Voice of Asia Jan 16 2015

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FRIDAY, January 16, 2015

House passes third ObamaCare bill of new Congress.

For prompt Obama Care Enrollment Cal Call 713-771-2900

today.

Vol. 28 No. 3 Friday, January 16, 2015 • Published Weekly from Houston • 713-774-5140 20 Pages ( 2 sections) 50 cents E-mail: editor@voiceofasiaonline.com

IACCGH Hosts its inaugural networking event for 2015

ACCGH President Ashok Garg delivering his inaugural address on Jan. 6, 2015.

by Manu Shah

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OUSTON: Describing the Indo American Chamber of Greater Houston as “dynamic”, Consul General of India in Houston, Honorable P. Harish was the Chief Guest at the IACCGH 2015 Inaugural “Networking Works” Reception. The event was held at The Rotunda Houston City Hall and attended by digni-

taries Senator Rodney Ellis, County Clerk Chris Daniels, Senator Cornyn’s District Director Jay Guerrero, MITDC SA Chairman Nishan Khan, ICC President Charlie Patel and Former Houston Mayor Pro Temp Gordon Quan. The event saw the passing of the baton of leadership from outgoing President Sanjay Ramabhadran to incoming President Ashok Garg.

Continued on Page 3

L to R: IACCGH Executive Director Jagdip Ahluwalia, Board member Aku Patel, Consul General P. Harish, IACCGH Past President Sanjay Ramabhadran, IACCGH President Ashok Garg and Board member Joya Shukla. Photos by Bijay Dixit, Unique Images Studio.

Pope takes message of peace to Sri Lanka’s warzone US judge throws out lawsuit against India’s Modi

by Ishara KODIKARA MADHU, AFP (1/14/2015) - As Pope Francis exhorted Sri Lankans to unify and confront the “evils” of their sectarian conflict, a Hindu from the teardrop-shaped island’s Tamil minority was hanging onto his every word.

M.K. Rajini, a bank worker from the war-ravaged Jaffna peninsula, travelled hundreds of miles Wednesday to receive a blessing from the pope at a church which was on the front line of Sri Lanka’s 37-year ethnic war.

“I am a Hindu, but I came here to be blessed by him,” Rajini told AFP at a shrine where Pope Francis flew in by helicopter to give a service.

Despite their differing faiths, Rajini said she believed the Catholic leader could help heal the wounds of the long ethnic conflict that ended a little over five years ago.

Continued on Page 9

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the audience at The World Diamond Conference in New Delhi on December 11, 2014 (AFP Photo/Findlay Kember)

Pope Francis waves to people as he arrives to lead a canonisation mass for Joseph Vaz in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo on January 14, 2015. Thousands of Sri Lankans gather at the Colombo seafront to take part in a vibrant open-air mass by Pope Francis. (Photo by Stringer/ Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

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OP-ED/COMMENTARY/ANALYSIS

VOICE OF ASIA 2

Don’t turn off the lights; the party ain’t over!

Publisher: Associate Publisher: Editor-in-Chief: Austin Correspondent: Print & Media Marketing: Marketing: Production: Office Manager:

FRIDAY, January 16, 2015

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

Pradeep Anand, President Seeta Resources

by Pradeep Anand

B

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

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

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Voice of Asia (USPS 010-215) (ISSN#10705058) is published every Friday (for a subscription rate of $30 per year) by Free Press LLC, 8303 SW Freeway, Suite # 325, Houston, TX 77074. Tel: 713-774-5140. Fax: 713774-5143. Periodical postage paid at Houston, Texas.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Voice of Asia, 8303 SW Freeway, Suite # 325, Houston, TX 77074 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.

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ack in 1967, Willie Nelson wrote and sang, “Turn out the lights, the party’s over. They say that, ‘All good things must end.’ Let’s call it a night, the party’s over. And tomorrow starts the same old thing again.”

Despite being influenced by Willie Nelson’s Country & Western music, the E&P industry is anything but conventional, and the industry will prove it again in the way it responds to the recent drop in oil prices.

Market disruptions, driven by oil price fluctuations, are not uncommon in the E&P industry. Oil prices produce cash flow for the operators, who then invest a portion in finding and producing hydrocarbons.

When oil price falls, cash flow declines, and spending budgets drop.

When there is a significant change in the direction of oil prices, uncertainty creates ultracautious ehavior and budgets get slashed, which flows through the industry value chain, affecting all players.

Thanks to the Bull Whip effect— small fluctuations in the wrist/arm can produce wide fluctuations at the end of the whip—suppliers farthest from operators will suffer from the greatest instabilities.

However, the “party ain’t over.” Energy is vital in our everyday lives, and the global economy stills needs a substantial amount of oil and gas to fuel economic growth. Exxon Mobil’s 2015 Outlook for Energy forecasts that energy consumption will increase 35% by 2040. In the interim, to thrive

in today’s disrupted environment, all firms in the E&P industry will benefit from five swift actions that can deliver immediate, intermediateterm and long–term results: 1. Focus on attractive markets for core businesses 2. Protect margins in attractive markets 3. Pursue dominant share in attractive markets 4. Improve operational efficiencies in attractive markets 5. Build the future with new technologies.

Focus on attractive markets for core businesses. These are markets where customers have a need for a supplier’s offering, have budgets to fulfill their needs and intend to spend their budgets, and where that supplier’s offering is a necessity or nice to have (but not a postponable decision). For a tighter focus, the supplier has to honestly answer the question: What do we do better than the competition in this market? A quick focus on profitable, sustainable core markets sets the first stage of recovery.

Protect margins in an attractive market. Declining markets create panic in operating units, who then respond to revenue pressures in shrinking markets by indiscriminately reducing prices. This accelerates the reduction and destruction of company and industry profitability.

To stem this deterioration, it is important to reinforce the front line by training them to discover the Ideal Competitive Selling Price (ICSP) for their products/ services in their marketspecific environments. The ICSP helps the front line realize how high their price ceiling actually is, causing them (and the management) to pause and reflect before making detrimental pric-

ing decisions.

Pursue dominant share in attractive markets. Once attractive markets have been identified, the first task is to focus on protecting and increasing market share and margin share, globally. Then, after developing a deep understanding of current competitive positions (What do we do better than rivals and upstarts?), revisit and refine the firm’s business model/design for these markets.

Typically, a lead business model would be one of three options: innovative supplier, a fullservice supplier or lowcost supplier. After picking one, fill minimum expectations on the other two fronts. The oil field is a technology business. Firms must spur new technologies to market, to stave off competitive thrusts.

Improve operational efficiencies in attractive markets.

Acquire diagnostic services.

Due to their recent focus on growth initiatives, E&P firms lack the right resources to answer the three “shocked market” related questions: Where are we? Where can/should we go? And how do we get there?

The affected companies need experienced commando teams that can swiftly perform “Diagnostic Services” on these identified initiatives and speedily deliver recommendations for easy, timely execution.

Focus on triple economies of scale, scope and knowledge: Firms can benefit significantly when they strive for all three benefits. Economies of scale are obtained, because available knowledge is shared over a number of uses as time passes by, thereby reducing average costs per use. Economies of scope are realized, because explicit knowledge can be reused in activities and processes

across different uses or users.

For both economies of scale and scope, the higher the number of uses or users where codified knowledge can be reused, the higher the benefits potentially obtained. Economies of knowledge are obtained, because sharing of explicit knowledge leads to knowledge combination, not mere replication.

Target cost cuts to find equilibrium in the current environment.

Build the future with new technologies. In current economic conditions, more compelling technology solutions and processes will be needed to continue finding and producing oil and gas, especially in unconventional segments.

During the oilfield recession of the 1980s, loggingwhiledrilling and 3D seismic, two of the most significant E&P technologies, were born and commercialized.

Both survived, because they were independent business units. Core businesses will fight for limited resources, but it would be folly to stop investing in new technologies that can substantially change economies of finding and producing oil and gas.

Source: World Oil, (Executive Viewpoint, Jan. 2015.)

Pradeep Anand helps global engineering and technology companies accelerate their revenue and margin growth.

Mr. Anand was the first marketing manager for loggingwhiledrilling at SperrySun Drilling Services and Vice President, Marketing, at Landmark Graphics. He is an adjunct faculty member at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business, where he teaches “Marketing in the Energy Industry” in the MBA program.

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VOICE OF ASIA 3

C OMMUNITY VOICE OF ASIA

FRIDAY, January 16, 2015

Second Front Page

Friday, January 16, 2015 • www.voiceofasiaonline.com • Page 3 • Email: editor@voiceofasiaonline.com • Tel: 713-774-5140

IACCGH honors its IndoAmerican media partners, hosts dinner reception

L to R: IACCGH Executive Director Jagdip Ahluwalia, IACCGH Past President Sanjay Ramabhadran, Voice of Asia Publishers Koshy Thomas and wife Moani Thomas, Voice of Asia Editor-inChief, Shobana Muratee and IACCGH President, Ashok Garg. Photo by IACCGH.

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OUSTON – The executive members of the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston (IACCGH), were the host of a dinner reception held in honor of the members of the Indian American media in Houston on Thursday, January 8 at the local Indian restaurant, Mayuri on Westheimer.

The informal evening had about 20 members that included publishers of the leading Indian American newspapers in Houston: Koshy Thomas of Voice of Asia, Jawahar Malhotra of Indo-American News and Rajiv Gadgil of India Herald that know to be around for over 25 years.

Publishers, editors, report-

ers, photo journalists, TV anchors and videographer were in attendance.

Honoring a trend that started two years ago by IACCGH past President Ajit Thakur, the IACCGH held the reception as a way of appreciating Indian American media for their work in the past years not only for Chamber but to the community at large. It was also an occasion to fortify the relations between the media persons and the Chamber that has been ongoing for the last 15 years since the Chamber was established.

IACCGH Executive Director Jagdip Ahluwalia welcomed the guests and said a few words about the Chambers future events. Current President

Ashok Garg elaborated further on the initiatives of the Chamber and spoke briefly of the IACCGH delegation to India with Houston Mayor Annise Parker in April 2015. A brief silence was observed in honor of the recently slain journalist of France. Past President Sanjay Ramabhadran also spoke on the occasion.

Certificates of Appreciation were presented to members representing the Newspapers, TV and Radio by Ahluwalia, Garg and Ramabhadran.

A small, but very close knit group of media members had a stress-free evening with friends and colleagues and caught up on a lot of stuff as they enjoyed the delicious dishes of Mayuri Indian Restaurant.

IACCGH Hosts its inaugural networking event at City Hall Continued from Page 1 Following tradition, the event honored two distinguished business leaders for their longtime support of the Houston business community. Manuel Gonzalez, recently retired Director of the US Small Business Administration was presented a plaque on behalf of IACCGH

by Asif Dakri, CEO of Wallis State Bank, the leading bank in the region for SBA guaranteed loans. Nyamusi Igambi, Senior International trade specialist, recently promoted to Director of the US Commercial Service in Kansas City was presented her plaque by the Honorable Gordon Quan.

Executive Director Jagdip Ahluwalia welcomed the gathering. Introducing Past President Ramabhadran as one of the “first volunteers” of the IACCGH and a President who led the Chamber “to new heights,” the Executive Director invited him to give a brief rundown of the events organized by the IACCGH in 2014.

Manuel Gonzalez, former Director of the US SBA seen receiving a plaque from Asif Dakri, CEO of Wallis State Bank on behalf of IACCGH. Photo by Bijay Dixit was the “icing on the cake” of a rewarding and successful year. Past President Ramabhadran also thanked the Board and friends of the Chamber for their support.

In his address, Past President Ramabhadran gave a brief recap on the past year which kicked off on a high note with Dr. Durga Agrawal’s impressive appointment to the UH Board of Regents. This was followed by India’s Ambassador to the US, H.E. Dr. S. Jaishankar’s reception hosted by IACCGH.

Described by Executive Director Jagdip as “a great proponent of the Indo US bilateral trade”, Consul General P. Harish, in his address, appreciated the fact that Presidents were willing to give their time and energy to make the Chamber “dynamic and an important partner”. Describing 2014 as a politically important year for India, he echoed India’s PM Modi’s invitation to invest in India and promised that there would be “no red tape, only a red carpet” for investors.

The Chamber was also successful in hosting distinguished speakers such as Chancellor Dr. Renu Khator, Secretary of State Nandita Berry and MD Anderson President Dr. Ronald DePinho. The Annual Gala saw Houston’s most influential people with US senior Senator John Cornyn as Keynote Speaker, a successful trade delegation to India in December and a chance meeting with none other than the Dalai Lama

In his address, President Ashok Garg thanked the 70 plus gathering as well as the luminaries for their support. He lauded Past President Sanjay Ramabhadran for his tremendous contribution to the Chamber’s work and believed that the Past President had “raised the bar for all of us.” He also stated that he looked forward to sustaining and strengthening the Chamber’s mission to maximize business opportunities in

the Greater Houston region and observed that it is “not just our duty but also in our best interests to promote the economic growth of the region”.

President Garg also announced plans of a delegation to India with Mayor Parker in April as well as two new programs that are to be launched this year – a Student Internship program with Indian multinationals and an energy meet with members and leaders in the energy field. A unique Rolex watch raffle fundraiser by IACCGH to fund these events was also announced.

Describing “networking as one of the golden rules of business” and one of the Chamber’s core missions, he concluded his address by encouraging the gathering to “get to know as many people as possible during the evening.”

Upcoming IACCGH events include a Tax Seminar on Sunday, Jan 25 from 2:00 pm at India House and a Small Business Outreach program at the HCC Katy Campus on Thursday, Feb 12 at 6:30 pm. For details, visit www.iaccgh.com or email info@iaccgh.com

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COMMUNITY

YOUR IMMIGRATION LAWYER

The People’s Lawyer

Answers to your Immigration Questions

by Sharlene Sharmila Richards, Immigration Lawyer: email at srichardslaw@aol.com

www.peopleslawyer.net Richard M. Alderman Interim Dean of the Law Center

Wages may be garnished for a student loan Q. I owe a student loan from more than ten years ago. They now are telling me that if I don’t pay they will garnish my wages. How long do they have to collect? I thought there was no wage garnishment in Texas.

A. Unfortunately for you, there are basically are no time limits within which government backed student loans must be collected. Even though the debt is ten years old, it may still be collected.

Additionally, although wage garnishment is generally prohibited in Texas, wage garnishment for student loans is based on federal law that pre-empts Texas law. In other words, if you don’t pay, your wages will be garnished.

Under the law you must be given an opportunity to make arrangements to pay before wage garnishment is used. I suggest you take advantage of this opportunity.

Q. I am the sole shareholder and president of a small corporation. Does my business need an attorney to file a claim in justice court?

A. In most cases, a corporation may file a lawsuit only through an attorney. In justice court, however, any authorized agent, such as the president, may represent a corporation.

Q. I have a durable power of attorney given to me by my recently deceased mother. Can I still use this to wind up her affairs?

A. You can no longer use a power of attorney after the death of the grantor. The authority granted by a power of attorney generally ends upon the death or incompetence of the grantor.

Because this power of attorney was “durable” it would continue even if the grantor became incompetent. Even a durable power of attorney, however, terminates at death.

Q. Can my daughter-in-law claim any part of the land my son recently inherited?

A. If the property was inherited by just your son, it is considered his separate property and his wife has no interest in it.

Q. I must move out of my apartment before the end of my lease. I have a friend that wants to move in. Can I just sublease my apartment to him?

A. Under Texas law, a tenant may not sublease unless the lease expressly authorizes it. If your lease does not permit you to sublease, and you do, you would be in breach of your lease and your landlord could evict the person to whom you sublet the apartment. If your lease does not authorize you to sublet, you may want to speak with your landlord and see if he will agree to the new tenant. Assuming that your friend is a good a tenant as you are, your landlord will probably agree.

Q. I am 67 years old, and had a common law marriage for over 35 years. My husband recently passed. Am I entitled to his Social Security?

A. Under the law, a widow is entitled to receive Social Security survivor’s benefits upon the death of her husband. The fact that you have a common law marriage does not change your eligibility. As I have said before, as far as the law is concerned, a common law marriage is no different than any other marriage. How much you receive will depend on factors such as how long your husband worked. To learn more about survivor’s benefits, visit the Social Security Survivors Planner, http://www.ssa.gov/survivorplan/index.htm Q. I own a large dog. I don’t have any children, but the neighborhood kids sometimes play around my yard. Am I responsible if a kid climbs over my fence and is bitten? My dog has never bitten anyone, but I don’t know what he would do if a stranger came into my yard.

A. As a general rule, the owner of a dog is responsible for a dog bite only if the owner was “negligent” in protecting people from the dog. Negligence means not acting as a reasonable person would. In my opinion, if you take reasonable steps to keep the dog fenced in and warn the neighbors about your concerns, you have no responsibility if a child were to climb over your fence. Of course, if you do not properly maintain the fence, and that is why the child was able to enter your property, you could be considered negligent and responsible.

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FRIDAY, January 16, 2015

Sharlene Sharmila Richards Q:

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ABOUT IMMIGRATION FORMS AND NAVIGATING USCIS’ WEBSITE

What is USCIS?

A: USCIS is an acronym for United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. It is the federal government agency that oversees lawful immigration to the United States. Petitions and applications filed for purposes of immigration to the United States are typically adjudicated

by USCIS. Q: I want to obtain a Form for immigration. I went online and found many websites with the Form. Which website do I have to go to?

A: I recommend that you go to USCIS’ website at www.uscis.gov. Under the heading ‘Forms’, you will find a list of all USCIS Forms. You will need to select the appropriate Form.

For each Form, please review the Instructions for information about the required Filing Fee, if additional fee for biometrics are required, what kind of documents are needed for the application or petition and the filing address. If you are not sure which Form or Forms to select, or have additional questions, I suggest that you contact an Immigration Attorney for guidance.

Q: What immigration Forms are needed if I wish to petition for my wife and for her to adjust status in the United States? I am a US Citizen.

A: You will need to file form I-130 Petition for Alien Relative. Your wife will concurrently file her Form I-485 Application to Adjust Status, I-765 Application for Employment Authorization and Form I-131 for Travel Document. In addition to that, please include in the package a Form I-864 Affidavit of Support (or I-864EZ). You may obtain these Forms from the USCIS website or call USCIS at 1-800-375-5283.

Q: My husband lost his Naturalization Certificate. What Form does he need to use to request for a replacement?

A: You will need to use Form N-565 Application for Replacement of Naturalization/ Citizenship Document.

Q: My application for extension of my B-2 stay has been pending for close to 5 months now. I have yet to receive notification about my case. What do you recommend I do about this?

A: First, check the status of your case online, if you have access to a computer. Go to www.uscis.gov. Click on the box ‘Check Your Case Status’. It will take you to the Case Status Online page. In the box, type your case receipt number and click on the box ‘Check Status’. If there appears to be no updates since you received the receipt for the case or the last communication was more than 60 days ago, then you will need to contact USCIS to submit a case inquiry.

Scroll to the bottom of that page and you will see the box which says ‘Submit A Case Inquiry”.

You will select the option that the case is outside normal processing time. Fill in the necessary information such as your name, receipt number etc. and hit submit. USCIS will contact you in due course (typically within 30 days) with a status update for your case. Alternatively, you may contact USCIS Customer Service by phone at 1-800-375-5283 to report this problem with your case.

Q: I have my permanent residence application pending with USCIS but I changed address. How do I notify USCIS about this address change?

A: You can notify USCIS by phone at 1-800-375-5283 or you may do the change of address notification online at www.uscis.gov. On the homepage, in the search box located at the top right hand corner, type ‘Address Change’. You can use the Online Change of Address system to do the change of address on both Form AR-11 and once you have done that, the system will also provide you with the opportunity to change your address for all pending applications for example the I-485 Application to Adjust Status as well as the I-765 Application for Employment Authorization and I-131 Application for Travel Document, if these are also still pending.

Q: I want to make an Infopass appointment to find out about my case which has been pending for a long time. Do I have to pay for this service and how do I go about doing it?

A: Infopass is a free service provided by USCIS to the public. You can schedule an appointment to meet with a USCIS officer. It is typically used if you have questions about your pending immigration matter and you have not been able to obtain any answers about your case by calling the USCIS Customer Service or through the online status check. To schedule an Infopass appointment, go to the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov and click on the box ‘Infopass’. You will need to select your preferred language, then select to ‘Make an Appointment’, enter you zipcode and choose the reason for the appointment. You will also need to provide your personal information before the options for the appointment dates are displayed. You pick the appropriate date and then select from one of the available times. Print out a copy of the appointment notice and take it with you on the day of the appointment together with your photo identification for verification of your identity.

Disclaimer: Any advice provided in this article is general in nature and not intended to constitute legal advice for any specific case. Please consult with an immigration lawyer about the specific circumstances of your case.

Sharlene Sharmila Richards is a licensed Immigration lawyer practicing in Houston, Texas.

She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. She was admitted to the New York State Bar in 2000 and is a member of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals and a member of the US Supreme Court. You may contact her at telephone number 713-623-8088 or by email at srichardslaw@aol.com to schedule a free consultation to discuss your case.

VOICE OF ASIA 5

COMMUNITY

Pratham - Second Chance

by Foram Mehta

FRIDAY, January 16, 2015

2015: New Year, New Studio and New Station Change

F

or better or for worse, 2014 elevated a muchneeded conversation about girls’ education to the global stage. It has been a year of juxtaposing headlines: Where a terrorist group abducted hundreds of schoolgirls in Africa and a young woman from Pakistan made history as the youngest person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.. Girls’ education has been on the minds and tongues of people around the world, with most agreeing: It needs to get better.

For thousands of girls in India — like Preeti from the Ajmer district of Rajasthan — things are getting better, ev- “Second Chance a pilot program in Maharashtra to help girls get through the 10th grade. eryday. While daily headlines about the latest rape or domestic violence case suggest one bleak real- ing women in underserved communities functionally unable to read or write. ity, the untold stories of India’s relent- who are at risk of dropping out or have Furthermore, the literacy rate for womless fighters tell another tale. A victim left school, Second Chance offers girls en between 15 and 24 is 14% lower than of India’s infamous caste system, 18- 16 and up another opportunity for an ed- for men according to the United Nations year-old Preeti was born into a family of ucation and a better tomorrow through Girls’ Education Initiative. Even though street sweepers. Mostly uneducated and a combination of textbook learning with India now mandates free, elementary education for everyone, lack of moticruelly ostracized by society, Preeti was self-esteem building. vational support, family responsibiliinevitably trapped in the same cycle of “India is victim to many socio-cultural ties, and an all too common notion that poverty as the women before her — until the day a group of Pratham volunteers divides of the basis of caste, religion, and a girl’s education is worth less than a told her she could go back to school. An sects.” says Anamara Baig, Executive boy’s are prevalent reasons why women unknown world of opportunities opened Assistant to Pratham’s CEO, who works still play second string. Pratham’s Secto Preeti on her first day at the Pratham with Second Chance coordinators. “The ond Chance is just that: a second chance Open School of Education. Combatting unique opportunity that the girls get is to learn, to feel worthy, and — most imher predestined fate, social stigmas, and breaking these socio-cultural barriers. portantly — to set a new precedent for every “no” she had ever heard, Preeti Girls learn together, eat together, and in millions to come. worked harder than ever to catch up many centers, live together. So, they are “If you educate a girl,” says Sarita in school and learn everything she had forced to think about these differences and their relevance.”

Gupta, Senior Advisor for Development missed in the past few years. Today, at Pratham USA, who personally spoke Preeti feels like she is in a place where She adds: “One effort the program has with Second Chance students last year she belongs. She sees a very real possimade is to promote a culture of discus- in India, “you are by extension ensurbility of a future with more opportunity and is setting a new precedent for her sions and engagement with the teacher ing that her children will be educated, and peers. It helps significantly in build- breaking this cycle of illiteracy from one family of street sweepers. ing their conversational skills, self-con- generation to the next.

Pratham, one of India’s largest NGOs fidence, etc. Girls that were too scared “I think it’s more critical to educate is a prominent voice in the global con- to even ask a question in a group setting versation about universal education, and at the beginning of the year are seen ar- the girls who are going to become the through programs like the Pratham Open guing their point with confidence by the mothers, who are the ones then responsible for getting the children to school, School of Education, it’s ensuring that a end.” making sure they get their homework new generation of Indian girls like Preeti Remediating and ushering students done, and stay in school. and that’s what will never have to fight for a chance to back to an education with programs like this is. it’s a double investment. it’s an learn.

Second Chance are more important than investment in the girl at this time and it’s Established in 2011 as a pilot program ever for India, which is all too familiar an investment in the future generation as in Maharashtra to help girls get through with the plague of illiteracy. A recent well.” the 10th grade, POSE, or “Second report by UNESCO named the country For more information on Pratham Chance,” has evolved into a full-scale as the home of the world’s most illiterate, with 287 million people — a harUSA, visit www.prathamusa.org . Tel: program operating out of 31 centers throughout seven states in India. Target- rowing 30% of India’s population — as 713 774 9599

Padmakant Khambhati, host (seen with head phones), Voice of Sanatan Hinduism with team of other DJ of the radio station.

by Thara Narasimhan

T

he beginning the New Year 2015 brings new changes to the first of its kind Hinduism Radio program in North America.

We thank all the listeners who have supported, participated and listened to our program,” Voice of Sanatan Hinduism”. The broadcast station can now be heard on Houston Radio dial FM 106.1 or FM 102.1 (HD 3) in Houston. The new FM station has broader outreach and better transmission and the HD digital audio broadcasting comes with less noise and better sound quality.

One can listen online http://tunein. com/radio/KBREEZE-1061-1021s238101/ - Broadcast Every Sunday from 9-00am to 12 noon With change of station dial comes the new studio established by Padmakant Khambhati from the media room of his home to a true Radio Media Room. The new station location will be as follows: 10007 Mystic Spring Lane, Richmond, TX 77407.

You are invited to the new studio anytime during broadcast hours. This studio has finely built in equipment that was rendered possible by the help of Rakesh Parikh and ably supported by Kanti Patel. The program continues to present many segments and one of the highlights being Sri Meenakshi Temple Society radio program from 10-30am to 11-00am, presented by Thara Narasimhan.

We do have a discussion segment from 11-00 am to 11-30am to give

opportunity to anyone listening to share their views on certain chosen topic of the day. Vishwesh Shukla presents and participates in youth topics of discussion. Anyone can call in to participate on a dedicated telephone line 832-398-5410 or 281389-6987. We do have team members associated with the program who enliven our show occasionally, Sujathy Murali and Geetha Ravula to name a few.

The Hinduism Radio program has now been broadcast for over 16 years. The producers of the radio program give their free time in promoting the cause of Hindu Dharma and have been volunteering time and efforts in depicting the true value and essence of Hinduism. Giving back to community is an essential part of Hindu Dharma and that selfless service to mankind will contribute to the welfare of the world.

The program supported with donors, well-wishers and listeners support with no commercials. We were able to sustain this many years and we thank all those who have helped and donated generously in the past.

You can send your donations to Sanatan Hindu Center, 10007 Mystic Spring Lane, Richmond, TX 77407.

Telephone - 281-459-0866.

Your financial support ensures that you can listen at the convenience of your home, car or internet selective choices of unique and favorite Bhajans, Music and Hindu news around the world on Voice of Sanatan Hinduism radio program.

COMMUNITY

VOICE OF ASIA 6

Club 65 Celebrates Christmas

by Jaseem Pasha MD

W

hile the Houstonian Seniors were still raving about the uplifting Christmas Party that was hosted by the Club 65 last month, the Club kicked off the New Year of 2015 with another joyful and invigorating party on January 3, enlivened with songs, music and dances.

FRIDAY, January 16, 2015

‘Dr. Venugopal and Sreedevi Menon Celebrate Golden Jubilee Wedding Anniversary

The venue was at Bayland Community Center, at 6400 Bissonnet Street in Houston.

The seniors thronged at the entrance of the Hall, creating an ambience as if the holiday spirit was not over. The hall looked festive with colorful tablecloths, New Year Balloons and fresh flowers on the reception table.

To the delight of every senior, a special little gift was handed out to each member. The gift was given as a courtesy of Mr. Fatehali Chatur, who is well known in Houston community for his passion for serving the seniors.

Dr. Venugopal Menon and Sreedevi Menon with children, their spouses and grand children on the couple’s anniversary.

Paru McGuire, President of Club 65 welcomed the members to yet another exciting and fun filled day.

Among the few organizational items, Paru McGuire encouraged the members to volunteer for different committees. The members’ response was enthu-

by Chittoor K. Ramachandran

T

Paru McGuire, President, Club 65 and Rozina Jafferali, Volunteer handing out a prize to one of the Bingo winners

he 50th wedding anniversary of Dr. Venugopal Menon and Mrs. Sreedevi Menon was celebrated glamorously in the presence of their family members, innumerable friends and acquaintances. The function was held on December 30th at the youth center of Sri Meenakshi Temple in Pearland.

The Menons have lived most part of their life in the city of Houston, since 1972 hail from Kerala, the Southern state of India. Their 50 year story starting from the days they spent in their home in Kerala, their nostalgic backwater, the home in which Dr. Menon lived in his childhood, his first visit to Scotland and the migra-

Pavani EXPRESS

tion to the US, Medical School years, Menons’ honeymoon time, Menon family’s various trips to several continents, occasional trips India, metamorphosis of the “barrenland” into the nationally known Sri Meenakshi Temple – most of them through slides and videos – did in fact captured the story of Indian migration to the US. The background music of the 60’s and 70’s was a nostalgic journey to many seniors in the audience.

The intimacy which the Menons have developed, as revealed by his friends, sounded and appeared like it was an extended family get together.

Many socially venerable individuals included Pearland Mayor, Hon. Tom Reid, Hon.

Consul General of India Mr. P. Harish, Internationally acclaimed artiste Dr. Rathna Kumar and several of Dr. Menon’s professional friends graced the occasion.

Menons’ friends in the social circle made a presentation that highlighted the long history of their dedicated services to Sri Meenakshi Temple and giving him credit to its growth during the past 30 years.

The delicious Indian dinner, the music and the ambience resembled a grand wedding party. Congratulations and best wishes for continued happy life of the couple were showered from hundreds who were present before they left the Meenakshi Temple Youth Center.

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Club 65 Members during the social hour siastically positive. She also reminded the members for the final sign-up to the Casino trip scheduled for Jan 18, 2015.

Twenty more members signed up for the same.

The theme was “Bollywood” and Mrs. Maithily Sripadam along with her three assistants led the Club 65 members into a medley of Bollywood hits.

The response was overwhelming with the members eager to learn the dance. Both male and female members participated.

The hour went by fast and Club 65 members were also entertained with the 3 assistants performing a couple of dances.

This was followed by a scrumptious lunch and garma garam chai. With delicious food, music and dance, the event was well attended.

The second half of the program was Bingo, led by Ms.

Farina Jinnah. Each and every member participated in the game and prizes were handed out to the winners. There was the initial confusion regarding rules for the game, which was soon smoothed out and the game proceeded with a lot of applause for each winner as they won a prize.

The event also highlighted the annual membership drive, in addition to the members paying their annual dues. There were several seniors who also signed and became the new members. The club that has been in existence since April of 2012 has now grown to 115 members. The goal for 2015 is 200 members.

Club 65 is a non-profit organization under the umbrella of IMAGH (Indian Muslims of Greater Houston). To find out more about Club 65 or to become a member, please visit, www.imagh.org or call Paru Mcguire at 440-390-1763.

281-825-5335 844-TAJ-4-YOU Los Angeles | Washington | Philadelphia Houston | Staten Island | New York Detroit |Chicago | Florida

DIASPORA

VOICE OF ASIA 7

FRIDAY, January 16, 2015

PIO card holders deemed to be Pravasi Bharatiya Divas: The 3-day awarding 15 members OCI card holders from today congregation of Indian diaspora concludes PIOs will also get life-long Indian visa.

N

EW DELHI: All Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) card-holders are deemed to be Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cardholders with effect from today with government issuing a notification in this regard.

existence,” a Home Ministry statement said.

“The PIO card notification has been withdrawn with immediate effect and further it has been notified that all existing PIO card-holders will be deemed to be OCI card- holders. Now only one OCI card with enhanced benefits is in

The amendments through the ordinance to the Citizenship Act ensured that PIOs will get benefits like life-long visa and exemption from appearing before the local police station on every visit.

On Tuesday, government had promulgated an ordinance that seeks to merge PIO and OCI schemes, by which PIOs will also get life-long Indian visa.

The move came as per the promised made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the US and Australia that the PIO and OCI cards will be merged and and the Indian diaspora will be given maximum possible benefits.

There used to exist simultaneously the PIO and OCI cards, leading to a lot of confusion prevailing among the PIOs residing abroad. Today’s notification is going to fulfil a long-cherished demand of Indian diaspora abroad. (PTI).

Barack Obama names two Indian-Americans for key posts

W

ASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama has nominated two Indian-Americans to key posts of Chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission and member of the Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.

Jonodev Osceola Chaudhuri has been nominated for the post of Chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC), according to a statement by the White House.

mouth, where he earned a BA in 1993. He took a few years off before going to law school at Cornell, getting his law degree in 1999.

Chaudhuri has also worked on Indian law, business and finance and commercial litigation. He struck out on his own in 2006, running his law firm until 2010. It was also during this time that Chaudhuri began sitting as a judge in Native American nation courts.

ment’s development finance institution. It mobilises private capital to help solve critical development challenges and, in doing so, advances US foreign policy.

Parekh is currently the managing director at Insight Venture Partners, a position he has held since 2001. Parekh held a number of roles at Berenson Minella & Company between 1992 and 2000, including Principal and Vice President.

NIGC is the only federal agency focused solely on the regulation of gambling, though it has many counterpart state and tribal regulatory agencies.

In 2012, Chaudhuri was named senior counselor to the assistant secretary for Indian affairs in the Department of the Interior, where he served for a year before moving to the gaming board.

Parekh is Treasurer and Member of the Board of Governors of the National Academy Museum, a Member of the Board of the Tisch MS Research Center of New York, and a Member of the Greater NY Partnership.

He is currently Vice Chairman and Associate Commissioner of the NIGC, positions he has held since 2013. He has also served as Acting Chairman of the NIGC from October 2013 to April 2014.

The second Indian-American to be nominated by Obama is Deven J Parekh. He has been nominated to be a member of the Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC).

He is a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Economic Club of New York.

From 2010 to 2012, he was a Member of the Advisory Board of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. Parekh attended Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Chaudhuri

attended

Dart-

OPIC is the US govern-

G

ANDHINAGAR, Gujarat - The threeday Pravasi Bharatiya Divas today concluded here at Mahatma Mandir in the presence of Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari, who gave away ‘Pravasi Bharatiya Samman’ awards to 15 members of the Indian diaspora.

The recipients were Guyana President Donald Rabindernauth Ramaotar, Mala Mehta, Dr. Rajaram Sanjaya, Kanwaljit Singh Bakhshi, Rajmal Parakh, Duraikannu Karunakaran, Essop Goolam Pahad, Shah Bharatkumar Jayantilal, Ashraf Palarkunnummal, Mahendra Nanji Mehta, Professor Nathu Ram Puri, Satyanarayn Nadella, Dr. Lulla Kamlesh and Dr Nandini Tandon.

Nadella, Indian-origin CEO of Microsoft, was not present to accept the award.

In his valedictory speech before the gathering of over 3,000 non-resident Indians (NRIs) as well as persons of Indian origin, Ansari called for greater participation of diaspora to contribute in building a new India.

“Overseas Indians can play a major role in building a new India, as they are having experience and resources to deal with problems. They have taken initiatives to transform the country in which they are living. We welcome them to replicate those initiatives here,” said Ansari.

Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, was not present to accept the award.

ans and said that Indian diaspora is very dear to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Overseas Indians overcame hurdles and achieved success. They are proud citizens of their country, but, their heart still beats for India.

Indian diaspora is close to Modiji’s heart. He appealed to them to contribute in India’s development whenever he went on foreign tours,” Swaraj said.

Dr Lulla Kamlesh, Chief scientist for Earth observation in the Human Exploration Science Office at the Johnson Space Centre at NASA

Also present were External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Minister of State for External Affairs Gen (retd) V K Singh, Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel, Gujarat Governor O P Kohli and president of Guyana Donald R Ramotar.

“I am happy to see so many young NRIs here. It is time for Bharat Banao (make India) and Bharat Me Banao (make in India). Modiji is having a mission of Remake India and young Indian diaspora can play a vital role in realising that vision. We can partner in India’s growth story,” said Swaraj.

Swaraj lauded the efforts and struggle of overseas Indi-

Chief Minister Patel promised that the NRIs will find

a cleaner Gujarat when they come next time.

“When on India visit, NRIs feel disappointed about sanitation scenario here and wish to see a cleaner country. I want to promise them that when you come back, you will be able to see that change, as Gujarat has put extra emphasis on Modi’s call to make a cleaner India by 2019,” said Patel.

VOICE OF ASIA 8

COMMUNITY

Memorial Hermann adds three school-based health centers and a mobile dental van to extend access to care for underserved students

FRIDAY, January 16, 2015

Protests held by Sikhs on January 7, in support of Bhai Gurbaksh Singh

Program breaks down barriers to care and makes a difference

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OUSTON (January 13, 2015) – Embracing the idea that success in school starts with healthy learners, Memorial Hermann Health Centers for Schools has added three new health centers and a third mobile dental van to its growing roster of clinics where uninsured and underinsured children in the Houston region can access medical, mental health, nutritional and dental care.

New for the 2014-2015 school year are clinics on the shared campuses of Hastings and Elsik High Schools in Alief ISD, at Kruse Elementary in Pasadena ISD and at Dunn Elementary in Aldine ISD. Launched in 1996, the program now has 10 school clinics in five districts, including Houston and Lamar Consolidated ISDs. With school feeder patterns served, the clinics are available to more than 65,000 students at nearly 70 schools.

The Health Centers for Schools program is designed to serve as a medical home for uninsured children and a secondary access point for insured children with the primary goal of providing increased access to health care.

Clinic services include well-child and sports physicals, immunizations, care for chronic diseases like asthma, obesity and high cholesterol, illness and injury visits, mental health therapy and social service referrals, nutritional guidance, as well as specific care to meet student needs. The mobile dental vans offer periodic oral examinations, diagnostic Xrays, fluoride treatments, oral hygiene instructions, sealants, composite fillings, extractions, crowns and pulpotomies.

“The idea behind the program is to break down barriers to health care,” explained Deborah Ganelin, Director, Community Benefit Corporation for Memorial Hermann Health System. “Barriers to health care for many of the students who access our clinics include low income, lack of knowledge about available health care, lack of transportation and parents’ inability to take time away from low-paying hourly jobs.”

The services offered at the Health Centers for Schools clinics have made a difference to students’ health as well as their academic lives, Ganelin said.

Imelda and Joe, students in the Alief school district, are illustrative of kids being helped at the Memorial Hermann school clinics.

Imelda, a senior, was experiencing extreme levels of anxiety that caused her to have severe panic attacks, hide in the bathroom and miss multiple days of school. With access to mental health services, Imelda learned coping skills and calming strategies that allowed her to overcome her anxiety. Now, she describes herself as feeling happy and stressed only about completing college applications.

With his family unable to afford dental services, Joe, 17, had lived with dental pain for the last two years. An examination in the mobile dental van revealed the source of his pain: seven decaying teeth. Rather than extract them, the dentist opted to fill six huge cavities, but could not salvage the seventh one because the tooth’s structure had rotted beyond repair. Now Joe is attending classes pain free.

Each Health Centers for Schools’ clinic is staffed by a nurse practitioner/physician assistant, LVN, licensed clinical social worker, and receptionist with medical oversight provided by a Memorial Hermann family practitioner. Two registered dieticians and community health workers, who provide students in need with social services, rotate among the centers. Each mobile dental van is staffed by a dentist with one to two assistants. The clinics are open year round, Monday through Friday, during school hours.

“The clinics are making a difference because these children are lacking in the most basic of primary care and illnesses and chronic conditions left untreated can grow increasingly serious,” Ganelin said. “Memorial Hermann is committed to exploring innovative ways to address the

healthcare access issues experienced by the medically disadvantaged. We see school-based healthcare as an avenue to address these issues.”

Both Imelda and Joe fit the general profile of children being served by Memorial Hermann’s Health Centers for Schools program: 93% are on the free/reduced lunch program, a nationally accepted indicator of poverty 34% of students have limited English proficiency 44% of the students served are without any kind of health insurance coverage 27% have some form of Medicaid The outcomes for students who have accessed the school health clinics have been nothing short of remarkable in terms of their academic improvement, but also in increasing their self-esteem. For instance: Grade point averages increased Absenteeism decreased Suspensions/detentions decreased 92% of students served returned to class on the same day (after a clinic visit) Asthma exacerbations, ER visits and hospitalizations have been reduced by 92% For more information on Memorial Hermann’s Health Centers for Schools program, visit http://communitybenefit.memorialhermann.org/locations/ school-based-health-centers/.

Members of the Sikh community from Texas seen protesting outside Indian Consulate Office in Houston on Jan. 7, 2015

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OUSTON - A Sikh in India Mr. Gurbaksh Singh has been on hunger strike since November 14, 2014 for the release of prisoners detained in Indian jails even after completing their sentences. On his appeal, Sikhs all over the world held peaceful demonstrations with black flags on January 7, 2015 outside Indian Government Offices to show their support and presented their memoranda. About 250 Sikhs in Texas also came together for peaceful protests outside Indian Consulate office in Houston, Texas.

Sikhs wanted to present their memorandum in support of Bhai Gurbaksh Singh to India’s Consul General, but they refused to meet any Sikh Leader.

After prompts by U.S Justice Department they agreed to meet two repre-

sentatives but when our two leaders went inside their office, the receptionist said that neither the Consul General nor any other Senior Officer would see us. They wanted us to hand over the memorandum to the recep-

tionist and leave. Seeing this as an open insult, Sikhs refused to do so and peacefully protested outside their office until about 4:00 pm to show their solidarity with their Sikh-brother who is close to losing his life for justice.

KNOW WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS WEEK GET YOUR COMMUNITY CALENDER FROM ONLINE. VISIT: WWW.VOICEOFASIAONLINE.COM

SOUTH ASIA

VOICE OF ASIA 9

In Loving Memory April 11, 1943 - January 13, 2015

FRIDAY, January 16, 2015

Pope takes message of peace to Sri Lanka’s warzone

MEMORIAL SERVICE Friday, January 16th at 5:30 p.m.

Trinity Mar Thoma Church Houston, Texas FUNERAL SERVICE Saturday, January 17th at 10:00 a.m.

Trinity Mar Thoma Church Houston, Texas “I have fought the good fight. Ihave completed the race. I have kept the faith. The victor’scrown of righteousness is now waiting for me…”

II Timothy 4: 7-8

Thomas T.Thomas

Sri. Thomas T. Thomas, who we dearly called Joykutty, was born on April 11,1943 to the Thekkeveetil House, Chempakassery, Aranmula. He was born toMr. T. M. Thomas and Mrs. Sosamma Thomas. He is survived by his wife,Kunjumol; his daughter, Jeney; his son, Jefey; his son-in-law, Sunil; his daughter-in-law, Bindu; and his grandchildren, Abigail and Gabrielle. He is also survived by his brother, Mr. T. T. Mathew and family.

Read latest on South Asia online www.voiceofasiaonline.com

Pakistan court indicts Musharraf over rebel’s murder Quetta, AFP | /14/2015 - A Pakistani court on Wednesday indicted Pervez Musharraf over the 2006 killing of a separatist leader, the latest legal hurdle facing the former military ruler since his return from self-imposed exile two years ago.

The charges by the court in the southwestern city of Quetta are unlikely to cause any immediate problems for the 71year-old, who has not attended a single hearing in the case since it began in 2013.

He was previously indicted for treason in March last year over his imposition of emergency rule in 2007, but proceedings have stalled since then as the country’s civil authorities and judiciary appear to lack the will to take on the powerful military.

“The anti-terrorist court has indicted Musharraf along with former interior minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao and former home minister (of) Baluchistan province Shoaib Nosherwani in Nawab Akbar Bugti’s murder case,” public prosecutor Taimur Shah told AFP. Shah added the court would resume hearings in the case on February 4.

Baluch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Bugti was killed in a military operation in 2006, sparking deadly nationwide protests and inflaming a separatist insurgency in resourcerich but impoverished Baluchistan province.

Musharraf has been staying with his daughter in Karachi

where he travelled for tests at a navy-run hospital in April last year and the indictment took place in his absence.

He is on bail in four other major cases linked to his time in power including the 2007 assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto in a gun and suicide attack.

Facing impeachment following the 2008 elections, Musharraf resigned as president and went into self-imposed exile in Dubai.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s authority has been eroded since a movement to topple him over alleged election fraud began last year, and analysts believe his government now lacks the will to offend the military by pushing for Musharraf’s prosecution

Pope Francis blesses a sick child ahead of a canonisation mass for Joseph Vaz, in Sri Lankan capital Colombo, on January 14, 2015 ©Giuseppe Cacace (AFP) Continued from page 1 “I hope his visit will bring us peace.”

Hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans from across the country’s ethnic and religious divide flocked to the service on Wednesday at the Our Lady of Madhu church, which was badly damaged during the war.

In his address, the pope called for forgiveness from victims of the conflict, which killed 100,000 people and devastated the Tamildominated north of the country.

“There are families here today which suffered greatly in the long conflict which tore open the heart of Sri Lanka,” Pope Francis said after flying in from Colombo.

Sri Lankans should ask “for the grace to make reparation for our sins and for all the evil which this land has known”, he said in a solemn service before hundreds of thousands of worshippers.

He was the first pope ever to visit the Our Lady of Madhu church, built in a jungle clearing in the Tamil-dominated north, that is home to a 450-year-old statue of the Virgin Mary.

The church once gave sanctuary to those fleeing the violence and is now a pilgrimage destina-

tion for Sri Lankans from both the Tamil and majority Sinhalese ethnic groups, making it a symbol of unity in a divided country.

- Once-in-a-lifetime Many of those attending Wednesday’s service were Catholic. Others such as Sinhalese Buddhist Dhammika Priyangani, who lives close by, saw it as a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see a world leader.

Many came by train, taking advantage of the recent reopening of the rail link to the north of the island that was destroyed during the conflict.

They listened intently as the pope recited a prayer to the Virgin Mary, urging “true remorse and true repentance” for what he called the “evil” of war and stressing the importance of forgiveness.

The solemn service contrasted sharply with the celebratory atmosphere earlier in the day when Pope Francis canonised Sri Lanka’s first saint at a mass in Colombo.

Analysts said the prayer in Madhu contained a strong political message for Sri Lanka, which has been criticised for failing to investigate allegations of wartime atrocities.

“It is saying we must very clearly move on a meaningful reconciliation process,” said Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, head of the Centre for Policy Alternatives think-tank.

“We have to own up to what happened. No one has said it so strongly. There are religious elements in it, but the message is very clear.”

The pope met priest Emilianuspillai Santhiapillai, who smuggled the statue out of the church at the height of the fighting in 2008 to protect it from shelling.

An artillery strike in 1999 killed 38 people sheltering in the church, but left the statue unharmed.

Only around six percent of mainly Buddhist Sri Lanka’s 20-million-strong population is Catholic, but the religion is seen as a unifying force because it includes people from both the Tamil and Sinhalese ethnic groups.

“This is a holy shrine for all people in Sri Lanka, there is no religious difference shown,” Santhiapillai told AFP in Madhu before the pope’s arrival.

“Catholics, Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims all come here for the harmonious and peaceful atmosphere.”

WORLD/US

VOICE OF ASIA 10

US man arrested over IS-inspired plot to attack Capitol

W

ASHINGTON, AFP 1/14/2015 - A US man was arrested Wednesday for allegedly plotting an attack on Congress inspired by Islamic State jihadists, according to the Justice Department and the FBI. Christopher Cornell, 20, was taken into custody after he purchased two semiautomatic weapons and 600 rounds of ammunition in the US state Ohio, according to a criminal complaint.

The Justice Department said he was charged “with attempting to kill officers and employees of the United States” and possession of a firearm to carry out violent acts.

According to the complaint, Cornell had opened a Twitter account under the pseudonym Raheel Mahrus Ubaydah, where he posted messages supporting Islamic State militants.

He is accused of sending messages to an informant from the Federal Bureau of Investigations outlining his plans.

“I believe that we should just wage jihad under our own orders and plan attacks and everything,” he told the informant, according to the complaint.

He also said he planned to launch several attacks and wanted to target US officials in Washington.

“He considered the members of Congress as enemies and that he intended to conduct on attack on the US Capitol,” the complaint said.

According to the FBI document, he said he planned to “build, plant and detonate pipe bombs at and near the US Capitol, then use firearms to shoot and kill employees and officials.”

Cornell had been under surveillance by the FBI since August 2014.

The Islamic State group,

which controls large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria, has called for Muslims around the world to kill citizens of countries fighting the group, including the United States

US judge throws out lawsuit against India’s Modi Continued from Page 1 The American Justice Center, a human rights group, filed the civil suit against Modi in September, accusing him of initiating and condoning the massacre and holding him responsible for the deaths.

The outbreak of anti-Muslim violence left at least 1,000 people dead in 2002 in the western state of Gujarat, where Modi was then chief minister before he was elected prime minister in 2014.

Modi denies any wrongdoing and the Indian courts have cleared him of all charges.

But the failure of his administration to control the violence and his refusal to apologize left a legacy of distrust and suspicion.

The judge’s order to close the case came two weeks before US President Barack Obama is to be guest of honor at India’s Republic Day celebrations on January 26.

There was no immediate response from the American Justice Center.

The lawsuit had been filed one day before Modi visited New York and Washington for the first time as Indian leader.

The 28-page complaint claimed that Modi committed crimes against humanity, extrajudicial killings, torture and the infliction of mental and physical trauma on victims, mostly Muslims.

Modi, a Hindu nationalist, was blocked from obtaining a US visa in 2005 over the allegations, which he has always denied.

But Obama gave him to a lavish welcome at the White House in September. At the time officials said the suit would not detract from the determination of both sides to forge closer relations.

The United States and European powers boycotted Modi for more than a decade after the riots, but have largely embraced him after his Bharatiya Janata Party won a landslide election victory.

US Secretary of State John Kerry held talks with Modi in India on the sidelines of a major trade summit on Sunday, hailing him as a “visionary” poised to transform the Indian economy.

Kerry was criticized at home and in Europe for chosing to remain in India rather than attend a march in Paris with other international leaders condemning attacks in France that killed 17 people.

FRIDAY, January 16, 2015

Indian-Americans find visa, passport services a nightmare

W

ASHINGTON: A mid-level Pentagon official applied for a tourist visa at the Indian Embassy here a few years ago to visit some of the famous destinations in India, but had no idea the visa process would turn out to be a year- long nightmare for him.

“It was a frustrating and agonising wait, Peter Brooks (name changed) said.

After dozens of phone calls and several visits to the Visa and Counselor services office of the Indian Embassy, he was told that his passport was lost.

“There was not even a sorry from the (visa) official,” he told PTI, adding it was one year later that he was asked by the Embassy to come and collect his passport and, that too, without a visa.

In between, the official travelled to India with the US Defense Secretary on his diplomatic passport.

“I never have had such a frustrating experience as with the Indian Embassy,” the official said.

In private conversation, Indian Embassy officials concede that the visa and passport services are in a mess.

In the last five years, the visa and passport services have been outsourced to three different companies, but the IndianAmericans face problems in getting their work done.

Harshad Jain from the Greater Washington area claimed he recently had to courier his documents five times to the new outsourcing company.

“Every time, I would send the document, I would receive another letter from the Embassy to send some other additional documents. If some documents are missing, why did not they ask for it in one letter,” he told Embassy officials over the weekend.

“This is unacceptable. If this has happened, I am very sorry for that,” Arun Kumar Sinha, Minister Consular at the Indian Embassy told community members during an interaction over the weekend, where he was flooded with complaints.

Complaints ranged from no one picking up phones either at the embassy or the outsourcing company, or people having to wait for a long time to get their issues resolved or even the behaviour of the people at the visa/ passport windows.

“There is an urgent need to improve the telephone services.

People attending it are not well informed and many a times they give incorrect information,” said Renuka Mishra, a scientist at the National Institute of Health.

“Community members have a hard time in reaching out to Cox and King (the outsourcing company),” said Ashok Batra.

“Every time, we speak to people at the Embassy or the outsourcing company, they give us contradictory statements. It is very confusing,” said Ram Singh.

Conceding that there were teething problems in consular services, Sinha said the Embassy has started taking steps to improve them.

For instance, the Embassy has started imposing hefty penalty on the outsourcing company for not meeting the deadline or not adhering to the standards set by the Indian government.

The Indian Embassy is launching a dedicated phone line from this week to address the complaints related to visa and passport services, Sinha said.

The website related to visa and passport services is being renewed and this would now be more user-friendly, Sinha said in a rare interaction between the Indian-American community and the Indian Embassy officials here, which was organised by the National Council of Asian

Indian Associations (NCAIA).

“This is an initiative of the Indian Embassy to start an ongoing dialogue with the community on any Consular, Visa and OCI (Overseas Citizenship of India) questions and concerns that the community may have,” said Gisela Ghani, NCAIA president.

“This is a continuing dialogue and the first one this year to start the engagement with the Embassy,” she added.

Community leaders say they have been facing similar problems at all the diplomatic missions in the US - New York, Washington DC, Chicago, Houston, Atlanta and San Francisco.

Indian Embassy and Consulates in the United States issue over 3,40,000 visas and 80,000 passports annually.

In his interaction, Sinha conceded that they had “a lot of teething trouble” on issues related to passport and visa services.

“But going by the number of complaints we receive, which is a declining trend, indicates that the services have improved in the past several months,” he said.

Sinha said visa application of Indian-origin people is now rarely declined.

“Since October 2014 till date, less than 10 visa applications have been rejected,” he said.

For the last one month, he said, the passport services were majorly hit as the passport printing machine was experiencing technical problems.

The supplier was based in Germany where the Christmas vacation is month-long.

Hence, the replacement parts of the machine have arrived only this week.

“Routine passport services would resume now and backlog would be over soon,” he said.

VOICE OF ASIA 11

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FRIDAY, January 16, 2015

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Vol. 28 No. 3 Friday, January 16, 2015 Section 2 Page 11

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

What the color of your car says about you

by Peter STEBBINGS

T

he next time you buy a car, you might want to pause a while longer to decide what color you choose.

Top automakers throw millions of dollars at researching what the latest tastes are, and say the color of a vehicle is so important to customers that it can be the difference between buying or not.

The ongoing auto show in Detroit saw many of the classic colors -- reds for Porsches and other sports cars -- and a few less conventional (a Nissan Titan pickup truck decked out in “forged copper”).

But there was no mistak-

In a multibillion-dollar industry, nothing is put to chance and nothing is done by mistake, of course.

At least two designers in Detroit referred to the “Apple effect” -- the Californian tech giant -- to explain the propensity for white vehicles.

- White where it’s hot Sitting at a white table, on white chairs, in a white room, Oona Scheepers of Volkswagen told AFP: “White for cars really peaked in the 1970s and 1980s, and then all of a sudden disappeared.

“But in the last 10 years we have noticed an increase again in white. And it definitely came with the Apple iPod era because

The 2015 Corvette Z06 supercharged is displayed during the press preview at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, on January 13, 2015 (AFP Photo/Jewel Samad) black was still Volkswagen’s best-seller -- but only just.

So if one were to choose a black vehicle over a white one, what kind of person would that make you? “You could be sporty. But people in hot countries like white.

“White definitely deflects heat, but if you have a black car it can get damn hot inside. And then in a country like South Africa you often have to overtake into direct, oncoming traffic, but white is very visible.

“So it’s a safety feature as well in some countries. Metallic gray or black just melts into the color of the tar, so it is not that visible.”

- ‘Chinese prefer bold’ Susan Lampinen, chief designer, colors and materials, at Ford, said the color was so crucial to some people that they would buy a car purely because of that -- never mind the design of the vehicle.

The new Ford GT is displayed during the press preview of the 2015 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, January 13, 2015 (AFP Photo/Jewel Samad) ing the preeminence of white.

Particularly at the Volkswagen stand, where several cars, the stairs and much of the furniture was white.

Apple started to do everything with white, and a lot of nice chrome or metal finishes.

“In combination it was really nice and fresh. But before that,

white was really not selling in Europe because people associated it with delivery cars and it looked cheap.

“But the combination with

metal and chrome looks fresh and completely new. White is booming worldwide.”

However, Scheepers, head of design, color and trim, said

She too identified an Apple ripple effect in propelling white to a best-seller worldwide for Ford.

“White is very clean, very technical, very modern. So most cars look good in white,” she told AFP in Detroit, adding other popular colors included blacks and silvers, while blue is also on the up.

Lampinen

identified

only

“slight differences” in preferences in different countries because, she said, of globalization.

Environment, culture and climate can all effect what color car someone might buy, she added.

Scheepers, however, saw stark contrasts between some countries, particularly when it comes to the United States and China.

“China is going for very, very bold colors. America is still quite subdued. White sells extremely well here and there is still a preference for champagne-toned body colors and a movement towards the reds in America as well,” she said.

“But China is going for gold, extreme greens -- it’s a mixture of a green and a brown -- very expressive.

“There is a new awareness in China, they are becoming very self-confident, and they are expressing themselves.”

That also applied to vehicle interiors, said Scheepers, with Chinese consumers going for much bolder designs.

Volkswagen research turned up a surprising anomaly, said Scheepers. It found that younger buyers want more sober-colored vehicles -- while older consumers go for brighter ones.

TV of the future may be a sphere

T

he TV of the future may not be a rectangle, but a sphere.

Some visitors to the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show got a peek at this new way to view 360-degree video.

The new viewing experience was shown as part of a collaboration among several partners including French video software firm and Ateme, British-based Pufferfish Displays, which makes the spherical projection module.

Although 360-degree video can be viewed on a standard television of tablet, the spherical module adds a new dimension, said Mike Antonovich, the Ateme general manager for the Ameri-

cas.

This “can augment the experience of viewing a live concert or sporting event,” Antonovich said.

Using the sphere makes the viewing an interactive and collaborative experience, said Geoff Kell of Pufferfish.

“It will be an addition to the viewing experience, but it also has great value as a data visualization tool” for research or other purposes, Kell said.

Ateme and its partners recently produced the first live 360-degree broadcasts using the trademark LiveSphere.

“You can view from different an-

gles, so if you are watching a concert you might want to be part of the audience, and then switch to be part of the band,” Antonovich said.

While 360-degree imaging has been around for several years in services such as Google Maps, Ateme it is far more challenging to produce this for live television.

“This is completely different to do 360 degrees for live TV, and making it seamless,” said Ateme research manager Jerome Vieron.

Other partners in LiveSphere include the Finnish technology group Finwe and France-based Kolor, which specializes in “image-stitching.”

PERFECTLY CIRCULAR: Ateme general manager Mike Antonovich demonstrating the LiveSphere 360° television system in Las Vegas, Nevada. — AFP

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LEISURE

VOICE OF ASIA 13

Vegas’s Paris casino dims lights for French attack

L

OS ANGELES - The Paris casino-hotel in Las Vegas dimmed the lights on its own Eiffel Tower on Thursday, in solidarity with the French capital after the massacre at the Charlie Hebdo satirical weekly.

“We stand with Paris in mourning the victims of the Charlie Hebdo attack,” the casino said on Twitter, with a video showing the lights going off for six minutes at 8:00 pm (0400 GMT Friday).

The casino is built around a half-life-sized Eiffel Tower, whose base is in the middle of the gambling areas and which dominates the skyline above Vegas’s famed Strip.

The iconic real-life Eiffel Tower in Paris was plunged into darkness earlier at 8:00 pm Paris time (1900 GMT) before gradually coming back on.

Amazon signs Woody Allen for his first TV series

FRIDAY, January 16, 2015

A computer can now beat anyone at Texas hold’em poker

by Kerry SHERIDAN

P

oker face will only get you so far.

A computer program can now beat anybody at the game of two-player limit Texas hold’em poker, researchers in Canada reported Thursday in the US journal Science.

Lead author Michael Bowling of the University of Alberta told AFP the team’s goal since 2003 has been to “produce a perfect player. One that doesn’t lose to the current top humans.

But also doesn’t lose to any strategy.”

In 2008 the team created the first poker-playing program, called Polaris, that could defeat top poker pros at heads-up limit hold’em poker.

“At that point, computers established themselves as stronger at this form of poker than all humans,” Bowling said.

After discovering that Polaris could beat people at poker, the “next logical step was to consider if (the game) could be solved,” he added.

Woody Allen performs on stage with the New Orleans jazz band on July 21, 2013 in Antibes, southeastern France. Photographer: Valery Hache/AFP via Getty Images.

N

EW YORK, AFP | Amazon said Tuesday it has signed a deal with Woody Allen that will see the prolific 79-year-old American filmmaker write and direct his first-ever television series.

In a statement, the world’s biggest online retailer said the “Untitled Woody Allen Project” would run sometime next year on its growing Amazon Prime Instant Video service.

“I don’t know how I got into this. I have no ideas and I’m not sure where to begin,” said Allen in a statement from Amazon Studios, the company’s TV content arm.

“My guess is that (Amazon Studios chief) Roy Price will regret this.”

The project is a coup for Amazon’s on-demand Internet video streaming service, which alongside rival Netflix is upending the traditional broadcast television business model.

On Sunday, it celebrated its first Golden Globe victory with its transgender-themed comedy “Transparent.”

Amazon said Allen is to deliver “a full season” of half-hour episodes that subscribers to its Prime Instant Video service will be able to see in the United States, Britain and Germany.

“Additional details, including casting information, will be made available in the future,” it said.

A season of original TV programming for the Internet typically runs about a dozen episodes, released simultaneously.

“Woody Allen is a visionary creator who has made some of the greatest films of all-time, and it’s an honor to be working with him on his first television series,” Price said.

“From ‘Annie Hall’ to ‘Blue Jasmine,’ Woody has been at the creative forefront of American cinema, and we couldn’t be more excited to premiere his first TV series exclusively on Prime Instant Video next year.”

- Roots in television Allen got his start in television in the late 1950s and early 1960s as a writer for comedy legend Sid Caesar, among others. He also wrote and appeared in some episodes of “Candid Camera.”

In 1971, Allen directed a mock documentary, “Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story,” lampooning then-president Richard Nixon, for broadcast on American public television.

TV executives nixed the short at the last minute, fearing that Nixon might retaliate with a funding cut, but it endures today on online video streaming websites.

Then in 2001, Allen wrote and directed a three-minute TV comedy short called “Sounds from a Town I Love” about his beloved hometown New York in the wake

of the 9/11 attacks.

But the Amazon project marks the first time that the four-time Academy Award winner -- who has directed nearly 50 movies over six decades -- will helm his own TV series.

Nearly a year ago, he denied in a New York Times op-ed that he molested his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow when she was seven years old, as she alleged in an open letter to the newspaper.

The unseemly row harked back to 1992 when Allen, then in a relationship with actress Mia Farrow, began an affair with her teenaged adopted daughter SoonYi Previn, who now is his wife.

Irish technology and pop culture writer Mic Wright, on the TNW.com tech news website, said Amazon was delivering “a smack in the face” to child abuse survivors.

In November, Netflix postponed a comedy special with another US entertainment icon, Bill Cosby, as several women came forward with allegations of sexual assault, which he denies.

- Netflix in the lead Netflix dominates the emerging field of original programming for Internet broadcast with such critically acclaimed hits as “House of Cards” and “Orange is the New Black.”

Amazon has taken a novel approach to program development.

It invites ideas to be submitted online, then crowd-sourcing the decision on what to put money into.

But it was unclear Tuesday whether Allen’s project went through this process, or whether it was the result of a more conventional one-on-one deal between artist and studio

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A cluster of 4,800 computer central processing units (CPUs) began the computations to solve the game about eight months ago.

“It took just over two months of computing to reach the goal of essentially solving the game,” Bowling said.

The result is that the most popular version of poker played around the world is now “essentially weakly solved,” meaning a lifetime of human play could not beat it by any measure of statistical significance.

“While we sought to compute a perfect strategy that solves the game, our strategy only essentially solves the game, which means it is so close to perfect that the amount that it can be

T

A computer program can now beat anybody at the game of two-player limit Texas hold’em poker, researchers in Canada reported Thursday in the US journal Science (AFP Photo/Robert Sullivan) made to lose is so small that it would be indistinguishable from luck even after playing 60 million hands of poker (nearly a lifetime of a human playing the game),” Bowling explained in an email.

- Computer vs man Other computers that have beat people at games include the checkers-playing computer Chinook which in 1994 became the first program to win a human world championship and Deep Blue which beat Garry Kasparov at chess in 1997.

The IBM computer Watson also won on Jeopardy in 2011.

But Texas hold’em poker proved a particular challenge because with only two players, there is plenty of unknown information, like which cards have already been dealt to the opponent.

As such, poker is one of many

so-called “imperfect information” games, and is the biggest of its kind to be conquered by artificial intelligence, wrote computer scientist Tuomas Sandholm of Carnegie Mellon University, in an accompanying editorial in Science.

“This is, to my knowledge, the largest imperfect-information game essentially solved to date, and the first one competitively played by humans that has now been essentially solved,” he said.

Sandholm explained the general approach for solving these so-called “imperfect-information games” as first abstracting the game “to generate a smaller but strategically similar game, reducing it to a size that can be tackled with an equilibrium finding algorithm.”

The abstract games are solved for equilibrium or near-equilibrium, and then the strategies are mapped back onto the original

game.

The challenge of solving the game may also help lead to advances for modern society.

Game theory can help boost security systems at airport checkpoints, improve coast guard patrols, and make better medical decisions, said Bowling.

Algorithmic advances like the one used for poker may help advance solutions in reallife decision-making settings that involve uncertainty and missing information, concluded the paper.

“However, we also echo a response attributed to (pioneering British computer scientist Alan) Turing in defense of his own work in games: ‘It would be disingenuous of us to disguise the fact that the principal motive which prompted the work was the sheer fun of the thing.’

Health, not money, inspires people to save power

elling people how pollution can harm kids’ health inspires them to use less electricity than telling them how much money they could save by cutting back on power use, US researchers said Monday.

their habits at all.

Researchers said that touting monetary savings may not have worked, in part because electricity in the United States is already fairly inexpensive.

“For most people at our field site, the savings for cutting back to using the same as their most efficient neighbor would only be $4 to $6 per month.

That’s a fast-food combo meal or a couple of gallons of milk,” said co-author Omar Asensio, a doctoral student studying economics and environmental sciences and engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles.

The study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences centered on people living in 118 apartment units in Los Angeles.

Over the course of about four months, residents were given weekly feedback about their energy usage.

Some were told how their electricity use compared to a more energy-efficient apartment nearby, and how much money they could save by turning off the lights and using less power.

Another group was given similar feedback, but were also told about how much their energy use contributed to pollutant emissions, and how air pollution can cause childhood health problems like cancer and asthma.

A control group received no feedback at all.

The apartments that received the health-related warnings began using an average of eight percent less power than the

But changes in daily habits could be significant on a large scale because residential and commercial buildings account for more than two-thirds of US energy usage, according to the study.

Telling people how pollution can harm kids’ health inspires them to use less electricity (AFP Photo/Mark Wilson) control group.

19 percent, said the study.

If there were kids in the household, apartment dwellers reduced their electricity use by

Apartments that were told about cost savings from using less energy barely changed

“We’re finding that you have to bundle the public good with the private good,” said lead author Magali Delmas, an environmental economist at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Anderson School of Management.

“Our message about health and the environment reminds people that environmentalism is also about them and their kids.”

India bans burning cow dung near yellowing Taj Mahal

N

EW DELHI - India has banned the burning of cow dung near the Taj Mahal amid fears the famed white-marbled mausoleum was turning yellow from air pollution, an official said Tuesday.

Authorities have long struggled to control the impact of pollution on the stunning 17thcentury monument to love in the northern city of Agra, which attracts millions of tourists each year.

The ban on Agra residents burning cow dung, a common

fuel source, is aimed at reducing carbon deposits on the Taj’s walls, spires and domes, said Pradeep Bhatnagar, chairman of the area known as the Taj Zone.

“From time to time there are concerns that the colour of the Taj is changing,” said Bhatnagar told AFP. “So at a recent meeting it was decided that there should be a ban on burning cow dung fuel within the city limits.

“There is an aesthetic aspect to it as well. We don’t want

the city’s walls to be plastered with cow dung,” he said.

carbon deposits were responsible for the rest.

Dried cow dung is commonly used in rural areas as a cheap source of fuel for heating and cooking. Women knead fresh dung into melon-size balls before flattening them against walls to dry -- a common sight throughout India.

“We couldn’t have done much about the dust but we decided to plug the source for the carbon particulate matter which was the burning of organic matter,” Bhatnagar said.

A recent study into the discolouration of the monument by experts from US and Indian universities and the Archaeological Survey of India, found that dust was to blame for the majority of the yellowing, with

Bhatnagar said Agra residents would now be encouraged to use cleaner fuel, adding that they would be given gas connections.

Trucks using diesel will also be asked to switch to compressed natural gas by July, lo-

cal media reported.

The ban comes after an air quality monitoring system was set up near the Taj. In 1996 the Supreme Court banned use of coal by industries located within a 10,400square kilometre (4,000square-mile) zone around the monument.

The UNESCO world heritage site was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as a tomb for his beloved empress, Mumtaz Mahal, who died during childbirth in 1631

Young Life

VOICE OF ASIA 14

Friday, January 16, 2015

Section 2

Page 14

Email: editor@voiceofasiaonline.com

Learning a second language after age 10 boosts brain: study

rience could be enhanced.”

by Amy Mccaig

R

ice University’s Student Association (SA) is working to expand applied, direct and experiential learning opportunities and improve the university’s overall student experience, thanks to a new enterprise, the Rice Education of the Future (REF) initiative.

Broadway Elementary in Los Angeles is a part of a growing number of public schools to offer a dual-language immersion program (AFP Photo/Robyn Beck)

M

The study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed that people who began learning English around age 10 and were immersed in the language, meaning they heard and used it in daily life, showed improvements in the structure of the brain’s white matter compared to people who grew up speaking only English and did not learn a second language.

These “higher levels of structural integrity” were in areas responsible for language learning and semantic processing.

The findings mirror observations from previous studies that found these improvements in people who learned a second language at a much earlier age.

Researchers studied brain scans from 20 people, all around the age of 30, who had lived in Britain for at least 13 months.

They had all started learning English as a second language around age 10.

Their imaging analyses were compared to 25 people of similar age who spoke only Eng-

lish.

“Everyday handling of more than one language functions as an intensive cognitive stimulation that benefits specific language-related brain structures by preserving their integrity, and therefore it protects them against deterioration in older age,” said the study led by Christos Pliatsikas of the University of Kent School of Psychology.

Since previous studies had predominantly relied on people who learned two or more languages beginning in infancy, scientists say more research is needed to close in on exactly when these positive brain changes begin to take root.

At least 26 US kids die of flu in ‘bad’ season: officials

by Kerry SHERIDAN

M

IAMI, AFP | 1/9/2015. - A particularly bad flu is sweeping the United States, killing 26 children so far this season and nearly doubling hospitalizations among people over 65 in the past week alone, officials said Friday.

The reason is the predominant strain of flu this year is H3N2, a variety that has shown itself in prior years to be more virulent than other kinds.

Even more, the vaccine that is supposed to protect against the annual flu is missing its mark because two-thirds of the H3N2 strains that experts are seeing were not included in this year’s flu shot, said the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“It is shaping up to be a bad year for flu,” said CDC chief Tom Frieden in a conference call with reporters.

“H3N2 is a nastier flu virus than the other flu viruses.”

At week seven of the typical-

ly 13-week flu season, the virus “is now widespread in almost the entire country,” he said.

Flu typically infects five to 15 percent of the population. It can be dangerous in those with weak immune systems, including the elderly and children.

Frieden said hospitalization rates among people over 65 “are rising sharply,” going from 52 per 100,000 last week to 92 per 100,000 this week.

“That is high but typical for H3N2 seasons,” Frieden said.

The last H3N2 season was in 2012-2013, and the cumulative hospitalization rate among the elderly that season was 183 per 100,000.

“We wouldn’t be surprised to see something similar happen this year,” Frieden said.

An update on the effectiveness of this year’s vaccine will be released in the coming weeks.

While Frieden said he expect to find the vaccine to be weaker than usual, he said authorities

are still urging people to get their flu shot because it may offer some protection against other strains of the flu that are circulating.

He also called for doctors to give antiviral drugs, like Tamiflu, to patients if they get sick.

“In the context of an H3N2 predominant season, with a less effective vaccine, treatment with anti-flu drugs is even more important than usual,” he said.

Scientists have found that anti-flu drugs can reduce symptoms, shorten the duration of symptoms and reduce the risk of complications, he said.

“Anti-viral flu medications are greatly under-utilized but if you get the flu and you get medicines early they could keep you out of the hospital, they could keep you from having to go into the intensive care unit and they might even save your life.”

India House in collaboration with the University of Houston presents the Come join us on Thursday, January 29th from 6:30pm through 9:00pm.

The event will be held at: India House, O.P. Jindal Center 8888 West Bellfort Ave. Houston, TX 77031 Programs that we are offering at the event are: Learn about admission details Admitted Student Workshops Prospective Student Workshops Door Prizes Find out about the Financial Aid and Scholarship process For more information, please contact: Vipin Kumar, 713.929.1900 or

Stemming from the Student Vision for the Second Century, the initiative was developed last fall to address key aspects of the Rice undergraduate experience, including academics, extracurricular activities, mentorship and social life.

The committee solicited feedback through the SAsupported “Survey of All Students,” which had a 99 percent response rate; 10 discussion groups of students, faculty and staff on topics such as mentorship, teaching, alumni and Houston community, expanded resources, integration and academic improvements; a town hall meeting to synthesize and generate consensus around key recommendations; and a second survey of 400 students to assess students’ support and priorities for the final recommendations.

The report recommends: - Creating new undergraduate courses that focus more on applied, direct and experiential learning.

- Creating a “Rice Owl” platform – an interactive digital hub of alumni and current undergraduates that provides profile information, career paths and potential relationships based on shared interests.

- Forming an inward-facing entrepreneurship organization and space.

email: vipin@indiahouseinc.org To register for the UH Prospective Student Evening visit www.indiahouseinc.org/ events * - Dinner and refreshments will be served after the event

Online www. voiceofasiaonline.com

Navran said this semester he and the REF committee members will work with administrators and the Rice Board of Trustees to evaluate the recommendations and explore opportunities for action on them.

“Recommendations vary greatly in terms of scope, timeline and potential cost,” he said.

“Many of these ideas stand to immensely enhance aspects of the Rice experience.”

President David Leebron said he was thrilled to see such a thoughtful and thorough student-driven process around the future of a Rice education, one that complemented discussions underway among faculty and the administration. He also noted that some of the Student Association’s recommendations very much align with the goals of Rice’s Initiative for Students that was recently launched.

“We know that our students greatly value hands-on learning experiences like those offered by the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen, laboratory research and international travel for research and education,” Leebron said. “Our Initiative for Students should enable us to create more of those learn-

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and be a part of the campuswide conversations,” he said.

- Endowing chairs for teach“The initiative is geared to- ing excellence. ward aligning the Rice experi- Creating an alternative Rice ence with the current priorities and needs of students through the consideration of two points of interest: changing the holistic Rice experience to include the activities and experiences from which students derive the most value and realigning the current Rice experience, rather than adding to and overwhelming it,” said SA Presi- Members of the Rice Education of the Future initiative organizing committee dent and Martel College senior Ravi Sheth. degree track that emphasizes ing opportunities that make a An organizing committee of experiential learning.

Rice education so distinctive 10 students developed seven - Restructuring course evalu- and beneficial. These efforts recommendations to improve ations to include teaching in- are important not only because the Rice student experience. novation. this type of education is what “Over the course of the (fall) - Requiring a teaching excel- today’s Rice students want and semester, we were able to en- lence letter in the Promotion expect, but because we know that they truly seize the opgage with a significant por- and Tenure Dossier. portunities that we make availtion of the Rice community,” Navran said he and other able.” said McMurtry College senior Trent Navran, who headed the members of the committee SOURCE: (Rice University committee. “Our efforts were were thrilled to see the positive News & Media, Jan. 12, 2015). response from students, faculty, geared toward encouraging an The initiative’s recommendaactive and critical conversation staff and administrators alike. tions are available online at “Everyone seemed very willing related to identifying key ways http://sa.rice.edu/ref in which the educational expe- to share their candid thoughts

Most people do not know the anti-viral drugs exist and fewer than one in five high-risk patients get treated, he said

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IAMI, AFP | - Plenty of research has shown that learning a second language can boost brainpower, but a new study out Monday suggests that the effects extend to those who begin in middle childhood.

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FRIDAY, January 16, 2015

Friday, January 16, 2015

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Abhishek Bachchan, John I took break due to Abraham come together exhaustion: Arjun Rampal for ‘Hera Pheri 3’

The ‘Dostana’ duo, John Abraham and Abhishek Bachchan. - Photo courtesy: pixgood.com

N

ine years after the sequel to cult comedy Hera Pheri was released, Feroz Nadiawala is now ready to make Hera Pheri 3.

The cast has been tweaked a little and this time, Dostana co-stars John Abraham and Abhishek Bachchan will be seen in lead roles.

The film also stars Sunil

Shetty and Paresh Rawal, who were featured in the first two films – Hera Pheri (2000) and Phir Hera Pheri (2006) – alongside Akshay Kumar. Hera Pheri 3 will once again be directed by Neeraj Vora, reported Times of India.

A source revealed to Midday that: “It is learnt that Vora saw some portions of Welcome Back and felt John had a good

comic timing in the film. He also feels that Abhishek is quite a natural at doing funny scenes.

So, there was no doubt about signing on the lead actors.”

Filming will begin in March and will be extensively shot in Mumbai, Dubai and Las Vegas, according to Bollywood Hungama.

A release date has not yet been announced

Aamir sends legal notice to websites over fake i’view with the intent of drawing visitors to their website, and is defamatory to our client,” Desai said. “... Today we sent legal notices on behalf of Mr Khan to the websites... The impersonation is a very serious infringement of our client’s rights, and we will take legal recourse. Mr Khan will be filing a criminal complaint with the Cybercrime Cell, Mumbai Police after he returns to Mumbai,” Desai said. Aamir, 49, is currently in the US. Actor and producer Aamir Khan at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, in New Delhi, India. (Sanjeev Verma/ HT Photo).

A

amir Khan has sent a legal notice to some Pakistani websites for carrying his ‘fabricated’ interview on religion with reference to his latest release PK. Anand Desai, managing partner of DSK Legal, who sent the notice on Aamir’s behalf, said the actor was wrongly attributed for the interview.

“Mr Aamir Khan was shocked to find an interview attributed to him on several Pakistani websites in relation to his latest film PK. He has never given such an interview. It is clearly a fabrication by someone trying to impersonate him, done

Mumbai: After starring in three-back to back films in 2013, Arjun Rampal says taking a break for more than a year was much-needed for him.

character in ‘Roy’ that is hitting theatres on February 13, a day ahead of Valentine’s Day.

Arjun, who will be next seen in ‘Roy’ post his no show last year, appeared in Prakash Jha’s political drama ‘Satyagraha’ besides ‘Inkaar’ and spy thriller ‘D-Day’.

Kapoor-Jacqueline Fernandez starrer film, Arjun is playing a director, who is undergoing OCD (Obsessive compulsive disorder), and has the fetish of collecting hats.

“I have patiently waited for this film. As I have seen the final result, I can proudly say Vikramjit Singh (director) has done a splendid job as a debutant director.

“I took a break consciously because I was exhausted. I just wanted to read and not think about movies. I wanted to spend time with me and my family.

And in between the script of ‘Roy’ was also developing,” Arjun told reporters.

“When he first came with the script it was like a novel to me but then we developed it further. Film starts with me who is a successful director and has made a franchise of a film tiled ‘Gun’. And now he wants to make ‘Gun 3’,” he added.

‘Roy’ has been shot extensively in Malaysia and the ‘Ra. One’ star said the foreign locations acted as characters in the film.

In the upcoming Ranbir

The 42-year-old model-actor said hat is the trademark of his

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“The locations of the film are very important as they are like a character itself. We covered both small towns and beaches,” Arjun said. PTI

I like Indian jewelry: Jennifer Aniston

‘

Cake’ star Jennifer Aniston has revealed that her eightcarat diamond ring from fiance Justin Theroux is not of her kind.

Aniston, 45, who has been engaged to Theroux for two years, said she is not a diamond girl and might not have picked Jennifer Aniston it for herself, reported the New and stuff,” she said.

York Post.

“It’s a rock, I know. He rocked it up. It took me a while to get used to it. I’m not a diamond girl. I’m more Indian jewelry

Aniston said she considers Theroux a blessing sent to her by her first love, who died of a brain tumour when they were

young.

“He would have been the one.

But I was 25, and I was stupid.

He must have sent me Justin to make up for it all,” she said.

Short film from India in global vaccination awareness campaign Filmmaker Rakesh Omprakash Mehra’s new short film, which aims to raise awareness on polio vaccination, is now part of a global campaign where over 30 world artists attempt to depict the power of vaccines.

The campaign titled “the Art of Saving a Life” has been commissioned by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and is part of efforts to “spark conversations and interest” and raise funds to immunize tens of thousands of people around the world who do not have access to health care.

Mehra says his film “The Girl Who Kicked the Ball,” is a metaphorical portrayal of the polio virus as aliens and the human spirit that defeated it by creat-

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“I have seen a hat two years back in New York in a vintage shop and loved it. I thought of using the same one in the film.

I also founded a pair of glasses and these two things kind of stayed with Kabir till the end of the film,” he said.

ing an anti-virus in a vaccine.

The dark, avant garde film blends computer generated animation with black and white photographs that highlight the “harsh and very real daily reality” of children suffering from polio.

“I was born in 1963 and was always saddened when kids with polio could not join the game of football. They strove a hundred times as hard but still got left behind in the playground and in every aspect of life. “’The Girl Who Kicked the Ball’ is my salute to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for the change they have brought about. Isn’t it a miracle that now when I pass a football field

there is nobody watching from the bench longing to jump in?,” Mehra said in a statement.

The film “shows the power of immunisation and tells of a brighter outcome in our fight against diseases if we, like the protagonist, take a stand against them.”

Apart from Mehra, others whose works are featured in the campaign include photographer Annie Leibovitz, writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, actress Mia Farrow and the music band Playing for Change.

According to available statistics, about 6 million people die from diseases that are easily preventable by vaccines and one in five children in the world do not have access to vaccines.

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VOICE OF ASIA 16

Friday, January 16, 2015

Section 2

Page 16

FRIDAY, January 16, 2015

Email: editor@voiceofasiaonline.com

IANA Houston members take part in ‘Star of Hope’ Program

Tel: 713-774-5140

House passes third ObamaCare bill of new Congress

T

he House passed legislation on Monday January 12, 2015 that would exempt volunteer firefighters from the healthcare law’s employer mandate.

Passed 401-0, the measure would prevent volunteer firefighters from being counted toward the mandate requiring employers with 50 or more full-time workers to provide health insurance or else pay hefty fines.

The vote marked the third on an Obama Care-related measure less than a week into the new Congress. The House passed bills last week to exempt veterans from the employer mandate and to redefine a full-time workweek as 40 hours instead of 30.

Lawmakers said volunteer firefighters should be exempt from the employer mandate since they often have workweeks of more than 30 hours, which constitutes a full-time workweek under the healthcare law. Consequently, volunteer firefighters may be counted as full-time employees and force fire departments to provide health insurance.

Members of the Indian American Nurses Association in Houston on December 6, 2014.

H

OUSTON - Indian American Nurses Association (IANA) celebrated 2014 Christmas on December 6th with Star of Hope residents along with Philippine Nurses Association. Numerous families and friends also took part in this “Star of Hope Xmas Program”.

This year approximately 200 homeless kids and women from the star of Hope residents

O

received gifts and joined for lunch with the Nurses. This has been a practice of IANA for the past several years during the Xmas season as part of their charity works. Through this act they share the Xmas message, joy and blessings with those needy fellow human beings in this community. Arrangement for Santa clause visit was done in order to provide gifts to residents. The kids were extremely

happy to meet Santa and receive gift as well as to take pictures with him. Volunteers sang carols during the celebration to make the festive more attractive and meaningful. All these were accomplished by the support of many kind hearted friends, well-wishers and volunteers of IANA and they are thanking all of them for their support.

Star of Hope is a Christcentered community dedicated

to meeting the needs of homeless men, women and their children. Positive life-changes are encouraged through structured programs which focus on spiritual growth, education, employment, life-management and recovery from substance abuse. It is a ministry dedicated to transforming the lives of Houston’s homeless since 1907.

Those who wish to donate may contact the IANA executives to obtain detailed information.

Tips to Manage Pain from Arthritis Naturally

ne in five adults in the United States now reports having doctordiagnosed arthritis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). For those living with the chronic pain of this disease, learning how to manage arthritis is crucial to the health and happiness of millions of Americans.

familypractice.com). “I feel confident in recommending it because it won’t interfere with other medications and homeopathic medicines, such as this, are one of the safest classes of drugs.”

With that in mind, here are several natural ways to reduce complications and pain associated with arthritis: • Those who are overweight or obese are diagnosed with an arthritis symptom more often than those with a lower body mass index, according to CDC statistics. Take a load off your joints by maintaining a healthy weight. Weight loss has also been linked to less pain from arthritis, especially in the knees, which bear the brunt of excess pounds.

• Evidence indicates that both endurance and resistance exercise can provide significant benefits to those with osteoarthritis, according to the U.S. Department of Health

Arthritis can be painful, but there are many natural ways to manage symptoms. PHOTO SOURCE: (c) Nebari - Fotolia.com and Human Services. However, arthritis patients should typically avoid placing too much pressure on joints. Lowimpact exercises such as biking, swimming and walking are recommended treatments for arthritis. A doctor or physical therapist is a good resource for helping you make a fitness game plan.

• No matter what precautions you take, pain from your condition is sometimes inevitable.

And when it’s severe, it can be

debilitating.

Some arthritis medications mask pain, which may make it harder to gauge the status of your condition. A homeopathic medicine, however, works naturally with your body to ease suffering from arthritis pain.

“Joint pains are common in my practice so I often recommend Arnicare Arthritis Tablets,” says Dr. Albert Levy of Manhattan Family Practice in New York City (Manhattan-

Arnicare Arthritis Tablets are quick-dissolving homeopathic tablets that relieve minor aches and pains associated with arthritis, specifically from stiff or swollen joints and flare-ups caused by changes in weather.

They can be a good option for those with multiple conditions.

More information can be found at www.Arnicare.com.

• Stiff joints can be painful.

Stretch regularly to prevent stiffness. Full range of motion exercises can help you stay limber and maintain function.

Arthritis actually refers to more than 100 different kinds of musculoskeletal disorders that affect people of all ages.

If you’re one of the millions of Americans suffering from arthritis, take natural steps to prevent and manage the pain associated with your condition.

SOURCE: StatePoint.

Radiation plus hormone therapy saves lives in prostate cancer

M

IAMI, AFP | 1/5/2015 - Older men with prostate cancer may live longer if they receive a combination of radiation and hormone therapy, but many men do not get the right treatment, US researchers said Monday.

The dual therapy saved nearly 50 percent more lives among men aged 76 to 85 with locally advanced prostate cancer, compared to those who received hormone therapy alone, said the findings in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

The study is the first to focus on older men with locally advanced prostate cancer, and builds upon the results

of two clinical trials that showed combination therapy could save lives in younger men.

Locally advanced prostate cancer occurs when cancer has spread outside but near the prostate gland, making for more aggressive tumors that are prone to metastasize and become fatal, the researchers said.

Previous research has shown that about 40 percent of men with aggressive prostate cancer are treated with hormone therapy alone, suggesting there is a significant group of people who could benefit from radiation therapy.

“Failure to use effective treatments for older patients with cancer is a health care quality concern in the United States,” said lead author Justin Bekelman, an assistant professor of Radiation Oncology, Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine and Abramson Cancer Center.

“Radiation plus hormone therapy is such a treatment for men with aggressive prostate cancers.”

He urged patients to talk with their doctors, and called on physicians to “reduce the use of hormone therapy alone.”

The study involved 31,541 men with prostate cancer, ranging in age from 65 to 85 years.

Those aged 76 to 85 and who got the radiation plus hormone therapy saw 49 percent fewer deaths than those on hormone therapy alone after seven years of follow-up.

The younger age bracket, 65 to 75, also benefited from combination therapy, seeing 57 percent fewer deaths than in those who received just hormone therapy.

Bekelman said the combination therapy has minimal side effects and “is both tolerable and effective in curing prostate cancer.”

Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Pa.), the bill’s sponsor, warned the unintended effects of the healthcare law could result in fire departments closing altogether due to fines imposed by the healthcare law.

“Some fire companies would be forced to pay for the volunteers’ health insurance or pay a fine, driving many fire departments out of business,” Barletta said.

“Simply put, this is a public safety issue.”

Sudhir Mathuria Contact: Sudhir Mathuria Licensed Professional Health Life 360 6650 Southwest Freeway Houston TX 77074 713-771-2900 www.MyMedicarePlanning.com The Treasury Department released finalized regulations in February 2014 to exempt firefighters from the employer mandate. But lawmakers said the legislation would provide more certainty.

“I think it’s always better to have it in statute rather than rely on the whims of administrative agencies that can change with the change of administrations,” said Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.).

The House passed an identical bill in March 2014 by a vote of 410-0.

Next Week: Some more changes published.

For prompt enrollment in Obama Care on or off the exchange please call Sudhir Mathuria @ 713-771-2900 for prompt enrollment before January 15 for February 1 effective date.

Read more on Health - Latest Health News Updates Visit: www.voiceofasiaonline.com

US okays Roche test to identify HIV, hepatitis viruses Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | Friday 1/9/2015.

US authorities have approved a test developed by Swiss pharmaceutical firm Roche that can detect both HIV and hepatitis viruses, the company said Friday.

The Cobas Taqscreen MPX is the only test approved by the US Food and Drug Administration that can simultaneously detect the HIV, hepatitis B and C viruses in human blood and plasma, Roche said.

Having a single test eliminates “the need for consecutive rounds of testing” Roche said, stressing that it could shorten the time it takes to reach a crucial diagnosis of the killer viruses.

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) which causes AIDS, has killed some 39 million people since it emerged in the 1980s.

Hepatitis B and C, which are transmitted from infected mothers to newborn babies by unsafe injections during medical procedures and drug use, or unsafe sex, kill more than a million people each year.

Roche is a leader in the global blood and plasma screening market using so-called nucleic acid-based techniques, which allow earlier detection of virus or bacteria infections in antibody tests.

That market is worth an estimated 660 million euros ($779 million) worldwide.

Scientists urge artificial intelligence safety focus Miami, United States | AFP | Monday 1/12/2015 The development of artificial intelligence is growing fast and hundreds of the world’s leading scientists and entrepreneurs are urging a renewed focus on safety and ethics to prevent dangers to society.

An open letter was signed by famous physicist Stephen Hawking, Skype co-founder Jaan Tallinn, and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk along with some of the top minds from universities such as Harvard, Stanford, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, and Oxford, and companies like Google, Microsoft and IBM. “There is now a broad consensus that artificial intelligence (AI) research is progressing steadily, and that its impact on society is likely to increase,” the letter said.

“The potential benefits are

huge, since everything that civilization has to offer is a product of human intelligence; we cannot predict what we might achieve when this intelligence is magnified by the tools AI may provide, but the eradication of disease and poverty are not unfathomable,” it added.

“Because of the great potential of AI, it is important to research how to reap its benefits while avoiding potential pitfalls.”

How to handle the prospect of automatic weapons that might kill indiscriminately, the liabilities of automatically driven cars and the prospect of losing control of AI systems so that they no longer align with human wishes, were among the concerns raised in the letter that signees said deserve further research.

The full text appears at http:// futureoflife.org/misc/open_letter.

VOICE OF ASIA 17

ONLINE .COM voiceofasiaonline.com

Friday, January 16, 2015

BUSINESS

Section 2

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‘Badass luxury’: Acura unleashes NSX supercar

W

ASHINGTON - The Republican-led US House of Representatives voted Wednesday to roll back key Wall Street reforms, launching another assault on a law meant to help prevent another financial meltdown.

The most contentious measure in the financial overhaul, which faces an uphill battle in the Senate, is a two-year delay of the so-called Volcker rule, enacted in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.

The regulation limits big banks’ ownership of risky investments.

The Fed in December rewarded banks by delaying compliance with the rule until 2017. Wednesday’s measure would push that to 2019.

Several of the measures in the package have received bipartisan support in the past, but Democrats were particularly riled by the effort to quash the Volcker rule.

Acura reveals its new NSX at The North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, on January 12, 2015 (AFP Photo/Jewel Samad)

D

Just two hours after Ford threatened to hog the limelight at one of the world’s top auto shows with its new GT supercar, Acura hit back with the new version of its fabled NSX, and a hybrid version at that.

“It’s just badass... in a luxury kind of a way,” Mike Accavitti, Honda senior vice president and Acura general manager, told a throng of reporters at the North American International Auto Show.

Unveiled in a reception more suited to a rock star than a car, the NSX, which boasts horsepower in excess of 550, threatened to bring the annual Detroit extravaganza to a standstill.

Originally debuted in the United States 25 years ago and driven by Senna in 1989, the new NSX combines an electric motor at the rear and twinelectric motors at the front with twin turbo-charged V6 engines.

“It not only lives up to the legacy of its predecessor, it’s the stuff that our dreams are made of,” purred Accavitti.

The Acura NSX will hit the streets later this year and has four driving modes: quiet (running only electric), sport, sports plus and track.

Tel: 713-774-5140

US House approves Wall St deregulation

Despite the threat of a veto by President Barack Obama, the House voted 271 to 154 to approve a raft of measures grouped into one bill, with most Democrats voting in opposition.

ETROIT (AFP) - Evoking the memory of Formula One legend Ayrton Senna and boasting of G-forces similar to the sport he graced, the $150,000 Acura NSX supercar made its global bow Monday in Detroit.

FRIDAY, January 16, 2015

Top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi

slammed the package as a “Wall Street giveaway,” while the White House has said the Republican bill would “weaken and undermine” the Dodd-Frank law.

Paul Volcker, the former Federal Reserve chairman from whom the rule takes its name, criticized Republican efforts to roll back the reforms.

“It is striking that the world’s leading investment bankers, noted for their cleverness and agility in advising clients on how to restructure companies and even industries however complicated, apparently can’t manage the orderly reorganization of their own activities in more than five years,” the 87-year-old said recently in a statement.

But Republicans, who are united in opposition to Dodd-Frank, stressed that the fixes they have offered remove regulations that overburden businesses and hurt the economy by stifling financial innovation and growth.

“As the American economy struggles to digest Dodd-Frank’s thousands of pages and hundreds of new regulations, small business owners and many individuals looking for good-paying jobs deserve regulatory relief from Washington,” House Republican Randy Neugebauer said.

US economy continues broad expansion: Fed report

W

ASHINGTON - The US economy kept up “modest” or “moderate” growth in recent weeks, although lower oil prices were hitting the Dallas region, according to a Federal Reserve report released Wednesday.

US job growth expanded “moderately” from mid-November through late December, but that was not accompanied by upward pressure on wages, said the Fed’s Beige Book, a collection of economic reports from the central bank’s 12 districts.

“Significant wage pressures were largely limited to workers with specialized technical skills,” said the upbeat report, which will be used as a basis for discussion at the Fed’s next mon-

etary policy on January 27 and 28.

While “most” survey respondents reported the modest or moderate growth, the Kansas City District, in the Midwest, reported only slight growth.

And the Dallas Fed, in the state of Texas, reflecting the rapid slide in crude oil prices, indicated “that growth slowed slightly during the reporting period and that several contacts expressed concern about the effect of lower oil prices on the District economy.”

The continued minimal growth in wages has been a big worry for Fed officials.

It comes despite the best annual job creation since 1999 last year, with the

world’s largest economy pumping out nearly three million jobs and the unemployment rate falling to 5.6 percent, its lowest level in six and a half years.

Some analysts say the robust number of jobs created will ultimately show up in higher wages, and some on the Fed’s policy arm, the Federal Open Market Committee, have pointed to soft wage gains in arguing that the first hike in near-zero interest rates should be delayed.

The minutes of the December 16-17 FOMC meeting showed that the first rate hike could come at the April 2829 meeting, while some see it being announced at the June 16-17 meeting, which is followed by a news conference with Fed Chair Janet Yellen

HOROSCOPE

VOICE OF ASIA 18

FRIDAY, January 16, 2015

Your Horoscope for the Week of January 16, 2015

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

READ YOUR COMPLETE HOROSCOPE ONLINE WWW.VOICEOFASIAONLINE.COM

Libra (R,T) 23 Sept to 22 Oct

Aries (A,L,E) 21 March to 20 April Your flexibility and patience will help you tolerate an insufferable situation. Being stubborn will only fan the flames. The reason for your anger will become apparent once you listen to your heart. Once your plans are firmly in place, romance may begin to happen. You’ll be given every opportunity to grow as a person. Stop looking ahead so far and try to lose yourself in the heat of the moment. Your imagination is highly amusing, but perhaps not very trustworthy. Snooping and gossip can be deliciously seductive.

Use your ability to see past the immediate and understand other’s motivations.

Choose your projects carefully and do them well instead of saying yes to everyone and doing an inferior job. Think clearly about all of your options and play the waiting game.

You shouldn’t rush any big decisions. Time will be on your side. The longer you wait to decide, the better. It will be hard for you to pass on some of the projects being offered, but if you set attainable goals, you will receive much greater rewards in the end.

Scorpio (N,Y)23 Oct to 21 Nov

Taurus (B,V,U) 21 April to 20 May Some domestic adjustments, with your ability to bounce back from any situation. An intimate moment may suddenly get too close for comfort. There may be too much talking around you. The abstract becomes increasingly meaningless. Attend to your inner needs. Meditation, plants and pets will reconnect you with your role in the physical world. Try to organize you time to fit everything in without too much stress. Give a little, take a little.

Compromise will become your theme.

You don’t like to keep score, and generally let life just go where it goes. However, you could be on the receiving end of a beautiful serenade. The next few days will find you walking with a brisk stride and snapping your fingers. If whatever you’re experiencing isn’t quite reality, it’ll seem just as good as the real thing. No walls will be able to contain your excitement. No limitations will seem to apply. You can accomplish just about any goal you try. A little humility wouldn’t hurt, although no one really minds if you keep Mustache or Not.

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

Gemini (K,CHH,GH) 21 May to 20 June Pure facts and data are the currency of the moment. Colleagues are brimming with ideas for you. Digesting all of them, however, is a near impossibility. The trick is to sift through everything that comes your way and select just exactly what you need. The energy you feel will help you to reach your goals. It’s vital that you don’t promise the word to everyone. While this could help for the present, it may create complications for the future. Little mistakes are easier to correct before their consequences grow too big.

Need to keep yourself on track. It’s difficult to stay focused, your current fixation on details may have you spinning your wheels. Try to stay on course despite the temptation to run around in circles. The fact that you’re suddenly very popular does nothing to help with your focus. Other people’s tics and quirks might prove to be especially annoying to you. There is no polite way to explain what’s bothering you. This is not about being rude, this is about being professional in your relations with others.

Capricorn (KH,J) 22 Dec to 20 Jan

Cancer (D,H) 21 June to 22 July An upsurge of your positive energy flow. Recently you have felt as if something was holding you back, this week, everything will click. Your good mood will be highly contagious, others will respond. You’ll be everywhere at once, moving so quickly, that people might miss you, if they blink. It’s important for you to have your personal touch on everything. If you immerse yourself, your senses will take you for the ride of a lifetime. You still have a long way to go.

You may have high expectations of someone, that may dwindle as the week winds down. You may feel angry, but patience is what will bring you results. You need to look at the situation from different perspectives. Interactions with others could be less than rewarding. Even well-intentioned people will seem as if they’re trying to interfere.

Mind your own business and advance in solitude. Even the quirky loner is not without some kind of support system.

Leo (M) 23 July to 22 August

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

Face some challenges that will motivate your spirit. You’ll feel magnetized and ready to take on any professional or personal obstacles, that stands in your way. Plan to do something special with the family. Obstacles may stand in your way. Ignore people who are trying to lead you astray. You can learn a lot if you are more open-minded. Give others the benefit of the doubt. You’ll be able to overcome anything if you stand tall and prepare to push ahead. The harder you strive for perfection, the better you will do.

Use your talent of teamwork & to get everyone involved in your project. The resistance you feel from others will grow stronger if you apply unnecessary pressure. Keep discussions on track, allow others to express their views. Listen to them very carefully. Try to create an atmosphere of trust. Someone else may get all the glory, but you’ll learn an invaluable lesson, that will take you on to even greater triumph. You’ll find ordinarily annoying people are surprisingly easy to get along with. Harmonic vibrations will mount to passionate trembles.

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

Virgo (P) 23 August to 22 September You’ll have plenty of ideas, but you must be careful not to take on too much. Less is best this week. Arguments will evolve if you are overly opinionated. Secret information will aid you and hard work will pay off. Your concern with financial security will prompt you to find out more about investments. You’ll meet interesting new people if you attend events. If you focus on what’s really important to you, success will follow. If you recognize your limitations and ask for assistance, you will do much better than even you anticipated.

Stress & long hours can cause havoc on your health. Find yourself a healthy regime of stress reducing exercise and healthier eating and you’ll be able to think and work more effectively.

QR

The sense of floating free from the earthly bonds that you’ve felt been dragging you down. Don’t even ask what it means. Logic and magic have nothing to do with each other. Let events wash over you now, and explain it all later on in any way that makes sense. Don’t go around sticking out your neck if blame is waiting to fall. The walls have ears and possibly no sympathy. Ordinarily you’re the first to help others, but you may not be able to do so now. You need to be treated with respect. Insist on receiving the whole story, rather than have something dumped on you without warning. Once feelings are realized, they are easier to accept. The emotional tap is open, so let it run freely.

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Now Hiring

Seeking a Gujarati Live-In

Need single or couple with experience for manager and also need someone for a front desk and house keeping position in small franchise hotel in Sugar Land, TX.

for cooking & light house-keeping in Houston, Texas for a Gujarati family.

Minimum base salary of $2,200 with additional incentives of $50/week for performance based bonus.

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Marketing associate needed for an insurance premium finance company @ 59 and Gessner. PROSPECTIVE CANDIDATES MAY APPLY ASAP. Contact info: Atif- 713-777-6786 E-mail ID: atif@usinsurancefundings.com

Use Your Commute to Practice Mindfulness

Part Time Accountant Property Management Company in Houston is looking for a part-time accountant with the following qualifications: • Degree in Accounting or Business preferred.

• Must have good working knowledge of Quickbooks and Excel.

• Experience in generating financial reports & bookkeeping.

• Other duties as assigned.

Good compensation for an experienced person

To apply please email your resume to:

princeville.investments@gmail.com (Please indicate in the subject line: “Accounting Position”)

P

racticing mindfulness, which is all about being in the present moment, can boost creativity, lower stress, and improve concentration. But people miss out because they think they’re too busy to meditate. Consider using your daily commute to practice mindfulness. When you get in the car, take a few deep breaths. Buckle up and become aware of your body.

Feel your hands on the steering wheel and your foot on the pedal. As you drive, notice what you are looking at: the road, your windshield, your mirrors. Notice the sounds you hear. Avoid sinking into autopilot. This sounds basic, but concentrating isn’t easy. Our minds wander and we’re tempted to check our phones. Brush these distractions aside and focus on making the most of your time in the car, on a train, or however you travel.

You’ll arrive at the office refreshed and ready for the day, and you’ll get home ready to enjoy the evening.

Adapted from “Your Car Commute Is a Chance to Practice Mindfulness” by Maria Gonzalez.

Broadcast Systems Specialist - IT If you are looking to broaden your IT skills into the fast paced ever-changing environment of television this is your opportunity. KTRK-TV, the ABC owned station located in Houston, TX is seeking an experienced individual with IT system administration experience in a layer 2 Cisco switched environment. Candidates experience must include but not limited to; network security, firewalls, anti-virus, data backup and server maintenance. Preventative maintenance, attention to detail as well as systematic troubleshooting must be second nature. A working knowledge of computerized television broadcast equipment and systems hosted on Microsoft platforms are desired but not necessary. The ideal candidate will have experience providing technical support in a fast paced, high availability 24X7 environment. We are looking for someone that is motivated to excel and possess strong interpersonal skills. Candidates must be willing to work a schedule that will include nights, overnights and weekends throughout the year. To be considered for this position you must apply on-line at www.disneycareers.com by uploading a resume file and cover letter. Job Req #242751BR. Equal Opportunity Employer – Female/ Minority/ Veteran/ Disability. No Telephone Calls.

Houston Community College Request for Proposals (RFP) Hiring and Onboarding Process Consultant Services Project No. 15-06 Documents can be obtained at: www.hccs.edu/district/ departments/procurement.

Sealed proposals will be received in Procurement Operations (3100 Main Street, Room No. 11A06 Houston Texas 77002) until 2:00PM (local time) on Tuesday, January 20, 2015.

HOME

Prepping Your Home for Cold Weather Pays Off intrusion. Seal decks and fences to prevent the wood from rotting.

The roof takes the brunt of the cold weather, so repair leaks, however minor, and replace loose shingles.

Winterize pipes with insulation, especially those that are exposed to the elements or located in unheated areas. Know where your water shut-off valves are located so they can be turned off in case of a pipe leak.

Trim tree branches that could potentially fall onto your home or driveway. Check with your local municipality about regulations.

Thermostats Programmable thermostats can cut energy bills by $100 or more each year. For every degree your thermostat is adjusted, you can save up to one percent on energy bills.

In-Home Leaks

Home inspector. Photo source: StatePoint.

Preparing your home for colder weather can help ensure your family stays warm and safe, as well as save you money on energy-related costs and potential damage to your home’s structure.

dows and replace old singlepane windows with thicker, more modern versions. Install storm windows and insulate walls and attics.

“I recommend homeowners do a thorough home inspection at least every five years,” says Tom Capuano, a franchisee of Pillar To Post Home Inspectors, North America’s largest home inspection franchise.

Annual inspections of the chimney and flue minimize the threat of chimney fires. Additionally, add a chimney cap to keep out moisture and ensure your chimney has an appropriate liner to separate system emissions from the home’s structure. Inspect and maintain chimney flashing.

The experts at Pillar To Post recommend homeowners take the following steps to cover their bases.

Doors and Windows If you can feel cool air coming through the bottom of the door, replace the weather stripping and door sweeps to save about one-third of your average annual heating and cooling costs. Next, caulk drafty win-

Chimney and Flue

Outdoor Areas Ensure gutters and downspouts are flowing freely. Clogs can cause water to make contact with the foundation walls of your home and creep under your roofing.

Seal cracks in your home’s foundation to prevent moisture

FRIDAY, January 16, 2015

Repair leaking faucets and toilets, which can add up to 20 gallons of water per person per day. Also consider low-flush toilets and showerheads. Lowflush toilets use less than 1.6 gallons of water per flush and low-flow showerheads use up to 36 percent less water. Some local water department offer rebates for making the upgrade.

If you don’t have the time or knowledge to inspect your home for problem areas, certified home inspectors can quickly check all areas of your home and will give you a report of your home’s condition.

For example, Pillar To Post offers home inspection reports detailing up to 1,600 key components of a home’s condition so you can take a preventative approach to problems.

More information about home inspections can be found at www.pillartopost.com.

Home inspections and prepping for the cool weather can help protect your family and your pocketbook. SOURCE: StatePoint.

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