[Goanet] News that caught the Eagle's Eye- May 10-2008
GT: [Goa 3] - Villagers pleas on deaf ears since 4 years - A situation that has pushed the villagers to brink of frustration due to lack of govt initiative. Comment: A sad story for a State that enjoyed the number one status in India. Henceforth, should there be any classification for states, the criterion should be based on the least developed 'ward' in the thinking that a nation is strong if the ward is strong making the village, the constituency, the state and ultimately the nation strong. Celebrating Goa's number one status is hollow as ever when we have villages like Dule, Daukond, Tatodi, Rumma and Ambe do not even have proper roads. Goa's past and present political class must be ashamed. ** NT - P5 - Photo inset. The Chief Minister, Mr. Digamber Kamat and his wife, Ms Asha Kamat seeking blessings from Param Pujya Shulak Samarpan Sagar Maharaj of the Jain community on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya held at Jain temple at Mugali-Davorlim, Salcete. Comments: Hope the NT will publish a similar photograph of the CM using the 'loo' on as important a festive occasion. NT- P5 - Panchayats are pillars of democracy: Rane Comments: Which pillars are you talking about Raneji?, the ones you have helped to stunt in growth for all those years that you were the CM? ** NT- P5 - Measures to control and prevent spead of vector-borne diseases. Comment: A lost cause really. Dr. Salelkar in his last months in office as the Director of Health Services was gifted 6 PVC anti-mosquito adapters by me personally at his office at Panjim telling him Fix these to the airing pipes of the septic tanks of all your health centers because the mosquitoes that we have around for 365 days are manufactured in those tanks without your health officers even knowing about it. I bet that they must be still lying around in that office somewhere, having lost my hard-worked-for Rs. 300/- floriano goasuraj
[Goanet] XII CBSE Results and St. Xavier's College Admission open
Dear Goan Students in Gulf, As per the website the results for 12TH GRADE CBSE Delhi Board will be declared on 25th May 2008. Those opting to continue in Goa...please read below..admission's open...also we have WLC College affiliated to Wigan Leigh College UK) in Miramar..they offer UK degree certificate...Besides these there are also other colleges. My dear students please continue studies in your own country and also save Goa...Learn to speak, write read Konkani and support our Konkani Language and our Goan culture. You are the young leaders of tommorrow for Goa. You belong to Goa. Don't migrate and take dual citizenship abroad and say we love Goa...!!! Our Motto : TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN This is my advise.. Thank you.. Winnie Fernandes Dubai
Re: [Goanet] The migrant danger to Goa
--- Mario Goveia [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: In the meantime Santosh and others have demolished your side of the argument under a torrent of sarcasm: I have merely taken the impractical and misguided notions of insulating Goa from outsiders and preserving the myth of a unique Goan identity, to their logical conclusion. In this respect, my contention is two-fold: 1. The real solution to the problem of indiscriminate use and misuse of land does not require us to militate against non-Goans. 2. There is no basis for a single homogeneous Goan identity that can be or needs to be preserved. The identity of each Goan social group, which there are a legion, differs significantly based on religion, caste, subcaste, taluka, village and vaddo. Rajan's cultural identity is not the same as that of Romlo or Remo. My neighbors in Chimbel speak four different dialects of Konknni, and have as many distinct sets of rites and mores. What needs to be preserved and promoted, therefore, is our language, literature, art, music and the wholesome traditions and cultural practices of all the multifarious Goan communities. At the same time we need to weed out harmful elements of our culture, along with xenophobic and intolerant attitudes. My personal experience has been that non-Goans who permanently settle in Goa can do all of this as well as any native Goan, let alone a theatrical Goan cyber-chauvinist. Cheers, Santosh
[Goanet] Punjabi munda despoiling Goa
Punjabi munda despoiling Goa It's hot and muggy in Goa this time of the year. The enervating heat hangs languidly in the still air. The rustling of the drooping fronds of coconut palms, heavy with ripening fruit, that accompanies the occasional gust of blistering wind, laden with pre-monsoon humidity, breaks the mid-morning silence. In the distance, the harsh cackle of sea gulls rises and falls in a rhythmic chant. But despite the heat and the humidity, Goa, where I spent most of this past week attending a seminar, was a welcome break from life in the country's dust bowl, also known as Delhi, which has now grown to become the National Capital Region. Here summer means scorching heat that leaves your head throbbing, negotiating traffic jams made worse by rising tempers, infuriating dust storms that make breathing next to impossible, and an endless wait for what most years is an elusive monsoon. By mid-April, the little foliage that dots the barren city from where India is ruled begins to turn shades of brown. By mid-May, plants and shrubs begin to shrivel, while the trees, or what remains of them after Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit's gross act of chopping thousands of them down for a bogus bus rapid transit scheme for which responsibility is yet to be fixed (this never happens in this wondrous 'democracy' of ours), barely survive till the monsoon and its scattered rain. Delhi looks dusty, grey and dirty in summer. In sharp contrast, Goa is verdant and lush. The hibiscus shrubs and the honeysuckle creepers are in full bloom. The air is redolent with the fragrance of flowers that we get to see in Delhi for a brief while during what passes for spring. The evenings are cool and the sea breeze is energising. The only disconcerting distraction is the screeching of children and the uncouth, loud chatter of their parents - Delhi families visiting Goa courtesy incentive schemes offered by Papaji's office. They wrinkle their noses at the sight of sea food platters and noisily look for dal makhni and chicken butter masala. The distant cackle of sea gulls is replaced by the strains of bhangra, snatches of whose lyrics float in with the sea breeze. It's about a 'Punjabi munda' and a 'kudi Gujarat di'. Mr IK Gujral would say it's about national integration; Mr Narendra Modi would be alarmed. The local newspapers in Goa are refreshingly different from Delhi's so-called 'national' newspapers, which reflect the concerns of politicians and their lackeys. In Goa, the concerns are more related to the people and their daily lives. For instance, a spurt in school dropout rates, which would be ignored by most 'national' newspapers, merits sufficient concern to make it to the day's top slot on the front page. At the moment, Goans are deeply worried about the garbage piling up in designated dumping grounds with no disposal system in place. According to news reports, Goa produces 300 tonnes of garbage every day. This is apart from the bio-medical waste generated by hospitals and nursing homes. Given the size of the State, it's a huge amount of festering garbage and unless a disposal system is put in place, could begin to have an adverse impact on both Goa's environment as well as the health of Goans. Obviously the tourism industry contributes to the accumulating garbage in a big way, as it does to the blighting of Goan culture and way of life. Contrary to popular opinion, not every Goan is excited by the sight of foreign back-packers and desi 'incentive scheme' holidaymakers. While it is true that tourism does create jobs and gives a boost to the State's economy, it also upsets those who just wish to be left alone. It is, therefore, not surprising that there should be an incipient anti-outsider backlash building up among Goans. Last Thursday, the local edition of The Times of India front-paged the findings of a survey conducted by Synovate India, a leading market research agency, which clearly point to Goans beginning to resent the intrusion into their lives. This intrusion is most manifest in outsiders buying land and developing it into hotels and resorts, as well as increasing number of migrants seeking jobs in the service sector. The survey's findings suggest that 64 per cent Goans, nearly all of them young, want a law banning the sale of land to non-Goans. The 34 per cent opposed to this law are elderly people, probably those whose children have migrated to other shores, are unable to look after their property, and thus have no compelling reason to cling on to home and hearth. Ban the sale of land to non-Goans, is the overwhelming response, the report says, and goes on to explain, Our cultural identity - old ways of life, language, food and dress - is being diluted by the flow of migrants that has swelled in the last few years. Indeed, the fear of the Goan minnow being swallowed by the migrant whale is a recurrent theme... There is a reaffirmation of pride in the land's natural and manmade attributes. Both these
Re: [Goanet] Merging religiosity with festivity
2008/5/11 D'Souza, Avelino [EMAIL PROTECTED]: Merging religiosity with festivity 11 May 2008, 0259 hrs IST,Anabelle Colaco,TNN MARGAO: The state's commercial city wakes up on this day to the sound of music. It is the feast of the Holy Spirit and no sooner the church bells peal at the crack of dawn, than a brass band sounds the alvorada (a song describing the last rays of darkness and the first rays of dawn). The music wakes up parishioners, beckoning them to the church.. ~(^^)~ Avelino COMMENT: The Margao Union are celebrating their Feast today at St. Boniface Church and thereafter at the Hall. This afternoon. Also BMX are celebrating at Archbishop Le Franc London Road Mitccham - best to take the tram there. Sun.11 May BMX REUNION (Ex Students of Britto's, St Mary's and Xavier's) 1.30pm to 8pm at Archbishop Lanfranc School, Mitcham Road, Croydon. Proceeds will go to worthy causes. Everyone is welcome. For tickets contact - Bernie Gracias 020 8723 1322, Norma Menezes-Rahim 020 8771 4457, Ilona Fernandes 020 8300 5347, Proto Carvalho 020 8640 3135, Jaime Rodrigues 020 8684 0456, Liz Coutinho 020 8647 6387. For the flyer click here. Sun 11 May. Margao Union UK – Feast of THE HOLY SPIRIT. Mass at St. Boniface Church, 185 Mitcham Road, Tooting, at 1.30pm. thereafter a get-together at the Church Hall. Price including snacks and buffet £ 10.00. Band DIMENSION. Contact: Bella-020 8372 1253, Rosalind-020 8767 8652, Lucas-020 8967 7471, Agnela-020 8646 6996 Taken from Goan Voice (U.K.). -- DEV BOREM KORUM. Gabe Menezes. London, England
Re: [Goanet] Catholic Goeankars N.B. 'Respect atheists', says Cardinal
--- Fr. Ivo C da Souza [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: *** The Cardinal is not, therefore, saying what Dr.Santosh is making him say... What the Cardinal has said about the supernatural not being a fact in the world, but a mystery, is given below. Fr. Ivo is mistaken in his belief that I have made the Cardinal say these words. I have done no such thing. I have never had any kind of correspondence or conversation with this cardinal. God is not a fact in the world, as though God could be treated as one thing among other things to be empirically investigated, affirmed or denied on the basis of observation. ...Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor We as Christians need to examine what we might have done to give people a misleading view of God. Faith in Britain might be improved by a deeper grasp of the mystery of God on the part of believers. ...Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor We should remember that the proper response to God is that of faith, not absolute certainty. God is said by Christian theology to be ineffable, beyond our categories and thought capacity. St Thomas Aquinas after all is quite clear that imperfect knowledge belongs to the very nature of faith. And there is a good reason for this we have no positive grasp on the mystery of God. ...Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor We spoke too easily about God, we spoke perhaps in the wrong way and we treated God as an idea rather than a living mystery to be approached in silence and prayer rather than in the arguments of the mind. If Christianity gave European thought the impression that God can be conceptually determined and pinned down and proved as a hypothesis, then it is hardly surprising that there has been resistance, as science and culture have developed, to worshipping this idea of God. ...Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor The link to the entire transcript of Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor's lecture is: http://www.rcdow.org.uk/lectures/ Please note that not only does the cardinal deny that God is a fact in the world, but he says that He is neither an idea nor a hypothesis. What's more, he asserts that He cannot even be conceptually determined and pinned down. Cheers, Santosh --- Fr. Ivo C da Souza [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: *** The Cardinal speaks of intelligent, reflective Christian faith. It is wrong to say that supernatural is not factual but mysterious, if one means it is irreal.
[Goanet] Sex trade regains grounds in Goa
Sex trade regains grounds in Goa Armstrong Vaz, 11 May 2008, Sunday THE SEX trade in Baina, against which an onslaught was launched in 2004 by the then state government, has raised its ugly face again. A visit to Baina beach reveals that business of soliciting customers is still going on. Around 30 commercial sex workers in the age group of 20 to 30 years are working there, says a report in the Goan daily newspaper. Michael, his wife Shanti and their three-year-old son Krishna enjoy the sun and surf on the beaches of Goa. They have returned after a five-year stay away. Michael and his family have come back to their roots where the offshoots of their small family sprouted. Michael is a Belgium citizen. Shanti traces her roots to the southern state of Karnataka and was until five years ago a sex worker in the red light district of Baina in the port town of Vasco in the state of Goa. But her life took a new twist when her last customer in the course of time became her husband. Shanti has been fortunate. Others have been less fortunate. Many of Shanti's former colleagues continue to be exploited and to lead a life of misery. Human trafficking has been a cause of concern throughout the world. India figures among the 39 countries placed on a special watch list that demands attention from the concerned countries under a 2003 United States (US) law. Goa was one of the beneficiaries of a two-year US government funded program by the United Nations Office on drugs and crime. Similar programs took place in the states of Maharashtra, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. The program sensitises the police and the other law enforcement agencies in dealing with the problem of human trafficking. Five years earlier, Shanti used to earn anything between 100 and 500 Indian rupees a day as a commercial sex worker. She endured and wishes to reach out to some of her old friends. She was on a visit to her old place of business. A host of changes had taken place in the city. In 2004, the state government had demolished the illegal cubicles where Shanti and her colleagues operated on Baina Beach. Some of her colleagues had been deported back to their home states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamilnadu. Others have eluded the police and continue to operate in the port town. Some have even been successfully rehabilitated back into society. There are those who have died due to aids. And there are those who are carrying the HIV virus. More at: http://india.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=133847 ~(^^)~ Avelino
[Goanet] Rajan Narayan's fantasies
Rajan Parrikar wrote: I am delighted to get so much free media attention these days. Earlier in the week the Comrade lovingly framed a huge photograph of moi in the GT. To close out the week, we discover that I have been haunting Rajan Narayan's fantasies. My cup of happiness spilleth over. Response: Dear Rajan Parrikar, The comments from Rajan Narayan should not surprise you at all. How dare Goans put the not so blue eyed but green eyed Dr Rebello in third place in a poll for Goan icon? It must be Sangh Parivar or some secret deal between Times of India and Manohar Parrikar. Like stray dogs that are in abundance on Goans roads, Rajan Narayan's stray thoughts are irritating, annoying but it is best to ignore this man. He might have been under the influence of not just Congress loyalties because of the alleged happenings around his birthday gifts but some quality Goan liquids too. Besides, hatred of Manohar is what earns him the following amongst the pesudo-secularists and congress supporters. But for that, he would have been banished from Herald ages ago. What then about his green eyed icon? Look at all the hoardings of proposed constructions all over Goa? Almost without exception, these have been approved since the so called successful agitation by the GBA and as many others have pointed out on this forum, GBA has been surprisingly silent on this issue. We are told that Dr Rebello has single handedly saved Goa from destruction. Your pictures , however, tell a different story. Could Rajan Narayan, who obviously has his ear to the ground, tell us what the deal is between the amazingly farsighted, upright Mr Digambar Kamat and the saviour of Goa? Dr Anil Desai
Re: [Goanet] Hundred percent results
Do some institutions attain 100% by keeping out 'weak' students from their portals? The real challenge would be to include those who are considered potential 'drop outs' and create options for them (in whatever field). Avelino was in school -- actually, in the same class -- with me. He knows that in 1978, our school, Britto's, also attained 100% results at the SSC. But that was obtained by slaughtering all but 25 pupils the previous year. I respect the work of institutions like Don Bosco's night school (Panjim) and crafts complex (Sulcorna), the Rudolf Schwartz initiatives at Siolim and Pernem, and the like... which are mean to create some options and jobs for those whom mainstream education sees as weak students. --FN PS: A mother of growing children was telling me, the other day, how many options are available for education in India nowadays, but how costly it's becoming. Today's Gomantak Times/Weekender has an article on how to get funds to finance one's studies. Loans to study further was not a done thing in the past here. Does anyone have an experience with how these work? I think the Manohar Parrikar crafted scheme for offering 'Goa scholarships' to bright young students might just be a way of giving the already well-endowed kids access to taxpayer's money they could well do without. (Like the cyberage scheme, now continued by Digubab and the Congress, which indiscriminately gives computers to poor, middleclass and rich kids ... even if one sibling already has a comp in the family under the same scheme already!) 2008/5/11 D'Souza, Avelino [EMAIL PROTECTED]: Hundred percent results 11 May 2008, 0255 hrs IST,Anabelle Colaco,TNN PANAJI: Uday Bhalikar can't stop smiling. A few minutes after the Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC) results were announced on Saturday afternoon, the principal of Damodar Higher Secondary School of Science in Margao got to know that his college had once again scored cent percent results. Up north, Fr. Paul D'Souza is similarly pleased as punch. Don Bosco Higher Secondary School of Science, Arts and Commerce, Panaji bagged a full score in commerce and over 90 percent in science and arts. D'Souza, the institute's head, says it was expected... Frederick FN Noronha * Independent Journalist http://fn.goa-india.org * Phone +91-832-2409490 Cell +91-9970157402 (sometimes out of range) Please see http://nursing.goa-india.org
[Goanet] FW: Goa- WARNING TO ALL PROPERTY OWNERS IN GOA
One of my relative sent this article to me. _ -- Forwarded message -- Date: 2008/5/9 Subject: FW: Goa- WARNING TO ALL PROPERTY OWNERS IN GOA To: Goa has been re-colonised not only by the Brits, Russians and the Israelis but also by the bold and the beautiful and the rich and powerful from other parts of the country. By RAJAN NARYAN A FEW days ago the sarpanch of Morjim investigated complaints that a Russian national, who had bought property on the border of Morjim and Arambol, had blocked the traditional access to the beach. The security guards of the Russian national who had fenced the traditional access to the beach assaulted the sarpanch. The sarpanch has lodged a police complaint against the security guards who assaulted him. This is not an isolated case. There are large areas of Morjim, particularly in Vithaldas-wadi, which have been totally colonized by the Russians. Locals are not allowed to enter any of the properties which are fenced off and guarded by armed security guards. Russians, who have bought huge amounts of property in Morjim and other villages in the North Goa coastal belt, have built massive structures within 500 metres of the High Tide Line in flagrant and blatant violation of the CRZ Rules. The Chief Secretary told me on Monday that the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority that is presided over by him intends to crack down on foreigners who have violated the CRZ Rules. RUSSIAN INVASION I recall visiting the Olive Ridley shack on the Morjim beach over five years ago. The shack then was owned by a Polish woman. There was already talk that Russians had begun buying large amounts of property in Morjim. On a subsequent visit to Morjim, I saw a shack in the middle of the beach less than ten metres from the High Tide Line which was festooned with Russian flags. I heard stories of all-night rave parties by Russians and saw the debris of the previous night's party on the beach. But it is not only in Morjim that foreigners have bought large amounts of beachfront property. If Morjim is dominated by Russians, Chapora is dominated by the Israelis. Several parts of the Palolem beach in Canacona have also been colonised by the Israelis. But the largest numbers of foreign citizens who have bought property in Goa are not the Russians or Israelis, but the British. Indeed on the road leading to Calangute from the St. Alex Church there is even a real estate agency which proudly advertises the fact that it is British-owned and only sells property to Brits and other foreign nationals. BI-LINGUAL MENUS OVER the Holi week, which coincided with the Holy Week, I happened to spend the weekend at a small rural resort in Carmona close to the Fatrade beach. I had occasion or provocation to have a look at all the shacks between Fatrade and Mobor. The overwhelming majority of the shacks were full of phirangs. In the shacks on the Cavelossim beach, I saw a wild Holi celebration on with gallons of bhang (opium). The revellers were all Russians. On the tables of many of the shacks, menus were not in English, but Russian. I have seen menus in Hebrew in several beach shacks in Chapora and in Palolem. I have never come across a menu in any Indian language let alone the official language of the state, Konkani in any beach shack anywhere in Goa. Even though a large number of domestic tourists visit Goa. I very often have occasion to visit many of the starred hotels in Goa located both on the North Goa beach belt and the South Goa beach belt for some function or the other. In the last two or three years, whenever I have visited beach resorts, particularly in the Southern coastal belt, stretching from Majorda to Mobor, I have noticed that the details of the various activities planned for the benefit of foreign tourists - including charter tourists - displayed on the activity boards are increasingly in Russian. Depending on the nationality that the hotel is catering to, the activity boards can be even in German or Hebrew for the benefit of the large number of German abd Israeli tourists who visit Goa. NIGHT BAZAAR GOA has been colonized by phirangs and the signs of their colonial domination of Goa are everywhere, particularly on the beach belt. The largest and the most successful night bazaar in Goa is not run by a Goan or even by an Indian, but by a German called Ingo. During the Bazaar you can see Ingo with two armed bodyguards going around collecting the rentals from those who have taken stalls. I do not know if the bodyguards who accompany Ingo have licenses for the weapons that they openly brandish. The majority of the stalls, particularly the food stalls at Ingo's Saturday Nite Bazaar are run by phirangs of various nationalities. A lot of the material sold at the Saturday night bazaar is imported. I do not know whether they have been imported into the country legally and whether any of
[Goanet] What options do I have to safeguard my Chess Promotion Activities
As per All India chess Federation(AICF) circular date March 27 AICF Gives Boost For Training Shreekant Barve of Goa has been suspended by the AICF from all chess activities pending inquiry. http://indianchessfed.org/News/2008/March/aicfccmeeting27.03.2008.asp It is May 10 today and no communication has been received by me from All India Chess Federation or Goa State Chess Association. Its a torture for me. Its affects my regular activites. I was not allowed to paly in a tournament on April 20. I was not allowed to remain in premises on Under 9 Nationals held at Delhi from April 28 to May 6. My students suffered due to this. Will you please suggest any option for me other than legal recource. Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ
[Goanet] What options do I have to safeguard my Chess Promotion Activities
Dear Mr Barve Here are a couple of suggestions for you: 1. Dig a pit and bury yourself there. I am sure you will have lots of people to assist you at that. 2. Try to mend fences with the Association. I could try and help you at that. Cheers Sandeep
[Goanet] Rajan Narayan's fantasies
I agree entirely with our Rajan on this. Rajan Narayan is talking through his hat, had Rajan Parrikar actually done the survey 80 percent would have voted for MP as Goa's Youth Icon and not 28 percent as indicated by the TOI Survey. So RN is way off the mark as usual :-) RN's logic is bizarre too, he interprets the survey negatively to write that 72 percent of Goans do not consider Manohar Parrikar as an icon. Obviously, RN ignores the fact that a large number from the balance 72 percent who may not have voted for Parrikar as their No 1 icon could possibly have placed him in their No 2 or No 4 or No 10 icon slot. I however would not give too much importance to surveys like these. Surveys conducted with minuscule samples like these are in no way just and proper indications. Cheers Sandeep
[Goanet] Say Cheers to Feni!
Say Cheers to Feni! 11 May 2008, hrs IST,TNN It's that time of the year again. The smell of feni wafting through the air, invites you to a sip of the heady brew on a hot summer afternoon. Goans love their feni as much as they do their spicy food. And giving you just that, is Goa's Tourism Department alongwith Loungefly who are organising a day-long Feni Festival today. A midsummer's day with Goan street food like ros omlettes, choris pav, bhajjiyas and stock of feni...wow! That's not all, you will get to gulp down flavoured fenis and feni cocktails too! The idea is to bring out the fun aspect of feni. It's a fun drink to be had with friends and family. Eat, drink and make merry, says Deep, the owner of Loungefly. Sourced from six villages, which include Valpoi, Cortalim and the entire Calangute belt, this drink will be served in various cocktails at the festival. And it is not only food and feni, but entertainment too that will complete the package. There will be stalls and a band playing throughout the day. Come night and Chef Vasquito will show his barbeque skills as one sways to the music and enjoys exquisite feni cocktails. However, amidst all the fun and frolic, the lovers of the brew, lament that feni is still referred to as 'country liquor' and it's high time that it break away from that tag. And this is precisely the reason why feni is enjoyed only in the confines of the home. Gurudatta Bhakta, Secretary, Goa Cashew Feni Distillers and Bottlers Association, says, Feni, unfortunately, is not accepted by Goa's higher strata. If they do drink it, it is in isolation. We want people to feel proud of this local drink and when they are socialising, they should offer feni in place of Scotch whiskey. Efforts are on, he says. The Goa Cashew Feni Distillers and Bottlers Association along with the Science and Technology Department and Excise Department have applied for a Geographical Indication (GI) registration since 2007, a concept relatively new in India. Goa has 3,000 plus distilleries. Mac Vaz, proprietor of Madame Rosa's and President of Goa Cashew Feni Distillers and Bottlers Association says, We had suggested that feni should be reclassified as heritage liquor or Indian-made Goan liquor. Gurudatta says they have already sent the proposal. There's a gestation period of two months and then it goes on the Net seeking global objections. We are 100 per cent sure of getting this registration, he says. And if they succeed, Mac Vaz says, Feni will be the first alcoholic beverage of India to get a GI registration. Formalities will be done at its own pace but till then, let's eat, drink and be feni! http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Food_Festivals/Say_Cheers_to_Feni/art icleshow/3028227.cms ~(^^)~ Avelino
Re: [Goanet] Rajan Narayan's fantasies
Manohar Parriker, the youth Icon for Goa? I'm sure a survey conducted of Goan women too would reveal Manohar Parriker as the icon of their dreams. He's handsome, charming and just the sort of rogue, women fall for. On that count, he has my vote as well. If I interpret the word icon to encompass role-model as well, does it mean there is a paucity of role-models in Goa? Here is a man who wears the RSS uniform to public functions and recently proclaimed the RSS to be his church. Let me just refresh what the RSS stands for: a) In order of priority, Muslims, Christians and Marxists are their enemies. b) Supremacy of Brahmanism. c) A single state of India with complete control at the centre and no scope for any regional allegiance. d) Sanskrit as the official language of India, with Hindi being allowed for conversational purposes. e) Democracy is seen as a western concept and to be replaced by a Hindi rastra. I am assuming, the sample of the poll did not consist of Muslims, Christians, Marxists, non-Brahmins, Konkani or Marathi speakers, regional party stalwarts or any other nasty individuals who believe in democracy, much less a secular one. Chus, selma Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ
[Goanet] Indian-nonveg-recipes
Hi Ihope you will like these recipes and try them out . All the best and enjoy your favourite dishes see the attached PDF attachment for the recipes edu -- Best of the Web: Your Eye on the World [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[Goanet] RIP Olga Remedios from Tabravaddo, Saligao / London
My Lourdes Convent classmate Cheryl D'Sa [EMAIL PROTECTED] now based in the UK told me this afternoon about the death of her aunt, Olga Remedios from Tabravaddo. Ms Remedios passed away in the UK. She was the wife of the late William Remedios and daughter of Late Sebastian Pinto (Cottula). Mother of Eric/Hilda ( Australia), Edgar (UK), Oswin/Vesna (UK), Oscar/Nicole (USA) Evan (UK). Cheryl wrote: My aunt was loved and respected by all who met her. She had a warm and compassionate personality and most of all, had lots of love for all of her family. Saligao-Net mourns the death and sends condolences to the family. --FN -- Frederick FN Noronha * Independent Journalist http://fn.goa-india.org * Phone +91-832-2409490
Re: [Goanet] Catholic Goeankars N.B. 'Respect atheists', says Cardinal
Dear Fr Ivo What the Cardinal (Murphy O'Connor) said in London is exactly as quoted by Santosh. Santosh has made nothing up as you imply. Nor is he making him [the Cardinal] say anything. You are of course free to interpret the Cardinal as you wish and you can even interpret Santosh as you wish but please do not misquote Santosh nor perhaps even the Cardinal. When I heard the Cardinal on the TV news, I was a wee bit surprised. I wondered if this senior theist was perhaps on the route to becoming an atheist. There are after all, known Christian clergy who are atheists--almost a contradiction in terms. But then, would this be dissimilar to those who claim Catholic affiliation/belief and at the same time, Hindu caste belief when the two are totally contradictory to each other in belief and practise? Perhaps here is something, by way of a natural progression in this discussion, and specific for you Fr Ivo, to mull over! Cornel DaCosta --- Fr. Ivo C da Souza [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: *** The Cardinal is not, therefore, saying what Dr.Santosh is making him say...
[Goanet] Swapnil Asnodkar - Batsman, Goa Rajasthan Royals
Swapnil Asnodkar Batsman, Goa Rajasthan Royals Three matches, 131 runs, SR: 131 Mumbai Indians didn't pick Swapnil Asnodkar, robbing viewers of a simulation of the great Sanath Jayasuriya-Romesh Kaluwitharana combination. Rajasthan Royals did, and if anyone was likely to spot the Kalu from Goa, the ultimate cricketing backwater in India, it had to be Shane Warne, who knows a thing or two about suffering at the hands of that Sri Lankan team of the mid-nineties. Out of the blue Warne unleashed him on the unsuspecting Kolkata Knight Riders and Asnodkar responded with a match-winning 34-ball 60. For six years now, Asnodkar has been scoring runs consistently in Indian domestic cricket, but it's been in the Plate League that usually manages to escape the scanner of even the most ardent followers. For the last four years, he has been Goa's leading run-getter. And last year he took it one level higher: smashing 640 first-class runs at 71.11, including his highest score of 254 not out. He also featured in the Challengers last year, although without any impact. Under a leader who can put an arm around a player and make him feel worth much more than he might be, and in a format that gives him the license to pull out the shots from the first ball, Asnodkar has come into his true self. I had told him [Asnodkar] that his chance would come, Warne said after the Kolkata match, when the opposition is not expecting him to play and we will throw him in as a surprise tactic. I have done a lot of work with him in the last couple of weeks. He was fantastic. Anything on the good length, and just like Kaluwitharana he rocks on to the back foot, ready to cut or to pull. He has followed the shock 60 with 32 and 39 in his next two games, and his team now has started trusting him as a regular opener. He is an outstanding talent and we always had faith in him,'' says Darren Berry, the chief cricket officer of the franchise. http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ipl/content/story/350685.html Picture of Swapnil: http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/india/content/player/26782.html ~(^^)~ Avelino
[Goanet] Talking Phtoso: More Goan Pics
Talking Phtoso: More Goan Pics 4 for 100? yes. why not? I am the king after all. http://www.flickr.com/photos/joegoauk5/2482044923/sizes/l/ It’s true money does not grow on trees But money plant does http://www.flickr.com/photos/joegoauk5/2482045401/sizes/l/ Mandovi river, can you spot 1+2 Bridges http://www.flickr.com/photos/joegoauk5/2482045959/sizes/l/ Foreign boats in Indian waters http://www.flickr.com/photos/joegoauk5/2482859968/sizes/l/ You name these type of mangoes Hint: I think they are non-Goans or ‘Ghanties’ http://www.flickr.com/photos/joegoauk5/2476850154/sizes/l/ Strictly ‘No parking’ area but upto 4 cars allowed at a time And that too under Traffic Police nose. http://www.flickr.com/photos/joegoauk_dirtypanjim/2477585313/sizes/l/ Fresh Chicken at Royal Food (Panjim Market) Who said food handling and hygiene go together? The staff having bath right into the shop every evening, http://www.flickr.com/photos/joegoauk_dirtypanjim/2476875560/ They are also the regulars for using the neaby promednade as their toilet [EMAIL PROTECTED] for Goa NRI related info... http://in.groups.yahoo.com/group/GOAN-NRI/ For Goan Video Clips http://youtube.com/joeukgoa or http://is.rediff.com/profilevisitor.php?mem_id=48419 __ Sent from Yahoo! Mail. A Smarter Email http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/nowyoucan.html
[Goanet] Cheers to Feni
Was glad to read about the efforts being made to improve the quality of our favourite tipple. Whenever I offer feni to my Scottish friends, they always say that it keeps 'repeating' itself even on the next day, and this tends to put them off! If the experts can try and eliminate this, and continue with their Quality Control, I think Feni could soon become more acceptable worldwide, and rank with some of the best from other countries. Anyway, here's cheers to Feni(fortunately I have some which I brought back on my last visit to Goa). Glad also to hear of a Feni festival. This reminds me of a Chilli Festival I attended in Perth(Western Australia), where there were hundreds of varieties of chillies on display, including many jams and pickles etc produced from the chillies. I even bumped into a Zanzibari stall holder selling the fiery *pili pili ho ho. *In addition to buy a jar, I was able to brush up on my Ki-Swahili! The two-day festival attracted thousands of chilli lovers. Perhaps Goa could stage one some day? Mervyn M.
[Goanet] Goa's Fallen Youth Icon?
Goa's Fallen Youth Icon? It is but obvious and as pointed out in the Goan Observer of this week that there is definately a certain amount of malice in the selection of Goa's Youth icon -- the cigerette wielding Manohar Porrikar! I understand Goans are not so gullible as to fall to the facist propoganda carried out by some fanatics... If Goans think Manohar Porrikar is a Youth icon consider the following... (1) Porrikar is way too advanced the youth status and age (2) Goans will never want a nicotine addict as a youth icon (3) Communalism has no place in Goa and hence Goans will never vote for a communial facist as a youth icon (4) Porrikar has displayed time and again that he lacks ethics by constantly playing politics of back biting and double cross...brining legislators to desert parties and gain the majority... are Goans such fools as to vote for such a fallen man as the youth icon? The fanatic brigade must realise that it was Dr Oscar Rebello who was chosen as the IBN Goan face of the year... Cedric da Costa Dubai Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ
[Goanet] Coastal South Goa rides the waves of solidarity
The longest stretch of beach in Goa is all set to resonate to the determined solidarity of the brave villagers of Carmona, Cavelossim, Benaulim, Colva, Orlim, Betalbatim, Majorda, etc PUBLIC MEETING at Dando Grounds, Benaulim 5 pm onwards on Monday, 12 May 2008 Come one! Come All! Join the unity to save our motherland Bollywood, fun, friendship, sports and more. You name it, we have it on http://in.promos.yahoo.com/groups/bestofyahoo/
[Goanet] Daily Haiku #100
DAILY HAIKU #100: __ VERSE CURSE __ verses brief last forever, specially if they're clever! http://2008goanconvention.com _ Do a good deed today: _ Blow Goa's destruction away, Stop a Mega-construction today! http://www.parrikar.org/images/Salcette/colva-akar-3.jpg Call: 832-2428482 Cell: 9822153280/9422063195 --- _ Enter today for your chance to win $1000 a day—today until May 12th. Learn more at SignInAndWIN.ca http://g.msn.ca/ca55/215
[Goanet] Daily Quote #20
_ DAILY QUOTE #20: __ In honour of Mother's Day today, I will call off my hunger strike and return, if the Government agrees to: i. ban people from calling me Mummy in public. ii. give tax-rebates to my movie 'The Mummy Returns'! Victoria Fernandes - Santa Cruz MLA. _ http://2008goanconvention.com/blog/index.php _ Do a good deed today: _ Blow Goa's destruction away, Stop a Mega-construction today! http://www.parrikar.org/images/Salcette/colva-akar-3.jpg Call: 832-2428482 Cell: 9822153280/9422063195 --- _ Find hidden words, unscramble celebrity names, or try the ultimate crossword puzzle with Live Search Games. Play now! http://g.msn.ca/ca55/212
Re: [Goanet] Catholic Goeankars N.B. 'Respect atheists', says Cardinal
Fr. Ivo, I too along with Santosh and Cornel feel that you are completely spinning what the Cardinal said. Here is a red hat at last giving the Church a platform of belief, an opportunity to completely avoid the conclusions of the inexorable march of scientific and historical proof that gathers momentum by the day. In other words he has in one stroke and in one statement removed the battle of whether God exists or not, by placing Him in the unprovable realm. Scientists have no weapon against this. It is as Santosh said, a humble admission. That God may or may not be responsible for the good or the evil on this earth. All this while giving any man or woman the freedom to believe or not, whether Godhood itself exists. I am not an intellectual like Santosh or Cornel or you, nor have I studied even basic theology. But I in my own way I am convinced that God exists. I cannot prove this if my life depended on it and to me, any argument to prove God exists is completely deficient in rationality. To put it in more delicately, the existence of God cannot be proved in any manner other than emotion, and therefore must fall in the realm of mystery alone. I am amazed when I come across all kinds of interpretations of what God wants or God desires or what He is going to do given a certain human condition. Although my own belief system compels me to deviate from Einstein who said I believe in Spinoza's God, who reveals himself in the harmony of all being, not in a God who concerns himself with the fate and actions of men I do conclude from my own experience that God does alter some situations from their normal course without me being able to rationalize about the whens or whys. Simply put, I like many others believe in God but cannot prove that God exists. An argument that the Cardinal is making by deviating in a significant way from the teachings of the Church today. Roland 416-453-3371
Re: [Goanet] FW: Goa- WARNING TO ALL PROPERTY OWNERS IN GOA
And the same Rajan Narayan wouldn't publish a line in his esteemed Goan Observer about the release of the 'Road Map for Goa' by Goa Su-Raj Party in spite of the Party President being on the board of Directors of the paper and having helped the paper to grow in the initial stages of it publication and which Road Map has predicted what he is writing today to sell his paper. The 'GOAN REVOLUTION WAS BORN IN THE YEAR 2000 IN THE NAME OF GOA SU-RAJ PARTY' Goans must ignore it at their own RISKs which are unfolding before their very eyes and sensationalised by Keralites and Andhraits and Kashmiris and what have yous. Cheers floriano goasuraj - Original Message - From: Xavier [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: 'Goa's premiere mailing list, estb. 1994!' goanet@lists.goanet.org Sent: Sunday, May 11, 2008 2:30 PM Subject: [Goanet] FW: Goa- WARNING TO ALL PROPERTY OWNERS IN GOA One of my relative sent this article to me. -- Forwarded message -- Date: 2008/5/9 Subject: FW: Goa- WARNING TO ALL PROPERTY OWNERS IN GOA To: Goa has been re-colonised not only by the Brits, Russians and the Israelis but also by the bold and the beautiful and the rich and powerful from other parts of the country. By RAJAN NARYAN A FEW days ago the sarpanch of Morjim investigated complaints that a Russian national, who had bought property on the border of Morjim and Arambol, had blocked the traditional access to the beach. The security guards of the Russian national who had fenced the traditional access to the beach assaulted the sarpanch. The sarpanch has lodged a police complaint against the security guards who assaulted him. This is not an isolated case. There are large areas of Morjim, particularly in Vithaldas-wadi, which have been totally colonized by the Russians.
Re: [Goanet] Cheers to Feni
Dear M M, Was there a Goan representation? AdeT Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 12:26:49 +0100 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: goanet@lists.goanet.org Subject: [Goanet] Cheers to Feni Was glad to read about the efforts being made to improve the quality of our favourite tipple. Whenever I offer feni to my Scottish friends, they always say that it keeps 'repeating' itself even on the next day, and this tends to put them off! If the experts can try and eliminate this, and continue with their Quality Control, I think Feni could soon become more acceptable worldwide, and rank with some of the best from other countries. Anyway, here's cheers to Feni(fortunately I have some which I brought back on my last visit to Goa). Glad also to hear of a Feni festival. This reminds me of a Chilli Festival I attended in Perth(Western Australia), where there were hundreds of varieties of chillies on display, including many jams and pickles etc produced from the chillies. I even bumped into a Zanzibari stall holder selling the fiery *pili pili ho ho. *In addition to buy a jar, I was able to brush up on my Ki-Swahili! The two-day festival attracted thousands of chilli lovers. Perhaps Goa could stage one some day? Mervyn M. _ Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows Live Spaces. It's easy! http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=createwx_url=/friends.aspxmkt=en-us
[Goanet] . Re: Rajan Narayan's fantasies (Carvalho)
Rajan Narayan's fantasies... Brilliant mail from Selma...i guess Rajan would have been called a descendent or a brother of a prominent God or Goddess had he to tread the RSS line or sung fake hosanas of Porrikar...smashed the lower castes and praised the upper castes and aided in the wholescale communalisation of GOA! Which will never happen! As far as the Goa\s Youth Icon is concerned...all i can say is Goan's have not lost it yet! although the out of power fanatics seem to have totally lost it... Cheers Cedric da Costa Dubai - Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now.
[Goanet] FW: Goa- WARNING TO ALL PROPERTY OWNERS IN GOA (goasuraj
Dear Floriano... Please get out of your fantasy paradise and come down to the world of reality...You claim the revolution was born in 2000...we are eight years ahead since then...if your party couldnt make it to a single seat in the LA till date...its hopes are very dim... I am sorry to say, but there have been several opportunities for you to prove your point of a revolution and yet one hardly heard of a ripple created by you...so do you expect Goans to take you seriously in the comming future or an also ran... I understand your sentiments...but ...think again... Cedric da Costa Dubai - Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now.
[Goanet] Opinion Poll
Subject - Opinion Poll. 1967 was a historical year for Goa, when Goans resolved to preserve their identity, via the opinion poll. Today, Goa is facing threats which threatens to wipe out the latter achievement and the efforts of those who fought for our identity in 1967. If the current rate on migration land sales are not controlled, Goa will no longer be with Goans. The Congress Government clearly intends to Globalise Goa; and is conveniently ignoring the fact that we can be Global, with a local perspective; as being done in other globalised communities around the world. I suspect that they don't want to upset their High Command in Delhi; and prefer to ignore the people who they are supposed to represent/support in the first place. It is now or never for Goa. Goans are rising and I request more to join the cause; particularly the non-residents in whatever way they can. Arwin Mesquita, Abu Dhabi.
[Goanet] Goanet News Bytes : Matanhy curses Goa's politicians... Politician organises dinner in Cecil's Aldona.
Dears, I was just going through the archives and came across this gem on the eve of a public meeting of common people in Benaulim [hopefully without politicians] and on the morning after the Aldona MLA organisedand sponsored ... dinner for the members of the Mumbai-based ALDONA ASSOCIATION that celebrated its 125th anniversary in darkness and on empty stomachs after the caterer cut off the generator and refused to serve snacks or dinner, for which he was reportedly paid in advance. The function was supposed to be at some open air venue at Panarim, near the old St. Thomas Primary School and St. Bridget's Insitute, but had to be shifted as permission to hold a public even was withdrawn the previous day, apparently fearing a law and order problem. It is going to be along story that will definitely be serialised in the newspapers. Right now, you can check out the locations from Cecil Pinto's article from the GT reproduced by Frederick Noronha below. Mog asundi. Miguel Frederick Noronha (FN) [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: ## # Don't just read the news...discuss it. Learn more about Goa via Goanet # # Goanet was setup in 1994 and has spent the last decade building a # # lasting Goan non-profit, volunteer-driven network in cyberspace. # # Visit the archives http://www.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet/ # # To join, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and ask to join Goanet. # ## [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] [GOANET NEWS BYTES * SEPT 11, 2005 * DATELINE GOA] * Compiled in public interest by Frederick Noronha *** o Sonia Gandhi okays consititution of the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) as well as a Goa Pradesh Election Committee. Six vice presidents are M K Shaikh, Domnic Fernandes, Luis Alex Cardozo, Moti Dessai, Uday Bhembre and Shambu Bhau Bandekar.Rupa Bhakta is treasurer. (Herald) POLITICIANS HAVE BECOME COMMISSION AGENTS, says Matanhy Saldanha. In an interview with Peter Raposo and Bosco de Souza Eremita (Vavraddencho Ixtt) said he didn't support the Congress because I don't want a polarization of forces. I want the people of Goa to remain united as they were, and if anybody attempts to divide, then I will not be a party to such political designs. Asked if the BJP is communal and had been trying to saffronise government and education, he says, Every government is the same. Every government has its subtle biases. It is for the people to fight these biases even by coming out to the streets. However, it is time we stop talking about communalism if we really want to be secular and come together for the good of the people at large. He adds: The way things are going on, politicians are out to sell Goa once and for all. This is very painful to me. I love Goa and I always fought for its welfare. o Declare Dabolim permanent airport, urges ex-legislator Victor Gonsalves. (H) o Anger could be harmful, warns US-trained counsellor Fr Abraham SJ. The Jesuit was former principal of St Brittos.(H) o Workshop to explore adolescent lifestyles at St Xavier's. H o If you get caught with a call girl, call the minister, says the Gomantak Times. (GT) o Writes Dr Oscar Rebello: The nobility of the (medical) vocation weakens when it acquires a business-like character. Parra village panchayat (in Bardez) objects to inclusion of its area under the Planning and Development Authority. (NT) Saving Sanjivani: Navhind Times carries an article on how to salvage Goa's only sugar mill. It was set up by the first chief minister of Goa, late Dayanand Bandodkar, hoping that large-scale sugarcane cultivation would lead to rapid development of Goa's rural areas, following western Maharashtra. (Nikhil U Dessai, MD of Sanjivani Sahakar Sakhar Karkhana Ltd, in NT) o Prof Maria de Jesus dos Martires Lopes will speak on 'Goan Society of the 18th and 19th Century, a Successful Multi-Culturality?', Fundacao Orient, Sept 15, 6 pm. (NT) - DEATHS OBITUARIES - CARMONA: Francisco da Costa of Xiro. Husband of Alice, father/in-lw of Einstein/Sarojini, Muriel/Jerry, John/Natalie, Suraj. - IN A LIGHTER VEIN: Taking a tour of Aldona - Cecil Pinto shared his idea of an ideal tour of Aldona, the Bardez village, with Aldona-Net recently: I have often taken friends over to my parent's house in Goncoi at Aldona. Sometimes these guests have either never been to Aldona, or have visited fleetingly. I take such people on a brief pre-lunch tour of Aldona either in my van or on bike/s. Below is my normal route. I may drop or add some points of interest depending on the
[Goanet] Konkani song- Marekar Accident
Konkani song- Marekar Accident http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waSI3VDLuJM -- Best of the Web: Your Eye on the World [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[Goanet] Goanet Reader: Of Aunties and all that... the rise and fall of a Bombay Goan era (Roland Francis)
OF AUNTIES AND ALL THAT: THE RISE AND FALL OF A BOMBAY GOAN ERA Roland Francis [EMAIL PROTECTED] If Bombay in its post-Raj era had been a relic of British rule in India, growing up in the city, we knew nothing of it, or maybe just didn't care. To us youthful Goans, it was a place where our parents had emigrated to and where we were born. Correctly said, we didn't even call ourselves Goans. We were labeled makapaos, just as there were labels for everybody else. The Parsis were called bawas, the Sindhis papads, the Maharashtrians ghatis, the Gujaratis gujjus, the Sikhs surds and the Anglos payday kings. If Byculla, Mazagon, Colaba, Girgaum, Mahim, Bandra, Chembur, Malad and Borivali were Goan kingdoms, then Dhobitalao was surely the capital of them all. It was the fountainhead of the Goan in Bombay and the place where no matter where you lived, you always knew someone there. So it was no surprise what happened when Morarji Desai of 'pisskey' fame (he banned whiskey but believed in 'auto-urine therapy') decided in his Gujarati bania wisdom that the Bombayite needed to abstain from liquor. It was in Dhobitalao that the legend of the Goan Aunty was born. Dhobitalao was the area which had the most Goans per square inch. Perhaps historian Dr. Teresa Albuquerque -- the sister of editor Frank Moraes, and aunt of Dom Moraes -- may explain why, but it could have been due to the kudds or village clubs locating there. It was the Goan heartbeat with the Sonapur lane its aorta. Though mainly lower-class Goan in population, it was a vibrant neighborhood comparable to a bustling village church area on a Sunday morning. If you were an uncharitable traveler, you may have compared it to Warsaw's Jewish ghetto. There were the similar winding streets and narrow lanes we called gullies. Hardly any dead ends and, if you knew the place well, even a battalion-sized force could not encircle you. So, Dhobitalao became the Goan Aunty's liquor heartland. A place where any drunken Goan's wife could at last find the solution to her financial woes. Don't forget that although Bombay's Goan community was solid burgher in it's work ethic -- with more than it's share of educators, doctors, lawyers, high ranking police and army officers who made their name throughout the country -- these elite Goans formed the fringes who lived mostly in places I have described above, outside of Dhobitalao. The core was the underclass of barely educated and underemployed Goan labour, a goodly chunk of which lived in Dhobitalao. Of this, quite a few did nothing more in life than hit the bottle and consequently their families suffered. Whether it was the frustrations of a city or the longing for their native Goan village, it was difficult to tell. Not only the Goan community, but the rest of Bombay took their Goan Aunties to heart. Bombay was a bon vivant place then. The music scene, the advertising crowd, the business community, the religious groups -- all had the need of a tipple when the occasion arose. And such occasions were many. Give a man the freedom of a bottle and he may choose to ignore it. Take the choice away from him and he will spare no effort to drink when he can. It started out with a few Aunties allotting a small room in their house to known musicians and fellow village seafarers living in nearby kudds, to sit, have a few drinks and thereby earn a little income. The moonshine was bought from East Indian Christians living in the suburbs, who distilled it in their large backyards mostly in Bandra and Borivali and transported it to the city in rubber packs. The kind you fill with hot water and use as a compress on your aching back. Overripe fruit was used as the ingredient and the resultant distillate had a rather palatable flavor, while giving you the necessary high. Few Goan musicians could blow or play without this nectar and few Goan college professors could unwind without it. The police took a rather benign view of the whole thing in the beginning. Police stations were headed by Anglo Indians, Parsis and Jews. It was not unusual for, say Inspector Mistry, to caution an enthusiastic aunty that she should tone down her operations to no more than a few bottles, enough to care for her family with as less disturbance to the neighbors as possible. However as Aunty's services to the thirsting Bombayman spread beyond the original confines, the Aunty, like any good corporation, expanded her market share. Except that beyond word of mouth, she had no need of any marketing. Liquor needs went beyond what amateur operations could supply and the channels expanded to South Indians operating giant vats in the marshes and vast hutments of Dharavi, Asia's biggest slum. Using, at times, groups of lepers to carry the booze to avoid police
[Goanet] Thank You
I would like to extend my thanks for receiving your newsletter and thereby enriching my life in learning of Goa and her culture. As an outsider there is much to learn, appreciate and understand. I realize there are many areas of Goan culture that I will not be able to fully know, however, I do appreciate reading the heartfelt responses and views of those who do. Thank you for your virtue, honesty and beauty. Viva Goa!! Twila Burbank - Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now.
Re: [Goanet] Rajan Narayan's fantasies
Dears, The TIMES OF INDIA , Goa Edition of 8 May, 2008, published the results of a survey done for it by SYNOVATE INDIA [which according to the report is a leading market research agency] Among other details it has a Pie-chart with 28% of the Pie devoted to Manohar Parrikar. In contrast, the Parrikar supporting Pop singer, Remo Fernandes, could garner only 17 % of the Pie. Churchill Alemao gets a wafer thin slice of the Pie. Incidentally, the report has a quote from Manohar Parrikar on the results. Was it PURPOSIVE sampling wherein the findings are decided first and sampling is done to justify the pre-determined result? The TOI does not tell us what was the SAMPLE SIZE or the RANDOMISATION process to avoid bias in the sampling for the survey. It only tells us that the sample population was based in Goa and between the ages of 20 and 40 years. The respondents were spread over Panaji, Margao, Mapusa, Calangute, Vasco and Old Goa. There is a definite URBAN bias in the sample surveyed as only two of the six [33.33 %] locations of sampling is in Revenue villages of Calangute and Se-Old Goa. Calangute is almost a miniature metropolis with a huge foreign and domestic tourist presence ...and influence. Old Goa is not much different. One does not even know the interpretation of the term based in Goa. Is it permanent residence or staying in Goa for the day ...with a hotel room for an address? It is a pity that the recent convert to TOI-bashing, due to the perceived journo-poaching giving Rajan's Observer a Southern disComfort, has been identified for the ICONoclasm. May be we should talk about the Ladies Toilet in the oHeraldo again. Did a stinking toilet make the journo leave the Observer and make the Editor belatedly raise a stink about TOI? If Manohar Parrikar is replacing SFX as an icon in Goa, he should be either canonized or cannonized. Mog asundi. Miguel Carvalho [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 03:08:31 -0700 (PDT) From: Carvalho Subject: Re: [Goanet] Rajan Narayan's fantasies Manohar Parriker, the youth Icon for Goa? I'm sure a survey conducted of Goan women too would reveal Manohar Parriker as the icon of their dreams. He's handsome, charming and just the sort of rogue, women fall for. On that count, he has my vote as well. If I interpret the word icon to encompass role-model as well, does it mean there is a paucity of role-models in Goa? Here is a man who wears the RSS uniform to public functions and recently proclaimed the RSS to be his church. I am assuming, the sample of the poll did not consist of Muslims, Christians, Marxists, non-Brahmins, Konkani or Marathi speakers, regional party stalwarts or any other nasty individuals who believe in democracy, much less a secular one. Chus, selma - Bollywood, fun, friendship, sports and more. You name it, we have it.
[Goanet] Wrecking Salcette - Part 4/4
To Goanet - On the the final leg of our Salcette tour, we make a whistle-stop at the charming village of Carmona. A few weeks back, there was an eruption in the Carmona panchayat with villagers demanding cancellation of a mega housing project of the Raheja company. To get to the Raheja site, we have to first wade through a pile of concrement. As far as I know, nobody is opposing this. Why? http://www.parrikar.org/images/Salcette/carmona-mm-1.jpg http://www.parrikar.org/images/Salcette/carmona-mm-2.jpg Now to the Raheja site. The ghati guards wanted me to sign some register even though I was on a public road. Needless to say, I shooed them away. What you see is only an outpost to a massive property that extends all the way to the River Sal - http://www.parrikar.org/images/Salcette/carmona-raheja-1.jpg It is learnt that the Rahejas were planning some 500+ villas to begin with. The entire village has had only around 1000 homes the past couple of centuries at least. Digest that for a minute. This is the kind of all-pervasive cancer brought into Goa today by the builder-politician nexus. I would not yet declare victory. We are dealing with wily operators here and they are capable of sundering village unity by dangling cash or through other methods of chicanery. Already we hear noises such as if they scale down the number of villas to 75 it might be acceptable. Whispers about the economic benefits that will accrue to the village are also being amplified. Expect a rapid ramp up of such spurious propaganda. The Rahejas are apparently saying, We have bought all this land. What do we do with it now? Matanhy Saldanha has the right answer for Mr. Raheja: Plant more coconut trees, jackfruit trees, mango trees, and other varieties of trees. Then build a small house for yourself and come stay there. One mundkar family on the property has been persuaded into vacating their home by the tossing of crumbs in the form of two tiny, narrow 'bungalows' - http://www.parrikar.org/images/Salcette/carmona-raheja-2.jpg The desolation in the village of Benaulim has already been treated under separate cover. See - http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2008-May/073237.html With this, we conclude our Salcette safari. You have seen what you needed to see. Now it is up to you. Archive: Wrecking Salcette: Part 1/4 - http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2008-May/073467.html Wrecking Salcette: Part 2/4 - http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2008-May/073554.html Wrecking Salcette: Part 3/4 - http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2008-May/073605.html RTI document for Salcette procured from TCP Dept - http://www.parrikar.org/misc/tcp-salcette.pdf Warm regards, r
[Goanet] Goa news for May 12, 2008
Goa News from Google News and Goanet.org Visit http://www.goanet.org/newslinks.php for the full stories. *** Scarlett\'s mother summoned by Goa Police - NDTV.com [May 9, 2008] PTI The mother of the murdered British teenager Scarlett Keeling was summoned by Goa Police to provide evidence to investigators after she claimed of ... http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/7-0fd=Rurl=http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080049367cid=1211210768ei=eoEnSNWkFJ2EqwPG6pTTBwusg=AFrqEzcsCXXwOTTOjN4zDjajn1A9PZJyvw *** 3 dead as buses collide on Mumbai-Goa highway - Expressindia.com [2 hours ago] Three people including a six-month-old infant died when a luxury bus collided with the minibus they were travelling in, near Mangaon on the Mumbai-Goa ... http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4-0fd=Rurl=http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/3-dead-as-buses-collide-on-MumbaiGoa-highway/308245/cid=1212039780ei=eoEnSNWkFJ2EqwPG6pTTBwusg=AFrqEzdpnDHs7fEDMDqUDb2-Ual0dxG6Ig *** Sex trade regains grounds in Goa - Merinews [17 hours ago] Goa, referred as 'Pearl of the Orient', is caught up in sex trade. Sex trade has againacquired grave dimensions in the state after Baina demolition in 2004 ... http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9-0fd=Rurl=http://india.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=133847cid=0ei=eoEnSNWkFJ2EqwPG6pTTBwusg=AFrqEzfoS-k195x2IYye5u6ecPGn30xJag *** Goa-born top British cop awarded MBE - NDTV.com [May 10, 2008] PTI A Goa-born chief inspector of police has been awarded the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth for his long and ... http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-0fd=Rurl=http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080049429ch=5/10/2008%201:02:00%20PMcid=0ei=eoEnSNWkFJ2EqwPG6pTTBwusg=AFrqEzcewmoZWWPP-hhMZeIQtbxczFGEeg *** For bureaucrats, it\'s business unusual - Times of India [2 hours ago] Goas former 59-year-old Inspector General of Police, NS Randhawa is presently in New Delhi as the Joint Commissioner of Police (Headquarters). ... http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-0fd=Rurl=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Goa/For_bureaucrats_its_business_unusual/articleshow/3030810.cmscid=0ei=eoEnSNWkFJ2EqwPG6pTTBwusg=AFrqEzcJvVXGiud1LrHB-Dbt8e4DRfTQ0A *** Rossendale sailor in mercy mission to Goa - Lancashire Telegraph [1 hour ago] The ship had sailed to Goa for some much needed rest and recuperation - but Nick and 50 of his shipmates spent their time helping a local children's ... http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-0fd=Rurl=http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/rossendale/headlines/display.var.2262771.0.rossendale_sailor_in_mercy_mission_to_goa.phpcid=0ei=eoEnSNWkFJ2EqwPG6pTTBwusg=AFrqEzerAAFDKOdhN3wj9ZmJs-koZafXyQ *** Migrants may number 3.25 lakh in Goa - Navhind Times [3 hours ago] by RAMNATH P. RAIKAR Principal Correspondent PANAJI ̢#130; Going by the population projections for 2008, the migrants in Goa could currently number 3.25 lakh ... http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-0fd=Rurl=http://www.navhindtimes.com/articles.php?Story_ID=051213cid=0ei=eoEnSNWkFJ2EqwPG6pTTBwusg=AFrqEzc9WJiTFWjCnkZ3bZ0MANyGKyhwaA *** Rampant Violations of the Goa Highways Act - Navhind Times [2 hours ago] One of the best-written chapters of the draft sectoral report (DSR) of the Regional Plan for Goa 2011, circulated in March 2000 was about transport (chapter ... http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/2-0fd=Rurl=http://www.navhindtimes.com/articles.php?Story_ID=051219cid=0ei=eoEnSNWkFJ2EqwPG6pTTBwusg=AFrqEzeHkwSl_3tbHNKaOCo6bSgr7uErGg *** The tragedy of Goa - Times of India [May 10, 2008] Pity I am not Remo, Goa's famous balladeer, or else my lament could have been set to music. Goa brings out the poet in all of us. Rather, it used to. ... http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-0fd=Rurl=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Columnists/The_tragedy_of_Goa/articleshow/3028784.cmscid=0ei=eoEnSNWkFJ2EqwPG6pTTBwusg=AFrqEzes9Rf-zua382Qo6PLgcvOhjj-V2A *** DJ Rinton DJ Lasker rock Goa! - Times of India [14 hours ago] Cafe Mambos was the place to be. Djs Rinton and Lasker set the tone for the party animals on the weekend there. It was indeed the best way to de-stress as ... http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-0fd=Rurl=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Goa/DJ_Rinton__DJ_Lasker_rock_Goa/articleshow/3028233.cmscid=0ei=eoEnSNWkFJ2EqwPG6pTTBwusg=AFrqEzev5RFNsbuhsk_Co6tWe96EEvPuVQ Compiled by Goanet News Service http://www.goanet.org/newslinks.php
Re: [Goanet] Catholic Goeankars N.B. 'Respect atheists', says Cardinal
From: Santosh Helekar [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- Fr. Ivo C da Souza [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: *** The Cardinal is not, therefore, saying what Dr.Santosh is making him say... ***Thanks to Dr.Santosh for providing me with the link of the lecture of the Cardinal Cormack Murphy-O'Connor. I had stated that the Cardinal has been misquoted and misinterpreted by Dr.Santosh, after I read the summary of his lecture. By reading the full lecture, I stand by what I have said as a corrective. What the Cardinal has said about the supernatural not being a fact in the world, but a mystery, is given below. ***This is a misinterpretation of the words of the Cardinal. He states clearly who God is and his existence. God is the meaning that secures the meaning of all that I do, all that I am, all that we can be as humankind. His objective reality as goodness, truth and love secures the significance of all that happens, of all that is. God is not a fact in the world, as though God could be treated as one thing among other things to be empirically investigated, affirmed or denied on the basis of observation. Many who deny God's existence treat God in this way, and they simply don't know how to ask the proper question about God. God is why the world is at all, the goodness, truth and love that flows into an astonishingly complex and beautiful cosmos, and we are the part of that cosmos, consciously and freely open to goodness, truth and love; and we are frustrated when this openness is blocked. We are designed for ultimate meaning and purpose, unrestricted truth and love: that is why Julian Barnes, atheist though he may declare himself, 'misses' God. God is at the heart of every person. And until that is acknowledged, we will always feel his absence. God is real for the world and for our lives. God is not to be treated as an object, because the mystery of God transcends our human categories--it cannot be adequately and exhaustively expressed by words, but it should be experienced in silence. Reality of God's presence is clearly affirmed. Therefore, the Cardinal is not 'atheist', or 'agnostic'. The Cardinal clearly says it: I believe in the God revealed to us by Jesus, who is the father who forgives us, accepts us, and loves us. He is the God who speaks to us about who we are, how we should live and teaches us the ways that will lead us into a responsible exercise of our freedom. If we close our hearts and minds to him, if we forget or exclude God, then our lives lose both meaning and hope. When Jesus went back to his Father he said, 'I will not leave you orphans, I will come back to you' (Jn 14:18). He has left us his Holy Spirit and the Church. For me, as for many of you, the Church has been at the heart of my life. Yes, we know what shame attaches to her because of the sins of her members and why she must always be open to repentance and forgiveness, words increasingly unfamiliar to many in our society. For all of us the Church embodies a living tradition which assures us that with the guidance of the Holy Spirit it will always remain both a hope and a light for our world. The centrality of that message is of a God whose love for us is unlimited. We learn about this love in our families, our relationships and, above all, in the communion of believing women and men who are the Church. So we should not fear. In our prayer, our worship, our contemplation before God, in following the teaching of the Church, for those who believe in Christ, the future is always full of hope and open to new life. In this way we shall create a culture in which God is honoured and worshipped and all men and women cherished, valued and supported from the beginning of their lives to their end when they enter into the fullness of the mystery of God. God matters to all and it is because of this that we worship and serve Him. I cannot see how Dr.Santosh found what he is stating... In my discussion with him, I have repeated many of these statements. But I have argued in the context of Science and Faith. Fr. Ivo is mistaken in his belief that I have made the Cardinal say these words. ***This can be seen by reading the clear, relevant words of the Cardinal. http://www.rcdow.org.uk/lectures/ Regards. Fr.Ivo
[Goanet] Hundred percent results
Dears, The detention statistics of Std. VIII and Std.IX and the admission policy of the school from Std.V upwards tells the true story of the HUNDRED PERCENT RESULTS. In rare cases, as described by Frederick below, the leaving certificate does the trick. Among, the duds who had to leave St.Britto HS, one became a Mayor of Mapusa and another heads a very successfull chain of hotels and travel agencies. Both of them obtained FIRST CLASS marks at SSC from schools that St.Britto HS management then considered as third class. So much for the theory of Jesuit Education Paradigm [JEP] that Jesuit institutions often prove by default rather than by compliance. In my own town there was a Higher Secondary School that produced a large number of FIRST CLASS [above 60%] results for Std.XII-Science by two methods: 1. Admitting only students with distinction [above 75%marks] at SSC. and 2.Ensuring that all the students obtained 30/30 or 29/30 marks in the practical exams,specially in Chemistry. Once the GCET ranking replaced the Std. XII-Science marks to determine admission in professional colleges, the HSS no longer had any interest in ensuring the full marks in practicals, even when the same teachers continued for some more time. The institution is managed by the business community and had a politician to head it. Obviously, it knows its business but not education. The then Minister for Education and CM put his son in that HSS in 2001. The Chairman of the Goa Board of Education put his son elsewhere in the same year. Clearly a difference in perception of education Damodar HSS-Margao and Dempo HSS-Panaji are among institutions that follow the same policy for admission as above. Hopefully, the similarity was not extended to the conduct of the practicals, also. When my sister became a Headmistress in DSE schools, she proved that she had unlearnt all that she might have learnt while teaching at St.Britto HS as a fresh graduate. The weak students were coached during remedial classes [a thing that is half-heartedly encouraged by the Goa Education Department] even if it meant extra work for herself and the teachers, some of them unwilling partners in the students' progress. Obviously, all students were not equal to the task and, in the initial years, many of them failed ... bringing down the passing percentage of the school. However, two points need to be noted: 1.More students passed SSC, in absolute numbers. and 2. It is better to be SSC failed than to be detained in Std.IX. At least one has the satisfaction of appearing for a SSC Board exam once in one's lifetime. You bet there are may SSC students, passed or failed, who bless her name for their achievement. The school is not worse off for the experience. The ABC of Education is Attitudenal and Behavioural Change. If the process of schooling has not brought about a POSITIVE change in attitude, AND the behaviour of the student is not BETTER than it would have been but for the schooling, it is NOT education. Learning is not education. Change in attitude is education that shows through one's behaviour. There is no difference in the attitude of a rich miser and a poor miser or a mafia don and a slum lord, a prostitute and a call girl. Education can change that.Neither distinction marks in Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Psychology, Sociology, Mathematics nor even in Value Education and Theology can change attitudes. Mog asundi. Miguel Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 14:07:06 +0530 From: Frederick [FN] Noronha * [EMAIL PROTECTED] [Goanet] Hundred percent results Do some institutions attain 100% by keeping out 'weak' students from their portals? Avelino was in school -- actually, in the same class -- with me. He knows that in 1978, our school, Britto's, also attained 100% results at the SSC. But that was obtained by slaughtering all but 25 pupils the previous year. I respect the work of institutions like Don Bosco's night school (Panjim) and crafts complex (Sulcorna), the Rudolf Schwartz initiatives at Siolim and Pernem, and the like... which are mean to create some options and jobs for those whom mainstream education sees as weak students. --FN 2008/5/11 D'Souza, Avelino [EMAIL PROTECTED]: Hundred percent results 11 May 2008, 0255 hrs IST,Anabelle Colaco,TNN PANAJI: Uday Bhalikar can't stop smiling. A few minutes after the Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC) results were announced on Saturday afternoon, the principal of Damodar Higher Secondary School of Science in Margao got to know that his college had once again scored cent percent results. Up north, Fr. Paul D'Souza is similarly pleased as punch. Don Bosco Higher Secondary School of Science, Arts and Commerce, Panaji bagged a full score in commerce and over 90 percent in science and arts. - Forgot the famous last words? Access your
[Goanet] LIMERICK FOR THE DAY 96 - BOOK ON GOA
BOOK ON GOA Judging by the contributors, this book is likely to be a jewel And perhaps become required reading in every school At least every library in Goa should have this tome And those also who can afford to keep a copy at home - In the effort to spread Goan culture this could be a valuable tool. -Shanti Dhoot RE: Message: 5 8 May 2008 ; From: Goanet AE [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [Goanet] Book celebrating Goa to be launched on May 13 Panaji Goa: Aparanta, Land Beyond the End, a long-awaited, lavishly illustrated five coloured hardcover coffee table book celebrating Goan life, culture and history, will be launched at the Goa Marriott Resort in Panaji on May 13. 'GOA: Aparanta, Land Beyond the End' was long in the making, and involved the combined efforts of 51 contributors, many of them world-renowned specialists in their field. US-based author Victor Rangel-Ribeiro has edited the vibrant text, blending outstanding scholarship with readability. Ace photographer, Mr Bharath Ramamrutham has provided most, of the close to 200, illustrations with Mr Divya Thakur of Design Temple brilliantly designing the book. The prominent writers (include) P P Shirodkar, Teotonio de Souza, Alban Couto, Pratima Kamat, Vissu Pai Panandikar, K D Sadhale, Cho Padamsee, Sarto Almeida, Jaimini Mehta, Chandrakant Keni, Uday Bhembre, the late Manohar Rai Sardessai, Kiran Budkuley, Nina Caldeira, Eufemiano Miranda, Maria Aurora Couto, Victor Rangel-Ribeiro, Malbarao Sar Dessai, Tomazinho Cardozo, Mario Cabral e Sa, Vasant Joshi, Wendell Rodricks, Vamona Navelcar, Percival Noronha, Vinayak Khedekar, Pandurang Phaldesai, Chandrakant Keni, Maria Lilia de Souza provides capsule notes on 350 eminent Goans, and also an extensive annotated bibliography. Lavishly produced, the book is the maiden venture of Goa Publications Pvt Ltd, the publishers of 'Sunaparant' and 'Goa Today'. The book runs to 250 oversized pages, and is priced at Rs 3,500 a copy. http://www.navhindtimes.com/articles.php?Story_ID=050872
Re: [Goanet] Study in Australia - A query
Dear JoeGoaUK, You made an enquiry regarding need for a deposit of 19 lakhs Rupees imposed by an Australian University on your nephew who seemingly has been awarded a scholarship. I am currently the Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology with an Australian University (MONASH) that has a clinical school in Malaysia and so I thought I could help clarify matters. From my enquiries, such a demand is not generally asked for but may represent a sum of money to ensure that the candidate is able to leave Australia after he graduates. This of course could change if he adopts Residency status or indeed Australian Nationality. Given the need for graduates in Australia, and his youth, he would stand a very good chance of making Australia home if he so wished. The sum of 19 lakhs is not excessive in Australian terms and should only be a deposit i.e returnable at the end of his course. If it is on any help, my daughter has a legal practice (migration Law) in Sydney and might be in a position to answer some of your queries. You could get her Practice details from the web on http://www.advocateimmigration.com.au/ourpeople_KathrynViegas.html I hope this will be of help and, on a separate note, thank you very much for the series of photographs that you have given us the opportunity to enjoy. Best wishes Professor Osborn Viegas Professor Osborn Viegas AM, MBChB, MD(Birm), FRCOG, FRANZCOG, DA Professor of Reproductive Health MONASH University, Johore Bahru MALAYSIA
[Goanet] Death In The Face - Personal Experiences
Twice in Bombay and before the age of 16, I had witnessed death at first hand come and grab it's victims. In one of the incidents I was an actor in a minor role. I am not talking of facing death. That I have done on more than a couple of occasions in later lifetime. No, I am talking of death wreaking actual vengeance there and then. It was Sunday morning and I was crossing the street in Byculla to go for morning mass at the magnificent Gloria Church. I was still a little dazed from getting up early and if there were any thoughts in my head, they were of which part of the Church to sit in. Should I go to my usual place next to the empty confessional where Patsy and Nancy would await me. Or should I go mid-nave which was the place where a group of pretty school girls always sat. Should I go very near the side altar to impress Glenda who was always a prayerful girl and who I was keen on initiating in the pleasures of the flesh. Such were my only thoughts. Jaywalking was common and I don't remember ever taking pedestrian crossings seriously. About 30 meters to the right a man was also crossing the street, probably also to Church. Before I could blink an eyelid a double decker BEST bus rammed into the man. There was the screech of tires and a unmistaken thud. A crowd of people rushed to the scene and I too with them. I saw a full human brain laid out on the road less a small portion that had detached itself. I was nauseous but I proceeded to Church. I tell you, quaking throughout, that was the best mass I ever heard in my entire life. The next time was during one of the Bombay communal riots. Byculla though generally peaceful, had an element of the Muslim community that owned butcher shops, wholesale fruit vends and controlled the blackmarket in cinema tickets at Palace Talkies. Although Byculla at that time was mostly Catholic Goan and Anglo-Indian populated, they were left in peace by these Muslims who did not consider them a threat. But any time a Hindu gang from across the other side of the tracks ventured to assert hegemony, they would be fistfights. Hindu Muslim riot time was a different matter. The fists went out and the knives came in. The Muslims used big butcher knives and the Hindus swords. Riots would flare up suddenly. One minute a peaceful vignette on the streets and the next there would be mayhem. It was during such a period that Mum had an extra emergency shift at the hospital and had told me to get some food (yummy fish curry and tasty mutton) from Best Ford restaurant across the Church. As I was walking on the kerb I saw a group of about 4 men chasing a lone runner who was yelling bachao, bachao (save me, save me). Without a thought with the fearlessness of a 15 year old I dashed between the hunted and the hunters. I did not know what I could achieve besides slowing down the chasing men. They swiped at me with a brute force and I was rolled out of the way. A few meters ahead one of them caught up with the runner and stabbed him in the stomach. It was not just a stab. It was a large vertical cut with a deft pulling out of the knife that brought out the entire contents of the stomach out. The man held his spilt guts and still tried to run. No one came to help him and I too was by now utterly scared. He collapsed and died on the path. Not before I could see him writhing in his death throes. This has been the curse of Bombay. The politician-generated hate between Muslims and Hindus that spell numerous violent deaths from time to time. They say that now Bombay is prosperous. That everyone is too busy making money and raising their living standards to find time to hate and break out in communal violence. I certainly hope so. -- Roland Francis 416-453-3371
[Goanet] D'Pietro awarded Dalgado Puroskar
D'Pietro awarded Dalgado Puroskar PANJIM, MAY 10 - Famous Konknni novelist and accomplished saxoph-onist, Bonaventure Peter Fernandes (or Bonaventure D'Pietro, as he is popularly known) was awarded the Dalgado Puroskar, a Lifetime achievement award at a well-attended function in the Kala Academy. Past President of the Karnataka Konknni Sahitiya Akademi, Eric Ozario was the chief guest and conferred the award named by the Dalgado Konkani Akademi in honour of Monsenhor Sebastiao Rudolfo Dalgado, whose sterling work for the understanding of Konkani remains unparalleled to this day. Noted Konknni writer and Sahitya Akademi winner Datta Damodar Naik was the guest of honour, while Fr Conceicao de Chagas e Silva, an active promoter of Konknni usage in Goa Archdiocese and beyond was the special invitee. The award function was held in collaboration with Kala Academy at Kala Aca-demy's Black Box. While congratulating the Dalgado Puroskar 2008 winner D'Pietro, Eric said, There are two groups of people who work for Konknni. One group works for Konknni out of convenience. Ozario also congratulated Dalgado Konknni Akademi for choosing the right person for its prestigious award. Welcoming the gathering, DKA President Premanand Lotlikar praised Bonaventure D'Pietro for enriching the Konknni language through literature by sacrificing even his livelihood. The awardee was intro-duced by Floriano Fernandes, executive member of DKA. Fr Conceicao D' Silva expressed his satisfaction that the Goa Government is at last waking up to the reality and acknowledging that Konknni is alive in Roman script. 1 have realised one thing, he said, unless one makes noise, one is not heard by the Government. On the occasion, noted tiatrist Prince Jacob's drama Roddonaka was released at the hands of Fr Conceicao D'Silva. At the end of the function DKA secretary Jose Salvador Fernandes proposed the vote of thanks, while Daniel F de Sousa compered the function. http://www.oheraldo.in/pagedetails.asp?nid=3838cid=26
[Goanet] Monday Muse (12 May 2008)
Join the determined solidarity of the brave villagers of Carmona, Cavelossim, Benaulim, Colva, Orlim, Betalbatim, Majorda, etc Come one, Come All PUBLIC MEETING at Dando Grounds, Benaulim 5 pm onwards, on Monday, 12 May 2008 Please forward the message MONDAY MUSE (12 May 2008) TWO SIGNS It is many years since my favourite teacher Fr Gatti departed. But his many inspiring lessons continue to guide me. One such story went like this... A blind boy was sitting with a mat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: I am blind, please help. A sage walking by noticed that there were very few coins on the mat. He took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words... Soon the mat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That evening, the sage who had changed the sign, passed by again. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write? The sage replied, I wrote the same thing as you but in a different way. He had written, Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it. The two signboards while saying the same thing conveyed totally different messages. Of course both signs told people the boy was blind. But the first simply said the boy was blind. The latter one told people they were so lucky that they were not blind. Surely the second sign was better at its impact and effect! This is an enduring lesson. How we communicate is very important. We need to be better at exploring the various ways that our message may be interpreted. And we must choose the option that conveys our message best. We must be like the wise sage who chose to express instead of trying to impress. To BE BETTER at communicating our message Let every word of ours hold the wisdom of a sage! - Pravin-da 12 May 2008, Goa, India. Best Jokes, Best Friends, Best Food and more. Go to http://in.promos.yahoo.com/groups/bestofyahoo/
Re: [Goanet] Catholic Goeankars N.B. 'Respect atheists', says Cardinal
From: CORNEL DACOSTA [EMAIL PROTECTED] What the Cardinal (Murphy-O'Connor) said in London is exactly as quoted by Santosh. Santosh has made nothing up as you imply. Nor is he making him [the Cardinal] say anything. ***Quoting a passage outside the context is not to say exactly what the Cardinal said. Read the full lecture and try to understand it. I am stating again that the Cardinal did not say what is being quoted, he means exactly the contrary. God is not to be treated as an object of science, but as a mystery, as a living reality that exists and can be experienced. Therefore, the Cardinal is not an 'atheist' or 'agnostic'. God is the meaning that secures the meaning of all that I do, all that I am, all that we can be as humankind. His objective reality as goodness, truth and love secures the significance of all that happens, of all that is. God is not a fact in the world, as though God could be treated as one thing among other things to be empirically investigated, affirmed or denied on the basis of observation. Many who deny God's existence treat God in this way, and they simply don't know how to ask the proper question about God. God is why the world is at all, the goodness, truth and love that flows into an astonishingly complex and beautiful cosmos, and we are the part of that cosmos, consciously and freely open to goodness, truth and love; and we are frustrated when this openness is blocked. We are designed for ultimate meaning and purpose, unrestricted truth and love: that is why Julian Barnes, atheist though he may declare himself, 'misses' God. God is at the heart of every person. And until that is acknowledged, we will always feel his absence. You are of course free to interpret the Cardinal as you wish and you can even interpret Santosh as you wish but please do not misquote Santosh nor perhaps even the Cardinal. ***I am not free to interpret the Cardinal as I wish. Read the words within the full context and understand it. I have not interpreted wrongly the statements of Dr.Santosh, but have rejected his statements, which are being taken outside the context, for they do not give us the thought of the Cardinal. It is not what the Cardinal is saying in the lecture. The Cardinal rejects the wrong approach to the mystery of God, of a living God, and shows the right approach to God. When I heard the Cardinal on the TV news, I was a wee bit surprised. I wondered if this senior theist was perhaps on the route to becoming an atheist. ***This is totally wrong. You have completely misunderstood him. About casteism, I have already answered you earlier. Regards. Fr.Ivo
[Goanet] A SNUB of all times - A good lesson to political CHAMCHAS
This is coming to you right from the horse's mouth. All the political CHAMCHAS of the 'Aldona-Lover-boy' Dayanand Narvekar, the high profile criminal in the ticket-gate scam, Aldona's proud MLA and the Goa's present Finance Minister got the SNUB of the year along with his accomplice in Mr. Fredy Fernandes, the Zilla Member of Aldona, when their dry throats went even drier and their stomachs went a crying with pangs of hunger when the caterer selected for their merry making party hosted in honour of the 'lover boy' by the supplicating so called 'Aldona Association' not only did not supply the booze and the food as ordered, but also put off the generator sending the rats scattered in all directions in the dark. This happened yesterday, 10 May, 2008 at the Aldona Institute where the function was scheduled to take place. The reason: The Aldona Association had originally booked La Bonita as the venue for the function. But the high profile minister refused to come to the venue because 'La Bonita's owner Mr. Melvin Fernandes has spurned all attempts by this 'God Almighty' to have his independent wings cut through harassments meted to him on various counts to carry-on his bonafide business where even the Excise Department has refused to give him the Bar license for his venue citing political instructions. Young Melvin Fernandes happens to be the President of one of the two Aldona Comunidades the Boa Esperanca Comunidade and who has moved against Narvekar's attempts to legalize all the illegal houses built through his blessings at 'Sainagar' , his vote-bank. Young Melvin Fernandes is even going to approach the High Court of Bombay at Goa for demolishing the structure built by the one of the office bearers of the comunidade without even giving a show cause notice by influencing the Dy. Collector of Bardez, Mr. Corjuenkar who has been willing to crawl when merely asked to bend. Through explicit instructions to his many CHAMCHAS, the to be 'high and mighty chief guest for the day' ordered the venue of the merry party to be shifted to the Aldona Institute. But they made one costly mistake. They retained the services of Mr. Melvin Fernandes to cater to the shifted function who most willingly acceded to their demands knowing fully well that this was his only chance to show the mighty minister who was the boss when he got the word through the grape-wines that the minister has vowed to bring the young man at his almighty feet. It is reported that on arrival at the venue and sensing that there was more than something wrong, the almighty left in a tizzy, not before announcing to the band of his chamchas, including the most reverend Parish Priest of Aldona, sad to say, who has more than crawled when only asked to bend a little, that I SHALL DEAL WITH THAT BOY. The grape-wines from Aldona are continuously reporting that the people of Aldona who are not the roped-in band of the minister's chamchas are celebrating this event as the event of all times and continuously sending congratulatory messages to Melvin Fernandes for a deed well done. Most encouraging to hear this young man Melvin Fernandes, who has gone through hell to establish his business, say I SHALL CLOSE DOWN MY BUSINESS RATHER THAN TO SUBMIT TO THIS CRIMINAL Well done there, Melvin. Will the Aldona CHA-CHAS show some guts and some self-respect of not dancing to the tunes of this criminal who has flouted every rule in the rule book and try to walk in the foot-steps of this brave young man Melwin Fernandez??? The least that the leader of the powerful institution such as the Church of Aldona can do is to lead his people the right way in keeping with the lectures in 'morality' he delivers shamelessly during every Sunday Mass. We raise a toast to you Melvin Fernandes for your more than a brave deed and may your tribe increase a thousand fold to oust all types of hypocrites form the honorable soil of Aldona. We remind Aldonkars that they have taken a step forward through the formation of the ABA (Aldona Bachao Abhiyan) from the ravaging builder's lobby. Now you can take another step forward to snub hypocrites of all colours and all hues. Cheers floriano goasuraj
Re: [Goanet] An expansion in Goanet's perspective
Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 00:41:23 -0700 (PDT) From: Carvalho [EMAIL PROTECTED] Take for instance Mario's suggestions. They are certainly solid suggestions from a western democracy point of view. I agree with a lot he has to say and I myself have thought along similar lines, but to what extent you can transfer those suggestions to the ground realities that exist in Goa is questionable. Mario asks: Selmabai, So, what are you saying? That the enlightened western democracies are solid in their approach while the hapless Goans are not? The answer is, if they are not, perhaps it is high time they moved in that direction, before it's too late. According to you and Chris, a system that has worked well in all the civilized democratic societies in the world in balancing the interests of local environments and citizens with economic developers will not work in democratic Goa due to the ground realities. Even though it has never been tried and it now takes wasteful economic activity by developers followed by mass public protests to get anything done or undone in Goa? Are you suggesting that these ground realities include stupidity? I have been assuming a higher level of intelligence and self-interest than you apparently are assuming. Selma writes: Of late, I have stopped having an opinion about Goa. So removed are we from what is happening that our opinions seem superfluous, facile, banal, irrelevant and at times can only be construed as insolent. Mario responds: So, behind the beautiful big words, aren't you really saying let's run and hide our heads in the sand? Let's not give them ideas we know of, of provable solutions that have worked everywhere else, that they haven't yet tried, because the ground reality is that they are too stupid or lazy? Selma writes: So how much diaspora Goans can genuinely contribute to this forum remains the big question. Mario responds: It all depends on the contribution, doesn't it? There are no simple solutions. Only intelligent choices. - Caterpillar Tractor Company.
Re: [Goanet] Hundred percent results
The bigger story is the approximately 40% of high school students who drop-out of school in Goa, a tradegy and scar on our society. Regards, George
[Goanet] Kadamba hill construction re-visited
To Goanet - Refer to these photographs posted here last month - http://www.parrikar.org/images/samples/kadamba-hill-1.jpg http://www.parrikar.org/images/samples/kadamba-hill-3.jpg Today I took at closer look at the site. The construction site board is seen in this photograph. Does the name on it sound familiar? See - http://www.parrikar.org/images/samples/kadamba-hill-board.jpg ps: Last month's post is archived here - http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2008-April/072851.html Warm regards, r
[Goanet] Survey to name Goa's new patron saint
Taking a cue from TOI-GOA...i strongly suggest that Goanet take up a survey to name Goa's new patron saint... The survey should not be biased, pre-cast and should include a secular reader base... I guess soon Goans will wake up to a new patron saint for GOA...and he will be based not in old Goa but either in Mapusa or Panjim...if someone offers him a home out there, as allegedly the future patron saint of Goa doesnt have a home to stay in Panjim...ask one Tarcar, and he will enlighten you more on the subject... This idea came to mind at this unearthly hour of the night after I read Minguel Braganza's brilliant post... Trust some lunatics to make heroes out of zeroes... Goans await more planted surprises in the media in the coming days...the circus is about to begin and the ring masters are busy working overtime that this time around the lion jumps through successfully the ring of fire and doesnt beat a hasty retreat with his tail in between his legs...like the previous two attempts... Kind regards Cedric da Costa Dubai Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ
Re: [Goanet] The tragedy of Goa by Shobhaa De
Hi there, She is a Rajadhyaksha before marrage all right but from Karwar-side, not Goichi. Yes,yes, she does speake Kok-ni fluently, albeit, one would rather watch those words take shape on her lips*kind-o-in-a-rush* to get on the Poonji-Karwar Express! On Sun, May 11, 2008 at 12:07 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Appeared in today's TOI edition, she has truly hit the hammer on the nail, BTW she is a Goenkar before marriage, Shobha Rajadhyaksha. The tragedy of Goa 11 May 2008, 0143 hrs IST,SHOBHAA DE
[Goanet] Goan Beach Shack Owners Seek Resolution
Goan Beach Shack Owners Seek Resolution Association president wants greater cooperation in promoting state tourism Armstrong Vaz Do not come to Goa, there is chaos in Goa, says the draft message the All-Goa Shack Owners Association is planning to insert as advertisements in a couple of English-language dailies to draw the attention of tourists. The message is intended to garner support over the sun beds issue, a tangle that the state government must resolve before the next tourist season begins in October in the Indian state of Goa. If the sun beds row is not resolved by the government the advertisements are one of the options the association is towing with, says its president, Cruz Cardozo. Goa beach shacks are temporary, palm leaf-covered structures that require permission from the government to operate for period from October to May. In April the state government placed a policy on the allotment of sun beds and beach umbrellas for 2007-08 before a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court in Goa. The policy came in the wake of the strong stand taken by the Court over the failure of the tourism authorities to curb illegalities. Now only five pairs of sun beds and five beach umbrellas will be permitted for each shack and if more than the permitted deck beds and umbrellas are found they would be confiscated, the Hindu reported. The shack owners fear that the same yardstick will be implemented next year, spelling doom for them. The policy came in the wake of the strong stand taken by the Court over the failure of the tourism authorities to curb illegalities. Now only five pairs of sun beds and five beach umbrellas will be permitted for each shack and if more than the permitted deck beds and umbrellas are found they would be confiscated, the Hindu reported. The shack owners fear that the same yardstick will be implemented next year, spelling doom for them. We need permission for twenty sun beds per shack, said association president Cardozo. Categorizing the entire coastal belt on the same line is per se not good for the trade. The foreign tourists come to sun tan and lesser number of beds will not be fair for tourists. Foreign tourists come to Goa because of the shack owners, said Cardozo. For justification, Cardozo points out that last year, on account of the government's failure to issue beach licenses at the start of the season in October, many foreign tourists were forced to cancel their trips to Goa and opt for another location. The delay of one and half month caused many a confusion in the mind of the tourist, he said. The association is gearing up to move to the Goa bench of the Mumbai High Court over the sun bed issue and is resolved to get an assurance form the government that licenses for the coming season will be issued by the first week of October. Meanwhile, Cardozo asserts that more regulations are needed. Garbage it the biggest headache and local panchayats [village councils] have been unable to lift garbage from beaches for lack of dumping grounds. Sewage water has been released by some people in nullahs [streams] like in Colva, he said. We need to demarcate bathing zones and areas for water sports. Safety of the tourists should be the prime consideration. We need to have more parking facilities near the beaches. Lack of proper illumination of roads is another concern. Construction of changing rooms for tourists is also needed. Cardozo also complained about the men and women who loiter on the beach and harass people into buying their wares, giving tourists a bad impression. All the stake holders in the state need to promote our sports, cultural, hinterland and backwaters tourism to add to beach tourism, he said, warning that if they didn't other tourist destinations would soon overtake Goa. The association is planning to meet in the first week of June to forward a list of proposals to the government highlighting the grievances of the shack owners to the Tourism Department and suggesting measures the government needed to take to stem the rot the association sees settling in the tourism trade. Goa has all the natural resources to be the number one tourist spot. But besides the naturally God-sent beauty, our government has not done nothing to upgrade and maintain the beach side tourism, Cardozo said. We pay 30,000 rupees as yearly fees but we do not get value for the money paid to the government. http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?at_code=434277; no=382551rel_no=1 ~(^^)~ Avelino
Re: [Goanet] Catholic Goeankars N.B. 'Respect atheists', says Cardinal
From: Roland Francis [EMAIL PROTECTED] I too along with Santosh and Cornel feel that you are completely spinning what the Cardinal said. ***Read the full lecture and try to understand it. Like Dr.Santosh and Cornel you have not understood well the full lecture. In other words, he has in one stroke and in one statement removed the battle of whether God exists or not, by placing Him in the unprovable realm. Scientists have no weapon against this. ***The Cardinal affirms the living reality of God. God is not object to be verified like the objects of empirical sciences. God does not belong to the phenomenal domain of Science and of the Scientists. Read it carefully. God is the meaning that secures the meaning of all that I do, all that I am, all that we can be as humankind. His objective reality as goodness, truth and love secures the significance of all that happens, of all that is. God is not a fact in the world, as though God could be treated as one thing among other things to be empirically investigated, affirmed or denied on the basis of observation. Many who deny God's existence treat God in this way, and they simply don't know how to ask the proper question about God. God is why the world is at all, the goodness, truth and love that flows into an astonishingly complex and beautiful cosmos, and we are the part of that cosmos, consciously and freely open to goodness, truth and love; and we are frustrated when this openness is blocked. We are designed for ultimate meaning and purpose, unrestricted truth and love: that is why Julian Barnes, atheist though he may declare himself, 'misses' God. God is at the heart of every person. And until that is acknowledged, we will always feel his absence. Very clearly the Cardinal states: I believe in the God revealed to us by Jesus, who is the father who forgives us, accepts us, and loves us. He is the God who speaks to us about who we are, how we should live and teaches us the ways that will lead us into a responsible exercise of our freedom. If we close our hearts and minds to him, if we forget or exclude God, then our lives lose both meaning and hope. Simply put, I like many others believe in God but cannot prove that God exists. An argument that the Cardinal is making by deviating in a significant way from the teachings of the Church today. ***Our Reason does direct us to God, but Science cannot prove nor disprove the existence of God. Verifiability of faith is not like verifiability in the domain of empirical sciences. The Church has never taught otherwise. The mystery of God has been revealed by his Son, Jesus Christ. This is what the Cardinal is repeating: We should remember that the proper response to God is that of faith, not absolute certainty. God is said by Christian theology to be ineffable, beyond our categories and thought capacity. St Thomas Aquinas after all is quite clear that 'imperfect knowledge belongs to the very nature of faith'. And there is a good reason for this - we have no positive grasp on the mystery of God. 'The divine substance,' Aquinas says, 'surpasses every form that our intellect reaches. Thus we are unable to apprehend it by knowing what it is.' God 'is greater than all we can say, greater than all that we can know; and not merely does he transcend our language and our knowledge, but he is beyond the comprehension of every mind whatsoever.' God is beyond the comprehension (adequate, exhaustive knowledge), we experience in love the God that has been revealed by Jesus of Nazareth, who is the Son of God. Regards. Fr.Ivo
[Goanet] Anti-realty fire spreads across villages
12 May 2008, 0158 hrs IST,Govind Kamat Maad,TNN MARGAO: Even as the Benaulim gram sabha adopted two resolutions on Sunday demanding revocation of construction licenses of two building projects, the agitation against mega projects appeared to be spreading across the coastal belt. It what seemed to be the first indication of a mass movement gaining momentum, villagers of Colva, Benaulim, Varca, Majorda, Betalbatim, Orlim, Carmona, Cavelossim and surrounding villages have decided to hold a joint meeting at Dando grounds, Benaulim, at 5 pm on May 12. The objective is to create awareness among villagers about the problems that may arise because of mega projects, said the Benaulim Villagers Action Committee. Representatives of all these villages as well as prominent citizens of Goa will address the meet. The course of action against mega projects, including big housing complexes, will be decided at the meeting. Earlier in the day, with a strong of posse of policemen surrounding the panchayat building to prevent any law and order situation, residents of Benaulim exposed various deeds of alleged omission and commission by elected representatives while granting licenses to a number of construction projects. After a lengthy discussion, some 600 villagers who attended the gram sabha meeting adopted two separate resolutions demanding revocation of construction licenses of two building projects. Alleging that there were many irregularities in the two projects—lack of requisite setbacks, insufficient garbage disposal measures, inadequate parking arrangements—the villagers even demanded initiation of demolition proceedings against a project at Komlam Tollem. The other resolution pertained to the construction of a multistoried building by a local builder. The project invited the ire of the villagers for the failure of the panchayat and the builder in protecting the mundcarial rights of tenants. The sarpanch and panchayat members faced a barrage of questions on the alleged irregularities. Interestingly, in both cases, it was the panchayat members who, bowing to the wishes of the people, proposed the resolutions. Voicing apprehensions over the influx of migrant population and the pressure the construction projects will exert on the existing inadequate infrastructure in Benaulim, the villagers demanded transparency in all the dealings of the panchayat. Considering the rapid pace of construction in Benaulim, it won’t take much time for this village to turn into a mega city. Ugly concrete structures have come up in place of once lush green fields and playgrounds. How many locals can afford to buy an apartment in one of these buildings? What sense does it make to play host to the outsiders at the cost of our identity? said Michael Rodrigues, a resident. Dando meeting today BY HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, MAY 11 – All roads lead to Dando grounds, Benaulim on Monday evening as people from coastal Salcete – from Majorda to Cavelossim – agitating against mega housing projects will come under one banner and set the agenda for commercial housing along the belt. Tomorrow’s public meeting at 5 pm will be a culmination of the host of corner meetings and activists held against mega housing projects over the last few days. The meeting is likely to draw up a plan of action against housing projects in the villages. Right from Cavelossim, Carmona, Orlim, Varca, Benaulim, Colva, Betalbatim to Majorda, people concerned over the mega housing are expected to participate in the deliberations and accord their nod for a host of resolutions, which may set the tone for deliberations and discussion on housing in the State’s countryside. That the meeting was announced in some of the Churches during the Sunday Mass is an indication that citizens opposed to mega housing projects are planning to organise themselves to carry out a sustained battle against the projects. Meet people who discuss and share your passions. Go to http://in.promos.yahoo.com/groups/bestofyahoo/
[Goanet] Remo speaks out (TOI, May 8, 2008)
In a reply to Remo Mario speaks out If push comes to shove their money is then trapped in an asset they cannot easily carry away ... Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 11:35:19 +0530 From: marie [EMAIL PROTECTED] Have you considered that, while it is true they (the foreigners) cannot carry away land assets, they then sell off the land at a huge profit and carry away all of it to their home lands --total loss for India. If an Indian buys land the money is just circulated within India -- with probable loss to Goa. Mario responds: Marie, I wonder if you have noticed that the most economically developed countries in the world allow and encourage foreign investments - the least developed countries discourage or do not allow them. Prior to India and China's liberalization development took place at a snail's pace, now both are booming from the influx of foreign investment. They have quickly reached a point where they are now investing in other countries. Here are some thoughts without going too deep into how free markets and free trade benefit everyone. Yes, foreign investors can sell their fixed assets and carry away their huge profits to their home lands or any other place where they think their money would be a better investment. However, once they take the trouble and risk to invest in fixed and long term assets investors must have a good reason to pull out - they don't do so on a whim. This is a good incentive for the host country to conduct its economic affairs in a positive manner, with pro-growth and reasonable-tax rate policies, so that foreign investors will have little incentive to pull out, more will have an incentive to come in, and both sides will benefit. This has been the US experience. The result is a 95% employment rate, a low inflation rate and steady long term growth. In your example, there was apparently no Indian around to buy the asset at the right price when the seller was ready to sell, or they would have bought it in the first place. Avoiding a foreign investor and waiting for an Indian investor to show up is what leads to slow growth and stagnation. If there is a wholesale flight of foreign investors from a country, it will lead to economic problems, but not if only a few withdraw and are replaced by others as will happen if the host country conducts itself in a positive manner with pro-growth and reasonable-tax-rate policies. In the meantime, the foreign owner's money either came from being earned somewhere else or was earned from doing some business in India. If it came from outside, it added a foreign investment to India's economy. If it was earned in India it stayed in India. The original Indian who sold the asset benefited, those who used it in the interim benefited from its use, and those who bought it, whether Indian or foreign obviously think the price is right, or they would not have bought it. So what if the foreign investor made a profit? Denying private investors a profit is what caused Marxism to collapse wherever it was tried. Under free market principles, no one loses when buyers and sellers make their own enlightened decisions and negotiate a price acceptable to both sides, without coercion from a more powerful entity, like the government or other influential agency. If you observed Goa before and since the influx of non-Goan money, it went from a sleepy backwater, with hundreds of thousands of Goans fleeing to other places to make a living for their families, to a booming economy where enterprising Goans can now stay home and make a living if they choose to. Of course, they now have to compete with non-Goan Indians. Those Goans that are doing so are doing very well -locals always have a built-in advantage from knowing the language and culture, which the outsiders have to learn. The problem in Goa has been that there were no systems in place to control development, and corruption was rampant as it is throughout India. For example, until recently, a builder could not build higher than four stories across from Miramar Beach. Now, thanks partly to Babush, they can go as high as eight stories. That was not a positive development from an aesthetic and architectural and environmental point of view but the developers got rich because they could build more apartments on the same valuable plot of land. Now, out of frustration, as we increasingly see on Goanet and from emotional personalities like Remo, Goans are demanding authoritarian separatist Marxist style solutions which a) they are unlikely to get in a democratic Indian state like Goa, and b) authoritarian style administrations fail in the long run because these depend on who seizes the authority - you may not like the ideas of those who get the power. The only rational solutions will come from, a) studying how the developed democratic countries control development without discouraging or stopping it, and b) using those techniques and processes to help India get better organized.
