http://www.thehoot.org/web/home/story.php?storyid=3000&mod=1&pg=1§ionId=1&valid...

Living off Scarlett

It was the sort of story where editors urge their reporters to keep
turning up angles, to feed popular interest. The HOOT desk takes a
look at the feeding frenzy which ensued.

Posted Sunday, Mar 16 13:07:40, 2008

The Scarlett Keeling story has gone off the pages in some newspapers,
but not all. The story is now moving on, as it should have done long
ago, to focus on the drug trade and rising crime in Goa. But the focus
comes from the victims' mother's fresh allegations, not from
newspapers deciding that the reasons for the decline in Goa's law
and order climate needs probing.

The Portuguese and Violence in the Indian Ocean: some second thoughts

By Michael Pearson
mnpearson@ozemail.com.au
University of Technology, Sydney

"The use of violence is the
critical issue when studying
European trade in the Arabian
seas."1

This short article is something of a mea culpa from me. Over
many years I have consistently written that it was the
Portuguese who introduced violence into what had been a
peaceful maritime trading world.2 I have claimed that before
1498 the rulers of the great port cities around the littoral
of the ocean used entirely peaceful means to try and promote
the prosperity of their little échelles

I have insisted that these Asian port cities prospered not by
compulsion, but by providing facilities for trade freely
undertaken by a vast array of merchants. What the rulers
provided was opportunities...

Bereaved, Vilified, Undaunted

AJIT SAHI finds Fiona MacKeown determined to get justice in the face
of personal attacks

At 7.45 pm on February 17, 2008 Briton Fiona MacKeown phoned her
15-year-old daughter Scarlett from a public booth off a Kerala
highway. "We're going home to see your brother," Fiona said. "Yeah!"
...

PANEL MEETS TO DISCUSS 72 SUGGESTIONS FOR USE OF OLD GMC BUILDING

Department of Information

PANJIM: The Committee set up by the Governing Body of the
Entertainment Society of Goa met recently in the ESG Board
Room, Panjim under the chairmanship of Vishnu Wagh.

Other members who were present were Ms. Anju Timblo, Dr.
Rufino Monteiro, Tomazinho Cardozo, Francisco Martins, Dean
D'Cruz, Manguirish Raikar, Vishal Pai Kakode and ESG chief
executive officer Nikhil Desai.

Members deliberated on various issues and considered the
various suggestions -- 72 in all -- which had been received,
in response to the advertisement given by ESG inviting public
opinion for adaptive reuse of Old GMC building.

Members expressed their concern about the existing state of
the building and recommended that steps be taken to take up
immediate repairs of the roof before the on-coming monsoon
season.

Pandemonium at Nerul gram sabha (Gomantak Times)

By a Staff Reporter
reporters@gomantaktimes.com

PANJIM: Expressing lack of confidence in the panch members comprising
of Nerul gram panchayat, the Gram Sabha which met here yesterday
demanded that the same be dissolved an an administrator be appointed
to oversee its affairs.

Locals attending teh gram sabha questioned panchayat secretary
Prashant Naik as to why he had not registered the resolutions taken at
the previous session of the gram sabha.

This led to vocal protests at the gram sabha.

Sensing that the situation was gradually getting out of hand,
mamlatdar Ganesh Navelkar and PI Sudesh Narvekar intervened and tried
to pacify the crowd.

It was only when they failed in their efforts that the mamlatdar
ordered that the gram sabha be adjourned.

This provoked the locals attending the aforesaid gram sabha, to demand
the dissolution of the Nerul grampanchayat and that an administrator
be appointed to oversee its affairs.

Where's Sandra? (18 min)
Paromita Vohra

------------------------------------------------
Watch the film here: (18 minutes)
http://imaginingourselves.imow.org/pb/Story.aspx?id=1430&lang=1
------------------------------------------------

Where's Sandra? is a film about a stereotypical figure of the Indian
Catholic woman - Sandra from Bandra - Bandra being a largely Christian
suburb of Bombay.

At the most literal level, this film is about the Christian women of
Bombay who created a certain space for women in general. They were the
earliest women in Bombay to enter the workforce, which was part of the
reason for the unease around them and for the sexual stereotyping that
they received.

But they also embodied a certain spirit - of fun, of pleasure and a
certain chutzpah. This generation of women doesn't know that we owe
something to them, for being out there first where we so easily are
today.

Prof. D. D. Kosambi: Scientist, Indologist, humanist and peace activist

By Nandkumar Kamat
nkamat@unigoa.ac.in

Two great Goans, the father and son duo -- renowned Buddhist
scholar, Acharya Dharmanand Kosambi and mathematician turned
Indologist, Damodar Kosambi -- have carved unique niches for
themselves in history.

Acharya Dharmanand is more famous in Buddhist countries than
in Goa and Damodar Kosambi is well known in Europe, Russia,
China and the United States. Both were intellectual giants.

The centenary year of Damodar Kosambi begins from July 31,
2007. Damodar was born at Kasabem, on July 31, 1907. His pet
name was "baba". His colleagues at Harvard university also
used to call him by this name.

Then he was sent to Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1929, he
graduated from Harvard University. From 1929 to 1937 Prof.
Damodar taught at Benares Hindu University where he won the
prestigious Ramanujan memorial award.

Cong lacks political will to denotify Goa SEZs: BJP

Posted online: Saturday , January 26, 2008 at 2244 hrs IST

Panaji, Jan 26 The BJP on Saturday accused the Digamber Kamat-led Goa
government of lacking in 'political will' to denotify three special
economic zones (SEZs) in Goa.

"There is no political will on the part of Congress-led state
government to denotify three SEZs, and this will be proved over a
period of time," leader of Opposition Manohar Parrikar said.

Talking at the sidelines of Republic Day parade here, Parrikar said
that the BJP is ready to cooperate with the Congress at the Centre to
denotify these three SEZs.

"The Communist party is also willing to cooperate. Only Congress needs
a political will to step ahead and get them denotified," the former
chief minister said.

On the New Year eve, Goa chief minister Kamat had declared willingness
to scrap 12 out of 15 SEZs. The government had later written to the
Centre seeking to denotify three SEZs, which were approved by the
board of approval.

http://www.thehindu.com/2008/01/26/stories/2008012653380300.htm

Government accused of colluding with builders
Special Correspondent

PANAJI: The Goa Bachao Abhiyan (GBA), which spearheaded an agitation
last year to get a controversial State regional plan scrapped, has
accused the Goa Government of tacitly condoning the illegality and
collaborating with the builders in the matter of a controversial real
estate project and warned it not to "provoke the people of Goa".

Convenor of GBA Oscar Rebello on Thursday expressed his anger over the
submission before the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court this week on
behalf of the State Government by the State's Advocate General...

See this BBC podcast. It's a piece by BBC correspondent Paul Moss who
"goes to a beach party in Goa and discovers what makes this part of
India so distinct."
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/radio4/fooc/fooc_20080126-1244.mp3