Voice of Asia March 13 2015

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FRIDAY, March 13, 2015

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Vol. 28 No. 11 Friday, March 13, 2015 • Published Weekly from Houston • 713-774-5140 20 Pages ( 2 sections) 50 cents E-mail: editor@voiceofasiaonline.com

HCC-ASPIRE raises money for student success

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OUSTON, TX [March 6, 2015] – Houston Community College held a luncheon at the Junior League of Houston to honor students, faculty and staff and thank donors for supporting HCC-ASPIRE. ASPIRE, which stands for Asian Scholarship Program Inspiring Results and Excellence, honors the Asian heritage and the educational pursuits and scholastic achievements of Asian students and faculty at HCC.

HCC Trustee Neeta Sane (3rd from left) with the three student recipients (out of the five). Far left are emcee Pooja Lodhia, Channel 13 anchor and Dr. Parvin Bagherpour of HCC-ASPIRE Exe. Team.

Nearly 300 guests, including community leaders, corporate executives, elected officials, members of the HCC Board of Trustees, and donors attended the event. They generously raised more than $10,000 during the luncheon after hearing the inspirational story of Bryan Faustino, a Nursing student at Coleman College for Health Sciences.

Gaura Purnima Festival at ISKCON of Houston Their lordships taking their sacred bath in a ceremony known as Abhishek. Photos by Thejas

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Gaura Purnima marks the appearance of Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Report on Page 3

Neeta Sane, HCC Board of Trustees, District VII and founder of HCC-ASPIRE welcoming the guests at the luncheon. HCC Photos.

HCC-ASPIRE honorary Co-Chair Ash Shah with wife Leena.

“Being awarded the ASPIRE scholarship serves as validation that I’m on the right track and that I should pursue my calling,” said a thankful Faustino.

Seven faculty and staff members and five students are the recipients of the 2014-2015 HCC-ASPIRE scholarships.

“HCC-ASPIRE luncheon was held to honor the Asian culture and to raise funds to help support the educational pursuits and scholastic achievements of Asian students attending HCC as well as HCC’s outstanding faculty and staff.

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I am proud of all those who received financial awards because they have exhibited strong commitment to education and willingness to work hard to succeed in education, ” said Neeta Sane, HCC Board of Trustees, District VII and founder of HCC-ASPIRE. “We are grateful to our numerous sponsors and volunteers who have contributed to HCC ASPIRE program and continue to make a difference in the lives of our students and faculty members,” she added.

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OP-ED/COMMENTARY/ANALYSIS

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hree senators, two Democrats and a Republican, introduced a bill on Tuesday that would allow patients to use marijuana for medical purposes in states where it is legal, without fear of federal prosecution for violating narcotics laws.

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

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

The bill makes a number of important changes to federal marijuana policies — and it deserves to be passed by Congress and enacted into law.

Though this legislation would not repeal the broad and destructive federal ban on marijuana, it is a big step in the right direction.

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

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

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

The Schedule I classification made no sense because there is a medical consensus that patients with AIDS, cancer, epilepsy and serious degenerative conditions can benefit from marijuana. And millions of patients have used marijuana to relieve pain, nausea, appetite loss, insomnia and seizures associated with various illnesses.

The bill, sponsored by Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, both Democrats, and Rand Paul, a Republican of Kentucky, would not legalize medical marijuana in all 50 states. But it would amend federal law to allow states to set their own medical marijuana policies and prevent federal law enforcement agencies from prosecuting patients, doctors and caregivers in those states.

Currently 35 states and the District of Columbia permit some form of medical marijuana use.

States would remain free to ban medical marijuana if they wished.

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.

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

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Other important provisions would allow banks and credit unions to provide financial services to marijuana-related businesses that operate in accord with state law and protect them from federal prosecution or investigation. That is a cru-

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The most important change would reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act, which is intended for drugs, like heroin, that have no accepted medical use in the United States, and place it instead in Schedule II, the classification for drugs that have a legitimate medical use but also have a “high potential for abuse.”

FRIDAY, March 13, 2015

A Sensible Bill on Medical Marijuana cial improvement over the current situation where marijuana business that is legal under state law is conducted in cash because financial institutions fear to step in.

The bill would also allow doctors in the Department of Veterans Affairs to prescribe medical marijuana to veterans, which they are currently prohibited from doing. And it would ease the overly strict procedures for obtaining marijuana for medical research and require the Food and Drug Administration to more readily allow the manufacture of marijuana for research.

An encouraging development last year may bode well for enactment of the legislation this year. A surprisingly strong bipartisan majority in the House voted for a one-year provision barring the Justice Department from using its funds to prevent states from carrying out their

Medical marijuana. Credit Max Whittaker. Courtesy: The New York Times own laws authorizing the use, distribution, possession or cultivation of medical marijuana.

The provision was approved by a vote of 219 to 189, with 49 Republicans and 170 Democrats voting in favor. The Senate adopted the same provision and President Obama signed it

Documentary on deadly gang rape banned by India premieres in New York

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EW YORK – A rape documentary banned from airing in India received its U.S. premiere at a star-studded event on Monday that included actresses Meryl Streep and Freida Pinto.

The screening of “India’s Daughter” at Baruch College began with a vigil as the Oscarwinner Streep lit about a dozen candles honoring the medical student who died after being gang-raped on a bus in 2012.

Organizers said about 650 people attended the event.

“Tonight we light these candles to honor the value and the work of Jyoti Singh’s short, promising life,” Streep said.

“She was India’s daughter. Tonight she’s our daughter too.”

The woman was attacked when she and a male companion boarded a private bus in Delhi. The documentary details a brutal account of how six men beat her friend and then gangraped her in the bus before tossing her onto the street. She was found naked on the side of the road and later died of her inju-

ries. Four men were convicted and sentenced to death for the rape and murder.

The victim’s parents have publicly named their daughter and have said they want the world to know about her plight.

“Ultimately, this is a film that needs to go out,” said Pinto, who does not appear in the film. “This is not a shame-India documentary.”

The film’s U.S. premiere follows a week of controversy in India.

The uproar focuses on comments made by one of the convicted rapists interviewed for the film. He blamed the victim for taking a bus late in the evening.

“A decent girl won’t roam around at 9 o’clock at night. ... Housework and housekeeping is for girls, not roaming in discos and bars at night doing wrong things, wearing wrong clothes,” he said.

The documentary by British

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Polls show a majority of Americans in favor of legalization of medical marijuana. It is long past time for Congress to recognize the need to change course. (Courtesy: by The New York Times, Editorial Board on March 11, 2015).

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filmmaker Leslee Udwin, herself a rape victim, was to have aired on an Indian television station on Sunday, International Women’s Day, but a court order halted the broadcast. It was done in the interest of maintaining public order, according to Indian authorities. Instead, the station showed a blank screen.

“India’s Daughter” first was screened in Britain on a British Broadcasting Corporation channel last week. Indian viewers cannot see it on the BBC website, but it can be seen on YouTube.

“This film in no way is propagating violence in order to solve the problem. In fact, what we’re saying is let’s do this in the most civilized possible way ever,” Pinto told The Associated Press before the film’s screening.

“This is not just an India problem; this is a problem that inflicts almost every country in the world,” Pinto said. “There’s not a single country in 2015 that is free of sexual violence against women.”

C OMMUNITY VOICE OF ASIA

VOICE OF ASIA 3

FRIDAY, March 13, 2015

Second Front Page

Friday, March 13, 2015 • www.voiceofasiaonline.com • Page 3 • Email: editor@voiceofasiaonline.com • Tel: 713-774-5140

Gaura Purnima Festival at ISKCON of Houston Like the best parties, the Thursday festival ended with a mouthwatering feast.

If you missed Thursday’s party, you had a second chance to experience the beauty of the festival at the public celebration this past Sunday at ISKCON of Houston. This festival coincided with weekly Sunday love feast program and was highlighted with multiple cultural presentations from Sri Hari School of Kathak Dance and the temple’s very own Sunday school. The Sunday school children, from age 4 to 14, presented various topics in multiple formats from songs to dramas to an interactive game show! Talking about the performances of these children, Shobana Muratee, one of the figureheads in the IndoAmerican community of greater Houston, said that she could see the divinity in these performances and that these children were a step above the rest.

Abhishek ceremony being performed

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t was a Thursday night unlike any other this last week where one of the loudest and happening parties took place under the light of the gorgeous full moon as the devotees at ISKCON of Houston hosted the Gaura Purnima Festival. Gaura Purnima marks the appearance of Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. This day is one of the most celebrated festivals for the Gaudiya Vaishnavas and is celebrated worldwide as a testament of love, life, happiness and devotion to the Supreme Lord, Krishna.

Devotees crowded into the new and spacious temple room to glance their lordships taking their sacred bath in a ceremony known as Abhishek and joining in the roaring kirtan that filled the hearts of its listeners with joy. Houston congregation members were joined by two Hindu Monks - His Holiness Rtadhvaja Swami and Jayadvaita Swami, who spoke on such relevant and practical topics such as how one can apply devotion to Krishna in their everyday life. One attendee of the program, Nandini Patel, a student, shared that the poignancy of the discourse given by Rtadhvaja Swami pierced the hearts of the students and youth. Swami spoke on topics such as the GPA, or God Point Average, instilling in them the need to connect with their culture and their relationship with God on a deeper level.

For more information on upcoming festivals, activities, and Sunday school and its programs please visit us.

Aarti being performed to the resident deities, Sri Sri Radha Neela Madhava at the ISKCON of Houston. Phots by Thejas.

ISKCON of Houston is located on 1320 West 34th St. | Houston, TX 77018 | www.iskconhouston.org

Kirthan singing.

His Holiness Rtadhvaja Swami giving his discourse to the devotees at the new ISKCON Houston temple.

Skit on Gauridas pundit by the Sunday School children

Younger group of children enacted as the Pancha Tattva (5 truths).

Gaura games – children played charades “Who am I?” with the audience.

Older group recited 19 slokas from the Bhagavad Gita.

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VOICE OF ASIA 4

The People’s Lawyer www.peopleslawyer.net Richard M. Alderman Interim Dean of the Law Center

You don’t have three days to change your mind Q. I hope you can assist me with this problem. I purchased a car from a dealer that purchases vehicles from auctions for re-sale. The vehicle was purchased under a contract that said it was “as is” and did not come with a warranty. It has been two days days since the date of purchase and this vehicle now has major problems. What are my rights as a consumer wanting to return this vehicle and get a refund? Don’t I have three days to change my mind?

A. First, there is no three-day rule when you buy a car. In fact, as a general rule you never have three days to change your mind when you make a purchase. The law only provides a three-day right to rescind and terminate a transaction in very limited situation, such as when you buy something from a door-to-door salesperson, enter into a contract with a health spa, or buy a time-share interest in real estate.

Just as importantly, buying something “as is” and with no warranties is pretty much a final sale. As a general rule, whenever you buy something in Texas, the law gives you various warranties that protect you if the product is defective and protects you if you are mislead or deceived. The seller also has an obligation to disclose known defects. But buying “as is” and without any warranties, eliminates most of these protections. In my opinion, you would have the right to return the car only if the seller defrauded you into signing the contract. For example, if the seller knew the car had serious problems and told you there was nothing wrong to induce you into signing the contract.

The bottom line is simple: if you buy something “as is” and with no warranties, what you see is what you get. Don’t finalize the sale if you have any doubts about the condition of what you are buying.

Q. I have been legally separated from my husband for five years. Now he has started to harass me. Is this a sufficient ground to get divorced?

A. First, in Texas there is no such thing as a legal separation. Until you are divorced you are married. Under Texas law, you also do not need a reason to get divorced. Texas is a “no-fault” divorce state, which means that you can terminate your marriage without showing any specific reason. I suggest you promptly speak with a family law attorney and have him or her file for the divorce and take steps to stop the harassment.

Q. I bought something and the seller misrepresented the condition. Can I use the Deceptive Trade Practices Act in justice court? Can I get three times my damages if I win?

A. Yes and maybe. When it comes to the law, justice court [the new name for small claims court] is no different than any other court. The same laws can be used in any court.

The Deceptive Trade Practices Act is our state’s consumer protection law, and it may be used in justice court. This law basically provides that no one may mislead, deceive or take unfair advantage of a consumer. It also requires that material information know by the seller must be disclosed to the consumer. Under this law, a consumer (which includes a small business) can get up to three times damages but only if it is shown that the person acted “knowingly.” In other words, you have a claim you may assert in justice court based on the misrepresentation, but you must show the seller knew or had reason to know it was false to collect punitive damages.

Q. I applied for a job. The company said I have to work six-months before I would be entitled to three days paid vacation. Is this legal?

A. There is no requirement in the law that employers give their employees any paid vacation time. It is entirely a matter to be negotiated between you and your employer. If this is not acceptable to you, you can simply refuse the position or tell him you will accept the position only if you receive the vacation time you believe is fair and reasonable.

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FRIDAY, March 13, 2015

YOUR IMMIGRATION LAWYER Answers to your Immigration Questions

by Sharlene Sharmila Richards, Immigration Lawyer:email at srichardslaw@aol.com ANANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ABOUT CONSULAR PROCESSING OF VISAS Sharlene Sharmila Richards Q: I am a US Citizen. The I-130 Petition for Alien Relative which I filed for my wife has just been approved. My wife lives in India. What is the process for her to get her Immigrant Visa?

A: She will obtain her visa through a process known as consular processing. The process is as follows: In about 6 to 8 weeks, you will either receive an e-mail or mail notification from the National Visa Center of the case number for your wife’s Immigrant Visa case. You will also receive the instructions for paying the Immigrant Visa and Affidavit of Support Fees as well as instructions to access and complete the Immigrant Visa application online form known as DS260 and the types of supporting documents to provide. First you will make the payment for the Immigrant Visa and Affidavit of Support Fees. Once the payment has been made and received, you wife may complete and submit the online DS-260. For the supporting documents, there is no need to provide any original documents as copies will suffice. The basic documents are a copy of your wife’s birth certificate, copy of the biographic page of her present and valid passport, copy of any US visas she may have or had in the past; copy of your marriage certificate and any divorce decrees for your wife’s previous marriages, if any (including yours, if you were also previously married); police certificates, if applicable; arrest and conviction records, if applicable and two passport photos of your wife. In addition to that, please also include your completed and signed Affidavit of Support together with your most recent Federal Tax Return and W-2s and copy of proof of your US Citizenship such as your US Birth Certificate or Certificate of Naturalization or biographic page of you present and valid US Passport. Unless the consulate she has been designated for the interview accepts online filing of supporting documents, please mail her documents to the National Visa Center with a copy of the cover sheet containing the case Bar Code (which you will need to print out after the fees have been paid). If all the documentation sent to the National Visa Center is sufficient, you will then receive notification of the interview venue and date. In addition, she will also be provided with instructions for interview preparation such as how to get her medical report and what documents she will need to take with her to the Immigrant Visa Interview. If you encounter difficulty following the instructions or need assistance with any documentation preparation such as the Affidavit of Support, I suggest you contact an Immigration Attorney for help.

Q: I received notification that I have won the Diversity Visa lottery for the 2015 Fiscal Year. I am currently on F-1 status here and I also received an invitation to attend the Diversity program Immigrant Visa interview at the consulate in my home country next month as my Rank number will be current then. I do not wish to attend that interview because I am at school and I understand that I am eligible to file for adjustment of status to permanent residence here.

A: Congratulations! If you wish to file for adjustment of status here in the United States under the Diversity Visa program, and an interview has already been scheduled at the US consulate in your home country, then you must first notify the consulate that you will not be attending the scheduled interview. The consulate will then cancel that scheduled interview. Then you must go ahead and immediately request to USCIS that you wish to file your application for adjustment of status. Since your Diversity Visa Rank Number will be current next month it is preferable to file the adjustment application now. USCIS has indicated that an applicant eligible for adjustment under this category can file the application to adjust about 50 to 60 days in advance of their rank number becoming current.

Q: My wife attended her Immigrant Visa Interview at the US consulate in India. After the interview, she was informed by the officer that she needs to wait for them to issue a decision.

That was more than 6 months ago and we still have not heard anything. I do not know what to do. It is impossible to speak to anyone at the consulate by phone.

A: Please contact the Immigrant Visa unit of the US Consulate to inquire about the status of your wife’s case. I suggest the best way is by e-mail. Most US Consulates have an e-mail address for the Immigrant Visa unit and they do respond to case status inquiries.

Q: My daughter attended her Immigrant Visa Interview at the US Consulate in Islamabad, Pakistan. They informed her that because she had previously overstayed for more than one year in the US, she needs a waiver and that they cannot process her Immigrant Visa until the waiver has been approved. Do I fill in the waiver application and give it to the consulate?

A: No, you do not. I suggest that contact an Immigration Attorney to assist you in the preparation of the waiver for unlawful presence. The completed waiver application package is filed with USCIS in the US and will be adjudicated by a USCIS officer, not by the consulate officer. Once the waiver has been approved by USCIS, USCIS will in turn notify the consulate of the approval and processing of your daughter’s Immigrant Visa will continue. The consulate will then approve your daughter’s Immigrant Visa application.

Q: My application for B-2 Visitor visa was denied by the consulate. Can I appeal that denial?

A: No you cannot. There is no appeal against a denial of a B-2 Visitor Visa by the consulate officer. Your only option is to re-apply, but I suggest that you wait awhile before reapplying.

Preferably, wait until there is a change in your circumstances such as improved ties to your home country.

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

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

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

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FRIDAY, March 13, 2015

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VOICE OF ASIA 6

FRIDAY, March 13, 2015

Music and devotion mark Basant Utsav at Ashtalakshmi temple

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ruth alone wins, not untruth. By truth is laid out the divine path, which the seers who are free from desires, reach the supreme abode of truth or Sat! - Thus says Mundakopanishad on Truth (Sat). Yet another path to the Sat is through divine music and that is what we witnessed on Feb 28th, 2015 at the Ashtalakshmi temple in the inaugural of Basant Utsav arranged by music enthusiasts and devotees of the temple. In a rare combination of stellar artists playing Violin (Indradeep Ghosh), Sitar (Indrajit Banerjee), Tabla (Gourisankar Karmakar), Vocal (Pt. Suman Ghosh) and Harmonium (Sameer Kotasthane), the hall resonated with sweet sounds of music that uplifted the individuals to higher levels of spirits.

It is indeed impossible to capture the feelings through mere words, but, we will make an attempt to document the program for those that have missed it.

The program started on time with the lighting the oil lamp by the artists while the Ahstlakshmi priests chanted vedic mantras.

The program was well attended with over 150 people at the start of the program. Mrs. Nandita Parvathaneni, wife of the Indian Consular General, Houston graced the occasion with her presence.

The MC of the program, Mrs. Sangeeta Pillutla introduced the artists. At the outset Chary Tamirisa introduced the concept of Basant Utsav and stated that the goals of the organization are two fold: 1. To provide a platform for distinguished artists to perform, and 2. Help in the dissemination of musical knowledge to the next generation. The name “Basant Utsav” can be traced back to Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore who initiated a utsav to bring harmony and unity across all of India through the spring festival of Holi.

The theme of the program was rag Basant. The program consisted of two parts with a brief intermission. The first part consisted of three individual recitals of violin, sitar and vocal with tabla accompaniment. The second part was the grand finale with all of the artists coming together in a group performance. Seeta Madabhushi provided the vote of thanks. Dinner was provided after the concert.

Renowned musicians: Tabla (Gourisankar Karmakar), Violin (Indradeep Ghosh), Vocal (Pt. Suman Ghosh), Sitar (Indrajit Banerjee) and Harmonium (Sameer Kotasthane) performed for the Utsav.

After this, Pandit Suman Following a brief intermission Goshji provided an extraordi- was the grand finale where all nary vocal recital accompanied the artists combined their experby Gourisankarji on tabla and tise in a beautiful rendition of rag Sameerji on harmonium. Pandit Bhairvai. Artists of this caliber, Sumanji started his recital with a playing violin, sitar, tabla along bandish in rag Charukesi. Pandit with a vocalist par excellence, Sumanji enthralled the audience was a rare treat to watch. The by singing different forms of Ba- great performances along with har including Basant and Basant their camaraderie and mutual Bahar, Khamaj Bahar, and Bhai- admiration of one another, the ro Bahar. Panditji concluded his visual exchanges amongst them recital with a beautiful tarana, a on the stage, all of these contributed to the overall listening pleavocal adaptation of tabla bols. sure and made this a great and

memorable concert. One could sense the spontaneous feeling of respect the artists had for each other on the stage despite the fact that it was the very first time they played together. Only common chord was their musical talents and extraordinary abilities.

A special mention must be made of the fantastic tabla playing by Gourisankarji, in his maiden program at the Ashtalakshmi temple. He has accompanied all of the three artists. His performance was an inspired one of the highest level. One could not believe the sweet resonant sounds of tabla that permeated the hall when he played. The great command he has of the tabla playing, the nikas and a controlled expression and his devotion to the art of tabla playing electrified the audience. He has demonstrated how other artists can get inspired when an able and accomplished tabla player accompanies them.

When it was concluded, one could not but feel that these are India’s finest performers of the classical music. The auditorium was filled with sheer joy.

We heard comments such “filled with music in our hearts, we are not hungry for food!”, “A mesmerizing program”.

Thus concluded the inaugural Basant Utsav on Feb 28, 2015.

And more to come in the future!

Mrs. Nandita Harish lights the lamp as Mrs. Sangeeta Pillutla looks on.

The program started with violin recital by Indradeep Ghosh accompanied by Gourisankar on tabla. Indradeep ji enthralled the audience with a melodious rendition of Sudhha Basant Alap followed by jor and jhala. The tals included Matya tal and Teen tal. Following this was a majestic rendition of a dhun. The tabla sangat was very complimentary to the layakari of violin. The wonderful interaction between the two artists thrilled audience.

The artists were given several rounds of applause during the concert.

Next was the Sitar recital by

Indrajit Banerjee with Gourisankarji on Tabla. The Sitar recital started with a melodious alap in Rag Basant. Following this, a very energetic jhala followed in ektal composition to very quick tempo. Again, the sangat between the two players brought out the beauty of the composition. Indrajitji concluded with an apt finale fit for this time of the year, namely, the Benarasi Chaiti (for the month of Chaitra masam) based on raga Manj Khamaj. They played impressive and rare composition in teen tal.

The recital concluded with a fast paced and energetic jhala in rag Basant.

Pt. Suman Ghosh and other artists light the traditional lamp as Vedic mantras are being chanted.by the priests of Ashtalakshmi temple.

Simple Vastu Remedies to keep your child healthy For a healthy child, you need a healthy house. For this, Vastu-compliance is necessary.

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s concerned parents, you wonder how can an already constructed house become Vastu-friendly? It is simple—Vastu cures are successful in all situations, more than you can imagine or know! You will be surprised to know that no demolition is required at all!

In a nutshell, Vastu is the art and science to make sure energy alignments in your habited personal space (house) are beneficial for healthy growth and a fulfilling life. MahaVastu has developed the 4-Step Vastu Evaluation technique to check the VastuChetan Patel compliance of any building. It determines the strength of the Five Elements (Water, Space, Air, Earth and Fire) and the 16 Vastu zones. If there is any imbalance, problems will crop up.

Out of 16 Vastu zones present in every building, the North-North-East (NNE) is the Vastu zone of health and immunity. The medicines should be kept in the North-NorthEast Vastu zone, and there should be no toilet, cleaning materials and dustbin here.

If you find your child’s health and immunity lessening, then check this area. Place a Swastika or Aunkar symbol on the wall in this zone to attract better health and immunity.

Another area to check is the North-East Vastu zone. If your puja room is there, it should give your child a sound, stable and clear mind. If the kitchen or toilet is located here, it can cause severe damage. There should be no nails in the North-East as it can cause hemorrhage, also, there should be no overhead water tank as it can lead to neurological problems.

Good sleep is essential to rest and boost your child’s energy after a long day of play and study. It is proper that he sleeps in a bedroom that is not in the West-North-West or South-South-West Vastu zones. These zones will cause lack of concentration, failures of efforts and bad health. The West, South and East are good Vastu zones for the child’s bedroom. These will enable him to sleep well, be relaxed along with having good association and gain from his studies and activities.

An active healthy child is also a good student. If your child cannot focus on studies, it will make him lose confidence and cause low esteem that will affect his health. Keep the study table in the West, West-South-West or South-South-East Vastu zone. These will not only improve his concentration and get him excellent results, but will also make him mentally and physically stronger. His confidence will boost his morale and good spirits always. If he does well, he feels well—that is the secret of good health.

Healthy food is best prepared in a kitchen in the South-East and South-South-East Vastu zones. Where is your kitchen located? Does your child eat well? If not, check where your dining room is. It is best when located in the South, South-East and West Vastu zones.

Does your child have a healthy routine? How much does he play? If he feels lethargic, then he is spending too much time in the West-North-West. Change the activity location to a beneficial zone. Is he having fun? Does he have enough friends? If he is morose, clean up the East and East-North-East. Hang a smiling Sun on the East zone wall to gain good associations that are like sunshine, warm and heartening. He will make more friends and enjoy himself fully. This is bound to have a positive effect on his health.

Red cheeks, smiling eyes, good appetite and good school record—watch your child achieve all this with a few Vastu tweaks!

The writer, Chetan Patel a well-known MahaVastu Expert of Houston is also CEO of MahaVastu Houston. He is fully dedicated and well equipped to guide people on every problem related with Vastu Shastra.

Contact + 832 412 2827 • 832 269 9000 chetan.patel@mahavastu.com

DIASPORA

VOICE OF ASIA 7

FRIDAY, March 13, 2015

Vandana Tilak, LA Chair, Joins Three Indian-Americans win medals Akshaya Patra USA Advisory Board at Intel science competition

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TONEHAM, MA – Vandana Tilak, LA Chapter Chair, Ayurveda practitioner and long-time supporter of Akshaya Patra has joined the 2015 Akshaya Patra USA Advisory Board.

In this role, Ms. Tilak will continue her crucial work of spreading and growing awareness about the work of Akshaya Patra, and building on the organization’s expansion via new kitchens and the number of children served. Akshaya Patra runs one of the world’s largest school meal programs, serving 1.4 million children daily in 10 states in India. It’s goal is to serve 5 million children by the year 2020.

Commenting on her new role, Vandana Tilak stated, “It is an honor and a privilege to serve India’s children and I uphold it with the utmost love and caring”. Vandana Tilak is the Chair of Akshaya Patra USA’s Los Angeles Chapter, which recently held two very successful events in October

truly being felt in the lives of the millions we serve”.

Chairman of Akshaya Patra’s Board of Directors, Desh Deshpande added, “Akshaya Patra is very fortunate to have a caring, compassionate, and genuine leader like Vandana Tilak. Her dedication to the cause shows in what she contributes to it each and every day”.

Vandana Tilak 2014 and January this year.

The Chapter will continue to build on the momentum gained during the 2015 year, increasing awareness and raising funds for new kitchens in Gujarat, Karnataka and other States.

Emily Rosenbaum, CEO of Akshaya Patra USA welcomed Ms. Tilak, saying, “Vandana’s passion and enthusiasm is like no other. Her contribution is

Akshaya Patra’s hot, fresh school meals have been linked to increased school enrollment, and improved health and academic performance for the disadvantaged children attending India’s government schools.

For every $15 donated, Akshaya Patra is able to feed a child for an entire academic year. For more information on Akshaya Patra, visit www. foodforeducation.org

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ASHINGTON: Three Indian-Americans have won medals at the prestigious Intel Science Talent Search for the year 2015, and alongside other winners, today they will get a chance to meet President Barack Obama at the White House.

The trio, Saran Prembabu, Shashwat Kishore and Anvita Gupta yesterday won medals at the competition, however none of the three could get the top award, which has been dominated in previous years by Indian-Americans.

Noah Golowich, Andrew Jin and Michael Hofmann Winer, each received the first-place award of USD 150,000 at the Intel science competition, a program of Society for Science & the Public, the organisers said.

The top winners and other finalists from across the US took home awards totalling over USD 1 million.

Saranesh (Saran) Thanika Prembabu, 17, of San Ramon, California, won the Second Place Medal of Distinction for Innovation.

Saran studied how varying the layers of lead titanate and strontium ruthenate in nanocrystal superlattices could affect their electrical and magnetic properties, which could be harnessed for a variety of electrical and computing applications.

Shashwat Kishore, 18, of West Chester, Pennsylvania, won the Third Place Medal of Distinction for Basic Research.

Shashwat’s math project focused on representing abstract algebras using matrices.

Anvita Gupta, 17, of Scottsdale, Arizona, won the Third Place Medal of Distinction for Global Good.

Anvita used machine learning to “teach” a computer to identify potential drugs for cancer,

tuberculosis and Ebola.

Pre-clinical trials are already underway in China on the tuberculosis drug that she identified.

“We are honoured to congratulate Noah, Andrew, Michael and the rest of the top winners of the Intel Science Talent Search 2015,” said, Maya Ajmera, President and CEO of Society for Science & the Public and alumna of the Science Talent Search.

“These students serve as shining examples of the incredible work being accomplished in STEM fields by young people, and we are proud to recognise and reward these stellar young researchers,” she said.

Of the 40 finalists, 11 were Indian-Americans. Each of the finalists received at least USD 500. In total, the Intel Foundation awarded USD 1.6 million for the Intel Science Talent Search 2015.

Mother killed in Australia while Indian-American Kumar P Barve to run for US Congress in 2016 on phone to husband in India

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n Indian mother was fatally stabbed in a Sydney park during a brutal attack as she was on the phone to her distraught husband back home, police said Monday.

Prabha Arun Kumar, a 41year-old IT professional, was taking a shortcut through Parramatta Park in the city’s west at around 9.30pm (1030 GMT) on Saturday when she was killed.

Family members told Indian media that the woman was speaking with her husband, G. Arun Kumar, at the time and he heard her scream for help.

“She was walking while talking to Arun on the phone when she said that a suspicious-looking man was following her,” brotherin-law Thrijesh Jayachandra told Indian newspaper The Hindu.

“The next moment he heard her scream for help and then plead with the man not to harm

(her) and take all her belongings if he wanted. Seconds later, he heard her scream and say she was stabbed.”

The husband jetted into Australia Monday and was helping police with their investigation.

“He’s understandably extremely distressed,” homicide squad commander Michael Willing said.

“Here we have an Indian national who has been in the country for some time, going about her business and ends up being killed in a very vicious way.”

Police appealed for help from the public, releasing footage of Kumar walking from Parramatta Railway Station.

“It’s a horrific crime. It’s a very, very disturbing crime,” Willing added.

“We think that she sustained a number of injuries to the neck

area with what we believe is a sharp-edged weapon.”

Police said there was nothing to suggest the murder of Kumar, who planned to move back to India in April to be with her husband and nine-year-old daughter, was racially motivated.

- ‘Very close’ family “Could this be a random attack? Well, yes it could. It could be a whole range of scenarios... and we are considering all of them,” Willing said.

WASHINGTON: Kumar P Barve, the first Indian- American to be elected to a US state legislature, has decided to run for the US Congress in the 2016 elections.

The 56-year-old Democrat plans to be in fray for the US House of Representatives seat being vacated by Congressman Chris Van Hollen.

The dead woman’s flatmate said Kumar had probably not wanted to bother anyone to ask for a lift home after finishing work late and arriving at Parramatta train station at 9pm.

“I am announcing today that I’m running for the open 8th Congressional District of Maryland to help rebuild our middle class, restore hope in the American dream, and grow our economy so that everyone has an opportunity to thrive and the freedom to live as they wish,” he said.

“Because she was working late regularly, she felt bad to ask for help,” her flatmate, who asked to be identified as Sarada, told The Daily Telegraph.

Born in Schenectady in New York, Barve in 1990 made history at the age of 32, when he was elected to the Maryland House of

Delegates and became the first Indian-American ever to serve in a state legislature.

The legislator, who is currently chairman of the House Environment and Transportation Committee, said his vision was restoring the American dream, which beckoned Indian to the lIndian to the land of opportunity.

“Now, that dream is in jeopardy for millions of American families. There is no longer confidence that working hard and playing by the rules means being able to provide for your family,” he claimed.

If elected he would join fellow Democrat Ami Bera from California, currently the only IndianAmerican in the US Congress, and would be the fourth from the community to be elected to the House of Representatives.

“My family, like so many others came to America for freedom and opportunity. As they left India and travelled across the Atlantic they knew they would face hardships but they were hopeful that they would succeed,” he said.

Barve said, for 25 years as a legislator, “I have worked to earn your trust.”

“As a Majority Leader in the Maryland House of Delegates, I helped lead the effort to build the best public school system in America. I worked to foster economic growth through investments in biotechnology and information technology. I also fought to raise the minimum wage, expand health care to working families and keep college tuitions low,” he said.

(PTI).

COMMUNITY

VOICE OF ASIA 8

FRIDAY, March 13, 2015

IAA and SPARC to present 7th Annual Indian Film Festival of Houston - Another Big Success! Shobana’s ‘Krishna’ on May 22, 2015

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hen Sutapa Ghosh established the Indian Film Festival of Houston (IFFH) in 2009, some wondered if it would be sustainable. Indians who made trips back to their hometowns could see films there, and non-Indians were unaware of the variety of styles, other than Bollywood musicals.

Voted the “Best Film Festival of Houston-2014” by Houston Press, IFFH is stronger than ever, with audiences from the diverse cultural communities of our city. The 7th annual event was held March 3rd, 4th, and 5th, 2015, at the Studio Movie Grill in Cit-

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Sutapa Ghosh, IFFH Founder (center) with directors Rucha Humnabadkar (left) and Ananth Narayan Mahadevan. Photo (s) creidt. Krishna Giri.

IFFH Board of with Consul General P Harish (5th from left) and wife Nandita with Film Directors at the festival.

Sutapa Ghosh, with film directors and IFFH director Krishna Giri (far rt).

yCenter. Filmmakers came to present their cinematic creations to the audience, then gave a Q & A afterwards.

Director Rucha Humnabadkar, introduced “For Here or to Go?” about a young Silicon Valley software engineer trying to get his visa extended. It was a hit with Opening Night Audiences. Director Roopa Barua whose Riders of the Mist,” was a documentary about the bareback racing tradition in Assam, India, gave us insight about the 100 year-old tradition. Producer Viveck Vaswani and director Ananth Narayan Mahadevan stirred enthusiasm for their thought-provoking film “Rough Book” about the educational system in contemporary India.

by Shobana Muratee he Indo-American Association (IAA) in collaboration with Sunanda’s Performing Arts Center (SPARC) will be bringing the internationally acclaimed show Shobana’s ‘Krishna’, to Houston on May 22, at the Wortham Center. A formal kick off for the show was hosted on Friday, Feb. 27, at the Madras Pavilion by Freedia Entertainment, an entertainment production company based in Houston that has for the last six years, presented prominent film and cultural artists from India to Houston’s Indian Americans, particularly to the Malayalee community.

The show, Shobana’s ‘Krishna’ a dance drama, is conceptualized and choreographed

by Shobana, South India’s well know actress and dancer. Freedia was instrumental in bringing this show to IAA, Houston’s premier cultural organization that has staged nearly 200 concerts over the last 20 years with artists of international repute representing classical, folk, vocal, and instrumental from all regions of India. “So far we presented every region of India except Kerala,” Dr. Hari Dayal, IAA founder said speaking on the occasion.

“And because of Sunanada and Freedia we are now complete,” he added. The IAA, has earned the respect of Houstonians and today its repute is on par with institutions like the Houston Grand Opera, Houston Performing Arts and Houston Symphony over the years, Dr. Dayal mentioned.

Sunanada Nair, founder of the SPARC in Houston is highly respected as a guru and member of Indian American community in Houston for her celebrated talent as a classical dancer. Sharing her thoughts on the show Shobana’s Krishna, she said, “It’s a little different, a little more colorful for classical dance.” The show that depicts some aspects Lord Krishna’s charithra: His childhood playfulness, His pass times as a youth with the gopikas, and as guide and guru to Arjuna is expected to awe the audience.

“This is one theme that children grasp very quickly, they enjoy all the stories of Krishna,” Nair said. She went on to describe the super talents like Shobana Azmi (background voice), AR Rehman (music), Russell’s cinematography that were involved with the show. “We

Other films were “Jai Ho,” a documentary about one of the greatest muscians of the world, A.R.Rahman; “Dum Dum Deega Deega,” a short about a begger child with big dreams; “Cloth Paper Dreams,” a short about people who come to Kumbh Mela every twelve years at the confluence of the three holiest rivers; and “Int. Cafe Night,” a short about two couples—one old and one young.

Awards were presented after the Closing Night film.

The Best Short went to “Cloth Paper Dreams,” Best Documentary went to “Riders of the Mist,” and Best Feature Film went to “Rough Book.” Several of the previous winners have gone on the

win Oscars, National Awards, and critical acclaim at a variety of international festivals.

The Indian Film Festival of Houston (IFFH) Inc. Is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization devoted to education in the fields of film and television and in creating greater appreciation of Indian cinema and culture by showcasing quality films that honor entertainment industry performers and film makers while promoting diverse perspectives of the Indian Diaspora through an annual event.

Sunanda Nair with Dr. Hari Dayal

Dr. Freemu Varghese speaking about Freedia.

his melodious voice that had the audience arrested.

MyKalyan, owner David, who is also the sponsor, spoke about his company. A video showing the promo of the show was presented prior to the dinner at the restaurant. On the occasion, various organizations: MAGH, KHS, NSS, KCCNA, MEA and media were recognized. Koshy Thoams, publisher of Voice of Asia newsweekly also spoke on the occasion assuring his support to the show. Johny Makkora proposed a Vote of Thanks and concluded

Sunanada Nair, Dr. Hari Dayal with Freedia team, sponsors and supporters of the show to come.

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have been doing shows in small auditoriums, now it is in Wortham,” she said excitedly.

Earlier, Dr. Zachariah Thomas welcomed the guests and introduced the speakers. Dr. Freemu Varghese spoke about Freedia, the name that came about from par his name and part that of Dias Damodar his partner who was also present on the occasion. For entertainment, Dr. Arun presented a Hindi song in

the Kick off.

The organizers predict it will be over sold stating that only 1100 seats were left (out of which 200 are reserved). More over, the show will be in English which would attract a wider audience. The problem, they say, will not be about selling the remaining 900 tickets but it would certainly be difficult turning people away which is not what they intend to do.

VOICE OF ASIA 9

FRIDAY, March 13, 2015

VOICE OF ASIA 10

FRIDAY, March 13, 2015

VOICE OF ASIA 11

LIFESTYLE

FRIDAY, March 13, 2015

ONLINE .COM voiceofasiaonline.com

Vol. 28 No. 11 Friday, March 13, 2015 Section 2 Page 11

Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks on stage during an Apple special event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on March 9, 2015 in San Francisco, California. PHOTO | AFP.

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

Apple CEO Tim Cook waves from stage after an Apple special event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on March 9, 2015 in San Francisco, California. PHOTO | AFP.

Apple’s Next Big Thing Goes For Wrists

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by Glenn CHAPMAN AN FRANCISCO Apple aims to have its smart watch on wrists in China, the US and beyond in April, and ignite its first new gadget category since the debut of the iPad.

another Apple Watch to “let someone know you are thinking about them.”

The Apple Watch will be available in nine countries from April 24, at a starting price of $349. A limited edition gold Apple Watch will be available with a price topping $10,000.

Apple enters a market that has a number of players, ranging from South Korean giants Samsung and LG, to Japan’s Sony and startups such as Pebble.

“Apple Watch begins a new chapter in the way we relate to technology,” said chief executive Tim Cook, who starred at an Apple Watch media event in San Francisco on Monday.

Cook said “the most personal device we have ever created” can display a variety of displays ranging from a classic watch face to an animated Mickey Mouse.

Connecting wirelessly to a user’s iPhone, the watch is designed as a wrist device for messaging, calls and a cornucopia of apps, especially those geared toward health or fitness.

Users can send a real-time display of their heartbeat to

“I hope someone sends me one of those,” quipped Cook.

- Float all boats -

But analysts expect Apple to invigorate the market by integrating the watch with the iPhone and its mighty software ecosystem.

“Apple will outsell all the rest of them combined in 2015,” said Forrester analyst James McQuivey.

“But in so doing, Apple will bring very valuable attention to the market, essentially releasing a rising tide that will float all their boats.”

Apple Watch offers a range of communication apps and can be used as a sort of wrist-radio from the Dick Tracy comics.

“With the built in speaker and microphone, you can receive calls on your watch. I

have been wanting to do this since I was five years old,” Cook said.

- Pay from the wrist -

- All-day battery Cook boasted that the device will have “all-day battery life” -- or some 18 hours.

The watch is integrated with Apple Pay’s mobile wallet and can be used to view pictures, monitor news and connect to social media.

Entry price will be $349 in the United States, with the price climbing through three style categories, the top being the luxury gold model.

Apple said that the ranks of businesses accepting Apple Pay is booming, and that it recently sold its 700 millionth iPhone.

Initially, it will be available in Australia, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan and the United States. Pre-orders will be taken from April 10.

“Now it’s on your wrist, not in your pocket or your pocketbook,” Cook said.

Apple demonstrated using the watch to find out lyrics to songs being heard, remotely opening home doors and displaying barcodes that act as airline boarding passes.

But a key focus was health and fitness applications.

The watch has an accelerometer, a heart rate sensor and sensors for “a comprehensive picture of your all-day activity and workouts.”

It will prompt a user to get up and walk if sedentary too long.

Moor Insights and Strategy founder Patrick Moorhead, who attended the event, said “the secret weapon here is the ability to message each other by tapping on the watch, I think people, particularly kids, are going to go nuts over that.”

“Apple has a big chance of success, and what that is going to do is set the bar for the (smartwatch) experience,” he added.

Jan Dawson at Jackdaw Research said he expects Apple to sell around 20 million of the devices this year, which will “catalyze the overall smartwatch market and help other vendors even as Apple comes

Apple Watches are seen on display during an Apple media event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, California on March 09, 2015. PHOTO | AFP

to enjoy levels of market share it hasn’t had since the iPod.” - Game of Thrones At the event, Apple unveiled a new Macbook laptop computer that weighs less than one kilogram (two pounds).

The new MacBook starting at $1,299 is 0.5 inches (13.1 millimeters) at its thickest point, and its features include all-day battery life, a high-resolution 12-inch (30-centimeter) edgeto-edge screen and greatlyenhanced keyboard and trackpad.

Apple also announced that it cut the price of its Apple TV set-top box to $69 and that the service will next month handle the exclusive launch of an HBO Now streaming movie service.

Known for shows like “Game of Thrones” and “Boardwalk Empire,” HBO enters the streaming-only video market dominated by Netflix as part of a partnership with the California tech giant.

The service called HBO Now will cost $14.99 per month and launch in April.

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VOICE OF ASIA 12

FRIDAY, March 13, 2015

Mercedes’ Driverless Concept Yoga, hypnosis prop up Car Turns Heads in SF solar-powered plane pilots

by Wissam Keyrouz

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BU DHABI - Hypnosis are being harnessed to prop up the endurance of the pilots of the solar plane which set off Monday on a first round-the-world tour.

The Solar Impulse 2 left Abu Dhabi for the first leg of its epic journey, which will test not only the environment-friendly technology but also human endurance as pilots will fly solo across oceans with minimum sleep in a non-pressurised cockpit.

Mercedes-Benz concept car

by Stephanie Mlot

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ercedes-Benz last week unleashed its futuristic autonomous concept car onto the streets of San Francisco, turning a few heads in the process.

The Mercedes F015 Luxury in Motion vehicle, unveiled at January’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, took a spin around the city on March 4.

“It needed a break from Sunnyvale,” the automaker wrote on Twitter, sharing photos of what looks like a roadster from Blade Runner.

According to The Huffington Post, the car was cruising the streets during a Mercedes photo shoot, when it became the center of attention among locals. It didn’t take long before snapshots by passersby

flooded the Web. Reddit user “sfchillin” posted a picture of the F015 last week, asking for help identifying the vehicle. “Parked in the crosswalk like a boss,” Redditor trying_to_care said in response. “Self driving car does what it wants.”

On the same day, professional photographer Jake Stangel stumbled upon the Twin Peaks photo shoot; his stunning Instagram image has earned more than 200 likes.

“They brought it up in a trailer,” he wrote in a comment, “but it does drive/move.”

The Luxury in Motion is an “innovative four-seater” and “forerunner of a mobility revolution,” the car’s product page said.

Resembling more of a pod than any sedans you’ll see on the road today, the car’s lowslung front end, flat front windshield, streamlined roof, and road-hugging rear create an aerodynamic silhouette, which houses four rotating lounge chairs that allow face-to-face seat configuration. After all, the family that autonomously travels together stays together.

Take a closer look at Mercedes-Benz’s F015 Luxury in Motion autonomous car in the video below.

The self-driving car market is heating up, with entries from Google, Audi, Tesla, and BMW, the latter which has snagged an unlikely partner.

Bloomberg today reported that Baidu, China’s largest Internet search engine, has been researching the smart car, and

Swiss pilots Bertrand Piccard, 57, and Andre Borschberg, 63, will take turns flying the plane through 12 stops on the historic 35,000-kilometre (22,000-mile) journey which aims to take them around the world in 25 days spread out over five months.

The pilots have undergone intensive training in preparation for the trip, including in yoga and self-hypnosis, allowing them to sleep for periods as short as 20 minutes but to wake up feeling refreshed, organisers said.

Swiss pilots Andre Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard (L) smile before flying the Solar Impulse 2, at Al Bateen airport in Abu Dhabi, March 9, 2015. pit like your own house... you go to the toilet, you wash yourself with wet wipes, you eat, you drink, you recline the seat to have some rest, you turn on the auto-pilot,” Piccard told reporters.

“But meanwhile you still have to control the plane, stay in touch with air traffic controllers, navigate, (and) have the Monaco centre giving you the latest update with the weather,” he added.

“You have to make the cock-

Should a problem occur while

is working with auto manufacturers to create a branded vehicle.

scribe what we’re doing as pursuing highly automated driving,” the spokesman continues. “Neither BMW nor Baidu would use the [words] ‘driver-less.’ The project that BMW has announced it’s working on with us will incorporate Baidu’s mapping capabilities as well as image recognition technology.” (PC News).

A company spokesman told PCMag that while Baidu is not building a driverless or self-driving car, it is “working closely with BMW ... on introducing aspects of automation into driving.”

“You could accurately de-

sleeping, support staff based in Monaco can wake up the pilot.

The two pilots “will be required to demonstrate extraordinary endurance under extreme conditions, living in a... non-pressurised cockpit, unheated, with external temperatures ranging from -40 to +40 degrees Celsius (-40 to 104 Fahrenheit),” organisers said.

Another uneasy prospect has been how the pilot relieves himself during flight, since there is no bathroom and he cannot get up and walk around.

The team made a YouTube video called “Solar Impulse Behind The Scenes: Bathroom”, which says the pair have found no solution but to use “bottles”.

“I think the human factor is the more challenging in this trip, as the plane is sustainable energy-wise,” said Borschberg, who took the first turn in flying the airplane from Abu Dhabi towards Muscat in a 12-hour trip.

Burger King cuts soft drinks from kids’ meals

W

ASHINGTON - US fast-food chain Burger King said Tuesday it was cutting soft drinks from its children’s meals amid mounting pressure to reduce the amount of sweet sodas that kids drink.

Following in the footsteps of rival McDonald’s, Burger King said all its childrens’ meals would come with either apple juice, fat-free milk or low-fat chocolate milk.

“We have removed fountain drinks from our kids’ menu boards and they are no longer merchandised as part of kids’ meals,” the company said in a statement.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, one of a number of groups advocating for healthier diets for children, gave its support to the move

by Burger King, which serves some 11 million people a day in 13,000 restaurants and outlets around the world.

“Soda and other sugary drinks promote diabetes, tooth decay, obesity, and even heart disease -- and have no place on menus meant for little kids. We applaud Burger King for taking this responsible step forward, and call upon their franchisees -- who operate independently of the company -- to immediately follow suit.”

But another healthy-food advocate, MomsRising, which had also pressed for the menu change, said more restaurants need to follow suit.

“While Burger King is now offering better default beverages, we need more restaurants to do the same because sugar-sweetened beverages uniquely promote heart disease and type 2 diabetes.”

McDonald’s took a similar step in 2013 and another popular US fast-food chain, Wendy’s, did so in January this year.

The World Health Organization called last week for a reduction in consumption of sugar added to other foods, particularly beverages.

The WHO said adults and children should reduce the intake of added or free sugar -- that which is not naturally occurring in the food -- to less than 10 percent of daily energy intake.

“A further reduction to below five percent or roughly 25 grams (six teaspoons) per day would provide additional health benefits,” it said.

According to the American Heart Association, Americans consume on average between 22 and 30 teaspoons of sugar a day.

CULTURE LEISURE

VOICE OF ASIA 13

FRIDAY, March 13, 2015

Asia Society Texas Center to Explore Chinese/Mexican Immigration Experience in Upcoming Exhibition

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“The Other Side: Chinese and Mexican Immigration to America” Opens in Houston, March 28

OUSTON - March 10, 2015 - Asia Society Texas Center is excited to announce its upcoming exhibition, The Other Side: Chinese and Mexican Immigration to America. Featuring six contemporary artists, the exhibition explores recurring issues of immigration, border relations, and labor practices that have persisted throughout U.S. history and remain timely today. The exhibition will be displayed in Asia Society Texas Center’s Louisa Stude Sarofim Gallery from March 28, 2015 through July 19, 2015.

The inspiration behind the exhibition came about in 2012, when the United States formally apologized to those harmed by the Chinese Exclusion Act, a series of laws enacted from 1882 to 1943 prohibiting people of Chinese ancestry from becoming naturalized U.S. citizens. Fearing the so-called corruptive effects of the Chinese on the moral, cultural, and economic underpinning of mainstream, Euro-American society, Congress drafted laws which were the first to restrict immigration to the United States and had parallel consequences for other ethnic groups. The unusual gesture of legislative contrition, only the fifth in the nation’s history, suggested the importance of admitting and examining the traumas of our nation’s immigrant history.

“An exhibition like The Other Side could not be coming at a more important time for Houston, as we watch closely the developments around President Obama’s actions on immigration,” says Asia Society Texas Center Executive Director Bonna Kol. “We are a city made richly diverse by generations of immigrants, and this exhibition will bring people together in meaningful dialogue around thought-provoking artworks.”

State University, Northridge, and his MFA from San Francisco Art Institute. He lives and works in Los Angeles.

About the Exhibition

Zhi Lin, “Chinaman’s Chance” on Promontory Summit: Golden Spike Celebration, 12:30 PM, 10th May 1869, 2015, HD Video Projection on Painting.

The Other Side strives to offer a more humanized perspective on the complex immigration issues often overshadowed by mass media. The title of the exhibition comes from the reference in Latin American communities to the U.S. as El Otro Lado —the other side.

The term refers to the promise of the “American Dream” that drives thousands of people across the border looking for work, security, education and ultimately a better life. The exhibition seeks to examine what motivates human migration and to also shed light on the experiences of Chinese and Mexican immigrants who have come to America. Personal tales of hardships, adversity, discrimination, and sacrifices come together to provide a greater understanding of our nation’s past; how far we have come; and where we still need to go.

The artists represented in the exhibition, Andrea Bowers, Blane De St. Croix, Margarita Cabrera, Zhi Lin, Hung Liu, and Tony de los Reyes each employ different styles and references and span different historic periods, geographic locations, cultural influences, and gender perspectives, but are seamlessly bound together by the common threads of

memory, history, identity, and humanity.

“The experiences of Chinese and Mexican immigrants to America have been an important part of Houston’s history and growth as a city,” says the organization’s Nancy C. Allen Curator & Director of Exhibitions Bridget Bray. “The exhibition highlights the shared experiences of these communities.”

To celebrate the opening of the exhibition, Asia Society Texas Center will host an exciting Chinese and Mexican-themed Night Market on March 27 from 6:30-9:30 pm.

This vibrant night of food, arts, and crafts sponsored by American First National Bank will offer a free first-look at the exhibition.

Following the March 27 opening, regular admission to the exhibition is free for Asia Society Members and children ages 12 and under, $5 for Nonmembers. Asia Society Texas Center is open Tuesday – Friday, 11 am to 6 pm and Saturday – Sunday, 10 am to 6 pm.

About the Artists · Andrea Bowers was born in Ohio. She received her BFA from Bowling Green State Uni-

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versity and her MFA from California Institute of the Arts. She currently lives and works in Los Angeles. · Born in Boston Massachusetts, Blane De St. Croix was educated at Cranbrook Academy of Art (MFA Sculpture) and Massachusetts College of Art (BFA Sculpture with Distinction.) He is currently an Associate Professor and the Head of Sculpture at Indiana University Bloomington. De St. Croix lives and works in both Brooklyn NY and Bloomington, Indiana. · Margarita Cabrera was born in Monterrey, Mexico and received her BFA in Sculpture and MFA in Combined Media from Hunter College of the City University of New York.

She currently lives and works in El Paso, Texas. · Zhi Lin was born in Nanjing, China, and graduated from the China National Academy of Fine Art. In 1987, Lin attended the Slade School of Fine Art at University College, London where he later completed his MFA. Lin is a Professor in the Painting and Drawing Program at the University of Washington, Seattle. · Hong Liu was born in Changchun, China, and gradu-

The exhibition is co-curated

by Chip Tom and Bridget Bray.

It is made possible through major support from Mary Lawrence Porter, the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance, Nancy C. Allen, Nancy and Robert J. Carney, and The Clayton Fund. Lead funding also provided by Chinhui Juhn and Eddie Allen, Anne and Albert Chao, The Favrot Fund, Kathy and Glen Gondo, Vivian L. Smith Foundation, and Dorothy Carsey Sumner. Funding is also provided

by Cora Chin and through contributions by Friends of Exhibitions at Asia Society Texas Center. An earlier iteration of this exhibition was organized

by University of Southern California Pacific Asia Museum in 2014.

About Asia Society Texas Center With 11 locations throughout the world, Asia Society is the leading educational organization promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among the peoples, leaders, and institutions of Asia and the United States. Asia Society Texas Center executes the global mission with a local focus, enriching and engaging the vast diversity of Houston through innovative, relevant programs in arts and culture, business and policy, education, and community outreach.

Hung Liu, In The Garden 1, 2005, Oil On Canvas, Courtesy Of Walter Maciel Gallery, Los Angeles, © H ated from the Central Academy of Fine Art in Beijing.

She emigrated from China to the U.S. in 1984 to attend the University of California, San Diego, where she received an MFA. She currently lives in Oakland and is a tenured professor in the art department at Mills College. · Born and raised in Los Angeles, Tony de los Reyes received his BFA from California

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he spring Night Market will celebrate the opening of The Other Side: Chinese and Mexican Immigration to America. This vibrant night of food, vendors, and crafts will offer a free first look at the artwork.

Activities and Vendors ToDate Chinese Calligraphy Activity with Peihong Dong Endris Chinese Paper Cutting Activity with Chinese Community Center Coreanos Food Truck Dough Maker Doughnuts Food Truck Foreign Policy Food Truck Mandarin Language Lessons

by Chinese Community Center Mariachi Performances by Mariachi Imperial Papel Picado Activity Quite a Stir Food Truck Spanish Language Lessons by TranslationSource Taco Me Crazy Food Truck Ten Thousand Villages The Rice Box Food Truck Tila’s Taco Truckeria Wokker Texas Ranger Food Truck About the Exhibition Through the works of six contemporary artists, Andrea Bowers, Blane De St. Croix, Margarita Cabrera, Tony de los Reyes, Zhi Lin, and Hung

Liu, The Other Side explores recurring issues of immigration, border relations, and labor practices that have persisted throughout U.S. history and remain timely today. By presenting these emotionally poignant and conceptually engaging works, The Other Side hopes to offer viewers a humanized perspective on complex immigration issues often overshadowed by mass media and politics.

Date & Place 27 March 2015 6:30pm - 9:30pm 1370 Southmore Blvd Houston, TX 77004 713.496.9901

Young Life

VOICE OF ASIA 14

Friday, March 13, 2015

Section 2

Page 14

Email: editor@voiceofasiaonline.com

Getting comfortable overseas: Religious studies major

S

FRIDAY, March 13, 2015

Tel: 713-774-5140

TiE Lemonade Day Workshop Starts April 4, 2015

Anneka Shannon writes about India study abroad trip

tudying abroad is more than venturing outside of your country.

It’s also stepping outside your comfort zone.

It’s trying new foods, hearing different and unfamiliar languages all around you, and embracing cultural norms that might seem a little odd at ďŹ rst.

Eleven other students and I were selected through an application process for the privilege of participating in the in the ďŹ rst study abroad session hosted by the India Studies Program in the Department of Comparative Cultural Studies.

week of the winter term, December 20 – 26. The online coursework included lectures, readings and ďŹ lms that provided background for the trip by addressing Indian history, culture and society.

We then departed for India on December 27 and returned to Houston on January 14. We visited seven cities—Mumbai, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Agra, Khajuraho, Varanasi and Delhi — in the span of two weeks and three days. That’s around 2,400 miles!

The opportunity was made possible thanks to a few very generous donors who know the value the kind of experiential learning travel offers. Almost all of the students on the trip received scholarships from the India Studies program, as well as ďŹ nancial assistance from the UH OfďŹ ce of Learning Abroad.

During this trip, I was reminded of how necessary and helpful humor really is when traveling abroad. In otherwise awkward moments resulting from differences in language and culture, humor becomes a pleasant way to cope with some absurd situations and communication barriers. It was also fun to ďŹ nd out what kind of humor translates cross-culturally; often that of the human body’s clumsiness is popular

Prior to departing for India, we studied online for the ďŹ rst

Amongst my favorite experiences was visiting the Caves of

Elephanta, a network of caves with stone sculptures inside them. The caves are on an island and they house one of the most fantastic and largest images of Ardhanarishvara, which measures almost 17 feet high.

Ardhanarishvara, the Hindu androgynous God, is split down the middle as half-female and half-male. My classmates and I also saw evening prayer at the shores of the Ganges River, which happens every night.

I’ve never seen a larger religious gathering in my life.

While visiting these sites and many others, we addressed modernization in India and its broad and complex political and religious history. Travel gives students the chance and tools to reexamine the world abroad and at home. Traveling to India made me see that the world is a lot bigger than I ever imagined. The entire experience was unforgettable.

Anneka Shannon, CLASS student majoring in religious studies with a minor in India studies at the University of Houston.

Telling kids they’re special may foster narcissism: study

M

IAMI, (AFP) - Children who are told they are special by their parents are more likely to become narcissists, according to a study Monday that aimed to uncover the origins of extreme selďŹ shness.

The research in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a peer-reviewed US journal, is based on 565 children in the Netherlands who were surveyed over the course of a year and a half, along with their parents.

Children whose parents described them as “more special than other children� and as kids who “deserve something extra in life� were more likely to score higher on tests of narcissism than peers who were not lauded in this way.

Researchers also measured how much parents overvalued their children by asking how much they agreed with statements like: “My child is a great example for other children to follow.�

The children were between seven and 11 when they entered the study. They and their parents were surveyed four different times, with each session six months apart.

“Children believe it when their parents tell them that they are more special than others,� said study co-author Brad Bushman, professor of communication and psychology at Ohio State University. “That may not be good for them or for society.�

Parental warmth and encouragement may be a better strategy than inating the ego, the study found.

Youths who said they were often told they were loved by their parents were more likely to show high self-esteem but not narcissism.

Children with high self-esteem did not see themselves as more special than others, but agreed with statements that they were happy with themselves and liked themselves as they were. “People with high selfesteem think they’re as good as others, whereas narcissists think they’re better than others,� Bushman said.

Lead author Eddie Brummelman, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, said parents

probably mean well by telling their children they are special, but the study showed this practice fosters narcissism, not high self-esteem. “Rather than raising selfesteem, overvaluing practices may inadvertently raise levels of narcissism,� Brummelman said.

M

The ďŹ ndings in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Pediatrics analyzed the suicide rate from 1996 and 2010 and found the gap appears to be widening, with suicide becoming increasingly common in less populated areas and less frequent in cities.

“When I ďŹ rst started doing this research in the 1990s, I used to think my children should be treated like they were extra-special. I’m careful not to do that now,â€? he said. “It is important to express warmth to your children because that may promote selfesteem, but overvaluing them may promote higher narcissism.â€?

The research also suggested guns were becoming less common as a method while hangings were on the rise among both males and females.

The data came from the National Center for Health Statistics National Vital Statistics System, and showed that between 1996 and 2010, 66,595 youths between ages 10 and 24 died by suicide in the United States.

Suicide was most common

In cities, the suicide rate was half that -- 10.31 per 100,000.

“If a rural child is depressed, it’s much harder to get state-ofthe-art care. And it’s especially difďŹ cult to receive psychotherapy in a rural area,â€? said senior author John Campo, chair of psychiatry and behavioral health at Wexner Medical Center.

More than half of the deaths were by ďŹ rearm, and 33.9 percent were by hanging.

Almost eight percent were poisoned and seven percent jumped from heights or in front of transportation.

The study did not delve into

Each child that registers receives a backpack with an Entrepreneur Workbook that teaches them the 14 lessons of Lemonade Day like creating budgets, setting proďŹ t-making goals, serving customers, repaying investors, and giving back to the

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But Bushman, a father of three, said his own research has made him more aware of the words he chooses when he deals with his children.

why rural suicides were higher, but researchers suggested access to care may be a factor.

The study found that the suicide rate for boys and young men was four times higher than for young females.

The foremost objective of Lemonade Day is to empower youth to take ownership of their lives and become productive members of society - the business leaders, social advocates, volunteers, and forward thinking citizens of tomorrow.

community. Along the way, they acquire skills in goal-setting, problem solving, and gain selfesteem critical for future success. They keep all the money they make and are encouraged to spend some, save some and share some.

“Like other personality traits, it is partly the result of genetics and the temperamental traits of the children themselves,� said the study.

among males in rural areas, at a rate of nearly 20 per 100,000 people.

Among girls and young women, the suicide rate was lower but the same rural versus urban divide was seen: 4.40 per 100,000 females killed themselves in rural areas compared to 2.39 per 100,000 in cities.

L

emonade Day is a free, fun, experiential learning program that teaches youth how to start, own and operate their own business - a lemonade stand. It began right here in Houston, Texas in 2007.

Since then it has grown from 2,700 kids to over 55,000 kids in Houston.

Parents are not solely to blame for narcissism in their children, the study authors said.

Suicide rate for US youths twice as high in rural areas IAMI, (AFP) - The suicide rate among adolescents and young adults in the United States was twice as high in rural areas when compared to urban centers over the past decade, researchers said Monday.

Lemonade Day Workshop in session (File photo). Workshop starts held April 4, 2015.

Study authors urged a fresh push for mental health counseling in rural areas. “These kinds of surveillance studies can really help us identify areas to target our prevention efforts, and it’s clear we need to target rural areas for primary prevention of suicide,� said lead author Cynthia Fontanella, clinical assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral health at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

Read more on YOUNG LIFE Visit: www.voiceofasiaonline.com

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VOICE OF ASIA The Leading South Asian Weekly Newspaper from Texas since 1987

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VOICE OF ASIA 15

BOLLYWOOD MASALA

FRIDAY, March 13, 2015

Friday, March 13, 2015

N

EW DELHI: Anushka Sharma and Vikramaditya Motwane, the co-producers of ‘NH10’, whose release date got pushed by a week due to censor board’s objection to certain scenes in the film, feel such restrictions curtail the creativity and vision of filmmakers.

Section 2

Page 15

Email: editor@voiceofasiaonline.com

Tel: 713-774-5140

Censor board restrictions Hrithik Roshan curb our creative vision: to bare all for ‘Mohenjo Daro’ NH10 makers

The thriller is finally set to hit theatres this Friday. Anushka, 26, who is making her production debut with the film, about a road trip gone wrong, said such limitations tend to stunt the growth an original idea.

“The problem is that when you start working with so many parameters and restrictions, it is actually killing the scope of coming out with original ideas because you are already working within boundaries,” Anushka told reporters here today.

The actress said that a proper rating system should be introduced so that the audience can enjoy the movies they want to watch instead of cutting stuff out of movies.

“I think it would be nice to have a rating system and not just cut things out of films. It should be left to the audience to decide what they want to watch. People have the option to walk out of the halls. I wish that kind of responsibility was given to us,” she said.

Motwane, who has directed films like ‘Udaan’ and ‘Lootera’, said it is disappointing when they are forced to chop off scenes from their films in which so much hard work has

Hrithik Roshan will reportedly go all nude for the opening scene of ‘MohenjoDaro’. File photo.

‘NH10’, Poster and lead star Anushka Sharma gone.

choice.

“I also feel that rating system is important. It is always bad when you make something and it does not reach to the audience. It is disappointing when your vision is curbed. Unfortunately, that is the scenario. The film is still great with the cuts.

Nothing much has changed,” Motwane said.

“Our audience is far more intelligent than what we think.

I think our government and politicians should stop treating us like children. I do think they are trying to work towards that but let’s see what happens,” he said.

He said that it is high time the government and politicians stop treating the audience as kids and give them the right of

‘NH10’ also stars Neil Bhoopalam and Darshan Kumar of ‘Mary Kom’ fame and has been directed by ‘Manorama Six Feet Under’ helmer Navdeep Singh.

Anushka has shed her girlnext-door image for the film in which she will be seen doing a lot of action.

“It does not matter being a girl or boy. An action film is difficult for anyone. It was difficult for me, Neil and Darshan.

Shooting the film was a great experience. We were working with a great team. Navdeep is a great director,” she said.

The actress, who had initially said no to ‘NH10’ due to unavailability of dates, said she is glad to have done the film.

F

ollowing into Aamir Khan’s footsteps, Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan has decided to bare all for his upcoming flick ‘MohenjoDaro’. Report claimed that Hrithik will go all nude for the opening scene of Ashutosh Gowariker’s magnum opus.

The shooting for this movie is currently on in Bhuj, Gujarat.

The movie is set back in time, during Indus Valley Civilisation. It is learned that some clothes will be used to only strategically cover some private parts of the actor.

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India channel protests rape documentary ban with blank screen

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ew Delhi - An Indian news network ran a blank screen for an hour in protest at a controversial government ban on airing a documentary about the savage gangrape of a Delhi student.

NDTV broadcast a blank screen with only a flickering lamp in the background for an hour from 9pm to 10pm on Sunday, when it was due to have shown the documentary, “India’s Daughter”, to mark International Women’s Day. The channel has made no public comment about the ban, but its editorial director Sonia Singh tweeted ahead of the protest, “we won’t shout but we will be heard”.

India obtained a court order banning the film, which included an interview with one of the convicted rapists, Mukesh Singh, on Tuesday on the grounds it risked fuelling public anger.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh said comments in which Singh blamed the 23-year-old victim and said she should not have been out at night were “highly derogatory and an affront to the dignity of women”.

The ban triggered a storm of protest in India, and many people welcomed NDTV’s move.

“Well done NDTV for deciding to go off air for one hour... Very innovative and powerful,” Rifat Jawaid tweeted.

“Wish I could post a blank tweet in solidarity with NDTV’s protest,” tweeted Tushar Gandhi, the great grandson of India’s independence hero Mahatma Gandhi.

“India’s Daughter”, by awardwinning British filmmaker Leslee Udwin, was due to be shown in seven countries including India and Britain on Sunday.

The BBC brought forward its showing of the film to Wednesday after India announced its ban, citing intense public interest.

The father of the victim, who died of injuries sustained during the shocking attack in 2012, has said everyone should watch the documentary, which showed “the bitter truth” about attitudes to women in India.

Officials at the jail where Singh is being held said they had asked the BBC not to show the documentary, claiming Udwin had violated the terms of the agreement allowing her to interview the prisoner.

But Udwin said Monday she had complied fully with the agreement.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a vocal champion of women’s rights in India, has so far made no comment on the row.

On Sunday he urged an end to all forms of discrimination against women, tweeting that “our heads hang in shame when we hear of instances of crime against women”.

HEALTHY LIVING HEALTH

VOICE OF ASIA 16

Friday, March 13, 2015

Section 2

Page 16

Email: editor@voiceofasiaonline.com

Sugar industry influenced US cavity research: study

by Kerry SHERIDAN

M

IAMI, 3/10/2015 The sugar industry convinced US government scientists decades ago to research ways of preventing cavities that did not involve eliminating sweets from the diet, a study said Tuesday.

The study found that 78 percent of the trade organization’s own research priorities were directly incorporated into the 1971 National Caries (tooth decay) Program’s first request for research proposals from scientists.

The findings in the journal PLOS Medicine were based on 319 industry documents from the 1960s and 1970s that were stored in a public library collection at the University of Illinois.

“The dental community has always known that preventing tooth decay required restricting sugar intake,” said first author Cristin Kearns, a UCSF postdoctoral scholar.

They show that “a sugar industry trade organization representing 30 international members had accepted the fact that sugar caused tooth decay as early as 1950,” said the study, authored by experts at the University of California, San Francisco who discovered the archives.

By 1969, the National Institutes of Health had decided that reducing sugar consumption, “while theoretically possible,” was not practical as a public health measure, the researchers said.

Representatives of the sugar industry then worked closely with the NIH, the main US government research body, on alternative research approaches.

“It was disappointing to learn that the policies we are debating today could have been addressed more than forty years ago.”

Kearns and colleagues compared the papers -- which included 1,551 pages of correspondence among sugar industry executives from 1959 to 1971 -- to documents from the then National Institute of Dental Research to explore how the sugar industry may have influenced the research policies of the 1971 tooth decay program.

They found that the sugar industry funded research on enzymes to break up dental plaque and a vaccine against tooth decay, and “cultivated relationships with the NIDR and that a sugar industry expert panel overlapped by all but one member with the NIDR panel

that influenced the priorities for the NIH tooth decay program.”

“These tactics are strikingly similar to what we saw in the tobacco industry in the same era,” said co-author Stanton Glantz.

The researchers also found that the sugar industry-led efforts “largely failed to produce results” when it came to preventing cavities, which affect half of US adults and are the leading chronic disease in American children.

Ronald Burakoff, chairman of dental medicine at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New York, found the study to be “quite disturbing.”

The research suggests they “conspired to push the research agenda away from decreasing sugar consumption to ways of mitigating the damaging effects of sugar consumption,” added Burakoff, who was not involved in the study.

“The parallels to the tobacco industry’s denial of the harmful effects of smoking are alarming.”

The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research -- the NIDR’s successor -- did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.

Modest coffee consumption good for the heart: study

P

ARIS, 3/3/2015 - People who drink three to five cups of coffee a day may have a lower risk of clogged arteries that can cause serious heart problems, a study said Tuesday.

None of the study group had any cardiovascular problems, but one in seven had detectable levels of coronary artery calcium (CAC) -- an early sign of coronary heart disease, or atherosclerosis.

Moderate coffee intake defined as 3-5 cups a day by 2014 analysis.

Cup size was not specified in the report.

The researchers said the result was the same for all population sub-groups, regardless of age, gender, smoking status, body fat, alcohol consumption or blood pressure levels.

Atherosclerosis occurs when a waxy compound called plaque lines the artery walls, limiting blood flow and potentially triggering dangerous blood clots.

“Moderate coffee consumption was associated with a lower prevalence of subclinical atherosclerosis,” said the study published in the journal Heart.

The level of CAC was highest among those who had less than one cup or more than five cups daily, the researchers found. It was lowest among those who drank between three to five cups.

Further work is needed to explain why coffee appears to be protective, and whether the findings would hold true for other population groups.

The researchers cautioned that “our results were based on a sample of relatively healthy,

young middle-aged, educated Koreans, and might not be generalisable to other populations.”

Previous research has thrown up a mixed picture about coffee and its impact on health.

A 2014 analysis of 36 studies found that moderate coffee intake -- also defined as three to five cups a day -- was linked to a decreased risk of heart disease.

Other research had said it lowered the risk of Type 2 diabetes.

But coffee consumption has also been linked to higher cholesterol and blood pressure, both of which are bad news for cardiac health.

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China on brink Understanding Principal Uses of heart disease of Life Insurance...Part 4 ‘epidemic’: study life insurance policy can replace a

M

IAMI, (3/9/2015) AFP - Unhealthy eating, smoking and obesity are threatening a heart disease epidemic in China, where three out of four people are in poor cardiovascular shape, said a study on Monday.

The findings published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology are based on data from 96,000 men and women in the general Chinese population.

Health was classified as ideal, intermediate or poor according to seven behaviors and lifestyle factors set out by the American Heart Association: smoking status, body mass index, physical activity, diet, untreated total cholesterol, untreated blood pressure, and untreated fasting plasma glucose levels.

Just 0.2 percent of men and women in world’s most populous country were found to be in “ideal” cardiovascular health, the study found.

Only five percent of men and 22 percent of women ranked “ideal” in terms of four leading health factors: body mass index, physical activity, diet and not smoking.

Cardiovascular disease is currently the leading cause of death in China, and the prevalence of diabetes in China has more than doubled over the past decade.

“Without effective intervention, cardiovascular disease will become epidemic in the near future in China,” said the study led by Yufang Bi and senior author Guang Ning of Shanghai Jiao-Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.

“Of the seven metrics, adhering to a healthy diet was the least common among all cardiovascular health metrics at 1.6 percent and similar between men and women,” said the study.

Doctors urged China to adopt a nationwide strategy for improving the health of its citizens.

The South Korean research is the latest on the health effects of the popular brew, previously associated with a reduced risk of developing multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s and Alzheimers disease.

For the latest study, the team analysed data from 25,100 South Korean men and women, average age 41, who had undergone regular health screening.

FRIDAY, March 13, 2015

“While China is tremendously advanced technologically, the country faces a terrible burden of cardiovascular disease, as demonstrated by this study and others,” said Valentin Fuster, editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

“The nation would benefit from a strategic country-wide approach aimed at lessening each of the risk factors, along with regional and individual educational efforts.”

A

deceased’s income for the surviving family members. That replacement can be for a limited duration— for example, during the readjustment period of two or three years after the insured’s death, or for the surviving spouse’s lifetime.

Families and primary wage earners who are more financially sophisticated often opt to ensure the continuation of the survivors’ current lifestyle for their entire lifetimes.

Irrespective of whether the family is interested only in providing enough life insurance to enable survivors to “adjust” to a reduced income and its attendant lifestyle or to provide for lifetime income, several factors must be considered. If the family is a two-income family, it takes time to adjust to one paycheck.

Or, if the policy owner is the sole wage earner with young children at home, the surviving spouse is likely to have the following financial needs: • Income while children under age 18 are still at home and dependent. Social Security benefits provide only part of a family’s income needs; • cash to pay outstanding consumer debts, such as credit card balances, personal loans, etc.; • cash to provide an emergency fund for when the refrigerator needs replacement or the car must be repaired; • cash to pay for the years of college expenses when Social Security benefits for dependents come to an end just as expenses grow; • income for a surviving spouse during the Social Security blackout period, which is the years between the time the youngest child reaches age 18 and the time the surviving spouse reaches age 60, during which the surviving spouse of a deceased insured worker receives no Social Security benefits; and Supplemental income for the time when the surviving spouse retires and receives Social Security retirement

Sudhir Mathuria Contact: Sudhir Mathuria Licensed Professional Health Life 360 6650 Southwest Freeway Houston TX 77074 713-771-2900 www.MyMedicarePlanning.com benefits and possibly a pension.

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When these needs have been determined, they must be converted into an amount of cash needed. The amount of needed cash must then be compared with the family’s liquid assets, and any difference between the amount of cash required to meet family needs and family resources should be funded with life insurance. Not surprisingly, in view of inflation’s constant erosion of income, individuals must calculate the impact of inflation (usually assuming 5 percent per year) and must build in enough “extra” to counteract inflation’s effects.

To determine how much life insurance a family will need, a life insurance consultant like us can help based on the extent of the individual’s financial responsibilities and the kinds and amounts of other income.

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Blind children defy ‘bad karma’ to play in Thai orchestra

by Ju Apilaporn

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AKHON RATCHASIMA, Thailand - Deftly feeling their way along the bumps of the braille score, the young players of Thailand’s first blind orchestra memorise scales, defying both their impairment and ingrained negative attitudes towards disability.

It is rehearsal time just hours ahead of a concert at an openair auditorium in a national park, and around 30 fledgling classical musicians enthusiastically strum, pluck and bow instruments they have held but never seen.

“At first it was really hard for me... I wanted to stop,” said Joe a 14-year-old budding cellist who picked up the stringed instrument nine-months ago.

“But when I realised that others could do it, I gave it another try,” he told AFP, smiling broadly.

Official figures show that Thailand is home to 1.8 million disabled people, of whom around 180,000 are blind, in a population of more than 64 million.

Yet campaigners say state provision for disabled people is poor, compounding a widely held Buddhist belief in karma that, in the minds of many, links physical impairments with the supposed ‘misdeeds’

of a past life.

the right sounds.

The Thai Blind Orchestra, made up of players aged between eight and 15 years old, offers a rare positive platform for disabled Thais.

“It was hard because they cannot see the demonstration of where to put their fingers or hold the bows,” Alongkot told AFP. “But it was fun.”

The orchestra, who use donated instruments, were brought together by a professional classical musician whose day job is looking after elephants in the Khao Yai national park in northeastern Nakhon Ratchasima province.

“Some people might not like their performance, but the kids are happy and have fun with it,” he said, adding they are not looking to compete.

- ‘The kids are happy’ The seeds of the idea were planted when the blind students met their soon-to-be maestro, Alongkot Chukaew, at his conservation classes in the park.

Teaching with the help of audible aids, including his guitar, the 43-year-old Alongkot noticed music caught the attention of the children.

He asked his music teachers to play different instruments and encouraged the youngsters to follow the sound they liked best.

As their affinity with their chosen instrument mushroomed, Alongkot introduced a braille system for the students to learn to read classical music.

Shown one-on-one how to position their fingers on their instruments, the children then memorise both the notes and the correct placement to make

Attitudes towards disability across Southeast Asia are often shaped by a sense of karmic destiny.

The same philosophy that encourages people to do good deeds so they may be rewarded on reincarnation also leads people to believe that the disabled suffer their impediments because of their actions in a past life.

It is something that holds back progressive policies and leaves many of the region’s disabled in poverty or hidden at home by ashamed families.

“Disabled people are the poorest of the poor,” explains Suporntum Mongkolsawadi, a Thai double-amputee from childhood who now campaigns for improved rights.

“The belief in karma makes disabled people think they should just surrender and accept their fate,” added the 48-yearold, who heads the Redemptorist Foundation for People with Disabilities.

VOICE OF ASIA 17

ONLINE .COM voiceofasiaonline.com

Friday, March 13, 2015

BUSINESS

Section 2

Page 17 Email: editor@voiceofasiaonline.com

Wall St bonuses rise to $28.5 billion; jobs up for first time since 2011

by Edward Krudy (Reuters)

deferred compensation.

NEW YORK - Mar 11, 2015 The Wall Street bonus pool rose to $28.5 billion last year, and the industry added jobs for the first time since 2011 even as profits in the securities sector fell, New York state’s budget watchdog said on Wednesday.

Wall Street bonuses have been a contentious issue since the financial crisis. This year’s pool was more than double the combined earnings of 1 million American full-time minimum wage workers, according to an Institute for Policy Studies.

This was a 3 percent increase compared with $27.6 last year.

According to the state comptroller, the average bonus on Wall Street was up 2 percent to $172,860. Bonuses rose as pretax profits at the broker-dealer operations of New York Stock Exchange member firms fell 4.5 percent to $16 billion.

Still, the average bonus is 10 percent below its pre-crisis peak of $191,360 in 2006 after several years of cuts.

“Industry profits were lower because of weakness in fixed income and commodities trading, higher capital reserve requirements and the continued cost of legal settlements,” said the report by New York state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

At the same time, New York City’s securities firms added 2,300 jobs during the year, an

A Wall Street sign is pictured in front of the New York Stock Exchange, open during Winter Storm Juno, in the Manhattan borough of New York January 27, 2015. CREDIT: REUTERS. increase of 1.4 percent, bringing employment in the sector to 167,800 workers. It was the first time the industry added positions since 2011.

However, the industry is still smaller by 11 percent, or more than 20,000 jobs, than it was before the 2008 financial crisis, DiNapoli said. The comptroller cautioned job growth would not necessarily continue in 2015.

The comptroller’s report provides early hard estimates of the bonus pool for securities industry employees in New York City during the traditional December-to-March bonus season.

The estimate is not an exact view of 2014 bonuses because it reflects cash bonuses and deferred pay from which taxes have been withheld, but not stock options or other forms of

Morgan Stanley said last month it would pay less revenue in bonuses to bankers and traders even if revenue increases.

Goldman Sachs has reduced that ratio steadily in past years, from 42.4 percent in 2011, to 36.8 percent in lat year.

Although Wall Street is smaller than before the crisis it is still an important economic engine for New York state and city. The sector accounts for about 21 percent of private sector wages in the city even though it accounts for less than 5 percent of private sector jobs.

Hundreds of staff ID cards missing, stolen at Atlanta airport MIAMI - Hundreds of worker identification tags for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport -- one of the United States’ busiest -- have been lost or stolen in recent years, NBC News reported.

FRIDAY, March 13, 2015

ones, downplayed the issue.

“We take the loss and theft of employee badges very seriously,” said Atlanta Airport spokesperson Reese McCranie.

Between 2012 and 2014, an estimated 1,400 badges, which allow workers access to secured areas, have been lost or stolen, the network said.

Yet, he insisted, “at no time has anyone with a lost or stolen badge ever attempted to access or successfully gained access to the secured areas of the airport.”

The airport, with over 60,000 workers operating 75 international flights and 150 domestic

“Badges are invalidated and deactivated as soon as they are reported lost or stolen. Secured

areas of the airport can only be accessed with a valid badge and PIN, and each badge has a photo of the employee on it,” the spokesman said.

“Due to these safeguards, we do not believe that this poses a security threat to the airport.”

After the September 11, 2001 terror strikes in the United States, US authorities scrambled to tighten security to standards like those of countries used to considering terror threats business as usual.

Some security analysts have voiced concern over the lost badges, stressing that it only takes one to enable someone to penetrate security, and potentially plant explosives or take part in a 9/11-style plot.

The US Transportation Security Administration said the government had ordered a review of “security of the sterile areas at airports nationwide in order to identify all viable means for the department to address any potential vulnerability

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US owner offers million dollar inn for 200 words, $125

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EW YORK - A 200word essay and $125 is all it will take to become the proud owner of a bucolic New England inn, says its owner, who won the establishment in the same way.

is time for me to retire. Now, I would like to fulfill someone else’s dream.”

For more than two decades, Janice Sage has run the Center Lovell Inn, a majestic bed and breakfast nestled in western Maine, famous for its crosscountry skiing and mountain vistas.

The establishment in Maine’s White Mountains -- a favorite destination of summer holiday makers -- will go to whoever writes the best essay.

Now, 68-year-old Sage plans to retire, and she’s ready give away the inn, valued at nearly a million dollars, for next-tonothing.

“Have you ever dreamed of owning a country inn and restaurant in New England? Well, here is your chance!” she wrote on the inn’s website: https:// wincenterlovellinn.wordpress. com.

“In 1993, the former owner ran an essay contest and I was the winner,” she explains.

“After 22 successful years, it

Entrants will have until May 21 to submit an essay entitled: “Why I would like to own and operate a country inn.”

She won the inn from the former owners by answering a similar essay question and paying a $100 fee.

The bed and breakfast, built in 1805, is in the town of Lovell, 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the state capital Portland.

Sage expects to attract around 7,500 entries, netting around $937,000 -- just short of the inn’s market price.

A committee will choose 20 finalists based on the essays, and the winner will be announced on May 21.

Chevron to sell more assets amid drop in oil prices New York, United States | | Tuesday 3/10/2015 - US oil giant Chevron Tuesday said it plans $15 billion in asset sales through 2017 as it seeks to maintain a strong dividend for shareholders amid lower oil prices.

The divestment program expands by 50 percent a previous target to sell $10 billion in assets through 2016, according to a presentation by Chevron chief executive John Watson.

In 2014, Chevron divested $6 billion in assets, including the $1.3 billion sale of a stake in a Chad oil project to the Republic of Chad. The deal also comprised Chevron’s interest in a pipeline system that transports oil from Chad to Cameroon.

Watson said the company was on track to increase production

from 2.57 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2014 to 3.1 million in 2017. Major projects ramping up include Texas shale ventures and natural gas developments in Australia and Angola.

“We are well-positioned to manage through the recent drop in commodity prices and are taking several responsive actions, including curtailing capital spending and lowering costs,” Watson said.

Shares in Dow member Chevron plummeted 3.1 percent to $48.46 in late-afternoon trade.

The move follows Chevron’s January announcement of a 2015 capital budget of $35 billion, down 13 percent from last year.

The company also halted its share buyback program, citing the big drop in oil prices.

HOROSCOPE

VOICE OF ASIA 18

FRIDAY, March 13, 2015

Your Horoscope for the Week of March 13, 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 The relatively small matters, that you would normally pass off as “things happen”. But this one will send you to the edge. One cause may be a recent, rather impractical move on the part of your mate or partner. Save your venting for a quieter time, when you could let the state of your checkbook tell the story. You must admit, however, that their intention was in both your interests, so don’t stay mad. Stick with the plan, whatever it is, in both your professional life and your personal life. No matter how hard you try, however, a problem may erupt that you have to deal with.

Time to get geared up to plunge into a new project. You could quickly get all the background information you need. If it isn’t work that occupies you, it may be a hunt for bargains in the house and property market. You may have a dream place in mind, but you are not going to find it without putting in some long hours of research. You may be a bit anxious about the thought of a big move, remembering past experiences. With plenty of lead-time and advance planning, it needn’t be the chore it appears to be right now.

Scorpio (N,Y)23 Oct to 21 Nov

Taurus (B,V,U) 21 April to 20 May Your mood, which is as stable as the wind. You may find it very difficult to concentrate. Changes may be afoot on the home scene. Do your best to stay on an even course, plan to spend some time unwinding. In this situation, the best way to nurture yourself is to nurture others. You will be able to speak tenderly. Sharp words should not be exchanged. Someone, possibly an older relative, could express discontent with how they perceive you are handling your affairs, it’s not polite, but you may be inclined to say, “It’s none of your business”.

The magnetism of your personality, Alone it could be a force to be reckoned with, however you’ll be sharp in the job arena. A long hoped for raise could come through, or at least an acknowledgement by a boss or other higher-up that you are worth more. You are also in a mood to improvise. Your spur-of-the-moment creations really fill the bill.

You’ll feel like celebrating. Open your wallet and treat yourself to something sumptuous. Don’t forget the other person who will be waiting to applaud you.

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

Gemini (K,CHH,GH) 21 May to 20 June Someone or something puzzling you, It’s not easy to put anything over on you, but someone may try to do just that. It may come in the form of a secret about someone close to you. You could be a little bit gullible now, don’t necessarily believe what you hear. After all, who knows them better than you do? You may decide to have less to do with the person who tried put something over on you. You’ll be able to grin and bear it, whatever it turns out to be. At times, you may feel like it’s all work and no rewards.

Little bit of a conflict over your various responsibilities. A big project at work could keep you working after hours and your mate may not be too pleased at a break in the normal schedule. Perhaps they may not be as adaptable as you are. Smooth things out, try not to talk about money concerns, if possible. Better days are ahead. You are sharp as a tack, but try not to be too sharp. Watch what you say to co-workers, because you may offend someone. You rarely do that intentionally, but the flak you take from a small explosion could make you uncharacteristically sensitive.

Capricorn (KH,J) 22 Dec to 20 Jan

Cancer (D,H) 21 June to 22 July The strategic alliance with someone who may figure big in your future success. It may be a new relationship, perhaps it is business progress that is at issue. Whatever your situation, put some feeling into the encounter to show that this is not just another meeting. Be sure to follow up, whether the issue is personal or professional. You’ll be glad you did. You are intensely curious about something. You may have heard rumors & now is the time to check them out. One possibility is a change of management in your work structure.

Though your ambition may be keen, others could be in the same frame of mind as you.

If an obvious power play on someone’s part disturbs you, act as if it has nothing to do with you. It doesn’t, really. The problem is that you may have seen it coming, and now that it has come to a head, you find yourself annoyed. Just keep moving steadily along. Do not push for any unscheduled meetings or conversations. You could lose it without meaning to. You may be called on for extra work at your job. You may also get a call from a friend who needs some emotional support.

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

Leo (M) 23 July to 22 August Your extreme sensitivity to whatever environment you find yourself in, As you pick up the vibes, be sure to separate what’s real from what is simply your imagination. Don’t harp on small things. Isn’t it great to feel totally at ease? Your work should go well, but soon, you will be ready for a change of pace. Be the organizer, if there is someone around whom you would like to get to know better, be sure to invite them. This person could be on a different job level from you, but that should be no problem for you. You have plenty of other topics to talk about.

You have to let go of something or someone. It will be clear to you, however, that the usefulness or viability of what you give up, has gone. You’ll be in the mood for romance, with spouse, a very special person who is always there for you. No tears or regrets, just be glad that whatever it was is now over. Because you are in overdrive, an emotional explosion could be a decisive and constructive action on a long-term work project that you are now determined to bring to a head and complete.

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

Virgo (P) 23 August to 22 September The time to renovate, remodel or just redecorate. Make the atmosphere more pleasant for entertaining family and friends. You could experience a special emotional fulfillment from cooperation on the job. Your optimism is justified as some projects involving property bring great financial success. Be sure you don’t put a rotten apple in the case, however, just because you don’t know your own power. Screen other investors carefully and put a high value on your own abilities. You may need a studio where you can work on projects that express your talent. Some public or career projects could be completed from home.

QR

You are full of ideas, not to mention vim and vigor. You may surprise everyone by becoming a bit of a chatterbox. Try to confine what you say to the work at hand. Not everyone has to know your personal business. You may be called on to supervise some people. If you are not used to being the boss, you could learn much through this experience. One cardinal rule is not to expect of anyone else what you would not expect of yourself. It is a point in your favor if you don’t exaggerate your accomplishments. You tend to get ahead by taking on more responsibility.

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FRIDAY, March 13, 2015

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.

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

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ASSIGNMENT EDITOR KTRK-TV, an ABC O&O located in Houston, TX is looking for an aggressive and motivated Assignment Editor. The successful applicant will be responsible for all facets of the assignment desk, which includes but is not limited to making beatchecks, answering phones, monitoring police and fire radios, getting information and developing stories. The candidate should be detail-oriented and able to handle many different responsibilities at the same time. Good news judgment, an even temper, patience and strong communication skills are essential. The candidate must be able to take directions, but should also be able to work without supervision. The candidate should be familiar with the use of social media for news gathering. This position works nights, weekends and be open to a flexible schedule.

The ideal applicant should have experience as a television news assignments editor. This is not a clerical or secretarial position. Only candidates with news experience will be considered for the position. All interested applicants must apply on-line at www.disneycareers.com by uploading a resume file, cover letter and list of references. Please Reference Job ID: 254776BR. Equal Opportunity Employer – Female/ Minority/ Veteran/ Disability. No Telephone Calls.

News Photographer/ Live Truck Operator - Temporary KTRK-TV, the ABC O&O located in Houston, TX, has an opening for a temporary News Photographer/Live Truck Operator. Candidates should have a minimum three years experience in all facets of television news photography including lighting, audio and editing, and show exceptional knowledge and creativity in these areas. Applicants should have a good eye for news photography, be able to work in the field unsupervised or with various reporters and be able to work in deadline situations. The ideal candidate will have experience or be able to operate a microwave live truck and must be able to lift and carry 30 lbs. of equipment. All interested applicants must apply on-line at www.disneycareers.com by uploading a resume file, cover letter and list of references. Interested applicants should also send a resume tape sample of your news related work to: Human Resources, KTRKTV, 3310 Bissonnet, Houston, TX 77005. Please Reference Job ID: 139208BR on all materials submitted. No phone calls please, and no third parties. Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/V/D.

N Y K

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• The average person swallows 295 times during a meal.

• The average life span of a mosquito is 2 weeks.

MANAGEMENT TIP OF THE DAY FROM HBR.ORG

To Get Candid Feedback, Ask for It Getting honest, useful feedback is the fastest route to better performance. But people are sometimes too nice to share the full picture or too intimidated to be fully truthful. You need to be clear that you want honest feedback. If you say, “Don’t be nice, be helpful,” people will be less likely to hold back.

Instead of asking what you did wrong, ask what you can do better going forward. Try not to judge any feedback you receive, whether it’s positive or negative. Just thank people for being honest with you and let them know that you find their observations and opinions helpful. Try to write down what they say. A little silence communicates that you’re taking feedback seriously, and it gives people time to think about what else they might add. And don’t just ask once. Give people multiple opportunities to give you real feedback.

Adapted from “How

TEMPORARY NEWS REPORTER KTRK-TV, the ABC owned station located in Houston, TX, has an opening for a full time temporary News Reporter. Candidates should have experience in general assignment reporting, including live breaking news.

Applicants must be able to develop contacts, enterprise good, hard news stories, and respond well to spot news. Candidates must have outstanding writing skills for both broadcast and digital platforms. Must be willing to work evenings and weekends. All interested applicants must apply on-line at www.disneycareers.com by uploading a resume file, cover letter and list of references. Interested applicants should also send video tape samples of your news related work to: Human Resources, KTRK-TV, 3310 Bissonnet, Houston, TX 77005. Please Reference Job ID: 254642BR on all materials submitted. Equal Opportunity Employer – Female/ Minority/ Veteran/ Disability. No Telephone Calls.

to Ask for Feedback That Will Actually Help You” by Peter Bregman.by Alexandra Samuel.

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