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FRIDAY, July 8, 2016 What Paul Ryan’s Latest Health Proposal Would Mean For Seniors Read on Page 16 or Call 832-806-1000 6776 Southwest Freeway Suite # 178 Houston TX 77074
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Muslims mark end of a Ramadan marred by deadly attacks
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EIRUT, Lebanon | AFP | Wednesday 7/6/2016 Millions of Muslims on Wednesday celebrated the festival at the end of the holy month of Ramadan, marked this year by a series of deadly jihadist attacks. The three-day Eid al-Fitr festival traditionally means family gatherings and the exchange of gifts and sweets after a month of fasting from dawn until dusk. But a wave of attacks in Muslim countries -- from Turkey and Bangladesh to Iraq and Saudi Arabia -have made this year’s Eid a sombre occasion. Tens of thousands of worshippers gathered for Eid prayers at Islam’s second-holiest site, the Prophet’s Mosque in the Saudi city of Medina, just two days after a suicide bombing that killed four security guards in a nearby carpark. Addressing the crowd, Sheikh Abdelbari al-Thabiti said the bombing was an “odious crime” carried out by “a group that no longer respects the rites of Allah or the sanctity of the Prophet’s Mosque.” In Baghdad, Eid was overshadowed by a massive suicide car bombing on Sunday that ripped through the Shiite-majority Karrada district and left at least 250 dead. On Wednesday Iraqis placed thou-
FILE -- In this Sunday July 3, 2016, file photo, Iraqi firefighters and civilians carry bodies of victims killed in a truck bomb at a commercial area in Karada neighborhood, Baghdad, Iraq. As millions of Muslims around the world celebrate the end of Ramadan, many are struggling to come to grips with what has been a particularly bloody month of attacks that killed more than 350 people and spread terror across continents. . (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed, File).
sands of candles along sidewalks and in the charred remains of a building at the site of the blast. Some prayed or read the Koran; others laid flowers and Iraqi flags or hugged and wept. If it were a normal Eid “people would be happy and this street would be open, and people would be walking on it,” Mohammed Al Sultan told AFP at the site of the bombing. “But this tragedy that happened to us, the young people who died... is this our Eid? Is it possible for it to be Eid in this way?” Across the border in war-torn Syria, the army said it would observe a 72-hour nationwide ceasefire coinciding with Eid. But one person was killed and another wounded Wednesday morning when artillery fire hit a rebel-controlled part of second city Aleppo, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Rebel forces fired back at regimeheld parts of the city with mortars, it said. “I had planned to visit family and friends, to bring my children out to play, but we decided to stay inside the house in case the shelling resumes,” said Ahmad Naseef, 30. Continued on Page 2
Divine Sri Rudram at Sri Meenakshi Temple Sunday, June 26th morning as their humble offering to Lord Shiva. Rudra Homam was performed followed by the Vasodhara and Purnahuthi. The priests then led a procession with the holy kalasams to the main temple. As a sign of the divine blessing of Lord Shiva, as the kalasams entered the main temple Rajagopuram, there was a brief sprinkle from the bright blue skies, a very heartwarming sign to the devotees that their prayers have been heard! An elaborate Abhishekam was performed for Lord Sundareswara that was witnessed by over 300 devotees
by M.K. Sriram
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EARLAND - Sri Meenakshi Temple conducted the 7th annual Sri Rudra Japam, Homam and Abhishekam, one of the premier events of the temple. It has created a tremendous enthusiasm and passion among those devotees who have spent countless hours in learning and practicing the chanting of this greatest of the great Veda mantram. The strength of the ritwiks (devotees/chanters) have grown from humble beginnings of about 11 to more than 50 now making the Houston community very proud. The event started on Saturday, June 25th at 4PM at the Ganesh Temple, with Vigneshwara puja, Punyahavachanam and Kalasa stapanam. This year was very special because of the powerful Mahanyasam mantram chanted before the main feature. By chanting Mahanyasam, the ritwiks invoked Lord Rudra in every part of their body. The 50+ ritwiks for the next 3 hours went on the intense chanting of Sri Rudram, eleven times, each time followed by an anuvakam of Chamakam. There were more than a 100 devotees who were held in a trance while the Vedic mantra was chanted in unison. The whole atmosphere was filled with the strength and power of Sri Rudram. The devotees and ritwiks continued with the chanting of this mantram on
The final Aarathi was conducted and this was followed by prasadam and lunch distribution. Many devotees brought a wide variety of prasadams lovingly prepared in their homes, so each and every one who gathered there had a sumptuous lunch. All in all, this was a most divine and blissful event that was well organized and conducted by the Religious Activities Committee and devotee volunteers. Priests Sri Kalyana Sundaram, Sri Balaji and Sri Parameshwaran were ably supported by the silpis and staff of the temple to make this a very fulfilling event. Many devotees and ritwiks were so thrilled by the event that they were asking how soon the event can be repeated. The event was coordinated by Sriram and Muthukumar.
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Sri Meenakshi Temple priests performing Homam and Abhishekam
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THE STORY OF MAHATMA GANDHI
The beginning of Gandhi’s Spartan life-style
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n 1906, an ordinance by the Transvaal government required all Indians — men women and children — to register themselves and obtain a personal certificate bearing their name and thumb impression. The Indians decided not to submit to this humiliating and insulting measure. They resolved to fight it. Gandhi saw here the need for passive resistance or satyagraha. He explained to the people his concept of satyagraha. First, he said, they must be prepared to observe absolute nonviolence. The authorities would take all measures to put down the agitation. They might use violence, arrest people and send them to jail, but all this must be faced without resistance “Merely disobeying the government’s laws will not be enough,” Gandhi told them. “You must have no hatred in your hearts and you must cast away all fear.” Now read on The Government ignored all Indian protests against the ordinance and it came into force. The Indians decided to disobey the provisions of the ‘Black Act.’ Hundreds of Indians were arrested, tried, and jailed. They all pleaded guilty and went to jail without putting up any defence. Gandhi too was imprisoned. Then one day he was taken out of prison and sent to Pretoria to see General Smuts “This movement you have started,” Smuts said, “must stop at once. It is not in me to dislike Indians, but they must obey the law.” “I would rather die than submit to this law,” Gandhi replied. “It is meant to humiliate the Indians.” After some argument, however, they reached a compromise. Gandhi promised to end the satyagraha if the act was repealed and the prisoners released. Smuts agreed to do this provided the Indians would register of their own accord. On this agreement,
Gandhi as a Satyagrahi in SouthAfrica ... he gave up his law practice, and vowed to dress like a poor laborer, to walk barefoot, and to have only one meal a day, till the injustices were abolished. they parted. Back in Johannesburg, Gandhi called a meeting of the Indians. “We must now register voluntarily to show that we do not intend to bring a single Indian to the Transvaal by fraud,” he said. “If we show our goodwill by prompt registration, General Smuts will see to it that the “Black Act” is repealed.” Most of the Indians agreed with Gandhi, but a Pathan named Mir Alam shouted at him: “It was you who told us that fingerprints were required only from criminals. It was you who said we must disobey the “Black Act.”
Continued from Page 1 “I hope things will calm down a bit during Eid, not for me but for my children.”
FRIDAY, July 8, 2016
Muslims mark end of a Ramadan......
- Eerie silence Many of the attacks throughout Ramadan were claimed by or blamed on the Islamic State group. Analysts fear that defeats in its Syrian and Iraqi strongholds are pushing the group to launch more attacks further afield. Turkish authorities said the group was responsible for an attack late last month at Istanbul’s Ataturk international airport which left 45 people dead. In Bangladesh on Wednesday, an eerie silence pervaded the diplomatic quarter of Dhaka five days after the IS-claimed killing of 20 hostages at a popular cafe. The run-up to Eid usually sees malls packed with shoppers. But on Wednesday many of the area’s popular restaurants and shopping centres remained closed. “Our guest numbers have gone down dramatically so the management took the decision to keep it shut for a while,” said Abdul Mazid, a guard at Meraki, a well-known restaurant. In Pakistan, thousands of worshippers attended Eid al-Fitr prayers at a mosque in Karachi. “At the moment the most important thing is brotherhood. We have to show solidarity and stand to eliminate sectarianism,” said worshipper Muhammad Ikhlaq. Hundreds also gathered at an open-air mosque in the Nigerian capital Lagos to pray. A seven-year insurgency by Islamist group Boko Haram in northeastern Nigeria has left at least 20,000 people dead and more than 2.6 million homeless. Shamy Noshy El-Shamy, an imam who led the prayers, condemned violence between Muslims, saying the Medina attack happened “because of lack of real knowledge about Islam.” “Real islam is not all these bombings, all these fightings. Islam is a religion of peace. Islam means peace,” he said. - Blocked roads About 150,000 people also attended morning prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in annexed east Jerusalem, according to the
Sri Lankan Muslims offer Eid al-Fitr prayers at the Galle Face Green in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, July 6, 2016. Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, during which devout Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) Islamic Waqf organisation which is responsible for the mosque compound, the third-holiest site in Islam. But movement restrictions prevented some Palestinians from visiting their families to mark the holiday. Israeli soldiers on Wednesday blocked vehicles from leaving the West Bank city of Hebron, under lockdown since July 2 after two Israelis were killed in Palestinian attacks nearby. Security measures were also tight in Egypt, where an IS affiliate based in the Sinai Peninsula has waged an insurgency that has killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers. In Cairo, thousands of families gathered for mass prayers and relaxed in public gardens and malls. “Eid is a relief from our small daily battles with the traffic jams and work stress,” said Heba Essam, 35, a businesswoman. Ahmed Mohamed, a web designer who recently became a father, said he hoped Eid would take Egyptians’ minds off their difficult economic situation.
“I will stay at home for family gatherings the whole three days to avoid any expenses,” he said.
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How does all that fit into your attitude today?” Early the next morning Gandhi, with his fellow satyagrahis, set out for the registration office. But on the way Mir Alam attacked him with a heavy stick. Gandhi fell down unconscious. Mir Alam and his associates went on beating him until he was rescued by some friends. When Gandhi recovered consciousness, he found himself on a couch in the house of an Englishman whom he hardly knew. Struggling to sit up, Gandhi said in a weak voice, “Do not blame Mir Alam, for he did not understand.” Then he insisted that a clerk from the registration office should come to take his thumb impression and make out his certificate. In this way Gandhi was duly registered. Many Indians followed Gandhi by registering voluntarily. But General Smuts did not repeal the “Black Act.” The Indians, disappointed at the Government’s attitude, demanded a return of their applications for voluntary registration. The Transvaal government did not budge. Gandhi, who had by then recovered from his injuries, gave an ultimatum: If the Black Act is not repealed before a fixed date, the certificates collected by the Indians will be burnt. When he found that the Government ignored this threat, Gandhi started another satyagraha movement. A big bonfire was lit and more than two thousand certificates were burnt. Many Indians openly crossed the border into the Transvaal, where their presence was illegal. Gandhi and many of his compatriots were imprisoned several times in the course of the agitation. When Gandhi came out of jail for the third time, the Indians held a meeting and decided to send a deputation to England to acquaint the British Govern-
ment with the real situation in South Africa. Gandhi and Seth Haji Habib were asked to go to London and present the grievances of the Indians. Accordingly they went, but the mission failed. They returned with grim determination to fight to the bitter end. Gandhi then made a big decision. He gave up his practice as a lawyer. He felt he could not go on earning his living by law when he was defying it. Hermann Kallenbach, a white farmer, was so impressed with the peaceful way of life at Phoenix that he offered Gandhi his own big farm near Johannesburg to start another colony. He suggested that all those who had lost their jobs and homes by their participation in the satyagraha could settle there. The new colony was established in 1910 and named “Tolstoy Farm” after the great Russian writer whom
Gandhi much admired. Here mines at Newcastle, in NaName on the Card:tal,________________ Indian workers went on people who were different in nationality, religion, and strike protesting against the colorCVV lived together like one repression. #: __________ Exp Date:_______ family. They worked hard The arrests, the deportation and shared the fruits ______________________ of their of passive resisters, and the Signature: labor. Gandhi spent much of untold sufferings of Indian his time at Tolstoy Farm. He families angered the people was engaged in teaching the of India. A large amount of children and in other con- money was collected for the structive activities. relief of the victims. Gandhi’s efforts to persuade Many satyagrahis were General Smuts to will change the 52beaten We mail issues and to your homeand or office flogged, attitude of the Government some were even killed. Gan8303 SW Freeway, Suite 350, Houston, TX 770 towards the Indians had dhi, who felt intensely the failed. Meanwhile, the strug- humiliation his people sufgle continued against the fered, took a triple vow of Black Act and the poll-tax. self-suffering. He decided to And now hundreds of Indian dress like a poor laborer, to women, including Kasturbai, walk barefoot, and to have joined the movement. only one meal a day, till the There had been a recent poll-tax and other injustices court decision in South Af- were abolished. rica holding that Indian marGandhi found the Governriages were not recognized ment relentless. There was by law. The women could no solution in sight. He had not brook this attack on fam- to take further measures. ily ties. They openly broke — To be continued. the law and were imprisoned in large numbers. In the coal
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Sri Meenakshi Temple Anniversary Celebrations Dr. Karl Vega joins Houston by Kamala Raghavan and M.K. Sriram ri Meenakshi Temple conducted the anniversary celebrations with an auspicious “Nava Kalasa” pooja followed by Homam, Purnahuthi, and simultaneous Abhishekam, Alankaram and Aarthi to all the deities in the main temple. The event provided a feast for the eyes and ears when the images were projected at all the monitors to provide darshan to every one of the 250+ devotees who attended the event. Devotees delighted by chanting the Sri Rudra Japam, Purusha Suktham and listening to the melodious music filled with “bhakti” by visiting and local musicians. It created a tremendous enthusiasm and passion among those devotees who braved the intense heat outside to delight in getting the divine blessing. The event started at 10:00 AM on Sunday July 3, 2016 with the 9 Kalasas situated majestically on decorated platforms at the center of the main temple to invoke the deities. The priests performed Vigneswara and Vishwaksena puja, Punyahavachanam and Kalasa stapanam. The devotees were deeply moved by the vedic mantras chanted in unison by the priests Sri Balaji, Sri Paramewaran, Sri Pawan Kumar, and Sri Sriman Narayana Charlu. The whole atmosphere was filled with the strength and power of the vedic mantras. An elaborate Abhishekam and Alankaram were performed for all the deities simultaneously. When the curtains opened for darshan when the devotees were held spellbound by the majestic forms of the deities. The final
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Sri Meenakshi Temple Deities richly adorned for the celebrations that highlighted Nava Kalasa pooja Homam, and Abhishekam. Aarthi was conducted and this was followed by Prasadam and lunch distribution. Many devotees offered a wide variety of prasadams lovingly prepared in their homes. All in all, this was a very uniquely divine event where pujas and abhishekams were conducted simultaneously to Lord Sundareswara, Goddess Meenakshi, Lord Venkateswara and Goddess Padmavathy, very well organized and conducted by the Religious Activities Committee (RAC) members and devotee volunteers. The members of the Corner Temple Renovation Project (CTRP) fund raising committee explained the scope and status of the project to the assembled devotees. A brief description of the “Kalasa pooja” from the website is giv-
en below for information of the devotees. Kalasa: A brass, mud, copper, or silver pot is filled with water. Mango leaves are placed in the mouth of the pot and a coconut is placed over it. A red or white thread is tied around its neck or sometimes all around it in an intricate diamond-shaped pattern. The pot may be decorated with designs. When the pot is filled with water or rice, it is known as purnakumbha representing the inert body which when filled with the divine life force gains the power to do all the wonderful things that makes life what it is. Purnakumbha literally means a “full Pot” (Purna = full, Kumbha = Pot), and it is a pot
full of water, with fresh leaves of the mango tree and a coconut (Sriphala) placed on the top. Purnam means completion and the significance is that the endeavor undertaken must be successfully completed. The Purnakumbha is considered a symbol of abundance and “source of life” in the Vedas. Purna-Kumbha is preeminently a Vedic motif, known from the time of Rig-Veda. The Purnakumbha is believed to be a symbol of auspiciousness embodying either Ganesha, remover of obstacles, or his mother Gauri, the goddess of household bounty or Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. During the Samudramanthan or great churning of the milky ocean by devas and asuras to get the divine nectar, Lord Vishnu appeared bearing the pot of nectar which blessed one with everlasting life. Thus the Kalasa also symbolizes immortality. The Kalasa (or Kalash) is used for creating seat for invoked deities during the puja. It is filled with water and topped with leaves of mango tree or betel vine to denote deity’s seat. The water inside the Kalasa keeps this seat pure till the ritual of Pranapratishta (invoking deity into an image, idol, coconut or betelnut). A coconut is set up on the mouth of the kalash after putting betel nut or coins in the water as a symbol of sacrifice. Five precious stones like pearl, diamond, emerald, blue sapphire, ruby and gold may also be added to the water of kalash, because the precious stones and gold have capacity to attract and emit the principles of five superior deities. Source: bharathkidilse.blogspot.com/2009/10/kalasha.html
Methodist Orthopedics & Sports Medicine staff S U G A R LAND – H o u s t o n Methodist Orthopedics & Sports Medicine at Sugar Land welcomes Karl Vega, M.D. to the group. Vega is fellowship trained in spinal surgery, specializing in cervical, thoracic and lum- Karl Vega, M.D., orthopedic spine surgeon bar pathology. a compassionate approach He is trained to patient care,” said Jeffrey in a wide-range of surgeries Wood, M.D., orthopedic spine designed to eliminate or resurgeon with Houston Methduce neck and back pain and odist Orthopedics & Sports help patients regain a high Medicine. “We are pleased to quality life, including cervical have him join our team and and lumbar fusion, microdisstrengthen our ability to serve cectomy, cervical and lumbar patients from Fort Bend and decompression, disc arthrosurrounding areas.” plasty and kyphoplasty. Vega earned his medical degree at the University of Puerto Rico Medical Science Campus in San Juan, where he also earned a post-doctoral degree in orthopedic surgery. He completed a spine orthopedic fellowship at the Texas Back Institute in Dallas and is fluent in English and Spanish. “Dr. Vega brings a strong background in the diagnosis and treatment of spine disorders and injuries as well as
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Security deposit can’t be used for “normal wear and tear” Q. I am moving out of my apartment. I know a landlord cannot deduct from a security deposit for “normal wear and tear.” What is normal wear and tear? Does the statute have a definition? A. I have been surprised by how many people have asked this same question. As you understand, generally under the Texas Security Deposit Law a landlord must return a tenant’s deposit or give written notice why it is not being returned within thirty days after the tenant moves out. The landlord may deduct from a security deposit for damage to the apartment, but may not deduct for “ordinary wear and tear.” The law, however, does not define this term. Therefore, it is left to courts and juries to determine what it means. In my opinion, ordinary wear and tear is the damage that occurs through regular, daily, intended use of the property. For example, tenants ordinarily walk on carpets and put small nail holes in the wall to hang pictures. Therefore, a landlord cannot deduct to clean carpets or fix small nail holes. The dirt and holes are “ordinary.” On the other hand, tenants do not ordinarily spill bottles of wine or punch large holes in a wall. That damage would not be ordinary wear and tear. The bottom line is that a landlord may not deduct from a security deposit for the damage that he should expect an ordi-
nary tenant to cause. Damage caused by negligence, carelessness, accidents, or abuse of the premises by the tenant or the tenant’s guests are not ordinary. Q. I was going to sue a contractor in justice court for doing faulty work. Before I had a chance to do anything, he filed suit against me for not paying the full amount. Do I still have the right to file my claim? A. You may still file your claim, but you do not file it as a separate lawsuit. You file what is called a “counterclaim” in the contractor’s lawsuit. The court then hears both claims and rules on them at the same time. Q. I brought my car in for repairs. When I picked it up they gave me a bill for $59. That afternoon they called and said they were sorry, they added wrong and it should have been $159. Do I owe the extra $100? It was their mistake, why should I owe the money? A. First, you seem to understand that the correct amount was $159. Without even discussing the law, you owe the $100 because that is the amount you owe and the value of what you received. Suppose that you gave them a $100 bill thinking it was a $10 bill and went back for your change? My guess is that you would be quite upset if they said, “you made a mistake so we get to keep your money.” This is also what the law says. Although there are situations where the law will not let someone correct their
mistake, this is not one of them. You did not rely on their mistake to your detriment, nor did you lose anything because of it. As far as I am concerned, your legal position is that you have paid $59 toward a debt of $159. Q. I have five brothers and sisters. Some of us are on better terms with our father than others. Our mother passed away last year and left everything to our father. I have been told that if my dad dies, the law requires my father’s estate be divided equally between all the children. Is this true? A. If your father dies without a will, his estate will be divided between all of his children. With a will, however, he has the right to dispose of his property any way he wants. For example, he can leave all of his property to his children in unequal shares, or can leave some of the children all the property and others none. In fact, the law does not require he leave any of his property to his children. The bottom line is that under Texas law, a person has the right to leave property to whomever he or she wants. The important thing is to have a will clearly spelling out how you want your property distributed after your death. Do you want to know more about your legal rights? Check out my website, www.peopleslawyer. net
Q: I wish to file for my permanent residence based on marriage to a US Citizen. I understand that I have to file separate applications for work permit and travel. How do I do this? A: Applicants for adjustment of status to permanent residence (or Green Card) may file together with their Form I-485 Application To Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, two other separate applications – one is for Employment Authorization under Form I-765 and the other is for Advance Parole under Form I-131. The Employment Authorization Document (EAD) will grant the holder authorization to work in the US. The Advance Parole (AP) allows the holder to return (via parole) to the United States after temporary foreign travel, in order to resume the processing of his or her adjustment of status application. Presently, U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issue the EAD and AP is a single card known as the combination card. Q: What are the Filing Fees to file the I-485, I-765 and I-131 together? A If you file Form I-485 to adjust your status as a permanent resident on or after July 30, 2007, no additional fees are required to file the application for employment authorization and the advance parole. You may file all three applications concurrently. For applicants aged between 14 and 78, the Filing and Biometrics Fee is $1070.00 For those 79 or older, the Filing Fee is $985.00. For minors under 14 and not filing with the I-485 of at last one parent, the fee is also $985.00. For those under 14 and filing with the I-85 of at least one parent, the filing fee is $635.00. For those filing as Refugees or on the basis of having been admitted to the US as a Refugee, no Filing Fee is required. Q: I already filed my application to adjust status under Form I-485. I did not know I could file the I-131 and I-765 together with my I-485. What do I do now? A: You may still file the I-131 and I-765 sepa-
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ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION AND ADVANCE PAROLE FOR ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS APPLICANTS. rately. When you file for the EAD and AP, make sure to include in the application a copy of your I-797C, Notice of Action receipt for the Form I-485 as evidence that you are a pending adjustment applicant and that you paid the Filing Fee for the Form I-485. As such, you will be exempt from having to pay any fees for the separate applications under Form I-131 and Form I-765. Note: If you had filed your Form I-485 prior to July 30th, 2007, then you must remember to pay the Filing Fees associated with the Forms I-131 and I-765 when you submit these applications. The filing fees are $360 and $380 respectively. Q: What is the validity period for the EAD and or AP? A: Typically, the card will be valid for either one or two years. USCIS has the discretion to decide on the duration of the card and may also issue one for a shorter validity period depending on the circumstances of each case and information regarding immigrant visa availability. Q: My EAD and AP card will be expiring in about 5 months. When do I apply for the renewal of these benefits and what is the filing fee? I am between the ages of 14 and 78 years old? A: Typically, to request for a renewal of your EAD and AP, you should apply up to 120 days prior to the expiration date of the EAD and or AP. This is because it usually takes USCIS up to 90 days to process and approve the applications. There is no filing fee for renewal of EAD and or AP provided you apply by using the paper filing process. Q: I lost my EAD / AP combination card. My adjustment of status application is pending and I did pay the $1070 Filing Fee to file my I-485, I-765 and I-131. How do I replace my lost card? A: You will need to apply for a replacement card not a renewal. The filing fee to pay for the I-765 will be $380.00 and the Filing Fees for the I-131 for Advance Parole is $360.00. Q: Does having the Advance Parole card guarantee that I will be allowed to reenter the United States? How do I use this card? A:
The Advance Parole
card authorizes parole, not admission to the United States. If you have Advance Parole, upon your arrival back to the US after foreign travel, you will need to present the card to the Customs and Border Protection officer at the port-of entry to request for parole. Just because you have Advance Parole does not guarantee that you will be paroled into the US. If you have been unlawfully present in the US for example, before you travel abroad and seek to return on parole, please consult with an immigration attorney for advice whether you may be denied parole because of grounds of inadmissibility. Q: I have H-1B status but have already filed for adjustment of status and have received the Advance Parole card. If I leave the US, which document do I have to use to enter back to the US – my H-1B visa or my Advance Parole document? A: If you enter the US using your Advance Parole document, you will be deemed to have lost your H-1B status. As such, it your H-1B is still valid, you may wish to use the H-1B visa instead unless there are some other reasons why using the visa would not be beneficial to you.
Disclaimer: Any advice provided in this article is general in nature and not intended to constitute legal advice for any specific case. Please consult with an immigration lawyer about the specific circumstances of your case.
My Bio Sharlene Sharmila Richards is a licensed Immigration lawyer practicing in Houston, Texas. She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. She was admitted to the New York State Bar in 2000 and is a member of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals and a member of the US Supreme Court. You may contact her at telephone number 713623-8088 or by email at srichardslaw@aol.com to schedule a free consultation to discuss your case.
VOICE OF ASIA 5
FRIDAY, July 8, 2016
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FRIDAY, July 8, 2016
TiE Houston Board of Directors 2016-2017
Houston Methodist Sugar Land Neurology Associates welcomes Rony Ninan, M.D.
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UGAR LAND — Houston Methodist Sugar Land Neurology Associates welcomes Rony Ninan, M.D., to the practice, effective July 11. Ninan joins the practice from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, where he served as assistant professor of neurology. He earned his medical degree at St. George’s University School of Medicine in Grenada, West Indies. Ninan completed his internship at Staten Island University Hospital in New York. He then completed a residency in neurology, along with a fellowship in neurophysiology, at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston where he served as chief resident of neurology from 2011-2012. Ninan is board certified in both neurology and neurophysiology. He joins Carisa Liew D.O., Eddie Patton Jr., M.D., Larry Tran, M.D. and Toby Yaltho, M.D. at Houston Methodist Sugar Land Neurology Associates. “We are pleased to have Dr. Ninan join the practice,� said Patton. “He is an exceptional physician who shares our patient-centric approach to care. He brings a strong background in academic and clinical medicine, and we know he will be an outstanding addition to our team.�
Rony Ninan, M.D., Neurologist
Houston Methodist Sugar Land Neurology Associates is located on the Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital campus at 16605 Southwest Freeway, Medical Office Building 3, Suite 600. To make an appointment with Rony Ninan M.D., or another physician at Houston Methodist Sugar Land Neurology Associates, visit houstonmethodist.org/appointments or call 281.494.6387. To learn more about Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital, please visit houstonmethodist.org/ sugarland, and visit our Facebook page at fb.com/methodistsugarland for the latest news, events and information.
L-R: Ravi Brahmbhatt, Shri Iyer, Roopa Gir, Shahid Javed, Karl Maier, Aruna Viswanathan, John Reale, Arun Pasrija, Michael Raspino. Missing in the picture: Atul Varadhachary & Sehar Javed
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iE Houston’s announced its Board of Directors for 20162017.
Through election process, the following eight (8) Charter Members have been elected to our Board of Directors. Final ballot was concluded by counting the names which appeared most frequently on voting ballots.
Incoming Directors are Arun Pasrija, Aruna Viswanathan (as Past President), Atul Varadhachary, Karl Maier, Michael Raspino, Ravi Brahmbhatt, Roopa Gir, Shahid Javed, Shri Iyer, and John Reale (Current President). “We look forward to their contributions to the Board and the efforts they will catalyze for our entire entrepre-
neurship community.� Their term begins immediately. In serving on the Board, they will help guide the organization as TiE develops its strategic plan for the coming year, then put-in-place an Advisory Board and Executive Committee who will assist in driving our organization forward.
Now you can read all Community articles online Visit: www. voiceofasiaonline.com
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UC Berkeley vigil honors student Tarishi killed in Dhaka café attack
B
ERKELEY (AP) — The University of California, Berkeley says one of its students is among the 20 people killed by militants in an attack at an upscale restaurant in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital.
An Idea Called America - A Tribute to Independence Day
The university said July 2 that sophomore Tarishi Jain, an Indian national, was in Dhaka for a summer internship that began in early June. UC Berkeley says Jain was working on e-commerce growth at Eastern Bank Limited in Dhaka in an internship that was arranged by UC Berkeley’s Center for Bangladesh Studies. The school says Jain’s father, Sanjeev Jain, is a textile merchant based in Dhaka. The 19-year-old graduated from the American International School in Dhaka and transferred to UC Berkeley in 2015. She planned to major in economics. UC Berkeley’s Center for Bangladesh Studies executive director Sanchita Saxena says Jain “was a smart and ambitious young woman with a big heart.’’ She adds, “We’re all very devastated to hear the news’’ of her passing. According to a U.C. Berkeley press report, Jain was active on the International Student Advisory Board, a group that provides guidance to and organizes events for international students. She also helped create a clothing line named EthiCal Apparel whose profits are reinvested to provide microloans to low-income people who lack access to banking services. “She was a very talented young lady with a passion to make a positive difference in the world. It is not just a loss for India or UC Berkeley, but a loss for the world,” said Sujit Chowdhury, a quality-management strategist whose donation launched UC Berkeley’s Center for Bangladesh Studies.
Tarishi Jain was among the 20 people killed in Dhaka attack.
Dhaka killer’s father says ‘sorry’ by Suvojit Bagchi
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.M. Imtiaz Khan Babul, a Bangladeshi politician from the ruling Awami League party, whose son was one of the suspected terrorists who stormed into a café in Dhaka last Friday and killed 20 visitors, including Indian student Tarishi Jain, on Tuesday offered an apology to the Jain family in Gurgaon.
“I pray that the almighty gives the family of Tarishi the strength to go through this traumatic time” “I am seeking pardon from the family members of Tarishi Jain,” said Mr. Khan , at beginning of a 10-minute telephonic conversation with The Hindu. “India has given our country so much from the time of Independence. Personally, I am benefited for my long association with the sports organisers of India and Bengal. Mamata Banerjee’s brother Ajit Banerjee, who is the President of Bengal Olympic Association, or other members [of the Association]
have shown so much respect… they are like family friends…,” said Mr. Khan. Shamed and shocked “And now I got to hear that my son has killed so many people, including Tarishi. I pray that the almighty gives the family the strength to go through this traumatic time. I am shamed and shocked.” He expressed his condolence to family members of all the victims. Mr. Khan, who is Deputy Secretary General of Bangladesh Olympic Association and the former sports secretary in the Dhaka unit of the Awami League, said his son, Rohan Ibne Imtiaz, was missing from December 30, when he and his wife were in Kolkata to visit doctors. “Soon after I cam back to Dhaka and went from pillar to post to find out my only son,” Mr. Khan said. “My son used to go to school till a few months ago with his mother, who teaches there, and come back with her,” he said. “How on earth can you guess that he is planning to train gun on others,” asks Mr. Khan,
FRIDAY, July 8, 2016
Chandra K. Mittal, B.S., M.S., Ph.D., FCP Professor, Biological & Biomedical Sciences, HCC, Houston
by Chandra K. Mittal
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his week as America celebrates the 240th Anniversary of its Independence from the British, it is perhaps worthwhile to ask what exactly do we celebrate and what is the actual meaning of America, not the geographical entity that bears its name but the “idea” that America indeed is as was conceived and formalized by the Founding Fathers on July the 4th in 1776 by way of Declaration of Independence. Human history, has proven that Founding of America was one of the most unique experiment in public governance by human society. It put individual, not the State, at the center of government’s purpose, source and focus for its existence. It granted freedom and individual rights to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness for all. It was perhaps this commitment to the centrality of individual in the governance that made Abraham Lincoln, the 16th US President state “…government of the people, by the people, for the people…” in his Gettysburg speech during the US Civil War. At the time of America’s birth, beliefs like freedom, individual rights, liberty, etc.
were alien to public governing philosophy in feudal and tyrannical systems. So, the principles for America’s Founding were a departure from the prior exploitative governing models which had existed for centuries. American Idea was indeed rooted in Founder’s firm faith that no human was born superior to rule the fellow human, and that every human was endowed with inalienable rights of freedom to determine his/her own destiny. Only such a system could enable humans to realize their full God-given potential. This is not to suggest that during its 240 years of existence, America’s sailing has been smooth without any headwinds or bumps along the way or that it has not faced its dark days of evil spirit in various forms. Indeed it has. It has had times when even its existence was threatened with disintegration of the Union in the 1800s. But the nobility and superiority of American Idea prevailed and US resorted to military action to crush the rebellion and seditious actions leading to the major Civil war costing US significantly in treasure and blood. There was also evil of slavery which America fought successfully and abolished it despite massive opposition from the vested interests. Similarly, many other political, religious and economic challenges in history have threatened the “idea of America” but none have succeeded. Despite these America has always managed to exhibit resilience to adapt, absorb and adjust to these challenges without compromising on its core values and principles. In fact, the American values that have enabled it to survive the adversities and triumph over evils, domestic and foreign. The genius of American system really lies in the institutions of its governance as mandated by its Constitu-
tion guaranteeing individual freedom. Human history has had many skeptics of American idea but none have proven right or survivable because of the moral inferiority of their governing approach. Today, as the world around us is embroiled in violence, human exploitation, subjugation, political conflicts, religious disputes, instability, hunger, disease, death and destruction, America’s Independence Day gives us all a pause to reflect on the uniqueness of America. It is the opportune time to take stock of America’s history and how the American idea has worked out in diverse times of peace, wars, economic booms and crises, political challenges, etc. over the 240 years period since its independence. Finally, it is the genius of American Idea that individual freedom and liberty are the real positive force for universal human good because of its moral superiority and compatibility with human nature. It is only through this Idea that humans can rid of their misery anywhere. History has proven that all governing ideas other than the American Idea are an aberration with limited life span. It is the American Idea has made the US the oldest continuous democracy in the world while others have failed on this score. On this 240th anniversary of Independence Day, America salutes its Founding fathers as it owes them tremendous debt of gratitude for their sacrifices, vision, foresightedness, wisdom and above all their acute sense of equal justice for all human beings. Chandra Mittal is Professor at Houston Community College, and Co-Founder of Indo-American Association, Houston. Contact at drckmittal@yahoo.com or follow on Twitter: @DrChandraMittal.
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FRIDAY, July 8, 2016
Vidushi Sindhu Balakrishnan’s recital enthralls the music lovers at Sri Meenakshi Temple
Left to right: Rajesh Salem ( mridangam), Sindhu Balakrishnan (vocal) Mahesh Iyer ( violin) by Chittoor Ramachandran
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EARLAND Sri Meenakshi Temple at Pearland (MTS) organized a great classical music recital listening opportunity on Saturday, June, 25, 2016. It was a special concert featuring Vidushi Sindhu Balakrishnan (Smt.Sindhu), a highly accomplished vocalist visiting from Ernakulam, Kerala. She had her training in classical music at Maharaja’s College for Women at Thiruvananthapuram and holds a master’s degree in music awarded by the University of Kerala. Houston’s well known Violinist Sri Mahesh Iyer and mridangist Sri Rajesh Salem were the accompanying performers. As a musician extensively trained under the guidance of several top ranking stalwarts, Smt. Sindhu has gained reputation both as a vocalist and as a classical dancer in innumerable prestigious stages all over India. The concert at MTS gave a glimpse of her prowess repeatedly commented by Indian press. The concert started with the vibrant Kalyani varnam (Vanajakshiro) capturing the attention
of the packed audience instantaneously. With excellent clarity in sahityam, especially the Sanskrit words, the musician maintained the perfect ambience to keep the audience’s attention. Ganesha Sthuthi (Sri Ganesha Saranam (composer Papanasham Sivan) in raga tilang indeed brought in a joyful enthusiasm in the audience. Smt. Sindhu’s wealth of knowledge in the unique singing style nurtured at the prestigious Swathi Thirunal College of Music in Thiruvanathapuram was obvious in every krithi she included in the well planned rendition. Especially the two major Devi krithis (Sudha mayi in raga Amrithavarshini composed by Harikeshanallur Muthiah Bhagavatar) and Maharaja Swathi Thirunal’s 5th Navarathri composition (Janani mamava in Bhairavi) were elaborated beautifully. The majestic bhairavi with predominant bhakthi bhavam in praise of Mother Goddess was sung in detail. Bhairavi alapana created a mystical pleasure in the auditorium. The violinist Sri Mahesh Iyer added much to the concert especially in the alapana of several ragas
in this concert. The mridangist Sri Rajesh Salem enhanced the concert elegantly. His classy Thani avarathanam (in misra chapu thalam) was delightful and praiseworthy. One of the unique attractive features of Smt. Sindhu’s concert we noticed was that she does not fill the concert with repetitive brigas. She deserves our special appreciation for the ‘soukhyam ‘she brings in. In the post thani avarthanam part of the concert, we felt as if she focused her mind and was absorbed totally into the meaning of the composition. It was particularly obvious in her rendition of Purandara Dasar krithi – ‘Jagadordharana’ (Kapi ragam,Vilamba kalam). The emotional feeling she could elicit was phenomenal. Similarly the Roudra bhavam in ‘Siva Shambho’ (Revathi) or the gambheera bhavam in ‘Anupama’ (Atana). Being a welltrained classical dancer, Smt. Sindhu could convey the message the great composers had in mind very effectively through music. The audience was fortunate to have the advantage of enjoying the beauty of the ragam and the meaning by listening to this talented artiste.
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FRIDAY, July 8, 2016
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FRIDAY, July 8, 2016
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Bangladeshi rich kids who grew up to be jihadists
D
HAKA, Bangladesh (AFP) - Well-educated and hailing from wealthy families, the gunmen who killed 20 hostages in a Bangladesh cafe defy the increasingly outdated stereotype of jihadists from poor backgrounds who have been radicalised in madrassas. Six young men were shot dead Saturday at the end of the all-night siege in a Dhaka cafe claimed by the Islamic State group. One may have been an innocent bystander, but among the remaining five are a graduate of Bangladesh’s leading private university, an 18-year-old student at an elite school and the son of a ruling party official. As jihadist groups such as IS focus their recruitment efforts on disenfranchised middle class youth, government efforts to eradicate extremism become ever more complicated. “They are all highly educated young men and from well-off families,” Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told AFP. Asked why they would have become jihadists, Khan said: “It has become a fashion.” While the Bangladesh government has continued to deny IS has a foothold in the country, the group claimed the attack and its associated news agency, Amaq, posted pictures of the five gunmen posing with weapons. Similarly in militancy-ravaged Pakistan, the government denies that the international jihadist network has a formal presence in the country. But a Pakistani security official recently told AFP that authorities had busted several IS recruitment cells focused on a similar affluent demographic. Taj Hashmi, a Bangladeshi who teaches security studies at the Austin Peay State University in the United States, pointed out that many of the Saudi hijackers behind the September 11 attacks were also from wealthy families. But he says that middle-class youth have been providing Islamist terror groups with footsoldiers since long before the emergence of IS. “Marginalised and angry people from
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This combination of pictures released by the Bangladesh branch of the Islamic State group (IS) shows five men, allegedly the gunmen who carried out the July 1 attack in Dhaka (AFP Photo/) the higher echelons of society have been swelling the ranks of Islamist terrorists for the last 30-odd years,” he said. Bangladeshi authorities have so far only released code names of the cafe assailants after interrogating a gunman who was captured alive, but they have released photos of their bloodied corpses. Friends of one confirmed his identity as 22-year-old Nibras Islam who had been studying at the Malaysian campus of Australia’s Monash University before going missing in January. A school friend remembered him as popular pupil. “He was a good athlete whom everyone admired,” the friend told AFP on condition of anonymity. After leaving school, Nibras went to North South University (NSU), a private university which came to prominence when one former student tried to bomb the Federal Reserve Bank in New York in 2012. - ‘Brainwashed’ In early 2013, seven NSU students hacked atheist blogger Ahmed Rajib
Haider to death, kickstarting a campaign of murders of secular activists. At their subsequent trial, prosecutors said the students had been radicalised through the Internet. Another of the cafe attackers was identified by multiple sources as Mir Saameh Mubasheer, who was due to sit his A-levels at Scholastica, an elite English language school, but disappeared in February. His father Mir Hayat Kabir told the Prothom Alo daily that he had feared his son, who was 18, had been brainwashed. “I felt in my heart that he was under someone’s spell. We were good parents yet they took him away from our home,” he said. Yet another of the attackers was identified as Rohan Imtiaz who also reportedly studied at Monash in Malaysia after leaving Scholastica where his mother teaches. His father, Imtiaz Khan Babul, is a former youth affairs secretary of the Dhaka wing of the ruling Awami League. He filed a missing person’s report for his son in January. Monash said it was aware of reports
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that some of the killers had studied in Malaysia but added in a statement that it “has not received, nor seen, any official confirmation” of the identities. Only one of the five attended a madrassa, the son of a labourer who has been named as Khairul Islam Payel. Some analysts attribute the rise in extremism in the South Asia region to the preachings of radical Sauditrained clerics in madrassas, religious seminaries that are often the only way for poorer families to give their children an education. But Mubashar Hasan, an expert on political Islam at Dhaka’s Liberal Arts University, described that narrative as misleading. “Many so-called experts of Bangla-
desh have been writing and blaming only madrassas for terrorism,” said Hasan. “Many foreign governments and agencies have spent millions in cash for projects on reforming and modernising madrassa education... What are (they) going to reform now? The liberal universities and English medium schools whose curriculums are embedded on Western enlightenment?”
LEISURE
VOICE OF ASIA 12
Men of letters: Thais master Scrabble without English by Sally Mairs
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Komol, the world Number Three, is one of several topranked Thais hoping to showcase their talents in the King’s Cup tournament, which kicked off in Bangkok on Thursday. While he claims to have memorised “more than 90 percent of the dictionary” in English, he can only tell you what a few of those words mean. “I memorise small words first, then big words later,” he explained in Thai, adding that he tries to spend at least half an hour each day hitting the books. With some 6,000 players set to attend, the King’s Cup is the globe’s biggest Scrabble competition and an indication of its wide popularity in Thailand.
The 5,600-mile (9,000-kilometer) FASTER Cable System is aimed at meeting the growing demand for broadband Internet connections between North America and Asia.
SCRABBLE. This picture taken on June 30, 2016 shows letters placed on a board during a game of Scrabble during the King’s Cup tournament - the globe’s biggest Scrabble competition - in Bangkok. Photo by Christophe Archambault/AFP of whom is a fluent English speaker -- is testament to what really drives victories in the top tier: an analytical mind. “At the highest level Scrabble is a math game. It’s like poker. It’s all about probabilities and managing a rack (of tiles),” said John Williams a former director of the US’s National Scrabble Association. “You don’t have to know the definitions,” he added.
The game is a favourite among schoolteachers who use it as a language-learning tool, and the kingdom is the only Asian country to field world champions, despite its notoriously low levels of English proficiency.
With players at the King’s Cup laying down words like “ZOOTY,” -- a synonym for flashy -- and “VUGS” -- a small rock cavity -- even native English speakers could be forgiven for failing to recognise their own language on the board.
Amnuay Ploysangngam, who founded Thailand’s first Scrabble association in the 80s and is credited with popularising the game, said today nearly three-quarters of schools have Scrabble clubs.
The world’s best Scrabble players commit up to 100,000 words to memory, a figure more than double the lexicon of an average English-speaking adult.
“We never expected that one day we would become world champions,” he told AFP. Yet the success of Komol and other elite Thai players -- none
New undersea cable will speed US-Japan connection WASHINGTON - An undersea cable backed by Google and Asian companies aimed at boosting trans-Pacific broadband was put into service on Thursday, the consortium announced.
ANGKOK, Thailand | AFP | Friday 7/1/2016 - Komol Panyasophonlert struggles to string an English sentence together, but the 31-year-old Thai computer programmer is still hoping to be crowned champion of the wordsmith’s favourite boardgame, Scrabble, this week.
“What makes (the Thais) extraordinary is they have no con-
text and are starting at a 40,000 word deficit,” said Williams. Despite the Thais’ home advantage, this year’s King’s Cup title is expected to go to Nigel Richards, the famously shy New Zealander who dominates the field and is considered the best player in the game’s history. The three-time world champion has won the King’s Cup 11 times and stunned the francophone world last July when he also won the French championship.
FRIDAY, July 8, 2016
“From the very beginning of the project, we repeatedly said to each other, ‘faster, Faster and FASTER,’ and at one point it became the project name, and today it becomes a real-
ity,” said a statement from Hiromitsu Todokoro, chairman of the FASTER management committee. Built by Japan’s NEC Corporation, the project was backed by China Mobile International, China Telecom Global, Global Transit, Google, KDDI and Singtel. Kenichi Yoneyama, project manager at NEC’s submarine network division, said, “This epoch-making cable will not only bring benefits to the United States and Japan, but to the entire Asia-Pacific region.”
The project was announced in 2014 with the cost estimated at $300 million. The cable lands in the US state of Oregon and two points in Japan, but also connects to hubs to boost connectivity to other locations in the United States and Asia.
Singtel vice president Ooi
As streaming booms, audio overtakes video in US
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EW YORK, (AFP) Americans have for the first time streamed more music on audio services such as Spotify than through videos, in a welcome shift for the industry, a study said Tuesday.
first six months of 2016, more than doubling from the same period last year, while video streams grew by a more modest 23 percent.
While some artists criticize Spotify in particular for its compensation level, the music industry says it earns far less from video sites.
Streaming overall expanded by 58 percent in the United States, the world’s largest music market, keeping up a breakneck rate of growth, it said.
Record labels have been campaigning to change US and European laws that protect video companies if users upload copyrighted material.
The shift toward audio streaming is particularly striking as YouTube alone has more than one billion users around the world.
YouTube’s owner Google rejects the criticism, saying it also has licensing agreements with record labels and checks for copyright through its Content ID technology.
He doesn’t speak the language and only spent nine weeks studying the official French Scrabble dictionary.
Streaming has been rapidly growing and offering a new source of revenue for the longbeleaguered music business, which has tried to steer fans to subscription audio sites and away from video behemoth YouTube.
Thailand’s Komol, who lost to Richards in the 2013 world championship, still remembers his favourite word from that match -- GAZUMPED -meaning “to swindle”.
Analytical firm BuzzAngle Music, in a mid-year report, reported 114 billion audio streams on sites such as Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal and Rhapsody in the first six months of the year.
Spotify, the largest streaming company, said it had 89 million active monthly users worldwide as of the end of 2015, of whom 28 million were paying for subscriptions.
Not that Komol will be using it much. “I already forget what it means,” he said.
The number topped the 95 billion video streams on YouTube, Dailymotion and other sites, marking the first period in which audio dominated, it said.
Streaming -- which allows unlimited, on-demand listening -- has been transforming the global music industry which in 2015 reported its first substantial revenue growth since the dawn of the internet age.
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Seng Keat said the new cable “provides continuous connectivity and sufficiently high capacity for cloud, video streaming, analytics and the Internet of Things, that will help spur innovation on both sides of the Pacific to stimulate the growth of the digital economy.”
Audio streams soared in the
The company has started its own YouTube Music streaming site for both video and audio as well as the subscription-tier YouTube Red video service. BuzzAngle said that Toronto rapper Drake’s “Views” was by far the biggest album in the first six months of the year, with Beyonce’s “Lemonade” a distant second followed by Adele’s “25,” which came out in late 2015.
HEALTH, SC & TECH
VOICE OF ASIA 13
Hundreds of US companies sell unapproved ‘stem cell treatments’ by Kerry SHERIDAN
stem cells.
undreds of companies across the United States are selling unapproved stem cell treatments directly to patients, raising concerns about safety and scams in a fast-growing industry, researchers said Thursday.
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Researchers compiled the list by searching online, saying their results “should serve as a baseline for future studies of US businesses engaged in direct-to-consumer advertising of purported stem cell interventions,� the report said.
At least 351 companies across the United States are marketing unapproved stem cell procedures at 570 individual clinics, their report in the journal Cell Stem Cell found.
“In almost every state now, people can go locally to get stem cell ‘treatments,’� said co-author Paul Knoepfler of the University of California, Davis, and Shriners Hospital For Children.
The clinics claimed to offer “stem cell interventions� for muscle and bone disorders, heart disease, problems with the immune system, injured spinal cords, cosmetic reasons and more.
Clinics advertising stem cell treatments are most common in California (113 clinics), Florida (104), and Texas (71). “This is a marketplace that is dramatically expanding before our eyes,� said co-author Leigh Turner, a bioethicist at the University of Minnesota.
Sixty-one percent of the stem cell procedures marketed involved fat-derived stem cell interventions, and 48 percent offered bone-marrow-based treatments. Only one company was found advertising embryonic
efficacious interventions or is there basically unapproved human experimentation taking place?� he added. “Brakes ought to exist in a marketplace like this, but where are the brakes? Where are the regulatory bodies? And how did this entire industry come into being in a country where stem cell-based interventions and the medical devices that produce them are supposed to be regulated by the FDA?� The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of stem cells for leukemia treatment -- commonly known as bone marrow transplants -- and some bone, skin and corneal diseases or injuries, according to the International Society for Stem Cell Research.
Such businesses have entered the marketplace routinely since 2009, he said.
“Other stem cell treatments, while promising, are still at very early experimental stages,� the society’s website says.
“Does that mean that people are getting access to safe and
The FDA will hold two meetings on the topic later this year,
Facebook to put friends, family ahead of media by Rob Lever
and “is concerned that the hope patients have for treatments not yet proven to be safe and effective may leave them vulnerable to unscrupulous providers of stem cell treatments that are illegal and potentially harmful,� the agency said in a statement.
acebook said Wednesday it would give friends and family more prominence on user feeds, a move that may hurt media outlets that rely on the network to draw readers.
It also urged consumers to “to learn all they can about the regulations covering any stem cell-based product they are considering� and has published a consumer update titled “FDA Warns About Stem Cell Claims.�
The social media giant said in a statement that the goal of the “news feed,� which appears when users log in, “is to show people the stories that are most relevant to them� and that its update “helps you see more posts from your friends and family.�
“Individuals considering stem cell therapy are urged to ask questions to ensure that the necessary FDA approval has been obtained,� the FDA said. Thursday’s study did not delve into potential harms caused by unapproved stem cell treatments. In January, a patient sued a stem cell clinic alleging damage to her eyes from fat stem cell injections in what Knoepfler said may be the first such lawsuit of its kind.
Apple will promote organ donations in Health app
S
AN FRANCISCO - Apple on Tuesday announced that the coming version of software for iPhones will include an easy way for people in the US to become organ donors. The California-based technology giant said that it collaborated with Donate Live America on a feature in an iPhone Health app that will let users sign up to donate eyes, organs or tissue after the release later this year of mobile operating system iOS 10 A simple process will enable iPhone user to sign up on a National Donate Life Registry managed by the nonprofit organization, according to Apple. “This is a huge step forward that will ultimately help save lives,� said Donate Life America chief executive David Fleming. In the US, an average of one
person an hour dies waiting for an organ transplant because demand far exceeds supply, according to Fleming. More than 120,000 people in the US are waiting for lifesaving transplants, and a new name is added to the list every 10 minutes, the nonprofit group said. “With the updated Health app, we’re providing education and awareness about organ donation and making it easier than ever to register,� Apple chief operating officer Jeff Williams said in a joint release. “It’s a simple process that takes just a few seconds.� Health app on iPhone provides an overview of health and fitness data all in one place. Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook offered part of his liver for
FRIDAY, July 8, 2016
vey last month found 66 percent of US Facebook users get at least some news on the platform.
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Global trends are similar. A survey across 26 countries by Oxford University’s Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism found 51 percent of respondents indicating they use social media for news, with 12 percent using it as their main news source. Facebook was by far the most important source, used by 44 percent in the total survey. Facebook engineering director Lars Backstrom said the update “may cause reach and referral traffic to decline for some pages,� but noted that one of the factors in prioritizing posts will be “sharing� by users.
The move comes after the world’s biggest social network came under scrutiny over allegations by a former contractor that it was suppressing some political viewpoints in its “trending topics.� Facebook said its review found no bias, but that it would take steps to reassure users about the neutrality of the platform.
- Worries for media -The latest tweak in the algorithm could thus impact news organizations that use Facebook and its 1.6 billion users to drive traffic and generate advertising revenues.
Its vice president Adam Mosseri said in a blog post that an updated algorithm that determines what users see would help people find information that matters to them.
“This is another step in the continued devaluation of large publisher followings on Facebook,� said Joshua Benton, director of the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard University.
“We are not in the business of picking which issues the world should read about,� he wrote.
Apple collaborated with Donate Live America on a feature in an iPhone Health app that will let users sign up to donate eyes, organs or tissue (AFP Photo/Gabrielle Lurie) a transplant to Steve Jobs before the company co-founder died, but the offer was rejected, according to a Jobs biographer.
The Apple co-founder later did receive a liver transplant in 2009. He died in October 2011 at age 56 after a long battle with cancer.
Immigration Law
“We are in the business of connecting people and ideas -and matching people with the stories they find most meaningful.
The shift is “likely to be a momentous one for news organizations that rely heavily on Facebook as a major source of referral traffic,� said Benjamin Mullin of the Poynter Institute in a blog post.
“Our integrity depends on being inclusive of all perspectives and viewpoints, and using ranking to connect people with the stories and sources they find the most meaningful and engaging.�
But Jay Rosen, a New York University journalism professor, said the change was positive because it offers some transparency and focuses on Facebook users themselves. “Your social graph comes first, not the public world,� Rosen said on his blog.
Even though Facebook has emphasized it does not want to be a media provider, surveys show it has become a key source of news, even if users are drawn to the network for other reasons.
The tweak means that Facebook is “committed to the personalization of News Feed as a kind of right that users have,� Rosen wrote.
A Pew Research Center sur-
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Young Life
VOICE OF ASIA 14
Section 2
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Chanel gives young pretenders a lesson in haute couture
NSLI Hindi scholarship recipient Abigail Partridge ederal government’s prestigious NSLI( National Security language Initiative) Hindi scholarship winner from Houston is Abigail Partridge. Abby is a sophomore at Awty International private school in Houston. Abby has learned Hindi from Arun Prakash. She is a straight ‘A’ student and has learned a lot of Hindi conversation, writing and reading in a very short time. She is planning to continue learning Hindi after coming back from India.
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ARIS - Chanel pulled the curtain back on its Paris haute couture show Tuesday to reveal the secret life of its studios, where a small army of tailors, embroiderers and plumers turn out some of the world’s most expensive clothes. Veteran designer Karl Lagerfeld transported 80 of his so-called “petites mains” (little hands), who can spend hundreds of hours on a single dress, onto the set of his catwalk show. With American actors Jessica Chastain, Will Smith and his daughter Willow looking on, seamstresses laboured over impossibly detailed creations while models walked between tailors’ dummies and bolts of silk and taffeta.
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by Fiachra GIBBONS
The message of this minutious recreation of Chanel’s famous rue Cambon ateliers was clear -- haute couture was timeless.
FRIDAY, July 8, 2016
Chanel Haute Couture collection by Karl Lagerfeld.. Credit: @ CHANEL
NSLI is a department of national security, department of defense and department of education program to promote the critical need languages in the United States. Abigail will be in Pune, India for six weeks and will stay with a Hindi speaking family. She will attend International school in the direction of iEARNIndia. She will also tour several places and will experience the rich culture of India. Arun Prakash, the well known and national award winning Hindi educator is starting an elementary Hindi and Hinduism for the 21st century learner class on Sat-
Abigail Partridge (left) with Arun Prakash urday, August the 6th, 2016 with the support of Shri SitaRam foundation and Kawya Manch Houston. Classes for this full year Hindi and Hinduism program will be held on every Saturday from 10 AM at
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plumed peacock dresses Lagerfeld sent down the runway, many in black and white, another echo of the Dior show. Karl Lagerfeld shooting the Fall-Winter #ChanelHauteCouture press kit. hip brand Vetements had attempted to steal the traditional houses’ thunder with their cheekily commercial show Sunday in which they recut existing designer and streetwear clothes, the “Kaiser” was reasserting that real couture was painstakingly handmade.
Lagerfeld insisted that couture was unique, mounting a spirited defence of its values.
Like Dior and Schiaparelli, who also grandstanded the “inimitable savoir faire” of their historic studios the day before,
- Brides wear the trousers -”It’s all about know-how, without that it’s a bit risky. Why is it (haute couture) so ex-
“If there wasn’t these women,” he said pointing to his staff bent over their Singer sewing machines, “haute couture would not exist,” he added.
pensive? You have to really see how it is done. It is truly artisanal, nothing is mass produced. I have nothing against fast fashion, but this is sometimes else entirely. “We are dealing with great luxury, and this is how it is done, just as it was 100 years ago,” he added. There was more than a whiff of Victoriana too about the
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There was also lots of the riffs on the classic Chanel box jacket and bolero -- often in the palest of pearl pinks -- before the showstopping finale of English model Edie Campbell as a bride who can both wear the trousers and have a froufrou train of pink plumes. “Next time I will have a bride who is over 40, and I will be put her in navy,” said the designer,
who even at 82 shows no signs of hanging up his starched collar. The black and white theme continued in French designer Stephane Rolland’s spectacular supervamp lily-like gowns. But the most soulful collection of the day came from the young creator Yacine Aouadi, who drew on the famous mosque-cathedral in the Spanish city of Cordoba for quietly beautiful dresses that “mixed cultures and religions”.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, the Italian house Brioni, famous for its fine men’s tailoring, showed off its new flashy gangster look of silk shirts, chinchilla coats and metal-edged briefcases masterminded by creative director Justin O’Shea. The Australian, who changed the Brioni logo to a gothic font and hired the death metal band Metallica for his first ad campaign, told reporters his clothes “should be pimp. It should be awesome.”
VOICE OF ASIA 15
Section 2
Bollywood Masala
Email: editor@voiceofasiaonline.com
Priyanka Chopra vouches for ‘Fair Start Campaign’
FRIDAY, July 8, 2016
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Ranbir, Katrina will together promote ‘’Jagga Jasoos’’
Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif .(Sampurn Pix) Mumbai, Jul 5 (PTI) Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor and actress Katrina Kaif will promote their much talked about movie “Jagga Jasoos” together.
Bollywood actress and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Priyanka Chopra meets a young student from a school in New Delhi at a ‘Fair Start Campaign’ event in New Delhi on July 5, 2016. UNICEF ‘Fair Start Campaign’ aims to aid in the early lives of underprivileged children. CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP EW DELHI, JULY 5 (IANS) - Actress Priyanka Chopra as a Unicef goodwill ambassador on Tuesday raised the pitch for a fair start for every child in the country -- from privileged ones to the less privileged.
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She launched a ‘Fair Start’ campaign, which aims to take the right to grow and prosper to one and all in the country. To this end, Unicef India unveiled a ‘Fair Start’ film that promotes a social media campaign focussing on persisting inequalities that large groups of children in India face, affecting their survival, growth and development. Dressed in a white shirt and long yellow skirt exuding easy breezy vibe, the actress, who was appointed a Unicef national ambassador in 2010, shared that the campaign in an attempt to start discussion for a better tomorrow. “I am on more planes than I am on land, but I would’nt have chosen to be anywhere else except here,” Priyanka said, hinting at her busy schedule which includes juggling between her life abroad and in India. The event was not only high on Priyanka’s star power, but also stayed true to the essence of the campaign. There were children from various schools present, and students and media from Haryana also became part of the event through video conferencing. Using nursery rhymes from “Ringa ringa roses”, “Jack and Jill”, “Twinkle, twinkle little star” to “Johny Johny, yes papa”, the film weaved a story of how the disparity and huge gap between the rich and the poor in the country is eating away the youth. It highlighted the gap, but also
showed the similarities that ties the children together. A 14-year-old girl, who shared the dais with Priyanka and Unicef representative in India Louis Georges Arsenault, shared her point of view, saying that “we need to connect to less privileged. When we connect to the less privileged, then I think we start caring of what they are going through. When we start to care, then we start to empower them.” The actress, who has garnered fame at the home turf and internationally, was floored by the confidence of the girl. “You remind me of me. I remember when I was 17 standing on the stage on Miss India and being asked big questions. It takes extra amount of bravery to share platform, to be able to bring your thoughts together. I am inspired by you. Thank you for doing it that hasn’t happened for a very long time,” Priyanka said.
Priyanka, who has extended her support to several social causes, believes in the initiative, but says it will take some time for the change to seep in. “We can’t bring a change. We cannot eradicate poverty, we can’t bridge the gap of the wealthy and the less privileged. Let’s not live in a delusional world. But we can work towards an opportunity, help someone.” “I believe in equality of gender, career, equality in opinion and equality all around. We can talk about it. People will write and that will make people think about it. It will start a discussion... boond boond se saagar banata hai (drops of water make an ocean).” As part of the campaign, a series of impactful films will give an insight into the lives of millions of children from various backgrounds, who are full of potential but less likely to grow up healthy and safe, less likely to attend school, less likely to learn and more likely to be married as children.
Sakshi Tanwar is a one take actress: Aamir Khan on his Dangal co-star Aamir Khan has heaped praise on his Dangal co-star Sakshi Tanwar. UMBAI | PTI | Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan has heaped praise on his Dangal co-star Sakshi Tanwar.
The 51-year-old star says the film’s director Nitesh Tiwari was impressed with Sakshi’s test following which she became a part of the project.
Sakshi essays the role of Aamir’s wife in the wrestling drama, which is slated to release on December 23.
“My mother watches television serials and she loves Sakshi. I told Nitesh (Tiwari) to try her (Sakshi for
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Gossip mills were abuzz that since Ranbir and Katrina have ended their long-term relationship, they will not promote the film together. On this, the film’s producer and MD and CEO of Disney India, Siddharth Roy Kapur told PTI, “They (Ranbir and Katrina) are complete professionals and they will do everything that it takes to promote ‘Jagga Jasoos’.” The final release date of the detective drama movie, helmed by Anurag
Basu, will be announced very soon. Initially, “Jagga Jasoos” was slated to hit screens sometime in October or November 2014, but due to prior commitments by its lead actors the film’s release date has been pushed. “We are in the last leg of shooting. Last few days of shoot is remaining. As soon as the shoot is over, we will announce the release date,” Siddharth said. Asked if the film would hit the screens next year, Siddharth maintained that the decision on the release date will be taken after the shoot is over.
the role of my wife in ‘Dangal’). Nitesh liked the test and that’s how she came on board. She is fantastic and unbelievable. She gives the best shot in just one take,” Aamir told reporters here. “She (Sakshi) is skilled, she feels the emotions while doing the scene. I found it rare in an actor. I was struggling and she was all OK. I was taking seven-eight takes and she used to do things in one take. She is such a joy to work with,” the “Dhoom 3” actor said. Sakshi has become a household name with her performances in daily soaps like “Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki”, “Bade Aache Lagte Hai”. The film features Fatima Shaikh as Geeta Phogat, Sanya Malhotra as Babita Kumari, daughters of wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat, essayed by Aamir. Zaira Wasim and Suhani Bhatnagar will play younger versions of the daughters. “It was outstanding working with all four girls. They were unbelievable. These girls are new but were effortless. I was amazed as I am (in the) industry for over 25 years. I am proud of them. These young actors are very focused and talented,” Aamir said. “They learnt wrestling and even get the dialect right. They pushed their
Sakshi Tanwar. limits. Suhani is little darling (and) we all love her. Zaira is very talented young girl. Sania is my favourite (and) my heart goes out to her. I connect more with her emotionally and Fatima is very talented. All four are talented,” he said. Meanwhile the “PK” star says in real life he encourages his daughter Ira. “Ira is interested in sports and painting. Both Reena and I and also Kiran encourage our kids to do what makes them happy and learn about things they are interested in,” he adds.
VOICE OF ASIA 16
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Tickling the brain can boost immunity: study by Marlowe HOOD
P
ARIS, | AFP | 7/4/2016 - Artificially stimulating the brain’s feel-good centre boosts immunity in mice in a way that could help explain the power of placebos, a study reported Monday. “Our findings indicate that activation of areas of the brain associated with positive expectations can affect how the body copes with diseases,” said senior author Asya Rolls, an assistant professor at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology’s Faculty of Medicine. The findings, reported in Nature Medicine, “might one day lead to the development of new drugs that utilise the brain’s potential to cure,” she said. It has long been known that the human brain’s reward system, which mediates pleasure, can be activated with a dummy pill devoid of any active ingredients -- known as a placebo -- if the person taking it thinks it’s real medicine. “But it was not clear whether this could impact physical well-being,” Rolls told AFP.
Nor did scientists know -- if, indeed, an immune response was strengthened -- exactly how the signal travelled through the body. Rolls and colleagues incubated immune cells from mice exposed to deadly E. coli bacteria after specific cells in the animals’ reward centre had been stimulated. These immune cells were at least twice as effective in killing bacteria than ordinary ones, they reported. In a second test, the scientists vaccinated different mice with the same immune cells. Thirty days later, the new set of rodents was likewise twice as likely to be able to fight off infection. - Food and sex The immune-boosting information emanated from a part of the brain called the ventral tegmental area, home to a reward system powered by the moodmodifying chemical dopamine. This area lights up in brain scans when a mouse -- or a human -- knows that a tasty meal, or a sexual encounter, is in the offing. From there, the study found, the
What Paul Ryan’s Latest Health Proposal Would Mean For Seniors
message is routed via the sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for snap responses in a crisis situation, until it triggers the bacteria-fighting immune response. Evolutionary pressures may play a key role in the observed association, the researchers speculated. “Feeding and sex expose one to bacteria,” explained Rolls said. “It would give one an evolutionary advantage if -- when the reward system is activated -- immunity is also boosted.” The next step will be mice experiments to find molecules -- potential drugs -- that could reproduce this cause-and-effect. “Maybe they could be used as new therapeutic targets,” Rolls said. The breakthrough was made possible thanks to a pair of new technologies, said the study’s other lead author, Shai Shen-Orr, also from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. One enables neurons to be switched on an off. The second gives scientists high-resolution profiles of hundreds of thousands of cells in the immune system.
IACAN hosts educational talk on Bone Marrow Transplant
T
he Indian American Cancer Network (IACAN) aims at educating the Indian community on prevention of cancer, various treatment modalities of cancer and the resources available in the community. One such educational event, “Everything you want to know about Bone Marrow Transplant” was presented on Sunday, June 26, 2016 at the India House. Dr.Uday Popat, Professor, Department of Stem cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center gave a very informative talk about bone marrow transplantation. Patients suffering from Acute Leukemia, Chronic leukemia, MDS, Lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, Multiple Myeloma, Aplastic anemia, Thalassemia can be helped with the bone marrow transplantation. Depending on the source of the stem cells, there are different kinds of transplantations: Bone marrow transplantation, Stem cell transplantation, Cord blood transplantation, Haploidentical stem cell transplantation, Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation. The donor and the recipient are matched for the six major Human Leucocyte antigens and since a total of 10,000 leucocyte antigens are involved in the transplantation, the closer the match between the donor and the recipient, the better the chance of acceptance by the recipient.
The selection of donors is a lengthy and time consuming process. It is very difficult to find a matching donor. Family members, especially siblings stand a better chance to be the best match. The donors are given medication to increase the productivity and mobilization of stem cells and the stem cells are harvested and used for infusion. The patient is first treated with high dose of radiation and or chemotherapy to suppress the immune system and then the donor’s stem cells are infused and the normal donor stem cells within the recipient body produce healthy blood cells so patient can recover. The success of transplantation depends on the severity of graft versus host and host versus graft reactions and great care and attention is given to minimize these reactions. At times, the patient’s own stem cells are harvested before the chemo or radiation therapy and the harvested stem cells are infused back. This procedure avoids the graft versus host reaction but has the risk of introducing the cancer cells back into the patient. Dr. Popat assured the audience that the donors do not have side effects other than some discomfort that lasts for a day or two. Dr. Popat presented this complicated topic in such a language, so every day folks can understand it. Thanks Dr. Popat. The IACAN board members appreciate your kindness. The next speaker Mrs. Gayatri Ka-
H
ouse Speaker Paul Ryan’s proposed blueprint for health reform would make major changes in medical care for seniors, raising out-of-pocket costs for some and shifting others from traditional Medicare coverage to commercial insurance. His plan, called A Better Way, would slowly raise the age of eligibility for Medicare and cap federal spending for the program, increasing subsidies for low-income seniors but raising out-of-pocket costs for higher-income retirees. It would make Medicare Advantage managed care plans more attractive. And, in a significant omission, it barely acknowledges the importance of longterm supports and services for older adults and younger people with disabilities and suggests few ways to improve such care. Ryan’s health plan is one piece of a multi-part package of policy reforms that he hopes House Republicans can campaign on in November. Some proposals dovetail with the party’s presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump, while others may conflict with his ideas. Here are five key ways the Ryan proposal would affect seniors:
poor, Donor Contact Representative, gave an eloquent talk about how the donors are registered. Any healthy person from the age of 18 to 44 can register. The registration process involves filling out a simple application and giving a tissue sample from the mouth using a cotton swab. Since finding a match is rare, the more people are registered, the better the chance for finding a match. She said that registering people is hard but the major hurdle is convincing them to go through marrow donation once they have been chosen as a donor. IACAN is working hard to register the people in our community. IACAN members visit various religious organizations to recruit people for bone marrow donation. The third speaker is Mr. Bhakta, a dedicated father of a child who got a bone marrow donation and is doing great. Because of a kind, humanitarian donor, the child is able to enjoy all the things a young boy would in his life. His story touched everyone and inspired us to do more for this worthy cause. The question and answer session went well. IACAN requests all our community members to come forward to register for bone marrow donation and thus save a life. Contact information for IACAN; Iacannetwork@gmail.com, www. Iacannetwork.org, Phone; 713 370 3489
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Medicare eligibility age: Ryan would gradually increase the eligibility age for Medicare from 65 to nearly 67 starting in 2020. That would require those 65 to 67 to purchase commercial insurance. Like other consumers, they’d receive new tax credits to help subsidize the cost, though the blueprint does not specify the size of those credits. In addition, the proposal would allow insurers to charge relatively higher premiums to older consumers than they can under the Affordable Care Act. Medicare Premium Support: As he has proposed many times in the past, Ryan is backing a plan that would effectively provide a fixed dollar subsidy that seniors would use to purchase Medicare insurance. That’s in contrast to today’s model, where Medicare pays a percentage of the cost, whatever it is. Such a plan would effectively shift the risk of health care cost increases from taxpayer to seniors. The idea has some bipartisan support, but the details matter. The biggest: How would the subsidy be calculated and by how much would it increase each year. The blueprint released today was largely silent on those issues. Medicare Advantage: These privately-run managed care plans initially received generous subsidies that have been scaled back by the Obama Administration. Still, about one-third of new Medicare enrollees are choosing MA plans rather than
Sudhir Mathuria Contact: Sudhir Mathuria Licensed Professional Health Life 360 6776 Southwest Freeway, Suite # 178, Houston TX 77074 713-771-2900 www.MyMedicarePlanning.com traditional fee-for-service coverage. Ryan would increase those subsidies and allow MA plans to create their own packages of services and benefits instead of offering identical coverage. Medigap: Tapping another idea with some bipartisan support, Ryan would limit the ability of Medicare Supplement (Medigap) plans to offer first-dollar insurance coverage. The idea: If consumers must pay some costs out-of-pocket, they’ll be more careful buyers of care. LTSS: Perhaps the most disappointing piece of the Ryan plan is what it did not discuss. While the report acknowledges the high cost of Medicaid’s long-term care benefits, it says little about what it would do about it. In general, the plan would cap the federal contribution to the joint state/federal program, and give states more flexibility in how they’d design Medicaid benefits. But the report says little about how those changes would apply to seniors or young people with disabilities, and a cap could put some Medicaid LTSS programs at risk. The blueprint says nothing about new mechanisms to finance longterm care outside of Medicaid. Ryan’s proposal is mostly a collection of old GOP ideas that have gone nowhere. Whether it gives Republican candidates a talking point beyond “repeal Obamacare” remains to be seen. But it is little more than a starting point for negotiations should lawmakers want to talk about ways to improve the Affordable Care Act in 2017. For Medicare planning to choose right plan contact Sudhir Mathuria @ 713-771-2900.
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Team USIIC at Select USA 2016 Tesla hits speed bumps in
race to conquer auto market
A Tesla Driver Using The Autopilot Feature Was Killed In A Crash by Luc OLINGA 17 member trade and investment delegation from Gujarat, India to USA from 18th to 23rd June 2016.
W
ASHINGTON, DC - India Importers Council (USIIC) was part of the recently concluded Select USA Investment Summit. The summit was addressed by US President Barack Obama. The 17 member strong trade and investment delegation from Gujarat to USA from 18th to 23rd June 2016 was headed by USIIC Vice Chairman, Mr. Jagat Shah. The delegation was in Washington D.C. from 18th to 21st June, New York on 22ndJune and New Jersey on 23rd June to attend the Summit and meet with top governmental and business delegation to promote technology transfer, joint ventures, investment, franchising and trade between USA and India, which is the basic genesis of USIIC. USIIC is headquartered in Mumbai with Chapters in New Jersey, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad. “The investment exhibition and summit is the highest-profile event that promotes foreign direct investment and trade in the United States. It provides an unparalleled opportunity to bring together companies from all over the world, economic development organizations from every corner of the nation, others working to facilitate trade and investment in the United States, and highlevel government officials. The sectors represented by the USIIC delegation were from infrastructure, mining, logistics, agri business, plastics and rubber, industrial and medical gases, pharmaceuticals, automotive, food processing, jewellery, water tanks, PVC doors, moulded furniture, textiles, PCB manufacturing, information technology, digital technologies, financial services, management consulting and IPR services. Highlights of the delegation: • 2400 participants from 70 countries. Largest delegation was from India • President Obama in his speech at SelectUSA acknowledged an Indian company from Surat : He mentioned about the Surat based agricultural tech
company, which participated in the SelectUSA program and has established its HQ in Missouri USA within a year. The company referred in this speech is BlueOrb Solutions LLC(BOSs)/Lacgene (Global Head Quarter) • MOU signed by USIIC with Asia North America business council (ANABC) at Washington DC (on 21st June 2016) for exchange of business information & trade and investment delegation exchange between USA & India. Will also work on best practices in skill development. • Meeting with President of USIBC - United States India Business Council & discussed ideas & steps to work together in synergy to build stronger trade, investment & security relations between India & USA. • USIIC delegation with Minister (commerce) at Embassy of India in Washington DC. All delegates explained their businesses & expectations from Embassy and the embassy extended full support in info & networking contacts to make them successful in USA. • Our USIIC business delegation had a great interaction on intelligent transport, smart cities, disaster management system, homeland security, 911-112, waste to energy project, Air Force & defense offsets business opportunities with businesses at OST Inc. in Washington. A few of those projects will be taken forward by our delegate companies for implementation in India. • Delegation had an interactive session with Mr. VinaiThummalapalli, US Department of Commerce. He praised the work of USIIC & appreciated that it was largest delegation to the summit. • USIIC Delegation meet top level panel discussing innovation. Economic advisor to president, ABB president, TEVA Pharma MD, MD Lockheed Martin, MD McKinsey & co. • Meeting with Mr. Rick Rossow, Wadhwani Chair in U.S. India Policy Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) for an
exhilarating discussion of USA - India business, trade & investment interests. The delegation was glad that the areas of conflict & cooperation are well understood and accepted by both sides. Both countries should work to resolve the conflicts by trust building through give & take and build stronger foundations on areas of co-operation. American small & medium enterprises - SME’s needs to start looking at India. USIIC business delegation from had a great interaction on intelligent transport, smart cities, disaster management system, homeland security, 911-112, waste to energy project, Air Force & defence offsets business opportunities with businesses at OST Inc. in Washington. A few of those projects will be taken Forward by our delegate companies for implementation in India. MOU signed by USIIC with Asia North America business council ( ANABC ) at Washington DC today for exchange of business information & trade and investment delegation exchange between USA & India. Will also work on best practices in skill development. Had a Fruitful meeting with President of USIBC - United States India Business Council & discussed ideas & steps to work together in synergy to build stronger trade, investment & security relations between India & USA. Excellent meeting of USIIC delegation with Minister ( commerce ) at Embassy of India in Washington DC. All delegates explained their businesses & expectations from Embassy and the embassy extended full support in info & networking contacts to make them successful in USA. Attended the USIBC evening reception hosted by baker & Mckenzie where President of USIBC, Ambassador of India to USA, Assistant Secretary of State of US department of commerce, USCS officials from India & 100+ companies exchanged business introductions for next steps.
Gold hits two-year high
L
ondon, | AFP | 7/6/2016 - The price of gold on Wednesday reached peaks last seen more than two years ago as investors fled to the safety of the precious metal after Britain voted to leave the EU. Gold rose to $1,375.45 per ounce in mid-session trading, its highest level since March 17, 2014. “Gold is once again to the fore,” said David Govett, Head of Precious Metals at Marex Spectron. The shock result of the June 23 referendum, followed by political infighting in Britain, has pushed the pound to record lows and depressed stock markets. “As our glorious leaders (in the UK) continue to muck around and bicker with each other, sterling is sliding ever lower. This is impacting on the
Photo by REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri. euro and various other markets and generally contributing to an atmosphere of worry and uncertainty,” he added. A breach of the key $1,400 level will become a distinct possibility, Govett said, “if the UK continues to talk itself down and drags others into the quagmire”. Fresh money flowing into
the gold market came mostly from equity markets, which were falling again Wednesday, but also from bond markets, themselves refuge investments, where yields have been testing record lows, Comerzbank analysts noted. Silver also boasted a twoyear high Wednesday, reaching $21.14 per ounce, a level last seen on July 18, 2014.
N
EW YORK, | AFP | 7/6/2016 - Tesla Motors’ goal of shaking up the automobile industry has hit a fresh speed bump as disappointing car production suggests a longer wait before it reaches profitability. Already facing questions over a fatal crash involving its selfdriving system and a controversial proposed merger with ailing solar power firm SolarCity, Tesla has now slashed its 2016 delivery targets after secondquarter output lagged behind expectations. Tesla delivered just 14,370 vehicles in the second quarter, below the 17,000 originally forecast, according to figures released over the weekend. As a result, Tesla trimmed its full-year delivery forecasts to
US trade deficit grows to $41.1 bn in May
W
ASHINGTON, | AFP | Wednesday 7/6/2016 - The US trade deficit grew more than expected in May as imports jumped and exports fell, and the gap with China widened sharply, government data released Wednesday showed. The country’s chronically deficit trade balance with the rest of the world climbed 10.1 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted $41.1 billion. Analysts had expected a smaller 7.0 percent rise from April.
79,000 from the prior range of 80,000 to 90,000.
deploying self-driving mechanisms before they are ready.
The revised targets further cloud the record of Tesla and its founder Elon Musk, who has vowed to remake America’s roads by mainstreaming the electric cars.
“My concern is that this was an avoidable accident,” said Mary Cummings, who heads the Humans and Autonomy Laboratory at Duke University. “My concern is that this will set the industry back.”
Earlier this year, Musk announced an ambitious goal of producing 500,000 electric cars a year by 2018, which would take in from being a niche producer of luxury sedans to a mainstream competitor in the auto industry. Tesla shares dropped 1.2 percent Tuesday to $213.98. “While we are modestly disappointed by the number, we are not shocked,” said a note from Deutsche Bank. “This is not the first time Tesla has missed an aggressive target.” Deutsche Bank had projected that Tesla would generate a modest profit in 2016. But it now sees another loss following the disappointing deliveries. “We are not sure whether Tesla has overcome production challenges,” Deutsche said. - Questions over fatal crash -The weak figures come on the heels of news last week that US auto safety regulators opened a preliminary investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot self-driving technology after a fatal crash in Florida involving a Model S. Preliminary reports indicated that the crash happened when a tractor-trailer made a left turn in front of the Tesla at an intersection. Tesla said neither the driver nor the self-drive system noticed the truck and the vehicle ran under the truck, killing the Tesla driver. Some auto experts said the accident showed Tesla was
Tesla maintains that Autopilot has been extensively tested and improved as problems have been addressed. The Florida accident is the first known fatality in over 130 million miles driven, it said, whereas among all vehicles, there is a known fatality every 94 million miles. Tesla has also encountered criticism over a proposed $2.7 billion acquisition of SolarCity, renewable energy company in which Musk has a large stake. The deal, which would unify two companies that together lost $1.6 billion in 2015, has raised questions about conflict of interest because of the involvement of Musk in both companies. Tesla has said the deal would make Tesla -- bringing together electric cars, rechargeable battery technology, and solar installation -- a leader across all clean energy. Despite the hits, some analysts are still betting on Tesla and Musk, who is promising success with the launch next year of the Model 3 electric car, which is priced towards the middle market. “Our investment thesis remains intact,” said Trip Chowdhry of Global Equities Research. “Tesla is creating a new industry.” As electric car costs decline, “we continue to believe Tesla has the potential to disrupt the auto industry,” Deutsche Bank said.
HOROSCOPE
VOICE OF ASIA 18
FRIDAY, July 8, 2016
Your Horoscope for the Week of July 8, 2016 READ YOUR COMPLETE HOROSCOPE
by Hardik Vyas, Astrologer Cell : 832-298-9950
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Libra (R,T) 23 Sept to 22 Oct
Aries (A,L,E) 21 March to 20 April You may have be the one to take the bull by the horns and make it done. It is highly possible that the reunion will prove something to you; you belong together, in every way. A sudden inspiration may hit. It may have to do with furthering your education levels. There is no question that information is power these days. If you feel stuck on your rung of the ladder, a course or a second degree could help you climb much faster.
Your overall financial situation, as well as your long-term goals are visible now. You’ve got plenty of things you would like to do, but it is vital to be selective. If you attempt them all, you will scatter your forces. Take it one day at a time. Your relationships should move forward into a more promising territory. You may want to take time to look at & appreciate others intentions. Excellent time to institute reforms and possibly even small cutbacks.
Scorpio (N,Y) 23 Oct to 21 Nov
Taurus (B,V,U) 21 April to 20 May You could have the greatest time, with or without that crowd of people you always love to have around you. For best results, make it just the for you. You can be a star and a standout at work. It’s not unusual for you to come up with new, more productive and easier ways to do things, but now you may just astonish higher-ups with your creativeness. The good stuff doesn’t stop at the office door, either. Moonlight and roses may be part of the menu. For some, it will involve a new romance.
Improvements and ideas about how they could be accomplished. The problem may be getting to the right people, with the right information, and you may be frustrated. Keep on digging and you will find what you are looking for. In the meantime, it is vital not to make any rash moves or uneducated guesses. Calm your tensions in one of two ways. Discuss the situation with a trustworthy friend or get a strenuous physical workout.
Sagittarius (BH,F,DH,TH) 22 Nov to 21 Dec
Gemini (K,CHH,GH) 21 May to 20 June Your ability to smooth the waters, You’ll have plenty of spirit, more than one person may appear to want. Don’t allow them to knock you off your course. It may be superiors who find fault. Fortunately you can take it with good grace and simply keep on trucking. You may find that mates or partners suddenly want to change the rules. Your partner may be reacting to a simple attack of nerves.
Sweet harmony in your professional & personal life. You and your partner will find yourselves getting along about everything. You are very much in favor and may even enjoy an encouraging talk with a superior. It should make you feel more confident about your future and much more secure about in your position, right where you are. Store up the compliments and feed on them during any rough days in the future.
Capricorn (KH,J) 22 Dec to 20 Jan
Cancer (D,H) 21 June to 22 July Mood swings that may have you full of optimism one moment, but frustrated at unexpected setbacks the next. Don’t get knocked off your feet if someone throws you a curveball. You are certainly able to keep up your excellent batting average. Those around you may react giddily to sudden changes, you will be able to keep your head. Use this to your best advantage. In your partnered life, expect both peace and harmony to reign.you. Find a balance between the excitement that goes on around you and your need for serenity.
You could be unhealthily focused on what you consider the inadequacies of your home environment. Don’t despair, do something! Even small cosmetic changes could make a huge difference, especially in your attitude. If someone else has to approve, approach him or her with a positive outlook. Give good reasons why your plan will benefit everyone. Wherever you land at week’s end, you will find yourself surrounded by agreeable people who share your mood.
Aquarius (G,S,SH) 21 Jan to 19 Feb
Leo (M) 23 July to 22 August Distractions & your need to concentrate on your goals will lead you. What you have to do seems not only tedious, but also somehow irrelevant. In a way, this is a blessing, because it opens you up to operating in a new, rather unconventional manner. People will notice and applaud your ingenuity. Relations with the most important people in your life are, for the most part, positive.
Anyone who interacts with you will find you not only delightful company, but a great team mate as well. You exude good feelings and you are sensitive to the needs of others. This general atmosphere spills over into your personal life. You will bring new zeal of happiness among your relatives, who really need your advice & consultation, to gain path of success in their life. You will feel the need of new earning opportunities. You will start doing research on how to expand your earning scope.
Pisces (D,CH,Z) 20 Feb to 20 March
Virgo (P) 23 August to 22 September Practical concerns, What needs to get done will get done, because you are in a frame of mind to deal directly. Don’t fret about the fact that your personal independence may be a bit limited now. The work you do now is money in the bank for future freedom, maybe even that long-desired trip you’ve wished for some time. Good time for a sit down planning chat. Get out those maps and schedules. It’s not too soon to start thinking about that trip of a lifetime. You could meet a fascinating person who is destined to become part of your life.
QR
You have ability to keep many balls up in the air at one time, but even you have a limit. There appears to be a conflict between your devotion to home and devotion to work. You need to cut down somewhere, and only you know where. Try to enjoy a short trip out of town with your family & just Chill n Relax, feel the peace away from stress. You have to read carefully & go through all the aspects, if you are signing a contract or making an important decision.
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FRIDAY, July 8, 2016
Houston Community College Request for Proposals (RFP) Structured Cabling Services
Houston Community College Request for Proposals (RFP) Truck Driving Simulator
Project No. RFP 16-16
Project No. RFP 16-39
Sealed proposals will be received in Procurement Operations (3100 Main Street, Room No. 11B01, Houston, Texas 77002) until 2:00PM (local time) on Tuesday, July 26, 2016.
Sealed proposals will be received in Procurement Operations (3100 Main Street, Room No. 11B01, Houston, Texas 77002) until 2:00PM (local time) on Monday, July 25, 2016.
Documents can be obtained at: www.hccs.edu/procurement.
Documents can be obtained at: www.hccs.edu/procurement.
Notice of Public Auction of Abandoned Vehicle Please take notice that First Class Auto’s will offer for sale at public auction to the highest bidder for cash, the following abandoned vehicle: 2006 Chevy no plate # no registration, VIN # 2CNDL63F766042205. The public auction will be held at first class autos located at 9701 # A Honeywell Street at 10: AM August 12th 2016. The seller shall have a right to reject any bid that is unreasonable low and may postpone the public auction until another specified time and place. In addition the seller expressly reserves the right to bid and purchase at the auction.
MANAGEMENT TIP OF THE DAY
What to Look Out for When Hiring a Remote Candidate Many organizations are skeptical of hiring employees who will work remotely. They think inhouse personnel collaborate better with coworkers and are easier to manage. But there are benefits to having remote employees: Organizations can access larger candidate pools, managers can create diverse teams, and employees can choose their ideal working locations. The key is to make sure you hire the right remote worker by looking for the right things during the interview process. Ask the candidate how they successfully worked remotely in the past. Consider the individual’s leadership style and how they project themselves. In order to make an impression from afar, they need to stand out in a crowd and be an advocate for their ideas. It’s also important to scrutinize the manager to whom they will report. Remote employees need someone who will advocate for them regardless of where they live. Source: Adapted from “Hire the Best People, and Let Them Work from Wherever They Are,” by Cassandra Frangos WWW.HBR.ORG
For Classified call 713-774-5140 Visit us online www. Voiceofasiaonline.com
For Classified call 713-774-5140 Visit us online www.Voiceofasiaonline.com
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FRIDAY, July 8, 2016