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San Francisco Bay Area Catholic Goan Community takes part in Global Rosary Initiative By Bella Comelo May 16, 2010, was a historic day for the San Francisco Bay Area Catholic Goan Community as they took part in the Global Rosary Initiative spearheaded by Michael Pinto of Winnipeg, Canada. The rosary was recited in Konkani (language of Goa, India), video taped and will be available on the internet 24/7 in a few weeks. This devotional event was held at St. John The Baptist Church, El Cerrito, California, 94530, USA. Goa which was called Rome of the East, has Crosses and small chapels dotted all over the state. The rosary/or Ladainha is recited regularly to celebrate a birthday, anniversary, christening or a devotion to a particular saint. It is a form of worship that includes singing and recitation of hymns and prayers. This particular event reminded devotees of the rosary of their childhood days in Goa. They want to share their culture, heritage and traditions with the younger generation who are growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area and other parts of the world. As part of the Initiative, a rosary has already been recited and video taped in Toronto, and similar events will be held in U.K, Australia and other places to be decided. Please go to www.konkanirosary.org to see the full details. In the Bay Area the event was coordinated by Acaria Almeida and George Pinto. To make this event a success, Acaria had put together an enthusiastic leadership team which included Sheila Martins, Tony and Laura Mascarenhas, Francis Mendonca, Tony Moniz, Yeademin Fernandes, Silvia Paes, Thomas Pereira, Tony and Doris Pereira, Shirley Rodrigues, Bella Comelo, Loreen and Oscar D'Silva, Vincent Jacques and Rebecca Lobo. She was also assisted by the existing rosary groups of the Bay Area (one has completed 20 years and the other 3 years). George arranged for the church and video recording done by Michael Gorin. The sponsors of the church and hall was the Joseph Naik Vaz Institute (Filomena Giese and Ligia Britto). Fr. Valan, S.J. blessed the rosaries, Bro. Ronnie Pais, S.J, and Bro. Vinod Fernandes, S.J. joined the devotees in the prayers and in the procession. Fr. John, the Parish Priest, a great supporter of Marian devotion was ill and could not take part in the proceedings. A special thank you to Michael Gorin for the Video and technical support he provided. A reception was held at the parish hall following the rosary. The attendees partook of the traditional boiled grams with coconut and a very pot-luck fare. It was a befitting occasion for Our Lady, Queen of the World. Note: St. John the Baptist Church has a built-in recording system to capture and display streaming video live on the Internet. This allows shut-in parishioners to follow mass services at home on their PC. The service is limited to ten viewers, but can be accessed world-wide click here
Jacinto Luis - Live in Toronto: Sat, May 8th, 2010 at the Al Green Theatre Info :www.jacintaluis.com, Contact:jacintaluis@jacintaluis.com
JACINTA LUIS by Mel D'Souza Like the weather that evening, the recital at the Al Greene Theatre in Toronto on May 8, 2010 could have been described in one word - COOL! But whereas it was a cold front coming in from the west that dropped the temperature rapidly to zero, a different kind of ‘cool’ came in from the east in the form of a jazz trio from Montreal led by Jacinta Luis. The music was a refreshing change from the popular generic music that caters to the tastes of the diverse cultures that make up the cosmopolitan city of Toronto. Jacinta opened the show with her version of the classic standards “I Believe” and “You’ll Never Walk Alone” followed by “Shine”, a tribute to her late brother, Ian, who wrote the lyrics for which Jacinta wrote the music. For the rest of the evening, Jacinta entertained the near-capacity audience with her own compositions and her jazz interpretations of works by the great songwriters of our time, such as Cole Porter, George Gershwin and Paul Anka, to name a few. Jacinta Luis is the ideal exponent of jazz. A combination of her musical training and rich cultural background provides all the necessary elements to bring out the best in her performance. Jacinta is a versatile and dynamic vocalist and pianist whose warm voice and natural ear for music, reinforced by her training in classical piano, contribute immensely to the listening pleasure of her performances. Her cultural background also plays a significant role in the variety of her repertoire. Jacinta was born in Dar es Salaam in East Africa to parents who had their origins in Goa, India, when it was Portuguese territory. Her father was a member of the city’s most popular dance band, and as a child, Jacinta would jam with her parents and siblings, all of whom either sang or played at least one musical instrument. It was in Africa that she acquired a love for the beat that is at the heart of African and Latin American music. In 1971, Jacinta’s family immigrated to Canada and settled in Montreal. It is in this most European of Canadian cities that her Portuguese heritage tweaked her interest in studying classical piano. She pursued music courses in Dawson College and Concordia University, and acquired an MA in Music Education at the University of Victoria where she developed her interest in vocal jazz, arranging and composing. Jacinta’s family and musical background reveals itself in her performances. Her rendition of the Swahili classic “Malaika” (Angel) and the South African “Pata Pata”, made famous by Miriam Makeba, was delivered with underlying African ‘spirit’. Likewise, her “jazzed” version of the Goan traditional folk song ‘Aum Saiba’ (abbreviation of “Aum Saiba Poltoddi Vetam”) - about a woman crossing the river with trepidation – incorporated creative phrasing without deviating from the original theme. Backing up Jacinta on vocals were her fellow Quebecers Stephane Crete, bass, and Michael Dennis, percussion, who exuded that joie de vivre of Montrealers that brought a warm glow to a cool evening. By Mel D’Souza Author, illustrator and former columnist for Downhome Magazine.
G.O.A.'s Ruby Anniversary Excerpt from: http://co121w.col121.mail.live.com/default.aspx?wa=wsignin1.0   Mayor of Mississauga, Mayor Hazel McCallion flanked by G.O.A. VPs Glynis Viegas & Darryl Carvalho at May 1st Ruby Anniversary Gala.
This year many of our members and their friends looked forward to the annual anniversary dance; this year of course being special, representing 40 years since the inception of the Goan Overseas Association (G.O.A.) here in Toronto. Forty years marks a ruby anniversary, so it was natural the colour theme was Ruby Red. Guests were welcomed to hall of elegance, where tables were covered in white satin-like covers, contrasting red napkins, ruby red boxes at each place setting with the commemorative gift and a single white lily for the centre piece. The Past Presidents and their spouses wore red roses either as a boutonniere or wrist corsage, as did the members of the organizing committee. The whiskey glass with the G.O.A. 40th message and logo was a nice commemorative gift along with the 40th Anniversary brochure. In the lobby, setup was a table display with albums of photographs along with some commemorative G.O.A. glasses from previous anniversary years. The yellow and blue jerseys of the first men’s hockey team from 1970 and a hockey cap from the 1988 Ladies team was also on display creating a nostalgic touch, next to the jerseys of the newly created G.O.A. West End Cub Soccer team.   The event was blessed with a customary Mass celebration, officiated by Father Darren Dias and assisted by past Board of Trustee members, past presidents and others helping during the celebration. Roque Barreto and Aloysius Vaz helped as the Eucharistic Servers and Ministers, along with the assistance of Rene Carvalho, Bosco D’Sa and Robert Almeida as Eucharistic Ministers. The First and Second readings were read by Zulema De Souza and John Nazareth, respectively. Prayers of the Faithful were read by Norbert Lamas, Martin A. Rodrigues and Alcino Rodrigues; and Mrs. Laura Goes and Marcelina Dias led us in the Lord’s Prayer in Konkani. Errol Francis and John Noronha assisted as ushers and the offertory included Bret Menezes (on behalf of mother Mabel, widow of Neves Menezes), Rose Rodrigues (widow of Martin J. Rodrigues) , Seira Furtado (on behalf of G.O.A. President Oscar Furtado), Glynis Viegas (G.O.A. Vice President) and Olavio Da Costa (Anniversary Dance Lead). Click here for entire article & photos
Canadian Internet Use Survey http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/100510/dq100510a-eng.htm In 2009, 80% of Canadians aged 16 and older, or 21.7 million people, used the Internet for personal reasons, up from 73% in 2007 when the survey was last conducted. Rates of Internet use increased in every province during this two-year period. The largest relative increase in Internet users occurred in New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador (+15% each over 2007). Rates were highest at 85% in both British Columbia and Alberta, followed by 81% in Ontario. Among census metropolitan areas, the highest rates of Internet use were reported in Calgary and Saskatoon, both at 89%. They were followed by Edmonton, Ottawa–Gatineau, Vancouver and Victoria, at around 86% each. Among Canadians living in communities with a population of 10,000 or more, 83% used the Internet compared with 73% of those from communities with fewer people. This "digital divide," that is, the gap in the rate of Internet use on the basis of community size, has persisted since 2007, when the respective proportions were 76% and 65%. Other "digital divides" narrowing Digital divides on the basis of income, education and age narrowed between 2007 and 2009. To examine the Internet use divide by income, Canadians were divided into four equal groups, or quartiles, based on household income. The vast majority (94%) of people from households in the top quartile, those with incomes of $85,000 or more, used the Internet, compared with 56% among households in the lowest quartile, those with incomes of $30,000 or less. The respective proportions in 2007 were 90% and 48%. As for the divide by education, 89% of individuals with at least some post-secondary education used the Internet in 2009, compared with 66% among those with no post-secondary education. This divide narrowed from 84% and 58% in 2007 respectively. Note to readers The 2009 Canadian Internet Use Survey, sponsored by Industry Canada, was conducted in November as a supplement to the Labour Force Survey. More than 23,000 Canadians aged 16 years and over were asked about their Internet use, including shopping, for the previous 12 months. This release contains results for Internet use by Canadians. Data on Internet shopping (e-commerce) will be released later in 2010. Definitions An "Internet user" is someone who used the Internet for personal reasons from any location in the 12 months preceding the survey. A "home user" is someone who reported using the Internet from home. Communities are divided into those with a population of 10,000 or more – defined by Statistics Canada's census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations – and those with fewer than 10,000 persons. On the basis of age, Internet use increased among all groups but at different rates. In 2009, 98% of people aged 16 to 24 went online, up slightly from 96% two years earlier. Of those aged 45 or older, two-thirds (66%) went online during 2009, up from 56% in 2007. This age group, traditionally slower to adopt and use the Internet, accounted for 60% of all new Internet users since 2007. A similar proportion of men (81%) and women (80%) used the Internet in 2009. Regular home use now commonplace Most (96%) Internet users aged 16 or older reported going online from home during 2009, while 42% said they used it from work, 21% from schools and 15% from libraries. Among those who used the Internet from home, 75% went online every day during a typical month, up from 68% in 2007. In 2009, 55% were online for five hours or more during a typical week, up from 49% in 2007. Growth in high-speed and wireless connections Among people who accessed the Internet from home in 2009, 92% did so with a high-speed connection, up from 88% two years earlier. The vast majority (94%) of home users living in communities with a population of 10,000 or more accessed the Internet through a high-speed connection. This compares with 84% of those living in communities with less than 10,000 people. Among those in smaller communities who were not connected by high-speed access, one-half (50%) reported that a cable or telephone high-speed service was not available to them. In 2009, 53% of home users were connected to the Internet by cable and 33% by telephone. Other types of home connections, mostly wireless, increased to 23% in 2009 from 13% in 2007. The types of home connections differed from region to region. In the Atlantic provinces, 41% of home users were connected by telephone, while 57% were connected by cable in Quebec and British Columbia. In the Prairie provinces, 30% reported other types of connections. More searching, downloading and posting E-mail was still the most common online activity from home in 2009. Searching for health information online was reported by 70% of home users, up from 59% in 2007. Online transactions were more prominent in 2009, with 50% of home users reporting ordering goods or services over the Internet and 67% going online for electronic banking or bill payment. In 2009, 31% of home users reported downloading or watching TV or movies, while 27% reported contributing content by writing blogs, posting photographs or joining discussion groups. Rates for these activities varied with characteristics such as age and sex. For instance, 53% of home users under the age of 30 went online to download or watch TV or movies, while 45% of this age group reported contributing content. Among home users in 2009, 74% of women used the Internet to search for information about health or medical conditions, while 66% of men did so. However, 35% of men used the Internet to research investments, compared with 20% of women. Online privacy and security concerns Canadians who had used the Internet for five or more years were less likely to be concerned about online security than those with fewer years of online experience. Of those who reported using the Internet for less than five years, 55% were very concerned about online credit card use and 50% about banking over the Internet. These proportions dropped to 42% and 37%, respectively, for those reporting five or more years of Internet use. By 2009, 65% of all Canadians reported using the Internet for five or more years, up from 54% in 2007. As well, people who had used the Internet longer also reported a wider range of online activities. In 2009, one-third (33%) of Internet users were very concerned about online privacy in 2009. Available on CANSIM: tables 358-0122 to 358-0126, 358-0128 to 358-0130, 358-0132 and 358-0134. Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 4432. Data tables are available from our website under Summary tables. For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Larry McKeown (613-951-2582, larry.mckeown@statcan.gc.ca ) or Ben Veenhof (613-951-5067, ben.veenhof@statcan.gc.ca ), Business Special Surveys and Technology Statistics Division.
Table 1: Proportion of Canadians using the Internet
Proportion of Canadians using the Internet	2007 %	2009 %
Canada	73	80
Newfoundland and Labrador	61	69
Prince Edward Island	69	77
Nova Scotia	69	76
New Brunswick	65	73
Quebec	69	77
Ontario	75	81
Manitoba	70	77
Saskatchewan	73	79
Alberta	77	85
British Columbia	78	85
Table 2: Online activities of home Internet users
Online activities of home Internet users	2007 %	2009 %
E-mail	92	93
General browsing for fun or leisure	76	78
Obtain weather or road conditions	70	75
Research other matters ( family history, parenting)	70	73
Search for medical or health related information	59	70
View news or sports	64	68
Electronic banking or bill payment	63	67
Travel information or making travel arrangements	66	66
Window shopping	60	65
Search for information about governments	51	57
Education, training or school work	50	50
Research community events	44	50
Order personal goods or services	45	50
Obtain or save music (free or paid downloads)	45	47
Use an instant messenger	50	45
Play games	39	42
Obtain or save software (free or paid downloads)	33	35
Job search	32	35
Listen to the radio over the Internet	28	32
Download or watch TV or a movie over the Internet	20	31
Research investments	25	27
Communicate with governments	26	27
Contribute content (blogs, photos, discussion groups)	20	27
Make telephone calls	9	14
Sell goods or services (auction sites)	9	13
Dr. Colin Saldanha is Mississauga Citizen of the Year http://www.mississauga.com/print/814747 Citizen of the Year. Dr. Colin Saldanha, 56, will be awarded the Gordon S. Shipp Memorial Award May 20 for his volunteer efforts. He's pictured here at a Mississauga Majors game earlier this year when he raised awareness about meningitis. File photo by Steven Der-Garabedian Julie Slack May 11, 2010 A strong, committed and dedicated social advocate has been named Mississauga's Citizen of the Year. Dr. Colin Saldanha, 56, will be awarded the Gordon S. Shipp Memorial Award later this month for his volunteer efforts. Presented by the Mississauga Real Estate Board and The Mississauga News, the award will be presented to Saldanha on May 20 at a Civic Centre reception. The award was named in honour of the late senior member of the Shipp clan and one of Mississauga's building pioneers, and annually recognizes the accomplishments of one extraordinary Mississauga volunteer. Saldanha has become the leader of almost every organization he has been involved with, including The Peel Multicultural Council, the Police Services Board, Safe and Sober Driving Coalition, Mississauga Board of Trade and the United Way of Peel. He is often a guest speaker on issues about race relations, equity issues and immigration. The general practitioner immigrated from Pakistan in 1981 and has run a busy medical practice for the last 20 years, where he sees a number of new patients at his Mississauga office. Saldanha married his wife Sheila in 1983 and they have three children, Diane, Warren and Jason. Most recently, Saldanha joined a medical team that travelled to Haiti in February to help orphans living in the earthquake-shattered nation. He was overwhelmed when he heard he had been chosen for the award tonight (May 11). "As an immigrant to this country, there's not enough ways to say thank you, and I find the (volunteer) work very rewarding," he said. "When people ask me why I do the things I do, I think it's my deep Christian faith to give back, my upbringing and my sense of gratitude to Canada. "When my wife and I decided where we wanted to make our home, we chose Mississauga for a variety of reasons: the quality of life and the phenomenal leadership. It's one of the best decisions I've made, after I made the decision to come to Canada. In a nomination letter, Peel Multicultural Council executive director Naveed Chaudhry said Saldanha has unique leadership qualities that make him a deserving recipient of the award. "Saldanha's long-standing involvement in the Mississauga community and his phenomenal leadership is deserving of this distinction," said Chaudhry. Shelley White, United Way of Peel Region's Chief Executive Officer, echoed those words. "An extraordinary leader, Colin has left his indelible footprint in Mississauga. The quality of life in Mississauga and Peel has been positively impacted by his vision, compassion, integrity and passion. jslack@mississauga.net This article is for personal use only courtesy of Mississauga.com - a division of Metroland Media Group Ltd.
Dutch Provide Kenya With Number Portability DELFT, The Netherlands and NAIROBI, Kenya, May 10 /CNW/ - Within a couple of months 30 million mobile users in Kenya are able to keep their mobile phone number when changing providers. The Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK)) has chosen the Dutch company PortingXS to provide number portability to the East-African country. Until now, changing providers in Africa without losing your mobile phone number was only possible in Morocco, Egypt and South-Africa. Kenya is one of the leading African countries when it comes to mobile technology, even allowing its 38 million inhabitants to make financial transactions through their mobile phones, but it lacked the service of number portability. To offer mobile users more freedom of choice and enhance competition and consumer convenience, Kenya started a tender for number portability in October last year. Of the six firms that made a bid - some African, some European - PortingXS came out as best. According to CEO Ronald Vlasman, PortingXS not only due to economical reasons, but also because his company will provide services from a local office in Nairobi and will train local students to employ them. Kenya has 30 million mobile users. The main providers are Safaricom (78 percent), Zain Kenya (17 percent), Orange (4 percent) and Yu (1 percent). Changing providers is difficult for clients, because they lose their number in the process. PortingXS will start number portability services in a few months, depending on the consultations with national providers and the CCK. "It's our first giant step into the African continent, but definitely not our last," CEO Ronald Vlasman states. "There are talks with surrounding and other African countries to implement number portability as we speak and we hope we can provide our services there as well." In the Netherlands, PortingXS provides services to two third of the operators. Two years ago the company stepped into the international market and it handles number portability on the isles of Guernsey, Jersey and The Isle of Man. For further information: Ronald Vlasman, CEO of PortingXS, tel: +31-152516969 or mob: +316-28200199
The first gold refinery in Uganda has opened in the capital, Kampala. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8662680.stm The plant will refine gold from the Democratic Republic of Congo and other countries in the region, including Uganda which discovered gold last year. The $1.5m (£990,000) refinery is operated by the Russian-owned firm Victoria Gold Star and has the capacity to produce at least 10kg of gold a day. At the opening ceremony, the company's managing director said his aim was to create a legitimate trade in gold.   "We shall require import and export licence for the gold that we shall refine," Yuri Bogoroditskiy is quoted as saying by Uganda's state-run New Vision newspaper. Correspondents says Uganda's link with gold has often been controversial as it long has been accused of benefiting from the mines in the war-torn east of DR Congo.   The Ugandan army denied allegations that it looted resources during its involvement in DR Congo's five-year war that ended in 2002. Rebels based in DR Congo continue to be suspected of smuggling gold through Uganda and other neighbouring countries. Published: 2010/05/05 14:46:39 GMT | © BBC MMX
U of T Student Crowned 2010 Student Entrepreneur National Champion Vincent Cheung takes home national title and a $10,000 cash prize http://www.acecanada.ca/news/newsItem.cfm?cms_news_id=418 See: www.shapecollage.com | 05.13.2010 Calgary, AB (Thursday May 13, 2010) – Vincent Cheung, PHD student at the University of Toronto and Owner of Shape Collage Inc. has been named the 2010 Student Entrepreneur National Champion by national charitable organization Advancing Canadian Entrepreneurship (ACE) and proud program supporter, CIBC. The 2010 Student Entrepreneur National Competition took place on May 12th in Calgary and involved six regional finalists, who each presented their business accomplishments to a judging panel comprised of over 30 industry leaders and CEO’s. Vincent Cheung stood victorious after provincial, regional and national rounds of competition because of his notable achievements operating a thriving full time business while attending school full time. Since last year, Vincent has owned and operated Shape Collage Inc. (www.shapecollage.com), a digital media software company with an automatic photo collage making software program. In only one short year Vincent’s software has had over 1.5 million downloads in 200 countries, and he has been approached by the largest online photo printing company in Europe, PhotoBox, to sign a technology license agreement.
Microsoft adds new Hotmail tools, features to take on Yahoo, Gmail http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5946610.cms?prtpage=1 AFP, May 18, 2010, 11.41pm IST WASHINGTON: Hotmail is getting a facelift. Microsoft's free email service, the world's largest with 360 million users, is adding a slew of new tools and features including the ability to send larger attachments and exchange instant messages and view Web content in the Hotmail inbox. "You don't have to worry about attachment size anymore," said Walter Harp, director of product management for Windows Live. Hotmail previously restricted attachment size to 10 megabytes but "with the new Hotmail we're going to up the ante by allowing you to send up to 10 gigabytes in a single message," Harp said. The way it works, he told AFP, is by uploading documents or photos to Microsoft's SkyDrive, a free service which allows for up to 25 gigabytes of online storage. "The email recipient gets a link to SkyDrive and can view the photos or download the photos," Harp said. "Or if it's a link to a document, they can open up that document using the free Web-based version of Microsoft Office, view it and edit it." Files can still be sent as traditional attachments to an email if a Hotmail user prefers and the size limit has been increased from 10 megabytes to 25 megabytes, the same as Google's Gmail, Harp said. The new features, which will be rolled out to users in July and August, include adding instant messaging in the inbox. "Right next to your inbox you can see your buddies, see if they're online, and send them instant messages," Harp said. Another feature designed to "help people stay in their inbox" is called "active views" and gives users the ability to view Web content in their inbox instead of in a separate Web browser window. "Ninety percent of the mail that comes into Hotmail contains a link and these links ask you or require you to leave your inbox," Harp said. "That's a lot of hopping out of your inbox. "There's a space at the top of your email and you can interact with other websites without having to go to them," he said. "If you get photos sent to you from Flickr, you don't have to go to Flickr, you can see them right in your inbox. "If you get a video from YouTube or Hulu you don't have to go to those websites, you can click and watch it right there in your inbox." Another new tool called "1-click filters" allows users to "cut through the clutter" and organize messages according to sender or subject, Harp said. "One click gets you to mail just from your contacts," he said. "Another click gets you to mail from your social networks whether it's Facebook, MySpace or LinkedIn, all in one place." A new security feature allows Hotmail users to receive a single use password by SMS text message for use on a public computer. "If you're nervous about malware being on public computers you can use this one-time code," Harp said. Harp also said Hotmail had made great strides fighting spam. "In 2006, 35 percent of the average Hotmail inbox was spam," he said. "We've got that number down to four percent." He said Hotmail currently receives eight billion messages a day with users sharing 1.5 billion photos per month and 350 million Office documents per month. Hotmail had 359.9 million users as of March 2010, according to online tracking firm comScore. Yahoo! Mail was the next largest email provider with 283.6 million users followed by Google's Gmail with 173 million users.