Matt Damon for Esquire US August 2013

On Brad Pitt: “If you can control the celebrity side of celebrity, then it’s worth it. I look at Brad—and I have for years—and when I’m with him I see the intensity of that other side of it. And the paparazzi and the insane level of aggression they have and their willingness to break the law and invade his space—well, I wonder about that trade. I remember telling him that I walk my kids to school, and his face just fell. He was very kind, but he was like, ‘You b*stard.’ Because he should be able to do that, too. And he can’t.”  On keeping his married life private: “I got lucky, I fell in love with a civilian. Not an actress and not a famous
actress at that. Because then the attention doesn’t double—it grows exponentially. Because then suddenly everybody wants to be in your bedroom. But I don’t really give them anything. If I’m not jumping up and down on a bar, or lighting something on fire, or cheating on my wife, there’s not really any story to tell. They can try to stake me out, but they’re always going to get the same story—middle-aged married guy with four kids. So as long as that narrative doesn’t change too much, there’s no appetite for it.” On child actors:
“My mother thought it was child abuse. She literally did. She was a professor who specialized in early childhood development, and she thought putting a child onstage or in a commercial or in a movie was child abuse. So when I did Elysium with Jodie Foster, I asked her. I mean, she’s basically been acting since she was born. I figured, if anyone’s going to know, it should be her, right? So I asked her. And she sort of smiled and said, ‘It depends on the child.’ Courtesy of Esquire, Source: Smartologie

Read More........ → July 25, 2013

China to phase out organ donation from executed criminals

China will begin phase out organ donation from executed criminals next years, as it moves towards a voluntary system, says a government expert. In an interview in the World Health Organization’s Bulletin, Wang Haibo, of the Ministry of Health, agrees that “an organ transplantation system relying on death-row prisoners’ organs is not ethical or sustainable”. Despite the existence of a black market in organs, China has banned the sale of organs. Although his words are appropriately optimistic about the success of a new system for allocating organs, Mr Wang said that there are some formidable obstacles. About 1.5 million people are waiting for organ transplants annually, but only 15,000 register for donation in all of China, according to China Youth Daily. The first of these is Chinese cultural norms. Although the head of China’s transplant policy, Jiefu Huang, told the media in June that ”What lags behind is not the tradition or moral status of Chinese people; it’s our system,” Mr Wang constantly refers to social inertia. The second is suspicion of corruption. Citizens need to be reassured that their organs will not be sold on a market. The third is lack of enabling legislation. In other countries, brain death is enough to declare a person dead and to remove vital organs. However, there is no law defining brain death. Only 9% of organs come from brain dead patients. “I have been asked many times by our international colleagues: ‘How can China do organ donation after death without brain death legislation?’ That is exactly the research question that needs to be addressed in the new system. It is not customary – in terms of our culture, law and medical practice – to take brain death as the definition of death in China. Members of the public want organ donation to save lives, but they also want to be sure that, when this involves organ procurement after death, that their loved one is definitely dead.” And legal clarity may not motivate potential donors. As Mr Wang says, “even with legal recognition of death determination on neurological criteria or brain death legislation, there is no guarantee of the success of donation in terms of public willingness to donate. Source: BioEdge

Read More........ → March 19, 2013

I'm bullish, billion aspirations drive India: Mukesh Ambani

Despite concerns about slowing economy, the nation's wealthiest man, Mukesh Ambani, is bullish on the India Story - and hinges his bet on the millions striving to move up in the economic pyramid. "India has had some slow growth but I am really very optimistic on India," said Ambani told CNN's Fareed Zakaria. "I'm very bullish on India, because it's really the aspirations of a billion people. And ours is a country where all the billion count. And they have aspirations. "India is really a bottom-up story. It's not a top-down story," the chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) told his celebrated interviewer, who, like him, has his roots in Mumbai. Asia's second wealthiest man, Ambani, whose net worth is close to $21 billion according to Forbes magazine, cited that his confidence in the Indian growth story stemmed from the country's billion consumers moving to make their lives better. Ambani, whose business spans petrochemicals, oil and gas, telecom and how retail, also spoke about India as a land of opportunities. He talked about his late father Dhirubhai Ambani started Reliance with $100 and then when he joined the firm in the 80s, the market value of the company was $30-40 million. "In 30 years, the opportunities that were provided by this country have enabled us to create wealth for India. So, we've created a million millionaires just by investing in Reliance out of ordinary Indians. And that is the process of creating wealth for the country. Once you create opportunity, wealth comes," he said. Ambani is also bullish on the global economic health, especially the United States. "Well, I'm more optimistic than most. And my view is that this year we will see the beginning of a recovery, particularly in the US," he said. RIL, which has business interests and investments tied up in the US market, has reportedly put in at least $5.2 billion through joint ventures with Chevron, Carrizo Oil and Gas, Pioneer Natural Resources so far. Image Link Flickr, Source: Hindustan Times

Read More........ → March 03, 2013