Ben Antao’s New Novel - The Priest and His Karma

The Priest and His Karma, has been published by the American publisher, Publish America.

The novel is about a former priest who is hounded by both God and the Devil and his struggle to see justice prevail in the end.

It's 1964 and Sebastian Lobo has returned to Goa after a ten-year absence. He left his homeland in a flood of anger and despair, and he's been running ever since, running from his guilt, his pain, and his past vocation. He is employed as a reporter for a newspaper in Panjim and no one knows who he used to be.

Now, after having separated himself from the Catholic Church for a decade, he is consumed by an overwhelming desire to experience the sacrament of confession once again. But in the confessional he realizes in horror that the priest is from his old parish and denies him the sacrament.

Sebastian is now hounded by both Goa and the Devil as he struggles to see justice prevail by confronting his former adversary, his struggle leading him to Bombay, Montreal, Toronto and back again to Old Goa.

Log on to PublishAmerica.com to learn about the publisher.
The book is priced at $24.95

2009 CALANGUTE SOCIAL IN CANADA
By: Kevin D'Costa | Excerpts from: http://www.goatoronto.com/

Celebrant Reverend Alex Dias, SFX, Bishop of Port Blair, and co-celebrant Reverend Bishop Peter Machado(Bishop of Belgaum) and Father Eusebio Fernandes(Parish Priest of the Fatima Cathedral, Belgaum)




Bishop Alex Dias with Antonio & Ruby Mascarenhas

The Villagers of Calangute joined together on July 19th, 2009 to celebrate their 18th Anniversary Social and the Feast Of Patron St. Alex. The Social was held at Europa Convention Centre, Mississauga, Ontario and was attended by well over 300 villagers and guests.

Main celebrant and Chief Guest of Honour, His Excellency, The Most Reverend Alex Dias, SFX, Bishop of Port Blair (Son of Calangute who traveled all the way from India) attended the social and co- celebrated Holy Eucharist along with Bishop Peter Machado (Bishop of Belgaum) and Father Eusebio Fernandes (Parish Priest of the Fatima Cathedral, Belgaum) . Music was provided by Goan Amigos and DJ Logan. They got the crowd on their feet and on the dance floor all afternoon long. A sumptuous dinner included authentic Portuguese cuisine and wine; everyone enjoyed the delicious food. Click to See YouTube.

The President of the Calangute Association, Canada, Antonio Mascarenhas, raised the toast and was proclaimed unanimously President of the Calangute Association, Canada for another 2 year term (2010/2011).

This Goalie Ain't Swiss Cheese
From: http://www.mississauga.com/print/33485
Chris Clay | July 22, 2009

Victoria Correa-Parsons. It's going to be a busy summer for Cooksville's Victoria Correa-Parsons who will travel to Switzerland to train at a soccer academy before coming back to the country to represent Ontario at the Canada Summer Games in August.

(Vicky Correa-Parsons is the daughter of Charmaine & Shawn Parsons and the young grand-daughter of Barbara and the late Joe Correa.)

At first, Cooksville's Victoria Correa-Parsons had no interest in the game of soccer. Back in Grade 3, her best friend was a big fan of the 'beautiful game' so Correa-Parsons would tag along at recess and watch. One day, she was asked to play net.

The rest, as they say, is history.
"I wasn't even sure what I was doing when they first put me in," said the 17-year-old. "But, when I made a save, everyone cheered and I thought 'Hey, I like this." Soon afterwards she began taking the sport seriously, training with the Red Devils Academy. She eventually joined the Dixie Soccer Club and currently plays with the Gladiators under-17 squad.

She's represented the province on the under-14, under-15 and under-16 Ontario teams. She was recruited by the National Training Centre program, which is designed to identify and train elite athletes, and the Ontario Provincial Program.

Last year, Correa-Parsons was selected as one of the goalkeepers for the national under-17 women's team that participated in the CONCACAF qualifying rounds in Trinidad & Tobago. Although Correa-Parsons didn't see any game action, she soaked up the experience and training that comes with being a member of the national team.

Recently, the teenager found out she has been accepted into the academy team program with FC Neunkirch in Switzerland. She leaves on Sunday for a week-long orientation trip. "I'm still kind of shocked and the opportunity is unbelievable," she said. "I'm a little nervous but I'll be staying with a family while I'm there.

"Technically, I'm thinking (the players and training is) probably pretty good," she continued. "I hope to learn some of the technical aspects of the game while coming back a better player." Correa-Parsons will return from her trip to participate in the Canada Summer Games, being held Aug. 15-29 in Prince Edward Island. As a starter, she said her goal is to "win the whole thing." Following the Games, it's back to Switzerland to continue her training until June of next year. And, after that, she'll head to the University of Michigan to study and play soccer. "Basically, I love soccer. I love competing and fighting for what I want," she said.

Kenya Headed to Ecological Disaster Says Nobel Winner
By Alisha Ryu | Nairobi | 22 July 2009

Kenyan environmentalist and Nobel laureate, Wangari Maathai, says the East African country is rapidly sliding toward an ecological disaster. Maathai says corruption and mismanagement are responsible for accelerating the pace of the crisis.

In a fiery speech, Wangari Maathai blasted Kenyan politicians and business leaders for not doing their part to protect the country's forests, rivers, and wetlands from misuse and over-development. The environmentalist, who founded the grassroots Green Belt Movement and was awarded the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts, blamed rampant corruption for the crisis that she says is threatening the nation's food security and the lives of millions.

"The Green Belt Movement is shocked and embarrassed by the continuing reckless and insatiable greed for forests, rivers and wetlands despite the inevitable suffering that is befalling the people of this country," she says. "The long-term unsustainable management, occupation, exploitation and degradation of these resources have precipitated crop failure, hunger and death. There is no water even for drinking and for essential services. The situation is completely untenable. Our country is facing an ecological disaster of our own making."

Recent news reports in Kenya have warned of worsening power and water shortages in the country.

Lack of adequate rainfall caused by climate change, deforestation, and development of wetlands in recent years has been severe enough to shut down major power plants. Kenyans say corrupt officials at water companies often divert whatever water is available to higher-paying customers, leaving poor people with no clean water at all.
toxic water in Kenya

Many residents in rural areas of Kenya say they are drinking water from polluted rivers and lakes because their wells are running dry. Inadequate water and power supplies have been blamed for hampering economic growth in Kenya and discouraging investment in the infrastructures the country needs to improve public services. In a recent report by the anti-corruption watchdog, Transparency International, Kenya was named as the most corrupt country in East Africa.

Maathai says Kenyans, battered by the after-effects of the 2008 post-election violence and under strain from the current global economic crisis, cannot afford to sit back and watch the country slide further down into deeper crisis. She says everyone must say 'no' to corruption and act now to save the environment.

"Let us start whenever we are by declaring enough is enough and beginning the reversing process," says Maathai. "We can start by refusing to be victims of greed, corruption, arrogance and selfishness; we must not wait until we die of hunger and thirst. We must take action and reverse this process."

On August 1st, the Green Belt Movement is planning to launch a protest in Nairobi in the form of planting trees. Greenbelt says volunteers will plant thousands of trees in areas of the capital considered fragile wetlands. Maathai says many of the wetlands have been illegally sold and developed, and the tree planting will be a symbolic way of reclaiming those lands for the Kenyan people.

Pedal power for Kenya's mobiles
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8166196.stm

Two Kenyan students are hoping to market a device that allows bicycle riders to charge their mobile phones. Jeremiah Murimi, 24, and Pascal Katana, 22, said they wanted their dynamo-powered "smart charger" to help people without electricity in rural areas.

"We both come from villages and we know the problems," Mr Murimi told the BBC. People have to travel great distances to shops where they are charged $2 a time to power their phone, usually from a car battery or solar panel.

"The device is so small you can put it in your pocket with your phone while you are on your bike," said Mr Murimi. It is estimated that some 17.5 million people out of Kenya's 38.5 million population own a mobile handset - up from 200,000 in 2000.

“ We took most of [the] items from a junk yard ” Pascal Katana

Although similar devices already exist in other countries, they are not available in Kenya.

The two electrical engineering students from Nairobi University have been working on their own invention, which they are selling for 350 Kenyan shillings ($4.50) each, over the last few months during their university break. In Kenya, bicycles are sold with a dynamo to be attached to the back wheel to power the lights.

The dynamo lead can be switched to plug into the charger instead, they explained.

Mr Katana explained it takes an hour of pedalling to fully charge a phone, about the same time it would if it were plugged into the mains electricity. The BBC's Ruth Nesoba says after a short ride, the phone's battery display indicated that it was charging.

Guinea pigs

The cash-strapped students used old bits of electronic equipment for the project.

"We took most of [the] items from a junk yard - using bits from spoilt radios and spoilt televisions," said Mr Katana. Workers with bicycles at the campus were used as guinea pigs, including security guard David Nyangoro.

"I use a bicycle especially when I'm at home in the rural areas, where we travel a lot," he said.

"It's very expensive nowadays charging a phone. With the new charger I hope it will be more economical, as once you have bought it, things will be easier for you and no more expenses." Mr Murimi says so far they have only made two chargers - but are making five more for people who have seen it demonstrated.

"And a non-government organisation in western Kenya wants 15 so they can test them out in rural areas to see how popular they prove," he said.

The two friends are about to start their fifth and final year at university in September.

"We are not planning to stop our studies," Mr Murimi said.

Kenya's National Council for Science and Technology has backed the project, and the students hope they will find a way of mass-producing the chargers.

Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/8166196.stm

Believe It or Not – Fredericton (Canada) Samosas to star in film
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/film/story/2009/07/29/nb-samosa-movie-1141.html
CBC News | Wednesday, July 29, 2009

A Fredericton actor is producing a short film on how a local family transformed the city's farmers' market with the introduction of the samosa.

Bronwen Mosher, a local writer and actor, is producing A Saturday Affair to illustrate the impact Bena Patel and her family have had on the city with their spicy treats.

"The fact that everybody in Fredericton is crazy about samosas is a testament to multiculturalism working. And that's what I want to show," Mosher said.

She's making the movie as part Fredericton's cultural capital campaign. Mosher and other members of the New Brunswick Film Co-op are producing 10 short films about the city's history.

Mosher said she worked with Patel for the film but it's still a fictionalized account of the story.

Patel said she's excited to have her story made into a movie.

"When I first went to the market I was the only one with ethnic food and then now today can see it's more food than farmers, you know," Patel said. The film will be shown at the Silverwave Film Festival in November.

Fredericton city council approved the closure of King Street on Aug. 9 from 7 to 11 a.m. to allow for the film to be shot.

Samosa war erupted in 2007

Patel's famous treats became so popular at the Boyce Farmers' Market that it led to the so-called 2007 samosa war. Patel and a rival, Samosa Delite, were victims of their own success as many vendors complained about the seemingly endless queues for the spicy Indian delectable.

The samosa vendors were told to relocate to a trailer in the market's parking lot.

Patel's chose not to take their business outside and their samosas have not been available at the market since that decision. Patel announced in January that she was looking to sell her catering business and with it may come her secret samosa recipe.

Click to enlarge

Visit the Railway Goan Institute Centenary Website
https://sites.google.com/site/railwaygoaninstitutecentenary/

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Goans – UK Goan Festival 2009
http://www.flickr.com/photos/90182908@N00/sets/72157621733202769/show/with/3761801033/

Scenes from Goan Festival

See rest of photos : http://goafest.itpsworld.net/photos09/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/90182908@N00/sets/72157621733202769//