The statements, opinions, or views in the following articles may not necessarily reflect that of the Goan Voice Canada.

Canadian Election
Parties far closer than they admit
Sep 09, 2008 04:30 AM
Thomas Walkom Column in the Toronto Star
http://www.thestar.com/FederalElection/article/495706

Both Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion paint their rivalry in near-apocalyptic terms.

Dion insists that Harper is defined by a "narrow-minded right-wing agenda...

"There has never been a federal election that has more clearly provided Canadians with such a stark choice," he said on Sunday.

Harper says the choice is equally stark – between what he calls his solid, middle-of-the-road government and the wild-eyed notions of a radical academic. "Canadians want prudence, not risk," he said this week. "They want practical actions for the many, not theoretical ideas for the very few."

All of this is vibrant rhetoric.

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World Christian leaders seek peace in Orissa
http://www.theindiancatholic.com/report.asp?nid=11283

NEW DELHI (ICNS): International Christian leaders have intervened to ask Indian government to take steps to end violence in the Orissa, where tension continues after a two-week long anti-Christian violence. The World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) have jointly called on the Prime Minister of India requesting his intervention to end the violence in the state of Orissa.

The WCC also invited its member churches to join a call from Christians in India to hold a Day of Prayer and Fasting for peace and goodwill on Sunday, 7 September. In a joint letter issued today, the WCC and LWF general secretaries, Samuel Kobia and Ishmael Noko, called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to intervene and "ensure an immediate cessation of violence, the restoration of law and justice, and sanctuary for the displaced" in Orissa.

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U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice presses Congress on India nuclear deal
Tue Sep 9, 1:32 PM
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/080909/n_usa_reuters/politics_nuclear_india_usa_dc
By Arshad Mohammed

Excerpts…

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday launched an all-out effort to persuade the U.S. Congress to approve this year an agreement to end the three-decade ban on U.S. nuclear trade with India. Rice paid a relatively rare visit to Capitol Hill to call on House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman, a California Democrat, and discuss how to win Congress' blessing before President George W. Bush leaves office on January 20.

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United States is losing its innovation edge to China and India
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/01/technology/01estrin.html?ref=technology

Robert Compton, a venture capitalist and entrepreneur, said that the United States is losing its innovation edge to China and India. Chinese and Indian children are required to take more science courses than students in the United States, said Mr. Compton, who recently produced a documentary comparing high school education in the three countries. Of college graduates, 30 percent to 45 percent in India and China have engineering degrees, compared with 5 percent in the United States. Venture financing and patent applications are falling in Europe and the United States and rising in China and India, he said.

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UAE firm to help homeless in India during Ramadan
August 31st, 2008 - 6:34 pm ICT by IANS –
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/uae-firm-to-help-homeless-in-india

Dubai, Aug 31 (IANS) To mark the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, a leading United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based real estate developer will make significant contribution for building houses for the homeless in India and three other countries. For this the Dubai-based ETA Star signed an agreement Sunday with US-based not-for-profit organisation Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI). The property developer will donate one percent of its total earnings during Ramadan towards building homes for the destitute in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Ethiopia, according to the agreement.

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PICTURE FOR TODAY
We normally see these cloud colours towards the sunset in the evening, but this beautiful scene was in the north. [Joel]

"GOA SHOULD BE FOR GOANS..."
PANJIM: Expressing his strong reservations to the demand for special status for Goa, former Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party state president Dr Wilfred de Souza, on September 6, demanded that Goa should be for Goans and run by Goans. When contacted for his reaction to the demand for special status, a resolution passed by the Goa Assembly last week, Dr de Souza said that the Centre cannot create distinction between the states while granting special status.

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Roadmap to make Goa 'first world' State
If within the next five years, Goa is to achieve the status of a 'first world' state, as desired by the government, an important step towards that goal will be to setup world-class institutions which will attract people from all over the world looking for specialised services, which should simultaneously be made accessible to all the people of Goa and raise their standard of life. Among the various sectors that can, within a reasonably short time, be raised to a world class level, are hospitality, health care and higher education. [Fr Romualdo de Souza, SJ, in GT]

Work on expansion of Dabolim airport to begin soon
PANAJI, Sept 10: The Chief Minister, Mr Digambar Kamat, has said that the work on expansion of the Dabolim international airport would start next month with the Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Mr Praful Patel laying the foundation stone for the upgradation project. The Chief Minister also said that he would lead the all-party delegation from the state to New Delhi in the next week to demand special status for Goa to protect its unique identity, environment and ecology. [NT]

Goan sailor Anthony safe
PANJIM: Anthony Clive Themudo, a Goan sailor from Navelim, who is on board "MV Iran", hijacked in the Red Sea on August 21, is safe, according to Rajya Sabha MP Shantaram Naik. Naik said that Union Shipping Secretary APVN Sharma has informed him that persons on board ship including Anthony are safe and negotiations for their release in progress. [GT]

Goa police plans Europe model to curb mishaps
MARGAO, Sept 10: The Goa police has decided to adopt models of a “demerit point system’’ as practised abroad to contain the alarming rate of road accidents and fatalities. A draft of the Goa Motor Vehicles (Demerit Point) Rules 2008 has been formulated. The police department said this proposal, which is highly effective in countries like Canada and several others in Europe, is under active consideration of the government. A non-resident Goan from Canada is said to have impressed upon senior officers the system followed abroad. [TOI]

UK panel wants Indian chefs, not IT workers
LONDON: The 3.5 billion-pound Indian restaurant industry breathed a sigh of relief on Tuesday as a key UK government panel said skilled chefs can be recruited from outside the European Union, but in bad news for Indian and other non-EU IT workers, the committee shut the doors on them. The Indian restaurant industry has been crippled by a severe shortage of chefs. Many restaurants have closed down as owners find it difficult to recruit from the Indian sub-continent due to recent changes in immigration laws. Mr Keith Best, head of the Immigration Advisory Service, has been in the forefront to ensure that laws are relaxed to recruit non-EU chefs. [PTI/NT]

A Boom from the Khozno!
Whether it is at the beginning or at the end of a feast mass, the deafening khozne inform not only the entire village but also a few surrounding villages of the event taking place. Earlier, khozne were a means of communication where just one church served more than one village and its festive activities had to be announced to its parishioners. Though it is true that the tolling of the church bells also achieved the same result, the sound reached a smaller radius. So the good old khozno boomed and conveyed the festive message outside the hearing distance of the bell. [Pantaleao Fernandes, [GT]

Konkani literature forges ahead
MARGAO: The resurgence in Konkani literature, despite its suppression in the past has been phenomenal. In recent years, Goa has witnessed a surge in literary and cultural activities, related to the Konkani language, with a Konkani book being published every three days. Shennoi Goembab’s efforts to revive the linguistic and literary aspects of Konkani, that had suffered under the Portuguese, have contributed significantly to Konkani and to Goans in particular, who were on the verge of losing their linguistic and cultural identity. [Rajeshree Nagarsekar, TOI]

Piano Concert
Kerala-born W P Julian Clef did the honours of inaugurating the newly acquired Rs 78 lakh Steinway grand, with a piano concert at the Kala Academy, Panaji, on August 30. The majestic ‘black beauty’ responded admirably to the urgings of this accomplished pianist, with a tonal quality never before heard on this stage, and was greatly appreciated by the audience present. The hugely talented Clef, who has had the good fortune of playing on Chopin’s piano at Nahant, France, never wavered even for a moment, from the time he opened with Beethoven’s ‘Bagatelle in A, Op 33, No 2’. [Cyril D’Cunha, TOI]

Architectural delights
Tucked away in a green valley at Torda (to the east of Porvorim) lies an unusual museum. The building shaped like a fish is a museum known as Houses of Goa. It is the brainchild of architect Gerard da Cunha.

Why a museum on the houses of Goa? Its proud owner answers, “When I returned to my ancestral Goa after a long stint away I discovered its wonderful Indo-Portuguese architecture. I thought it was fascinating to document and bring out a book.” An exhibition of the documentation in Panaji evoked tremendous response. Gerald was invited to display it in Mumbai, Delhi, Lisbon and Porto. “Impressed by the people’s interest in their houses, I decided that at some point I would put this exhibition to rest in a permanent location. Thus the museum came about.” [PANTALEAO FERNANDES, Goa Times, TOI]

Goa's an 'old-age home' at current growth: Industry
30 Aug, 2008, 0339 hrs IST,Smitha Venkateswaran, ET Bureau
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-3423979,prtpage-1.cms

PANAJI: Goa may soon transform itself into an ‘old-age home’. Stagnant economy, zero growth in job opportunities and migrating youth can make this young-at-heart state the blissful abode only for pensioners. This is exactly what industry thinks.

Already perturbed by a recent agitation against development and the subsequent “soft stance” of the government in acceding to demands, Goa’s businessmen have urged the state to take corrective steps immediately.

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Goa Plans Yearly Overseas Conference Of Expats
August 30th, 2008 - 1:41 pm ICT by IANS -
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized  

Panaji, Aug 30 (IANS) Goa Commissioner for NRI Affairs Eduardo Faleiro has announced plans to hold a yearly global convention of Goans in different countries that are home to significant Goan expat populations.This way, he said, it would allow the participation of those not able to come to Goa for expat meetings and also provide for greater involvement of expatriates. He made this statement after returning from Toronto, Canada, where a convention of Goans was held, following one in Lisbon, Portugal, the previous year.

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+Gerson Fonseca

Peacefully on Tuesday September 9, 2008 at Credit Valley Hospital, Mississauga. Beloved husband of Claire, loving father of Nikki DeSouza (Cled) and Karl. Devoted Papa to Michelle and Samantha.

Funeral service will take place at St. John of the Cross Parish, 6890 Glen Erin Drive, Mississauga on Saturday September 13th at 10.00 am.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Gerson to the attention of:
The Palliative Cancer Care Unit, The Credit Valley Hospital Foundation, 2200 Eglington Ave West, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L5M 2N1

Gerson will be sadly mourned by his colleagues of the Nairobi Goan School, Class of 1957, with whom he and Claire celebrated treasured memories at the Class Golden Jubilee Reunion in Toronto, September, 2007.
See pic: http://dr.ribeiro.goan.school.googlepages.com/20071002.html

+ Dr Leta Fernandes
Ph.D. (McGill)
M.A.Sc. (McGill)
B.Eng. (Lisbon, Portugal)

Dr Leta Fernandes died unexpectedly on Saturday, September 06, 2008 in Ottawa Canada. She is the daughter of the late Jose Francisco Fernandes (Merces, Goa) and Lilian (nee Coutinho) Fernandes (Mapuca Goa). Leta spent her adolescence years in Mozambique and Portugal before emigrating to Canada in the early 1980's to pursue her graduate studies at McGill university in Montreal. She obtained her Phd in Environmental Engineering and continued her career as a professor at the University of Ottawa. She will be dearly missed by her husband,, Mostafa, her children, Hani & Hanna, her mother, Lilian, her siblings, Januario (Vilma), Zulema (Glario) and her nephews and nieces.

Funeral services held on Friday September 12th, in Ottawa.
Info from: Felix D'Sa www.felixhabari.piczo.com 

For Tributes to Dr. Leta Read More...

+ Peter Coelho

Peter Coelho passed away in Verem, Bardez, Goa on September 6th, 2008. Funeral is scheduled for Sept.13th. Peter was the brother of Mariquinha DeSouza (late, Verem, Goa), Abelina Gonsalves (late, Chicago, USA), Joseph (Brampton, CA), Severine Mendes (Candolim, Goa), Sabin Rodrigues (Mississauga, CA), Josephine Coelho (Birmingham, UK) and Satir (Zanzibar, TZN). He was the favorite uncle to 33 nieces and nephews and their spouses. Peter was an avid soccer and hockey player in the 1950s and was captain of the Dar team that won the Gold Cup in 1953 (see pictures in PHOTOS on the t-goan site). Uncle Peter lived a long and comfortable life in Verem with the family of his oldest sister, Mariquinha. May his soul rest in peace.

Posted on: goans_tanzanite@yahoogroups.com
"j.birkmeyer" <jbirkmeyer@yahoo.com>

BOLLYWOOD NIGHT

Bollywood Night, held Friday, September 5th by TEGSA, was the first event of the new season and of course was a resounding success.

The evening started with a scrumptious dinner consisting of chicken biryani, chicken curry, curried veggies, tossed salad and firni for desert. During dinner, D.J. Richie D’Souza played an assortment of easy listening music for everyone’s enjoyment. Keeping with the theme, many folks came dressed in traditional Indian outfits. There were colourful saris, lehenga’s and shalwar / kameezes, even some of the men were daring enough to come in traditional outfits; it was a sight to see.

There was even a fashion show; the models comprised of Ample Annie, Sugar Bush Barbara, Naughty Natasha and Juicy Lucy. As each model was introduced by our M.C. Joachim Menezes, they came out in full traditional outfits with makeup and accessories. They danced and enticed the crowd with their sexy manoeuvering and at the end of the fashion show the winner Ample Annie was crowned Miss TEGSA Hollywood 2008.

Best traditional outfits – majority votes – were awarded to :-

1st Prize Uvy Lopes. ( BiddiWalla )	2nd Prize Yolanda Gracias	3rd Prize Rocky Fernandes ( LuckySingh )
Click to View Enlarged Images

'Volume Zero' explores Charles Correa's vision
From Goan Voice UK

5 Sep: Times of India. Volume Zero: The Work of Charles Correa is an hour-long film on Correa's architecture… The film has footage of him relaxing at his home in Goa… The project that promises to be Correa's most dramatic work to date is Lisbon's Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, a scientific research centre still under construction at the point at which the Tagus river joins the Atlantic

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The Braganza House In Chandor.
How A Family's Devotion Helps Conserve One Of Goa's Grandest Colonial Mansions
Excerpts from: http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2406/stories/20070406000506500.htm
Text And Pictures: Sarah Hiddleston

The Library at the house of Chandor. It is the biggest private library in Goa.	The visitors' salon has floor tiles from Portugal and windows with glass panes from Venice.

"I AM a granddaughter to this house. When I was a little girl, I used to stay here in the holidays with my grandmother. I would play many games with my cousins, games like hide and seek, games with balls and dolls and so on.

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Christians Learn The Art Of Dating
Christians are going on dating workshops to improve their technique in everything from chat-up lines to body language.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/2694175/Christians-learn-the-art
By Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent- The Telegraph
06 Sep 2008

Christians are going on dating workshops to teach them how to chat-up the opposite sex

Dwindling congregations and a lack of experience in relationships have left many churchgoers struggling to find a partner, according to clergy. There has been a sharp rise in the number of worshippers signing up to internet dating sites, but clergy are concerned that they are losing personal skills, such as flirting and reading signals. Now hundreds of Christians are attending courses designed to make them more successful in turning a first date into a long-term relationship.

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Why flies are so hard to swat
29 Aug 2008, 1307 hrs IST,PTI
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-3421354,prtpage-1.cms

NEW YORK- Ever wondered how the buzzing houseflies are so incredibly good at zipping off to avoid even our best attempts to swat them? Well, scientists have finally solved the mystery- the insect's brain "senses" threat. A team in the United States has found that the fly's ability to dodge being hit is due to its fast-acting brain and an ability to plan ahead -- in fact, it can work out where a threat is coming from and prepare an escape route. And, according to them, the best way of swatting a fly is to creep up slowly and aim ahead of its location.

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The new face of aging - How will society and businesses adapt to the reality of an aging population?
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/September2008/03/c8941.html?view=print

An in-depth study of our retirees provides a few signs to better understand and adapt to this phenomenon

MONTREAL, Sept. 3 /CNW Telbec/ - Retirees have changed and their exploding numbers require that both society and businesses evolve. The data revealed by four consecutive editions of the AXA Retirement Scope allow us to draw the emerging portrait of a new generation of retirees, as well as uncover a few directions to better adapt to the phenomenon of an aging population.

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September and School: The "Perfect Storm" for Asthma

How parents and students with asthma can avoid the September spike

TORONTO, Sept. 5 /CNW/ - As summer winds down, many parents and students focus on the school year ahead. That usually means buying school supplies and longer pants. But for parents of children with asthma, the start of the school year should also include taking preventative steps to protect their kids from the "September Spike" - the annual increase in asthma-related emergency room visits that happens when school begins.

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Parents Never Stop Helping Their Children
Isn't Life Grand:
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/54675/Parents-never-stop-helping-their-children
Wednesday July 30,2008
By Geoff Maynard

:“For many older people, their biggest fear isn’t physical deterioration but mental degeneration, so there is widespread enthusiasm for doing things that help to maintain mental condition.

“Brain training and maintaining cognitive fitness is an opportunity for the fitness industry that hasn’t yet really been exploited.”

Nearly one in 10 parents have grown-up children living with them.

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Basil, The Humble Herb That Helps You Look Younger
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/60342/Basil-the-humble
LEAF OF LIFE: Holy Basil
Monday September 8,2008 - By John Chapman

EATING curry flavoured with a specific type of basil could help you look young and healthy. Holy basil is a close relative of the herb that is commonly used in Western cooking. Native to India, its extract has long been used in the ancient system of Ayurvedic medicine practised in India and other parts of Asia as a rejuvenation drug.  It is claimed to promote a youthful state of physical and mental health. In the first formal study of the herb, which is available in health stores and on the internet, researchers found it was effective at seeking out and eliminating free radicals.

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Work it!
Network it, that is — it’s one of the best paths to finding a job
Vikki Mungre
01 September 2008 01:25
http://www.canadianimmigrant.ca/careers/article/1618

More often than not, when in job-search mode, most people focus on searching internet job boards and print ads in the classified sections of major newspapers. What new immigrants need to know is that one of the most effective ways of getting a job is actually something entirely different — networking. Ask any career counsellor and they’ll tell you: “Who you know is just as important as what you know.”

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'Broken heart' worse than physical pain
30 Aug 2008, 0119 hrs IST,PTI
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-3423705,prtpage-1.cms

LONDON: A broken heart really does hurt, just as poets claim, for a study has revealed that pain caused by emotional distress is more deeply felt and longer lasting than that caused by physical injuries. For decades, it is believed that "sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will never hurt you". But, now an international team has showed that the reverse is actually true in most cases.

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