Voice of Asia Newsweekly e paper November 18 2016

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FRIDAY, November 18, 2016

28 years dedicated service to Counties the community Serving Harris,ofFort Bend and Surrounding for 29 years

Trump hedges on health care, points to ‘amending’ ACA Read on Page 16 or Call 832-806-1000

Vol. 29 No. 46 Friday, November 18, 2016 • Published Weekly from Houston • 713-774-5140 20 Pages ( 2 sections) 50 cents E-mail: voiceasia@aol.com

Consul General hosts Diwali reception for Mayor Turner

Asian Chamber’s Annual Meeting: Progressive Network Luncheon

Consul General of India, Dr. Anupam Ray, his wife, Dr. Amit Goldberg and their son join Houston Mayor Turner in lighting the Diwali lamp.

(Photo: Shobana Muratee)

Linda Toyota, (3rd from left) ACC president presenting a memento to Joel Cowley, President and CEO Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo at the ACC annual meeting. Amegy Bank Kevin Rech and Chair of Board Austin Zhao look on.

(Photo: Shobana Muratee)

by Shobana Muratee

11 at his residence here.

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Blending culture with commerce, the evening was a different kind of celebration of the Indian Festival of Lights - Diwali when Dr. Ray showcased the crème de la crème of the Indian American community: its prominent leaders,

OUSTON (Nov. 11, 2016) – India’s Consul General in Houston, Dr. Anupam Ray and his wife Amit Goldberg, MD hosted a Diwali dinner reception in honor of the City of Houston Mayor, Sylvester Turner on Friday, November

by Shobana Muratee

Continue on Page 7

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OUSTON - The Asian Chamber of Commerce (ACC) held its annual meeting on Thursday, November 10 at the Hess Club, facilitating progressive networking coordinated with the Greater Houston Black Chamber and the National His-

panic Professional Organization. The event was sponsored by HEB and Amegy Bank of Texas.

After announcing the names of the members for the 2017 Board, Linda Toyota, President ACC invited George Kurisky, Jr., who installed the 2017 Board with three new members join-

ing in after a formal oath taking by the incoming members.

Introducing guest speaker Joel Cowley, President and CEO of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and a longtime member of ACC, Toyota Continue on Page 7

The Houston Super Bowl Host Committee unveils “WOW” Factor Experience Future Flight takes people on virtual reality trip to Mars

by Shobana Muratee

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OUSTON, Nov 16, 2016 – With much fanfare, the Houston Super Bowl Host Committee today unveiled ‘Future Flight’ as its “WOW” Factor for the 2017 Super Bowl LIVE fan festival. Featuring a virtual reality experience and numerous hands-on space exhibits, Future Flight will share with the public the incredible journey to Mars and beyond. Dr. Ellen Ochoa, director of the NASA Johnson Space Center, speaking at the press conference Continue on Page 4 at the George R. Brown Convention Center.

The Super Bowl Host Committee at the unveiling event of the “WOW” Factor for the 2017 Super Bowl at the George R. Brown Convention Center on November. 16, 2016. (Photos by Shobana Muratee)

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OP-ED/COMMENTARY/ANALYSIS

VOICE OF ASIA 2

Inclusion of minorities is essential for President Trump’s success

VOICE OF ASIA Publisher:

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

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

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Shobana Muratee

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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Voice of Asia, 8303 SW Freeway, Suite # 325, Houston, TX 77074 It is the policy of Voice of Asia to publish letters to the editor which evidence a variety of viewpoints. The opinions expressed in any particular letter to the editor are not necessarily those of the management. Voice of Asia welcomes letters in reply to issues raised in letters to editor. In as much letters to the editor are not articles written or researched by members of Voice of Asia, it is not the policy of the Voice of Asia to perform any investigation or confirmation of any facts or allegations contained in letters to the editor. Moreover, Voice of Asia reserves the right to edit letters to the editor as necessary to correct errors of fact, punctuation, spelling and to comply with space constraints.

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FRIDAY, November 18, 2016

Dr. Chandra Mittal Professor, Houston Community College

by Chandra K. Mittal, Ph.D.

O

n the night of November 8th 2016, no sooner than the news of Donald Trump election victory was announced, the emotions began rising with social media buzzing with people’s reaction around the country.

While many began celebrating the victory with high enthusiasm and claims of “taking the country back”, others began expressing gloom, disappointment, uncertainty, fear, insecurity, alienation and anxiety.

The migrant community, religious minorities were particularly down at this development and feared some type of reprisal or backlash against them, which could affect their livelihood, careers, families, etc.

These reactions were primarily rooted in the highly polarizing and divisive election rhetoric of the candidate Donald Trump that demonized immigrants, Muslims, Mexicans, etc. creating a negative public perception about them.

dent-Elect to reach out “publicly” to various groups reflecting country’s diversity. This is specially required in wake of Mr. Trump’s fiery and divisive rhetoric during the election campaign that has created misperceptions in the minds of Right-wing zealots about the groups he criticized.

Unfortunately, despite Mr. Trump’s call for unity in the post-election period, there are already people on both sides of American political spectrum, who are attempting to “pollute” the pond, so to say. They are trying to influence the future trajectory of America and pressure Mr. Trump to their point of view. All this is happening before Mr. Trump has even taken the oath of office as the 45th President of the United States.

People on the Right are urging him to strictly abide by the conservative “agenda” he laid out to get elected and not at all deviate from it. They are looking for confrontation. For example, the conservative rightwing talk-radio hosts are urging Mr. Trump not to accommodate the policies of the past leadership both in domestic and foreign arena, and reverse them.

They feel that over past fifty years United States has gone too liberal leading to economic and moral decline of America.

Although in his victory speech Mr. Trump did try to heal and spoke of a united America to make it a great country, he needs to do more than just the “words”. While he means well and wants to unite the country, he needs to take concrete steps and show substance behind his words. His actions should reflect his instincts for inclusiveness and genuineness of his intentions at the beginning of his Presidential term to reassure minority communities.

The liberal left-leaning groups, on the other hands, are suspicious of Trump’s intentions and are engaged in protesting Mr. Trump’s victory and are opposed to his proposed policy direction. This as evidenced by anti-Trump demonstrations that broke out in several US cities a day after the election. The same has occurred at several college campuses across the country where the millennial do not see Mr. Trump identifying with them in his approach to solve national challenges.

As America starts the process of healing the “election wounds” and coming together, there is urgent need for Presi-

Overall, such sentiments, rhetoric and actions are creating a stereotype among Americans “us versus them”. This is

US President -Elect Donald Trump making many people nervous and feeling insecure in religious and racial minorities, immigrant communities, LGBT, etc. This is negative human spirit that is demoralizing and can lead to social segregation.

It can also generate animosity against the majority population ultimately creating instability in society – not a pleasant situation.

Some in the immigrant communities have been already heard expressing their desire if they should leave the country.

Furthermore, this toxic atmosphere can also trigger exploitation and mistreatment of the minority communities since the so-called real “owners” of the country may feel inherently entitled to repress or suppress minority community members and deny them full citizenship rights, something the world has experienced in the past.

Despite all this, President Donald Trump deserves a fair chance to lead the country and succeed in his mission of making America great again. This will, however, require the participation of all Americans and tranquility among citizens regardless of their race, religion, and ethnicity. He is elected to take the country forward along with everyone and not just a few. So, he will have to stay

above the fray and not show loyalty or preference for any particular group of citizens even in face of pressures from various quarters.

It is in the pursuit of this broad objective and achieve success that President Trump should make a deliberate and conscious effort to reassure minority communities that they are not alien or marginalized group in the United States but the part and parcel of it. He should take the “Centrist” path, actively dispel the negative stereotypes created by the zealots on both sides of political spectrum, and be openly inclusive of minorities in both policy formulation and implementation arenas.

It is only through his strong leadership, objectivity, skills, and inclusiveness of all citizens that President Donald Trump can “Make America Great Again” and prove his commitment to his vision of America being First as American minorities wish him well to achieve his mission.

Dr. Chandra Mittal is Professor at Houston Community College and Co-Founder of Indo-American Association (IAA). Contact: drckmittal@ yahoo.com: Twitter: @drchandramittal

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VOICE OF ASIA 3

FRIDAY, November 18, 2016

Second Front Page

Email: voiceasia@aol.com

Tel: 713-774-5140

www.voiceofasiaonline.com

H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami to visit Houston, November 26-28 February 2006 Bhakti Charu Swami built a temple in the holy city of Ujjain. The UjjainISKCON temple feeds 23,000 school children daily.

Bhakti Charu Swami’s Houston Programs: Saturday, Nov. 26 - 7 pm.

Hare Krishna Temple, 1320 West 34th Street, Houston, Texas 77018; evening service (arati), 7:30 pm: “Meet and greet the swami.” Book launch & talk on Ocean of Mercy & ISKCON 50,followed by booksigning.

His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami

by Sarvabhauma Medley

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is Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami, a leading disciple of ISKCON’s Founder-acharya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, will make a rare Houston appearance to launch his new memoir, Ocean of Mercy, Saturday, November 26th through Monday, November 28th.

In Ocean of Mercy Bhakti Charu Swami guides readers on an intimate autobiographical journey that only a faithful insider—one who was blessed to personally serve a spiritual master of Srila Prabhupada’s oceanic stature—can authoritatively describe. The book recounts a pivotal moment when, as a Bengali youth enamored by the Western world, Bhakti Charu Swami was challenged in Germany by a new-found American friend who insulted Mother India. For the first time, the young man felt affection and love for his native country.

Yet it wasn’t until he met Srila Prabhupada, who glorified India’s sanatan dharma culture all over the world, that Bhakti Charu Swami was able to offer a lifetime of service to establish the indispensable necessity of India’s transcendental wisdom and culture, based on the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam.

Recently, on November 17th 2016, Bhakti Charu Swami was given a special award by members of the United Nations in New York in recognition of his lifetime achievements as a guru, translator, book publisher, Krishna conscious filmmaker, recorder of devotional music, and author. Asked by Srila Prabhupada to translate his books into Bengali, along with his many other duties, Bhakti Charu succeeded in translating all of his spiritual master’s works on major Vedic literatures—more than fifty volumes—into Bengali. Subsequently, he became a member of the Governing Body Com-

Sunday, Nov. 27 - 7 am, Hare Krishna Temple; arati & Srimad Bhagavatam class. 5:30 pm, Sunday Feast lecture, booksigning afterwards.

This is a picture of Maharaja with members of the House of Lords in London, England, where he recently met Members of Parliament.

Monday, November 28th, 6.30 pm - Home program in Katy @ the residence of Manmath and Shanti Panda. RSVP at Shantipanda95@hotmail.com.

mission of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness and served as its chairman in 1989.

For more information, please call 281-705-9314. (note: book-signing available at all programs)

In 1996 he embarked on the production of a 104-episode television series on the life of Prabhupada, called Abhay Car-

an in conjunction with Indian National Television. A pioneer of the Vrindavan Institute for higher Education (VIHE), in

Join CRY Walk 2016 at Houston to take a step forward and help fulfill children’s dreams

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OUSTON: November 20, 2016 - CRY, Child Rights and You America Inc. (CRY America), a 501(c)(3) non- profit that works towards ensuring children their basic rights to live, learn, grow and play will host the 13th CRY Walk for Child Rights across 16 cities. The annual walk brings together people from varied walks of life, who feel passionately for children’s cause. The event provides them a platform to help children secure a better future and reinforces the belief

that the ability to change lives lies within each one of us.

Walkers and runners alike, in Houston are invited to participate in 5k walk on November 20, 2016 at Lost Creek Park (3703 Lost Creek Blvd, Sugar Land, TX 77479). Events will include kid’s performances, music, face painting and fun activities for kids. The participants will also be able to buy funky CRY merchandise like T shirts to support the cause for child rights. The annual event is not just a space for families

to have an outing but also to support and ensure opportunities are provided to all children and bring lasting change in their lives.

The national sponsors of the Walk 2016 are Star TV, TV Asia, Air India, Stratus, Shani International, Mera Sangeet and India Abroad. We appreciate the generous support of our event sponsors, media sponsors and donors in enabling this event. The volunteers, fundraisers and team leaders who have relentlessly worked to

organize this event in aid of underprivileged children, deserve a special mention.

Speaking about the event, Shefali Sunderlal, President, CRY America said, “Only when children are given the right opportunities, do they realize their full potential, aim for their dreams and achieve them. Raising awareness and fund support by participating in CRY Walk is a step forward in ensuring that children get these opportunities and a chance at a healthy, successful life.”

CRY America has thus far ensured that 618,915 children living across 3,084 villages and slums have access to education, healthcare and are protected from violations through support to 70 Projects in India and the USA. For more information about CRY America or CRY Walk 2016, visit www.america.cry. org, email support@cryamerica.org or call 6179591273.

For more information about CRY America or CRY Walk 2016 in Houston, visit http://bit. ly/2dfPsav or contact us directly by phone Mousumi Banerjee at 832-841-5727, Dharam Bali at 832-341-1142 or Ruchika at 281-944-8050.

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FRIDAY, November 18, 2016

WOW Factor Experience

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

It may seem early, but now is the time to worry about holiday returns Q. I went to buy a present to give someone for Christmas. The store told me that if she didn’t like it she could exchange it, but that there were no returns. I decided not to buy it because I was afraid she wouldn’t like it. The store was small without a lot of selection. Is it legal for a store to not allow you to return a gift and get a refund?

A. This is a great question, and with the holidays coming up your timing is perfect. Not only is it legal for a store to limit a purchaser to an exchange or store credit, it is becoming more and more common.

When you buy something you enter into a contract with the store. The terms of that contract are what you agree to with the store.

If nothing is said about returns or exchanges, the term is what a reasonable person would assume. In my opinion, most people think you can either return or exchange a gift you don’t like, and that would be the contract term if nothing were said.

On the other hand, the store may change that term and if you make a purchase and agree to the new term, you and the person you give the gift to are both bound to that contract.

For example, a business that tells you “exchanges only,” or has a sign stating, “store credit only no returns” at the register, has

made that a term of your contract. If you make a purchase knowing the store’s policy, it is part of your contract. The bottom line is simple—always ask about a store’s return policy before you make a purchase.

Q. I own a time-share at a local lake. I don’t use it and I can no longer afford the maintenance fees. How do I get rid of this thing? Can I force them to take it back?

Can I just tell them I no longer want it?

A. Unfortunately, “getting rid” of a timeshare can be difficult. A time-share interest is considered real estate.

Unlike personal property, such as a car, you cannot just give away and get rid of a real estate interest. Even if you tell them you do not want it, it still belongs to you and you will be responsible for the maintenance fees.

To end your ownership you must either get the company to agree to take the property back, sell it to someone else, or donate the property to another entity. There are many companies offering to sell your timeshare interest.

Before using one, be sure to carefully check it out, and don’t pay anything in advance.

Q. I gave a friend my credit card to use in an emergency.

I told him to limit his use to $500. Without my permission he used it to pay almost $1,000 for a television. What is my liability? Do I owe the credit card company for his charges to my account?

A. If you gave your friend permission to use your credit card, my opinion is that you are liable for the bills he incurred.

The fact that he used it in a manner different from what you anticipated or charged more than you authorized probably doesn’t matter. The bottom line is to be careful with your credit cards. If you give your card to someone and say, “Don’t charge more than $500,” it is up to that person to stay within the limit. If he or she does not, you are responsible for the total amount charged.

Of course, if you pay the credit card bill, you have the right to seek reimbursement from your friend.

Q. My wallet was stolen.

The thief charged $2,500 to my credit card. Am I responsible?

A. Good news, under federal law your maximum liability for the unauthorized use of your credit card is $50. In fact, you have no liability for any charges made after you report the loss. If your card is stolen, be sure to immediately call the credit card company. Dispute the charges with the credit card company and make it clear the charges are unauthorized.

Continued from Page 1 Voice of Asia was thrilled to be a part of the unveiling.

“The Host Committee has declared Super Bowl LI (51) as the Super Bowl of the future in the City of the Future,” said Sallie Sargent, president and CEO of the Houston Super Bowl Host Committee. “Nothing says future more than deep space travel. The Host Committee is thrilled to partner with NASA and the leading space industry companies to create the Future Flight Experience for people to enjoy during Super Bowl LIVE.”

humans to other planets.

As a result of this collaboration, Super Bowl LIVE will host a one-of-a-kind, interactive experience for all visitors to enjoy.

to work alongside the Houston Super Bowl Host Committee and our industry partners to showcase some of the best that Houston has to offer.”

Future Flight will be open

Future Flight’s key component is a virtual reality ride that takes guests on an excursion through space to the Red Planet and back, using actual footage from Mars. Guests don virtual reality goggles for the 2-minute, 10-second ride. It concludes with a 90-foot drop that transports the rider visually from Mars back to Earth, landing on the 50-yard-line of NRG Stadium, just in time for kickoff of Super Bowl LI. For guests who prefer not to experience the 90-foot drop, there will be a special presentation area outside of the attraction to experience the virtual reality portion of Future Flight.

NASA, leading aerospace companies –The Boeing Company, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Orbital ATK, Aerojet Rocketdyne, and Raytheon Company – and the Coalition for Deep Space Exploration are working together to share the exciting story of America’s current efforts in the development of new rockets, engines, crew capsules, astronaut training programs and deep space science that will reveal valuable discoveries and transport

Future Flight will share with the public the incredible journey to Mars and beyond. (Photo: Shobana Muratee) “The space industry is one of Houston’s vital sectors, featuring some of the country’s brightest professionals in science and engineering,” said Dr. Ellen Ochoa, director of the NASA Johnson Space Center.

“This ‘WOW’ Factor allows the public to experience a journey through space that is normally only experienced by select individuals. We are excited

to the public from Jan. 28, 2017 through Feb. 5, 2017.

It will be located at Super Bowl LIVE, the 10-day fan festival held the week of Super Bowl LI. The free event will be held in and around Discovery Green in downtown Houston, and will feature music, games and attractions.

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VOICE OF ASIA

VOICE OF ASIA 5

FRIDAY, November 18, 2016

FORT BEND VIEW Email: voiceasia@aol.com

City of Sugar Land welcomes ABM, a Fortune 500 company

S

UGAR LAND - The Sugar Land Development Corporation recently approved an agreement with ABM as the Company relocates its corporate shared services operations to the City of Sugar Land.

ABM, a Fortune 500 company and a leading provider of facility solutions, has been serving Texas since 1945 and currently has more than 10,000 employees maintaining over 4,500 buildings throughout the state.

“ABM is excited to join the Sugar Land corporate community,” said ABM Industries Incorporated Chief Financial Officer D. Anthony Scaglione. “The City presented itself as a compelling business environment and a prime residential location. We look forward to our partnership with Sugar Land.”

ABM will bring approximately 390 jobs to the City of Sugar Land over the next two years as the Company occupies approximately 62,000 square feet within the Sugar Creek on the Lake office building at 14141 Southwest Freeway.

“Sugar Land is thrilled to welcome another Fortune 500 company to our corporate community,” said City Manager Allen Bogard. “Sugar Land’s pro-business attitude continues to attract businesses, bringing with them high quality jobs. We are proud ABM will call Sugar Land home.”

An incentive package was created by the City’s Office of Economic Development and approved by the Sugar Land Development Corporation to secure the Company in Sugar Land.

The Office of Economic Development worked with the Greater Houston Partnership to relocate ABM Shared Services division to Sugar Land following a regional search of potential

sites.

“The Greater Houston Partnership greatly applauds ABM’s selection of Sugar Land as the hub of its corporate shared services operations,” said Greater Houston Partnership Chief Economic Development Officer Bob Pertierra. “ABM demonstrates a commitment to growing its corporate footprint in an area that offers a vast pool of talented and skilled workers, land for future growth, and superior quality of life assets.”

The City of Sugar Land is an awardwinning community 20 miles southwest of downtown Houston. This master-planned community has achieved its sustainable, strong local economy through a strategically focused and aggressive economic development program creating new wealth and jobs.

As a regional employment center, the City is home to numerous high-profile regional and international corporations housed in more than 25 million square feet of commercial space, including Minute Maid, UnitedHealthcare, Texas Instruments, Schlumberger, Fluor Corporation, Noble Drilling Services, Inc., Bechtel EO and Aetna.

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Virtuosi of Performing Arts raises money for the Lilli Curry Memorial Fund

by Sanchali Basu

S

TAFFORD - What a wonderful way to pay tribute to a lively and charismatic sophomore at Taylor High School who passed

away on August 4th, after fighting a hard battle with Ewing Sarcoma, an extremely rare bone cancer found mostly in children and young adults.

Lilli Curry has left a lasting impact on her school since then.

Although millions of dollars are raised each year for cancer research, less than 4% goes towards childhood cancer research despite being the number one cause for death in children.. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) says there has been a sig-

nificant increase in the overall rate of childhood cancers in recent decades— up to 27% since 1975 in kids under age 19, and the FDA has approved only three drugs to treat childhood cancer in the last 20 years. This is all due to lack of funding. Keeping this in mind, an extraordinary and unique fundraiser event was hosted on 4th of November at Old Stafford Center by Virtuosi Performing Arts in Lilli Curry’s memory.

The evening started with an introduction of Lilli Curry, acknowledgement of her parents and her home bound teacher Cheryl Bell. The organizers of the show Satyajit and Keka Continued on Page 6

Sugar Land has also uniquely positioned itself as a hub for premium shopping, dining and entertainment.

Venues such as the Houston Museum of Natural Science at Sugar Land, Constellation Field, the Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land live indoor entertainment venue and Heritage Museum further establish the community as a cultural and historical destination.

With more than 1,200 member organizations, the Greater Houston Partnership represents approximately one-fifth of the region’s workforce.

Visit the Partnership at houston.org.

Performaces entranced and enlived the audience at Old Stafford Center, November 4, 2016. (Credit: Rao Photography)

COMMUNITY

VOICE OF ASIA 6

Sugar Land annexation gets final approval, big growth

S

UGAR LAND - The city of Sugar Land has approved the annexation of New Territory and Greatwood by December next year.

When finalized, Sugar Land will grow by more than 30 percent from a current population of 87,367 to more than 117,000 residents, city officials said.

The process for the annexation of the Greatwood and New Territory municipal utility districts began in November 2007. The city of Sugar Land said it

“is the result of years of thoughtful, deliberate planning; public input and a strong partnership between the city and elected officials in the communities.”

Strategic partnership agreements between the city and the Greatwood and New Territory municipal utility districts provided contractual commitments for annexation and the provision of services to the non-city residents.

City officials said the agreements included a surcharge to Greatwood and New Territory residents for city-provided services that has been deposited into a fund to pay for annexation costs, including the retirement of remaining municipal utility district debt.

New Territory and Greatwood residents will receive the same services as provided to existing Sugar Land residents upon annexation. Sugar Land city officials said most will experience an overall annual savings and increased

Judge Ravi Sandill re-elected in Harris Co

J

udge Ravi Sandill was re-electied as a Democrat for the 127th Civil District Court in Harris County. in the Nov. 8 elections

Sugar Land City Council unanimously approved an ordinance at its Tuesday meeting to annex the municipal utility districts, or MUDs, in both areas. City officials said the council also voted to amend the city’s fiscal year 2017 budget to begin the pre-annexation work necessary to provide new residents with city services beginning Dec. 12, 2017.

The pre-annexation costs are funded

by New Territory and Greatwood residents with money set aside during the last 10 years specifically for this purpose, city officials said.

FRIDAY, November 18, 2016

services in areas such as public safety, zoning, traffic control, regulatory oversight, street/sidewalk repair and comprehensive planning.

Annexation will not increase costs, taxes or impact services for current city residents, officials said.

“The city is very pleased that we will be able to welcome so many new residents next year and provide high quality city services while still maintaining one of the lowest tax rates in the state,”

said Allen Bogard, city manager. “We are very excited to add these outstanding communities to the city.”

City officials said an extensive public outreach effort will be conducted during the next year that includes an explanation of city services, including important contacts and information about how to get involved. This will include a combination of printed materials, online resources, social media and community presentations.

A Message from the City of Sugar Land “The City is committed to providing high quality services. It is important to understand that you will remain under the jurisdiction of your respective Districts and will continue to receive services as provided by your Districts until December 12, 2017.

“The City provides quality services while maintaining one of the state’s lowest tax rates. This has always been a priority for the City of Sugar Land. The City is committed to excellence in the delivery of public services for current residents, as well as its future residents who live in the Greatwood and New Territory communities.

“Residents of New Territory and Greatwood will continue to receive the same quality services to which they are accustomed, and most will experience an overall annual savings and increased services in areas such as public safety, zoning, traffic control, regulatory oversight, street/sidewalk repair and comprehensive planning.

“Annexation will occur at no cost and no reduction of any city services to existing residents.”

Judge Sandill was first elected in 2008, re-elected 2012. He has his law degree from the University of Houston Law Center. He is the only official of south Asian descent who has been elected countywide by Harris County.

Right after law school he worked as a briefing attorney under Murry Cohen of the Texas First Court of Appeals.

He then went into civil private practice, representing both plaintiffs and defendants. He concentrated on commercial, appellate, and trade secret cases. He also did some criminal defense.

He has been active in many organizations such as being a fellow both of the Texas Bar Foundation and of the Houston Young Lawyers’ Foundation. He often speaks before groups

Performers Continued from Page 5 Kar then took the stage and talked about the mission of the fundraiser and thanked their family, friends and well wishers for their support and specially Lilli’s parents for being present at the occasion.

The first part of the show was a captivating dance drama, ‘Fisherman and his soul’ based on a French story by Oscar Wilde. The performers in the lead roles were Taylor High School students and the theme of the drama was very uplifting. Through the drama, one comes to the realization that a man and his soul are inseparable and love lives on spiritually and eternally forever and ever. Irena Wan’s portrayal of the soul is particularly worth mentioning. Most of the music put together by Satyajit and Keka Kar encompassed European, Latin, Arabic and Indian forms and was mesmerizing. Keka Kar deserves special recognition for directing the entire dance drama and choreographing some of the dance numbers.

Sunil Thakkar of Masala Radio fame got the crowd going with his funny Donald Trump impersonations and referral to the “The Fisherman” in the dance drama as “Mowgli in Mexico.”

He also conversed with the individual performers and commended them on

Judge Ravi Sandill on legal topics. He has been active in the Minority Opportunities in the Law Profession Committee. He received in 2015 the Public Sector Achievement Award from the University of Houston Law Center.

putting up a great performance.

The second half of the show belonged to ‘Kinjal’, a singing sensation, the winner of Zee Bangla Sa-Re-Ga Ma-Pa 2010. It was like a “homecoming” for him since he was in Houston to perform at the NABC 2015 last year. Houstonians fell in love with this young versatile singer when he first visited a couple of years back and have kept inviting him over and over again. He once again did ample justice to the high expectations by delivering music of all genres. In his words, “Performing music is like being a chef - catering to all tastes.” He stuck to the “theme of love” with a range of songs from the 60s to the present and then branched off to Rajasthani Mand (Thumri in folk style) with equal ease and expertise. His rendition of “Ek chatur naar” from Padosan was a major hit with the audience. He even had the confidence to sing a Kalaam sung originally by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and ghazals sung by Jagjit Singh. He ended on a high note with a striking medley of Bollywood dance numbers that got the audience dancing to the late hours of the night.

The crowd of approximately 700 was successful in raising about $5000 which got donated to the Lilli Curry Memorial Fund and thanks to the organizers for putting a thoughtful, convincing program together.

COMMUNITY

VOICE OF ASIA 7

Consul General ....reception Continued from Page 1 organizations and businesses, local and global - that are a valuable asset to the city Houston.

Highlighting India as the fastest growing economy in the world, he said, “We are beginning to see the growth of multinationals in the United States, and Houston has some of them.” A cross section of Indian corporations doing business in Houston, were presented to the Mayor through their representatives, each of whom gave a brief summary of their operation. Besides India’s multinationals, Dr. Ray said that small and medium businesses from India are starting to come into the Houston market.

Consul General Dr. Ray invited Mayor Turner to light the traditional Diwali lamp that symbolizes the dispelling of darkness, and joined him along with his wife and their son. Afterwards a few of the community leaders were invited to speak about community activities. Dr. Durga Agrawal, (India House), Ramesh Shah, (Ekal Vidhyalay), Murad Ajani, Partha Chatterjee (Durga Bari Society) and Abeezar Tyebji, CEO, Shipcom Wireless spoke briefly.

Rajarshi Gupta, Indian Oil Corporation-Videsh, said that energy is a cornerstone of the strong bond between the two nations: leading oil companies of India such as IOC, ONGC, and GAIL have set up and incorporated US companies to invest and pursue opportunities here. These companies also employ (directly or through their partners) local people. We are in for the long haul,” he added.

Rahul Chaturvedi representing Reliance Holding USA, Inc., a company that engages in production of natural gas and liquids from various shale deposits in the United States, is based in Houston. The company is investing billions of dollars on their current project building the largest carriers for transporting ethane gas from Houston to India. For the first time ever, six tankers are being built for the purpose. They have over 100 employees here.

Reliance is planning on opening their telecommunications business in Dallas, he said.

Jagdip Ahluwalia, Executive

Houston City Controller Chis Brown and his wife Divya with the hosts Dr. Anupam Ray and his wife Dr. Amit Goldberg.

Jagdip Ahluwalia, Exe.Dir., IACCGH, speaking on the occasion.

Director, Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACCGH) spoke about the Chamber’s role in fostering trade and commerce between the two nations. “India has opened opportunities to do joint healthcare research, for profit research between Texas Medical Center and the centers of excellence in India,” he said, acknowledging Consul General Ray’s vision and support in this direction. “He (Consul General) sees this as the next wave of business opportunity between India and Houston,” he added.

Others business from India who made impressive presentations were Joseph Alenchery of Infosys, Pooja Shah of Tata Communications and Hetal Shah of Mahindra. Arvindam Bhatacharya, representing Schlumberger, spoke of the company’s relationship with India.

In his message Mayor Turner said that building relationships was important and that he was plans to go on trade delegation to India in 2017. Speaking about Houston’s diversity, Mayor Turner said, “Diversity in reality is a descriptive term. Being inclusive is an action word.” He praised Dr. Ray for his dynamic role in moving India’s businesses to Houston.

Sanjay Ramabhadran, former president of IACCGH - who serves on METRO Board and is Chairperson of the Houston Mayor’s International Trade & Development Council (South Asia) - in his closing remarks told the Mayor (a known baseball fan) “The Cleveland Indians may have lost the World Series but the Indo-Americans in Greater Houston area consistently keep winning home runs.”

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FRIDAY, November 18, 2016

Asian Chamber’s Annual Meeting...Network Luncheon Continued from Page 1 mentioned that many of the Chamber’s members were volunteers of the rodeo. She urged members to continue their support to the rodeo and help with its ticket sales to provide scholarship funding for high school students and other educational programs.

Joel Cowley gave an insight of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (HLSR), starting with its history in 1920 when the cat- George Kurisky, Jr., administering the Oath of Office for 2017 Board. tle industry began to grow in Texas.

In 1931 it originally started as The Houston Fat Stock Show and Livestock Exposition and held its first show in Sam Houston Hall in Houston (1931). It offered free BBQ and impromptu rodeos, while also introducing the Brahman breed (imported from India), as what has become one of the most popular breeds of cattle. Today the HLSR has grown into an industry drawing a general attendance of 2.46 million, with a rodeo attendance of 1.34m in 2016. It has 33,000 volunteers in 107 committees and James Harris, HEB Director, speaking at the event. Photo by SM. over 30,000 total livestock and horse show entries. The HLSR Asian American entrepreneur cally and abroad for all Asian is committed to $430 million and philanthropist who scaled countries, as well as improving in scholarships this year. The new heightsby infusing Japa- the overall economic prosperRodeo starts from March 7–26, nese cuisine into HEB market. ity of Houston. The Chamber 2017 at NRG Park.

James Harris, HEB Director, hosts and supports numerous “It’s about the relationships; when you see the signage of the Chamber we are about the ROR, ‘return on relationships’ and relationships are formed when you ‘really get to know people and see people in different light,’ Toyota said recognizing Chamber’s members.

HEB, she said is among those members that the Chamber has had the opportunity to witness its growth over the years. She also shared the success story of Chambers member Glen Gonda, President and CEO, Sushi Inc. Houston’s leading

Diversity & Inclusion and Supplier Diversity spoke of HEB’s involvement in the community.

The Asian Chamber is about connecting those who are successful to help others to succeed, she said. Other sponsors and supporters were also recognized on the occasion.

The Asian Chamber of Commerce has been supporting the business community in Houston for 25 years. This Chamber is a diverse, multicultural group focused on increasing business with the Asian community lo-

activities around the city to encourage our members to develop lasting relationships.

Just announced, Thursday, March 23, 2017 is Asian Night at the Rodeo the Chamber. For $100, you will enjoy mingling and relaxing in the Chairman’s Club (private area, limited seats) with comfortable seating, a BBQ buffet and open bar and access to a private seating area to watch the rodeo with your colleagues and friends.

Visit www.asianchamber-hou. org/events for ticket info.

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VOICE OF ASIA 8

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VOICE OF ASIA 9

FRIDAY, November 18, 2016

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VOICE OF ASIA 10

First woman to fly China’s J-10 fighter killed in crash

B

EIJING, China | AFP | The first woman to fly China’s J-10 fighter plane was killed in a crash during an aerobatics training exercise, state-run media reported Monday.

Yu Xu, 30, a member of the Chinese air force’s “August 1st” aerobatic display team, ejected from her aircraft during a training exercise in the northern province of Hebei at the weekend, the China Daily newspaper said.

She hit the wing of another jet and was killed, it said, although her male co-pilot ejected safely and survived.

“As one of only four female pilots in the country capable of flying domestically made fighter jets, her death comes as a tremendous loss to the Chinese air force,” the Global Times newspaper said.

Yu, from Chongzhou in the southwestern province of Sichuan, joined the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force in 2005, reports said.

She graduated from training four years later, one of the first 16 Chinese women pilots

Yu Xu was one of the first 16 Chinese women pilots qualified to fly fighter jets. (AFP Photo) qualified to fly fighter jets, the China Daily said, and in July 2012 was the first woman to fly the J-10. Fans dubbed her the “golden peafowl”, it added.

Yu was seen as a pioneering trailblazer in a country which enshrines women’s rights but where traditional values are still widespread.

Users on the Twitter-like Weibo social media service posted pictures of candles in her memory, with thousands mourning her death.

“We praise her not as an in-

dividual, but for the spirit she transmitted to us, becoming the ideal vehicle for everyone’s hopes,” wrote one user.

Others raised questions about the crash. “Rather than stirring up emotion, the most important thing is to investigate why this accident occurred, was it a problem with the design problem in the fighter, or in the rules of operation, or in inadequate training,” wrote one.

“Only by ascertaining the causes can we ensure it doesn’t happen again.”

O

AK BROOK, IL, Nov. 16 – In recognition of South Asians across the United States, McDonald’s USA has revamped its Asian-American dedicated website, McDonaldsAPA.com, to feature vibrant South-Asian artwork and a new TV commercial depicting a young girl embracing her unique culture.

FRIDAY, November 18, 2016

McDonald’s Celebrates South Asian Culture with Latest Campaign Website revamp and new commercial explores themes of South Asian heritage and identity

“McDonald’s is proud to celebrate themes relevant to our South Asian customers,” said Sharmila Fowler, Marketing Director, McDonald’s USA. “The South Asian population is a growing and influential market, and we want to make sure our initiatives reflect this burgeoning audience. As a proud Indian American, I salute McDonald’s for dedicating efforts to honor our rich heritage.”

The South Asian population is on the rise, yielding a growth rate of over 69% between 2000 and 2010, and is marked as one of the fastest growing ethnic segments in the United States.1 The newly revamped website and marketing efforts are indicative of McDonalds’ ongoing dedication to address the cultural needs of its various ethnic audiences.

In addition to the website revamp, McDonald’s recently joined the South Asian community in New York at the annual Diwali at Times Square festival. McDonald’s partnered with

Screen grab of the South Asian Campaign. Image source: McDonaldsAPA.com beauty blogger Deepica Mutyala to launch a campaign titled #24HoursIndianAm, which let her Twitter fans decide the details of her day at the celebration. Deepica fulfilled the results, including what Diwalithemed dress and makeup she should wear, captured her visit to the McDonald’s-sponsored festival, and shared her experiences growing up as a South Asian in the United States. A special edition vlog featuring Deepica and her experiences at

the festival can be seen at McDonaldsAPA.com.

“We hope that McDonalds’ latest campaign inspires continued pride and celebration of all the things that make South Asian culture so beautiful,” said Neel Chapatwala, OwnerOperator, McDonald’s. “We encourage our customers to visit our website to stay up to the date on all of McDonalds’ efforts to continue addressing the needs of our Asian-American communities.”

Record 5 Indian-Americans set Myanmar media CEO detained to be elected to US Congress after column sparks lawsuit

W

ASHINGTON (AFP) - An unprecedented ‘desi’ wave hit the US general elections as a record number of five IndianAmericans were all set to be elected to the US Congress today.

can woman to accomplish this feat.

Indian-American women put up a good show in the 2016 elections, with Kamala Harris, 51, a two-term attorney general from California, creating history by winning the US Senate seat from the state.

Ro Khanna and Ami Bera were leading in the race for the House of Representatives from their districts in California.

Pramila Jayapal, 51, won the Congressional seat from Seattle to enter the House of Representatives, the first Indian-Ameri-

Jayapal would be joined in the House of Representatives

by Raja Krishnamoorthi, who made it to the highest citadel of democracy in their second attempt.

With 56 per cent of the votes counted in California’s Silicon Valley, Democratic Congressman Bera was leading with 54 per cent votes at 47,427, ahead of his Republican party rival Scott Jones who got 46 per cent

votes.

If elected for the third successive term, Bera would become the longest serving IndianAmerican Congressman ever.

Khanna, the democratic party candidate from California’s 17th District, was leading with 58 per cent votes at 50,952 after 72 per cent of the votes were counted.

His closest rival Mike Honda, also of the Democratic Party, had so far garnered 42 per cent of the votes.

Interestingly, the outgoing US President Barack Obama had endorsed Harris, Krishnamoorthi and Bera.

Y

ANGON, Myanmar | AFP -The head of a major Myanmar media group was detained on Friday after a minister sued him for writing an allegedly defamatory column about the politician and his ties to businessmen.

Than Htut Aung, CEO of the Eleven Media Group, which publishes a number of prominent newspapers and websites, was seen by an AFP photographer wearing handcuffs inside a Yangon police station on Friday.

Police did not respond to requests for information. But on Thursday investigators said they were seeking the media

mogul’s arrest after he failed to respond to a defamation summons.

In a column published on Monday, Than Htut Aung accused veteran democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi’s government of failing to tackle the country’s famously entrenched corruption and crony capitalism since winning elections last year.

The piece also referred to “social media stories” accusing a minister of wearing a $100,000 Patek Philippe watch allegedly given to him by a businessman who served jail time on drugs charges and later won plum contracts.

The minister and businessman were not named in the piece but both called press conferences to deny the allegations.

Announcing his plan to sue for defamation under the country’s broadly worded telecommunications law, Yangon chief minister Phyo Min Thein said the watch he wore was a more affordable Rolex and was a gift from his wife.

In a statement the Foreign Correspondents Club of Myanmar described the detention as “an attempt to intimidate the media from doing its job” adding the arrest set “an alarming precedent”.

Lifestyle VOICE OF ASIA

VOICE OF ASIA 11

ONLINE .COM voiceofasiaonline.com

Vol. 29 No. 46

Section 2

M

IAMI, (AFP)- Traces of skin, oil and grime left on your phone can reveal a lot about your lifestyle, and may some day serve as a “fingerprint� in criminal investigations, researchers said Monday.

FRIDAY, November 18, 2016

Email: voiceasia@aol.com

Tel: 713-774-5140

Traces of grime on your phone reveal your life story: study

a lot of time outdoors -- all kinds of things,� said study co-author Amina Bouslimani of the University of California, San Diego. “This is the kind of information that could help an investigator narrow down the search for an object’s owner.�

The study involved 39 volunteers who allowed scientists to swab their smart phones -- and right hands -- in several places.

Other applications could include criminal profiling, airport screening, medication adherence monitoring, and environmental exposure studies.

Researchers found a bounty of chemical information left behind on the devices

“You can imagine a scenario where a crime scene investigator comes across a personal object -- like a phone, pen or key -- without fingerprints or DNA, or with prints or DNA not found in the database,� said senior author Pieter Dorrestein, of the San Diego School of Medicine and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

These included anti-inflammatory and anti-fungal skin creams, hair loss treatments, anti-depressants and eye drops, according to the study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

They also found food molecules from citrus, caffeine, herbs and spices.

“They would have nothing to go on to determine who that belongs to. So we thought -- what if we take advantage of left-behind skin chemistry to tell us what kind of lifestyle this person has?�

Sunscreen ingredients and DEET mosquito repellant were detected months after they had last been used by the phone owners. “By analyzing the molecules they’ve left behind on their phones, we could tell if a person is likely female, uses high-end cosmetics, dyes her hair, drinks coffee, prefers beer over wine, likes spicy food, is being treated for depression, wears sunscreen and bug spray -- and therefore likely spends

The study was considered a “proof of concept� exercise, and more work is needed to refine the techniques for widespread use.

Tycoon hosts big, fat Indian wedding amid cash crunch

B

ANGALORE (AFP) - A controversial Indian mining tycoon has taken over a royal palace and flown in Brazilian dancers at a reported cost of $75 million to celebrate his daughter’s wedding on Wednesday, as the country reels from a cash crisis.

Up to 50,000 people are expected at the sprawling Bangalore Palace, a mock Tudor castle in southern India, to celebrate the wedding of Gali Janardhan Reddy’s daughter, who was married in a Hindu ceremony earlier in the day.

Local media criticised the extravagance at a time when many Indians are struggling to find the cash to buy food following the government’s shock move to pull high-value notes out of circulation in a bid to tackle tax evasion.

But one associate defended the lavish expenditure, saying Reddy wanted people to remember the wedding of his only daughter. “It is unfortunate that a

For now, the approach can only provide a general profile of person’s lifestyle, not a one-to-one match.

Your phone can reveal a lot about your lifestyle, and may some day serve as a “fingerprint� in criminal investigations.

(File Photo/AFP)

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the southern state of Karnataka, spent three years in jail for his alleged involvement in a mining scam before he was released on bail last year.

Speaking to journalists in his home town last week, he refused to reveal how much he was spending on the celebrations, but said everything would be declared to the tax

authorities.

ernment official.

Guests received their invitations on LCD devices and helium balloons featuring images of the Reddy family are reported to be floating above the palace.

“Reddy is spending from his pocket and not public money,�

Rao told AFP.

While some Bangalore residents were appalled at Reddy’s obscene display of wealth at a time of cash crunch, others were sympathetic. “What’s wrong in conducting a daughter’s wedding on a grand scale? The rich and wealthy do it regularly,� said Jayaprakash Rao, a retired gov-

Indian activist T. Narasimha Murthy put the cost of the wedding at five billion rupees (about $75 million), a figure that tallied with local media reports. “Reddy has hired about 3,000 bouncers and security guards to prevent media and activists like me from barging into the venue,� said Murthy, adding he had petitioned local tax authorities to investigate.

Mining baron Janardhan Reddy has made his point loud and clear by inviting people from the political spectrum (Photo:AFP) daughter’s wedding has been made an issue out of envy and rivalry,� Manju Swamy told AFP ahead of the party.

Indians can change a limited number of old notes for new ones at banks and post offices, but there have been huge queues since they reopened last Thursday after closing for a day following the announcement.

“It’s an important moment for her parents and they wanted to celebrate the event in a way that befits the family’s status in society.�

Indians rely heavily on cash for their daily transactions and those living in rural areas or who do not have bank accounts have been particularly hard hit.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced last week that 500 and 1,000 rupee ($7.50, $15) bills -- 85 percent of the cash in circulation -would cease to be legal tender.

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VOICE OF ASIA 12

Dubai opens canal in fresh boost for tourism, commerce

FRIDAY, November 18, 2016

Hollywood honors Japanese samurai actor Toshiro Mifune

D

UBAI, United Arab Emirates | AFP Dubai inaugurated a new canal Wednesday after a three-year construction project costing $735 million, in a fresh boost for tourism and commerce in the booming Gulf city state.

The Dubai Water Canal creates a 6.4-kilometre (four-mile) waterfront in the area running from the city’s growing Business Bay commercial district to the Gulf.

The waterway, between 80 and 120 metres (260-400 feet) in width, will “add a unique tourist and commercial showpiece” to the city, said the emirate’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) chief, Mattar al-Tayer.

RTA said three bridges were built and that the project would provide “a new residential district, tourist attractions and recreational facilities including several hotels, restaurants and entertainment”.

Rikiya Mifune, grandson of Toshiro Mifune (R), and his father Shiro Mifune attend the posthumous star ceremony for Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune in Hollywood, on November 14. (Photo: AFP)

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OS ANGELES (afp)Hollywood celebrated the life of legendary Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune on Monday, honoring him with a star on its iconic Walk of Fame two decades after his death.

It will add a new shopping centre, four hotels and 450 restaurants to the city, according to local media.

Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum attended the canal’s grand official opening ceremony, as the city state which attracted 14 million tourists in 2015 aims for 25 million visitors a year by 2020 when it hosts the global trade fair Expo 2020.

In 2013, Sheikh Mohammed, who is also the Gulf country’s vice-president and prime minister, promised that the water

The waterway will “add a unique tourist and commercial showpiece” to the city. (Photo: AFP) canal will be Dubai and the UAE’s “biggest landmark.”

gathered at its banks as fireworks lit up the sky.

Following a spectacular show of acrobats and dancers, he boarded a boat with his guests and sailed in the canal towards the commercial centre amid applause from inhabitants who

The emirate is also working on a skyscraper that when completed will stand even higher than its Burj Khalifa -- the world’s tallest tower at 823 metres (2,700 feet).

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Mifune rose to stardom throughAkira Kurosawa’s classics, including “Rashomon” (1950) and “Seven Samurai” (1954), with masculine portrayals of powerful warlords that earned him a reputation as the world’s best samurai actor.

He died in Tokyo at that age of 77 in 1997. He had been mostly confined to his home since suffering a heart attack five years earlier.

His death shocked Japan’s cinema industry, which took pride in him as its most presentable actor in international cinema, fondly calling him “Mifune of the world.”

Kurosawa cast Mifune in leading roles in all but one of 17 films he made between 1948 and 1965. “Rashomon,” in which Mifune played a cynical bandit, won the Grand Prix award at the 1951 Venice Film Festival.

Mifune played a peasantturned samurai leading farmers’ resistance against bandits in “Seven Samurai,” which inspired two Western remakes, both titled “The Magnificent Seven” (1960 and 2016).

Born in Qingdao, China, on April 1, 1920, to a photographic

A man dressed as a Samurai poses during the posthumous star ceremony for Toshiro Mifune in Hollywood studio owner, Mifune joined film company Toho Co. in 1946 after serving six years in an Imperial Japanese Army aerial photography unit during World War II.

war.

He left assets of 630 million yen (then $5.4 million), according to local tax officials.

He appeared in around 170 feature films, including such foreign productions as Terence Young’s “Red Sun” (1972) and Steven Spielberg’s “1941” (1979).

“My grandfather passed away when I was nine so the memories I have of him are mainly as a grandfather figure, but I remember him as a gentleman at home,” said his grandson, the actor Rikiya Mifune.

He also starred in the 1980 popular US television mini-series “Shogun,” based on James Clavell’s bestselling book.

“He would talk in a gruff and manly manner and always have perfect posture, like a true samurai, even at home.”

Mifune’s last role on the silver screen was in “Fukai Kawa (Deep River)” in 1995, in which he portrayed a man tortured to the last moment of his life by his experience eating one of his comrades during

His life is the subject of documentary “Mifune: The Last Samurai,” screened at the American Film Institute’s AFI Fest this year. It is set to be released in US theaters on December 2.

Read on Leisure & Lifestyle Visit us online Visit: www. voiceofasiaonline.com

HEALTH, SC & TECH

VOICE OF ASIA 13

60 per cent of under-5 deaths linked to 10 nations in Asia, Africa

K

UALA LUMPUR Sixty per cent of the world’s 5.9 million children who died before their fifth birthday last year were in 10 countries in Asia and Africa, said a study published on Friday, prompting calls for action to reduce the mortality.

The two leading causes were complications due to premature birth and pneumonia, according to researchers from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School Of Public Health, London School Of Hygiene And Tropical Medicine and World Health Organisation.

The researchers said child survival has improved substantially, although countries failed to meet the United Nations Mil-

‘Make love, not CO2’, climate protesters demand

M

ARRAKECH, Morocco | AFP |- Thousands of Moroccans and foreigners marched on Marrakesh Sunday to demand “climate justice” from global envoys gathered for UN talks on staving off worst-case-scenario global warming.

“It is an international march for all the people who suffer the results of climate change, yet had no role in causing it,” said Mohamed Leghtas of a Moroccan climate coalition of environment, human rights and labour groups.

The study published in The Lancet medical journal said the data highlights the inequality in children’s death among the 194 countries studied, even though the number of under-five deaths has fallen by four million, compared to 2010.

Of the 5.9 million deaths last year, 3.6 million happened in 10 Asian and African countries - India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, China, Angola, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Tanzania.

FRIDAY, November 18, 2016

“Climate change is a triple injustice: committed by the north against the south, by current generations against future ones, and by a minority which enriches itself from fossil fuel energy against the poor who are left to pick up the pieces,” he told AFP. The two leading causes were complications due to premature birth and pneumonia, according to researchers from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School Of Public Health, London School Of Hygiene And Tropical Medicine and World Health Organisation. Photo: The Straits Times lennium Development Goal to cut the rate of under-five deaths by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015.

MDG target.

The rate fell by 53 per cent over the period.

Under the Sustainable Development Goals, which replaced the MDGs last year, all countries aim to reduce underfive mortality to no more than

The slow progress to reduce newborn deaths - in the first 28 days of life - hampered the

Of the 5.9 million under-five deaths in 2015, 2.7 million were newborns.

25 deaths per 1,000 births by 2030.

The researchers recommended breastfeeding, vaccines for pneumonia, malaria and diarrhoea, as well as improving water and sanitation to help with children’s survival.

Native Peruvians, Berber groups and African associations formed part of the procession which snaked through the city, brandishing placards reading: “Make love, not CO2,” and “1.5 C to stay alive.”

The latter refers to the goals of the climate rescue Paris Agreement concluded at the previous round of UN talks in the French capital in 2015, and

set the goal of limiting global warming to two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), or 1.5 C if possible.

“We are here to demand respect and to urge the world to commit to cutting greenhouse gases,” blamed for warming the planet, added Antolin Huascar of Peru’s agricultural confederation.

The protest took place on the sidelines of the 22nd Conference of Parties of the UN’s climate convention, COP22 for short, which runs until November 18.

Diplomats must negotiate rules for putting the hardfought Paris Agreement’s goals into action.

On Tuesday, they will be joined by dozens of African heads of state, French President Francois Hollande and UN chief Ban Ki-moon.

“People must fight for their rights and not count on governments are under pressure from multinational corporations,” Khadija Riadi, a Moroccan human rights defender told AFP at the march.

“There can be no climate justice without respect for human rights.”

Things to know about bio-drugs Scientists fear the worst under a Trump presidency as Samsung unit goes public

by Jean-Louis Santini

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ARIS, FRANCE | AFP | - Samsung BioLogics, whose shares made their debut on the Seoul stock market in an IPO Thursday, is the biopharmaceutical manufacturing unit of South Korean giant Samsung.

billion in 2016, according to EvaluatePharma, a British biotech and pharma analysis firm.

They are expected to become cheaper and more widespread in coming years.

It aims to become a world leader in the outsourced production of biologic drugs.

Many pharmaceutical firms outsource biologics production which requires specialised sites able to respect extremely stringent quality and security norms.

What are biologic drugs?

Bio-drugs have been at the heart of innovation in many areas of treatment, notably for cancer, infectious diseases, auto-immunity and cardio-vascular illnesses.

They are created in a biotechnology process from cell cultures combined with gene technology. Unlike synthetic chemical drugs, their building blocks come from live cultures.

They are difficult and costly to make, but their share in the global pharma market is growing. They are projected to reach sales of $278 billion by 2020, 27 percent of the sector’s overall sales, compared to $200

Why contract out bio-production?

Bio-tech startups typically lack the necessary funds to produce the drugs in-house, while large pharma groups like outsourcing because it allows them to save on fixed costs, a “critical long term goal for Big Pharma”, according to Visiongain, a London-based research firm.

Outsourcing active ingredients for bio-drugs is still a limited market -- estimated at three to four billion dollars worldwide in 2015 -- but forecasters predict it will grow by more than eight percent annually over the next five to 10 years.

Who are the main players?

Some 80 firms are present in the market, with a few dominant players, notably Switzerland’s Lonza and Germany’s Boehringer Ingelheim via its BioXcellence unit. Both have long experience in the sector.

Like Boehringer Ingelheim, other big pharmaceutical companies including Novartis, GSK and Pfizer also have their own outsourcing entities.

Being both a pharmaceutical company and a contract manufacturing organisation is a winning formula as “there is a lot of interaction between the customer and the producer” in the biotechnology world: the customers “don’t just say ‘make me an API (active pharmaceutical ingredient), here’s the recipe’,” one industry source told AFP. Founded in 2011, Samsung BioLogics is currently building its third factory in South Korea with the aim of becoming the world’s biggest biopharmaceutical sub-contractor in terms of capacity by the end of 2018.

W

ASHINGTON (AFP) - From the fight against climate change to dwindling budgets for research, the US scientific community fears the worst under Donald Trump, seen by many as the most hostile to science of any American president in history.

Trump will be “the first antiscience president we have ever had,” warned Michael Lubell, director of public affairs for the American Physical Society in Washington, in the British journal Nature.

“The consequences are going to be very, very severe.”

Meanwhile, the vice president-elect, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, is an ultraconservative and a creationist who has rejected Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, the foundation of modern biology.

“There’s a fear that the scientific infrastructure in the US is going to be on its knees,” said Robin Bell, a geophysicist at Columbia University and incoming president-elect of the American Geophysical Union.

“Everything from funding to being able to attract the global leaders we need to do basic science research.”

A key worry is how the New York billionaire declared climate change to be “hoax” orchestrated by the Chinese, and vowed to withdraw from the Paris climate accord.

“If Trump makes good on his campaign promises and pulls out of the Paris Treaty, it is difficult to see a path forward to keeping warming below dangerous levels,” said Michael Mann, director of the Earth System Science Center (ESSC) at Pennsylvania State

University.

The United States is the second largest emitter of greenhouse gasses after China.

For John Abraham, professor of engineering at University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, the election of Trump “has cost us at least a decade” in the fight against global warming.

“I study ocean warming and energy balances of the Earth,” he told AFP. “The data is staring us right in the face. We could not afford this election result.

“The only way we can avoid serious climate change is to rapidly implement Obama’s work,” he added.

Early in October, nearly 400 scientists including 30 Nobel laureates wrote an open letter, criticizing Trump’s proposed plans to abandon global climate deals.

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VOICE OF ASIA 14

FRIDAY, November 18, 2016

HEALTHY LIVING VOICE OF ASIA

Section 2

Email: voiceasia@aol.com

Cancer to kill 5.5 mn women a year by 2030: report

by Mariëtte Le Roux ancer will kill 5.5 million women -- about the population of Denmark -- per year by 2030, a near 60-percent increase in less than two decades, a report said Tuesday.

Deaths, however, were proportionally much higher in low- and middleincome countries with reduced access to diagnosis and treatment. The countries with the highest death rate were Zimbabwe, Malawi, Kenya, Mongolia and Papua New Guinea.

As the global population grows and ages, the highest toll will be among women in poor and middle-income countries, it said, and much of it from cancers which are largely preventable.

Breast and lung cancer are the two most common types in both rich and poor nations, with colorectal cancer the number three killer in developed countries, and cervical cancer in less developed ones.

“Most of the deaths occur in youngand middle-aged adults,”, placing a heavy burden on families and national economies, said Sally Cowal, senior vice president of global health at the American Cancer Society, which compiled the report with pharmaceutical company Merck.

Cervical cancer can be staved off by vaccination against the cancer-causing Human papillomavirus (HPV), and can be easily detected through regular Papanicolaou (pap) test screens.

C

The review “highlights the large geographic inequality in availability of resources and preventive measures and treatment to combat the growing burden of cancer,” she told AFP. Cancer is already killing one in seven women around the world, said the report -- the second highest cause of death after cardiovascular disease.

All four of the deadliest cancers -breast, colorectal, lung and cervical cancer -- are mostly preventable or can be detected early, when treatment is more successful.

In poorer countries, a much smaller proportion of cancer cases are diagnosed and treated than in rich ones, while a much bigger group dies.

The relative burden is growing for developing countries as people live longer due to better basic healthcare.

Women in these countries are also increasingly exposed to known cancer risk factors “associated with rapid economic transition,” said Cowal, “such as physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, obesity, and reproductive factors” such as postponing motherhood.

“Due to these changes, cancers that were once common only in highincome countries are becoming more prevalent,” said the report entitled “The Global Burden of Cancer in Women.”

“Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in 140 countries worldwide and cervical cancer is the most common in 39 countries, all of which are LMICs (low- and medium-income countries),” said the report.

It said the global economic burden of cancer for both genders was about $286 billion (261 billion euros) in 2009, including costs for treatment and care, and loss of workforce productivity.

Trump doesn’t rule out ‘amended’ Obamacare: WSJ

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EW YORK, | AFP | 11/11/2016 - US Presidentelect Donald Trump said he will consider an “amended” version of President Barack Obama’s signature health care law -- a shift in position after repeatedly vowing on the campaign trail that he would repeal the measure.

Trump explained in an interview with The Wall Street Journal published Friday that his shift came after White House talks Thursday with Obama, who asked him to consider preserving parts of the Affordable Care Act.

It was presented Tuesday at the World Cancer Congress in Paris.

“Either Obamacare will be amended, or repealed and replaced,” Trump told the newspaper.

According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, there were 6.7 million new cancer cases and 3.5 million deaths among women worldwide in 2012.

“I told him I will look at his suggestions, and out of respect, I will do that.”

Of these, 56 percent of cases and 64 percent of deaths were in less developed countries.

“These numbers are expected to increase to 9.9 million cases and 5.5 million deaths among females annually by 2030 as a result of the growth and ageing of the population,” said the new report.

- Regional differences The biggest concentration is in eastern Asia, with 1.7 million cases and a million deaths in 2012, mainly in China.

The report said the highest ratio of cancer cases per population group are still reported in high-income countries in Europe, the Americas and Asia, but this was partly due to better access to screening and detection.

Trump’s repeated attacks on the law were a central focus of his campaign, during which he used it to needle rival Hillary Clinton as insurance premiums rose for some enrollees, especially in battleground states.

But, while the ACA has faced unanimous Republican opposition since its enactment in 2010, the question of they could replace it has remained unanswered. About 20 million Americans have gained health insurance under the law, reducing the share of the public without coverage to below 10 percent, the lowest level recorded.

According to The Journal, Trump said he favored maintaining a prohibition on insurance companies denying consumers coverage based due to socalled pre-existing conditions. Before the law took effect, insurers had been able to refuse to cover people who had previously suffered almost any illness.

Tobacco linked to 40 percent of US cancers

M

IAMI, United States | AFP | 11/10/2016 - Tobacco use remains the most preventable cause of cancer, and 40 percent of diagnosed US cancer cases may have a link to its use, health authorities said Thursday.

Lung cancer, acute myeloid leukemia, and tumors of the mouth and throat, voice box, esophagus, stomach, kidney, pancreas, liver, bladder, cervix, colon and rectum are all caused by tobacco use, according the report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“There are more than 36 million smokers in the US,” said CDC director Tom Frieden in a statement.

“Sadly, nearly half could die prematurely from tobacco-related illnesses, including six million from cancer, unless we implement the programs that will help smokers quit.”

The CDC Vital Signs report found that every year from 2009 to 2013, about 660,000 people in the United States were diagnosed with a cancer related to tobacco use.

About 343,000 people died each year from smoking-related cancers.

“Three in ten cancer deaths were due to cigarette smoking,” said the report.

Lung cancer is the top cause of tobacco related smoking, followed by colon cancer and pancreatic cancer.

Cigarette-smoking is on the decline, down from 21 percent (45.1 million) of the US population in 2005 to 15 percent (36.5 million) in 2015.

This is the lowest point for cigarette smoking since data began to be collected in 1965.

Since 1990, about 1.3 million tobacco-related cancer deaths have been avoided, the CDC added.

Trump also said he was not opposed to requiring insurers to allow children to remain on their parents’ insurance policies until the age of 26, a key Obamacare tenet.

Republican lawmakers have previously said they favor such policies.

The law is a flagship achievement of Obama’s presidency and he vetoed Republican legislation last year which would have gutted central provisions of it, such as eliminating programs and subsidies that ensure coverage for poor and lower income Americans.

The Congressional Budget Office found in 2015 that the Republican measure would have increased the number of people without insurance by 22 million, a large share of whom would be children. The measure would have reduced government spending in the short term but resulted in a budgetary drain beginning in 2026.

Tel: 713-774-5140

Trump hedges on health care, points to ‘amending’ ACA Donald Trump doesn’t have any background in health care policy, and throughout the presidential campaign, he never demonstrated any interest in learning the basic details. The Republican knew he hated “Obamacare” – though it was never altogether clear why – and committed to the law’s repeal, but beyond that, Trump’s position was largely hollow.

At one point, pressed on his specific position, Trump vowed to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act with “something terrific” – without making any effort to explain what that “something” might be or how it’d be “terrific.”

Today, Trump talked to the Wall Street Journal, where the president-elect said something about health care that’s quite a bit different from his previous rhetoric.

President-elect Donald Trump said that, after conferring with President Barack Obama, he would consider leaving in place certain parts of the Affordable Care Act, an indication of possible compromise after a campaign in which he pledged repeatedly to repeal the 2010 health law.

In his first interview since his election earlier this week, Mr. Trump said one priority was moving “quickly” on the president’s signature health initiative… Yet, Mr. Trump also showed a willingness to preserve at least two provisions of the health law after the president asked him to reconsider repealing it during their meeting at the White House on Thursday.

Specifically, Trump talked about keeping protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions and allowing young adults to remain on their family plans until they’re 26.

The president-elect told the Journal, “I like those very much.”

Trump went on to say that, as part of his lengthy meeting with the president, Obama pointed to specific provisions of the ACA that are worth preserving. “I told him I will look at his suggestions, and out of respect, I will do that,” Trump said, adding that the law “will be amended, or repealed and replaced.”

You’ll notice that “amended” is a new addition to Trump’s health care vernacular.

It’s a safe bet that his WSJ interview will not be popular with Republicans, especially his “I like those very much” rhetoric with regards to popular provisions of the reform law.

This is also an interesting reminder that Obama can be pretty persuasive, and when he met with Trump at the White House, the president must have made a com-

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pelling pitch.

But here’s the part of the story worth watching in the months ahead: the Affordable Care Act is built on a series of measures that rely on counter-balances. For every popular element that people like and want to keep (protections for pre-existing conditions, tax breaks for small businesses, lowering prescription-drug costs, coverage for young adults, etc.), there are unpopular elements that are unfortunately necessary (individual mandate, cost-saving provisions, some tax hikes, etc.).

Obviously, if it were possible to create a system with only the stuff people like, with none of the stuff people don’t like, Democrats would’ve gladly passed that bill years ago. But complex policymaking doesn’t work that way in reality – and the popular provisions are, in practical sense, made possible through unpopular parts.

It’s easy to imagine Obama and Trump having a conversation in which the president focused on the positives, and Trump thought they all sounded pretty good. It’s equally easy to imagine it slowly dawning on Trump that if he screws over millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions – and strips young adults of their coverage, and makes seniors pay more for medication, and reimposes annual and lifetime caps, etc. – that’s a sizable group of registered voters.

Welcome to the health care debate, Mr. President-elect. It’s a lot more complicated than you probably realized.

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VOICE OF ASIA 15

Section 2

Email: voiceasia@aol.com

Novel idea? Browsing through a ‘Human Library’

S

Sitting in a salon getting her hair done, the hairstylist pointed to a tiny bald patch on her head, about the size of a thumbprint.

The hairstylist asked: Had she knocked her head against something, causing the hair to stop growing there?

See Ting was my first “book”, or speaker, at the Human Library. The one-day event on Sunday (Oct 30) was built around the concept of breaking down barriers between people through frank conversation. Instead of borrowing books, we showed up to “borrow” people we would not normally interact with and ask them anything in 25-minute “reading” sessions.

At my second reading session, there were eight of us, huddled around a table like many others around us. We had borrowed Sazzad Hossain’s time, and the clock was ticking away.

“Let’s have a two-way dialogue,” Sazzad announced, once everyone was seated. “I don’t want to be the only one talking. Let’s all introduce ourselves.”

His eyes sharp and searching and his smile broad, he commanded the attention of the table easily. This was clearly a person used to speaking in front of a crowd.

One by one, we introduced ourselves, taking turns to state our names and occupations.

Like the summaries at the backs of books, these details outlined who we were without giving any of our plots away.

Then it was Sazzad’s turn. He explained that his family was from Bangladesh, that he came to Singapore when he was 11 and that he was now a Singapore citizen serving national service.

Since junior college, the 22year-old has also been juggling his commitments with running SDI Academy, a social enterprise that helps migrant workers improve their English and offers training for computer skills.

Sazzad, a Singaporean born in Bangladesh. (Photo: Shawn Lim) Where he lived in Lakeside, there was a large migrant worker population. Some workers he encountered frequently took to him like a brother, buying him coffee and telling him about their struggles in Singapore, unable to communicate simple things like their ailments to a doctor.

To help a few friends overcome these daily obstacles, Sazzad agreed to run a small, informal English class for them. Now his academy has 900 students and expects to hit 1,000 by December.

At one point, a girl beside me picked up a card from the table, meant to be used as prompts in case the conversation ran dry. “What would you tell Singaporeans if you could?” she asked, reading the question from the card.

As he replied, she put the card back in the stack on the table. That was the first and last time anyone used it. It was as though with that first question, a dam had broken.

The book was open, and we

by Mariëtte Le Roux

Pneumonia was the leading killer in five of them, all in Africa: Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Tanzania, said a study published in The Lancet medical journal.

See Ting could not recall.

RIVETING READS

Bulk of world’s child deaths in just 10 countries: study ARIS, FRANCE | AFP - Sixty percent of the 5.9 million children under five who died last year were in just 10 countries in Africa and Asia, an evaluation of global infant health revealed Friday.

INGAPORE | AFP - It was her boyfriend’s sister’s wedding and 20year-old Chan See Ting wanted to look good.

It was only when more spots started appearing all over her head over the next few weeks that she started to panic.

Tel: 713-774-5140

P

by Melissa Zhu

Young, cheerful and outgoing, she did not think much of it at first. She told her boyfriend about the incident, and he agreed there was a small spot there but said it did not seem like anything major.

FRIDAY, November 18, 2016

At the Human Library, you borrow people instead of books and hear their stories. (Photo: AFP) could not stop flipping.

CATCHING DREAMS Mitz spends her Sundays running the Dream Catchers, a group that aims to raise awareness of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) community among Filipino workers in Singapore.

They practise singing and dancing, and every year they have a pageant to showcase their talents. The S$1,000 prize money is cobbled together from the group’s members, who number about 100.

The soft-spoken foreign domestic worker started working here 14 years ago and met her girlfriend at a beauty pageant for overseas Filipino workers in Singapore.

While she described her relationship with her current employer as very good and supportive, she struggles with homesickness, she said.

In December, she will make an annual journey back home.

She looks forward to taking her family out to eat and to planning outings together.

One day, perhaps in the next five years, she hopes to start a small food business or teach children back home.

Mitz was my third and final book, and this time, the details did not flow quite as freely.

The conversation stopped, then started, then stopped again.

But it was also a lot to ask, for someone to open up the most intimate details of their lives to a bunch of strangers in 25 minutes.

Perhaps, I thought, like books, some people have heavier, more impenetrable covers shielding the volumes they have inside.

TACKLING TIONS

ASSUMP-

My triptych of reading sessions gave me just a glimpse into the many tentative human connections made at The Red Box at Somerset on Sunday.

Over six hours, the Human Library saw 400 participants attending up to three reading sessions by 48 books each.

Lead organisers Kelly Ann Zainal, a mental health researcher, and Ajith Isaac Amrithraj, a PhD student at the National University of Singapore’s School of Medicine, told me they did not anticipate the popularity of the event.

“We initially targeted 150 participants but after the event page went up on Facebook, we quickly got about 1,000 people interested and 700 people signed up in weeks, so we had to close registration early,” Kelly recalled. The Facebook event page was started on Aug 27 and registration closed on Sep 10, almost two months before the event.

Asked why they thought the project was so popular, the organisers pointed to the novelty of confronting labels and the traction certain social issues had been gaining in the media.

“The irony here is that we’re trying to address labels, but at the same time we’re giving labels to people,” Ajith said. “But the difference here is that some of these are labels that people

choose to have; they form part of their identity and they own these labels and it empowers some of them ... The conditions that you’re with are the conditions that you have, and you live with it.

“I think some people wanted to come and see the two sides of it, giving people labels and at the same time trying to address them - how does that happen? I think it was curiosity.”

Kelly said: “In the recent past, there have been a lot of issues coming up in the media, about mental health, migrant worker rights ... So these issues are still very fresh on everyone’s minds. Then people hear about this event, where everything is kind of all-in-one - many, many different kinds of people who get to hear about so many different stories.”

Kelly and Ajith said they were inspired to pull their team of 46 organisers and volunteers together after attending a smaller Human Library event at a university in Singapore.

With their Human Library, the organisers wanted to encourage conversations between people from different backgrounds.

QR

tackle some of the assumptions that you had,” Kelly said.

Ajith added: “Here is a platform where you can ask those harder questions which you were shy about asking (because) you didn’t want to offend the person, but you’re asking from a place purely out of curiosity.

I think that’s essentially it - we just want people to have those kinds of conversations which you can’t normally have.”

The organisers said they are looking to run the next Human Library event in the first quarter of next year, although details are not firmed up yet.

KIND QUESTIONS For See Ting, now 24, sharing her story of struggling with alopecia - a rare disease that causes the immune system to attack the hair follicles, causing them to fall off - gives her strength.

“Even though it’s not pretty, even though it is still the process of struggling and it’s still messy, I think talking about it would actually bring clarity.”

In August last year, she took the brave step of publishing a public Facebook post about her condition to crowdsource for a support group of others like her.

It went viral, amassing more than 15,000 shares to date.

In Bangladesh, Indonesia, India and Pakistan, the main cause of death was preterm birth complications -- also the global leader -- while in China birth defects claimed most of the children who never made their fifth birthday.

“Accelerated investment in child survival is imperative,” to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the authors wrote.

These targets include an under-five mortality rate of no more than 25 per 1,000 births in every country by 2030.

The worst-performing countries today lose more than 90 children under five per 1,000 live births, said the researchers, citing including Angola, Central African Republic, Chad, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Somalia.

The team recommended “the uptake of breastfeeding, providing vaccines for pneumonia, malaria and diarrhoea, and improving water and sanitation,” to prevent child deaths in the worst-afflicted nations of the world.

In countries with low death rates such as the United States and Russia with fewer than 10 per 1,000 births, the causes were very different -- mainly birth defects, complications from preterm delivery, and injuries such as stove burns, car accidents or drowning.

The study said nearly half -- 2.7 million -- of the 5.9 million children lost last year died within their first 28 days.

by the UN’s World Health Organization and the Bill & Melinda Gates philanthropic organisation.

Globally, four million fewer under-five children died in 2015 than in 2000, the researchers found.

- Unequal progress This represented a 53-percent decline -- short of the two-thirds reduction target for 1990-2015 set in the Millennium Development Goals which preceded the SDGs. The slowest progress, said the new study, was in reducing newborn deaths.

“Child survival has improved substantially since the Millennium Development Goals were set,” the study’s lead author Li Liu of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said.

“The problem is that this progress is uneven across all countries, meaning a high child death rate persists in many countries.”

In a comment on the study, also published by The Lancet, Peter Byass of the Umea Centre for Global Research in Sweden said it was an indictment that researchers had to rely on estimates and not real, recorded numbers.

Only a small proportion of under-five deaths are properly documented, especially in poor countries.

“Despite the global information revolution -- resulting in a single modern 256 GB laptop having enough capacity to hold a 250-character record on each of the 670 million under-five children in the world, with space left over for full details of each of the six million annual underfive deaths -- such data are simply neither collected nor available,” he wrote.

“That six million underfive children continue to die every year in our 21st century world is unacceptable, but even worse is that we seem collectively unable to count, and hence be accountable for, most of those individual deaths.”

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OS ANGELES - Hun- land, reflecting the emotions dreds of students in that are still running high one several US states, in- week after Trump’s presidential cluding California and Mary- win. land, walked out of classrooms B&J Auto Care & Sales on Monday to protestAuto Donald The protest Angerepair (Collision repair in (allLos insurance), Trump’s election as president. les took place despite calls Mechanical (Brakes, Oil change, by school for students not • Used Car Sales Engine andofficials Transmission) Students east Tires Los Angeles,Blessy to walk out of classes and to • Used &inNew 281-323-9315 some of them carrying signs• 3242 that 5th findStother ways TX to express • Great Service , Stafford - 77477their read “Rise Up” and “Together anger at the election result.

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VOICE OF ASIA 16

FRIDAY, November 18, 2016

Bollywood -Hollywood

Section 2

Email: editor@voiceofasiaonline.com

Tel: 713-774-5140

Hollywood worries about Trump as stars honor Jackie Chan

by Frankie TAGGART

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OS ANGELES, | AFP | - Action movie star Jackie Chan accepted an honorary Oscar on Saturday as Hollywood A-listers sounded a cautionary note over President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in the polls.

Left-leaning Tinseltown overwhelmingly backed Democrat Hillary Clinton in the race for the White House, and stars at the Academy’s glitzy Governors Awards told AFP of their dismay at her defeat.

Asked to compare the night’s honoree with Trump, double Oscar-winner Tom Hanks told AFP: “Jackie Chan has the wisdom of the East and the discipline of a master martial artist.”

After a lengthy pause, he

added: “Our president-elect has a big responsibility and much to prove.”

For “Big Bang Theory” star Simon Helberg, who plays engineer Howard Wollowitz on the hit comedy series, Trump’s victory in Tuesday’s election was “a terrible moment for the world”.

The 35-year-old, who starred alongside Hugh Grant and Meryl Streep in “Florence Foster Jenkins”, said change was needed but hoped a Trump presidency wouldn’t “damage our future”.

“The truth is not enough people showed up and that’s what we have to listen to. I hope that we can squash the violence and the bigotry, and whatever else this has unleashed before it gets out of hand,” he told AFP.

Andre Royo, best known for starring as a heroin addict in HBO crime drama series “The Wire”, said he was feeling “stressed out” by the prospect of a Trump White House.

“But I think we took for granted our perception of our country,” Royo told AFP. “I think we were a little delusional and a little naive... and now we got reminded that we’ve got work to do and growing to do, as a culture.”

Chan, known for his comic timing and acrobatic fighting style, has appeared in around 200 movies since becoming a child actor in his native Hong Kong in the 1960s.

- Global star His Hollywood breakthrough came with “Rumble in the Bronx” in 1996, and he

Ranveer Singh, Vaani Kapoor’s ‘Befikre’ to premiere at Dubai International Film Festival

Jackie Chan poses with his Honorary Oscar Award during the 8th Annual Governors Awards in Hollywood, California (AFP Photo/Robyn Beck) has gone on to be become a global star through the “Rush Hour” movies, “Shanghai Noon”, “The Karate Kid” and the “Kung Fu Panda” series of animated films.

The 62-year-old -- who shared a table with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone -- left politics out of an unscripted acceptance speech.

But he roused Hollywood’s Ray Dolby Ballroom with an anecdote about realizing how badly he wanted an Academy Award after going to Stallone’s house 23 years earlier and touching, kissing and smelling the American actor’s Oscar statuette.

“After 56 years in the film industry, making more than

200 films -- I broke so many bones -- finally this is mine!”

Chan, who performed many of his own daring stunts, said of his Oscar.

working in casting in the mid1950s and has signed up talent for more than 200 films, including “The Graduate”, “Deliverance” and “Tootsie”.

Film editor Anne Coates, casting director Lynn Stalmaster and documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman were also awarded statuettes at the Academy’s 8th Annual Governors Awards.

Wiseman, 86, has made a film almost every year since 1967, starting with the “Titicut Follies”, which went behind the scenes at Bridgewater State Hospital for the criminally insane.

Coates, who is 90 and lives in England, was honored for a 60-year career that has seen her collaborating with some of the industry’s most acclaimed directors, including with David Lean on “Lawrence of Arabia”.

The Governors Awards were created as a separate event in 2009 to allow more space for the honorees to accept their statuettes and to unclutter the main show’s packed schedule.

Stalmaster, 88, a one-time stage and screen actor from Omaha, Nebraska, began

Previous winners of honorary Oscars include Lauren Bacall, Francis Ford Coppola, Oprah Winfrey, Angelina Jolie and Spike Lee.

Indian Idol is back, will follow old format sans any script

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OLKATA, PTI - Nov. 14 - The ninth edition of reality TV show ‘Indian Idol’ which brings back Anu Malik, Sonu Nigam and Farah Khan is following the old format but without any script.

Ranveer Singh And Vaani Kapoor in Befikre

D

UBAI: Aditya Chopra’s directorial venture ‘Befikre’, starring Ranveer Singh and Vaani Kapoor, will have its world premiere at the 13th edition of the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF).

The Hindi romantic comedy will be the red carpet gala of the Festival’s celebrations on December 8.

Shot entirely in Paris, ‘Befikre’ is a progressive, fresh interpretation of love as viewed in the 21st century.

‘Befikre’, which means carefree in English is a free

spirited,contemporary love story of Dharam (Ranveer) and Shyra (Vaani), who find love in an impulsive, engaging series of experiences.

“The World Premiere of the eagerly anticipated ‘Befikre’ from Yash Raj Films and directed by the incredibly talented Aditya Chopra following a hiatus of seven years is a major scoop for DIFF. “This refreshing new film will appeal not just to the expatriate community but also to Arabs who have a strong affinity for Bollywood films,” Abdulhamid Juma, DIFF Chairman said in a statement.

Nelson D’souza, Yash Raj Films, Head of Operations Mena said: “Yash Raj Films and DIFF have a long history and we’re privileged and honored to have been a part of this remarkable journey with DIFF from the beginning. We’re delighted that the Festival has selected ‘Befikre’ as it is a film very close to our hearts...”

DIFF has already showcased YRF films like ‘Kabul Express’, ‘Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year’ and ‘Ladies vs Ricky Bahl’.

The festival runs from December 7 to December 14.

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“We have retained the same format, the judges are the original trio which was the most popular so far. Only the participating singers will be new. It will bring back lot of nostalgia from the first season in 2004,” Khan told reporters here.

When asked whether the judges follow a script for the popular show aired on Sony Entertainment Television, the choreographer-turned-director said everything they say and do is spontaneous.

“We do not get any script.

We do what we want to do. It is completely unscripted and spontaneous,” Khan said recalling that ‘Indian Idol’ was the first show which brought her on

the small screen and since then she has worked on 18-19 shows as a judge.

Bollywood now. We are getting lot of talent from these shows,” she said.

“It can be a world record. The show has now changed not only our lives but also the medium of television,” Khan said.

Musician Anu Malik said during one such season of the reality show he spotted Monali Thakur and gave her chance to sing ‘Moh Moh Ke Dhaage’ from the film “Dum Laga Ke Haisha” and went on to win the National Award.

On the short spell of fame achieved the participants she said everyone forgets who was the last winner of such shows but all remember that it was Abhijit Sawant who won the first ‘Indian Idol’.

“Singers who didn’t even win these shows are getting work in

He said since the original trio of judges are back on the show there is increased interest among viewers.

“We will walk the talk as judges,” Malik said.

VOICE OF ASIA 17

ONLINE .COM voiceofasiaonline.com

Section 2

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FRIDAY, November 18, 2016

Tel: 713-774-5140

1st Joyalukkas Showroom in the USA to open in Hillcroft, Houston

2016 Property Tax Bills are in the Mail

Worldwide Expansion drive reaches a new landmark milestone Joyalukkas

Tax Assessor-Collector’s Office Offers More Payment Options and Electronic Billing

About Joyalukkas Group: Joyalukkas Group is a multibillion dollar global conglomerate, with varied business interests. The group operates its various business operations across UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Singapore, Malaysia,

London and India. The group businesses include Jewellery, money exchange, fashion & textiles, luxury air charters, malls and realty. Joyalukkas employs over 7,000 professionals across the world, and is one of the most awarded and recognized Jewellery retail chains in the world.

3 Indian Bank Chiefs among Fortune’s ‘50 Most Powerful Women’ outside US

Joy Alukkas. Chairman & MD, Joyalukkas Group.

H

OUSTON - USA, November 2016: Joyalukkas is all set to open its first showroom in the USA. This will now be the 12th country to have the presence of the world’s favourite jeweler thereby giving Joyalukkas a truly global presence. The opening of the new Joyalukkas showroom in Hilcroft, Houston is a sparkling example of a well planned and successful expansion drive that has now become the hallmark of the Joyalukkas group. The expansion drive also includes the opening of two more showrooms in Edison, New Jersey and W. Devon Avenue, Chicago.

“The opening of Joyaluk-

kas in the US is very close to my heart. The large Indian Diaspora can now look forward to their favourite jeweler close to them and not wait to travel to their homeland to buy their dream Jewellery. As is the norm, customers can expect a world-class ambience and the widest variety of high-quality Jewellery at the best value. All complemented by the very high standards of customer service Joyalukkas has become known for,” says Mr. Joy Alukkas.

Chairman & MD, Joyalukkas Group.

The inauguration of Joyalukkas showroom in Hillcroft, will be held on 19th November, 2016.

Bhattacharya (SBI), Kochhar (ICICI), Sharma (Axis Bank) make Fortune’s 50 Most Powerful Women list.

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EW YORK - September 13, (PTI) - India’s top women bankers, State Bank of India Chair-Managing Director Arundhati Bhattacharya, ICICI Bank Managing Director and CEO Chanda Kochhar and Axis Bank CEO and Managing Director Shikha Sharma, are among the 50 most powerful women based outside the US, according to a list by Fortune magazine.

The 2016 ‘50 Most Powerful Women International’ list ranks Ms. Bhattacharya second, Ms. Kochhar, fifth and Ms. Sharma, nineteenth.

The list spans 19 countries and names Ana Botin of Banco Santander as number one.

Meanwhile, PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi was ranked second in Fortune’s list of the 50 most powerful women in the US.

H

OUSTON - Tax Assessor-Collector Mike Sullivan today announced that more than 900,000 property tax bills are in the mail and on the way to Harris County property owners.

“Property owners need to be on the lookout for their property tax bill,” said Tax Assessor-Collector Mike Sullivan. “Once received, property owners are encouraged to pay their bill as soon as possible, as they are due by January 31, 2017.” Harris County residents can pay their property taxes by phone at (713) 274-CARD (2273), online at www.hctax. net, by mail, or in-person at any of the 16 Tax Assessor-Collector’s Offices throughout Harris County.

Taxpayers should review their tax bill carefully and determine if they are receiving the proper exemptions. “I want to reduce tax burdens and increase the number of exemptions for residents who may qualify,” said Mr. Sullivan. “Learn more

about property tax homestead exemptions by contacting the Harris County Appraisal District at (713) 957-7800.”

In addition, the Tax AssessorCollector’s Office has offered its e-Bill service to taxpayers who want to receive their tax bill online.

“This is a convenient option that saves taxpayers money and sends tax bills electronically,” said Mr. Sullivan. “Currently, we have more than 5,000 taxpayers who have opted for an e-bill instead of a paper bill. If property owners would like to receive an e-Bill, they can signup at www.hctax.net by using their unique e-Statement code that is located on this year’s tax bill.”

The Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector’s Office Property Tax Division maintains more than 1.6 million tax accounts and collects property taxes for 71 taxing entities including Harris County. The Tax Assessor-Collector’s Office collects more than $6 billion in property taxes.

Chinese spend billions on Singles’ Day China’s economy expanded at its slowest rate in a quarter of a century last year and has eased further this year, as Beijing tries to shift growth drivers from investment and exports to domestic consumption.

- ‘Confidence index’ Alibaba kicked off this year’s event with a gala in the southern city of Shenzhen on Thursday night, inviting international and domestic stars from basketball player Kobe Bryant to pop rock band OneRepublic.

Singer Katy Perry was also originally scheduled to perform but cancelled at the last minute due to a family emergency, she said on China’s Twitter-like Weibo.

This picture taken on Wednesday shows US actress Scarlett Johansson (left) and Jack Ma, Chairman of Alibaba Group, attending the 2016 Tmall 11:11 Global Shopping Festival gala in Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong province. (Photo: AFP)

Analysts said the event, which has gained more and more traction in the past few years, is key to Alibaba.

The day’s turnover was only “a very small fraction of its to-

S

HANGHAI, China | AFP | Chinese shoppers unleashed a record deluge of cash online for Singles Day on Friday, Alibaba said, spending almost $18 billion with the e-commerce giant in the world’s biggest online shopping promotion.

Singles’ Day -- named for the repeated digit 1 in the date November 11 -- was created by Alibaba in 2009.

Now in just 24 hours it surpasses the main US online spending spree, the five days from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday.

Gross merchandise volume, Alibaba’s key measure of online sales, was 120.7 billion yuan ($17.8 billion) this year -more than the GDP of Jamaica and well up from 91.2 billion yuan in 2015.

Consumers spent more than $1 billion in the first five minutes of the sales, the firm said.

This picture, taken on Thursday, shows Britain’s David Beckham (centre) and his wife Victoria Beckham (third left) attending the 2016 Tmall 11:11 Global Shopping Festival gala in Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong. province. (Photo: AFP)

hai white-collar worker Chen Yang, 29, who tried to buy Rival e-commerce giant things she had her eyes on eart hoursJD.com, are Monday thru Friday 8am till which focuses more lier5pm. and spent about 1,000 yuan on electronics, said its sales on purchases from shoes to total -- which it did not specify shampoo.

-- surpassed last year’s figure at “I’m so happy after I fin1:33 pm. ished my shopping, though I Some shoppers stayed up still need to pay my credit card until midnight to purchase later,” she said. “But I’m just so discounted goods the moment looking forward to getting my Singles Day got under way. packages now.”

Among them was ShangIn the US, total online sales

for the five days from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday last year stood at $11.1 billion, according to Adobe Digital Index.

Alibaba’s New York-listed stock has been buoyant this year in spite of worries over slowing growth in China, as consumer spending has expanded while the old industrial economy struggles due to overcapacity and sluggish demand.

tal annual sales”, independent e-commerce analyst Li Chengdong said, but was “a confidence index for the firm”.

“If they do well in this, it is a boost to investors’ confidence,: he told AFP. But sales growth may not match last year’s 60 percent rise, he warned, in the face of economic worries and stricter regulation.

China’s commerce watchdog

SAIC summoned Alibaba and 14 other e-commerce companies earlier this week, banning them from making up fake orders and lifting prices before giving out discounts.

Alibaba itself has sought to downplay the importance of the turnover statistic.

“I don’t have any requirement for the sales figure,” Alibaba quoted chairman Jack Ma as saying in a statement on Weibo, adding the day was all about “happiness and joy”.

Online shopping is a bright spot in Beijing’s efforts to

transform the economy, growing 26.1 percent in the January to September period according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

That outstripped both overall retail growth of 10.4 percent in the period, and official GDP expansion of 6.7 percent in each of the first three quarters.

China’s State Post Bureau has estimated the country will handle more than one billion packages during the six days from Friday, up 35 percent from last year, the official news agency Xinhua reported.

HOROSCOPE

VOICE OF ASIA 18

FRIDAY, November 18, 2016

Your Horoscope for the Week of November 18, 2016 READ YOUR COMPLETE HOROSCOPE

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

ONLINE WWW.VOICEOFASIAONLINE.COM

Libra (R,T) 23 Sept to 22 Oct

Aries (A,L,E) 21 March to 20 April Concentrate and focus on your work is which very good now. This is a time to attend to details, take care of practical business, and to make your life more stable and secure. It would be beneficial to consult advisors on investments and long-range plans and to put your affairs in order. Eliminating waste and inefficiency is important to you now. Many errands, phone calls, letters which require a response, and other “busywork” is on the agenda.

Your self-discipline, training, persevering through a dry or slow period, and working quietly or in meager circumstances are themes in this time period. You have the ability and stamina to concentrate, to work carefully and thoroughly, and to accomplish something modest, yet of real practical value and substance now. This is an excellent time to eliminate whatever is unnecessary and outworn in your life from clutter and disorder in your environment to an unhealthy relationship.

Taurus (B,V,U) 21 April to 20 May

Scorpio (N,Y) 23 Oct to 21 Nov

Unusual ventures, unexpected events which create the need for considerable adjustment on your part are indicated now. Whatever agenda you had planned is apt to be spontaneously disregarded for what may well be a better alternative. However, you are prone to be more than a little reckless now, so be certain you are not jeopardizing those areas of your life which are your support structure and which in fact enable you to experiment and do some of the wilder things you want to do.

Retreating from confrontation and allowing matters to take their own course may well be the best path now. Your desire for harmony, beauty, and gracious surroundings and is stronger than usual and you avoid unpleasantness as much as possible. You’re inclined to use charm, gentle coaxing, and loving persuasion rather than more direct, forceful methods to get what you want.

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

Gemini (K,CHH,GH) 21 May to 20 June With your serious mind you are able to concentrate on work that requires patience, attention to detail, and precision. Practical concerns dominate. It is a good time to learn practical skills, do your taxes, organize your files, and take care of business. You’ll want to avoid light social conversation or trivialities that distract you from your work.

Friendships and cooperative endeavors flourish now. You achieve a harmonious balance of giving and receiving and of talking and listening, and any social or joint activity will benefit.

Communication with your superiors or with people in authority who are in a position to consider and act on your ideas comes to the fore now. Your eagerness to discuss your thoughts and plans with others at this time and you may have a very fruitful brainstorming session, a spirited debate, or a very active meeting with others in which things really get accomplished. You are verbally assertive and can present your own plan or idea quite convincingly. Good time to make new friends, meet new people.

Capricorn (KH,J) 22 Dec to 20 Jan

Cancer (D,H) 21 June to 22 July People around you, may try to disappoint you. Your expectations will not meet satisfactory results. Your sensitive & emotional nature will put you in dilemma. You may also be overly adaptable and accommodating in your relationships at this time, enabling others to continue in their bad habits or to take advantage of your unconditional support. Avoid creating relationships based on mutual weakness and dependency on deception and hiding.

The fact you find it stressful to balance needs for freedom and independence with needs for love and intimate companionship. You really behave quite oddly or aloof right now which will put others off considerably thus affording you the space you need, but at a cost. You are also attracted to the unusual at this time. People or things which might offend your senses at other times now arouse your appreciation and interest. This will not be a boring time if you can help it!

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

Leo (M) 23 July to 22 August Your Involvement in social organizations or any other group will help to bring new skills & develop new ideas to which you belong is likely to be a focus at this time.

You may be asked to take responsibility or even a leadership role or to contribute and participate more fully than you have in the past. You will enjoy being part of a team or group effort now. Being part of a community or circle of friends and building your social network is important to you at this time.

You are getting what you really want and moving toward achieving the things which are important to you may involve surrendering something or eliminating something from your life at this time. Perhaps an attitude, a situation, or an attachment that has been impeding you is now released. You feel free to concentrate on the things that are most important to you now. Major, long-term changes can be successfully begun now - a lifestyle change or a regimen of self-improvement, for instance.

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

Virgo (P) 23 August to 22 September Your interactions with others and with the outside world in general, which can be confusing, devitalizing and discouraging. It seems that whatever you try to do goes nowhere or gets lost in a haze of misunderstanding. This is not a good time to try & attempt to get personal recognition for your efforts. Taking time off, working quietly, or doing something primarily for the benefit of others without concern for personal gain is favored at this time.

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Intellectual disagreements or differences of opinion and viewpoints with those in your inner circle arise now. You may have to speak your mind in a way that challenges or unnerves someone else. However, your mind is very active and sharp and your reasoning power is good, so this is a good time to do mental work. It is easy for you to talk about your feelings now and also to listen sensitively to not only what others are saying but also what they are feeling. This is an excellent time to discuss your feelings and clear the air of any grievances you may be holding on to from the past.

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Voice of Asia Newsweekly has been in Houston since 1987 for 29 of years. are expanding and wefor arepeople looking fora air Voice AsiaWe Newsweekly is looking with serious, dedicated with a true for writing to coverpeople local events.

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CLASSIFIEDS Houston Community College Request for Proposals (RFP) System Applications and Products Processing (SAP) Training Project No. 17-29

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VOICE OF ASIA

FRIDAY, November 18, 2016

Houston Community College Request for Proposals (RFP) International Students Health Insurance Services

Project No. RFP 17-27 Sealed proposals will be received in Procurement Operations (3100 Main Street, Room No. 11B01, Houston, Texas 77002) until 2:00PM (local time) on Wednesday, December 7, 2016.

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MANAGEMENT TIP OF THE WEEK Beat Procrastination by Thinking About the Future Typically, knowing the upside of completing a task isn’t enough to make us put in the effort to actually do it. That’s because the present is concrete and the future is abstract. But you can short-circuit your procrastination tendencies by making the future feel more real. Here’s how: Visualize. Take a moment to paint a vivid mental picture of the benefits of completing the task. If there’s a phone call you’re avoiding or an email you’re putting off, imagine the sense of satisfaction you’ll feel when it’s over.

Pre-commit, publicly.

Most of us don’t want to look foolish or lazy to other people. So dare to say, “I’ll send you the report by the end of the day� — it can be just enough to make taking action more appealing.

Confront the downside of inaction. Instead of telling yourself you can do the task tomorrow (or the day after), force yourself to think about the downside of putting it off. What are the real consequences of not getting it done today?

Source: Adapted from “How to Beat Procrastination,� by Caroline Webb

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VOICE OF ASIA 20

FRIDAY, November 18, 2016