Voice of Asia June 4 2015

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FRIDAY, June 5, 2015

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Vol. 28 No. 23 Friday, June 5, 2015 • Published Weekly from Houston • 713-774-5140 20 Pages ( 2 sections) 50 cents E-mail: editor@voiceofasiaonline.com

US Soccer chief Sunil Gulati could be in race for new FIFA president

W

ASHINGTON - IndianAmerican Sunil Gulati, who is currently serving a record third term as President of the US Soccer Federation, could be in the race to replace Sepp Blatter as the new FIFA chief.

Sunil Gulati, president of the U.S.Soccer Federation. AFP/Getty Images.

Various US media outlets said Allahabad-born Gulati, 55, who has played a key role in the development

of soccer in the United States in the past few decades, could be a potentially strong contender to replace Blatter, should the U.S. have an interest in the position of FIFA chief.

Indian-American Sunil Gulati, who is currently serving a record third term as President of the US Soccer Federation, could be in the race to replace Sepp Blatter as the new FIFA

chief.

Various US media outlets said Allahabad-born Gulati, 55, who has played a key role in the development of soccer in the United States in the past few decades, could be a potentially strong contender to replace Blatter, should the U.S. have an interest in the position of FIFA chief. (PTI).

Jindal to make announcement on 2016 Election on June 24

W

ASHINGTON, Jun 3, (AP) -- Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a possible GOP presidential candidate, will make a “major announcement� on the 2016 race on June 24 in New Orleans.

That’s according to Jindal’s chief political adviser, Timmy Teepell.

“

Jindal had announced a campaign exploratory committee on May 18.

If Jindal decides to run, he’d join a crowded Republican primary that already includes nine major candidates, with more expected to join the fray.

Jindal, the country’s first

elected Indian-American governor, has repeatedly said he would announce his decision about a White House bid after the state legislative session ends June 11.

A Catholic convert raised

by Hindu parents, Jindal has focused largely on courting evangelical Christians and the

conservative wing of the Republican Party.

Right: Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal waves while speaking during Rick Scott’s Economic Growth Summit in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., Tuesday, June 2, 2015. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

ISKCON of Houston Aids Nepal Relief With Russian Dance Group - Mayuri

On 25th April 2015, a Saturday, a massive earthquake occurred in Nepal by which many devotees lost their houses. They are homeless. And now they are staying in tents.� – Message from ISKCON Nepal

sembled crowd, which was less than expected, due to the repeat flooding & thunderstorms that day. Happily, many there made an additional donation, which covered some absences.

The Russian dancers — the Mayuri Dance Group, from Petrozavodsk — were big hits, performing seven numbers with zest, glee and an array of costumes so admirably vivid that audience members exclaimed about them. Combinations of azure with gold, emerald with cream, and black with scarlet flooded the flicking stage lights with color. The dancing, often with lip-syncing and flashing eyes, had all of Bollywood’s engaging vivac-

On this past Saturday, May 30 evening at ISKCON of Houston (Hare Krishna Dham), a benefit dance concert was held. The tragic earthquakes in Nepal was the reason for a gathering in hopes of raising more funds for Food For Life, the charity arm of ISKCON worldwide (and locally).

The evening starts auspiciously with simple, heartfelt kirtan by a group of temple youth. Given the unpredictability of the weather, a grounding in the maha mantra in song calmed the as-

ISKCON’s Outreach Director Dr. Hansa Medley honors the dancers of the Mayuri Dance Group from Petrozavodsk.

Continued on page 5

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OP-ED/COMMENTARY/ANALYSIS

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VOICE OF ASIA Publisher:

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Austin Correspondent: Print & Media Marketing: Marketing:

Production:

Office Manager: Digital Coordinator

Koshy Thomas Sherly Philip Shobana Muratee Sherine Thomas Jacob David Susan Pothanikat AR Vadlamani Priyan Mathew Harsha Mary Pradeep

Columnists: Legal: Richard M. Alderman Legal: Sharlene Sharmila Richards Research: Prof. Meenakshi Bhattacharjee Health Insurance: Sudhir Mathuria Astrology: Hardik Vyas

VoiceofAsiaOnline.com Editor: Online & Newsletter : Shobana Muratee All rights reserved. No material herein or portions thereof may be published without the consent of the publisher.

Voice of Asia assumes no liability resulting from action taken based on the information included herein. Published weekly by Free Press LLC, 8303 SW Freeway, Suite # 325, Houston, TX 77074. Tel: 713-774-5140. Fax: 713-7745143. Email for editorial submissions: voiceasia@aol.com; Email for advertising inquiries and submissions: ads@ voiceofasiagroup.com

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by Ramesh Ponnuru

T

om Price, the chairman of the House Budget Committee, is the latest Republican to unveil a conservative health-care plan to replace Obamacare. It’s a good plan, although it could be made better -- and it helps to clarify some of the trade-offs involved in health policy.

Price’s plan would give people tax credits to buy health insurance. The credits would be based on age but not on income. Everyone between 35 and 50 would get $2,100 a year, for example. Both the Affordable Care Act and some other conservative health-care bills, such as the one proposed

by Senator Orrin Hatch and colleagues, instead phase out tax credits with income. The credits could be used to buy insurance in a much less regulated market than Obamacare creates: No longer would insurance policies have to cover a federally approved list of essential health benefits, for example.

The plan has already elicited some reasonable criticism over the choices Price made. If you offer the same tax credit regardless of income, you send money to people who don’t need it. On the other hand, you relieve the administrative difficulty and unpredictability of an income-based credit. A lot of people don’t know how much help they can count on from Obamacare; they would have more certainty with Price’s plan.

Price also avoids a potentially serious problem with Obamacare. A credit that phases out

FRIDAY, June 5, 2015

An Obamacare Replacement That Works catastrophic health expenses but leaves many routine services uncovered. Some Obamacare policies, by contrast, cover routine expenses but leave people exposed to very high costs should disaster strike.

And if more people are paying for some routine services out of pocket because they chose catastrophic coverage, those services should get cheaper.

This one looks better. Photographer: photofusion/universal images group via Getty images with income raises effective marginal tax rates: People don’t get the full benefits when they start working longer hours or get raises. That’s one reason the Congressional Budget Office found that Obamacare would lead people to work fewer hours.

Other criticisms of Price’s bill would apply to almost all conservative alternatives to Obamacare. Those alternatives generally loosen the Affordable Care Act’s prohibition on discriminating against customers with pre-existing health conditions. This protection is popular, but it necessitated the law’s least popular provision: the fine on people who don’t buy insurance. Insurers demanded the fine because otherwise people might wait until they got sick to buy a policy, at which point they couldn’t be turned down or charged a higher rate.

Price would instead forbid insurers from discriminating against people based on health status if they’ve maintained continuous coverage. That way there’s no incentive for them to wait until they’re sick to buy a policy, and no need for a fine for not buying one. Those with pre-existing conditions would have stronger legal protection than they had before the Affordable Care Act. And people who got insurance through Obamacare could continue to buy policies in the future on the same terms as everyone else.

Should the Price plan move forward in Congress, Obamacare supporters will surely say that it would leave people with inferior coverage -- since it would no longer have to cover essential benefits. Again, though, there are trade-offs. It might well be rational to want a policy that features low premiums and protection against

The main flaw in Price’s plan is the danger it poses to employer-provided coverage.

He would let people with such coverage use their new tax credit to buy their own health insurance on the individual market. If young and healthy people find better bargains on that market, they might leave employer plans with only older and sicker insurance pools.

Thus employer premiums could go up, or employer plans could go under.

That’s not going to fly, and it shouldn’t. The federal government shouldn’t disrupt people’s health-insurance arrangements so drastically. The solution is to restrict the tax credit, at least at first, so that it only goes to people who don’t have access to employer coverage.

That means that some people would have to stay stuck in plans they dislike. That’s too bad -- but, once again, life’s full of trade-offs.

Source: Bloomberg View JUN 3, 2015.

It is the policy of Voice of Asia to publish letters to the editor which evidence a variety of viewpoints. The opinions expressed in any particular letter to the editor are not necessarily those of the management. Voice of Asia welcomes letters in reply to issues raised in letters to editor. In as much letters to the editor are not articles written or researched by members of Voice of Asia, it is not the policy of the Voice of Asia to perform any investigation or confirmation of any facts or allegations contained in letters to the editor. Moreover, Voice of Asia reserves the right to edit letters to the editor as necessary to correct errors of fact, punctuation, spelling and to comply with space constraints.

Although paid advertisements may appear in Voice of Asia Group Publications in print, online, or in other electronic formats, the Voice of Asia Group does not endorse the advertised product, service, or company, nor any of the claims made by the advertisement.

- The Publisher

STORY OF MAHATMA GANDHI Gandhi suffers racial insults in South Africa - Part III

A

such rule is an insult to a free man. I shall write at once to the Durban Press to protest such insulting rules.”

s the ship streamed into Bombay harbor, he saw his brother waiting to receive him. After exchanging pleasantries with the brother Gandhi noticed that his brother was very reticent.

“Something wrong? Any bad news?,” he asked. The brother nodded and told him of the death of their mother. “It was during your exams a few weeks ago. We did not want to disturb you,” said the brother.

And Gandhi did write. The letter was published and it led to unexpected debate and discussion. At the same time, some other papers described Gandhi as a troublemaker and unwelcome visitor.

After a week in Durban, he left for Pretoria to attend to the case for which he was engaged.

With a first class ticket, he boarded the train. At the next stop, an Englishman got into the compartment. He was travelling in a train to Pretoria, in a first class compartment.

The news was a terrible shock for Gandhi who wanted to let Putlibai know of how he had kept his vows to not drink alcohol or eat meat.

Gandhi started practice as a lawyer in Rajkot, but he was deeply disgusted at the greed and honesty of many of his fellow professionals. After some time, he got an offer to work in South Africa from Dada Abdulla & Co. who owned big business concerns there. He was to be a legal adviser to the firm which had filed a lawsuit against another company seeking damages of 400,000 dollars.

Gandhi was hired because he spoke English well and knew English law well. His services were required for one year and the company promised him a handsome salary and first class return fare.

The opportunity to see a new country and new people was indeed very exciting and Gandhi accepted the offer. It was painful to part from Kasturbai and Harilal, but he was keen to go.

In April 1893 he left Bombay for South Africa.

He reached the port of Natal at the end of May 1893. In South Africa, he noticed that Indians were treated with little respect. They were called ‘Coolies’. Within a week of his arrival, he visited the court with Abdulla Seth of Dada Abdulla & Co. No sooner had he sat down that the magistrate pointed his plump finger at him. “You must remove your turban,” he said

He looked at Gandhi with contempt and called the conductor. “Take this coolie out and put him in a lower class!,” he said.

Gandhi is pushed out of the train bag and baggage. sternly.

Gandhi was surprised. He looked around. There were several Muslim and Parsi men wearing turbans. He could not understand why he was being singled out. “Sir,” he replied.

“I see no reason why I should remove my turban. I refuse to do so.” When the magistrate insisted that he remove his turban, Gandhi walked out of the court. Abdulla Seth ran after him and caught him by the arm. “You don’t understand,” he said. “These white people consider Indians inferior and address them as “coolie” or “sami.” Parsis and Muslims are allowed to wear turbans as the turban is thought to have religious significance.”

“The magistrate insulted me,” Gandhi said angrily. “Any

The conductor turned to gandhi and said, “Hey Sami, Come along with me to the next compartment.” “No I will not,” said Gandhi. “I was sold a first class ticket and I have every right to be here.” The conductor called a policeman who pushed him out with his bag and baggage.

The train left. Gandhi spent the night shivering in the cold, but he did not touch his luggage.

This incident changed the whole course of his life. He decided to fight all such injustices. He sent a note of protest to the general manager of the railways, but the official only supported the rail employees.

More trouble was still in store for him. Next morning, he went to Charlestown by train. He had now to travel by a stagecoach to Johannesburg, but he was not allowed to sit inside the coach with white passengers.

To avoid confrontation Gandhi sat outside on the coach-box behind the coachman. After some time the conductor asked him to sit on a dirty sack on the step below. Gandhi refused.

The conductor began to pull him down and beat him up. At this time, some of the passengers came to Gandhi’s rescue

and he was allowed to sit with them. Gandhi reached Johannesburg the next night, quite shaken by the experiences on the way. He had the address of a Muslim merchant’s house, where he spent the night.

The next day he bought a first class ticket and continued

dressed Englishman. A little later, a conductor entered and Gandhi quickly showed him the ticket. “Your ticket does not matter,” growled the conductor.

“Go to the third class at once.”

Before Gandhi could reply, the Englishman flung down the newspaper and said, “Why are

self comfortable just where you are, young man.” Thanking him warmly, Gandhi settled down with a book. It was late in the evening when the train pulled into Pretoria. He stayed at a hotel that night and moved into a lodge the next day. There he began to study the Abdulla

Great Summer Project For children! Enter Mahatma Gandhi Week 2015 Essay, I-Tribute, Poster and Speech contests. Visit gandhilibrary.org for registration and more information. All school going children can participate! These contests are being organized to create higher awareness of the inspiring life and work of Mahatma Gandhi to promote universal values of Truth, Non-Violence, Love and Service. his train journey to Pretoria.

The only other passenger in the compartment was a well-

you harassing this gentleman?

His ticket gives him a right to be here.” And then turning to Gandhi, he said, “Make your-

Soma Balasubramanian

lawsuit. Even while he was working on it, he found time to call a meeting of the Indians in Pretoria. — To be continued.

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C OMMUNITY VOICE OF ASIA

VOICE OF ASIA 3

FRIDAY, June 5, 2015

Second Front Page

Friday, June 5, 2015 • www.voiceofasiaonline.com • Page 3 • Email: editor@voiceofasiaonline.com • Tel: 713-774-5140

Padmanjali Sri Meenakshi Temple Hosts Annual Banquet of Art and Appreciation

A scene from the skit by Dr. Vaduganathan titled “The Return of the Sundara Pandian”,

P

EARLAND Sri Meenakshi Temple hosted its annual banquet, Padmanjali, on Sunday at the temple premises in Pearland to thank supporters and raise funds for the ongoing Main Temple Restoration Project (MTRP). Deserving students heading to college this year were also recognized with scholarships.

Dignitaries at Padmanjali this year included Pearland Mayor Tom Reid, Consul General of India, Houston, Parvathaneni

Harish and wife Nandita, and classical musician Padmashree Dr. Shobha Raju.

The evening began with a silent auction that featured items donated by temple devotees: Kanchipuram silk sarees, traditional oil lamps (kuthu vilakku), paintings, clocks and ceramic sculptures, tea sets and dinnerware--which netted about $10,000 in all.

Temple president Dr. P. Vaduganathan shared the news that the MTRP had achieved its

Scholarship recipients with Mayor Tom Reid, Dr. P. Vaduganathan MTS president (far rt), G.N. Prasad, head of the scholarship committee (far lt), and other committee members. fund raising goals and restoration work was progressing rapidly with the Kumbabhishekham scheduled for November 2015.

Mayor Tom Reid spoke of his pride in the temple.

“You are very special; what you have accomplished here is something is very special,” he said. “And when I’m some

place talking about Pearland, I always talk about Meenakshi temple because this is my temple, too, you know.”

G.N. Prasad, head of the scholarship committee, introduced the scholarship winners, sponsors Drs. Nat and Visalakshi Annamalai and Dr. Jay and Mrs. Viji Raman, and other committee members.

The scholarship recepients are: Abhinaya Govindan, Aditya Prasad, Advaith Ram, Anu Narayanan, Harshini Ganesh, Karun Salvady, Ketan Sinha. Nakul Rao, Neelesh Choudary Mutyala, Rakesh Kumar Vijayakumar, Sanchita Mahoorkar, Sreesh Shenoy, Sohan Gadkari, Swetha Rajagopalan, Vibha Sripadam, Hallie Calles and Samantha Schultz.

As dinner, catered by Madras Pavilion, was being served, MTS presented a skit written

by Dr. Vaduganathan. Later, Padmashree Dr. Shobha Raju obliged the gathering with a Mahalakshmi Stuthi.

Musical numbers were also performed by Akash Srikanth and singers Sarada Akunuri, Ganesh Rajamani and Dr. Siva Bodagala.

Deva Snana Puja (Bathing Ceremony of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra) at ISKCON of Houston Temple abhadra, 22 pitchers for Devi Subhadra and 18 pitchers for Sudarshan. After the bathing rituals, the deities are decorated in Gaja Vesha (elephant headgear). Traditionally, after the bathing, the Gods fall ill and are kept in Anasara, where the devotees can’t see them until they appear in Naba Jauban Vesha (new look) on the day of the Rath Yatra.

“Deva Snana” for Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra.

A

s part of the “2015 Greater Houston Rath Yatra” celebrations, “Deva Snana Puja” will be held at the ISKCON temple on June 14th (Sunday) from 4pm to 7:30pm.

“Deva Snana” Puja is the “Bathing Ceremony” of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra. This is the

first occasion in the year when the deities are brought out from the sanctum sanctorum and taken in a procession to Snana Mandap (bathing altar), where they are ceremonially bathed with 108 pitchers of water from a well inside the Jagannath Temple. Out of the 108 pitchers of water, 35 pitchers of water are used for Lord Jagannath, 33 pitchers for Lord Bal-

In keeping with this tradition, deities of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Sudarshan, specially built and brought from Puri will be bathed with 108 pitchers of water at the ISKCON temple on Sunday, June 14th. After the bathing ceremony, the deities will be dressed in Gaja Vesha, followed by Maha Arati, Pravachan by H.H. Bhakti Rasamrita Swami, and Prasadam.

Then the deities will be kept in Anasara and will appear on July

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This event is being organized jointly by Char Dham Hindu Temple, SKAI Foundation, ISKCON of Houston and Masala Radio and is being supported by various organizations including Hindus of Greater Houston, India Culture Center and the Gujrati Samaj of Houston. The organizers are anticipating and pre- Rath Yatra held at Discovery Green in 2014 will be the venue for this year on paring for a big crowd June 14th from 4pm to 7:30pm. File photo. packing the Discovery Green and surrounding entertainment featuring a high- is completely free and devotees streets to see and seek bless- flying drum and dance spec- will get free Prasad. For more ings from Lord Jagannath, Lord tacular by the World famous information, visit http://greatof the Universe. Festivities will Mayapuris, Indian bazaar, Food erhoustonrathyatra.org/. To volinclude procession of 3 chariots booths, Maha Arati and Open unteer, sponsor or participate, ein Jagannath Puri style, Cultural air Dandiya Raas. Admission mail events@masalaradio.com

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VOICE OF ASIA 4

FRIDAY, June 5, 2015

ASIE held a significant The People’s Lawyer luncheon event Two ASIE Members appointed for a prestigious position

www.peopleslawyer.net

the future of this profession – young students with a passion for engineering and architecture.”

Richard M. Alderman Interim Dean of the Law Center

Texas Consumer Complaint Center can help with flooding problems Q. I am already having a problem with my insurance company and flood damage. I remember that you have an agency that can give me some information about my legal rights, and help resolve problems. What is its name?

A. The group you are referring to is the Texas Consumer Complaint Center [CCC] at the University of Houston Law Center. I started the Center eight years ago, and since it began we have helped thousands of consumers save or recover almost $3 million. The CCC is staffed by lawyers and law students, who help with any type of consumer problem including the many legal issues that may arise from a flood. Whether you are having a problem with a non-responsive insurance company, a shoddy contractor, a price gouging business, or a landlord who won’t repair your apartment, we will try to help. To contact the Center, go to www.texasccc.com.

Q. My husband and I separated almost twenty years ago. I am not even sure where he lives. I now want to remarry. Am I divorced? How long do you need to be separated to be divorced?

A. Simply being separated does not result in a divorce. As far as the law is concerned, you and your husband are still married. I suggest you promptly speak with a family law attorney about filing for a divorce. You can do this even if you are not sure where he is living.

Q. Does a store have the right to limit who may park in its parking lot? Isn’t this public property? Can I be towed for parking where I shouldn’t?

A. As a general rule, a parking lot is not public property. Nearly all parking lots are private property, and the owner may limit who may park in the lot. Whether you may be towed, however, is a different question.

Although a store may limit who can use its parking facility, it must follow state law to have the right to tow violators. Under state law, a parking facility must place the proper signs before it may tow a car. Among other things, the signs must be conspicuously visible to and facing the driver who enters the lot, and located at each entrance to the lot. The signs must also contain the international symbol for towing vehicles, describe who may and who may not park, and, contain a current phone number that is answered 24 hours a day to enable the owner to locate the car. The bottom line is that a parking lot owner may limit who is permitted to park in the lot; however, it may only tow wrongdoers if there are proper signs.

Speaker addressing the gathering

by Dinesh Shah, MBA, PE

H

OUSTON - American Society Of Indian Engineers & Architects (ASIE) is a Houston, Texas based non-profit organization established in 1994 for engineers, architects, designers and technicians of Indian origin.

Under the leadership of current ASIE President Raj Basavaraju, the vision of ASIE is to expand and provide benefits of the experienced and well established present generation to the new, young and dynamic generation of the future by supporting initiatives in engineering and architecture. In addition to providing technical community service, every year ASIE presents awards for the Science and Engineering Fair and offers scholarships to students pursuing engineering degrees from

After earning a recognition

by ASIE member and current Vice President Naresh Kolli as a “Young Engineer of the Year”, just recently two ASIE senior members are recognized for the prestigious position. Sanjay Ram, the former President of ASIE and current President of IACC – Indo American Chamber of Commerce is appointed as a METRO board member by Mayor of City of Houston. Second, Showri Nandagiri, current Advisory Council Member and former Vice President of ASIE has been selected by American Water Works Association (AWWA) to work with India, since they established their first International Community called AWWAINDIA. This type of solid foundation has been laid for the future, and now ASIE has decided to take

ASIE consistently strives to promote professional development by organizing events monthly and annually for networking and mentoring the members and non-members.

Just recently on May 11th ASIE organized their significant luncheon event at Texas Ballroom of Hess Club. The event was supported by sponsorships from ASIE Corporate members, many large engineering companies of Houston and individuals. The event surpassed the goal for the attendance, and by providing additional sitting arrangements, the attendance over 210 engineers and architects made the event a magnificent success.

The event started with social networking and self-serve buffet lunch. Raj, ASIE President presented the opening remarks with brief information of ASIE and slide presentation. Naresh Kolli introduced the keynote speaker, Dale Rudick. He currently serves as a Director of Public Works and Engineering of City of Houston. The current data and projections show that the population in Greater Houston Area will increase by 42% from the current 5.8 Million to 8.2 Million in the year 2030.

Q. Can I be sued if I give a negative recommendation about a former employee? I know many companies will give only dates of employment. Is that because they can be sued?

A. Whether you can be sued and whether the person who sues will win, are very different questions. Anyone can sue whenever she believes she was treated unfairly. If an employee did not like the recommendation you provided, she could file a lawsuit. On the other hand, if what you said were true and accurate, the employee would lose that suit. You have no liability based simply on a negative recommendation. Of course, as you note, many companies have chosen to avoid even the possibility of a lawsuit by simply not providing any information except the dates of employment.

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Keynote speaker Dale Rudick with several ASIE Board and Advisory Council members - L to R – Showri Nandagiri, Madhu Kilambi, Sekhar Ambadapudi, Chetan Vyas, Roy Joseph, Dinesh Shah, Keynote Speaker Dale Rudick, current ASIE President Raj Basavaraju, Ravi Arora, Poolkeshi Patel, Naresh Kolli, and Sai Gowthami. public universities in the Houston area. Since 1999, ASIE began the Young Engineer/Architect of the Year Award and from 2011 ASIE Engineer/Architect of the Year Award for the members, who have excelled in the field of engineering. From this year during the Engineer’s Week another award has been added – “Indian Engineers Engineering the Future”.

the organization to the next level and focusing on Building the Future together with the younger generation. Raj, the current President, a Senior Project Manager at HTNB Corp. says, “I would like to see this organization evolve to promote events across various engineering/architecture disciplines ……….. I would like to see us as an organization that mentors the generation who are

The speaker in his remarkable speech discussed on the current projects, future plans and visions of public works in the Houston Area to address the needs of the population growth.

After the speech, the speaker was honored with a plaque for the token of appreciation by Showri Nandagiri. The program was concluded with vote of thanks by ASIE Secretary Sai Gowthami.

COMMUNITY

VOICE OF ASIA 5

FRIDAY, June 5, 2015

ISKCON of Houston aids Nepal Relief with Russian Dance Group - Mayuri (continued from page 1) Bollywood’s engaging vivacity. (I read with happy fascination that the Mayuri group was founded in 1987 at the Railway Workers Cultural Center of Petrozavodsk; training there also includes the Indian classical idioms of Bharata Natyam and Kathak).

“Apsara Alli,” a devotional dance as filtered through Bollywood was performed solo as an initial offering. It was amazing how versatile this performer was. Then five dancers come on to exhibit a folk dance of Sufi origin (the Persian influence was detectable), “Jhoomo Re.” The three classical genres represented on Saturday were Bharata Natyam, Kathak and Kuchipudi.

Another charm of their dancing occurred in simple walks back-

Vijay Pallod, from Hindus of Greater Houston, (co-sponsor) interacting with the performers.

H.H. Rtadhvaja Swami reflecting on Nepal’s disaster.

Kirtan by the younger members of the temple.

H.H. Bhakti Sundar Goswami talking on Nepal situation. ward: their heads and shoulders, gently jaunty, moved in graceful opposition while their arms stayed still. One style succeeded another; the rhythm kept changing but never faltered; the dance grew steadily more engrossing. The final section featured a plate dance. Each dancer stood with bare feet planted on the rim of a bowl-like brass plate: the fun was in how the complex

rhythm of their feet would send each plate turning and traveling around the stage.

All the music was taped.

Bollywood dance is the genre that this suits best. (It’s hard to imagine it danced to live music anyway.) But the classical forms excel with live accompaniment.

The main performer made marvelously fast effects using

synchronicity, arriving with the beat, finding tiny moments of stillness within spinning sequences, punctuating turns with gestures.

This was dancing where you kept noticing further felicities of style. Sometimes during a phrase a featured dancer would bring her arms into a formal arc, and then, a beat later, turn her head and eyes to resolve the position and bring it into focus. It felt like an archer lining up a tar-

EXPERTISE

get, then with a mere glance firing. The subtle plasticity of that turn of the head, the isolation of the eyes’ arrival: ravishing.

Yet just as often she would bring arms, head and eyes all into the same perfect alignment on the same beat. Here was spoton archery without preparation, striking effortlessly home.

H.H. Bhakti Sundar Goswami and H.H. Rtadhvaja Swami gave inspired short talks about the situation in Nepal, along with

reflections on our more general situation in this material world which is precarious regardless of the ‘safe conditions’ we live in. They noted that tragedy can strike any of us at any time, but when the outpouring of misfortune is so great, events like Nepal’s earthquake remind us that we must help each other when the need is there. H.H. Rtadhvaja Swami appreciated the effort of the temple in providing 600 sack lunches weekly for Kids Meals over the past twelve plus

years.

The dances were interspersed with kirtan by Bhadra Bharati Devi Dasi & Nila Madhava Dasa of the Jiv Jago Youth Group. Vijay Pallod, from Hindus of Greater Houston (which had stepped up to co-sponsor the fundraiser) gave a short address marveling that Russians had taken up Indian culture and that two of the dancers spoke fluent Hindi! A final semi-classical piece by the entire group concluded the evening.

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VOICE OF ASIA 6

Kalyana Srinivasam Kuchipudi Dance Ballet

Sri AstaLakshmi Temple presentation on July 18th at 3:30PM at Stafford Center, Stafford, TX

FRIDAY, June 5, 2015

KINKINNI 2015 Electrifying Performance Great Reviews

L-R: Mohini Attam performed by Pavithra Karnath, Rupa Venugopal, and Reshmi Nair, Students of SPARC Center, Houston.

by Rita Winter Shirer A scene from ‘Kalyana Srinivasam’ to be presented on July 18, 2015.

by Sangita Vennelakanti

A

unique opportunity to hear, see, feel and be part of the cosmic experience - ‘Kalyana Srinivasam’ a grand Kuchipudi Dance ballet presented under the auspices of AstaLakshmi Temple (ALT) at the Stafford Center, Stafford TX on July 18, 2015.

This magnum opus originally choreographed by Padmasree Dr. Sobha Naidu has been hailed as a ‘sight for the gods’. Accomplished Vedantam Kalakshetram gurus accompanied by over 30 young student artist will re-enact this magnum opus here in Houston. The ballet starts with 100 young devotee students chanting Venkateswara Suprahbhatam transporting you

to Tirumala devastanam. The opening dance act features 16 dancers starting to tell the Sthala Purana (story of the shrine) of Tirumala, seat of Lord Venkateswara. Tirumala is considered Bhooloka Vaikuntham and Lord Srinivasa the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, the refuge for mankind in this Kaliyuga. Sri. Balanthrapu Rajanikanta Rao’s script and Sri Kochherlakota Suryaprakasa Rao’s music will be the mesmerizing framework to Guru Raghava’s dance ballet.

The story of Lord Srinivasa and Padmavathi takes several interesting turns to conclude in a happy marriage and settling down at the Tirumala Shrine on the Seven Hills.. The grandiose of the celestial wedding complete with backdrops and props will be spectacular.

Guru Raghava, founder, Ve-

dantam Kalakshetram has in the past presented his great productions Bhama Kalapam, Prahalad Vijayam and Chandalika (last year) to the Houston audience.

The vision of Ashta Lakshmi Temple is to promote the mission of H.H. Sri Sri Sri Tridandi Chinna Srimannarayana Ramanuja Jeeyar Swamiji to revitalize our Vedic heritage and spread the knowledge of the Vedas to the present and future generations through Vedic learning and worship. Prajna is the ability to translate good knowledge into action. The temple holds Prajna classes and also has a large Hall that can be rented for activities.

This fundraiser ballet underwritten by ALT is also a way to impart knowledge through dance and music.

S

TAFFORD, Texas - On May 24, 2015, Sunanda’s Performing Arts Center presented its annual recital to a house full auditorium at the Stafford Centre. The four-hour program showcased the talent of over 300 dedicated students, ages 5 to 50+. A brief video presentation highlighting awards earned by the students from competitions held in America and India started the program. The emcees Saritha Ehtirajan and Dhrisya Nair promised a show of grace and poise that the dancers delivered.

An invocatory dance, in praise of Lord Ganesa was performed by Shana Joseph followed by Nandi chol.

This beautiful dance depicts Nandi welcoming Lord Shiva, the Cosmic Dancer. The students paid respect to the

Gods, Guru and musicians with their offering of the Pushpanjali.

Then came Mahaganapathim, performed by the young talents of SPARC, choreographed to tell the story of Ganesha’s birth and how he became the author of the Mahbharatha.

Performing the Asaindham Mayil Ondru Kandal, the dancers displayed the joyful and irresistible dance of Krishna. The Keshadi Padam, choreographed to a Malayalam devotional song praising the beauty and elegance of Krishna, was offered with grace and sincerity. The senior Mohini attam students gave an incredible performance of the Madhurashtakam, and enacted three episodes of Lord Krishna’s life – his childhood antics, his devotion and generosity as a friend, and his role as a charioteer to Arjuna in the Kurukshetra battle.

Tamil folk songs were the

inspiration for the Kavadi dance. In this lighthearted number, the students danced in praise of Lord Muruga with fast-paced choreography. The younger students presented a very enthusiastic rhythmic folk dance Kolattum, also known as the stick dance.

The adult mohini attam students portrayed the joy and eagerness of a farmer just before the much awaited monsoon rain in the Karukara Karmughil dance.

Thirty six adult students brought the performance to a close with a graceful group dance from Kerala, the Thiruvathira. As a celebration of complete happiness, this was a charming and gracious conclusion to the recital.

To read the full article and see the photos from the show, visit www.voiceofasiaonline. com

COMMUNITY

VOICE OF ASIA 7

Successful Hindu Sanghatan Diwas organized by HSS

FRIDAY, June 5, 2015

HealthLine Publisher presents inaugural issue to Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia

by Sanchali Basu

T

he Houston chapter of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh USA (HSS) held its tenth annual Hindu Sangathan Divas conference on Saturday, May 30, at the Sri Govindaji Goudiya Matha.

Representatives of about 50 Hindu organizations from the Houston area attended the conference.

Hindu Sangathan Divas provided a platform for representatives of Houston area Hindu organizations the opportunity to network with each other under one roof, learn from each other’s experiences and challenges, while at the same time maintaining their autonomy.

After an introduction session, representatives attended one of three parallel breakout sessions, covering “Community Outreach through International Yoga Day (IYD),” “Synergizing Sewa Activities in Houston Hindu Organizations,” and “Creating Second Generation Hindu Youth Leadership.” Each breakout session included a presentation from an experienced panel followed by discussion.

The first group concentrated on making the IYD to be held at the George Brown Convention Center on Saturday, June 21 a huge success. The panel-

Keynote Speaker Ved Nanda, prof. of International Law and HSS USA president, delivering his message. Photo Madhukar Adi. ists discussed ways of promoting the event through mass outreach via media, email, social network sites and word of mouth. They all agreed that it needed to be made attractive to all segments of society and make it a vehicle to propagate the benefits of Yoga as a primary tool of health.

The second group concurred that sewa related activities can

be dpne on an individual level and the importance of being environment friendly by “Going green” was emphasized.

On a community level, sewa activities can be done by helping the poor, engage the youth, and help in disaster situations like Nepal earthquake relief.

Current areas of focus are challenges faced by Hindu senior citizens and international stu-

Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh houston Chapter members. Photos courtesy: Madhukar Adi

Mr. Koshy Thomas (rt), CEO, Voice of Asia Group and Publisher of HealthLine magazine seen presenting a copy to Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia, who recently announced that he is running for Houston mayor. dents.

The third group comprising mainly of young individuals considered several issues including the need for next generation leadership and the challenges that they are facing.

Since there are cultural and communication differences between generations, a few sim-

ple and involved activities encompassing matching interests and talents to temple activities could bridge the gap. Public speaking among the youth should be encouraged. Organizations should also consider sponsoring different programming tailored for different age groups to keep second-generation Hindus involved. Provid-

ing an anonymous forum for youth to ask questions would also help in getting some of the questions posed by the youngsters answered.

Following the breakout sessions, attendees heard the keynote address delivered by Ved Nanda, professor of International Law and HSS USA president. He saluted the Houston Hindu organizations on coming together as a vibrant and dynamic community. He glorified the Hindu ideals of pluralism, inclusiveness, selfless service, spiritual way of life, devotion and kindness towards humanity and above all the ideal of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – viewing the world as one family.

The hall was filled to capacity with very excited, enthusiastic members from all participating organizations. The facilities and hospitality offered by the youth volunteers and members of the Sri Goudiya Temple were remarkable. The day’s activities ended with Arati and Prasad.

The conference was executed like a well oiled machine due to the sincere efforts of all volunteers of HSS.

COMMUNITY

VOICE OF ASIA 8

FRIDAY, June 5, 2015

We are Family: Expand OHMazing® Family Connections at International Yoga Day Houston

by Elizabeth B Reese, PhD, E-RYT, RCYT “Love begins at home… and it is not how much we do, but how much love we put into that action.” ~ Mother Teresa

Toward adding more love and tools to foster calmness among youth and their families, including as a way to celebrate dads on Father’s Day, International Yoga Day Houston will feature yoga for kids and families led by the Houston-based, international-reaching Yogiños: Yoga for Youth®.

“

Family yoga is a space where I lose myself to find myself in the fabric of a new story, individually and in community with my son.” ~ Athea Davis, Yogiños: Yoga for Youth® Instructor and Team Member Like a blossoming flower, the benefits of yoga are like each unfurling petal. Yoga and all of its elements--including making good choices for yourself and others, mindful breathing, cultivating concentration and focus, as well as poses or asanas--help people of all ages grow and blossom into their most authentic selves. Indeed, a myriad of research shows what many have known for centuries: people of all ages who practice yoga are empowered to better manage emotions, stress and energy levels.

While most studies and programs are designed to help adults become stronger and better manage stress, there is mounting research that youth and families also gain important life-skills from practicing yoga on and off the mat.

Just like adults, when youth experience stress or strong emotions with which they are unable to handle, their brains literally do not function to their greatest capacity. In order to maintain high cognitive functioning and succeed academically and socially, kids must learn tools and techniques to self-regulate their own stress, emotions and energy levels.

And since stress often happens before leaving our own front doors at home, it follows that family yoga classes and programs can improve the stress-levels among youth and their families thereby expanding a sense of connection and support by putting increased love into action.

Toward adding more love and tools to foster calmness among youth and their families, including as a way to celebrate dads on Father’s Day, International Yoga Day Houston will feature yoga for kids and families led by the Houston-based, internationalreaching Yogiños: Yoga for Youth®. Yogiños for kids ages 3+ takes place at the Main Stage, 12:30pm-1:00pm.

Families with yogis of all ages can play and pose with Yogiños for Families near the main stage from 1:15-2:00pm.

Yogiños: Yoga for Youth® classes for kids and families are similar to adult yoga classes as Pantajali’s Yoga Sutras are they are woven within and around. This eight-limbed path that forms the foundation for most yoga classes—including the one for adults on the Main Stage 9:30am-12noon--also provides the structural framework for the foundation of Yogiños: Yoga for Youth®.

Using the 8 limbs of yoga not only teaches participants to have respect and awareness for self, others and the environment, but also encourages youth and families to weave yoga into their daily lives both on and off the yoga mat.

For simplification, we call practicing the Eight Limbs of yoga on and off your mat being “OHMazing®!” We teach youth and families this powerful philosophical concept by defining OM as all things are interconnected, or, as stated in the first verse of the Upanishads, all is OM. We then discuss the meaning of amazing: cool, super cool, really great, and so on. From here we share that when we make “super cool” and positive choices to be mindful that all things— including us!—are interconnected, that is OHMazing®.

During Yogiños classes we discuss that as humans we are OHMazing®, along with the fact that we must consciously practice making OHMazing® choices. When we make amazing choices for ourselves, others and the environment, that is OHMazing®! Or as Yogiños: Yoga for Youth® Instruc-

Jardin Cole, Jordan and Beth tor and Team Member, Athea Davis, states, “Family yoga is the bridge that will bring our world communities together in peace, purpose, and possibility. And, family yoga is awesomesauce!”

YOGA FOR KIDS AND FAMILIES SCHEDULE: 12:30-1:00pm, Main Stage: Yogiños: Yoga for Youth® ages 3+

1:15pm-2:00pm, adjacent to Main Stage: Yogiños: Yoga for Youth® for Families About the author: Elizabeth “Beth” Reese, Ph.D., E-RYT, RCYT, is the founder and executive director of Yogiños: Yoga for Youth® (YYY). Through YYY Beth has authored award-winning, bilingual DVDs, CDs, and other printed and digital teaching materials, including

the Online Studio & Resource site, The OHMazing® Way. Beth remains committed to the Adult Training program wherein individuals can become yoga for kids instructors or receive the 95-hour Registered Children’s Yoga Teacher credential. Additionally, YYY offers preK-12 schools in-services and special Toolkits for integrating Mindful & OHMazing® Strategies for Students and Teachers (MOSST) into existing curricula.

Beth is a teacher with over 25 years of experience with preK-12 grades in art, windsurfing, skiing, and yoga.

She is also a researcher and published writer, having authored numerous chapters in academic texts along with a four-year weekly newspaper column. Beth has a PhD in art museum education and has taught art history, art museum

education and museum studies at the University-level. A yoga practitioner for over 16 years, Beth is the mother of three OHMazing® yogis under the age of 16. Her oldest daughter, Jordan, is part of the inspiration for Yogiños: Yoga for Youth® as she learned to navigate challenges associated with Sensory-Integration “Disorder” through practicing yoga on and off the mat.

VOICE OF ASIA 9

FRIDAY, June 5, 2015

VOICE OF ASIA 10

FRIDAY, June 5, 2015

Lifestyle VOICE OF ASIA

VOICE OF ASIA 11

ONLINE .COM voiceofasiaonline.com

Vol. 28 No. 23 Friday, June 5, 2015 Section 2 Page 11

FRIDAY, June 5, 2015

Email: editor@voiceofasiaonline.com Tel: 713-774-5140

US teens change behavior after searching health info online

M

IAMI - One in three American teenagers have changed their behavior after looking up health information online, according to a major study on adolescents and technology released on Tuesday.

“Almost all of these (28 percent) report a health-related behavior change due to online health information, in large part because that is the most widely used digital health tool.”

Seven percent said they changed their behavior as a result of their use of a mobile app, while two percent credited health-related digital games and one percent said it was due to a wearable health device such as a Fitbit or FuelBand.

Of 1,156 US teens aged 13 to 18 years old surveyed, 84 percent said they have used the Internet to seek out health information.

When asked where they got “a lot” of their health information from, the leading answer was their parents, followed by health classes at school and doctors or nurses, said the findings by Northwestern University researchers, contained in the report “Teen, Health and Technology: A National Survey.”

So just what were teenagers hungry to know about?

Most searched for fitness or exercise information (42 percent), followed by diet and nutrition (36 percent).

Stress and anxiety were searched for by 19 percent of respondents.

The Internet ranked fourth as a source of health information for teenagers but was the top media source, far surpassing books, radio, newspapers or magazines in popularity.

The Internet was “almost on par with doctors and nurses,” said the study, noting that 25 percent of teens said the Internet was their top source of health information and 29 percent said doctors or nurses.

Unlike adults who tend to search mainly for diagnoses to health problems online, teenagers tended to seek out informa-

One in three American teenagers have changed their behavior after looking up health information online, according to a major study on adolescents and technology (AFP Photo/Mario Tama) tion on preventive measures and healthy behaviors, said the study.

Just over half (53 percent) said they used the Internet to search for health information

related to a class assignment.

Forty-five percent said they searched for preventive health reasons, and 33 percent said they used it to try to figure out what was wrong with them

when a health issue cropped up.

Digital health tools, including apps, wearable devices or websites, were influential in changing teens’ behavior, the report

Sexually transmitted diseases and puberty were next at 18 percent, followed by depression and other mental health issues (16 percent), and sleep (16 percent).

said.

The most common method for searching was simply Googling, the study found.

“A total of nearly one in three teens (32 percent) say they have changed their behavior due to digital health information or tools,” said the study.

“Teens rely heavily on search engines when looking for health information, and especially on whatever site pops up first in their searches,” said the report.

Cooking up a storm for India’s school lunch scheme attend class instead of languishing at home hungry or helping their parents labour.

It has earned applause in some states, but has also become the target of corruption scandals with local media often reporting incidents of dead lizards, cockroaches or worse found in meals.

Yamini Aiyar, director of Accountability Initiative, a research group that tracks government programmes, said the scheme was hampered by too many layers of administration, resulting in poor coordination and delivery.

Aiyar, based in New Delhi, said it was also unfair to burden already-stretched schools with organising the meals.

A schoolgirl brings her plate to be cleaned after eating lunch organised by the non-profit Akshaya Patra Foundation, at the Chaumuha Primary School on the outskirts of Vrindavan (AFP Photo/ Chandan Khanna)

by Abhaya SRIVASTAVA

V

RINDAVAN, India, Churning out 1.2 tonnes of curry in under an hour, staff running the spotlessly clean, hightech kitchen are hoping to turn around the shocking reputation of India’s free school lunch scheme.

As a large machine rolls out thousands of fluffy, hot rotis (flat breads), aproned men add spices to vegetables and broths cooking in giant steel pots in the three-storey kitchen in the Hindu holy city of Vrindavan.

“We had the vision that no child should be deprived of education because of hunger,” said Bharatarshabha Dasa, spokesman for the Akshaya Patra Foundation which manages the kitchen.

Hampered by corruption and inefficiency, the government’s midday meal programme is the world’s largest, with 120 million children to feed daily.

Students often fall sick after eating contaminated and poor-

ly prepared food, and in 2013 about two dozen children died in an impoverished district of Bihar after they ate a meal laced with pesticide.

“Our endeavour is to change the perception of midday meals in the country in the long run,” Dasa told AFP. Dasa’s operations started small in 2000, serving just 1,500 children in the southern state of Karnataka. But it has since grown rapidly, with centralised kitchens in which meals are cooked and sent out to schools.

“Now we are catering to over 1.4 million children in 10,770 schools across 10 states using precision logistics,” Dasa said.

Other charities also provide lunches for students, but many schools themselves are responsible for running the scheme, especially in remote, rural areas.

A national government report in 2010 found many such schools lack proper kitchens and adequate storage space, along with qualified cooks.

At the Vrindavan kitchen, food moves seamlessly on chutes and conveyor belts. Rice stored in silos on the terrace flows to an industrial tub for washing before heading into the pots on the bottom floor. Nearby a machine cuts up tonnes of vegetables.

Once in steel containers, the meals are packed into vans which navigate pot-holed roads to reach 2,000 governmentrun schools in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura region.

“It’s important to allow schools to do what they are supposed to do.”

Screwing up her face in disgust, teacher Prem Lata Saini remembers the food that used to be served at her school in Mathura before the foundation stepped in.

“The food used to come from the village head’s house. Sometimes it would be just some boiled chickpeas,” she said.

ever in the house for all six of us. I like this food, it’s hot and tasty,” 12-year-old Anju Singh said, polishing off her meal.

“But now the food is healthy and makes use of seasonal vegetables and soya products, something most parents are not able to afford around here.”

Anju said she spent her days after school taking care of her five younger siblings because her ill mother was mostly bed-ridden and “can’t cook or clean”.

“What happened in Bihar was shocking but not surprising,” she added.

- 57m malnourished children UNICEF estimates that 57 million children in India are malnourished, a miserable scenario for a country that counts itself as an economic power.

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh described malnutrition during his decade in power as India’s “national shame”.

At the brick-and-mud Chaumuah school in Mathura, scores of girls in khaki uniforms sit crosslegged on floor mats once the gong sounds for lunch. After saying a prayer, they eagerly wait with their steel plates.

“There is hardly enough food

For many children in India, where malnutrition remains a major problem, free lunches are their only substantial daily meal.

The government scheme, which started nationally in 2001, is aimed at enticing particularly poor and vulnerable children to

Uday Mani Patel, an Uttar Pradesh government education officer, said more non-profit organisations needed to take part in the scheme, taking over from officials and schools.

“This would change the entire image of the school midday meal in the country,” he said.

Dasa said his foundation was training other charities to set up their own large kitchens to provide meals for the scheme. “(But) More people must come forward.”

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The charity receives subsidised produce and government grants for its operations as well as corporate donations, with each meal costing nine rupees (14 cents) to make.

- Dead lizards and cockroaches -

The menu at the school changes daily and includes roti with vegetable curry and different rice dishes, with dessert served on Saturdays as a treat.

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VOICE OF ASIA 12

SCIENCE & TECH

FRIDAY, June 5, 2015

NASA to test supersonic parachutes in flying saucer launch

Self-driving cars vulnerable to cyberattack, experts warn

IAMI - The US space agency plans to try out the largest parachute ever deployed Wednesday during a flying saucer launch that will test new technologies for landing on Mars.

ew York - Hackers pose a real danger to self-driving vehicles, US experts are warning, and carmakers and insurers are starting to factor in the risk.

Expected on the road by 2020 or even sooner, driverless cars should have a wide range of cutting-edge technologies such as electronic sensors -- a group of cameras, radar, sonar and LiDAR (light detection and ranging) -- commanded remotely using software that senses road widths, identifies signs and even roadblocks.

But like connected vehicles and their onboard multimedia systems, these new self-driving technology elements -- which were meant to make the cars safe and reliable, could end up leaving them vulnerable to hacker strikes, according to US security firms Mission Secure Inc (MSi) and Perrone Robotics Inc. A hacker recently boasted of having entered the electronic systems of the US jet he was traveling on, and of having changed its trajectory. He claimed he did so using the inflight Wi-Fi system.

The two security companies, working with the University of Virginia and the Pentagon, have run tests that have shown they believe it is possible to hack into and disrupt the multisensor system.

One trial was to change how the car responded when it encountered an obstacle.

“One attack scenario forces the car to accelerate, rather than brake, even though the obstacle avoidance system (using LiDAR) detects an object in front of the car. Rather than slowing down, the car hits the object ... at high speed, causing damage to the car and potential threat to the life and safety of the passengers in the car under attack and in the car being struck,” according to the report available on MSi’s website.

“If an attack were carried out successfully, automobile manufacturers have no means of quickly gathering information for forensic analysis or to

M

The parachute, described by NASA JPL as “the largest parachute ever deployed,” is 100 feet (30 meters) in diameter.

The goal is for the chute to “slow the entry vehicle from Mach 2 to subsonic speeds,” NASA said.

The test flight of the flying saucer, known as the LowDensity Supersonic Decelerator, will be broadcast live on NASA’s website beginning at 1:30 pm (1730 GMT).

The test will involve sending the saucer, an inner-tube shaped decelerator and parachute to an altitude of 120,000 feet (37 kilometers) over the Pacific Ocean with the help of a giant balloon.

Since the atmosphere on Mars is so thin, any parachute that helps a heavy, fast-moving spacecraft touch down needs to be extra strong.

The US space agency figured out how to do this decades ago, beginning with the Viking mission which put two landers on Mars in 1976.

But with the goal of sending humans to Mars in the 2030s, the agency is now testing a more advanced, new generation of parachute technology, known as the Supersonic Ringsail Parachute, that could allow even heavier spacecraft -- the kind that may have humans and

The balloon will release the spacecraft and rockets will lift the vehicle even higher, to 180,000 feet (55 kilometers), reaching supersonic speeds.

NASA’s second Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator is prepared for a June 2015 flight test at the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii. Launch i months of food and supplies on board -- to land softly.

“We want to see if the chute can successfully deploy and decelerate the test vehicle while it is in supersonic flight,” NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory said

in a statement.

The test vehicle weighs 6,808 pounds (3,088 kilograms), or about twice the weight of the kind of robotic rover spacecraft NASA is currently capable of landing safely on Mars.

“Traveling at three times the speed of sound, the saucer’s decelerator will inflate, slowing the vehicle, and then a parachute will deploy at 2.35 times the speed of sound to carry it to the ocean’s surface,” NASA said.

The first test flight of the flying saucer was in June 2014, and another test flight is planned in 2016.

US military uncovers more anthrax blunders

W

ASHINGTON The US military said Tuesday a live sample of anthrax was inadvertently sent to a lab in Canada, after officials uncovered yet another batch of the lethal bacteria at an army facility.

shipped to laboratories across the United States as well as to Australia and South Korea.

The discovery raised fresh concerns about the Defense Department’s handling of the deadly material and the extent of the problem involving mistaken shipments of anthrax.

The sample came from a larger batch or “master sample” that tested as “live,” he said.

Defense officials acknowledged it was unclear how many government or commercial labs could have received the vials.

The Pentagon has already admitted to blunders that include live anthrax spores being

“We can confirm that yesterday we determined that we had shipped anthrax to Canada,” Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steven Warren said.

The live anthrax sample was sent to a lab in Alberta province, a defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP. The material had been irradiated at the US Army’s Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, he said, but for some reason

the bacteria was not rendered inactive as intended.

There are two other batches of live anthrax that have been found at the Dugway Proving Ground. Samples from that material have been transported to at least 28 labs in at least 12 US states. And officials said that the number is likely to go up as an internal inquiry continues.

As a precaution, 27 people were receiving preventative medical treatment, including 22 military and civilian personnel at Osan air base in South Korea.

But US officials said there was no threat posed to public health and no suspected cases of infection.

Last week, the Pentagon announced a 30-day investigation to get to the root of the problem and to examine protocols at all military labs handling anthrax. The probe is being led

by Frank Kendall, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics.

The inquiry will look at whether the irradiation process used to inactivate anthrax bacteria was inherently flawed or whether human error was to blame, officials said.

If a technical glitch is the cause, then other army labs could be implicated and the scope of the problem would extend beyond the Dugway Proving Ground facility, officials said.

by Luc OLINGA

N

rapidly deploy additional protections to cars in response to new and evolving attacks,” the report warns.

According to these experts, hackers penetrate the system through wireless connections.

MSi and Perrone Robotics, which are working on a system to counter cyber attacks, believe the situation poses “significant challenges and risks for the automotive industry, as well as to public safety.”

- Insurance premium reviews? Most of the carmakers gearing up their own autonomous car projects did not reply to update requests from AFP. But sources close to the industry say the chance of the system being hacked has been factored in throughout the manufacturing process.

Internet giant Google, for example, is believed to have a team of top programmers tasked with trying to hack into the software in their own selfdriving prototype car, which is expected to get on-road testing within the next few months.

Google declined to comment for this story.

US insurers are concerned about safety, and whether the new technologies can cut the risk of accidents happening.

This could force them to rethink their contracts and to recalculate premiums.

At first, premiums could rise because the price of self-driving cars will be high due to the cost of embedded technologies and repairs, insurer Nationwide told AFP. But this could be partially offset by the wider use of vehicles decked out with accidentpreventing technologies.

For State Farm, another US insurer, the big picture is what counts.

“As connected and automated vehicle technology reduces or eliminates some risks that drivers face today, new risks are likely to emerge. We are focused on the big picture -- how can we adapt to these changes and continue to deliver value to our customers,” the company said in an email to AFP.

VOICE OF ASIA 13

FRIDAY, June 5, 2015

Young Life

VOICE OF ASIA 14

Friday, June 5, 2015

Section 2

Page 14

Email: editor@voiceofasiaonline.com

FRIDAY, June 5, 2015

Tel: 713-774-5140

Summer Youth Camp 2015 at Radha Madhav Dham, Austin TX

R

adha Madhav Dham’s 2015 Summer Family Camp is approaching fast. More than 250 families from all over the country and even world, come to this idyllic and scenic ashram situated in the Hill Country of Austin Texas, to attend this family camp.

Many kids, instead of going to soccer camp, sleep-away camp, traveling or playing video games choose to come here sometimes forcing their parents to make this happen! What is so extraordinary about this camp that makes kids want to come back again and again to a camp organized by a temple?

Kids have more fun than they can imagine, an extraordinary kind of fun that they don’t expect – and, its not just because of activities organized at camp its because of everything they gain when they are here…. they never want to leave this place once they get here.

The two weeks spent at the camp gives youth a deeper sense of their own self, they understand their roots, their culture & heritage and start feeling a sense of pride and confidence in who they are, an Indian and a Hindu. It bonds them with the temple community since this place lets them be who they are

Join this Extraordinary Family Camp from June 27 to July 11, 2015

l Make lifelong friends with other children who share similar interests and create lifetime bonds so they can become your devotional support l Have their spiritual questions answered by the Camp’s experienced teachers so you can build an understanding of your Hindu heritage. l Build a relationship with God by learning simple, practical and easy ways to build a sweet devotional relationship with and come close to God “I’ve been going to family camp for a long time, and if there is one thing I know, it’s that it gets better with each year, you create connection with them that lasts a lifetime.

The bonds that are forged over the course of the camp are unlike anything else” says Vyasar a long time camp attendee who has this year chosen to take on the responsibility of running the camp and inspire other kids.

New friends are made and old friends reunite at the Summer Camp at Radha Madhav Dham every year.

Pracharak teaching in session.

- they don’t have to pretend, they can just be! They also have fun being together with so many other like-minded kids, the bonding among them becomes special… they recognize these kids as heir own brother and sisters they can count on in their lives which they know is not possible in the external world.

debate & logic, robotics, special projects

Your family too can immerse in learning about the wonders of Indian culture, heritage and spirituality by attending this extraordinary Hindu Family Camp at Radha Madhav Dham.

Families participate in the Family camp.

Adults participate in their own way, with people of their own ages in interactive sessions with preachers, workshopping the difficulties they have in raising children as Hindus in a Western world, challenges in understanding Hinduism or learning how to develop their own spiritual practice. They get an opportunity to do their

own electives - learning to play musical instruments, learning to chant and listening to spiritual discourses. The best part for them is that they don’t have to worry about taking care of their kids… they can spend the entire time on their own self learning, developing and having fun. It’s a preciously sweet time for everyone there… and

truly an inspiring thing to see.

There is an incredible community of devoted volunteers, teachers and staff who put together a truly memorable experience for children of all ages and in parallel for participating adults. Your family will have the opportunity to: l

Learn about Hindu-

ism through interactive discussions, debates & fun learning sessions. It will clarify your questions on Hinduism l Explore the wonders of Indian culture by participating in your choice of electives such as dance, music, harmonium, dholak, stage performances, prasad making, philosophy,

Just come and experience it for yourself.

Experience the joy of home at Radha Madhav Dham. Register today. Registration for the Camp is free.

Book your overnight accommodations by visiting www. radhamadhavdham.org or calling 512-288-7180.

US spelling bee ends in a tie -- again didly replied: “Me and Vanya are going to be champions.”

It was only the fifth time that the National Spelling Bee has ended in a tie since it began in 1925, when gladiolus was the winning word.

It was also the eighth year in the row that American youngsters of South Asian heritage have clinched the title -- a trend that Thursday appeared to provoke fewer racially-tinged posts on social media than last year.

Indeed, of the 10 finalists, seven were Indian American, and none was more closely watched than Shivashankar, from the littleknown Great Plains tech hub of Olathe, Kansas -- so much so that the bee featured her prominently

Speller Vanya Shivashankar (L) of Olathe, Kansas, and speller Gokul Venkatachalam (R) of St. Louis, Missouri, hold up the trophy after winning the 2015 Scripps National Spelling Bee May 28, 2015 in National Harbor, Maryland. AFP.com / Getty Images / Alex Wong

T

he world’s premier spelling bee ended in a tie in the US for a second year in a row after an intense 10-round showdown between two young contestants who tackled some of the English language’s most obscure words.

Vanya Shivashankar, 13, and Gokul Venkatachalam, 14, together hoisted the gold trophy amid a flurry of confetti after they clinched the 88th Scripps National Spelling Bee. Shivashankar, the sister of 2009 champion Kavya Shivashankar, initially oozed confidence as she breezed through such words as cytopoiesis, bouquetiere and tha-

makau.

Venkatachalam, a basketball fanatic sporting sharp Air Jordans, also tackled such tonguetwisters as poblacion, caudillismo and nixtamal with panache.

But as their eight fellow finalists stumbled one by one, the tension grew until they stood alone on stage at the Gaylord resort by the Potomac River outside Washington.

When Shivashankar, in the fourteenth round, correctly spelled scherenschnitte, the Germanderived word for artistic paper cutting, official bee pronouncer Jacques Bailly, broke the news to Venkatachalam.

The contest, Bailly said, was about to run out of words, and if

Venkatachalam spelled his next word correctly, he and his rival would be declared joint winners -- a repeat of last year’s surprise tie.

The winning word came so easily to the eighth-grader from the affluent St. Louis, Missouri suburb of Chesterfield that he skipped the bee contestant’s routine of asking for the word’s origin, meaning and usage in a sentence.

“N-u-n-a-t-a-k,” the devoted LeBron James fan said, spelling the Inuit-derived word for a glacial island as breezily as if he was spelling d-o-g or c-a-t.

Asked afterwards what went through his mind upon hearing the word, Venkatachalam can-

on the banner of its official Twitter feed.

It was her fifth time at the bee, where she tied for fifth place in 2013 and 13th place last year, and due to her age it would also be her last chance at spelling glory.

- “This is a dream come true.

I’ve wanted this for such a long time,” said the eighth-grader who lists eating pizza and playing the tuba and piano among her favorite pastimes.

She dedicated her victory to her grandmother, who died last October. “All she wanted was for her grandkids to do well,” she said. “I hope she’s happy with this.”

Coming in third was Cole Shafer-Ray, 14, an eighth-grader from

Norman, Oklahoma who fumbled in round four on acritarch, a word for small organic fossils.

Competing for the third year in a row, he came across as a poor sport when he ducked a consolation kiss from his mother and went all-in for the snack bowl -- all seen on live national television.

An American institution, the Scripps National Spelling Bee brought together 285 spellers from all over the United States as well as seven foreign countries.

They were the elite of the more than 11 million youngsters, typically aged nine through 15, who competed in local and regional spelling bees this past school year.

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VOICE OF ASIA 15

Friday, June 5, 2015

Bollywood Masala

Section 2

Page 15

Email: editor@voiceofasiaonline.com

FRIDAY, June 5, 2015

Tel: 713-774-5140

Irrfan Khan urges Hollywood to adopt Bollywood culture

by Udita Jhunjhunwala

M

Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan, pictured during a promotional event in Mumbai, in August 2014 (AFP Photo/-)

I feel very protective about Ranveer: Anushka Sharma Anushka Sharma, who will be seen opposite Ranveer Singh in “Dil Dhadakne Do” after a long time, feels protective about the actor.

By: Press Trust of India | New Delhi | Published on:June 2, 2015 9:04 pm Anushka Sharma, who will be seen opposite Ranveer Singh in “Dil Dhadakne Do” after a long time, feels protective about the actor as he made his debut opposite her in 2010 movie “Band Baaja Baarat”.

“Ranveer made his debut opposite me and I have always been very protective about him.

People say we share a good chemistry but I think more than the bond we share, it is about the characters we get to play,” said the “NH10″ star when asked about working with Ranveer after 2011 movie “Ladies vs Ricky Bahl”.

Most of the scenes in the movie were shot on a cruise and Ranveer said it was nothing less than a Holiday for the cast while director Zoya Akhtar worked hard. As the trailers suggest, “Dil Dhadakne Do”

As the trailers suggest, “Dil Dhadakne Do” revolves around a loud Punjabi family. (Source: Express Photo by Manoj Kumar). revolves around a loud Punjabi family. The entire cast including Anil Kapooor, Shefali Shah, Priyanka Chopra, Anushka Sharma, Ranveer Singh and Farhan Akhtar were very much in the mood to celebrate. Priyanka Chopra, 32, who tweeted

about her illness earlier in the day, sang the title track of the film along with Farhan Akhtar while Anil and Ranveer danced throughout the promotional event.

UMBAI, India - Indian movie star Irrfan Khan, lauded for his roles in “The Lunchbox” and “Life of Pi”, has urged Hollywood directors to adopt Bollywood’s love of flamboyant song-and-dance routines.

“Piku”, in which he has a supporting role as a taxi driver, has dominated Indian box offices since early May.

The ubiquitous actor, whose credits also include “The Amazing Spider-Man” and “The Darjeeling Limited”, told AFP that US blockbusters would benefit from a injection of musical hoopla, Indian style.

Khan has been involved in almost 90 films throughout his career, including “The Namesake”, and is presently shooting with Tom Hanks in Ron Howard’s adaptation of Dan Brown’s novel “Inferno”, due for release next year.

Khan, 48, is one of Bollywood’s most internationallyrecognised exports, carving a stellar career at home and in Hollywood where he has worked with Oscar-winning directors Danny Boyle and Ang Lee.

He thinks there are big differences between Bollywood and Hollywood, suggesting that one so-so movie in America can hamper an actor’s career, while in Mumbai you can still get by.

Ahead of the US release on June 12 of “Jurassic World”, Khan’s latest Hollywood film, the Rajasthan-born actor said the American movie industry could learn a lot from its Indian counterpart.

He will also star in actiondrama “Jazbaa” (Passion), which is scheduled for release in October.

“In India an actor with one hit in the bag can survive with PR and continue working in another four films, until he delivers his next hit,” says Khan.

the role was later cut.

- ‘Music was our originality’ Television and a few Hindi film roles followed but Khan was unable to land the romantic hero roles symptomatic of Bollywood movies because directors viewed him as not good-looking enough.

He has been often cast as the villain or a cop, and also played the Indian Macbeth in “Maqbool” and the ghost in the Hindi Hamlet, “Haider”.

Khan was almost ready to quit acting out of frustration with the way his career was progressing, but in 2001 he landed a part in British director Asif Kapadia’s awardingwinning film “The Warrior”.

He hasn’t looked back and now revels in the attention he receives.

“Social media activity and perception works more over here, but in Hollywood, you have to perform and deliver.

“I get a lot of importance and affection in the West,” he says.

“They appreciate the elements and layers you bring to the character. Even in India critics notice what you bring to a role,” Khan adds.

“The irony is that while it is a heavily marketing-based industry, you cannot survive there on the basis of marketing (alone),” he added.

He rues the fact that Indian films no longer always include songs as they did in the 1960s and ‘70s. “Music was (our) originality”, Khan says.

“Also they should imbibe our song-and-dance culture.

I think Hollywood could do wonders with it,” added the father-of-two.

While Khan -- often referred to as simply “Irrfan” by his fans -- is now feted the world over, it hasn’t always been plain sailing for the drama graduate.

However, he appreciates that recent hits such as Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire” and Lee’s “Life of Pi” have helped change the perception of Indian movies internationally.

Khan, who charmed global audiences as a lonely accountant who exchanges hidden letters with a neglected housewife in “The Lunchbox”, is currently hot property in both major film industries.

He worked in the Mumbai television industry for several years before landing a small part in filmmaker Mira Nair’s “Salaam Bombay” (1988), but his joy was short lived when

“Although “Slumdog” and “Pi” are not Indian films, they are perceived to be, and they are films that are engaging with audiences abroad,” says Khan.

“The informality and personal connections in Bollywood are nice,” Khan said during an interview in Mumbai. “Things are too compartmentalised in Hollywood, and the system can be rigid.

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VOICE OF ASIA 16

Friday, June 5, 2015

Section 2

Page 16

FRIDAY, June 5, 2015

Email: editor@voiceofasiaonline.com

US launches largest trial of precision medicine in cancer The project was described in broad strokes by President Barack Obama in his State of the Union address in January.

The promise of precision medicine is that it may someday lead to more effective treatments and shorter clinical trials for the some 200 different types of tumors known today.

The trial’s name is NCIMATCH: Molecular Analysis for Therapy Choice.

The United States launched the largest clinical trial of its kind Monday aimed at studying targeted therapies for cancer based on the genetic traits of tumors, a field known as precision medicine (AFP Photo/Joel Saget)

C

HICAGO, 6/1/2015 - The United States launched the largest clinical trial of its kind Monday aimed at studying targeted therapies for cancer based on the genetic traits of tumors, a field known as precision medicine.

The US National Cancer Institute plans to enroll about 1,000 patients beginning in July, experts said at the Ameri-

M

can Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago.

“This is the largest and most rigorous precision oncology trial in history,” said James Doroshow, deputy director of the National Cancer Institute, during a press conference at ASCO. Rather than treating cancer based on its location -- whether

breast, colon, lung or otherwise -- the approach consists of identifying the molecular anomalies of different cancers in order to determine the best treatments for each individual.

For example, a patient with lung cancer might be best treated with a medicine typically used for another kind of cancer, such as breast cancer, if the tumors share a similar mutation.

Researchers will refer to an arsenal of more than 20 different study drugs or drug combinations, “each targeting a specific gene mutation, in order to match each patient in the trial with a therapy that targets a molecular abnormality in their tumor,” said a statement from the NCI. Those eligible to enroll include adults 18 years or older with solid tumors or lymphomas that have advanced despite at least one form of standard therapy.

Subjects could also include people with tumors who have no standard treatment.

At least a quarter of those enrolled must be people with rare forms of cancer.

US policies to boost organ donations don’t work: study

IAMI - Government policies aimed at increasing the number of organ donors in the United States have fallen flat, and bolder steps are needed to fix an urgent public health crisis, researchers said Monday.

Each year, about 120,000 people are on the waiting list for an organ transplant, but fewer than 30,000 operations are performed and about 10,000 people either die or become too sick to receive a donation while they wait.

It is forbidden in the United States to pay people cash for their organs, but state programs aim to boost incentive by offering public education, allowing tax benefits in exchange for donations, making it easier for people to donate by not requiring the consent of their family at the time of donation, and offering paid leave to cover a person’s time off work needed in case of a living donation, such as a kidney.

The research in the Journal of

the American Medical Association (JAMA) Internal Medicine examined a series of state-led programs since the 1980s aimed at increasing the number of organ donations, amid a critical shortage in the organ supply.

From 1988 to 2010, the number of states passing at last one donation-related policy increased from seven to 50, the study found.

The problem is, the programs have not worked.

“First-person consent laws, donor registries, public education, paid leave and tax incentives were not associated with either donation rates or numbers of transplants,” said the study.

“Only revenue policies, where individuals can contribute to a protected state fund for donation promotion activities, were associated with a 5.3 percent increase in the number of transplants, which was equivalent to, on average, 15 additional transplants per state per year,” it said.

Government policies aimed at increasing the number of organ donors in the United States have fallen flat, and bolder steps are needed to fix an urgent public health crisis, researchers say (AFP Photo/Leon Neal).

The success of this type of incentive was small and varied from state to state, and researchers said more study is needed to determine what else would work better.

The study was led by Erika Martin of the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government and Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, University at Albany, State University of New York.

In an accompanying com-

mentary, Sally Satel of the Yale University School of Medicine urged bolder steps in the future.

“We believe it is time for disruptive innovation. By this concept, we mean compensating donors, not simply seeking to soften the financial ramification of donation,” she wrote.

“It is time to test incentives, to reward people who are willing to save the life of a stranger through donation.”

Tel: 713-774-5140

For Business Owners: Understand How Life Insurance Can Fund Buy-Sell Agreements

I

n previous articles, we’ve discussed life insurance to meet personal financial needs. However, life insurance can also be used in a variety of ways to help businesses meet their objectives.

Business life insurance refers to the use of life insurance to assist businesses and business owners to meet business financial needs. Life insurance can be used in many ways in the business environment, including these: • buy-sell agreements • key person insurance • executive bonus plans • split dollar plans • deferred compensation plans We will briefly consider some of these business life insurance uses.

Business owners use buysell agreements to provide for the continuation of the business in the event of the death of an owner. Because of a buy-sell agreement, one or more parties are generally obligated to purchase a decedent’s interest in the business.

Not surprisingly, making that required purchase means that the buying party must have the money to do it.

A life insurance policy used to fund a buy-sell agreement provides an immediate source of money for a surviving business partner, or the business itself, to buy the decedent’s business interest with no interruption in the business.

Two types of buy-sell agreements are used: crosspurchase plans and entity plans. A cross-purchase buysell agreement stipulates that any surviving business owners must purchase the portion of a business owned by a decedent and that the heirs must sell. (The term business owner when used in this discussion includes partners, co-stockholders in close corporations, and members in limited liability companies.)

Included in the agreement is the exact purchase price of the deceased person’s interest in the business or a specific formula for determining the purchase price. Similarly, an entity plan buy-sell agreement stipulates that the business must purchase the decedent’s business interest and the heirs must sell.

The agreement should also include a guaranteed method to ensure the money is avail-

Sudhir Mathuria Contact: Sudhir Mathuria Licensed Professional Health Life 360 6650 Southwest Freeway Houston TX 77074 713-771-2900 www.MyMedicarePlanning. com able when it is needed. Life insurance, which is the perfect method to guarantee that money is available, can be used with either of the two types of buy-sell agreements.

A cross-purchase plan is a type of buy-sell agreement in which each surviving business owner agrees to purchase a portion of the decedent’s business interest. Figure 2 shows a simple cross-purchase arrangement where each partner owns life insurance on the others. Normally, each business owner purchases a separate life insurance policy on every other business owner’s life for a sufficient amount to buy the designated portion of the business owner’s interest at the time of his or her death.

With respect to any life insurance, each business owner should be the applicant, owner, beneficiary, and premium payer of the life insurance policy on each of the other business owners. The triggering events are death, total disability, withdrawal from the business, or bankruptcy.

In businesses with a large number of owners, the number of life insurance policies required may be cumbersome. The formula for the required number of policies in a cross-purchase plan is n(n-1), where “n” equals the number of business owners. By plugging the numbers into the formula, it’s easy to see that a business with four owners would require 12 individual life insurance policies to fund its cross-purchase plan: [4 x (4-1) = 12].

To plan and purchase life insurance from any major company contact Sudhir Mathuria @ 713-771-2900.

Memorial Hermann Prevention and Recovery Center Honored with West Quality Improvement Award HOUSTON (May 28, 2015) – This month, the Memorial Hermann Prevention and Recovery Center (PaRC) was presented the James W. West, M.D. Quality Improvement Award in recognition of its Pain Recovery Program at the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP) 2015 Annual Leadership Conference.

This year marks Memorial Hermann PaRC’s second time to receive this prestigious recognition. PaRC also received the award in 2011 for its Performance Improvement Program.

Memorial Hermann PaRC’s Pain Recovery Program addresses the biological, psychological and social factors that contribute to chronic pain by teaching patients a variety of pain management techniques to improve their quality of life and achieve pain relief and management without reliance on addictive medications.

“The goal of the Pain Recovery Program is to enable chronic pain sufferers to manage their pain and to live a life without depending on addictive medications,” said Matt Feehery, Senior Vice President and CEO of Memorial Hermann PaRC. “Our staff puts forth tremendous efforts with every pa-

tient to work toward that goal.

We are honored to receive the James W. West, M.D. Quality Improvement Award.”

The Memorial Hermann PaRC staff identified a need in its patient community more than four years ago and began tailoring a program to simultaneously address patients’ chronic pain conditions and addiction problems. By integrating physical therapy and other pain-reducing therapies with its behavioral treatment program, the Pain Recovery Program has been able to help this patient group.

“This award exemplifies PaRC’s continued commitment to quality excellence,” said Keith Alexander, Senior Vice President and Regional President at Memorial Hermann.

“Accessible, quality chronic pain management alternatives directly impact patients and address the prescription drug abuse crisis facing the United States today.”

An estimated 116 million people suffer from chronic pain in the United States and painkillers are abused by 5.1 million users, more than any other prescription medication, according to the National Institute on

Drug Abuse (NIDA). Many of the Pain Recovery Program’s patients were introduced to prescription narcotics by virtue of their chronic pain ailment, according to Memorial Hermann PaRC. “Our patients are finding ways to live more meaningful lives and to incorporate effective pain management strategies without further reliance on addictive pain medications,” Feehery said. “For many patients and families, the improvement in their condition and the opportunity for a positively enhanced quality of life beyond treatment has been dramatic and life altering.”

Memorial Hermann PaRC found that 95 percent of patients treated in its Pain Recovery Program in the last two years reported long-term suffering (more than two years) and complications from chronic pain prior to treatment, including 43 percent who had endured chronic pain for 10 to15 years, or longer. All Pain Recovery Program participants were dependent on addictive prescription medications (68 percent) or alcohol and illicit drugs (32 percent). Approximately 65 percent of the Pain Recovery Program participants met their

pain management goals and 75 percent met their physical therapy goals despite many being

de-conditioned from years of physical inactivity. None of the participants experienced any of

the side effects caused by addictive narcotic medications while in the Pain Recovery Program.

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Business VOICE OF ASIA

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Page 17 Email: editor@voiceofasiaonline.com

Pinterest adds shopping with ‘Buyable pins’

FRIDAY, June 5, 2015

Tel: 713-774-5140

Instagram Announces Plans to Expand Advertising

by Vindu Goel and Sydney Ember (June 2, 2015 New York Times)

I

nstagram is cranking up its money machine, and that means a lot more ads in your photo feed.

Facebook, which bought Instagram in 2012, has kept the mobile photo-sharing service mostly free of advertising, allowing only a handful of big brands to put a few carefully drafted commercial messages on the service.

Pinterest CEO Ben Silbermann speaks at the company’s corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California on April 24, 2014. AFP/File Josh Edelson.

S

AN FRANCISCO Pinterest on Tuesday said it is diving into e-commerce with ‘pins’ that let people buy items they like at the popular online bulletinboard.

“Pinterest is already designed to work like a catalogue, so we wanted to find a way to weave buyable pins into the pages people already know,” co-founder and chief executive Ben Silbermann said during an event at the company’s headquarters in San Francisco.

available in Pinterest applications for Android powered devices or when it might go international.

“Buyable pins are a simple and secure way to buy the products you love right from inside Pinterest,” he said.

Apple Pay or credit cards will be the options for paying at Pinterest, which built the service in a partnership with Shopify.

Pinterest buy buttons will debut on iPhones and iPads in the United States later this month, according to Silbermann.

Pinterest announced in March that it had raised $367 million in new capital, pushing its valuation to $11 billion.

There was no timeline given for when buy buttons might be

The new funds will help fuel global expansion plans for the

“Believe me, we want to make sure that any pinner in the world can buy anything they want on Pinterest,” head of core products Jack Chou told AFP. “We wanted to start with a beautiful experience on iPhone and iPad; this is just a big first step.”

fast-growing social network which calls itself a “visual bookmarking tool.”

Pinterest has become one of the Internet’s hottest new websites, particularly among women, by giving people virtual bulletin boards that they can decorate with pictures showcasing interests in anything from food to sports, to fashion or travel.

Pinterest sells advertising in the form of “promoted pins,” but did not plan to charge fees to buyers or sellers using the coming buy buttons.

People interested in buying items they see posted at Pinterest are referred via links to outside websites.

Silbermann said the number of ‘pins’ at Pinterest has grown by 75 percent annually and now tops 50 billion.

But on Tuesday, the company announced plans to open the Instagram feed to all advertisers, from the local tattoo parlor to global food makers, later this year. Marketers will be able to target ads to the service’s 300 million users by interest, age, gender and other factors, just as they can on Facebook.

Instagram will also begin testing a type of ad that allows viewers to click on a link to buy a product or install an app that is advertised.

The commercialization of Instagram, while sure to disappoint some users, was probably inevitable. Major social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest have committed to keep their services free to users, and they have turned to advertising to pay the bills.

The expanded advertising options signal that Facebook is becoming serious about making money from Instagram, which has a younger audience than the main Facebook social network.

Instagram offered its first ads in November 2013, but since it has been subsidized by Facebook, it has had time to develop an ad strategy.

The advertising expansion has long been anticipated by marketers and investors, who see big money for Facebook and the brands in ads shown to Instagram’s users — a generally young, passionate group who share, like, click and comment on posts at a much higher rate than users of other services, including Facebook.

One Wall Street firm, RBC Capital Markets, has estimated that Instagram ads could bring in $1.3 billion to $2.1 billion in additional revenue to Facebook this year alone, depending on how quickly its new ad offerings are introduced.

Consumer brands and retailers have been particularly eager for an easy way to lead people who, for instance, like an Instagram photo of a pair of ballet flats, to a place where they could buy the shoes.

Right now, that experience is clumsy, especially on mobile phones, when users are forced to cut and paste a link into their browsers or search for the shoes on a retailer’s site.

“It’s not fun as a user and hard to track as a brand,” said Kfir Gavrieli, chief executive and co-founder of Tieks, a Los Angeles maker of foldable ballet flats that sells its wares entirely online. Mr. Gavrieli, whose company has about 400,000 Instagram followers, was briefed by Facebook on the coming changes and said he was eager to try the company’s new targeting and click-to-buy options.

Nevertheless, increased advertising could also turn off Instagram users. The service’s founder, Kevin Systrom, who still runs the service within Facebook, built it to be a place to relax and appreciate beautiful photos and videos posted by people and companies that users have chosen to follow. When Facebook bought Mr. Systrom’s company for $1 billion, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, said he wanted to preserve that experience.

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Filling the feed with unexpected ads from random companies could alter that.

“It’s not necessarily going to be the beautiful imagery that fans are used to, ” said Debra Aho Williamson, a principal analyst at eMarketer, who was briefed in advance about the company’s plans. She cited the infamous Facebook ads promoting belly-fat reduction as an example of “ugly” ads that could soon show up in Insta-

gram feeds.

Instagram insists that it is treading carefully to balance the desires of its advertisers and its users and does not want to appreciably change the user experience.

“Visual storytelling for brands has more resonance. People remember it more,” said James Quarles, Instagram’s global head of business and brand development. “But we want to make sure the ads they see are for things that matter to them.”

Instagram has roughly the same number of users as Twitter.

But Instagram has been much slower than Twitter and its own sister network, Facebook, in allowing ads on the service and building sophisticated targeting tools to help marketers reach potential customers.

Google has also been creative.

Last week, for example, it began public testing of a tool that allows people to buy products from within a YouTube video.

And Pinterest, another growing social network, said on Tuesday that it would allow sellers to add “buy” buttons on items they post to the site.

Instagram has “taken it in a very gradual way to maintain as much of the purity of the environment as they can,” said Brian Wieser, a media analyst with Pivotal Research.

Collectively, the expanded advertising options signal that Facebook is becoming serious about making money from Instagram, which has a younger audience than the main Facebook social network, whose core users are middle-age mothers.

“Who are brands obsessed with? High-income teens and people in their 20s,” said Scott Galloway, a New York University marketing professor and chairman of L2, a research firm that studies how consumer brands use social media. “Those people are leaving Facebook.

Where are they going? Instagram. Facebook has shored up its rear flank with this important cohort with Instagram.”

There is little doubt that Instagram is a powerful storytelling platform for marketers. But so far, most of them have not advertised on the service but instead have used it for more subtle forms of marketing.

The Oreo cookie brand, for example, just finished “Tiny Tasty World,” a campaign on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter that turns Oreos into miniature life scenes. In one, tiny people lounge on beach towels that rest on top of a golden Oreo in the sand. That post drew nearly 25,000 likes and more than 200 comments on Instagram.

“The visual style really resonates with people,” said Kerri McCarthy, a brand manager for Oreo North America.

So far, Oreo has only posted images on its Instagram ac-

count and has not paid for advertising, Ms. McCarthy said.

While that has been successful — since December, the size of Oreo’s audience has doubled to roughly half a million followers — paid advertising could further increase the brand’s reach.

That opportunity to reach people who are not yet fans but have the demographic traits that make them likely customers is part of Facebook’s appeal to advertisers.

And over the coming months, the company says, it will bring that targeting to Instagram, which could appeal even to brands with large numbers of followers.

GMC, the truck brand of General Motors, for example, uses such targeting to advertise on Facebook to potential truck buyers, a group it has identified through outside marketing data as well as Facebook’s data about its users.

By contrast, the automaker’s first Instagram ad, a panoramic experiment that made its debut last week, was sent to all American Instagram users ages 25 to 54.

“Instagram, at this point, doesn’t have the level of sophistication that Facebook has,” said Janet Keller, GMC’s marketing director. “Ideally, down the road we would have access to a lot more targeting and filtering.”

Mr. Quarles of Instagram was much more cautious about promising the other feature that advertisers really want: the ability to embed a link in a post so that interested viewers can click to buy a product or learn more.

Instagram will begin testing such “call to action” buttons soon, but only in ads and only in Spain, Mr. Quarles said.

“Our sense is that the time from being inspired to making that purchase is probably a longer one than a single session on Instagram,” he said.

Retailers would beg to differ.

Many of them already use third-party workarounds, such as Curalate’s Like2Buy tool, to allow fans to shop their Instagram feeds. Visitors to the Instagram pages of Target, Nordstrom, Forever 21, WilliamsSonoma and other retailers can click on a special link that the store posts in its account description that leads to a mirror image of its Instagram feed — but one where photos are clickable and link to product pages where a shopper can buy the items.

“We have a lot of marketers who post beautiful photographs, and it’s inspiring, and it causes people to want those products,” said Apu Gupta, chief executive of Curalate.

Instagram’s lack of product links has not only frustrated marketers, he said, “it’s frustrated consumers, too.”

HOROSCOPE

VOICE OF ASIA 18

FRIDAY, June 5, 2015

Your Horoscope for the Week of June 5, 2015 READ YOUR COMPLETE HOROSCOPE

by Hardik Vyas, Astrologer Cell : 832-298-9950

ONLINE WWW.VOICEOFASIAONLINE.COM

Aries (A,L,E) 21 March to 20 April

Libra (R,T) 23 Sept to 22 Oct

You feel strength from personal and professional relationships. You may need to reevaluate your priorities. Take some time out to do things with children. You may just find they really need more than you imagined. Try not to lose your patience, support will work better than criticism. Utilize your energy to organize, re-build & prepare for changes. Your personal magnetism will give you an edge. Be careful not to mislead others, be honest with your intentions.

Your universal appeal & your ability to make everyone in your presence, feel right at home. Use your creative talents to make changes in your domestic life. If you want to make long term plans, make sure you share them with those who will be affected.

They’ll appreciate your consideration. Ask direct questions if you have any doubts.

Give yourself some room to breathe. Don’t commit to too many new projects. Time limits will deter you from success. Focus on your priorities.

Scorpio (N,Y) 23 Oct to 21 Nov

Taurus (B,V,U) 21 April to 20 May Develop the sense of timing & luck. Communications & understanding will increase greatly. Plan outings with family or friends with fun filled conversation. Competition could help your team, especially if you approach it in a positive manner. The goal is not to beat the other person, but only to motivate one another. Utilize your ability to analyze data & you’ll be able to meet important deadlines. Your universal appeal will make you very popular & successful this week.

New doors of opportunity. Your charisma is strong and your personal magnetism is evident. People will vie for your time & attention. You may be invited to travel for business, pleasure. Long distance communication will bring you closer to your goals. You could use an objective opinion to see the situation more clearly. Ask your partner or a friend for their input. Relationships are the main event. Avoid difficulties, by being more open and honest, with your natural gentleness. Investigate new possibilities in matters of business & trade.

Sagittarius (BH,F,DH,TH) 22 Nov to 21 Dec

Gemini (K,CHH,GH) 21 May to 20 June You need, relaxation & personal safety. Your hectic pace needs to slow down to a more manageable level in order for you to focus yourself. Do your homework, look past the superficial. Once you’ve thought it out, speak your mind. Be fair to all concerned when negotiating or settling contracts, trading terms. Festive season is a good time to spend quality time with loved ones, but you must start planning your future. Your path will cross with someone who will show you simple ways to increase your potential income.

Don’t be afraid to take the steps necessary to feel happier with your life. An act of kindness or gesture of caring can melt the resistance and get you what you want. Unpredictable events may disrupt your progress greatly. Make plans, follow through & put your power behind your presence. Be careful not to burn yourself out. When dealing with peers, be yourself & you’ll draw energy from deep inside. Follow your basic instincts & you’ll do very well. Exercise your rights & don’t fear the unknown. Discovery will become your passion.

Capricorn (KH,J) 22 Dec to 20 Jan

Cancer (D,H) 21 June to 22 July The struggle of busy family & social commitments. An intense conversation could be important to you. Reevaluate your past, try to bring out your best qualities, set aside your insecurities. You may need to test your talent of diplomacy & tact, while balancing your emotions. Try not to hurt feelings but you cannot please everybody. You can get others to do things for you if you use your charm. Dealing with “wishy-washy” people may test your patience. Try to keep your workload to a normal level, no more long hours.

Some responsibilities and professional matters that may make you wonder whether you really want to continue on your current path. The information that you’ve been seeking for weeks may come to you now, but it still might not be entirely clear to you.

Pay careful attention in conversations where facts are handled carelessly. The clues lie between the words. Use your intuition to determine the truth. A person in authority may ask you an incriminating question.

Aquarius (G,S,SH) 21 Jan to 19 Feb

Leo (M) 23 July to 22 August Domestic changes that will improve your outlook. A careless remark could get you into trouble with a colleague, watch what you say. What you consider meaningless information can be very important to someone else. Compassionate friends could help you overcome your feeling of isolation. Positive emotions will promote healing, understanding. Your knowledge & good sense will help more than you expect. When you do something for yourself your energy flows more freely. Loved ones will lend much support.

Getting back on track and meeting your commitments. A mature friend will be able to help you. Thanks to a frank conversation, you get clearer about your responsibilities to the team. Your sense of self-esteem will rise as you realize just how talented you are. It’s not flash, however, that gets you where you want to go now. It’s solid, reliable work that earns respect, and possibly money. Of course, let’s not rule out the possibility of a fresh new idea!

Sometimes you can step into a situation and see it better than anyone else in the room.

Pisces (D,CH,Z) 20 Feb to 20 March

Virgo (P) 23 August to 22 September More communication & your ability to express your creative ideas. Whatever your religious beliefs are, you will feel a spiritually awakened, this week. You know it is impossible to accomplish anything, if you try to do it alone. Bring your leadership qualities to the surface & help organize your mutual efforts. Your ability to communicate effectively will help you implement new ideas, procedures. Pay close attention to detail & don’t put serious issues on the back-burner.

QR

You are ready, smile and openness to everyone may escape you now. Try to reduce your social & professional obligations. Get as much work done, alone, as you can. This is not a permanent hermit condition, just a little time of needed time off, time away from other human beings. You can love people, but you don’t need to be with them, all of the time.

You could reveal a secret, or someone else could spill the beans about you. In either case, discretion would be a wise course to take. There’s just one more secret that needs to come out, or one more piece of unpleasant business to finish before you’re back to feeling like your old self.

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