[Goanet] Mining discussed at the Goa Global Convention
George commented: There should not be any doubt that Goa's media is on the side of the mine owners, mega-project builders, politicians - they are linked through business dealings, awards and grants for art and entertainment events, sponsorships, advertising. Comment: Leave aside the media, do the Goa miners and builders not control the literary and activist circles and so claimed intelligensia of Goa? The miners and builders decide who will rule Goa, isn't it? While Vedanta's mining will get world wide publicity for its impact on Goa, the filth of other culprits will be swept under the carpet and projected as philantrophists. How many of the elite activists will boycott a social function if the mining lobby is present or hosting it? These will be claimed to be two different issues, isn't it? Let us continue to celebrate in a fools paradise called Goa. As the bible says, How would it benefit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul? -Soter
[Goanet] Mining discussed at the Goa Global Convention
Dear Soter, Thanks for remembering the famous How would it benefit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul? which when repeated by Ignatius of Loyolla gave us St.Francis Xavier and many other Saints May we take time to Thank ALL Jesuits for ALL their work , activities, education, discipline, guidance. Hope those in power and have authority in Goa , find their SOUL to do what is RIGHT, HELPFUL, BENEFICIAL to society... Happy Feast Mario Message: 3 Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2011 12:17:49 +0530 From: SOTER so...@bsnl.in To: goa...@goanet.org Subject: [Goanet] Mining discussed at the Goa Global Convention Message-ID: 000501cc4f4d$c9daaf50$1901a8c0@user77948b9580 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=iso-8859-1; reply-type=original George commented: There should not be any doubt that Goa's media is on the side of the mine owners, mega-project builders, politicians - they are linked through business dealings, awards and grants for art and entertainment events, sponsorships, advertising. Comment: Leave aside the media, do the Goa miners and builders not control the literary and activist circles and so claimed intelligensia of Goa? The miners and builders decide who will rule Goa, isn't it? While Vedanta's mining will get world wide publicity for its impact on Goa, the filth of other culprits will be swept under the carpet and projected as philantrophists. How many of the elite activists will boycott a social function if the mining lobby is present or hosting it? These will be claimed to be two different issues, isn't it? Let us continue to celebrate in a fools paradise called Goa. As the bible says, How would it benefit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul? -Soter
[Goanet] Mining discussed at the Goa Global Convention
Soter Commented: Leave aside the media, do the Goa miners and builders not control the literary and activist circles and so claimed intelligensia of Goa? The miners and builders decide who will rule Goa, isn't it? While Vedanta's mining will get world wide publicity for its impact on Goa, the filth of other culprits will be swept under the carpet and projected as philantrophists. How many of the elite activists will boycott a social function if the mining lobby is present or hosting it? These will be claimed to be two different issues, isn't it? Let us continue to celebrate in a fools paradise called Goa. As the bible says, How would it benefit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Carmen's comment: The initiative to speak about mining in Goa at Goa Global Convention was precisely to expose the impact of all mining in Goa, the legal and illegal, the illegalities of the legal who now we find are in fact also illegal, and to dispel the myths regarding the benefits of mining to Goa. You can continue to celebrate in a fools paradise called Goa if that is what you want to do. But I will meanwhile try my best to let at least the entire Goan community worldwide (including Goa) know about the impact of all mines in Goa and not only of Vedanta. Vedanta is of particular interest to people in UK because it is the only multinational company operating in Goa and registered in UK, so the British investors have a say about this particular business. All the other mining companies are mostly family businesses and possibly of more interest to Goans, because almost all belong to Goans. This initiative can be one among many catalysts for CHANGE IN GOA. I don't give up easily.and no one in Goa should give up either. I believe in the power of the TRUTH about this issue which people need to know about. Carmen George commented: There should not be any doubt that Goa's media is on the side of the mine owners, mega-project builders, politicians - they are linked through business dealings, awards and grants for art and entertainment events, sponsorships, advertising. -Soter --
[Goanet] Mining discussed at the Goa Global Convention
I would like to take this opportunity if I may, to clarify two points made by Melvyn Fernandes writing on Goan Convention: Getting back to the Goan Convention, my excitement was so great that by the time it came round I was too burnt out to participate. However, the Goan communication network the way it is, family, friends and global guests kept me fully informed and entertained as to what went on, in fact I felt I could have started by very own blog without ever attending. The next hot topic I hear presented was mining, our esteemed Goan guests must have found it interesting that having travelled half way round the globe to be with us in London they had to hear what was happening in their own country, of course it appears no-one can present a problem and a solution better than we can, I mean Powerpoint, Graphics, etc. One attendee said he really enjoyed the presentation made by a Brazilian lady. Forgive me into thinking but I thought these mines were in Goa! Well, the person who presented the issue on mining in Goa , is GOAN , born and brought up in Goa and a fluent Konkani speaker, who visits Goa frequently. Yes my name is Carmen Miranda but I am not Brasilian. The person who introduced me before I spoke, for some unknown reason mentioned that I had just returned from a holiday in Brazil, and that was enough to create confusion as many people indeed thought I lived in Brazil. As the Convention organisers allocated plenty of time to discuss Goa's past history , I decided to talk about pressing issues of the present, and chose to speak about mining, because if we don't bring this industry under firm control, Goa itself will become history. Secondly, for your information it is in fact the Goans in Goa who most need the information I shared at the Convention, (and twice at the Festival on Sunday) because most Goans in Goa in fact are not aware of the seriousness of the devastation going on in their backyards. Yes they know there is mining and it is causing some inconvenience to villagers in the interior and believe that is prosperity .Well, if the majority of Goans in Goa were well informed and aware, they would have by now got rid of the politicians who are ultimately responsible for allowing the rape of Goa's hinterland as the consequences of such environmental degradation will seriously affect the future of many generations to come. That is why I began my talk by dispelling some myths about the importance of mining to Goa's economy and employment. Yes the powerpoint had some powerful visual evidence of what I was talking about , which I believe brought tears to the eyes of many goans who saw it for the first time and were totally shocked and unaware of extent of destruction. I don't know how many thousands of Goans were at the Festival, but all I can tell you is that Save Goa Campaign UK tent at the Festival was buzzing with visitors and in one afternoon we got more than a 1000 signatures for our petition to the Chief Minister of Goa and his Cabinet to take immediate measures to start phasing out mining. Mining in Goa is not an issue to joke about. The fact that I was even allowed to speak on mining at the Convention is a great achievement by the G.O.A. who hosted the Convention in London and I thank them on behalf of Save Goa Campaign UK for their unconditional support. Carmen Miranda
Re: [Goanet] Mining discussed at the Goa Global Convention
Carmen Miranda wrote: Secondly, for your information it is in fact the Goans in Goa who most need the information I shared at the Convention, (and twice at the Festival on Sunday) because most Goans in Goa in fact are not aware of the seriousness of the devastation going on in their backyards. Yes they know there is mining and it is causing some inconvenience to villagers in the interior and believe that is prosperity .Well, if the majority of Goans in Goa were well informed and aware, they would have by now got rid of the politicians who are ultimately responsible for allowing the rape of Goa's hinterland as the consequences of such environmental degradation will seriously affect the future of many generations to come. That is why I began my talk by dispelling some myths about the importance of mining to Goa's economy and employment. Yes the powerpoint had some powerful visual evidence of what I was talking about , which I believe brought tears to the eyes of many goans who saw it for the first time and were totally shocked and unaware of extent of destruction. -- Carmen, This is what Goan Global Conventions should be all about i.e. a platform to display and discuss current problems and work on issues that effect our future. I am not surprised of your contention that there were attendees at the conference who had little or no knowledge of the ecological devastation caused by mining in Goa. There is similar ignorance with Goans here in Toronto too. Even people who go to Goa every winter are not aware of the devastation done to the environment as very little is reported by the news media in Goa. I congratulate you for making people aware of what is going on their backyards. My congrats too on your petition drive. I hope it makes it to the internet where all those who are concerned with the issue can sign it. Mervyn Lobo
Re: [Goanet] Mining discussed at the Goa Global Convention
This was the case when the majority of the newspapers in Goa were owned by mining houses. It is no longer true. FN PS: Some of the local cable/TV operations are linked to mining majors though, where their clout has grown. On 29 July 2011 21:16, Mervyn Lobo mervynal...@yahoo.ca wrote: Even people who go to Goa every winter are not aware of the devastation done to the environment as very little is reported by the news media in Goa.
Re: [Goanet] Mining discussed at the Goa Global Convention
There should not be any doubt that Goa's media is on the side of the mine owners, mega-project builders, politicians - they are linked through business dealings, awards and grants for art and entertainment events, sponsorships, advertising. No attempt is even made to cover the trail connecting these business interests. And of course, it never hurts to put your mouthpiece as the editor of a major English newspaper. For anyone keeping score in Goa: Miners/mega-project builders/politicians100 Common man/woman 0 Net result for Goa -100 George --- On Fri, 7/29/11, Frederick FN Noronha wrote: This was the case when the majority of the newspapers in Goa were owned by mining houses. It is no longer true. FN PS: Some of the local cable/TV operations are linked to mining majors though, where their clout has grown. On 29 July 2011 21:16, Mervyn Lobo mervynal...@yahoo.ca wrote: Even people who go to Goa every winter are not aware of the devastation done to the environment as very little is reported by the news media in Goa.
