Voice of Asia Jan 09 2015

VOICE OF ASIA 1 FRIDAY, January 9, 2015

Vol. 28 No. 2 Friday, January 9, 2015 • Published Weekly from Houston • 713-774-5140 20 Pages ( 2 sections) 50 cents E-mail: [email protected]

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HOUSTON - Sri Govindaji Gaudiya Matha welcomed the New Year with beauti-

ful devotional bhajans, kirtan, aarati, Tulasi puja and prasadam. Over three hundred attended in the specially dec-orated 8,000 square foot temple hall. There was much to be grateful for and much to celebrate. Last year was won-derful and the coming year promises to be another good one for the temple and its devotees.

There were several melodious voic-

Welcoming the New Year at Sri Govindaji Gaudiya Math

John Kerry to discuss Barack Obama visit, strategic ties during India trip

WASHINGTON: (Jan, 8, 2015) US Secretary of State John Kerry during

his India visit will discuss President Barack Obama’s upcoming trip and aspects of bilateral strategic and eco-nomic relationship will high-level In-dian officials, his spokesperson said today.

“While he (Kerry) is there (in Ahmedabad), he’ll have meetings with a range of officials. Certainly, they’ll be discussing the (US) President’s up-coming trip as well as our economic relationship, our strategic relationship, our relationship on issues like energy,” State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki, told reporters.

Kerry is travelling to India over the weekend to attend the Vibrant Gujarat

Kerry is travelling to India over the weekend to attend the Vibrant Gujarat Summit which would be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Summit which would be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

On his return, Kerry would brief Obama, Psaki said. The US President is scheduled to travel to India later this month to attend the Republic Day Pa-rade in New Delhi on January 26 as its Chief Guest.

“The Secretary’s looking forward to having those discussions, and he’ll certainly be briefing the President in between trips,” she said.

Kerry would be addressing the Vi-brant Gujarat Global Innovator Sum-mit in which he would be speaking about a range of issues.

“And certainly, innovation, our en-

ergy cooperation and partnership, our economic relationship are central to the focus of the dialogue between the Secretary and his counterparts when he visits India this weekend,” she said.

US’ new Ambassador to India Rich-ard Rahul Verma arrived in New Delhi last week ahead of the two important trips.

“He (Verma) obviously is somebody we felt was a strong choice to be our ambassador to a country where we’re continuing to grow our relationship with. He’s just been on the ground for a couple of weeks. I know he has an ambitious agenda there, so we’ll look forward to seeing him this weekend,” Psaki said. (PTI).

es accompanied by harmonium, mri-danga, flute and khartals. The melo-dies and words of the bhajans carried everyone’s hearts to the spiritual realm and reminded us of the true reality of-ten obscured behind the maya (illu-sion) of daily life.

Most of the bhajans were sung by the high school devotee students from Bhakti Gurukula (Sunday School).

Tulsi Gabbard and Ami Bera take oath for their second term

Gabbard was administered the oath of office by the Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner. Read on Page 7

Devotees perform kirtan and aarati at the temple on New Year’s Day. Continued on Page 3

VOICE OF ASIA 2 FRIDAY, January 9, 2015OP-ED/COMMENTARY/ANALYSIS

Publisher: Koshy ThomasAssociate Publisher: Sherly PhilipEditor-in-Chief: Shobana MurateeAustin Correspondent: Sherine ThomasPrint & Media Marketing: Jacob DavidMarketing: Susan Pothanikat Production: AR VadlamaniOffice Manager: Priyan Mathew Columnists:Legal: Richard M. AldermanLegal: Sharlene Sharmila RichardsMedical: Kesavan Shan, MDResearch: Prof. Meenakshi BhattacharjeeHealth Insurance: Sudhir MathuriaAstrology: Hardik Vyas

VoiceofAsiaOnline.com

Editor: Online & Newsletter : Shobana Muratee

All rights reserved. No material herein or portions thereof may be published without the consent of the publisher. Voice of Asia assumes no liability resulting from action taken based on the information included herein. Pub-lished weekly by Free Press LLC, 8303 SW Freeway, Suite # 325, Houston, TX 77074. Tel: 713-774-5140. Fax: 713-774-5143. Email for editorial submissions: [email protected]; Email for advertising inquiries and submissions: [email protected]

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

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More than 30 years of experience as Priest in major temples including Sri Meenakshi Temple Pearland, TX.

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Rituals Performed: Sreemantham, Punyahavachanam, Namakaranam, Annaprashanam, Vidyarambham, Choulam, Upanayanam, Wedding, Sathya

narayana puja, and all kind of Homas (Havans) and more. I can drive to your place.

by Dr. Sulekh C. Jain

The title of this article may appear catchy but this is how a friend

of mine from North Carolina started his conversation when he called me last week. He mentioned that he has come to know (directly or indirectly) of at least 3 families of Indian origins in North America who changed their religious follow-ing when struck with tragedies such as accident, stroke, heart attack, major surgery disabil-ity, falls, brain hemorrhage, terminal illness, burning and destruction of their house, tornado, burglary, death of a spouse and several other such mishaps. In those times of real need and helplessness, hardly anyone from Indian communi-ty came to help, assist, support, and console them when they really needed it most. He did say that such stories /incidents are not rare. Similar stories ex-ist nearly all over USA.

On the other hand in the time of such needs, many non-Indian families and organizations im-mediately sprang into action. They opened their hearts and homes right away. They took them to their homes, set us hotlines, teams of volunteers were always there asking for

Should my conscience bother me? You decide

by Prof. Chandra K. Mittal

On the eve of Indian Prime Minister Na-rendra Modi’s first

visit to the United States last Fall, CNN journalist Fareed Zakaria interviewed the Prime Minister and asked the lead question – “……will India be the next China” and “……do you worry about China” like Vietnam, Philippines, etc. be-cause of its military expansion. Modi’s answered calmly…... “Dekhiye (See), India does not need to become anything else. India must become only In-dia”. He also stated that India was not worried about China in this age of global partnerships and interdependence. Profound responses indeed with a lot im-plied in them.

The China-centric mindset of the US media and policy mak-ers, as represented by this line of questioning, conveys the preoccupation of the United States with China when deal-ing with India. It also suggests that in US’s calculations India’s relevance is derived primarily from being a counterweight to China. But such perception may well be an oversell and prove to be a slippery slope for the US policy makers. Mr. Modi’s re-sponses is quite revealing as it

their welfare, taking/driving them to doctors and grocery stores , visiting them in hospi-tals, bringing food , helping in feeding, bringing medications and signing them up for all available/eligible assistance. These affected Indian families found that most of their Indian friends were good enough as chai friends only with big lec-tures on spirituality and talks of other worldliness.

With the timely love, care and support that they got, they realized-what good is clinging to their own community. They should belong to a community of caring and sharing people that provides help, shelter and a sense of belonging. They willingly and appreciatively on their own opted to change and adopt the new tradition that of-fered them what they needed and got. One interesting com-mon thread in all these stories was that prior to, during and af-ter all these helps, there was no proselytizing or brain washing to change their religions. There was not even a subtle hint to that effect.

I mentioned to my friend, that here in Houston the com-munity has set up several or-ganizations like Daya, Cancer Network etc. but still I person-ally know several families who are in similar situations of dire needs and they too are frus-trated for lack of community support. My friend emphasized

that many Indo American com-munities in USA significantly lack organized initiatives and whatever is there is not ad-equate.

Last week, I was watching on Television a 2 hour show on PBS “From Jesus of Nazareth to Jesus Christ and Evolution of Christianity”. The show nar-rated historical events how fol-lowers of Jesus for nearly 350 years faced horrible torture and persecution but they absolutely and unconditionally followed the motto of SEWA (service to needy and comradery), never compromised and walked away from this basic principle and thus won the hearts and minds of many people.

In all Indian religions and particularly in Jainism the prin-ciple of Ahimsa (non-harming and non-hurting) is supreme. Ahimsa has 2 facets; I will not harm or hurt others and at the same time I will proactively work to reduce the suffering of others. Only then we can fol-low the full meaning and es-sence of ahimsa. This second aspect is Sewa/service. In my opinion, Christians practice this second aspect of Ahimsa to the fullest extent and are a role model for all of us.

Here I want to categorically say that purpose of my writing this article is not at all talking about the willing or non-will-ing kind of conversion. What

I am talking about here is the dire need for Sewa within the Indian community.

My appeal to my community leaders, brothers and sisters is that now we have successfully created the entire necessary in-frastructure within the Indian community. Let us now equal-ly dedicate ourselves to the second aspect that is of Sewa too. Sewa all the time does not require dhan (money). More than money (which we Indians have plenty) it requires Man and tan (mental and physical) commitment. In the case of the affected families that my friend mentioned, none of those fami-lies needed money. What they needed most was man and tan.

One of my friends from Washington, D. C wrote me “any religion that does not serve its People/Community is bound to fail, disintegrate and disappear. It’s a matter of time and 21st Century is going to be the ruthless one”.

If you want others to be hap-py, practice compassion.

If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

There is no need for temples; no need for complicated phi-losophy.

Our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.

- H.H. Dalai Lama

implied two basic facts. One, that US should be not view In-dia through the China-lens, and second that countries have bi-lateral relationships in multiple areas with pragmatic balance. While the Prime Minister’s resolute and unambiguous an-swers might have surprised some in the US, it provided glimpses of things to come in building US-India bilateral re-lationship in the future.

As President Barak Obama gears up to visit India later this month as the Chief Guest for India’s Republic Day cel-ebration on January 26th, the Pundits and scholars are busy conjecturing, speculating, and analyzing the significance of his visit from the long-term perspective. Besides strength-ening the US-India ties in areas already agreed upon during the September Obama-Modi Sum-mit in Washington, D.C., the launch of a new “Indo-U.S. Defense Agenda” is on the ho-rizon when President Obama arrives in India. The Agenda will include a new 10-year de-fense framework between US and India. This will, reportedly include several defense-related projects under the ‘Defense Trade and Technological Ini-tiative’ to boost overall mili-tary cooperation between the world’s two largest democra-cies. There is also talk of co-production of some military hardware by Indian and US

corporations.Attendant with these bilateral

developments is also an ongo-ing “Asia dialogue” involving India-US-Japan “trilateral” defense talks, which Australia too wants to join to make it a “quadrilateral” affair. Such multi-nation defense coopera-tion with US participation is essentially a power-balancing act, and is meant to contain recent Chinese military ex-pansionary moves in the Asia-Pacific region. But, it is likely to be an irritant for China and a challenge for both US and India in reliably pursuing their bilateral objectives. After all China is an emerging economic power in Asia, whose Gross Domestic Product (GDP), ac-cording to some measures, has either already surpassed the United States or will do so in near future.

From India’s standpoint, an open antagonism (perceived or real) of China either alone or in consortium could be particular-ly complicating. It shares thou-sands of miles of border with China with some disputes. It also has anti-India constituency within its own borders that gets support from China. Besides, China’s close friendship with Pakistan, an adversary of India, is also not a source of comfort for India. Plus China has re-cently announced a 20 Billion Dollar economic investment in India. Taken these realities

together India does not appear to be seeking active confronta-tion with China. Hence, it will have to walk a very thin line in balancing these multi-national defense collaborative relation-ships. Some Indian media re-ports suggest that India may be already developing “cold feet” to take on China as part of the international “defense consor-tium” led by the US.

Given that ultimate goal of foreign policy is indeed eco-nomic gain and defense policy is there to protect it, both Unit-ed States and India can find a workable arrangement for de-veloping a mutually beneficial economic relationship. US and India share democratic system of governance and social in-stitutions. With India’s recent economic, regulatory, bank-ing reforms, commitment to the free market economy, and changes in the foreign direct investment (FDI) guidelines for defense and insurance sec-tors, US and India can forge a strong long-term economic re-lationship. And, thus, can begin a new Obama-Modi era in the US-India bilateral relations for a “win-win” outcome.

Dr. Chandra Mittal is Pro-fessor at Houston Community College and Co-Founder of Indo-American Association, Houston. Follow the Blog: http://drchandramittal.word-press.com

United States Needs China-neutral Policy towards India - An Indo-American Perspective

Chandra K. Mittal,

Sulekh C. Jain


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Continued from Page 1

Welcoming the New Year at Sri Govindaji Gaudiya Math

Everyone was enthralled see-ing so many young devotees who sing so well and lead all in wonderful worship of the Dei-ties. Two young devotees dedi-cated a dance to Lord Krishna in keeping with the festive New Year’s Spirit.

An inspiring lecture was de-livered by Subal Sakha prabhu, in which he reminded everyone that this life is temporary and that real happiness lies in devo-tional service. He encouraged everyone to make the New Year resolution to dedicate themselves to the service of the Lord and His teachings. He ex-plained that the temple is plan-ning to significantly expand its spiritual educational and cul-tural activities for children and that everyone can help expand various services that the temple offers.

The evening’s worship was followed by a sumptuous South Indian feast prepared by the South Indian devotees and congregation members of the temple.

The presiding Deities at the Temple are: Sri Radha Gov-

indaji; Sri Gaura Nitai and Sri Sita Rama Laksmana Hanuman. There are six regular aaratis and darshans every day. Visitors are warmly welcome anytime and are especially encouraged to attend our Sunday services. You will find traditional Vedic teachings, worship and values in an American setting.

Sri Govindaji Gaudiya Matha temple is located at 16628 Ki-eth Harrow Blvd, Houston, TX 77084. It is very convenient for the following areas: Katy, Cy-Fair, Sugar Land, the Energy Corridor, Memorial and Tom-ball. Every Sunday bhajans and kirtan start 5 PM; Vedic lecture (English) at 5:45; aarati at 6:45 followed by delicious healthy prasadam. Gurukula for chil-dren in grades K-12 is at 5:45 PM. Hindi classes (levels 1 and 2) are at 5 PM. For more infor-mation, please visit our web-site: www.sggm.org or call (832) 464-4686.

by Somdatta Gangopadhyay

A huge queue, busy hands adding the final touch to tables, orga-

nizing committee working like busy bees was a part of the eve-ning on 31st December, 2014 at the India House, Houston. As it was time to bid farewell to the past, people dressed in gorgeous colors were eager to get in the crowd and be a part of the New Year Eve Bash at the venue. After a brief intro-duction by the anchors, Di-payan Bhattacharya’s Neele Neele Ambar (In the Blue Sky) inaugurated the grand event. Swaying movements could be noticed as Bhattacharya, a soft-ware engineer as well as a pop-ular singer performed Mei Koi Aisa Geet Gaoon. Relishing snack items like samosa, kebab and paneer accompanied the musical moment. Brief perfor-mances like Na Tum Hamein Jano and Hounton Se Chu Lo Tum by volunteers added to the musical effect.

Guests had the opportunity to

participate in games too. Bol-lywood came into existence as participants were provided with paper chips containing names like Pritam Chakraborty, Sa-laam Namaste, Salman Khan, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, and participants had to find re-spective paper chip matches. After music, snack and games, it was time to shake legs. The dance session which followed next had children as well as el-derly people, all on the floor.

For food lovers it was an opportunity to dig in some mouth watering stuff like dal makhani, butter chicken, saag paneer, gulab jamun, naan and much more! Food was pro-vided by Bombay Brasserie. ‘Uncertainty as to how many people you will get is a chal-lenge. Unless you know the exact number of people, you can’t organize the games prop-erly and also order the amount of food,’ said Mousumi Ba-nerjee, organizing committee and also a full time software engineer.

Partly organized by Col.Raj Bhalla, the party had a dance segment called ‘Paper Dance’ where participants were given papers and each couple was supposed to use the paper as

the dance platform. Cheers and rhythm filled the air as some enjoyed dancing without paper as well.

Finally it was time to sing the ‘Final Countdown’ from 10 to 0 as the hands of the clock ticked 12. A joyous cheer from the crowd was audible wishing each other ‘Happy New Year’. Every corner echoed the cheers as people exchanged hugs and kisses with warm and hope-ful wishes for a new year. ‘I’ll walk at least one mile every day and eat less greasy food.’, said Suparna Paul, a food sci-entist who was also one of the guests, when asked about her new year resolution.

A family ambience could be felt as there were children and their parents as well as senior citizens. Each and every guest had his own share of fun as shutter bugs could be seen con-

India House Brings Good Tidings for 2015

stantly flashing. ‘India House is my house, your house, our house. We want every Indian to be there,’ said Col.Vipin Kumar, General Manager, In-dia House.

Dipayan Bhattacharya, singer, performing at the event.

Event organizers: Col. Vipin Kumar, General Manager, India House. and Mousumi Banerjee with party guests.

Temple’s presiding Deities at the Temple are: Sri Radha Gov-indaji, Sri Gaura Nitai and Sri Sita Rama Laksmana Hanuman. were richly adorned on the day.

Read these and other community stories online everyweek. Visit: voiceofasiaonline.com


Q. I am having a dispute with my landlord and he seems to be completely unreasonable. I do not want to go to justice court but can’t seem to get any meaningful discussion with him. Any suggestions?

A. Resolving consumer problems can sometimes be difficult and frustrating. Even when the law is “on your side,” asserting your rights is not always easy. And that is why the Cen-ter for Consumer Law at the University of Houston Law Center started the Texas Consumer Complaint Center.

The Texas CCC is a one-stop center for consumers. Staffed by lawyers, law students and paralegals, it offers information, advice and assistance. In most cases, the Center works with both sides to reach an amicable resolution of the problem. Whether your problem involves a landlord, debt collector, car dealer, bank or other merchant, the Consumer Complaint Center is there to help. To contact the Consumer Complaint Center, go to www.TexasCCC.com, or call toll-free 877-839-8422.

Q. Can I be put in jail for non-payment of credit card balance? The debt collector said he was going to call the police to arrest me.

A. Debtor’s prison was abolished many years ago. You cannot be put in jail or arrested for not paying your debts. In fact, any threat by a debt collector to put you in jail violates both state and federal debt collection laws. Look at the debt collection section on my website to see what a debt collector may and may not do, www.peopleslawyer.net.

Q. I was recently involved in an automobile accident. It clearly was the other person’s fault. She was speeding and ran a stop sign. She received several tickets. Her insurance has paid to repair my car and my medical bills. Fortunately, I was not seriously hurt and my car is fine. How much can I now sue for? Shouldn’t I be entitled to something because the accident was her fault?

A. Many people think that when you are involved in an accident you are entitled to recover money, simply because the other person has done something wrong. In most cases, however, all you are entitled to receive from the person who caused the accident is com-pensation for what you have lost. In your case, your “loss” was the damage to your car and your medical bills. Her insurance company has reimbursed you for your loss. You cannot recover any additional damages simply because it was her fault. We punish her wrongful conduct through the criminal justice system and the traffic tickets she has received.

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COMMUNITY

On January 14th, 2014, land was procured for the 225-bed com-

munity eye hospital in Jodh-pur, Rajasthan and SEF set goals to start fundraising for its tenth hospital while still wrap-ping up the work on its ninth hospital in Kanpur, which was completed and inaugurated in October 2014.

To help achieve the fund-raising goal for the Rajasthan Hospital, an anonymous donor stepped forward and threw a challenge to SEF and its sup-porting community. The donor offered to match dollar for dol-lar, up to one million dollars, for the upcoming Rajasthan Hospital but only if the dona-tions came in before Decem-ber 31st, 2014. With around $100K in the bank for the Raj-asthan Hospital, SEF fundrais-ing went into full gear around October 2014 to meet this new challenge. As usual in the last moments, SEF volunteers and

Sankara Eye Foundation (SEF) beats the Million Dollar Matching Goal

the generous Sankara donors rallied and toppled the goal of $1M dollars, just hours before the deadline.

SEF would like to extend its heart-felt gratitude to its donors and supporters across the coun-try, who have come through to make this goal possible.

To date, SEF’s accom-plishments include screen-ing around 3.3 million people and performing over 1.2 mil-lion surgeries across 339 vil-lage blocks, 79 districts, and 10 states. Today, SEF is the largest community eye care provider in the world. While WHO (World Health Organi-zation) states that the maxi-mum success rate achievable for cataract surgeries is 91.1%, SEF has been able to deliver 98.8% success rate through the rigorous quality processes, governance models and proto-cols.

SEF not only gifts vision but also gifts lives as in a pa-tient with Steven Johnson syndrome, who until recently had never seen her children or grandchildren. This patient was implanted with synthetic cornea developed at SEF. Free life-saving procedures are also performed for young patients who suffer from retinoblas-toma (eye cancer).

This is only possible with the help and support from the SEF Donor Community comprised of individual donors and orga-nizations such as the Cupertino Rotary Club, RANA, TANA, BATA, AKKA, KKNC, CLiPs etc. SEF appeals for contin-ued support as it takes on new challenges and establishes hospitals in the other states such as Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha and Bihar.

For more info, please visit

www.giftofvision.org for de-tails of the projects.


VOICE OF ASIA 6 FRIDAY, January 9, 2015COMMUNITYby M.K.Sriram and Akilan

Gopal

It was a great and divine start to 2015 for several thousand devotees who

worshipped at Sri Meenakshi Temple on New Year’s day. The forecasters predicted a rainy and cold day, but this did not make any impact on the spirits and minds of the devo-tees – they came in large num-bers from far and wide, from tiny tots to the elderly – a truly extraordinary display of their faith.

It is indeed a very rare oc-currence to have Vaikunda Ekadasi falling on January 1st. The Laksharchana for Lord Venkateswara was con-cluded with the participation of hundreds of devotees, while hundreds more lined up for the Vaikunda Swarga Dwara darshan outside the temple. This is the one time every year when the “Gates to Heaven” open and devotees have the blissful experience of having darshan of Maha Vishnu in his abode in heaven. As the doors

Grand New Year & Vaikunda Ekadasi Celebrations at Sri Meenakshi Temple

MANVEL TX - Dec 21 to 27, 2014 was a joyous, blissful

week in Houston with the Sri-mad Bhagavata Mahotsava and Grand Madhura Utsav spiritual and cultural celebration held at Houston Namadwaar. Orga-nized by Global Organization for Divinity and Love to Share Foundation America, the event saw over 100 devotees from across the USA join Houston devotees for this unique celebra-tion – from Orlando, Richmond-VA, Raleigh-NC, Boston, New Hampshire, Atlanta, Chicago, Minneapolis, Dallas, Austin, Bay Area-CA, Redding-CA and other cities.

The days were packed with kirtanam and katha shravanam with little chance to think of anything other than Bhagavan. Every day began with Prabod-hanam and Tiruppavai recital at 6 am. This was followed by the commencement of Srimad Bhagavata parayanam (18000

opened at about 10 AM, there was rapturous chanting of Govinda Govinda and devo-tees entered the Lord’s abode.

It was an indescribable sight to see the Lord with His con-sorts Bhoo Devi and Sri Devi adorned with dazzling alan-

karams seated on His Garuda vahana. Hundreds of devotees thronged through the heavenly gates to have darshan, the In-

dian Consul General Sri Har-ish with his wife among them. At around 11 AM, the deities on the Garuda Vahanam were taken in a procession around the temple to the chanting of Purusha Sooktham and vari-ous other Vedic verses. It was truly amazing that there was a non-stop stream of ardent dev-otees walking through Swarga Dwaaram from 10 AM till late in the evening. Later at 5 PM, Goddess Meenakshi with Lord Sundareswara most beautifully decorated were taken in a pro-cession around the temple on a pallakku (palanquin) by hun-dreds of devotees. The priests tirelessly performed the archa-nas non-stop all day and till late evening for all the deities.

This was also the day when Mr. Sam Kannappan, a found-ing member of the temple was appointed as the Honorary President and Dr. S.G. Appan, a long time highly respected member, as honorary trustee for a period of four years, in front of a packed devotees.

The whole atmosphere was

MTS New Year: Mr. Sam Kannappan, as Hon. President, Dr. SG. Appan as Hon. Trustee with Dr. GS. Goplakrishna Hon. Vice Presdient and Dr. P. Vaduganathan, Chairman with Board and Council members of MTS.

Namadwaar Celebrates 7th Annual Srimad Bhagavata Mahotsava

Overflowing Namadwaar on Radha Kalyanam day.

slokas in 7 days) which went on until about 1pm daily. Simulta-neously, in the mornings and af-ternoons there was either vahan-am processions or Sampradaya bhajan with Sri Jayadeva Ashta-padis and kirtans of numerous other mahatmas including Sri Thyagaraja, Sri Purandara Dasa, Sri Bhadrachala Ramadasa, Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji and Panduranga bhaktas’ abhangs.

Every evening was magical, as everyone was transported to Gokula and Brindavana through the wonderful exposition of Sri Krishna Leela by Sri Ramanu-jamji, disciple of HH Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji, at Sri Meenakshi Temple. This dis-course series was co-sponsored by Meenakshi Temple Society. Sri Ramanujamji delved to great depths into many of Sri Krish-na’s bala leelas, bringing out and explaining many enjoyable points in the stories through the commentaries of various ma-hatmas. It was truly an amazing

discourse series. On a couple of days, after the discourse, the day of Krishna Jananam and Rasa Leela, women devotees danced in joy and celebration, around Bala Krishna and Sri Radha-Krishna respectively.

The discourse series was pre-ceded daily by cultural dance performances by Houston danc-ers including students of Smt. Sravanthi Modali (Kuchipudi), Smt. Rathna Kumar/Sri Venugo-pal Josyula (Bharatanatyam), Smt. Supradipta Datta (Odissi), Smt. Indrani Parthasarathy (Bharatanatyam) and Smt. Pad-mini Chari/Kum. Surabi Veera-ragavan (Bharatanatyam). On one day, children of G.O.D.’s Gopa Kuteeram heritage pro-gram from all across the USA presented a musical play de-picting all the Cantos of Srimad Bhagavatam, and on another, Gopa Kuteeram Youth presented a “Street Play” on how they fol-low Bhagavata Dharma. These cultural performances were

conducted under the auspices of Love to Share Foundation America.

Other special events during the week-long utsav at Namadwaar included celebration of Nandot-savam (with children dancing around baby Krishna), Govinda Pattabhishekam and Anna Koo-totsav, Radha Kalyanam (divine

wedding of the divine couple), Madhura Gitam quiz (quiz on the compositions of HH Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji), beautiful Jhoola Seva at night amid diya lamps and Nikunjotsavam with an extremely melodious vo-cal concert themed on Krishna Bhakti by Kum. Shilpa Sada-gopan. Shilpa was accompanied by Smt. Deepa Ramachandran

on violin and Sri Karun Salvady on mridangam.

It was an exhilarating week that rejuvenated everyone and inspired all to do more service, kirtanam, katha shravanam and celebrate Bhagavan in their own lives!

Global Organization for Di-vinity and Love to Share Foun-dation express their heartfelt gratitude to the many restaurants and grocery establishments who came forward to sponsor dinner prasad for the week-long event – Annam Indian Cuisine, Balaji Bhavan, Bhojan restaurant, Hyderabadi House (Woodlands), Madras Pavilion, Maharaja Bhog restaurant, Meena Catering, Raja Sweets, Sagar Indian Cuisine, Shiva Indian Restaurant, Shiv Sagar restaurant, Patel Brothers (Hillcroft), Subbulaxmi Grocers (Hillcroft), Swadeshi Grocers (Pearland), Chipotle, Olive Gar-den, HEB, Kroger, Sam’s Club, Food Town and Fiesta.

very festive. The afternoon cultural program “ Dhasa-vathar” was organized by Mala Gopal. It consist of songs and dances from local dance schools followed by Carnatic music concert by Mrs. Shoba Ramesh, an All India Radio artist accompanies by Charan Rajan on Miruthangam and Divya Ramachandran on the violin.

And to make this even more authentic, local Indian restau-rants brought the taste of India. Chairman Dr Vaduganathan summarized that this day has been the most unprecedented day in the temple history with an over 7500 people visiting the temple, that too in spite of inclement weather. MTS Joint secretary Mr. Murali Ravuri, the event coordinator was ably supported by the temple Board members, several volunteers with their spouses, their chil-dren, the temple staff, priests and shilpis by putting in hun-dreds of hours of hard work to make this all happen. This is indeed a great beginning to the New Year!

VOICE OF ASIA 7 FRIDAY, January 9, 2015DIASPORAIndo-American photojour-nalist Rajan Devadas dies

WASHINGTON, PTI (De-cember 28, 2014) - Rajan De-vadas, one of the most admired Indian-American photojournal-ists whose lenses chronicled US-India relations for more than half a century, has died.

Devadas, a Padma Shri awardee, died of cardiac arrest at Hebrew Home of Greater Washington on Friday. He is survived by his wife and eight children. He was 93.

In a career spanning more than five decades, Devadas has covered US visit of every Indi-an Prime Minister from Jawa-harlal Nehru to Manmohan Singh besides photographing every US president from John F Kennedy to George W Bush. He could not cover Narendra Modi’s visit in September.

“He was a chronicler par ex-cellence of India-US relations and he had a memory of key events in this chequered rela-tionship that stretched back to the Kennedy Administration when our then Ambassador B K Nehru encouraged him to take up media-related works for the Embassy,” form er Indian Am-bassador to the US Nirupama Rao, said.

Devadas had celebrated his 93rd birthday in the suburb of-Washington earlier this summer which was attended by some of his close friends and commu-nity leaders.

In 2002, he was bestowed with the Padma Shri award, In-

Rajan Devadas; photo by Mathew Karmel

dia’s one of the highest civilian awards. As he could not travel to New Delhi to receive the award on health grounds, then Indian diplomat Lalit Mansingh presented it to him at a conven-tion of the Federation of Kerala Association in Chicago.

Devadas, who was born in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala in 1921, spent much of his child-hood in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh and studied at the Banaras Hin-du University.

After having worked as an administrative assistant at the BHU, Devadas came to the US in 1955 to attend a one year program at the Pendle Hill Quaker Center for Study and Contemplation.

Then he moved to New York to attend New School for So-cial Research, where he took two courses in journalism and public relations that sparked his interest in photography. For several decades, Devadas worked as an official photogra-pher of the Indian Embassy in Washington.

“He had met, listened to and spoken with Gandhiji and many others who belonged to India’s greatest generation. He knew Madan Mohan Malviya and I spoke with him at length about Malviya when I was to speak to a group of BHU alumni at our Embassy in DC (Washington) in 2013,” Rao said.

Diva of the Diasporaby Ishani Duttagupta

Chitra Banerjee Di-vakaruni debuted in 1997 with The

Mistress of Spices. The Los Angeles Times declared it as the best of that year.

Eight years later the novel was made into a film by Gurinder Chadha starring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, catapulting the author into an even bigger league.

The debut novel opened up avenues for Divakaruni to publish her work in more than 50 magazines, includ-ing The Atlantic Monthly and The New Yorker.

Her writings have been included in over 50 anthol-ogies. She’s won the Amer-ican Book Award and her books have been translated into 29 languages. Divakar-uni, who teaches creative writing at the University of Houston, says Indian immi-grants have shaped Indian

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni among the 20 most influential

global Indian women

WA S H I N G T O N : Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and

her Democratic congressional colleague Dr. Ami Bera have been sworn in for their sec-ond consecutive term in the US House of Representatives.

Gabbard, the first ever Hindu lawmaker, took her oath on Gita as the 114th session of the US Congress began yesterday. She was administered the oath of of-fice by the Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boeh-ner.

Two years ago, she had taken her oath on Gita too, which she presented to the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when she met him in New York last September.

Bera, the only serving In-dian-American in the current Congress, has been elected as co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans - the largest country- specific caucus in the House of Representatives.

After Dalip Singh Thind and Bobby Jindal, Bera is the third ever Indian-American elected to the House of Representatives.

“I’m looking forward to working with my colleagues from both parties over the next two years; together is the only way we can move our country forward. We need to start by rebuilding an economy that works for the middle class, getting our debt under control with a responsible budget, and strengthening Social Security and Medicare for this and fu-ture generations, and I will make those my top priorities in this Congress,” Bera said.

Bera will continue serving on the House Committees of Foreign Affairs and Science, Space and Technology and as a leader of the Problem Solv-ers Caucus, made up of mem-bers committed to bipartisan-ship.

Gabbard who just returned

from her nearly two-week long India trip, during which she met Modi and top Indian leadership said that her visit was highly successful.

“I feel this trip was a great success,” she said. “I went to India hoping to introduce and familiarise people with Hawaiʻ and to help warm the relationship between our two countries. I think we ac-complished both goals, and I am optimistic that there will be increased collaboration between the world’s oldest democracy and the world’s largest democracy,” the Dem-ocratic Congresswoman from Hawaii said.

As the 114th Congress kicked off yesterday with swearing in of members, Re-publicans formally took con-trol of both chambers - the

Tulsi Gabbard and Ami Bera take oath for their second term

House of Representative and Senate -- for the first time since the 109th Congress (2005-2006).

A new Pew Research Centre study said there is relatively little change in the overall re-ligious makeup of Congress.

More than nine-in-ten mem-bers of the House and Senate (92 per cent) are Christian, and about 57 per cent are Protestant, roughly the same as in the 113th Congress (90 per cent and 56 per cent, re-spectively). About three-in-ten members (31 per cent) are Catholic, the same as in the previous Congress.

Buddhists, Muslims and Hindus combined represent roughly two per cent of Amer-ican adults and one per cent of Congress.

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

values and cultures to their needs in the US in some amaz-

ing ways. Courtesy: The Eco-nomic Times. 4 Jan, 2015

L-R: Tulsi Gabbard (D) and Dr. Ami Bera.

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Makar Sankranti is one of the most auspicious days for

the Hindus, and is celebrated almost universally across the country, in many forms and hues, with great devotion, fer-vor & gaiety.

As the first festival in the year’s calendar, it is eagerly awaited by one and all. Consid-ering India’s size and diversity, it is no surprise that the celebra-tion of Sankranti is varied, and is celebrated in many different ways. The celebration of this festival has more than spiritual reasons to it. Deep scientific and cultural reasons also exist for the gaiety and vibrancy of the festival.

Scientific SignificanceAs the earth orbits around

the sun over the course of one year, it also wobbles about its axis, just like a spinning top. This makes the sunlight fall on different parts of the world at different angles, bringing about the different seasons. For half the year, the sun travels north-wards, and the other half of the year, it travels southwards. That is why, when the North-ern hemisphere has winter, the Southern hemisphere has sum-mer. In the Northern Hemi-sphere,

December 21 is the day when we are tilted the furthest away from the sun. That is the short-est day of the year, the winter solstice. When the sun trav-els southwards, the days are shorter, colder, there is less sunlight and crops don’t grow well and as desired. Thus, for Indians, the northward journey of the sun is advantageous and eagerly awaited.

According to the Hindu as-tronomy, on Makar sankranti, the sun enters the Makara rashi

(Capricorn).On Makar Sank-ranti day, 14th January, the sun no longer moves south-ward and begins its northward journey (Uttarayan). Makar Sankranti marks the end of a long winter with the return of the sun to the Northern Hemi-sphere and hence the name Uttarayan. After this day the days start becoming longer and warmer, and thus the chill of winter declines.

It signifies the end of winter and the beginning of spring, when the trees start becoming green again, the flowers bloom and the weather becomes pleasant. Sankranti represents the beginning of the farming season and people across the country rejoice, and therefore it is no surprise that this fes-tival is universally celebrated and welcomed with glee by the farmer community, who pray

Makar Sankranti: The first festival of the year, use of Til (sesame

seeds) and its significance on this occasion to be blessed with bountiful harvests that year.

Astrological Significance:Unlike other festivals, which

are based on the traditional Indian Calendar, which is set according to Lunar positions, sankranti is a solar event. Thus, while the dates of all Indian festivals keep changing every year, the English calendar date of Makar Sankranti is always the same - 14th January.

Culture & Festivities:This festival is celebrated

differently in different parts of the country.

In Uttar Pradesh, Sankrant is called ‘Khichiri’. People take a dip in the Ganges or other holi waters and eat the rice and lentil preparation of Khichri. In Bengal it’s called Makar/Til Sankranti. Every year a very big Mela is held at Ganga Sagar where the river Ganga is believed to have dived into the nether region and vivified the ashes of the sixty thousand ancestors of King Bhagirath. People take a dip in the holy rivers and a lot of sweets called “pethas” are made out of rice, jaggery,til etc and exchanged. Special prayers are organized.

In Tamil Nadu Sankrant is known by the name of ‘Pon-gal’, which takes its name from the surging of rice boiled in a pot of milk, and this festi-val has more significance than even Diwali. It is very popular particularly amongst farmers.

Rice and pulses cooked to-gether in ghee and milk is of-fered to the family deity after the ritual worship. In essence in the South this Sankrant is a ‘Puja’ (worship) for the Sun God. In Andhra Pradesh, it is celebrated as a three-day harvest festival Pongal. The Telugus like to call it ‘Pedda Panduga’ meaning big festi-val. The whole event lasts for four days, the first day Bhogi, the second day Sankranti, the third day Kanuma and the fourth day, Mukkanuma. In Maharashtra on the Sankranti day people exchange multi-colored tilguds made from til (sesame seeds) and sugar and til-laddus made from til and jaggery. Til-polis are offered for lunch. While exchanging tilguls as tokens of goodwill people greet each other saying – ‘til-gul ghya, god god bola’ meaning ‘accept these tilguls and speak sweet words’. The under-lying thought in the ex-change of tilguls is to forget the past ill-feelings and hostilities and resolve to speak sweetly and remain friends. This is a special day for the women in Maharashtra when married women are invited for a get-to-gether called ‘Haldi-Kumkum’ and given gifts of any utensil, which the woman of the house purchases on that day.

In Gujarat Sankrant is ob-served more or less in the same manner as in Maharashtra but with a difference that in Gujarat there is a custom of giving gifts to relatives. The elders in the

family give gifts to the young-er members of the family. The Gujarati Pundits on this auspi-cious day grant scholarships to students for higher studies in astrology and philosophy. This festival thus helps the mainte-nance of social relationships within the family, caste and community. Kite flying has been associated with this festi-val in a big way. It has become an internationally well-known event. In Punjab where Decem-ber and January are the coldest months of the year, huge bon-fires are lit on the eve of Sank-rant and which is celebrated as “Lohari”. Sweets, sugarcane and rice are thrown in the bon-fires, around which friends and relatives gather together. The following day, which is Sank-rant, is celebrated as Maghi. The Punjabi’s dance their fa-mous Bhangra dance till they get exhausted. Then they sit down and eat the sumptuous food that is specially prepared for the occasion. In Kerala the 40 days anushthana by the dev-otees of Ayyappa ends on this day in Sabarimala with a big festival. In Bundelkhand and Madhya Pradesh this festival of Sankrant is known by the name ‘Sakarat’ and is celebrated with great pomp and merriment ac-companied by lot of sweets. Many tribals in our country start their New Year from the day of Sankrant by lighting bonfires, dancing and eating their particular dishes sitting together. The Bhuya tribals of Orissa have their Maghyatra in which small home-made

articles are put for sale. In As-sam, the festival is celebrated as Bhogali Bihu. In the coastal regions, it is a harvest festival dedicated to Indra.

Importance of Til (Sesame seeds) in Makar Sankranti

Before distributing sweets made out of sesame seeds, they are kept in front of an idol or a picture of a Deity on one’s al-tar. This helps retain the Shakti (Divine Energy) and Chaitanya in the sweets. It is known to eliminate sins if used in drink-ing water, bathing, applying til oil on the body and other uses. When distributing sweets made of sesame seeds, bhāv (spiri-tual emotion) and Chaitanya is awakened in us. All the mem-bers of the house derive the benefit of the increased Chait-anya in the environment. The prembhav in people increases and they are able to overcome negative thinking and replace it with positive thinking. Accord-ing to Āyurvēda, eating sesame seeds in winter is beneficial for our health. Spiritually, sesame seeds and sesame oil have the ability to absorb and emit Sat-tva frequencies more than any other oil. Hence, during Makar Sankranti, sesame seeds are favorable for good sadhana to happen. Importance of sesame seed sweets: Sesame seeds have the ability to absorb and emit high amounts of Sat-tva frequencies. By consuming sesame seed sweets, inner pu-rification happens which helps improve one’s sadhana. By dis-tributing these sweets to each

other, there is an exchange of sāttviktā, which helps increase everyone’s sattvikta

Health Benefits of Sesame seeds

Not only are sesame seeds an excellent source of cop-per and a very good source of manganese, but they are also a good source of calcium, mag-nesium, iron, phosphorus, vi-tamin B1,B6 Thiamin Folate and Niacin, zinc, molybdenum, selenium, and dietary fiber, proteins and carbohydrates. In addition to these important nu-trients, sesame seeds contain two unique substances: sesamin and sesamolin. Both of these substances belong to a group of special beneficial fibers called lignans, and have been shown to have a cholesterol-lowering effect in humans, and to pre-vent high blood pressure and increase vitamin E supplies in animals. Sesamin has also been found to protect the liver from oxidative damage. Significant health benefits of Sesame seeds include prevention and control of diabetes; reduction in risks of cancer; improving and support of bone health; as a strong anti-inflammatory agent; facilitating and improving colon health, digestion and preventing con-stipation; boosting oral health cellular growth and metabolic function. It is also known to help in reducing cardiovascu-lar diseases and hypertension; reduces signs of premature ag-ing and strengthening muscle tissue and hair. It is known to be very beneficial in protecting DNA from harmful effects of radiation either from accidental or natural sources or caused by chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

Caution: Excessive con-sumption may cause irritation in stomach and colon.

Happy Makar Sankranti to all readers!

Prof. Meenakshi Bhattacharjee,

VOICE OF ASIA 9 FRIDAY, January 9, 2015SOUTH ASIA

[email protected]

Pakistan court re-detains Mumbai attacks ‘mastermind’ISLAMABAD - Pakistan’s

Supreme Court Wednes-day reimposed a detention

order on the alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, court officials said, the latest in a tussle over his custody that has strained ties with India.

Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, who is accused over the terror siege in India’s commercial capital, was granted bail on December 18 by an anti-terror court but authorities later detained him under a public order law, which in turn was then suspended by the Islamabad High Court on December 29.

A two-judge panel has now suspended Islamabad High Court’s interim order and di-rected it to hear the case again from January 12, a court offi-cial told AFP.

The judges ruled that the high court did not hear the ar-guments of federal government and suspended Lakhvi’s deten-tion orders in haste, the official said.

Lakhvi has never been let out of Adiyala Prison in Rawalpindi during the back and forth over his detention, which prompted an angry response from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he was initially granted bail.

The Mumbai attacks left 166

NEW DELHI, AFP, | 1/7/2015. - A law-maker from India’s

ruling party has called for Hin-du women to have at least four children to “protect” their reli-gion, sparking calls for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to rein in his hardline supporters.

Sakshi Maharaj, who repre-sents a seat in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh for Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said in a speech Tuesday that Hindus should see it as their duty to have large families.

“The time has come when a Hindu woman must produce at least four children in order to protect the Hindu religion,” Maharaj said at a religious con-gregation in the city of Meerut.

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Pakistani security personnel escort Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi (C), alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, as he leaves court after a hearing in Islamabad on January 1, 2015 (AFP Photo/Aamir Qureshi)

people dead and were blamed on banned Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). India has long seethed at Paki-stan’s failure either to hand over or prosecute those accused of planning and organising the violence.

Lakhvi and six other suspects have been charged in Pakistan but their cases have made vir-tually no progress in more than five years.

It was also seen as an embar-rassment for Pakistan’s govern-ment, which has promised to crack down on all terror groups

Maharaj’s remarks sparked a backlash on social media with his name trending on Twitter while political opponents de-manded an explanation from Modi who has a reputation as an unashamed Hindu national-ist.

“Why has the prime minister maintained silence even for 24 hours? Is this the new popula-tion policy of India? The coun-try wants to know, the nation wants an answer,” said Ab-hishek Manu Singhvi, a senior figure in the former ruling Con-gress party.

Modi also came under fire last month for rejecting calls to sack another BJP lawmaker who told a campaign rally crowd to

decide whether they wanted a government run by “the chil-dren of (Hindu god) Ram or the children of bastards”.

In his speech, Maharaj went on to support a recent spate of ‘re-conversions’ to Hinduism, an issue which paralysed par-liament last month and stalled the right-wing government’s economic reforms agenda.

Religious groups and po-litical opponents have accused radical organisations linked to the BJP of forcing or enticing religious minorities to convert to Hinduism.

While Hindus account for more than 80 percent of In-dia’s 1.2 billion population, the country is officially secular and is home to sizeable numbers of Muslims, Buddhists and Chris-tians.

India’s birth rate has declined dramatically in the last two decades due in part to rising female literacy, according to a government study published last month.

The Total Fertility Rate -- the number of children the average woman will have in her life-time based on current trends -- fell to 2.3 in 2013 from 3.6 in 1991.

Maharaj’s latest comments came barely a month after he stirred controversy by calling independence hero Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin a ‘patriot’.

Indian MP says Hindu women must have four kids

Sakshi Maharaj

-- including those that target arch-rival India -- in the wake of the Taliban school massacre that killed 150 people, mostly children, last month.

The government had ap-proached the country’s Su-preme Court last week to rein-state Lakhvi’s detention under a public order law.

Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), a charitable organisation seen as a front for LeT, operates openly in the country and its leaders frequently appear on televi-sion delivering fiery speeches against India.

Gujarat CM Smt. Anandiben Patel Inaugurates Vibrant Gujarat Global Trade Show seen with Smt. Sushma Swaraj, Minister of overseas Indian Affairs & External Affairs, Govt. of India.

Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2015GUJARAT, India, -

The preparation of 7th Vibrant Gujarat

Summit, which is planned during 11th to 13th January 2015 at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India have began well ahead by the Government of Gujarat af-ter the Vibrant Gujarat 2013 Summit resounding success. Last summit has given an ex-ample of a visionary approach of the Government of Gujarat towards inclusive and sustain-able development. The sixth edition of the summit provid-

ed enormous prospects to the State to display its strengths, progressive stand, initiatives taken to improve governance, investor friendly climate and art & culture of Gujarat.

Six summits held so far have been a resounding success that immensely contributed to transformation of Gujarat into a “Global Business Hub”. The brand “Vibrant Gujarat” began as an “investors’ sum-mit” has now evolved into an ideal platform for knowledge

sharing, social and business transformation. The Sum-mit gradually evolved into a round-the-year investment promotion exercise with events scheduled well in ad-vance of the main Summit planned in 2015.

The prime focus of Govern-ment of Gujarat is Inclusive development and the key ar-eas for development identified included: Innovation, Sustain-ability, Youth & Skill Devel-opment, Knowledge Sharing

and Networking. Also, this Summit is an ideal conver-gence for other states and other countries to showcase their strengths, highlight busi-ness opportunities, facilitate knowledge dissemination etc. It also provides an attractive opportunity to its participants to understand the potential of Gujarat in various sectors. Besides, it provides platform to interact with policy mak-ers, industry leaders, and re-nowned academicians from all over the world.

VOICE OF ASIA 10 FRIDAY, January 9, 2015WORLD/US

United Nations, AFP - UN Secretary Gener-al Ban Ki-moon will

travel to India at the weekend to attend an investors’ summit in Gujarat and to meet with leaders in Delhi.

Ban will be making his fourth trip to India as UN chief, his spokesman said Tuesday.

The UN chief will deliver an address at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit on Sunday that will

Religion must be subject to satire, Rushdie says

LONDON, AFP | 1/7/2015 - British-Indian writer Sal-

man Rushdie paid tribute to the work of satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo following a deadly attack on its offices Wednesday, say-ing religion must be subject to satire.

Rushdie was forced into hiding after Iran issued a death sentence on him for al-legedly insulting Islam with his 1988 book “The Satanic Verses”.

“I stand with Charlie Heb-do, as we all must, to de-fend the art of satire, which has always been a force for liberty and against tyranny, dishonesty and stupidity,” he said.

“’Respect for religion’ has become a code phrase mean-ing ‘fear of religion’. Reli-gions, like all other ideas, deserve criticism, satire, and,

Global condemnation, solidarity after ‘barbaric’ Paris attack

by Alice RITCHIE

LONDON,| AFP | 1/7/2015 The UN Secu-rity Council led global

condemnation of the “terrorist” shooting at French magazine Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday which left 12 people dead, in a shocking attack on freedom of speech in Europe.

US President Barack Obama and Queen Elizabeth II offered their condolences to those af-fected after masked men armed with Kalashnikov automatic rifles opened fire at the Paris of-fices of the satirical weekly.

Pope Francis said there could be no justification for “the hor-rible attack that plunged the city of Paris into mourning”.

The Committee to Protect Journalists said the shooting was a “brazen assault on free expres-sion in the heart of Europe”, while Reporters Without Bor-ders called it a “black day”.

On social media, people across the world showed their solidar-ity with the publication by post-ing the hashtag #JeSuisCharlie -- “I am Charlie”.

Tens of thousands also rallied in cities across France and Eu-rope in a show of solidarity with the victims.

French President Francois Hollande condemned as a “ter-rorist attack” the massacre at the publication, which has been in confrontation for years with Islamists who accused it of at-tacking their religion through cartoons.

Hollande’s characterisation of the incident was echoed by the 15-member UN Security Council, which condemned the “barbaric and cowardly terrorist attack”.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the “horrendous, unjustifiable and cold-blooded crime” was “meant to divide. We must not fall into that trap”.

Obama said: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this terrorist attack and the people of France at this difficult time.”

US Secretary of State John Kerry later addressed the people of France in televised remarks in French, saying: “All Americans stand by your side.”

In Rome, Italian Prime Min-ister Matteo Renzi went to the French embassy to say: “We are all French, because we think freedom is the only ‘raison d’etre’ of Europe and European citizens.”

British Prime Minister Da-vid Cameron said the attack was “sickening”, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel called it “despicable”, sentiments re-flected across European capitals.

In a rare statement on interna-tional events, Queen Elizabeth offered her “sincere condo-lences” to those affected by the attack.

There was also condemnation from Russian President Vladimir Putin, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo-gan, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the Chinese foreign ministry among others.

Israeli Prime Minister Ben-jamin Netanyahu for his part called for global unity to fight the “scourge” of radical Islam.

Terrorism, Islamophobia ‘in-terconnected’

Iran also condemned the mas-

sacre but reiterated its criticism of the magazine’s 2006 publica-tion of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.

“Making use of freedom of expression... to humiliate the monotheistic religions and their values and symbols is unaccept-able,” foreign ministry spokes-woman Marzieh Afkham told the official IRNA news agency.

The gunmen were heard to shout “we have avenged the prophet” and “Allahu akbar” (“God is greatest”), according to French police.

Egypt’s Al-Azhar University, Sunni Islam’s most prestigious centre of learning, called the at-tack “criminal” and said “Islam denounces any violence”, while the Arab League also condemned the attack.

The foreign ministry of Qa-tar, which is accused of backing radical Islamic groups, added: “Such acts that target unarmed

World leaders, media groups condemn ‘barbaric’ Paris attack

civilians contradict all principles and moral and human values.”

Turkish Foreign Minister Mev-lut Cavusoglu said his country condemned all forms of “terror”, but said terrorism and increasing Islamophobia in Europe were “interconnected”.

“We must fight against in-creasing racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia in Europe which threaten all our values. We must also fight against any form of terrorism,” he said.

In Mali, where the French military launched an offensive in 2013 against radical Islamist groups, President Ibrahim Bou-bacar Keita condemned “the attack against democracy and freedom” and reaffirmed his country’s commitment in the fight against terrorism.

‘Religions deserve criticism’ Salman Rushdie, the British-

Indian writer who was forced into hiding in 1989 after Iran is-sued a death sentence on him for allegedly insulting Islam, hailed Charlie Hebdo’s style.

“I stand with Charlie Hebdo, as we all must, to defend the art of satire, which has always been a force for liberty and against tyranny, dishonesty and stupid-ity,” he said.

He added: “Religions, like all other ideas, deserve criticism, satire, and, yes, our fearless dis-respect.”

Media rights groups also criti-cised the attack.

“The scale of the violence is

appalling,” said Robert Mahon-ey, deputy director of the New York-based Committee to Pro-tect Journalists.

“Journalists must now stand together to send the message that such murderous attempts to silence us will not stand.”

Security was reportedly stepped up Wednesday at the Danish newspaper that pro-voked angry and sometimes deadly protests worldwide by publishing a series of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in 2005, later reprinted by Charlie Hebdo.

“Completely defenceless and innocent people became the vic-tims of what appears to be an at-tack on free speech,” said Den-mark’s Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt.

UN chief to promote sustainable development in India

focus on “the need to promote inclusive and sustainable de-velopment in India and glob-ally,” said Stephane Dujarric.

Ban will visit a solar power plant and hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he pushes for a global deal on re-ducing greenhouse gas emis-sions to be reached in Paris later this year.

Energy-starved India is seen as one of the major hurdles to a deal.

yes, our fearless disrespect.”

Wednesday’s shooting in Paris, which left at least 12 people dead, took place af-ter years of confrontation between Charlie Hebdo and Islamists infuriated by what they saw as the publication’s attacks on their religion.

Rushdie issued his state-ment on Twitter, along with the hashtag #JeSuisCharlie, which many users have been tweeting in a show of soli-darity.

“Religion, a mediaeval form of unreason, when combined with modern weaponry becomes a real threat to our freedoms,” the author of “Midnight’s Chil-dren” said.

“This religious totalitarian-ism has caused a deadly mu-tation in the heart of Islam and we see the tragic conse-quences in Paris today.”


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ONLINE.COMvoiceofasiaonline.com LIFESTYLE

ALEXANDRIA, AFP - A dozen dogs origi-nally destined for

dinner tables in South Korea arrived in the Washington area Monday to be adopted as pets.

They were the first of a total of 23 dogs being imported into the United States this week as part of a campaign to combat the eating of dog meat in East Asia.

Washington-based Humane Society International (HSI) lo-cated the dogs at a farm in Ilsan, northwest of Seoul, where they were being bred specifically for human consumption.

The farmer -- who acknowl-edged a personal fondness for dogs -- agreed to give up the animals, accept an offer of com-pensation and grow blueberries instead, HSI director of com-panion animals Kelly O’Meara told AFP, as the mongrels set-tled into kennels at the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria, Virginia after a long flight from Seoul.

HSI has been working with local groups in China, the Phil-ippines, Thailand and Vietnam to raise public awareness of the dog meat trade.

Parrot is ramping up its Flower Power with a pot that not only detects

whether plants have enough light and fertilizer, but waters them as needed.

A Parrot “smart pot” is head-ing for global release this year at a price yet to be revealed by the Paris-based company known for drones and in-car communications and audio.

Sensors in pots measure light, moisture, temperature, and the level of fertilizer to determine whether plants are getting proper amounts of each to flourish, Van-essa Loury of Parrot told AFP on Sunday at the Consumer Electron-ics Show in Las Vegas.

“There is also water in the pot so it will water the plants for you,” Loury said.

Each pot holds enough water to irrigate a plant for several weeks to a month, depending on the type.

If plants need more light or fer-

Electronics show a window into the ‘Internet of Me’

by Rob Lever

LAS VEGAS, AFP | - New technology is getting more personal.

So personal, it is moving to connect and analyze our move-ments, our health, our brains and our everyday devices.

Welcome to the so-called In-ternet of Me.

One of the major themes at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is connecting thousands of ob-jects that people use each day -- clothing, cars, light bulbs and home appliances.

But the challenge facing de-velopers is making that infor-mation useful, and the CES is increasingly seeing inventions related to digital “coaches” and ways to improve health or fit-ness, or get better information about our cars or appliances, said Shawn DuBravac, chief economist at the Consumer Electronics Association in his outlook for the show.

“The key to all of this is that something happens in the physical space, and we digi-tize it and feed it back into the physical space,” he said.

“No longer the focus is on what can technologically be done but what is technologi-cally meaningful.”

Some of the new devices on display at a preview Sunday included apps to monitor and improve the quality of sleep, a connected baby bottle to mea-sure infant nutrition intake, and sensors that analyze one’s golf swing to compare it to that of the pros.

Smart clothing, connected smoke detectors and dozens of new smartwatches and fitness devices are also in the mix.

- Next phase of Internet - Smartwatches and other

wearables are far more promi-nent at the show than ever be-fore.

AFP/Robyn Beck - An attendee rides a bicycle equipped with a yellow Connected Cycle smart pedal during a media preview event at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show on January 4, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada

The Slow Control smart baby bottle is displayed at CES Unveiled, the opening event for the media preview days at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 4, 2015

These new technologies “continue the trend of deploy-ing the Internet in a personal way,” DuBravac said. “Noth-ing gets more personal than wearables.”

He said this represents a “third phase of the Internet,” after personal computers and mobile devices, to wearables and other connected objects.

“We are moving the Internet now from two billion smart-phones to 50 billion objects,” he said.

“We are taking the Internet to new places, to your wrist. And you are going to see that across the show... It’s not just

The show also features new big-screen televisions with “ul-tra” high-definition displays, and an array of drones for personal and industrial uses. It also includes expanded sec-tions for robotics and automo-tive technology.

The exhibition opens amid a mixed economic outlook for the global technology indus-try. The Consumer Electronics Association, which organizes it, said spending on technol-ogy rose a mere one percent in 2014 to $1.024 trillion, but that it is too early to know the trend for 2015.

“We have a very mixed spending picture,” CEA ana-

rozone and Japan and “weak expectations” in big emerg-ing economies such as Brazil, Koenig explained.

Russia, another large emerg-ing economy, is being hit by economic sanctions that could dent tech spending.

The association predicted a drop in tech spending of five percent in Europe and Latin America, and it remains un-clear whether the rest of the world will pick up the slack.

Koenig said smartphone and tablet sales are growing at a healthy pace in China and oth-er developing economies, and demand for new televisions

about the distribution and dis-semination of information. The way we use the Internet will change.”

CES, which officially opens Tuesday, is one of the world’s biggest trade fairs devoted to technology, with some 36,000 exhibitors and an estimated 160,000 people in attendance.

lyst Steve Koenig said.The market is being driven

by strong demand for new products like tablets and smart-phones in emerging economies in Asia, and by modest eco-nomic growth in North Amer-ica.

The picture is clouded by economic stagnation in the eu-

is being driven by a “robust upgrade cycle” to the “ultra” high-definition displays.

At the same time, spending is being capped by the decreasing price for new mobile devices.

“A flood of low-cost de-vices is coming into the mar-ketplace,” he said, noting the prominence of phone mak-ers in China such as Xiaomi, which has pushed into the top ranks of manufacturers.

Dogs bred for meat in S.Korea start new life in US

“But South Korea is unusual because it actually farms dogs to supply demand,” O’Meara said, while other countries tar-get feral dogs as food.

Every year, between 1.2 mil-lion and two million dogs are consumed in South Korea, she said, supplied by farms that number “at least in the hun-dreds.”

O’Meara said it was the first time that dogs from South Ko-rea intended for human con-sumption had been rescued and brought into the United States, where a brisk demand for ad-opted dogs and cats is met by a thriving network of animal res-cue groups and shelters.

All 23 South Korean dogs -- the second batch is due to arrive Tuesday -- will undergo veteri-narian checks in Alexandria, before being distributed among five other shelters in the Mid-Atlantic states for adoption.

“By helping these 23 dogs, we’ll be helping a lot of other dogs in South Korea” by rais-ing public awareness of the dog meat trade, said Megan Webb, executive director of the Ani-mal Welfare League of Alex-andria, which finds homes for about 1,000 dogs a year.

Snowball, who was rescued from a dog meat farm in South Ko-rea, settles into the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria shelter January 5, 2015 (AFP Photo/Robert MacPherson)

tilizer, alerts are fired off through free Flower Power applications available for mobile devices pow-ered by Apple, Android or Win-dows software.

A database compiled with help from scientists boasts a catalogue of more than 7,000 plants from herbs, to flowers, to teas to Can-nabis.

The smart pot builds on tech-nology in a Flower Power sensor released about two years ago for use with plants in old-fashioned dumb pots.

“This is not a crazy idea,” Loury said. “This is something we are re-ally interested in.”

Parrot also works with farm-ers to survey crops with drones equipped with cameras that scru-tinize leaves to determine when fertilizer is needed, according to Loury.

“It is a green approach, and a cost saving for the farmer as well,” she said.

‘Smart pot’ watches over house plants


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VOICE OF ASIA 13 FRIDAY, January 9, 2015LEISUREChina Ice Festival launches

without a bangThe Harbin Ice and Snow Festival opened on Monday (Jan 5) but officials cancelled a fire-work display to allay safety concerns after a deadly New Year stampede in Shanghai.

HARBIN, China: A spectacular ice festi-val opened in China

on Monday (Jan 5) but officials cancelled a firework display to allay safety concerns after a deadly New Year stampede in Shanghai.

The Harbin Ice and Snow Festival, in the chilly northeast-ern province of Heilongjiang, draws tens of thousands of visi-tors each year to its enormous ice buildings and sculptures.

But organisers told AFP they had cancelled a firework show originally planned to open the festival because of safety con-cerns, days after a crush in the Chinese commercial hub Shanghai killed 36 revellers. That disaster happened as peo-ple packed into the waterfront Bund to usher in 2015.

The Harbin fireworks were set to be held at a theme park featuring massive and daz-zlingly lit ice replicas of Chi-nese palaces, Russian churches and French cathedrals. The festival regularly attracts more than 800,000 people during its run.

Tourists ride a horse-drawn carriage in front of ice sculptures at the Harbin Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival in the northern city of Harbin, Heilongjiang province, China in this file photo from January 5, 2014. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

But visitors gave the fire-works cancellation a frosty reception on Monday as the mercury dropped to a piercing minus nine degrees Celsius (16 degrees Fahrenheit). “It was the main reason for us coming here today,” said Li Chen angrily af-

ter she was told by security that it would not be taking place.

“Shall we go home now? It’s too cold,” said her boyfriend, taking Li’s hand.

But others refused to let the cancellation stop them having

fun at the festival, which fea-tures an ice maze and slides. “I am not bothered,” said one six-year-old boy who gave his name as Liu, moments after he had reached the bottom of a three-storey-high ice slide.

“I just want to see how fast I can go.”

Kanye West and Paul McCartney team up on lullaby

New York (AFP) - Kanye West and Paul McCartney, two leg-

endary performers from dif-ferent musical traditions, have teamed up in an unlikely collab-oration on a new single released Thursday called “Only One”.

The soft ballad, which West said was inspired by his daugh-ter, features the vocals of the world-famous rapper and for-mer Beatle McCartney on the organ.

The lullaby-like collabora-tion has been in the works since early 2014, when the two met in a bungalow in Los Angeles, according to a statement from West’s label Def Jam record-ings.

“The process that would result in ‘Only One’ began with a sim-ple brainstorming session be-tween the two, with McCartney improvising on the keyboards and Kanye vocally sketching and shaping ideas in a stream-of-consciousness riff,” it said.

The song was inspired by West’s daughter North, who was sitting in his lap when he sang to her, “Hello my only one.”

West said his own mother used to sing those words to him as a child.

“My mom was singing to me -- and through me -- to my daughter,” said the hip hop art-ist, whose first name also means

Kanye West performs during the World AIDS Day (RED) concert in Times Square in New York on December 1, 2014 (AFP Photo/Timothy A. Clary)

Paul McCartney performs at PETCO Park on September 28, 2014 in San Diego, California (AFP Photo/Kevin Winter)

“only one”.

Def Jam called the collabora-tion “one of the most powerful and unexpected music collabo-rations in modern history”.

The single was released late New Year’s Eve, and will be available on iTunes in 119 coun-tries for one week.

West, 37, is married to US reality television star Kim Kar-dashian, who sent a tweet about the new tune to her 27 million followers.

“People always ask me what my favorite Kanye song is and it’s ‘Only One’. Kanye feels like his mom sang thru him to our daughter,” Kardashian wrote on Twitter.

“I cry every time I hear this song,” she wrote.

West has frequently paired up with other musicians -- from rapper Jay Z to British rockers Coldplay -- on his albums.

Liverpool-born McCartney, who linked to audio of the new song on his Twitter page, is one of two surviving members of the Beatles. He continues to play music and tour around the world.

This is the first time the duo have worked together on a song.

Bright lights, big city: Visitors preview the incredible sculptures at Harbin’s Ice and Snow Festival

Movie being made of kiss-and-tell book by French leader’s ex

by Marc Burleigh

Paris (AFP) - A movie adaptation of a kiss-and-tell bestselling

book that deeply embarrassed French President Francois Hol-lande is in the works after his journalist ex-girlfriend who wrote it agreed to team up with a producer friend.

The producer, Saida Jawad, told French celebrity magazine Gala in an interview published on Monday that she and Hol-lande’s ex, Valerie Trierweiler, “are currently developing the movie adaptation of the best-seller and are looking at co-productions with French and international companies”.

The news will be a fresh blow to Hollande, who was embar-rassed by Trierweiler’s book, “Thank You for this Moment” (“Merci Pour Ce Moment” in French), which first came out last September before being translated into 12 languages in-cluding English.

The memoir lays bare the turbulent, six-year relationship that Trierweiler experienced with Hollande, including 18 months by his side after he became president in 2012. It portrays France’s unpopular Socialist head of state as a cal-lous egotist and -- perhaps most damagingly -- alleges he once insulted the poor as “tooth-less”.

Trierweiler’s relationship ended a year ago when another French celebrity magazine, Closer, published photos of Hollande cheating on her with a

glamorous actress, Julie Gayet.

Jawad, who is also an actress as well as a screenwriter and a producer through her company Romarin Films, said “I guaran-tee that you will discover new things” in the movie adapta-tion. She said Trierweiler -- whom she described as a very close friend -- would have final say over the film.

- ‘Not a controversial film’ -

The biopic would require changes from the book to make it work for the big screen, no-tably with the character repre-senting Trierweiler “recount-ing her story to a confidante, so the political context is better understood,” Jawad said.

Actress Julie Gayet in Lyon, France, on October 13, 2014 (AFP Photo/Jeff Pachoud).

But Jawad added: “I’m not looking to make a controver-sial film, I just want to tell the story of the fight of a woman in love, even if the story is ex-ceptional because the man she loves is the president.”

Trierweiler, 49, who works for French magazine Paris Match, has already earned more than 1.3 million euros ($1.5 million) in France alone from her book, according to her publisher. It remains in the top three books being sold in France.

Hollande, whose popular-ity ratings are hovering near record lows on the back of a stagnating economy, admitted

at the end of 2014 that he had been through a “tough year”.

He has sought to keep his post-Trierweiler personal life out of the public gaze, but to little effect.

In November, the celebrity magazine Voici published new photos of him and Gayet on a private terrace of the presiden-tial palace, prompting him to transfer five of his staff who might have taken the snaps to other posts.

The only companion Hol-lande is now officially said to be frolicking with is a black Labrador puppy named Philae, given to him for Christmas by Canadian war veterans

Nepal introduces women-only buses to combat groping

KATHMANDU - Ne-pal’s capital has in-troduced women-only

minibuses in a bid to protect female passengers from sexual assault, the transport operator organizing the service said on Monday.

Four 17-seater minibuses were flagged off in Kathmandu with large “women-only” signs on Sunday and they will operate on key routes in Kathmandu during morning and evening rush hour.

“Groping and sexual assault is a problem for women who use buses, especially during peak hours when buses are over-crowded,” said Bharat Nepal, president of the Bagmati Fed-eration Transport Union, which introduced the service.

“This is our small initiative to

make commuting safe and se-cure for female travellers.”

Only one of the buses current-ly has a female conductor but he said that the goal was to eventu-ally employ an all-women crew.

In a 2013 World Bank survey, 26 percent of female respon-dents aged between 19 and 35 years said they had experienced some form of sexual assault on public transport in Nepal.

In 2011, a 21-year old Bud-dhist nun was gang raped in a bus in eastern Nepal by five men, including the bus driver.

Complaints about groping prompted authorities in neigh-boring India to introduce wom-en-only carriages on the metro system in the capital New Delhi in 2010.

A 17-seater minibus with a large “women-only” sign will operate on key routes in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu during morning and evening rush hour in a bid to protect female passengers from sexual assault. (Photo: www.bbc.com)


Friday, January 9, 2015 Section 2 Page 14 Email: [email protected] Tel: 713-774-5140

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‘Small screens’ prevent kids from sleeping: US study

Children who have access to tablets or smartphones in their

bedrooms get less sleep than children who do not have the devices with them at night, a US study said Monday.

The findings in the January 5 edition of the journal Pediatrics show that having a so-called “small screen” within reach was slightly worse than a tele-vision set when it came to sleep deprivation in a group of 2,000 middle school kids.

Overall, those with access to smartphones and tablets got nearly 21 fewer minutes of sleep per night than children whose rooms were free of such technology, and they were more likely to say they felt sleep de-prived.

Those with a TV in the bed-room got 18 minutes fewer of slumber than kids without tele-visions in their rooms.

“Presence of a small screen, but not a TV, in the sleep en-vironment, and screen time

were associated with perceived insufficient rest or sleep,” said the study led by Jennifer Falbe of the University of Califor-nia, Berkeley School of Public Health.

“These findings caution against unrestricted screen ac-cess in children’s bedrooms.”

Participants in the study in-cluded 2,048 fourth- and sev-enth-graders enrolled in the Massachusetts Childhood Obe-sity Research Demonstration Study from 2012 to 2013.

Those with a TV in the bedroom got 18 minutes fewer of slumber than kids without televisions in their rooms.

When it comes to creative gift-giv-ing, you may feel

you’ve exhausted your options, especially for those who seem to have everything. But there’s no need to make a birthday tra-dition out of giving the same old gifts year-in and year-out.

Luckily, you don’t need to look far to see beyond tradi-tional sources of inspiration. Whereas in the past you may have had to schedule a trip to a vintage store, art gallery or antique market and pay top dollar to score a unique find, new online marketplaces are conveniently bringing consum-ers the creativity of artists and designers.

“We wanted to provide those hungry for unique and beauti-ful wearables, housewares, ac-

cessories and useful items an alternative to the mass retail-ers,” says Faith Sedlin, CMO of Redbubble a diverse creative community and marketplace that brings together artists and designers from across the globe. “We also wanted to make these items affordable.”

Offering more than 14 mil-lion designs, Redbubble, is a great place to start your search for that perfect birthday or special occasion gift. Is your gift recipient a fashionista, a metal-head or a sci-fi fan? The site sorts designs by interest, making it easy to find artwork that suits any gift recipient. You then have the option of apply-ing the design to a high-quality item such as a t-shirt, hoodie, throw pillow, tote bag, duvet cover and more.

New Ways to Find One-of-a-Kind Gifts for Birthdays and Special Occasions

Unique art from independent artists is becoming more widely available, thanks to online retailers. (StatePoint)

A unique, one-of-a-kind gift will mean so much more than something generic or predict-able. Not only can you help your gift recipients transform the look and feel of their liv-ing spaces with cool wall art, or stand out in the crowd with one-of-a-kind apparel that re-flects their personalities, you will support an independent art-ist in the process. Just be sure to order with plenty of time, as personalizing your order may take several days to process and ship.

For gift ideas and inspiration, visit www.Redbubble.com.

Before you hit the shops, consider reaping the benefits of the artistic renaissance taking place in cyberspace. SOURCE: (StatePoint)

Registration is now open for students who want to take advan-

tage of living on campus dur-ing the spring semester.

Most of the University’s seven residential communities have rooms available. To sign up, students should log in to AccessUH using their myUH ID and password then click on the myHousing icon.

“This is a wonderful op-portunity for those who have considered living on campus,”

UH - Spring On-Campus Housing Registration is NOW Available!

said Don Yackley, executive director of Student Housing and Residential Life. “Our communities provide services and programs that will enrich the overall student experience at UH.”

On-campus living offers nu-merous advantages, including convenience. Residents are just a short walk away from their classes, campus activities, the library and dining halls. They don’t have to worry about find-ing a parking space. It’s also educational. Live-in faculty

from different disciplines and fields live in most of the resi-dential facilities. They work with housing staff to provide residents with fun and educa-tional programs.

More information about each of the facilities can be found on the Student Housing and Residential Life website. Each facility has its own eligibility requirements. To find out what they are, go here. For ques-tions, contact Student Housing and Residential Life at 713-743-6000 or [email protected]

by Betsy Mayotte, (US News & World report) Jan. 7, 2015

You’ve seen the ads on television encouraging students to get a degree

online, work at their own pace and save time and money. For some students, online courses are a great way to earn a degree or certificate, especially if their work or family schedules make it difficult to commit to a class that’s held at the same time every week.

But just like choosing a tradi-tional brick-and-mortar college, choosing an online program means doing your homework before starting classes, including making sure you know how to pay for them.

Studies show that the number of students who complete, or gradu-ate, from their online degree or certificate program is lower than those who enroll in traditional college courses. But while you might not finish your degree, the student loan debt will remain, as well as a higher risk of default.

In many cases – but not always – an online program may be a cheaper alternative to obtain-ing a degree at a school’s physi-cal campus. Just as with any big purchase, it’s important to shop around to see which school offers the best value for the credential you are seeking. The luxury of online learning options is that the location of the institution is no longer a restriction to the choices available.

While you can obtain federal fi-nancial aid for many online edu-cation programs, there are some restrictions. The most significant restriction is attending a school outside the U.S. While you can obtain federal student loans to at-tend some foreign schools, regu-lations do not allow any part of that program to be online, even if it’s just a single class.

If you do need to dip into feder-al or other financial aid resources to afford college, it’s all the more important to ensure the quality of the program is high. Ensuring the program has been accredited by recognized regional or na-tional accreditors is one way to verify that the program meets at least minimum standards – and increases the chances of your credits being transferable if you should decide to attend a different school midway through. Some schools are starting to refuse to accept online transfer credits, re-gardless of accreditation, due to what they say is low standards in some online programs.

It’s also important to note that you must be enrolled at an ac-credited institution to receive federal financial aid and most other state and private aid. Your schools should be able to tell you right away if they are accredited and if so by whom.

Online education may also of-fer a higher risk of overborrowing than a traditional program. Even though your tuition and fees may not be any cheaper, the remainder

of your cost of attendance should be significantly cheaper as you won’t be incurring additional transportation or room and board expenses than you had prior to enrolling in school.

While that is usually the case, schools are required to offer similar cost of attendance totals to online students as they do to students attending the same pro-gram on campus, which means a high possibility of being offered more loan funds than you’ll need to pay the cost of the program. While it can be tempting to hang on to those extra funds, they can add up quickly to a higher student loan debt than you expected.

The Department of Education’s College Navigator is a great tool to help consumers evaluate all these traits as they research on-line programs. The site includes statistics on a school’s gradua-tion rate, debt level, student loan default rates and net cost, among other items, and can be valuable for comparing schools and their online – and other – offerings.

Betsy Mayotte, director of reg-ulatory compliance for American Student Assistance, regularly ad-vises consumers on planning and paying for college. Mayotte, who received a B.S. in business com-munications from Bentley Col-lege, is a frequent contributor to ASA’s SALT Blog; responds to public inquiries via the advice resource “Just Ask;” and is fre-quently quoted in traditional and social media on the topics of stu-dent loans and financial aid.

Tips for Using Student Loans for Online EducationtO receive federal financial aid, online students must be enrolled at an accredited institution.

Online students tend to drop out at higher rates than traditional students – which means they may run a higher risk of student loan default.

VOICE OF ASIA 15 FRIDAY, January 9, 2015BOLLYWOOD MASALA Friday, January 9, 2015 Section 2 Page 15 Email: [email protected] Tel: 713-774-5140

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Amitabh Bachchan: I will work with Rekha if appropriate story is offered

MUMBAI, (PTI) - Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha are con-sidered to be an all time popu-lar on-screen pair in Bollywood and the megastar says he will not rule out the possibility of working with the veteran fe-male actor in future films.

The two have starred together in films like Silsila, Mr Nat-warlal, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar and the 72-year-old actor, who will be next seen in R Balki’s Shamitabh, said the director wants to make a movie with him and Rekha.

“Balki keeps threatening me that he wants to design a film to-gether... Let me see if someone has a story which is appropri-ate... then why not,” Bachchan said during the trailer launch of the film here.

Shamitabh also stars Rekha and there were speculations about the pair coming together on the screen but Bachchan has cleared the air saying the Silsila actor does not share any scene with him in the film.

“We actually don’t come to-gether, it is a part of a sequence. When people will watch the film they will understand. It is always nice to have such great luminaries in the film,” he said.

Shamitabh is Balki and Bach-chan’s third collaboration af-ter Cheeni Kum and Paa. The film also has south superstar Dhanush and will mark the de-

Dhanush, Akshara Haasan and Amitabh Bachchan at the launch of Shamitabh’s trailer

but of Akshara Haasan, who is the younger daughter of actor Kamal Haasan and Sarika.

When asked about the unique title of the film, Balki said, “A title like Dhamitabh or Ham-itabh would have sound very weird so that’s why this unique title.”

Dhanush, who made his Bol-lywood debut in 2013 with Raanjhanaa, said he feels blessed to work with Bach-

chan.“It was a great experience

just watching him,” he said. Akshara thanked Balki for showing confidence in her and casting her in the film alongside Dhanush and Bachchan.

“I was very scared to work with Mr Bachchan and Dhanush but they both made me com-fortable.”

Shamitabh will hit theatres on February 6.

Aamir Khan’s PK gets OK from Delhi High Court NEW DELHI - Finally

after hundreds of pro-tests against it, there

is something good for Aamir Khan and his most recent film PK. The film that is winning accolades from all around, and brickbats of a few extremist el-ements, has won the court ap-proval.

The Delhi High Court has said that the film cannot be banned as it has nothing objec-tionable. The film highlights the influence of godmen in the Indian society.

After the likes of Asaram and Dera Scha Sauda, besides many other similar farces, people’s respect for such unrespectable figures has gone down sub-stantially. But to be true there are thousands of similar god-men who seem to be fooling the common people across the country without any fear of the government and the law.

The film seems to be very timely. But it seems to have hit where it hurts most. A few god-men with huge fan-following

and their followers have gone on rampage in many cities at-tacking theaters and vandaliz-ing many places. But this seems to have absolutely opposite im-pact on the film’s performance. The protests have given a new lease of life to a film that is not really very good on cinematic grounds.

In the meantime Aamir Khan must have taken a sigh of relief as Delhi High Court earlier to-day announced that there was nothing offensive in Aamir Khan-starrer film ‘PK’ and there was no substance in alle-gations that it has defamed and maligned Hindu culture and re-ligious practices. PK, directed by Rajkumar Hirani, is a sa-tirical take on superstitions and godmen and it seems that these godmen are feeling exposed from his wrong number.

The court while announc-ing its ruling in the case said, “What is wrong in the movie? You cannot take offence at ev-erything. We do not find any substance in the allegations

made in the petition. We will pass an order on merits”. Ear-lier during the hearing, Addi-tional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain had informed the honor-able court that a similar plea has already been dismissed by the Supreme Court. The PIL was filed by Ajay Gautam seeking directions to delete “objectionable” scenes from the movie ‘PK’ claiming that the contents of the film have hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus.

The petitioner while plead-ing before the court had said, “There are certain sequences in the movie which have the potential of hurting Hindu religious sentiments and the Censor Board has not given it a serious consideration while granting the certificate of fit-ness for its release in theatres”. It went on to add that the court should “Restrain opposite par-ties to ensure that the film is not displayed in any theatre or on any of the TV channels in any form with offensive se-quences”.

Trisha announces engagement

Tamil film actor Trisha Krishnan has an-nounced that she

would be getting engaged to film producer and real estate entrepreneur Varun Manian on January 23 in a private cer-emony.

Trisha confirmed the news of her engagement on Twitter. She

wrote, “To my fans n friends from d media, I will be getting engaged to Varun on the 23 of Jan in a very private ceremony between our families.” The ac-tor appealed to the media and fans not to speculate about her future in the industry or about her wedding.

She categorically stated that

she had no intention of leaving the industry. “I have no inten-tions of quitting films. In fact will be signing two new films soon and looking forward to four of my releases in 2015.” While she said the date for the wedding was yet to be decided, it is believed plans are on for a year-end wedding.

Trisha Krishnan

VOICE OF ASIA 16 FRIDAY, January 9, 2015HEALTHHEALTHY LIVING Friday, January 9, 2015 Section 2 Page 16 Email: [email protected] Tel: 713-774-5140

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

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Millions More Sign Up for Obamacare Health Insurance, Have You?

About 2.5 million new people have signed up for

health insurance next year on the 1-year-old Obama-care exchanges, federal of-ficials said Tuesday. And that doesn’t include a last-minute rush to sign up in the three days before Dec. 15, the deadline to get health insurance that starts on the first day possible in Janu-ary.

“It’s been a strong start,” said Andy Slavitt, principal deputy administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which runs the exchanges.

It’s a big improvement over a year ago, when the federally run exchanges and many of the state exchanges crashed on their scheduled rollouts in October and were barely up and running by mid-December. The enroll-ment period ended up being extended into April. The ex-changes are the centerpiece of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare. They’re a way for people to buy private health insurance without relying on an employer, and often with hefty federal government subsidies.

They’re also a way for the federal government to bet-ter control what the admin-istration has considered the worst excesses of insurers. Anyone offering a plan on an exchange may not cap coverage once people spend a certain amount, they must take all applicants who can pay, regardless of health status or preexisting condi-tions, and they must pro-vide for a minimum of care, including cancer screenings and vaccinations.

Slavitt says the technol-ogy is holding up this year and the sites have never

been overwhelmed.Last year, just under 7 mil-

lion people signed up on the exchanges. They’ll be auto-matically re-enrolled unless they decline to be. Several million more people got health insurance, often for the first time, in the more than 20 states that agreed to expand the Medicaid state-federal health insurance plan for people with low incomes.

“I am pleased with the re-sponse to date on Open En-rollment, but we know we still have a lot of work to do between now and Febru-ary 15,” Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell said in a statement.

“This shows that millions of Americans want access to affordable quality health insurance and they came to the Marketplace to find it.”

There are 37 states that used the federal HealthCare.gov platform. The others have their own websites.

Consulting firm Avalere Health projects that 10.5 million will have health in-surance on the exchanges by the end of 2015 — more than the federal govern-ment’s projection of 9 mil-lion. People have until Feb. 15 to enroll in coverage on the federal exchanges.

Consumers face a Feb. 15, 2015, deadline to buy insurance, after which those without coverage could be hit with fines of $325 per adult or 2 percent of family income, whichever is high-er. Uninsured people look-ing to escape the penalties are turning to the exchanges before they close, while in-surance companies and tax preparers are seizing on the looming tax hit as a busi-ness opportunity.

One recent mass mailer from CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield obtained by The Hill warned potential customers in the Washing-ton, D.C., region that going without health insurance coverage would come with a steep cost.

When you don’t have health insurance ... you put your financial security at risk,” the mailer states. “That’s because under the new Affordable Care Act legislation, millions of Americans will have to pay an increased penalty tax of at least 2 percent of their income in 2015 if they go uninsured.”

The “good news,” the let-ter said, is that CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield has “solutions” to help people avoid the penalty, including coverage that is “compat-ible with financial assis-tance or free money from the government that will help qualifying individuals pay for insurance.”

The company declined to comment on the mailer.

The message is part of a shift in focus for the health insurance industry as Obama Care continues a relatively smooth second year of enrollment.

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Cancer often due to bad luck, not genes or environment

MIAMI, (AFP) Janu-ary 1, 2015 - Cancer is often caused by the

“bad luck” of random mutations that arise when cells divide, not family history or environmen-tal causes, US researchers said Thursday.

The study in the January 2 edi-tion of the journal Science was led by researchers at Johns Hop-kins University and based on a statistical model that includes many types of cancer in a range of human tissues.

However it did not include breast cancer, which is the most common cancer in women, or prostate cancer, which is the second most common cancer in men after skin cancer.

In the adult cancers they did measure, about two-thirds could be explained by random

mutation in genes that encour-age tumors to grow, while the remaining one third was due to environmental factors and in-herited genes.

“This study shows that you can add to your risk of getting can-cers by smoking or other poor lifestyle factors,” said study author Bert Vogelstein, a pro-fessor of oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

“However, many forms of cancer are due largely to the bad luck of acquiring a muta-tion in a cancer driver gene re-gardless of lifestyle and hered-ity factors.”

He added that people who live a long time without get-ting cancer, despite being long-time smokers or being exposed heavily to the Sun, do not have

“good genes.”

“The truth is that most of them simply had good luck,” he added.

- Stem cells divide -The team sought to look

at cancer in a new light, by searching the scientific litera-ture for information on how many times stem cells divided over the course of an average person’s lifespan.

This process of self-renewal occurs naturally in the body and helps repopulate cells that die off in a specific organ.

Researchers have long under-stood that cancer can arise when stem cells make random mis-takes, known as mutations.

But the study represents the first attempt at comparing how

many cancers arise from this process, compared to family his-tory or environmental factors.

Some 22 cancer types arising in 31 tissues studied could be traced back to random muta-tions, the study found.

The other nine “had incidenc-es higher than predicted by ‘bad luck’ and were presumably due to a combination of bad luck plus environmental or inherited factors,” the university said.

These nine types included lung cancer and skin cancer -- which are influenced by expo-sure to smoke and sunshine -- as well as some cancers known to be hereditary.

The findings mean that an even greater emphasis should be placed on early detection of cancer and research that could detect these harmful random acts before they lead to wide-spread cancer.

“Changing our lifestyle and habits will be a huge help in preventing certain cancers, but this may not be as effective for a variety of others,” said biom-athematician Cristian Tomaset-ti, an assistant professor of oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Pub-lic Health.

“We should focus more re-sources on finding ways to de-tect such cancers at early, cur-able stages.”

Breast and prostate cancers were not included in the study because the literature did not show reliable stem cell division rates in those areas of the body, the authors said

A dosimetrist looks over a cancer patient’s image scan to help plan a radiation treatment on August 4, 2010, in Fayetteville, North Carolina (AFP Photo/Chris Hondros)

Asian Americans are twice as likely to develop diabetes as

compared to other cultures in the United States. This has sparked numerous initiatives at home and abroad to try to find out why and how to prevent this from happening. As a diabetes educator at Memorial Hermann Northwest Hospital this is of great interest and concern to me. I think we can all say that Houston is the best city in the nation and mainly because of our cultural diversity. Hous-tonians are very lucky to be able to enjoy and participate in each others’ traditions. Memo-rial Hermann embraces cultural differences and educates their employees on their differences so that our patients understand that we do care about their well-being. When I first found out about the prevalence of dia-betes among Asian Americans I said to myself, “but they eat a healthy diet, how can that be?” Currently, 60% of the world’s diabetic population is Asian.

So what is diabetes and why this increase? Diabetes is a chronic condition in which sugars build up in the blood be-yond what is a normal amount. In someone without diabetes, the hormone insulin moves these sugars into the cells so that it can be used as energy. In a person with diabetes, either not enough insulin is produced or the body is resistant to the insulin. But, it is preventable!

Risk factors for type 2 dia-betes include overweight and obesity, excess weight around the waist, unhealthy diet, and lack of physical activity, smok-ing, genetics and family his-tory. In the Asian population, it is not uncommon to develop

Asian American Diabetestype 2 diabetes even if you are not overweight.

If you are Asian, measure your waist circumference to predict your diabetes risk more accurately.4 Measure waist circumference by putting a tape measure around your body at the level of your belly button. Your target measurement for waist circumference should be less than or equal to 90 cm (35.5 in) for men and 80 cm (31.5 in) for women.5 Having an apple shape or excess belly fat increases your risk of devel-oping type 2 diabetes.

Step one is every-one’s prevention plan should be going to your physician to get screened for diabetes. This screening is very important since it can also inform you if you are pre-diabetic. This di-agnosis means you need to take action now. If you are over-weight, losing just 10% might mean avoiding the disease. . But, if you experience symp-toms such as excessive thirst, frequent urination, unexplained weight loss, extreme hunger, sudden vision changes, tingling or numbness in your hands or feet, fatigue, very dry skin, or wounds that are slow to heal, you should contact your doctor. This could mean you have type 2 diabetes.

Step two in your prevention plan is to get in touch with a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE). Numerous diabetes prevention studies have been shown to significantly decrease the risk of getting type 2 diabe-tes by simple changes in life-style like increasing physical activity, eating healthier and losing weight. If you have type 2 diabetes, teaming up with a CDE is vital. Knowledge is power and with power comes control. A CDE is profession-ally licensed and trained in dia-betes management. Our goal is for you to avoid getting diabetes and if you have it, to be able to live a long healthy life without it affecting you and your loved ones. CDE’s are the educators that stay informed of current research and will teach you the absolute best techniques to stay-ing healthy. Whether you have

questions about medications, insulin, or stress reduction we are trained to help!

There are numerous reasons for the sharp increase in the Asian population but the one that tops the list is less physi-cal activity. This is true for all cultures. We have remote con-trols for the television, garage doors and even our car stereos! In addition, Asian diets consist mainly of processed grains like white rice and unhealthy fats like palm oil. Asians all over the world are also eating more fast food which is filled with sugary drinks, processed grains and unhealthy fats. In Asia, 50% of males smoke and air pollution has become a problem. Both have shown to increase insulin resistance leading to belly fat and possible diabetes.

In summary, it is never too late to be proactive with your health. Small changes in your lifestyle can lead to big rewards when it comes to preventing or even treating your diabetes. Living a long healthy life if you have diabetes should be your ultimate goal. At Memorial Hermann, we are here to help you achieve that for your whole life!

References:1 Chan JC, Malik V, Jia W,

et al. Diabetes in Asia: epi-demiology, risk factors, and pathophysiology. JAMA. 2009;301(20):2129-2140.

4 Huxley R, James WP, Barzi F, et al. Ethnic comparisons of the cross-sectional relationships between measures of body size with diabetes and hypertension. Obes Rev. 2008;9 Suppl 1:53-61.

Christine Goodson, RD, LD, CDE is a Certified Diabetes Ed-ucator at Memorial Hermann Northwest Hospital. With 18 years of experience and a pas-sion for helping persons with diabetes, she has been actively involved in the diabetes commu-nity through various outreach programs for her entire career. She has been pre-diabetic and her father has had diabetes for over 40 years. If you need help, call 713-867-4515.

Christine Goodson, RD, LD, CDE

the more symptoms of PTSD a woman had, the higher her risk of developing type 2 dia-betes.

About one in nine women ex-perience PTSD at some point, which is twice the rate among men, according to background information in the article.

“Not only is PTSD devas-tating to mental health, but it affects physical health too, raising risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obe-sity,” said senior author Kar-estan Koenen, professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the Mailman School at Co-lumbia University.

Researchers urged health-care professionals to be on the lookout for signs of diabetes in women who have endured traumatic events.

“As fewer than half of Americans with PTSD receive treatment, our study adds ur-gency to the effort to improve access to mental health care to address factors that contribute to diabetes and other chronic diseases,” said first author An-drea Roberts, research associ-ate in the Department of So-cial and Behavioral Sciences at Harvard School of Public Health.

MIAMI, AFP (1/7/2015) - Women who suffer from post-traumatic stress are almost twice as likely to develop type 2 diabetes as women not af-fected by the disorder known as PTSD, a US study said Wednesday.

The research in the journal JAMA Psychiatry was led by public health scientists at Columbia University and Harvard University, and pro-vides the “strongest evidence to date of a causal relation-ship between PTSD and type 2 diabetes,” the journal said in a statement.

The data was based on sur-veys given to nearly 50,000 US women from 1989 to 2011.

Researchers found that about half the increased risk for diabetes was attributable to the use of antidepressants (34 percent) and overeating, as measured by elevated body mass index (14 percent).

But the other half of the heightened risk could not be explained, and researchers ruled out potential links to smoking, diet, alcohol intake or exercise.

The study also found that

Post-traumatic stress doubles diabetes risk in women

About one in nine women experience PTSD at some point, which is twice the rate among men, according to background informa-tion in the article.


Friday, January 9, 2015 Section 2 Page 17 Email: [email protected] Tel: 713-774-5140

BUSINESSONLINE.COMvoiceofasiaonline.com

by Jérôme CARTILLIER

WASHINGTON - Rid-ing high on a stron-ger economy, Presi-

dent Barack Obama is setting out on a US tour to highlight the improved numbers, with hopes that his approval rating follows suit.

A newly elected Congress led by Obama’s Republican op-ponents and forthcoming 2016 elections mean a combative year lies ahead where hot-button top-ics such as energy and health care are concerned.

But on the economic front, things are on the up and up, and Obama isn’t afraid to say so.

“Pick any metric that you want -- America’s resurgence is real. We are better off,” Obama said at a year-end press conference, before leaving for vacation in Hawaii.

Amid a recession in Japan and a near-stall in the eurozone, the world’s largest economy is post-ing healthy results.

US growth surged to its high-est level in 11 years in the third quarter with a five-percent in-crease in the gross domestic product (GDP) between July and September, the Commerce Department said at the end of 2014.

Unemployment is below the six percent mark and consumer confidence is at its highest level in nearly seven years.

It is against this backdrop that Obama embarks Wednesday on a series of stops in a ramp-up to his January 20 State of the Union address, in which the president sets forth his priorities for the coming year.

The president will deliver re-marks Wednesday at a Ford as-sembly plant in Wayne, Michi-gan, where he plans to highlight the “resurgent” US automotive and manufacturing sectors.

Obama takes US economic bright spell on the road

The US Federal Reserve in Washington, DC is seen on December 10, 2013 (AFP Photo/Karen Bleier)

At a high school in Phoenix, Arizona on Thursday, Obama will announce new measures to help more people “achieve the American dream of owning a home.”

And on Friday, the president will make remarks at a univer-sity in Knoxville, Tennessee, about education and vocational training.

‘Politically unpopular deci-sions’

Obama has seen a slight re-bound in popularity seemingly linked to improved employment figures, as well as executive actions to overhaul aspects of America’s immigration system and US plans to restore diplo-matic ties with Cuba.

His approval rating had long hovered near the 40 percent mark.

But according to the latest Gal-lup poll, Obama’s job approval recently came in at 48 percent, the highest since August 2013.

In an interview with The De-troit News published Wednes-day, the president highlighted decisions he took in the first weeks of his White House ten-ure in 2009 that allowed US auto manufacturers to “get back in the game.”

Obama noted that he chose to rescue Chrysler in March 2009, despite the objections of his ad-visers who pressed for focusing only on GM and Ford. The deci-sion saved thousands of jobs.

Over the last several months, the White House has tirelessly emphasized Obama’s decisions upon arriving in office six years ago, when the economy was in an upheaval.

“He had to make some pretty politically unpopular decisions to rescue the American econo-my,” said White House spokes-man Josh Earnest.

“The result has been not just

that we staved off a second Great Depression, but we’ve actually laid the groundwork for a stron-ger recovery that’s actually the envy of the entire world.”

The claim begs the old ques-tion about how much real influ-ence the president wields over the US economy.

“The standard answer among economists, at least when they aren’t being political hacks, is: not much,” said Nobel laure-ate economist Paul Krugman, before adding a slight caveat in Obama’s case.

“Is the president responsible for the accelerating recovery? No,” Krugman, a columnist for the New York Times, wrote in the paper.

“Can we nonetheless say that we’re doing better than we would be if the other party held the White House? Yes,” he wrote, citing the impact of Obama’s stimulus package in particular.

Republicans say Obama is playing deaf to the message sent by voters when they dealt a dev-astating blow to the president’s fellow Democrats in Novem-ber’s mid-term elections.

Mitch McConnell, the major-ity leader in the Senate that has newly fallen under Republican control, acknowledged that the recent numbers are encouraging.

“After so many years of slug-gish growth, we’re finally start-ing to see some economic data that can provide a glimmer of hope,” he said in Congress.

But he was also quick to high-light that “the uptick appears to coincide with the biggest politi-cal change of the Obama admin-istration’s long tenure in Wash-ington: the expectation of a new Republican Congress.”

“So this is precisely the right time to advance a positive, pro-growth agenda,” McConnell added.

Global factors a risk for US economy: Fed minutes

WA S H I N G T O N , - The Federal Re-serve was con-

cerned about international risks to the US economy but saw no evidence of wage infla-tion, according to the minutes of the last meeting published Wednesday.

“Many participants regarded the international situation as an important source of downside risks to domestic real activ-ity and employment,” said the minutes of the December 16-17 meeting, as officials mulled when to raise interest rates.

The potential for a nega-tive spillover effect would rise “particularly if declines in oil prices and the persistence of weak economic growth abroad had a substantial negative ef-fect on global financial mar-kets,” the minutes said, “or if foreign policy responses were insufficient.”

The meeting of the Fed’s policy arm, the Federal Open

Market Committee (FOMC), came amid a plunge in oil pric-es since June that has deepened further, more than halving the value of crude oil to below $50 a barrel currently.

The sharp fall in oil has roiled financial markets, especially in the first trading days of the year, as investors worry about weaker demand in a slowing economy teamed with abun-dant supplies.

The FOMC, in considering when to raise rates that have been pegged to near zero for six years to support the economy’s recovery from deep recession, saw in December a potential boon from dropping oil prices.

A few participants said the ef-fect was likely to be positive on overseas employment and eco-nomic growth.

For the US economy, several participants expected slower economic growth abroad to curb the US economy, mainly through lower net exports.

“But the net effect of lower oil prices on US economic activity was anticipated to be positive.”

The policymakers saw “broad-based improvement” in the labor market since their Oc-tober 28-29 meeting, with solid gains in job growth, a small re-duction in the unemployment rate and increased hiring.

But despite the labor gains and the economy growing at a moderate pace, “most partici-pants saw no clear evidence of a broad-based acceleration in wages.”

According to the minutes, “most participants” agreed to adding language in the FOMC statement about being patient in deciding to raise interest rates, expected in mid-2015.

“Most participants thought the reference to patience indi-cated that the Committee was unlikely to begin the normal-ization process for at least the next couple of meetings.”

VOICE OF ASIA 18 FRIDAY, January 9, 2015HOROSCOPEYour Horoscope for the Week of January 9, 2015

Aries (A,L,E) 21 March to 20 AprilYou quest to attain perfection, or your own version of perfection. Just when you

think you have the ability to control your own destiny, things will start to erode slight-ly. Prepare to deal with the consequences of getting involved in someone else’s per-sonal problems. You may be driven you to take chances that you normally wouldn’t

even consider, otherwise. Let your basic grasp of cause and effect be your guiding light, for the mo-ment. The circular nature of events will shed light on your past mistakes.

Taurus (B,V,U) 21 April to 20 MayUse your powers of persuasion to influence other’s ideas. Don’t be shy about express-

ing your opinions. Value the things that you have to offer to important public projects. Go full steam ahead with important projects, especially those that may lie at a distance from your present locale. There may be something you need to prove to yourself. Any

work that you do now will be touched by your sincerity. Your present actions are destined to become the stuff that memories are made of.

Gemini (K,CHH,GH) 21 May to 20 JuneKeep yourself grounded & realistic. Don’t sell yourself short. You are in the company

of people who think the world of you. You’ll regain a measure of control over your life by being more confident in who you are. Your behavior will be understood by those who know you and love you. Seek their help to get yourself back on track. Accepting help

doesn’t mean that you’re doing a bad job on your own, everyone can always stand a little improvement in their methods.

Cancer (D,H) 21 June to 22 JulyNothing can stand between you and what you want. You have an exciting chance to

express a more compassionate, caring and emotional part of yourself. You words will be well headed. Romance may sweep you off your feet, and you may feel loved and cared for. Emotional highs are certainly welcome. Find a way to create excitement in

your social and public life. Enjoyment is key to the kind of work you can plan. You’ll be amazed by the amount of income potential, especially if it derives from partnership activities.

Leo (M) 23 July to 22 AugustConserve your energy for important tasks to structure new public and career projects.

Investments and gambles may not pay off. If you’ve recently been disappointed in ro-mance, felt abandoned, you may act in a way that you’ll regret later. Organizational discussions may not go well, either. You may be tempted to say some things you’ll wish

you hadn’t. Be objective and try to understand how others might react to your actions. Show your compassion and utilize your sense of humor. Persevere in the face of apparently overwhelming odds.

Virgo (P) 23 August to 22 SeptemberYour ability to sit back, observe and proceed to follow your own best interests. Try

noTread lightly on weakened personal & professional relationships. People at a dis-tance may hurt your pride. Some may disapprove with your tactics, and will clearly let you know, how they feel. Don’t try to take on everybody by yourself. Group projects

may require the use of kid gloves. Emotions & feelings will interfere with your ability to bring people closer together. You need to take a closer look in the mirror & face your own personal challenges. Recognize your abilities and follow your dreams. Your home could be a wonderful base of opera-tions. Your future success may include working creatively from a home office or shop.

Libra (R,T) 23 Sept to 22 OctKeep up with everyone else’s expectations. You may need to curb some activities so

you don’t spread yourself too thin. Don’t get lazy at the wrong moment. Encourage your partners to go forward with exciting and challenging plans. Your home may be a haven that enables you to express the best of your ideas and intellect. Children & elder family members will require your attention. People will respond easily to you, and

you’ll seem to have your finger on the pulse of the public.

Scorpio (N,Y)23 Oct to 21 NovYour psychic energy will be very strong. Predictions can influence your current reality

without really overriding it. You may think that you need to keep peace, at any price. Be willing to walk away from events that require any force. Lead the way by simply doing

what you do best. Your ultimate stroke of charm is your ability to laugh at yourself. Just a few words from you can make all the difference to those you love. A partnership hinges not only on what is said, but on what is understood, as well.

Sagittarius (BH,F,DH,TH) 22 Nov to 21 DecCommunicate your plans & get started on your future agenda. This way, you’ll be able to

put additional points in the bank and that will provide you with bigger dividends later on. Your creative fire will blaze brightly. This is a time of breakthrough and personal triumph. Experi-ence is the best teacher for you right now. Take a risk if it will bring your dreams closer to

coming true. A real commitment brings an instant return. Your stars show a ‘disappointment’ of some kind, possibly a schedule glitch and likely an elder or power person in the family ‘doing a change up on you’.

Capricorn (KH,J) 22 Dec to 20 JanTrust your gut instincts & be aware of your own power and effectiveness. Some situa-

tions in your personal life may be trying, to say the least. Try not to let them to make you feel down. speak to someone impartial & get their perspective. Don’t allow expectations of family members to apply undue pressure on you. If you lose your focus, you could get

careless. You will be effective in projects that you are able to promote on an international level. Part-ners/spouse could be important to the kind of success that will put your creative ideas on the map.

Aquarius (G,S,SH) 21 Jan to 19 FebSome emotional meltdown, either yours or someone else’s, close to you. Use any stress re-

duction techniques you can, (Yoga, Meditation, Prayers….) to help keep yourself cool. Take a break from what you’ve been doing, and check in with your partner before going any further. Language & communication are tools you can use with great skill and power. If others aren’t prepared to give you what you deserve, reach out and take it for yourself. Celebrate your ge-

nius, even if you have to do it alone. Find and maintain your natural rhythm.

Pisces (D,CH,Z) 20 Feb to 20 MarchYour careful research and caution make falling in love, dealing with children, or

expressing a talent, secure areas of your life. Ideal financial conditions could seem elusive, right now. You may think that someone who should want to cooperate has undermined your position with a public event. Let others take the glory, if that is the issue. You may have other vegetable to cook and can go on to other projects with ease

once you’re really willing to let go the present. The desire to clarify all matters and be involved in high-minded projects is worth all your effort. Your words may not have come out right on the first attempt, Try again and this time add a little more feeling, passion.

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

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Houston Community College

Request for Proposals (RFP)

Hiring and Onboarding Process Consultant Services

Project No. 15-06

Documents can be obtained at: www.hccs.edu/district/departments/procurement.

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

Tackle New Projects After Prioritizing the Old Ones

The new year is a good time to think about trying fresh

initiatives that can help move your organization for-ward. But if you want them to be successful, you need to manage the time involved. Don’t give your team more assignments without tak-ing some away first. If you don’t communicate clear priorities, people won’t know what’s important and what can wait, and it won’t be long before almost ev-eryone feels overstressed and overworked. Once you let your team know which areas are ripe for improve-ment, free up time to move toward that vision by con-solidating, eliminating, or streamlining current activi-ties. Then encourage short-term experiments that will help them learn how to get to the vision quicker and with greater impact.

Adapted from “Help Your Team Spend Time on the Right Things” by Ron Ash-kenas and Amy McDougall.

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Now You Know!

Amazing facts from all over the

WORLD!

Got a favorite fact? Let us know!Email us: [email protected]

Free community events on: www.voiceofasiaonline.com Calendar!

• a strawberry is the only fruit which seeds grow on the outside. • french fries are originally from Belgium.

• 96% of candles sold are purchased by women.

• Hawaii was originally called the Sandwich Islands.

• bats are the only mammals that fly.

Know Your Words

Here’s your chance to be a Vocabulary Sleuth!

Got a favorite word? Let us know!Email us: [email protected]

Free community events on: www.voiceofasiaonline.com Calendar!

Hydrous - (adjective) Watery.

Inebriate - (verb) To intoxicate.

Jocose - (adjective) Done or made in jest.

Kingling - (noun) A petty king.

Guzzle - (verb) To swallow greedily or hastily; gulp.

SAFETY

Roughly 234,000 in-juries occur in the bathroom annually,

Tips to Prevent Slips and Falls in Your Bathroom

bench in the shower can be a good idea, as shower floors can become particularly slick. Also, remember to use a shower mat.

• Toilet safety: Elevated toi-let seats can help those with mobility issues ease onto the seat. Safety bars are another smart addition.

If aesthetics are a priority, check out manufacturers who put a premium on design, and

whose products meet Ameri-can with Disability Act safety requirements. For example, Moen Home Care offers safe-ty fixtures in varying styles and finishes like chrome, brushed nickel and old world bronze. More information can be found at www.Moen.com/homecare.

With a few additions to your bathrooms, you can make them serene, stylish and safe. SOURCE: (StatePoint)

Chart Source: StatePoint

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER TRAINEEKTRK-TV, the ABC owned station in Houston, TX is looking for someone who has a passion for news, a love of writing and a burning desire to one day become a newscast producer in a top 10 market. We are now accepting applications for our ASSOCIATE PRODUCER TRAINEE. This is a one-year training position. The AP Trainee will gain valuable experience in all areas related to producing a television newscast – including the important relationship between our broadcast and digital platforms. Candidates must be willing to work overnights and weekends. College degree preferred. Preference will be given to those with previous television news experience. You must have a strong desire to pursue a career as a television newscast producer. Those most success-ful in this position seek continual feedback, can prioritize assignments and thrive under pressure. Being a journalist is not just a job, it is a way of life. Only serious candidates should apply. This is a one year training position. There is no assurance of continued employment at the end of the training program. To be considered for the position all interested applicants must apply on-line at: www.disneycareers.com. Applicants must upload cover letter, resume and references. In addition, please send writing samples to: Human Resources, KTRK-TV, 3310 Bissonnet, Houston, TX 77005. Please Reference Job ID: 241523BR on ALL materials submitted. Equal Opportunity Employer Female/ Minority/ Veteran/ Disability. No Telephone Calls.

according to the Centers for Disease Control and Preven-tion. And while children and

adults over 70 are most at risk, more than half of all in-juries involve people between

ages 25 and 64.

A few safety prevention measures can make your bathroom safer:

• Grab bars: Gripping things like shower doors or towel bars can lead to injury. Re-duce your risk of failing in the tub or shower by installing a grab bar.

• Seats: For those with bal-ance concerns, a seat, chair or

HOUSTON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT (HISD)

Cadence McShane Construction as Construction Manager-at-Risk for HISD, in accordance with Texas Government Code 2269, will receive bids or proposals from all qualified subcontractors for the Bid Package 3 – Civil, Structural, Architectural, Mechanical, Plumbing, Electrical and Fire Protection.

A Pre-Proposal Conference will be held Wednesday, January 14, 2015 at 3:00 pm at the Houston offices of the AGC located at 3825 Dacoma St., Houston, TX 77092. A Site-Visit of the project will be held immediately following the pre-proposal conference for those interested.

Bids or proposals are due Tuesday, January 27, 2015 at 2:00pm, and bids or pro-posals should be emailed to: [email protected] or mailed/delivered to the Cadence McShane Construction, 7701 W. Little York, Suite 400, Houston, TX 77040. Late bids will not be accepted.

There will be no public opening of bids or proposals. All bids or proposals shall be available after award of contract, or the 7th day after final selection of bids or proposals, whichever is later. After receipt of bids or proposals, Cadence McShane, will conduct its evaluation of the subcontractor bids or proposals in relation to the project requirements and will select the bid(s) or proposal(s) that offers the best value to HISD.

Cadence McShane, is committed to meeting the M/WBE goals set for this project. M/WBE forms, schedules and statements, as required by the package documents, shall accompany each bid or proposal that is submitted. Bids or proposals submitted without all required information, and in the order and manner specified, may result in the bid or proposal being considered non-responsive.

HISD, the Owner, reserves the right to waive any informality and/or to reject any, or all bids, or proposals.

Contact Bob Bedrich at [email protected] or Wm. Earl Finley, C.P.M., A.P.P. at [email protected] for additional information on this project.

Drawings and specifications are available on iSQFT (www.isqft.com) and in the Cadence McShane office located at 7701 W. Little York, Suite 400, Houston, TX 77040.

Drawings and Specifications may also be reviewed at:Associated General Contractors, 3825 Dacoma Street, Houston, TX 77092, (713) 843-3700 • McGraw Hill Construction/Dodge, www.construction.com

Virtual Builders Exchange, 3910 Kirby, #131, Houston, TX 77098. (832) 613-0201

ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS CONSTRUCTION MANAGER-AT-RISK

High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA)Bid Package #3 – Civil, Structural, Architectural & MEPF


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Branding• kind, grade, or make, as indicated by a stamp, trademark, or the like: example: the best brand of coffee. • to promote as a brand name.

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