MARATHI... PAUL PADATE PUDHE -- COLGATE CHA KISSA (THE COLGATE STORY)

We all know the word Colgate, is often used as a synonym for toothpaste in local parlance. Nothing strange about that… Here’s the punch… you guys know we have a journo in Goa doesn’t take kindly to the word Colgate. Want to know why guys? Read on.
This journo guy works for a long established Marathi newspaper and resides at Taleigaon. Now for the sake of convenience in narration, lets call our man Mr V. Ok Mr V has been covering the crime beat for quite a while now. Say… when was this? About five years ago, Mr V walked into the Goa Sahakari Bhandar supermarket near Junta house Panjim for some shopping. We don’t know what provoked him? We seriously don’t… But when Mr V was on his way out, the billing clerk found some part of him pretty fishy… Perhaps it was even a hint of bad breath or something. The clerk asked Mr V to step aside and asked him if he was carrying something that he had not billed… Mr V feigned ignorance. When the clerk insisted, Mr V began to claim high-ground by identifying himself as a pressman. That did not seem to bother the billing clerk much. He called on a couple of other staffers from the supermarket and searched Mr V. And among other shoplifted items that rolled out of his person was a 100 gm tube of Colgate toothpaste.
Immediately the cops were informed and a few constables landed up at the supermarket. But then the journo in Mr V was at work too. He insisted that he speak to one of the officials running the Sahakar Bhandar show Uday Madkaikar, who incidentally landed up only after the cops did. After an apology and an ‘I don’t know how that happened’ story belted out by Mr V, the manager allowed him to leave the premises.
But cops will be cops… The name ‘Colgate’ stuck. Mr V actually needs to be felicitated by Colgate Palmolive for keeping their brand in circulation despite competition by other brands.
Ok… that’s the toothpaste episode alone.
There’s more that has happened since.
Penpricks really thinks that Mr V needs to be shifted out of the Crime beat. Cause he has begun milking more than just stories from this beat. This guy is proving to be a disgrace to the profession and his newspaper. Very recently, Mr V managed to get cupboard free of cost with blessings of DYSP Deu benaulikar. You know how he did it?
Mr V approached Deu and asked if he knew any chap dealing in cupboards and wondered if the bulky Deu could help in getting a concession of sorts. Cops… my dear friends can gauge your pulse. And Deu is a cop who is in the news often for the wrong reasons, a vigilance enquiry is also pending against him. He obviously knows that a good investment was waiting to happen. He promptly sent the cupboard home in Taleigaon. And the money? Mr V got the best deal he could have asked for. A free cupboard… He even saved on delivery charges.
He’s even using the office of Superintendent of Police Arvind Gawas as an STD/PCO booth calling his relatives based in Chiplun, Thane, Bombay etc. Oh... we forgot to add this… Gawas’s office is also his free photocopying station.
There’s more…this journo has wangled a job for his wife at the police headquarters (with the blessings of a very media Savvy Deputy Inspector general of Police) violating the domicile norm.
Imagine this guys… if this guy takes so many favours from cops, what are the chances that this guy would not be biased in their favour while reporting on the beat? Sanjay Dhavalikar needs to be told about this. Or say Derek Almeida… Some sort on enquiry ought to be started against this guy… What he needs right now is some toothpaste shoved up a different kind of a cavity.

LOOK.. ITS A BIRD... ITS A PLANE... ITS IMPACT-MAN

DESPERADO: Look at these pictures that appeared in The Navhind Times. The one on left is pre impact and the one on the right is taken post impact. The only difference we see in both the pictures is that the bare electricity chamber on the left has been held together by a wire in the adjoining post-impact picture... A wire? Is that the sort of impact we are looking for? Do these guys even realise that they end up looking so foolish here?

SI'G'NUS

Some days back... one of your readers sent us this absolutely whacky line... Someone's suffered a bit here...

"Putting up a sign in the Herald building saying "No Smoking" is like putting up a sign saying "No praying" in a cathedral."

BE-IZZAT BE-ABR'E'U -- VII

Ok... by now we are so used to Robin Abreu's legendary plagiarsing heroics, that what's written in this entry would appear no big deal. Half of Robin's editorial on the Nuke deal and the Left, has been lifted from an NDTV story filed on Aug 19. Read on...

Herald's plagiarised editorial

Snap or not
Will the Left pull out of the United Progressive Alliance and will the government head for a snap poll? With both sides hardening their stance all eyes are now on the various other parties that constitute the UPA and can nation afford another poll. But has the state reached such a stage that there can be a compromise. On the other hand the state does need nuclear energy considering the power shortage in the state. The issue is simple what is needed – energy or a snap poll. While the Left has made it clear that if their concerns on the nuclear deal are not addressed, the government can fall. But are the UPA allies okay with mid-term polls? No doubt that euring (can't even plagiarise correctly is it Robin? Thats 'during' guys) his meeting with Pranab Mukherjee, RJD chief Lalu Yadav assured the Congress of his full support and clearly said they do not want elections now. On the other hand NCP’s Sharad Pawar has also made it clear that he will stay with the UPA and does not want mid-term polls. He is also not opposed to the nuclear deal. As for the DMK, the party wants a compromise so that the government survives. And while egos continue to get inflated the nation watches with bated breath to see if there is snap poll or no.

EXCERPTS FROM THE NDTV STORY
http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070023111&ch=8/19/2007%207:07:00%20PM
Govt offers to form expert panel on nuke deal
NDTV Correspondent
Sunday, August 19, 2007 (New Delhi) Government sources have informed NDTV that a committee of experts has been proposed to examine the concerns of the Left parties on the Indo-US nuclear deal. According to sources, members of the Left, diplomats and Shyam Saran, special envoy to PM on the nuclear deal, will be part of the committee.With regard to a debate in Parliament, sources have informed that it is likely to be held on August 27-29, and that External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee may address the Parliament.Moreover, the content of that address will be discussed with the Left beforehand...
...However, as efforts to tackle the crisis continue, it seems that the UPA allies are not in favour of mid-term polls. During his meeting with Pranab Mukherjee, RJD chief Lalu Yadav assured the Congress of his full support and clearly said that they don't want elections now. The NCP's Sharad Pawar has also made it clear while talking to Sonia Gandhi that he will stay with the UPA and doesn't want mid-term polls. He is also not opposed to the nuclear deal. As for the DMK, the party wants a so that the government survives.

HOW TO LICK HOT CHOCOLATE FUDGE OFF THE GOVERNMENT'S CHEST... GUJ SHOWS THE WAY

What's Dayanand Narvekar (third from left) doing at a function hosted by the Goa Union of Journalists? What's wrong with these guys? Sure he's the finance minister.... But a person with such a reputation at a journo function? A guy accused in a rape case and the main culprit at the infamous Ticketgate? Have a care guys... have a care... People are watching you. You see... its give and take. Journos go begging at the government's door for funds to organise these journo shindigs and then call these politicos over for felicitation functions to address us?
Shame on you GUJ. Shame on you.
And why is Digu (chief minister Digamber Kamat third from right) all over the papers these days? Remember the photographer association pic? What's happening here? Why are we making him the mascot of our impotency? And by the way, who are these guys felicitating here? A guy like Sunil Naik? Will someone tell us why? Can the GUJ give us some justification for the felicitation of Naik? This organisation has gone ill... Someone give it an antibiotic shot please....

COBRAPOST

What's it with correspondents and cobras? These guys certainly freak out on them.. Here read through this story guys... And guess what's wrong with it... Only then proceed to the next para... Pls pls do this.

What's the feel you get reading this story? That a menacing, monstrous shiny black creature has stretched across the road hissing ferociously at any movement headed towards it. ('It' cause Herald's Agonda correspondent hasn't identified the gender of the cobra unlike Navhind's Vasco chappie) Ok where were we... ya... Doesn't the story give you this impression? And at the end of it all, check out first para... It turns out that the snake is only 35 cms in length...

THE NAVHIND CRIMES (ONCE AGAIN)

For you guys… a masterpiece by a The Navhind Times’ reporter (looks like it's been filed by the khaki darling Jamaluddin Sheikh). Darling… cause he is one the most prolific, but well meaninged sucker for stories planted by the cops and foisted onto the people of Goa. Want any pro cop story planted… Catch hold of Jamal is the mantra. He keeps The Navhind Times' long standing reputation of how-bad-can-reportage-actually-get alive and going.
Here’s a typically insipid and error ridden report which appeared on a Monday. And this story was released on a Sunday, which meant no one was around to give it a check. Even the usual cursory one. Guys... any youngsters reading this story, there's a lesson for you here. Look at it closely. And never... never file a story like this...

http://www.navhindtimes.com/articles.php?Story_ID=082011
Keeping a watch on thieving and sleeping watchmen
NT Staff Reporter
Panaji, Aug 19 With there being rise (there being? What… which era are we in? 1800s? And still where’s the ‘a’. How can the sub not get this?) in number (the ‘a’ missing again after ‘in’) of theft cases in the state, most of the people, including various business houses and housing societies (now how do people include business houses and housing societies? One would think the latter two would include ‘people’), have been forced to employ security personnel to keep a watch on their properties. (Ok the sucker punch should follow now maybe para 2… Brace yourself for a few words of crudely rephrased Koranic wisdom too)
However, this move does not guarantee safety of one’s property as it has been found out that many of the security personnel themselves have been found to be involved in various cases of theft and other criminal activity, the exception being the ex-servicemen who not only perform their duties diligently but are also honest (ok… ex armed force folks have the mercies of the reporter here. And how does he justify this? Hey he doesn’t even need to. Have pen, he will write)
According to the information provided by a senior police officer, most of the security personnel hail from outside the state and that they were being employed by security agencies without verification of antecedents, etc, so as to meet the growing demands. (Why wouldn’t a senior police officer allow himself to be quoted here? Cant figure this one out. Really… is this an earth-shattering disclosure?)
The police officer said that many a times the security personnel have been found sleeping while on duty and the police enquiries have revealed that some of the security personnel were working for more than one agency and as such can’t be attentive all the time and tend to sleep while on duty (Whoops... ‘the’ security personnel? Which ones? When you put in the article ‘the’, you are dealing with specifications aren’t you?)
The officer further said that the security guards tend to sleep while on duty and are not awakened by the sound of vehicles stopping near them (how sad can this get? ‘Are not awakened by the sound of vehicles?’ Poor… very poor) and they have to be woken up from deep sleep many a time. He also said that to ensure that the security personnel are attentive and do not sleep while on duty the police have been taking away their chairs. (We are sure this is an aside, but poor Jamal takes everything so seriously)
He also said that police enquiries have revealed that these security personnel do not have any formal training into security aspects and that they are just employed by the agencies because they have to meet the public demand.
With there being no (what’s with this ‘there being’? obsession) specific check on the employment of people as security personnel, the security agencies prefer to appoint untrained personnel as they can be hired for a lesser salary compared to trained personnel like ex-servicemen.
Recently a security personnel employed at an ATM centre duped an elderly person of Rs 65,000 with the help of his colleague. The elderly person had sought the help of the security guard at the centre in withdrawing money and forgot to take back his card.
The security guard hailing from Orissa in association with his colleague withdrew the amount and sent part of it by money order to his home and kept rest with him. Bur (But…) luck did not favour him as the old man came back to the ATM centre and made enquiries about his card and failing to find it verified his bank balance. The old man was shocked to find that Rs 65,000 were withdrawn from his account, he then lodged a police complaint and subsequent enquires revealed that the watch personnel (watch man has been transformed as what ‘watch personnel’… use the dictionary more judiciously fellows) was involved in the crime and was arrested. His associate in crime is still absconding.
Similarly police found that watchmen employed at a construction site were involved in theft of centering plates at the site. It was found that a particular motorcycle was always found at the site and police enquiry revealed that it was that of a security supervisor who had given it to one of the security personnel of the agency.
The police managed to nab the security guard and on interrogation found that six others were involved in theft of centering plates from the construction site. Four of them, including one who had been recently employed as a driver by a satellite news channel, were arrested. There are various other instances of watchmen being involved in theft cases, said the police officer. (Doesn’t Arun Sinha want any quotes in his stories these days? Once he was obsessed with them, unless of course he was writing a vengeful piece aimed at tarnishing one of his 'enemys' under a pseudonym)

THE NAVHIND CRIMES

We’ve tried hard you know. Scoured the internet for this bit. But everywhere we checked and the only significant event that happened in Indian history in the year 1957 was India’s acquisition of Kashmir. But then we checked The Navhind Times again… There it is… They can’t be wrong you know. It has the reputation of being Goa’s official gazette, doesn’t it? Check out this guys… According to The Navhind Times India’s first war of independence happened in 1957… Its not just a typo guys… They say it twice… Can you beat that? So our first war for independence happened after a divided India’s war with Pakistan in 1947. Hats off to these guys… Journalism it would appear is not just literature in a hurry, but history rewritten in haste too. Check these excerpts...

http://www.navhindtimes.com/articles.php?Story_ID=08263
BJP programmes to commemorate first war of independence
NT Staff Reporter
Panaji, Aug 25 The state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party will undertake several programmes during the year, in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the India’s first war of independence, in 1957, with the programmes forming a part of a related nationwide event of the party.
The spokesperson of the local unit of the BJP, Mr Govind Parvatkar, addressing a press conference, yesterday morning said that the war of 1857 (hey... they've actually got it right here), launched by the Indian soldiers in the British army was wrongly described as the mutiny and furthermore, the school text books provided incomplete information about it.
These programmes which would include Prabhat Pheri (early morning processions), cycle processions, ‘mashaal’ processions, drawing competitions, essay competitions, elocution contests, fancy dress contests and pamphlet distribution, would continue till May 10, 2008, in different parts of Goa and inform people about the events in 1957, as well as arouse patriotic feelings, Mr Parvatkar said.

ELVIS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING...

Comment from a reader...

Herald features two special sections one called 'Just a minute' the other 'pinch of salt'. The writer remains anonymous.
Today he/she/they are singing praises about Elvis Gomes from Corporation of City of Panaji. They cleverly forget to mention that he was the officer responsible for failure to collect Rs. 1 crore as bank guarantee from Crosschem international to re-float MV River Princess. He was even suspended by H.E the Governor Jamir.
How come this writer, has the gall to post a photo of what appears to be the River Princess along the article?
Does anyone know who writes these 2 silly columns? Are there guys related to Elvis from Cuncolim in the Herald? Was any one fed with Chilly Chicken & Officers' Choice? or cash?
Who are these crooks?

PIDDLER ON THE ROOF -- HOW GROSS WOULD THAT BE?

If Agnelo's 'thing of passe' was funny, this one's gross... And this one's a Guilherme Almeida special. Thing is... no sub in the Herald, dare edit his stories... Not that he's flawless, but he positions himself as a demigod, who reports from a region which is at the heart of Herald's circulation, Margao -- Salcete. Other than that, he is quite thick with the deputy news editor Joel Afonso, the news editor Sergio Almeida is virtually scared of his tantrums and so on. Ok we've gone about quite a bit now... Let's expose you to one hell of a blooper from Herald's Margao dateline... Puritan hearted folk please do not read beyond this, others just check out the word in bold.


http://oheraldo.in/pagedetails.asp?nid=179&cid=26

Boy held for molestation
BY HERALD REPORTER
MARGAO, AUG 24 — The Colva police on Friday arrested a 19-year-old boy for allegedly molesting a 13-year boy at Carmona.
The alleged incident is believed to have occurred a month ago, when the accused had called the victim boy to his house and fiddled with his private parts.
The incident came to light three days ago, when the boy narrated the matter to his mother, who later lodged a complaint with the Colva police.
The accused boy was arrested under the Goa Children’s Act, the Colva police said.

Wasn't that really sick? Half knowledge not only dangerous, its also repulsive in cases like this. The sub who cleared this copy must be asked about this... Someone ought to 'fiddle' him between his ears for gods sake.

CONGRESS 'I'SORE

The guy on the left wearing the exotic blue shirt is the honourable Congress MLA from Calangute, Agnelo Fernandes. The guy really looks the kind who will go out of his way to help you doesn't he? Look at his eyes... Isn't there an honest sheen on them? Don't they tell you the story? His eyes are sore red from serving people in his constituency, nahin? Your eyes don't go red just like that. Check yours in the mirror dear reader. Are your eyes red too? NO?!?! They go red when you go on serving people for hours on end... you know that? Have you also noticed that both his eyes are swollen? Wonder how you rise in the mornings looking like this? It happens to me when I have a drink too many and dig into meat too often. My face puffs up and eyes go so damn red as if i've poured kokum in them. But Agnelo, we're sure he's done nothing of that sort. We're sure he'd just worked hard for all those poor constituents of his in Calangute. So you guys will vote for him again won't you? (BTW guys the photo was clicked by Raj Tilak Naik outside the Goa assembly on the day of the floor test)

IS HERALD GROWING? EXPANDING? OR DIVERSIFYING???

A reader sent us this... But the guy who sent this had better brush up on the present. Ashley is now with The Gomantak Times as Deputy news editor, while Agnelo has joined The Navhind Times in Margao. -- Penpricks

There have been reports and talks about Herald growing. A few months back on the front page of Herald a report appeared in single column “Herald is Growing”. I thought that the size of Herald or the number of pages is increasing. After going through the item I just went… Oh my God it’s the Herald Business not the publication which is growing. That too in cane furniture. Oh la la.
What struck my mind first at that time was, if Herald was diversifying into cane and wood furniture business, was the deputy chief reporter Ashley sent to Canacona to source raw material in the jungles there?
And guess what guy, it looked like Herald’s further diversifying into vegetable and fruit vending business some days back, when we got the clue from the Herald that this Agnelo guy was transferred to Belgaum (that’s where half of Goa greens and fruits are sourced from). Agnelo was apparently told he was being transferred. The worst part was the chap thought he was being transferred to Philippines.
Grapevine says it that Agnel was in a very celebrating mood and in fact he had packed his bag and renewed his passport and was ready to head for Philippines. But alas. Ashley was transferred in a very similar manner to Canacona and was assigned to do reporting about the decrease in the number of Bisons in Canacona. It may be because Ashley is a Science Graduate he could have better understood the life history about Bisons mating in the Canacona jungles.
But instead of Bisons fighting in the wild it was the publisher of Herald Mr. Bir who was polishing his martial art skills by getting himself enrolled at a city Karate School to take on Ashley. He must have thought that Ashley after visiting the Canacona jungles might go wild like the Bisons.
Penpricks will be surprised that Agnel was transferred to Belgaum. A guy who overhead the Personal Manager Shri Vijay Gaonkar telling Agnel that his transfer in Belgaum might bring him good luck in his personal life just like his boss Raul getting a break in the Philippines after his nightmares in Goa.
So with Robin with a non-stop plagiarizing trail, Ashley with his scientific research on the Canacona Bison mating research and Agnel in his vegetable and meat business, and the owner Raul setting shop with saw and varnish, Herald really seemed set on a diversifying spree
So, it really looks like that Herald is GROWING, EXPANDING, and DIVERSIFYING!!!

INTERNET CIRCUMCISION

Hey guys… this is Herald’s edit on Aug 23 on the Adnan Patrawala murder. Robin sure practices what he preaches… Here’s Herald’s advice to the Bombay cops after Adnan was murder after being lured on Orkut.
“The authorities should start some mechanism where certain sites under suspicion should be monitored.”
That’s exactly what the Herald bosses did when folks tuned in to http://www.penpricks.blogspot.com Herald disconnected the internet connection from all computer terminals barring a couple. One reserved for plagiarising and the other for Melvyn.

http://oheraldo.in/pagedetails.asp?nid=118&cid=15
Murder most foul
The incident of a Mumbai teenager 16 year old Adnan Patrawala. Adnan who was kidnapped by his friends and then strangled to death after being promised to meet a shady acquaintance he had struck up friendship on the internet once again brings to fore the need to regulate and police the ether waves. There have been instances of people meeting strangers on websites for marriage and then being constantly harassed. The authorities should start some mechanism where certain sites under suspicion should be monitored. In the west it is done for child pornography but this murder and this site Orkut should be checked as it has been misused more than once. And this time it led to murder.

SMOKIN...

You’ve seen Jim Carrey’s movie THE MASK haven’t you? It was a big hit in the 90s.
Now see the indigenous version...
Doesn’t Ramkrishna Dhavalikar’s facial profile remind of the masked avatar of Carrey (the guy at the extreme right)? Goodness me, everytime I see this guy, I feel he’s going to peel off his mask like face and come forth with the original one. There’s Mask junior in this picture too… Dhavalikar’s brother Dipak, who’s fast catching on with his brother Luciferish ways. A minister who hankers for the cash rich PWD ministry in any government is nothing short of a mask hiding something else.
Say in this case, the civil engineering contract business that the Dhavalikar brothers are into.

"WHERE'S THE NEED FOR HORSE-TRADING, WHEN THE JOCKEY'S WEARING MY COLOURS?"

Hi guys, a reader just mailed us some photographs taken during the day of the no confidence vote. We didn't know what to do with the pics (the mailer says, they've been clicked by Rajtilak Naik) for while... Something just struck us. Perhaps we could fit in a caption and roll one in everyday... Let's see how this works out...
NOT TOO PRUDENT: Journalists surrounding chief minister Digu on D day. The guy in the blue shirt (holding the NDTV gun-mike does look like The Navhind Times Editor Arun Sinha, without the mooch of course. Hey guys and the short chap wearing the white shirt and that funny beard, standing right between the Sinha lookalike and Digu is a vernacular journo called Dayanand. He has the reputation of being a police panch, prone to bouts of selective amnesia in the courtroom. Why don't you guys ask him how an Israeli arrested for possession of ecstasy worth several lakh managed to escape sentence. We think he'd stutter. Ask him chappies, at some press conference will you. Hey and why we've mentioned PRUDENT in the slug? Well, its a news capsule that's being run by Rajan Narayan, which has a mighty soft corner for Digamber Kamat. Well, the corner's so soft, you'd almost think that rot has set in.

DEAR MR AGNELO A PRIMER IS NEVER PASSE...

Hey… Did you see that… What’s happening here? Stories are no longer being puked from the Margao dateline in The Navhind Times, they are actually being written.
Ok ok ok… We know what’s happened… Former chief sub from the Herald Agnelo Pereira (he’s the same guy, who the Herald bosses among other folk believe authors this blog… some more imagination guys… come on) has apparently joined The Navhind Times (hey… how bout you guys sending penpricks posts on any guys switching jobs or new guys being recruited in the Goan media? Possible?) and is based in Margao. This copy is refreshingly different from the Shyam Zambaulikar and Minoo Fernandes’ thrash in terms of style. But lets take a finer look at the content.
You know this guy’s stories are often as outspoken as this bugger is. So they tend to shoot off a bit sometimes… Take a look at this now. We know what he wants to say here… But that’s no excuse for writing something like this, ‘A THING OF PASSE’ what’s this Mr Agnelo? A thing of the passé? What was the local desk doing now? Watch your work Roger…
The story just about looks the kind of a story filed by a newcomer to a beat. The sort of story you file when you are trying to find your feet. Meeting people… giving them this sort of an impression… ‘Hey, I am new here… Lets see you help me out with some stories man’. If a guy with a two-year experience on a particular beat, writes a story like that and you can be rest assured it’s a plug… (check out Herald’s Guilerhme Almeida’s stories or interviews with Churchill Alemao and you’ll know what plugs from Margao are), but this guy Agnelo is new out there and he’s no plugger. Take our word for it.
But overall he’s been too kind to the Margao chief officer with quotes like
“My aim is to serve the citizens of Margao to the best of my ability,” an affable Mr Agrawal said after finishing with his officers.
“I want to streamline the administration and make it people friendly,” he said, matter of factly.
“I want to provide quick, easy service and facilities to the public,” Mr Agarwal said.

These are the sort of quotes mouthed by Miss India aspirants.

Like we said, he's really been too kind for our liking.

http://www.navhindtimes.com/articles.php?Story_ID=082335
Clean Margao, quick service to public is CO’s mantra
NT News Service
Margao, Aug 22 The news of his transfer to this commercial city was acrimonious to say the least, but the new Margao municipal council chief officer, Mr N D Agrawal claims to have the interest of Margao residents at heart.
It is less then a week that he has taken charge of his new job. But when this reporter visited his office, the man was huddled with his officers; in the midst of explaining stuff and issuing instructions.
“My aim is to serve the citizens of Margao to the best of my ability,” an affable Mr Agrawal said after finishing with his officers.
Clearing the city of garbage is high up on the agenda of the CO, who was formerly holding charge as director of the social welfare department.
According to the CO, his officers have identified around 10 to 15 spots where garbage heap have sprung up around the city.
“We will clear these spots, which have become eyesores,” the CO said.
This exercise will be in addition to the daily routine of garbage collection and disposal undertaken by the municipality employees.
Simultaneously, Mr Agrawal, who has the reputation of sticking to the rulebook, has also made his intention clear; he will sweep his own backyard clean.
“I want to streamline the administration and make it people friendly,” he said, matter of factly.
That means, “red tape” will be a thing of passé and ‘transparency’ and ‘efficiency’ are set be the key words at the Margao municipality. “I want to provide quick, easy service and facilities to the public,” Mr Agarwal said.
He acknowledged the general tendency amongst the public to get things done by bending and at times even ignoring the law.
“Make legal things easier so people won’t do illegal things,” was Mr Agarwal’s solution to this.
The CO is aware that his entry to the municipality was not smooth but vowed to work in tandem with the chairperson and the council for the good of the aam aadmi.
The MMC chairperson, Mr Johnson Fernandes and some of his colleagues were guarded in their reaction on the new CO, but the coldness towards the new officer was palpable.
“We are yet to interact with the chief officer,” one senior councillor said.
The chairperson said he was ready to do business with the new CO. “If his plans are good for the general public, the council will definitely back them, the chairperson said.
Former chairperson and present councillor, Mr Savio Coutinho was of the opinion that at times, one needs to overlook rules, especially in an office which caters to the public.

PRESENCE OF A DUMBASS ON HERALD DESK

You know sometimes subs in the Herald are so weird. Why is a slug fitted in the middle of a story? So that it grabs the attention of the reader and lures him/her to the story. Needless to say, the catchier the slug, the more chances of the reader coming to that particular story. But look at this one… PRESENCE OF BOAT IN RIVER SAL? What’s this man? Can anyone be more elementary that this? Very very ordinary Mr Sub. Very very ordinary...

BIMB BIMB BOOMB

We received this comment from a reader. It had a lot of sexual slander against Dilip Borkar, which has been edited. -- Penpricks

Lots has been written about the English Dailies in Penpricks. More of it about Herald and Robin. Let’s have something about Devnagiri Konkani.
The other day I was going through the Weekender (GT). The centre spread page on one side speaks about a lady activist Norma Alvares who really deserves the space for what she is talking about and highlighting about present day issues.
The other half is occupied by the half page News and half page photo about the State Rewards. I will stick here to write about the Black guy with white beard Dilip Borkar and his take on Remo. Dilip Borkar, because he is a Publisher and Editor of Bimb Publications a monthly Konkani Magazine in Devnagiri.
Says Dilip Borkar “Remo only sings during agitations, while it is people like us who actually work at grass root level. Remo is taking more credit for himself than the reward himself.”
When a person makes a remark against a renowned personality like Remo who has been honoured with Padmashree by none other than the President of India, the person making such a statement should equally command respect in the society and be atleast be able to stand in the shadow of a person like Remo. Does Dilip Borkar have this in him?
What Dilip Borkar is composed off is a mystery everyone would like to know.
He was once upon a time an unqualified teacher along with Manoj Joshi and a bunch of (edited) others including Umesh Joshi who retired as a Head Master in a school in Panjim. This is the place I mean school where Dilip Borkar learnt the art of (edited) under the able guidance of Umesh Joshi. As they were not adequately qualified to teach they were dismissed from service except Umesh Joshi. Presently Manoj Joshi is running a wholesale wine shop besides being a stamp vendor near secretariat and Umesh Joshi is giving tuition classes called Joshi’s near People’s High School.
Coming back to Dilip Borkar, thereafter he joined the newly established Goa University and continued with his (edited) activities and was again dismissed for being unqualified to teach. (Although he is a good Konkani writer he does not have sufficient training to be a teacher).
He also tried his luck in politics and after being an unsuccessful politician, his hobnobbing with St. Andre MLA Francis Silveira (then Housing Board Chairman) got him the contract of producing a film on Goa Housing Board where he made some money.
Coming to his present status he was also thrown out of GBA as he was the member of Vichar Vibhag (think tank) of Congress. Sitting on the dais and making a speech (Bashan tokla – Marathi - for making speech) does not confer the status of an activist of GBA.
(paragraph edited)
Coming to the Bimb Publications Dilip is not cut throat like Rajan Narayan. He does not use the back mail magic but he uses the art of marketing, Space for a price. Maybe he has worked sometime at the Reliance Industries store or a coke or Pepsi outlet.
Besides his (edited) activities, a political liason, an unsuccessful politician and space for price, what is the contribution of Dilip towards Goan media and society. Only being a Editor and Publisher does not make him a white clean personality. (sentence edited)
So what is Dilip Borkar made out of? His structure is of a deceitful person who bullies everyone with his white hair and white beard. He feels he is a replica of Rabindranath Tagore that’s how he hooks the (edited) with is mere appearance.

KRITADNYATA FUND'A'

Hey here’s some dope we got… We got it from one of our political sources recently. Took us a while to get this story confirmed. It runs back to the election days again. Dateline – Mapusa. A correspondent for a Marathi newspaper -- keeping with our two entry old tradition lets call him Mr G. Mr G took Rs 50,000 from a bald headed politician hailing from Canca-Parra. The politician who also runs a hotel in Vagator was contesting from the Siolim seat. He had shelled out Rs 50,000 to Mr G to be distributed amongst Mapusa based correspondents in lieu of favourable coverage.
Hell… these elections really saw politicos shelling money out like crazy.
Anyways… the story is that the Rs 50,000 never left Mr G’s pocket, while all the time he went about telling the politico, that the money had indeed been distributed.
Somehow sketchy reports reached the newspaper bosses following which Mr G was transferred to the head office, so that a close watch could be kept on Mr G’s activities.
But he shouldn’t lose heart. Mr G should now realise that he has now graduated from the vulture’s roost to the lair of the wolves. There’s plenty of game you can pull down out here too.

ROBIN ABREU ADDS NEW CHAPTER TO PRATIBHA PATIL CONTROVERSY ;)

Hey guys Herald’s got a new website for itself… The site does look pretty good. But look… How does one re-jig stuff like this? What can one possibly do when editorials call Pratibha Patil, the prime minister of the country? And this within a couple of weeks of her being appointed to highest office? Imagine some school kid collecting editorials and sticking them in his chapbook? Pratibha Patil… prime minister? What next?

HERALD'S EDIT
http://oheraldo.in/node/27543?PHPSESSID=7aa1dd80a5036d

Cheap stunt
It is a known fact that the average Indian or for that matter any person loves to be photographed next to a Page 3 celebrity. But this offer from a Mumbai businessman is taking things a little too far. For fee get a photo next to the Prime Minister Pratibha Patil. The reason why this can happen is that the president of a business organization also has a vice president who is close to the President.
But the question is what happens to protocol and formality. For a mere Rs 22,000 any person will get his or her face close to the First Citizen of the Country. Is there no respect now for this august institution? It was a different matter when former President APJ Kalam went around greeting children and inviting them over to Raisna Hill but it is definitely a matter of shame that this post can be cheapened by such a stunt.

OLD WINE... NAME YOUR PRICE

These are some of our predecessors.
The torchbearers of journalism in Goa.
Guys who literally torched the spirit of journalism in a young state.
Guys, who instead of laying a solid foundation for folks to come, pissed on the stones.
Guys who put up their pens up for a price.
Out of sheer disgust.
We won’t say more.

JOURNALISM OF ENTERPRISE

Here's why we do not need a Krutadnyata fund... When we have such enterprising journalists around, one feels so hopeful about the future of journalism in the state.
The journalist who we talk about below, is a guy who has won awards for excelling in journalism. And as far we know, he has also served on the executive committe of the Goa Union of Journalists (GUJ). He works as a sub editor for a biggish Marathi paper and has a namesake whose byline features regularly in a national English daily. The only difference is the way they spell their surnames.
This chap is often found at Alisha bar and restaurant at Porvorim near the new assembly complex. The bar is owned by Narsinha Salgaonkar who sometime during these elections, suddenly felt the urge to fry bigger fish than the ones available at his popular restaurant.
Little did he know that he'd be left writhing like a fish out of water some time later.
The sub editor along with an ex employee of the same organisation promised Salgaonkar a BJP ticket from Aldona. Salgaounkar, who was once a supporter of Dayanand Narvekar was hurt this time for some reason and wanted desperately to contest against Narvekar.
Our sub editor, lets calls him Mr R is a well known BJP activist made an arrangement to admit Salgaounkar in BJP. But failed to give him a ticket. Mr R's friend, lets call him Mr J who is now running a private advertisement agency promised Salgaounkar monetary help from Babush to buy off the ticket.
Salgaonkar has always had a soft corner for journalists all this while... Hopefully this will change... Hey but isn't his food good?

JOURNALISM OF BANKRUPTCY

ALLAH KE NAAM PE DE DE BABA: Chief minister Digambar Kamat caught by a photographer, just after he violated provisions of the Prevention of Beggars Act by offering alms to Goan journalists at a function organised by photojournalists. It's easy to spot Digambar Kamat here. He is the gentleman seated second from the left. There another way to spot him. Look out for the smuggest bugger in the picture.

November 23, 2030
You are walking by Café Prakash, that snugglish café near Azad maidan, Panaji… The pavement outside the cafetaria is lined by beggars… These guys weren’t here all those year ago.
All of them are uniformly bedraggled, shaggy and by the looks of it, hungry for days… You walk towards them… closer… closer… Bingo… You know all these guys…
The one with the ragged orange beard is Ashley Do Rosario former deputy chief reporter herald and later Deputy news editor Gomantak Times… only now he has a broken tooth and his hair is a bit out of its place… And his beard’s no longer the trimmed French… It’s all over his jaws… A couple of feet away from him is another familiar face Mayuresh Pawar… gone is the flavour of youth from him… Instead of designer glasses, he has on his a broken bit of glass tied to a stick with a brass wire… Instead of the Wills Classic cigarette, he is lighting an end of a half smoked bidi… Near him with his back to the pillar is Ganesh Javdekar… he has aged… but other than that, he hasn’t changed a bit… only he rocks his back a bit more vigorously now… and he shouts loudest for alms. At the doorstep of Café Prakash, you see another familiar face… so emaciated, you can’t recognize him. His mouth shrunk, probably cause he lost his teeth wearing a dirty kurta torn in places… You recognize him only when he begs for alms in Hindi… That’s Bhushan. Looks like Delhi hasn’t done him much good. A bit further on… there’s Glenn from The Navhind Times, who, even after all these years, is still trying to look as young as possible… Looks like his talk, along with his disposition, has degenerated consistently over the years.
Ok guys… you’ve had your laugh…
What’s happening to us guys? Are we really falling for this shit? You guys realise what just happened? This guy… Digambar Kamat just rubbished us in the worst way possible and we let him get away with it? The guys just threw alms at us, while we were hosting him. Is this how shameless we have become?
In company of Ambaji Kamat, perhaps the most brazenly shameless photojournalist of our times, ‘journalists who have fallen upon bad times during their advanced age'?
Penpricks feels that journos in Goa have never been so embarrassed before… Do you guys even realise it? ‘Patrakar Kritadnyata Nidhi’ if you please!!!
Well… the Goa PJ association have really set their foundation well. With the announcement for the first installment of alms from the Digambar Kamat, we are so eagerly waiting for the next donation of used pens and paper pads for the increasingly impoverished tribe of Goan journalists.

A REPORT IN THE NAVHIND TIMES
http://www.navhindtimes.com/articles.php?Story_ID=08209

Aug 20, 2007

CM announces fund for distressed mediapersons
NT Staff Reporter
Panaji, Aug 19 The Chief Minister, Mr Digambar Kamat today announced ‘Patrakar Kritadnyata Nidhi’, a fund for the media persons in distress, especially those who fall on bad times during their advanced age. (Hey, we also need a fund for journos who have contracted veneral diseases over the years in the profession. And a condom vending machine at the office of the Goa Union of Journalists (GUJ). So that when the government decides to do us, we can at least request you to wear protection).
Mr Kamat, who earlier launched the Photo Journalists’ Association (Goa), during a special programme, at the Black Box, also stated that the government would chalk out the details for the implementation of the state cultural policy within next fortnight, and one of the thrust areas of the policy would be its media segment. (What are we? The cultural showcase of the state?!?! We are journalists for god sake… What we ought to thrust… is a spear through every government’s, you know where…)
The Chief Minister also inaugurated an exhibition of press photographs clicked by the print media photographers, at the art gallery of Kala Academy. The director of Information and Publicity, Mr Menino Peres was also present as the guest of honour. (Honour? This man?)
Speaking further, Mr Kamat observed that the press photographers were generally inclined towards clicking negative photographs, and some such photographs which are in bad taste as far as the image of the country is concerned, should not be published. “Is publication of such photographs really required and what do they reflect,” he questioned. (Penpricks thinks, that news photography in Goa is as sedate as it can ever get… What negative photographs is this guy talking about? And what is good image for the country? Defection?)
The Chief Minister also stated that the impact of a news report is reduced in the absence of a related photograph.
Mr Kamat later felicitated senior press photographers, Mr Ambaji Kamat, Mr Menino Afonso, Mr Joe D’Souza, Mr C M Estebeiro and Mr Ramesh Sakhalkar, as well as the editor of Sunaprant, Mr Sandesh Prabhudesai. A number of press photographers were also recognised on the occasion. (Ok!!! What’s this? RECOGNISED? Who subbed this copy? Roger… my dear friend… what’s this? What did these guys do? Went about with a torch in the Black box, ‘recognising’ these photographers by shining a torch in their faces?)
Mr Peres, speaking on the occasion said that photography has become an integral part of the daily life, covering all aspects of life from birth to death. He also observed that a number of photographers, besides in print media, have made a name for themselves in specialised areas like industrial photography, wildlife photography and so on.
Mr Peres further informed that the Department of Information and Publicity has a collection of over 1 lakh photographs stored on CDs, in its photo archive. The Department also has at least ten thousand rare photos in its photo bank, he added. (You know what guys… forget 10,000 photographs… Department of Information Goa, has some of the most rare and unique employees in the state government. To begin with… the two bosses Menino and Shivaji Prabhugaonkar… Oh and there’s so many more)
Mr Prabhudesai, in his speech said that the photography technology has vastly improved over last few years. “However, that has made the need for photo journalists more intense,” he added.
The Sunaparant editor suggested that a media faculty should be introduced at the Goa University. The president of the PJA Goa (Ok here goes… shall we call it the Poor Joke Association) Mr Nandesh Kambli, in his welcome address stressed on the problems faced by the media photographers.
Mr Pradeep Naik introduced, while Mr Barnabe Sapeco proposed the vote of thanks.

MARATHI... PAUL PADATE PUDHE (MARATHI... WE MARCH AHEAD)

We’ve finally managed to cross the bridge… After weeks of trying, we’ve finally crossed over a small makeshift bridge and managed to make a foray into the vernacular. Wish our guerrilla fighter good luck for similar raids in the future.

Unprecedented money and unpredictability of success in the last state assembly elections had resulted in a sizeable section of journos moving about with stuffed pockets. No no… the pockets weren’t stuffed with money… These journos don’t come that cheap, friend. These guys they stuffed their pockets with plastic bags, into which they stuffed the money… once they come across it.
Today, Penpricks offers you stories on three different journos from three different Marathi newspapers.
The first one is a chief reporter working for one of the bigger vernacular papers. This guy rose humble beginnings and was once known as one of the most industrious guys in our fraternity.
Perhaps his only indulgence then was Sudhin Dhavalikar. His proximity to Sudhin was often forgiven for they shared a similar concern for Marathi. This daisy-faced journo, with a moustache that seemed to take forever to grow was also known for his off-beat wit and a weird kind of laughter, which cackled from a fine treble to a hoarse bass. Things changed when he switched from Pudhari to a more cushy publication. Dayanand Narvekar has now crept up next to Dhavalikar in his list of holy cows. The daisy face has gone the way of the fat tulip now.
The other guy is a portly fellow who is still married to a particular language, but is forced to feed off the other literary mistress. Some years back, when the humble Nirmala Sawant was a minister in the Congress government, our journo friend who incidentally is also a poet, managed to dump some of his poems and books onto the education department. A tactic often used by this poet-journo was to call this lady minister as a chief guest to a school and push his poetry reading session into the agenda.
The third guy is very non descript. Having started his career in the Goa Times, he managed to scale his way to a respectable newspaper. And began doing his ‘thing’. This guy is the typical hanger on… Even in this story he has only stood by along with these guys and held his plastic bag wide for the slush to flow in. And these guys are not mofussil correspondents guys… These guys are trophy journos… The big guys… Staff reporters from Panaji.
Here’s why we went on after this trio for the last few paragraphs. Earlier this month, the trio went on a trip to Delhi, which was entirely sponsored by newly elected MLA Gurudas Gawas. The flight tickets, the hotel reservations and dearness allowance (its more like a ‘Come Here My Dear Boy… allowance here hehehe)
Look at your archives guys… Look it up real good and see how much publicity Gurudas Gawas from Pale got in the vernacular media. Check the papers these guys worked in. By now, we are sure you know who these guys are. Gawas sure played his cards right. He fed these chaps just the right kind of feed.
What’s more Senor Jose Phillipe has also promised this trio another out of state trip and he surely isn’t doing this for the love of them. Nor is he doing it for the love of journalism.

SANJAY DHAVALIKAR RESPONDS TO A NATURE'S CALL WHILE DEREK ALMEIDA ADMIRES THE SYNERGY

Et tu Derek?
You know... very few of us in our profession can possibly dislike Derek Almeida.

He is a quiet fellow who does he job, sans ego, sans ideology, sans malice. Perhaps the only grey layer in his bebinca-like personality is a tiny sliver of diplomacy, hugging the uppermost bed.
We must admit, that we were a bit peeved when we saw his photograph in the Gomantak Times delivering a speech at a school function. Gomantak Times is the newspaper he edits.
At the cost of sounding very anti-vernacular-journo, but we have seen over the years, that most editors of vernacular newspapers in Goa (Oh barring of course Rajan Narayan now) really tend to believe, that they are in competition with Paris Hilton for space. They literally run riot publishing their own photos in newspapers they edit, to amplify their stature.

Case in point... Tarun Bharat editor Kiran Thakur. Penpricks is pretty sure, the several TB readers have developed a sore patch near the arm pit as a result of severe abrasion caused by brushing against Thakur's bristling beard (of course in a photograph published generally above the fold), when they tuck the paper under their arm, on the way home.

Given a chance, a die hard Tarun Bharat reader would surely have watched Thakur's beard grow grey steadily over the years. And Thakur's passion for publishing his own photos has been picked up by others in Tarun Bharat.
His nephew Ashok Dhond who used to be the executive editor also utilised the Satyanarayan puja ceremony to get his grin pasted more than 40/50 times for the Satyanarayan puja pull out supplement. Now a third messiah is in the making... The newspaper's chief reporter Sagar Javdekar. Oh man... you can see him marching on the streets for the cause of Marathi... or watch him deliver a stirring speech at some Adpai Mahila Vanasudharak Samiti hehehe... These guys really push matters far whenever free publicity can be had.
Oh... and then there Laxman Joshi who edited the Gomantak some years back and then the guy who followed him Sharad Karkhanis, who wore such thick black rimmed spectacles, that his intellectual calibre could have never been in any doubt.
While the former was a very adroit Sanghi sort of a personality, the latter was more of a Hitleresque, but funny demeanour. Dainik Gomantak has really seen em all, if one also accounts for the the Fieldel Castro like Narayan Athavale.
The latest incumbent (as resident editor) Sanjay Dhavalikar is more of the shirt pant types... But when it comes to getting his photograph published in his own newspaper, Sanjay is not one to be left behind. While his predecessors were steeped in the literary tradition like say Narayan Athavale or Madhav Gadkari, Sanjay has hopped on to the hot seat from the position of PRO of the Entertainment Society of Goa. Sanjay was earlier with the Navprabha and then worked as a correspondent for the Mahaashtra Times too before taking up the PRO position. Hope he doesn't mix his earlier brief with the one he holds now.
But why were we saying this? Ah... Derek... Surely he has not caught on to this trend... We surely hope not. We would really like to read him in, rather than see him around in Gomantak Times.
Due to limitations of this blog's template, we place the captions for the photos published down here, instead of sticking them under the picture itself...

SANJAY RESPONDING TO A "NATURE'S CALL": Dainik Gomantak Editor Sanjay Dhavalikar (the guy whose head's encircled... not to be mistaken for a halo hehe) speaking at a function organised by the Nature club of Zantye college, Bicholim. Well, this picture accompanies a three column story on how their own editor exhorted students to come together and fight destruction of nature in Goa by commercial forces. Come on, Sanjay... not worth a three column story, was it? Do you really think you need to push this on to your reader? Don't mess around your paper like this... You are the gen next of editors in Goa, lead by example... Break this trend set by these old foggies... Rise above it man...

ET TU DEREK?: And that there in the first photograph... Right... the one who's speaking.... That's Derek. He's speaking at the ''PVS Sarojini Madhusudan Kushe HSS, Assagao (incidentally Robin Abreu's turf... Dammit.. do we have to mention this guy everywhere?) at the inauguration of the school's wall bulletins, 'Blossoms' English Wallpaper for the students of commerce, Arts and the Vocational Stream, 'AksharGandah', the Hindi, Konkani and Marathi wallpaper for the same streams and 'Synergy' the plurilingual matrix for the Science Stream. Derek Almeida, Executive Editor 'Gomantak Times' was the chief guest and clips the ribbon to inaugurate 'Synergy'..." This bit we have quoted from the story published in the GT accompanying the picture. The story actually ends with a line like this... 'Zehra Sayed and Amey Sangodkar were efficient anchors for the morning'!?!?! Was Ashley sleeping or what? Or did he report the function? hehehe
Thankfully Derek's speech wasn't mentioned in detailed by the newspaper... but Derek, we look forward to your writing man... not your pictures...

MATKA THAKUR

The split in the Tarun Bharat ownership seems to have really hurt the newspaper.
Brutal management and mercenary instincts of Kiran Thakur’s nephew Ashok Dhond had seen TB take on the Dainik Gomantak successfully.
But now internal bickering has resulted in Dhond carving out the publishing slice of the business pie for himself, leaving the bearded Kiran alias Mama Thakur with the string of newspapers.
The paper has slipped since. Goa Doot has been eating into its readership and Gomantak’s slipping back into the groove. And Mama’s sluggishness doesn’t help much…
Mama Thakur seems to have taken the easy but unethical way out… Tarun Bharat has once again restarted publishing matka numbers daily on its pages. This trend has begun in the vernacular papers after about 7/8 years.
Can’t these guys be penalised for publishing this?
GUJ could at least condemn such a trend? What credibility does it leave your newspaper/journos with? Even if you tuck it in the inside pages, it is such vulgar slur on the profession…
A reader mailed us this scanned image of Tarun Bharat’s August 4 edition.
And guess what guys… what the matka industry has failed to do in decades of its existence, we mediamen manage to do so easily… get the numbers wrong… haha (check the scanned image)
And guess what guys… Herald has had this poll on its internet edition for about a month or more now.
The poll question is ‘Should madka gambling be legalised in the state?’
Wanna see the results…

For over 1507 votes polled, 465 voters feel that this form of gambling should be legalised as it would generate more revenue to the government. Another 317 voters also say that matka should be legalised as it would then ‘cease to be a flourishing illegal activity’.

That’s an astounding 52 per cent vote for legalising matka in the state.

ADOBE AND THE ART OF MOTORCYCLE IMAGERY

Hi, this is one of the whackiest reponses we've received from our readers... This comment is in connection with the GOING PHOTOSHOP'PING' entry....

This is my take on the pic..
1. The bike is parked somewhere close to the old Secretariat on the Patto side.
2. Bike is facing the river.
3. It's front wheel is towards the right. (Fork locked on right side)
4. This causes the right handle grip to be at a lower position in respect to the left one.
5. The mirror angles; making the flag pole visible.
6. The black arch part of the mirror i.e. from the footpath barrier to the bridge is also thicker cause of the mirror's tilted angle. (There is about a 3 mm depth from rim surface and the mirror laid in... causing this arch to be more prominent due to the angle.) Are u still with me? Try this out ... lean to the right.. now look at your computer monitor on the left. The gap between the monitor's glass and the left plastic edge appear to be thicker than the right side...(BTW u can sit properly now.. Hehehe)
Read this along with anon1 and anon2.

'MOUNT JOAQUIM ALEMAO' AND OTHER SAUCY TALES!!!

Hi guys... there's nothing much here... except for a couple of spelling mistakes... the second one is funny, while the first one is pretty glaring...
One of the most imortant stories of the day 'Churchill inducted into state cabinet' has the word 'later' misspelt as 'latter'...

Panaji, Aug 14 The Governor, Mr S C Jamir today sworn in Mr Churchill Alemao, the Save Goa Front MLA from Navelim, as a minister in the state cabinet headed by Mr Digambar Kamat. He was latter allotted public works department and co-operation portfolio.

Check out the second one... It's more of a Freudian slip more than anything else.

Others present included the Revenue Minister, Mr Jose Philip D’Souza, the Transport Minister, Mr Pandurang Madkaikar, the Urban Development Minister, Mt Joaquim Alemao, the Panchayat Minister, Mr Manohar Azgaonkar and the Deputy Speaker, Mr Mauvin Godinho.

We're thinking, that switching Mr (Mister) for Mt (Mount) as the preferred title for the hulky Joaquim Alemao wouldn't be out of place if the puny Pio Estevees had filed this story. Surely it wasn't Pio, wonder who filed this story and which lazy bum sub, edited it.
Hey and there's another weird error in a crime story too... Jamaal ka hi kamaal hai. When was the last time you saw the word police spelt as 'PAolice'? Poor DGP he'd think twice before sticking this report in his chapbook.

Panaji, Aug 14 The Director-General of Police, Mr Brijindar Singh Brar has been honoured with the prestigious President’s PAolice Medal for the second time on the Independence Day for his distinguished services in police department

BE-IZZAT BE-ABR'E'U -- VI

Hey guys… It’s been a while since we wore the sheriff's badge again… Today, we pick out another plagiarised editorial in the Herald… This time Robin Abreu at his very very very crafty best… Why best? Here's why…
You guys must listen to this story....
You see, once a burglar broke into a house in Assagao during the rains. The burglar jumped the compound wall and landed in a patch of wet mud. He walked across the lawn, opened the window (which he had sought out during his reconnaissance earlier in the day) and hopped in. Once inside he sneaked up to the cupboard, cracked open the lock and stashed the loot in a bag he carried. On the way out, he lit a match to look around for something else he could carry with him. He suddenly saw that his muddy feet had left a trail across the floor. So what did he do? He stripped off his shirt and as he traced his steps back he scrubbed the floor off mud trail all the way to the window. You guys know why he did this… For fear of being caught.
And why are we telling you this story… Cause our dear old Editor Robin Abreu, Goa’s undisputed burglar of words, emulates his house-breaking counterpart to perfection.
This time Robin takes off on an NDTV story, filed by its correspondent in Pakistan.
We show you how…

HERALD’S PLAGIARISED EDITORIAL

http://oheraldo.in/node/27433

Is this the beginning of the end for President Musharraf?

Barely hours after (This is exactly what we meant, when we said wiping off the tracks. What Robin tries to do here is just tweak words/phrases a wee bit to ensure that folks like us who run a google search to nail his copywork, fail. Where the NDTV story states ‘A day after’, Robin cleverly converts that bit to ‘Barely hours after’) he rejected an emergency, speculation is rift (Speculation is rift, or is it ‘rife’ Robin… run a spell check man…20,000 readers pay to read this paper) in South East Asia, that Pakistans problems are about to begin (here again guys… see this… while the NDTV story says ‘precursor to more problems, our Robin simplifies it saying ‘problems are about to begin’) all over again. And for India in particular, any unrest in Pakistan is a precursor for trouble in the North. And the signs are there that there is more to come.
With the Karachi stock exchange plummeting and political leaders like Benazir Bhutto warning of more intense legal challenges ahead of the Presidential elections, alarm bells have begun to ring that the worst is not yet over for Pakistan.
So is Musharraf is slowly losing grip on his power. With elections around the corner, Musharraf would like to be re-elected as President when the assemblies vote between mid-September and mid-October. But his conflict with the judiciary where he came out second best and the opposition could be a stumbling block in his reelection process. And if Nawaz Shariff does come back, then Musharraf is in for some more headaches. However Pakistan’s biggest ally, USA is not going to help out. The reason, the constant presence of Taliban in Pakistan and the suspicion that Pakistan is harbouring Osama Bin Laden. Till all these problems are sorted out, Musharraf will keep on getting sleepless nights.

ORIGINAL PIECE
http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070022155

NDTV Correspondent
Friday, August 10, 2007 (Pakistan)
A day after President Musharraf rejected an emergency Pakistan is worried all that intense speculation is a precursor to more problems.
Pakistan's president, General Pervez Musharraf, may have poured cold water on speculation he was planning a state of emergency but now it's the country that is counting the costs.
The Karachi stock exchange plummeted and political leaders like Benazir Bhutto are warning of more intense legal challenges ahead of the Presidential elections.
''After some time there was a little bit of clarity regarding emergency, the market has bounced back a little bit.
''Still it is in the minus point and almost Rs 20 billion worth of market capitalisation has been wiped out,'' said Zafar Moti, Broker, Karachi Stock Exchange.
On the streets of Pakistan there is no doubt Musharraf is slowly losing grip on his power.
Ideally, Musharraf would like to be re-elected as President when the assemblies vote between mid-September and mid-October.
Though his confrontation with the judiciary, and the opposition could be a stumbling block.
Power sharing deal
The Supreme Court has admitted a petition by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to return and a power sharing deal with Benazir Bhutto is in trouble, after her insistence Musharraf give up the uniform.
''General Musharraf and his advisors believe it is constitutional. The PPP political advisors, legal advisor believe it is not. So, this is an issue, which will probably end up in the court if it gets ahead.
''Obviously the Election Commission of Pakistan has to announce the schedule for the Presidential elections. That has not happened yet, it is expected. But it will probably be disputed and end up being a legal matter,'' said Benazir Bhutto.
It seems pressure from America also influenced the decision not to impose emergency as at the borders with Afghanistan more trouble is brewing. President George Bush has hinted at swift action and many are wondering if perhaps there is a growing impatience with Musharraf a once staunch ally.

PERES HILTON

Guys anyone have any dope on controversial Director Information and Publicity department Menino Peres' 25th anniversary celebrations today? The festivities were rumoured to rival bashes by politicians... Anyone have any dope pls send us facts that we could put up here...

ANOTHER DAY ANOTHER AWARD

How in the blazes did we miss out on this one? The head in the red circle there belongs to Vithaldas Hegde. He is presently the chief reporter for the Gomantak Times. His head (we are extremely sorry you cant see him clearly, but it wasn’t a great picture. What you have missed out there is a shock of wavy hair and a patch on the top of the head, where the sunlight filters through easily to the scalp).
Hegde is here in this photograph cause he is being awarded The Navhind Times ex NCC achievers award for meritorious service and outstanding achievement. We pricks are not very sure about what exactly Hegde’s contribution has been to the media. A less than ordinary journo he is more known for his association with the guys like Milan Burman and bigger fish like Churchill Alemao. And poor chap is still not in the ‘League of Extraordinary Journalists’ who prop themselves up with the notorious ‘senior journalist’ crutch.
Does he look out of place here? What sort of guys does he share the award with?… Deputy Superintendent of Police Mahesh Gaonkar? MERITORIOUS SERVICE? He services politicians, that’s about it… And who else Atmaram Nadkarni, the former advocate general… need more be said about him?
And who else… Vijay Kalangutkar… deputy general manager Navhind Times? Weird isn’t it? The Navhind Times award being given to one of it’s own employees? What was Kalangutkar given the award for? Hmmm… its not mentioned in the NT report… But as far as we can remember, Vijay used to do a splendid job as Vilas Sardessai’s favorite shoeshine boy…
Also seen in the photograph is the eternal jack-in-the-box John Aguiar… One of the few government servants to have Manohar Parrikar on his Orkut friends list. And there Jamir… the governor… We don’t blame you, if you can’t see him… We too were almost blinded by Ms Pallavi Dempo’s shiny pants.