detractors, and generalization of
 such ideological concoctions as the Black Legend to the Goan
 situation.

 Cheers,

 Santosh



 On Sun, Mar 29, 2015 at 10:26 PM, V M vmin...@gmail.com [seculargoa]
 secular...@yahoogroups.com wrote:
 
 
 
  The problem with the state of Goa Inquisition Studies, such as they
  are, is the near-total absence of decent modern and contemporary
  historiography of the two-centuries-plus episode. Twenty-first-century
  historical understanding cannot be properly achieved by reading
  primary documents by witnesses or near-witnesses who (a) wanted to
  sell their accounts, (b) gain coniderably grom their accounts, or (c)
  were published in order to settle tertiary scores. I'd say Priolkar's
  book is a significant step in the right direction, but as he himself
  writes, while laying his bare to be considered,  the story of the
  Inquisition is a dismal record of callousness and cruelty, tyranny and
  injustice, espionage and blackmail, avarice and corruption, repression
  of thought and culture and promotion of obscurantism and an Indian
  writer who undertakes to tell it can easily be accused of being
  inspired by ulterior motives. From this point of view, it would have
  been appropriate if the task had been undertaken by a Portuguese
  historian...
 
  But no such Portuguese historian has emerged, and no serious Indian
  historian has tried to develop the necessarily complex understanding
  required here either, and so Goans are left foundering, reacting by
  instinct and out of a misplaced sense of self-protection. As Priolkar
  also writes, rather piercingly, it is indeed an irony of history that
  some of the descendants of the New Christians in Goa, who suffered
  cruelly at the hands of the Inquisition, should be so anxious to
  prevent the truth about the working of the institution from coming to
  light.
 
  In that case, Priolkar was speaking directly about the contentions of
  Dr. Gerson da Cunha and Braz Fernandes that Dellon's account was
  fiction or fictionalized, despite no European scholar having similar
  doubts. Elsewhere, he is quite unreasonable and nasty - thus betraying
  considerable bias in his own history-making - as when thanking the
  Goud Saraswat Brahman Community of Bomay for the grant given for the
  publication of this volume but refraining to mention the names of
  other, presumably Goan Catholic contributors because it must be
  remembered that the Inquisition has been abolished but the spirit
  which guided its

Re: [Goanet] [Secular Goa] The Inquisition Lore

[Santosh Helekar]

Good to see that Vivek has provided a pertinent quote from Priolkar in
which he appears to be expressing the concern that his account would
be dismissed as biased because it was not written by a Portuguese
historian. Legitimate specific criticisms of any scholarly work is
always a good thing. What is wrong is its outright dismissal without
producing contrary facts, but rather, just by using such baseless
canards as guilt by association and various ideological devices. As
alluded to by Vivek, there is no detailed alternative historical
account on Goan inquisition based on primary sources. I understand
that this is in large part due to destruction or loss of original
records. In this context, I remember that Teotoniobab de Souza once
mentioned that some of the remaining records were transferred to the
Biblioteca Nacional do Brasil. So all we need is a competent,
committed and dispassionate secular historian, and proper funding from
a secular source.

Priolkar's book relies naturally on secondary sources. But it was
well-received by eminent historians such as C. R. Boxer. Regarding
Dellon and Buchanan, I should have said that they are eyewitness
accounts rather than well-researched. No independent facts contradict
what they have written. They have been maligned based on pure
speculations and biases of their detractors, and generalization of
such ideological concoctions as the Black Legend to the Goan
situation.

Cheers,

Santosh

On Sun, Mar 29, 2015 at 10:26 PM, V M vmin...@gmail.com [seculargoa]
secular...@yahoogroups.com wrote:



 The problem with the state of Goa Inquisition Studies, such as they
 are, is the near-total absence of decent modern and contemporary
 historiography of the two-centuries-plus episode. Twenty-first-century
 historical understanding cannot be properly achieved by reading
 primary documents by witnesses or near-witnesses who (a) wanted to
 sell their accounts, (b) gain coniderably grom their accounts, or (c)
 were published in order to settle tertiary scores. I'd say Priolkar's
 book is a significant step in the right direction, but as he himself
 writes, while laying his bare to be considered,  the story of the
 Inquisition is a dismal record of callousness and cruelty, tyranny and
 injustice, espionage and blackmail, avarice and corruption, repression
 of thought and culture and promotion of obscurantism and an Indian
 writer who undertakes to tell it can easily be accused of being
 inspired by ulterior motives. From this point of view, it would have
 been appropriate if the task had been undertaken by a Portuguese
 historian...

 But no such Portuguese historian has emerged, and no serious Indian
 historian has tried to develop the necessarily complex understanding
 required here either, and so Goans are left foundering, reacting by
 instinct and out of a misplaced sense of self-protection. As Priolkar
 also writes, rather piercingly, it is indeed an irony of history that
 some of the descendants of the New Christians in Goa, who suffered
 cruelly at the hands of the Inquisition, should be so anxious to
 prevent the truth about the working of the institution from coming to
 light.

 In that case, Priolkar was speaking directly about the contentions of
 Dr. Gerson da Cunha and Braz Fernandes that Dellon's account was
 fiction or fictionalized, despite no European scholar having similar
 doubts. Elsewhere, he is quite unreasonable and nasty - thus betraying
 considerable bias in his own history-making - as when thanking the
 Goud Saraswat Brahman Community of Bomay for the grant given for the
 publication of this volume but refraining to mention the names of
 other, presumably Goan Catholic contributors because it must be
 remembered that the Inquisition has been abolished but the spirit
 which guided its activities is not entirely extinct. In that passage
 and others, Priolkar attempts the trick of transposing 16th and 17th
 century European colonialist ideas, attitudes and policies to the Goan
 Catholics of the 20th century, which is both morally shabby and
 useless as historiography.

 VM

*
No offense meant. But let the chips fall where they may.
*

Re: [Goanet] [Secular Goa] The Inquisition Lore

[Santosh Helekar]

Priolkar's, Dellon's and Buchanan's accounts are well-reasoned descriptions
of the inquisition. Buchanan's account in particular is a fairly objective
and even-handed account. For example, he also describes all the fanatical
suicides and sacrificial killings of the Hindus in gory detail. Those who
are trying to malign these authors and to whitewash all the atrocities have
a self-serving apologist religious agenda of their own.

Cheers,

Santosh

On Sun, Mar 29, 2015 at 7:01 AM, Gabe Menezes gabe.mene...@gmail.com
[seculargoa] secular...@yahoogroups.com wrote:



 By Frederick Noronha

 It’s 2012 and Vincent and Martha are falling “instantly in love with
 Goa”.  Four sentences into Ashwin Sanghi’s The Rozabal Line (Westland,
 2008), we encounter the Inquisition.

 Predictable? Like few others, the Inquisition motif is one which comes up
 repeatedly in writing on Goa. It does so once more in “India’s bestselling
 theological thriller”. This has happened with so much regularity, that we
 just seem to take it as a given now.

 From novels to works in Konkani, translated texts, video CDs and even
 official accounts of Goa’s history, this story is writ large. But how much
 of this is really true?

 You get a hint of something not quite being right if search up for
 information on the Black Legend. Put briefly, the Black Legend is a style
 of writing – or propaganda – that demonises the Spanish Empire, its people
 and its culture. As if to suggest that the blackest were the Spaniards,
 while other colonial empires were rather pleasantly-run enterprises.

 For understandable reasons, this at times extends to the Portuguese too.
 Spanish history gets projected in a deeply negative light; the reasons why
 this happens is interesting in itself but beyond the scope of this
 discussion. Suffice to note that depicting exaggerated versions of the
 Spanish Inquisition form a key part of this.

 Ever since Priolkar’s book on the subject (The Goa Inquisition: The
 Terrible Tribunal for the East), published thrice by a State university, a
 Hindutva publishing house, and locally, the first time being just before
 Liberation, this motif is taken for granted in Goa too. Expectedly, over
 time, it gets new life of its own.

 Scratch a bit below the surface, and it becomes obvious that there’s a
 whole different reality out there. Globally too, questions are being asked.
 One place to start unwrapping the knotted ball of thread and mythification
 is perhaps a 1994 BBC documentary on the myths of the Spanish Inquisition.
 See it online at http://bit.ly/BBCSpIn.

 Turns out from a detailed and closer look that not only were accounts of
 the Inquisition grossly exaggerated, but there was in fact also a whole
 industry of creating these myths that survived centuries. It was promoted
 by various quarters, from manifold reasons.

 What one learn in the above documentary would go so much against what one
 is used to believing, that it takes quite some time for the reality to soak
 it in.

 In Goa itself, the accounts of the Inquisition depend largely on the
 versions of Buchanan (1766-1815) and Dellon (1650-1710). The first was a
 Scottish theologian, whose biases about faiths other than his own have been
 documented elsewhere.

 David Higgs (in The Inquisition in Late Eighteenth-Century Goa, in Goa;
 Continuity and Change, edited by Narendra K Wagle and George Coelho,
 University of Toronto 1995) gives us another perspective when he
 acknowledges the role Priolkar’s 1961 study played in shaping the debate.

 Higgs writes: “Priolkar drew heavily on secondary sources in his sketch on
 the Goan Inquisition, especially on a late seventeenth-century Frenchman,
 Gabriel Dellon, arrested in Goa, whose case was made famous by the
 denunciatory account of his experiences published after his return from
 France”.

 He calls Dellon’s version an “exuberant account of his misfortunes”.
 Likewise, Higgs points out, Priolkar also used the “over-imaginative
 account of a British clergyman, C Buchanan, who wanted to think that what
 he was not allowed to see in Old Goa in 1808 was what Dellon inveighed at
 more than a century earlier”.

 From the time these accounts first came about, they were taken to by a
 number of diverse quarters. For different reasons. Jansenists, Gallicians,
 pro-Protestants and anti-Spanish Frenchmen highlighted such writing. Dellon
 has himself been identified with pro-Calvanism and the Gallician policy of
 Louis XIV, to whose court Dellon had been admitted.

 Since then, the mythification of the Inquisition has been used to push
 21st century communal battles. Perspectives from Judaism and Hindutva also
 take the debate along a road of its own.

 But it is not only the world of fiction that is shaped by the assiduously
 created Inquisition lore.

 When former top cop Julio Ribeiro voices alarm over the communalisation of
 Indian public life, someone in cyberspace thinks it fit to remind him: “We,
 perforce, have to talk 

Re: [Goanet] Science Congress: Ancient India Had Planes

[Santosh Helekar]

Like almost all other bogus pronouncements regarding Vedic science the claim 
that airplanes and aeronautics are described in the Vedas has also been 
debunked. Scientists (Mukunda, Deshpande, Nagendra, Prabhu and Govindaraju) at 
the Indian Institute of Science published a nice research paper in 1974 
refuting all assertions made at the current Indian Science Congress meeting 
about Vymanika Shastra. These scientists were members of the faculty of the 
departments of Aeronautical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering at the 
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India's premier scientific research 
center. 

I printed out and read the Mukunda et al (1974) paper a couple of weeks back. 
It is a detailed examination of claims made in two books on the so-called 
Vymanika Shastra, which has nothing to do with the Vedas or any other standard 
ancient Indian text. The books originated from what a poor mystic called Pundit 
Subbaraya Shastry, who died in 1941 said aloud under a spell or whenever he got 
divine inspiration – some of which he might have learned from his guru. The 
recipes given in the books to construct these planes are hilarious. For 
example, urines of different animals such as elephant, cow and donkey are used 
as fuel for propulsion of the planes. The construction of the planes and 
purported mechanism violates Newton's laws of motion, which even a high school 
kid who has lit up pyrotechnical rockets during Ganesh Chaturthi will 
recognize. The pundit apparently used to go around parts of the country 
lecturing to gullible folk. He even teamed up with a man called Talpade in 1918 
to build one of his planes. By all sane indications the silly experiment was 
a failure. Talpade died immediately after this, and naturally, nobody tried to 
carry forward his quixotic quest.

Unfortunately, involvement of politicians and religious leaders in academic and 
scientific affairs in India makes it difficult to properly educate the public 
and the younger generation about genuine achievements of ancient India and 
modern Indian science. Somehow the quacks, crackpots and spiritualists receive 
more attention. Scientific illiteracy among even the educated masses compounds 
the problem. This is also true in the U.S. with regard to teaching of evolution 
and distinctions between science and pseudoscience in medicine. 

But the sober and rational among us should know that if you try to study the 
history of human civilization on this planet you will realize that we (as in 
all of humankind) have progressed in a series of incremental steps, at least as 
far as science and technology is concerned (Steven Pinker has recently compiled 
convincing evidence that this is also true of morality). There has been 
stagnation at times, but no drastic reversals or resets. What this means is 
that at each step current knowledge was based on prior knowledge even in cases 
where insights were ahead of their times. In other words, you will not find a 
computer chip or a solid booster rocket engine buried in a 10,000 year-old 
archaeological dig anywhere in the world. You will only find materials and 
tools that were appropriate for the level of technology that was customary at 
that time. Similarly, all descriptions dealing with materials and processes in 
ancient texts will be consistent with what was locally available at the time. 
Even extrapolations into the world of imagination and fiction would be slight 
improvements over what was available in real life. If cow's urine was used in 
religious and cleansing rituals, then it is very likely that larger quantities 
of that same urine or that of a larger animal like an elephant would be used as 
fuel for an imaginary airplane. 

It is important to distinguish between historical and archaeological research, 
and modern pure or applied scientific research. The government ought to fund 
research into ancient Indian texts and sites as an archaeological endeavor to 
study the development of pre-scientific understanding in ancient India, as is 
being done in Central and South America, the Middle East, Egypt, Greece and 
Eastern Europe. But declaring outright that the texts contain advanced 
scientific knowledge and making it part of a Science Congress and Science 
education is absolutely foolish and shameful. Instead of making us feel proud 
of our heritage, it makes us feel ashamed of ourselves. An educated human being 
living in the 21st century is supposed to have at least a basic understanding 
of what science and rational thought is all about. If something violates the 
laws of physics or has no basis in established science then she ought to 
express strong skepticism against it, and demand overwhelming evidence in 
support of it, and welcome scientific scrutiny from scientists and experts. 

Here is a very nice article by a young Indian space scientist Ram Prasad 
Gandhiraman debunking the Vedic airplane nonsense and other such fraudulent 
pseudoscience that is being 

Re: [Goanet] Cell phones and brain tumours

[Santosh Helekar]

My interest here is providing accurate information about science, medicine and 
public health. I cannot help it if someone deliberately distorts the meaning of 
what I write for whatever reason, and tells others that I am an idiot and he is 
smart. 

The thalidomide tragedy took place in 1957 because the scientific method of 
testing that drug to find out if it causes genetic defects was not followed. In 
other words, those who you used the drug were ignorant of the science behind 
the action of that drug because they did not conduct proper clinical and basic 
scientific studies - the type of studies that have been conducted today to rule 
out the harmful effects of cell phones and cell phone towers. That is why I 
stated that the irrelevant images and videos provided in this forum in the 
midst of a discussion about cell phones were the result of scientific 
ignorance, not science. Today, thalidomide has been thoroughly tested, and is 
being used as an effective treatment against a type of blood cancer called 
multiple myeloma, and also to treat a skin condition caused by leprosy. This 
tells us that science and the scientific method, if properly and ethically 
followed, always benefits humanity and leads to progress. The question of 
whether cell phones cause cancer or not can only be answered by science, 
nothing else. Science has the last word and the final answer.

As to the claim of 4  or 5 cancer sufferers in someone's neighborhood, I would 
ask each of you to find out for yourself. I can bet that almost everybody's 
neighborhood will have 4 or 5 cancer patients. This is a very common 
observation for the statistical reasons that I provided in my last post. 
Indeed, it is common to find 4 or 5 cancer patients among your relatives. In my 
case, 9 of my relatives have had cancer. Four had breast cancer. One had colon 
cancer. One had stomach cancer. One had brain cancer. One had prostate cancer. 
The last one I am not sure what type of cancer it was.

Cheers,

Santosh

 
- Original Message -
 From: Marshall Mendonza mmendonz...@gmail.com
 To: goanet goanet@lists.goanet.org
 Cc: 
 Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2014 11:28 PM
 Subject: [Goanet] Cell phones and brain tumours
 
 I am surprised that a person who swears by science is in total denial
 of the havoc created by the wonder drug Thalidomide.
 
 I am however,not surprised, when such scientists assume/ presume and
 draw conclusions:
 
 1. That the persons who contacted cancer were smokers.
 
 2. that the patients/ victims were in the age group of above 70 years.
 
 3. that they are the sole possessors of knowledge and reasoning.
 
 They only reinforce in us the old adage:
 
 “Never argue with an idiot. They will only bring you down to their level
 and beat you with experience.”
 You win Sir.
 
 Regards,
 
 Marshall
 

Re: [Goanet] Cell phones and brain tumours

[Santosh Helekar]

The pictures and videos below do not show us anything that science caused 50 
years ago. It is ignorance of science that caused all of those things. Those 
who ignore science are making the same mistake today by falsely perpetuating 
the belief that cancers caused by something else in their neighborhood are 
caused by a cell phone tower. If someone is really concerned about 4 or 5 
people suffering from cancer in their neighborhood he should persuade the 16 - 
20 neighbors of his to give up smoking because science tells us that anybody 
who smokes more than 5 cigarettes a day has a 25% chance of getting cancer. 

Someone who is scientifically ignorant would not also know that every 
neighborhood that has more than 13 people above the age of 70 would have on an 
average 4 or 5 people suffering from cancer. Scientifically literate person on 
the other hand would know this fact and that the exact reason for it is that 
the lifetime risk for any person to get cancer is 40% (43% for men and 37% for 
women).

One of the biggest problems we face in the world today is that even educated 
people are scientifically illiterate, and believe in all kinds of crackpot 
conspiracy theories.

Cheers,

Santosh


- Original Message -
 From: Marshall Mendonza mmendonz...@gmail.com
 To: goanet goanet@lists.goanet.org
 Cc: 
 Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2014 12:25 AM
 Subject: [Goanet] Cell phones and brain tumours
 
 I reiterate that although science has helped mankind to grow and develop,
 science is not the end and does not have answers to everything. This is
 what Science caused over 50 years ago. Those who believed in it are
 suffering till today.
 
 https://www.google.co.in/search?q=thalidomideespv=2es_sm=93tbm=ischtbo=usource=univsa=Xei=yzFsVIXELKG8mQWc64LgCwved=0CD0QsAQbiw=1366bih=667
 
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOdKe9PzKB0
 
 Regards,
 
 Marshall
 

Re: [Goanet] Cell phones and brain tumours

[Santosh Helekar]

People continue to have irrational beliefs and fears even after science has 
answered many questions once and for all. For example, many left-wing and 
right-wing adherents believe that vaccinations are harmful to children. About 
40% of Americans believe that the earth is less than 10,000 years old. 50% 
believe in various medical conspiracy theories. A significant number of people 
still believe that the earth is flat. It is a common observation that when 
people who prefer to stick to their faith-based beliefs and ideologies despite 
evidence to the contrary always resort to platitudes such science is not the 
last word, science does not know everything, etc.


The truth is in the present case, common sense, let alone science, has the 
final answer. If cell phone use has gone up from nothing to more that 90% of 
the population even in poor countries with absolutely no increase in incidence 
of brain cancer or any particular type of cancer, then cell phone use is not a 
cancer-causing public health problem. Any educated rational person should 
accept this fact.

Cheers,

Santosh


- Original Message -
 From: Marshall Mendonza mmendonz...@gmail.com
 To: goanet goanet@lists.goanet.org
 Cc: 
 Sent: Monday, November 17, 2014 11:52 PM
 Subject: [Goanet] Cell phones and brain tumours
 
 Jose Colaco wrote:
 
 I am not even a minimal expert on this BUT, I thought that I'd post this
 anyway - for what it's worth. Whatever the scientific theories, I advise my
 clients to use mic/earphones, and speakers (esp while driving) when using
 cell phones to communicate.
 
 Santosh Helekar wrote:
 
 Cell phone use has increased 300% since 2000, but there has not been even
 the slightest increase in the incidence of glioma, the brain tumor that is
 referred to in the article below. In fact, if I remember correctly there
 has been a slight decline.
 
 Response:
 
 In my neighbourhood, there is a building which hosted a Cellphone Tower. In
 the building next to it and in its immediate vicinity, I personally know of
 at least 4-5 residents who suffered/ are suffering from cancer, though not
 of the brain. Whether it was a coincidence that the cancer patients resided
 within the proximity of the Cellphone Towers or they contacted cancer
 because of other reasons I do not know. However, the Cellphone Towers have
 put a fear in the minds of people in the neighbourhood. People are not
 ready to accept and debate scientific claims when their lives and well
 being is at stake. Science is not the last word. Science is still searching
 for an answer.
 
 Regards,
 
 Marshall
 

Re: [Goanet] Cell phones and brain tumours

[Santosh Helekar]

If this type of empty cynicism had taken root in our society we would not have 
seen any progress. We would still be in the dark ages. Today science and 
technology are advancing at unprecedented pace. Humankind is reaping huge 
benefits from this progress. Cell phones are a great example of this. Every 
vocation big and small is prospering as a result of them. Carpenters, 
bricklayers, housemaids, caterers, general practitioners, all have cell phones 
and are making good use of them in their business, helping themselves and all 
others in the process.

Cheers,

Santosh


- Original Message -
 From: Dr. Ferdinando dos Reis Falcão drferdina...@hotmail.com
 To: goa...@goanet.org goa...@goanet.org; mmendonz...@gmail.com 
 mmendonz...@gmail.com
 Cc: 
 Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2014 10:40 AM
 Subject: [Goanet]  Cell phones and brain tumours

 COMMENT:
 Marshall, nowadays, science is no longer a help to humanity. Humanity if 
 forsaken!
 First priority is selfish interest of profits, be they personal, industrial 
 of 
 of the Nation.
 Scientist and FDA as seen are faking and manipulating results, and our many 
 so 
 called scientists are become sycophants to the system.
 Their constant argument will always be, there is no peer reviewed research 
 that 
 confirms what you say.
 So, as long as the system does not admit its sycophancy, you will hear that 
 all 
 is safe, unless proved otherwise.
 
 
 Dr. Ferdinando dos Reis Falcão.   

Re: [Goanet] Cell phones and brain tumours

[Santosh Helekar]

It is important to provide a comprehensive and accurate view of the present 
understanding on any public health topic. The article cited below refers to a 
rehashed post-hoc analysis of two old case control studies conducted to milk 
out some result where there is none. Exposures were assessed by questionnaire 
is all you need to know to have serious concerns about what is being reported. 
If anybody wants to understand why that is the case, I would be happy to 
provide an explanation. The author of this article is the only person who 
repeatedly claims that there is some link between brain tumors and cell phones. 
All other researchers in the field who have conducted much larger, more 
significant and more properly conducted studies have failed to find any such 
link. To those who understand the science behind cell phone radiation the 
reason for this absence of link is obvious.

Cell phone use has increased 300% since 2000, but there has not been even the 
slightest increase in the incidence of glioma, the brain tumor that is referred 
to in the article below. In fact, if I remember correctly there has been a 
slight decline. 

Cheers, 

Santosh

Jose Colaco wrote:

Dear all, 

I am not even a minimal expert on this BUT, I thought that I'd post this anyway 
- for what it's worth. Whatever the scientific theories, I advise my clients to 
use mic/earphones, and speakers (esp while driving) when using cell phones to 
communicate. 

Medscape Medical News  Neurology 
Long-Term Cell Phone Use Linked to Brain Tumor Risk 
Pauline Anderson 
November 13, 2014 

Long-term use of both mobile and cordless phones is associated with an 
increased risk for glioma, the most common type of brain tumor, the latest 
research on the subject concludes. 
The new study shows that the risk for glioma was tripled among those using a 
wireless phone for more than 25 years and that the risk was also greater for 
those who had started using mobile or cordless phones before age 20 years. 

Doctors should be very concerned by this and discuss precautions with their 
patients, study author Lennart Hardell, MD, PhD, professor, Department of 
Oncology, University Hospital, Örebro, Sweden, told Medscape Medical News. 

Such precautions, he said, include using hands-free phones with the loud 
speaker feature and text messaging instead of phoning. 

The study was published online October 28 in Pathophysiology.

Re: [Goanet] MYSTERIES EXPLORED: AMAZING SCIENTIFIC REASONS BEHIND HINDU TRADITIONS

[Santosh Helekar]

The claimed scientific reasons are not scientific at all. Every statement is 
pure rubbish.

Cheers,

Santosh


On Thursday, October 9, 2014 5:17 AM, Marshall Mendonza mmendonz...@gmail.com 
wrote:


I came across this posting on Facebook. Could anyone who has knowledge on
the subject throw some light on this as to how far it is accurate or
correct?

regards,

Marshall

Re: [Goanet] A man, a woman, and their tryst with destiny

[Santosh Helekar]

A beautiful tribute George to both the man and the woman. I send my 
Congratulations to Filomena and wish her well. Hope to meet you and her again 
some time soon.

Cheers,

Santosh

George Pinto georgejpinto at yahoo.com 
wrote:

Some thoughts on the Joseph Vaz canonization 
By George Pinto 
Three hundred years separate them but the Vatican’s approval of the Goan-born 
Joseph Vaz canonization, inextricably binds possibly the greatest saint in 
Catholic history with his biggest promoter for sainthood, Filomena Sarawati 
Giese. 
All credit for his canonization belongs to Joseph Vaz, whose saintly life 
(1651-1711) resulted last week in the one of the highest honors of the Catholic 
church bestowed on him (the formalities will be done in the near future). For 
24 years he lived in Sri Lanka under harsh conditions: as a beggar, under Dutch 
persecution (could mean imprisonment and death if a Catholic priest was caught 
preaching), without food for days, sometimes in chains, his life often in 
danger, he even walked barefoot across Sri Lanka. Without ANY forced 
conversions, he grew the church substantially in Sri Lanka while he was there. 
Fr. Roger Lesser (who unfortunately is very sick at the time of writing) 
referred to him as one of the greatest saints while discussing his book “Sages 
and Saints of India”. In the spirit of inter-religious harmony (much needed 
today) Joseph Vaz had the blessings of a Buddhist king to preach. His life as a 
priest is a model for today’s priesthood: 
 humble, serve the poor, comfort the afflicted, live simply. An agnostic, even 
an atheist, can objectively appreciate the greatness of the man. 
Fast forward to the late 1970’s and two Goan sisters in Berkeley, California, 
discover Joseph Vaz’s work and decide his story must be told. Filomena 
Saraswati Giese and Ligia Britto found the Joseph Naik Vaz Institute and 
Filomena primarily carries the torch for 35 years. For any number of historical 
reasons, not the least of which is colonialism, she realizes that Joseph Vaz 
has been denied the “glories of the altar” as Archbishop Henry D’Souza alluded 
to in his heroic speech in Rome to the General Oratorian Congress in 2000. For 
Filomena, it has been a long, sometimes lonely struggle, trying to convince the 
Vatican to do the right thing and canonize Joseph Vaz - a matter of justice. It 
has meant trips to Rome, writing to and meeting with Cardinals, Bishops, 
petitioning three Popes, and organizing events to publicize the work of Joseph 
Vaz. She watched European candidates fast-tracked to sainthood and European 
saints imposed on colonized 
 peoples throughout Asia, Africa, and Latin America, while Joseph Vaz was 
unjustly made to wait for three hundred years. But the struggle ended last 
week, when Filomena  triumphantly arrived in Rome on September 17, 2014, the 
same day the Vatican announced approval of the canonization. 
Why, one can ask, have some Goans been so docile, even uninterested in one of 
their own? Many Goan clergy were indifferent, asleep, and in a few cases 
hostile to a Joseph Vaz sainthood while promoting non-Goan saints. Perhaps 
Goans really do not deserve their own saint.  But colonialism is formally over 
(although it has morphed into other forms of discrimination) and a new Pope 
understands historical wrongs can be made right. Pope Francis did the right 
thing. 
As the Vatican shutters its doors this evening and the sun sets on a fairly 
deserted St. Peter’s Square, Filomena goes by the Vatican one last time on this 
important trip before she returns to California tomorrow. Rome is the epicenter 
of Catholicism and the city has gone to bed tonight little realizing that one 
woman in their midst with tremendous tenacity and dogged determination took on 
a 2000 year (male) bureaucracy and won. From St. Peter to St. Joseph Vaz, a 
door was finally opened for a Goan - Joseph Vaz now belongs in the universal 
calendar of saints. 
Joseph Vaz and Filomena's paths will no doubt cross some day in eternity. A 
humble, saintly soul and a woman activist who refused to give up on justice for 
his well-deserved sainthood. One can only hope to be a fly on that proverbial 
wall when that meeting occurs. 
Filomena scaled Mount Vatican, far bigger and more challenging than Everest.  
It took 35 years and every young Goan woman, every young woman, must take her 
example - long odds and a tough road are not obstacles but opportunities to 
succeed even in a man's world. No, especially in a man's world. 
Welcome back Filomena. You won one for Goans (and Sri Lankans). Thank you. 
= 
The writer lives in the San Francisco Bay area and his views above do not 
necessarily reflect the views of any organization he belongs to, including the 
Joseph Naik Vaz Institute which he has strongly supported since 2000.

[Goanet] I agree with Adv. Radharao

[Santosh Helekar]

I agree 100% with Adv. Radharao Gracias that Goans are historically, 
and I would add, genetically Indian. Please see his latest article at 
the following link: 
http://www.heraldgoa.in/Edit/People-Edit/A-Goan-or-Central-Indian/78662.html 
I have also appended it below. 
That is why it is unproductive to engage in silly arguments such as we 
are Goans first vs we are Indians first. Which sane and sensible 
person cares about this kind of a thing? It only fuels the hate-filled 
campaigns of jingoistic Hindu nationalists on one side and the rabid 
anti-nationalist foreigners and separatists on the other side. 
Cheers, 
Santosh 
Adv. Radharao Gracias wrote: 
I  agree with Santosh A Helekar (A Central Indian First, Herald, 16th 
inst.) that Goa in its present shape did not exist prior to 1788. But 
Goa whether you call it Goem, Govapuri, Aprant, Gomant, Sindabur or 
any name whatsoever always existed, with indefinite boundaries. 
Likewise, the Republic of India in its present shape did not exist 
prior to 15.8.1947. Nevertheless, India whether you called it Bharat 
or Aryavarta or whatsoever has existed with equally uncertain 
boundaries, from times immemorial. 
Historic India and the Republic of India are certainly not one and the 
same. The India of old had nebulous boundaries and encompassed most of 
what is now Afghanistan, and the whole of the present Republics of 
India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and even Sri Lanka, and perhaps 
more. My contention therefore is that I am a citizen of the Republic 
of India only after 28.3.1962 when the Goa, Daman  Diu Citizenship 
Order came into force. There was no Republic of India before 
independence and therefore no citizens of the republic. 
To put it in a different context, since Goa is part of India, I am a 
citizen of the Republic of India. On the other hand, Pakistan not 
being part of the Republic of India, no Pakistani is a citizen of the 
Republic of India. But Pakistan being part of historic India all 
Pakistanis are Indians. Likewise, prior to 19.12.1961, Goans were 
Indians in the historic context but not citizens of the Republic of 
India. Thus to be an Indian one need not necessarily be a citizen of 
the Republic of India. 
The Republic of India is the not sole and universal inheritor of 
historic India. All the different political entities that now exist 
over the space occupied by historic India are equally entitled for the 
heritage of India. Citizens of all different countries in historic 
India are “Indians” and Republic of India has no monopoly. 
As I have said earlier, the territory of historic India was ruled by 
different kings and the boundaries of each kingdom varied. No matter 
whether Goa was part of Central Indian or South Indian empires, at 
some point of time, it was still part of historic and geographic 
India, and will always be so. But as in the past in the future too, 
the borders may change. No political entity lasts forever. We continue 
to see in our own lifetime how new countries are formed, how borders 
change and how some countries have simply disappeared. No matter what 
happens to the Republic of India, Goa will continue to exist and will 
always be part of historic India.

Re: [Goanet] Is eastern medicine (aurveda chinese traditional ) superior to western medicine?

[Santosh Helekar]

Con Menezes cmenezes at tpg.com.au asked:

Is eastern medicine (aurveda  chinese traditional )superior to western 
medicine?

Read...   
http://www.itmonline.org/arts/ayurherb.htm


The answer is no. Eastern pre-scientific healing practices are largely 
ineffective. Their claims are contradictory to the natural facts uncovered by 
modern scientific medicine.

However, eastern pre-scientific healing practices might be slightly superior to 
a western pre-scientific healing practice called homeopathy.

Cheers,

Santosh

Re: [Goanet] A Goa Referendum

[Santosh Helekar]

Which political party or mass separatist movement in Goa is demanding such a 
referendum? As far as we know, only a few stray internet characters, all of 
whom are foreign citizens with an anti-India mindset are ranting about this. I 
doubt anybody in Goa takes them seriously.

For comparison see this website of the Quebec separatist party:

http://www.pq.org/

They are demanding a proper referendum to secede from Canada and form their own 
independent country.

There are several separatist parties in Scotland. Here is the website of the 
biggest one of them:

http://www.snp.org/

Contrast this to the situation in Goa. The few foreigners who want separate Goa 
from India will likely be regarded as jokers by most Goans living in Goa today.

Cheers,

Santosh
 


On Saturday, September 13, 2014 9:15 PM, Roland Francis 
roland.fran...@ymail.com wrote:
  Sorry my previous message was sent in error uncompleted.
 
 India needs to correct a historical wrong committed in 1961, by asking the 
 Goan 
 people to determine their own destiny even if it is 53 years later. Goa was 
 not 
 of the Portuguese to give nor of the Indians to take. 
 
 To accept the political and geographical reality, the referendum  should be 
 on 
 the following question:
 
 Should Goa determine its own independent economic future subject to India's 
 defence and foreign affairs control allowing it to enforce its own borders 
 and 
 laws separate from the Indian constitution.
 Yes or no.
 
 The arguments against it this time will be:
 No one wants a separate Goa.
 The current generation know nothing else but being part of India.
 Goa will lose out on India's economic boom.
 
 To this I have the following answer. 
 Then why not let the people confirm this while giving yourself a chance to 
 regain the high moral ground.
 
 Are you afraid of the will of the people of Goa?
 
 Roland.
 
 Sent from my iPhone
 

Re: [Goanet] The Paper, and either we are Indians first or Goans first.

[Santosh Helekar]

Sensible views from Eugene in this post. Most Goans living in Goa today would 
agree with them 100%.

Cheers,

Santosh



 On Friday, September 12, 2014 9:07 AM, Eugene Correia 
 eugene.corr...@gmail.com wrote:
  So far there has been no answer to my query as to who, besides Frank
 Moraes, were Goans who reached the very top. in Times of India.
 Remember, the essay in the book, Bombaicar, said many Goan reporters at The
 Times of India married daughter of Bombay aunties. Remember about 
 the
 part where a section of Toronto women were shown in bad light.
 Since these sort of statements goes with being challenged, it shows that
 the majority don't care. When the Toronto women piece came, one
 ex-Africander who has been very active in the GOA asked me who the writer
 was and said that if he knew him he would give him hell. Some women who
 spoke to me also seemed very angry and wanted to know what if the writer
 has done any meaningful or academic research.
 The mailing lists and FB pages are there to voice one's opinions, however
 good or bad the opinions are. Just one poster on FB said that I was
 shithead and rogue journalist because of my contrary 
 views to his and
 his ilk on the Liberation/Annexation debate.
 The person is from the group, which I have termed pervasive class of
 Goans, who are blatantly pro-Portuguese and rabid anti-Indian. These
 people have the favourite website which promotes anti-Indian hatred.
 Today's piece my Adv. Radharao Gracias, who is also member of Goanet,
 questions calling oneself Indian first and Goan later. Many 
 non-Indians
 ask Indian-looking if they are Indians and rarely they ask if you are
 Maharashtrian or Goan.
 Radharao admits that India was one as a landmass in pre-historical times.
 The Portuguese interlude was just another period in Goa's history, which he
 has elaborated. The debate of Liberation/Annexation is good for academic
 analyses of Goa's historiography.
 Now that I am Canadian citizen, I say I am Canadian of Indian-origin. When
 asked further to define my identity I say I am Goan but Bombay-born and
 Bombay-educated. I am, however, an Overseas Citizen of India, and carry the
 OCI with me when I travel.
 No point in splitting legal hair over the issue. This issue now belongs in
 the domain of International Jurisprudence. Raddharao's UDGP  has now been
 pushed to the fringe of Goan political landscape, while Floriano Lobo's
 GSRP has been hovering on the political horizen for about 14 years. Time to
 shed off this mentality, and play constuctive role in making Goa a new
 society. A generation of Goans have come and almost gone, and a newer one
 is rising.
 
 Eugene Correia
 

[Goanet] Errors in fact and logic in Adv. Radharao's Herald Column

[Santosh Helekar]

I find the argument in Adv. Radharao Gracias' article entitled A Goan First 
in Herald to be unconvincing and absurd. I have pointed out some of the errors 
in fact and logic below. His article can be accessed at this link:

 http://www.heraldgoa.in/Edit/Opinions/A-Goan-first/78350.html

QUOTE
Goans, were the subjects of the Bahamani sultan, until the Portuguese defeated 
Adil Shah and replaced the Bahamanis on 25.11.1510, at the “invitation” of the 
local people, under the leadership of Thimaya Naik.
UNQUOTE
…..Adv. Radharao Gracias

According to the above quote, and from the rest of the article Adv. Radharao 
appears to be claiming that we are Goans first because of political and 
historical reasons. But the funny thing is his history of Goa begins with the 
Bahamani Kingdom and the conquest of the city of Goa on 25.11.1510. But 
recorded historical facts tell us that Goa, as we know it today did not exist 
as a whole or as a unified state with the current political boundaries either 
during the Bahamani times or in 1510. Only the city of Goa or the island of 
Tiswadi was conquered by the Portuguese in 1510. 

Why would a person from Canacona be called a Goan on this basis? 

Moreover, if this is the basis for me as a native of Tiswadi to be called a 
Goan then why can I not be called a Central Indian since the Bahamani kingdom 
stretched over a vast region of Central India, or a South Indian because before 
the Bahamanis, my ancestor’s homeland Ela and my father’s and grandfather’s 
birth place Chimbel were part of the South Indian kingdom of Vijayanagar?

Indeed Goa with its present political boundaries did not exist before 1788. And 
by the way, if we go by political boundaries and historical precedents then the 
first kingdom to rule parts of Goa was that of Bhojas as early as 500 or 600 B. 
C. E. The Bhoja kingdom also stretched to large parts of Central India.

QUOTE
And the final question: Are we geographically Indians? The answer is a huge 
‘Yes’. We are part of the landmass that constitutes the Indian Sub Continent 
and all parts obviously come together.
UNQUOTE
…..Adv. Radharao Gracias

This should settle the question of why most Goans call themselves Indian, but 
Adv. Radharao has conveniently left out an important reason for the fact that 
we are Indian, namely genetics. Every single one of us is genetically most 
closely related to other Indians. Our ancestors populated our lands i.e. 
Tiswadi, Bardez, Salcette, Ponda, Satari, Canacona, etc. after migrating from 
other parts of India during prehistoric and historic times. So we are 
unquestionably genetically Indian. Several molecular genetic studies have now 
established this fact, including one in which I was a facilitator and a 
research subject.

QUOTE
And in case any part comes ahead of the others then it must be Pakistan which 
is the cradle of ancient Indian Civilisation (Harappa and Mohenjo Daro). And 
the river Indus, which gave the country its name, runs through that country.
UNQUOTE
…..Adv. Radharao Gracias

The Indus Valley Civilization extends from the north of Delhi in the north and 
east to Gujarat in the south and almost to Iran in the west. Two of its largest 
cities are in Gujarat, namely Dholavira and Lothal.

Please see: http://asi.nic.in/asi_exca_2007_dholavira.asp for Dholavira 
excavation.

So the above claim of Adv. Gracias is erroneous and pointless.

QUOTE
And above all Taxila generally acknowledged to be the forerunner of all 
universities in the world, is also in that country. It is the university that 
gave us, Chanakya the political analyst, Charaka the father of Ayurveda, and 
Panini the grammarian, all of whom are considered to be our icons.
UNQUOTE
……Adv. Radharao Gracias

It is unclear how the above facts dictate whether or not we are Indian. All 
they say is that some of our ancient Indian culture and knowledge originated in 
a place of learning that is now located in Pakistan. Indeed if we go back 
further some of it might have originated in Ukraine or Turkey or Turkmenistan, 
Uzbekistan or Tajikistan, the route thought to be followed by Chanakya’s, 
Charaka’s and Panini’s predecessors. Several other universities or places of 
higher learning were located in India, such as Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and 
Nalanda in Bihar where Chanakya was born.

QUOTE
To conclude, there ought to be no doubt that we are Goans first and always and 
are Indians as a consequence of what the Supreme Court says: “True annexation 
by conquest and subjugation”. And the legislation that followed.
UNQUOTE
……Adv. Radharao Gracias

The above statement makes no sense from the standpoint of what I have just 
said. There is no ancient historical or political precedence that compels us to 
call ourselves Goans. The only reason we are called Goans is because we come 
from parts of the Indian subcontinent that were lumped together under the 
current political boundaries by conquest and annexation by the Portuguese in 
1788, and later by 

[Goanet] Helga's latest important research paper in Nature Communications

[Santosh Helekar]

Helga do Rosario Gomes and Joaquim Goes are Goa's foremost oceanographers and 
environmental scientists based in the U.S. They have just published an 
important peer-reviewed research article in one of the world's best scientific 
journals called Nature Communications on the drastic climatic changes that are 
taking place in the Arabian sea along Goa's and Western India's coastline. Here 
is the link to their paper:

http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2014/140909/ncomms5862/full/ncomms5862.html#affil-auth

Their research builds upon earlier findings that organisms that have lived in 
the northern Arabian sea for millions of years, and have been a critical 
component of the food chain for fish and fish eaters in these parts are being 
replaced by another type of organism. They have discovered that this upheaval 
is taking place because of inflow of massive quantities of oxygen-deficient 
water due to climatic changes. They suggest that these changes could produce 
unprecedented long term negative impact on fisheries and ecology of the west 
coast of India. To do this important research Helga and Joaquim collaborated 
with scientists at the National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula and Goa 
University, as well as other universities and research laboratories in the U.S.

I congratulate Helga and Joaquim for this highly significant contribution to 
science.

Cheers,

Santosh

Re: [Goanet] business of medicine, Goa style

[Santosh Helekar]

Rather than cautious optimism, what is more prudent is caution or cautiousness. 
This has been true all along throughout history. The good thing about the 
present day is that independent bodies can verify the authenticity of the 
active ingredients in any pharmaceutical formulation in terms their chemical 
compositions and dosage amounts. Pharmaceutical technological advancements have 
developed sophisticated instruments and procedures that enable this. This was 
not possible three or four decades ago. If any bogus mixture, potion or powder 
was dispensed by an illiterate and untrained hired help in the backroom of the 
doctor's dispensary nobody could find out that this was the case. Moreover, 
almost everybody trusted the doctors, pharmacists, midwives, helpers, quacks, 
etc. blindly.

Cheers,

Santosh

On Saturday, September 6, 2014 5:44 AM, John Gomes johngome...@yahoo.in wrote:
  Whilst I agree about our FDA, I would not be too sure about the stuff 
  available 
 in our Pharmacies! You all may have heard about the Ranbaxy case in USA and 
 even 
 a sincere and experienced Raj Vaidya of Hindu Pharmacy says these days he 
 frankly couldn't vouch for most of the stuff available or he is selling. 
 Cautious optimism these days is prudent, where we are cautioned not to eat 
 even 
 eggs because hens are injected and the eggs/ stuff we eat render our immune 
 systems prone to anti biotic medicines rendered ineffective. And Yes, I am no 
 Pharmacist!.JEG

 

Re: [Goanet] business of medicine, Goa style ( response to Savio Figueiredo)

[Santosh Helekar]

QUOTE
Thank you for your post. I am absolutely delighted that you (like me) believe 
that Goans are very honest professionals, esp in comparison to their 
counterparts on the rest of the subcontinent.
UNQUOTE
..Josebab Colaco

Please see Josebab's post appended below for the entire context. Contrary to 
Josebab's claim above, Savio has not stated that he believes that Goans are 
very honest professionals, especially in comparison to their counterparts on 
the rest of the subcontinent. In other words, this beliefs is Josebab's alone, 
at least in the present context. If Josebab or anybody else has verifiable 
evidence that Goan professionals are more honest per capita of population than 
their counterparts based on some characteristic such as race, ethnicity, 
religion, language, culture, etc, then it would be instructive if they could 
present it here.

Cheers,

Santosh


 On Friday, September 5, 2014 8:47 AM, Jose cola...@gmail.com wrote:
  On Sep 5, 2014, at 2:50 AM, Savio Figueiredo wrote via Cecil Pinto 
 
  (1) India produces the best  cheapest medicines in the whole world.  
 (2) Why on earth would someone wish to bring in medicines  in container loads 
 and sell them cheap in Goa ? (3) This may have been happening 40 years back 
 when 
 there was no manufacturing base in Goa  India
 
 (4) Today I can proudly state that the availability of spurious, duplicate or 
 mis-branded products at the pharmacy level in Goa  is almost zero and (5) the 
 FDA in Goa is one of the most honest Departments in Goa as well as India (6) 
 and 
 this has been so over the last 25 years  more due to honest leadership of 
 the Directors.
 
 (7) To say that everything is hunky dory of course would mean that either I 
 am 
 naive or a fool with no idea about what goes in the Pharma Industry
 
 Dear Savio,
 
 Thank you for your post. I am absolutely delighted that you (like me) believe 
 that Goans are very honest professionals, esp in comparison to their 
 counterparts on the rest of the subcontinent.
 
 The points in your post, however, are in stark contrast to those made by Shiv 
 Kumar, an individual I have come to e-trust over the past several years. 
 
 A couple of queries, one to Shiv and one to You (Savio)
 
 SHIV, the statements you have made with regard to the Faking of Audits and 
 the 
 Untested medications being provided to ( and possibly being dispensed by ) 
 the 
 Specialist doctors, raise potentially Criminal issues. I wonder if you have 
 any 
 VERIFIABLE evidence of wrong doing or if you are merely relying on hearsay. 
 IF 
 you have the verifiable evidence, what have you done with it?
 
 SAVIO, while I know that medicines manufactured in China and India are among 
 the 
 least expensive ones, could you guide us to the protocol / study you utilised 
 to 
 conclude that India produces the best medicines in the whole world?
 
 jc
 

Re: [Goanet] business of medicine, Goa style

[Santosh Helekar]

It is always prudent to follow the notion that truth is somewhere in between. 
It is not hard to find evidence for the belief that there are corrupt 
pharmacists, doctors, businessmen and financial analysts anywhere, and at any 
time in history. The question is only of scale, and of the causes that are 
attributed to it, because the latter in particular depend on the biases of the 
persons making and believing the claims. Any reasonable unbiased person though 
would recognize that these corrupt practices have nothing to do with race, 
ethnicity, nationality or religion, and in Goa they certainly have nothing to 
do with liberation from the Portuguese, which in Goan forums is usually a code 
word for the former categories lumped together in the minds of people who 
consciously or unconsciously hold these prejudices.

Cheers,

Santosh



 On Tuesday, September 2, 2014 4:41 PM, Roland Francis 
 roland.fran...@ymail.com wrote:
  Ok Cecil as you requested, I am judging for myself:
 
 I do not agree with your pharmacist friend Savio Figueiredo that Shiv 
 Kumar's (the journalist) account is one of fiction.
 
 Savio's arguments against Shiv's observations consist only of: 
 1. There are many ethical and honest pharmacists who will not allow this to 
 happen.
 Comment: These are manufacturer's employees are they not? Can they 
 countermand their owner's orders?
 
 2. There is a lot of paperwork that has to be completed. Beyond a little 
 manipulation it cannot all be falsified.
 Comment: You have better faith in India's FDA audit and enforcement than 
 justified by their history. Or paperwork in India, in general.
 
 Even 40 years ago such manufacturing malpractices were prevalent. Small 
 unknown 
 manufacturers whose pharma products were worthless, were on the list of 
 approved 
 drugs of ESI (Employees State Insurance). Even at that time, no self 
 respecting 
 physician  would prescribe them. Your personal physicians kept their Rxs to 
 foreign companies.
 
 Shiv Kumar is only stating the well known, even 40 years ago. The smelling of 
 fishiness is not with what Shiv Kumar wrote - only with prevailing practices 
 in 
 Goa and the rest of India.
 
 Now to hear Savio's own expose, when it comes. 
 
 Roland.
 
 Sent from my iPhone
 
 
  On Sep 2, 2014, at 11:39 AM, Cecil Pinto cecilpi...@gmail.com 
 wrote:
 
  I read the report below by Shiv Kumar and found it did not quite ring true.
  I asked a knowledgeable and experienced pharmacist friend to comment.
  Both viewpoints are below:
 
  Judge for yourself.
 
  Cheers!
 
  Cecil
 
 
 
  
 
  Shiv Kumar - Journalist:
 
  Last week, I was in Goa for my business. I met a few of people from
  the audit departments of a few pharma companies whose plants are in
  Goa.
 
  After building a good rapport, one auditor confided with me that their
  people routinely fake test data for audit, even now after Ranbaxy and
  Wockhardt scare.
 
  Another audit guy who works for an MNC pharma said that their plant
  makes formulations for their global operations. in that, they give
  ingredients exactly as specified. However, they sell the same API (raw
  material) to Indian companies for Indian distribution (the MNC does
  not sell in India under its brands). There, they give lower quality
  ingredients, though they specify higher grade. So if the API is meant
  to be 60% active ingredient, it is usually 45-50% active ingredient
  and it is sold at cheaper prices to Indian pharma companies. Indian
  companies prepare tablets and sell, even though they know that the
  ingredient is of less than specified potency. Everybody in the
  industry apparently knows this open secret in Goa.
 
  A PRO of a well-known hospital in Goa told me there are some small
  time pharma companies who bring a couple of containers of their drugs
  into Goa and sell those tablets at very cheap rates to local doctors /
  pharmacies with strange, unknown brands. They throw parties for the
  doctors requesting them to write prescriptions for their brands. Once
  the containers are finished, they disappear. The brand or the company
  never comes again to the doctors.
 
  Finally, another trend in Goa medical practice: Some generic pharma
  companies approach big specialist doctors and offer to prepare tablets
  in the doctor's name!! They offer to make customised formulation with
  the doctor's branding. So you hear some funny brands that you never
  hear anywhere else. Only the other local doctors can tell that this
  brand is such and such doctor's brand of tablets. I took photos of
  some tablet strips. They were definitely not tested for anything. I
  know a lot about pharma industry, being involved with it for 21 years.
  One look at the contents and I could tell that all these ingredients
  cannot be put in one tablet - sort of a polypill with 38 ingredients.
 
  Some Goa doctors told me that these days, they trust medicines only if
  they are imported
 
  
 
 
  Savio 

Re: [Goanet] Alfredo Tavares - Goan of Distinction

[Santosh Helekar]

The passing of Alfredchacha touches me as deeply as that of a member of my own 
family. I am the lucky man to whom he introduced himself as my chacha on Goanet 
now nearly a decade ago when he found out that his close friend was my long 
departed favorite uncle Mohanmama. Ever since I have had many memorable private 
and public email conversations with him about the good times he had with his 
friends fighting for various causes for the good of Goa, being rescued from a 
police beating and a fast unto death, and dining in my grandparents' house in 
Margao. I had always hoped that I would meet him in person some day in Goa or 
in Sweden. Alas, that hope like many others has been so rudely and suddenly 
dashed today. As a contributor to Goan forums Alfredchacha was unique in style 
and substance with the wonderful wit, humor and language that would sit 
comfortably amidst the writings of a George Bernard Shaw or a W. Somerset 
Maugham. As a human being he exuded a
 rare sense warmth and affability that breached all firewalls of cyberspace. 
How I will now miss all of it!

I offer my deepest condolences to his family and friends.

Sincerely,

Santosh



 On Sunday, August 31, 2014 7:59 PM, Roland Francis roland.fran...@ymail.com 
 wrote:
  
 
  It's a Sunday's rude awakening to read that Alfredo has left for 
 his happy hunting grounds.
 
  A unique personality, a rascal and a rogue in a most lovable way. He was a 
 rebel against every tradition, preconceived notion, and hidebound cultural 
 restriction. The low castes in his village were as dear to him as the 
 bhatcars 
 who frowned on the company he kept.
 
  He had a refreshing sense of humor to which FN referred, but above that he 
 was courageous and almost fearless in his challenges to authority both 
 Portuguese and Indian in the defence of his Goan rights. If Alfredo was not a 
 journalist, he could, if life had taken a different turn, be a 
 bash-on-regardless type of army general.
 
  Alfredo was not atypical of his generation in the matter of his love of 
 being a Goan. Achievements came naturally to him and he as smoothly seemed to 
 brush them off as his ability to make an impression on people no matter what 
 their station.
 
  A product of the mold of daring and adventurous young men and women who 
 were in their late teens and early twenties when Goa's political landscape 
 changed forever, Alfredo never lost his love for fellow Goans and the joy of 
 a 
 good escapade. He was indeed Goa's ambassador in Sweden, a natural one-man 
 welcoming committee who never tired of being a warm host to an Indian 
 visitor, 
 no matter how numerous or from what station in life. Your importance or 
 inconsequence meant little to him. It was your camaraderie he most sought.
 
  A tip of the hat and a swig from the glass to you Afredo. May your spirit 
 never depart from us.
 
  Roland.
 
  Sent from my iPhone
 

[Goanet] Blind prejudice

[Santosh Helekar]

It is important to understand what blind prejudice is. For example, if one 
believes that one group of human beings such as Indians or non-Christians are 
morally as good or bad as another group such as Europeans or Christians, 
respectively, then one is not prejudiced. It is only when one believes that one 
group is better or worse than another group that the specter of prejudice 
raises its ugly head. 

Even those who understand fully what prejudice is, do not recognize it in 
themselves. The latter is most likely as true of many of you as it is of me. In 
modern times the prejudice that we encounter is primarily of an implicit rather 
than explicit nature. The world's foremost experts on the psychology of 
prejudice are Mahzarin Banaji, a Harvard University professor of Indian origin 
and Anthony Greenwald, professor at the University of Washington at Seattle. 
Together they have written a book called Blindspot, Hidden biases of good 
people, which is worth a read. Here is a nice article on the topic of implicit 
prejudice in Scientific American: 
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-implicit-prejudice/?print=true

Cheers,

Santosh

Re: [Goanet] Blind prejudice

[Santosh Helekar]

Psychologists have not recognized the term skin deep secularism. It is a term 
used by religious and political activists and politically active journalists as 
a political campaigning tool or to promote their religious views. Please see 
for example the following opinion pieces, in addition to the one by FN Noronha 
below:

Here is an article entitled In Britain, Secularism Is Only Skin Deep in World 
Affairs:

http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/blog/roland-flamini/britain-secularism-only-skin-deep

Here is a pertinent quote from the above article:

QUOTE
Prime Minister David Cameron regards Britain as a Christian country, but the 
retired archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, doesn’t. The former senior 
Anglican cleric described Britain as a post-Christian society, which he defines 
as no longer a nation of churchgoers, but a society still shaped by Christian 
ethics, culture, and laws. 
The argument is a curious one in the only European country besides the Vatican 
in which there is no separation of church and state. And no, that’s not just 
because the queen is both head of state and head of the “official” Anglican 
Church, and can still use the old title inaugurated by Henry VIII, “defender of 
the faith.” It’s more because 26 Anglican bishops sit in the House of Lords by 
virtue of their office and, in the words of the Church of England’s website, 
“play a full and active role in the life and work of the Upper House” of 
Parliament.
UNQUOTE

Here is an article entitled Is Our Secularism Only Skin Deep? on the 
Vivekananda International Foundation website:

http://www.vifindia.org/article/2011/december/23/is-our-secularism-only-skin-deep

Here is a quote:

QUOTE
The religions based on the Sanatan Dharma, especially Hinduism, Sikhism, 
Buddhism and Jainism, are inclusive religions. Despite Hindus being considered 
heathens and idol worshippers by both Christians and Muslims, Hindus believe in 
the one God, Parmeshwar or the Bhramatma.
UNQUOTE

Cheers,

Santosh

FN Noronha wrote:

Of course, IANAP (I am not a physician), but is this something like 'skin deep 
secularism' which we all suffer from, in varying degrees? 

http://lists.goanet.org/htdig.cgi/goanet-goanet.org/2008-December/323812.html 

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/GoenchimXapotam/conversations/topics/18423 

Re: [Goanet] Open secret: Doctors take cuts for referrals

[Santosh Helekar]

QUOTE
Not absolutely sure about this but I am hearing that this unethical practice of 
KB has now fully arrived in Goa.  Many Thanks .'librashun'. 
UNQUOTE
..Josebab Colaco

Josebab's quote above implies that liberation from Portugal is somehow 
responsible for corruption among doctors in Goa. There is no factual basis for 
this insinuation. Portuguese doctors are no less corrupt than today's Goan 
doctors. They have been accepting bribes from at least one large pharmaceutical 
company for decades. One such scandal brought to light by a whistleblower, and 
his attempted murder, are described in the following article:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/sep/17/theobserver2

This massive scandal has been described by the Portuguese media as BayerGate. 
Please see the testimony of the whistleblower and related corruption at the 
highest level of the Portuguese government below:

http://www.cbgnetwork.org/2580.html
http://www.tlaxcala-int.org/article.asp?reference=3849

As far as I know the government in Portugal is yet to take any action against 
Bayer Portugal or the thousands of doctors who were allegedly involved in the 
scandal.

Cheers,

Santosh

On Tuesday, August 19, 2014 3:56 PM, Jose cola...@gmail.com wrote:


On Aug 19, 2014, at 7:46 AM, Marshall Mendonza mmendonz...@gmail.com wrote:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Open-secret-Doctors-take-cuts-for-referrals/articleshow/37350397.cms

COMMENT:

The TOI headline is (as on many other occasions) quite semi-accurate.

A good number of referring doctors in India do NOT 'TAKE' cuts, they 
reportedly DEMAND 'kick backs'.  A specialist is very likely to remain hungry 
if he does not pay a kickback (KB) to the referring doctor.

I am reminded of my Asst Prof in a surgical sub-specialty at GMC (Goa) who was 
infamous for his temper in the operating theatre and his general arrogance ( I 
have seen him fling surgical instruments around). One fine day, he returned to 
his native Bombay to start private practice. His consulting room remained 
virgin territory for the first few months, save the visiting Mosquitos and 
Flies. He soon lost his arrogance and became a fervent disciple of the KB.

Not absolutely sure about this but I am hearing that this unethical practice 
of KB has now fully arrived in Goa.  Many Thanks .'librashun'. 

jc

Re: [Goanet] Goa's heritage under threat: The ongoing museum scandal

[Santosh Helekar]

It is indeed disgraceful that the people and governments of Goa have no 
interest in their long history and tradition. The few who do, other than one or 
two genuine lovers of our diverse culture like Dom Martin, are focused only on 
their religion or personal biases, such as an extremely short-sighted version 
of our very recent history.

Storing the precious wealth of Goan antiquity in a godown? What a joke!

Cheers,

Santosh



 On Monday, August 4, 2014 11:15 AM, V M vmin...@gmail.com wrote:
  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Goa/Goas-heritage-under-threat-The-ongoing-museum-scandal/articleshow/39445523.cms
 
 This column is repeatedly compelled to point out no part of India
 treats its own artistic and cultural legacy more disgracefully than
 Goa. It's an ongoing problem lasting generations: this remarkable
 space produces wave after wave of artists and artisans of global
 significance, but they are rebuffed and ignored at home, with the
 biggest loser remaining the Goans.
 
 Thus serene abstractionist Vasudeo Gaitonde will have his first-ever
 retrospective in New York's Guggenheim later this year, while
 remaining largely unknown in his beloved homeland. Thus the best
 collection of world-renowned Indo-Portuguese furniture is displayed at
 the Victoria and Albert Museum in London not in Goa. From Trindade to
 da Cruz to Fonseca to Gaitonde and Souza, each towering great of 20th
 century art sought to endow Panaji with a corpus of paintings for the
 benefit of future generations, and each retreated after being
 rejected.
 
 The sad truth is they were right not to trust Goa. Their precious
 artworks are obviously better off in London or New York or Delhi,
 because criminal neglect and willful ignorance continues to hold sway
 back home. The latest scandalous outrage came earlier this week with
 the announcement that Goa's government seeks bids from private
 agencies for safekeeping of 10,000 artifacts on a lease basis for two
 years to entrust the safe storage of the state's heritage legacy 
 to
 private godown owners.
 
 Though this disgraceful, ridiculous scheme still has no takers, its
 very existence underlines this administration's abdication of
 responsibility for Goa's peerless cultural heritage.
 
 This leadership will expend weeks debating bikinis, but not a single
 voice is raised when the most crucial, defining artifacts from
 thousands of years of civilization in Goa face an active, perilous
 threat from the same irresponsible authorities tasked with their
 custodianship. Instead of doing the vital job on hand, there is
 instead only the same old mania for scam infrastructure-building
 which means contracts for cronies.
 
 Saligao-born Francis Newton Souza is widely considered the most
 significant modern Indian artist. He founded the Progressive Artists
 Movement (along with fellow-Goan, Gaitonde), mentored other all-time
 greats like Husain, Ara and Raza, and his work now sells for millions
 of dollars. Souza tried repeatedly to set up a permanent museum of his
 works in Goa, but found no cooperation. The fact the existing museum
 has a single, small work by this great artist is due the selflessness
 of Dom Martin (artist and long-time defender of Goa's heritage), who
 is justifiably shocked and dismayed by this administration's absurd
 go-down idea.
 
 There is a colossal ravine between the purpose and function of a
 museum and that of a godown says Martin, it is truly unprecedented
 that the state museum would solicit the services of the owner of a
 godown or other such facility, and officially collaborate with same
 into acting as the interim curator of the museum's historical assets!
 
 Martin points to the suitability of the vast, expensively renovated
 and climate-controlled Old Secretariat/Palacio Idalcao for this
 purpose, especially since utilization as a museum and gallery space
 has been delayed for more than three years due to inter-departmental
 bickering or whatever. If in fact this administration is hell-bent on
 pushing through contracts to rebuild the Patto facility, there is no
 doubt that this option is the least disastrous.
 
 There was a time when Goa had some ready-made excuses for its shabby
 treatment of its artistic and cultural heritage: this was a small
 state in a poor country where necessary human resources and expertise
 were scarce But all that has dramatically changed, and this
 administration has no such excuses for its irresponsibility. But
 instead of following the examples of so many first-rate institutions
 that have come up in the past decade, this government seems intent on
 opaque schemes that indulge its tender-mania.
 
 While it dithers with disastrous consequences for Goa's heritage, the
 Lisbon-based Fundacao Oriente has opened a lovely little museum in its
 Fontainhas premises to celebrate Antonio Trindade's paintings and the
 UK-based Helen Hamlyn Trust has renovated the Reis Magos Fort into a
 stunning jewel for cultural activities. 

Re: [Goanet] Fwd: ARE WE CHRISTIANS OR HINDUS IN INDIA SECULAR COUNTRY

[Santosh Helekar]

I tried to look to see if any secular court or any genuinely secular thinker 
has tried to scapegoat private citizens belonging to any religion or creed as 
defenders or supporters of rapists, murderers, rioters, terrorists, child 
molesters, homophobes, religious extremists, maoists, secessionists, etc. I 
also tried to see if any court or secular thinker has sided with a prejudiced 
opinion on an internet forum. I could not find any examples of these. I would 
appreciate it if any of you could provide such examples.

Cheers,

Santosh


 On Monday, August 4, 2014 11:38 AM, Marshall Mendonza mmendonz...@gmail.com 
 wrote:
  Santosh Helekar:
 
 The Indian courts like courts in other countries have tried to do exactly
 that. In doing so they and all genuinely secular thinkers have recognized
 that people commit crimes and atrocities, not because they belong to any
 particular religion or lack thereof, but because they are fundamentally
 immoral and abusive. They have a criminal mind, or a mind altered by
 substance abuse or serious mental illness.
 
 Response:
 
 I trust the above view and description also includes those who defend /
 justify the rapes, brutal killings and destruction of religious places of
 worship and property of innocent people.Would you agree?
 
 After all, the foot-soldiers and the lumpen elements who carry out the
 dastardly deeds are motivated and encouraged by the ideologues who inspire
 them to carry out the deeds and thereafter help to whitewash, obfuscate and
 trivialise the incidents so that they can escape punishment.
 
 Regards,
 
 Marshall
 Ps:Pl watch the videos attached
 
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPu0r01wDlA
 
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLXVvTVMvCI
 
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQkzACYOYIA
 

Re: [Goanet] ARE WE CHRISTIANS OR HINDUS IN INDIA SECULAR COUNTRY?

[Santosh Helekar]

It is a good thing that people can independently decide what is the truth and 
what is not. They can tell without much difficulty who is habitually bearing 
false witness against others. Otherwise, right-wing and left-wing political 
campaigners would have been easily able to tarnish the reputation of innocent 
people who do not belong to their religion or who do not hold their extremist 
views by falsely accusing the latter of supporting murder and rape, or equating 
them with Hitler, Stalin, etc.

But coming back to the main topic in this thread that Mervyn, George and others 
were contributing to, India is a secular country in which the rights of 
religious folk as well as non-religious folk need to be respected. The Indian 
courts like courts in other countries have tried to do exactly that. In doing 
so they and all genuinely secular thinkers have recognized that people commit 
crimes and atrocities, not because they belong to any particular religion or 
lack thereof, but because they are fundamentally immoral and abusive. They have 
a criminal mind, or a mind altered by substance abuse or serious mental 
illness. Secular courts and thinkers have also contended that there are more 
than a thousand different religions in this world with contrasting and 
competing beliefs, some of whom believe in a creator god and some who do not. 
They have understood that non-religious people may also have divergent beliefs 
that may or may not involve a belief in a
 supreme entity or intelligence. The latter folk could also include those who 
do not have supernatural beliefs of any kind at all. Civilized secular people 
of today do not regard the nature of their beliefs or lack thereof as a 
reflection of the goodness of their character or morality, one way or the 
other.   


Laws in many civilized democratic countries have defined religion for tax 
purposes because religious charities have been granted tax exempt status. In 
the U.S. the legal definition of religion according to the Internal Revenue 
Service is one which satisfies all the following criteria:

QUOTE
- a distinct legal existence, 
- a recognized creed and form of worship, 
- a definite and distinct ecclesiastical government, 
- a formal code of doctrine and discipline 
- a distinct religious history, 
- a membership not associated with any other church or denomination, 
- an organization of ordained ministers, 
- ordained ministers selected after completing prescribed studies, 
- a literature of its own, 
- established places of worship, 
- regular congregations, 
- regular religious services, 
- Sunday schools for religious instruction of the young, 
- school for the preparation of its ministers.
UNQUOTE

Cheers,

Santosh



 On Thursday, July 31, 2014 3:02 AM, Marshall Mendonza mmendonz...@gmail.com 
 wrote:
  Santosh Helekar:
 I have no idea why this Marshall below is gratuitously abusing me making
 false defamatory allegations against me breaking the decency rules of
 Goanet. I also have no idea how his personal abuse was allowed to appear on
 Goanet.
 
 Response:
 Since when has a statement of facts become abuse and defamatory? When
 doctors start interpreting laws and barbers become tailors, will be the day
 when the theatre of the absurd is played out.
 
 Regards,
 
 Marshall

Re: [Goanet] ARE WE CHRISTIANS OR HINDUS IN INDIA SECULAR COUNTRY?

[Santosh Helekar]

There certainly are atheistic religions such as some of the prominent sects of 
Buddhism and Jainism. But the claim below that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled 
that Atheism is a religion is false. All that that court has done is recognized 
that atheism is equivalent to a 'religion' for purposes of the First 
Amendment, and rightfully so. Those who do not have a religious belief should 
get the same protection under the constitution as those who have such a belief. 
Here is a statement from one such U. S. Supreme Court ruling:

QUOTE
At one time it was thought that this right [referring to the right to choose 
one’s own creed] merely proscribed the preference of one Christian sect over 
another, but would not require equal respect for the conscience of the infidel, 
the atheist, or the adherent of a non-Christian faith such as Islam or Judaism. 
But when the underlying principle has been examined in the crucible of 
litigation, the Court has unambiguously concluded that the individual freedom 
of conscience protected by the First Amendment embraces the right to select any 
religious faith or none at all.
UNQUOTE
U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Wallace v. Jaffree, 472 U.S. 38 (1985)

Please note the phrase: First Amendment embraces the right to select any 
religious faith or none at all. 

None at all cannot be deemed to be a religious faith by any stretch of the 
imagination when it is contrasted with religious faith itself by the court.

Cheers,

Santosh



 On Tuesday, July 29, 2014 12:19 PM, Marshall Mendonza mmendonz...@gmail.com 
 wrote:
 
 Atheism is a religion according to a 2005 Wisconsin Federal Court ruling on
 the matter of *Kaufman v. McCaughtry*, as well as the *Torcaso v. Watkins* 
 case
 by the 1961 U.S. Supreme Court the highest court in the land where 
 court
 rulings become national law. Refer:
 
 
 http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-7th-circuit/1467028.html
 
 
 http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=USvol=367invol=488
 
 
 Regards,
 
 
 Marshall

Re: [Goanet] ARE WE CHRISTIANS OR HINDUS IN INDIA SECULAR COUNTRY?

[Santosh Helekar]

I have no idea why this Marshall below is gratuitously abusing me making false 
defamatory allegations against me breaking the decency rules of Goanet. I also 
have no idea how his personal abuse was allowed to appear on Goanet.

Cheers,

Santosh



 On Wednesday, July 30, 2014 9:58 PM, Marshall Mendonza 
 mmendonz...@gmail.com wrote:
  Santosh Helekar:
 
 Please note the phrase: First Amendment embraces the right to select any
 religious faith or none at all.?
 
 None at all cannot be deemed to be a religious faith by any stretch 
 of
 the imagination when it is contrasted with religious faith itself by the
 court.
 
 Response:
 Santosh is entitled to his own interpretations and if it gives him
 satisfaction, I have no problem. It's no skin off my nose. However, the
 fact remains that those who profess atheism are as rigid and blinkered in
 their beliefs and have a closed mind to beliefs which do not fit into their
 world view.
 
 In the last couple of centuries, the greatest grief to mankind has been
 caused by those who professed atheism like Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot. Closer
 home Veer Savarkar the founder of hindutva and Jinnah caused enough grief
 in this sub-continent. We have seen what the followers of hindutva are
 capable of doing in Gujarat, Kandhamal, Mangalore, Muzaffarnagar and
 elsewhere. With the coming to power of the BJP, hindutva forces have got
 fresh wings as is evident from the various incidents occurring in various
 parts of the country and the utterances of Dhavalikar, Laxman, Giriraj
 Singh, Togadia, Singhal et al.
 
 And in Santosh, who is a self- confessed atheist, we have witnessed his
 defence/ justification of the rapes, killings and destruction of property
 of innocent people in Kandhamal. So much for atheism and atheists.
 
 Regards,
 
 Marshall
 

[Goanet] Criminal defamation in India

[Santosh Helekar]

Unlike politicians and public figures, private individuals need to be protected 
against malicious personal abuse in forums such as Goanet. One good mechanism 
to do this is to file a criminal defamation complaint. As opposed to many other 
democratic countries, in India defamation is covered both under civil and 
criminal law. Civil action is a waste of time and money. But criminal law can 
bite. Here is an article on the Wall Street Journal blog by a prominent Supreme 
Court lawyer that talks about this:

http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2012/11/15/inside-law-how-defamation-works-in-india/

Here is how a criminal defamation charge can bite, and put the scurrilous 
abuser out of business in the public sphere:

QUOTE
Tardiness in the Indian legal process also leads to more criminal complaints 
being filed than civil actions for damages because a criminal case followed by 
a summons from the magistrate’s court is often perceived as a greater threat 
and nuisance than a civil remedy that may take an age to come to fruition. 
Indeed, just the threat of punitive criminal action can be enough to serve as 
an effective deterrent to the publishing of future allegations.
UNQUOTE
Anish Dayal, Supreme Court and Delhi High Court lawyer.

Cheers,

Santosh

[Goanet] Finally a good doctor

[Santosh Helekar]

Finally, a good doctor has written about one of the many dangerous forms of 
quackery being spread in Goa and Goan forums to gullible folk. Here is a nice 
article by Dr. Francisco Colaco exposing the bogus nonsense called chelation 
therapy:

http://www.epaperoheraldo.in/Details.aspx?id=15896boxid=153945593uid=dat=05/19/2014

Heart Chelation: A pie in the sky? 

by

Dr. Francisco C. Colaco

QUOTE
By now most of us have heard of “Chelation treatment centres” that claim they 
can effectively “ bypass bypass surgery”. Such facilities have mushroomed all 
over the world and there are at least three clinics doing roaring business in 
Goa. “ You can dissolve your heart blockages without the need of open- heart 
surgery”, the proponents vouch. Are these claims well founded or just a pie in 
the sky? Is there medical evidence to substantiate these claims? Or is this 
another instance of dubious medicine with “ fools rushing in where angels fear 
to tread”? Heart attacks happen when the flow of oxygen- rich blood to a 
section of heart muscle becomes blocked. It is thought that by year 2020 India 
may become the “ heart disease capital of the world”. Not only heart attacks 
will here occur in younger diabetics, but an accelerated form of the killer- 
disease is likely to take a heavy toll. 
Predictably, more and more patients are being subjected to CABG (coronary 
artery bypass surgery). CABG is a procedure to restore blood flow and reduce 
the risk of death from coronary blockages. 
Arteries or veins from elsewhere in the patient's body are grafted to the 
coronary arteries to “ bypass” narrowings and improve the blood supply to the 
heart muscle. This surgery can be performed with the heart “ stopped” ( with 
the patient hooked to a “heartlung machine”) or on a “ beating heart” (the so- 
called off- pump surgery). 
CABG has admittedly its own morbidity and mortality. 
Whenever someone is advised CABG, a natural reluctance overcomes the patient to 
undergo invasive surgery. Therefore, the sufferers, on their own, or counseled 
by well-meaning friends (mostly non-medical), seek alternative forms of 
therapy. Plentiful advice – on blockages being dissolved without surgery – is 
on offer, from exotic concoctions to enemas! Some take recourse to “healers” 
and the gullible are led to believe their blockages are “cured”. That many of 
them later die a sudden unheralded death is another matter… What about “ 
Chelation therapy”? Is it just another fad? Chelation involves the 
administration of ethylene-diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) into the 
bloodstream. 
It reportedly latches onto heavy metals and toxins that can cause free radical 
damage to the arteries and thus slows the process of arterial hardening. 
EDTA is delivered through 40 intravenous infusions over a 28-month course. Each 
infusion administered on an outpatient basis costs around Rs 2500. Antioxidant 
vitamins and mineral supplements are added to the infusion. 
After anecdotal reports claiming benefits of Chelation therapy, the medical 
community took upon itself the task of conducting a scientific trial called 
TACT (Trial to assess Chelation therapy). The trial lasted 10 years, cost 
approximately $31.6 million and its results were recently published in the 
Journal of the American Medical Association. Subjects randomly assigned to 
active Chelation infusions showed a slight drop in all cause mortality, 
incidence of heart attacks, the need for coronary revascularization and 
hospitalization for angina. 
Another sub-study of TACT further propelled chelation into the limelight 
because of its extraordinary effects in diabetics. 
At first blush, the results seem dramatic. 
But, there remain doubts and unanswered questions. Results were not 
statistically significant; it took an awful long time to achieve the desired 
benefits; no “check” angiograms were done to prove the veracity of claims; a 
good number of patients dropped out unconvinced of its benefits. Significantly, 
the USA FDA does not approve Chelation for heart blockages and insurance 
companies do not cover it. 
More notably, Dr. Lamas, the TACT study’s lead author, backed away from the 
idea of making Chelation a standard option. Dr. Steven Nissen, head of 
cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic holding an even darker perspective lamented 
that the dubious study could be used to market a potentially dangerous and 
expensive treatment to patients. Dr.
 Herrmann, an eminent cardiologist at the University of Pennsylvania, sums up: 
“I currently don’t recommend Chelation therapy for my patients and no study can 
change my mind.” Chelation proponents allege that opposition by mainstream 
doctors is because of their fear that an “effective” alternative will deprive 
by-pass surgeons of their livelihood. It will be long until the dust finally 
settles. 
Until then let’s assume “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. It 
will do us well to remember that there are more established ways to get 

Re: [Goanet] FW: Escola Medica de Goa the anihilation of Indira Gandhi‏

[Santosh Helekar]

From Alfredchacha's Herald article at:


http://www.epaperoheraldo.in/Details.aspx?id=16626boxid=155454984uid=dat=6/22/2014

QUOTE
It, apparently, least botheredmattered Gandhi that the EMG degrees were 
fully accepted by every university in the western world and had so been since 
the mid 19th century, long ere the Indian sub-continent had a functioning 
western medical school.
UNQUOTE
.Alfredchacha Tavares

As much as it hurts me to explode this myth about my alma mater, the medical 
school in Goa was not the first medical school in India, let alone Asia.

The first medical college in India was École de Médicine de Pondichérry 
established in 1823. 
There were at least three other medical colleges that were established in India 
before Escola Médico Cirúrgica de (Nova) Goa. They were: 
2. Madras Medical College in 1835 
3. Medical College, Bengal in 1835 
4. Stanley Medical College, Madras in 1838. 
The  Escola Médico-Cirúrgica de (Nova) Goa was established in 1842. 

Cheers,

Santosh

Re: [Goanet] Request from Selma Carvalho

[Santosh Helekar]

I think the month-long duet on Goanet has boosted the sales of Selma's book. 
Selma should wish that it goes on forever, and that she has many more such best 
friends.
 
Cheers,
 
Santosh

On Sunday, June 1, 2014 11:29 PM, roland.fran...@ymail.com 
roland.fran...@ymail.com wrote:



For Selma:

Well stated though your reasoning my be, it has always been my view that there 
is no benefit to shaming the shameless.

Their replies will prove me.

Roland.

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android



   

Re: [Goanet] Goa: Facebook user faces jail term for anti-Modi comments

[Santosh Helekar]

What an outrage! Hope sanity prevails at the high court level and the case is 
thrown out.

Cheers,

Santosh


On Friday, May 23, 2014 4:53 AM, Mayabhushan mayabhus...@gmail.com wrote:
 



Sign of things to come?

Goa: Facebook user faces jail term for anti-Modi comments
by Mayabhushan Nagvenkar
May 23, 2014 08:53 IST
#BJP #Devu Chodankar #facebook #Goa #India #Lok Sabha #Narendra Modi
Panaji: Before Narendra Modi is sworn in as prime minister on 26 May,
a young shipbuilding professional may well be behind bars, for
slamming the now former Gujarat chief minister on Facebook during the
Lok Sabha election campaign.

A trial court on Thursday rejected the anticipatory bail application
moved by Devu Chodankar, a shipbuilding diploma holder working in
Mumbai, clearing the way for his possible arrest, even as the police
want to probe if Chodankar had broader plans to promote communal and
social disharmony in Goa.

During the run up to the Lok Sabha polls, Chodankar, in a post on
Goa+, a popular forum with over 47,000 members, had claimed that if
elected to power, Modi would unleash a 'holocaust'. He deleted his
post subsequently.

However, justifying his post subsequently on another popular local
Facebook forum, Goa Speaks, Chodankar while apologising for his choice
of words had stood by the sum of his argument, calling it his crusade
against the tyranny of fascists.

He also claimed that some elitist right wing elements were in the
process of filing a first information report with the Goa Police's
Cyber Cell. The police came into the picture when former chairman of
the Confederation of Indian Industries Atul Pai Kane filed an FIR
against him in March this year under sections 153(A), 295(A) of the
Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 125 of the People's Representation
Act and 66-A of the Information Technology Act.

Some of the sections are non-bailable in nature.

Kane in his complaint said Chodandkar had threatened Facebook users
from voting for the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls. Opposition parties at
that time had protested the FIR calling it an attempt by the BJP to
muzzle criticism.

The complaint is against Devu for making inflammatory statements and
trying to create communal disharmony, not comments against the BJP,
Kane had explained in his online post.

Police, in their plea filed before the District and Sessions judge,
more than agreed with Kane and now want custodial interrogation of
Chodankar for recovery of cyber forensic evidence at his instance
and the motive of the crime. Critically, police inspector Rajesh Job
of the Cyber Cell in his say claims: Custodial interrogation of the
accused is very much essential to find out any motive of a larger game
plan to promote communal and social disharmony in the state.

Job claims that the delay in response by the Facebook legal cell
forced the investigating police to resort to alternate means to
confirm Chodankar's identity. Subsequently, two summons have already
been issued to Chodankar. Facebook is still abuzz with comments on the
incident.

Writes Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mumbai alumnus Dr Samir
Kelekar, who has been campaigning to drop police action against Devu
for his post. No one is justifying what Devu wrote, but it is
draconian to put someone behind bars for a mere FB post which has had
no affect on the society-at-large, he says. Chodankar's legal counsel
Jatin Naik says the next step would be approach the High Court for
relief.

Read more at: 
http://www.firstpost.com/politics/goa-facebook-user-faces-jail-term-for-anti-modi-comments-1538499.html?utm_source=ref_article

Re: [Goanet] Selma Carvalho's book some unsavoury comments - (Response on Santosh Helekar's posting by Rose Fernandes)

[Santosh Helekar]

Dear Rose,

Selma's book is excellent. I just read two more chapters. I would advise you to 
start reading it, and buy copies for all your best friends. You seem like a 
person who has many best friends both out of love and jealousy. My best to you.

Cheers,

Santosh

On Friday, May 16, 2014 6:57 AM, Melvyn Fernandes mel...@orange.net wrote:

Dear Santosh


Contrary to how you think, you are now fast becoming my second best friend, 
the first place was taken a long time ago by someone else who I sincerely have 
and will always have the greatest fondness for.   

Over the last week, every day when I wake up and open Melvyn's orange mail (I 
am his expendable unpaid secretary), there just waiting to be opened is a 
posting from you.   Fills me with such excitement, its so sweet of you taking 
time out to engage with me rather than spending the time reading past Chapter 
2 of the well written, well researched and presentable Book...

What's bothering me is that I am making you so distracted, will you ever get 
past Chapter 2?

Are you aware that apart from the mighty goanet, there are lots of ways to 
stay connected with ones best friends - facebook, twitter, skype, mobile 
...etc. etc.

Rose Fernandes
Thornton Heath, Surrey, United Kingdom

16 May 2014

Re: [Goanet] Selma Carvalho's book some unsavoury comments - (Response on Santosh Helekar's posting by Rose Fernandes)

[Santosh Helekar]

Dear Rose,


Yes, I am interested (not anxious) in knowing what happened to the talented 
community, and I will read the rest of the book in the next couple of weekends. 
Can you please tell me why you are so bothered if someone says that Selma's 
book is well-researched and well-written?

Cheers,

Santosh

P.S.- BTW, Are you a member of the talented community? Since you are new to 
Goanet, any introduction you provide about yourself would be helpful. 


 On Thursday, May 15, 2014 9:13 AM, Melvyn Fernandes mel...@orange.net wrote:
  Dear readers
 
 Santosh Helekar wrote to me I am not sure what this cross examination is 
 about.   My response:  To mark his arrival at Melvyn's cross roads, 
 one sign reading Goans don't tell the right story and the other 
 sign a chorus going Ya, ya, ya, ya anything goes.   The wording of 
 the other two signs Melvyn is working on.
 
 On the cover of A Railway Runs Through this is what CS Nicholls has 
 written:
 
 Quote
 This fascinating, well-researched book makes the reader turn every page with 
 interest, anxious to find out what happens to this talented community.
 Unquote
 
 Santosh Helekar in his response to me wrote:  
 
 Quote
 But I only read a couple of chapters and browsed through the whole book
 Unquote
 
 
 Does this mean Santosh Helekar was not anxious to find out what happened to 
 this 
 talented community after Chapter 2?   Turn every page with interest 
 that is from the beginning to the end of the book?
 
 Or is browse the new buzz word for read.
 
 
 Rose Fernandes
 Thornton Heath, Surrey, United Kingdom
 
 15 May 2014

Re: [Goanet] Selma Carvalho's book some unsavoury comments - (Response by Rose Fernandes)

[Santosh Helekar]

Bernado here is talking about the fact that I have posted descriptions of what 
was reported in foreign newspapers during Portuguese times with respect to 
Alfredchacha's post on Goanet and article in Herald, as well as Roland's 
implicit challenge to me to defend my contention that the Portuguese 
administrations in Goa were corrupt and crooked. For Bernado who is one of the 
few surviving anti-India Portuguese loyalists, any historical reports about the 
Portuguese amount to anti-Portuguese propaganda.

Cheers,

Santosh


 On Thursday, May 15, 2014 9:19 AM, Bernado Colaco ole_...@yahoo.co.uk wrote:
  Xri Elecar is a slow reader because he spends loads of his time researching 
  anti 
 Portuguese propaganda on the web for which he intends to archive for 
 posterity.
 
 BC
 

Re: [Goanet] Selma Carvalho's book some unsavoury comments - (Response on Santosh Helekar's posting by Rose Fernandes)

[Santosh Helekar]

Dear Rose,

I don't agree with anything you have written so far. I said someone, not 
someone else. That someone included me and the historian Christine 
Nicholls. I already told you why I think Selma's book is well written and well 
researched. If you disagree then please tell me why. I also would like to know 
why you were so troubled by my positive impression of Selma's book so as to 
make sarcastic remarks directed at me. What have I done to you? I would also 
like to know who you are since you are new to Goanet.

Cheers,

Santosh
On Thursday, May 15, 2014 1:57 PM, Melvyn Fernandes mel...@orange.net wrote:
 
Dear Santosh

This is what you wrote (not someone else) in Message 9, Goanet Digest Vol 9, 
Issue 286 on Monday 12 May 2014:


Quote
Selma's book is well-researched and well-written.
Unquote


Just two days later on 14 May 2014, in Message 7, Goanet Digest, Vol 9, Issue 
291 you wrote:

Quote
But I only read a couple of chapters ..
Unquote

My final response to you:
A classic State of Goan confusion.  If you do not understand what you write, 
there is absolutely no chance you will understand what I write, so if you 
agree this matter is closed.

Rose Fernandes
Thornton Heath, Surrey, United Kingdom

15 May 2014

Re: [Goanet] Free book gift!

[Santosh Helekar]

Does this man only know to heap abuse on others. I have no idea how Goanet is 
letting him vomit this much bile in public against people who have done nothing 
to him personally.

Cheers,

Santosh


On Tuesday, May 13, 2014 7:09 PM, Gabe Menezes gabe.mene...@gmail.com wrote:
 
Another wise crack, talks about a well researched book, the book is about
East Africa, not the slums of Chimbel Goa, talk about bird brained research?


-- 
DEV BOREM KORUM

Gabe Menezes.

Re: [Goanet] Selma Carvalho's book some unsavoury comments - (Response by Rose Fernandes)

[Santosh Helekar]

I am not sure what this cross examination is about, but let me tell you why I 
said Selma's book was well researched and well written. First, I received the 
book from Selma almost 2 weeks ago. She has signed the copy on April 22, 2014. 
So if I had the time to read the book completely, I could have read it from 
cover to cover in 2 weeks, even though I am a slow reader. But I only read a 
couple of chapters and browsed through the whole book, enough to know that I 
like the writing style and the flow, and the way Selma has compiled and 
organized all the interviews in chapters with well-chosen headings. These 
observations led me to conclude that the book is well-written.

Now as far as it being well-researched is concerned, I know a little bit about 
what a well-researched book is because I have been a researcher for the last 
three decades. I could tell that Selma's book is well researched because it is 
heavily referenced with 530 end notes, most of which are citations of high 
quality sources, including reports and letters in local newspapers from East 
Africa during the period in question. Finally (actually the first thing I 
noticed), I noticed that the book was edited and reviewed by an authority on 
East African British colonial history, Christine Nicholls, whose blurb on the 
cover is pretty much exactly what my impression was:

This fascinating, well-researched book makes the reader turn every page with 
interest, anxious to find out what happens to this talented community.
.C. S. Nicholls

Here is her profile:

http://www.oldafricamagazine.com/users/csnicholls

Cheers,

Santosh
  

On Wednesday, May 14, 2014 7:36 PM, Melvyn Fernandes mel...@orange.net  wrote:

Dear goanet readers


Santosh Helekar is the person who deserves high praise, if he says Selma's 
book is well-researched and well written, one has to presume that he has 
read it from cover to cover including all research documents, if I may be so 
bold to ask him did he attend speed reading classes?   Please could he kindly 
share with us his secret of success?


Most of us only received The Book at the event that Launched 100 copies just 
over a week ago.   So far I have enjoyed stories of a merry band of Goykars, 
equivalent to the Oom-Pah-Pah band, who played in Zanzibar and Casablanca 
style bars (Casablanca as in film not place, where one saw a bar filled with 
smoke wafting to the ceiling and had that classic line here's looking at you, 
kid).  Just got to the exciting part where one of our fellow Goykar's took 
out his gun and shot a charging lioness only to become distracted by postings 
from fellow Goykars on goanet doing just that, taking out blazing guns, this 
time to save a lioness.


There is no point in me asking for advice on speed reading from Melvyn, he's 
just got one line in his head Goans don't tell the right story.  Have now 
come up with a novel way to gain more reading time - ting meals (Ting is 
short for microwave).   Managed to bag the last one from Marks and Spencer 
supermarket under their Modern Indian Range NEW (in bold) Goan Chicken.  
Melvyn's eyes lit up, he thought I cooked him Chicken Cafreal, the 
instructions on the packet say microwave for 2 minutes not tell your husband 
so I didn't.


Normally at book launches there is plenty of champagne but all our Goykar men 
appear to have drowned down barrels of 92 per cent proof contrabrands and 
taken goanet to new dizzy heights.  


For the moment, at least until most of us have read The Book, let us celebrate 
and be glad and grateful that with the help of a grant my best friend, Selma 
bhai, through creative thinking and writing, has penned pictures of our lives 
in East Africa without living there.   After we have read The Book those of us 
who have lived in East Africa may have comments to make.


As has been predicated in the future our community are in danger of falling 
into a big drainhole and coming out the other side beige.   At least our 
children's children, children, children 200 years from now will know from The 
Book that there were once Goykars that roamed East Africa and they were 
originally brown.    


PS:  The Book = A Railway Runs Through (just like life and our Mandovi River).




Rose Fernandes
Thornton Heath, Surrey, United Kingdom


14 May 2014

Re: [Goanet] Selma Carvalho's book some unsavoury comments

[Santosh Helekar]

Selma's book is well-researched and well-written. She deserves nothing but high 
praise. I thank her for sending a copy to me.

Cheers,

Santosh


On Monday, May 12, 2014 5:15 AM, Mervyn Maciel 
mervynels.watuwasha...@gmail.com wrote:
 
The more I read this book, the more I am convinced that very few of us from
East Africa could have come up with anything as well researched as this
historical opus.
   If some feel we could, then why didn't we all these years?
Let us be grateful for a job well done - which outsiders have praised, and
not start nitpicking.



Mervyn Maciel

[Goanet] Cell phone radiation: Wrong number

[Santosh Helekar]

Here is my article published in Herald:

http://www.epaperoheraldo.in/Details.aspx?id=15574boxid=17028312uid=dat=5/4/2014


A fuller version of the article is the following:

The health-food craze, the environmental movement and other left-wing and 
right-wing political activist movements have generated many bogus conspiracy 
theories among regular educated folk in recent years. Fifty years ago this type 
of paranoia was found only in a few isolated people confined mostly in western 
countries – such things as the government is using fluoridation of the public 
water supply to make people sick and create business for pharmaceutical and 
other commercial enterprises. But easy access to the internet and spam email 
has turned large number of people in any corner of the world into conspiracy 
theorists. For some reason, today most of these irrational beliefs have to do 
with medical issues and technology. The Journal of American Medical 
Association, for example, published a research article recently quantifying the 
percentage of Americans who believe in various conspiracies. The two most 
popular conspiracy theories turned out to be: 1)
 “The Food and Drug Administration is deliberately preventing the public from 
getting natural cures for cancer and other diseases because of pressure from 
drug companies,” and 2) “Health officials know that cell phones cause cancer 
but are doing nothing to stop it because large corporations won’t let them.” 
More than 50% of the people surveyed believed in at least one conspiracy 
theory. These people were found to be those who avoided regular health 
checkups, standard medical treatment and preventive measures such as 
vaccinations. Instead, they dosed themselves with vitamins, herbal supplements, 
the so-called “organic” foods and various alternative medical remedies. It 
appears therefore that the paranoid belief in medical conspiracies can drive 
people to take chances with their health in general.

Coincidentally, about the same time that this article appeared I was alerted on 
Goan online forums to the fact that the unwarranted scare regarding radiation 
from cell phones and cell phone towers had found a foothold among Goans, 
particularly the residents of Saligao. I understand that many of these 
residents are objecting to the construction of a cell phone tower because they 
believe that the radiation arising from it would harm their health. It is very 
likely that they have been influenced by local environmental activists who are 
suspicious of the government or large corporations, and consequently buy into 
the latest anti-establishment scare that appears on the internet or through a 
mass email campaign conducted by activists in other parts of the world. The 
internet has literally thousands of websites devoted to propagate all kinds of 
wild anti-establishment plots and doomsday scenarios. It is very hard for any 
lay person to discern whether the claims
 made on these websites are legitimate or just pure hoaxes, unless one is 
specialized in the particular medical, scientific or technological field in 
question. In many cases it requires one to have an educational background in 
more than one field. In the case of the cell phone scare, for example, one has 
to be familiar with physics, biology and medicine. Furthermore, the activists 
promoting these conspiratorial causes have access to the technical scientific 
literature in these areas because of the internet. They are therefore able to 
pick and choose only the studies that appear to support their cause, like a 
lawyer in a court of law or a politician in a political campaign. Invariably, 
they have a poor understanding of this literature, and no clue as to how 
science works and how scientific consensus is arrived at. That is why, in order 
to see through the deception, in addition to the knowledge of physics, biology 
and medicine, one has to be conversant
 with the scientific approach and method.

As it turns out, I happen to have the right background to be able to debunk the 
misinformation on cell phone and cell phone tower radiation. I am a medical 
scientist and professor whose current scientific research involves using 
electromagnetic medical devices and studying the effects of electromagnetic 
stimulation of the brain. 

In the early 1990s when cell phones were just beginning to be popular, the U. 
S. government convened a panel of scientists of the stature of Nobel Prize 
winners to apply their understanding of physics and examine the literature to 
investigate whether cell phone radiation could produce any adverse effects on 
the human body. After a thorough investigation they concluded that there was no 
evidence for any harmful effects to human health from this radiation, but that 
we need to be vigilant for any evidence that may turn up in the future due to 
long-term effects. One of these eminent panelists was an advisor to our 
graduate studies program, and one of my role models. His name 

Re: [Goanet] Fwd: Re: Incubator For Political Crooks?

[Santosh Helekar]

I just noticed these unbiased responses from Roland on Goanet. Looks like he 
has different levels or standards of corruption and crookedness in his unbiased 
mind. Illegal profiteering from massive fraud and forgery does not reach the 
threshold if it happens during the Portuguese rule. The same for theft of Rs. 
35 lakhs from the taxpayer's money. 

But how about torture and murder in police custody, and falsification of the 
autopsy report by the government? What do you think? Would it measure up? 

I for one would really like to know what his unbiased threshold for 
corruption and crookedness is in the Portuguese system.  It also appears
that names of Portuguese public officials are special. They get
sullied if reported by the press in connection with allegations of
public corruption. Perhaps, sanctification and worship of the
Portuguese administrators does not amount to being pro-Portuguese. 

Cheers, 

Santosh 


On Monday, April 7, 2014 10:46 AM, roland.francis 
 roland.fran...@ymail.com wrote:
   Actually dear doctor your examples of criminal acts of inflated rice 
 manifests 
  are so sketchy that even I, once misty eyed holiday going Goan would 
 hesitate to 
  tell this to my own brother (if I had one).
 
  What will be your next example if I push you for a worse case? Over- 
   manifesting imported Japanese toys coming into Goa for Christmas, or 
 perhaps 
  busting the blockade by providing Indian customs officials State 555 
 cigarettes 
  and Black Label scotch to look the other way while beef and vegetables came 
 in 
  from Belgaum and Karwar?
 
  Sad you have to scrape the bottom of the law-breaking barrel to show up the 
 
  Portuguese in a poor light.
 
  Roland.

 Roland Francis wrote:
 
 Over to you Senhor Gabriel de Figuereido. Don't let this sully against 
 Senhor Ismail Gracias another Lotlecar go unanswered.
 
 
 Roland

Re: [Goanet] Fwd: Re: Incubator For Political Crooks?

[Santosh Helekar]

I just noticed these unbiased responses from Roland on Goanet. Looks like he 
has different levels or standards of corruption and crookedness in his unbiased 
mind. Illegal profiteering from massive fraud and forgery does not reach the 
threshold if it happens during the Portuguese rule. The same for theft of Rs. 
35 lakhs from the taxpayer's money. 

But how about torture and murder in police custody, and falsification of the 
autopsy report by the government? What do you think? Would it measure up? 

I for one would really like to know what his unbiased threshold for 
corruption and crookedness is in the Portuguese system. 

It also appears
that names of Portuguese public officials are special. They get
sullied if reported by the press in connection with allegations of
public corruption. Perhaps, sanctification and worship of the
Portuguese administrators does not amount to being pro-Portuguese.

Cheers, 

Santosh 


 On Monday, April 7, 2014 10:46 AM, roland.francis roland.fran...@ymail.com 
 wrote:
  Actually dear doctor your examples of criminal acts of inflated rice 
  manifests 
 are so sketchy that even I, once misty eyed holiday going Goan would hesitate 
 to 
 tell this to my own brother (if I had one).
 
 What will be your next example if I push you for a worse case? Over- 
  manifesting imported Japanese toys coming into Goa for Christmas, or perhaps 
 busting the blockade by providing Indian customs officials State 555 
 cigarettes 
 and Black Label scotch to look the other way while beef and vegetables came 
 in 
 from Belgaum and Karwar?
 
 Sad you have to scrape the bottom of the law-breaking barrel to show up the 
 Portuguese in a poor light.
 
 Roland.
 
Roland Francis wrote:

Over to you Senhor Gabriel de Figuereido. Don't let this sully against Senhor 
Ismail Gracias another Lotlecar go unanswered.

Roland

Re: [Goanet] Fwd: Re: Incubator For Political Crooks?

[Santosh Helekar]

I express incredulity based on actual reports that I have read in 
contemporaneous sources about corruption and crookedness in the Portuguese 
administration. It is not based on third person hearsay or from the misty 
nostalgic childhood memories of summer holidays in Goa.

So as promised, I provide below examples of corruption and crookedness in the 
Portuguese system from published sources documented in real time as the 
events were unfolding. I will provide only two examples for now with names of 
three high ranking public officials. I will provide more examples later, if 
needed.

Both examples I give below have to do with the purchase and sale of Goa's 
staple food - rice. Both were serious scandals by any standard. The first one 
was particularly massive, and took place in 1936. It involved hundreds of Goan 
landlords and public officials, including district officers who were retired 
Portuguese military men, as well as the members of the Rice Board appointed by 
the Governor-General. Two of the biggest land owners in Salcete were implicated 
and charged with criminal offenses. One report indicated that over 250 people 
were charged with fraud, and this was merely the beginning. These corrupt 
private businessmen and government servants had forged official documents (rice 
manifests) on a massive scale and violated the protectionist and price control 
laws enacted by the government. The contemporaneous news report said that this 
organized fraud network in Goa had created a new manufacturing industry 
overnight - the wholesale manufacturing
 of rice manifests with over-inflated figures. 

So what happened to these hundreds of crooked and corrupt Portuguese 
administrators and citizens of Portuguese Goa in the end?

For the most part, nothing. Not even a slap on the wrist. 

Only the board was replaced by a new board, and some of the district officers 
went back to their retired military life. The Governor-General went back to 
Lisbon and another took his place. In fact, one Craveiro Lopes was replaced by 
another Craveiro Lopes. That is to say, Major Higino Craveiro Lopes took the 
musical chair of General Craveiro Lopes.

The second corruption scandal was called the Bogus Rice Deal. It took place 
in 1954-55. It cost the Goan exchequer Rs. 35 lakhs. The Lisbon government 
suspected three high ranking Portuguese officials in Goa to be the culprits 
behind it - the Chief of the Cabinet, Captain Carmo Ferreira, the Police Chief, 
Captain Romba and another official named Ismail Gracias. Again, nobody took any 
action against these individuals. Justice, Goan style as always.

That was the Portuguese system in Goa. If you need more examples of crookedness 
and corruption from this system I would be happy to provide them.

Cheers,

Santosh


 On Friday, April 4, 2014 12:31 PM, roland.francis roland.fran...@ymail.com 
 wrote:
  Jose and Santosh babs,
 
 JC's undermentioned post takes care of my reply in a better manner than I 
 could have done.
 
 WHAT SYSTEM Santosh? 
 A system where honesty, clean public administration, speedy justice, and the 
 economic good of the people within the means available, trumped personal, 
 illegal, pecuniary gain perpetrated in mega doses and without impunity.
 
 Santoshbab, there are many things that have to be visualized and experienced 
 like in your scientific world in order to be believed.  Otherwise one 
 expresses 
 incredulity like you have done. 
 
 You are pessimistic about Portuguese administration, not having seen it or 
 experienced it. To that extent I can excuse your disbelief.
 
 Roland.
 
 
 Sent from Samsung Mobile
 
  Original message 
 From: Jose Colaco cola...@gmail.com 
 Date: 04-04-2014  8:09 AM  (GMT-05:00) 
 To: Santosh Helekar chimbel...@yahoo.com,Goa's premiere 
 mailing list, estb. 1994! goanet@lists.goanet.org 
 Cc: roland.francis roland.fran...@ymail.com 
 Subject: Re: [Goanet] Incubator For Political Crooks? 
 
 On Apr 4, 2014, at 1:12 AM, Santosh Helekar chimbel...@yahoo.com wrote:
 
 How is Roland sure that there were no crooks in Portuguese administration, 
 and when? What system did not allow it?
 
 
 COMMENT:
 
 While Roland does the needful to answer Santoshbab's question, I believe it 
 would help IF Santoshbab identified at least a couple of the crooks from the 
 Portuguese administration that he knows of.
 
 Otherwise, at this moment, it appears as though Roland is being asked to 
 prove/disprove the negative.
 
 Such techniques are possibly brilliant in Debates, Political skirmishes and 
 perhaps in the Court of Public Opinion; NOT in any reasonable court.
 
 ps: it is my understanding that the Vast Majority of administrators and 
 policemen in Portuguese Goans were Goans. 
 
 Is the suggestion being made here that A SYSTEM which enabled Goans to live 
 without locking their front doors, actually allowed Corruption in public 
 administration to flourish? 
 
 Might be a good idea to prove it.
 
 jc

Re: [Goanet] Incubator For Political Crooks?

[Santosh Helekar]

How is Roland sure that there were no crooks in Portuguese administration, and 
when? What system did not allow it?

Cheers,

Santosh



 On Friday, April 4, 2014 12:02 AM, roland.francis roland.fran...@ymail.com 
 wrote:
  A very recent Goa news item says that one-third of Goa candidates have 
  criminal 
 records.
 
 I am not anti Indian or pro Portuguese or anything of the sort but knowing 
 that 
 in Potuguese Goa there was no crook in the administration (the system just 
 didn't allow it) and now learning that  fully one third of Goan politicians 
 are crooks, a result of the Indian dispensation, one is tempted to ask 
 VMinGoa 
 or his other avatar VMdeMalar whether better Indian education or 
 inferior Potuguese education had anything to do with this?
 
 Roland.
 
 Sent from Samsung Mobile

Re: [Goanet] Incubator For Political Crooks?

[Santosh Helekar]

I like to consult contemporary or historical writings for facts about our 
history. I will retrieve from what I have read in the past the names and/or 
designations of public officials who were reported to be corrupt and crooked in 
the Portuguese administration when I have some free time later. But asking to 
substantiate a factual statement by Roland is not asking to prove a negative. 
All he has to do is tell us where he got that factual information from. Given 
the fact that there was no freedom of the press in Goa during the Portuguese 
rule, most of the claims made by lay people are hearsay, and for the most part, 
wrong. As for Josebab's understanding below, we know very well that in the 
post-Portuguese Goa many of the administrative officials who are known to be 
crooked and corrupt are also Goans, some of whom were educated during the 
Portuguese rule. My observation has been that corruption and crookedness does 
not have anything do with education, race
 or religion.

Cheers,

Santosh



 On Friday, April 4, 2014 7:09 AM, Jose Colaco cola...@gmail.com wrote:
  On Apr 4, 2014, at 1:12 AM, Santosh Helekar chimbel...@yahoo.com wrote:
 
 
 How is Roland sure that there were no crooks in Portuguese administration, 
 and when? What system did not allow it?
 
 
 COMMENT:
 
 While Roland does the needful to answer Santoshbab's question, I believe it 
 would help IF Santoshbab identified at least a couple of the crooks from the 
 Portuguese administration that he knows of.
 
 Otherwise, at this moment, it appears as though Roland is being asked to 
 prove/disprove the negative.
 
 Such techniques are possibly brilliant in Debates, Political skirmishes and 
 perhaps in the Court of Public Opinion; NOT in any reasonable court.
 
 ps: it is my understanding that the Vast Majority of administrators and 
 policemen in Portuguese Goans were Goans. 
 
 Is the suggestion being made here that A SYSTEM which enabled Goans to live 
 without locking their front doors, actually allowed Corruption in public 
 administration to flourish? 
 
 Might be a good idea to prove it.
 
 jc
 

[Goanet] Repetition of the word Persecution

[Santosh Helekar]

My longstanding issue with the repeated bogus persecution narrative promoted by 
religious activists in India have now been finally independently recognized by 
Catholic Bishops in the Middle East. Please see below.

Cheers,

Santosh

http://www.fides.org/en/news/35512-ASIA_HOLY_LAND_The_Catholic_Bishops_the_repetition_of_the_word_persecution_of_Christians_plays_into_the_hands_of_extremists#.Uz4PO_ldVK0


ASIA/HOLY LAND - The Catholic Bishops: the repetition of the word persecution 
of Christians plays into the hands of extremists Jerusalem (Agenzia Fides) - 
The way and instrumental and misleading tones with which certain Western 
circles launch warnings concerning the persecution suffered by Christians in 
the Middle East responds to political calculations and plays into the hands of 
extremists. This is what the Bishops of the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of 
the Holy Land say, in a document released on April 2 by the Commission Justice 
and Peace. Persecution! In many parts of the Western world, the Bishops point 
out this word is on the people’s lips. It is said that Christians are being 
persecuted in the Middle East today. However, what is really happening? How 
should we speak in truth and integrity as Christians and as Church about the 
suffering and violence that are going on in the region?.
There is no doubt - recognize the Catholic Bishops of the Holy Land in the text 
sent to Fides Agency - that the recent upheavals in the Middle East, initially 
called the Arab Spring, have opened the way for extremist groups and forces 
that, in the name of a political interpretation of Islam, are wreaking havoc 
in many countries, particularly in Iraq, Egypt and Syria. There is no doubt 
that many of these extremists consider Christians as infidels, as enemies, as 
agents of hostile foreign powers or simply as an easy target for extortion. 
However, according to the document, one must point out that Christians are not 
the only victims of this violence and savagery. Secular Muslims, all those 
defined as heretics are being attacked and murdered, too. Not to mention that 
in areas where Sunni extremists dominate, Sunni’s are being killed. Christians 
are at times targeted precisely because they are Christians, but sometimes 
fall victim alongside many others who are suffering and dying in these times of 
death and destruction.
With the fall of authoritarian regimes that guaranteed law and order – 
continues the document – even the order the military and police had imposed 
crumbled. Christians had lived in relative security under dictatorial regimes. 
And now some of them fear that, if this strong authority disappeared, chaos and 
extremist groups would take over, seizing power and bringing about violence and 
persecution. Instead, loyalty to their faith and concern for the good of their 
country, should perhaps have them to speak out much earlier, telling the truth 
and calling for necessary reforms.
In certain circumstances the peoples of the Middle East find their only 
consolation and hope in Jesus’ words: Happy are those who are persecuted in 
the cause of right: theirs is the kingdom of heaven. However – stresses the 
document in a key passage, the repetition of the word 'persecution' in some 
circles - usually referring only to what Christians suffer at the hands of 
criminals claiming to be 'Muslims' - plays into the hands of extremists, at 
home and abroad, whose aim is to sow prejudice and hatred, setting peoples and 
religions against one another. Christians and Muslims need to stand together 
against new forces of extremism and destruction. All Christians and many 
Muslims are threatened by these forces that seek to create a society devoid of 
Christians and where only very few Muslims will be at home. All those who seek 
dignity, democracy, freedom and prosperity are under attack. We must stand 
together and speak out in truth and freedom.
 All of us Christians and Mu slims must also be aware that the outside world 
will not make any real move to protect us. International and local political 
powers seek their own interests. (GV) (Agenzia Fides 03/04/2014)

Re: [Goanet] Journey towards soft fascism

[Santosh Helekar]

We need to get religion, religious identities and religious figures out of 
politics and government. Secular ideals are universal. They were practiced in 
India long before the advent of Hinduism, in Europe before the advent of 
Christianity, and by the Arabs before the advent of Islam. Without the uniquely 
Indian secular pluralism India will be left with only religious and racial 
bigotry - communal activists of all stripes battling with and rioting against 
each other on petty sectarian matters, and using public offices to promote 
narrow agendas. Modi is a bigot because he believes in a bigoted Hindu 
supremacist ideology. He is a despot because he and his followers want and 
expect him to be coronated in a democracy by propagating a phony cult of 
personality. 

Swamis, Popes and Mullahs have no place in the business of government and 
secular life.

Cheers,

Santosh

Sandesh Anwekar wrote:

We don't need the secular ideology imported from Europe. We need the
rejuvenation of India on the basis Hindu ideology. That is what great
saints like Swami Vivekananda has said. And this idea is much grandiose than 
the petty secular idea of a nation. Also I do not understand how someone like 
you who otherwise is wise enough
to produce the proofs while making statements for/against any matter, can
be so abrupt while accusing Modi of being a bigot/dispot ??? 

On Tue, Apr 1, 2014 at 3:23 AM, Santosh Helekar wrote: 
 It is frustrating that people who believe in secular ideals, free market 
 economy and meritocracy are aligning with a Hindu bigot and a despot. How 
 can people be fooled so easily? I am not yet willing to accept that the 
 Indian masses will let such a man come to power at the center.

 Cheers,

 Santosh

Re: [Goanet] Journey towards soft fascism

[Santosh Helekar]

It is frustrating that people who believe in secular ideals, free market 
economy and meritocracy are aligning with a Hindu bigot and a despot. How can 
people be fooled so easily? I am not yet willing to accept that the Indian 
masses will let such a man come to power at the center.

Cheers,

Santosh



 On Monday, March 31, 2014 10:44 AM, Marshall Mendonza mmendonz...@gmail.com 
 wrote:
  As the country prepares to vote in a crucial election, here is a well
 thought out article on the dangers that we face. It is a must read for all
 those who value freedom, values and ethics in public life.
 
 Journey towards soft fascism
 KANTI 
 BAJPAIhttp://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toireporter/author-KANTI-BAJPAI.cms
 | Mar 29, 2014, 12.04AM IST
 The general elections are barely a week away and voters must consider how
 they will vote and with what consequences. The frontrunner in the campaign
 is BJP, led by Narendra Modi. With its allies, the party may well have
 enough support for a majority government. What does the rise of Modi
 represent, and if he becomes prime minister what kind of India will we get?
 
 There is every danger that a Modi-led India will be an India marked by soft
 fascism. At its core, fascism stands for state authoritarianism,
 intimidation by conservative-minded extra-legal groups, national
 chauvinism, submission of individuals and groups to a larger-than-life
 leader, and a Darwinian view of social life (the strong must prevail). A
 society living under soft fascism is simply a society marked by less
 extreme levels of authoritarianism, intimidation, chauvinism, submission
 and social Darwinism.
 
 India, at least in the first instance, will feature soft rather than hard
 fascism because it is big, diverse, and argumentative, and the
 administrative arm of the government remains weak. Those who want a harder
 fascism will not be able to exert their will immediately over the length
 and breadth of the country. But to the extent that the various state
 governments feature soft fascism as well (many do) and to the extent that
 the Modi-led elements of
 BJPhttp://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Bharatiya-Janata-Party
 prevail
 in the states, a harder fascism may not be far away.
 
 What accounts for the rise of soft fascism? The short answer is:
 Modi-ology, the preferences of the market (big and small business), middle
 class disaffection and media.
 
 Modi-ology is the view that only Modi can save India, that Modi is 
 the
 only decisive, effective, clean, visionary and astute leader in the
 country, and that he has a record in Gujarat which proves he can
 deliver. In Modi-ology, Modi has delivered human development, 
 economic
 growth, social stability and good governance, unmatched anywhere else in
 the land. Many Indians who do not particularly like Modi, BJP or soft
 fascism increasingly think that Modi is the saviour. It is another thing
 that virtually every claim of Modi-ology is open to argument and rebuttal.
 
 The second force in the rise of soft fascism is the market -- big and small
 business, especially corporate India. Fascism everywhere depends on the
 coffers and cooperation of big business. It is no different in India. The
 uncritical cheerleading of Modi by big business is tactical and rather
 shameful but is an existential reality. Small businesses are pro-BJP
 anyway, so it is no surprise that they are backing him. Big and small
 business are fed up with costly social programmes, ramshackle
 infrastructure, suffocating regulatory structures (including environmental
 ones) and interminable procedures; and they think Modi is the medicine for
 all these ills.
 
 Behind the rise of Modi-ology is also disaffection of the middle classes.
 They are disaffected because they are pinned between the upper classes and
 the lower classes and for 10 years they were ignored by Congress. The upper
 classes have done well in a globalising India. The lower classes have
 either given up on the possibility of doing well or have had some help from
 various UPA programmes (NREGA etc.). The middle classes therefore hate
 Congress as well as corruption and the chaos of urban and semi-urban India,
 and they seek redemption in Modi.
 
 Big business and middle classes are helping line up media behind soft
 fascism. Media is influenced by big business, which funds it through its
 advertising, and by the middle classes, who work in it. Today, both stand
 behind Modi and together they have helped rally millions of Indians behind
 Modi-ology. It is another matter that media may well come to regret its
 role. Those who were in the media when BJP was last in power seem to have
 forgotten that this is a party that is not particularly interested in, or
 indulgent of, journalistic independence.
 
 Soft fascism rises, establishes itself and consolidates its hold through
 the structures and systems of democracy. Even as we celebrate our elections
 and openness, we should be worried about right-wing 

Re: [Goanet] 'You are my son's discovery'

[Santosh Helekar]

C. V. Raman was Indian and dark. So it is unlikely that he would have objected 
to both characteristics. Raman chose his own bride and married a woman from a 
different sub-caste against the wishes of his mother. Like him his father had 
no problem with his marital discovery. 

Cheers,

Santosh


- Original Message -
 From: Victor Rangel-Ribeiro vrangel...@yahoo.com
 To: Goa's premiere mailing list, estb. 1994! goanet@lists.goanet.org
 Cc: 
 Sent: Friday, March 28, 2014 5:39 AM
 Subject: Re: [Goanet] 'You are my son's discovery'
 
 Dominique was white, a Frenchwoman. What might  Raman's response have been 
 had she been Indian, dark, and a non-Brahmin? We will never know. And you 
 are my son's discovery, I will respect you for that is not really very 
 welcoming.
 Victor
 

Re: [Goanet] Off Topic: Top Dog

[Santosh Helekar]

I doubt there are too many who are interested in knowing about this on Goanet. 
But it is good to know that at least one guy has finally become fascinated by 
brain science.

Cheers,

Santosh


- Original Message -
 From: Jim Fernandes amigo...@att.net
 To: estb. 1994! Goa's premiere mailing list goanet@lists.goanet.org
 Cc: 
 Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2014 1:46 PM
 Subject: [Goanet] Off Topic: Top Dog
 
 Folks,
 
 The Human Genome Project was primarily initiated by the US DoE/NIH a few 
 years 
 ago. While the project is considered to be an international effort to 
 decipher 
 the human genome, majority of the work was completed by the Americans along 
 with 
 Craig Venter and his team. The outcome of that project is driving countless 
 research programs to improve human health. 
 
 Recently, President Obama proposed to increase funding (from $100MM in 2014 
 to 
 $200MM in 2015) for research towards mapping the human brain activity. The 
 program named BRAIN (Brain Research through Advanced Innovative 
 Neurotechnologies) - is expected to help us better understand how the human 
 brain functions at the cellular level. Because of America's never ending 
 commitment to cutting edge research, is the reason I believe, the US will 
 continue to be the Top Dog technologically (and therefore militarily).
 
 While reading more about the subject, I stumbled upon the work of a young 
 researcher named Ed Boyden. This guy is a genius; I would not be surprised if 
 he 
 wins the Nobel prize in medicine in the near future. He has done some 
 pioneering 
 research in controlling brain cells using light - an area of research known 
 as 
 Optogenetics. By transferring a light sensitive gene from an algae 
 to a mammalian model, he was able to switch ON or OFF a neuron at will, 
 using light source belonging to certain frequencies. The implications of 
 these 
 findings are far reaching. For the benefit of those that may be interested to 
 know more about this stuff on GoaNet, I have included a couple of links about 
 Ed 
 Boyden - one link is an interesting video from MIT where he teaches and the 
 second link is from CNN (a bit dated), but its enough to get you hooked and 
 bring you up to speed.
 
 http://mcgovern.mit.edu/news/videos/optogenetics-a-light-switch-for-neurons/
 
 http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/31/health/boyden-brain-map/
 
 Regards,
 
 Jim F
 New York.

[Goanet] Medical Conspiracy Theories

[Santosh Helekar]

The latest issue of Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) has an 
article on medical conspiracy theories. Here it is: 

https://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1835348

One of the conspiracy theories listed in Table 1 is: Health officials know 
that cell phones cause cancer but are doing nothing to stop it because large 
corporations won’t let them. 20% of Americans believe in this conspiracy 
theory. I wonder what the percentage is in India.

Cheers,

Santosh

Re: [Goanet] cell tower radiation hazards

[Santosh Helekar]

Dear Gerard,

Thanks for your kind words. Please call me Santosh. I would be happy to write 
an article in a Goan newspaper on this subject. I have written OpEds in Herald 
before. Regarding the angry response by Prof. Girish Kumar to your email, let 
me just assure you that my reasoning is my own. It has been shaped by my 
understanding of basic physics, biology and medicine, by my reading of original 
research articles and review papers in the specific EMF and radiation 
biology/medicine fields, and my own thinking. I have no ties with the cell 
phone industry, nor have I been funded by cell phone companies. The least we 
can do as rational people is to not believe in massive world-wide conspiracy 
theories involving the governments, industrial establishments and the 
mainstream scientific community.

By the way, I mentioned to your son Ashley, when he wrote to me earlier, that 
it is very rare to find a teacher and educator like you among Goans who cares 
deeply about educating the public about science. 

Cheers,

Santosh



On Saturday, March 22, 2014 8:52 PM, Gerard Delaney delaney.ger...@gmail.com 
wrote:

Dear Dr. Santosh,
I have been following your mails carefully and have been very
impressed with your scientific reasoning which is backed up by
published research work on this topic. So far, as I see it, there is
a great debate raging between only you and Prof. G.Kumar and hardly
any body else is reading about it.
It would be greatly beneficial for the public at large if you could
write an article for the newspapers which allays their fears about
the 'dangerous' radiations. A few days ago, I was so happy to read
in the newspapers that the Dept. of Telecommunications was intending
to have a series of programs in the various towns precisely to do
this. Coming from a person of your stature and standing, the article
would carry a lot of weight and offset the negative influence which
has been caused in the past by articles which appear now and then
frightening the public unnecessarily about the low density
radiations emitted from the mobile towers.
I can give you the email addresses of the editors of local
newspapers if you are willing to do this.
G.Delaney

Re: [Goanet] Fait accompli....

[Santosh Helekar]

On Wednesday, March 19, 2014 4:27 PM, Gabe Menezes gabe.mene...@gmail.com 
wrote:


In a sense it was democratic when over 90% voted to join Russia; it is too 
late for Goa, if a vote was held tomorrow the majority in Goa (outsiders) 
would vote to remain in India.
 


The majority in Goa are Goans by birth.

Cheers,

Santosh

Re: [Goanet] cell tower radiation hazards - technical references

[Santosh Helekar]

 or 
artificial light. 

So how can we be sure that a cancer was caused by 0.0003 Watts per square meter 
of cell phone tower radiation, and not by some small daily fluctuations of 1120 
Watts per square meter of sunlight or of a 60 Watts light bulb? Why can they 
not be caused by the 33 Watts per square meter ultraviolet component or 605 
Watts per square meter infrared component of sunlight? Indeed, if it is really 
true that more people who lived on the top floor of a building got cancer 
compared to those on the ground floor then it is much more likely that this 
happened because the former were exposed to more sunlight on the top floor than 
on the ground floor, depending on how many trees there were around the building 
and how much shade they provided to people on the bottom floors. Of course, 
this assumes that slightly heating the water in the tissues is a plausible 
mechanism for causing cancer in the first place. 

This leads us to the third problem. If the heating of body tissues was the 
cause of cancer and all the other serious problems that you have listed then 
daily physical exercise would have been carcinogenic, and would have killed 
people from all those serious effects that are attributed to cell phones and 
towers by you. This is so because even normal daily physical activities can 
generate up to 21 Watts per kilogram of heat in a 70 kilogram human body, or a 
power density of 800 Watts per square meter of body tissue. This is 84 times 
more than the power density of cell phone tower radiation at the base of the 
tower. I am sure you understand how serious a blow this, in and of itself, is 
to the main argument presented in your report.

While I am not confident that there is any way to explain away or disregard all 
of these fatal flaws, I would love to find out if you can do it.

Cheers,

Santosh





 On Friday, March 14, 2014 7:46 AM, Santosh Helekar chimbel...@yahoo.com 
 wrote:
  Dear Prof. Girish Kumar,
 
 Thanks for sending me your advocacy reports. Assuming you have not yet done 
 so, 
 I encourage you to submit them for publication in a peer-reviewed scientific 
 journal. So the real experts in the vast range of highly technical fields 
 covered by these reports can critically evaluate them, and offer their 
 comments, 
 as they do for any original scientific research paper. But as for me, I will 
 read your reports, and get back to you with my comments and questions, if 
 necessary. 
 
 As you know, unlike politics, activism and law, in science people weigh the 
 entire body of research on any subject, and especially, the quality of all of 
 that research on all sides. Scientists evaluate both positive and negative 
 findings, and draw definitive conclusions only when the evidence 
 unequivocally 
 points in one clear direction. Therefore, if research papers are cherry 
 picked 
 only to support a preconceived opinion on one side then that task is of no 
 scientific value. That is why I asked you to refer me to peer-reviewed 
 research 
 paper(s) that unequivocally supported your claims regarding 
 biological effects and the exact physical and biological mechanism by which 
 these effects occur. I have not seen any research paper of this type in the 
 literature. For this reason, and because of the fact that all epidemiological 
 studies have shown no significant health effects of cell phone or cell phone 
 tower radiations alone, no public health organization or
 regulatory agency in the world has made any definitive statement supporting 
 your 
 claims. But I am happy to evaluate any information that you can provide, and 
 I 
 will try to offer my comments on your reports.
 
 Cheers,
 
 Santosh
 
 
 
 
  On Friday, March 14, 2014 12:00 AM, Prof. Girish Kumar 
 gku...@ee.iitb.ac.in wrote:
   Dear Santosh,
 
  Thanks for your following email. Good to know that you are a 
  neuroscientist and also noted that all others are well educated
  people.
 
  I have attached my report on cell tower radiation, which was submitted
  to Secretary, DOT in Dec. 2010, it contained nearly 200 scientific and
  technical papers.
 
  I have also attached Bio-Initiative Report conclusions and RF color
  chart, which gives details of various health hazards. You can download
  complete Bio-Initiative Report 2012 (1479 pages long) from
  http://www.bioinitiative.org/
  The report gives references of 3800 scientific and technical papers
  with a summary spread over several chapters.
 
  Regarding my daughter's company NESA Radiation Solutions Pvt. 
  Ltd.,
  it is known to cell operators and DOT officials since its inception
  in Nov. 2011. Please see my report of Dec. 2010 and also in all my
  presentations, I always emphasize that better radiation norms should
  be adopted and transmitted power should be reduced. If transmitted power 
  is reduced then who needs shielding solutions?
 
  With regards.
 
  **
        Girish Kumar

Re: [Goanet] cell tower radiation hazards - technical references

[Santosh Helekar]

The webpage that Falcao has provided a link to below uses lot more jargon and 
technical sounding terms unintelligible to lay people than I have used in my 
response to Prof. Girish Kumar. Here is an example:

QUOTE
A quantum physics model is necessary to fully understand and
appreciate how and why EMF and RF fields are harmful to humans. In
quantum physics and quantum field theory, matter can behave as a
particle or as a wave with wave-like properties. Matter and
electromagnetic fields encompass quantum fields that fluctuate in
space and time. These interactions can have long-range effects which
cannot be shielded, are non-linear and by their quantum nature have
uncertainty. Living systems, including the human body, interact with
the magnetic vector potential component of an electromagnetic field
such as the field near a toroidal coil. The magnetic vector potential
is the coupling pathway between biological systems and electromagnetic
fields. Once a patient's specific threshold of intensity has been
exceeded, it is the frequency which triggers the patient's reactions.
UNQUOTE

In fact, I can bet that the above pseudoscientific mumbo-jumbo would not make 
any sense even to an expert quantum physicist, let alone a layman. Gerard 
should be able to tell you this, as well as Prof. Girish Kumar.

In case you are wondering why there is such pseudoscientific nonsense on a 
webpage provided by a legitimate seeming organization, it is because this 
organization, namely American Academy of Environmental Medicine is a 
questionable organization that promotes fictitious diseases and fake 
treatments. This organization has been listed under questionable organizations 
by Quackwatch. Please see:

http://www.quackwatch.com/04ConsumerEducation/nonrecorg.html

QUOTE
The American Academy of Environmental Medicine, which promotes clinical 
ecology and the bogus concept of multiple chemical sensitivity.
UNQUOTE

That is why it has not been recognized by American Board of Medical 
Specialties, and exposed as bogus by physicians and medical scientists 
interested in enforcing science-based medicine in society. Please see:

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/environmental-medicine/

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-pseudomedical-pseudoprofessional-organization-ppo/

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/fake-diseases-false-compassion/

Cheers,

Santosh



 On Sunday, March 16, 2014 1:42 PM, Dr. Ferdinando dos Reis Falcão 
 drferdina...@hotmail.com wrote:
 


 Santosh Helekar chimbelcho at yahoo.com on Sun Mar 16
 09:05:35 PDT 2014 wrote:

 http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2014-March/238678.html


 COMMENT:

 In the Medical College, ie. Goa Medical College where Santosh claims to have
 passed from;
 We as students were specifically taught to converse with layman in layman's
 terms.
 And not to use bombastic or rhetorical language.
 If Sanosh cannot be genuine enough to let laymen understand what he's
 talking about,
 I feel  he should not send such posts that layman will not understand to a
 public media,
 Unless; ofcourse, he feels he is denied of his right to defend his stand!
 And by the way, cell phone radiation is radio frequency radiation, as in
 microwave and known as non-ionizing radiation;
 Whereas Sunlight(Ultra violet radiation) and X-rays are known as ionising
 radiation which mostly that causes harm.
 Guess this explanation is more in layman terms!


 http://aaemonline.org/emf_rf_position.html



 Dr. Ferdinando dos Reis Falcão.

Re: [Goanet] Misinformation of the radiation from mobile towers

[Santosh Helekar]

It is important to obtain medical information from reliable sources. Here is 
what American Cancer Society says about lack of any evidence for the harmful 
effects of cell phone towers:

http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/athome/cellular-phone-towers

Cheers,

Santosh


On Thursday, March 13, 2014 12:22 PM, Dr. Ferdinando dos Reis Falcão 
drferdina...@hotmail.com wrote:

What do we do about this mon ami?
One cannot (specially a qualified medical doctor) in no terms assure there 
cannot be harmful effects when there is no proof.
Just as for us doctors it is ethics not to guarantee that there will not be 
side effects to any medication.



http://www.cell-phone-radiation.com/news/story.aspx?id=9#.UyGTbhBsv1M


An article released in the Daily Telegraph today, 7th March 
2014 explains that a recent Council of Europe committee has concluded 
that immediate action is required to protect children after ruling that 
new technologies do ‘potentially’ have harmful effects on humans.

Dr. Ferdinando dos Reis Falcão. 
              

Re: [Goanet] cell tower radiation hazards - technical references

[Santosh Helekar]

Dear Prof. Girish Kumar,

Thanks for sending me your advocacy reports. Assuming you have not yet done so, 
I encourage you to submit them for publication in a peer-reviewed scientific 
journal. So the real experts in the vast range of highly technical fields 
covered by these reports can critically evaluate them, and offer their 
comments, as they do for any original scientific research paper. But as for me, 
I will read your reports, and get back to you with my comments and questions, 
if necessary. 

As you know, unlike politics, activism and law, in science people weigh the 
entire body of research on any subject, and especially, the quality of all of 
that research on all sides. Scientists evaluate both positive and negative 
findings, and draw definitive conclusions only when the evidence unequivocally 
points in one clear direction. Therefore, if research papers are cherry picked 
only to support a preconceived opinion on one side then that task is of no 
scientific value. That is why I asked you to refer me to peer-reviewed research 
paper(s) that unequivocally supported your claims regarding biological 
effects and the exact physical and biological mechanism by which these effects 
occur. I have not seen any research paper of this type in the literature. For 
this reason, and because of the fact that all epidemiological studies have 
shown no significant health effects of cell phone or cell phone tower 
radiations alone, no public health organization or
 regulatory agency in the world has made any definitive statement supporting 
your claims. But I am happy to evaluate any information that you can provide, 
and I will try to offer my comments on your reports.

Cheers,

Santosh



 On Friday, March 14, 2014 12:00 AM, Prof. Girish Kumar gku...@ee.iitb.ac.in 
 wrote:
  Dear Santosh,
 
 Thanks for your following email. Good to know that you are a 
 neuroscientist and also noted that all others are well educated
 people.
 
 I have attached my report on cell tower radiation, which was submitted
 to Secretary, DOT in Dec. 2010, it contained nearly 200 scientific and
 technical papers.
 
 I have also attached Bio-Initiative Report conclusions and RF color
 chart, which gives details of various health hazards. You can download
 complete Bio-Initiative Report 2012 (1479 pages long) from
 http://www.bioinitiative.org/
 The report gives references of 3800 scientific and technical papers
 with a summary spread over several chapters.
 
 Regarding my daughter's company NESA Radiation Solutions Pvt. 
 Ltd.,
 it is known to cell operators and DOT officials since its inception
 in Nov. 2011. Please see my report of Dec. 2010 and also in all my
 presentations, I always emphasize that better radiation norms should
 be adopted and transmitted power should be reduced. If transmitted power 
 is reduced then who needs shielding solutions?
 
 With regards.
 
 **
       Girish Kumar
       Professor, Electrical Engineering Department
       I.I.T. Bombay, Powai, Mumbai - 400076, INDIA
       Tel. - (022) 2576 7436, Fax  - (022) 2572 3707
       email- gku...@ee.iitb.ac.in, prof.gku...@gmail.com
       Blog - http://profgirishkumar.blogspot.in/
 **
 
 
 
 On Thu, 13 Mar 2014, Santosh Helekar wrote:
 
  Dear Prof. Kumar,
 
  Can you please refer me to any peer-reviewed research paper(s) in a
 reputed scientific journal that substantiate(s) your claims about effects
 of low power microwave radiation, and the physical and biological mechanisms
 involved. As a neuroscientist, I have scoured through the medical and
 biological literature and consulted with a world-renowned neuroscientist
 who served on a U.S. National Institutes of Health committee to examine
 this question in the 1990s. Neither he, nor the committee, nor I have found
 anything that unequivocally supports your claims.
 
  Cheers,
 
  Santosh
 
 

Re: [Goanet] cell tower radiation hazards - coverage in Goa

[Santosh Helekar]

Dear Prof. Kumar,

Can you please refer me to any peer-reviewed research paper(s) in a reputed 
scientific journal that substantiate(s) your claims about effects of low power 
microwave radiation, and the physical and biological mechanisms involved. As a 
neuroscientist, I have scoured through the medical and biological literature 
and consulted with a world-renowned neuroscientist who served on a U.S. 
National Institutes of Health committee to examine this question in the 1990s. 
Neither he, nor the committee, nor I have found anything that unequivocally 
supports your claims.

Cheers,

Santosh



 On Thursday, March 13, 2014 9:50 AM, Prof. Girish Kumar 
 gku...@ee.iitb.ac.in wrote:
  Dear Gerard Delaney,
 
 I do not know who are you and why you wrote the followings, which
 were forwarded to me by Stephen Dias. Atleast you should try to find out
 the truth and then make statements. You do not realize that how many
 people, birds, animals, plants, trees, etc. are getting affected by
 high cell tower radiation.
 
 There are ample examples in the history that whenever anyone or group
 of people raise voice against strong industry lobby, whose business
 may get affected due to proper awareness, they decline, for example,
 cigarette industry.
 
 Cell operators and their associates came out with a book mobile phones..
 myths and reality. Please see my comments on the book in the attached 
 file.
 
 Please see Pages 3 to 5 about sun (light) versus microwave radiation.
 Also, see my disclosure on Page 9. This was released to the press in the 
 last week of Jan. 2014.
 
 If you have any questions, please send an email.
 
 With regards.
 
 **
       Girish Kumar
       Professor, Electrical Engineering Department
       I.I.T. Bombay, Powai, Mumbai - 400076, INDIA
       Tel. - (022) 2576 7436, Fax  - (022) 2572 3707
       email- gku...@ee.iitb.ac.in, prof.gku...@gmail.com
       Blog - http://profgirishkumar.blogspot.in/
 **
 
 
 On Thu, 13 Mar 2014, Stephen Dias wrote:
 
  Dear Prof Girish,
  In case you wish to reply these funny uneducated guys , their e-mail
  is as follows:
 
   delaney.ger...@gmail.com and (2) is  chimbel...@yahoo.com
  Please send me a copy if you want to explain them about radiation
  power and principles etc Leave apart the business what he claims that
  your daughter is doing, that is not my interest.
 
  Stephen Dias
  date: 13.3.2014
  
 
  Message: 7
  Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 15:08:57 -0700 (PDT)
  From: Santosh Helekar chimbel...@yahoo.com
  To: Goa's premiere mailing list, estb. 1994!
         goanet@lists.goanet.org
  Subject: Re: [Goanet] Misinformation of the radiation from mobile
         towers
  Message-ID:
         1394575737.50845.yahoomail...@web122102.mail.ne1.yahoo.com
  Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
 
  Thanks Gerard for sharing this information. It is important to counter
  these bogus scares that crop up from time to time by educating people
  about basic scientific concepts. Underlying these scares there
  invariably is some commercial scam or MLM-type fraud being
  perpetrated.?
 
  Cheers,
 
  Santosh
 
 
  On Tuesday, March 11, 2014 1:56 PM, Gerard Delaney 
 delaney.ger...@gmail.com wrote:
  Last year, a small group of Saliganvkars created awareness in the
  Lourdes Convent school hall about the alleged dangers of the radiation
  from Mobile towers by showing a PP presentation of the so called expert
  Prof. Girish Kumar. The same presentation was used again for a much
  bigger group of villagers in Gladstone Ribeiro Sa's house and as a
  result the construction of the mobile tower by Dmello Telepower Pvt Ltd
  in Saligao was forced to stop.
  When 6 of the leaders had met in my (Gerard Delaney's) house after 
 the
  Lourdes convent program, I had clearly explained to them how this Prof.
  Girish Kumar was using his position to create fear in the minds of the
  public about the radiation and thereby helping his daughter's 
 business
  of selling meters to measure radiation and shields for it. I had even
  explained that the average frequency of light is one million times
  greater than that of microwave radiation. Hence according to the well
  established laws of Physics, light has energy greater than that of
  microwave radiation by one million. Thus it is ridiculous to be afraid
  of microwave radiation and not of visible light radiation which is one
  million times stronger! *However, what transcribed during the meeting,
  was never released to the general public by the leaders of the 
 agitation.*
  Now a special panel of 13 members set up by the DoT in keeping with the
  Allahabad High Court's orders, has exposed the misdeeds of the
  Professor? and affirmed that there is no danger to the health from the
  radiations emitted by mobile towers. Read about

Re: [Goanet] Misinformation of the radiation from mobile towers

[Santosh Helekar]

Thanks Gerard for sharing this information. It is important to counter these 
bogus scares that crop up from time to time by educating people about basic 
scientific concepts. Underlying these scares there invariably is some 
commercial scam or MLM-type fraud being perpetrated. 

Cheers,

Santosh


 On Tuesday, March 11, 2014 1:56 PM, Gerard Delaney delaney.ger...@gmail.com 
 wrote:
  Last year, a small group of Saliganvkars created awareness in the 
 Lourdes Convent school hall about the alleged dangers of the radiation 
 from Mobile towers by showing a PP presentation of the so called expert 
 Prof. Girish Kumar. The same presentation was used again for a much 
 bigger group of villagers in Gladstone Ribeiro Sa's house and as a 
 result the construction of the mobile tower by Dmello Telepower Pvt Ltd 
 in Saligao was forced to stop.
 When 6 of the leaders had met in my (Gerard Delaney's) house after the 
 Lourdes convent program, I had clearly explained to them how this Prof. 
 Girish Kumar was using his position to create fear in the minds of the 
 public about the radiation and thereby helping his daughter's business 
 of selling meters to measure radiation and shields for it. I had even 
 explained that the average frequency of light is one million times 
 greater than that of microwave radiation. Hence according to the well 
 established laws of Physics, light has energy greater than that of 
 microwave radiation by one million. Thus it is ridiculous to be afraid 
 of microwave radiation and not of visible light radiation which is one 
 million times stronger! *However, what transcribed during the meeting, 
 was never released to the general public by the leaders of the agitation.*
 Now a special panel of 13 members set up by the DoT in keeping with the 
 Allahabad High Court's orders, has exposed the misdeeds of the 
 Professor  and affirmed that there is no danger to the health from the 
 radiations emitted by mobile towers. Read about this at:
 
 *Deccan Herald dated 25**^th **of February 2014*
 
 http://www.deccanherald.com/content/388471/radiation-fears-mobile-towers-unfounded.html
 
 /Rejecting the contention of electrical engineering professor Girish 
 Kumar, the 13-member panel said Kumar repeatedly red-flagged these 
 concern in the media because of his family's commercial interest in 
 companies involved in manufacturing radiation-shielding products. 
 Kumar's daughter Neha Kumar sells radiation-shielding products through 
 her company NESA Radiation Solutions Pvt Ltd. //
 ///
 **
 
 *The Indian Express; Feb 25 2014*
 http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/iit-prof-hyped-cell-radiation-daughter-sold-protective-shields/
 
 /A committee set up by the department of telecommunications has raised a 
 red flag over the ethical conduct of an IIT-Bombay professor for blowing 
 out of proportion the effects of mobile phone tower radiation on humans 
 and on the other hand promoting his family's business of products that 
 claim to reduce the impact of such radiation.
 /
 
 /The committee observed that his daughter, Neha Kumar, is selling 
 radiation shielding solutions through her company NESA Radiation 
 Solutions Private Ltd. On one hand, he is spreading misinformation and 
 creating misconceptions and unfounded apprehensions in the mind of the 
 public by sensationalizing and blowing out of proportion the effects of 
 EMF radiation, and on the other hand, he is promoting his family's 
 business in related products (which do not even follow any national or 
 international standards), thus throwing professional ethics to the 
 winds, the report said.
 /
 
 ./..so long as EMF radiation power levels in the vicinity of base 
 stations of cell phone towers are below the prescribed limits, there 
 should not be any cause of concern for adverse thermal health effects on 
 human beings living close them, the committee said in its report./
 
 
 *__*

[Goanet] Wendy's triumph of reason and freedom over religio-political extremism

[Santosh Helekar]

Please see - 
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/06/opinion/banned-in-bangalore.html?src=rechp_r=0


QUOTE
What is new, and heartening, this time is that the best are suddenly full of 
passionate intensity. The dormant liberal conscience of India was awakened by 
the stunning blow to freedom of speech that had been dealt by my publisher in 
giving in to the demands of the claimants, agreeing to take the book out of 
circulation and pulp all remaining copies.


I think the ugliness of the word “pulp” is what struck a nerve, conjuring up 
memories of “Fahrenheit 451” and Germany in the 1930s. The outrage had been 
pent up for many years, as other books, films, paintings and sculptures were 
forced out of circulation by a mounting wave of censorship.

My case was simply the last straw, in part because of its timing, just when 
many in India had begun to view with horror the likelihood that the elections 
in May will put into power Narendra Modi, a member of the ultra-right wing of 
the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.

If Mr. Batra’s intention was to keep people from reading the book, it certainly 
backfired: In India, not a single copy was destroyed (the publisher had only a 
few copies in stock, and those in bookstores quickly sold out), and e-books 
circulate freely. You cannot ban a book in the age of the Internet. Its sales 
rank on Amazon has been in single-digit heaven. “Banned in Boston” is a selling 
label.
UNQUOTE

Shows us that religio-political activism and extremism can never win against 
individual freedom.

Cheers,

Santosh

Re: [Goanet] Religious Persecution in India: Are you sure?

[Santosh Helekar]

Regarding what Joe Lobo wrote below, I have glossed over nothing in relation to 
the subject matter of this thread. Had this thread been about RSS, Modi, BJP, 
etc., and I was asked to comment, I would have told you that these 
organizations and the personalities associated with them are Hindu extremists 
who should never be allowed to come to power. RSS has been from the outset a 
martial Hindu chauvinist organization that has espoused religious fervor and 
violence as means to achieve political power. Religious activists belonging to 
this organization were responsible for the murder of Mahatma Gandhi, even 
though Gandhi himself was somewhat of a Hindu nationalist. Indeed, it is a 
credit to the vision of our founding fathers that despite these types of 
elements and sentiments that have always existed in India, India is a thriving 
free secular pluralist democracy.

Regarding what Josebab wrote below, I wish some independent person would find 
out the actual facts relevant to the questions raised by him below. From my 
knowledge of this issue, I can provide straight answers to some of the 
rhetorical questions, but not all.


 1: what, Basilio, would make any 'murder of any Catholic priest or nun ( or a 
 non religious Catholic person) an act of Religious Persecution? (Basilio 
 probably did not read my question the first time around)


If priests or nuns were murdered in a premeditated manner by a group of 
individuals or the state solely because of their religious beliefs or 
affiliation.


 2: have such events occurred in India ?


Offhand, I cannot think of any events involving Catholic priests or nuns. I 
can think of one evangelical Christian priest and his two sons in 2003. This 
is a task for an independent and impartial fact-finder (IIFF).


 3: are Catholics in certain parts of India being threatened  / assaulted 
 because of their faith?


I don't know this regarding Catholics. But I suspect some new evangelical 
converts are threatened by Hindu extremists to reconvert in the tribal areas 
and some poverty-stricken communities. Another task for an IIFF.


 4: are Catholics in certain parts of India being forcibly re-converted?


I think the answer is no with regard to Catholics. But it is most likely yes 
with regard to newly converted evangelical Christians. The reason should be 
clear from Basilio's post. It is because no Catholic priest has actively tried 
to convert anyone for the last 60 years in India. Another task for an IIFF. It 
would also be nice to know some hard facts as to what tactics the 
fly-by-night evangelical priests that Basilio mentioned were adopting in 
their conversion campaigns. There was a millionaire Keralite pastor in Houston 
who was caught in some kind of scam some years ago. He used to charter a large 
airplane to fly back and forth for his proselytization missions in South India, 
and solicit charitable donations to pay for the cost of the aviation fuel for 
his trip from a rich Houstonian.


 5: is ONE solitary case or Ten or a Hundred cases too few to get worked up 
 about ?


I would think that in order to tar an entire nation as a place where religious 
persecution is prevalent there needs to be at least a few cases each month in 
different parts of the country.


 6: are we saying that the Law in some states preventing voluntary conversion 
 from Hinduism, constitutional or even moral?


Morality is not an issue in laws banning conversions, as long as the law 
applies equally to people of all faiths i.e. people are not allowed to convert 
to any faith or lack of faith from any other faith or lack of faith. Indeed, 
Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, etc. are, I believe, advocating such a 
practice, especially, with regard to minors. But all such laws would be 
unconstitutional in India, U.S. or any truly secular pluralist country. Some 
IIFF needs to examine the laws that have been passed in India in this regard. I 
hear that they have weasel words that keep them free of constitutional 
challenge.

Cheers,

Santosh

Joe Lobo wrote:

Santosh Helekar  seems  to  gloss over the  fact  that  a Hindu organisation  
, ie  the  RSS ( Rashtriya Sevak Sangh )  set up in   India`s 
pre-independence  days  has  morphed  to a  covert  attacker of non-Hindu 
activities. While the Goa BJP  government has not shown any  communal 
tendencies...  we have  to  dread  a federal BJP  government in 
Delhi  under PM Narendra Modi  with its    hindutva  philosophy  that will 
allow the   RSS  free  rein to  preach  their  message  of  hatred  towards 
all   non-Hindu  Indians  be  they  goans  or  tribals or  dalits  who refuse  
to  bow to the  high  caste Hindu strict  ideology.


On Sat, Feb 15, 2014 at 2:18 PM, Jose Colaco cola...@gmail.com wrote:
 Basilio: a few Catholic priests and nuns get killed, and that is painfully 
 sad; the murder of a priest or a nun in the hands of a non-catholic is not 
 NECESSARILY an act of persecution.

 Santoshbab: Basilio has

Re: [Goanet] Religious Persecution in India: Are you sure?

[Santosh Helekar]

Basilio Monteiro wrote:

I would like to offer a few random (not exhaustive) thoughts for consideration 
about the complex issue of religious persecution in India. It is a 
sensitive and provocative issue. Of course, a few Catholic priests and nuns 
get killed, and that is painfully sad; the murder of a priest or a nun in the 
hands of a non-catholic is not necessarily an act of persecution.


Basilio has presented a reasonable case on the issue of religious persecution 
in India. It should throw some light on why the claims of some Indian and 
foreign religious organizations/activists about widespread religious 
persecution in India against Christians in particular, are by and large 
exaggerations and distortions, although incidents of violent crimes or 
harassment involving religious fervor and discrimination do occur and have 
occurred from time to time throughout history.

To provide a global perspective on this issue, I give below the list of 
countries in which there is actual persecution according to an international 
Christian organization that monitors persecution of Christians around the world.

North Korea
Saudia Arabia
Afghanistan
Iraq
Somalia
Maldives
Mali
Iran
Yemen
Eritrea
Syria

Please see http://www.opendoorsusa.org/persecution/about-persecution


The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom which makes lists of 
countries with particular concern about religious freedom based on complaints 
made by political and religious activists around the world has provided the 
following list of such countries in its latest report:

Burma
China  
Eritrea  
Iran  
Iraq  
Nigeria  
North Korea  
Pakistan  
Saudi Arabia  
Sudan  
Turkmenistan  
Uzbekistan  
Vietnam  

Please see: 
http://www.uscirf.gov/index.php?option=com_contenttask=viewid=1456Itemid=1

Cheers,

Santosh

Re: [Goanet] Goanet commitment to Goans?

[Santosh Helekar]

The status of biofeedback is the same as it ever was. Its value in therapy over 
and above placebo has remained questionable, just like acupuncture. As far as 
scientific research is concerned, there is more of it being done today on quack 
modalities such as Chinese medicine, herbal therapy and prayer. This is evident 
from the number of papers published last year in the medical literature. For 
the latter modalities this number is 8251, 1834 and 1664, respectively. By 
comparison the number for biofeedback is only 534. Even for acupuncture, it is 
1351. All of these studies though have amounted to virtually nothing, in terms 
of real usefulness, as opposed to feel-good placebo effects, with respect to 
any of these unscientific and/or questionable remedies.

In a more general sense, the widely held belief that some New Age hocus-pocus 
remedies or some alternative nostrums are now accepted by modern medicine 
after initial rejection, is not true at all. There is no such example. The only 
thing that is true are some examples of medicinal plants that were found to 
contain pharmacologically active compounds, such as foxglove, willow, datura, 
periwinkle,Pacific yew, Indian hemp, etc. These were assumed to be of value by 
modern medicine all along. They became more useful, powerful and safe, in terms 
of precise dosage, only after the active compounds were extracted from them by 
modern pharmaceutical laboratories. Modern science also discovered in molecular 
detail the underlying mechanism of action of most of these drugs.

Cheers,

Santosh


 On Wednesday, February 5, 2014 8:41 AM, Margaret Mascarenhas 
 margaret.mascaren...@gmail.com wrote:
  Dear Dr Ferdinando,
 
 I'm not sure why I'm a party to this mail, other than the fact that I 
 have
 previously expressed my dissatisfaction with the selective moderating
 habits of nearly every Goa-centric net list I have ever been added to by my
 friend Fred. I have come to the decision that I do not want to be involved
 in communities that do not enhance my experience of 'Goan-ness', and
 removed myself from them. And my humble suggestion is that you do the same
 for your own sanity. Some years ago, bio-feedback was thought to be a kind
 of new-age hocus-pocus; it is used routinely in scientific studies
 now.Similarly many scientists are actively studying the effects of
 acupuncture. People will believe what they want to believe. Find a more
 supportive environment in which to express your views, is my advice to you.
 But please do not copy me on Goanet threads, because I have no wish to be
 involved in them. This note is for you and the moderators, not for public
 consumption.
 
 With best wishes,
 Margaret Mascarenhas
 
 
 http://about.me/margaret_mascarenhas
 
 
 @mmasc https://twitter.com/

Re: [Goanet] wrt Patricia Alvares' Healing with Crystals article in the Herald

[Santosh Helekar]

On Thursday, February 6, 2014 7:08 AM, J. Colaco  jc cola...@gmail.com 
wrote:



Whatever one believes or not about 'crystals' (and I know nothing about 
crystals), Is Santoshbab stating that the term curative used by journalist / 
sub-editor of the Herald in the article amounts to Fraud?



Josebab,

I am submitting that the fraudulent claim to medical knowledge was made by 
the person that was interviewed, not by the journalist who interviewed her. The 
use of the word curative in a bold caption/subheading in the article could 
also be regarded as fraudulent in the sense that it is a deception or 
humbug. Please see the many dictionary meanings of the word fraud: 
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fraud?s=t

But I don't know whether the journalist in question or her editor put that word 
in the caption/subheading.

Cheers,

Santosh

[Goanet] Religious Persecution in India: Are you sure? (posted in GX forum)

[Santosh Helekar]

Religious persecution in India: are you sure?

By Basilio Monteiro

I would like to offer a few random (not exhaustive) thoughts for consideration 
about the complex issue of religious persecution in India. It is a sensitive 
and provocative issue. Of course, a few Catholic priests and nuns get killed, 
and that is painfully sad; the murder of a priest or a nun in the hands of a 
non-catholic is not necessarily an act of persecution.

Let me be upfront: there is religious DISCRIMINATION in India; No doubt, 
religion has been and continues to be an element of exploitation in the hands 
of the exploiters of power (inside the religionists' as well as political 
camps). A long view of history teaches us that normally and mostly behind the 
apparent religious attacks are the smoldering social and/or economic issues. 
But social and economic issues are difficult to be articulated in a neat and 
easy-to-swallow packages or memes. So religion is an easy invocation. Easy to 
ignite... And fire up the simple folks into a mindless spree of mayhem, 
destruction and pillage.

I do not claim to have done any field study about any recent religious 
persecution; however, I happen to have some very thoughtful, mature, and 
well-tempered minds and eyes on various locations in India. I did consult them 
on a number of cases reported as religious persecution. The real story is 
complex. However, none can be easily classified as religious persecution, 
despite apparent religious elements, and severe protestations by some NGOs.

One thing must be stated: the religious leaders of the traditional Christians 
(Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, etc.) by and large live in the 
communities where they work not as outsiders but as sons and daughters of the 
soil fully invested as citizens of the land. They have, mostly, excellent 
relationship with people on the ground regardless of religion; the services and 
employment opportunities offered by these institutions are highly valued. They 
do not proselytize (the last time it happened was 60 years ago). The people in 
these communities regardless of their religion do not feel threatened by these 
co-religionists, and they live in harmony. The members of the religious 
communities and the individuals associated with them live in their midst. They 
are not fly by night operators. Their brick and mortar institutions are part of 
the local economy and local value.

An unfortunate phenomenon rising in the couple of decades is the transient 
presence of the evangelicals in the villages for the sole and exclusive purpose 
to baptize and thus save the people (including Catholics, Anglicans, 
Lutherans...). After the fragrant act of baptizing these individuals leave 
the community, and move to other greener pastures. Understandably the local 
community gets outraged by this invasion (I would be to). In the process and 
heightened anger the poor folks cannot distinguish between the Cross of 
traditional Christians and the symbols of the evangelical Christianity... They 
all look the same...
Much can be written about this.
 
There are economic tensions in almost every village throughout the country.  
The Catholic Church, among many other services, provides education; education 
transforms people’s life. Education provides economic opportunities. The 
Catholic Church also provides education in English, which is the language of 
upward economic mobility. The language of instruction is an issue of serious 
political contentions in many parts of the country, which often times is the 
source of many of these tensions. Good education is a do-or-die situation for 
economic success.
 
A recent study in Maharashtra showed that those with English instruction earned 
30% more than those in vernacular medium. In some places certain groups 
non-privileged by the larger society have benefited from Catholic Church 
educational system. This creates tension, and some exploit these tensions. 
Indians in the villages, by and large, remain illiterate, and thus become 
convenient tools in the hands of unscrupulous politicians. Religion for these 
good folks is the only thing that keeps them together and gives them a sense of 
meaning in their misery. They can be easily roused up by using and manipulating 
what is very dear and near to them. 
 
When churches are burned and Christians killed, many NGOs automatically 
view that as PERSECUTION.
 
I have a serious problem with these NGOs - supposedly dedicated to fight these 
persecutions. The folks who run these NGOs obviously are good meaning people 
with their heart in the right place. However, they lack the intellectual 
wherewithal to do a thorough analysis of the tensions and of the unfortunate 
events of the ensuing violence. The appeal for money to support their 
cause/activities and their own salaries depend, unfortunately, on riling people 
up about PERSECUTION. Persecution is a powerful word, which when strategically 
deployed can evoke visceral 

Re: [Goanet] Quackery on Herald

[Santosh Helekar]

People ought to know that because of unregulated use of quack remedies around 
the world medical scientists are rightly testing them in clinical trials. In 
almost all of these cases, the best and the most objective of these studies 
show that these remedies are no better than placebos. This is absolutely the 
case with acupuncture as well. The following editorial entitled Acupuncture Is 
Theatrical Placebo in the medical journal Anesthesia and Analgesia by a 
world famous pharmacologist and a prominent neurologist makes this fact very 
clear:

http://www.dcscience.net/Colquhoun-Novella-AA-2013.pdf


Here is their concluding statement:

QUOTE
The best controlled studies show a clear pattern, with acupuncture the outcome 
does not depend on needle location or even needle insertion. Since these 
variables are those that define acupuncture, the only sensible conclusion is 
that acupuncture does not work. Everything else is the expected noise of 
clinical trials, and this noise seems particularly high with acupuncture 
research. The most parsimonious conclusion is that with acupuncture there is no 
signal, only noise. 

The interests of medicine would be best-served if we emulated the Chinese 
Emperor Dao Guang and issued an edict stating that acupuncture and moxibustion 
should no longer be used in clinical practice. 

No doubt acupuncture will continue to exist on the “High Streets” where they 
can be tolerated as a voluntary self-imposed tax on the gullible (as long as 
they do not make unjustified claims).
UNQUOTE
..David Colquhoun and Steven Novella

As regards the universities that awarded my degrees, they are University of 
Bombay and Baylor College of Medicine. I concede however that Falcao possesses 
a superior extraterrestrial intelligence.

Cheers,

Santosh


 On Friday, January 31, 2014 10:34 PM, Dr. Ferdinando dos Reis Falcão 
 drferdina...@hotmail.com wrote:
  
 
 Santosh
 Helekar chimbelcho at yahoo.com on Sun Jan 26 17:08:46 PST 2014 wrote:
 
 1. Falcao
 got his medical degree from the same medical college from which I got mine,
 namely Goa Medical College.
 
 2. Please let me know if you need any more accurate credible information 
 exposing quack practices such as these.
 
 Cheers,
 
 Santosh
 
 
 RESPONSE:
 1.  WRONG!  I did not get my Degree from Goa Medical College, The 
 University of Bombay awarded me my Degree in 1975. Maybe Mr. Helekar 
 got his from Goa University, I am not aware. 
 A medical Institution  does not produce all doctors of the same calibre as a 
 factory. 
 The product of any institution depends on the intelligence of the student.
 2.  According to Mr. Helekar, all these doctors cited in the  below websites 
 are 
 Quacks, including the WHO doctors.
 
 
 http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/videos/news/Acupuncture_122313-1.html
 
 
 A new study finds that acupuncture helps alleviate
 joint and muscle pain, stiffness and hot flashes in women taking anticancer
 drugs called aromatase inhibitors.
 
 https://www.mja.com.au/insight/2013/6/acupuncture-research-needs-new-approach
 
 A German study, published in the Annals of
 Internal Medicine, found that acupuncture led to statistically significant
 improvements in disease-specific quality of life and antihistamine use after 8
 weeks of treatment compared with sham acupuncture and with rescue medication
 (the antihistamine cetirizine)
 
 http://aim.bmj.com/content/early/2013/12/02/acupmed-2013-010435
 
 Randomised
 clinical trial of five ear acupuncture points for the treatment of overweight
 people
 
 Professor Sabina Lim, Research Group of Pain and
 Neuroscience, WHO Collaborating Center for Traditional Medicine, East-West
 Medical Research Institute, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 130-701, South Korea; 
 l...@khu.ac.kr
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Dr. Ferdinando dos Reis Falcão. 

Re: [Goanet] wrt Patricia Alvares' Healing with Crystals article in the Herald

[Santosh Helekar]

What Herald has advertised in the interview in question is quackery because of 
the following reasons:

1. The claims made in the interview perfectly satisfy the dictionary 
definitions of quackery, which is:

 A fraudulent claim to medical knowledge; treating the sick without knowledge 
of medicine or authority to practice medicine. 
(Taken from Stedman's medical dictionary. Please see: 
http://www.medilexicon.com/medicaldictionary.php?s=charlatanism)

2. The interview makes the claim that crystal healing is curative.

3. It makes scientific sounding factual claims about the properties of crystals 
and their effects on the human body that are completely bogus, and can be 
easily demonstrated to be false by a simple scientific measurement.

4. Under claims of healing there are fraudulent claims about economics and 
personal finance, such as: The combination of Citrine, Pyrite and Amber will 
attract wealth, prosperity and abundance.

5. It propagates the superstition of evil eye and various supernatural claims 
that have nothing to do with healing, such as Certain crystals will give self 
confidence, enhance creativity, protect from the evil eye, attract love, the 
right career, etc.

Please see: http://www.epaperoheraldo.in/epaperpdf/2212014/2212014-md-hr-17.pdf

Now regarding acupuncture, the quote below is not accurate:

QUOTE
The US FDA approved acupuncture for pain relief in 1996. 
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/acupuncture/patient/page1/AllPages/Print

UNQUOTE
.Josebab Colaco

The U.S. FDA has only adopted certain requirements to regulate the use of 
acupuncture needles by qualified
practitioners e.g. that they have to be sterile and single use needles. It has 
not approved acupuncture for anything. Please see the following FDA link:
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfCFR/CFRSearch.cfm?FR=880.5580

Acupuncture like other questionable or quack nostrums are used by people who 
believe in them. They are also tested in clinical trials by medical scientists. 
That is why FDA has to often rule on their safety. FDA deals with safety and 
efficacy as two separate issues. First and foremost, it is concerned about 
safety of all devices or drugs, whether they are effective real medical devices 
or drugs, investigational real medical devices or drugs whose efficacy is not 
yet known, or quack medical devices or drugs under investigational use or as 
placebos. Dirty acupuncture needles can lead to severe infections and further 
complications causing even death in some cases. The needles also need to be 
bio-compatible to prevent
allergic reactions, etc. That is why FDA has regulated their safe use. But it 
has not approved acupuncture for efficacy in any condition.

Cheers,

Santosh




 On Friday, January 31, 2014 10:35 PM, J. Colaco  jc cola...@gmail.com 
 wrote:
  On Jan 26, 2014, Roland Francis wrote:
 
 The common man knows that what Santosh says is right. Desperate and
 gullible people will believe in crystal therapy or things like that either
 from ignorance or desperation, as he said.
 
 
 
 COMMENT:
 
 1: Nothing I read in the Herald-interview (Patricia Alvares / Tarminder
 Manchanda)  could be classified as quackery which is an unregulated and
 dangerous practice of medicine, especially as quacks often attempt to
 discourage patients from consulting their doctor or following their
 doctor's advice. (This not to say that some 'regulated modern medicine
 practitioners do not practice dangerous medicine).
 
 2: There is one mis-representative and potentially dangerous (to the
 non-discerning reader) word in Patricia Alvares' bye-line and that is
 curative. Otherwise, I would have no issues if any of my patients 
 were
 interested in utilizing these 'Crystals' to assist in the 
 'healing' process
 . as long as they understood from me that there was a difference
 between healing and cure.
 
 3: My personal take on physicians, illnesses and treatments includes the
 following:
 
 
 a: Well trained and up to date physicians should know more about illnesses,
 drug treatments, the drug interactions and side-effects that those who are
 not well trained and up to date physicians may not be aware of. (This
 includes lay individuals).
 
 b: Unscrupulous and unethical physicians take short cuts mainly for
 financial gains; and then there are the unscrupulous among the Pharma Reps
 who offer inducements to physicians in order 'to meet their targets'.
 
 c: Another set of the unscrupulous physicians are the ones who would (say)
 delay referral of patients to the specialists/sub-specialists and the
 specialists/sub-specialists who would delay the referral back of the
 patients to the primary (referring) physician after the specialty consult
 is completed .
 
 d: Patients often get totally confused when different doctors give vastly
 different opinions about the same medical issue, write a whole set of
 differently-named (but possibly the same generic) medications AND talk bad
 about 

Re: [Goanet] Quackery on Herald

[Santosh Helekar]

People ought to know that because of unregulated use of quack remedies around 
the world medical scientists are rightly testing them in clinical trials. In 
almost all of these cases, the best and the most objective of these studies 
show that these remedies are no better than placebos. This is absolutely the 
case with acupuncture as well. The following editorial entitled Acupuncture Is 
Theatrical Placebo in the medical journal Anesthesia and Analgesia by a 
world famous pharmacologist and a prominent neurologist makes this fact very 
clear:

http://www.dcscience.net/Colquhoun-Novella-AA-2013.pdf

Here is their concluding statement:

QUOTE
The best controlled studies show a clear pattern, with acupuncture the outcome 
does not depend on needle location or even needle insertion. Since these 
variables are those that define acupuncture, the only sensible conclusion is 
that acupuncture does not work. Everything else is the expected noise of 
clinical trials, and this noise seems particularly high with acupuncture 
research. The most parsimonious conclusion is that with acupuncture there is no 
signal, only noise. 

The interests of medicine would be best-served if we emulated the Chinese 
Emperor Dao Guang and issued an edict stating that acupuncture and moxibustion 
should no longer be used in clinical practice. 

No doubt acupuncture will continue to exist on the “High Streets” where they 
can be tolerated as a voluntary self-imposed tax on the gullible (as long as 
they do not make unjustified claims).
UNQUOTE
..David Colquhoun and Steven Novella

As regards the universities that awarded my degrees, they are University of 
Bombay and Baylor College of Medicine. I concede however that Falcao possesses 
a superior extraterrestrial intelligence.

Cheers,

Santosh


 On Friday, January 31, 2014 10:34 PM, Dr. Ferdinando dos Reis Falcão 
 drferdina...@hotmail.com wrote:
  
 
 Santosh
 Helekar chimbelcho at yahoo.com on Sun Jan 26 17:08:46 PST 2014 wrote:
 
 1. Falcao
 got his medical degree from the same medical college from which I got mine,
 namely Goa Medical College.
 
 2. Please let me know if you need any more accurate credible information 
 exposing quack practices such as these.
 
 Cheers,
 
 Santosh
 
 
 RESPONSE:
 1.  WRONG!  I did not get my Degree from Goa Medical College, The 
 University of Bombay awarded me my Degree in 1975. Maybe Mr. Helekar 
 got his from Goa University, I am not aware. 
 A medical Institution  does not produce all doctors of the same calibre as a 
 factory. 
 The product of any institution depends on the intelligence of the student.
 2.  According to Mr. Helekar, all these doctors cited in the  below websites 
 are 
 Quacks, including the WHO doctors.
 
 
 http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/videos/news/Acupuncture_122313-1.html
 
 
 A new study finds that acupuncture helps alleviate
 joint and muscle pain, stiffness and hot flashes in women taking anticancer
 drugs called aromatase inhibitors.
 
 https://www.mja.com.au/insight/2013/6/acupuncture-research-needs-new-approach
 
 A German study, published in the Annals of
 Internal Medicine, found that acupuncture led to statistically significant
 improvements in disease-specific quality of life and antihistamine use after 8
 weeks of treatment compared with sham acupuncture and with rescue medication
 (the antihistamine cetirizine)
 
 http://aim.bmj.com/content/early/2013/12/02/acupmed-2013-010435
 
 Randomised
 clinical trial of five ear acupuncture points for the treatment of overweight
 people
 
 Professor Sabina Lim, Research Group of Pain and
 Neuroscience, WHO Collaborating Center for Traditional Medicine, East-West
 Medical Research Institute, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 130-701, South Korea; 
 l...@khu.ac.kr
 
 Dr. Ferdinando dos Reis Falcão. 

Re: [Goanet] Joseph Vaz - Did he take part in the Goa Inquisition?

[Santosh Helekar]

Good to see a well-argued article by Filomena on a topic that is dear to her. 
The article that she is responding to is a fanatical diatribe of the type we 
see with all types of religious chauvinists in India and abroad. I am still 
trying to track down the primary source of the Xavier story. Perhaps, we are 
witnessing the beginnings of radicalization of some Buddhist activists in Sri 
Lanka, as we have seen with their Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Christian 
counterparts in India in recent years.

Cheers,

Santosh



 On Tuesday, February 4, 2014 11:30 AM, George Pinto georgejpi...@yahoo.com 
 wrote:
 T he Sri Lanka-Goa news networks and websites have been a-buzz with 
 controversy 
 over our shared history under the Portuguese for the last few weeks. If you 
 thought that religion and history are dull, think again!  
 
 Right now we are awash with plots and counter-plots presented by Sri Lankans 
 of 
 the Portuguese stealing a dead Buddhist monk's body in Sri Lanka and 
 switching it for Xavier's. First, we Goans are supposed to believe now that 
 Xavier died in Sri Lanka, not on the island of Shangchuan, off the coast of 
 China. And that, a very clever Portuguese sea Captain somehow stole the 
 incorrupt body of a Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka and switched it for Xavier's 
 thereby causing generations of Goans to waste time and money over the 
 Exposition 
 of his body, when it was a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk's all the time ... 
 
 Second, some of us innocently thought that Goa's beloved religious figure, 
 Blessed Joseph Vaz, was an amazing non-colonial and non-political missionary. 
 But no, not by a Sri Lankan journalist's account (Joseph Vaz - Did he 
 take part in the Goa Inquisition?) who confidently writes that he was part 
 of the Goa Inquisition even though he was working practically alone and in 
 hiding in Sri Lanka with not a Portuguese in sight ... 
 
 
 Anyway, here's Filomena Saraswati Giese's response, sub-titled 
  What does the Historical Record Prove? on Joseph Vaz. It appeared 
 in the e-paper Heraldo and on some other websites:
 http://www.epaperoheraldo.in/Details.aspx?id=13721boxid=5058755uid=dat=2/2/2014
 
 Joseph Naik Vaz Institute
 Berkeley, California
 http://josephnaikvaz.org/