[Goanet-News] Goanet Reader: Ben Antao's market ... (by Augusto Pinto)
Ben Antao's market By Augusto Pinto pinto...@gmail.com A profile of Ben Antao and a review of: Living on the Market By Ben Antao Published: 2008 Publisher: Palabras-Press, Calgary, Alberta, Canada Cover Design: Rick McKenna 238 pages, Canadian $ 25.00 In 2008, the Velim-born Ben Antao came out with his fourth novel Living on the Market. Once a journalist with The Navhind Times and, later, the Indian Express, in 1966 he won a journalism fellowship awarded by the World Press Institute based at the Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota, for a year's study and travel in the United States. He then moved to Canada where he worked as a journalist, teacher, writer and certified financial planner. He has written five novels, several short stories, a play as well as a movie script based on his novel The Tailor's Daughter, besides a memoir and a travelogue of his visit to Sicily in Italy. It is difficult to avoid the issue of self-publishing when writing about Ben Antao. Most of his books have taken this route to appearing in print. It says something about his self confidence that when he believes that he has something worthwhile to say, he is ready to put his money where his mouth is instead of waiting for a commercial publisher. The problem with commercial publishers is that their major consideration will be how much profit they can make. This is the reason for their lack of interest in books that have niche audiences. Thus many a promising writer remains unknown, or a manuscript which may not be written in a currently fashionable style stays unpublished. Of course, in this regard, Antao follows a long list of distinguished Goan writers. As the writer Vivek Menezes points out, It's not much of an exaggeration to say that if it weren't for self-publishing, Goans wouldn't have much of a literature at all. This is particularly true when you consider Konkani, but much the same situation exists across the board. The previous novels of the 74 year Antao alternate between Goan and Canadian themes and include Blood and Nemesis a tale of love and lust set during the era of the freedom struggle in Goa; Penance which examines Catholicism in Canada; and The Tailor's Daughter which looks at caste among Goan Catholics, especially those diaspora Goans known as the Afrikanders. What makes Antao a very easy writer to read is his journalistic eye for detail as he describes events and scenes. In fact, they might make good film scripts given that he likes to sprinkle a lot of bedroom scene masala in them. His plot lines, although strong, tend to be fairly straightforward; but depth of characterization is not his forte. His language has an air of no-nonsense simplicity and his novels could be described, for want of a better term, as 'theme' novels. That is to say, the success of his novels depend mainly on how accurately he has accomplished the task of explicating his theme -- whether it is the prejudice generated by caste; or the atmosphere in Goa around the time of the freedom movement; or in the case of the book under review, how the stock market operates. As the writer himself says, My novels are plot driven as they explore the universal themes of sex and love, caste, religion and money. My characters serve as vehicles for these themes. Since he usually writes about things that he seems to have personally experienced, seen or heard about, his novels have a true to life feel about them. Antao's latest offering takes as his subject the worlds of the school system and of small-time stock market speculators in Canada, which is the backdrop of a family break-up. The protagonist of the novel Doug Thomas, is a 41 year old 'supply' teacher, someone who is much like the Goan lecture-basis or contract-basis teacher only perhaps a little worse off as he gets called to teach only when a regular teacher is sick or absent. However in Doug's case he does it out of choice, as this relieves him of the drudgery of doing routine school work which he finds boring; and frees him to play the stock market. However this puts him under pressure, especially when there is no supply teaching like during school vacations, as he has to figure out how to provide for his wife Gladys and their two children. While in the previous two years Doug has managed to be reasonably successful in his speculations, he is not going to be third time lucky. A crisis erupts when Doug gambles away all his family's money on the market. Along with the market crash his family life crumbles too, as his wife is not prepared to put up with a wastrel and they are separated. The novel takes us through the ups and downs of his life as he tries to fight off a life of penury and depression. Antao
[Goanet-News] Goa news for March 25, 2009
Goa News from Google News and Goanet.org Visit http://www.goanet.org/newslinks.php for the full stories. *** Code takes the fizz off Goas interim budget - Herald Publications age speech in the Goa assembly, the chief minister said the total budget for the ... http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9-0fd=Rurl=http://oheraldo.in/pagedetails.asp?nid=19118cid=10cid=1319618405ei=-2zJSaTXD5qilQT7nuH0Dgusg=AFQjCNGcyeWBj_wDJv45XjsLOLx7P8Ubgg *** Goa Assembly congratulates Slumdog Millionaire\'s team - Hindu http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/2-0fd=Rurl=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/009200903231980.htmcid=1319297176ei=-2zJSaTXD5qilQT7nuH0Dgusg=AFQjCNGaBVqw3Lztp3s_nttqFRL2XNtZmA *** Goa cops beat up partying tourists - Times of India http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-0fd=Rurl=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Goa-cops-beat-up-partying-tourists/articleshow/4307751.cmscid=1319210450ei=-2zJSaTXD5qilQT7nuH0Dgusg=AFQjCNFsqSjHmAfIDaQQqDHWCyiNO8I16g *** Poor cashew crop in Konkan, Goa - Times of India http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-0fd=Rurl=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Goa/Poor-cashew-crop-in-Konkan-Goa/articleshow/4302076.cmscid=1319312425ei=-2zJSaTXD5qilQT7nuH0Dgusg=AFQjCNGxZ9qzz3uk8aczJl4GwWTrDI0d5A *** SC restrains Goa govt from regularising illegal constructions - Indopia http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-0fd=Rurl=http://www.indopia.in/India-usa-uk-news/latest-news/531231/National/1/20/1cid=1319899302ei=-2zJSaTXD5qilQT7nuH0Dgusg=AFQjCNE6SyRBJVfdLIJr9XS-szb1Tp6tqA *** Goa Broadband Project to be Completed in July - Daijiworld.com ijiworld.com, IndiaBy Our Special Correspondent Panaji, Mar 24: The much touted Goa Broadband project that had hit the roadblock after being inaugurated by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh will be completed in July, 2009. The state government, in the reply tabled on the ... http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/7-0fd=Rurl=http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=58128n_tit=Goa+Broadband+Project+to+be+Completed+in+Julycid=0ei=-2zJSaTXD5qilQT7nuH0Dgusg=AFQjCNFcqQOyCerpohz6_FdANMrvuSpi6A *** Kamat lands in trouble as SC stays ordinance - Economic Times ed Congress government in Goa, the Supreme Court on Tuesday put on hold state governments decision to amend the century-old Land Acquisition Act which #152;saved Fomento Resorts ... http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-0fd=Rurl=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/Kamat-lands-in-trouble-as-SC-stays-ordinance/articleshow/4312049.cmscid=0ei=-2zJSaTXD5qilQT7nuH0Dgusg=AFQjCNHmaQc8VoNVcKmY6BASdvaxeQpMsw *** 3 foreign nationals attack Goa cops, held - The Statesman e Statesman, IndiaPTI Panaji, March 23: Goa police have arrested a German, a Russian and a Swedish tourist for attacking the police team which had allegedly gone to stop the loud music party in the coastal village of Anjuna. Superintendent of Police Mr Tony Fernandes ... http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4-0fd=Rurl=http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=2theme=usrsess=1id=247967cid=0ei=-2zJSaTXD5qilQT7nuH0Dgusg=AFQjCNG4yAS-irkEL-3YuCExtjIAp08MWw *** Goa casino charged with denying winnings, beating up customer - SINDH TODAY NDH TODAY, PakistanPanaji, March 24 (IANS) Police in Goa are investigating a complaint filed against the operator of an onshore casino, accused of beating a customer and denying him his winnings after he went to claim the money. According to a complaint registered with ... http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-0fd=Rurl=http://www.sindhtoday.net/world/78762.htmcid=1319919341ei=-2zJSaTXD5qilQT7nuH0Dgusg=AFQjCNHEluUpa722LCE_WA7NwHSz-6gKhg *** Company Review: Sesa Goa - Livemint 0% pa over the next two years, and volumes to touch 25mn by FY12. However, with no respite expected in the prevailing downcast conditions, we expect demand for iron ore to decline from China. ... http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-0fd=Rurl=http://www.livemint.com/2009/03/24113104/Company-Review-Sesa-Goa.htmlcid=0ei=-2zJSaTXD5qilQT7nuH0Dgusg=AFQjCNHRHcGPFwRyYmXewLpHfcKPIpfwIA Compiled by Goanet News Service http://www.goanet.org/newslinks.php
[Goanet] Days of the bullock cart in Goa
Soon after World War 11 in 1946 when my father came to Goa on long leave from E. Africa, he took me along to Bardez with a few belongings of a friend of his who had died during the war, to be delivered to his family members in Parra. Our gracious hosts arranged for a boilam gaddi complete with enclosure and seats inside to take us to his another friend's family house. I am not sure whether it was in Arpora or Calangute. It was for the first and the last time I had a boilam gaddi ride. Bardezcars were first to emigrate and they were also first Goans to be exposed to English language. In all other respects too they were a generation or two ahead of Sashtikars. In Salcete too we had boilam gaddi but they were used to carry goods but not as passenger carriers. Sashtikars were used to caminhao/carrieras, horse tongas and railway trains. Antonio
[Goanet] US now a country of nightmares?
The US of A touts itself as being a country of dreams. But lately things are not looking so shapely. Pity the new incumbent President Obama trying his best to prop up the disaster left by his predecessor. Now this country once that landed man on moon is seen learning to forage for food in its parks and country side. Many of its number one citizens have now lost their homes and are now seen living in substandard conditions like tents without the comfy sofas and 54 inch lcd's. Lessons are given on how not to spend on items such as down loading music or even buying pets. Free handouts are now a common event. Q's are a sight once seen in commie dwellings or in Goa where one collects ration from the posro. The big question is where is Karl Marx? BC
[Goanet] Endangered Languages
This is in response to Endangered Languages by Tomazinho Cardozo. (Mess #5, GD #293, Mar. 22) At the outset I must thank Tomazinho for having posted this article on the internet thus providing an opportunity for refutation which the newspapers where his prevaricating columns (including the present article) appear do not generally afford. I also request him to continue posting in this manner. As has been proved time and again, Tomazinho has few peers in the art of twisting facts and drawing illogical inferences therefrom. The present article also exemplifies this. For Tomazinho the Devanagari script has become a bugbear; think of any ill (real or imaginary) that besets this State or country, he immediately jumps to the conclusion that this demon is the culprit! It does not matter to him that although the OLA confers the official status on Devanagari script for the Konkani language, the Act itself has not at all been implemented to date, for over 20 years; and he himself is no less responsible for this. What does matter to him is that it pays, and has paid him handsomely, to flog that script. The article is about Endangered Languages, and about the dreaded prospect of Konkani entering that list. Any sane person knows, and can judge from the statements in the article itself, that an endangered language is a language which is at risk of falling out of use owing to few surviving SPEAKERS, and becomes extinct when it loses its last speaker. Most endangered languages are only spoken; many have rich oral cultures with stories, songs etc. passed on to younger generations, but they have no written forms. How many of the languages he has mentioned (192 in highly literate USA alone!) have a single word written in them? Yet they survived for thousands of years. Thousands of languages in the world have become extinct in history; but not a single one of them suffered this calamity because it was written in a particular script. In fact, at least some languages could be rescued from the brink of extinction only because they also happened to be written, and at least one of them has been restored to become a vibrant modern language. Yet, Tomazinho illogically infers that Devanagari script shall be responsible for the demise of Konkani language, which he anticipates. But he is not a duffer. He is only preparing a ready ground to bury his own sins. If it is the number of SPEAKERS that decides whether a language survives or dies, how does a script come into the picture at all? DOES ONE SPEAK A SCRIPT? But then, no stupidity is beyond those who claim to SPEAK Romi Konknni whilst their enemies speak Devnagri Konknni. Imagine someone who translates Sant Juanv Bautist ani Dexi riti-rivaz as St. John the Baptist level mannered ritual being ASKED TO REVIEW not one but two books written in priestly Konkani. (Cf. Herald Mirror, 22/03, pg 12). Could someone cite anything as pathetic with regard to any other language? Once a language is no longer the language of the home – literally, the mother's tongue – then the language is pretty well doomed to become extinct, unless extraordinary things happen to save it. And it is a fact that a section of Goans, whom Tomazinho claims to represent, desist from speaking in Konkani, even at home. But their opposition to Devanagari script is certainly not the reason for this. Take tiatrists for instance. Konkani is not only the language of expression of their art but also a means of livelihood. Yet, they resort to English the moment they step out of the spotlight. I have observed that two tiatrist couples (Cardozo and Mazarello – prominent leaders of the anti-Devanagari lobby) invariably intercommunicate in English whether on the road, in a hall or in the church. One need not guess their language at home. Is Devanagari responsible for this too? And they are exhorting others to speak in Konkani! One is reminded of an adage in Konkani which says, the priest’s sermon is not for his sister-in-law! Tomazinho's grouse is against the particular script used in school books. Does one need a script in order to continue SPEAKING in a language. Therefore, school books cannot be the reason why a particular section of people do not speak a language. Obviously the real reasons are elsewhere and Cardozo, being one of those, is certainly aware of them. One may remember that, among the Speakers of our Legislative Assembly, Tomazinho is perhaps the only one who used English exclusively in the House; even his predecessors on that Chair, owing allegiance to the M. G. Party, used Konkani in addition to Marathi and English even though they believed that Konkani is a dialect of Marathi. Did he desist from using Konkani because of the script? Or was it because he, a tiatrist, considered it OK for the tiatr but infra dig for the Chair he occupied? He also makes a preposterous claim that the use of a particular dialect
[Goanet] In pin safety-pin in pin out - You're the den!
As children when we used to play Hide-and-Seek, the designated seeker
('it' in Western terminolgy) would be referred to as as the 'den'.
I've asked around and nobody seems to know why the term 'den' is used,
and if it is a term specifically used only in the South Asian
sub-continent.
Does anyone know?
Cheers!
Cecil
=
[Goanet] The day's of false prophets are here?
The day's of false prophets are here? While those in favour of the amendment to the Land Acquisition Ordinance and those against, battle it out through the media and other forums, what does this controversy mean to an ordinary citizen? According to the anti-ordinance factions, the change in the law will open a flood gate of regularisations of illegal constructions in the coastal belt. But the question is whether only this ordinance will result in the death of Goa? What is surprising is that during the same period an Amendment to the Panchayat Act which fortunately got refered to a House Select Committee, was floated by the government. It again is glaringly evident that this Bill is meant to give a back-door entry for unscrupulous builders into goa's villages. But what is confusing is that none of the activist champions against the ordinance have uttered even a single word to condemn the Panchayat amendment. The question that gets thrown up is, who decides the agenda for controversies and agitations in Goa? If stopping the destruction of goa by the rich and powerful is the aim of the anti-ordinance coterie then the Panchayat Amendment Bill is equally serious and definitely called for stiff opposition from the same forces who cry for Goa. But it is not so. There is a hypocritical silence because it is well known that just like the mining lobby has hired PR managers and social activists, the builder and real estate lobby also have a fair share of their hired for social activists in goa who will not allow any space to those controversies that do not benefit the construction industry. While the Cidade ordinance will get first page coverage the cries against the panchayat amendment will get second or third page coverage. Who decides the seriousness of the issue for goans to chew is therefore quite obvious. If Goa is to be saved it is a must that goans begin to decipher what is a genuine and more pressing issue to focus upon from those issues bliown out of proportion to systematically deflect public attention. -Soter D'Souza
[Goanet] Konkan twist
Konkan twist MangalDalal,Nikhil Roshan Mar 24, 2009 at 0421 hrs IST Here’s the definitive guide to the best Konkani cuisine in town Jai Hind Lunch Home Lower Parel This chain should be a must-stop on your Konkani cooking tour of Mumbai. Their Parel branch is our personal pick (Dadar and Bandra are other two) even though it’s priced slightly higher. Serving traditional Maharashtrian, coastal Malwani and Mangalorean fare, Jai Hind serves arguably the best Malwani food in town. Pick from their Bharla Bombil, Patra ni Machhi or Prawns Adijani. “Their sol-kadi is to die for but purists may have an issue with it as sol-kadi varies in thickness and concentration of the Kokum in coconut milk,” says Usha Prabhakar, an advertising professional who has lunches here everyday. They also have some of the most tender neer dosas in town. Accompany these with their delectable Prawn Ajadina, a typical Mangalore preparation, with loads of curry leaves. Bombil and Surmai fry are a staple at their Bandra outlet as are the thalis although vindaloo is not one of their strengths. Anant Aashram Khotachiwadi, Girgaon If it’s authentic Gomantak you’re looking for, Anant Aashram it is. Propreitor Prabhu Kapde’s Goan father started the place in 1936 to cater to working -class traders in the surrounding Charni Road area. Cooked on wood and coal fire, the food is delicious, simple and served generously. Pick from their Kombdi Mutton Vati, Bajrachi Aamti Vati, Masala Kulrya Vati, Masala Kolambi all at a price of Rs 50. “We may close down in May for a month. I’m not sure if we will open after that. The costs of running this place are hard to bear,” reveals Kapde. Konkan Café Taj President Eating Konkani at a five-star just doesn’t feel right; it would be akin to having sev puri or lassi, which somehow taste better the more rundown the establishment is. However, Konkan Café somehow manages to make one forget all that as the food is superb, and surprisingly true to its roots. We highly recommend the thali in order to get a taste of everything. Konkani food, with all its spices and kokum, leans towards fresh seafood and meat and the prawn thali is possibly the best option to go for. The sol-kadi is very well balanced and the waiters bring you fresh appams or neer dosa at your table which always makes curries or stew taste better. Priced around Rs 1,000 a thali, it’s for those new to Konkani food and weak stomachs. Goa Portuguesa Matunga Begun 20 years ago as the “first authentic Goan food” joint in the city, Goa Portuguesa is a riot of a place if you can get through the self promotion of the proprietor who personally visits every table to give you his card. With playful splashes of colour to bring alive a carnival spirit, eating, drinking and singing form a complete dining experience here. Feast on their prized Shivad Racheado or Stuffed Lobster, Mutton Xacutti or Pork Vindaloo, as Milind Jog, their in-house musician strums out old Hindi film songs at you table. Deepa Awchat—the lady who runs Portuguesa also runs the adjacent Diva Maharashtra and Culture Curry for Maharashtrian and Andhra-Chettinad food. Hotel New Martin Colaba New Martin is less spoken about than its mediocre neighbour, Gables. But those who love Goan food make sure they visit here. Their best-sellers are the Chilly Beef Fry, Chicken and Pork Vindaloo and fish-curry rice. “But their beef steak is a hidden treasure,” says collegian Doni Kavier. “Served with lightly-marinated onion rings and potato wedges, it’s perfectly cooked, though the portion is not very generous.” But at Rs 65, you can’t ask for more. Their light fish curry in coconut milk is perfect for a hot summer lunch, but look after the surmai which is sometimes replaced with a rohu. http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/konkan-twist/438318/ ~(^^)~ Avelino
[Goanet] Monsignor Nicholas Soars
a small article by me: http://www.indiancatholic.in/news/storydetails.php/11609-1-1-Why-so-many-Goans-embrace-priesthood best, selma
[Goanet] DAILY GROOK #357
DAILY GROOK #357 __ RAPID CUPID __ by Francis Rodrigues i love her and how like a zip elevator, can't marry her now but gonna escalator! _ puns word-play of all kinds, hey...read between the lines! _ _ Reunite with the people closest to you, chat face to face with Messenger. http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9650736
[Goanet] The Heart of Justice .... by VIKRAM VARMA
The column below appears in today's edition of Herald --- The Heart of Justice by VIKRAM VARMA The Supreme Court’s judgement is based on a faulty, archaic legislation, which has rightly been amended, claims VIKRAM VARMA Every judge in a democratic country has seen moments when he is faced with the dilemma to choose between the letter of law and justice. I say this because the letter of law, though remaining supreme, often fails to deliver justice. With his spirit dedicated to justice, often a learned judge of the higher judiciary has to succumb to a perspective narrowed by an archaic legislation, which is inadequate or inappropriate to the needs of today. But the authority of creating or amending legislation remains with the people, which is executed through their elected representatives. Much has been written about the judgement of the Supreme Court in the matter of demolition of a part of Citade De Goa under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. Some of the Goan intelligentsia have perceived a finality in the Supreme Court’s judgement and demanded the proverbial pound of flesh in its execution. Such a perception is based on the well-established tenet of the ultimate authority of the Supreme Court. The authority of the Supreme Court of India is certainly unchallenged, but we cannot and must not hold the Supreme Court responsible for every failing in the legal system. Not a year has gone by when the Supreme Court has not expressed its frustration in the quality of legislation or the lack of it. No doubt we need to provide more energy into our legislation. Whenever the Supreme Court has taken a step beyond interpretation of legislation, it has been construed by some as judicial activism and a possible misadventure into the powers of the legislature. The portals of the Supreme Court have often been witness to some of the finest legal minds of the country bound by imperfect legislation. But then that is the fate of democracy. We rise and descend as a nation. The four pillars of modern democracy – the legislature, judiciary, executive and the media – are equally responsible for our failures and success. It is for the legislature to legislate and for the other three pillars to interpret and enforce the legislation. The media, the executive and the judiciary have to function within the confines of the letter of the law. Even the Supreme Court of India has to restrict itself to the letter of the law, unless it is in violation of the Constitution of India, which is the highest law of the country. The Constitution of India, again, though respected as the highest law and a creature of the finest legal minds of this country, is far from perfect and nearly a hundred amendments to its original form are ample evidence of its living and changing nature. The impression I get from the articles written by some excellent minds in the Goa print media, is that the Supreme Court Judgment and the subsequent ordinance of the Government of Goa is a battle between a Goan family and the highest judiciary of the country. Such a vision does not portray the true or complete picture. The battle here is not between Anju Timblo and the Supreme Court as is being made out in some sections of the media. The battle here is between the lives of 600 families and an archaic legislation that long needed to be amended. The Cidade de Goa matter was the triggering factor, which brought this piece of legislation on the table for a judicial scrutiny and appropriate amendment. The short deadline of the Supreme Court, affecting the lives of thousands of Goans, clearly demanded an urgency for this exercise. In the words of a Goan friend of mine, the bread and butter on the table of the Timblos would not be affected by the demolition of a part of their hotel. Their lives would carry on. But the lives of 600 Goan families would be devastated. He wondered why would the Timblos fight for these 600 families. In his earthy wisdom, he felt that they should comply with the Supreme Court orders and let these 600 families sort out their own problems. I have never met Anju Timblo, but I was pleasantly surprised to see the grit, courage and tenacity of this lady. She has stood fast and battled for these 600 families as if they were her own. She has faced a huge amount of flak from the media and some very respected activists, yet she has stood her ground. Perhaps she believes in the thread of humanity which binds all of us. If that is the case, we certainly need more captains of industry like her. People who have that spiritual balance between profit and a love for humanity. Fighting alone, Mrs Timblo lost the battle in the highest court of this country. A battle well fought, but lost on the letter of the law – or rather, an archaic and faulty piece of legislation which happened to be the law. But when the 600 affected families finally stood up for themselves and marched
[Goanet] Something like the Cidade Ordinance...
While those in Goa fume at the audacity of the state government to take sides with a company (off ill-repute if you consider their track record in wrecking the environment or appropriating a public beach), they would be more shocked if they were to know how industry, courtesy its strong lobby at the centre, has now opened the door for many more such ordinances. I append below, a very well-argued appeal by the Environment Support Group, Bangalore, condemning changes sought within the Ministry of Environment and Forests that will give industry a blank cheque. Cheers, Hartman _ Dear Friends, On behalf of Campaign for Environmental Justice - India, we request you to sign on an appeal to the Prime Minister of India urging him to direct the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), of which he is incharge, to immediately stop a comprehensive retrograde amendment to the Environment Impact Assessment Notification - 2006. MoEF in a notification issued recently proposes to amend the EIA Notification in such a manner that it will negate the very purpose of the Notification, besides compromising human rights of hundreds of project affected communities and the ecological security of India. It is striking to note that amendment is proposed at the time of General Elections, and that the beneficiaries are the some of the largest corporate houses involved in mining, petrochemicals, manufacturing, construction, infrastructure development, dam building, etc. All of these sectors are highly polluting and environmentally destructive and the benefit of a weak environmental regime, including exemptions from compliance with significant provisions of environmental regulatory procedures, would help these sectors save thousands of crores in monetary terms alone. In effect therefore, the proposed amendments amount to the extension of a largesse from the State to highly profit making industrial and infrastructure sectors. It is well known that corporate houses fund political parties and have consistently demanded and lobbied for a weak environmental clearance regime, including exemptions. This is exactly what is now proposed by the move to amend the EIA Notification (which is anyway very weak). The Election Commission of India has a Code of Conduct for political parties which requires that a Party in power should not initiate significant shifts in policies, schemes and regulatory practices that may secure benefits for some sectors and amount to the extention of largesse of the State. The timing of the proposed amendments and the proposed changes in law leave little doubt about the possibility that the UPA Government at the Centre may have initiated these reforms to secure support of benefiting corporates to its party coffers. The Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is incharge of MoEF. We have enclosed an appeal to him highlighting our concerns urging him to direct MoEF to immediately announce that the proposed amendments are kept in abeyance till such time a new Government has taken charge at the Centre. This letter is enclosed and is self-explanatory. We request you to endorse this letter, and also to circulate it amongst various networks for support. We will fax this letter with your endorsements to the Prime Minister of India, and send a copy to all political parties, the Election Commission of India and the media on Monday, 23 March 2009. . You are requested therefore to endorse the letter by noon on Monday. Subsequent endorsements will also be accepted and forwarded appropriately. You may email your endorsements providing (full name, organisation and address, and optionally a brief comment) to e...@esgindia.org (Please keep the subject line above intact to help us sort email). You can also sign online and leave comments at: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/eianotification2009 We thank you for your cooperation and support as always. Yours sincerely, Leo F. Saldanha, Bhargavi S. Rao, Nandini Chami, Sruthi Subbanna, K. R. Mallesh, Divya Ravindranath Environment Support Group, Bangalore for Campaign for Environmental Justice - India
[Goanet] More than just Collomb, Mining Village...
Sorry, was a bit tied up and couldn't respond to recent events in Collomb, and more specifically the two patently ridiculous arrests Seby and John reported, and the recent postings by Samir and Venantius. I'm in touch with Venantius on this mining issue and more about this as and when it happens, although I am terribly surprised that Samir, given all the information I mailed him still seems to carry an element of doubt in him. I am happy that he asks for the Goa Foundation's Goa Sweet Land of Mine. He can see the pdf file on www.goafoundation.org/ I wonder sometimes, why the Goa Foundation hasn't tried harder in popularizing that book within Goa, or for that matter, trying to introduce it as a text (together with their Goa Fish Curry and Rice) in schools and colleges. At the Save The Western Ghats meeting in Goa, Claude and several other speakers chided themselves for not having done enough to involve young people in schools and colleges. I sincerely hope that that self-criticism has translated into some sort of action plan to rope in young voices in protest. Lest we forget, just a few weeks back, Venita in one of her columns eloquently asked the same question: Why aren't our young people not getting involved? That's something we need to think about, especially when it comes to the environment. Generation Next in school and college is actually one of the brightest generation the world has ever had, their potential is huge. We need to tap them, and the onus is on us, those above the age of forty to challenge them and engage with them on issues pertaining to their own future. Concern for the environment is a great way to catch them it seems to me, although I shall leave this aside for another posting... To come back to Collomb. I don't know from which side Samir drove there, perhaps via Rivona. He should have gone back to Margao via Maina, Kawrem and Ambaulim, and seen for himself how barely fifty meteres away from a government school, a large canyon is being carved out by the rogue mining companies hiding behind the guise of legality: stretching from Kawrem and almost totally encircling Maina, and soon to ruin for all time the beautiful Curca, younger sister to the Kushawati that they have already desecrated near Collomb. I am a little shocked frankly that Samir still thinks the water tables will not be affected by mining. There are moves afoot to revive an UNESCO proposal to declare the Western Ghats a Heritage Site. Nothing short of that goal will save either us or our future, and more about this as and when it happens. Samir you still want more information on the devastation to the environment and people, just send me a mail. I have a large reservoir of information that I have been sending out far and wide... Cheers, Hartman
[Goanet] The days of false prophets are here?RE: Goanet Digest, Vol 4, Issue 300
Soter ends his message: what is a genuine and more pressing issue (to focus upon) from those issues bliown out of proportion to systematically deflect public attention. I do not pretend to know all the facts but after a lifetime living in UK with a right-wing media stranglehold on news I believe systematic misinformation is typical. Politicians, bands and corporations here employ PR guys so that they can deflect awkward questions. Stonewalling is easy for the rich and powerful, who can hire whoever is useful. All kinds of strategies are used to subvert attention from the facts. eg. the war on terror has enabled empire building by the police and military, and a cloak of secrecy for government's dubious repression/oppression of legitimate protest. Fake-concern for the public during election fever soon disappears once politicians are in power. Re criminalisation used to discredit opponents of mis-use of power: Riot police were used against climate change protesters who do not want nuclear power, ie. Arrested after UK police get rough with them, which reminds me of the brothers arrested and man-handled in Quepem. The mines are a form of fiefdom where the villagers are treated as a nuisance, ie. the land is taken for purposes that are disadvantageous to local people. Rita Grootendorst
[Goanet] Please join NO SHRI RAM SENA IN GOA !!
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=70605164531ref=nf Please stop the violence in Goa. Sri Rama Sena is a pro-Hindu apolitical organization based in Hubli and promoted by Promod Mutalik, who floated the organization after parting ways with the BJP a few years ago. The organization is known for celebrating all Hindu festivals on a grand scale. It claims to be a ``protector'' of swadeshi ideology and Hindutva. The Sena activists accused the women of ``involving themselves in immoral activities, including consuming alcohol, dressing indecently, and mixing with youths of other faith''. http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=70605164531ref=nf
Re: [Goanet] Nuns treated like servants by priests
Bosco, I personally would like, those who post urls to make a point or two on occasion as to what strikes them about the news/info found at the links they provide. All postings are not equal or for that matter self-revelatory--as to the interest of the poster. One is not asking for a preface but something on the lines of I was moved to hear of this OR Hey people, this bothers me Or Its sad to see the RC going through this OR Who gives a damn Or Serves you good, and so forth. venantius From: Bosco D'Mello bos...@canada.com Subject: Re: [Goanet] Nuns treated like servants by priests Barad has posted an article on a subject that was highlighted here a month ago by Goanet News: http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2009-February/174186.html What is Barad's misdeed in this instance?? - B
[Goanet] Question to TOI Lead India winner --- how can you justify joining a blatantly communal party?
Dear Shri Mishra Lead India winner. Your joining communal BJP has been an extremely disappointing news personally for me and to lakhs of others secular citizens of this country. How do you justify the blatant massacre of Muslims in Gujarat during the NDA rule of 2004 to 2009 which you ironically call good governance ? Plese note that a criminal such as Narendra Modi is almost your party's mascot. Let me tell you there are people in this country who will not sit quiet till victims of the Gujarat riot, the Orissa riot (another place where BJP was in governance as a partner during the riots) will get justice. Shame on you Mr. Mishra. What kind of India do you intend leading, can you explain ? Jai Hind. Dr. Samir Kelekar Bangalore. IIT Bombay graduate.
[Goanet] Victory Of Good Over Evil
Victory Of Good Over Evil In school, I was taught that Diwali was a celebration of victory, of good over evil, and further confirmed by my Hindu friends, so do most of us believe that good will prevail over evil no matter how long it takes, but the happenings of the last 24 hours has withered away my faith and made me to cry when Lord, when is it all going to happen ? Going through the news papers this morning, it really baffled me to note that Monster Rat had scored 11 out of 11 at the Taleigao Panchayat election, there was no doubt that after all the burning issues, he had to go through, he would fight tooth and nail to prove that he was still a force to recon with, but the margin of victory was beyond comprehension. It has indeed made me feel that Goa is sinking in quicksand with no effort being made to move out of it, only too happy to be swallowed my the muck around and still happily grinning from ear to ear. How naïve can we Goans be ? Have we not learnt our lessons yet, or have we still to learn something even after all that's been happening in Goa ? I am most certainly disappointed at what has happened but has drawn on my reserves and pledged to fight even harder for Goa and I still believe we can do it. I sure hope all Goa lovers will make greater efforts to over come this setback that we have brought on ourselves. My plea to all Goa loving activists and general public wake up and stay awake, let it not be said that Goa was burnt while Goans played their harps. This is a good lesson for us all, not to take things for granted, looks like people of Taleigao have sold their souls to the devil for whatever reasons, even though there should be no good reason enough to sell one own mother, we have to think hard and come up with answers to over come this setback and stay focused, against all possible cynical assumptions, would I be wrong to assume that we still can achieve our goals of a clean, green and corruption free Goa ? To achieve this, come next election, we will have to burn all these narkasur's so that good be victorious over evil. Please help save Goa Freddy Agnelo Fernandes The content of this electronic communication is intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom it is addressed and any others who are specifically authorized to receive it. It may contain confidential or legally privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or otherwise placing reliance on the contents of this information is prohibited and may be unlawful in certain legal jurisdictions. If you have received this communication in error please notify the sender immediately by responding to this email and then delete it from your system. __ This email has been scanned by the MessageLabs Email Security System. For more information please visit http://www.messagelabs.com/email __
[Goanet] 'Holy powder' ingredient makes membranes behave for better health
Of course we eat a lot of this yellow stuff.but here even more researched reasons to gulp it like never before. Con http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-03/uom-pi030609.php
[Goanet] Subject: More than just Collomb, Mining Village
Does anyone have photos of these mining villages? What are the chances of getting some aerial photographs of the place? Does anyone have any ideas on how to get photographs from the air without breaking any laws! Why are only a few Goans commenting on this topic? Lots of questions, where are the answers? Perhaps with the Lamani's and the Ghanti's. Wake up Goa. Ben.
[Goanet] Roman Catholic Vs Hindu ...?
Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 08:29:46 +0900 From: Joao Barros-Pereira joaobarrospere...@gmail.com Reading the posts, in particular on religion, I get the impression that there are few Muslims as members of Goanet. How many Muslims have commented in the last few months ...? Mario responds: There are no Muslim members of Goanet, as far as I know, though there is one female member with a hyphenated Catholic-Muslim surname. Joao wrote: As I'm new to this list I feel strange reading the posts and sometimes get the impression the world is divided into Roman Catholics vs Hindus. Mario asks: This is an open forum, so any VERSUS based on our surnames is pure coincidence as far as I am concerned. I don't consider a member's religion when I respond to something they have written, only what they have written. Their surnames mean little or nothing here as we have some agnostics and atheists who have Catholic or Hindu surnames. Joao wrote: I cannot help but wonder why it is so ... Please enlighten me. Mario responds: An open worldwide forum like this attracts members by natural selection, mostly hearing about it from a friend or search engine. If it interests them, they stay. No one is asked to leave, except in a rare case when they may refuse to abide by the rules, but some have left for their own personal reasons. We had a Muslim member several years ago, but he decided to leave. If you know of any Muslims who are interested, feel free to invite them to join. Joao wrote: It is, after all, a big world we are living in which is full of a wide range of opinions - and, that's what makes the internet interesting, right? Mario responds: Right. So, see if you can find us a Muslim member. I don't know a single Goan who is a Muslim.
[Goanet] SAY NO TO SHRI RAM SENA IN GOA
DEAR GOANS BROTHERS SISTERS SAY NO TO SENA IN GOA IF THEY REALLY WANT TO DO SOMTHING FOR THE CITIZEN OF INDIA LET THE GO TO THE INDIAN BOADER. WHERE WERE YOU ALL WHEN TAJ HAD GUEST IN BOMBAY. FIRST TAKE CARE OF YOUR MUMBAI AND THEN GO PLACES AROUND. PRIDICTION FOR THE GOANS.. VERY SOON WE ALL WILL BE GANTIS IN OUR MOTHER LAND WE FIGHT WITH OUR OWN LOVED ONES / KONKANI ACTORS FIGHT WITH EACH OTHER / CHURCH WE WE TRY TO PULL EACH OTHER BECAUSE EACH ONE OF US WHAT TO GO HIGH.. LETS GET TOGATHER AND KEEP GOA PEACE FULL AND A PLACE TO BE CALLED PARADISE. GET UNITED AT HOME FIRST . FORGIVE EACH OTHER AND BE ONE VIVA GOA BONNY FERNANDES
Re: [Goanet] Always a class act
Date: Mon, 23 Mar 2009 09:10:38 -0400 From: Roland Francis roland.fran...@gmail.com http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2009-March/175607.html Mario responds: People who are able to read the news in English but still deliberately write such poppycock across the board are said to have a condition known as Bush Derangement Syndrome or BDS. One of the symptoms is a bilious rage and an uncontrollable need to lash out at any hint that President Bush did something praiseworthy:-)) This is followed by heartburn and belching the rest of the day, which contribute to global warming:-)) All I had to do to was to praise President Bush for being civil to his adversaries and, Voila! the symptoms were unleashed:-)) Even listing Bush's failures honestly was insufficient to stop the symptoms from manifesting themselves:-)) Roland wrote: Lying to his own people about the weapons of mass destruction, so as to initiate a war that made the world an unsafe place and that beggared the American people because of its cost. Mario responds: Do educated people still believe this poppycock? This is a provable slander, unless one is completely uninformed about the twelve year run up to the liberation of Iraq and the 17 UN resolutions all demanding an accounting of WMDs which in BDS mythology, did not exist. In the meantime, most Iraqis are delighted with their freedom and democracy as their local and national elections prove, but BDS victims deeply resent the liberation, for reasons that are not clear to me given their typical pretense of being uber humanitarians and the documented oppression the Iraqis had experienced previously. The claim that the world is less safe is so comical and reflects the far left wing blogs still smarting from their defeat by President Bush. Demonizing him is all they are left with:-)) In the meantime, the jihadis are on the run everywhere, except perhaps the Indian sub-continent. However, it is typical of the BDS uber humanitarians to shed crocodile tears for the American people, especially those who also suffer from BDS, as well as for the previous Iraqi dictatorial regime and the Taliban. Roland wrote: Sleeping at the watch that resulted in one of the world's worst economic disasters Mario responds: This urban legend was exposed in this report: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMnSp4qEXNMNR=1 Roland wrote: Actively fostering cronyism that caused his close circle to profit enormously from his misadventures. Mario responds: This is another specious urban legend from the character assassination section of the far left wing blogs with only innuendo to support it. Roland wrote: Completely destroying the concept of sovereignity in order to give the USA the sole right to invade any country it wished. Thereby demolishing the very pillars that built the United Nations. Mario responds: Hn! Sovereignty uber alles is the fight song the BDS uber humanitarians all goose step to:-)) Unfortunately, we had 17 UN resolutions [that's UN folks, not US], most of which were passed unanimously, the last one an ultimatum of serious consequences, i.e. regime change. Also, years of crippling UN sanctions, looted oil-for-food programs, years of no-fly zones to protect innocent Iraqis from Saddam's goons, while the BDS uber humanitarians looked the other way, humming Sovereignty uber alles as they goose stepped through life:-)) One has to be substantially discombobulated to believe that the US invaded any country alone and without UN approval. Reminds me of Baghdad Bob who lived in a world of his own:-)) Oh, I just checked, and the UN's pillars are still standing. This is not good news for the BDS uber humanitarians: http://www.iraqunmission.org/ Excerpt: Nationwide elections and return to self-rule have heralded the dawn of the era in Iraq. Feelings of fear and trepidation, once pervasive in my country, have now been replaced by those of determination and hope. The United Nations has been and remains a guiding force in my country’s rapid progression toward stability and democratic governance. [end of excerpt] Roland wrote: Caring nought about the poor in America. Mario responds: Nought? Not true. Bush's policies on education qualitatively improved the performance of the public school system and he encouraged the expansion of low income home ownership to record levels and provided billions for the victims of Hurricane Katrina who had been jeopardized by the incompetence of the local Mayor and Governor. Unfortunately, in hindsight, he probably should not have helped so many low income people to buy their homes, because it was a fundamentally flawed socialist policy that contributed to the current financial crisis. In addition to these actions, Bush policies provided BILLIONS to poor countries to fight HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria. Ooops! This aid has been expunged from BDS uber humanitarian revisionist history:-)) Roland
[Goanet] Goanet Reader: Ben Antao's market ... (by Augusto Pinto)
Ben Antao's market By Augusto Pinto pinto...@gmail.com A profile of Ben Antao and a review of: Living on the Market By Ben Antao Published: 2008 Publisher: Palabras-Press, Calgary, Alberta, Canada Cover Design: Rick McKenna 238 pages, Canadian $ 25.00 In 2008, the Velim-born Ben Antao came out with his fourth novel Living on the Market. Once a journalist with The Navhind Times and, later, the Indian Express, in 1966 he won a journalism fellowship awarded by the World Press Institute based at the Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota, for a year's study and travel in the United States. He then moved to Canada where he worked as a journalist, teacher, writer and certified financial planner. He has written five novels, several short stories, a play as well as a movie script based on his novel The Tailor's Daughter, besides a memoir and a travelogue of his visit to Sicily in Italy. It is difficult to avoid the issue of self-publishing when writing about Ben Antao. Most of his books have taken this route to appearing in print. It says something about his self confidence that when he believes that he has something worthwhile to say, he is ready to put his money where his mouth is instead of waiting for a commercial publisher. The problem with commercial publishers is that their major consideration will be how much profit they can make. This is the reason for their lack of interest in books that have niche audiences. Thus many a promising writer remains unknown, or a manuscript which may not be written in a currently fashionable style stays unpublished. Of course, in this regard, Antao follows a long list of distinguished Goan writers. As the writer Vivek Menezes points out, It's not much of an exaggeration to say that if it weren't for self-publishing, Goans wouldn't have much of a literature at all. This is particularly true when you consider Konkani, but much the same situation exists across the board. The previous novels of the 74 year Antao alternate between Goan and Canadian themes and include Blood and Nemesis a tale of love and lust set during the era of the freedom struggle in Goa; Penance which examines Catholicism in Canada; and The Tailor's Daughter which looks at caste among Goan Catholics, especially those diaspora Goans known as the Afrikanders. What makes Antao a very easy writer to read is his journalistic eye for detail as he describes events and scenes. In fact, they might make good film scripts given that he likes to sprinkle a lot of bedroom scene masala in them. His plot lines, although strong, tend to be fairly straightforward; but depth of characterization is not his forte. His language has an air of no-nonsense simplicity and his novels could be described, for want of a better term, as 'theme' novels. That is to say, the success of his novels depend mainly on how accurately he has accomplished the task of explicating his theme -- whether it is the prejudice generated by caste; or the atmosphere in Goa around the time of the freedom movement; or in the case of the book under review, how the stock market operates. As the writer himself says, My novels are plot driven as they explore the universal themes of sex and love, caste, religion and money. My characters serve as vehicles for these themes. Since he usually writes about things that he seems to have personally experienced, seen or heard about, his novels have a true to life feel about them. Antao's latest offering takes as his subject the worlds of the school system and of small-time stock market speculators in Canada, which is the backdrop of a family break-up. The protagonist of the novel Doug Thomas, is a 41 year old 'supply' teacher, someone who is much like the Goan lecture-basis or contract-basis teacher only perhaps a little worse off as he gets called to teach only when a regular teacher is sick or absent. However in Doug's case he does it out of choice, as this relieves him of the drudgery of doing routine school work which he finds boring; and frees him to play the stock market. However this puts him under pressure, especially when there is no supply teaching like during school vacations, as he has to figure out how to provide for his wife Gladys and their two children. While in the previous two years Doug has managed to be reasonably successful in his speculations, he is not going to be third time lucky. A crisis erupts when Doug gambles away all his family's money on the market. Along with the market crash his family life crumbles too, as his wife is not prepared to put up with a wastrel and they are separated. The novel takes us through the ups and downs of his life as he tries to fight off a life of penury and depression. Antao
[Goanet] In pin safety-pin in pin out - You're the den!
Just a wild guess. Could it mean a lion's den? Meaning that the person who has to find the others is isolated and has to take cover behind a tree or wall and when given the 'ready' call, has to find (hunt) the others. Regards, Marshall
Re: [Goanet] Subject: More than just Collomb, Mining Village
Some of my mining-related photos are here: http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=miningw=17364099%40N00 2009/3/24 Benedict DeBraganza bendebra2...@yahoo.com Does anyone have photos of these mining villages? What are the chances of getting some aerial photographs of the place? Does anyone have any ideas on how to get photographs from the air without breaking any laws! Why are only a few Goans commenting on this topic? Lots of questions, where are the answers? Perhaps with the Lamani's and the Ghanti's. Wake up Goa. Ben. -- FN * http://fredericknoronha.wordpress.com M +91-9822122436 P +91-832-2409490 http://twitter.com/fn On Facebook: http://www.new.facebook.com/people/Frederick-Noronha/502514643 I refuse to think of them as chin hairs. I think of them as stray eyebrows. - Janette Barber
[Goanet] Taleigao Bobau Abhiyan
Babush's clean sweep in the Taleigao panchayat elections is not a verdict against or in favour of corrupt politicians. It is a verdict against the elite forces who think they know what is best for Goa and the rest of the villagers are a bunch of idiots. The lower classes are ridiculed for succumbing to the politics of chicken and money but the elite who succumb to illegal hotmixing of their private colonies and sodium lamps goes unreported. Once the elections are over will the elites of Taleigao care for the lower classes? The masses are not asses to succumb to eltist agendas. We saw it after emergency and later after 'India Shinning' era. GBA, TBA are perceived as elitist. Babush at the end of the day is approachable for the lower strata. The Taleigao panchayat election must serve as an eye opener to those who take shortcuts to social transformation by jumping into electoral politics. It is more complex than it looks from the outside. As the bible says, do not resort to removing the spec in your neighbours eye when you have a log in yours.
[Goanet] Generals of Saffron
Ignoring all the vituperative, vitriolic and bucolic bile excreted by Santosh which has by now become standard and normal fare for him, I would like to go back to the topic of discussion. Mario and Santosh make valid points that the bulk of the Indian American community are more focussed on their personal and professional growth and development. However, it must be conceded that Vijay Prashad too makes valid points to back up his arguments. He too has lived long in the USA, is a Professor and has interacted extensively with the Indian community. It would be fair to conclude that there is a section of the Indian community which is drawn to the VHP and its activities. This is what Vijay Prashad has to say in the article: Desai points out that young Indian Americans suffer from cultural bigotry, and that this experience sends them in search of an identity fix – either to benign or not so benign organisations. The VHPA and its “Yankee Hindutva” parivar know this fully well. The Hindu Students Council bemoans the “loss and isolation” faced by youth in this “dual culture – Hindu and Judeo-Christian”. So, “it was precisely to assist you with this spiritual, emotional and identity needs that HSC was born”. For 15 years I have written about the mechanisms by which groups like the HSC draw on liberal multiculturalism to create rigid Hindutva identities in the diaspora. My main argument has been that the VHPA and its kin do nothing to challenge the root of this feeling of loss and isolation, which would drive it to actively take on racism. Instead of doing the difficult work in the anti-racist movement, the VHPA harnesses young people into a cultural bigotry of its own: against Indian Americans who are Muslims and dalits.3 Groups like the VHPA are less concerned with the broad problems of racism that motivate the loss and isolation, than they are to push the Hindutva agenda in the US and Canada *http://epw.in/epw//uploads/articles/13284.pdf* ** Here are two articles which chronicles the activities of some expat Indians. http://www.hindu.com/fline/fl1925/stories/20021220005302800.htm http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1925/stories/20021220005502700.htm One only needs to go through the letters to the editor section of magazines like Outlook, to know how some NRI’s react to issues in India. If Santosh desires, I can cull and post him copies. Will Santosh explain why persons like Narendra Modi are eulogized by some of the expat population in USA and repeatedly invited by some of the various Indian associations to be the keynote speaker or chief guest, despite his gory track record? It may be hard to accept certain unpalatable facts, but to live in denial of the same is escapism. Regards, Marshall
[Goanet] Roman Catholic Vs Hindu ...?
uesday March 24, 2009
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*Roman Catholic Vs Hindu ...?*
*Tue Mar 24 07:36:28 PDT 2009*
Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 08:29:46 +0900From: Joao Barros-Pereira
joaobarrospereira
at gmail.com http://lists.goanet.org/listinfo.cgi/goanet-goanet.org Reading
the posts, in particular on religion, I get the impression thatthere are few
Muslims as members of Goanet. How many Muslims have commentedin the last few
months ...?Mario responds:There are no Muslim members of Goanet, as far as I
know, though there is one female member with a hyphenated Catholic-Muslim
surname.
Joao wrote:As I'm new to this list I feel strange reading the posts and
sometimes get the impression the world is divided into Roman Catholics vs
Hindus.
Mario asks:This is an open forum, so any VERSUS based on our surnames is
pure coincidence as far as I am concerned. I don't consider a member's
religion when I respond to something they have written, only what they have
written. Their surnames mean little or nothing here as we have some
agnostics and atheists who have Catholic or Hindu surnames.
Joao replies: I agree with you with regard to surnames. I was, however,
hoping for a variety of perspectives besides the Roman Catholic and Hindu
traditional cultural and religious viewpoints even if they are atheists,
agnostics and so on, and so I mentioned the Muslims. Argumentation with
regard to religion or God, for example, is not something which has not been
going on for thousand of years now
Joao wrote:I cannot help but wonder why it is so ... Please enlighten
me.Mario responds:An open worldwide forum like this attracts members by
natural selection, mostly hearing about it from a friend or search engine.
If it interests them, they stay. No one is asked to leave, except in a rare
case when they may refuse to abide by the rules, but some have left for
their own personal reasons. We had a Muslim member several years ago, but he
decided to leave.
If you know of any Muslims who are interested, feel free to invite them to
join.
Joao replies: I'm don't. I'm not pro or anti anything but variety is the
spice of life. It does make for a more interesting exchange of ideas,
wouldn't you say ...?
Joao wrote:It is, after all, a big world we are living in which is full of a
wide range of opinions - and, that's what makes the internet interesting,
right?
Mario responds:Right. So, see if you can find us a Muslim member. I don't
know a single Goan who is a Muslim.
Joao replies: You say you don't know a single Goan who is a Muslim but there
were Muslims living in Goa even before the Liberation. Goa was also ruled by
the Muslims. If Hindus are Goans even though their culture is different from
Roman Catholics who are influenced by the Portuguese and their culture, why
can't Muslims also be considered to be Goans ...?
[Goanet] Subject: More than just Collomb, Mining Village
Dear Benedict, Some satellite images (Look at the barges. Reminds one of vultures) : http://navendushirali.blogspot.com/2008/08/mining-of-goa-satelitte-images.html More Images: http://images.google.com/images?hl=enclient=firefox-arls=org.mozilla:en-US:officialhs=Ztqq=Goa+mining+imagesum=1ie=UTF-8ei=g0HJSZf8AsKJtgfQ1LmVAwsa=Xoi=image_result_groupresnum=1ct=title From the ground: http://mandgoa.blogspot.com/ Look under Mand Themes: Bicholim, Cheryl, Ambaulim Antruzz (our finest in khaki pushing people around--meet PI Santosh Desai) http://mandgoa.blogspot.com/search/label/Ambaulim%20Intruzz, Cavrem, Collomb, Kulagars. In each case make sure that you scroll down. Not the best images but under the circumstances. While at it have a look at the River Princess: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://photos.jpgmag.com/57279_33500_33af3d4f8f_p.jpgimgrefurl=http://goa-kranti.blogspot.com/2009/02/ode-to-river-princess-of-goa-by-tony.htmlusg=__kk38qCUVR9bNiwrqufOj09X1l_4=h=473w=658sz=75hl=enstart=75sig2=1CD7XO6PuDTNpUsobsRF8Qum=1tbnid=Fq7psAQWakKQSM:tbnh=99tbnw=138prev=/images%3Fq%3DGoa%2Bmining%2Bimages%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN%26start%3D60%26um%3D1ei=EUPJSefbDNuImQe4ne3wAg Worth reading: (Hartman de Souza) http://kafila.org/2008/08/07/quepem-by-the-kilo-hartman-de-souza-on-mining-in-goa/ Kafila / karavan (serai or otherwise): * Main akela hi chalaa tha jaanib-e-manzil magar Log saath aate gaye… karavaan banta gaya* **[Alone I was when I started towards my destination, but People kept coming along, the caravan kept growing] by Majrooh Sultanpuri (Armstrong Vaz) http://www.nowpublic.com/environment/rape-goa-continues (Hartman on Corporate social responsibility) http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2009-February/174049.html About aerial photography. One would have to rent a small plane--helicopter is better for low altitudes, and photographer with or without a 3-way gyro. Or do it yourself. Make sure its the right aircraft for the job. (years ago I rented a small plane in Marlborough to fly me over the crop circles near Stonehenge.) Goan photographer living in Bangalore--perhaps one could talk to him: http://ryanlobo.blogspot.com/2007/02/goa.html Then there are the panoramic cameras, but this email is already too heavy. Hope this helps. venantius From: Benedict DeBraganza bendebra2...@yahoo.com Subject: [Goanet] Subject: More than just Collomb, Mining Village Does anyone have photos of these mining villages? What are the chances of getting some aerial photographs of the place? Does anyone have any ideas on how to get photographs from the air without breaking any laws!? Why are only a few Goans commenting on this topic?? Lots of questions, where are the answers? Perhaps with the Lamani's and the Ghanti's. Wake up Goa. Ben.
Re: [Goanet] SAY NO TO SHRI RAM SENA IN GOA (BONNIE FERNANDES)
Since it is off-season for football in Dubai, though I am not sure if one-day tournaments are played on Fridays, Bonnie seems to put his energies in explaining the intricacies of Goa's politics in his inimitable style and, alas, words, which are really remarkable when written in all-caps. Holy-moly, this coming from a man who isn't sure how to spell his own name. Trying to tell us the background of Saligao's football ground issue is one thing and trying to tell us about Ram Sena is another. Which motherland is Bonnie or Bonny talking about? Well, ghantis, to use his derogative word for those some of us hate, do belong to the motherland called India or Bharat, if I may say so. By the way, what unity is Bonnie talking about? Ask any football fan in Dubai about Bonnie's display of unity. How united is United Goans, one of the groups organizing Goan football in Dubai? Bonnie was part of it for one year then jumped to another one the next year, came back the year after and went back to the original rival again the following year. Well, he did it for money, so one could forgive him. Similarly, the ghantis have jumped the ghats for making money in Goa. So, in reality, one can hold a grudge against them? Didn't Bonnie, I and many Goans jump into Dubai for money? I wish Goa was absent of outsiders. But my wish and that of those like me, Bonnie and others may not come true. That is the said truth. Eugene Correia
Re: [Goanet] Generals of Saffron
As usual, Marshall resorts to ignorant paranoia in his shameful attempt to make much about nothing. As an Indian student in N.America who was a board member of several Indian Students Associations for a span of 10 years, in several universities, I can say with much confidence that there was very little of what Marshall claims to have happened. Like India itself, the Indian student community is very diverse, which sometimes could lead to tensions between them. However, this mechanism also served to ensure that no group or individual was able to use these organizations to push their ideologies forward. As far as Indian students being marginalized, the facts speak for themselves. Indian students are amongst the most represented and over achieving group in most US universities. I also happened to have many second generation pub going, meat eating Gujarati friends (ABCDs) who happened to be pro BJP (pre Modi). They were pro BJP not because of ideology, but because they correctly viewed the Congress party as being corrupt. Marshall's posts would suggest that the vast majority of these folks were communal, which is simply false. It is time folks like Marshall get off their communal high horses and take a deep look at their own paranoia. Marlon --- On Tue, 3/24/09, Marshall Mendonza mmendonz...@gmail.com wrote: Will Santosh explain why persons like Narendra Modi are eulogized by some of the expat population in USA and repeatedly invited by some of the various Indian associations to be the keynote speaker or chief guest, despite his gory track record? It may be hard to accept certain unpalatable facts, but to live in denial of the same is escapism. Regards, Marshall
Re: [Goanet] Obsession with other people's religion
--- On Tue, 3/24/09, Marshall Mendonza mmendonz...@gmail.com wrote: Ignoring all the vituperative, vitriolic and bucolic bile excreted by Santosh which has by now become standard and normal fare for him, I would like to go back to the topic of discussion. I am relieved that no conditional apology was offered this time around. I can take this type of abuse, but conditional apologies are unbearably embarrassing. As far as the question asked below is concerned, it is as funny as it is naive. Why are there misguided people and organizations in this world? Why do we have left-wing and right-wing fringe political activists and organizations in India and the U.S.? Why do criminals infest all political parties and organizations? Cheers, Santosh --- On Tue, 3/24/09, Marshall Mendonza mmendonz...@gmail.com wrote: Will Santosh explain why persons like Narendra Modi are eulogized by some of the expat population in USA and repeatedly invited by some of the various Indian associations to be the keynote speaker or chief guest, despite his gory track record?
Re: [Goanet] Obsession with other people's religion
It is interesting to note that during the Marshall-Santosh dialogue, Nasci launched a despicable vituperative on hinduism, Marshall chose not to repudiate himself from Nasci's outrageous comments. This was a clear signal to me, that Marshall is either communal by nature, or so desperate for support, that he would sell his soul to the devil. Either way, I believe Marshall, like Nasci to be on very shaky ethical grounds. Marlon --- On Mon, 3/23/09, Marshall Mendonza mmendonz...@gmail.com wrote: One must grant Santosh the credit for maliciously and mischievously twisting and interpreting a sentence taken out of context and giving it a communal colour. Nothing new, standard hindutva tactics, if one may say so.
[Goanet] Goa news for March 25, 2009
Goa News from Google News and Goanet.org Visit http://www.goanet.org/newslinks.php for the full stories. *** Code takes the fizz off Goas interim budget - Herald Publications age speech in the Goa assembly, the chief minister said the total budget for the ... http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9-0fd=Rurl=http://oheraldo.in/pagedetails.asp?nid=19118cid=10cid=1319618405ei=-2zJSaTXD5qilQT7nuH0Dgusg=AFQjCNGcyeWBj_wDJv45XjsLOLx7P8Ubgg *** Goa Assembly congratulates Slumdog Millionaire\'s team - Hindu http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/2-0fd=Rurl=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/009200903231980.htmcid=1319297176ei=-2zJSaTXD5qilQT7nuH0Dgusg=AFQjCNGaBVqw3Lztp3s_nttqFRL2XNtZmA *** Goa cops beat up partying tourists - Times of India http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-0fd=Rurl=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Goa-cops-beat-up-partying-tourists/articleshow/4307751.cmscid=1319210450ei=-2zJSaTXD5qilQT7nuH0Dgusg=AFQjCNFsqSjHmAfIDaQQqDHWCyiNO8I16g *** Poor cashew crop in Konkan, Goa - Times of India http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-0fd=Rurl=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Goa/Poor-cashew-crop-in-Konkan-Goa/articleshow/4302076.cmscid=1319312425ei=-2zJSaTXD5qilQT7nuH0Dgusg=AFQjCNGxZ9qzz3uk8aczJl4GwWTrDI0d5A *** SC restrains Goa govt from regularising illegal constructions - Indopia http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-0fd=Rurl=http://www.indopia.in/India-usa-uk-news/latest-news/531231/National/1/20/1cid=1319899302ei=-2zJSaTXD5qilQT7nuH0Dgusg=AFQjCNE6SyRBJVfdLIJr9XS-szb1Tp6tqA *** Goa Broadband Project to be Completed in July - Daijiworld.com ijiworld.com, IndiaBy Our Special Correspondent Panaji, Mar 24: The much touted Goa Broadband project that had hit the roadblock after being inaugurated by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh will be completed in July, 2009. The state government, in the reply tabled on the ... http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/7-0fd=Rurl=http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=58128n_tit=Goa+Broadband+Project+to+be+Completed+in+Julycid=0ei=-2zJSaTXD5qilQT7nuH0Dgusg=AFQjCNFcqQOyCerpohz6_FdANMrvuSpi6A *** Kamat lands in trouble as SC stays ordinance - Economic Times ed Congress government in Goa, the Supreme Court on Tuesday put on hold state governments decision to amend the century-old Land Acquisition Act which #152;saved Fomento Resorts ... http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-0fd=Rurl=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/Kamat-lands-in-trouble-as-SC-stays-ordinance/articleshow/4312049.cmscid=0ei=-2zJSaTXD5qilQT7nuH0Dgusg=AFQjCNHmaQc8VoNVcKmY6BASdvaxeQpMsw *** 3 foreign nationals attack Goa cops, held - The Statesman e Statesman, IndiaPTI Panaji, March 23: Goa police have arrested a German, a Russian and a Swedish tourist for attacking the police team which had allegedly gone to stop the loud music party in the coastal village of Anjuna. Superintendent of Police Mr Tony Fernandes ... http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4-0fd=Rurl=http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=2theme=usrsess=1id=247967cid=0ei=-2zJSaTXD5qilQT7nuH0Dgusg=AFQjCNG4yAS-irkEL-3YuCExtjIAp08MWw *** Goa casino charged with denying winnings, beating up customer - SINDH TODAY NDH TODAY, PakistanPanaji, March 24 (IANS) Police in Goa are investigating a complaint filed against the operator of an onshore casino, accused of beating a customer and denying him his winnings after he went to claim the money. According to a complaint registered with ... http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-0fd=Rurl=http://www.sindhtoday.net/world/78762.htmcid=1319919341ei=-2zJSaTXD5qilQT7nuH0Dgusg=AFQjCNHEluUpa722LCE_WA7NwHSz-6gKhg *** Company Review: Sesa Goa - Livemint 0% pa over the next two years, and volumes to touch 25mn by FY12. However, with no respite expected in the prevailing downcast conditions, we expect demand for iron ore to decline from China. ... http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-0fd=Rurl=http://www.livemint.com/2009/03/24113104/Company-Review-Sesa-Goa.htmlcid=0ei=-2zJSaTXD5qilQT7nuH0Dgusg=AFQjCNHRHcGPFwRyYmXewLpHfcKPIpfwIA Compiled by Goanet News Service http://www.goanet.org/newslinks.php
Re: [Goanet] Vatican Stirs Up Another Controversy (Fr. Desmond de Sousa CSsR, SAR NEWS)
From:Dr. Neil de Jesus Rangel The Roman Catholic Church cannot and will never sanction the use of condoms for the prevention of AIDS or any other sexually transmitted disease. The use of a condom is inherently evil and under no circumstances will the Catholic Church ever sanction the use of evil so that some good may come out of it. That evil not be used to justify any good that may ensue, is a divine injunction and cannot be changed by the Catholic Church. The devastation of morality and increasing promiscuity are there for all to see. The Catholic Church under Pope Paul VI took a principled stand in forbidding the use of condoms and medications as contraceptives against every thinkable form of worldwide opposition including some degenerates and modernist-progressives within the very ranks of the clergical hierarchy.So also an abortion cannot be justified in any case whatsoever. Human life begins at the very time of conception and this life takes precedence over everything else. It is not humans who bring life into the world but the Author of Life.It is not for humans to decide who merits to live and who does not. In recent times there has been a progressively increasing assault on the most vulnerable: the unborn and the the sick and what any perceive as undesirables. This has to be stopped. All human life is sacred and has to be protected at all times.There is place for everyone in this world. The Catholic Church worldwide continues to be the single largest provider of health care services for those afflicted with AIDS.While fully aware of the suffering of those with AIDS and of the exploited and helpless; She entrusts them all to the protection of the God we believe in and the intercession of the Blessed Mother. What Pope Benedict XVI needs to urgently do is rein in dissenters within the clergy and excommunicate them if need be. --- Read all Goanet messages at: http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/ ---
[Goanet] ALEXYZ Daily Cartoon (25Mar09)
MLAs accused of Massive Kickbacks - GBA Seems Like Politicians don't have Principles anymore... Says whothey Excel in what is commonly known as Vice Principles...! To enjoy the visual cartoon please visit: www.alexyztoons.com Site sponsored by www.goasudharop.org
[Goanet] Want A Beating? Try A Goa Casino.
Never in all my matka playing days in Bombay did I ever come across a single adda (joint) denying a punter's genuine winnings. Of course there was the occasional punter who tried to scam the house with a forged winning slip. This was done when the payout man was busy distributing winnings to people just after the numbers were announced. This was a busy time and chosen by the scammer with the hope that his forged slip would pass inspection. What happened next was fun to watch. The offender would get a tap on the shoulder by the bouncer and told to come outside. There he would get his just dues discouraging him from doing this again. However, a Goa casino seems to have taken that art to the winner, not the cheater. See: http://www.newspostonline.com/business/goa-casino-charged-with-denying-winnings-beating-up-customer-2009032444354 -- Roland Francis http://roland-torontogoan.blogspot.com +1 (416) 453.3371
[Goanet] Youngest CEOs in the Us----one a Goan
At 39 years, Francisco D'Souza, the India-origin chief executive of software firm Cognizant Technology Solutions, is one of the youngest CEOs in America, running an American public company that is worth at least $5.7 billion. The latest among a slew of honours for this young business honcho is a mention in business magazine Forbes' updated list of '21 youngest CEOs at USA's biggest companies.' 'Francisco D'Souza, 39, heads what is now the largest public company run by a 40-or-under CEO, though his $5.7-billion Cognizant Technology Solutions is dwarfed by the $16.9-billion Yahoo!.' Forbes said. 'D'Souza has been an officer at Cognizant for 11 years now, chief executive since 2007, and chief operating officer since 2003, when he was a mere 33.' All the chief executives named in the list are in the age group of 34 to 40 years. 'They are the youngest people running the biggest companies in America. As they have gotten this far already, keep an eye on them in the future,' Forbes said in an accompanying report. D'Souza took over from Lakshmi Narayanan, who became vice-chairman of the board. At the time, D'Souza was also inducted into the board. In an interview he gave before he became CEO, he shared his views on how businesses become and remain profitable. Cognizant choose the customer-centric, relationship-driven model right from our founding and we have built upon it. The outcome of this model is that we service a limited number of customers and provide increasing value as we grow those relationships. The fact that we serve our customers deeply is reflected in the ratio of relationship managers and client partner to be higher than our sales professionals, he said. D'Souza is a person of Indian origin, born in Nairobi, Kenya. Since his father was a diplomat with the Indian Foreign Services, he has lived in and travelled to many different countries. He has an MBA from Carnegie-Mellon University and was a 2004 Ernst Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist. He also won the Economic Times Entrepreneur Award in 2005. At Cognizant, which he joined in its early days, D'Souza oversees much of the operations and business development of the company. He has earned a total compensation of $1,777,883.00, according to Forbes. Forbes also noted that the most experienced and seasoned old CEOs have to make hard-nosed decisions and endure intense scrutiny during tough times. 'Young CEOs may find themselves under an even brighter spotlight, thanks to their supposed inexperience. But at least they have plenty of time ahead of them to correct any errors -- and possibly move on to even bigger things,' it added. http://in.rediff.com/money/2009/jan/16youngest-indian-ceo-in-us.htm
[Goanet] God and You
Albert writes- Paganism was existing during the old egyptian days. They believed in sun God. Today are we following true God ? I have my doubts. What are the priests afraid of ? Sometime back I wrote about the Rosary and our devotion to Mary. I thought some clergy over the globe would reply. They are still finding answers to my questions in thought. Incase someone has missed out I shall repeat.1. Mary was present when Jesus left the earth and went to heaven. She received the Holy Ghost but she never preached the word of God because it was not her mission. She never told the apostles that she is the interceptor between human beings and God. She never spoke about the rosary. Why only after 1913 the rosary became prominent and Mary is seen like someone with several heads? 2. I have heard priests telling people that the believers do not believe in Mary. What is there that all of us have to believe about Mary ? Everyone including the believers believe that Mary was the mother of Jesus. They believe that she humbly proclaimed to fulfil the will of God and did it. She preached the love of God and love for human beings when she went running to help her cousin Elizabeth and showed concern at Cana. She stood firmly at the foot of the cross. Her mission was only that. She has never promised anyone to take any one to heaven or to plead with God for us. Jesus on the contary has promised to reach us to the Father. Please comment _ Windows Live Messenger. Multitasking at its finest. http://www.microsoft.com/india/windows/windowslive/messenger.aspx
[Goanet] Justice in UAE
This is justice at its best.. follow the link below.. http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/Police_and_The_Courts/10297884.html Brgds, Blasio
Re: [Goanet] America - A Socialist Economy
Marlon, I would not describe the United Socialist States of America as having a socialist economy. I would describe it as having a very PECULIAR socialist economy. Here is the reason why. When a public company makes profits, the profits are distributed only to the risk takers or the wealthy. When these same public companies make staggering losses, management gets a bonus and then the losses are distributed to all those who did not take any risks, but who are now the bearers/sharers of the losses. Abso-social-lutely amazing! marlon menezes wrote: Another dubious program from the Bush era is the largest expansion of socialized medicine ala its expansion of medicaid prescriptions for the elderly. Rest assured that every aspect of socialized medicine is going to be expanded. USSA manufacturers are at a competitive disadvantage verses companies in other countries that have socialized medicine. The motor vehicle firms will be the first to be relieved of their medical obligations. After the medical expenses have been outsourced to the govt, and local manufacturers still cannot compete with international firms, the USSA govt will give loans to companies that cannot sell their products. The final socialist step will be when the govt converts those loans into shares to become the largest share holder in the companies that cannot sell their products. Yep, the politicians are soon going to be appointing the directors and management of USSA firms. The US is still the most dynamic economy in the world, given that it is still the most free market economy. The above statement only works when you provide the numbers. For example, the numbers that compares the dynamics of the economy of China v/s that of the USSA. With out the numbers, your contention is pure sentiment. Lastly, I love this Obama (blessed be, his name) guy. It seems that all the TV news channels are carrying him live, twice a week. It is almost like a mini-series where the country cannot seem to get enough of him. Mervyn1650Lobo __ Looking for the perfect gift? Give the gift of Flickr! http://www.flickr.com/gift/
[Goanet] US now a country of nightmares
Hi Mario, Your outlandish scribble always makes amusing reading. Clearly your long drawn fruitless response shows that you are unaware of what is going around you. Rather your paranoia about Obama using the teleprompter smells of bile on this forum. Obama is clever and doing his best to change things inherited from an incompetent. The market problem is huge and can not reset itself this time. Reports suggest it is the worst since the great depression. Do you think the US of A will be named the United Soviet States. USS in short. The sling shot at Macau is an other poor attempt. Here people do not live in animal farms nor in tents or forage for food. The disparity is there like and place on this planet, but problems exacerbated since the local government invited Yank sweat shops to ply their trade(casinos). Young kids have been plucked from schools and universities and this has upset the labour apple cart. Now with the downturn thousands are unemployed and things are not so rosy when compared to 25%GDP. Please read more and think better before you write. BC Thanks for your concern, but when you write about another country it may help to avoid displaying your lack of knowledge in front thousands of Goanetters if you have your facts straight. It is quite obvious from your comments that you are as familiar with the USA as you are with Mars. To begin with the US does not need to tout itself as a country of dreams, because millions of immigrants trying to get in, legally or illegally, are doing that for us. The waiting list for legal immigrants is several years long. We have some 15 million illegal immigrants whose only nightmare is that they get caught and politely asked to leave, most of whom promptly turn around and sneak back in
Re: [Goanet] Vatican Stirs Up Another Controversy (Fr. Desmond deSousa CSsR, SAR NEWS)
Fr Desmond deSousa writes about a gaffe-prone pope and the ex-communications in Brazil (not of the rapist step-father, but of the child victim), etc. It is not just Arab or Africans who treat women like chattels, domestic abuse is practiced everywhere, mainly with impunity by the perpetrators. For me, big-hearted individuals are better than official bodies at making a real difference, below is what such an unusual character did. Greg Mortenson said: We all make mistakes and we all fail, and that is often where our greatest successes come from. Greg failed to climb K2 and would have died if Northern Pakistani tribesmen had not rescued and nursed him back to health. Greg's gratitude has endured for more than 15 years. He built a school for that village and has continued with his foundations Pennies for peace to bring education to the children of the hill tribes. His book three cups of tea was serialised for BBC radio. Greg showed mutual respect and understanding when he got to know the villagers vice versa. Frequently familiarity breeds contempt, but that comes from unwillingness to accept others and treat them as equals. Greg's parents had been medical missionaries in Africa - giving was in his nature. He has even funded schools in Afghanistan. What a contrast to the American administration that preferred force and war against civilians. Civil unrest and world war is predicted by some as a result of the global economic downturn. In London everyday there is a failure of policing. Aggression and mindless destruction by undisciplined youth goes unpunished , eg. On Saturday night I was in my local supermarket when a dozen hoodies (hooligans who hide their identities by wearing hooded sportswear) stormed through the shop smashing jars of coffee and anything else in their way before running away. In less than a minute they had disappeared. What are the causes and who is responsible for social breakdown, family dysfunction and absence of conscience? Is the quest for the fast dollar, £ or lakh, which results in the worship of money? Is it fraud to create toxic debts then market the packaged derivatives as investment opportunities? How can we hope for peace when class and caste distinctions are still used to judge fellow men? Today I have listened to the second radio excerpt of This book will save your life a surreal fictional tale of a USA man's mid-life crisis complete with panic attacks. After discharge from the hospital he goes into a donut shop and is befriended by the shop-owner, Anil, an immigrant to US looking to make a fortune. This story is about re-connecting with the human race. Rita Grootendorst
[Goanet] False Allegations by Mr. Borges
Mr. Borges Endangered Languages (1) By Tomazinho Cardozo Mr. Sebastiao Borges is at his usual game once again. If anything is written that affects the Devnagori script adversely, he at once, comes with his own interpretation of the whole issue and tries to project it as a lie. These are his malicious ways to prove others wrong. Another worst habit that this Professor has is that when there are no arguments to defend he attacks you personally. His allegations are wild and without any substance. This wicked attitude of his, I have observed in many writings that he has done in English as well in Konkani against me. His only aim is to prove himself right by defaming others. In order to give in detail some important information about Konkani language vis-à-vis to expose the lies of Mr. Borges, I have divided his whole response into seven sub-topics. They are: (i) Personal allegations, (ii) Impact of OLA, (iii) Konkani Education, (iv) Konkani dialects, (v) Day-to-day use of Konkani, (vi) Konkani in Church literature and (vii) Konkani: an endangered language! I shall be posting one article each, possibly every week, so that Goans throughout the world get the first hand information about the activities of some fanatics like Mr. Borges who are all out to destroy Konkani in Roman script. Today I am dealing with the first sub-topic Personal Allegations Personal Allegations 1.. In his response Mr. Borges has tried to project me as an anti-Devnagori script person which is totally false. Mr. Borges knows it very well but purposely does it that way in order to create ill-will about me among the protagonists of Devnagori script. Let me re-remind Mr. Borges that I am not against Devnagori script at all but I am for equal status to Roman script along with Devnagori script. I am not fighting against Devnagori script but I am fighting for justice to Roman script because rightful status to Konkani in Roman script is denied to it by persons who have the same mentality like that of Mr. Borges. For Mr. Borges any one who supports Konkani in Roman script is the greatest devil on earth. Hence his devilish mind compels him to do anything and everything to oppose Roman script for Konkani. 2.. He alleges, I have observed that two tiatrist couples (Cardozo and Mazarello, (prominent leaders of the anti-Devanagari lobby) invariably intercommunicate in English whether on the road, in a hall or in the church. One of the couples, he mentioned, is Cardozo couple. Although my name is not stated, I feel it refers to me only. I do not know where and when Mr. Borges has observed me and my wife communicating in English on the road, in a hall or in the church. Is he following us everywhere? Then I must be careful hence forth. As far as I am concerned, I have no contact with Mr. Borges at all except at the time of official meetings of Goa Konkani Akademi. My wife is never there with me for these meetings. How can you state such a lie Mr. Borges? 3.. Yet another lie of Mr. Borges. He states One may remember that, among the Speakers of our Legislative Assembly, Tomazinho is perhaps the only one who used English exclusively in the House This is yet another attempt of Mr. Borges to defame me in order to prove his point. This also displays his ignorance as far as the procedure of Legislative Assembly is concerned. Being a professor, he should have known that the Speaker of the house speaks the least. The Speaker mostly reads the matter provided to him by the Secretariat of the Legislative Assembly. All these matter is written in English. This does not happen only in Goa Assembly but also in our Parliament in Delhi. Speaker talks on the spur of the moment mostly during Question hour as well as when there is discussion on various issues and confrontation between the ruling and the opposition because the he (Speaker) has to maintain order and discipline in the House. I challenge Mr. Borges to prove that I used English exclusively in the House during my tenure as the Speaker of Goa Legislative Assembly from 1995 to 1999. 4.. While talking about Konkani education, he makes yet another allegation which is totally false and baseless. He says In fact, it is headmasters like Tomazinho who are largely responsible for this state of affairs. Ha. ha. ha. ha . I can only laugh at this childish and irresponsible statement. I prefer not to comment on such senile attitude of Mr. Borges. Before ending this part of my response, let me tell Mr. Borges that he can fool some people for sometime, he cannot fool all the people for all the time.
[Goanet] Dr. Anil Desai's letter in Herald (March 25, 2009)
To Goanet - See - http://oheraldo.in/pagedetails.asp?nid=19141cid=13 While the whole of Pakistan was rejoicing at the reinstatement of Iftikhar Chaudhary in the post of Chief Justice and the resultant move towards the independence of the judiciary, I, as a Goan and an Indian, felt ashamed at the blatant attempt made by the Digambar Kamat government to subvert the Supreme Court’s judgement against Cidade De Goa. In any self-respecting democracy, the Attorney-General of such a government would have resigned. But with all the rich pickings at stake for this poor man, we can expect him to continue to be a true ‘Kantak’ in the flesh of justice. He could be forgiven for not understanding the importance of the independence of the judiciary for democracy to thrive. And what about the Timblos? Are there no men and women of honour left in these mine-owning dynasties? Is it so difficult for them to accept the verdict of the highest court in the land? They have fought hard for the last several years to preserve and protect their gains. But when the Supreme Court has given its verdict at the end of a fair, albeit lengthy, judicial process, should this verdict not have been accepted with grace? The Fomento Group had already shown its cowardice when filing a case against Sebastian Rodrigues in a Calcutta High Court rather than at a court in Goa. This ordinance comes as the last straw. The time has come for Goans to tackle the issue of mining and mine-owners altogether. There are now daily reports of illegal mining resulting in destruction of property and livelihood of innocent Goans. Large swathes of land have already been destroyed by mining, with very little economic benefit to ordinary Goans. The state’s debt burden is testimony to that, having risen to Rs 4500 crores or more. I sincerely hope that when this ordinance comes up for discussion in the State Assembly, the MLAs will, if they have the interests of Goa at heart, reject it. Otherwise, the politicians and the mining lobby will have to learn the hard way that when decent law-abiding citizens get angry, we have the courage of our convictions to transform public opinion from tolerance shown towards mining to complete rejection. Mere statements in newspapers proclaiming your love for Goa and its environment will not do. We need to see action. Demolition as ordered by the Supreme Court and withdrawal of the case against Seby would be a good start. Dr. Anil Desai UK *
[Goanet] The financial crisis explained in simple terms.
Heidi is the proprietor of a bar in Berlin . In order to increase sales, she decides to allow her loyal customers - most of whom are unemployed alcoholics - to drink now but pay later. She keeps track of the drinks consumed on a ledger (thereby granting the customers loans). Word gets around and as a result increasing numbers of customers flood into Heidi's bar. Taking advantage of her customers' freedom from immediate payment constraints, Heidi increases her prices for wine and beer, the most-consumed beverages. Her sales volume increases massively. A young and dynamic customer service consultant at the local bank recognizes these customer debts as valuable future assets and increases Heidi's borrowing limit. He sees no reason for undue concern since he has the debts of the alcoholics as collateral. At the bank's corporate headquarters, expert bankers transform these customer assets into DRINKBONDS, ALKBONDS and PUKEBONDS. These securities are then traded on markets worldwide. No one really understands what the abbreviations mean and how the securities are guaranteed. Nevertheless, as their prices continuously climb, the securities become top-selling items. One day, although the prices are still climbing, a risk manager of the bank (subsequently of course fired for his negativity) decides that slowly the time has come to demand payment of the debts incurred by the drinkers at Heidi's bar. However, they cannot pay back the debts. Heidi cannot fulfil her loan obligations and claims bankruptcy. DRINKBOND and ALKBOND drop in price by 95 %. PUKEBOND performs better, stabilizing in price after dropping by 80 %. The suppliers of Heidi's bar, having granted her generous payment due dates and having invested in the securities are faced with a new situation. Her wine supplier claims bankruptcy, her beer supplier is taken over by a competitor. The bank is saved by the Government following dramatic round-the-clock consultations by leaders from the governing political parties. The funds required for this purpose are obtained by a tax levied against the non-drinkers. __ Yahoo! Canada Toolbar: Search from anywhere on the web, and bookmark your favourite sites. Download it now at http://ca.toolbar.yahoo.com.
[Goanet] Whose jungle is it?
Here is another story of conflict between businesses which degrade the environment in pursuit of growth and development and the local population which wants to preserve the environment and yet want development. There are so many similarities in the article with the struggle in Goa for protection of the environment. Yes, and just as Seby was branded a 'naxalite' by MP, the leader of the protest movement in Peru has been labelled a 'terrorist'. Read on. Extract: While some neighbouring countries shun multinationals and harry local businesses, Peru’s president, Alan García, is convinced that private investment, both local and foreign, is the best way to haul his people out of poverty. His government, like its similarly-minded predecessor, has granted land concessions for oil and gas exploration, mining, biofuel crops and logging. The problem is that many of these are superimposed on towns, farms and natural parks. That is a recipe for conflict. “About a quarter of our region has been granted in concession without anyone letting us know,” says Ulderico Fasanando, an official in the regional government. Locals are particularly worried about the fate of the Cordillera Escalera, a mountain range that is the water source for Tarapoto, the region’s largest town, and is home to villages of small-scale farmers and several endangered wildlife species, including the spectacled bear. A local request to declare the range a protected environment was filed in 2000, but not approved by the government in Lima until 2005. In the interim, the government had included the area in an oil and gas concession now held by a consortium involving Canada’s Talisman Energy, Brazil’s Petrobras and Spain’s Repsol. Last month the Constitutional Tribunal, Peru’s highest court, ruled that exploration should halt in the protected area while the government comes up with a development plan. Greens and civic groups in San Martín fear that this will approve exploration, and are gearing up for a long and nasty fight. Semira Pérez, the leader of this coalition, complains of graffiti labelling her a terrorist, and of death threats. http://www.economist.com/world/americas/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13331350
