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VOICE OF ASIA The Largest Asian-American Newsweekly in Texas
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Vol. 32 No. 33 • FRIDAY, August 24, 2018 Published Weekly from Houston
Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Former Prime Minister of India, Dies at 93
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24 Pages (2 sections)
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DAVSS Opening day and Independence Day celebrations at ASGH
tal Bihari Vajpayee, who as India’s prime minister from 1998 to 2004 stunned the world by ending a decades-old moratorium on nuclear weapons tests but nevertheless managed to ease tensions with Pakistan and build closer ties to the United States, died on Thursday in New Delhi. He was 93. The Indian central government announced his death but gave no further details. The Times of India said that Mr. Vajpayee, a diabetic, was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi
on June 11 with kidney tract infection and other ailments, and
had recently been placed on life support.
One million pack Kerala flood relief camps by Bhuvan Bagga
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HENGANNŪR, India | AFP - More than one million people have swarmed relief camps in India's Kerala state to escape devastating monsoon floods that have killed about 420 people, officials said Tuesday as a huge international aid offers poured in. People are flocking to camps as the scale of the desolation is revealed by receding waters and the military rescues more people each day. The state government said 1,028,000 people are now in about 3,200 relief camps across the southern state.
Marooned buildings on the banks of overflowing Pampa river are pictured in the flood waters in Alappuzha District in the south Indian state of Kerala. (Photo: Manjunath Kiran/AFP)
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It is the policy of Voice of Asia to publish letters to the editor which evidence a variety of viewpoints. The opinions expressed in any particular letter to the editor are not necessarily those of the management. Voice of Asia welcomes letters in reply to issues raised in letters to editor. In as much letters to the editor are not articles written or researched by members of Voice of Asia, it is not the policy of the Voice of Asia to perform any investigation or confirmation of any facts or allegations contained in letters to the editor. Moreover, Voice of Asia reserves the right to edit letters to the editor as necessary to correct errors of fact, punctuation, spelling and to comply with space constraints. Although paid advertisements may appear in Voice of Asia Group Publications in print, online, or in other electronic formats, the Voice of Asia Group does not endorse the advertised product, service, or company, nor any of the claims made by the advertisement. - The Publisher
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ruth isn’t truth,” declared Rudy Giuliani, President Trump’s personal attorney, on Meet the Press on Sunday. Giuliani’s comment — the weirdest absolution yet proffered for Trump — is the “Trump era’s epitaph,” according to a Washington Post columnist. But truth really is defined differently inside the Beltway. Trump could face a “perjury trap” from Special Counsel Robert Mueller because of the unique way that the FBI defines reality — and the truth. The FBI rarely records interviews and instead relies on written summaries (known as Form 302s) which “are widely held up in court as credible evidence of conversations,” the New York Times noted last year. Though defense attorneys routinely debunk the accuracy and credibility of 302s, prosecutors continue touting FBI interview summaries as the voice of God. Even if Trump made factually correct comments to Mueller, he could still face legal peril if his statements failed to harmonize with FBI “trust me on what I heard” memos containing contrary assertions. Though other federal agencies cannot play the 302 game, they have plenty of options for editing the public record. Inside the Beltway, “plausible deniability” (a phrase first publicly used by CIA chief Allen Dulles in the 1950s) is “close enough for government work” to truth. Congress enacted the Freedom of Information Act in 1966 to boost self-government by entitling Americans to learn what Washington did in their name. But FOIA is derided nowadays as a “Freedom From Information Act” that begets merely a mirage of transparency. Last year, individuals who filed FOIA requests “received censored files or nothing in 78 percent” of the time, according to the Associated Press. Federal agencies with the most power — such as the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and the Justice Department — are among the worst FOIA abusers.
FRIDAY, August 24, 2018
In Washington, the truth has refugee status
at the start. While every president in the last quarter century has shredded their credibility, Trump is reportedly shattering the bogus benchmark (the Washington Post asserts he has made more than 2000 false or misleading claims). But wild-eyed tweeting is not a federal offense, and it is unclear whether the president has said anything specifically that places him in legal peril. Trump is guilty of wacky hiring decisions, as shown by his lawyer Giuliani’s “talent for putting defense arguments as unconvincingly, unappealingly, and suspiciously as possible,” as attorney Ken “Popehat” White quipped.
SHUTTERSTOCK
VOICE OF ASIA 2
W. Bush administration routinely invoked “state secrets” to seek “blanket dismissal of every case challenging the constitutionality of specific, ongoing government programs,” according to a study by the Constitution Project. A federal appeals court slammed the Obama administration’s use of “state secrets”: “According to the government’s theory, the judiciary should effectively cordon off all secret government actions from judicial scrutiny, immunizing the CIA and its partners from the demands and the limits of the law.” Government’s sway over damning information is boundless — at least until some scofflaw like Edward Snowden obliterates federal credibility. If one is seeking Shakespearian-level creativity, official claims regarding U.S. military and foreign policy rarely disappoint. (But seriously, the Taliban are finally on the run.) How much has changed since 1965, when Pentagon assistant secretary Arthur Sylvester hectored Vietnam war correspondents: “Look, if you think any American official is going to tell you the truth, then you’re stupid. Did you hear that? Stupid”? Sylvester’s
Perhaps the biggest whopper in Washington nowadays is the assumption that the government and the political class will automatically be trustworthy once the Trump era ends. Even if Trump is toppled by impeachment, there will still be a thousand precedents for federal coverups and duplicity. And neither political party nor the bureaucracy has shown any itch to cease deceiving the American people.
slapdown has not deterred the media from continuing to play stenographer for the vast majority of government assertions. Lamentably, the Oval Office has never been an oasis of candor inside the District of Columbia. Calvin Coolidge may have been the last man who appeared more honest at the end of his presidency than
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Federal agencies also maximize their discretion in defining truth via almost 50 million decisions to classify information each year. And the Justice Department can totally suppress embarrassing facts on the most contentious issues (such as torture or assassinations) by invoking the “state secrets” doctrine. The George
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Section 1
Community Email: voiceasia@aol.com
DAVSS Opening day and Independence Day celebrations at ASGH
FRIDAY, August 24, 2018
Tel: 713-774-5140
HAPPY WEDDING ANNIVERSARY! Moani & Koshy Thomas
Suresh Chandra, Arya Samaj president, Dev Mahajan and members at the DAV Opening day and Flag hoisting at Arya Samaj. Seen speaking on the ocassion is Sri Kulkarni, candidate running for Congress, Texas 22nd District.
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OUSTON - Aug 19th: Last Sunday witnessed celebration of DAV Sanksriti School’s and Arya Yuva Mandal (DAV high school youth group) opening day and India's Independence Day celebration by coming together of children and parents at the campus of Arya Samaj of Greater Houston, Schiller Road. AYM students and Teachers of DAVSS welcomed new DAV students, parents, volunteers and returning students with traditional welcome Tilak. Recently, Arya Samaj of Greater Houston, DAV Sanskriti School and DAV Montessori Schools were recognized by Sarvadeshik Arya Pratinidhi Sabha and awarded recognition of Model Arya Samaj (AbroadOut of India) at IAMS 2018 – Delhi. DAV Sanskriti Sunday School in parallel with the Sunday Satsang caters for about 150 children in age 4 to 13. While AYM for ages 14 to 18, focused on Sewa in local community.
The morning was kicked off with a short meditation, and a joint Havan/Yajna Roop performed by children of both schools lead by Acharaya Harish Chandra. All the three Havan Kunds were setup and with over 25 School children as Yajmaans. Acharya Ji explained the meaning of mantras and Vedic scientific Pravachan to the children & families. DAV Sanskriti School provides complementary curriculum to tradional school with Naitik Shiksha classes to develop moral compass to discern various life issues. DAV Sanskriti School empowers kids towards their spiritual growth, inner development, strength, insightfulness, yoga, havan, cultural bonding, community service, music, arts and patience. DAV Sanskriti School is committed to bring East and West together with their best. AYM youth, Vipashchit Nanda, gave short inspirational speech on the law of karma. The grand event was attended
by nearly 300 people, on a hot Texas Sunday morning! The assembly moved to the open front area to celebrate Independence Day with flag hoisting ceremony. The children of DAV Sanskriti School performed delightful serving of patriotic songs and dances orchestrated in the outdoors, including the full recitation of Rashtriya Geet Vande Maatram and Jana Gana Mana national anthem. One song item by the little kids attracted everyone's eyes as well as ears as it was based on the fusion of multiple patriotic songs. The crowd was served a delicious meal in a smooth quick manner. ASGH library was converging point for various volunteer teams to sign up new volunteers for Sewa activities for 2018-2019 calendar year. DAV Sankriti School is open for new registration and can be reached at https://www. facebook.com/SanskritiUSA/ or http://www.DAVSS.org for more information.
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“Ekal” targeting $10 Million with dazzling galas
COMMUNITY
HGH to honor Beth Kukarni for decades of service These include Hindu Worship Society, VHPA, HSS, and Sri Meenakshi Temple. She was also President of VHPA Texas chapter. She is one of the founding members of Hindus of Greater Houston and the Hindu Temple of The Woodlands and is actively associated with these organizations, including HTW’s Senior Forum.
Beth Beckwith Kulkarni by Haider Kazim
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Ramesh Shah & Dr Subhash Chandra.
OUSTON – Hindus of Greater Houston will present their 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award to Beth Beckwith Kulkarni for her volunteerism, inspirational role and service to community for nearly four decades.
by Prakash Waghmare
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fter last year’s phenomenal success of magnificent fund-raising gala - ‘Future of India’ - “Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation (EVF)”, this year, is launching the most ambitious plan to host three Galas, at three strategic locations in USA. In sold-out Yr.2017 Gala at majestic art-deco ‘Cipriani-Wall Street” banquet hall, ‘Ekal’ raised $2 Million for its Literacy, Healthcare and Integral-Development projects for rural India. It was Ekal’s first ever attempt at gathering generous individuals for
The award will be presented on August 25 at Janmashtami celebrations at George Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston. Bollywood legend Anupam Kher will be the star attraction this year at HGH’s signature event from 6 p.m. to midnight. EVF-USA President, Suresh Iyer
Founded in 1989, HGH brings together all Hindu groups in Greater Houston area to celebrate Janmashtami, the birth of Lord Krishna, on a grand scale. Over the years, the HGH annual event has grown into the largest and most colorful Janmashtami celebrations in North America. “She is second to none in doing years of selfless service to the community,” said Pundit Bhargava Sarma, a former priest at the Hindu Temple of The Woodlands. “Her dedication in promoting Sanatana Dharma, devoted participation in puja rituals, commitment shown as medium between Eastern and Western cultures are highly commendable. We believe she truly deserves this award.” She has been honored before by other community organizations. She has received the Community Service Award by the India Culture Center of Houston and the community leader award by Vallabh Priti Seva Samaj (VPSS).
Dr. Chandra speaking to the assembled audience. its nation-building cause. According to EVF-USA President, Suresh Iyer, this unprecedented show of support from philanthropists brought the year-end tally of donations to $8 Million. Every year, Ekal’s hosts over 50 fund-raising events in major metropolitan centers across USA, by bringing famous ‘Bollywood Artistes’ for concerts. Earlier this year, Ekal had invited two groups of talented performers for this purpose. One group was headed by Kathak dancers Aditi Bhagwat & Kunal Tavri and another group was headed by Kaushik & Pranita Deshpande. They each were the star-attractions in 23 and 30 concert-events, respectively. The response to these concerts was so overwhelming that the events were sold-out at most of the places in advance. Over the years, Ekal’s progress has been consistently exponential. Now with three forthcoming Ekal galas planned for high net-worth supporters, Ramesh Shah, the Chairman of EVFUSA has no doubt that Ekal in 2018, is going to hit $10 Million magical mark for the first time. As of now, Ekal has 72,000 schools under its wings, grooming 1.92 Million children annually – more than half of which are girls. Hon. PM Modi, in his clarion call to eradicate illiteracy from every small corner of the nation, wants Ekal to establish 100,000 schools by year Yr. 2022 – 75th anniversary of India’s independence. The primary objective of glittering galas is not only to raised funds for this task of national concern, but also, to encourage every sphere, every strata of Indian diaspora to invest itself in India’s future. Three eagerly-awaited galas, are all taking place in October - Houston, TX on October 6; Bethesda MD on October 12 and in New York City NY on October 13. For details of venue, tickets and sponsorship kindly tap into <http://www.nycgala.ekal. org/> OR <www.ekal.org>. The distinguished speaker at all three galas will be Media Moghul Dr Subhash Chandra (Chairman, Essel Gr of Companies that includes ZEE-TV).
In addition, at NYC gala iconic former CEO of Pepsi and Apple, John Continued on page 6
FRIDAY, August 24, 2018
Beth Kulkarni has been associated with almost all Hindu organizations in Greater Houston area in a leadership role, or as an advisor or volunteer during different periods of time.
“She is a great role model not only for Hindus of today but also to the generations to follow,” said Pundit Sarma, who has now moved to Washington D.C. area from the Woodlands. “Not expecting anything in return for her invaluable service shows her humility. However, honoring a person like her is the best way we can cherish her services and it also gives us the best opportunity to promote Sanatana Dharma in the U.S.” Priest Chandrasekhar Sarma, currently serving HTW, also expressed his happiness in having Beth receive the award, stating that he wished he could see the award presented in person. Besides community service projects, Beth Kulkarni has helped community organizations in media work, interfaith outreach, and educational activities. She has taught English as Second Language to children and adults and helped in training of teachers in Indic Culture and Traditions. Her volunteer work includes speaking to non-Hindu groups on Hindu culture and traditions. She actively took up Hindu causes whenever disrespect was shown to Hindu deities by manufacturers of commercial products. She has actively promoted Raksha Bandhan, a unique Indian tradition that celebrates the ties between siblings in which a sister ties a bracelet or rakhi on the wrist of her brother, praying for his protection and getting a promise of protection from brother. Literally meaning Protection Bond, Raksha Bandhan does not have to be between siblings related by blood. The tradition allows a woman to tie rakhi on any man even if not related by blood and enter into the sacred relationship of sister and brother. She has tied rakhi to former chief of RSS K.S Sudarshan. Vijay Pallod, an active member of HGH, relishes his rakhi bond with Beth Kulkarni and calls her “Didi” or elder sister. He said he met Beth in 1990 at a Janmashtami meeting and tied rakhi to him later as sister and continue the tradition. “As elder sister she continues to guide me with HGH work and with her guidance I became a better Hindu.” Beth was a physics undergraduate at the University of the Pacific in Cali-
fornia when she met Sharad Kulkarni who was doing his Ph.D. They were married in 1964 when Sharad completed his doctorate. She did her BA in Physics at The University of the Pacific. She then completed a year of post-graduate studies at California State University at Sacramento. They later moved to Durham, North Carolina, where Sharad had a postdoctoral fellowship at the Duke University School of Medicine. After two years they moved to Pennsylvania where he taught for 13 years. The family moved to Houston in 1979 and Sharad worked in the City of Houston Health Department for nearly 20 years before retiring in 1999. He passed away in 2015. After moving to Houston, Beth spent about 20 years in the workforce, including serving as part of an international technical training team for Amoco and BP. She has a daughter, Shanti Kulkarni, who is a professor of Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and a son David S. Kulkarni, a real estate developer of high-end apartments and student housing, and daughter-in-law Melissa Kulkarni, and much-loved grandchildren Meera Brennan, Matthew Kulkarni, and Sofia Kulkarni. Shanti commented “My mother always tries to anticipate and fulfill others’ needs whether taking care of my father, supporting her children and grandchildren, helping her friends, or committing to her volunteer work. She’s a very special person.” Rupa and Salil Gopinath, close friends of Beth for over a decade, were very happy to know that she will be receiving the HGH Lifetime Achievement Award this year. “She is a lady of great compassion, empathy and devotion. We saw her work tirelessly to realize the community dream of having a temple in the Woodlands. She was a volunteer and a board member at The Hindu Temple of The Woodlands for many years,’ Gopinath said. “She also stood by her husband Sharad as a rock, as he battled a form of dementia and visited him every day at the memory care center. I am a proud brother. Rupa and I are proud to be her friends. We congratulate her on receiving this award.” Beth Kulkarni is currently working on a cookbook, a compilation of vegetarian recipes submitted by local community members for the Hindu Temple of The Woodlands. The book Traditional Indian Foods and New Favorites will be available at HTW Diwali Mela.
VOICE OF ASIA 5
Fort Bend View
FRIDAY, August 24, 2018
Sugar Land, Katy, Stafford, Missouri City, Richmond, Rosenberg and Meadows Place
Section 1
Email: voiceasia@aol.com
Tel: 713-774-5140
SLPD Ribbon-cutting ceremony set for targeting Monday, Aug. 27 to launch impaired driving dur- Missouri City METRO Community Connector transit service ing holiday
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UGAR LAND, TX – Sugar Land police will conduct a special drunk driving enforcement initiative from Aug. 24 through Sept. 3. The enforcement period includes the Labor Day weekend and is funded by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) through a Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) grant. The STEP grant is administered through H-GAC and provides overtime funds for enhanced DWI enforcement during holiday weekends when there have traditionally been more alcohol-related traffic incidents. “Driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs is not worth the risk,” said Sgt. Daryl Stroud, of SLPD’s traffic division. “You are putting your life and the lives of others on the line.” Convicted first-time DWI offenders face penalties that include fines up to $2,000, six months in jail and loss of driver’s licenses for up to a year. The STEP grant also provides overtime for year-round speed compliance in targeted areas, an extra resource that does not affect SLPD’s normal operations. As part of this effort, SLPD also conducts a commercial motor vehicle enforcement. Speeding continues to be the number one factor contributing to accidents within Sugar Land. The police department uses crash data, speed surveys and information supplied by residents to identify those areas where additional enforcement is needed.
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ISSOURI CITY, TX The “Show Me City” and METRO will officially launch a new MCTX Community Connector bus service within City limits on Monday, Aug. 27 at 10 a.m. at the Community Center in the City Hall Complex, 1522 Texas Pkwy. The public is invited to participate in this mobility milestone event and City staff along with partners from the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) will be onhand to provide details on the transportation initiative. The event will also feature remarks from City and METRO officials, ceremonial rides on the new buses, and handouts with information on the new service, including fares, routes and more. Frequently Asked Questions: To help riders prepare to use the new service, here are some frequently asked questions and associated responses: What is the Community Connector bus? METRO’s MCTX Community Connector will bring personalized, curb-to-destination service to “Show Me City” residents and visitors. This on-demand service allows individuals to travel anywhere within a zone, seven days a week, from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m., all for $1.25. The new service will connect residents to jobs, grocery stores, hotels, restaurants, the new HCC Missouri City Campus and METRO’s local bus network. Where will the buses travel; will they connect to routes that are already established and will areas outside of City limits receive service?
City staff and METRO met and proposed a series of stops within a zone; maps outlining these areas will be
Image courtesy of Missouri City shared at the Aug. 27 ribbon-cutting ceremony and posted on the citizens’ communications tools and in City facilities afterward. The transit service will be rolled out in phases with the first phase starting on Aug. 27; eventually all City areas will be incorporated into the service plan. While no areas outside of City limits will be serviced, the buses will connect with METRO Routes 63 Fondren, 98 Briargate, and 170 Missouri City / TMC. How large is the bus? METRO’s Community Connectors are a smaller, 12-passenger ARBOC bus; the buses will also be able to fit two wheelchairs. When was this service approved and when will it start? At their Monday, April 16, 2018,
regular meeting, Missouri City Council Members unanimously approved a resolution that grants consent and approval to the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) to provide a community connector option within Missouri City. The service will launch Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. Will I see increased traffic from this bus inside my subdivision? The buses will not operate in a traditional fixed route pattern. If a bus were to enter a subdivision, it would be due to a service request within the neighborhood. What costs are associated with this service? METRO’s fare policy will be applicable to the Missouri City Community Connector service. Passengers using a METRO Q Fare Card will
pay $1.25 for the initial boarding and can make unlimited boardings in any direction within a three-hour time period. All other options that fall under METRO’s fare policy, including the “free ride” 70+ card and Day Passes, will be accepted as METRO fare. Half-price rides are available for students and seniors with a discount METRO Q Fare Card or METRO Day Pass. The operational cost of the service, estimated at an annualized variable cost of $500,000, will be paid for by METRO. One cent of Missouri City residents’ sales tax currently goes to METRO for public transportation, including the new Community Connector service. Continued on Page 6
COMMUNITY
VOICE OF ASIA 6
“Ekal” targeting HCC offers free $10 Mil- tuition for seniors lion with H dazzling galas ... Continued from page 5 Sculley, is going to grace the evening as a Chief guest speaker. This NYC gathering will also be entertained by ‘Indian Idol’ competition winner – ‘Sreeramchandra’. In Houston, along with Dr Subhash Chandra, another highlight of the evening is going to be renowned motivational speaker, Shiv Khera. As the largest grass-root educational movement undertaken by Indians and NRIs, Ekal is socially conscientious, wherever it operates. Last year during ‘Hurricane Harvey’, Ekal volunteers not only worked along side ‘Sewa International’ in rescue and rehabilitation efforts in Houston region but also raised money for the victims. As the catastrophic destruction is currently unfolding in Kerala due to torrential rain and floods, ‘Ekal-India’ is actively involved there too with “Sewa Bharati”. Bajrang Bagra, CEO of ‘Ekal-India’ says,” the whole Ekal movement is all about giving dignity and self-esteem to ruraltribal folks of India”.
Ribboncutting ceremony set ... Continued from page 5 What is a METRO Q Fare Card? This is a unique card that contains a microchip storing a cash balance. The card is used to pay the fare and automatically deducts the amount each time. The card can be purchased at the following local grocery stores in Missouri City: - Kroger: 6200 Hwy. 6 (Colony Lakes), Missouri City, TX 77459 - Kroger: 10250 Hwy. 6 (Fort Bend Tollway), Missouri City, TX 77459 - Fiesta: 1530 Independence Blvd., Missouri City, TX 77489 - Foodarama: 1603 Cartwright Rd., Missouri City, TX 77489 - H-E-B Lake Colony: 4724 Hwy. 6, Missouri City, TX 77459 - H-E-B Sienna Market: 8900 Hwy. 6, Missouri City, TX 77459 How is the launch of a Community Connector service in Missouri City unique? METRO currently offers the Community Connector option in only one other Houston-area community and Missouri City is the first community in Fort Bend County to offer this custom service. The Missouri City buses will feature the “Show Me City”themed design in the image above. METRO and MCTX design teams collaborated on the customized wrap. For more information about this initiative and other Missouri City programs and services, please watch the City website: www.missouricitytx.gov, like us on Facebook—fb/MissouriCityTX, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat—@ MissouriCityTX, watch Missouri City Television (Ch. 16 on Comcast and Ch. 99 on AT&T U-verse) or download the MCTX Mobile app (available for free in Google Play and the Apple app store).
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OUSTON (August 17, 2018) – If you are 65 or older, Houston Community College has an education deal for you. HCC is offering free tuition and waiving mandatory fees for up to six credit hours per semester for students in that age group. In addition, students between 55 and 65 can receive a 50 percent discount on their tuition. The discounts apply to academic and workforce courses that have not already been filled by students paying full price. If you are in the first group, those 65 and older, the following requirements apply: Texas resident or nonresident who is 65 at start of the term Enrolled in semester credit hour (academic) course only To receive continuation of the discount, student must receive a grade point average of 2.0 If you are in the second group, those between 55 and 65, the following require-
ments apply:
Texas resident or nonresident who is 55 at start of the term Enrolled in classes for which the college receives tax support To receive continuation of the discount, student must receive a grade point average of 2.0 or, for Continuing Education and Non-credit courses, a measurement of satisfactory completion Chancellor Cesar Maldonado credits the HCC Board of Trustees with proposing the discount program. “I want to thank the board members for their vision in helping to extend educational opportunities to older students,” Maldonado says. “I am a strong advocate of lifelong learning and this program is a great example of that philosophy.” The fee discounts apply only to those that are mandatory and paid by all students, regardless of their classes. Some courses may have additional specific charges that will have to be paid.
FRIDAY, August 24, 2018
Flood Disaster Relief Project of Sri Guruvayurappan Temple, Houston Dear well-wishers, Devasting natural calamities have been causing ongoing suffering to the people of Kerala. Hundreds of people lost their lives in the recent flood and landslides. Several thousands have been admitted to relief camps. Home, hospitals, schools and roadways have been taken away by catastrophic flooding (from insurgent monsoon). The tragic flood created damage several magnitudes worse than the Hurricane Harvey Houstonians experienced in 2017. The victims are in need of food, medicine, money and all basic amenities to rebuild their lives. Any help or donations will have tremendous effect rebuilding lives for our friends and families. Understanding the urgent need, the temple has initiated efforts to alleviate this unfortunate situation with a goal to raise and donate $100,000; so far, we have raised $25,000 since Friday, Aug 17. Sri Guruvayurappan temple (https://www.guruvayurappanhouston.org/) of Houston is collecting donations for Kerala flood disaster relief fund. Donations are tax-deductible. Please make check payable to Sri Guruvayurappan Temple and include “Kerala Flood Disaster Relief Fund” in the memo. You may drop off your contribution at the temple front desk, or by mail to 11620 Ormandy St., Houston TX 77035. Temple president Biju Pillai asked to express our compassion and sovereignty as true citizens and help in the recovery process. Upon receiving the donation, official receipt from the temple will be sent to your email. Online donations can be done on temple website: www.guruvayurappanhouston.org/Services
For assistance contact treasurer (Babudas 443-600-7774), PR coordinator (Remasankar 404-680-9787 or President Dr.Biju Pillai 832-247-3411). Email: president@guruvayurappanhouston.org
SRI GURUVAYURAPPAN TEMPLE (Sri Krishna Temple – A Kerala Hindu Society Undertaking) A Texas Non-Profit Organization 11620 Ormandy St Houston, TX 77035
VOICE OF ASIA 7
FRIDAY, August 24, 2018
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FRIDAY, August 24, 2018
Kaderi Kibria at Surangan’s Annual Student Appreciation Day By Sanchali Basu
S
urangan Music School, celebrated its annual program at the HDBS Sur Auditorium the evening of August 12th 2018. After months of rigorous rehearsals, students got to showcase their talent on a platform which boosted their confidence and brought the Surangan family closer. Kudos to the energetic melodious, talented teacher, and founder Rupa Ghosh in accomplishing the herculean task of training the young talents, most of who are born and brought up in the US. The program was inaugurated with the lamp lighting ceremony by community leaders, Dr. Hannan Khan, President of BASGH, Shah Haleem, President of BAH, Sujit Sengupta, Vice President of HDBS and Debleena Banerji, President of TSH.
Singers and musicians who performed on the ocassion.
Dance performance by Sanchali Basu. saiba, Tithi, Shanta, Shown, Shinjini, Ananya, Sanchali, and a number of other youngsters.
Emcee Mila Sengupta, welcomed the audience with a brief introduction of the school.The first half of the program was titled, “Aalor Anandaloke Panchakabi” signifying the message of enlightenment through the propagation of happiness by the 5 stalwart poets of Bengal, namely Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Dwijendralal Ray, Rajanikanta Sen and Atulprasad Sen. The script-based program was narrated by Biplab Samadder, who with his smooth, soothing, and baritone voice. Solo and group songs accompanied by Raja Banga, Niranjan Roy and Barun Choudhury on the tabla, Biplab Samadder on the violin, Vikram Banga on percussion, and Bidyut Ghosh on the mandira were interspersed with solo and group dances. The dancers ranged from considerably young artistes to more mature, skilled ones, and brought some color and life to the music program. Rupa, with the help of her ever accommodating husband Pradip Ghosh was successful in putting together this program with a large
FBISD to host Heart To Heart non-profit networking event
F
ORT BEND ISD (August 16, 2018) – Fort Bend ISD’s Collaborative Communities Department invites representatives from area non-profit groups to attend its Heart to Heart meeting and networking event. The event will be held Wed., Aug. 29, beginning at 8:30 a.m., at FBISD’s Purchasing Warehouse (555 Julie Rivers Dr., Sugar Land, 77478). The Heart to Heart meeting and networking event gives non-profit representatives an opportunity to meet with FBISD staff to learn how they can help form a crisis support system for students and families. Each month (Aug. through May) will feature an FBISD presenter, as well as a highlighted non-profit organization. During the August session, participants will learn about the services provided and role of the Collaborative Communities Department. Shannan Murray, Director of Development at B.I.G Love Cancer Care, will also share the services her organization provides to families of childhood cancer patients. Register for the event. All non-profits, interfaith entities, parent engagement organizations and other agencies that fall within the goals of these meetings are welcome to attend. For more information, call Collaborative Communities at (281) 634-1109.
This year’s annual program was made special by the presence of Bangladesh’s pride, renowned exponent of Rabindra Sangeet and recipient of Ekushey Padak award Kaderi Kibria. He was felicitated with a plaque and “uttoriyo”. He was invited to award certificates to the students of the school and participants. Heads of organizations lighting the lamp. (Photography by Mohammad Rob and Farhana Jahan) their pronunciation of the Bengali lyrics impeccable, they What makes Rupa’s students also play the harmonium while very special is that, not only is singing. Group and solo dances contingent of 92 participants.
were choreographed by Supradipta Datta, Silvia Faruque and Shown Sarkar, and performed very beautifully by Polin, Nu-
Finally Kaderi took the stage and Rupa accompanied him in some of the songs. He enthralled the audience with his with his rendition of not so popular, but rich Rabindra Sangeet numbers mixing them
up with some popular ones. He spiced up the musical performance with tidbits of anecdotes related to some of his songs. He shared his experiences with his Gurus Debabrata Biswas and Chinmoy Chatterjee. He also sang some “Harano Diner Gaan” (old Bengali songs). Rupa ended the program with a vote of thanks to all participants. Surangan family deserves high accolades for presenting yet another excellent program showcasing the gems of Bengali cultural creativity. The journey that Rupa has undertaken will undoubtedly carry the torch of Bengali cultural heritage to the newer generations growing up far from their place of origin.
DIASPORA
VOICE OF ASIA 9
FRIDAY, August 24, 2018
AAPI urges US gov't to expedite H-1B, J-1 Visa for physicians during media event at the Indian Consulate in New York AAPI leaders share health and wellness message at India Day Parade in New York by Ajay Ghosh
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EW YORK, NY: August 19, 2018) “As the rapidly approaching start date for all GME programs, we at AAPI want to urge the US administration to expedite review of pending H-1B/J-1 Visa applications by non-U.S. International Medical Graduates (IMGs), who have been accepted to postgraduate training programs in order to avoid unnecessary delays,” said Dr. Naresh Parikh, President of AAPI, during a Media Greet & Meet event. He, joined by the senior leadership of AAPI, presented a Proclamation to the Consul General of India in New York, Ambassador Sandeep Chakravorty. The Proclamation acknowledged that there is a projected increase in the total number of office visits to primary care physicians from a base of 462 million in 2008 to 565 million in 2025, due to aging of the US population as well as the average number of visits to primary care physicians projected to increase, resulting in higher demands and reduced supply of physicians, pointing that the US will be short by more than 90,000 physicians by 2020 and 130,000 physicians by 2025. In his key note address, Ambassador Sandeep Chakravorty said, “You have excelled in your fields of medicine, and thus make significant contributions through hard work, commitment and dedication to your profession and the people you are committed to serve.” While conveying his greetings and best wishes to AAPI leaders for the success of the convention and Global Healthcare Summit, Consul General of
Dr. Naresh Parikh, with AAPI members. India in New York Sandeep Chakravorty described the fast-growing health sector, particularly the pharmaceutic industry in India. Ambassador Chakravorty lauded the efforts of AAPI, particularly for the free clinics across India, and the new clinic planned to be inaugurated in the state of West Bengal. In his Presidential address, Dr. Parikh, who was elected unopposed in every election leading to his current leadership of national SAAPI, stated that American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), the largest ethnic Medical Association in the nation, representing the interests of over 100,000 physicians, Fellows and Residents in the United States, while working closely with the Lawmakers individually, regionally and nationally through our AAPI Legislative Day on Capitol Hill, have consistently supported a comprehensive immigration reform. Dr. Parikh pointed out that in order to meet the growth in demand and shortage of physicians, the US has looked
up to the highly trained and qualified physicians from other countries to meet our growing demand for physicians to meet our nation’s healthcare needs. In this context, AAPI has joined other Medical Association in the country in urging the US to expedite and reduce/eliminate the hurdles for speedy process of the applicants seeking H-1B visa. The J-1 visa to qualified physicians, enabling these foreigntrained physicians to serve our nation’s healthcare needs.
members to recognize the many benefits of being members of AAPI, this attracting new members and sustaining those who are already members of AAPI. Bringing in financial stability to the organization is a major thrust for the new team, he said. Strengthening the many projects and programs in India and the United States, while taking on new initiatives and coordinating individual efforts to maximize results are some of the other plan s, he told the audience.
Dr. Parikh lauded the efforts of Dr. Anjana Sammadder, Treasurer of AAPI, in leading the initiative in bringing to the forefront the issue of expedited Visa process for physicians from abroad, who want to serve in this country. In her remarks, Dr. Anjana assured that she will work towards ensuring financial stability to AAPI, and to work with the team to make AAPI
Dr. Suresh Reddy, PresidentElect of AAPI, in his passionate address, praised the leadership of Dr. Naresh Parikh. “I am so fortunate to be able to work under Dr. Parikh,” he said. He highlighted the importance of enabling the 2nd generation Indian Americans and help them realize their dreams. “AAPI is very strong,” he said and he along with the new team under Dr. Parikh will work together to enhance the image and bring stability to this noble organization.
strong, successful and stable.” His top priorities in the upcoming year will be to enhance membership, enabling AAPI
Dr. Gautam Samadder, the immediate past President of
Dr. Naresh Parikh, President of AAPI addressing the gathering. AAPI, urged the new leadership of AAPI to stand united and help make “our voices heard” in the corridors of power. In his brief remarks, Dr. In his felicitation remarks, Dr. Ajay Lodha, the immediate past president of AAPI, praised the leadership of Dr. Parikh. “Under the leadership of Dr. Gautam and his team, AAPI has been brought to new heights,” he said. Dr. Kusum Punjabi lauded the efforts of AAPI leadership, encouraging young generation of Indian Americans and helping them realize their dreams. She along with Dr. Raj Bhayani was the Emcees at the event. In his brief remarks, Dr.
Bhayani, highlighted the fact that Indian-Americans constitute less than one percent of the country’s population, but they account for nine percent of the American doctors and physicians. “The overrepresentation of Indians in these fields (engineering, IT and medicine) is striking – in practical terms, one out of seven doctors is likely to be of Indian Heritage. They provide medical care to over 40 million of US population.” Dr. Raj Bhayani welcomed the AAPI delegates and the media persons to the press conContinue dn Page10
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VOICE OF ASIA 10
AAPI urges US gov't to expedite ... Continued from Page 9 ference, while Dr. Suresh Reddy proposed vote of thanks. Dr. Shashi Shah, past BOT chairman introduced the Consul General to the audience.
Earlier, during the day, AAPI members attended an outstanding Leadership Conference, addressed by renowned speakers with a working lunch and was followed by a Conference from 10 am to
5.30 pm. The Leadership conference agenda focused on: Self Management, Team Building Skills; And Addressing Challenges in AAPI. For more information, please visit: www. aapiusa.org
FRIDAY, August 24, 2018
US/WORLD NEWS
VOICE OF ASIA 11
Smashing records: More women have won primaries than ever before And these numbers are likely to grow with nine states yet to hold their primaries.
A
TLANTA — Women are not just running for office in record numbers this year — they are winning. More women than ever before have won major party primaries for governor, U.S. Senate and House this year — paving the way for November battles that could significantly increase the number of women in elected office and change the public debate on issues such as health care, immigration, abortion rights, education and gun control. Some of these candidates could also play a pivotal role in whether Democrats are able to take control of the U.S. House. Most of these female hopefuls are Democrats, some of whom are first-time candidates who say their motivation to run sprang from President Donald Trump's election and Republican control of Congress. But other developments factor in, too. The #MeToo movement. Women's marches. Trump's nomination of conservative appeals court Judge Brett Kavanaugh to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy. What challenges do Republican women running for office face in 2018? "Part of the reason I thought this race was possible, even despite great odds, was because of all the women who are so engaged in my community in a new way," said Democrat Mikie Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot and federal prosecutor who looks to capture a GOP congressional seat in New Jersey. Sherrill is one of some 200 women who have won their primaries for U.S. House, with 94 of these candidates surviving crowded fields with three or more candidates, according to an analysis of election results. Previously, the most women who had advanced were 167 in
FRIDAY, August 24, 2018
Texas doctor who raped sedated patient will not serve jail time Shafeeq Sheikh will be forced to register as a sex offender while remaining on probation for 10-years by Mythili Sampathkumar
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EW YORK - A doctor who raped a "heavily sedated" patient will not serve any jail time for the crime. Shafeeq Sheikh was instead sentenced to 10 years’ probation and ordered to register as a sex offender. He was also fined $10,000 (£7,800).
Rashida Tlaib faced several candidates from the Democratic Party establishment in her Detroit-area primary. (Photo: CNN) 2016, according to records kept by the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. In the Senate, a record 19 women have won their primaries. And for the first time, 13 women have been nominated for gubernatorial races in a single election year. And all these numbers are likely to grow with nine states yet to hold their primaries. Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo and U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham of Florida are among nine women running for governor who will face primary voters in coming weeks. No more than nine women have ever led states at the same time. "We are seeing a level of enthusiasm among women voters that we haven't seen in a long time," said Democrat Laura Kelly, who is running for governor in Kansas and will need women, independents and moderate Republicans in her bid against Republican Kris Kobach. There are few instances in which women — in a sense — have already won. For instance, two women will be competing to replace GOP Rep. Steve Pearce in New Mexico and the same is happening in races in Pennsylvania, Minnesota and
Michigan. But overall gains will also be dependent on how well the 71 congresswomen running for re-election fare in November. Success in November will go a long way to improving the nation's dismal record of female representation. Currently, women account for just a fifth of 535 U.S. representatives and senators, and one in four state lawmakers. Six of the nation's 50 governors are female. Meanwhile, women comprise slightly more than half the U.S. population. Women appear to be running strong so far. As of midAugust, some 49 percent of women running for the House have advanced to the general election, with about 40 percent in the Senate and about 25 percent running for governor, according to an analysis of election results. But that's no guarantee of victory this fall. Many of the women, particularly Democrats, are running in long-held Republican congressional districts or states where Republicans have consolidated support. One thing women have accomplished already is changing the tone and content of campaigns. - AP
Five female and seven male jurors had recommended the sentencing after deliberating for 14 hours at the Harris County Family Law Center in Houston, Texas. State law required Judge Terry Flenniken is required by the state's law to follow the recommendation, the Houston Chronicle reported. Sheikh, who used to work for the Baylor College of Medicine, raped a woman in 2013, when she was a patient at the city's Ben Taub Hospital. Later identified in local media reports as Laura, she had been placed under sedation to help with an asthma attack. At trial, Sheikh admitted to having sexual contact with her during a night shift at the hospital but claimed it was consensual. He had not been assigned to treat her. At sentencing, Assistant District Attorney Lauren Reeder told jurors he knew what medications Laura had been prescribed based on her medical chart. “He sought her out," she said. "He chose her to prey on". She added: “You know he’s the type of man who would go in multiple times, testing the waters, seeing how far he could go and get back to his normal business after that." Sheikh had previously ad-
Former physician Shafeeq Sheikh awaits his sentencing at Harris County Family Law Center in Houston for the 2013 rape of a patient ( Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via AP ). mitted to entering Laura's room multiple times. Laura testified that she had tried to alert the nurses' station but the button had been disabled. Surveillance video placed him on her floor that night and a rape kit done on Laura matched a DNA sample from Sheikh. Sheikh continued to practice medicine at Houston Methodist Hospital until his arrest two years after the incident on 2 November 2013. It was not until then, that the state medical board revoked his license to practice medicine, citing him as a "continuing threat". Sheikh’s defence lawyer, Stanley Schneider, pleaded with the jury for a lighter sentence than prison time given his client had no prior convictions and that Sheikh's wife and four children had suffered through an ordeal. Sheikh's wife and brother also testified on his behalf during the trial. “The dreams of a man, the childhood dream to become
a doctor, were shattered by his conduct," Mr Schneider told the court. "He destroyed his own dreams. What he has done to himself and his family is punishment. They are serving his sentence with him. His children are serving his sentence with him," After the sentence, Dane Schiller, spokesperson for the district attorney, said: “The jury voted on behalf of the community to determine his sentence, and although prosecutors sought prison time, we respect this process, and the jury’s decision, which carries with it a lifetime of registering as a sex offender.” Laura told a local television news station she felt there are more victims because Sheikh, in her estimation, "had everything very organised" regarding access to her room and unplugging the nurse call button. "I'm not only Laura; I represent lots of women, women who've been raped and mistreated," she said. - THE INDEPENDENT
VOICE OF ASIA 12
FRIDAY, August 24, 2018
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US says conserving oil is no longer an economic imperative
Taxpayers’ bill for Trump Jr.’s business trip to India: $32,000 and counting
ASHINGTON — Conserving oil is no longer an economic imperative for the U.S., the Trump administration declares in a major new policy statement that threatens to undermine decades of government campaigns for gas-thrifty cars and other conservation programs.
EW DELHI — Government records show that taxpayers spent more than $32,000 on hotel rooms for the security detail that accompanied Donald Trump Jr. to India earlier this year to promote his family’s luxury real estate projects — with many bills still unaccounted for.
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The position was outlined in a memo released last month in support of the administration’s proposal to relax fuel mileage standards. The government released the memo online this month without fanfare. Growth of natural gas and other alternatives to petroleum has reduced the need for imported oil, which “in turn affects the need of the nation to conserve energy,” the Energy Department said. It also cites the now decade-old fracking revolution that has unlocked U.S. shale oil reserves, giving “the United States more flexibility than in the past to use our oil resources with less concern.” With the memo, the administration is formally challenging old justifications for conservation — even congressionally prescribed ones, as with the mileage standards. The memo made no mention of climate change. Transportation is the single largest source of climate-changing emissions. President Donald Trump has questioned the existence of climate change, embraced the notion of “energy dominance” as a national goal, and called for easing what he calls burdensome regulation of oil, gas and coal, including repealing the Obama Clean Power Plan. Despite the increased oil supplies, the administration continues to believe in the need to “use energy wisely,” the Energy Department said, without elaboration. Department spokesmen did not respond Friday to questions about that statement. - Reaction was quick “It’s like saying, ‘I’m a big old fat guy, and food prices have dropped — it’s time to
In this Dec. 19, 2014, file photo, oil pump jacks work in unison in Williston, N.D. (-AP) start eating again,’” said Tom Kloza, longtime oil analyst with the Maryland-based Oil Price Information Service. “If you look at it from the other end, if you do believe that fossil fuels do some sort of damage to the atmosphere ... you come up with a different viewpoint,” Kloza said. “There’s a downside to living large.” Climate change is a “clear and present and increasing danger,” said Sean Donahue, a lawyer for the Environmental Defense Fund. In a big way, the Energy Department statement just acknowledges the world’s vastly changed reality when it comes to oil. Just 10 years ago, in summer 2008, oil prices were peaking at $147 a barrel and pummeling the global economy. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries was enjoying a massive transfer of wealth, from countries dependent on imported oil. Prices now are about $65. Today, the U.S. is vying with Russia for the title of top world oil producer. U.S. oil production hit an all-time high this summer, aided by the technological leaps of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. How much the U.S. economy is hooked up to the gas pump, and vice versa, plays into any number of policy considerations, not just economic or environmental ones, but military
and geopolitical ones, said John Graham, a former official in the George W. Bush administration, now dean of the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University. “Our ability to play that role as a leader in the world is stronger when we are the strongest producer of oil and gas,” Graham said. “But there are still reasons to want to reduce the amount we consume.” Current administration proposals include one that would freeze mileage standards for cars and light trucks after 2020, instead of continuing to make them tougher. The proposal eventually would increase U.S. oil consumption by 500,000 barrels a day, the administration says. While Trump officials say the freeze would improve highway safety, documents released this month showed senior Environmental Protection Agency staffers calculate the administration’s move would actually increase highway deaths. “American businesses, consumers and our environment are all the losers under his plan,” said Sen. Tom Carper, a Delaware Democrat. “The only clear winner is the oil industry. It’s not hard to see whose side President Trump is on.” Administration support has been tepid to null on some other long-running government programs for alternatives to gas-powered cars. - AP
Asia’s middle class to power region’s rise as the world’s top advertising market by Lisa Moon
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rapid surge in middle class and digitalisation of ads will help Asia-Pacific, led by China, to overtake the US as the top advertising market, fuelling adtech companies like US-listed The Trade Desk’s expansion into the region. APAC is currently the second largest region for global spending in advertising, expected to grow 7 per cent this yearto reach U$165 billion, behind North America’s US$218 billion, according to research firm Magna Global’s advertising forecast spring 2018 update. Already the biggest contributor to global growth in spending on advertising, between 2017 and 2020 the region will add 43 per cent of all new money to the market – US$32 billion of
US$75 billion – led by a 22 per cent contribution by China, according to Zenith Media’s advertising expenditure forecasts in June. Vincent Letang, director of global forecasting at Magna Global, said Asia is bound to overtake given the difference in average growth rates in advertising spending. “In APAC it is basically 8 per cent and in the US more like 3 per cent. It is just a matter of time before APAC becomes the biggest region, whether it is in the next five years or more,” said Letang. The focus is on digital, with Asian money to this field predicted to increase almost 17 per cent this year to US$70 billion, according to Magna. “Digital is obviously the growth engine for APAC, be-
cause of economic growth and a broader middle class, which is making Asian audiences more attractive to local and international brands. Those are the key drivers,” said Letang. Already, the number one media form in China is digital, and it is growing rapidly in India, he said. “Western ad-tech firms are clearly trying to take positions in Asia but they have competition from local firms, so it is a challenge.” The Trade Desk, which first entered Asia through Singapore in 2013, is one such firm. The company now has seven locations across APAC, and plan to expand into India in the next one-to-two years. “We are living through a change in advertising: from traditional to digital, from the
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A review of General Services Administration purchase orders shows that the government paid $15,166 for rooms for “Don Jr Visit to Mumbai” and another bill for $3,501, as well as $13,468 for hotels in the western Indian city of Pune, for a total of $32,135. A third purchase order during the same time frame in the city of Kolkata lists an additional $9,880 for a “VIP visit.” Officials at the U.S. Consulate in Kolkata declined to identify the VIP in question. The costs of the hotel rooms for the entourage’s stay in the capital - likely a hefty portion of the tab - as well as the airfare and transportation expenses remain unclear. Trump Jr. came to India in February on a whirlwind promotional trip during which he was feted with champagne toasts and met buyers of four Trump luxury residential real estate projects in Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata and outside the capital, New Delhi. Asked about the cost of Trump Jr.’s trip, Catherine Milhoan, a spokeswoman for the Secret Service, said: “As a matter of practice, the U.S. Secret Service does not comment on the specifics of protectees’ trips.” A State Department spokeswoman said the department does not discuss the details of security matters.
Donald Trump Jr. attends an event Feb. 22 at the Trump Tower in Mumbai, India. (Associated Press) This week, Quentin L. Kopp, vice chairman of the San Francisco Ethics Commission, filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging that the Secret Service is failing to comply with his Freedom of Information Act request seeking details on the cost of Trump Jr.’s India trip. “It’s private business at the expense of taxpayers,” Kopp said Tuesday outside the federal courthouse in San Francisco, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. “I’m a taxpayer. I resent it.” The government has not yet produced the documents that Kopp is seeking. The hotel and other bills worth $32,135 were found by The Post on the GSA website. The Secret Service is authorized to protect the president, vice president and their immediate family members — although Trump Jr. voluntarily gave up his protection for a brief period last year while on a moose-hunting trip in the Yukon. But ethics experts have criticized the protection expenses incurred by Trump Jr., 40, the
executive vice president of the Trump Organization, his brother Eric and sister Ivanka while on promotional trips for the family’s real estate business. The watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington said in a July report that documents it obtained under the Freedom of Information Act showed that the Secret Service spent more than $200,000 on airfare, hotel rooms and other expenses when Don Jr. and Eric Trump went to the United Arab Emirates to open a luxury golf club last year. Trump Jr.’s trip to India sparked considerable controversy after front-page ads in Indian newspapers urged buyers to pay a $38,000 booking fee to reserve luxury rental units in a new Trump Towers project in the Delhi suburb of Gurgaon in exchange for a meeting with the president’s son, sparking $15 million in sales in a single day. “I’m here as a businessman,” Trump Jr. said at the time. “I’m not representing anyone.” - AP
Trump once again criticizes Federal Reserve, rate hikes
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ASHINGTON | AFP - President Donald Trump once more broke with protocol Monday as he criticized the US Federal Reserve for raising interest rates and accused it of failing to support his economic policies.
current Chairman Jerome Powell, and it expected to hike twice more in 2018.
draiser on Friday, according to reports by the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg. “I’m not thrilled with his raising of interest rates, no. I’m not thrilled,” Trump repeated in the interview with Reuters on Monday.
And in an interview with Reuters, he declined to confirm his support for the central bank’s independence, something that has the potential to worry financial markets.
Powell in a radio interview in mid-July said he was not concerned about pressure on him to alter policy, saying “we don’t take political considerations into account.” He added at the time that “no one in the administration has said anything to me that really gives me concern on this front.”
That was a step further than Trump went just a month ago, when he also said he was “not thrilled” with the Fed for raising the key interest rate. As the US economy has recovered, the Fed has raised the benchmark lending rate seven times since December 2015, twice this year under
random guessing and tapping into the intuition of people, to the data-driven approach to advertising,” said Jeff Green, founder and CEO of The Trade Desk. Within 10 years Asia will
Trump nominated Powell to lead the Fed after declining to give a second term to Janet Yellen, someone he harshly criticized during the presidential campaign in 2016, accusing her of keeping rates low to help his opponents. He repeated his criticism of monetary policy under Powell’s leadership at a funcontribute over 50 per cent of the “trillion dollar pie” that the global advertising market will become, from the “US$700 billion pie” it is today, Green, 41, predicted. - South China Morning Post
Asked if he believed in Fed independence, Trump said: “I believe in the Fed doing what’s good for the country.” Questioning Fed policy is normally off limits for US politicians, since it could raise fears central bankers would fail to act to head off rising inflation. But Trump’s has not been a normal administration. Trump criticism of the Fed “attracted a lot of attention” but did not really move the stock or the bond markets, LBBW market strategist Karl Haeling told AFP. “So far people don’t think it’s going to change the Fed’s policy, at least for its meeting in September.” As interest rates rise, the US dollar strengthens as investors pour money into the country in search of higher returns.
VOICE OF ASIA 14
FRIDAY, August 24, 2018
BOLLYWOOD - HOLLYWOOD Section 2
Email: voiceasia@aol.com
Rolling in the cash money! ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ wins with $25.2M for $34M five-day launch and that’s scary,” says Jon M. Chu with Constance Wu, Henry Golding and Michelle Yeoh. They were photographed June 17 in Bel Air. The past several years have seen many comedies, including rom-coms, wilt. The last romantic comedy to debut to $20 million or more was in July 2015, when Amy Schumer’s raunchy, R-rated Trainwreck posted a three-day debut of $30.1 million. The next best showing was 2016’s How to Be Single ($17.9 million), followed by Overboard earlier this year ($14.7 million). In terms of comedies overall, last summer’s African-American led Girls Trip has been among the few to prosper after posting a three-day bow of $33.2 million. Constance Wu, Henry Golding and Michelle Yeoh star in the new blockbuster. by Pamela McClintock
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n yet another reminder that diversity pays off at the box office, Jon M. Chu’s groundbreaking romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians led the weekend nuptials with a threeday North American debut of $25.2 million and a five-day bow of $34 million. The film — the first Hollywood studio pic to feature an all-Westernized Asian cast since The Joy Luck Club 25 years ago — easily avoided the curse that has gripped the box office in recent years. The Warner Bros. movie scored the top opening for a rom-com in three years and the top start of the year so far for any comedy. Nearly 40 percent of the audience was Asian, an unprecedented showing for a Hollywood studio release. The pic, costing a modest $30 million to make, follows upon the success of such titles as Black Panther, Girls Trip and Get Out in terms of playing to an ethnically diverse audience. Caucasians made up 41 percent of ticket buyers, followed by Asians (38 percent), Hispanics (11 percent), AfricanAmericans (6 percent) and other (4
percent), according to Warners and comScore. Females turned out in force (68 percent), while 64 percent of the audience was over the age of 25. “This is a culturally significant movie, period,” says Warners distribution chief Jeff Goldstein. “It shows all of us that we need to look outside the box.” Crazy Rich Asians — buoyed by glowing reviews and an A CinemaScore — follows American Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) as she accompanies her longtime boyfriend Nick Young (Henry Golding) to his best friend’s wedding in Singapore. As Rachel visits Nick’s hometown for the first time, she quickly learns that her boyfriend is from one of the richest families in Asia. Michelle Yeoh, Awkwafina, Ken Jeong, Gemma Chan and Jimmy O. Yang also star. “There are [Asian-centric] projects in development right now, but they’re not going to greenlight these things unless our movie does well. If our movie does well, four projects will go into production or at least get greenlighted within three weeks. If it doesn’t, they’re going to be in unknown states,
iPhone history ‘The One Device’ set for TV limited series
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he history of Apple’s iPhone may be coming to a TV screen — or the iPhone on which you’re reading this story — near you.
“Brian has written the definitive story about the creation of the iPhone,” said Echo Lake principals Doug Mankoff and Andy Spaulding. “It was developed by dynamic men and women who worked in secret, often jeopardizing marriages, friendships, health and integrity. And when they were done, they had created the most
“There are [Asian-centric] projects in development right now, but they’re not going to greenlight these things unless our movie does well. If our movie does well, four projects will go into production or at least get greenlighted within three weeks. If it doesn’t, they’re going to be in unknown states, and that’s scary,” says Jon M. Chu (second from right) with (from left) Constance Wu, Henry Golding and Michelle Yeoh. They were photographed June 17 in Bel Air. Crazy Rich Asians is rolling out slowly overseas. It launched in six smaller markets over the weekend, earning $730,000. - Hollywood Reporter
The stereotype is being busted away!
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unjabis have often been presented as foodies and being loud n several Hindi movies like ‘Shaandaar’, ‘Vicky Donor’ and ‘Veere Di Wedding’. Asked if he sees a change in their image with films like ‘Phillauri’, ‘Udta Punjab’, ‘Soormaa’ that are set in Punjab, Jassi said : “With more introduction of Punjabi actors, region gets represented rightly. People like me, Diljit, who are born and brought up in Punjab, coming from a Punjabi household, trying to bring certain nuance in our representation.” Though he admitted the fact that the Punjabi community is quite foodie and fun-loving people who love to live life king size but mostly are stereotyped in Bollywood films. “Since Bollywood films have a larg-
Here’s who Sonakshi Sinha would like to run away with!
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onakshi Sinha is currently going out and about the city to promote her upcoming film, Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi.
Echo Lake Entertainment has optioned author Brian Merchant’s The One Device: The Secret History of the iPhone with an eye toward developing a limited series. No studio or outlet is attached yet. The book tells the story of the creation of the iPhone, which Apple’s Steve Jobs referred to as “the one device,” via interviews with engineers, developers and inventors who worked on the project. It also delves into how the then-novel ideas of touch screens, motion trackers and AI have become commonplace in the decade since the iPhone launched.
For Warners, the weekend was a double win, between Crazy Rich Asians and holdover shark pic The Meg, which placed No. 2 in its second weekend with $21.2 million for a 10-day domestic total of $83.8 million. Thanks in large measure to Crazy Rich Asians and The Meg, revenue at the North American box office was up more than 30 percent over the same weekend last year, while August is up more than 17 percent so far.
Punjabi singer-actor Jassi Gill says with actors like Diljit Dosanjh and himself coming to Bollywood, the myth about Punjabis being loud is “changing”.
The film which also stars Diana Penty, Jimmy Sheirgill, Piyush Mishra. When quizzed who would they like to run away with, if given a chance, both Sonakshi and Diana had an interesting answer.
successful product in history. Brian’s story makes you look at your iPhone in an entirely new way.” Echo Lake’s films include Nebraska, Truth and Away From Her; it also produces the Syfy series Van Helsing, whose third season premieres in the fall. - Hollywood Reporter
After contemplating whom they’d like to elope with, both the Happys said, “We will run away with each other away from everybody else.” And there you go! The film is a sequel to the 2016 film, Happy Bhag Jayegi. -Bollywood Life
Sonakshi Sinha would choose her bestie!
Jassi Gill: ‘Image of Punjabis changing in Bollywood’
er reach, we are introduce to the mass as loud people who are saying ‘oye’ in every sentence. That is a stereotype. We have much more to offer, are a land of music, literature and art,” he said. Jassi says that as a performer they have much more to “offer in films, than just comedy. With the popularity of Diljit perception is changing.” “I hope with the success of our film and my work in ‘Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi’, people will get to know about us,” he added. ‘Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi’ also features Sonakshi Sinha, Diana Penty and Jimmy Shergill. Directed by Mudassar Aziz, the film is slated to release on August 24. -Times of India
LEGAL
VOICE OF ASIA 15
Section 2
Legal Counsel: Can you copyright a tweet?
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witter was established in 2006 and since that time literally billions of “tweets” (short messages) have been posted. For many years, Twitter limited each message to only 140 characters. Earlier this year the maximum message length was doubled to 280 characters. A question that often arises in that regard is “Does copyright protect my tweets against usage by others?” In order to answer that question it will be necessary to understand a bit about the limits of copyright. There is a general understanding that the written word is protected by copyright. The text in books, magazines, newspapers and other media cannot be copied without permission except in limited circumstances. This prohibition against copying is based on the copyright rights granted by the U.S. government. However, not all written work is subject to copyright protection. Federal regulation spells out that “Words and short phrases such as names, titles, and slogans” cannot be registered by the U.S. Copyright Office and, hence, there is no copyright protection for such works. Of course, “short” is not defined by the regulations. So, how long must a phrase be in order for it to be eligible for copyright? The answer is, as is often the case with legal matters, it depends. There are two broad requirements that a written work must meet in order to be subject to copyright protection. The first is that the work must be “fixed in a tangible medium of expression” where it can be visually perceived. That requirement is certainly met by tweets or any other text that can be read on a computer screen. The second requirement is
that the work must be original. The originality requirement includes a requirement that the work be creative, and this is where tweets may fail to pass the copyright test. Experts in the field have opined that the shorter the phrase, the more creative it must be. For example, one judge suggested that short phrases such as “Euclid alone has looked on Beauty bare” and “Twas brillig, and the slithy toves” might be eligible for copyright protection in view of their creativity. With respect to tweets, in the case of the 140 character limit, it is extremely unlikely that a phrase that short would ever be copyrightable. The previous sentence has 142 characters. In the case of the 280 character limit, it is more likely that such will be copyrightable. There are 277 characters in the three previous sentences. The longer tweet offers greater opportunity for creativity, so it is more likely to be protectable. So, what can be said generally about rights in short phrases? • Posting something on the internet does not surrender its copyright protection. If someone wrote it, it is potentially subject to copyright protection. • Attribution is not permission. Copying another’s work and identifying the source will not avoid a charge of copyright infringement. • Text without copyright protection may still be plagiarized. Plagiarism is a broader concept than copyright and occurs when text or ideas are taken from another without attribution. Copyright does not protect ideas. Attribution may avoid plagiarism but still infringe a copyrighted work. • A copyright is not a trademark. Slogans that are not protected by copyright may be protectable by trademark.
Email: voiceasia@aol.com
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Tel: 713-774-5140
California continues legal challenges to census citizenship question
he Trump administration has lost another round in its efforts to get courts to dismiss lawsuits challenging the citizenship question it added to the 2020 census. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg issued an order allowing two cases filed at San Francisco federal court to continue. The ruling sets up a legal fight that may extend into the final months of preparation for the national head count. It follows an order last month by a judge in New York, who rejected the Justice Department’s efforts to get two similar lawsuits filed by the state of New York,
Phrases such as “Where’s the beef?” and “Don’t leave home without it” are examples of short phrases that would not be subject to copyright protection, but are protected as trademarks because of their close association in advertising with a good or service. • Fair use may apply. Reproduction of text for purposes of comment or criticism is generally allowed by statute. The tweets of public officials can typically be reproduced in the context of commenting on them. • An individual’s tweet is not likely protected by copyright but a collection of tweets may be. If multiple tweets are copied it is possible that the tweets, taken together, might qualify for copyright protection. Although there is no clear rule concerning the ability to copyright tweets, it is likely that in most cases they are not eligible. Still, when in doubt, getting permission from the author is always advised. - Newsok.com
FRIDAY, August 24, 2018
plus more than two dozen other states, cities and other groups, tossed out. The lawsuits in San Francisco were filed by the state of California — the first to sue after the new citizenship question was announced in March — as well as the city and county of Los Angeles, a handful of other cities California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (left) and Los Angeles Mayor Eric in California, and Garcetti announced the city and county of Los Angeles, plus four other cities, were the Black Alliance joining California’s lawsuit over the 2020 census citizenship question in May. for Just Immigra- (Photo: Damian Dovarganes/AP) tion, a Californiabased immigrant-rights group avoid taking part in the census plaintiffs are expected to quesled by Black Lives Matter co- if forms for the head count in- tion officials from the Comfounder Opal Tometi. Their clude a citizenship question. merce Department and Census attorneys, plus those for the The lawsuits’ plaintiffs argue Bureau through the next few Justice Department, are now that growing anti-immigrant weeks during depositions fogearing up for a potential trial sentiment and increased im- cusing in part on the Trump that could start on Jan. 7, at migration enforcement under administration’s motivations the U.S. District Court for the the Trump administration make for the citizenship question. Northern District of California. citizenship status an especially On Friday, U.S. District Judge sensitive topic to ask all U.S. Jesse Furman ordered the JusThe New York cases are movhouseholds about for the cen- tice Department to make John ing toward a potential trial that sus. Gore, the acting head of its could begin in late October. Attorneys for those cases are arguing that the decision to add a question about U.S. citizenship status by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who oversees the census, was a misuse of Ross’ authority and motivated in part to discriminate against immigrant communities of color. Seeborg’s order opens up an additional front against the Commerce Department and Census Bureau, which are both named as defendants in all six lawsuits over the hotly contested question. In addition to their claims under the Administrative Procedure Act, the judge is allowing the California plaintiffs to argue that adding a question about U.S. citizenship status to census forms is unconstitutional because it may prevent the federal government from counting every person living in U.S. — regardless of citizenship status — as required by the Constitution once a decade. In his order, Seeborg wrote that the plaintiffs “make a sufficient showing” that the new citizenship question “will undermine” the accuracy of the head count and “violate the Constitution’s actual enumeration command.” Numbers from the U.S. census shape how power and federal dollars are distributed around the country. How many congressional seats and Electoral College votes each state gets, as well as the share of federal funding for schools, roads and other public institutions and services, are all tied to the population count. Research by the Census Bureau suggests noncitizens may
Numbers from the U.S. census shape how power and federal dollars are distributed around the country. How many congressional seats and Electoral College votes each state gets, as well as the share of federal funding for schools, roads and other public institutions and services, are all tied to the population count. Ross has testified in Congress that the Justice Department “initiated” the request for a question about citizenship — a topic the Census Bureau has not asked all U.S. households since 1950 — in order to better enforce the Voting Rights Act’s provisions against racial discrimination. Since that law was enacted in 1965, the government has relied on estimates of U.S. citizens from a Census Bureau survey now known as the American Community Survey, which federal law requires one in 38 households to complete every year.
civil rights division that allegedly needs responses from the citizenship question to better enforce the Voting Rights Act, available to testify out of court.
Emails and memos filed in federal courts as part of the lawsuits, however, make clear that Ross pressured his staff at the Commerce Department to get the question onto the 2020 census months before the Justice Department formally submitted its request to the Census Bureau in December 2017.
The Justice Department has asked Hazel to extend the deadline to Aug. 24 for filing a motion to dismiss another lawsuit filed in May by various groups, including La Unión del Pueblo Entero, a community group in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley founded by labor activists César Chávez and Dolores Huerta.
Attorneys for the lawsuits’
Meanwhile, the fates of two lawsuits at Maryland federal court over the citizenship question are still unclear. After hearing oral arguments on July 18 over the Justice Department’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a group of residents from Maryland and Arizona, U.S. District Judge George Hazel has not yet released a ruling.
- NPR
VOICE OF ASIA 16
Young Life
Back-to-school menswear buys for under $100 by Yang-Yi Goh et’s begin by admitting there is an inherent flaw in this whole thing: you, presumably, are a Cool Teen™. A Gen Z-er at minimum. We are not that, which means we should be taking our style cues from you. But maybe you’d rather just spend the waning days of summer
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break not thinking about shopping, or could use a little help finding great foundational basics on a budget. In which case, we’re here for you—here are 4 reliable staples for under $100 to keep you looking fresh all semester long. And there are many more suggestions on sites such as styleforum.net. -Gentleman’s Quarterly
FRIDAY, August 24, 2018
5 Pearls of wisdom about college for students starting their first year Readers who are college graduates offer advice to incoming freshmen who wonder if degrees are worth the hype. by Lela Moore
College for me gave me the tools to examine and inquire, and it ignited my curiosity. I believe that community colleges are too often overlooked as a first step to a richer life.
all may not be quite in the air yet, but the school year is already beginning on many campuses. And so college freshmen, who just a few months ago tossed their high school graduation caps into the air and heard “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!,” begin a new season of angst.
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— Judith Smith, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Did I choose the right school? What should I major in? Will I ever use that major? Does anyone ever use that major? The Times has a Facebook group for readers, and a member who is an incoming college freshman recently asked these questions. Vivian Phung, 18, who plans to major in computer science and mathematics at Bryn Mawr College this fall, said that these topics were the source of much stress “every single day” for high school students, and hoped that the group’s responses might help struggling students feel better.
By next summer, this clean and crisp jean jacket will be all kinds of messed-up, broken-in, and perfect. ($98, Levis.com)
Chukka boots by Revenant ($65, eBay) Because you can’t wear sneakers all the time—but you can be that comfortable.
Young people hear the call to rejuvenate ageing priesthood
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he number of young people applying to become Anglican priests has risen by almost a third in the past two years after efforts by the Church of England to ensure its ageing population of vicars will have a new cohort to replace them. Figures for 2018 show that 169 people under the age of 32 have been recommended for training as clergy, compared with 128 in 2016. More than half the total – 54% – are women, although they are concentrated in older age groups. The C of E has a target to increase the number of candidates for ordination by 50% by 2020 so it can reduce the impact of retirements over the next decade. About a quarter of paid clergy are 60 or above. Although the rising number of young ordinands is encouraging for the church, they are outnumbered by the 223 who are aged between 40 and 54. There are almost twice as many women as men in the older age groups, but for those under 32, men outnumber women by 106 to 63. Ben Brady, 21, who will start a three-year residential course at Ridley Hall in Cambridge next month, said the growing number of young people entering training was a “sign of hope for the future”. He has spent the past year on a “ministry experience” scheme in Moss Side and
Big rise in younger ordinands after fears that no one would replace the quarter of Anglican vicars who are near retirement age. Whalley Range in Manchester, helping with services, baptisms, funerals and hospital visiting, which he said “helped confirm my calling to the priesthood”. According to the church’s latest ministry statistics, 6.2% of new ordinands who reported their ethnicity last year identified themselves as being from a black, Asian or minority ethnic background, compared with 3.8% of existing paid clergy. In total, there were just over 20,000 ordained ministers serving in the C of E at the end of last year. Of those 7,740 were in paid positions across 12,500 parishes. The shortage of ministers has required one in four paid clergy to take on additional roles, including looking after more than one church. The number of women bishops has risen to 17, but only four are senior, or diocesan, bishops. There are 115 C of E bishop posts in total. - The Guardian
I think that over all, the caliber of the university that you went to is inarguably important, but the culture of the overall environment is more impactful. — Nicola Brooks, London
More than 130 members of the group responded. Their consensus was that getting a higher education matters more than where you attain it or how you use it. Here is a condensed and lightly edited selection of the comments.
I think where you went to college can really make a difference if the school you attend offers you a multitude of internship opportunities (and financial support for internships), career exploration opportunities, and alumni contacts. Those opportunities tend to be more prevalent in schools with large endowments.
A bachelor’s degree opens doors
— Heidi Schallenberg Sweeney, Scotch Plains, N.J.
All the jobs I’ve had have required a bachelor’s. I don’t think I would have even gotten in the door for an interview without it. — Asia Reid Narayan, Philadelphia
Stussy Stock low pro cap For those days you wake up way too late to put gunk in your hair. ($40, Stussy)
Incoming students at the University of Houston toured the campus last year as part of an orientation. (Photo: Elizabeth Conley/AP)
Indirectly I have used the fact that I have a degree, as my promotion into management would not have happened without one as my boss only hired those with degrees. I feel like you should get the education and if you use [it,] great but if not, it cannot hurt. — Chris Michelier, Nashville Think about the college’s overall environment For my undergrad, I attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, N.Y.), and majored in biomedical engineering. Now, as a Ph.D. student and aspiring engineering professor, I absolutely use this major in my career!
After college, you never know how you’ll use your degree I wanted to be a genetic counselor but no one at the time (early 1980s) could tell me how to become one so I majored in biology. I kicked around for a year trying to figure out what to do and hit on the idea of becoming a medical librarian so I got my master’s in library science. I decided to go back to school and get an emergency management master’s degree. And now I work as a project manager for emergency preparedness for a health care association. It’s been a very weird and lengthy route but I’ve always been able to parlay my previous job into something new and
different and somehow have kind of come full circle back to a health care association. I love being able to translate dense science into language and concepts accessible to nonscientists. — Lisa Fenger, New York I was a writer/performer from an early age. I switched to playwriting by earning a Shubert Fellowship as the first MFA playwright from UC Davis in California. Little did I know that as a “financial adviser” I’d be writing and performing my own sales scripts, but that’s what I did for the next 26 years ’til retirement at age 65. My clients would say, “Lance, how did someone with your theatrical background become a financial adviser?” “Well,” I always replied, “how did Ronald Reagan become president of the United States?” Community college was the perfect first step I went to a community college, Orange Coast College, in Costa Mesa, Calif., because I had no idea what I wanted to — or could — do with my life. Those two years allowed me to mature and gain leadership experience though student government. I had some of my best professors there. Then I transferred to CSU Fresno, for a degree in English, then later, a master’s in American literature at CSU Long Beach.
Personally, I see community college as a way to inexpensively test the waters of higher ed, as well as being a much more supportive environment. They do a lot with less funding, limited resources, and a broad range of student needs, and situations, so they are like the MacGyver of college education. — Mandisa New York
Washington,
It is never too late to finish that degree I am a college student now. After high school many years ago, I went straight into MacMurray College as an Elementary/Deaf Ed major. A few attempts to return and seven more children later, here I am starting over! My goal is to teach at the high school level. I have learned it is never too late to return to goals which were put aside. — Cynthia Fernstaedt, Arizona I’m still in school, this time working on a Ph.D. Every moment of it has been spent both understanding what it means to be a doctor of social sciences studying transgender identity, as well as a transgender woman. It’s been hell — and the greatest gift I’ve ever received. I got a four-year fellowship to learn what it means to be myself and — hopefully — how to help other transgender people who are not as lucky as myself. Indeed, I can say with no hyperbole whatsoever that the University of Oregon has saved my life. — Bethany Grace Howe, Eugene, Ore. -New York Times
With that said, I do think that it is a case-by-case basis in whether it matters where you attend college. For me, attending RPI was certainly a benefit. The school itself has great name recognition for engineering, and the overall curriculum there is excellent for students desiring to pursue a professional engineering career. Additionally, I was able to pursue independent research as an undergraduate and develop close relations with my professors. All of these factors enabled me to further my career and pursue a BME Ph.D. at a leading institution. However, for people that are not set on a career path, or are less career-centric (which is totally O.K.!), I do not think it matters as much where you attend college. As long as you have a degree, I feel that networking and relevant job experience is significantly more important than the college you attend, your college major, and even your college grades. — Lexi Rindone, Maryland I went to American University and graduated in 2015. AU is far from the Ivy League, but the extremely international cohort of students, and diverse network I was able to build have helped me land every job I’ve had in the past five years. Every country I’ve lived in during the past five years has connected me back to my D.C. and/or AU networks. My current job in London I landed indirectly from a referral from a former classmate in D.C.
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VOICE OF VOICE OF ASIA ASIA1717
FRIDAY, FRIDAY,August August24, 24,2018 2018
Annuities can help cover long-termcare costs
August is Immunization Awareness Month
Section 2
Weed killer in your cereal? Maybe, but don’t panic A report by an environmental group disregards accepted evidence about safe levels of the chemical.
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tartling headlines about a weed killer in children’s cereal and snack bars are swamping social media and scaring parents this month. An advocacy organization, the Environmental Working Group, said last week that it had found traces of the pesticide glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup, in certain popular breakfast cereals and snack bars.
The amounts found are far below the allowable limits, and anyway, most experts in the field say there’s very little evidence that glyphosate causes cancer or any other health problems in people. The Environmental Protection Agency has said for years that there’s not much evidence that the pesticide can cause cancer. “The draft human health risk assessment concludes that glyphosate is not likely to be carcinogenic to humans. The agency’s assessment found no other meaningful risks to human health when the product is used according to the pesticide label,” the EPA says. “Glyphosate is no more than slightly toxic to birds and is practically nontoxic to fish, aquatic invertebrates and honeybees.” But what about the recent court case in which a California jury ordered Roundup maker Monsanto to pay $290 million in damages to a groundskeeper with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma? American juries do not necessarily rule based on scientific evidence, and they are not required to. “From a purely scientific point of view I do not think that the judgment makes sense,” Paul Pharoah, a professor of cancer epidemiology at Britain’s University of Cambridge, said after the ruling. He noted that evidence that glyphosate increases the risk of cancers such as lymphoma is “very weak.” The European Food Safety Authority also said glyphosate probably
Roundup weed killer contains the pesticide glyphosate. (Photo: Josh Edelson / AFP/Getty Images) doesn’t cause cancer in people. Experts have criticized various court decisions punishing companies for making consumer products that people claim have caused cancer, including talcum powder.\There’s not much medical support for a $4.6 billion baby powder verdict The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organization, has said glyphosate is a “probable” human carcinogen. The designation leaves room for doubt, and other panels dispute it. And just because a compound is found in food does not necessarily mean that it is causing harm. Scientists love to remind people that the dose makes the poison. “With all things, it is the level of exposure that matters,” said Fred Gould, head of the Genetic Engineering and Society Center at North Carolina State University. “The poison is in the concentration.” Gould points out that there are several steps to determining if a compound is dangerous to humans. Tests, usually done on animals, must show that it could cause harm. Then tests must be done to show how much of the compound it takes to do harm. Studies have to show that humans are in fact getting harmful doses of the compound, and more tests must show that people who are exposed to a compound have health problems more commonly than those not exposed, or than those who are exposed to less. The IARC study, Gould said, only
Fitness guide for working professionals
looked at animal exposures at very high doses — much higher doses than people have ever received. “The WHO was asking, ‘Would this compound potentially cause cancer?’ ” he said. Other groups have asked the remaining questions and found no evidence that the pesticide hurts people. A study published in May by a team at the National Cancer Institute found no evidence linking glyphosate with cancer. The team studied nearly 45,000 people who had applied glyphosate as part of their jobs. “In this large, prospective cohort study, no association was apparent between glyphosate and any solid tumors or lymphoid malignancies overall,” they wrote. There was some evidence suggesting that people who used glyphosate in their jobs might have a higher rate of acute myeloid leukemia, but the numbers were too low to say for sure and the team said more study of that particular question would be needed. The EPA and the Food and Drug Administration say they are checking the current guidance for safe levels of glyphosate in food. The Environmental Working Group said the levels of glyphosate it found in cereals were many times lower than the safe levels set by the EPA years ago, and even below the much more stringent levels set by California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. -NBC News
lore and more which would help you manage your everyday calorie count and healthy eating during your busy work life. - High cleanse detoxification -
Most working professionals are trying to figure out ways to stick to good health and fitness. (Photo: AFP)
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alance is very important as most of the people today are juggling between work, health, habits, personal space and lot more. With the most working professionals trying to figure out ways to stick to good health and fitness, here are some ways and platforms which would help one to maintain balance between work and maintaining a healthy lifestyle: - Squats It is a fitness platform which can help you seek consultation from professionals to achieve your fitness goals. It provides customized diet and fitness plans created by a team of expert fitness consultations which are personalized to ones needs and lifestyle. The package includes diet plan, fitness goal-tracking and counseling services. - Strava Strava is an app ideal for running and cycling. It helps you in track-
ing stats like distance, speed, pace, elevation and amount of calories burned during the workout. Its builtin network also lets you share these stats and join digital clubs with other fitness enthusiasts. Additionally, it’s compatible with most GPS running watches and activity trackers. But perhaps the best part is that its segment feature breaks down your workout to give you a closer look. - Swiggy For those who want to keep a count on the calorie that they are in-taking, Swiggy provides healthy restaurantquality calorie-counted food at various restaurants in different cities. An office worker, for whom a good meal can be a distant and unattainable vision, healthy dabbas, delivering balanced-and delectable-meals to your desk offering variety of healthy options to your palate. Restaurants also have special menu for healthy eating, well packed and fresh. To name a few, there are Hello Green in Mumbai, Purple Basil in Banga-
Annuities can help cover longterm-care costs
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by Maggie Fox
The group is not neutral on the issue. It actively campaigns against glyphosate, and this particular piece of research was not published in a peer-reviewed journal, which would have allowed other experts in the field to ask questions and check facts and methodology before the research was made public.
Tel: 713-774-5140
People are slogging themselves the entire week and feel exhausted. Pollution, chemicals, bad lifestyle, reduced sleep deteriorates the body leading to health problems. In this case, you require rest, nourishment and detoxification for a refreshed mind and body. To discover mental clarity, experience boosted energy, cleaner organs and realize what it feels like to feel good from inside, the juice detox Cleansehigh.com is the place for you. - The benefits of banking fitness “What’s really happening is many of these changes start to occur earlier in life but don’t manifest themselves and become problematic until later in age,” explains Cedric X. Bryant, chief science officer at the American Council on Exercise. There’s also a domino effect involved: Declines in muscle strength and bone mass start to occur in the 30s, he notes, and “losses of lower body strength and balance will
eople with existing annuities or whole-life insurance policies can take advantage of what’s called a 1035 exchange to swap into long-term care insurance-either a standalone long-term care insurance policy or a hybrid lifeinsurance/long-term care or annuity/ long-term care product. Such an exchange allows the investor to obtain a product that better fits their current needs and it can also be incredibly tax-efficient, assuming it’s carried out correctly. An intuitive aspect of the strategy-especially in relation to life insurance--is that it neatly trades off one type of risk protection for another, often at a life stage when it makes sense to do so. While a young accumulator with dependent children and/or a nonearning spouse should buy life insurance to provide income in case of premature death, his or her need for life insurance generally declines over time as the children grow into adults, the working years ebb away, and the investment portfolio gains in value. Of course, there are other reasons to hold life insurance beyond income replacement for dependents--estate planning considerations, for example-and that’s a key selling point for whole life insurance policies versus term. But for many earners, the risk of not being able to provide income after a premature death becomes overshadowed with a concern over paying for long-term care. By the time a person is in his or her 50s, he or she may no longer have dependents and is also at a good age to begin contemplating long-term care insurance. (Wait too long and the coverage could be cost-prohibitive or out of reach altogether due to a pre-existing condition.) A New Kind of 1035 A 1035 exchange allows an insured person to exchange one financial product for another of like kind (meaning same owner, same insured party) without having the transaction count as a sale and be subject to taxes. (Any surrender charges on the original policy would still apply, however.) Whereas 1035 exchanges have been available for life insurance and annuities for years, the Pension Protection Act of 2006 opened
eventually impact walking speed.” It’s a mistake to wait until these declines in physical fitness set in. After all, these fitness factors affect not only your general level of functionality but also your overall health: In a practical sense, your gait speed, for example, may determine whether you can cross the street safely before the light turns red. But it’s more than that, too. “Gait speed is now being called the sixth vital sign,” Hall says. “It’s the strongest predictor of hospitalizations, as well as a person’s risk for developing chronic
Sudhir Mathuria HEALTHLIFE 360 713-771-2900 the floodgates for exchanges from life insurance and annuity products into hybrid life/long-term care and annuity/long-term care products or pure long-term care products. This provision that allows for annuity/ life insurance exchanges into longterm care product went into effect beginning in 2010. Another benefit of conducting a 1035 exchange into a long-term care product is that even if the original product had an embedded gain, the ability to take tax-free withdrawals from the longterm care policy provides a tax-advantaged way to obtain long-term care insurance. Only qualified longterm care insurance policies (all of them on the market today) are eligible for a 1035 exchange. Meanwhile the annuity must be nonqualified, meaning it was purchased with after tax dollars rather than inside the confines of a retirement plan. Needless to say, deciding whether a 1035 exchange is a good fit for you, and making sure that you’re thinking through the key variables, is a complicated exercise. That underscores the value of seeking qualified, objective advice before proceeding. But for people whose life insurance or annuity products have outlived their usefulness, it’s an approach worth considering. (To Be Continued) To plan for Long Term Care contact Sudhir Mathuria at 713-7712900.
diseases, disabilities and cognitive decline.” That’s why it’s smart to look at building and maintaining physical fitness in a way that’s similar to how you might amass savings for retirement. “You get the greatest returns on your investment the earlier you start,” Bryant says. “But the beauty is: It’s never too late to start. All these systems respond to the right dose of stress in the form of physical activity and exercise.” -Asian Age/AARP
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HEALTH
VOICE OF ASIA 18
It took 4 years, 3 miscarriages and 1,616 shots to make this baby
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FRIDAY, August 24, 2018
Meat-heavy low-carb diets can ‘shorten lifespan’: study
ARIS, France | AFP | Saturday 8/18/2018 - Middle-aged people who get roughly half their daily calories from carbohydrates live several years longer on average than those with meat-heavy low-carb diets, researchers reported Friday. The findings, published in The Lancet medical journal, challenge a trend in Europe and North America toward so-called Paleo diets that shun carbohydrates in favour of animal protein and fat.
Two Arizona moms decided to have a photo taken of their baby London surrounded by hundreds of syringes needed to keep pregnancy viable. The photo went viral on social media and the mom says she wants it to inspire others. (Samantha Packer/ Packer Family Photography)
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his photo is testament to an undying hope in the face of heartbreak after heartbreak.
Wearing a rainbow swaddle, the 2-week-old is encircled with hundreds of syringes showing her parents’ IVF struggles. The heart around her is made of the blood-thinner needles her mom used twice a day. The next ring shows the many IVF injections that her mom took. After four years of trying, seven attempts, three miscarriages and 1,616 injections, the O’Neills say they are overjoyed to welcome their daughter to their family. London O’Neill was born on August 3. The photo of London was only meant to be something personal for Patricia and Kimberly O’Neill, a reminder of their fertility journey. After almost 55,000 shares on Facebook, the photo has become a symbol of hope for others struggling with infertility. “I hope that there’s a couple out there that’s going through what we are that can see that there’s hope at the end of the tunnel,” Patricia O’Neill told CNN. “There’s a light and you just have to get there.” They fell in love and wanted to grow their family Patricia and Kimberly met almost six years ago while both were working at a daycare. They fell in love and knew they wanted to have a baby together. After a year into their relationship, they started trying to conceive in February 2014. Patricia, now 30, said she didn’t want to narrow her window of having a child. During their fertility journey, they married in January 2017. Patricia, who has a 7-year-old daughter from a previous relationship, always wanted to have a biological child. Kimberly has a 14-year-son of her own from another relationship. They decided Patricia would carry the child. “We just thought it would only take going into a fertility clinic and nine months later, we’d have a baby,” Patricia said. “It just didn’t happen like that for us.” The Sun City, Arizona, couple saw a fertility doctor and tried two rounds of intrauterine insemination, neither of which resulted in an embryo. Next
they tried two egg retrievals and began the IVF journey with a new doctor. The second attempt gave them five embryos. The hope of finally having five chances to have a baby dwindled with each implantation. The couple lost baby one at six weeks. They lost baby two at eight weeks. Something was wrong and Patricia’s doctor decided to do some genetic testing. She learned she had a bloodclotting condition called Factor V Leiden. It’s a mutation of a clotting factor in the blood, and it increases a person’s chance of developing “abnormal blood clots,” according to the Mayo Clinic. Women with this mutation have a higher risk of developing blood clots during pregnancy. Knowing what was wrong, they tried the third embryo and it didn’t take, Patricia said. After a month they tried the fourth embryo and were successful. “We were excited. We went in to eight weeks in and we knew it was a boy,” Patricia said. “We saw the heart beat and then we went at 11 weeks and the heartbeat had stopped.” Patricia said she was at her breaking point after losing their son. “I was done and I couldn’t do it anymore. But my wife and I, we started this journey together, and we decided we would always be together in the hard decisions and she wasn’t done,” she said. The O’Neills couldn’t bear the thought of discarding, donating or not using their last embryo. They found a new doctor, this time one who specialized in Patricia’s clotting mutation. They started seeing Dr. John Couvaras, a board certified reproductive endocrinologist and ob-gyn, in summer 2017. Patricia gave her doctor permission to speak with CNN about her case. “My wife saved every single needle that I injected, all capped and plastic seals around them and everything,” Patricia said. “We didn’t know how many shots we were going to have at the end of it and we thought it was going to work pretty quick.” The O’Neills spent $40,000 during their four-year fertility journey.
Vaping can damage DNA, but will it cause cancer? by Dennis Thompson
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HICAGO, 8/20/2018 - E-cigarettes produce chemicals that can damage a person’s DNA, the first step on a path that might lead to cancer, a new study reports. The saliva of a small group of e-cigarette users contained increased levels of three DNA-damaging compounds, the researchers said. These chemicals are formaldehyde, acrolein and methylglyoxal. Further, four of the five e-cigarette users showed increased DNA damage in their mouths related to acrolein exposure, when compared against people who don’t vape. “This is a device that is considered to be safer with compared to regular cigarettes and I agree with that, because we don’t have the same levels of carcinogens that are present in tobacco,” said senior investigator Silvia Balbo, an assistant professor with the University of Minnesota Masonic Cancer Center. “However, I think just considering these devices as safe by this comparison is not good enough,” Balbo said. “It’s not good enough to say something is safe because it isn’t as bad.” But she added that this study on its own does not prove that e-cigarettes cause cancer, only that the devices produce chemicals that damage DNA in ways that can lead to cancer. “This study cannot determine whether e-cigarettes are carcinogenic or are causing a risk for cancer,” Balbo said, noting that alcohol and sunshine also damage DNA.
This is the latest in a series of studies that have called into question the safety of e-cigarettes. In June, a study in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology reported that chemical flavorings in e-cigarettes harm the cells of blood vessels in a way that could trigger future heart damage. For their study, Balbo and her colleagues wanted to gather more information about the types of chemicals produced by e-cigarettes that make their way into the bodies of people who vape. They recruited five e-cigarette users and collected saliva samples before and after a 15-minute vaping session, looking specifically for chemicals known to damage DNA. To assess possible long-term effects of vaping, the researchers also collected cell samples from volunteers’ mouths and evaluated them for DNA damage. “The idea here is to basically look at everything generated during vaping and present in saliva, and then determine whether they can damage DNA,” said lead researcher Romel Dator, a postdoctoral associate with the Masonic Cancer Center. The most concerning findings were related to acrolein, which is produced when glycerol is heated. Propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin are two of four main ingredients found in e-liquid, according to the Consumer Advocates for Smoke-Free Alternatives Association. “People who are vaping have higher
Proponents of these “Stone Age” diets argue that the rapid shift 10,000 years ago -- with the advent of agriculture -- to grains, dairy and legumes has not allowed the human body enough time to adapt to these highcarb foods. For the study, receiving less than 40 percent of total energy intake from carbohydrates qualified as a low-carb regimen, though many such diets reduce the share to 20 percent or less. At the other extreme, a 70 percent or higher share of carbohydrates -- such as pasta, rice, cakes, sugary drinks -can also reduce longevity, but by far less, the scientists found. “Low-carb diets that replace carbohydrates with protein or fat are gaining widespread popularity as a health and weight loss strategy,” said lead author Sara Seidelmann, a researcher at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. “However, our data suggests that animal-based low carbohydrate diets might be associated with shorter overall lifespan and should be discouraged.” Replacing meat with plant-based fats (such as avocados and nuts) and proteins (such as soy products and lentils) reduces the risk of mortality, Seidelmann and her team found. The optimal balance of food groups for longevity remains hotly debated. Many studies have concluded that eating carbohydrates in moderation -45 to 55 percent of total calorie intake -- is best, but others report improved short-term, cardio-metabolic health with high-protein, high-fat diets. Measures of metabolic health include blood pressure, good and bad cholesterol, and blood sugar levels. - Plant vs animal protein “Low carbohydrate dietary patterns favouring animal-derived protein and fat sources, from sources such as lamb, beef, pork, and chicken, were associated with higher mortality,” the study said. “Those that favoured plant-derived protein and fat intake, from sources such as vegetables, nuts, peanut butter, and whole-grain breads, were associated with lower mortality,” it said, adding that this suggested “the source of food notably modifies the association between carbohydrate intake and mortality.” Seidelmann and colleagues poured over the medical histories of nearly 15,500 men and women who were 45-64 when they enrolled -- between 1987 and 1989 -- in a health survey spread across four locations in the United States. Participants filled out detailed questionnaires about their dietary habits -- what foods, how much, how often, etc. Over a 25-year follow up period, more than 6,000 of the men and women died. People who got 50-55 percent of their calories from carbohydrates outlived those with very low-carb diets,
levels of DNA damage generated from acrolein than people who aren’t vaping,” Balbo said. The researchers plan to follow up this preliminary study with a larger one involving more e-cigarette users. They also want to compare levels of DNA damage between e-cigarette users and regular cigarette smokers. More research will be needed to see whether the levels of these chemicals are concentrated enough to be dangerous to human health, said Dr. Norman Edelman, senior scientific adviser to the American Lung Association. - HealthDay
Image Source: Björn Láczay/Flickr on average, by four years, and those with high-carb diets by one year. A review of medical records for an additional 432,000 people from earlier studies confirmed the results, which are also in line with World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations. “There is nothing to be gained from long-term adherence to low-carbohydrate diets rich in fats and proteins
from animal origins,” said Ian Johnson, a nutrition researcher at Quadram Institute Bioscience in Norwich, England, commenting on the research, in which he did not take part. “Most should come from plant foods rich in dietary fibre and intact grains, rather than from sugary beverages or manufactured foods high in added sugar.”
China sacks six more officials over vaccine scandal Records were fabricated, product safety compromised
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EIJING, China | AFP | Saturday 8/18/2018 - China said Saturday it has sacked six senior officials over a vaccine scandal that inflamed public fears over the safety of domestically produced drugs. The government has been struggling to shore up public confidence in the pharmaceutical sector following the revelation last month that a major Chinese manufacturer of rabies vaccines was found to have fabricated records and was ordered to cease production.
sible for the faulty vaccines, Changchun Changsheng Biotechnology, has already been arrested along with 14 other people in connection with the scandal. The company is based in northeast-
Boxes of vials containing the rabies vaccines manufactured by the vaccine maker Changsheng Biotechnology, is seen at a local disease prevention and control centre in Huangshan, Anhui province, China July 23, 2018. (Photo: REUTERS/Stringer)
Authorities say the suspect rabies vaccines did not enter the market. But the case provoked outrage from consumers fed up with recurring product-safety scandals, particularly in the drug sector. Five officials at the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) -- including Deng Jianhua, who directed two departments -- were sacked, a statement from the State Administration for Market Regulation said on its website. The sixth official was deputy director of the National Institutes for Food and Drug Control (NIFDC) Wang Youchun. The vaccine scandal revealed that CFDA officials “did not sufficiently supervise and regulate, provided inadequate oversight and control, and conducted lax reviews of violations, neglecting their responsibilities through many loopholes,” the statement said. The CEO of the company respon-
ern Jilin province. A dozen other officials were removed from office on Thursday, including Jilin’s deputy governor Jin Yuhui, according to the official Xinhua news agency. Jin was in charge of monitoring the safety of food and pharmaceuticals. China is regularly hit by scandals involving sub-par or toxic food, drugs and other products, despite repeated promises by the government to address the problem. Since the latest case came to light, the authorities have announced a nationwide inspection of laboratories producing vaccines, but many Chinese parents say they no longer have confidence in the medicines administered to their children. During the height of the scandal, clinics in Hong Kong saw a run on their vaccine stocks by worried parents from the mainland.
ART & CULTURE
VOICE OF ASIA 19
FRIDAY, August 24, 2018
Jaipur Literary Festival debuts in Houston from September 14 - 15
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OUSTON - Teamwork Arts, producers of the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival, often dubbed ‘the greatest literary show on Earth’, bring to Houston an iconic event where ideas and perspectives jostle with intellectual vigor. Houston, where skyscrapers and bayous meet, will welcome JLF at Houston for the first time in Texas. The Festival opens on Friday evening, September 14 with events running all day on Saturday, September 15. With internationally acclaimed authors and thinkers taking part in a range of provocative panels and debates, at the core of the programming are thoughts and issues that resonate with our times.
Center. “Engaging our diverse city in an array of international topics and speakers aligns perfectly with our deep commitment to promoting cultural understanding.” “As this inaugural edition of JLF at Houston makes clear, Houston is a city of brilliant writers and passionate readers, and Inprint is proud to be at the epicenter of Houston literary life,” says Rich Levy, executive director of Inprint. “What an honor and a joy to work with JLF on making JLF at Houston a reality.” JLF at Houston is a part of the larger umbrella of JLF in the USA, which also includes JLF at New York on September 19-20 and ZEE JLF at
Parameswaran, Sharad Paul, Daniel Peña, Shobha Rao, Kathy Reichs, Navtej Sarna, Anis Shivani, Mimi Swartz, Shashi Tharoor, Marina Tristán, Roberto Tejada, , Novuyo Rosa Tshuma, and Milan Vaishnav. See bios here. Program highlights include an opening and closing night musical performance and vigorous panel discussions. The audience will also have the opportunity to listen in on conversations about relevant topics such as the continuities of Mexican and American experiences and narratives, of the violence of cross-border realities and of pluralism and diversity; Indian myths and their impact on the collective faith
Forest Of Fantasy dance project set to dazzle
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athna Kumar’s “Forest of Fantasy” is an imaginary story that weaves together reality and fantasy to drive home a very important point - that we need to take Nature serious-ly, respect it, and do our best to protect our environment before things get any worse.
JLF at Houston will be held in association with Asia Society Texas Center, an educational organization promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among the peoples, leaders, and institutions of Asia and the West, and Inprint, a literary arts nonprofit organization, supporting and engaging readers and writers of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. “We’re so excited to be collaborating on the first JLF at Houston for the first time in Texas,” says Bonna Kol, president of Asia Society Texas
Boulder on September 21-23. The Houston event will present a rich showcase of South Asia’s literary and oral heritage while also featuring authors from around the world as well as local literary figures from Houston. Participating writers include :Jay Aiyer, Omar El Akkad, Robin Davidson, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Namita Gokhale, Kurt Heinzelman, Lacy M. Johnson, McKenna Jordan, Rich Levy, Rubén Martinez, Sonal Mansingh, Jovan Mays, Jasminne Mendez, Marcus Moench, Rajesh
of the people; forensic anthropology, genetics and health; a crucial session on water, climate change, and social issues; readings and conversations on poetry and the sources, inspirations, contexts, and philosophy of the poetic imagination; and Hinduism, one of the world’s oldest religions, discussing its essence and its vital contribution to a plural and secular democracy. Asia Society Texas Center is located in the heart of Houston’s Museum District: 1370 Southmore Blvd, Houston, TX 77004.
Reviving a centuries-old Japanese confectionery art Amezaiku, a candy-making technique that calls for sculpting molten sugar syrup, nearly went extinct. Now, it’s seeing new life among a dedicated group of Tokyo craftsmen. by Ligaya Mishan
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irst the fingers burn. Any apprentice in the centuries-old Japanese confectionery art of amezaiku must accept this as the price of beauty. Molten syrup, heated to a scalding 176 degrees Fahrenheit, is scooped up with bare hands. There’s no time to cry out; from the moment it touches the skin, you have about five minutes to pull and squeeze the hot ball, impale it on a stick and sculpt it — into a panda, a crane, a rhinoceros beetle — with nothing but singed fingers and tiny scissors for making swift cuts as the syrup congeals. The syrup, known as mizuame — “water candy” — is traditionally made from glutinous rice broken down into sugar by malt. It’s often found at street fairs, trapped between rice crackers or as a glossy coat around apricots. At home, Japanese children dig it from the jar with chopsticks, which they twirl to create a corn-syrup-sweet gob for licking. With amezaiku, food coloring may be massaged into the mizuame and a fine brush might be used to shade, for instance, the green-gold halo of a goldfish’s eye. Depending on the artist, the result veers toward the cartoonish contours of marzipan or the stiff perfection of blown glass. In a final gesture, the hardened syrup is tapped with a blade to ensure it’s set. The ring is crisp, as if someone were making a toast. This is theater, performance inextricable from product, which itself is as much toy as candy. Since its popularization in the 18th century, amezaiku has belonged to the common man; its practitioners often share jokes and magic tricks between sculpting. The syrup, historically heated by charcoal, was once aerated by blowing through a straw, but the government banned this technique in
Shinri Tezuka’s amezaiku, from left: ping pong pearlscale goldfish, mackerel, yellow comet goldfish, octopus, squid and orange comet goldfish. Plastic sculpture (center) by Rachel Goldsmith.(Credit: Photograph by François Coquerel. Styled by Theresa Rivera) the 1970s on hygienic grounds, and the ranks of amezaiku makers dwindled. In 2008, when Takahiro Yoshihara opened the first storefront in Tokyo devoted to the craft, he estimated there were 30 such artists left in the country. That’s surprising, given that amezaiku speaks to the Japanese obsession with all things kawaii, or “cute,” which arguably developed as a response to the failed antiwar student protests of the 1960s. In the economic boom that followed, kawaii, defined as something both lovable and pitiable — which is to say, something lovable because it is naïve to forces larger than itself — provided both solace and consumerist distraction from dashed hopes for change. But it is also a protest against the rigidity of Japanese society, a choice to remain innocent instead of joining the ranks of miserable adults. In this, amezaiku suggests a connection between kawaii’s sentimental appeal and the Japanese principle of mono no aware, loosely translated as “the sadness of things,” or an attun-
ement to the power of objects to awaken our empathy. Still, unlike wagashi — the classical tea-ceremony treats with complex flavors and textures, haiku-like names and brief shelf lives — these lollipops are not intended to be allegories of impermanence. They don’t contain mysteries; their entire story is told through their making, and most of their pleasure derives from witnessing true virtuosity, another Japanese specialty: the steady hands, the coaxing of form out of formlessness, the race against time. Risking pain makes the achievement all the greater, as with Japan’s urushi, lacquerware that requires artisans to work with toxic sap. Through repeated contact, they grow immune. Though amezaiku is dying out as street craft, its spectacle has been embraced on social media, earning it recognition beyond Japan. The greatest appraisal has gone to the 29-year-old Shinri Tezuka, who runs two shops in Tokyo, and who renounces cuteness for realism. His intricately de-
The story concept by Seetha Ratnakar, has been specially set to music by Sandeep Kumrouth and Mahalakshmi of Sreekrithi School of Music, and choreography is by Rathna Kumar, who received an Individual Artist Grant for this original project. Cos-tumes
General admission for Asia Society members and Inprint patrons is $10.00, non-members $20.00, students, $5.00. Tickets and registration are required. Program and panel details, speaker’s bios, and registration
and lighting have also been designed by Seetha Ratnakar, former Asst. Station Director of India’s national television network, Doordarshan.
features puppeteer Greg Ruhe of Puppet Pizzazz and the Anjali Dance Company and members of the Anjali Center for Performing Arts.
This dance theater project
Come and journey with us through our surreal forest at 5pm on Saturday, 25th August, at the Kaplan theater, Evelyn Ru-binstein Jewish Community Center, 5601 S. Braeswood Blvd, Houston, TX 77096.
at: http://asi.as/JLFHouston For further information about Asia Society Texas Center: Contact Joy Partain, JPartain@ asiasociety.org For further information about Inprint: Contact Krupa Parikh, Krupa@inprinthouston.org
Tickets are $25 & $15 act the door and early bird specials are $22 and $12. For tickets and information please call (832) 275-9658.
Crime-fighting art expert helps bring stolen Buddha statue back to India by Bridget Katz
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ack in March, Lynda Albertson went to the European Fine Arts Fair in the Netherlands, on the lookout for stolen antiquities that sometimes surface at these kinds of events. Albertson, CEO of the Association for Research into Crimes Against Art (ARCA), soon caught sight of bronze Buddha statue that aroused her suspicions—and her hunch about the relic’s shady provenance proved to be correct. As Gianluca Mezzofiore reports for CNN, the 12th-century Buddha has been identified as one of 14 statues that were swiped from the Archaeological Museum in Nalanda, eastern India in 1961. And on Wednesday, which is also India’s Independence Day, the statue was handed over to Indian officials during a ceremony in London.
identify the statue as the same one that was stolen from Nalanda in 1961, but the authentication process still took some time. As soon as Albertson saw the statue, she sent photos of the relic to Vijay Kumar, cofounder of India Pride Project, which tracks down and recovers stolen heritage objects. He compared those photos with images from the Archaeological Survey of India, and agreed that they likely had a match. Additional crosschecks confirmed the duo’s suspicions, and Albertson notified the Netherlands National Police Force, Unesco, INTERPOL and Indian authorities. But officials couldn’t simply swoop in and retrieve the statue.
“I identified the piece one day before the fair closed,” Albertson tells CNN’s MezzoThe recovered relic is a fiore. “That’s insufdelicate artwork that deficient time to get picts Buddha in the BhuILORs (International misparsha mudra pose— Letters of Request) seated, with his right hand The statue comes home 57 years ago after for assistance from resting over his right being stolen. (Photo: Metropolitan Police) India to Dutch police knee, reaching toward to seize the piece.” the ground and touching his lotus throne. The gesture post, the statue that she spotted So the dealer, who is from the symbolizes the moment that at the European Fine Arts Fair U.K., was informed that the inBuddha summoned the earth as is nevertheless unique, created vestigation would recommence a witness to his enlightenment, using “lost wax” or cire-perdue in his home country. and it is commonly represented method of metal casting. According to Nadeem Badin Buddhist iconography. But shah of the Guardian, British as Albertson explains in a blog This is a process where a wax police say that the dealer and model is made which can be the statue’s most recent owner used only once, as the wax had no inkling of the relic’s melts away when the molten illicit provenance. The artbronze is poured into the mold. work appears to have changed tailed creatures, often pulled For this reason, each bronze hands several times since it from the deep sea, wed beau- Buddha made using the lost was stolen in 1961, and it was ty with menace: giant squid, wax method is unique, and even pictured in a 1981 book arms flowing like streamers; while other Buddhas may have by Buddhist art scholar Ulrich venom-spined scorpionfish, a similar appearances or poses, Von Schroeder, suggesting that mouth agape to capture prey. no two will be exactly alike the piece has long been seen as They look surprised in mo- as each object has to be made legitimate. tion, seized from life, seeming from its own individual wax The Buddha’s owner agreed to glow from within. But they, mold. to take the statue off the martoo, are kawaii — helpless and, ket while the investigation was when we decide to eat them, utThe singular nature of 12th- ongoing, and ultimately volunterly at our mercy. century Indian bronzes is what teered to surrender the item. made it possible for experts to - Smithsonian -New York Times
BEAUTY & STYLE
VOICE OF ASIA 20
‘People no longer go into antiques shops’
The humble Indian nightie is becoming a global fashion trend by Anubha George
old, it doesn’t matter.”
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She believes the state’s weather has something to do with the popularity of the garment. “Kerala is where the nightie has flourished because in this humidity, wearing a salwar kameez or a sari is uncomfortable,” she said. She says her husband’s experience as a bra salesman and in textiles gave him insight into what women wanted: “A good, comfortable, airy garment that they could work and sleep in.”
he year was 1988. For Benny NA, it marked a watershed— it was the year he made a major contribution to popularising the nightie in Kerala. His wife Sherly Benny narrated his story. “Benny had Rs3,000 ($43) on him,” she said. “He didn’t put it in the bank like everybody else. He invested it in a small business of making nighties. He had three workers.” Today, Benny NA and Sherly Benny are the owners of Kerala’s largest nightie brand, N’Style. The company says it has revenues of over Rs100 crore a year.
In addition, there’s its sheer practicality. “The Kerala nightie is 90% cotton and 10% polyester or rayon, which makes washing and drying easier too,”
“They’d rather scroll through something online and choose something, or choose a few things.”
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raditionally antiques dealers have been used to dealing in objects from history in a style more in tune with tradition than cutting-edge technology, but no longer. The growth of online marketplaces and rising rents are pushing many out of long-established shops.
said Sherly Benny. “Plus it lasts longer.” N’Style has a production unit in Piravom, an hour and a half from Kochi. It employs 600 people and sells its products through 400 retailers. “We make 10,000 nighties a day,” said Sherly Benny. A Kerala nightie can retail for anywhere between Rs200 and Rs800. Most of the tailors who are stitching the nighties are women, said Sreejith Jeevan, a fashion designer at Rouka in Kochi. “…It’s easy to cut—just shoulders and neck,” he said. “And an easy straight stitch. That made me think of just how high the consumption of the nightie is in Kerala.” eevan describes the nightie as a “boxy garment which doesn’t give any shape to the body.” But he admits to having used the shape in his designs
The increase in international competition means, for example, that a Maori flute valued at £50-100 last year, actually sold for £140,000 as a result of a buyer in Paris bidding against an Australian collector.
“People haven’t got the time to go into a place like Grays,” she says. “They’d rather scroll through something online and choose something or choose a few things.”
Alongside her regret, however, at the dwindling of face-to-face trading, is her pleasure at new encounters such as telephone conversations with couples wanting to buy antique engagement rings from as far away as Japan. Though a staple of women’s wardrobes in the state, the nightie is not Kerala’s sartorial prerogative—it is commonplace across many parts of India. Made out of cotton or polyester, it usually follows a standard design: gathered from the yoke, puff sleeves, with a rickrack or lace trimming, and usually floor-length. Its largely unflattering shape means it doesn’t rate highly with the fashion conscious. Curiously, the flappy garment has attracted its fair share of controversy. In 2013, a Chennai school asked the parents of their students to stop wearing nighties for the morning school run as they felt it was distracting. The next year, a women’s group in Gothivli in Navi Mumbai tried to impose a fine of Rs500 on residents wearing nighties outside their homes, describing the garment as indecent. In both cases, the nightie won the battle.
And this opening up of antiques market is growing apace. Figures from the saleroom.com, which describes itself as the world’s premiere online auction site for art and antiques, show that £128m worth of items were sold through its platform in 2017 - a rise of 21% on the previous year.
After 35 years selling antique jewellery from Grays, an antiques market in Mayfair, central London, Olivia Gerrish decided it was time to move on.
She had already made the leap of embracing new technology in her business when her son Matt, who works with her, decided that they needed an online presence as The Antique Jewellery Company a few years ago, but this summer she gave up her retail space in order to move into an office.
The Kerala nightie is now in fashion (Photo: N’Style)
FRIDAY, August 24, 2018
There’s also the satisfaction of pushing forward with new technology like their recently launched app, which she says “seems to work well.” Olivia still sees some customers by appointment, but generally people buy online, with 14 days to return unwanted pieces.
Antiques advertised online but available in the Chuzai Living shop, Mumbai. (Photo: Chuzailiving.com) Roadshow, operates out of a gallery in the King’s Road, Chelsea. “People who used to do their research would go round antique shops, ask questions, look at things and perhaps go away and think about it.
Dr Eleanor Quince, history lecturer at Southampton University, who has undertaken a study of Britain’s antiques industry, says while dealers are divided as to whether the internet is negative or positive for business - many have felt the need to change their business model.
“Instead of having a fixed premises where you sell your stock, you might set yourself up as a consultant who is able to locate items for an individual or you might open only for those people who approach you because they want to buy.”
Fewer buyers may now come to an auction, but online bidding has grown in importance
Internet trading in small items like jewellery or increasingly popular vintage watches would seem an easier task than trying to deal in large items like furniture, but even here being online has become essential, says James Bly. He’s a fourth-generation dealer, who with his father John Bly, a furniture and antiques expert for many years on BBC TV’s The Antiques
“Now it would appear that all that research is done sitting in an office or at home in front of a computer. They search for ‘breakfast table’, ‘chandelier’, or whatever it is and all the information comes to them - which means that we can’t afford not to be accessible online.”
Besides the internet, this shift is being driven by rising High Street rents, making it increasingly costly to keep open shops for passing trade.
One solution - adopted by Olivia Gerrish and many others - says Freya Simms, CEO of Lapada, the UK’s largest association of art and antiques dealers, has been to move up to the first floor of premises rather than pay to have a shop front. -BBC News
25 Best lip tips, according to makeup artists
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omplement brown eyes with cool blue-toned lip colors, like deep reds or purples. Against blue or green eyes, warm orange-reds and corals pop. — Vincent Oquendo When hydrating your lips, more is more: apply balm past the lip line, onto the skin. Leave it on for as long as possible before putting on lipstick. — Mally Roncal Sherly Benny is the CEO and chief designer of N’Style. (Photo: Meenakshi Solman) Despite the mild horror it sparks in some quarters, the nightie’s stock seems to be on the rise. In fact, it may even be a sartorial highlight of this year’s American summer. Only in July, The New York Times ran a story on the garment under the headline “Wear Your Nightie Out.” Prasad Bidapa, a fashion stylist and choreographer from Bengaluru, believes the reason for its popularity is the comfort that the garment affords. “A few years ago, corporate women in America were wearing lacy satin chemises under their jackets, adding a touch of femininity to workwear,” he said. “It was only a matter of time before the comfort of nightwear was translated into what we now call lounge or active wear.” - Comfort is key In Kerala, the nightie is everywhere. Sherly Benny has been the CEO and chief designer of N’Style for almost a decade and reckons that most working-class women in Kerala own at least one nightie, if not two. “She wears one not just at night but during the day, when she’s working, even when she’s walking the children to school,” said Sherly Benny. “Young or
quite frequently as “it’s not always about the curviness, but also about functionality.” - The origins The nightie is believed to have made its first appearance in Victorian times as the nightgown when, according to Bidapa, the women would wear “usually decorously floor-length” garments made of Indian muslin in the summer. “English ladies in colonial India wore it through the year as sleepwear,” he said. “But I think nightwear existed even before that, especially with ancient Egyptians and later the Romans.” In the 18th century, the nightgown made an appearance in India. “It travelled back with the Fishing Fleet, those ambitious young women from England who came out in droves to India to find husbands,” said Bidapa. According to Anu Moulee, a vintage fashion blogger, while the British nightgown did familiarise the Indians with the concept, it wasn’t necessarily adopted by the subcontinent immediately. “In the early 20th century and even up until the 1960s in India, the leisure-wear gown is high end, like the
Choose one place (Cupid’s bow, bottom lip) to overdraw your lips with pencil that matches your lipstick — emphasizing a single area looks natural. — Oquendo Less is more when you’re wearing blush with bright lipstick— pick a blush that’s in the same color family as your lipstick, and use a light hand. — Mylah Morales
If you want to make your lips look pouty, use a slightly lighter lipstick on the center of your upper and lower lips than you do at the edges. —Roncal Most people don’t know where their lip line ends. Tilt your head back so you can line the very bottom of your lower lip, and your lips will look fuller. — Robin Black Creamy lipsticks can be applied with a brush, but most mattes pay off better when you put them on straight from the bullet. — Matin Maulawizada For an easy-to-wear take on bold lip colors, put on your lipstick, then press a clean finger along your lip line to soften things up. — Dick Page Before lipstick, trace your Cupid’s bow with a light shade of foundation to create a brightness that makes lips look naturally fuller and crisper. — Crimson
Put on a matte liquid lipstick, then apply a regular lipstick over it. Using similar shades — or different ones — creates its own beautiful color and texture. — AJ Crimson
Dot gloss onto the center of your upper and lower lips — alone or over lipstick — and press your lips together. You’ll avoid glop on the sides. — Pati Dubroff
Use a wedge sponge or index card as a guide to line your lips with precision — excess product will come off on it, not the skin around the lip. — Crimson
It’s a myth that you should layer setting powder over lipstick. It can oxidize, change the lip color, and accentuate creasing. — Black
ones Nargis wears in Andaz or Saroja Devi in Anbe Vaa,” she said.
with large numbers of Malayalis travelling to west Asia for better jobs, may have had something to do with the nightie’s spread in India. “…Migration to both the Gulf and the West may have spurred the adoption of nightwear, as returnees or visitors home got back these styles,” said Moulee.
Another garment that was popular as daywear in early 20th-century America was the housecoat. It didn’t catch on in India though, because it “ended well before the ankle. Apart from [in] Goa, women [in India] were averse to midi-style garments,” explained Moulee. She believes that the Gulf boom,
Also, by the 1970s, maxis and kaftans for women had made an appearance and become an acceptable day garment. The sari was already
Lip gloss is fluid — it’s not designed to wear all day. Put your gloss over a coordinating long-wearing lipstick for a glossy lip that actually lasts. — Pat McGrath The point of nudes is to make your lips look fuller, not to make them disappear. Choose a shade that’s slightly deeper or brighter than your skin tone. — Surratt Fill in the entire lip with liner. When the lipstick on top wears off, the color underneath — instead of your actual lip — will come through. — Black Start putting on lipstick at the center of your lips, and saturate the area — rub your lips together and the color will fade into your natural lip line. — Crimson A little bit of concealer around the lips — or two layers of lip liner — keeps your lipstick from migrating or bleeding into fine lines. — Black Your lips are not the same color as your skin, try lipstick on your lips, not the back of your hand. — Surratt For the most precise red lip, work backward. Apply lipstick, then liner (in the exact same red or a little deeper) to create the shape. — Oquendo established but, as Moulee explains, it needed a blouse and a petticoat as undergarments. “In Kerala, it was all about the drapes. It was probably why the nightie as a garment became quickly accepted. Over time, the Gulf nightie became a rural garment in Kerala. It became representative of the lowerclass woman. They adapted it into this cheap, shapeless garment which is easy to wash and maintain.” -Scroll.in
VOICE OF ASIA 21
FRIDAY, August 24, 2018
Home&Real Estate The most expensive Houston homes sold in July 2018
How Christian Dior’s favorite decorators transformed postwar France
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H
OUSTON - The local residential real estate market recorded more record-high prices in July, thanks in part to a yearover-year increase in luxury home sales, according to the latest monthly report from the Houston Association of Realtors. The most expensive home sold in July was 3407 Inwood Drive, per data supplied by HAR. The 5,440-square-foot house, which is located in River Oaks Country Club Estates, was listed for $7.35 million by Robert Bland of Martha Turner Sotheby’s International Realty. The information is all courtesy of the Houston Association of Realtors, which does not reveal the exact price a home sold for. Although HAR ranked the homes by sales price, only the listing price is included in the captions.
o hear Maureen Footer tell it, Paris in the late 1940s mirrors America of late. “Society was polarized, people felt like they were losing their identities, and outside influences threatened what was considered the French way of life,” the style historian says on the eve of publishing her new book, Dior and His Decorators: Victor Grandpierre, Georges Geffroy, and the New Look (The Vendome Press, $60).
3407 Inwood Drive, list price: $7.35 million. 5,440 sq. ft in located River Oaks Country Club Estates and built in 1937. (Photo: Martha Turner Sotheby’s International Realty)
But instead of snarking on Twitter, she continues, couturier Christian Dior and two friends—the charming Grandpierre, a former photographer; the melancholic Geffroy, an ex–fashion designer—went about making French classicism great again, though they stirred in English furniture,
Hélène Rochas’s bedroom, decorated by Georges Geffroy. (Photos by Andrea Kertesz) Finnish carpets, and Middle Eastern bronzes. The modish
3407 Inwood was built in 1937, making it the oldest home on the top 10 list. According to its HAR.com profile, it’s a Georgian-style home designed by John Staub, the same architect who constructed Ima Hogg’s Bayou Bend mansion. The home has four to five bedrooms along with four full bathrooms and one half-bathroom. It also includes an octagonal study that has access to a wine cellar. Sitting on nearly an acre, the residence includes “a series of walled gardens, a lily pond, mature landscaping and a private swimming pool and patio area commissioned by the current owners,” per the profile. Recently, another luxury home — defined by HAR as those priced at or above $750,000 — recently found a buyer. After nearly a year on the market and several price cuts, 2802 Fairhope St. was under contract and expected to close Aug. 14. Previously owned by the stars of TLC’s “The Little Couple,” it sold for between $827,001 and $947,000, according to HAR.com.
Smoldering from war and lean from rationing, Paris was thunderstruck when Dior made his haute couture debut in 1947. Tight bodices made bosoms the voluptuous center of attention, while corseted waists gave way to yards of costly silk. (A textile manufacturer underwrote Dior’s business.) Skirts “spread like an open tulip,” a reporter observed of the Corolle collection, a.k.a. the New Look. Actually, the romantic silhouette, echoing billowing ancien régime garb, wasn’t new at all, nor were the historicist decors of Dior’s fashion house, then as now at 30 avenue Montaigne. But the rooms’ fuss-free execution made them au courant.
3780 Robinhood Street, list price: $4.95 million. 7,396 sq. ft in located Sunset Terrace neighborhood in West University and built in 2003. (Photo: John Daugherty Realtors)
Victor Grandpierre’s living room for Lilia Ralli.
318 Lindelwood Drive listed for $3.95 million. 7,673 sq. ft in located Memorial Drive neighborhood in Memorial Villages and built in 2012. (Photo: Linda Leiby)
result was revolutionary, Footer says, “in a streamlined but cosmopolitan manner that answered, as design often can, the big questions of the time: Who are we? Where are we now? Where are we going?”
-Architectural Digest
CENTERED LIVING
The Woodlands incorporates, new affordable home developments
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he Woodlands Township continues to make steps toward incorporation as it considers whether it could include zoning for the area if The Woodlands became a city. According to Community Impact Newspaper, incorporated cities use local ordinances to create zoning requirements while the township uses covenants to enforce standards more similar to a homeowners association. If the township votes to incorporate The Woodlands, it would be a general law city, which has limited powers under the state legislature. But if voters approve a charter to become a home rule city, then it can adopt zoning ordinances. In other Houston real estate news: Ivan Arjona, Ricardo Gonzalez and Luz Elena Jaramillio of RE/MAX The Woodlands & Spring have been honored by the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) for being among the Top 250 Latino agents in the United States. Candidates were ranked in a number of categories including transactions, agents by team, distribution by regions and more.
Photo: iStock Pulte and Friendswood Development Co. announced that it will be building a 175-acre community at Katy Crossing. More than 600 homes will be built by Lennar and Pulte Homes starting in the $190,000s to meet the demand for entry-level homes in that area, according to Realty News Reports. Model home openings are planned for January 2019. Wade Jurney Homes and Century Communities have purchased land in Livingston to build homes. The exact number of home sites was not included, but construction will begin immediately on homes priced from $100,000 to $154,000.
The Signorelli Co. broke ground on its latest development in The Woodlands. The 21.5-acre apartment project will be the first within Town Center and is part of the company’s 1,400-acre Valley Ranch master-planned community. Signorelli will start construction on the next phase by mid-2019 to create 456 new units, the Houston Business Journal reports.
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VOICE OF ASIA 22
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When it comes to relationships, the weekend seems more intense, with the potential for jealousy to rear its ugly head. Don’t let someone’s behavior get to you. Be strong and do something nice for yourself.
21 April to 20 May An elusive date can be frustrating over the weekend. You aren’t into playing mind games, but are they? You aren’t really interested in wasting your time on something that has zero potential of developing into more.
21 May to 20 June It will be easy to find people who think like you now. Casual conversations can help both parties be more effective and make the time fly. Expect a busy, profitable week with some delays.
21 June to 22 July This week is about the celestial configurations creating a lot of tension for you. It begins in your house of personal expression and self-worth, indicating a need to address the way you project yourself into the world.
23 July to 22 August It helps to give your mind a rest by taking a chance to feel your body. You may have a tendency to spend too much time reading and thinking about the state of your health rather than actually doing anything about it.
23 August to 22 Sept Your sector of creativity seems very active, even though there are three planets currently rewinding in this sector. It could be that you need to let go of aspects of the past so you can start again on a fresh track.
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Week of AUGUST 24, 2018 21 March to 20 April
ELECTRICAL SERVICE
Astrology.com
23 September to 22 Oct You may have to reach a compromise with yourself if you want more love in your life. Can you work less? Go out more? Let yourself get set up on blind dates? Something’s got to change.
23 October to 21 Nov New ways of doing things may be pressing you from several directions now. The idea that you must make or can’t avoid making a change can come as quite a shock. Slow down when uncertain.
22 November to 21 Dec Activity in your house of money and values this week means that something from the past has to be cleared up and dealt with before you can move forward again. Add to this the ingredients for an interesting money future.
22 December to 20 Jan Resentment, bitterness, jealousy, and all other dark emotions keep you locked in a state of tension and fear, The more you work on letting them go, the happier and healthier you can be. Join friends who are committed to staying fit.
21 January to 19 Feb This can be a good time to purge those deep-seated feelings and experiences that may have been holding you back for too long. Whole areas of your life could open, and things you always dreamed of might become possible.
20 February to 20 Mar A handwritten love letter or poem will really get their attention. The lyrics to your favorite song really express how you feel about love over the weekend, so sing ‘em loud and proud. No one’s listening (and so what if they are)!
ACROSS 1. Stopped from sleeping 6. Emergency responders 9. Much ado 13. Carl Jung’s inner self 14. Old French coin 15. Approximately 16. Castrated bull 17. “Swan Lake” step 18. Relating to pond scum 19. *Great Depression state 21. *”The Maltese Falcon” author 23. *____ Row 24. ____-de-camp 25. Churchill’s “so few” 28. *Subject of “Reefer Madness” 30. Herpes ____, a.k.a. shingles 35. Cain’s victim 37. *Johnny Vander Meer and Ernie Lombardi 39. Go “Boo!” 40. Shower with affection 41. *Now demoted planet identified in 1930 43. Antioxidant-rich berry 44. Insect, post-metamorphosis 46. Slang for heroin 47. College cadet program 48. Elongated shape 50. Shining armor 52. Fifth note 53. One less traveled 55. Loudness knob 57. *First FIFA World Cup location 61. *FDR’s brainchild 65. Linoleums, for short 66. Hole-in-one 68. Mr. Simpson to Marge 69. *Seabiscuit sound 70. QB exclamation 71. Imitating 72. *Johnny Hodges and Jimmy Dorsey played it 73. Group of exercises 74. In the Queen of Hearts’ oven?
DOWN 1. Yellowjacket 2. Cognizant of 3. Capital on the Dnieper 4. Mideast V.I.P. 5. Limited in scope 6. Sports award 7. Bygone bird 8. Uncooked seafood 9. *”The Mummy” or “City Lights” 10. Egg on 11. *Cab Calloway’s improvised singing 12. *Gandhi’s ____ March 15. Brooches with low relief carving 20. Pipsqueak 22. Wood-shaping tool 24. Cited as evidence 25. *Dominant mass media in the 1930s 26. Mushroom cloud maker 27. Prenatal 29. Snaky swimmers 31. Melee memento 32. Fiesta fare 33. One of the Muses 34. *Third ____ 36. Building block 38. Just for men 42. Nose of a missile 45. Military offensive 49. India’s smallest state 51. Disinterested response 54. Nursemaids in India 56. Parkinson’s disease drug 57. Arm bone 58. Cambodian currency 59. ____ of measurement 60. 1960s boots 61. Remaining after deductions 62. Another spelling for #4 Down 63. *”It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It ____ Got That Swing)” 64. *Colbert showed them in “It Happened One Night” 67. Pool shark’s weapon
SOLUTION on THE 1930s on PAGE 23
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VOICE OF ASIA 24
FRIDAY, August 24, 2018