SEOUL, Korea (The Dong-A Ilbo), April 26, 2008:
Money is not the reason why Lee Myeong-soon, a street vendor, sells dried octopus and rice cakes in Jongno, Seoul.
She lives with her son, who runs a well-established business and is dutiful to his parents. Lee would not be lacking if she did not work as a street vendor. But, nevertheless, she makes it to Jongno every morning to do her job.
“I keep working because I want to show others that the elderly can earn money and have self-esteem without depending on others for their livelihood. I want to show that I can do it too,” she says.
As society grows older, social participation by the elderly is more active than ever. The social environment, however, falls far short of being satisfactory for them.
According to a report entitled, “An Analysis on the Types of Social Participation by the Elderly in Korea,” which was compiled by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs and exclusively obtained by the Dong-A Ilbo, most elderly hope to have a job, not because they need the money but because they want an honorable and independent life.
The institute re-analyzed the information collected through a report entitled, “Survey on Old-Aged Living and Demand for Welfare in Korea.” This report was carried out in 2004 and surveyed 3,029 people aged 65 and more. It categorized the types of social participation by age.
The largest portion of the group was the “nursing home type” (1,082 persons, 36%), those who spent most of their time in a nursing home. The “religious type” (702 persons, 23%) were those who actively participated in religious activities while the “working type” (546 persons, 18%) were those who worked actively in agricultural or stock-breeding businesses or in sales/service. The “volunteer type” (398 persons, 13%) were people who actively participated in volunteer activities, and the “non-participation type” were those who just stayed at home (301 persons, 10%).
According to this analysis, the “working type” had the most number of men, while the “religious type” had the most number of women. People in the high household income bracket were found to be more frequently the “volunteer type,” which included those with an average monthly household income of at least 1.03 million won. Meanwhile, people with lower household income, an average monthly household income of 690,000 won, were found more frequently to be in the “nursing home type.” The number of elderly educated above a university level was higher in the “volunteer type” and “working type” categories, while the number of people with elementary-level education made up a larger proportion of the “nursing home type.”
The institute also closely interviewed five people in the city, five people in farming and fishing zones, and six people in multifunctional zones.
The survey revealed that there were even more elderly hoping to find a job for the sake of a worthwhile life than for economic reasons. They said that the main reason was that they wanted to discredit the stereotype and negative views that the elderly were incapable.
“All the companies I found hiring old people were irregular firms like pyramid schemes,” says Kim, 88.
Park, 70, said, “I submitted many applications, but companies wouldn’t even consider accepting it. I’m old but I’m capable of doing a guard job if they gave me the chance.”
Lee So-jeong, a researcher at the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, says, “The fact that so many elderly people go to nursing homes is proof that there is a lack of social infrastructure, which allows them to participate in society. It is an urgent matter to create policies so that more elderly people can contribute to society."
Copyright 2008 donga.com
U.K.: Donkeys in clover - but charity leaders call for a rethink
One animal sanctuary in Devon received £20m in 2006, more than several well-known charities supporting abused women
Lee Glendinning
The Guardian, Saturday April 26 2008
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SOCIETY
Voluntary Sector
UK NEWS
Animal Welfare
Environment
Photograph: Corbis
In lush fields of dandelions above the sea in Devon, a white donkey stretches out luxuriously in the sun. Nearby, a group of younger animals bray contentedly. Maybe it's imagined, but their mouths seem to turn up into little smiles.
And why shouldn't they? They may have had a difficult start to life, but their current comfort has been propped up by escalating generosity from an adoring British public over the years, in the form of £20m donations to the sanctuary in the last recorded year.
The donkeys live in the equivalent to what must surely be animal heaven: in acres of rolling green paddocks, where their coats gleam from regular grooming, they enjoy special diets tailored to their needs, and those with white noses have sunscreen applied to protect the skin beneath.
Elderly donkeys have a shed with a rubber floor which acts as a shock absorber to ease their aching legs; those with damaged feet have plastic foot caps attached to protect them; and if a donkey should need medicine it comes in treacle on a brown bread sandwich.
And the pampering pays off. The average lifespan for a normal donkey is 27 years, but here they can live past 50.
Interest in the Devon Donkey Sanctuary was piqued this week by a report from the New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) showing that it received more in one year than several well-known charities working to combat violence against women did between them. The £20m donated in 2006 was up on previous years, when it was £17.8m in 2005 and £13m in 2003.
In contrast, the NPC, a charity which advises on effective giving, found that Refuge, the Women's Aid Federation and Eaves Housing for Women had a combined income of £17m in 2006.
The report provided further evidence of Britain's idiosyncratic culture of giving which tends to well-reward animal and cancer charities, while donations to domestic violence or asylum seekers are decidedly less generous.
The Institute of Fundraising says charities which are under the radar tend to suffer from not being able to advertise and garner sympathy from the public.
"The whole British animal-loving public is partly what drives that, and there's not too many people in the UK who wouldn't have been touched by cancer in some way," Megan Pacey, the director of policy and campaigns, said.
"Whereas, anything that's unsexy such as domestic violence, one-parent charities or refugee and asylum seeker organisations have a really tough job. These are not the kind of organisations that can put signs outside their doors asking for donations."
MEP Mary Honeyball, of the Labour Women's Rights Committee, wrote in a letter to the Guardian this week that it was a "national disgrace" that the public believed donkeys are in greater need of charity than female victims of domestic abuse, suggesting from calculations that the sanctuary was receiving £1,500 per donkey. But this is not strictly accurate.
Last year, £6.3m of the money donated to the sanctuary was spent abroad to countries such as Mexico, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Spain and Kenya where the sanctuary provided mobile clinics, veterinary aid and refuge for the injured animals who can sometimes be essential to a family's survival.
Domestically it has also worked at designing a code of practice for beach donkeys to ensure (in the age of obesity) that the weight they carry is not over 51kgs, that they take proper breaks and do not work more than six days a week.
Dawn Vincent, 28, the granddaughter of sanctuary founder Dr Elisabeth D Svendsen who now handles public relations, puts part of the charity's success down to the fact people can actually see where their money is going.
Those who donate to the sanctuary are highly valued, she says, and there is always a thank-you letter sent out on receipt.
"Some charities find it incredibly difficult to make money and I can really sympathise with that. We have a cute and cuddly subject, but at the same time we are a really big charity with 400 staff in centres around the world putting together this huge operation."
According to Refuge, the domestic violence charity, one of the problems is that people don't realise the scale of problem and assume the charity receives a large amount of government funding.
"For us the issue isn't about whether people give to animals or women. That was just a comparison to show that while our society is very giving and will provide to some charities, to a certain extent the women's movement has been left behind," a spokeswoman for the charity said.
"People don't want to address the issue. While it's quite easy to put a picture of a donkey on a poster and say let's help the little donkey, you can't do the same thing for domestic violence and it's a painful thing to talk about. We find we are having to dispel the myth wherever we go and it takes a lot longer to get the message out."
The donkey sanctuary does engage in direct marketing and advertising, but around 70% of the charity's donations come from legacies.
Around 500 people, including many of the donors, will descend on the sanctuary site for Donkey Week in which they are able to see first hand how their money is spent.
Jennifer Tucker, who was a regular donor to the sanctuary for many years, ended up working there and is now the website editor. Her explanation for what has become a lifelong commitment may go part of the way towards explaining the public's particular ardour for the donkey.
"People always ask me, why donkeys? I can only say it's just a deep passionate love, really. It's not something you grow out of. When you fall in love with a donkey, you've had it really. You're hooked."
Staff are used to questions about whether it is correct to direct such funds towards hardworking but essentially happy-go-lucky creatures that ultimately might not know the difference.
"I can understand in the cold light of day why it would look like a lot of money," says Debbie Pearce, head of fundraising from the sanctuary. "But at the same time it's people's choice how they choose to part with their money. We market ourselves, people choose to give to us, we don't misrepresent ourselves.
"I think it's people have got such affection for animals generally and they do feel that they are helpless. Animal charities generally don't get government grants, they don't get lottery funding," Pearce said.
Sanctuary staff say they also understand running a charity that is not as popular.
They find it a lot harder, and at times frustrating, trying to raise money for the Elisabeth Svendsen Trust, an offshoot of the sanctuary, which provides riding therapy for children with special needs and disabilities. People seem far more interested in the donkeys themselves which arrive at a rate of eight a week to be cared for by sanctuary staff on sites across the UK and Ireland, afflicted with various forms of ill-health, neglect or abandonment.
Donkeys that are blind are put together, those with respiratory problems are grouped in an area of dust-free bedding and special care is taken not to separate them from a mate or friend.
Maurice Wren, director of Asylum Aid, is resigned to the popularity of animal charities but says he believes the generosity of the British public means there is more than enough for everyone.
"Donkeys are a funny one in that they are workhorses that have experienced a type of callous cruelty historically which helps gather interest.
"However, when you are working in the field of unpopular causes, you have got to be optimistic. In a practical operational sense, I have got to believe that there is enough to go round for all of us. You're always going to get squeezed, not just by the donkeys of the world, but by better resourced charities in your own area. And experience tells us not to waste time and mental health preaching to those who will never be converted." The Institute of Fundraising says that while it is great for people to divert their money into their love of animals, at some point they need to re-evaluate.
"There's something about our human nature that doesn't want animals to suffer as opposed to fellow human beings. Animals are in a different stratosphere - they can't talk so someone has to represent their interest to society, and yet they really add to society," Megan Pacey says.
"But part of the question for donors is, okay, I like donkeys, so let's give to the donkeys, but what other parts of the world should we look at donating to? The question then is, could you look at broadening your giving?"
© Guardian News and Media Limited 2008
Lee Glendinning
The Guardian, Saturday April 26 2008
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SOCIETY
Voluntary Sector
UK NEWS
Animal Welfare
Environment
Photograph: Corbis
In lush fields of dandelions above the sea in Devon, a white donkey stretches out luxuriously in the sun. Nearby, a group of younger animals bray contentedly. Maybe it's imagined, but their mouths seem to turn up into little smiles.
And why shouldn't they? They may have had a difficult start to life, but their current comfort has been propped up by escalating generosity from an adoring British public over the years, in the form of £20m donations to the sanctuary in the last recorded year.
The donkeys live in the equivalent to what must surely be animal heaven: in acres of rolling green paddocks, where their coats gleam from regular grooming, they enjoy special diets tailored to their needs, and those with white noses have sunscreen applied to protect the skin beneath.
Elderly donkeys have a shed with a rubber floor which acts as a shock absorber to ease their aching legs; those with damaged feet have plastic foot caps attached to protect them; and if a donkey should need medicine it comes in treacle on a brown bread sandwich.
And the pampering pays off. The average lifespan for a normal donkey is 27 years, but here they can live past 50.
Interest in the Devon Donkey Sanctuary was piqued this week by a report from the New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) showing that it received more in one year than several well-known charities working to combat violence against women did between them. The £20m donated in 2006 was up on previous years, when it was £17.8m in 2005 and £13m in 2003.
In contrast, the NPC, a charity which advises on effective giving, found that Refuge, the Women's Aid Federation and Eaves Housing for Women had a combined income of £17m in 2006.
The report provided further evidence of Britain's idiosyncratic culture of giving which tends to well-reward animal and cancer charities, while donations to domestic violence or asylum seekers are decidedly less generous.
The Institute of Fundraising says charities which are under the radar tend to suffer from not being able to advertise and garner sympathy from the public.
"The whole British animal-loving public is partly what drives that, and there's not too many people in the UK who wouldn't have been touched by cancer in some way," Megan Pacey, the director of policy and campaigns, said.
"Whereas, anything that's unsexy such as domestic violence, one-parent charities or refugee and asylum seeker organisations have a really tough job. These are not the kind of organisations that can put signs outside their doors asking for donations."
MEP Mary Honeyball, of the Labour Women's Rights Committee, wrote in a letter to the Guardian this week that it was a "national disgrace" that the public believed donkeys are in greater need of charity than female victims of domestic abuse, suggesting from calculations that the sanctuary was receiving £1,500 per donkey. But this is not strictly accurate.
Last year, £6.3m of the money donated to the sanctuary was spent abroad to countries such as Mexico, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Spain and Kenya where the sanctuary provided mobile clinics, veterinary aid and refuge for the injured animals who can sometimes be essential to a family's survival.
Domestically it has also worked at designing a code of practice for beach donkeys to ensure (in the age of obesity) that the weight they carry is not over 51kgs, that they take proper breaks and do not work more than six days a week.
Dawn Vincent, 28, the granddaughter of sanctuary founder Dr Elisabeth D Svendsen who now handles public relations, puts part of the charity's success down to the fact people can actually see where their money is going.
Those who donate to the sanctuary are highly valued, she says, and there is always a thank-you letter sent out on receipt.
"Some charities find it incredibly difficult to make money and I can really sympathise with that. We have a cute and cuddly subject, but at the same time we are a really big charity with 400 staff in centres around the world putting together this huge operation."
According to Refuge, the domestic violence charity, one of the problems is that people don't realise the scale of problem and assume the charity receives a large amount of government funding.
"For us the issue isn't about whether people give to animals or women. That was just a comparison to show that while our society is very giving and will provide to some charities, to a certain extent the women's movement has been left behind," a spokeswoman for the charity said.
"People don't want to address the issue. While it's quite easy to put a picture of a donkey on a poster and say let's help the little donkey, you can't do the same thing for domestic violence and it's a painful thing to talk about. We find we are having to dispel the myth wherever we go and it takes a lot longer to get the message out."
The donkey sanctuary does engage in direct marketing and advertising, but around 70% of the charity's donations come from legacies.
Around 500 people, including many of the donors, will descend on the sanctuary site for Donkey Week in which they are able to see first hand how their money is spent.
Jennifer Tucker, who was a regular donor to the sanctuary for many years, ended up working there and is now the website editor. Her explanation for what has become a lifelong commitment may go part of the way towards explaining the public's particular ardour for the donkey.
"People always ask me, why donkeys? I can only say it's just a deep passionate love, really. It's not something you grow out of. When you fall in love with a donkey, you've had it really. You're hooked."
Staff are used to questions about whether it is correct to direct such funds towards hardworking but essentially happy-go-lucky creatures that ultimately might not know the difference.
"I can understand in the cold light of day why it would look like a lot of money," says Debbie Pearce, head of fundraising from the sanctuary. "But at the same time it's people's choice how they choose to part with their money. We market ourselves, people choose to give to us, we don't misrepresent ourselves.
"I think it's people have got such affection for animals generally and they do feel that they are helpless. Animal charities generally don't get government grants, they don't get lottery funding," Pearce said.
Sanctuary staff say they also understand running a charity that is not as popular.
They find it a lot harder, and at times frustrating, trying to raise money for the Elisabeth Svendsen Trust, an offshoot of the sanctuary, which provides riding therapy for children with special needs and disabilities. People seem far more interested in the donkeys themselves which arrive at a rate of eight a week to be cared for by sanctuary staff on sites across the UK and Ireland, afflicted with various forms of ill-health, neglect or abandonment.
Donkeys that are blind are put together, those with respiratory problems are grouped in an area of dust-free bedding and special care is taken not to separate them from a mate or friend.
Maurice Wren, director of Asylum Aid, is resigned to the popularity of animal charities but says he believes the generosity of the British public means there is more than enough for everyone.
"Donkeys are a funny one in that they are workhorses that have experienced a type of callous cruelty historically which helps gather interest.
"However, when you are working in the field of unpopular causes, you have got to be optimistic. In a practical operational sense, I have got to believe that there is enough to go round for all of us. You're always going to get squeezed, not just by the donkeys of the world, but by better resourced charities in your own area. And experience tells us not to waste time and mental health preaching to those who will never be converted." The Institute of Fundraising says that while it is great for people to divert their money into their love of animals, at some point they need to re-evaluate.
"There's something about our human nature that doesn't want animals to suffer as opposed to fellow human beings. Animals are in a different stratosphere - they can't talk so someone has to represent their interest to society, and yet they really add to society," Megan Pacey says.
"But part of the question for donors is, okay, I like donkeys, so let's give to the donkeys, but what other parts of the world should we look at donating to? The question then is, could you look at broadening your giving?"
© Guardian News and Media Limited 2008
CHINA: Beijing bans smoking for Olympics
A Chinese man smokes in front the national flag in Beijing, China. By Andy Wong, AP
BEIJING (USA Today), April 26, 2008:
Beijing's smog can choke first-time arrivals. Then there's the pervasive cigarette smoke, so much a part of China's culture that more than half of all male doctors smoke. That's about to change.
Starting Thursday, the Chinese capital finally joins other major cities in cracking down on smoking in most public buildings.
But even a communist government realized it could go only so far without stirring social unrest. Restaurants, bars and hotels can still allow smoking but must provide smoke-free areas or rooms.
The smoking ban is the latest move toward the government's promise of a "smoke-free Olympics." To curb air pollution, a serious concern for athletes preparing for the Aug. 8-24 Games, Beijing decided to halt construction sites and half of road traffic.
Now Beijing is tackling the health threat from secondhand smoke, which kills more than 100,000 Chinese nationwide every year, public health officials estimate.
By Calum MacLeod, USA TODAY
Copyright 2008 USA TODAY
CHINA: “Writing Help” Shop Fades Into the Past
SHANTOU, China(MyShantou.net), April 26, 2008:
Written by: Vicki Wong
At No.43 Old Park Front Road in Shantou, there is a small shop with works of calligraphy pasted all over it. A man over seventy is waving a brush in his right hand and writing a big Chinese character — “chan” which means “zen,” on white paper. When he finishes writing, he makes a wood chop. He dips the chop in red ink and stamps the lower right corner of the paper. Two red characters show “Qiu Hu” clearly.
Qiu Hu is the boss of this 6-square-metre shop. In the front of his shop, there is a one meter high board with three big red characters – “Dai Xie Chu.” It means something like “Writing Help Shop,” a place that helps people write letters, couplets, correspondence, contracts, applications, agreements of both marriage and divorce, and so on. A variety of service contents are listed at his shop.
“It is the only writing helping shop in the old city of Shantou,” Qiu said.
Writing help shops were common in China throughout an era when many people could not read or write. In 1949, illiterates and semi-literates consisted of 80% of the population. Today, with development of education and modern technology, the use of writing shops has dropped off. Still Qiu sees value in offering writing help.
“Why did I want to open this shop? The most important reason was that I wanted to use my own advantages to help people, especially the poor ones,” Qiu said, “And of course, I can make money from my writing — it means that I am still useful.”
Qiu was born in 1931, and he has been retired for more than 17 years. When he was young, he went to Hainan for some years, then worked in a very poor rural town in Sichuan in construction. When Qiu was 60 years old, he retired and returned to Shantou.
Though Qiu was retiring, he still wanted to use his knowledge to help people. The first idea that came to mind was—“Dai Xie.” That was because Qiu loved calligraphy very much and he had had some publicity experience in his work unit. At that time, there were few “Dai Xie” shop in Shantou.
Every morning, Qiu comes to his small shop at about nine o’clock and awaits customers.Ten years ago, Qiu was very busy. Many people came to his shop asking him to help write letters; some came to him for legal indictment help. Qiu’s standard charge was no more than sixty yuan; some jobs were even free. His service was much cheaper than asking an expert for help.
Before Qiu opened his shop,he didn’t have much knowledge about the law, so he bought some books and taught himself. Many books such as “How To Write A Couplet,” “Legal Instruments,” “How To Have A Good Name” and so on sit on Qiu’s bookshelf. Qiu said, “When I encounter something I don’t know, I will read the books to find the answers. Then I ask for professional opinions — it makes me think more and learn more.”
Today, fewer people come to the Writing Help shop, but sometimes Qiu is still busy as before.
“A few days ago, many people came to ask me to help them fill out the application form of the low-income groups in Shantou city. They were mainly middle-aged people; they did not know how to fill them in, so they came to me for help. A long queue was up the street. I didn’t even have time for a meal,” Qiu said with a smile.
Qiu’s family has lived in the Little Park since Chinese liberation in 1949, so Qiu opened his shop in front of his house at the very beginning. Because of the transformation of Little Park, he has to spend 200 yuan per month to rent this small shop to continue his business. With an eight-hundred yuan pension per month, Qiu can feed himself even if the writing shop does not draw business. He can foresee a not-too distant time when his writing-help days will end.
“‘Dai Xie’ is coming to an end because of the development of technology. The communication equipment and the computer technology have developed so superbly and is so widespread that people will no longer need to write by paying someone. You can just search on the computer. It is very convenient,” Qiu said. “I am 78 years old already, and I don’t have enough energy to continue with this shop. At most, another two years, I think — then I will close this shop, and ‘Dai Xie’ will fall into history.”
This entry was posted by Vicki Wong.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seniors World Chronicle adds:
Shantou is located in southeast of Guangdong, China, adjacent to the South China Sea. It is known as "the gateway of east Nanling Mountains and the communication hub of Southeast China" because of its advantageous geographical location. The city covers an area of 2,064 square kilometers and has a population of 4.795 million people. It has jurisdiction over six districts----Longhu, Jinping, Haojiang, Chenghai, Chaoyang, Chaonan and Nan'ao County.
CHINA: "Old Man In Shanghai" by Monika Wiktorowicz
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OLD MAN IN SHANGHAI: Photographer's Note - This man walked
into his doorway as I was setting up a shot near Old Town, Shanghai. I don't
remember what the area is called. It looked fairly poor, but lively. Cropped
and played with red saturation levels a bit. Copyright: Monika Wiktorowicz.
Photo on TrekEarth Travel Photos where Monika Wiktorowicz,
the photographer has pictures from China, Japan and South Korea.
"I am currently living and working in Anyang, South Korea," she says.
PAKISTAN: Cut back on biryaani, warns cardiologist
KARACHI, Pakistan (Daily Times), April 26, 2008: The only way to combat heart disease lies in poverty – not the variety which prevails in Pakistan, since there is hardly a person whose lunch or dinner is biryaani-free, commented eminent cardiologist Prof. Dr Hamid Shafquat.
He said this while addressing an awareness program held at the Arts Council of Pakistan on Friday. The Arts Council’s medical and social welfare committee, under the chairmanship of ENT surgeon Dr Qaiser Sajjad, organized this event titled “Heart attack – Mankind’s mega killer”.
“We have discarded food items that we should eat regularly. Allah created vegetables for humans, but we ignore these now. We drink milk, which is intended for children, damaging our hearts. In olden times, the only reason to eat chicken was because either the eater or the hen was sick,” said Shafquat.
Replying to a question, he said that the elderly usually lie about the secret to their long life, and even exaggerate by telling people that they increase their lifespan by eating this food or that food. The reality is that people today live much longer than they did before. People above 60 used to be declared insane, whereas today they have so much life that they are still engaged in courting activities, Shafquat claimed.
In reply to another question, he severely criticized the role that the Pakistani media has played, saying that the media has failed to counter the impact of Indian media. The dominance of Indian media and the fact that many people in Pakistan promote Indian media to earn a living have portrayed a poor and negative picture of Pakistan. He highlighted the paucity of pediatric cardiac surgeons in the country.
He refuted the idea that tension is generated from outside the society. The source of tension lies within us and it is a poor excuse to blame society or other people for our own tensions. He urged people to avoid greed, jealousy and prodigality to avoid heart disease due to stress and tension.
Another speaker, Aga Khan University Hospital Cardiac surgeon Dr Shahid Sami said that coronary artery disease (CAD) is responsible for 30 percent (17 million deaths) of all deaths across the globe, of which 85 percent take place in developing countries such as Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and others.
Sami held high blood pressure responsible for affecting 600 million people across the globe. Even in the United States, an ambulance takes four minutes on average to reach a patient, but still 25 percent of cardiac patients do not make it to the hospital because they die en route. In USA, 2.9 percent of patients die during cardiac surgery, whereas at AKUH in Pakistan, that figure is just 2.3 percent, claimed Sami.
Lifestyle is one of the key factors responsible for the huge prevalence of heart disease. Obesity is a problem and people should avoid eating large amounts of food. He highlighted the fact that during the war between India and Pakistan in 1971, 90,000 Pakistani troops were held as prisoners of war and returned home slim and trim.He warned against ghee, saying that turning palm oil into ghee is risky for health, and recommended using olive oil or canola seed oil instead. Smoking should also be avoided, as even passive smokers have an increased risk of heart disease by 6 and 3 percent in men and women respectively.
Dr Qaisar Sajjad demanded that the government implement a prohibition of smoking ordinance in letter and in spirit, in the gruffest manner possible. The government should also monitor the timings of wedding halls and should recover playgrounds from illegal occupants to create a healthy atmosphere for the people of the current and future generations.
The trend seen at marriage halls has become extremely strange. The invitation cards bear a date, say April 25, for a wedding ceremony, but dinner is served on April 26, since that is when the bride and groom, their families and the guests arrive. Eating at late hours is another reason for heart disease, Sajjad remarked.
By Irfan Aligi
Copyright Daily Times
USA: East Meets West: A Healing Partnership
WASHINGTON, DC. (AARP Webletter), April 25, 2008:A 2007 AARP-NCCAM study found that two out of three adults age 50 and over use alternative medical treatments. Lori Chernoff-Kwiatkowski fought cancer and crippling pain for 13 years, then found both relief and remission with alternative therapies.
Read about the growing trend of pairing Western medicine with Eastern—and the amazing results that patients are experiencing.
The Best MedicineBy Sheree Crute
Once upon a time mainstream doctors looked askance at alternative treatments, especially when it came to chronic diseases. Now, the medical establishment is embracing a new way to heal
Photo by Hugh Kretschmer
Copyright 1995-2008, AARP
USA: Cracks at the corners of your mouth? Could be Angular Cheilitis
You have cracks at the corners of your mouth. They are painful and itchy, bringing you discomfort when eating or speaking. You may be having angular cheilitis.Fl, USA, Waseem Dar, a savvy health researcher, has written an amazing ebook in which he tells a very fast and natural remedy for this nagging disease.
April 26, 2008
Angular cheilitis is among the many skin problems that are chronic. The mouth is dotted by inflamed bilateral lesions that are painful at the corners. It can either be Staphylococcal (bacterial) or Candidal (fungal) infections that are characterized by shallow crusts and bleeding ulcers at its most severe.
Angular Cheilitis Causes
Infections Both Bacterial and Fungal) - Angular cheilitis are worsened and caused by pathogens that are Staphylococcal (bacterial or viral) or Candidiasis (fungal or yeast) by nature.
Deficiency in Nutrients - Angular cheilitis is often initially caused by nutritional deficiencies such as defiency in Vitamin B-2 (Riboflavin), B-3 (Niacin), B-6 (Pyridoxine), or B-12 (Cyanocobalamin) and iron deficiency anemia.
Improper Closure of the Mouth - Angular cheilitis is also caused by dentures that don't fit properly. Improperly fitting dentures cause folds and friction that eventually lead to angular cheilitis. This is basically because the denture causes improper closure of the mouth. Saliva builds up at the mouth's corners and pathogens grow in this environment. Another cause of angular cheilitis is the over-closure of the mouth in the elderly. This is caused by the loss of vertical dimension from the loss of teeth.
Low Temperature - During winter time, less severe manifestations of angular cheilitis normally occur. This is most prevalent among teenagers and young children.
Who is at Risk?
Though more common among the elderly, angular cheilitis affects anybody from every age group. Also vulnerable are people suffering from allergies and skin conditions such as seborrhoiec and atopic dermatitis, as well as people using isotretinoin as treatment for acne. A weakened immune system, malnutrition, and an unhealthy diet increases susceptibility.
Treatments On hand
Angular cheilitis is treatable. For mild cases, applying paraffin-based ointment or lip balm for protection and keeping a healthy diet and good hygiene should suffice. For worse conditions, prescription from a physician is required.Prescription from a doctor is required for advanced conditions. Antifungals in topical form like Nystatin, Econazole, and Clotrimazole may be prescribed by your dermatologist.
Angular cheilitis may not be a serious and deadly problem, but it still requires a lot of attention as it subjects the sufferer to emotional alienation. Simple things like kissing, eating, and speaking become difficult.
Don't just sit back if you are suffering from angular cheilitis. Try to make it better, says a PR-USA release.
Waseem Dar, a savvy health researcher, has written an amazing ebook in which he tells a very fast and natural remedy for this nagging disease. The beauty of this remedia method is that it is made of very commonly ingredients which are found it every house.
For more details about this ebook visit here http://www.naturalcheilitiscure.com
USA: Slow Down Fast - How to Age With Dignity
By David B. Bohl
slowdownfast.com
April 26, 2008
For some people, aging is not a positive experience. I remember hearing one senior saying, “Aging is not for cowards!” Yet, for some, aging is a rewarding experience. For those are people who have learned to age with dignity.
No matter how we look at it, aging is inevitable. Look at the alternative–not being around to age. So if it’s going to happen to us anyway, why not make the most of it.
In the next few years, the baby boomers will be reaching senior status in record numbers. Yet, who’s to say what’s a senior? Does it begin at 50, when you can join AARP? Or is it 60 when you can get a senior discount at the movies? Or do you become a senior at 70 when you can start collecting the full value of social security benefits?
We often hear, “You’re only as old as you feel.”
I agree with that statement. Age is more a state of mind than a state of body. Yes, the body does start to wear down, but you’ll find lots of “seniors” doing things their younger counterparts can’t. In other words, how you age is up to you. I know an 89-year-old who hits the dance floor at least three times a week, while many people his age are waiting to die in nursing homes. And some people half his age are complaining about this pain and the other and haven’t danced in years.
So is there a secret to aging with dignity? All I can say about that is it’s your choice. It’s your choice what you want to do with what you are given. Here are some handy hints to make the most of the inevitability of aging:
Accept your age. We haven’t yet learned how to turn back the hands of time, so it does you no good to fight or deny your age. It’s fine if you don’t go around shouting out, “I’m 65,” especially if some people take you for a lot younger. Let them wonder.
Make the most of it. Look for what’s great about aging: increased wisdom and experience, lessons learned, accumulated assets, a community of friends, lots of grandchildren, acquired skills, time to take classes or pursue hobbies…
Take advantage of specials. If you enjoy bargains, there are lots to be had once you’re a person of a certain age. Restaurants, retail stores, and more all have specials, discounts, extra services–all reserved for seniors. Why not enjoy the benefits of the Golden Years?
Plan good times. Plan special events, family gatherings, short and long trips, near and far. If you have a big family, why not name yourself head of the summer vacation plans, and organize/arrange everything so others can enjoy with you?
Give back. As you age and find you have more free time, it’s a great opportunity to give back. There are many charities needing volunteers, there are business owners needing mentors and coaches, children needing a big brother or sports coach, and so much more. Now’s the time to give to the cause that’s closest to your heart.
Set goals. You don’t often hear of people setting goals for their retirement, but it’s one way to keep mentally and physically active. Set goals to get your financial house in order, your will in place, to start a home based business, learn a foreign language, finish specific projects like home enhancements, write a book…
Aging might not be something we have consciously chosen to do, but it’s something we can consciously turn into a rewarding experience. Aging with dignity is up to you!
Copyright 2008 David Bohl and SlowDownFast.com
USA: The Marriage Revolution
The Marriage Revolution
By Nancy D. Polikoff, Beacon Press. Posted April 25, 2008.
How the law changed to accommodate evolving sexual practices and gender roles.
The following is an excerpt from
Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage:
Valuing All Families under the Law (Beacon Press, 2008).
The cultural changes that accompanied the social and political movements of the 1960s included a revolution in sexual mores. The birth control pill, introduced in 1960, for the first time provided women a reliable means of being sexually active and avoiding pregnancy. "Make love, not war" was a refrain for a generation that questioned the authority of its elders. A sexual double standard lingered for women and men, but this was decried by second-wave feminism. The groundbreaking studies of sexuality researchers William Masters and Virginia Johnson identified women's sources of sexual satisfaction, demonstrating, among other things, that women could achieve sexual fulfillment without men. As hostility to non-marital sex decreased, legal doctrine reflecting condemnation of such sex became less tenable.
Demand for divorce also increased. U.S. courts had granted divorces since the late eighteenth century, but only on specified grounds requiring that one party be at "fault." The idea behind fault-based divorce was that divorce should be the exception, not the rule, and should be available at the option of the "innocent" party only.
One spouse's fault not only gave the other grounds for divorce, it also to a large extent determined the consequences of divorce. Adultery was a ground for divorce everywhere. Although in the mid-twentieth century a "tender years presumption" meant that mothers of young children would be awarded custody if there was a divorce, this only held true if they were without fault. Sex outside marriage rendered a mother "unfit" and cost her not only her marriage but her children as well. A woman's fault also relieved her husband of any obligation to support her. Even though a divorced woman would keep property she owned in her own name or had purchased with her own money, the rigid gender roles assigned husbands and wives made it unlikely that she had such assets. With no access to property in her husbands name, no entitlement to spousal support or child custody if she committed marital fault, and limited options for economic self-sufficiency in a marketplace rampant with sex discrimination, the consequences of extramarital sex for a women were severe.
By the 1960s, social practice was out of step with divorce law. Cohabitation became more accepted and more common as "desertion" occurred, and without divorce there could be no remarriage. The divorce rate rose, in part due to liberal divorce laws in Nevada and in other countries, where the wealthy could travel to dissolve their unions. Many couples who wanted to end their marriages manufactured grounds -- such as physical cruelty or adultery -- to get divorced. This was particularly rampant in New York, where adultery remained the only grounds for divorce until 1966.
Legal Transformations Involving Marriage and Family: Women's Equality
The law reform strategy of liberal feminists achieved extraordinary success in a series of cases in the 1970s. The first Supreme Court case to strike down a distinction between men and women as unconstitutional arose out of an Idaho statute that presumed men more capable than women of administering the estate of a person who dies without a will. When a child named Richard Reed died, his mother and father, who were separated, each sought to administer his estate. The judge appointed Richard's father. The Idaho Supreme Court held that "nature itself" created the distinction between men and women and the legislature could conclude that in general men were better qualified than women to administer estates. When this case reached the U.S. Supreme Court in 1971, the Court ruled for the first time that a sex-based statute was "arbitrary" in a way that violated the equal protection clause. The Court required the judge to hold a hearing to determine who was better suited to administer the estate.
This case was not about "family law" narrowly defined as the obligations of a husband and wife toward one another. But the law at issue was the explicit product of the gendered view of men and women under the doctrine of coverture. Writing the brief for Sally Reed, future Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg protested the "subordination of women" inherent in preferring men without regard to the ability of the applicants. Reed v. Reed, decided as the demands of second-wave feminism became audible across the country, signaled the beginning of the end of legalized, formal inequality between women and men. Notably, most of the cases in the decade following concerned either sex-based classifications in family law or notions of gender with their origins in the laws of coverture. For example, two years later, the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional a law that extended benefits to married male members of the armed forces, but gave those benefits to a married female service member only if she could prove that her husband depended on her for more than one-half of this support. The scheme dated back to the 1940s and 1950s and reflected the legal reality that a husband was obliged to support his wife and corresponding factual reality, as found by the trial court that heard the case, that husbands were typically breadwinners and wives typically dependent.
The government argued in favor of retaining the distinction between men and women because of "administrative convenience." It said that because most wives were dependent on their husbands, it was cheaper and easier to presume dependence and automatically award the benefits. But because few husbands were dependent on their wives, it was appropriate to require proof of the husband's dependence before spending government funds. The Supreme Court eliminated the sex discrimination by allowing all married service members additional benefits.
The 1975 the Supreme Court heard the case of Stephen Wiesenfeld, whose wife, Paula, had died in childbirth. Their child was entitled to receive social survivor's benefits as a result of Paula's death, but Stephen was not; a surviving mother could receive benefits after the father's death, but a surviving father could not receive benefits after the mother's death. This sex-based classification had been included in amendments to Social Security enacted in 1939 when it was a "generally accepted presumption that a man is responsible for the support of his wife and children." The Court found that the purpose of the benefit was to allow women to forgo paid employment and stay home with their children. By focusing on the interest in providing a child with a stay-at-home parent after the other parent died, the Supreme Court concluded that it was irrational, and therefore unconstitutional, to provide the benefit only to surviving mothers. In 1977 the Supreme Court found sex discrimination in another Social Security resolution, this one providing survivor's benefits to all elderly widows, but to elderly widowers only if they had been receiving more than one-half of their support from their wives.
Some Supreme Court cases decided in the decade after Reed lay within the realm of family law. In a Utah case, the law eliminated a parent's obligation to support his daughter at eighteen, and his son at twenty-one. The state supreme court upheld the law based on the belief that "the main's primary responsibility (is) to provide a home and its essentials for the family," and the extra education or training enabled by the requirement of parental support until twenty-one would facilitate that. The U.S. Supreme Court reversed. In 1979, the Court invalidated the sex-based classification in an alimony statute that denied husbands the opportunity to get alimony from their wives, and in 1981 in invalidated a Louisiana that made the husband "head and master" of the household and thus gave him the power to dispose of all community property without his wife's consent.
These cases made progress in achieving formal equality through elimination of sex-based classifications. Although the law today does allow some sex-based distinctions, it permits none of the distinctions once linked to the gendered nature of marriage. As a result of the Supreme Court decisions, all benefits and obligations once tied to the legally mandated dependency of women upon their husbands have been eliminated or expanded to include both spouses. Both have a right to request alimony; both have the right to manage community property; both are entitled to survivor's benefits under Social Security and worker's compensation laws.
Feminist efforts resulted in gender neutrality superimposed on a set of laws grounded in the gendered nature of marriage. The resulting regime singles out marriage for special treatment, but only as a byproduct of the remedy for ending gender inequality, not as a reasoned conclusion that marriage entitles people to special treatment that other relationships cannot claim. In other words, the special treatment accorded marriage in family law, social security, employee benefits, and other critical areas masks the original purpose of those areas of law.
Alimony is a good example. Alimony enforced a husband's obligation to provide lifelong support to his wife. He had to assume this obligation as marriage because she lost the ability to support herself. He could be relieved of his obligation only if she died or, in the rare circumstance of divorce, if she married another man who assumed responsibility for her support. Feminist success in achieving formal equality eliminated the gender component, and now, where appropriate, either a husband or wife may seek alimony, even though neither spouse loses the ability to support himself or herself when marrying and easy divorce means that whatever obligations spouses have toward one another are not inherently lifelong.
Formal equality for women made alimony gender-neutral, but did not detach it from marriage. Yet the justifications for alimony today are completely different from those of the earlier, gendered era. Contemporary justification for ongoing support after a relationship dissolves rests on the economic consequences of one person forgoing individual financial stability while making uncompensated contributions to a family. This may occur whether the couple is married or not married, and there is no principled basis for restricting support awards today only to husbands and wives.
Reprinted from Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage: Valuing All Families under the Law by Nancy D. Polikoff.
Copyright © 2008 by Nancy D. Polikoff. By permission of Beacon Press.
Source: AlterNet. © 2008 Independent Media Institute
USA: Working Women Fare Better in Retirement
WASHINGTON, DC (U.S. News & World Report), April 25, 2008
Emily Brandon
Elderly women are nearly twice as likely to be poor as elderly men, and the risk of poverty increases as women age. Not only do women earn less money over their lifetime and work more frequently interrupted careers than men, but they also live longer, which means that they need to finance additional years of retirement.
Employment, health, and marital status are the critical factors that influence whether older women will become or stay poor during their retirement years, according to AARP. Divorce, widowhood, or never having married typically reduce women's retirement nest egg.
But a new research report put out by AARP found that baby boomers and younger generations of women who rely on their own earnings and retirement plans rather than a spouse's will fare better in retirement than the current crop of elderly women. The report, by Sunhwa Lee and Lois Shaw of the Institute for Women's Policy Research, says:
Retirement income for younger generations of women will more likely be based on their own employment and earnings, not their spouses'. While marriage for older women has been crucial in protecting themselves against poverty, marriage is not likely to play an important role for younger women who have very different marital histories — high rates of divorce, re-marriage or never being married.
Younger women are more likely to have continuous work experience compared to the older generation in this study, most of whom left work when their children were young but returned to work as their children grew older. With a continuous work record, younger women are likely to have higher income from Social Security and pensions.
Of course, younger people are also less likely than their elders to have defined-benefit pension plans that guarantee income for life.
You can find some retirement tips for women here and ideas on how couples can boost their retirement income here.
Retiree Health Benefits a Thing of the Past
Dishing About Salary and Benefits With Friends
Copyright © 2008 U.S. News & World Report, L.P.
NETHERLANDS: Higher Wealth Linked to Lower Risk of Early Stroke
Money makes less of a difference after 65, study finds
By Ed Edelson, HealthDay Reporter
ROTTERDAM (BusinessWeek - HealthDay News), April 25, 2008:
The old saying, rich or poor, it's good to have money, appears to apply to the risk of stroke, a new Dutch study finds.
Wealthy Americans have a lower risk of stroke between the ages of 50 and 64, according to the data on the almost 20,000 participants in the ongoing University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study.
And the most probable reason why the difference vanishes at the age of 65 is that more of the poorer, more vulnerable, people have already died off, said study author Mauricio Avendano, a research fellow at the Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands. The report was published in the April 24 issue of Stroke.
Of the 780,000 Americans who are struck by new or recurrent strokes each year, 27 percent are under 65, according to the American Heart Association.
Avendano and his fellow researcher, M. Maria Glymour of the Harvard School of Public Health, examined the possibility that a later beneficial effect comes from the full health coverage provided by Medicare after age 65.
"It is possible that because more people have care, the differences between the wealthy and others doesn't matter as much," Avendano said. "But this is not a good explanation. We tend to think it is more an effect of what we call selective survival. There is a selection of people who reach age 65. People with low incomes are more likely to die, so when you reach age 65, you have a selected group of very healthy people."
This is the first study to assess the age patterns of wealth, income and education in stroke incidence in older Americans, he said, and also the first to report that economic status predicts stroke risk.
Many earlier reports have linked lower socioeconomic status with an increased risk of stroke. This one draws a distinction between wealth, defined as the total of all financial and housing assets minus liabilities, and high income, but it is not much of a distinction, Avendano said.
"If you are born into a rich family, it doesn't matter whether you have a high income," he said. "You have a lower risk of stroke."
The study divided the participants into six groups, based on their wealth. They zeroed in on those in the fifth highest group, leaving out the rich and ultra rich. The people in that group, formally those in the 75th to 89th percentile, had one-third the risk of a stroke between 50 and 64 of the 10 percent with the lowest wealth.
Not surprisingly, the study found that lower income, wealth and education was associated with a higher incidence of smoking, low physical activity, diabetes and high blood pressure, all major risk factors for stroke.
Education didn't matter much in terms of stroke risk, either before or after age 65.
The public health application of the finding is that giving more money to poor people could reduce their risk of early stroke, Avendano said. But, as he noted in a statement, "diminishing wealth inequality requires transforming structural policies beyond the health-care system that aim to redistribute income and wealth to benefit the most disadvantaged members of society."
The report "didn't surprise me much, but just a little bit," said Dr. Claudette Brooks, an assistant professor of neurology at West Virginia University.
"We know that the risk of stroke increases after age 65, but there are other factors at work," she said.
More information: Risk factors for stroke other than lack of money are described by the American Heart Association.
SOURCES: Mauricio Avendano, Ph.D., research fellow, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Claudette Brooks, M.D., assistant professor, neurology, West Virginia University, Morgantown; April 25, 2008, Stroke
Copyright © 2008 ScoutNews, LLC.
By Ed Edelson, HealthDay Reporter
ROTTERDAM (BusinessWeek - HealthDay News), April 25, 2008:
The old saying, rich or poor, it's good to have money, appears to apply to the risk of stroke, a new Dutch study finds.
Wealthy Americans have a lower risk of stroke between the ages of 50 and 64, according to the data on the almost 20,000 participants in the ongoing University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study.
And the most probable reason why the difference vanishes at the age of 65 is that more of the poorer, more vulnerable, people have already died off, said study author Mauricio Avendano, a research fellow at the Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands. The report was published in the April 24 issue of Stroke.
Of the 780,000 Americans who are struck by new or recurrent strokes each year, 27 percent are under 65, according to the American Heart Association.
Avendano and his fellow researcher, M. Maria Glymour of the Harvard School of Public Health, examined the possibility that a later beneficial effect comes from the full health coverage provided by Medicare after age 65.
"It is possible that because more people have care, the differences between the wealthy and others doesn't matter as much," Avendano said. "But this is not a good explanation. We tend to think it is more an effect of what we call selective survival. There is a selection of people who reach age 65. People with low incomes are more likely to die, so when you reach age 65, you have a selected group of very healthy people."
This is the first study to assess the age patterns of wealth, income and education in stroke incidence in older Americans, he said, and also the first to report that economic status predicts stroke risk.
Many earlier reports have linked lower socioeconomic status with an increased risk of stroke. This one draws a distinction between wealth, defined as the total of all financial and housing assets minus liabilities, and high income, but it is not much of a distinction, Avendano said.
"If you are born into a rich family, it doesn't matter whether you have a high income," he said. "You have a lower risk of stroke."
The study divided the participants into six groups, based on their wealth. They zeroed in on those in the fifth highest group, leaving out the rich and ultra rich. The people in that group, formally those in the 75th to 89th percentile, had one-third the risk of a stroke between 50 and 64 of the 10 percent with the lowest wealth.
Not surprisingly, the study found that lower income, wealth and education was associated with a higher incidence of smoking, low physical activity, diabetes and high blood pressure, all major risk factors for stroke.
Education didn't matter much in terms of stroke risk, either before or after age 65.
The public health application of the finding is that giving more money to poor people could reduce their risk of early stroke, Avendano said. But, as he noted in a statement, "diminishing wealth inequality requires transforming structural policies beyond the health-care system that aim to redistribute income and wealth to benefit the most disadvantaged members of society."
The report "didn't surprise me much, but just a little bit," said Dr. Claudette Brooks, an assistant professor of neurology at West Virginia University.
"We know that the risk of stroke increases after age 65, but there are other factors at work," she said.
More information: Risk factors for stroke other than lack of money are described by the American Heart Association.
SOURCES: Mauricio Avendano, Ph.D., research fellow, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Claudette Brooks, M.D., assistant professor, neurology, West Virginia University, Morgantown; April 25, 2008, Stroke
Copyright © 2008 ScoutNews, LLC.
NETHERLANDS: Childcare, housing subsidies to be cut
AMSTERDAM (DutchNews), April 25, 2008:
Grandparents who get paid government subsidies to look after their grandchildren and families earning over €45,000 a year will be hardest hit by cuts in government childcare provision next year, according to media reports.
Ministers agreed on Thursday night to slash spending on pre and after-school provisions from 2009.
The €1.5bn childcare budget has been overspent by some €500m this year. The new measures will be discussed at today’s cabinet meeting.
As well as raising the contribution for richer families, ministers reportedly plan to tackle the informal childcare circuit which is subsidised via special agencies. Grandparents can be paid to look after their grandchildren through these organisations.
According to one agency, Kroostopvang, grandparents can earn up to €4.25 per hour per child. Others advertise payments of over €5,000 per year.
Ministers also plan to take action to curb a €140m overspend in housing benefit which is given to help low income families pay their rent.
In addition, the Telegraaf says finance minister Wouter Bos plans to tackle overspending in the healthcare sector. ‘There are a lot of problems,’ the paper quoted him as saying.
© DutchNews.nl
Grandparents who get paid government subsidies to look after their grandchildren and families earning over €45,000 a year will be hardest hit by cuts in government childcare provision next year, according to media reports.
Ministers agreed on Thursday night to slash spending on pre and after-school provisions from 2009.
The €1.5bn childcare budget has been overspent by some €500m this year. The new measures will be discussed at today’s cabinet meeting.
As well as raising the contribution for richer families, ministers reportedly plan to tackle the informal childcare circuit which is subsidised via special agencies. Grandparents can be paid to look after their grandchildren through these organisations.
According to one agency, Kroostopvang, grandparents can earn up to €4.25 per hour per child. Others advertise payments of over €5,000 per year.
Ministers also plan to take action to curb a €140m overspend in housing benefit which is given to help low income families pay their rent.
In addition, the Telegraaf says finance minister Wouter Bos plans to tackle overspending in the healthcare sector. ‘There are a lot of problems,’ the paper quoted him as saying.
© DutchNews.nl
INDIA: India warned over heart disease
LONDON, England (Lancet), April 25, 2008:India will account for 60% of heart disease cases worldwide within two years, according to new research. The study, published in the British journal Lancet, says that is nearly four times more than its share of the global population.
The poor have little access to health care
The study, by Canadian and Indian researchers, says one major problem is that Indians are unable to reach hospital quickly in an emergency.
Heart disease kills 7.1 million people globally each year.
'Major milestone'
It has been long known that South Asia has the highest level of acute coronary syndromes in the world, but this is the first comprehensive research which provides statistical data about heart disease.
"This registry is a major milestone, since it provides the first comprehensive view of the epidemic of acute coronary syndrome in India and helps to identify opportunities for improvement in care," news agency AFP quoted US cardiologist Kim Eagle as saying.
Smoking is a major risk factor for heart disease
"As the Indian economy grows, there is a possibility of further increases in cardiovascular disease before we see a decline similar to that being witnessed in developed countries," Mr Eagle, who was not involved with the research, warned.
Smoking is a major risk factor for heart disease The study has been carried out by a team of researchers, led by Dr Denis Xavier of St John's National Academy of Health Sciences in Bangalore and included others from Canada.
The team studied nearly 21,000 heart attack patients admitted to 89 hospitals in 50 cities across the country.
The risk factors in India were the same as elsewhere and included tobacco use, high levels of lipids in the blood due to diets rich in saturated fat, and hypertension, the study said.
But, it noted, there were causes specific to India - the most important being the time taken to get access to medical help.
On average, it took 300 minutes to reach a hospital in India, twice as long in rich nations. "Few patients used an ambulance to reach the hospital. Most used private or public transport" due to financial constraints, the report says.
Poverty also prevents most Indians from obtaining routine treatments including surgical procedures because most of them have to pay for it themselves.
The study also found that many of the Indian patients were younger by three to six years than those in richer nations.
BBC © MMVIII
KOREA: Assault Allegations Cloud Actor Choi's Hollywood Dream
Actor Choi Min-soo apologizes on his knees for assaulting a 73-year-old man during a press conference at the office of Hyun Jin Cinema in SeoulSEOUL (The Korea Times), April 25, 2008:
By Kim Rahn,Staff Reporter
Famous Korean tough guy actor Choi Min-soo, 46, got down on his knees, with tears welling up in his eyes, to make a public apology for assaulting a 73-year-old man.
Police are investigating the case in which the actor allegedly beat up the man, threatened him with a weapon and drove his car with the man hanging on the bonnet. The family of the victim are considering filing a suit against him.
The allegations come as Choi is scheduled to co-star with Robert de Niro and Andy Garcia in ``Street of Dreams.'' The film, which starts shooting in December, is a 40-billion-won ($40 million) co-production among U.S.-based FR Productions, Korea's Hyun Jin Cinema and Japan's Wides Japan. How the incident will affect the casting of the Hollywood film is still unknown.
For its part, Seoul-based SBS TV said Friday that it decided to cancel airing two programs in which Choi appeared, taking simmering public anger against the actor into consideration.
According to police, Choi, while driving his jeep, swore at a tow truck driver on a road in Itaewon-dong, central Seoul, around 1 p.m. Monday, as it was blocking the road.
A nearby restaurant owner reprimanded Choi for using abusive language, and the quarrel started. Choi cursed at the owner, identified by his last name Yu, grabbed him by the collar and threw him down, according to the victim and witnesses. Choi beat up the old man and Yu called police.
Choi tried to leave the scene in his jeep but Yu blocked the car with his body. Ignoring him, Choi drove the car and Yu was dragged for some 50 meters holding on to the hood of the car.
Yu managed to climb to the passenger seat of the jeep and demanded Choi stop the car. Choi then told him to get off the car, threatening him with a knife-like weapon, according to witnesses.
Police officers arrived and took both of them to the police station. They have questioned them several times since.
With the incident being made public, Choi apologized to the public at a press conference Thursday evening. He said he was to blame, saying: ``I did not come here to defend myself. Above all, I cannot forgive myself.''
Choi said allegations involving a weapon, fleeing the scene and assault will be proven after a police investigation. Regarding the weapon, he said that there were some tools in the car, and that Yu may have mistaken the gearsticks as weapons.
``I did something I shouldn't have. I'm deeply sorry. I'll keep visiting Yu and apologizing to him until he forgives me,'' Choi said.
When asked about his future as an actor, he said, ``I feel like I'd rather die.''
Despite the apology, Yu and his family said they would sue Choi if the actor tries to distort the truth.
A daughter of the victim spoke to the media. ``How can a person who assaulted an elderly man be called a top star? We will take legal action against him if he tries to distort the truth even slightly.'' She said her father is still suffering from pain in his back.
rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr
JAMAICA: Taking His Heart - From the Carribbean to Nigeria
NEW YORK (Ted Talks), April 25, 2008:
This week's TED TALKS - Ideas Worth Spreading, Talks Ernest Madu:
Bringing world-class health care to the poorest
Ernest Madu founded the
Heart Institute of the Caribbean,
a revolutionary clinic for cardiovascular diseases in Kingston, Jamaica -- revolutionary for offering first-class health care in a developing nation.
His next stop: Nigeria.
Why you should listen to him:
Dr. Ernest Chijioke Madu believes that people in the developing world have a right to world-class health care.
At his three Heart Institute of the Caribbean clinics --in Kingston and Mandeville, Jamaica, and in the Cayman Islands -- he delivers more than $1 million a year in free or reduced-care treatment, a significant contribution in an area where 56% of hospital deaths are caused by cardiovascular disease.
Now Dr. Madu is hoping to transfer HIC’s mission and achievements into other low-resource nations. His next target is Nigeria, his home country, where the Heart Institute of West Africa is scheduled to open in 2009.
Though AIDS and malaria are huge factors for Africa, Dr. Madu emphasizes the importance of treating cardiovascular disease, which is the second leading cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa, after HIV/AIDS, and the leading cause of death for people over 30.
Dr. Madu's work on noninvasive evaluation of coronary artery disease in obese individuals has become a standard evaluating tool.
"Dr Madu has shown that in an interconnected world, technology, expertise and the human (I’d say Nigerian spirit) spirit can support make the seemingly impossible, possible."
- Chikwe Ihekweazu, at Nigeria Health Watch
Dr. Nadu's talk
Source: TED.com
This week's TED TALKS - Ideas Worth Spreading, Talks Ernest Madu:
Bringing world-class health care to the poorest Ernest Madu founded the
Heart Institute of the Caribbean,
a revolutionary clinic for cardiovascular diseases in Kingston, Jamaica -- revolutionary for offering first-class health care in a developing nation.
His next stop: Nigeria.
Why you should listen to him:
Dr. Ernest Chijioke Madu believes that people in the developing world have a right to world-class health care.
At his three Heart Institute of the Caribbean clinics --in Kingston and Mandeville, Jamaica, and in the Cayman Islands -- he delivers more than $1 million a year in free or reduced-care treatment, a significant contribution in an area where 56% of hospital deaths are caused by cardiovascular disease.
Now Dr. Madu is hoping to transfer HIC’s mission and achievements into other low-resource nations. His next target is Nigeria, his home country, where the Heart Institute of West Africa is scheduled to open in 2009.
Though AIDS and malaria are huge factors for Africa, Dr. Madu emphasizes the importance of treating cardiovascular disease, which is the second leading cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa, after HIV/AIDS, and the leading cause of death for people over 30.
Dr. Madu's work on noninvasive evaluation of coronary artery disease in obese individuals has become a standard evaluating tool.
"Dr Madu has shown that in an interconnected world, technology, expertise and the human (I’d say Nigerian spirit) spirit can support make the seemingly impossible, possible."
- Chikwe Ihekweazu, at Nigeria Health Watch
Dr. Nadu's talk
Source: TED.com
NETHERLANDS: On Two Wheels
SOFIA, Bulgaria (The Sofia Echo), April 25, 2008:
Opinion
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COLUMNISTS: ECO ECHO
On Two Wheels
By Elitsa Grancharova
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The Netherlands is the country where I learnt to separate my refuse and found out what can be produced from rubbish. While I was living there, I also adored the many wind generators, and I would curiously ask about the factories that made use of refuse, factories that one can see almost everywhere while travelling by train.
But for me, the Netherlands is mainly the place where I had a year-long total blast of going everywhere by bike, having cyclist’s rights, special lanes, streetlights, huge and well organised parking lots and all kind of facilities that made bicycle use easier.
The Netherlands is the country that most definitely has more bicycle lanes per capita and per square metre than any other in the world. Terms such as bicycle boulevards and bicycle underpasses are not unfamiliar to Dutch residents or city planners. Perhaps not unwittingly, Sofia’s chief architect laughed when he heard the term “bicycle boulevard”.
Anyways, a group of people in Bulgaria who also realised that bike transport is not only more environmentally friendly and healthier, but also a more cost-efficient transport mode, are currently trying to encourage Sofia’s city planners to understand this, too, and to facilitate bicycle use in Bulgaria as well. Some good examples, on top of which, of course, is the Netherlands, have been pointed out to Sofia city hall as role models.
Not accidentally, the northern Dutch city of Groningen has been called one of the most bicycle-friendly cities of Europe. The city’s population of 185 000 owns an astonishing number of bicycles: about 300 000, according to a publication in the alternative lifestyle magazine Monocle.
Public transport buses in Groningen, as well as in Alkmaar, where I lived, pass by almost empty, as everyone is on a bicycle. The Dutch let themselves be stopped from crossing the whole town on two wheels neither by the wind, which is too strong for any Bulgarian, nor by the rain, which they seem to not notice at all.
Groningen is one of the best examples, for other reasons as well.
Cycling in this city is considered a part of its integral innovation, city planning and transport strategy. After, in 1977, green areas, pedestrian zones, and bicycle and bus lanes replaced a six-lane part of the highway in the central area of the city, more than 50 per cent of the local population started using bikes on a daily basis. Moreover, immigration to other regions of the Netherlands decreased, while the companies that had initially protested against the restrictions on car access started wishing for even stricter regulations.
In a typical Netherlands manner, Gerrit van Verfen, a Groningen city architect, said: “We don’t want a good bicycle system. We want the perfect bicycle system, which is as good as the German autobahns for cars. We do not ride bicycles because we are poor here; we ride them because it is fun, faster and convenient.”
After I read his words, knowing what it could be like because I had lived in the Netherlands before, I started to dream that our city planners would also be able to think in such a fashion.
According to Van Verfen, Groningen’s programme is “not an ecological but an economical programme”.
Projecting bicycle networks is cheaper than projecting car roads, and maintaining a bicycle is also much cheaper than maintaining a car. Therefore, most of the Dutch ride a bike, and one can see elderly people next to pregnant women on two wheels. Of course, when you have well-organised infrastructure for cycling, it only encourages the taking up of such a pleasurable activity.
When discussing how to achieve at least 10 per cent of the bicycle lanes that the Dutch have, some Bulgarians say that there it is flat and therefore it is easier to ride. This is true, but there it is also much windier and it rains much more, which does not stop a Dutch person from using his bike. I suppose that a hill would not stop him, either. Many of the Dutch living in Bulgaria miss cycling. However, fortunately some of them are working to have more places to ride even here, in underdeveloped Bulgaria.
© 2001-2008, Sofia Echo Media Ltd
Opinion
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COLUMNISTS: ECO ECHOOn Two Wheels
By Elitsa Grancharova
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The Netherlands is the country where I learnt to separate my refuse and found out what can be produced from rubbish. While I was living there, I also adored the many wind generators, and I would curiously ask about the factories that made use of refuse, factories that one can see almost everywhere while travelling by train.
But for me, the Netherlands is mainly the place where I had a year-long total blast of going everywhere by bike, having cyclist’s rights, special lanes, streetlights, huge and well organised parking lots and all kind of facilities that made bicycle use easier.
The Netherlands is the country that most definitely has more bicycle lanes per capita and per square metre than any other in the world. Terms such as bicycle boulevards and bicycle underpasses are not unfamiliar to Dutch residents or city planners. Perhaps not unwittingly, Sofia’s chief architect laughed when he heard the term “bicycle boulevard”.
Anyways, a group of people in Bulgaria who also realised that bike transport is not only more environmentally friendly and healthier, but also a more cost-efficient transport mode, are currently trying to encourage Sofia’s city planners to understand this, too, and to facilitate bicycle use in Bulgaria as well. Some good examples, on top of which, of course, is the Netherlands, have been pointed out to Sofia city hall as role models.
Not accidentally, the northern Dutch city of Groningen has been called one of the most bicycle-friendly cities of Europe. The city’s population of 185 000 owns an astonishing number of bicycles: about 300 000, according to a publication in the alternative lifestyle magazine Monocle.
Public transport buses in Groningen, as well as in Alkmaar, where I lived, pass by almost empty, as everyone is on a bicycle. The Dutch let themselves be stopped from crossing the whole town on two wheels neither by the wind, which is too strong for any Bulgarian, nor by the rain, which they seem to not notice at all.
Groningen is one of the best examples, for other reasons as well.
Cycling in this city is considered a part of its integral innovation, city planning and transport strategy. After, in 1977, green areas, pedestrian zones, and bicycle and bus lanes replaced a six-lane part of the highway in the central area of the city, more than 50 per cent of the local population started using bikes on a daily basis. Moreover, immigration to other regions of the Netherlands decreased, while the companies that had initially protested against the restrictions on car access started wishing for even stricter regulations.
In a typical Netherlands manner, Gerrit van Verfen, a Groningen city architect, said: “We don’t want a good bicycle system. We want the perfect bicycle system, which is as good as the German autobahns for cars. We do not ride bicycles because we are poor here; we ride them because it is fun, faster and convenient.”
After I read his words, knowing what it could be like because I had lived in the Netherlands before, I started to dream that our city planners would also be able to think in such a fashion.
According to Van Verfen, Groningen’s programme is “not an ecological but an economical programme”.
Projecting bicycle networks is cheaper than projecting car roads, and maintaining a bicycle is also much cheaper than maintaining a car. Therefore, most of the Dutch ride a bike, and one can see elderly people next to pregnant women on two wheels. Of course, when you have well-organised infrastructure for cycling, it only encourages the taking up of such a pleasurable activity.
When discussing how to achieve at least 10 per cent of the bicycle lanes that the Dutch have, some Bulgarians say that there it is flat and therefore it is easier to ride. This is true, but there it is also much windier and it rains much more, which does not stop a Dutch person from using his bike. I suppose that a hill would not stop him, either. Many of the Dutch living in Bulgaria miss cycling. However, fortunately some of them are working to have more places to ride even here, in underdeveloped Bulgaria.
© 2001-2008, Sofia Echo Media Ltd
INDIA: Profitability of Health Insurance Sector Remains An Issue
LONDON (Mondaq News Alert), April 24, 2008:
Even though the Indian health insurance market grew by 38% in 2006-07, only 1.08% of India’s billion plus population has medical insurance. The general perception is that the prospects for growth in this sector of the insurance market are good.
Background: Health insurance policies were first introduced in 1986 at a time when the Indian insurance industry was nationalised. The policies on offer were complicated to read and offered limited cover. There were no third party administrators operating in India, and there was no direct settlement of claims between health Insurer and hospital. There were therefore issues concerning claims servicing, which involved an Insured following cumbersome procedures to get claims authenticated and paid. The business was not profitable for the nationalised Insurers, and not popular with the public at large.
The original ‘Mediclaim Policy’, however, developed and in many cases has provided the base model for the health care insurance policies that were introduced immediately after liberalisation of the general insurance sector at the turn of the millennium.
Health insurance, however, saw no specialist players until relatively recently with the entry into the market of companies such as Star Heath & Allied Insurance and Apollo DKV Insurance. This is because there was a general expectation that the insurance industry regulator, the IRDA, would set a smaller capitalisation requirement for health insurers and/or amend the rules for foreign equity ownership in Indian Insurers in recognition of the fact that health insurance loss ratios were not good, and therefore finding an Indian partner to invest 76% in a health insurer would be a difficult task.
The IRDA did not, however, relax either the capitalisation requirements or foreign investments caps. Initially, therefore, the health insurance market did not grow as quickly as may have been expected.
Future Prospects: The generally optimistic perception for the growth of health insurance is certainly supported by the growth in the number of policyholders, but the profitability of this line of business remains an issue. The health insurance sector had a loss ratio of about 78% in 2003, which deteriorated to 98% in 2004-05. Currently, available figures suggest that the claims ratio stands at 110% - 120%.
Growth in policyholder numbers, more effective third party administration and an effective network of hospitals is expected to see the numbers improve. Other changes have been effected to encourage growth in this sector. For example:
Life insurers have been allowed to sell health insurance. Initially, life insurers were only allowed to sell certain types of health covers as a supplement to a life policy. However, the (IRDA) has allowed life insurers to sell pure health insurance products subject to product specific approvals.
The standard mediclaim policy has undergone several revisions and modifications. In recent years, private health insurers, such as Apollo DKV, have been offering fresh products with increased covers and sums insured.
The growing expense of health care in India. Private hospital rates are still low compared to the rates charged in more developed countries, but high when compared to average Indian earnings. It is no longer uncommon for Indian employees to now expect that health care will be part of an employment package.
With the opening up of the market to private competition, the claims process has become much less cumbersome.
Support for a health insurance market has also come from some less obvious sources. Indian states have started relying on insurance policies to meet some of their legal obligations to provide health care to their citizens. The central government has also proposed the introduction of free health care insurance for the poor. This plan is meant to cover every poor family for INR30,000 (c. US$750) per annum. The central government will pay 75% of the premium, leaving the remaining 25% to be covered by state governments.
The IRDA has also encouraged Micro-insurance as a means of extending the availability of health insurance to areas of the market that, geographically and economically, may not have been at the forefront of Insurers’ business plans.
The Legal Playing Field: At the same time as the market grows, the IRDA and the Courts are stepping in to create a more consumer friendly playing field, particularly as regards the treatment of senior citizens; the operation of the pre-existing diseases exclusion, and the reluctance of insurers to renew policies where the claims experience has been bad.
Senior citizens had been complaining about the reluctance of Insurers to issue policies to them, and the inclusion of disadvantageous terms when policies were offered – such as hefty increases in premium rates, added exclusions and conditions, etc. In May 2007, the IRDA set up a Committee on Health Insurance for Senior Citizens to make recommendations. Its members included representatives from the General Insurance Corporation of India, Oriental and Apollo DKV as well as others. The Committee reported in November 2007 and made the following main recommendations:
Senior Citizens should have some assurance that their policies will be renewed.
The Industry should adopt standard terms and conditions, such as for the definition of pre-existing diseases.
The Committee also said that policy wordings should be simpler for the lay person to follow, suggesting that uniform terminology be used by all Insurers to lessen confusion in the public mind.
The IRDA is still in the process of evaluating the Committee recommendations and none of them have been formally adopted, but there are indications of an indirect reliance on part of the Committee’s recommendations during the File & Use procedure. This is the process whereby a non-tariffed product is brought to market. It must first be filed with the IRDA, and only thereafter can it be sold. During the filing stage, the IRDA has been paying particularly close attention to exclusion clauses in general, and the pre-existing disease exclusion in particular.
The Courts have taken a similar interest. The Judgment in New India Assurance v Akshoy Kumar Paul was handed down by the Delhi High Court in November 2007 and has only recently been reported. The Court had to consider whether, on renewal, a state owned Insurer could refuse to renew or insert an exclusion clause if it did renew. The Insured had held the policy for 5 years, renewing it on 4 occasions. In the preceding year, he had suffered a heart attack. It was held that New India must renew, and the ‘renewal of an insurance policy means repetition of the original in a manner that the old policy gets revived on the same terms and conditions as were incorporated in the original policy’. The exclusion clause was not permitted.
Although it interferes with principles of privity of contract, the judgment can be justified by reference to earlier decisions to the effect that state owned Insurers have special obligations to act fairly because they are state owned and therefore an extension of the state. It remains to be seen whether the obligation to renew on the same terms will be extended to private Insurers.
Nevertheless, there is a clear pro-consumer trend in the Courts and at the regulatory level when it comes to health insurance.
By Neeraj Tuli, Tuli & Co. New Delhi
© Mondaq® 1994-2008
Even though the Indian health insurance market grew by 38% in 2006-07, only 1.08% of India’s billion plus population has medical insurance. The general perception is that the prospects for growth in this sector of the insurance market are good.
Background: Health insurance policies were first introduced in 1986 at a time when the Indian insurance industry was nationalised. The policies on offer were complicated to read and offered limited cover. There were no third party administrators operating in India, and there was no direct settlement of claims between health Insurer and hospital. There were therefore issues concerning claims servicing, which involved an Insured following cumbersome procedures to get claims authenticated and paid. The business was not profitable for the nationalised Insurers, and not popular with the public at large.
The original ‘Mediclaim Policy’, however, developed and in many cases has provided the base model for the health care insurance policies that were introduced immediately after liberalisation of the general insurance sector at the turn of the millennium.
Health insurance, however, saw no specialist players until relatively recently with the entry into the market of companies such as Star Heath & Allied Insurance and Apollo DKV Insurance. This is because there was a general expectation that the insurance industry regulator, the IRDA, would set a smaller capitalisation requirement for health insurers and/or amend the rules for foreign equity ownership in Indian Insurers in recognition of the fact that health insurance loss ratios were not good, and therefore finding an Indian partner to invest 76% in a health insurer would be a difficult task.
The IRDA did not, however, relax either the capitalisation requirements or foreign investments caps. Initially, therefore, the health insurance market did not grow as quickly as may have been expected.
Future Prospects: The generally optimistic perception for the growth of health insurance is certainly supported by the growth in the number of policyholders, but the profitability of this line of business remains an issue. The health insurance sector had a loss ratio of about 78% in 2003, which deteriorated to 98% in 2004-05. Currently, available figures suggest that the claims ratio stands at 110% - 120%.
Growth in policyholder numbers, more effective third party administration and an effective network of hospitals is expected to see the numbers improve. Other changes have been effected to encourage growth in this sector. For example:
Life insurers have been allowed to sell health insurance. Initially, life insurers were only allowed to sell certain types of health covers as a supplement to a life policy. However, the (IRDA) has allowed life insurers to sell pure health insurance products subject to product specific approvals.
The standard mediclaim policy has undergone several revisions and modifications. In recent years, private health insurers, such as Apollo DKV, have been offering fresh products with increased covers and sums insured.
The growing expense of health care in India. Private hospital rates are still low compared to the rates charged in more developed countries, but high when compared to average Indian earnings. It is no longer uncommon for Indian employees to now expect that health care will be part of an employment package.
With the opening up of the market to private competition, the claims process has become much less cumbersome.
Support for a health insurance market has also come from some less obvious sources. Indian states have started relying on insurance policies to meet some of their legal obligations to provide health care to their citizens. The central government has also proposed the introduction of free health care insurance for the poor. This plan is meant to cover every poor family for INR30,000 (c. US$750) per annum. The central government will pay 75% of the premium, leaving the remaining 25% to be covered by state governments.
The IRDA has also encouraged Micro-insurance as a means of extending the availability of health insurance to areas of the market that, geographically and economically, may not have been at the forefront of Insurers’ business plans.
The Legal Playing Field: At the same time as the market grows, the IRDA and the Courts are stepping in to create a more consumer friendly playing field, particularly as regards the treatment of senior citizens; the operation of the pre-existing diseases exclusion, and the reluctance of insurers to renew policies where the claims experience has been bad.
Senior citizens had been complaining about the reluctance of Insurers to issue policies to them, and the inclusion of disadvantageous terms when policies were offered – such as hefty increases in premium rates, added exclusions and conditions, etc. In May 2007, the IRDA set up a Committee on Health Insurance for Senior Citizens to make recommendations. Its members included representatives from the General Insurance Corporation of India, Oriental and Apollo DKV as well as others. The Committee reported in November 2007 and made the following main recommendations:
Senior Citizens should have some assurance that their policies will be renewed.
The Industry should adopt standard terms and conditions, such as for the definition of pre-existing diseases.
The Committee also said that policy wordings should be simpler for the lay person to follow, suggesting that uniform terminology be used by all Insurers to lessen confusion in the public mind.
The IRDA is still in the process of evaluating the Committee recommendations and none of them have been formally adopted, but there are indications of an indirect reliance on part of the Committee’s recommendations during the File & Use procedure. This is the process whereby a non-tariffed product is brought to market. It must first be filed with the IRDA, and only thereafter can it be sold. During the filing stage, the IRDA has been paying particularly close attention to exclusion clauses in general, and the pre-existing disease exclusion in particular.
The Courts have taken a similar interest. The Judgment in New India Assurance v Akshoy Kumar Paul was handed down by the Delhi High Court in November 2007 and has only recently been reported. The Court had to consider whether, on renewal, a state owned Insurer could refuse to renew or insert an exclusion clause if it did renew. The Insured had held the policy for 5 years, renewing it on 4 occasions. In the preceding year, he had suffered a heart attack. It was held that New India must renew, and the ‘renewal of an insurance policy means repetition of the original in a manner that the old policy gets revived on the same terms and conditions as were incorporated in the original policy’. The exclusion clause was not permitted.
Although it interferes with principles of privity of contract, the judgment can be justified by reference to earlier decisions to the effect that state owned Insurers have special obligations to act fairly because they are state owned and therefore an extension of the state. It remains to be seen whether the obligation to renew on the same terms will be extended to private Insurers.
Nevertheless, there is a clear pro-consumer trend in the Courts and at the regulatory level when it comes to health insurance.
By Neeraj Tuli, Tuli & Co. New Delhi
© Mondaq® 1994-2008
AUSTRALIA: Ageing Supreme, Grandma of 8, Keeps Soul Diva title
PERTH (The Western Australian), April 24, 2008:It’s been more than 30 years since her days in Motown group The Supremes, but Mary Wilson is still every bit the soul diva.
The 64-year-old singer is in Australia with vocal group Human Nature, who have taken on the Motown songs on their past three albums, singing alongside legends like Wilson, Smokey Robinson and Martha Reeves.
Wilson, teamed up with the Human Nature lads to work up a sweat singing River Deep Mountain High on breakfast television this morning, and demonstrated she is still a consummate performer and a bit of a perfectionist.
“My fur (stole) came off - that wasn’t intentional,” Wilson told AAP. “I was a little upset about that. My fur!”
Wilson tours 10 out of 12 months of the year, but admits it is not as easy as it used to be. “It’s getting to be a little hard,” she said. “I even notice here my energy is not as it should be. What keeps me going is because I love doing it.”
Human Nature approached Wilson when they were recording their third Motown album, Get Ready. Toby Allen said they wanted to make their third and final Motown tribute particularly special.
“We felt the way to make it special would be to approach some of the original Motown superstars to see if they would sing with us,” he said.
Wilson interjects, joking: “They knew they couldn't get Diane (Diana Ross), so they called me”. She said she was immediately impressed by the four Aussie boys who were singing her old hits.
“I was very, very impressed ... because they were so good,” she said. “If you can enjoy a cover version of a song as well as the original version then it shows you that it's really quite good.”
Wilson said she still keeps in touch with her fellow Supremes occasionally, and loves looking back on that time in her life. “It was one of those things you wish it would never end,” she said. “It was just so wonderful and magical and very new. I look at the business today and things are not as magical as they were in the very beginning. People were in it for the passion and for the love of the music. Now people are into it because they want to be a star, or they want the money.”
Wilson said she is only just learning to accept her status as an icon of the music industry, as she still considers herself a very active part of it.
“I guess as you go on if you're lucky people will give that accolade to you, but I never really think about it,” she said. "I’m too busy still doing the work.”
When she is not being Mary Wilson the performer, her next priority is being grandmother to her eight grandchildren.
“After this, I’m going shopping - my grandchildren want koala bears and stuffed animals,” she said.
AAP
West Australian Newspapers Limited 2008.
USA: President Signs Elder Falls Bill Into Law
WASHINGTON (News Blaze/Daily News), April 24, 2008:
The Home Safety Council, the only national nonprofit organization solely dedicated to preventing unintentional home injuries, applauds today's enactment of the Safety of Seniors Act. The bill, signed into law by President Bush yesterday, comes at a critical time when each year, one in three Americans age 65 and older falls and about 30 percent of those who fall require medical treatment.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, it costs more than $19 billion annually to treat the elderly for the effects of falls.
This Public Law 110-202 will develop effective public and professional education strategies to raise awareness about elder falls, encourage research to identify at-risk populations and evaluate falls interventions, and support demonstration projects aimed at preventing falls among older Americans.
Patricia Adkins, Chief Operating Officer of the Home Safety Council, applauded "the enactment of an important law that will help keep millions of older Americans safe from falls-related injuries."
Additional Funding Needed
Based on CDC figures, more than $19 billion annually is spent on treating the elderly for the adverse effects of falls: $12 billion for hospitalization, $4 billion for emergency department visits, and $3 billion for outpatient care. Most of these expenses are paid for by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services through Medicare. It is projected that direct treatment costs from elder falls will escalate to $43.8 billion annually by 2020.
According to Adkins, the enactment of the Safety of Seniors Act is an important first step in helping older Americans and it should be followed by appropriating additional funding for the CDC's falls prevention budget.
"If we are to make a meaningful difference for older adults, we must communicate to Congress and the White House that more resources are needed to adopt programs that are working," said Adkins. "Trying to solve a $19 billion problem with a $1 million budget does not make sense. Our older Americans deserve better."
Earlier this year, the Falls Free Coalition Advocacy Work Group and 25 national policy organizations called on Congress to add $20.7 million in Fiscal Year 2009 for CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control to address the growing, large-scale problem of falls among older Americans.
SOURCE Home Safety Council
Copyright © 2008, NewsBlaze, Daily News
The Home Safety Council, the only national nonprofit organization solely dedicated to preventing unintentional home injuries, applauds today's enactment of the Safety of Seniors Act. The bill, signed into law by President Bush yesterday, comes at a critical time when each year, one in three Americans age 65 and older falls and about 30 percent of those who fall require medical treatment.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, it costs more than $19 billion annually to treat the elderly for the effects of falls.
This Public Law 110-202 will develop effective public and professional education strategies to raise awareness about elder falls, encourage research to identify at-risk populations and evaluate falls interventions, and support demonstration projects aimed at preventing falls among older Americans.
Patricia Adkins, Chief Operating Officer of the Home Safety Council, applauded "the enactment of an important law that will help keep millions of older Americans safe from falls-related injuries."
Additional Funding Needed
Based on CDC figures, more than $19 billion annually is spent on treating the elderly for the adverse effects of falls: $12 billion for hospitalization, $4 billion for emergency department visits, and $3 billion for outpatient care. Most of these expenses are paid for by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services through Medicare. It is projected that direct treatment costs from elder falls will escalate to $43.8 billion annually by 2020.
According to Adkins, the enactment of the Safety of Seniors Act is an important first step in helping older Americans and it should be followed by appropriating additional funding for the CDC's falls prevention budget.
"If we are to make a meaningful difference for older adults, we must communicate to Congress and the White House that more resources are needed to adopt programs that are working," said Adkins. "Trying to solve a $19 billion problem with a $1 million budget does not make sense. Our older Americans deserve better."
Earlier this year, the Falls Free Coalition Advocacy Work Group and 25 national policy organizations called on Congress to add $20.7 million in Fiscal Year 2009 for CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control to address the growing, large-scale problem of falls among older Americans.
SOURCE Home Safety Council
Copyright © 2008, NewsBlaze, Daily News
U.K.: Getting paid to drink
A pint is pulled at a pub in central London. REUTERS/Dylan MartinezLONDON (Reuters), April 24, 2008:
Found: drinking companions to join elderly gentleman for a friendly beer at his local pub.
Mike Hammond was bombarded with offers after advertising in his village post office for someone to accompany his 88-year-old father Jack on visits to a southern England pub from a nursing home.
He offered the lucky winner 7 pounds ($14) an hour plus expenses and, after sifting through the applicants, decided on a job-share. Drinking duties are to be divided between a retired doctor and a former military man.
"Dad's now going to be going down to the pub several times a week -- three with his new friends and twice with me," Mike Hammond told The Times on Thursday. "I want to give him some of his old life back."
By Paul Majendie
Editing by Paul Casciato
© Thomson Reuters 2008
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Abu Dhabi Conference Looks at Role of Elderly in Society
DUBAI, UAE (GulfNews), April 24, 2008:
By Eman Mohammed, Abu Dhabi Deputy Editor
The Abu Dhabi International Conference on Ageing currently being held at Emirates Palace will look at ways to fully integrate the elderly into society.
The conference was opened on Tuesday night by Her Highness Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, Chairperson of the UAE General Women's Union. The conference is being held under the patronage of General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. It is organised by the Family Development Foundation.
Shaikha Fatima said ageing has become an important matter and it was important to hold a conference on the aged in the context of other programmes worldwide aimed at them.
The number of elderly people is increasing because of, among other reasons, better medical care, she said.
Also present at the inauguration of the conference were Shaikh Hamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chief of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince's Court and President of the Higher Committee for the Specialised Economic Zones, and Dr Maitha Salem Al Shamsi, Minister of State, who spoke on behalf of Shaikha Fatima.
Growing numbers
"Global statistics show the number of elderly people is growing.
"The number of elderly people worldwide was 590 million at the end of the 20th century and will reach more than a billion by 2025," Shaikha Fatima said.
"The United Arab Emirates under the leadership of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan increased social contributions for elderly people in 2005, and His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has a special interest in residences for the aged."
She said this was a continuation of the path set by the late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, father of the nation.
Shaikha Fatima expressed her hope that the conference would succeed, and said she hoped it would produce valuable recommendations about caring for elderly people.
"Supporting and encouraging scientific research about the elderly will greatly improve society. Aged people should be cared for and should be an integral part of society, the family and the country," she said.
The three-day conference is highlighting traditional Islamic and Arab values in caring for the elderly and look at the best ways to fully integrate them in society.
According to statistics the elderly (people over 60), make up five per of the population.
Life expectancy in the UAE has risen to 81 years for women and 76 years for men.
She hoped the conference would produce valuable recommendations about caring for elderly people.
© Al Nisr Publishing LLC 2007
By Eman Mohammed, Abu Dhabi Deputy Editor
The Abu Dhabi International Conference on Ageing currently being held at Emirates Palace will look at ways to fully integrate the elderly into society.
The conference was opened on Tuesday night by Her Highness Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, Chairperson of the UAE General Women's Union. The conference is being held under the patronage of General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. It is organised by the Family Development Foundation.
Shaikha Fatima said ageing has become an important matter and it was important to hold a conference on the aged in the context of other programmes worldwide aimed at them.
The number of elderly people is increasing because of, among other reasons, better medical care, she said.
Also present at the inauguration of the conference were Shaikh Hamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chief of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince's Court and President of the Higher Committee for the Specialised Economic Zones, and Dr Maitha Salem Al Shamsi, Minister of State, who spoke on behalf of Shaikha Fatima.
Growing numbers
"Global statistics show the number of elderly people is growing.
"The number of elderly people worldwide was 590 million at the end of the 20th century and will reach more than a billion by 2025," Shaikha Fatima said.
"The United Arab Emirates under the leadership of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan increased social contributions for elderly people in 2005, and His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has a special interest in residences for the aged."
She said this was a continuation of the path set by the late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, father of the nation.
Shaikha Fatima expressed her hope that the conference would succeed, and said she hoped it would produce valuable recommendations about caring for elderly people.
"Supporting and encouraging scientific research about the elderly will greatly improve society. Aged people should be cared for and should be an integral part of society, the family and the country," she said.
The three-day conference is highlighting traditional Islamic and Arab values in caring for the elderly and look at the best ways to fully integrate them in society.
According to statistics the elderly (people over 60), make up five per of the population.
Life expectancy in the UAE has risen to 81 years for women and 76 years for men.
She hoped the conference would produce valuable recommendations about caring for elderly people.
© Al Nisr Publishing LLC 2007
JAPAN: Praise as good as cash to brain, finds study
A child plays inside a model brain in a file photo. REUTERS/Claro Cortes IV
CHICAGO (Reuters), April 24, 2008:
Paying people a compliment appears to activate the same reward center in the brain as paying them cash, Japanese researchers said on Wednesday.
They said the study offers scientific support for the long-held assumption that people get a psychological boost from having a good reputation.
"We found that these seemingly different kinds of rewards -- a good reputation versus money -- are biologically coded by the same neural structure, the striatum," said Dr. Norihiro Sadato of the Japanese National Institute for Physiological Sciences in Okazaki, Japan.
"This provides the biological basis of our everyday experience that personal reputation is felt as rewards," Sadato said in an e-mail.
Sadato's team studied 19 healthy people using a brain imaging technique known as functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI.
In one set of experiments, people played a gambling game in which they were told one of three cards would yield a payout. The researchers then monitored the brain activity triggered when the subjects got a cash reward.
In a second set of experiments, people were told they were being evaluated by strangers based on information from a personality questionnaire and a video they had made.
The researchers then monitored reactions to these staged evaluations -- including when the subjects thought strangers had paid them a compliment.
'NEED TO BELONG'
Both kinds of rewards triggered activity in a reward-related area of the brain. Sadato said the finding represents an important first step toward explaining complex human social behaviors such as altruism.
The fact that the social reward is biologically coded suggests that "the need to belong ... is essential for humans," said Sadato, whose study appears in the journal Neuron.
A similar study in the same journal by Caroline Zink of the National Institute of Mental Health and colleagues found the same brain region was active when people were processing information about social status.
They said the finding might have implications on how social standing affects behavior and health.
The researchers created an artificial social hierarchy in which 72 participants played an interactive computer game for money.
Participants were assigned a social status they were told was based on their playing skill. Researchers monitored their brain activity as the participants were shown pictures of inferior and superior players who were supposedly playing the game in different rooms.
Zink and colleagues saw increased activity in the brain's reward center when people won money or saw their social standing rise.
"The processing of hierarchical information seems to be hard-wired ... underscoring how important it is for us," Zink said in a statement.
By Julie Steenhuysen
Editing by Xavier Briand
© Thomson Reuters 2008
MALAYSIA: Nutritionists jump to defend starfruit
KUALA LUMPUR (New Straits Times), April 24, 2008:
By Nisha Sabanayagam
They were unanimous in challenging a medical expert's opinion that the fruit was dangerous to renal failure patients because of the presence of a neurotoxin and a high level of oxalic acid.
The experts said the poisoning of an elderly Malaysian visiting China was most likely due to pesticide contamination.
The level of freshness also needs to be checked, they said.
A medical expert with University Malaya Medical Centre told a press conference on Tuesday that the fruit could be harmful to renal patients.
Professor Dr Tan Si Yen was commenting on retiree Tang Gon Seang, 66, from Butterworth, who went into a seizure in China after allegedly eating some starfruit.
He was admitted to the Shenzhen general hospital on March 29 where he eventually slipped into a coma.
A specialist there diagnosed his condition as being caused by the starfruit he had eaten.
"You have to be taking a large amount of starfruit and abusing your body with the oxalate (to suffer renal failure)," said pharmacist and holistic medicine expert Datuk Dr M. Rajen.
Oxalate is found in a lot of food and generally healthy people would have no problem with it, he said.
Dr Rajen said such statements that starfruit could be life-threatening may cause a "fear campaign" against the fruit.
He conceded that there could be "the odd case" where people with renal problems eating starfruit suffered severe adverse reactions but one should be clear of the source of the reaction.
He added that other factors should be looked into such as the usage of chemical fertilisers and whether the fruit was fresh or preserved.
Dr Rajen also dismissed the claim that starfruit contained a neurotoxin because if it did, "a lot more people would be affected by eating fresh starfruit".
Nutrition Society of Malaysia president Dr Tee E Siong agreed that it would take high levels of oxalate, even with kidney patients, to cause such a reaction as in the case of Tang.
"It is very unlikely, although one should analyse the case further," he said.
Raw leafy green vegetables such as ulam contain a higher level of oxalate than starfruit, he added.
President of the Malaysian Dietary Supplement Association Jagdev Singh said there had been two reports of severe toxicity problems caused by starfruit with kidney patients in Brazil and Taiwan.
However, he said, it did not necessarily mean that they were due to the oxalates as spinach contains more oxalates than starfruit and kidney patients do not seem to have problems with spinach.
"More research is needed and the issue of pesticide presence has to be ruled out.
"Also, the fruit in these cases could be a subspecies of the starfruit found here."
Jagdev Singh also said that it was highly unlikely that starfruit contained neurotoxins.
A Google search for "starfruit poisoning" refers to the American-based medical website, www.pubmed.gov, stating the fruit contains neurotoxins and oxalate. Oxalate can lead to kidney stones but, once again, local experts agreed it would take large amounts and many years to lead to such a condition.
Copyright © 2007 NST Online
By Nisha Sabanayagam
They were unanimous in challenging a medical expert's opinion that the fruit was dangerous to renal failure patients because of the presence of a neurotoxin and a high level of oxalic acid.
The experts said the poisoning of an elderly Malaysian visiting China was most likely due to pesticide contamination.
The level of freshness also needs to be checked, they said.
A medical expert with University Malaya Medical Centre told a press conference on Tuesday that the fruit could be harmful to renal patients.
Professor Dr Tan Si Yen was commenting on retiree Tang Gon Seang, 66, from Butterworth, who went into a seizure in China after allegedly eating some starfruit.
He was admitted to the Shenzhen general hospital on March 29 where he eventually slipped into a coma.
A specialist there diagnosed his condition as being caused by the starfruit he had eaten.
"You have to be taking a large amount of starfruit and abusing your body with the oxalate (to suffer renal failure)," said pharmacist and holistic medicine expert Datuk Dr M. Rajen.
Oxalate is found in a lot of food and generally healthy people would have no problem with it, he said.
Dr Rajen said such statements that starfruit could be life-threatening may cause a "fear campaign" against the fruit.
He conceded that there could be "the odd case" where people with renal problems eating starfruit suffered severe adverse reactions but one should be clear of the source of the reaction.
He added that other factors should be looked into such as the usage of chemical fertilisers and whether the fruit was fresh or preserved.
Dr Rajen also dismissed the claim that starfruit contained a neurotoxin because if it did, "a lot more people would be affected by eating fresh starfruit".
Nutrition Society of Malaysia president Dr Tee E Siong agreed that it would take high levels of oxalate, even with kidney patients, to cause such a reaction as in the case of Tang.
"It is very unlikely, although one should analyse the case further," he said.
Raw leafy green vegetables such as ulam contain a higher level of oxalate than starfruit, he added.
President of the Malaysian Dietary Supplement Association Jagdev Singh said there had been two reports of severe toxicity problems caused by starfruit with kidney patients in Brazil and Taiwan.
However, he said, it did not necessarily mean that they were due to the oxalates as spinach contains more oxalates than starfruit and kidney patients do not seem to have problems with spinach.
"More research is needed and the issue of pesticide presence has to be ruled out.
"Also, the fruit in these cases could be a subspecies of the starfruit found here."
Jagdev Singh also said that it was highly unlikely that starfruit contained neurotoxins.
A Google search for "starfruit poisoning" refers to the American-based medical website, www.pubmed.gov, stating the fruit contains neurotoxins and oxalate. Oxalate can lead to kidney stones but, once again, local experts agreed it would take large amounts and many years to lead to such a condition.
Copyright © 2007 NST Online
CZECH REPUBLIC: OECD says Czechs need pension, health reforms due to ageing
PRAGUE (Czech Happenings), April 24, 2008:
The Czech Republic should reform its pension and health care systems in connection with population ageing to prevent threatening debts, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said in its report.
The OECD praised the reforms of the Czech right-wing coalition government of Mirek Topolanek (Civic Democrats, ODS). It recommended that retirement age be raised and patients pay more for health care services.
The Czech Republic will face two stages of fast ageing by the mid of the 21st century, OECD says, citing a U.N. prognosis, according to which two waves of baby- boomers will be retiring from the early 2010s to the early 2020s and from mid 2030s to 2050.
OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria indicated that the pension system might collapse if retirement age does not rise to 66 or 67.
The pension age has already been raised in the Czech Republic to 63. Czech Labour Minister Petr Necas (ODS) proposed that it be further raised to 65. The government- proposed bill is now being discussed in the lower house.
The OECD says the Czech Republic should make a final decision on a more radical pension reform if it wants people to receive pensions at higher levels than those securing only minimum sustenance.
The OECD report warns that the government's plan to move a part of people's pension savings to funds would critically lower the sums going to the state pension system.
The voluntary pension schemes should be made more attractive, the report says.
It appreciates the health care measures taken under Health Minister Tomas Julinek (ODS) who introduced fees in Czech health care as of January.
The Czech Constitutional Court is now dealing with the complaint against the fees filed by the opposition Social Democrats (CSSD).
Within the health care reform, the government will have to decide on the scope of health care services covered from public budgets, the report says.
It considers the transformation of health insurance companies into business companies a key issue.
However, the report says OECD countries have had only limited experience with such a health care reform and close monitoring and measures preventing negative impacts are therefore necessary.
The Czech labour market needs to be reformed, too, the OECD says, mentioning a more liberal Labour Code, lower tax burden, more accessible part-time jobs among the desirable changes.
Work and family should be more harmonised, the report says. Its authors believe that maternity leave should not last longer than two years or even less.
As of January, Czech parents may choose whether to go on maternity leave for two, three or four years.
The OECD supports the introduction of tuition fees at Czech universities.
Education Minister Ondrej Liska (Greens) says though the current government will not introduce tuition fees, it is necessary to discuss the issue.
The OECD report points out that the OECD average is 26 percent of university graduates among the population, while in the Czech Republic it is only 13 percent.
The Czech Republic should motivate people to work because limited manpower may threaten economic development. The country should give jobs also to senior citizens and reform its migration policy to attract foreign job seekers.
In this context, the report supports the government's plan to introduce a system of green cards for foreigners. The plan is now discuss by the lower house.
The Czech leftist opposition and labour unions criticise most measures adopted by Topolanek's government.
Author: ČTK
Copyright (c) 1995-2008 Neris s.r.o.
The Czech Republic should reform its pension and health care systems in connection with population ageing to prevent threatening debts, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said in its report.
The OECD praised the reforms of the Czech right-wing coalition government of Mirek Topolanek (Civic Democrats, ODS). It recommended that retirement age be raised and patients pay more for health care services.
The Czech Republic will face two stages of fast ageing by the mid of the 21st century, OECD says, citing a U.N. prognosis, according to which two waves of baby- boomers will be retiring from the early 2010s to the early 2020s and from mid 2030s to 2050.
OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria indicated that the pension system might collapse if retirement age does not rise to 66 or 67.
The pension age has already been raised in the Czech Republic to 63. Czech Labour Minister Petr Necas (ODS) proposed that it be further raised to 65. The government- proposed bill is now being discussed in the lower house.
The OECD says the Czech Republic should make a final decision on a more radical pension reform if it wants people to receive pensions at higher levels than those securing only minimum sustenance.
The OECD report warns that the government's plan to move a part of people's pension savings to funds would critically lower the sums going to the state pension system.
The voluntary pension schemes should be made more attractive, the report says.
It appreciates the health care measures taken under Health Minister Tomas Julinek (ODS) who introduced fees in Czech health care as of January.
The Czech Constitutional Court is now dealing with the complaint against the fees filed by the opposition Social Democrats (CSSD).
Within the health care reform, the government will have to decide on the scope of health care services covered from public budgets, the report says.
It considers the transformation of health insurance companies into business companies a key issue.
However, the report says OECD countries have had only limited experience with such a health care reform and close monitoring and measures preventing negative impacts are therefore necessary.
The Czech labour market needs to be reformed, too, the OECD says, mentioning a more liberal Labour Code, lower tax burden, more accessible part-time jobs among the desirable changes.
Work and family should be more harmonised, the report says. Its authors believe that maternity leave should not last longer than two years or even less.
As of January, Czech parents may choose whether to go on maternity leave for two, three or four years.
The OECD supports the introduction of tuition fees at Czech universities.
Education Minister Ondrej Liska (Greens) says though the current government will not introduce tuition fees, it is necessary to discuss the issue.
The OECD report points out that the OECD average is 26 percent of university graduates among the population, while in the Czech Republic it is only 13 percent.
The Czech Republic should motivate people to work because limited manpower may threaten economic development. The country should give jobs also to senior citizens and reform its migration policy to attract foreign job seekers.
In this context, the report supports the government's plan to introduce a system of green cards for foreigners. The plan is now discuss by the lower house.
The Czech leftist opposition and labour unions criticise most measures adopted by Topolanek's government.
Author: ČTK
Copyright (c) 1995-2008 Neris s.r.o.
SOUTH AFRICA: Exercise, nutrition can halt ageing
SOWETO, Johannesburg, South Africa (The Sowetan), April 24, 2008:
GOOD LIFE
Khanyi Nkosi
Growing old and wrinkled is one stage that women dread and would do anything to hold on to their youthful look.
Most have tried every available anti-ageing product in an effort to remain young.
Our in-house nutrition specialist, Mali Ramara, says lack of physical activity and unhealthy lifestyle contribute to the ageing of women before their time.
However, hormonal changes that develop as women grow older is a process that cannot be avoided, but should rather be embraced.
Here is a breakdown of what happens during the ageing process. Nutrition and exercise can slow down ageing.
Body changes during ageing stage:
* Skin changes: wrinkles, bags under eyes, double chin, thinner, drier and looser skin.
* Body fat increases, loss of muscle mass, reduced muscle strength and endurance.
* Reduced cardio-respiratory system – meaning the ability of the heart, lungs, blood vessels to pump blood, utilise oxygen and send nutrients to the body is reduced.
* Digestive system slows down.
Exercises that reduce the effect of ageing: walking, swimming, jogging, cycling, running, aerobics, dancing, stair climbing.
Drink lots of water. Include herbal tea in your routine. Dilute your juice and reduce alcohol, tea and coffee.
Eat food that includes red, orange and yellow vegetables.
© Avusa Limited.
GOOD LIFE
Khanyi Nkosi
Growing old and wrinkled is one stage that women dread and would do anything to hold on to their youthful look.
Most have tried every available anti-ageing product in an effort to remain young.
Our in-house nutrition specialist, Mali Ramara, says lack of physical activity and unhealthy lifestyle contribute to the ageing of women before their time.
However, hormonal changes that develop as women grow older is a process that cannot be avoided, but should rather be embraced.
Here is a breakdown of what happens during the ageing process. Nutrition and exercise can slow down ageing.
Body changes during ageing stage:
* Skin changes: wrinkles, bags under eyes, double chin, thinner, drier and looser skin.
* Body fat increases, loss of muscle mass, reduced muscle strength and endurance.
* Reduced cardio-respiratory system – meaning the ability of the heart, lungs, blood vessels to pump blood, utilise oxygen and send nutrients to the body is reduced.
* Digestive system slows down.
Exercises that reduce the effect of ageing: walking, swimming, jogging, cycling, running, aerobics, dancing, stair climbing.
Drink lots of water. Include herbal tea in your routine. Dilute your juice and reduce alcohol, tea and coffee.
Eat food that includes red, orange and yellow vegetables.
© Avusa Limited.
SWITZERLAND: Novartis celebrates Community Partnership Day worldwide
BASEL, Switzerland (Novartis), April 23, 2008:
Thousands of Novartis associates worldwide are taking part tomorrow in the company's Community Partnership Day by engaging in volunteer activities to benefit people in their local communities. This year marks the 12th Community Partnership Day, established to commemorate the creation of Novartis in 1996.
About 10,000 associates worldwide joined in the event in 2007, engaging in volunteer work for a wide range of charitable causes, according to Novartis International AG.
Thousands of Novartis associates worldwide are taking part tomorrow in the company's Community Partnership Day by engaging in volunteer activities to benefit people in their local communities. This year marks the 12th Community Partnership Day, established to commemorate the creation of Novartis in 1996.
About 10,000 associates worldwide joined in the event in 2007, engaging in volunteer work for a wide range of charitable causes, according to Novartis International AG.
SWITZERLAND: Leaming and Longevity - Critical Thinking
Learned flies die young
LONDON, England (The Economist), April 24, 2008
YOU do not usually get something for nothing. Now a new study reveals that the evolution of an improved learning ability could come at a particularly high price: an earlier death.
Past experiments have demonstrated that it is relatively easy through selective breeding to make rats, honey bees and—that great favourite of researchers—fruit flies a lot better at learning. Animals that are better learners should be more competitive and thus over time come to dominate a population by natural selection. But improved learning ability does not get selected amongst these animals in the wild. No one really understands why.
Tadeusz Kawecki and his colleagues at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland have measured the effects of improved learning on the lives of fruit flies. The flies were given two different fruits as egg laying sites. One of these was laced with a bitter additive that could be detected only on contact. The flies were then given the same fruit but without an additive. Flies that avoided the fruit which had been bitter were deemed to have learned from their experience. Their offspring were reared and the experiment was run again.
After repeating the experiment for 30 generations, the offspring of the learned flies were compared with normal flies. The researchers report in a forthcoming edition of Evolution that although learning ability could be bred into a population of fruit flies, it shortened their lives by 15%. When the researchers compared their learned flies to colonies selectively bred to live long lives, they found even greater differences. Whereas learned flies had reduced life spans, the long-lived flies learned less well than even average flies.
The authors suggest that evolving an improved learning ability may require a greater investment in the nervous system which diverts resources away from processes that stave off ageing. However, Dr Kawecki thinks the effect could also be a by-product of greater brain activity increasing the production of reactive oxygen particles, which can increase oxidation in the body and damage health.
No one knows whether the phenomenon holds true for other animals. So biologists, at least, still have a lot to learn.
Copyright © The Economist Newspaper Limited 2008.
LONDON, England (The Economist), April 24, 2008
YOU do not usually get something for nothing. Now a new study reveals that the evolution of an improved learning ability could come at a particularly high price: an earlier death.
Past experiments have demonstrated that it is relatively easy through selective breeding to make rats, honey bees and—that great favourite of researchers—fruit flies a lot better at learning. Animals that are better learners should be more competitive and thus over time come to dominate a population by natural selection. But improved learning ability does not get selected amongst these animals in the wild. No one really understands why.
Tadeusz Kawecki and his colleagues at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland have measured the effects of improved learning on the lives of fruit flies. The flies were given two different fruits as egg laying sites. One of these was laced with a bitter additive that could be detected only on contact. The flies were then given the same fruit but without an additive. Flies that avoided the fruit which had been bitter were deemed to have learned from their experience. Their offspring were reared and the experiment was run again.
After repeating the experiment for 30 generations, the offspring of the learned flies were compared with normal flies. The researchers report in a forthcoming edition of Evolution that although learning ability could be bred into a population of fruit flies, it shortened their lives by 15%. When the researchers compared their learned flies to colonies selectively bred to live long lives, they found even greater differences. Whereas learned flies had reduced life spans, the long-lived flies learned less well than even average flies.
The authors suggest that evolving an improved learning ability may require a greater investment in the nervous system which diverts resources away from processes that stave off ageing. However, Dr Kawecki thinks the effect could also be a by-product of greater brain activity increasing the production of reactive oxygen particles, which can increase oxidation in the body and damage health.
No one knows whether the phenomenon holds true for other animals. So biologists, at least, still have a lot to learn.
Copyright © The Economist Newspaper Limited 2008.
CHINA: World's Largest Internet -Using Population
An Internet cafe in China's northwestern Qinghai province. China has surpassed the United States to become the world's largest Internet-using population, reaching 221 million by the end of February, state media said on Thursday.
REUTERS/Simon Zo/Files
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BEIJING (Reuters), April 24, 2008:
China has surpassed the United States to become the world's largest Internet-using population, reaching 221 million by the end of February, state media said on Thursday.
The number of Internet users in China was 210 million at the end of last year, only 5 million fewer than the U.S. Internet users then, Xinhua news agency said, quoting the China Internet Network Information Centre.
"Despite a rapidly increasing Internet population, the proportion of Internet users among the total population was still lower than the global average level," Xinhua quoted the Information Ministry as saying.
The proportion was 16 percent at the end of 2007, compared with 19.1 percent for the world average.
Internet censorship is common in China, where the government employs an elaborate system of filters and tens of thousands of human monitors to survey surfing habits, surgically clipping sensitive content.
But the Internet has most recently become an important tool in countering anti-China protest dogging the Olympic torch relay with an outpouring of nationalism and indignation.
Report by Nick Macfie
Editing by David Fox
© Thomson Reuters 2008
CHINA: Volunteers can bank their hours of work, get repaid when they become elderly
BEIJING, China (Beijing News), April 24, 2008:
Volunteers in Longtan community of Chongwen district in Beijing will get rewards for their work—being served when they become elderly.
According to the community's new volunteering system adopted this March, each volunteer has his or her own "account" and can deposit the time they spent serving the elderly in the community. When they themselves reach 60 years old, they can get service for as long as the time they have volunteered.
The win-win system has attracted 500 volunteers since its trial run four months ago, adding a total of 3,500 hours of service time to their accounts.
The system will also rate the services of the volunteers and award the excellent ones with honored titles, said the Beijing News.
"We have no restriction on age. Everyone can register to become a volunteer as long as you are healthy." said a staff member at the Longtan neighborhood committee.
The service includes cleaning, cooking and chatting with the elderly.
There are 67,862 elderly in Chongwen district, making up 19.6% of its total population, the report said.
Source: China.org.con
Volunteers in Longtan community of Chongwen district in Beijing will get rewards for their work—being served when they become elderly.
According to the community's new volunteering system adopted this March, each volunteer has his or her own "account" and can deposit the time they spent serving the elderly in the community. When they themselves reach 60 years old, they can get service for as long as the time they have volunteered.
The win-win system has attracted 500 volunteers since its trial run four months ago, adding a total of 3,500 hours of service time to their accounts.
The system will also rate the services of the volunteers and award the excellent ones with honored titles, said the Beijing News.
"We have no restriction on age. Everyone can register to become a volunteer as long as you are healthy." said a staff member at the Longtan neighborhood committee.
The service includes cleaning, cooking and chatting with the elderly.
There are 67,862 elderly in Chongwen district, making up 19.6% of its total population, the report said.
Source: China.org.con
USA: Innovative doctor receives iconic honor
President Bush talks with Dr. Michael DeBakey during ceremony honoring the famed heart doctor with the Congressional Gold Medal.By Brendan McKenna
Dallas Morning News, April 24, 2008
WASHINGTON — Houston heart surgeon Michael DeBakey, a pioneer of lifesaving bypass surgery, received the nation's highest civilian honor awarded by Congress on Wednesday.
DeBakey, 99, was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for a lifetime of achievement in medicine, including his cardiac-surgery advances, helping create the military's Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals, or MASH units, and inventing many medical devices and procedures.
President Bush, bestowing the award in a Capitol Rotunda ceremony, noted that the award has rarely been given to scientists. But those Congress recognized are "iconic," including Thomas Edison and Jonas Salk, who developed the polio vaccine.
"Today we gather to recognize that Michael DeBakey's name belongs among them," Bush said.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, who has pushed for DeBakey to receive the honor since 2004, called the doctor a "legend in the field of medicine."
DeBakey urged Congress to consider the model of the Veterans Administration, which provides higher-quality care at lower costs than many other medical services.
"There must be something about what they are doing that we can use to expand health care for the needy," he said.
Material from The Associated Press is included in this report.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
USA: Human working memory holds 3 to 4 things
COLUMBIA, Missouri (UPI), April 24, 2008:
The average person can keep just three or four things in their "working memory" or conscious mind at one time, U.S. researchers say.
The University of Missouri researchers say the finding may lead to better ways to assess and help people with attention-deficit and focus difficulties, improve classroom performance and enhance test scores.
"Most people believe the human mind is incredibly complex," Jeff Rouder said in a statement. "We found that every person has the capacity to hold a certain number of objects in his or her mind."
Limits in working memory are important because working memory is the mental process of holding information in a short-term, readily accessible, easily manipulated form where it can be combined, rearranged and stored more productively, Rouder says.
Working memory is closely related to attention because it requires attention to hold a number of items in mind at once. People with high-working memory capacity have more focus. Those with a lower attention span are more easily distracted, Rouder says.
The findings are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
© 2008 United Press International, Inc
The average person can keep just three or four things in their "working memory" or conscious mind at one time, U.S. researchers say.
The University of Missouri researchers say the finding may lead to better ways to assess and help people with attention-deficit and focus difficulties, improve classroom performance and enhance test scores.
"Most people believe the human mind is incredibly complex," Jeff Rouder said in a statement. "We found that every person has the capacity to hold a certain number of objects in his or her mind."
Limits in working memory are important because working memory is the mental process of holding information in a short-term, readily accessible, easily manipulated form where it can be combined, rearranged and stored more productively, Rouder says.
Working memory is closely related to attention because it requires attention to hold a number of items in mind at once. People with high-working memory capacity have more focus. Those with a lower attention span are more easily distracted, Rouder says.
The findings are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
© 2008 United Press International, Inc
AUSTRALIA: Grains and Legumes - Ideal Weight Control
Australian research has found that people who want to lose weight or avoid weight gain should consume plenty of wholegrain cereals and legumes while controlling their overall energy intake.
WOLLONGONG, NSW, AUSTRALIA (Go-Grains Newsletter), April 24, 2008:
After assessing 556 studies published in the scientific literature during the last 25 years, the researchers found a diet high in wholegrains has a strong link with lower body mass index (BMI), smaller waist circumference and a reduced risk of being overweight.
They also found that a diet high in wholegrains and legumes can actually help reduce weight gain, and that significant weight loss is achievable with energy controlled diets that are high in cereals and legumes.
The National Centre of Excellence in Functional Foods at the University of Wollongong conducted the review of international scientific literature to determine the role of grains and legumes in the prevention and management of overweight and obesity.
Study leader Associate Professor Peter Williams said the findings will be of interest to Australians who may be concerned that high intakes of grains such as cereals, bread, rice and pasta could lead to weight gain.
“One of the most popular diet myths in recent times is that grains, and the carbohydrates they contain, provide excess energy to the body and are therefore fattening,” Prof Williams said.
“So we set out to establish what the science actually says about that question.”
Professor Williams’ review of the literature found this belief about grain foods and weight gain is not supported by scientific evidence. In fact, the opposite was found to be true - a high intake of grain-based foods is actually linked with healthy weight management.
“The vast majority of Australians should be enjoying a diet high in wholegrain foods because grains and wholegrain foods not only contribute to good overall health, the evidence is they also help maintain a healthy weight,” Prof Williams said.
A number of studies in the research review found that higher grain intakes were associated with lower total energy intakes, likely due to the higher fibre content of diets high in wholegrains and legumes.
Professor Williams said there are a number of ways in which wholegrain foods and fibre can affect energy balance, including energy density, palatability, hormonal effects and the effect of satiety or ‘fullness’ caused by these foods.
“It’s clear from the research that, regardless of the exact mechanism or combination of factors involved, significant weight loss is achievable with energy controlled diets that are high in cereals and legumes,” Professor Williams said.
Source: Nutrition Reviews
HUNGARY: Hungarians seize chances for early retirement with high pensions
.
BUDAPEST, Hungary (Portfolio.hu), April 24, 2008:
Hungarians retire extremely early in European comparison and then they become effectively inactive, an international survey conducted by the GFK Group on a commission by the AXA Group showed on Thursday.
The good news is that pensions in Hungary are relatively high in European terms, while the people do not believe this will remain this way for very long.
This is coupled with a very low willingness to save, which unfortunately tends to emerge rather late, around the age of 50. It makes the situation even worse that Hungarians are very little aware of the available savings products, AXA said.
The representative survey, which involved 26 countries last year, was the first carried out in Hungary in July 2007 and involved 300 economically active workers and 300 pensioners. The researchers wanted to find out how people prepare for their retirement, how they feel about being retired and whether they start saving for retirement on time. The survey allows for international comparison and the findings are noteworthy in a Hungarian perspective as well.
In Hungary, two thirds of the economically active population retire prior to the official age of retirement and 80% of the workers retire voluntarily - according to a GFK survey commissioned by the AXA Group.
This extraordinarily high ratio of early retirements puts Hungary to the 2nd worst place among the surveyed 26 countries, in contrast to the average of 50% in the EU and Central and Eastern Europe.
The ratio of those who retire and receive a pension larger than or the same as their former salary is the highest in Hungary, nearly 50%, against 38% in Central Europe and 32% in Europe.
It is also true, however, that economically active Hungarians are not so much optimistic about anymore, given their expectations on their future pension are somewhere around the European average. They apparently sense already that the favourable situation (the high level of replacement rate) cannot last forever.
According to one finding of the survey, Hungarians tend to be much more pessimistic about their future retired life than the European average. Many of them associate retirement with poverty, illness and loneliness and little more than 50% of them think positively about this age, associating retirement mainly with free time, travelling and serenity.
39% of the active respondents plan to continue work after the retiring age, which is less than the European average. Despite this, only around 10% of them actually earn money while being a pensioner, which is roughly the same as the European average.
It is clear from the survey, which is representative for the entire population, that very few Hungarians, only about 4% of the economically active workers support the idea of increasing the age of retirement. The Central European average in this respect is 11%, and this figure is even higher in countries where the population has already faced the consequences of aging societies.
Two Mature Caucasian Men. © Polka Dot Images / SuperStock
While most of the active workers in Europe plan to spend their retired age travelling, being with the family and doing other free time activities, Hungarian pensioners, mainly due to their limited financial resources, spend most of their time doing work round the house like gardening or DIY, looking after the family and continuing work.
Blurred ideas
It turns out from the international survey that 29% of the respondents in Hungary have an idea about how much pension they will get, which is in line with the Central European average. The younger the respondent, the lower this ratio is. Only 15% of those younger than 45 years of age are aware of the expected amount of their pension.
Although, as a result of increments in pension benefits, about a third of the Hungarian pensioners draw a monthly pension higher than their former salary, about HUF 27,000 is missing from the HUF 100,000, which is sufficient for a pensioner's living expenses up to necessary minimum per month.
The situation is just the opposite in many countries in a European comparison because in many countries pensioners are able to put aside money from their pension for savings. In the CEE region this is also true of the Czechs and the situation in Slovakia and Poland is more favourable than the 27% deficit in Hungary.
The deficit that pensioners have to cope with in Slovakia and Poland respectively is only 5% and 16% of the amount needed for a living.
The survey findings point out that, despite the uncertainty and the lower standard of living in retirement which is anticipated by about 50% of the people, less than one third of Hungarians take mindful care of their pensions during the active years at work, as opposed to the 52% average in the CEE region.
Responsible and conscious self-reliance
While many people in Western Europe start preparing financially for old age in the middle of their twenties, at the time of their first job, marriage or the birth of their first child, taking the advice of financial experts and on the impact of tax reforms, then most Hungarians only realise the significance of preparation for old age only when they turn 50, or when they experience serious financial difficulty, an illness or an accident.
The of conscious action begins to be taken three years later than the CEE and five years later than the European average, as late as around the age of 38.
Those who have some savings say that they usually put aside a relatively small amount of their income, especially in comparison to the European average. This can partly be a consequence of low salaries, and partly because most respondents regard compulsory pension payments as a government tax rather than saving.
There is a huge uncertainty regarding the ways of pension savings. Nearly twice as many Hungarians as the European average are unaware of such basic concepts as risk, yield and saving period so they cannot choose between saving instruments offering high yield for high risk and relatively low yield for balanced risk.
In summary, it is clear from the survey that very few Hungarians are optimistic about their old age in retirement. Both the economically active respondents and the pensioners are of the opinion that women tend to be more prepared for retirement both psychologically and financially and they tend to live a healthier and more active retired life.
SOURCE: Portfolio.hu report
© 2002-2008 Portfolio.hu
BUDAPEST, Hungary (Portfolio.hu), April 24, 2008:
Hungarians retire extremely early in European comparison and then they become effectively inactive, an international survey conducted by the GFK Group on a commission by the AXA Group showed on Thursday.
The good news is that pensions in Hungary are relatively high in European terms, while the people do not believe this will remain this way for very long.
This is coupled with a very low willingness to save, which unfortunately tends to emerge rather late, around the age of 50. It makes the situation even worse that Hungarians are very little aware of the available savings products, AXA said.
The representative survey, which involved 26 countries last year, was the first carried out in Hungary in July 2007 and involved 300 economically active workers and 300 pensioners. The researchers wanted to find out how people prepare for their retirement, how they feel about being retired and whether they start saving for retirement on time. The survey allows for international comparison and the findings are noteworthy in a Hungarian perspective as well.
In Hungary, two thirds of the economically active population retire prior to the official age of retirement and 80% of the workers retire voluntarily - according to a GFK survey commissioned by the AXA Group.
This extraordinarily high ratio of early retirements puts Hungary to the 2nd worst place among the surveyed 26 countries, in contrast to the average of 50% in the EU and Central and Eastern Europe.
The ratio of those who retire and receive a pension larger than or the same as their former salary is the highest in Hungary, nearly 50%, against 38% in Central Europe and 32% in Europe.
It is also true, however, that economically active Hungarians are not so much optimistic about anymore, given their expectations on their future pension are somewhere around the European average. They apparently sense already that the favourable situation (the high level of replacement rate) cannot last forever.
According to one finding of the survey, Hungarians tend to be much more pessimistic about their future retired life than the European average. Many of them associate retirement with poverty, illness and loneliness and little more than 50% of them think positively about this age, associating retirement mainly with free time, travelling and serenity.
39% of the active respondents plan to continue work after the retiring age, which is less than the European average. Despite this, only around 10% of them actually earn money while being a pensioner, which is roughly the same as the European average.
It is clear from the survey, which is representative for the entire population, that very few Hungarians, only about 4% of the economically active workers support the idea of increasing the age of retirement. The Central European average in this respect is 11%, and this figure is even higher in countries where the population has already faced the consequences of aging societies.
Two Mature Caucasian Men. © Polka Dot Images / SuperStockWhile most of the active workers in Europe plan to spend their retired age travelling, being with the family and doing other free time activities, Hungarian pensioners, mainly due to their limited financial resources, spend most of their time doing work round the house like gardening or DIY, looking after the family and continuing work.
Blurred ideas
It turns out from the international survey that 29% of the respondents in Hungary have an idea about how much pension they will get, which is in line with the Central European average. The younger the respondent, the lower this ratio is. Only 15% of those younger than 45 years of age are aware of the expected amount of their pension.
Although, as a result of increments in pension benefits, about a third of the Hungarian pensioners draw a monthly pension higher than their former salary, about HUF 27,000 is missing from the HUF 100,000, which is sufficient for a pensioner's living expenses up to necessary minimum per month.
The situation is just the opposite in many countries in a European comparison because in many countries pensioners are able to put aside money from their pension for savings. In the CEE region this is also true of the Czechs and the situation in Slovakia and Poland is more favourable than the 27% deficit in Hungary.
The deficit that pensioners have to cope with in Slovakia and Poland respectively is only 5% and 16% of the amount needed for a living.
The survey findings point out that, despite the uncertainty and the lower standard of living in retirement which is anticipated by about 50% of the people, less than one third of Hungarians take mindful care of their pensions during the active years at work, as opposed to the 52% average in the CEE region.
Responsible and conscious self-reliance
While many people in Western Europe start preparing financially for old age in the middle of their twenties, at the time of their first job, marriage or the birth of their first child, taking the advice of financial experts and on the impact of tax reforms, then most Hungarians only realise the significance of preparation for old age only when they turn 50, or when they experience serious financial difficulty, an illness or an accident.
The of conscious action begins to be taken three years later than the CEE and five years later than the European average, as late as around the age of 38.
Those who have some savings say that they usually put aside a relatively small amount of their income, especially in comparison to the European average. This can partly be a consequence of low salaries, and partly because most respondents regard compulsory pension payments as a government tax rather than saving.
There is a huge uncertainty regarding the ways of pension savings. Nearly twice as many Hungarians as the European average are unaware of such basic concepts as risk, yield and saving period so they cannot choose between saving instruments offering high yield for high risk and relatively low yield for balanced risk.
In summary, it is clear from the survey that very few Hungarians are optimistic about their old age in retirement. Both the economically active respondents and the pensioners are of the opinion that women tend to be more prepared for retirement both psychologically and financially and they tend to live a healthier and more active retired life.
SOURCE: Portfolio.hu report
© 2002-2008 Portfolio.hu
USA: 111-year-old Breuning is world's 28th oldest person
TEN MONTHS AGO: Walter Breuning, one of America's oldest men at 110, throws out the ceremonial first pitch during the Great Falls White Sox Pioneer League season opener against the Billings Mustangs in Centene Stadium in Great Falls, Mont., Tuesday, June 19, 2007. Great Falls resident Breuning, who was born in Minnesota in 1896, says baseball has been a big part of his life. "When I was about 10 years old or so, all of us kids used to choose up sides and play baseball," he said. AP Photo by Robin Loznak
GREAT FALLS, Montana (Great Falls Tribune),
April 23, 2008:
By Eric Newhouse
Tribune Projects Editor
At age 111, Great Falls' Walter Breuning is officially a supercentenarian and ranked the 28th oldest person in the world, according to the Gerontology Research Group.
He's also the second oldest living American male, following George Francis of California, who is 107 days older. Both were born in 1896, Francis on June 6 and Breuning on September 21.
"If you keep your mind busy and if you keep your body busy, I guess you're just going to keep going," Breuning said philosophically as he waited for lunch Tuesday in the Rainbow Retirement Community.
According to the Inglewood, California-based Gerontology Research Group, which verifies reports of extreme ages, only 75 living people — 64 women and 11 men — qualify as supercentenarians, or people living to be 110 or more.
"Look around this place," said Breuning, gesturing around the restaurant. "It's mostly women. All the men are gone."
The world's oldest person is American Edna Parker of Indiana, who was born on April 20, 1893, and turned 115 on Sunday with a birthday celebration at which 115 helium-filled balloons were released into the sky.
Dressed in a blue and white polka dot dress with a pearl necklace, she clutched a red rose during the ceremony.
"We don't know why she's lived so long," said her 59-year-old grandson Don Parker. "But she's never been a worrier and she's always been a thin person, so maybe that has something to do with it."
Her two sisters also lived to advanced ages: Georgia died at 99, while Opal lived to 88.
"Longevity is the family history," said Dr. Nir Barzilai, director of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine's Institute for Aging Research in New York, noting that good genes and a healthy lifestyle are keys to longevity.
That doesn't seem true of Breuning, whose mother died at age 46 and whose father died at 50. "My mom had an operation that didn't work out, and my dad basically drank himself to death. My brothers and sisters — two brothers and two sisters — all passed away at about 75," he said.
Another positive characteristic might be a strong work ethic. "I had to leave school and go to work when I was 14," Breuning said. "I was making $2.50 a week scraping out trays in a bakery back about 1910."
Dr. Tom Perls, an aging specialist from the New England Centenarian Study at Boston University, said people who don't worry appear to live longer than others. His studies on about 1,500 centenarians show "they tend to manage their stress better than the rest of us," Perls said.
And that's a characteristic of Breuning, who was dressed Tuesday in his trademark pinstriped blue suit and neatly knotted tie. "My goodness," he beamed. "I couldn't feel any better!"
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
AMERICA'S OLDEST RESIDENTS
According to the Gerontology Research Group, which verifies reports of extreme ages, about half of the world's 30 oldest people live in the United States. Here's a list of the oldest Americans, their rankings in the world, and their birth dates.
For more information, check out the group's Web site of supercentenarians at www.grg.org/Adams/E.HTM
1. Edna Parker, Indiana April 20, 1893 (115)
3. Gertrude Baines, California April 6, 1894 (114)
5. Catherine Hagel, Minnesota Nov. 28, 1894 (113)
6. Beatrice Farve, Georgia, April 30, 1895 (112)
8. Mary J. Ray, New Hampshire May 17, 1895 (112)
10. Olivia P. Thomas, New York June 29, 1895 (112)
11. Neva Morris, Iowa Aug. 3, 1895 (112)
14. Maggie Renfro, Louisiana Nov. 14, 1895 (112)
19. Daisey Baily, Michigan March 30, 1896 (112)
21. C. Letitia Lawson, Iowa April 10, 1896 (112)
23. George Francis, California June 6, 1896 (111)
24. Eunice Sanborn, Texas July 20, 1896 (111)
25. Florence Busch, Wisconsin Aug. 13, 1896 (111)
26. Besse Cooper, Georgia Aug. 26, 1896 (111)
27. Berta Rosenberg, New York Sept. 5, 1896 (111)
28. Walter Breuning, Montana Sept. 21, 1896 (111)
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Copyright ©2008 The Great Falls Tribune.
INDIA: Madhya Pradesh to punish children who dump parents
BHOPAL, Madhya Pradesh (IANS), April 23, 2008:
The Madhya Pradesh government will penalise offspring who abandon their parents and guardians forcing them to live in old age homes.
"A meeting of the state level committee constituted to amend the state's old age policy held Tuesday resolved to identify senior citizens evicted by their children, and provide them old age pension and penalise the children who discard their parents after getting police cases registered against them," said an officer of the Women and Child Development (WCD) department.
The meeting, presided over by WCD Minister Kusum Mehdele, also discussed effects of the policy for senior citizens, its constitutional provisions, main areas of mediation and its implementation.
It was also decided to identify aged widows having no income or property and solely dependent on others.
The government proposes drafting a separate policy for their welfare.
Mehdele directed constitution of a sub-committee to prepare the final draft within two months after amending the Senior Citizens Act and the state's proposed old age policy.
The minister also said the government was soon going to hold a Vriddhajan Panchayat (panchayat of senior citizens).
IANS
The Madhya Pradesh government will penalise offspring who abandon their parents and guardians forcing them to live in old age homes.
"A meeting of the state level committee constituted to amend the state's old age policy held Tuesday resolved to identify senior citizens evicted by their children, and provide them old age pension and penalise the children who discard their parents after getting police cases registered against them," said an officer of the Women and Child Development (WCD) department.
The meeting, presided over by WCD Minister Kusum Mehdele, also discussed effects of the policy for senior citizens, its constitutional provisions, main areas of mediation and its implementation.
It was also decided to identify aged widows having no income or property and solely dependent on others.
The government proposes drafting a separate policy for their welfare.
Mehdele directed constitution of a sub-committee to prepare the final draft within two months after amending the Senior Citizens Act and the state's proposed old age policy.
The minister also said the government was soon going to hold a Vriddhajan Panchayat (panchayat of senior citizens).
IANS
U.K.: Anger over arthritis drug refusal
Rheumatoid arthritis can be extremely debilitatingLONDON, England (BBC News), April 23, 2008:
Campaigners have condemned a health watchdog's final decision not to recommend a new drug for severe rheumatoid arthritis for NHS use.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, said abatacept was not good value for money.
The National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society, whose appeal was rejected, described the decision as "short sighted and perverse".
Drug maker Bristol-Myers Squibb claimed 3,500 UK patients could have benefited.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"For many patients, abatacept provides their last chance of controlling the disease"
Ailsa Bosworth
National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society
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There are an estimated 400,000 people in the UK with rheumatoid arthritis, a disease in which inflammation attacks the joints.
Approximately 40,000 have a severe form of the disease, and while there are a succession of drugs which offer some control over the disease in many cases, a small number of patients do not respond to these.
Some experts say that, for them, abatacept, under its trade name Orencia, offers a "last chance" of improving their quality of life.
However, it costs at least £9,000 a year, and NICE, which makes decisions covering NHS authorities in England and Wales, ruled last year that it did not offer enough benefit to justify the cost.
This week, a second NICE appraisal committee agreed with that verdict.
'Kick in the teeth'
Dr Andrew Dillon, NICE's chief executive, said that it had approved a succession of rheumatoid arthritis drugs, giving people access to "effective treatments", and said that people currently being given abatacept would be allowed to continue therapy.
Dr Andrew Bamji, the president of the British Society for Rheumatology, said that it was a "disappointing decision".
"NICE is effectively denying desperate patients any last hope of remission from their disease. This decision is like a kick in the teeth for a group of severely disabled patients."
National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society chief executive Ailsa Bosworth said that the decision condemned some patients to a "lifetime of misery". "For many patients, abatacept provides their last chance of controlling the disease.
"Without this drug, people with severe rheumatoid arthritis will have to return to medicines they have already failed on or will have to take large doses of steroids which are associated with extremely unacceptable side effects.
"We believe this is a perverse and very short-sighted decision by NICE."
Professor Alan Silman, medical director of the Arthritis Research Campaign, said the NICE decision was disappointing - but not surprising. He said: "Abatacept offers a novel approach to treating severe RA patients and in clinical trials it has been shown to be effective when other new agents have failed.
"It was rejected on the grounds of high cost, but what needs to be done now is to identify the patients for whom this drug would be effective - both clinically and cost effective.
"We believe there should be a place for this drug in the range of options available to doctors in treating RA patients
INDIA: Finance Bill provision to define charity has NGOs concerned
Economy and Politics
The clause has been designed to target ‘paper charities’, or for-profit organizations that exploit tax shelters
Samanth Subramanian
NEW DELHI (LiveMint The Wall Street Journal), April 23, 2008:
A clause in the 2008 Finance Bill designed to target “paper charities” — for-profit organizations that exploit tax shelters for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) — has sparked fears of restrictions in the NGO community at large.
Aid check: HelpAge's health care service in Vrindavan. NGOs say the proposed change will come in the way of their capacity to raise resources and is against the policy which encourages them to stand on their feet.
The clause seeks to clear the ambiguity in defining charity. Until now, charity, as defined by the Income-tax Act, covered relief to the poor, education, medical relief, and a fourth area that included the “advancement of any other object of general utility.”
This fourth limb has proven to be vulnerable to misuse since almost any project can be argued to advance public good.
The provision, to take effect from 1 April 2009, limits the scope of the phrase. Laid out in the third chapter of the Bill, which brings the Budget recommendations before Parliament, the clause states: “Provided that the advancement of any other object of general public utility shall not be a charitable purpose, if it involves the carrying on of any activity in the nature of trade, commerce or business…”
Under this, an NGO’s revenue-generating activities that do not contribute specifically towards relief of the poor, education or medical relief could be stripped of any protection from taxation.
“This is a broad-spectrum antibiotic, whereas they should be using a more specific treatment,” said Paresh Tewary, chief executive of Voluntary Action Network India, an association of Indian voluntary organizations.
Earlier this week, Tewary led a four-member group into a meeting with revenue secretary P.V. Bhide to present a memorandum and request an amendment to the proposal. The memorandum says the proviso goes against the spirit of the national policy on the voluntary sector, which encourages NGOs to stand on their feet and “categorically safeguard their autonomy”.
The impact of the proviso is likely to be felt by organizations such as HelpAge India, a non-profit advocacy for the elderly. Its chief executive, Mathew Cherian, was an understandably nervous member of Tewary’s delegation.
HelpAge produces greeting cards and year planners to generate revenues. But since it works for the health care of the elderly, its activities fall under the generic fourth category of the definition. Cherian is worried that a by-the-letter interpretation of the clause would curtail an important revenue stream for it.
One solution, according to Kamal Kant Jaswal, a former secretary to the government, would be for the government to identify specific unacceptable activities and phrase the proviso accordingly. As director of Common Cause, which works for public causes, Jaswal was also part of the delegation. The fourth member of the delegation was Sanjay Agarwal of chartered accountancy firm Sanjay Aditya and Associates.
“The government should examine which bodies should be allowed to register for the tax shelter and which don’t qualify,” Jaswal said. “This is a broadside. The collateral damage will be immense.”
The memorandum urges: “(Voluntary organizations) need to be encouraged to supplement their resources… In view of the proposed amendment, these organizations would be reluctant to venture into this domain, otherwise their capacity to raise resources through donations will be impaired, since their tax exemption status is directly linked with their registration…”
The proviso came on the heels of the promise of stricter oversight in the national policy on the voluntary sector, released last May. At the time, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, had proposed tighter administrative and penal procedures to prevent misuse of NGO tax incentives.
Copyright © 2007 HT Media
The clause has been designed to target ‘paper charities’, or for-profit organizations that exploit tax shelters
Samanth Subramanian
NEW DELHI (LiveMint The Wall Street Journal), April 23, 2008:
A clause in the 2008 Finance Bill designed to target “paper charities” — for-profit organizations that exploit tax shelters for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) — has sparked fears of restrictions in the NGO community at large.
Aid check: HelpAge's health care service in Vrindavan. NGOs say the proposed change will come in the way of their capacity to raise resources and is against the policy which encourages them to stand on their feet.The clause seeks to clear the ambiguity in defining charity. Until now, charity, as defined by the Income-tax Act, covered relief to the poor, education, medical relief, and a fourth area that included the “advancement of any other object of general utility.”
This fourth limb has proven to be vulnerable to misuse since almost any project can be argued to advance public good.
The provision, to take effect from 1 April 2009, limits the scope of the phrase. Laid out in the third chapter of the Bill, which brings the Budget recommendations before Parliament, the clause states: “Provided that the advancement of any other object of general public utility shall not be a charitable purpose, if it involves the carrying on of any activity in the nature of trade, commerce or business…”
Under this, an NGO’s revenue-generating activities that do not contribute specifically towards relief of the poor, education or medical relief could be stripped of any protection from taxation.
“This is a broad-spectrum antibiotic, whereas they should be using a more specific treatment,” said Paresh Tewary, chief executive of Voluntary Action Network India, an association of Indian voluntary organizations.
Earlier this week, Tewary led a four-member group into a meeting with revenue secretary P.V. Bhide to present a memorandum and request an amendment to the proposal. The memorandum says the proviso goes against the spirit of the national policy on the voluntary sector, which encourages NGOs to stand on their feet and “categorically safeguard their autonomy”.
The impact of the proviso is likely to be felt by organizations such as HelpAge India, a non-profit advocacy for the elderly. Its chief executive, Mathew Cherian, was an understandably nervous member of Tewary’s delegation.
HelpAge produces greeting cards and year planners to generate revenues. But since it works for the health care of the elderly, its activities fall under the generic fourth category of the definition. Cherian is worried that a by-the-letter interpretation of the clause would curtail an important revenue stream for it.
One solution, according to Kamal Kant Jaswal, a former secretary to the government, would be for the government to identify specific unacceptable activities and phrase the proviso accordingly. As director of Common Cause, which works for public causes, Jaswal was also part of the delegation. The fourth member of the delegation was Sanjay Agarwal of chartered accountancy firm Sanjay Aditya and Associates.
“The government should examine which bodies should be allowed to register for the tax shelter and which don’t qualify,” Jaswal said. “This is a broadside. The collateral damage will be immense.”
The memorandum urges: “(Voluntary organizations) need to be encouraged to supplement their resources… In view of the proposed amendment, these organizations would be reluctant to venture into this domain, otherwise their capacity to raise resources through donations will be impaired, since their tax exemption status is directly linked with their registration…”
The proviso came on the heels of the promise of stricter oversight in the national policy on the voluntary sector, released last May. At the time, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, had proposed tighter administrative and penal procedures to prevent misuse of NGO tax incentives.
Copyright © 2007 HT Media
USA: How Healthy Can You Get On Diet Alone?
Healthy Living
By Allison Van Dusen
NEW YORK (Forbes), April 23, 2008
For any number of reasons, far too many Americans are sedentary.
An estimated 14.2% of the population spends less than 10 minutes a week on moderately intense activities, such as walking and vacuuming, or vigorous ones, such as running, according to 2005 statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A quarter of Americans say they're not performing any physical activity during their free time.
All of this sitting on the couch or behind a desk is undoubtedly contributing to the country's rising health care costs--but does a lack of exercise necessarily mean we're unhealthy?
Quiz: How Healthy Can You Get On Diet Alone?
Every day, we're bombarded with new reports about how crucial it is to our good health to consume more heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids (found in fish) and cut the trans fats (e.g., doughnuts, french fries). While, of course, you should exercise, if you're not, you may be wondering just how far a focus on diet alone can take you.
Many experts agree that diet may play a bigger role than exercise when it comes to shedding pounds. However, the most effective method of weight loss tends to be a combination of exercise and a decrease in your overall caloric intake, says Dr. Donald D. Hensrud, medical editor in chief of Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight for Everybody.
Eating right also is an essential part of reducing your risk of chronic disease. Watching how much saturated and trans fats you consume may lower your low-density lipoprotein (LDL or "bad cholesterol"), one of the major causes of clogged arteries. Likewise, following a diet similar to the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan has been shown to lower blood pressure and cut the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. Based on findings by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, DASH is low in animal protein, moderate in low-fat dairy and high in plant proteins, fruits and vegetables.
And avoiding foods high in refined carbohydrates, such as white bread and rice, and instead opting for more vegetables and fruits, can help protect against several forms of cancer, such as those affecting the stomach, lungs, pancreas and prostate, according to the American Institute for Cancer Research.
Some research, though most of it has been done on animals, also suggests that a severely reduced-calorie diet may increase longevity.
Complements of Exercise
But don't get so comfortable in your desk chair yet. As important as eating smart is, experts say the health benefits are greater when combined with physical activity.
Regular exercise can increase high-density lipoprotein (HDL, "good cholesterol"), another component of lowering the risk of heart disease, says Stacey Snelling, a registered dietitian and an associate professor at American University in the Department of Health and Fitness. While diet is one way to address high blood pressure, exercise will also help by making your heart stronger, allowing it to pump more blood with less effort.
If you're concerned about diseases like cancer, for instance, you're far better off keeping up your activity level, since exercise can help keep hormone levels healthy and strengthen the immune system.
What You're Missing
Beyond missing out on these benefits, experts say dieting without an eye toward exercise has a host of other drawbacks.
A 2006 study funded by the National Institutes of Health showed that overweight people in their 50s and 60s who dropped pounds via diet alone also lost muscle mass, strength and aerobic capacity. Those who jogged or biked--no strength training was involved--maintained their strength and muscle mass, as well as increased their aerobic capacity.
"If people are keeping their weight under control strictly by dieting, they might be compromising their muscular strength and function," says Edward Weiss, lead author of the study and assistant professor of nutrition and dietetics at Saint Louis University's Doisy College of Health Sciences.
What works for you: diet, exercise or both? Weigh in. Add your thoughts in the Reader Comments section below.
Losing weight through dietary changes alone also won't affect your body composition, so while you'll weigh less, you'll still have the same percentage of body fat. Strengthening exercises, while they might not result in rapid weight loss, will help improve your muscle-to-fat ratio, says Cedric Bryant, chief science officer for the American Council on Exercise. Since a pound of muscle takes up less volume than a pound of fat, you'll see a difference over time.
"It'll have a pretty profound effect on how you look and fit in your clothing," Bryant says.
Additionally, exercise can improve your mood, increase energy levels and is considered crucial to keeping off the pounds you've shed, according to the National Weight Control Registry.
Exercise is also important because, as we age, we slow down, and our spontaneous physical activity decreases. (Think of the difference between the movement of a 6-year-old boy and an 80-year-old man.) We also lose about 1% of our muscle mass each year, which slows metabolism, Hensrud says. If you're not exercising, eating the same amount of healthy food will translate into weight gain over time.
Bottom Line
If you can't find time to hit the gym, health experts say you're much better off finding ways to sneak short bursts of activity into your day rather than give up altogether.
Need a kick in the pants? Bryant suggests asking your doctor to perform a full blood workup at your next physical to see how well a sedentary lifestyle is working for you.
And, conversely, if you're one of those people who exercise so you can eat whatever you want, know that you're probably not as healthy as you think, either.
"Exercise and diet is always going to be the best strategy," Weiss says. "If you're good with one, that doesn't mean you can brush off the other."
© 2008 Forbes.com LLC™
AUSTRALIA: Knowing when to turn off
Work-life balance guru Linda Duxbury.SYDNEY, NSW (Sydney Morning Herald),
April 23, 2008
By Lucinda Schmidt
Five years ago, work-life balance expert Linda Duxbury devised a new email holiday message. "I'm away and I won't be checking my emails. On my return on [insert date], I'll delete my in-basket. Please resend your email after that date."
"I'm either working or I'm not working," says Duxbury, 53, a professor at Carleton University's Sprott School of Business in Ottawa, Canada. She is a renowned authority on the work-family juggle, after conducting groundbreaking studies of 33,000 Canadians in 1991 and another 37,000 in 2001.
Duxbury recently visited Sydney and Melbourne to present the findings of a study, with Beaton Consulting, of about 13,000 Australians working in professions including laWork-life balance guru Linda Duxbury.
, accounting and engineering.
"What's very clear from the data is that Australia has worse balance problems than Canada," she says. "There's a workload issue, with more than half the respondents working more than 48 hours a week."
The issue that really shocked her was the effect on women, who are waiting longer to have fewer children. The worst off, she found, were professional women who worked part-time because of family responsibilities. "Where Australia is very different from Canada is the huge reliance on part-time work, especially females," says Duxbury, whose mother is
Australian and who considers Australia her second home. "But they don't reduce their hours that much."
Duxbury concedes the findings apply to her. She waited until she got tenure at Carleton University, aged 36, before quickly having her only child, a daughter now aged 17.
She works 55-60 hours a week - but has strict rules to segment her work and family life. She never works on weekends or holidays and once a month the family takes a three-day weekend and goes away. She has no BlackBerry or mobile phone and doesn't answer calls during dinner.
"I work hard, then I don't work hard," she says. "I have a pretty tight separation between work and family."
Duxbury's route to work-family balance guru came via seven years studying chemical engineering. But she realised her true interest was in people and psychology. After a flirtation with social work ("too wishy-washy"), she decided business management would be a happy medium.
After she received two grants in 1991 to study the effect on family life of "teleworking" - where people took office work home on computer discs to complete in the evenings - she interviewed 33,000 Canadians and prepared what was then the largest data set in the world on work-life balance, detailing stress, prescription drug misuse and multiple doctors' visits.
"I thought people who ran companies just didn't get it. But I found very quickly that they don't actually care about the moral case for change, they only care about the bottom line."
Duxbury's similar study of 37,000 Canadians in 2001 was also grim.
"Everyone was saying, 'We've done work-life balance', but things had deteriorated dramatically," she says.
Now, in a tightening labour market and with Duxbury's data showing how employees' work-life imbalance affects the bottom line, she says Canada has turned the corner. "The really striking thing is that men have become more like women. Men under 45 don't want to be like their fathers, they want to see more of their kids and many are also caring for elderly parents."
THE BIG QUESTIONS
Biggest break
In my career, it was getting funding in 1991. It allowed us to do this incredibly pivotal study [on the work-life balance of 33,000 people]. Personally, it was marrying someone who lets me be what I want to be.
Biggest achievement
My daughter [Annie, 17]. It sounds corny but she's a really grounded person who is nice to older people. She's a daughter I'm proud of. In academia, it was becoming a full professor, in 1998. That's a big deal.
Biggest regret
That I didn't go to Tibet when I was in China in 1985. And I probably would have liked to have two children.
Best investment
My daughter's a huge investment. She's our only child. We've invested a lot of money, time, energy and love.
Worst investment
Most people would say the seven years I studied engineering. I don't see it as a big mistake.
Attitude to money
It's nice to have. I always say to my students "have some screw-off money". Make sure you have enough so that if you're really miserable you can walk away. Money is control.
Personal philosophy
Don't count on you being here tomorrow or someone you love being here tomorrow. My brother was killed in a car accident at 23. [For me] that was a life-changing experience.
Best advice
From my dad: If people walk all over you, whose fault is it - theirs for walking on you or yours for lying there? I don't put up with crap.
Copyright © 2008. Fairfax Digital
INDIA: Senior citizens to form anti-corruption committee
IMPHAL, Manipur (The Imphal Free Press), April 23, 2008:
Senior Citizens for Society, Manipur will form an anti-corruption committee, it was resolved at a symposium on ‘Rampant corruption in Manipur - problems and remedies" held today at the Manipur Press Club in Imphal.
Today’s symposium was opened with lighting of ceremonial lamps by N Benoy Singh, president of the society. In the welcome address L Sadananda Singh, general secretary of the SCS, said the organisation was over three years old and was not only for the welfare of the senior citizens but also to guide against social problems. The main aim of the society was to make a road map for the future generations. The SCS is not a pressure group but aims to give guidelines to solve the social illness, he said.
Dr. M Nara Singh, coordinator, said the Prime Minister, home minister and other ministers of the Central government believed in the work of the senior citizens society. On many occasions senior citizens were called to give their suggestions on Manipur's problems.
The SCS, an effective and able organisation, is pioneering a movement against corruption which is the main cause of Manipur’s sufferings today.
“On this occasion we resolve to fight corruption. The young should be inspired by the senior citizens movement,” he said.
Copyright 2001-2003 KanglaOnline
Senior Citizens for Society, Manipur will form an anti-corruption committee, it was resolved at a symposium on ‘Rampant corruption in Manipur - problems and remedies" held today at the Manipur Press Club in Imphal.
Today’s symposium was opened with lighting of ceremonial lamps by N Benoy Singh, president of the society. In the welcome address L Sadananda Singh, general secretary of the SCS, said the organisation was over three years old and was not only for the welfare of the senior citizens but also to guide against social problems. The main aim of the society was to make a road map for the future generations. The SCS is not a pressure group but aims to give guidelines to solve the social illness, he said.
Dr. M Nara Singh, coordinator, said the Prime Minister, home minister and other ministers of the Central government believed in the work of the senior citizens society. On many occasions senior citizens were called to give their suggestions on Manipur's problems.
The SCS, an effective and able organisation, is pioneering a movement against corruption which is the main cause of Manipur’s sufferings today.
“On this occasion we resolve to fight corruption. The young should be inspired by the senior citizens movement,” he said.
Copyright 2001-2003 KanglaOnline
CHINA: Elderly man in coma after eating starfruit
Teoh Thian Lye with a photo of Tang Gon Seang. KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (New Straits Times), April 23, 2008:
A retired assistant headmaster has been in a coma in a hospital in Shenzhen province in China for the past three weeks, allegedly after eating starfruit.
Tang Gon Seang, 66, from Butterworth, had gone there on February 18 with his wife Teoh Hui Fong, 58, to visit their son who works there as an engineer. He was admitted to the Shenzhen general hospital on March 29 after falling unconscious.
Tang, formerly an assistant headmaster at SRJK (C) Kwong Hwa in Butterworth, slipped into a coma soon after being admitted to the intensive care unit of the hospital. A specialist there diagnosed his condition as being caused by the starfruit he had eaten.
Relating the incident at the MCA public services and complaints department yesterday was Tang's brother in-law Teoh Thian Lye, 55.
Teoh said his sister (Hui Fong) later found out that there were more than 10 patients at the hospital who had suffered similar symptoms after eating starfruit.
"We are puzzled over what caused him to fall so ill," said Thian Lye, adding that even doctors were baffled.
According to an American-based medical website, www.pubmed.gov, starfruit had been reported as containing neurotoxins that often cause severe neurological complications in patients with chronic renal disease.
Common clinical characteristics of the reported cases include persistent hiccups, consciousness disturbance and coma.
However, Hui Fong claimed that Tang did not suffer from kidney complications or any illness prior to their trip to China.
The family have exhausted their savings to support Tang's medical bills which have amounted to more than RM50,000. Thian Lye said attempts to transfer Tang to a hospital here have also failed as he is too ill to travel.
"I hope there will be a way to bring my brother-in-law back here to continue his treatment.
"I also want to warn those travelling overseas to beware of the things they eat."
By V. Shuman
Copyright © 2007 NST Online
USA: Vets' Lawsuit Opens Door on Suicides, Poor Care
RIGHTS
By Aaron Glantz
SAN FRANCISCO (IPS), April 22, 2008:
The United States government does such a bad job of caring for wounded war veterans, advocates told a federal judge here Monday, that 18 veterans commit suicide every week.
"The suicide problem is out of control," said Gordon Erspamer, an attorney representing the groups Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans United for Truth in a class action lawsuit against the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). "Our veterans deserve better."
Erspamer's comments came in opening arguments for what is expected to be a week-long trial, the first class action brought on behalf of 1.7 million Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans.
Early arguments were punctuated by allegations top government officials deliberately deceived the U.S. public about the number of veterans attempting suicide.
In one e-mail made public during the trial, the head of the VA's Mental Health division, Dr. Ira Katz, advised a media spokesperson not to tell reporters 1,000 veterans receiving care at the VA try to kill themselves every month.
Read on
Copyright © 2008 IPS-Inter Press Service
By Aaron Glantz
SAN FRANCISCO (IPS), April 22, 2008:
The United States government does such a bad job of caring for wounded war veterans, advocates told a federal judge here Monday, that 18 veterans commit suicide every week.
"The suicide problem is out of control," said Gordon Erspamer, an attorney representing the groups Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans United for Truth in a class action lawsuit against the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). "Our veterans deserve better."
Erspamer's comments came in opening arguments for what is expected to be a week-long trial, the first class action brought on behalf of 1.7 million Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans.
Early arguments were punctuated by allegations top government officials deliberately deceived the U.S. public about the number of veterans attempting suicide.
In one e-mail made public during the trial, the head of the VA's Mental Health division, Dr. Ira Katz, advised a media spokesperson not to tell reporters 1,000 veterans receiving care at the VA try to kill themselves every month.
Read on
Copyright © 2008 IPS-Inter Press Service
NETHERLANDS: Antipsychotic Drugs Linked to Pneumonia in Elderly
Mechanism unclear, but nursing home study says risk greatest week after meds begin
WASHINGTON DC (US News & World Report), April 22, 2008:
Nursing home patients who take antipsychotic drugs are 60 percent more likely to develop pneumonia in the short term than those who don't take the drugs, a new study shows, according to HealthDay.
The risk is greatest during the first week after patients start taking the medications and gradually decreases, say Dutch researchers.
"The risk of developing pneumonia is not associated with long-term use, but is the highest shortly after starting the drug," said study authors Dr. Rob van Marum and Dr. Wilma Knol. They warned that "all antipsychotic drugs may be associated with pneumonia in elderly patients."
This is the first study to show an association between pneumonia risk and the use of antipsychotic drugs, which are frequently used to treat psychosis and behavioral problems in elderly patients with dementia and delirium.
The study was published in the current issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
More research is needed to identify the underlying mechanism behind this association, said the researchers, who added that doctors should monitor elderly patients for signs of sedation after they start taking antipsychotic drugs and should carefully weigh the possible risks before they prescribe antipsychotic drugs for elderly patients.
Up to 40 percent of nursing home residents may be prescribed antipsychotics, according to the study authors. They noted that, in more than half of those cases, antipsychotics are prescribed for inappropriate reasons. The drugs are often used to treat behavioral problems in dementia patients, but evidence shows these drugs have limited effectiveness in these patients.
In addition, recent research has shown that the use of antipsychotic drugs in elderly patients is associated with an increased risk of illness and death.
More information:
The American College of Physicians has more about antipsychotic drug use and death in dementia patients.
Copyright © 2008 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.
WASHINGTON DC (US News & World Report), April 22, 2008:
Nursing home patients who take antipsychotic drugs are 60 percent more likely to develop pneumonia in the short term than those who don't take the drugs, a new study shows, according to HealthDay.
The risk is greatest during the first week after patients start taking the medications and gradually decreases, say Dutch researchers.
"The risk of developing pneumonia is not associated with long-term use, but is the highest shortly after starting the drug," said study authors Dr. Rob van Marum and Dr. Wilma Knol. They warned that "all antipsychotic drugs may be associated with pneumonia in elderly patients."
This is the first study to show an association between pneumonia risk and the use of antipsychotic drugs, which are frequently used to treat psychosis and behavioral problems in elderly patients with dementia and delirium.
The study was published in the current issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
More research is needed to identify the underlying mechanism behind this association, said the researchers, who added that doctors should monitor elderly patients for signs of sedation after they start taking antipsychotic drugs and should carefully weigh the possible risks before they prescribe antipsychotic drugs for elderly patients.
Up to 40 percent of nursing home residents may be prescribed antipsychotics, according to the study authors. They noted that, in more than half of those cases, antipsychotics are prescribed for inappropriate reasons. The drugs are often used to treat behavioral problems in dementia patients, but evidence shows these drugs have limited effectiveness in these patients.
In addition, recent research has shown that the use of antipsychotic drugs in elderly patients is associated with an increased risk of illness and death.
More information:
The American College of Physicians has more about antipsychotic drug use and death in dementia patients.
Copyright © 2008 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.
U.K.: Pensioner on 4mph scooter halts 70mph traffic
An elderly man on a motorised scooter was stopped by police as he travelled along a busy dual carriageway at 4mph.LONDON, England (Telegraph),
April 22, 2008:
Motorists on the A19 near Middlesbrough dialled 999 after swerving to avoid the man, who was thought to have been on the major route for two miles before he was stopped.
With his legs wrapped in a blanket against the evening chill and a wicker shopping basket attached to the front of his scooter, the man, who was not named, caused a huge tailback of traffic on Sunday evening.
"I couldn't believe what I was seeing," said Stuart Hopley, a motorist. The old guy was tootling along at about 4mph, with everybody else doing 70mph and beeping at him. It's quite amusing to think about it now, but at the time the consequences could have been horrific."
Motability menace: Telegraph TV takes to the streets to track down the rogue OAPs terrorising Rugby city centre
The man was stopped on the flyover at Portrack Lane, near Stockton.
A spokesman for Cleveland police said: "The gentleman was rather confused, but said he was trying to get to Billingham, which was four miles away.
"The officers got him off the dual carriageway and set him on his way along a cycle path."
© Telegraph Media Group Limited 2008
USA: Longevity quest moves slowly from lab to life
Don't bank on anti-aging pills anytime soon — unless you're a worm
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Secrets of a centenarian
Sadie Kaplan is one of 450 centenarians who are lending their genes to a scientific study of the causes of aging.
But she and her family members say they have yet to unravel the mystery of Kaplan’s very long life.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By JoNel Aleccia
Health writer, MSNBC
April 22, 2008
At 104 and counting, Sadie Kaplan has achieved the lifespan so many of us say we want, without ever popping a pill or lifting a finger to pursue longevity.
The secret behind her long, healthy life remains a mystery to the New York matriarch, belle of the local Jewish senior center, who still lives in her own apartment and likes to sneak past well-meaning neighbors for a solo dinner at the nearby Popeyes chicken joint.
“I keep myself so occupied, I haven’t time to get old,” she tells her children.
Daughter Fran Marton says family members feel blessed, but a little surprised, to have had Kaplan around so long. “It started to dawn on me when she was in her 90s that she was unusual,” says Marton, the youngest of five siblings who range in age from 62 to 80. “She has survived just everybody, miraculously.”
But to researchers who have studied Kaplan and other centenarians, her longevity is less a miracle than the key to a scientific puzzle. When Kaplan agreed four years ago to enroll in the Longevity Genes Project run by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, she joined the oldest of the old willing to supply some answers.
In March, for instance, Kaplan’s biological information was part of a study that showed short women may have a genetic mutation linked to long life. (In her prime, Kaplan was 5 feet, 2 inches; now she barely tops 5 feet, her daughter says.) The researchers, who are studying some 450 Ashkenazi Jews ages 95 and older, also have found that centenarians and their offspring have far more HDL cholesterol — the "good" kind — than other people, and that the size of their HDL proteins is larger than normal. And they've used genes from Kaplan and others to detect longevity markers that not only allow people to live longer, but appear to increase mental agility and protect against dementia.
Human studies of people like Kaplan plus laboratory work with yeast, worms, flies and rodents are propelling scientists closer to understanding what causes aging, how to delay it — and how to translate such progress from the lab to real life.
Continue reading
© 2008 Microsoft
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Secrets of a centenarianSadie Kaplan is one of 450 centenarians who are lending their genes to a scientific study of the causes of aging.
But she and her family members say they have yet to unravel the mystery of Kaplan’s very long life.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By JoNel Aleccia
Health writer, MSNBC
April 22, 2008
At 104 and counting, Sadie Kaplan has achieved the lifespan so many of us say we want, without ever popping a pill or lifting a finger to pursue longevity.
The secret behind her long, healthy life remains a mystery to the New York matriarch, belle of the local Jewish senior center, who still lives in her own apartment and likes to sneak past well-meaning neighbors for a solo dinner at the nearby Popeyes chicken joint.
“I keep myself so occupied, I haven’t time to get old,” she tells her children.
Daughter Fran Marton says family members feel blessed, but a little surprised, to have had Kaplan around so long. “It started to dawn on me when she was in her 90s that she was unusual,” says Marton, the youngest of five siblings who range in age from 62 to 80. “She has survived just everybody, miraculously.”
But to researchers who have studied Kaplan and other centenarians, her longevity is less a miracle than the key to a scientific puzzle. When Kaplan agreed four years ago to enroll in the Longevity Genes Project run by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, she joined the oldest of the old willing to supply some answers.
In March, for instance, Kaplan’s biological information was part of a study that showed short women may have a genetic mutation linked to long life. (In her prime, Kaplan was 5 feet, 2 inches; now she barely tops 5 feet, her daughter says.) The researchers, who are studying some 450 Ashkenazi Jews ages 95 and older, also have found that centenarians and their offspring have far more HDL cholesterol — the "good" kind — than other people, and that the size of their HDL proteins is larger than normal. And they've used genes from Kaplan and others to detect longevity markers that not only allow people to live longer, but appear to increase mental agility and protect against dementia.
Human studies of people like Kaplan plus laboratory work with yeast, worms, flies and rodents are propelling scientists closer to understanding what causes aging, how to delay it — and how to translate such progress from the lab to real life.
Continue reading
© 2008 Microsoft
JAPAN: Ageing Population, Declining Work Force Threaten To Shrink Labour Force
TOKYO (United Press International), April 22, 2008:
Japan's twin problems of aging population and declining birth rate threaten to shrink its labor force by a third by 2050, officials said.
A government paper warned Tuesday the labor force could plunge to 42.28 million from 66.57 million in 2006 without the labor participation of women and elderly people, Kyodo news service reported.
The report said the labor force population would shrink to 55.84 million by 2030. However, the decline could be smaller and the figure could be sustained at about 61.80 million if steps are taken to promote the labor participation of all those who are willing to work.
The government wants to boost the employment rate of women ages 25-44 to 69 to 72 percent by 2017 from the current 64.9 percent, and that of people ages 60-64 to 60 to 61 percent from 52.6 percent.
In 2006, the nation's total fertility rate, or the average number of children born to a woman between ages 15 and 49, stood at 1.32 -- only slightly better than the record low of 1.26 set the previous year.
© 2008 United Press International.
Japan's twin problems of aging population and declining birth rate threaten to shrink its labor force by a third by 2050, officials said.
A government paper warned Tuesday the labor force could plunge to 42.28 million from 66.57 million in 2006 without the labor participation of women and elderly people, Kyodo news service reported.
The report said the labor force population would shrink to 55.84 million by 2030. However, the decline could be smaller and the figure could be sustained at about 61.80 million if steps are taken to promote the labor participation of all those who are willing to work.
The government wants to boost the employment rate of women ages 25-44 to 69 to 72 percent by 2017 from the current 64.9 percent, and that of people ages 60-64 to 60 to 61 percent from 52.6 percent.
In 2006, the nation's total fertility rate, or the average number of children born to a woman between ages 15 and 49, stood at 1.32 -- only slightly better than the record low of 1.26 set the previous year.
© 2008 United Press International.
USA: Humanity's Greatest Scam - Old Age
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (The Houstonian), April 22, 2008:
OPINION
By Chet Gassett
Chet Gassett discusses the importance of savoring one's youth. He is preparing for the end of his glorious years as a teenager to end. Onward to 40.
As my 20th birthday rapidly approaches, I have been quietly lamenting it. It's not that I'm going to die, the world's going to end or even that I'm going to be simultaneously struck by lightning and mauled by a Kodiak. It's that, I'm no longer going to be able to use, "…but I'm only a teenager," as an excuse any longer. I will officially be an adult.
While stewing over the 20th Anniversary of Chet, my girlfriend stumbled upon a Weblog post entitled, "15 Things it Took Me Over 50 Years to Learn" by Dave Barry. One of his maxims stuck out to me, especially, because it was on the topic of birthdays. Barry said, "There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is age eleven."
It's undeniably true; after that age, no one really cares when your birthday is, except perhaps your closest friends and immediate family. Co-workers only remember it if you work at a company which posts such events on the weekly calendar. Other than that, no one really cares. This doesn't really bother me, to be completely honest with you. However, it's an important lesson for some people, because they have not yet learned that no one cares.
I've decided that every adult, including my parents, that I came in contact with as a child is a liar. I remember looking up to adults, and even teenagers, as a child and thinking, "Wow, I can't wait to grow up." Man, was I delusional. I know that I am not the only person to ever think like that, so fess up now if you're one of us!
The adults in my life always made being an adult look so cool! They got to stay up as late as the wanted. They could eat whatever, whenever they wanted. They could drive! Nor did they have to go to stupid, boring school. The list could potentially go on forever. However, it is at the ripe old age of 19 that I have decided to debunk the awesomeness of adulthood for children everywhere before it is too late.
Being an adult is nowhere near as glorious as I once thought it would be. Okay, yes I can drive, stay out late, I don't have to go to school and I get to feed myself, but I'd rather not do any of that. Driving is actually very monotonous, and is not as much fun after you've been doing it for four years. Staying out late is good and all, but you still have to get up early in the morning, and being tired makes your day miserable. I choose to go to school, because working full-time sucks. Also, now that I'm an adult, I am paying for my own tuition, books, rent, bills, car insurance and lien. Trust me, life was so much better whenever you had someone making decisions and paying for everything you needed to survive.
For all of you children out there, go find Peter Pan! He is your only hope! For all of you that are already adults, I'm sorry. I'm currently devising a plan to be eight-years-old again. Then again, when I think about it, I've had more fun in the past two years than ever before! I think I would rather just be a professional college student, who doesn't age and has an eternal full-ride scholarship.
Yeah, that would make life perfect.
© 2008 Houstonian Online
OPINION
By Chet Gassett
Chet Gassett discusses the importance of savoring one's youth. He is preparing for the end of his glorious years as a teenager to end. Onward to 40.
As my 20th birthday rapidly approaches, I have been quietly lamenting it. It's not that I'm going to die, the world's going to end or even that I'm going to be simultaneously struck by lightning and mauled by a Kodiak. It's that, I'm no longer going to be able to use, "…but I'm only a teenager," as an excuse any longer. I will officially be an adult.
While stewing over the 20th Anniversary of Chet, my girlfriend stumbled upon a Weblog post entitled, "15 Things it Took Me Over 50 Years to Learn" by Dave Barry. One of his maxims stuck out to me, especially, because it was on the topic of birthdays. Barry said, "There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is age eleven."
It's undeniably true; after that age, no one really cares when your birthday is, except perhaps your closest friends and immediate family. Co-workers only remember it if you work at a company which posts such events on the weekly calendar. Other than that, no one really cares. This doesn't really bother me, to be completely honest with you. However, it's an important lesson for some people, because they have not yet learned that no one cares.
I've decided that every adult, including my parents, that I came in contact with as a child is a liar. I remember looking up to adults, and even teenagers, as a child and thinking, "Wow, I can't wait to grow up." Man, was I delusional. I know that I am not the only person to ever think like that, so fess up now if you're one of us!
The adults in my life always made being an adult look so cool! They got to stay up as late as the wanted. They could eat whatever, whenever they wanted. They could drive! Nor did they have to go to stupid, boring school. The list could potentially go on forever. However, it is at the ripe old age of 19 that I have decided to debunk the awesomeness of adulthood for children everywhere before it is too late.
Being an adult is nowhere near as glorious as I once thought it would be. Okay, yes I can drive, stay out late, I don't have to go to school and I get to feed myself, but I'd rather not do any of that. Driving is actually very monotonous, and is not as much fun after you've been doing it for four years. Staying out late is good and all, but you still have to get up early in the morning, and being tired makes your day miserable. I choose to go to school, because working full-time sucks. Also, now that I'm an adult, I am paying for my own tuition, books, rent, bills, car insurance and lien. Trust me, life was so much better whenever you had someone making decisions and paying for everything you needed to survive.
For all of you children out there, go find Peter Pan! He is your only hope! For all of you that are already adults, I'm sorry. I'm currently devising a plan to be eight-years-old again. Then again, when I think about it, I've had more fun in the past two years than ever before! I think I would rather just be a professional college student, who doesn't age and has an eternal full-ride scholarship.
Yeah, that would make life perfect.
© 2008 Houstonian Online
INDIA: State plans action against families evicting seniors
BHOPAL, Madhya Pradesh (IndiaPost), April 22, 2008:
Posted by Yasha Sharma
Senior citizens of wealthy families who have been evicted from their homes by children or family members and are living in Old Age Homes would be identified. Such old people would given Old Age Pension and their offspring or family members would be penalised after filing cases against them for evicting the old people.
This decision was taken at a meeting of the state level committee constituted for amending the proposed Old Age Policy. The meeting held at the Mantralaya was presided over by Woman and Child Development Minister Ms Kusum Mehdele. A sub-committee would prepare the final draft after amending Senior Citizens Act and state's proposed Old Age Policy. The committee would prepare a final draft within two months in the light of suggestions made by the members and discussions with them.
Ms Mehdele convened the first meeting of the sub-committee on May 12.
Source: The India Post
Posted by Yasha Sharma
Senior citizens of wealthy families who have been evicted from their homes by children or family members and are living in Old Age Homes would be identified. Such old people would given Old Age Pension and their offspring or family members would be penalised after filing cases against them for evicting the old people.
This decision was taken at a meeting of the state level committee constituted for amending the proposed Old Age Policy. The meeting held at the Mantralaya was presided over by Woman and Child Development Minister Ms Kusum Mehdele. A sub-committee would prepare the final draft after amending Senior Citizens Act and state's proposed Old Age Policy. The committee would prepare a final draft within two months in the light of suggestions made by the members and discussions with them.
Ms Mehdele convened the first meeting of the sub-committee on May 12.
Source: The India Post
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: 'Care for Elderly People in the UAE' focuses on Need to Support the Aging
ABU DHABI, UAE (Khaleej Times), April 22, 2008:
The Centre for Information Affairs has published a new study, titled "Care for Elderly People in the United Arab Emirates," to mark the Abu Dhabi International Conference for Aging in Abu Dhabi.
The event is being held under the chairmanship of Shaikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Higher Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation.
The study touches upon the comprehensive vision of the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan that encompasses all aspects of human life, and extends its care to all social categories, specially the elderly.
The study indicates that the happiness of citizens and their prosperity takes up a big part of Shaikh Khalifa's speeches and discourses, as citizens are the highest goal in the process of economic and social development.
The study also analyses the various issues related to the care of elderly people, introducing the status of the elderly people in international conventions as well as in the UAE legislations. It highlights some of the efforts and programmes undertaken for the elderly.
Copyright © 2008 Khaleej Times
The Centre for Information Affairs has published a new study, titled "Care for Elderly People in the United Arab Emirates," to mark the Abu Dhabi International Conference for Aging in Abu Dhabi.
The event is being held under the chairmanship of Shaikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Higher Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation.
The study touches upon the comprehensive vision of the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan that encompasses all aspects of human life, and extends its care to all social categories, specially the elderly.
The study indicates that the happiness of citizens and their prosperity takes up a big part of Shaikh Khalifa's speeches and discourses, as citizens are the highest goal in the process of economic and social development.
The study also analyses the various issues related to the care of elderly people, introducing the status of the elderly people in international conventions as well as in the UAE legislations. It highlights some of the efforts and programmes undertaken for the elderly.
Copyright © 2008 Khaleej Times
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Abu Dhabi International Aging Conference 2008 Begins April 22
ABU DHABI (Arabian Business), April 22, 2008:
The Second Abu Dhabi International Aging Conference 2008 is being held here April 22 thru 24, 2008. The Conference is being held under the patronage of His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince� and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and the Chairmanship of Her Highness Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, Higher Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation The Conference is aimed at highlighting the importance given by Islam and social morals to aging people, showing the best means to activate their role and incorporate them into society, and offer them psychiatric and social services.
The Conference is further aimed at reviewing international experiences on care for the elderly and any preventive actions that can be taken by people approaching old age.
The Conference will also tackle issues such as senility, latest scientific discoveries on senility (Aging), senility of mind and soul, and healthy life styles.
USA: Silicon Valley life expectancy has jumped 72 to 80 since 1961
SAN JOSE, Ca (Mercury News), April 22, 2008:
Maybe your exorbitant mortgage bill is worth it after all.
Silicon Valley residents have one of the highest life expectancy rates in the nation, with the average baby born in 1999 on track to live to 80, according to research appearing in today's edition of the journal PLoS Medicine. On average, that's eight years longer than their grandparents might live.
Meanwhile, in Phillips County, Ark., where you can get a mansion for less than $250,000 - and tornadoes are not unheard of - residents are lucky if they live to blow out 70 candles on their birthday cake.
In a sweeping, county-by-county look at life spans, scientists found that not all areas are created equal when it comes to residents enjoying a lengthy and healthy life. Although federal data indicates that life expectancy is continuing to rise across the country as a whole, the new report shows it is actually declining or stagnating in hundreds of counties across the country, partly because of the declining health of women.
Life expectancy hasn't fallen since "the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918," said Dr. Christopher Murray, a co-author of the study and director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. "How on earth can this be happening when we have all these advances in medical technology?"
Researchers point to increasing obesity and diabetes rates as well as higher mortality from lung cancer for some explanations on why life spans are foundering in the deep South and Appalachia, especially for women.
While women are still likely to live, on average, more than five years longer than men, the researchers determined the gap between the sexes is steadily narrowing.
Nearly one-fifth of women in this country had their life expectancy fall or stay the same between 1961 and 1999, compared with just 4 percent of males, the study found - something that shocked its authors.
"We've had decades and decades of continued steady progress in health. This is the first time we've found things are getting worse for a large group of American women," Murray said. "It's not what you would expect to see."
While that does not yet apply to Bay Area women, researchers cautioned that it could.
Despite our fondness of salad bars and Pilates sessions, the region is not immune to the problems that are reducing life spans in other parts of the country, Murray said. Even here, there has been an increase in the number of middle-aged and older women who develop lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes.
Still, Bay Area residents are doing something right.
Santa Clara County residents are now expected to live, on average, 80.26 years - about eight years longer than people living here two generations ago. The rates are similarly high in San Mateo and Marin counties, with the average life expectancy hitting 80.29 years and 80.84 years, respectively. In Alameda, Contra Costa and San Francisco counties, the average is about 78 years.
Nutrition, exercise, education, income level and access to health care can certainly boost a person's life span. The study's authors said the downward trend in life expectancy in some counties may also be a sign that it is time to rethink the American health care system.
But other scientists stressed that there is likely not one primary cause.
It isn't like a game of dominoes, where you "flick one and they all go tumbling," said Paul Terry, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Emory University in Atlanta.
Causes vary in different parts of the country, and each region typically has a number of reasons for the lagging life expectancy rates, Terry said.
Still, he is optimistic that the country's overall life expectancy rate - which hit 77.8 years in 2004 - won't reverse course.
"Life expectancy may perhaps level off somewhat for a while," he said. "What we do know from the past, however, is that the next lifestyle or medical innovation that increases life expectancy may be just around the corner."
It can't get here soon enough, some believe. As it is, among major industrialized nations, the United States doesn't even break the top 30 when it comes to average life expectancy. The residents of Japan, Singapore and France (not to mention Andorra and Macau) have greater longevity than we do.
But it's not just about longevity, said Robert Anderson, chief of the mortality statistics branch for the National Center for Health Statistics. He worried that medical advances will ultimately let unhealthy people live longer.
"We may be able to keep these people alive with drugs and medical treatment," he said, "but their quality of life isn't going to be very good."
By Julie Sevrens Lyons
jlyons@mercurynews.com
Copyright 2008 San Jose Mercury News
Maybe your exorbitant mortgage bill is worth it after all.
Silicon Valley residents have one of the highest life expectancy rates in the nation, with the average baby born in 1999 on track to live to 80, according to research appearing in today's edition of the journal PLoS Medicine. On average, that's eight years longer than their grandparents might live.
Meanwhile, in Phillips County, Ark., where you can get a mansion for less than $250,000 - and tornadoes are not unheard of - residents are lucky if they live to blow out 70 candles on their birthday cake.
In a sweeping, county-by-county look at life spans, scientists found that not all areas are created equal when it comes to residents enjoying a lengthy and healthy life. Although federal data indicates that life expectancy is continuing to rise across the country as a whole, the new report shows it is actually declining or stagnating in hundreds of counties across the country, partly because of the declining health of women.
Life expectancy hasn't fallen since "the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918," said Dr. Christopher Murray, a co-author of the study and director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. "How on earth can this be happening when we have all these advances in medical technology?"
Researchers point to increasing obesity and diabetes rates as well as higher mortality from lung cancer for some explanations on why life spans are foundering in the deep South and Appalachia, especially for women.
While women are still likely to live, on average, more than five years longer than men, the researchers determined the gap between the sexes is steadily narrowing.
Nearly one-fifth of women in this country had their life expectancy fall or stay the same between 1961 and 1999, compared with just 4 percent of males, the study found - something that shocked its authors.
"We've had decades and decades of continued steady progress in health. This is the first time we've found things are getting worse for a large group of American women," Murray said. "It's not what you would expect to see."
While that does not yet apply to Bay Area women, researchers cautioned that it could.
Despite our fondness of salad bars and Pilates sessions, the region is not immune to the problems that are reducing life spans in other parts of the country, Murray said. Even here, there has been an increase in the number of middle-aged and older women who develop lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes.
Still, Bay Area residents are doing something right.
Santa Clara County residents are now expected to live, on average, 80.26 years - about eight years longer than people living here two generations ago. The rates are similarly high in San Mateo and Marin counties, with the average life expectancy hitting 80.29 years and 80.84 years, respectively. In Alameda, Contra Costa and San Francisco counties, the average is about 78 years.
Nutrition, exercise, education, income level and access to health care can certainly boost a person's life span. The study's authors said the downward trend in life expectancy in some counties may also be a sign that it is time to rethink the American health care system.
But other scientists stressed that there is likely not one primary cause.
It isn't like a game of dominoes, where you "flick one and they all go tumbling," said Paul Terry, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Emory University in Atlanta.
Causes vary in different parts of the country, and each region typically has a number of reasons for the lagging life expectancy rates, Terry said.
Still, he is optimistic that the country's overall life expectancy rate - which hit 77.8 years in 2004 - won't reverse course.
"Life expectancy may perhaps level off somewhat for a while," he said. "What we do know from the past, however, is that the next lifestyle or medical innovation that increases life expectancy may be just around the corner."
It can't get here soon enough, some believe. As it is, among major industrialized nations, the United States doesn't even break the top 30 when it comes to average life expectancy. The residents of Japan, Singapore and France (not to mention Andorra and Macau) have greater longevity than we do.
But it's not just about longevity, said Robert Anderson, chief of the mortality statistics branch for the National Center for Health Statistics. He worried that medical advances will ultimately let unhealthy people live longer.
"We may be able to keep these people alive with drugs and medical treatment," he said, "but their quality of life isn't going to be very good."
By Julie Sevrens Lyons
jlyons@mercurynews.com
Copyright 2008 San Jose Mercury News
INDIA: Nine people over 50 years killed in India every day
NEW DELHI (IANS), April 22, 2008:
At least nine people aged 50 years and above are murdered and many more fall prey to heinous crimes across the country every day, áccording to official figures released Tuesday.
The National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) released data that reports 3,368 murder cases of senior citizens and those over 50 were registered across the police stations in India, up from 3,215 in 2005.
In 2004, a total of 3,149 such cases had come to light.
The figures, tabled in the Lok Sabha by India's Minister of State for Home Radhika V. Selvi, showed that a total of 275 cases of culpable homicide not amounting to murder were registered in 2006.
There were 333 such cases in 2005 and 356 in 2004.
The national capital region, where 17 (11 male and six female) senior citizens were murdered last year also witnessed an increase in the number of crimes against the elderly.
In 2007, there were at least 17 murders with elderly people as victims in the capital. The figure was 12 in 2006 and 16 in 2005. Upto Feb 15 this year, one senior person has fallen prey to killers.
The attempt to murder cases, however, remained low with only one instance in 2007. In 2006, such cases were two in comparison to five in 2005.
Instances of robbery and dacoity against senior citizens also showed a downward trend. In 2007, nine cases were registered against 10 and 15 in 2006 and 2005 respectively.
Ms. Selvi informed the house that Delhi Police have taken a number of steps for safety and welfare of senior citizens in the capital.
(IANS)
At least nine people aged 50 years and above are murdered and many more fall prey to heinous crimes across the country every day, áccording to official figures released Tuesday.
The National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) released data that reports 3,368 murder cases of senior citizens and those over 50 were registered across the police stations in India, up from 3,215 in 2005.
In 2004, a total of 3,149 such cases had come to light.
The figures, tabled in the Lok Sabha by India's Minister of State for Home Radhika V. Selvi, showed that a total of 275 cases of culpable homicide not amounting to murder were registered in 2006.
There were 333 such cases in 2005 and 356 in 2004.
The national capital region, where 17 (11 male and six female) senior citizens were murdered last year also witnessed an increase in the number of crimes against the elderly.
In 2007, there were at least 17 murders with elderly people as victims in the capital. The figure was 12 in 2006 and 16 in 2005. Upto Feb 15 this year, one senior person has fallen prey to killers.
The attempt to murder cases, however, remained low with only one instance in 2007. In 2006, such cases were two in comparison to five in 2005.
Instances of robbery and dacoity against senior citizens also showed a downward trend. In 2007, nine cases were registered against 10 and 15 in 2006 and 2005 respectively.
Ms. Selvi informed the house that Delhi Police have taken a number of steps for safety and welfare of senior citizens in the capital.
(IANS)
GERMANY: Thieving German Granny Fools Police
GUTERSLOH, Germany (Spiegel, Berlin), April 22, 2008:
An 80-year-old lady trying to steal engine oil from a store in Germany collapsed as soon as she was nabbed by the store detective, but walked out of the hospital in a miraculous recovery shortly after being rushed there by helicopter. Police said the cunning pensioner is a repeat offender.
An elderly lady caught stealing car parts and engine oil in a German store fainted in an apparent bid to escape justice and was taken by helicopter to hospital where an examination found she was perfectly all right, police said.
"The lady was released from hospital. As her personal details still hadn't been taken down, she was questioned by police officers," police in the western town of Gütersloh said in a statement. "She was reluctant to give her name and only revealed it after being asked repeatedly," police said in a statement.
"It turned out that she was an 80-year-old pensioner from Detmold who has come to the attention of the police in similar cases before." The lady is being charged with attempted shoplifting.
cro
© SPIEGEL ONLINE 2008
An 80-year-old lady trying to steal engine oil from a store in Germany collapsed as soon as she was nabbed by the store detective, but walked out of the hospital in a miraculous recovery shortly after being rushed there by helicopter. Police said the cunning pensioner is a repeat offender.
An elderly lady caught stealing car parts and engine oil in a German store fainted in an apparent bid to escape justice and was taken by helicopter to hospital where an examination found she was perfectly all right, police said.
"The lady was released from hospital. As her personal details still hadn't been taken down, she was questioned by police officers," police in the western town of Gütersloh said in a statement. "She was reluctant to give her name and only revealed it after being asked repeatedly," police said in a statement.
"It turned out that she was an 80-year-old pensioner from Detmold who has come to the attention of the police in similar cases before." The lady is being charged with attempted shoplifting.
cro
© SPIEGEL ONLINE 2008
EUROPE: Elder Abuse is theme of short video film
Social Affairs
VALLADOLID, Spain (EuroAlert), April 22, 2008:
The Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities has produced three new video news releases. They all address social issues which are currently high on the agenda.
A video on the gender pay gap in Europe explains the problem and shows how a number of EU countries are taking actions to try to end discrimination against women in the workplace. On average women earn 15% less than men throughout the European Union. In some sectors, such as clothing manufacture, this pay gap can rise as high as 86%. To address the continuing disparities in pay between women and men, a higher awareness of this issue is necessary among all parties involved.
The clip "Protecting the dignity of our older people" throws light on the abuse of elderly people, which has become a serious problem in our society. Almost half (47%) of people across the EU consider the phenomenon to be widespread in their country – and the challenge is only likely to increase with time as Europeans get older. The film shows good examples of tackling poor treatment, neglect and abuse of dependent elderly and preventing similar abuse in the future.
Tackling child poverty and breaking the transmission of poverty and exclusion from one generation to the next features high on the European Union’s political agenda. Child poverty is recognised as a multi-dimensional problem which requires urgent integrated actions across a wide range of social, economic and cultural policies. Almost 20% of European youngsters are at risk of poverty – a higher rate than the adult population. The video news release shows areas in the EU where child poverty is a prevailing problem, but where some encouraging action is also taking place.
The films have been broadcasted on Europe by Satellite and have been placed in their shorter 3-minute versions on EUTube - the European Commission's channel on popular video-sharing website YouTube.
Copyright ©1998-2008 Gateway S.C.S.,SL
VALLADOLID, Spain (EuroAlert), April 22, 2008:
The Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities has produced three new video news releases. They all address social issues which are currently high on the agenda.
A video on the gender pay gap in Europe explains the problem and shows how a number of EU countries are taking actions to try to end discrimination against women in the workplace. On average women earn 15% less than men throughout the European Union. In some sectors, such as clothing manufacture, this pay gap can rise as high as 86%. To address the continuing disparities in pay between women and men, a higher awareness of this issue is necessary among all parties involved.
The clip "Protecting the dignity of our older people" throws light on the abuse of elderly people, which has become a serious problem in our society. Almost half (47%) of people across the EU consider the phenomenon to be widespread in their country – and the challenge is only likely to increase with time as Europeans get older. The film shows good examples of tackling poor treatment, neglect and abuse of dependent elderly and preventing similar abuse in the future.
Tackling child poverty and breaking the transmission of poverty and exclusion from one generation to the next features high on the European Union’s political agenda. Child poverty is recognised as a multi-dimensional problem which requires urgent integrated actions across a wide range of social, economic and cultural policies. Almost 20% of European youngsters are at risk of poverty – a higher rate than the adult population. The video news release shows areas in the EU where child poverty is a prevailing problem, but where some encouraging action is also taking place.
The films have been broadcasted on Europe by Satellite and have been placed in their shorter 3-minute versions on EUTube - the European Commission's channel on popular video-sharing website YouTube.
Copyright ©1998-2008 Gateway S.C.S.,SL
EMIRATES: Study Published on Care for Elderly People in UAE
.
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates / Emirates News Agency WAM / April 22, 2008
The Centre for Information Affairs has published a new study entitled 'Care for Elderly People in the United Arab Emirates'. The study coincides with the 'Abu Dhabi International Conference for Aging' to be held in Abu Dhabi between 22-24 April 22 and 24 under the Chairmanship of HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation.
The study sheds light on the comprehensive vision of H.H. President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan that encompasses all aspects of human life, and extends its care to all social categories, especially the elderly.
The study also analyzes the various issues related to the care of elderly people, introducing the status of the elderly people in international conventions as well as in the UAE legislations. It highlights some of the efforts and programs addressed to this category of people. It spotlights the institutional services implemented for the care of the elderly people by governmental as well as private institutions.
Source: Emirates News Agency, WAM
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates / Emirates News Agency WAM / April 22, 2008
The Centre for Information Affairs has published a new study entitled 'Care for Elderly People in the United Arab Emirates'. The study coincides with the 'Abu Dhabi International Conference for Aging' to be held in Abu Dhabi between 22-24 April 22 and 24 under the Chairmanship of HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation.
The study sheds light on the comprehensive vision of H.H. President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan that encompasses all aspects of human life, and extends its care to all social categories, especially the elderly.
The study also analyzes the various issues related to the care of elderly people, introducing the status of the elderly people in international conventions as well as in the UAE legislations. It highlights some of the efforts and programs addressed to this category of people. It spotlights the institutional services implemented for the care of the elderly people by governmental as well as private institutions.
Source: Emirates News Agency, WAM
USA: A Conversation With The Smiling Professor of Happiness
In Conversation with
CLAUDIA DREIFUS
NEW YORK (New York Times), April 22, 2008:
At Harvard, the social psychologist Daniel Gilbert is known as Professor Happiness. That is because the 50-year-old researcher directs a laboratory studying the nature of human happiness.
Dr. Gilbert’s “Stumbling on Happiness” was a New York Times paperback best seller for 23 weeks and won the 2007 Royal Society Prize for Science Books.
Dr. Daniel Gilbert.
By C.J. Gunther for The New York Times
Q. HOW DID YOU STUMBLE ONTO YOUR AREA OF STUDY?
A. It was something that happened to me roughly 13 years ago. I spent the first decade of my career studying what psychologists call “the fundamental attribution error,” which is about how people have the tendency to ignore the power of external situations to determine human behavior.
Why do many people, for instance, believe the uneducated are stupid?
I’d have been content to work on this for many more years, but some things happened in my own life.
Within a short period of time, my mentor passed away, my mother died, my marriage fell apart and my teenage son developed problems in school. What I soon found was that as bad as my situation was, it wasn’t devastating. I went on.
One day, I had lunch with a friend who was also going through difficult times. I told him: “If you’d have asked me a year ago how I’d deal with all this, I’d have predicted that I couldn’t get out of bed in the morning.”
He nodded and added, “Are we the only people who could be so wrong in predicting how we’d respond to extreme stress?”
That got me thinking. I wondered: How accurately do people predict their emotional reactions to future events?
Q. HOW DOES THAT RELATE TO UNDERSTANDING HAPPINESS?
A. Because if we can’t predict how we’d react in the future, we can’t set realistic goals for ourselves or figure out how to reach to them.
What we’ve been seeing in my lab, over and over again, is that people have an inability to predict what will make us happy — or unhappy. If you can’t tell which futures are better than others, it’s hard to find happiness. The truth is, bad things don’t affect us as profoundly as we expect them to. That’s true of good things, too. We adapt very quickly to either.
So the good news is that going blind is not going to make you as unhappy as you think it will. The bad news is that winning the lottery will not make you as happy as you expect.
Q. ARE YOU SAYING THAT PEOPLE ARE HAPPY WITH WHATEVER CARDS ARE DEALT TO THEM?
A. As a species, we tend to be moderately happy with whatever we get. If you take a scale that goes from zero to 100, people, generally, report their happiness at about 75. We keep trying to get to 100. Sometimes, we get there. But we don’t stay long.
We certainly fear the things that would get us down to 20 or 10 — the death of a loved one, the end of a relationship, a serious challenge to our health. But when those things happen, most of us will return to our emotional baselines more quickly than we’d predict. Humans are wildly resilient.
Q. DO MOST OF US HARBOR UNREASONABLE NOTIONS OF WHAT HAPPINESS IS?
A. Inaccurate, flawed ideas. Few of us can accurately gauge how we will feel tomorrow or next week. That’s why when you go to the supermarket on an empty stomach, you’ll buy too much, and if you shop after a big meal, you’ll buy too little.
Another factor that makes it difficult to forecast our future happiness is that most of us are rationalizers. We expect to feel devastated if our spouse leaves us or if we get passed over for a big promotion at work.
But when things like that do happen, it’s soon, “She never was right for me,” or “I actually need more free time for my family.” People have remarkable talent for finding ways to soften the impact of negative events. Thus they mistakenly expect such blows to be much more devastating than they turn out to be.
Q. SO, IF WE DIDN’T HAVE THESE MECHANISMS, WOULD WE BE TOO DEPRESSED TO GO ON?
A. There may be something to that. People who are clinically depressed often seem to lack the ability to reframe events. That suggests that if the rest of us didn’t have this, we might be depressed as well.
Q. AS THE AUTHOR OF A BEST SELLER ABOUT HAPPINESS, DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE ON HOW PEOPLE CAN ACHIEVE IT?
A. I’m not Dr. Phil.
We know that the best predictor of human happiness is human relationships and the amount of time that people spend with family and friends.
We know that it’s significantly more important than money and somewhat more important than health. That’s what the data shows. The interesting thing is that people will sacrifice social relationships to get other things that won’t make them as happy — money. That’s what I mean when I say people should do “wise shopping” for happiness.
Another thing we know from studies is that people tend to take more pleasure in experiences than in things. So if you have “x” amount of dollars to spend on a vacation or a good meal or movies, it will get you more happiness than a durable good or an object. One reason for this is that experiences tend to be shared with other people and objects usually aren’t.
Q. HAVE YOU JUST EXPRESSED A VERY ANTI-AMERICAN IDEA?
A. Oh, you can spend lots of money on experiences. People think a car will last and that’s why it will bring you happiness. But it doesn’t. It gets old and decays. But experiences don’t. You’ll “always have Paris” — and that’s exactly what Bogart meant when he said it to Ingrid Bergman. But will you always have a washing machine? No.
Today, I’m going to Dallas to meet my wife and I’m flying first class, which is ridiculously expensive. But the experience will be far more delightful than a new suit. Another way I follow what I’ve learned from data is that I don’t chase dollars now that I have enough of them, because I know that it will take a very large amount of money to increase my happiness by a small amount.
You couldn’t pay me $100,000 to miss a play date with my granddaughters.
And that’s not because I’m rich. That’s because I know that a hundred grand won’t make me as happy as nurturing my relationship with my granddaughters will.
Q. SO YOU HOLD WITH THE NOTION THAT “MONEY CAN’T BUY YOU HAPPINESS”?
A. I wouldn’t say that. The data says that with the poor, a little money can buy a lot of happiness. If you’re rich, a lot of money can buy you a little more happiness. But in both cases, money does it.
Q. ARE YOU, DAN GILBERT, HAPPY?
A. I am. I think good things are happening to me and will continue. I am not optimistic about the rest of the species, but I’m so blessed, it’s almost scary. I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I have a wildly sunny disposition. I love to laugh. My book is full of jokes.
Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seniors World Chronicle adds:
Extract From
STUMBLING ON HAPPINESS
What would you do right now if you learned that you were going to die in ten minutes? Would you race upstairs and light that Marlboro you've been hiding in your sock drawer since the Ford administration?
Daniel Gilbert
Photo © Marilynn Oliphant
Would you waltz into your boss's office and present him with a detailed description of his personal defects? Would you drive out to that steakhouse near the new mall and order a T-bone, medium rare, with an extra side of the really bad cholesterol?
Hard to say, of course, but of all the things you might do in your final ten minutes, it's a pretty safe bet that few of them are things you actually did today
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CLAUDIA DREIFUS
NEW YORK (New York Times), April 22, 2008:
At Harvard, the social psychologist Daniel Gilbert is known as Professor Happiness. That is because the 50-year-old researcher directs a laboratory studying the nature of human happiness.
Dr. Gilbert’s “Stumbling on Happiness” was a New York Times paperback best seller for 23 weeks and won the 2007 Royal Society Prize for Science Books.
Dr. Daniel Gilbert. By C.J. Gunther for The New York Times
Q. HOW DID YOU STUMBLE ONTO YOUR AREA OF STUDY?
A. It was something that happened to me roughly 13 years ago. I spent the first decade of my career studying what psychologists call “the fundamental attribution error,” which is about how people have the tendency to ignore the power of external situations to determine human behavior.
Why do many people, for instance, believe the uneducated are stupid?
I’d have been content to work on this for many more years, but some things happened in my own life.
Within a short period of time, my mentor passed away, my mother died, my marriage fell apart and my teenage son developed problems in school. What I soon found was that as bad as my situation was, it wasn’t devastating. I went on.
One day, I had lunch with a friend who was also going through difficult times. I told him: “If you’d have asked me a year ago how I’d deal with all this, I’d have predicted that I couldn’t get out of bed in the morning.”
He nodded and added, “Are we the only people who could be so wrong in predicting how we’d respond to extreme stress?”
That got me thinking. I wondered: How accurately do people predict their emotional reactions to future events?
Q. HOW DOES THAT RELATE TO UNDERSTANDING HAPPINESS?
A. Because if we can’t predict how we’d react in the future, we can’t set realistic goals for ourselves or figure out how to reach to them.
What we’ve been seeing in my lab, over and over again, is that people have an inability to predict what will make us happy — or unhappy. If you can’t tell which futures are better than others, it’s hard to find happiness. The truth is, bad things don’t affect us as profoundly as we expect them to. That’s true of good things, too. We adapt very quickly to either.
So the good news is that going blind is not going to make you as unhappy as you think it will. The bad news is that winning the lottery will not make you as happy as you expect.
Q. ARE YOU SAYING THAT PEOPLE ARE HAPPY WITH WHATEVER CARDS ARE DEALT TO THEM?
A. As a species, we tend to be moderately happy with whatever we get. If you take a scale that goes from zero to 100, people, generally, report their happiness at about 75. We keep trying to get to 100. Sometimes, we get there. But we don’t stay long.
We certainly fear the things that would get us down to 20 or 10 — the death of a loved one, the end of a relationship, a serious challenge to our health. But when those things happen, most of us will return to our emotional baselines more quickly than we’d predict. Humans are wildly resilient.
Q. DO MOST OF US HARBOR UNREASONABLE NOTIONS OF WHAT HAPPINESS IS?
A. Inaccurate, flawed ideas. Few of us can accurately gauge how we will feel tomorrow or next week. That’s why when you go to the supermarket on an empty stomach, you’ll buy too much, and if you shop after a big meal, you’ll buy too little.
Another factor that makes it difficult to forecast our future happiness is that most of us are rationalizers. We expect to feel devastated if our spouse leaves us or if we get passed over for a big promotion at work.
But when things like that do happen, it’s soon, “She never was right for me,” or “I actually need more free time for my family.” People have remarkable talent for finding ways to soften the impact of negative events. Thus they mistakenly expect such blows to be much more devastating than they turn out to be.
Q. SO, IF WE DIDN’T HAVE THESE MECHANISMS, WOULD WE BE TOO DEPRESSED TO GO ON?
A. There may be something to that. People who are clinically depressed often seem to lack the ability to reframe events. That suggests that if the rest of us didn’t have this, we might be depressed as well.
Q. AS THE AUTHOR OF A BEST SELLER ABOUT HAPPINESS, DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE ON HOW PEOPLE CAN ACHIEVE IT?
A. I’m not Dr. Phil.
We know that the best predictor of human happiness is human relationships and the amount of time that people spend with family and friends.
We know that it’s significantly more important than money and somewhat more important than health. That’s what the data shows. The interesting thing is that people will sacrifice social relationships to get other things that won’t make them as happy — money. That’s what I mean when I say people should do “wise shopping” for happiness.
Another thing we know from studies is that people tend to take more pleasure in experiences than in things. So if you have “x” amount of dollars to spend on a vacation or a good meal or movies, it will get you more happiness than a durable good or an object. One reason for this is that experiences tend to be shared with other people and objects usually aren’t.
Q. HAVE YOU JUST EXPRESSED A VERY ANTI-AMERICAN IDEA?
A. Oh, you can spend lots of money on experiences. People think a car will last and that’s why it will bring you happiness. But it doesn’t. It gets old and decays. But experiences don’t. You’ll “always have Paris” — and that’s exactly what Bogart meant when he said it to Ingrid Bergman. But will you always have a washing machine? No.
Today, I’m going to Dallas to meet my wife and I’m flying first class, which is ridiculously expensive. But the experience will be far more delightful than a new suit. Another way I follow what I’ve learned from data is that I don’t chase dollars now that I have enough of them, because I know that it will take a very large amount of money to increase my happiness by a small amount.
You couldn’t pay me $100,000 to miss a play date with my granddaughters.
And that’s not because I’m rich. That’s because I know that a hundred grand won’t make me as happy as nurturing my relationship with my granddaughters will.
Q. SO YOU HOLD WITH THE NOTION THAT “MONEY CAN’T BUY YOU HAPPINESS”?
A. I wouldn’t say that. The data says that with the poor, a little money can buy a lot of happiness. If you’re rich, a lot of money can buy you a little more happiness. But in both cases, money does it.
Q. ARE YOU, DAN GILBERT, HAPPY?
A. I am. I think good things are happening to me and will continue. I am not optimistic about the rest of the species, but I’m so blessed, it’s almost scary. I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I have a wildly sunny disposition. I love to laugh. My book is full of jokes.
Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seniors World Chronicle adds:
Extract From
STUMBLING ON HAPPINESS
What would you do right now if you learned that you were going to die in ten minutes? Would you race upstairs and light that Marlboro you've been hiding in your sock drawer since the Ford administration? 
Daniel Gilbert
Photo © Marilynn Oliphant
Would you waltz into your boss's office and present him with a detailed description of his personal defects? Would you drive out to that steakhouse near the new mall and order a T-bone, medium rare, with an extra side of the really bad cholesterol?
Hard to say, of course, but of all the things you might do in your final ten minutes, it's a pretty safe bet that few of them are things you actually did today
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JAPAN: 24% suffer some form of mental ills
Large-scale national study highlights depression, alcohol addiction, anxiety disorders
By AKIRA OGAWA
Kyodo News
TOKYO (The Japan Times), April 22, 2008:
Twenty-four percent of Japanese have suffered mental illnesses such as depression, alcohol abuse or addiction, but only 30 percent of them consulted a doctor.
These alarming mental health statistics were revealed in a recent large-scale nationwide investigation that a Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry research team carried out, led by Norito Kawakami, a University of Tokyo professor.
As part of an international research project initiated by the World Health Organization, the team conducted a survey and received responses from about 4,100 people aged 20 and older in 11 cities and towns in six prefectures from 2002 to 2006. In all, about 85,000 people in 17 countries were surveyed in the WHO project.
The municipalities involved were Tendo and Kaminoyama, Yamagata Prefecture; Sano, Tochigi Prefecture; Isogo Ward, Yokohama; Okayama and Tamano, Okayama Prefecture; Nagasaki; and Kushikino and the towns of Higashiichiki and Fukiage, Kagoshima Prefecture.
The percentage of Japanese mental illness patients was one-third that in the United States, half that in France and the Netherlands, and the same number as in Germany and France.
"The prevalent rate in Japan might have been lower because Japanese replied with reserve," Kawakami said.
"The social loss from mental illness is larger than from physical disorders," Kawakami said. "The problem is the lower consultation rate, and early checkups are encouraged."
There have been few full-scale investigations into mental illness in Japan so far. This latest investigation was conducted with specially trained investigators interviewing people.
Except for schizophrenia and developmental disorders that can only be diagnosed by medical specialists, the investigators checked patients for depression and other mood disorders, morbid fear and other anxiety disorders, and alcohol abuse and other addictions.
Of those investigated, 24 percent were found to have suffered from psychological disorders sometime in their lives. Those suffering from alcohol abuse and addiction accounted for 10 percent of the total, the highest, followed by those suffering from depression, at 6 percent, and anxiety disorders, at 3 percent.
Only 30 percent of those surveyed had consulted doctors, and less than 30 percent of those suffering from depression had checkups — conspicuously low rates among advanced countries with a high average income.
Checkups are liable to be delayed because, one person said, "I can take care of myself."
A second answered, "I don't know where to go." A third replied, "I don't want other people to know about my illness," and a fourth said, "I didn't think there is an effect."
The investigators said the problem is a lack of knowledge and information about mental health, and general prejudice about the issue.
It was also found that many people surveyed consulted with general practitioners. The investigation team is calling for tieups between general practitioners and psychiatrists in providing medical care to mentally ill patients.
More than 30,000 Japanese have committed suicide each year since 1998, and the investigation found that 10 percent of those surveyed had seriously considered suicide.
In the survey, people with depression and other mood disorders were found mostly among those aged 34 or younger.
The trend of sharp increases in depression among young people is conspicuous in Japan and China.
"This may be because of inept human relations with weakening social links and the progression of a lower birthrate," Kawakami said.
The risk factors for depression are domestic violence in childhood, fear of social interaction, minor mental disorders and physical diseases.
"Required for mental health are a wide variety of lifelong measures in regional communities and workplaces," a team investigator said.
(C) The Japan Times Ltd.
By AKIRA OGAWA
Kyodo News
TOKYO (The Japan Times), April 22, 2008:
Twenty-four percent of Japanese have suffered mental illnesses such as depression, alcohol abuse or addiction, but only 30 percent of them consulted a doctor.
These alarming mental health statistics were revealed in a recent large-scale nationwide investigation that a Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry research team carried out, led by Norito Kawakami, a University of Tokyo professor.
As part of an international research project initiated by the World Health Organization, the team conducted a survey and received responses from about 4,100 people aged 20 and older in 11 cities and towns in six prefectures from 2002 to 2006. In all, about 85,000 people in 17 countries were surveyed in the WHO project.
The municipalities involved were Tendo and Kaminoyama, Yamagata Prefecture; Sano, Tochigi Prefecture; Isogo Ward, Yokohama; Okayama and Tamano, Okayama Prefecture; Nagasaki; and Kushikino and the towns of Higashiichiki and Fukiage, Kagoshima Prefecture.
The percentage of Japanese mental illness patients was one-third that in the United States, half that in France and the Netherlands, and the same number as in Germany and France.
"The prevalent rate in Japan might have been lower because Japanese replied with reserve," Kawakami said.
"The social loss from mental illness is larger than from physical disorders," Kawakami said. "The problem is the lower consultation rate, and early checkups are encouraged."
There have been few full-scale investigations into mental illness in Japan so far. This latest investigation was conducted with specially trained investigators interviewing people.
Except for schizophrenia and developmental disorders that can only be diagnosed by medical specialists, the investigators checked patients for depression and other mood disorders, morbid fear and other anxiety disorders, and alcohol abuse and other addictions.
Of those investigated, 24 percent were found to have suffered from psychological disorders sometime in their lives. Those suffering from alcohol abuse and addiction accounted for 10 percent of the total, the highest, followed by those suffering from depression, at 6 percent, and anxiety disorders, at 3 percent.
Only 30 percent of those surveyed had consulted doctors, and less than 30 percent of those suffering from depression had checkups — conspicuously low rates among advanced countries with a high average income.
Checkups are liable to be delayed because, one person said, "I can take care of myself."
A second answered, "I don't know where to go." A third replied, "I don't want other people to know about my illness," and a fourth said, "I didn't think there is an effect."
The investigators said the problem is a lack of knowledge and information about mental health, and general prejudice about the issue.
It was also found that many people surveyed consulted with general practitioners. The investigation team is calling for tieups between general practitioners and psychiatrists in providing medical care to mentally ill patients.
More than 30,000 Japanese have committed suicide each year since 1998, and the investigation found that 10 percent of those surveyed had seriously considered suicide.
In the survey, people with depression and other mood disorders were found mostly among those aged 34 or younger.
The trend of sharp increases in depression among young people is conspicuous in Japan and China.
"This may be because of inept human relations with weakening social links and the progression of a lower birthrate," Kawakami said.
The risk factors for depression are domestic violence in childhood, fear of social interaction, minor mental disorders and physical diseases.
"Required for mental health are a wide variety of lifelong measures in regional communities and workplaces," a team investigator said.
(C) The Japan Times Ltd.
INDIA: This bank offers a ' handholding' reverse mortgage
BANGALORE (Mangalorean.com), April 22, 2008:
Vijaya Bank, the Bangalore-based public sector Bank, today launched its Reverse Mortgage Loan scheme for citizens aged over 60 years owning a self-acquired and self-occupied residence. The loan is also available to married couple jointly, subject to one of the spouses being above 60 years of age.
The scheme is a handholding facility, which seeks to help the senior citizens to derive a regular stream of cash flow to support themselves in their old age. It is suited to meet the cash requirements of the senior citizens for variety of purposes and provides regular monthly cash flow support towards supplementing their other income or to meet their regular expenses on livelihood.
The borrower also has the option of availing a part of the loan as lumpsum component. However the same is capped at 30% of the discounted value of the loan amount, towards meeting medical expenses or expenses on other emergencies, or for renovation and improvement of the property or even for take over of the subsisting liability against the property.
The minimum amount of loan under the scheme is Rs.2 lakh whereas the maximum amount is pegged at Rs.100 lakh. The bank has priced the scheme at a highly competitive fixed interest rate of 10.5% which shall be reset once every 5 years. The loan will be available for a minimum tenure of 7 years with a maximum tenure of 15 years. The scheme provides for further extension of the period at the end of the original tenure subject to the then prevailing value of the property and the needs of the surviving borrower. The borrower can foreclose the liability at any time during the tenure of the loan without any charges. On death of the borrowers during the currency of the loan, the legal heirs of the borrower have the option to pay the loan amount and take possession of the property.
Vijaya Bank, the Bangalore-based public sector Bank, today launched its Reverse Mortgage Loan scheme for citizens aged over 60 years owning a self-acquired and self-occupied residence. The loan is also available to married couple jointly, subject to one of the spouses being above 60 years of age.
The scheme is a handholding facility, which seeks to help the senior citizens to derive a regular stream of cash flow to support themselves in their old age. It is suited to meet the cash requirements of the senior citizens for variety of purposes and provides regular monthly cash flow support towards supplementing their other income or to meet their regular expenses on livelihood.
The borrower also has the option of availing a part of the loan as lumpsum component. However the same is capped at 30% of the discounted value of the loan amount, towards meeting medical expenses or expenses on other emergencies, or for renovation and improvement of the property or even for take over of the subsisting liability against the property.
The minimum amount of loan under the scheme is Rs.2 lakh whereas the maximum amount is pegged at Rs.100 lakh. The bank has priced the scheme at a highly competitive fixed interest rate of 10.5% which shall be reset once every 5 years. The loan will be available for a minimum tenure of 7 years with a maximum tenure of 15 years. The scheme provides for further extension of the period at the end of the original tenure subject to the then prevailing value of the property and the needs of the surviving borrower. The borrower can foreclose the liability at any time during the tenure of the loan without any charges. On death of the borrowers during the currency of the loan, the legal heirs of the borrower have the option to pay the loan amount and take possession of the property.
INDIA: Gujarat industrialists to build five-star old-age home
Zydus, Adani and Torrent donate for project on outskirts of Ahmedabad
NEW DELHI (Business Standard), April 22, 2008:
Ila Parikh / New Delhi
Leading industrialists of Gujarat have joined hands to construct a state-of-the-art old-age home near Ahmedabad. Pankaj Patel, chairman, Zydus Healthcare, Sudhir Mehta of the Torrent group and Gautam Adani, chairman, Adani group, among others, have got together for the project, which will come up on the outskirts of the city.
Patel has already donated 38,000 square yards of land near Sanskardham in Ghuma, about two kilometers from Ahmedabad. “It will be a world-class project,” said Girish Dani, a Ficci member, who is closely involved with the venture.
“The 200-room old-age home will have four-bed as well as two-bed rooms. It will have all the facilities including a medical centre, a multi-functional hall, activity room and a temple,” said Apurva Amin, the architect designing the project.
According to Dani, there’s an urgent requirement for such a project in Gujarat since more and more people are emigrating leaving the older members of the family back home. “Often, the older generation finds it difficult to adjust to the lifestyle in a foreign country,” he said, adding that at other times, visas and relevant permissions are hard to come by.
The affluent Non Resident Indians (NRIs) who have left their parents back home will be the target customers for the old-age home. The rich NRIs can afford the five-star luxuries for their parents who are happy to live in India but could do with better infrastructure, said Dani.
The old-age home venture is yet to be named though spiritual leader Moraribapu, who’s discourses attract no less than 500,000-700,000 people at a time, will lay the foundation stone of the project within two weeks. While Dani did not divulge the exact project cost, he said a large number of donors have approached them for donations.
Business Standard Ltd. Copyright
NEW DELHI (Business Standard), April 22, 2008:
Ila Parikh / New Delhi
Leading industrialists of Gujarat have joined hands to construct a state-of-the-art old-age home near Ahmedabad. Pankaj Patel, chairman, Zydus Healthcare, Sudhir Mehta of the Torrent group and Gautam Adani, chairman, Adani group, among others, have got together for the project, which will come up on the outskirts of the city.
Patel has already donated 38,000 square yards of land near Sanskardham in Ghuma, about two kilometers from Ahmedabad. “It will be a world-class project,” said Girish Dani, a Ficci member, who is closely involved with the venture.
“The 200-room old-age home will have four-bed as well as two-bed rooms. It will have all the facilities including a medical centre, a multi-functional hall, activity room and a temple,” said Apurva Amin, the architect designing the project.
According to Dani, there’s an urgent requirement for such a project in Gujarat since more and more people are emigrating leaving the older members of the family back home. “Often, the older generation finds it difficult to adjust to the lifestyle in a foreign country,” he said, adding that at other times, visas and relevant permissions are hard to come by.
The affluent Non Resident Indians (NRIs) who have left their parents back home will be the target customers for the old-age home. The rich NRIs can afford the five-star luxuries for their parents who are happy to live in India but could do with better infrastructure, said Dani.
The old-age home venture is yet to be named though spiritual leader Moraribapu, who’s discourses attract no less than 500,000-700,000 people at a time, will lay the foundation stone of the project within two weeks. While Dani did not divulge the exact project cost, he said a large number of donors have approached them for donations.
Business Standard Ltd. Copyright
EUROPE: Rural Europe Left Behind on the Net
The EC says while many now have access to the Internet, 40% of Europeans do not use it at all, with urban residents more fully connected
By Leigh Phillips
BRUSSELS (Business Week), April 22, 2008:
Out of the half a billion EU citizens, more than 250 million regularly use the internet, according to newly released figures.
A European Commission report on the results so far for i2010, the EU's digital-led strategy for growth and jobs, further showed that of this number, 80 percent have access to some form of broadband connection.
Additionally, says the report—released on Friday (18 April) some 60 percent of public services in the EU are fully available online, with two thirds of schools and half of doctors making use of high-speed internet connections.
"It is a welcome change of political direction that today, information and communications technologies, the main driver of European growth, are being promoted by all 27 EU member states in their national policies," said Viviane Reding, EU information society commissioner.
"However, some parts of the EU are still lagging behind and are not fully connected," she warned.
The report notes that nearly 40 percent of Europeans do not use the internet at all. While in Denmark only 13 percent of the population do not use the internet, Romania is at the other end of the scale with 69 percent of its population offline.
The report notes that the EU-wide average for DSL broadband penetration is nearly 90 percent (DSL networks are used by 80 percent of EU broadband subscribers, and so are used as a proxy by the report's analysts for broadband more generally, although cable and wireless broadband services do also exist).
However, the report also says that figures for national broadband coverage also "hide a gap between rural and urban areas in several countries," noting that full coverage remains a challenge in a number of countries.
Greece, Slovakia, Latvia, Italy, Poland, Lithuania and Germany show "a large gap", between coverage in urban and rural areas.
Germany has a broadband coverage rate of 94 percent overall, but only 58 percent of rural areas have access to high-speed internet.
Greece, with its island geography comes in last on both scores, with under 20 percent of the country being serviced with broadband, and only ten percent having access in rural areas.
Wherever this rural-urban split happens, it is due to difficulties and increased costs involved with the provision of new technologies to areas with challenging topographies and population densities that make offering these services unattractive to companies that sell internet access.
UNI Telecom, the international union federation representing telecoms workers, argues that this is where the market liberalisation in the telecommunications sector is shown to fail, as private firms cherry-pick urban, population-dense and wealthy areas to build service infrastructure.
In the past, they argue, public service provision would have used the 'postage stamp' model where profitable urban areas subsidise the more expensive provision of service to rural areas.
The current situation however leaves rural, remote and poor areas with substandard service or even none at all, says the union. Urban zones with high concentrations of elderly citizens, who can have less of an interest in the internet, are also sometimes underserved.
A commission spokesperson conceded that this is the case, but countered that this is why EU rules on state aid permit public financing or partnerships to deliver broadband or other new technologies to such areas, ensuring universal service provision.
Provided by EUobserver
Copyright 2000-2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc
By Leigh Phillips
BRUSSELS (Business Week), April 22, 2008:Out of the half a billion EU citizens, more than 250 million regularly use the internet, according to newly released figures.
A European Commission report on the results so far for i2010, the EU's digital-led strategy for growth and jobs, further showed that of this number, 80 percent have access to some form of broadband connection.
Additionally, says the report—released on Friday (18 April) some 60 percent of public services in the EU are fully available online, with two thirds of schools and half of doctors making use of high-speed internet connections.
"It is a welcome change of political direction that today, information and communications technologies, the main driver of European growth, are being promoted by all 27 EU member states in their national policies," said Viviane Reding, EU information society commissioner.
"However, some parts of the EU are still lagging behind and are not fully connected," she warned.
The report notes that nearly 40 percent of Europeans do not use the internet at all. While in Denmark only 13 percent of the population do not use the internet, Romania is at the other end of the scale with 69 percent of its population offline.
The report notes that the EU-wide average for DSL broadband penetration is nearly 90 percent (DSL networks are used by 80 percent of EU broadband subscribers, and so are used as a proxy by the report's analysts for broadband more generally, although cable and wireless broadband services do also exist).
However, the report also says that figures for national broadband coverage also "hide a gap between rural and urban areas in several countries," noting that full coverage remains a challenge in a number of countries.
Greece, Slovakia, Latvia, Italy, Poland, Lithuania and Germany show "a large gap", between coverage in urban and rural areas.
Germany has a broadband coverage rate of 94 percent overall, but only 58 percent of rural areas have access to high-speed internet.
Greece, with its island geography comes in last on both scores, with under 20 percent of the country being serviced with broadband, and only ten percent having access in rural areas.
Wherever this rural-urban split happens, it is due to difficulties and increased costs involved with the provision of new technologies to areas with challenging topographies and population densities that make offering these services unattractive to companies that sell internet access.
UNI Telecom, the international union federation representing telecoms workers, argues that this is where the market liberalisation in the telecommunications sector is shown to fail, as private firms cherry-pick urban, population-dense and wealthy areas to build service infrastructure.
In the past, they argue, public service provision would have used the 'postage stamp' model where profitable urban areas subsidise the more expensive provision of service to rural areas.
The current situation however leaves rural, remote and poor areas with substandard service or even none at all, says the union. Urban zones with high concentrations of elderly citizens, who can have less of an interest in the internet, are also sometimes underserved.
A commission spokesperson conceded that this is the case, but countered that this is why EU rules on state aid permit public financing or partnerships to deliver broadband or other new technologies to such areas, ensuring universal service provision.
Provided by EUobserver
Copyright 2000-2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc
USA: Mammography May Be Beneficial To All Women, Regardless Of Age
CHEVY CHASE, MD (ScienceDaily), April 21, 2008:
According to researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, mammography, the gold-standard for breast cancer screening and early detection, has shown to significantly reduce the risk of being diagnosed with advanced stage breast cancer in women over the age of 80, an age group currently without clear guidelines recommending regular screenings.
The study, published online today (April 21) in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO), is the first to specifically assess the screening modality in women older than 80. It's estimated that approximately 17 percent of breast cancers are diagnosed in women older than 80, and only about one-fifth of women in this age group have routine mammograms.
According to the study's senior author, Gildy Babiera, M.D., the need for this study evolved as she began to notice a growing number of women who were 80-years-old and older in her clinic.
"With an increasing number of people living longer, there's a real dilemma regarding how best to manage the care of breast cancer patients 80 years of age and older, taking into account both their comorbidities and their account their quality of life," said Babiera, associate professor in the Department of Surgical Oncology.
This research follows other M. D. Anderson studies looking at complications associated with surgery and treatment tolerability in elderly patients.
The American Cancer Society recommends annual mammography screening for women starting at age 40 with no age limit for women in good health. Other organizations that recommend screening guidelines differ both in age ceilings as well as how often mammograms should be conducted in older women.
Babiera, Brian Badgwell, M.D., a fellow in M. D. Anderson's Department of Surgical Oncology, and their colleagues used information from the National Cancer Institute SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results) database, the authoritative source of information on cancer incidence and survival in the United States. The researchers analyzed SEER data for the years 1996-2002, and looked at mammography rates in the five years prior to diagnosis.
In total, 12,358 women over age 80 were analyzed. Patients were stratified into nonusers (women who did not have mammograms), 49 percent; irregular users (women who had one or two mammograms), 29 percent; and regular users (women who had three or more mammograms.), 22 percent.
Sixty-eight percent of regular users were more likely to be diagnosed with early disease, stage I while nonusers and irregular users more often were diagnosed with stages II, III or IV, 56 percent and 33 percent respectively.
Five-year survival rate was 94 percent in regular users, compared to 88 percent in irregular users and 82 percent in nonusers. Despite these rates, the researchers were not able to find an increase in overall survival because those getting mammograms were healthier and, therefore, more likely to live longer, said Badgwell, the study's first author.
"For example, in our study, we showed a 12 percent decrease in the risk of breast cancer death for each mammogram. However, in the women who received mammograms, we also showed a 12 percent decrease in non-breast cancer death, thereby showing the bias for women who were healthy and receiving mammograms," said Badgwell.
Babiera and Badgwell acknowledge their studies limitations but feel this type of retrospective data may be the best that can be obtained because it's unlikely a randomized control trial could ever be conducted.
"Now that we have this data and we know that mammography improves survival in the younger population, it would be difficult to conduct a randomized trial and stratify women of any age to a control group to not receive mammography," said Badgwell.
Instead, the researchers stress that physicians should review each woman's situation personally to determine if a mammogram is in her best interest, and if she is found to have breast cancer, could her quality of life be managed appropriately.
"Finding breast cancer early in this age group may not result in survival benefit and it may even increase unnecessary angst in elderly women with other ailments. On the other hand, if the woman is otherwise healthy and could be a surgical candidate, should breast cancer be found by a routine mammogram, perhaps she could be offered less invasive treatment and spared from toxic therapies given to women diagnosed with advanced breast cancer," said Babiera.
In addition to Badgwell and Babiera, other authors on the all-M. D. Anderson study include: Gabriel Hortobagyi, M.D., Sharon Giordano, M.D., Shenying Fang and Zhigang Z. Duan all in the Department of Breast Medical Oncology; Isabelle Bedrosian, M.D., Henry Kuerer, M.D., Ph.D., and Kelly Hunt, M.D., all in the Department of Surgical Oncology.
Adapted from materials provided by University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Copyright © 1995-2008 ScienceDaily LLC
According to researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, mammography, the gold-standard for breast cancer screening and early detection, has shown to significantly reduce the risk of being diagnosed with advanced stage breast cancer in women over the age of 80, an age group currently without clear guidelines recommending regular screenings.
The study, published online today (April 21) in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO), is the first to specifically assess the screening modality in women older than 80. It's estimated that approximately 17 percent of breast cancers are diagnosed in women older than 80, and only about one-fifth of women in this age group have routine mammograms.
According to the study's senior author, Gildy Babiera, M.D., the need for this study evolved as she began to notice a growing number of women who were 80-years-old and older in her clinic.
"With an increasing number of people living longer, there's a real dilemma regarding how best to manage the care of breast cancer patients 80 years of age and older, taking into account both their comorbidities and their account their quality of life," said Babiera, associate professor in the Department of Surgical Oncology.
This research follows other M. D. Anderson studies looking at complications associated with surgery and treatment tolerability in elderly patients.
The American Cancer Society recommends annual mammography screening for women starting at age 40 with no age limit for women in good health. Other organizations that recommend screening guidelines differ both in age ceilings as well as how often mammograms should be conducted in older women.
Babiera, Brian Badgwell, M.D., a fellow in M. D. Anderson's Department of Surgical Oncology, and their colleagues used information from the National Cancer Institute SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results) database, the authoritative source of information on cancer incidence and survival in the United States. The researchers analyzed SEER data for the years 1996-2002, and looked at mammography rates in the five years prior to diagnosis.
In total, 12,358 women over age 80 were analyzed. Patients were stratified into nonusers (women who did not have mammograms), 49 percent; irregular users (women who had one or two mammograms), 29 percent; and regular users (women who had three or more mammograms.), 22 percent.
Sixty-eight percent of regular users were more likely to be diagnosed with early disease, stage I while nonusers and irregular users more often were diagnosed with stages II, III or IV, 56 percent and 33 percent respectively.
Five-year survival rate was 94 percent in regular users, compared to 88 percent in irregular users and 82 percent in nonusers. Despite these rates, the researchers were not able to find an increase in overall survival because those getting mammograms were healthier and, therefore, more likely to live longer, said Badgwell, the study's first author.
"For example, in our study, we showed a 12 percent decrease in the risk of breast cancer death for each mammogram. However, in the women who received mammograms, we also showed a 12 percent decrease in non-breast cancer death, thereby showing the bias for women who were healthy and receiving mammograms," said Badgwell.
Babiera and Badgwell acknowledge their studies limitations but feel this type of retrospective data may be the best that can be obtained because it's unlikely a randomized control trial could ever be conducted.
"Now that we have this data and we know that mammography improves survival in the younger population, it would be difficult to conduct a randomized trial and stratify women of any age to a control group to not receive mammography," said Badgwell.
Instead, the researchers stress that physicians should review each woman's situation personally to determine if a mammogram is in her best interest, and if she is found to have breast cancer, could her quality of life be managed appropriately.
"Finding breast cancer early in this age group may not result in survival benefit and it may even increase unnecessary angst in elderly women with other ailments. On the other hand, if the woman is otherwise healthy and could be a surgical candidate, should breast cancer be found by a routine mammogram, perhaps she could be offered less invasive treatment and spared from toxic therapies given to women diagnosed with advanced breast cancer," said Babiera.
In addition to Badgwell and Babiera, other authors on the all-M. D. Anderson study include: Gabriel Hortobagyi, M.D., Sharon Giordano, M.D., Shenying Fang and Zhigang Z. Duan all in the Department of Breast Medical Oncology; Isabelle Bedrosian, M.D., Henry Kuerer, M.D., Ph.D., and Kelly Hunt, M.D., all in the Department of Surgical Oncology.
Adapted from materials provided by University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Copyright © 1995-2008 ScienceDaily LLC
CUBA: Specialised Medical Services for Elderly People
HABANA, Cuba (Cuba Headlines), April 21, 2008:
Specialized medical services for Cuban elderly people are part of a nationwide strategy aimed at improving their quality of life. That policy benefits 231 centenarians who live in the eastern province of Santiago de Cuba, it is reported today.
Local authorities noted that 44 geriatric teams treat those people at more than 1,300 elderly clubs, where senior citizens do physical exercises.
They also benefit from 21 homes, where senior citizens who have no family can stay temporarily or permanently.
In addition, that group of the Cuban population also benefits from 38 physical rehabilitation wards built in the province over the past four years.
Doctors are promoting preventive campaigns against high blood pressure and unhealthy habits that increase the incidence of diseases as people get older.
By Nesy
(PL)
Copyright 2006-2007 CUBA HEADLINES DIGITAL EDITION.
Specialized medical services for Cuban elderly people are part of a nationwide strategy aimed at improving their quality of life. That policy benefits 231 centenarians who live in the eastern province of Santiago de Cuba, it is reported today.
Local authorities noted that 44 geriatric teams treat those people at more than 1,300 elderly clubs, where senior citizens do physical exercises.They also benefit from 21 homes, where senior citizens who have no family can stay temporarily or permanently.
In addition, that group of the Cuban population also benefits from 38 physical rehabilitation wards built in the province over the past four years.
Doctors are promoting preventive campaigns against high blood pressure and unhealthy habits that increase the incidence of diseases as people get older.
By Nesy
(PL)
Copyright 2006-2007 CUBA HEADLINES DIGITAL EDITION.
NETHERLANDS: Exercise helps boost brainpower in elderly
UTRECHT, Netherlands (UPI), April 21, 2008:
A Dutch review of studies indicates aerobic exercise may give older adults a boost in brainpower.
The review, published in The Cochrane Library, evaluated 11 randomized controlled trials in the United States, France and Sweden, involving 670 adults age 55 and over.
The researchers at the University of Applied Sciences, in Utrecht, the Netherlands, found eight of the studies found participation in aerobic exercise programs increased participants' VO2 max -- an indicator of respiratory endurance -- by 14 percent and improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness coincided with improvements in cognitive function.
"Improvements in cognition as a result of improvements in cardiovascular fitness are being explained by improvements in cerebral blood flow, leading to increased brain metabolism which, in turn, stimulates the production of neurotransmitters and formation of new synapses," review leader Maaike Angevaren said in a statement.
"At the same time, improved cardiovascular fitness could lead to a decline in cardiovascular disease" she said, which is" proven to negatively affect cognition."
© 2008 United Press International.
A Dutch review of studies indicates aerobic exercise may give older adults a boost in brainpower.
The review, published in The Cochrane Library, evaluated 11 randomized controlled trials in the United States, France and Sweden, involving 670 adults age 55 and over.
The researchers at the University of Applied Sciences, in Utrecht, the Netherlands, found eight of the studies found participation in aerobic exercise programs increased participants' VO2 max -- an indicator of respiratory endurance -- by 14 percent and improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness coincided with improvements in cognitive function.
"Improvements in cognition as a result of improvements in cardiovascular fitness are being explained by improvements in cerebral blood flow, leading to increased brain metabolism which, in turn, stimulates the production of neurotransmitters and formation of new synapses," review leader Maaike Angevaren said in a statement.
"At the same time, improved cardiovascular fitness could lead to a decline in cardiovascular disease" she said, which is" proven to negatively affect cognition."
© 2008 United Press International.
AUSTRALIA: New Police Unit Will Handle Family Violence
SUNBURY, Victoria, Australia (Sunbury Leader), April 21, 2008:
By Simon Craig
CARERS who abuse the elderly will be targeted by a proposed new police unit being set up to tackle family violence.
Hume police are planning to establish a taskforce to confront the city's chronic family violence problem.
Family violence figures in Hume are expected to reach new highs this year, driven in part by a greater willingness to report the problem.
Hume Insp Eoghan McDonald said the four to six-officer unit would confront family violence in all its forms.
Insp McDonald said research revealed violence against older people in Australia, either by their children or a paid career, was a growing issue. But the extent of the problem was difficult to gauge.
While health and social workers are obliged to report suspected child abuse, there is no such requirement for suspected attacks on the elderly.
"Abuse of the elderly is well recognised among the health services," Insp McDonald said. "We have to be far more analytical in our responses to these problems."
Dianella Community Health family services director Suzy Pinchen welcomed any action to confront family violence.
"There's an issue of elderly abuse but most of what we hear is anecdotal," she said.
"We also hear about violence between siblings, and of teenagers abusing their parents, particularly their mothers.
"We are not just talking about physical abuse, there's financial and emotional abuse. Women and children are being deprived of income and access to food."
Ms Pinchen said she believed social isolation was the "critical" trigger for family violence.
Copyright 2006 Leader Community Newspapers
By Simon Craig
CARERS who abuse the elderly will be targeted by a proposed new police unit being set up to tackle family violence.
Hume police are planning to establish a taskforce to confront the city's chronic family violence problem.
Family violence figures in Hume are expected to reach new highs this year, driven in part by a greater willingness to report the problem.
Hume Insp Eoghan McDonald said the four to six-officer unit would confront family violence in all its forms.
Insp McDonald said research revealed violence against older people in Australia, either by their children or a paid career, was a growing issue. But the extent of the problem was difficult to gauge.
While health and social workers are obliged to report suspected child abuse, there is no such requirement for suspected attacks on the elderly.
"Abuse of the elderly is well recognised among the health services," Insp McDonald said. "We have to be far more analytical in our responses to these problems."
Dianella Community Health family services director Suzy Pinchen welcomed any action to confront family violence.
"There's an issue of elderly abuse but most of what we hear is anecdotal," she said.
"We also hear about violence between siblings, and of teenagers abusing their parents, particularly their mothers.
"We are not just talking about physical abuse, there's financial and emotional abuse. Women and children are being deprived of income and access to food."
Ms Pinchen said she believed social isolation was the "critical" trigger for family violence.
Copyright 2006 Leader Community Newspapers
MALAYSIA: For educationist Sim Mow Yu, old is gold
Nonagenarian Datuk Sim Mow Yu lives out that adage
MALACCA (The Star), April 21, 2008:
By MAJORIE CHIEW
maj@thestar.com.my
TREASURE of the community. Those words, beautifully written in Chinese calligraphy, adorn a plaque strategically placed above the family altar in the humble abode of Chinese educationist Datuk Sim Mow Yu in Malacca.
The calligraphy, etched in gold on a black plaque, was a gift to Sim on his 95th Chinese birthday last year. It was the highest tribute to a nonagenarian who has fought for the rights of Chinese education.
The plaque takes its place of pride for all to see. There are many other calligraphy plaques given to Sim, an accomplished calligrapher.
Wall of fame: Datuk Sim Mow Yu in the living room of his home in Malacca, where plaques and photos adorn the walls. – Pictures by UU BAN / The Star
Sim was born in Malacca on July 20, 1913. His father and grandmother came from Fukien, China. His name Mow Yu means “honouring Guan Yu” (a Chinese deity). His grandfather was a scholar in the Qing Dynasty and his father, Sim Hong Paik, one of Sun Yat-sen’s followers.
Sim made many sacrifices for Chinese education when he was head of Jiao Zong (the United Chinese Teachers Association) for over 28 years.
In 1933, he became a teacher after founding the Seng Cheong Night School in Malacca, the country’s longest-standing private Chinese school. He was headmaster of the night school from 1945 until his retirement in 2002. He was also headmaster of SRJK (C) Ping Ming in Malacca, for 27 years.
Tribute: These characters mean ‘Treasure of the community’, referring to Sim Mow Yu.
In 2003, Sim won a place in the Malaysia Book of Records for being the longest-serving school principal for 57 years; 20,000 pupils received their education under his tutelage. In his hometown, Sim is more than a household name; he is a familiar face. He is well-respected and people from every nook and corner know him.
“Everybody knows me,” says Sim, who was happy to meet us when Star Two visited him for an interview. Sim’s movements were slow; because of his weak legs, he uses a walking stick.
“Even though he is not a politician, many people know him for his role and influence in Chinese education,” says Kay Keok, 60, his second daughter and sixth child among nine siblings.
Of her father’s achievements, the retired bank officer says: “He strives to save the Chinese culture and language in the country so that their importance is not diminished.
Today, the Chinese language has become a common medium of communication. He has done a lot for Chinese education in the country.”
Filial piety: ‘Confucius taught (people) to be cautious and care for the elderly until they are old or gone. Even after their demise, they must remember them.’
In 1966, Sim, who was then deputy chief of MCA Youth Wing, was expelled from the party “for fighting for Chinese language to be one of the official languages of Malaya,” says Kay Keok, who acted as interpreter for her father who felt more at ease conversing in Mandarin.
”He was arrested under the Sedition Act in the 1970s over the issue of Chinese education. In 1987, he objected to the Education Ministry’s decision (Anwar Ibrahim was then Education Minister) for appointing (some 100 senior assistants and principals) who were non-Chinese educated to hold administrative posts in vernacular Chinese schools.”
Sim was among over 100 promoters of Chinese education, who were arrested that year under the Internal Security Act in Operasi Lallang. He was detained for two years.
“Last August, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim came with Tian Chua (a Malaccan) to visit me,” interjects Sim. Apparently, Tian Chua came with his father to approach Sim to write the Chinese characters for PKR (which is Kung Chen Tang in Mandarin). Tian Chua’s father, a rice dealer in Malacca, knows Sim very well. Kay Keok explains that Anwar “had come to pay respects” to her father who is revered by the Chinese community.
Sim’s four-room house in Jalan Bandar Hilir, Malacca, is a hive of activity. “Every day, I get lots of visitors (including his children and their families, friends and well-wishers),” says Sim.
The nonagenarian has six sons and three daughters. Five of his children live in Malacca, while the others are in Johor, Kuala Lumpur and Palembang in Indonesia. Sim lost his third child, a daughter, due to illness in 1998. His wife passed away in 2004.
Sim’s extended family numbers 700 and is now in its fifth generation. He has 24 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren.
Some 300 families came together to celebrate his 95th Chinese birthday last year.
Sim’s children in Malacca take turns to stay with him on a weekly basis. Treasured photographs add colour to various sections of the house. There were a couple of family photographs, a photo of Sim as a young man, a photo of Sun Yat-sen and one which he took with Ma Ying-jeou (now Taiwan’s president-elect) 14 years ago.
“Every month, there is a family dinner a la potluck style in this house. After the meal, we sing together,” Sim says.
He is not fussy about food; he eats whatever is put on the table, says Kay Keok.
A simple man, he used to ride his trusty old bicycle all over Malacca. The bicycle has been his main mode of transport for as long as he can remember. It is still parked in the compound.
Artist Yang Liew Nan from Klang vividly captured Sim’s trademark style of going about town in his bicycle in a painting which he presented to Sim on his 90th birthday.
Asked about his secrets to long life, Sim says: “I have no longevity secrets. My mother was a strong woman who lived to a ripe old age of 101. She gave me good genes. My father passed away at 77; at that time, he was considered to have lived to a good, old age.”
Despite his age, Sim still practises calligraphy whenever he feels like it. He says it helps to bring out his inner qi (life force). Sim, who has three calligraphy books, likens calligraphy to “taking health supplements”.
He still keeps a diary, something he has been doing for the past 40 years.
These days, when he is in the mood, Sim plays the organ. “It is a health-promoting exercise. Legs are paddling, fingers dance on the keyboard, eyes focus on the music notes, ears are attentive while I sing and play my organ,” says Sim.
“When I sing, qi comes out through my mouth.”
Honouring parents
OF THE 100 Chinese values, filial piety is the one of the most significant in Chinese culture, says Chinese educationist Datuk Sim Mow Yu, who is a Buddhist and Confucianist.
In ancient times, Chinese emperors emphasised the importance of filial piety and even went down on their knees to pay respects to their departed elders.
“Confucius, the sage of China, wrote a book on filial piety. He had 3,000 students.
He taught everyone to practise filial piety,” he says. “Confucius taught them to be cautious and care for the elderly until they are old or gone. Even after their demise, they must remember them.
“In China, when Confucius passed away, his followers guarded his grave for three years to show their filial piety.”
The Chinese instil the importance of filial piety in their children from a very young age. That is why they are able to live together in harmony for generations.
In the old days, the Chinese would never allow their parents to be taken care of by others. There were no old folks’ homes too during that time. In Eastern culture, children and grandchildren are relied upon to fulfil their obligations of looking after the elderly.
Sim as a young man
Ask if the younger generation was deemed “sinful” for sending their elderly parents to old folks’ homes and nursing centres, Sim was non-judgmental. He tries to understand what it is like to be in their shoes.
“Some have no choice,” he says, resigned to the fact that some career-minded children have to work and are unable to care for their elderly parents.
Changing times have also affected the way elderly parents are being treated. ”With extended families, the grandchildren can spend time with their grandparents, and the family is more closely knit.
There is more warmth in such households,” says Sim.
He seems resigned to the fact that Western influence has also brought about a shift in cultural practice.
“If elderly parents are sent to old folks home, the children must visit them frequently and show them love. They should not just pack them off to such centres and forget about them.”
Copyright © 1995-2008 Star Publications (M) Bhd
MALACCA (The Star), April 21, 2008:
By MAJORIE CHIEW
maj@thestar.com.my
TREASURE of the community. Those words, beautifully written in Chinese calligraphy, adorn a plaque strategically placed above the family altar in the humble abode of Chinese educationist Datuk Sim Mow Yu in Malacca.
The calligraphy, etched in gold on a black plaque, was a gift to Sim on his 95th Chinese birthday last year. It was the highest tribute to a nonagenarian who has fought for the rights of Chinese education.
The plaque takes its place of pride for all to see. There are many other calligraphy plaques given to Sim, an accomplished calligrapher.
Wall of fame: Datuk Sim Mow Yu in the living room of his home in Malacca, where plaques and photos adorn the walls. – Pictures by UU BAN / The Star
Sim was born in Malacca on July 20, 1913. His father and grandmother came from Fukien, China. His name Mow Yu means “honouring Guan Yu” (a Chinese deity). His grandfather was a scholar in the Qing Dynasty and his father, Sim Hong Paik, one of Sun Yat-sen’s followers.
Sim made many sacrifices for Chinese education when he was head of Jiao Zong (the United Chinese Teachers Association) for over 28 years.
In 1933, he became a teacher after founding the Seng Cheong Night School in Malacca, the country’s longest-standing private Chinese school. He was headmaster of the night school from 1945 until his retirement in 2002. He was also headmaster of SRJK (C) Ping Ming in Malacca, for 27 years.
Tribute: These characters mean ‘Treasure of the community’, referring to Sim Mow Yu.In 2003, Sim won a place in the Malaysia Book of Records for being the longest-serving school principal for 57 years; 20,000 pupils received their education under his tutelage. In his hometown, Sim is more than a household name; he is a familiar face. He is well-respected and people from every nook and corner know him.
“Everybody knows me,” says Sim, who was happy to meet us when Star Two visited him for an interview. Sim’s movements were slow; because of his weak legs, he uses a walking stick.
“Even though he is not a politician, many people know him for his role and influence in Chinese education,” says Kay Keok, 60, his second daughter and sixth child among nine siblings.
Of her father’s achievements, the retired bank officer says: “He strives to save the Chinese culture and language in the country so that their importance is not diminished.
Today, the Chinese language has become a common medium of communication. He has done a lot for Chinese education in the country.”
Filial piety: ‘Confucius taught (people) to be cautious and care for the elderly until they are old or gone. Even after their demise, they must remember them.’In 1966, Sim, who was then deputy chief of MCA Youth Wing, was expelled from the party “for fighting for Chinese language to be one of the official languages of Malaya,” says Kay Keok, who acted as interpreter for her father who felt more at ease conversing in Mandarin.
”He was arrested under the Sedition Act in the 1970s over the issue of Chinese education. In 1987, he objected to the Education Ministry’s decision (Anwar Ibrahim was then Education Minister) for appointing (some 100 senior assistants and principals) who were non-Chinese educated to hold administrative posts in vernacular Chinese schools.”
Sim was among over 100 promoters of Chinese education, who were arrested that year under the Internal Security Act in Operasi Lallang. He was detained for two years.
“Last August, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim came with Tian Chua (a Malaccan) to visit me,” interjects Sim. Apparently, Tian Chua came with his father to approach Sim to write the Chinese characters for PKR (which is Kung Chen Tang in Mandarin). Tian Chua’s father, a rice dealer in Malacca, knows Sim very well. Kay Keok explains that Anwar “had come to pay respects” to her father who is revered by the Chinese community.
Sim’s four-room house in Jalan Bandar Hilir, Malacca, is a hive of activity. “Every day, I get lots of visitors (including his children and their families, friends and well-wishers),” says Sim.
The nonagenarian has six sons and three daughters. Five of his children live in Malacca, while the others are in Johor, Kuala Lumpur and Palembang in Indonesia. Sim lost his third child, a daughter, due to illness in 1998. His wife passed away in 2004.
Sim’s extended family numbers 700 and is now in its fifth generation. He has 24 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren.
Some 300 families came together to celebrate his 95th Chinese birthday last year.Sim’s children in Malacca take turns to stay with him on a weekly basis. Treasured photographs add colour to various sections of the house. There were a couple of family photographs, a photo of Sim as a young man, a photo of Sun Yat-sen and one which he took with Ma Ying-jeou (now Taiwan’s president-elect) 14 years ago.
“Every month, there is a family dinner a la potluck style in this house. After the meal, we sing together,” Sim says.
He is not fussy about food; he eats whatever is put on the table, says Kay Keok.
A simple man, he used to ride his trusty old bicycle all over Malacca. The bicycle has been his main mode of transport for as long as he can remember. It is still parked in the compound.
Artist Yang Liew Nan from Klang vividly captured Sim’s trademark style of going about town in his bicycle in a painting which he presented to Sim on his 90th birthday.
Asked about his secrets to long life, Sim says: “I have no longevity secrets. My mother was a strong woman who lived to a ripe old age of 101. She gave me good genes. My father passed away at 77; at that time, he was considered to have lived to a good, old age.”
Despite his age, Sim still practises calligraphy whenever he feels like it. He says it helps to bring out his inner qi (life force). Sim, who has three calligraphy books, likens calligraphy to “taking health supplements”.
He still keeps a diary, something he has been doing for the past 40 years.
These days, when he is in the mood, Sim plays the organ. “It is a health-promoting exercise. Legs are paddling, fingers dance on the keyboard, eyes focus on the music notes, ears are attentive while I sing and play my organ,” says Sim.
“When I sing, qi comes out through my mouth.”
Honouring parents
OF THE 100 Chinese values, filial piety is the one of the most significant in Chinese culture, says Chinese educationist Datuk Sim Mow Yu, who is a Buddhist and Confucianist.
In ancient times, Chinese emperors emphasised the importance of filial piety and even went down on their knees to pay respects to their departed elders.
“Confucius, the sage of China, wrote a book on filial piety. He had 3,000 students.
He taught everyone to practise filial piety,” he says. “Confucius taught them to be cautious and care for the elderly until they are old or gone. Even after their demise, they must remember them.
“In China, when Confucius passed away, his followers guarded his grave for three years to show their filial piety.”
The Chinese instil the importance of filial piety in their children from a very young age. That is why they are able to live together in harmony for generations.
In the old days, the Chinese would never allow their parents to be taken care of by others. There were no old folks’ homes too during that time. In Eastern culture, children and grandchildren are relied upon to fulfil their obligations of looking after the elderly.
Sim as a young manAsk if the younger generation was deemed “sinful” for sending their elderly parents to old folks’ homes and nursing centres, Sim was non-judgmental. He tries to understand what it is like to be in their shoes.
“Some have no choice,” he says, resigned to the fact that some career-minded children have to work and are unable to care for their elderly parents.
Changing times have also affected the way elderly parents are being treated. ”With extended families, the grandchildren can spend time with their grandparents, and the family is more closely knit.
There is more warmth in such households,” says Sim.
He seems resigned to the fact that Western influence has also brought about a shift in cultural practice.
“If elderly parents are sent to old folks home, the children must visit them frequently and show them love. They should not just pack them off to such centres and forget about them.”
Copyright © 1995-2008 Star Publications (M) Bhd
WORLD: Ottawa to host international meet on Elder Abuse
TORONTO, Canada (INPEA), April 21, 2008:
The International Network for Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA) and its partners invite you to join us June 16-17, 2008 in Ottawa, Canada for a two day conference focused on learning and understanding about elder abuse and the importance of the 1991 UN Principles for Older Persons.
The conference is the centrepiece of activities taking place around the globe to raise awareness of elder abuse. Other events include cultural, educational, art and social activities. All are designed to increase understanding that elder abuse is a social and human rights issue that can be prevented.
INPEA has designed a Resource Tool Kit to assist individuals and groups to participate in this global event. To access this Resource Tool Kit, go to: www.inpea.net
For more information on World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, please visit: www.inpea.net
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day Steering Committee Contacts:
Chair: Elizabeth Podnieks
Co–chairs: Gloria Gutman and Lynn McDonald
Secretary: Christen Erlingsson
E-mail: christen.erlingsson@hik.se
HUNGARY: Thousands join Critical Mass bicycle ride in Budapest
BUDAPEST, Hungary (NewsCuts.com), April 21, 2008:
Budapest hosted a wide range of environmental programmes to mark Earth Day this weekend, and 8,000 cyclists participated in a ride to promote safe cycling, organisers told MTI.
The event, dubbed Critical Mass, kicked off with participants lifting their bikes in the air at 1630 on Sunday, among them Dutch Ambassador to Hungary Ronald Alexander Mollinger, who accepted an invitation to officially start the ride.
The rally is organised bi-annually in Budapest since 2004, and each year has seen growth in the number of participants. With a record number of just under 50,000 people on wheels attending last year, organisers drove the message home to politicians about Budapest's need to freshen up its views about city transport.
This year's route started at Deak ter in central Budapest, cross Elizabeth bridge to the other side of the river, return via the Chain bridge and follow Andrassy Boulevard and finished in the City Park near Heroes' Square around 1800.
More than two dozen large cities in Hungary organised a Critical Mass ride of their own on Sunday.
Some of the 8,000 cyclists participating
in a Critical Mass Bicycle ride
in Budapest. Picture of the Day
from THE FIRST POST, London, England,
April 21, 2008. Photo: Bela Szandelsky.
© Copyright Dennis Publishing Limited
Budapest hosted a wide range of environmental programmes to mark Earth Day this weekend, and 8,000 cyclists participated in a ride to promote safe cycling, organisers told MTI.
The event, dubbed Critical Mass, kicked off with participants lifting their bikes in the air at 1630 on Sunday, among them Dutch Ambassador to Hungary Ronald Alexander Mollinger, who accepted an invitation to officially start the ride.
The rally is organised bi-annually in Budapest since 2004, and each year has seen growth in the number of participants. With a record number of just under 50,000 people on wheels attending last year, organisers drove the message home to politicians about Budapest's need to freshen up its views about city transport.
This year's route started at Deak ter in central Budapest, cross Elizabeth bridge to the other side of the river, return via the Chain bridge and follow Andrassy Boulevard and finished in the City Park near Heroes' Square around 1800.
More than two dozen large cities in Hungary organised a Critical Mass ride of their own on Sunday.
Some of the 8,000 cyclists participating
in a Critical Mass Bicycle ride
in Budapest. Picture of the Day
from THE FIRST POST, London, England,
April 21, 2008. Photo: Bela Szandelsky.
© Copyright Dennis Publishing Limited
U.K.: Prize Fighter Doris Lessing Is Still Raging
LONDON, England (Telegraph), April 21, 2008:
By Nigel Farndale
At 88, Doris Lessing is still raging - at communists, war, Mrs Thatcher, the 'bloody Swedes' who awarded her the Nobel Prize... but most of her venom is reserved for the subject of what she says will be her final book - her mother. She talks to Nigel Farndale. Portrait by Reme Campos
It takes Doris Lessing just four minutes to come out with something, if not actually controversial, then at least unexpected. It's about Hitler. She says she understands him. This from a former member of the Communist Party. (She left in 1956, the year of Khrushchev's speech to the 20th Congress, the one in which he denounced Stalin.) We are talking, I should explain, about Erich Maria Remarque, the author of All Quiet on the Western Front. She recently read another of his books, about three German soldiers who, like Hitler, return from the Great War to the economic chaos of the Weimar Republic. 'They see people carting millions of marks around in wheelbarrows and, being old comrades, they stand by each other. And as you read that you suddenly understand Hitler.'
Doris Lessing: 'I'll be pleased when I'm dead. That will let me off worrying about all these wars'.
She's not condoning Hitler, of course, merely explaining his early popularit y. I mention her comment to show her endearingly cavalier way with language. She doesn't care what people might think. She is past caring. And there is a greatness to this lack of care. How many 88-year-olds do you know who have become a worldwide phenomenon on YouTube, for example? She did, last year, when the press descended on the house in West Hampstead where she has lived for the past 30 years, the house in which we are sitting now. As she emerged from a black cab with her son, Peter, who, eccentrically, was wearing a boa of fresh onions around his neck, she was told she had just won the Nobel Prize for Literature and was asked for a comment. This was the first she had heard of it, yet she was heroically unimpressed. 'Oh Christ,' she said, waving the question away. 'I couldn't care less...I've won all the prizes in Europe, every bloody one.'
She was more gracious later, saying all the right things, but now when I ask about that Nobel moment she reverts to form. 'Who are these people? They're a bunch of bloody Swedes.'
'They sell a lot of dynamite, Doris,' Peter says. He has shuffled in to say hello, wearing a tea cosy on his head. He lives here, debilitated by diabetes. They had been returning from the hospital on that day of the Nobel announcement.
'This is my son,' Doris says, unnecessarily.
'The other one being dead.' Peter adds, equally unnecessarily. (Her elder son, John, a coffee farmer in Zimbabwe, died of a heart attack in 1992.)
'Why have you got a tea cosy on your head, Peter?'
'Because I've got a cold, Doris.'
The answer seems to satisfy her. 'Anyway,' she says, turning back to me, 'the whole thing is a joke. The Nobel Prize is run by a self-perpetuated committee. They vote for themselves and get the world's publishing industry to jump to their tune. I know several people who have won and you don't do anything else for a year but Nobel. They are always coming out with new torments for me. Downstairs there are 500 things I have to sign for them.'
After I was buzzed into the house, I had indeed passed many boxes on my way up the stairs. I had also seen Peter at the end of a corridor, sitting at the kitchen table in his pyjamas. He nonchalantly, wordlessly, pointed a thumb in the direction of the sitting-room. That was where I found his mother, who is 5ft tall, with a soft, creased face, framed with grey tendrils that escape from a carelessly assembled bun.
The room, by the way, is everything you would hope a literary giant's sitting-room might be: splendidly chaotic, more like a junk shop. Someone once said that Lessing seemed to camp out in her own home. There are stacks of books, some teetering precariously, a globe, a tray of nick-nacks, African masks, oil paintings, rugs rucked up on the floor. She lives in here now, sleeping on a red sofa because her backache, caused by osteoporosis, makes it difficult for her to sleep on a bed. She shares the sofa with her huge cat, Yum-Yum, the name taken from The Mikado. 'One day I'll fall over Yum-Yum and have to be carted off to hospital,' she says, stroking the cat. Lessing is clear-minded and clear-voiced, but she does seem to gnaw at words, biting them, talking through gritted teeth like Clare Short. It gives even her moments of frivolity a certain sternness.
This most prolific and unconventional of writers has written the novel she claims will be her last (she has done more than 50 and 'enough is enough'). The first half of Alfred & Emily is a novella about how life might have turned out for her parents had it not been for the First World War. The second half is a biography of her parents. Her mother was a nurse during the war. 'She was warm-hearted but insensitive,' Lessing says. 'Nursing the wounded must have been hell. They would arrive by the lorry load, some already dead. That must have torn her up. It took me a long time to allow her that.'
Read on....
© Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2008
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seniors World Chronicle adds:
Alfred and Emily
Year First Published: 2008
First Published by: Fourth Estate
Category: Novel
This Edition: British First Edition
ISBN: 978-0007233458
From the book jacket:
I think my father's rage at the trenches took me over, when I was very young, and has never left me. Do children feel their parents' emotions? Yes, we do, and it is a legacy I could have done without. What is the use of it? It is as if that old war is in my own memory, my own consciousness.
By Nigel Farndale
At 88, Doris Lessing is still raging - at communists, war, Mrs Thatcher, the 'bloody Swedes' who awarded her the Nobel Prize... but most of her venom is reserved for the subject of what she says will be her final book - her mother. She talks to Nigel Farndale. Portrait by Reme Campos
It takes Doris Lessing just four minutes to come out with something, if not actually controversial, then at least unexpected. It's about Hitler. She says she understands him. This from a former member of the Communist Party. (She left in 1956, the year of Khrushchev's speech to the 20th Congress, the one in which he denounced Stalin.) We are talking, I should explain, about Erich Maria Remarque, the author of All Quiet on the Western Front. She recently read another of his books, about three German soldiers who, like Hitler, return from the Great War to the economic chaos of the Weimar Republic. 'They see people carting millions of marks around in wheelbarrows and, being old comrades, they stand by each other. And as you read that you suddenly understand Hitler.'
Doris Lessing: 'I'll be pleased when I'm dead. That will let me off worrying about all these wars'. She's not condoning Hitler, of course, merely explaining his early popularit y. I mention her comment to show her endearingly cavalier way with language. She doesn't care what people might think. She is past caring. And there is a greatness to this lack of care. How many 88-year-olds do you know who have become a worldwide phenomenon on YouTube, for example? She did, last year, when the press descended on the house in West Hampstead where she has lived for the past 30 years, the house in which we are sitting now. As she emerged from a black cab with her son, Peter, who, eccentrically, was wearing a boa of fresh onions around his neck, she was told she had just won the Nobel Prize for Literature and was asked for a comment. This was the first she had heard of it, yet she was heroically unimpressed. 'Oh Christ,' she said, waving the question away. 'I couldn't care less...I've won all the prizes in Europe, every bloody one.'
She was more gracious later, saying all the right things, but now when I ask about that Nobel moment she reverts to form. 'Who are these people? They're a bunch of bloody Swedes.'
'They sell a lot of dynamite, Doris,' Peter says. He has shuffled in to say hello, wearing a tea cosy on his head. He lives here, debilitated by diabetes. They had been returning from the hospital on that day of the Nobel announcement.
'This is my son,' Doris says, unnecessarily.
'The other one being dead.' Peter adds, equally unnecessarily. (Her elder son, John, a coffee farmer in Zimbabwe, died of a heart attack in 1992.)
'Why have you got a tea cosy on your head, Peter?'
'Because I've got a cold, Doris.'
The answer seems to satisfy her. 'Anyway,' she says, turning back to me, 'the whole thing is a joke. The Nobel Prize is run by a self-perpetuated committee. They vote for themselves and get the world's publishing industry to jump to their tune. I know several people who have won and you don't do anything else for a year but Nobel. They are always coming out with new torments for me. Downstairs there are 500 things I have to sign for them.'
After I was buzzed into the house, I had indeed passed many boxes on my way up the stairs. I had also seen Peter at the end of a corridor, sitting at the kitchen table in his pyjamas. He nonchalantly, wordlessly, pointed a thumb in the direction of the sitting-room. That was where I found his mother, who is 5ft tall, with a soft, creased face, framed with grey tendrils that escape from a carelessly assembled bun.
The room, by the way, is everything you would hope a literary giant's sitting-room might be: splendidly chaotic, more like a junk shop. Someone once said that Lessing seemed to camp out in her own home. There are stacks of books, some teetering precariously, a globe, a tray of nick-nacks, African masks, oil paintings, rugs rucked up on the floor. She lives in here now, sleeping on a red sofa because her backache, caused by osteoporosis, makes it difficult for her to sleep on a bed. She shares the sofa with her huge cat, Yum-Yum, the name taken from The Mikado. 'One day I'll fall over Yum-Yum and have to be carted off to hospital,' she says, stroking the cat. Lessing is clear-minded and clear-voiced, but she does seem to gnaw at words, biting them, talking through gritted teeth like Clare Short. It gives even her moments of frivolity a certain sternness.
This most prolific and unconventional of writers has written the novel she claims will be her last (she has done more than 50 and 'enough is enough'). The first half of Alfred & Emily is a novella about how life might have turned out for her parents had it not been for the First World War. The second half is a biography of her parents. Her mother was a nurse during the war. 'She was warm-hearted but insensitive,' Lessing says. 'Nursing the wounded must have been hell. They would arrive by the lorry load, some already dead. That must have torn her up. It took me a long time to allow her that.'
Read on....
© Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2008
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seniors World Chronicle adds:
Alfred and EmilyYear First Published: 2008
First Published by: Fourth Estate
Category: Novel
This Edition: British First Edition
ISBN: 978-0007233458
From the book jacket:
I think my father's rage at the trenches took me over, when I was very young, and has never left me. Do children feel their parents' emotions? Yes, we do, and it is a legacy I could have done without. What is the use of it? It is as if that old war is in my own memory, my own consciousness.
AUSTRALIA: A helpful dose of prevention
MURRAY BRIDGE, South Australia (Murray Valley Standard), April 21, 2008:
Murray Bridge chemists are trying to cut down the number of elderly people who overdose or mix the wrong medications.
A blister pack system is now on offer, which means pharmacy customers can have their tablets measured into individual breakfast, lunch, dinner and bedtime doses, to stop any confusion.
Helpful: Murray Bridge pharmacist Viet Tran looks at dose administration aid.
More than 140,000 hospital admissions nationally each year are thought to be related to the medicines people take, according to the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia.
Society president Grant Kardachi said there needed to be increased use of dose administration aids.
“Because of their age older Australians are more at risk from incidents relating to poor medication management,” he said.
Mr Kardachi said one in two older Australians fail to take their medication as prescribed, which can render preventative medications useless.
“The result can be an entirely avoidable life threatening emergency,” he said.
The society reported people over 65 were the biggest users of medicines and because of their age were more at risk of side effects and medication incidents.
Murray Bridge pharmacist Viet Tran said patients would often be confused after choosing a generic brand, which looked different to the original drug.
Mr Tran said the blister pack system had been effective in easing the confusion around medications.
“It’s just easier for them to manage (their medication),” he said.
Copyright © 2008. Fairfax Digital
Murray Bridge chemists are trying to cut down the number of elderly people who overdose or mix the wrong medications.
A blister pack system is now on offer, which means pharmacy customers can have their tablets measured into individual breakfast, lunch, dinner and bedtime doses, to stop any confusion.
Helpful: Murray Bridge pharmacist Viet Tran looks at dose administration aid.More than 140,000 hospital admissions nationally each year are thought to be related to the medicines people take, according to the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia.
Society president Grant Kardachi said there needed to be increased use of dose administration aids.
“Because of their age older Australians are more at risk from incidents relating to poor medication management,” he said.
Mr Kardachi said one in two older Australians fail to take their medication as prescribed, which can render preventative medications useless.
“The result can be an entirely avoidable life threatening emergency,” he said.
The society reported people over 65 were the biggest users of medicines and because of their age were more at risk of side effects and medication incidents.
Murray Bridge pharmacist Viet Tran said patients would often be confused after choosing a generic brand, which looked different to the original drug.
Mr Tran said the blister pack system had been effective in easing the confusion around medications.
“It’s just easier for them to manage (their medication),” he said.
Copyright © 2008. Fairfax Digital
AUSTRALIA: The hazards of meal skipping
LEEDERVILLE, Perth (SuperLiving), April 21, 2008:
By Kristie Batten
IF YOU thought skipping a meal was no big deal, think again. Groundbreaking new research has found skipping a meal increases the chances of developing cardiovascular disease.
Researchers at the Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center and the National Institute on Aging in the US are the first to report the health effects of skipping a meal.
For the study, volunteers participated in two eight-week meal treatment periods. Volunteers were divided into one of two groups during each treatment period and either consumed all their required weight maintenance calories in one meal or in three meals a day.
The study showed consuming a one meal per day diet rather than the traditional three meals a day is feasible for a short duration.
However, despite a slight decrease in weight and body fat, volunteers who ate one meal per day had significant increases in total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol or bad cholesterol, and in blood pressure, compared to when they ate three meals a day.
Further analysis of the study showed that when the volunteers skipped meals, they had higher blood sugar levels, higher and more sustained elevations in blood sugar concentrations, and a delayed response to the body’s insulin compared to when they ate all three meals.
Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA) spokeswoman Denise Griffiths adds that nutrition and health go hand in hand and it is a well-balanced diet that keeps us healthy.
“The importance of three meals is if you skip a meal you’re not going to get all of the nutrients in your day, so you’re not going to have eaten enough food to get the nutrients you require,” she said.
“In the long term, skipping meals can have health consequences from a nutrient point of view. Good nutrition is a way to avoid obesity, diabetes and heart disease.”
Griffiths added people often skip meals to help aid weight loss but do not realise the health dangers associated with missing a meal.
“People think that by cutting down meals or skipping meals, their kilojoule intake for the day is going to be less,” she said.
“They find it helps with weight loss, but the danger with that is that you’re not going to get enough food that gives you all the adequate vitamins and minerals and nutrients that you need to stay healthy.
“Each meal has a role of providing a range of nutrients for the body and if you miss meals, that’s what you’re missing out on.”
The DAA recommends dietary guidelines to help people choose foods for a healthy life.
The guide suggests enjoying a wide variety of nutritious foods and limiting foods high in fat and sugar:
* Eat plenty of vegetables, legumes and fruits.
* Eat plenty of cereals (including breads, rice, pasta and noodles), preferably wholegrain.
* Include lean meat, fish and poultry.
* Include milks, yoghurts and cheeses – reduced-fat varieties should be chosen where possible.
* Drink plenty of water.
* Limit saturated fat and moderate total fat intake.
* Choose foods low in salt.
* Limit your alcohol intake if you choose to drink.
* Consume only moderate amounts of sugar and foods containing added sugars.
Where to find out more
Visit the DAA website at www.daa.asn.au
Full findings of the study are published in the April 2008 edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
© 2007 Aspermont Limited
By Kristie Batten
IF YOU thought skipping a meal was no big deal, think again. Groundbreaking new research has found skipping a meal increases the chances of developing cardiovascular disease.
Researchers at the Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center and the National Institute on Aging in the US are the first to report the health effects of skipping a meal.
For the study, volunteers participated in two eight-week meal treatment periods. Volunteers were divided into one of two groups during each treatment period and either consumed all their required weight maintenance calories in one meal or in three meals a day.
The study showed consuming a one meal per day diet rather than the traditional three meals a day is feasible for a short duration.
However, despite a slight decrease in weight and body fat, volunteers who ate one meal per day had significant increases in total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol or bad cholesterol, and in blood pressure, compared to when they ate three meals a day.
Further analysis of the study showed that when the volunteers skipped meals, they had higher blood sugar levels, higher and more sustained elevations in blood sugar concentrations, and a delayed response to the body’s insulin compared to when they ate all three meals.
Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA) spokeswoman Denise Griffiths adds that nutrition and health go hand in hand and it is a well-balanced diet that keeps us healthy.
“The importance of three meals is if you skip a meal you’re not going to get all of the nutrients in your day, so you’re not going to have eaten enough food to get the nutrients you require,” she said.
“In the long term, skipping meals can have health consequences from a nutrient point of view. Good nutrition is a way to avoid obesity, diabetes and heart disease.”
Griffiths added people often skip meals to help aid weight loss but do not realise the health dangers associated with missing a meal.
“People think that by cutting down meals or skipping meals, their kilojoule intake for the day is going to be less,” she said.
“They find it helps with weight loss, but the danger with that is that you’re not going to get enough food that gives you all the adequate vitamins and minerals and nutrients that you need to stay healthy.
“Each meal has a role of providing a range of nutrients for the body and if you miss meals, that’s what you’re missing out on.”
The DAA recommends dietary guidelines to help people choose foods for a healthy life.
The guide suggests enjoying a wide variety of nutritious foods and limiting foods high in fat and sugar:
* Eat plenty of vegetables, legumes and fruits.
* Eat plenty of cereals (including breads, rice, pasta and noodles), preferably wholegrain.
* Include lean meat, fish and poultry.
* Include milks, yoghurts and cheeses – reduced-fat varieties should be chosen where possible.
* Drink plenty of water.
* Limit saturated fat and moderate total fat intake.
* Choose foods low in salt.
* Limit your alcohol intake if you choose to drink.
* Consume only moderate amounts of sugar and foods containing added sugars.
Where to find out more
Visit the DAA website at www.daa.asn.au
Full findings of the study are published in the April 2008 edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
© 2007 Aspermont Limited
CHINA: Like sand in Old Sheng's bowl, so are the days of our lives
LIVING IN CHINA
BEIJING, China (China Daily), April 21, 2008:
When I first started in journalism on Sydney's Daily Telegraph more than 20 years ago, the editor led us new cadets into his office and then pointed out his window. "There are 4 million people in this city and everybody has a story to tell," he boomed.
In China, there are more than a billion stories to tell, so where do we begin?
Expats have the privilege to hear so many interesting tales and my friends back home are always fascinated when I banter about the days of our China lives.
There is one guy in Chongqing who probably doesn't want his story told. The city is bubbling like one of its famous spicy hotpot dishes and construction sites are spilling across everywhere.
When the job is done, workers pack up and move to the next site. This was the case one morning when a bulldozer started to knock down a makeshift toilet. The driver pushed the toilet about 6 meters before onlookers screamed for him to stop.
The man inside the toilet was not seriously injured, but he was so terrified that onlookers had to help him do up his pants. The poor bloke was obviously a passer-by, as every worker on site had been warned of the doomed port-a-loo.
A middle-aged Nanjing couple want everybody to know their story. They have written to the Guinness Book of Records to register themselves as the most similar couple on the planet.
The husband, surnamed Yu, and his wife, Jiang, first met playing badminton, which is coincidence No 1. Both were born in the same ward of the same hospital on the same day. They studied the same major at the same school and now work in the same industry. They have the same blood type; share a passion for spicy food and have moles identical in size and position.
What's funny is they wrote an official media statement about their similarities and called a press conference. And what's even funnier is the newspaper ran the story.
Then there is a story about old Sheng, a 60-year-old man in Jiangxi province who claims he cured malignant tumors in the tissue of his fat cells by eating sand for 18 years.
"I suffered from the pain of the sarcomas and ulcer, and was forced to give up my job. I badly needed a drastic remedy," said Sheng. He hatched the scheme after watching Approaching Science, a program on CCTV. "I ate a spoonful of the sand, washed it down with water and then chewed through another. I actually really enjoyed the taste," he said.
Two years later, tests showed that Sheng's tumors had shrunk. Medical experts suspected Sheng might also suffer from parorexia, an abnormal appetite, which inspires a craving for items unsuitable for eating.
Like sand through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives. Expat life can be challenging but when I hear about these people I just love living here.
Copyright © China.org.cn
BEIJING, China (China Daily), April 21, 2008:
When I first started in journalism on Sydney's Daily Telegraph more than 20 years ago, the editor led us new cadets into his office and then pointed out his window. "There are 4 million people in this city and everybody has a story to tell," he boomed.
In China, there are more than a billion stories to tell, so where do we begin?
Expats have the privilege to hear so many interesting tales and my friends back home are always fascinated when I banter about the days of our China lives.
There is one guy in Chongqing who probably doesn't want his story told. The city is bubbling like one of its famous spicy hotpot dishes and construction sites are spilling across everywhere.
When the job is done, workers pack up and move to the next site. This was the case one morning when a bulldozer started to knock down a makeshift toilet. The driver pushed the toilet about 6 meters before onlookers screamed for him to stop.
The man inside the toilet was not seriously injured, but he was so terrified that onlookers had to help him do up his pants. The poor bloke was obviously a passer-by, as every worker on site had been warned of the doomed port-a-loo.
A middle-aged Nanjing couple want everybody to know their story. They have written to the Guinness Book of Records to register themselves as the most similar couple on the planet.
The husband, surnamed Yu, and his wife, Jiang, first met playing badminton, which is coincidence No 1. Both were born in the same ward of the same hospital on the same day. They studied the same major at the same school and now work in the same industry. They have the same blood type; share a passion for spicy food and have moles identical in size and position.
What's funny is they wrote an official media statement about their similarities and called a press conference. And what's even funnier is the newspaper ran the story.
Then there is a story about old Sheng, a 60-year-old man in Jiangxi province who claims he cured malignant tumors in the tissue of his fat cells by eating sand for 18 years.
"I suffered from the pain of the sarcomas and ulcer, and was forced to give up my job. I badly needed a drastic remedy," said Sheng. He hatched the scheme after watching Approaching Science, a program on CCTV. "I ate a spoonful of the sand, washed it down with water and then chewed through another. I actually really enjoyed the taste," he said.
Two years later, tests showed that Sheng's tumors had shrunk. Medical experts suspected Sheng might also suffer from parorexia, an abnormal appetite, which inspires a craving for items unsuitable for eating.
Like sand through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives. Expat life can be challenging but when I hear about these people I just love living here.
Copyright © China.org.cn
WORLD: World Elder Abuse Awareness 2008 - AARP To Host Online Global Forum
Location:Online
Date/Time:June 1, 2008 - June 16, 2008
Throughout the world, abuse and neglect of older persons has been largely under-recognized or under-treated as an unspoken problem. Today, it is increasingly being seen as an important problem but may also be likely to grow as many countries experience rapidly aging populations. Similar to other types of violence, abuse of the elderly includes physical, financial, sexual and psychological abuse, as well as neglect.
On June 16, 2008, we will observe the 3rd Annual World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD). In recognition of this important event, AARP International is hosting a two-week online forum of experts from around the world. The aim of this online dialogue is to promote a better understanding of abuse and neglect of older persons by facilitating a global discussion among key national experts to raise awareness of the cultural, social, economic and demographic processes affecting elder abuse and neglect. Be sure to visit www.aarpinternational.org/weaad08 from June 1 through June 16, 2008 to read insights shared by experts and raise your own questions on policy issues related to elder abuse. Naomi Karp, Strategic Policy Advisor at AARP's Public Policy Institute will facilitate this discussion.
For more information about the 3rd Annual World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, visit the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA) website at: www.inpea.net
USA: Reverse Mortgage - Latest niche product offers a new option
EVERETT, Washington (HeraldNet), April 20, 2008:
The soft national housing market and chaotic mortgage environment have sent lenders and investors back to the drawing board in an effort to come up with new ideas and produce an alternative to corral new business.
The latest niche product designed to tap the billions of dollars of equity tied up in seniors' primary residences has spread not only to second homes but also to residential rentals and commercial properties.
Equity Key (www.equitykey.com) has rolled out an equity-share option that differs from a reverse mortgage in that the program does not charge interest on money taken out of the home. Instead, the option gives Equity Key an equal share in the future appreciation of the property (primary residences, rental or commercial) based on its present market value.
The concept is similar to the Rex Agreement, another new equity-sharing vehicle that also claims a share of future appreciation. The main differences are that the Rex Agreement has no age restriction while Equity Key is aimed at homeowners between the ages of 65 and 85. The Rex Agreement is for primary residences and is not available for second homes and investment properties at this time.
According to Equity Key, it pays the property owner a specific lump sum (approximately 12 percent to 15 percent of the property's value) or an annual recurring payment in the approximate amount of 0.9 percent to 2.4 percent of the home's value. In exchange, Equity Key splits any future appreciation on a 50-50 basis with the property owner. The owner retains the equity he or she has accumulated.
When the owner moves out or dies, Equity Key sells the property, and the accumulated equity (all the equity the owner had prior to the Equity Key transaction plus 50 percent of what has accumulated subsequently) goes to the owner's heirs. The homeowner's estate has the first right of refusal to purchase the property at the current market value, according to the company.
Here's how equity-sharing agreements work in a typical situation. Let's assume a home is valued at $500,000 and the owner signs an equity share for a $50,000 advance. If the house sells seven years later for $600,000, the equity sharing company gets $100,000 -- $50,000 in repayment and half of the $100,000, the home's appreciation since the deal was signed. If the value is flat after seven years, the sharing company gets only $50,000.
If the house's value decreases by $100,000 or more, the sharing company and the homeowner would share the loss equally -- $50,000 each. The equity-sharing company would receive no money upon the sale while the homeowner would be liable for the remaining $50,000 of loss.
Owners must continue to maintain the property, keep taxes, insurance and any mortgage payments current and not exceed the agreed upon limit on the total principal amount of any loans that may be secured by the home.
Providers of reverse mortgage alternatives are betting they will draw customers because of their fewer upfront fees and costs and the absence of an interest-bearing mortgage. The big unknown is the future value of the home. Regardless of the peaks or valleys of appreciation, the owner will owe the equity sharing firm 50 percent of the value from the time the agreement was signed until the property is sold.
Reverse mortgages funds can be distributed either in a lump sum, regular monthly payments, line of credit or in a combination of those options. When the house is sold, or the last remaining borrower dies or moves out of the home, the loan amount plus the accrued interest is due and repaid. The borrower can't owe more than the value of the home. There are no restrictions on how reverse mortgage funds are used.
If Equity Key acquires the property at the end of the agreement term, it will charge an acquisition cost equal to your actual third-party costs to sell it. This cost will not be greater than 8 percent of the fair-market value of the house at that time of the sale.
In order to participate, homeowners must be in good health and able to qualify for a life insurance policy. Ineligible homeowners include smokers, those with Type 1 diabetes and others who've had recent bouts with cancer. Equity Key takes out an insurance policy to protect its interests in case the homeowner dies before the company recovers its initial investment. If the owner does not meet the Equity Key requirements, the $300 application fee is refunded.
If you plan to tap in to any property equity -- primary residence, second home or rental -- do so wisely and with the help of professional advice. Depending upon your particular circumstances, one way might be better than another.
By Tom Kelly
© 2008 The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA.
The soft national housing market and chaotic mortgage environment have sent lenders and investors back to the drawing board in an effort to come up with new ideas and produce an alternative to corral new business.
The latest niche product designed to tap the billions of dollars of equity tied up in seniors' primary residences has spread not only to second homes but also to residential rentals and commercial properties.
Equity Key (www.equitykey.com) has rolled out an equity-share option that differs from a reverse mortgage in that the program does not charge interest on money taken out of the home. Instead, the option gives Equity Key an equal share in the future appreciation of the property (primary residences, rental or commercial) based on its present market value.
The concept is similar to the Rex Agreement, another new equity-sharing vehicle that also claims a share of future appreciation. The main differences are that the Rex Agreement has no age restriction while Equity Key is aimed at homeowners between the ages of 65 and 85. The Rex Agreement is for primary residences and is not available for second homes and investment properties at this time.
According to Equity Key, it pays the property owner a specific lump sum (approximately 12 percent to 15 percent of the property's value) or an annual recurring payment in the approximate amount of 0.9 percent to 2.4 percent of the home's value. In exchange, Equity Key splits any future appreciation on a 50-50 basis with the property owner. The owner retains the equity he or she has accumulated.
When the owner moves out or dies, Equity Key sells the property, and the accumulated equity (all the equity the owner had prior to the Equity Key transaction plus 50 percent of what has accumulated subsequently) goes to the owner's heirs. The homeowner's estate has the first right of refusal to purchase the property at the current market value, according to the company.
Here's how equity-sharing agreements work in a typical situation. Let's assume a home is valued at $500,000 and the owner signs an equity share for a $50,000 advance. If the house sells seven years later for $600,000, the equity sharing company gets $100,000 -- $50,000 in repayment and half of the $100,000, the home's appreciation since the deal was signed. If the value is flat after seven years, the sharing company gets only $50,000.
If the house's value decreases by $100,000 or more, the sharing company and the homeowner would share the loss equally -- $50,000 each. The equity-sharing company would receive no money upon the sale while the homeowner would be liable for the remaining $50,000 of loss.
Owners must continue to maintain the property, keep taxes, insurance and any mortgage payments current and not exceed the agreed upon limit on the total principal amount of any loans that may be secured by the home.
Providers of reverse mortgage alternatives are betting they will draw customers because of their fewer upfront fees and costs and the absence of an interest-bearing mortgage. The big unknown is the future value of the home. Regardless of the peaks or valleys of appreciation, the owner will owe the equity sharing firm 50 percent of the value from the time the agreement was signed until the property is sold.
Reverse mortgages funds can be distributed either in a lump sum, regular monthly payments, line of credit or in a combination of those options. When the house is sold, or the last remaining borrower dies or moves out of the home, the loan amount plus the accrued interest is due and repaid. The borrower can't owe more than the value of the home. There are no restrictions on how reverse mortgage funds are used.
If Equity Key acquires the property at the end of the agreement term, it will charge an acquisition cost equal to your actual third-party costs to sell it. This cost will not be greater than 8 percent of the fair-market value of the house at that time of the sale.
In order to participate, homeowners must be in good health and able to qualify for a life insurance policy. Ineligible homeowners include smokers, those with Type 1 diabetes and others who've had recent bouts with cancer. Equity Key takes out an insurance policy to protect its interests in case the homeowner dies before the company recovers its initial investment. If the owner does not meet the Equity Key requirements, the $300 application fee is refunded.
If you plan to tap in to any property equity -- primary residence, second home or rental -- do so wisely and with the help of professional advice. Depending upon your particular circumstances, one way might be better than another.
By Tom Kelly
© 2008 The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA.
TURKEY: İstanbulites get fit for free at parks across the city
ISTANBUL, Turkey (Today's Zaman), April 20, 2008:
This spring it is quite common to observe men and women exercising in the early hours of the day at parks all across Istanbul that have been outfitted with fitness equipment by the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality.
"I have been exercising for the last four years, but I started using the equipment placed at parks around a year ago. Earlier I had severe pain in my neck and shoulders. Since I started exercising at this park, my pains have subsided to a great extent," noted İbrahim Dilbilir, a retired teacher, speaking to Sunday's Zaman.
The İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality first equipped a park in the Kadıköy district with fitness equipment in 2006 with the objective of encouraging locals to exercise on a regular basis. When that park became quite popular among İstanbulites, the municipality decided to turn its initiative into a full-blown campaign and has so far equipped a total of 140 parks with fitness equipment.
It aims to install fitness equipment in around 100 more parks all across İstanbul by the end of this year.
"In the past, I used to go for a walk for a certain period of time everyday in order not to gain weight, but I still suffered from pain in my neck and shoulders. Then our municipality outfitted our park with fitness equipment. Since I started exercising there, pain is mostly a thing of the past and I feel great," remarked Dilbilir.
Dilbilir starts his exercise routine at 9 every morning. He feels the parks have advantages over fitness centers. "Fitness centers are generally situated in basements and lack fresh air. One needs to take deep breaths, preferably of fresh air, while exercising, but it is not possible to do so in fitness centers. When I exercise at this park, I can feel the fresh air invigorating my lungs."
Fuat Zeki Yıldırım, another citizen who regularly exercises at one of the "healthy life parks," said he overcame his health problems after he started exercising on a daily basis. "I am 65. I suffered from hypertension and severe backaches. For the last year and a half, I have been coming to this park regularly to exercise early in the morning. I first take a walk and then use the fitness equipment. It is great to exercise in the fresh air," he noted.
A wide variety of fitness equipment, from rowing machines to exercise bikes and treadmills to elliptical trainers, is available at these parks.
Some exercise buffs, however, complain that there are no trainers at most of these parks to show them how to use the fitness equipment in a proper manner.
"I suffer from diabetes and my doctor has advised me to lose weight. I have been exercising for at least an hour every day since January. I also try to work out on the gym equipment at our fitness park, but I find it difficult to use," noted Mukadder Kahveci, a 54-year-old housewife.
Kahveci, emphasizing that many of her friends who exercise at the same park complain about the absence of an expert to show them the right way to use the equipment, said they would exercise in a more effective manner if they had a trainer to guide them.
"We want to use the gym equipment here but are afraid of hurting ourselves. A trainer can show us how to use the equipment," she reiterated.
Seyfi Timur, a body building and fitness expert, explained the dangers of using fitness equipment without being properly informed. "If the equipment is used without the guidance of an expert, it may pose threats to one's health and safety." The gym equipment placed in parks should be examined to see whether it is appropriate for human health, he said.
Timur noted that if used improperly such equipment could adversely affect one's cardiac rhythm. It would be best to be guided by an expert while exercising at such parks," he said. Timur said people are right to want fresh air while exercising.
"There is no regulation or law under which fitness centers must be inspected for compliance with standards of hygiene. But recently there was an initiative introduced that would require fitness centers to meet such standards. This policy is expected to go into effect in the next few months. There will be pecuniary fees and other sanctions to encourage fitness centers to comply with the standards," he added.
Professor Ömer Kozan, secretary-general of the Turkish Society of Cardiology (TKD), warned the public to undergo a full medical check before starting an exercise program. "We witness so many deaths from heart attacks, triggered by intensive exercise without knowing about one's health condition," he noted.
Opportunity to socialize
Exercising at healthy life parks is also considered an opportunity to socialize, especially by elderly people.
"I come to this park early in the morning and witness dozens of people almost competing with one another to use gym equipment on weekdays. I cannot describe the number of people on weekends. Old and young people exercise together. It is a great opportunity to make new friends and exchange ideas on a wide variety of issues," said Hasan Kadirler, a 62-year-old retired restaurant owner. He said many people had become close friends after they started exercising at the same park.
"People from different financial or social status get to know each other. They advise each other on various issues and share so many things. It is great to be here," added Kadirler.
Domestically produced equipment
Fatma Başeğmez, director general of Global Park -- which won last year's tender launched by the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality for equipping parks with fitness equipment, said all gym equipment placed at the parks had been designed and produced in Turkey.
"We also export fitness equipment to a wide variety of countries such as France, Germany, Australia, Holland and Romania," she noted.
Başeğmez, noting that the interest shown in healthy life parks by citizens is increasing each day, said the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality aims to outfit more parks with fitness equipment in the next few years.
"Equipment at these parks is not as high-tech as that at fitness centers, but it meets the needs of our citizens. We design the equipment to withstand winter and summer conditions. There is something for people of all ages," remarked Başeğmez.
The equipment at these parks does not pose a threat to people's health. "There are trainers to show how to use the equipment at many parks. At parks where such trainers are not available the equipment has illustrated instructions on usage. It is all quite safe," she added.
BETÜL AKKAYA İSTANBUL
This spring it is quite common to observe men and women exercising in the early hours of the day at parks all across Istanbul that have been outfitted with fitness equipment by the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality.
"I have been exercising for the last four years, but I started using the equipment placed at parks around a year ago. Earlier I had severe pain in my neck and shoulders. Since I started exercising at this park, my pains have subsided to a great extent," noted İbrahim Dilbilir, a retired teacher, speaking to Sunday's Zaman.The İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality first equipped a park in the Kadıköy district with fitness equipment in 2006 with the objective of encouraging locals to exercise on a regular basis. When that park became quite popular among İstanbulites, the municipality decided to turn its initiative into a full-blown campaign and has so far equipped a total of 140 parks with fitness equipment.
It aims to install fitness equipment in around 100 more parks all across İstanbul by the end of this year.
"In the past, I used to go for a walk for a certain period of time everyday in order not to gain weight, but I still suffered from pain in my neck and shoulders. Then our municipality outfitted our park with fitness equipment. Since I started exercising there, pain is mostly a thing of the past and I feel great," remarked Dilbilir.
Dilbilir starts his exercise routine at 9 every morning. He feels the parks have advantages over fitness centers. "Fitness centers are generally situated in basements and lack fresh air. One needs to take deep breaths, preferably of fresh air, while exercising, but it is not possible to do so in fitness centers. When I exercise at this park, I can feel the fresh air invigorating my lungs."
Fuat Zeki Yıldırım, another citizen who regularly exercises at one of the "healthy life parks," said he overcame his health problems after he started exercising on a daily basis. "I am 65. I suffered from hypertension and severe backaches. For the last year and a half, I have been coming to this park regularly to exercise early in the morning. I first take a walk and then use the fitness equipment. It is great to exercise in the fresh air," he noted.
A wide variety of fitness equipment, from rowing machines to exercise bikes and treadmills to elliptical trainers, is available at these parks.
Some exercise buffs, however, complain that there are no trainers at most of these parks to show them how to use the fitness equipment in a proper manner.
"I suffer from diabetes and my doctor has advised me to lose weight. I have been exercising for at least an hour every day since January. I also try to work out on the gym equipment at our fitness park, but I find it difficult to use," noted Mukadder Kahveci, a 54-year-old housewife.
Kahveci, emphasizing that many of her friends who exercise at the same park complain about the absence of an expert to show them the right way to use the equipment, said they would exercise in a more effective manner if they had a trainer to guide them.
"We want to use the gym equipment here but are afraid of hurting ourselves. A trainer can show us how to use the equipment," she reiterated.
Seyfi Timur, a body building and fitness expert, explained the dangers of using fitness equipment without being properly informed. "If the equipment is used without the guidance of an expert, it may pose threats to one's health and safety." The gym equipment placed in parks should be examined to see whether it is appropriate for human health, he said.
Timur noted that if used improperly such equipment could adversely affect one's cardiac rhythm. It would be best to be guided by an expert while exercising at such parks," he said. Timur said people are right to want fresh air while exercising.
"There is no regulation or law under which fitness centers must be inspected for compliance with standards of hygiene. But recently there was an initiative introduced that would require fitness centers to meet such standards. This policy is expected to go into effect in the next few months. There will be pecuniary fees and other sanctions to encourage fitness centers to comply with the standards," he added.
Professor Ömer Kozan, secretary-general of the Turkish Society of Cardiology (TKD), warned the public to undergo a full medical check before starting an exercise program. "We witness so many deaths from heart attacks, triggered by intensive exercise without knowing about one's health condition," he noted.
Opportunity to socialize
Exercising at healthy life parks is also considered an opportunity to socialize, especially by elderly people.
"I come to this park early in the morning and witness dozens of people almost competing with one another to use gym equipment on weekdays. I cannot describe the number of people on weekends. Old and young people exercise together. It is a great opportunity to make new friends and exchange ideas on a wide variety of issues," said Hasan Kadirler, a 62-year-old retired restaurant owner. He said many people had become close friends after they started exercising at the same park.
"People from different financial or social status get to know each other. They advise each other on various issues and share so many things. It is great to be here," added Kadirler.
Domestically produced equipment
Fatma Başeğmez, director general of Global Park -- which won last year's tender launched by the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality for equipping parks with fitness equipment, said all gym equipment placed at the parks had been designed and produced in Turkey.
"We also export fitness equipment to a wide variety of countries such as France, Germany, Australia, Holland and Romania," she noted.
Başeğmez, noting that the interest shown in healthy life parks by citizens is increasing each day, said the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality aims to outfit more parks with fitness equipment in the next few years.
"Equipment at these parks is not as high-tech as that at fitness centers, but it meets the needs of our citizens. We design the equipment to withstand winter and summer conditions. There is something for people of all ages," remarked Başeğmez.
The equipment at these parks does not pose a threat to people's health. "There are trainers to show how to use the equipment at many parks. At parks where such trainers are not available the equipment has illustrated instructions on usage. It is all quite safe," she added.
BETÜL AKKAYA İSTANBUL
USA: Slimming down customers' pockets
OutFront
Foot in Mouth
Heidi Brown 05.05.08
Ultimate Cash Machine
Your Pain, Their Gain
In the sucker-born-every-minute category, here comes another "alternative health product" that is doing a good job at slimming down consumers' pocketbooks. Chiropractors, massage therapists and naturopaths are charging up to $50 per session for clients to soak their feet in a plastic tub of salty, electrified water and then watch as the water turns yellow, brown, then green. Believers (and some makers of these contraptions, which go for anywhere from $250 to $2,450) say the water turns dirty as nasty toxins leave the body's organs. They claim this method can cure fatigue, acne and yeast infections. The foot-detox machines, sold under such names as Cygnus Aqua-Cleanse, Ionic Spa and IonCleanse, are widely available via the Internet, including through the healthy-living company Gaiam (nasdaq: GAIA - news - people ) in Boulder, Colo. A Major Difference, a Denver company, says it has sold some 10,000 of the units since 2002.
That dirty water? That's from the electricity reacting with the salt in the water, plus oils and dirt on the feet. "Scientists know what comes out of the feet--sweat," says Stephen Barrett, a retired psychiatrist who crusades to debunk medical myths. For further visual evidence, check out a YouTube video that features a man "detoxing" an organic carrot from his garden; the water in the footbath turns the same color as your average foot might.
© 2008 Forbes.com LLC™
Foot in Mouth
Heidi Brown 05.05.08
Ultimate Cash MachineYour Pain, Their Gain
In the sucker-born-every-minute category, here comes another "alternative health product" that is doing a good job at slimming down consumers' pocketbooks. Chiropractors, massage therapists and naturopaths are charging up to $50 per session for clients to soak their feet in a plastic tub of salty, electrified water and then watch as the water turns yellow, brown, then green. Believers (and some makers of these contraptions, which go for anywhere from $250 to $2,450) say the water turns dirty as nasty toxins leave the body's organs. They claim this method can cure fatigue, acne and yeast infections. The foot-detox machines, sold under such names as Cygnus Aqua-Cleanse, Ionic Spa and IonCleanse, are widely available via the Internet, including through the healthy-living company Gaiam (nasdaq: GAIA - news - people ) in Boulder, Colo. A Major Difference, a Denver company, says it has sold some 10,000 of the units since 2002.
That dirty water? That's from the electricity reacting with the salt in the water, plus oils and dirt on the feet. "Scientists know what comes out of the feet--sweat," says Stephen Barrett, a retired psychiatrist who crusades to debunk medical myths. For further visual evidence, check out a YouTube video that features a man "detoxing" an organic carrot from his garden; the water in the footbath turns the same color as your average foot might.
© 2008 Forbes.com LLC™
JAPAN: Tokyo offers free pizza to lure pensioners from their cars
TOKYO, Japan (The Independent on Sunday, UK), April 20, 2008:
Like many proud men, Seichi Koyama bristles when his driving skills are questioned. "I'm confident I can drive well," he told Japanese TV, brandishing his clean licence and telling the viewing millions that he has never had an accident or been penalised.
It's quite a claim, for Mr Koyama is 102 years old, and his licence was awarded more than 80 years ago.
Not all Japanese pensioners operate their cars as safely as Tokyo's oldest driver. Last month, a woman in her 70s ploughed into a group of pedestrians, leaving a child in a coma, one of several horrific car accidents involving the elderly. Drivers aged 65 or over caused about 7,000 accidents in Tokyo last year, a two-and-a-half-fold rise in a decade. More than 1,000 pensioners die every year in driving accidents in Japan.
With one of the fastest-ageing populations on the planet, Japan is struggling to deal with a growing army of pensioners.
The demographic tsunami is even lapping at the shores of Tokyo Disneyland. The theme park has just introduced a special over-60s pass. A spokesman said that the "Flowers and Trees Tour" attraction had been added to the Disney roster because "older people like flowers and gardening".
The government fears that the elderly threaten carnage on Japan's busy roads. About 300,000 older drivers may have dementia, say the Japanese police.
As examinations for over-75s from next year will not cure the problem – many hide dementia symptoms – the Tokyo government has turned to shopping incentives to lure the elderly from their cars. From this month, pensioners are eligible for discounts from pizza stores, hotels and amusement parks in return for giving up their driving licences. The novel police plan has enlisted the support of about 40 Tokyo businesses, including the upmarket Imperial Hotel.
The police have so far baulked at imposing an upper age limit on the driving licence and focused instead on developing tests to weed out unfit drivers.
At 102, however, Mr Koyama feels his time has finally come. "It's a point of pride to be qualified to drive and I'd like to continue," he said. "But I guess I'll return my licence."
By David McNeill
The Independent On Sunday, London, UK
Like many proud men, Seichi Koyama bristles when his driving skills are questioned. "I'm confident I can drive well," he told Japanese TV, brandishing his clean licence and telling the viewing millions that he has never had an accident or been penalised.
It's quite a claim, for Mr Koyama is 102 years old, and his licence was awarded more than 80 years ago.
Not all Japanese pensioners operate their cars as safely as Tokyo's oldest driver. Last month, a woman in her 70s ploughed into a group of pedestrians, leaving a child in a coma, one of several horrific car accidents involving the elderly. Drivers aged 65 or over caused about 7,000 accidents in Tokyo last year, a two-and-a-half-fold rise in a decade. More than 1,000 pensioners die every year in driving accidents in Japan.
With one of the fastest-ageing populations on the planet, Japan is struggling to deal with a growing army of pensioners.
The demographic tsunami is even lapping at the shores of Tokyo Disneyland. The theme park has just introduced a special over-60s pass. A spokesman said that the "Flowers and Trees Tour" attraction had been added to the Disney roster because "older people like flowers and gardening".
The government fears that the elderly threaten carnage on Japan's busy roads. About 300,000 older drivers may have dementia, say the Japanese police.
As examinations for over-75s from next year will not cure the problem – many hide dementia symptoms – the Tokyo government has turned to shopping incentives to lure the elderly from their cars. From this month, pensioners are eligible for discounts from pizza stores, hotels and amusement parks in return for giving up their driving licences. The novel police plan has enlisted the support of about 40 Tokyo businesses, including the upmarket Imperial Hotel.
The police have so far baulked at imposing an upper age limit on the driving licence and focused instead on developing tests to weed out unfit drivers.
At 102, however, Mr Koyama feels his time has finally come. "It's a point of pride to be qualified to drive and I'd like to continue," he said. "But I guess I'll return my licence."
By David McNeill
The Independent On Sunday, London, UK
BOLIVIA: Older Women In Rural Communities Suffer Greatest Discrimination, Says Report
LA PAZ, Bolivia (HelpAge International) April 20, 2008:
HelpAge International, Latin America, has submitted a report on Older Women’s Rights In Rural Bolivia to the 40th session of the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
The experience of HelpAge International and its partners has been that older women in Bolivia face discrimination on the basis of their gender, age, poverty and race. Older women are more likely than older men to live alone and without support, to have the burden of care for dependents, to experience violence and to be denied their rights to social security, security in old age, health and representation.
Older women and men are disproportionately poor in Bolivia, South America’s poorest country, with a Human Development ranking of 1177 and a GDP per capita of $27208. In terms of the gender disparity, its gender-related development index (GDI) is 99.4% of the value of its HDI and its gender empowerment measure (GEM) ranks 67th out of 94 countries, with a value of 0.5009.
More than 63% of the older people in Bolivia live in poverty, compared to 58.6% for the general population. Twenty-three percent of the Bolivian population live on less than a dollar a day, whereas approximately 36% of older people in Bolivia live on less than US$1 per day, 12 with poverty indices significantly higher in the rural older population.
Read more
Contact:HelpAge International,
La Paz, Bolivia:
Fiona Clark, Director of Policy and Programmes. E-mail: fclark@helpagela.org
Bridget Sleap,
Policy Officer.
E-mail: bsleap@helpage.org
USA: Chic centres house services for elderly
.
LIGHTENING THE LOAD: Many nonprofit groups are looking for cheaper offices to provide services to the elderly.
Picture: Kathrine Muick-Mere
------------------------------------------------------------
‘There’s a sense of
community that doesn’t exist
in a normal building’
------------------------------------------------------------
Cities create quality spaces for use by nonprofit organisations
NEW YORK (New York Times), April 20, 2008:
Boston Senior Home Care, which provides services for the elderly and disabled, got a rude awakening when it began searching for new office space last year.
The nonprofit group wanted to stay near its urban constituents and public transportation.
But with the city’s commercial real estate market at a historic high, affordable rental property was difficult to find and the spaces it could afford were often sub-standard.
“Some of the buildings would have been just terrible for our staff, and price was absolutely an issue,” said executive director Linda George.
Instead, Boston Senior Home Care moved in January to attractive, contemporary, high-quality offices in the city’s financial district, at a rate George considers “a very fair deal”.
The recently renovated space is part of a building called the Nonprofit Centre, which exclusively houses “progressive social change” organisations that work to correct societal problems.
It is one of about 150 such centres nationwide: multi-tenant, incubator-like spaces operated primarily for nonprofit organisations (NPOs), which benefit from affordable rents, secure leases, a collaborative environment and increased visibility.
Many of the centres are in modern buildings in prime downtown areas, and some offer shared equipment such as photocopiers and printers, as well as programmes like yoga and lunch-time seminars.
And in hot real estate markets they are helping to solve a common lament of many NPOs: that the cost of commercial real estate is driving them out of the cities and communities they serve.
“The market for commercial real estate and rentals in the last two years has been skyrocketing, which means that for nonprofit groups that negotiated favourable leases five or six years ago, it’s going to cost them significantly more to stay put when those leases come up for renewal,” said Jonathan Spack, who operates the Nonprofit Centre.
“Our tenants know the rent is not going to be jacked up wildly at the end of the lease if the market happens to be hot,” Spack said, “and there’s a sense of community that doesn’t exist in a normal building.”
Volatile rents are a perennial concern for NPOs, which are sometimes forced to vacate office space during real estate booms. As a result, many nonprofit groups are looking for cheaper offices.
By moving to the Nonprofit Centre on South Street, which rents for 5 to 10 less per square foot than similar commercial properties, the organisation still has easy access to those communities. The Nonprofit Centre is one of two buildings in Massachusetts that are dedicated to providing shared space for NPOs. The other is Boston TeamWorks in Dorchester, which houses multiple youth-sports organisations.
Three more centres are in development statewide — in Northampton, Truro and Lynn.
The nine-floor building has many of the same amenities as pricier commercial spaces, such as a meeting room with video-conferencing facilities, a landscaped courtyard and round-the-clock security. Because most of the building is tax-exempt, its roughly two dozen tenants — they range from the Centre for Legal Aid Education to the Green Restaurant Association to Easter Seals Massachusetts to the World Society for the Protection of Animals — don’t face escalating lease costs as real estate taxes increase.
It’s also a “green building” with high-efficiency heating, cooling and lighting systems, environmentally friendly paint and carpeting, and amenities such as indoor bike racks and showers.
Tenants don’t sacrifice aesthetics either: the architecturally distinctive brick building — built in 1899 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places — has lots of natural light, funky paint colours and even a grandfather clock chiming in the marble lobby.
Roughly 10% of the building is shared space in which very small or start-up groups can pay a flat monthly fee ranging from 400 to 900 to rent as little as a desk.
Instead of having to commit to multi-year leases, shared tenants sign one-year licence agreements that include Internet access, electricity, access to hi-tech meeting space and a shared photocopier, printer and fax machine.
“We looked at a lot of buildings and this one was by far the superior building for the rent,” said George of Boston Senior Home Care. “And we loved the atmosphere of a whole family of NPOs, with everybody having similar goals and missions.”
© 2008 The New York Times
LIGHTENING THE LOAD: Many nonprofit groups are looking for cheaper offices to provide services to the elderly. Picture: Kathrine Muick-Mere
------------------------------------------------------------
‘There’s a sense of
community that doesn’t exist
in a normal building’
------------------------------------------------------------
Cities create quality spaces for use by nonprofit organisations
NEW YORK (New York Times), April 20, 2008:
Boston Senior Home Care, which provides services for the elderly and disabled, got a rude awakening when it began searching for new office space last year.
The nonprofit group wanted to stay near its urban constituents and public transportation.
But with the city’s commercial real estate market at a historic high, affordable rental property was difficult to find and the spaces it could afford were often sub-standard.
“Some of the buildings would have been just terrible for our staff, and price was absolutely an issue,” said executive director Linda George.
Instead, Boston Senior Home Care moved in January to attractive, contemporary, high-quality offices in the city’s financial district, at a rate George considers “a very fair deal”.
The recently renovated space is part of a building called the Nonprofit Centre, which exclusively houses “progressive social change” organisations that work to correct societal problems.
It is one of about 150 such centres nationwide: multi-tenant, incubator-like spaces operated primarily for nonprofit organisations (NPOs), which benefit from affordable rents, secure leases, a collaborative environment and increased visibility.
Many of the centres are in modern buildings in prime downtown areas, and some offer shared equipment such as photocopiers and printers, as well as programmes like yoga and lunch-time seminars.
And in hot real estate markets they are helping to solve a common lament of many NPOs: that the cost of commercial real estate is driving them out of the cities and communities they serve.
“The market for commercial real estate and rentals in the last two years has been skyrocketing, which means that for nonprofit groups that negotiated favourable leases five or six years ago, it’s going to cost them significantly more to stay put when those leases come up for renewal,” said Jonathan Spack, who operates the Nonprofit Centre.
“Our tenants know the rent is not going to be jacked up wildly at the end of the lease if the market happens to be hot,” Spack said, “and there’s a sense of community that doesn’t exist in a normal building.”
Volatile rents are a perennial concern for NPOs, which are sometimes forced to vacate office space during real estate booms. As a result, many nonprofit groups are looking for cheaper offices.
By moving to the Nonprofit Centre on South Street, which rents for 5 to 10 less per square foot than similar commercial properties, the organisation still has easy access to those communities. The Nonprofit Centre is one of two buildings in Massachusetts that are dedicated to providing shared space for NPOs. The other is Boston TeamWorks in Dorchester, which houses multiple youth-sports organisations.
Three more centres are in development statewide — in Northampton, Truro and Lynn.
The nine-floor building has many of the same amenities as pricier commercial spaces, such as a meeting room with video-conferencing facilities, a landscaped courtyard and round-the-clock security. Because most of the building is tax-exempt, its roughly two dozen tenants — they range from the Centre for Legal Aid Education to the Green Restaurant Association to Easter Seals Massachusetts to the World Society for the Protection of Animals — don’t face escalating lease costs as real estate taxes increase.
It’s also a “green building” with high-efficiency heating, cooling and lighting systems, environmentally friendly paint and carpeting, and amenities such as indoor bike racks and showers.
Tenants don’t sacrifice aesthetics either: the architecturally distinctive brick building — built in 1899 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places — has lots of natural light, funky paint colours and even a grandfather clock chiming in the marble lobby.
Roughly 10% of the building is shared space in which very small or start-up groups can pay a flat monthly fee ranging from 400 to 900 to rent as little as a desk.
Instead of having to commit to multi-year leases, shared tenants sign one-year licence agreements that include Internet access, electricity, access to hi-tech meeting space and a shared photocopier, printer and fax machine.
“We looked at a lot of buildings and this one was by far the superior building for the rent,” said George of Boston Senior Home Care. “And we loved the atmosphere of a whole family of NPOs, with everybody having similar goals and missions.”
© 2008 The New York Times
JAPAN: The challenges of an aging society
TOKYO, Japan (The Japan Times), April 20, 2008:
BOOKS
POPULATION DECLINE AND AGEING IN JAPAN:
THE SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES
by Florian Coulmas.
Routledge: London, 2007,
167 pp., $150 (cloth)
Florian Coulmas, a longtime contributor to the Japan Times and director of the German Institute for Japanese Studies in Tokyo, packs a lot of information and insights into this slim and pricey volume.
He describes Japan's post-WWI population dynamics and the relentless march toward a "hyper-aged society." He argues that social aging stems from urbanization, industrialization and modernization, and that it augurs tectonic social consequences.
Demographic pressures are forcing the government to, "face challenges concerning intergenerational fairness and social cohesion, a shrinking labor force and economic growth, pension funds and public fiscal sustainability, and a new relationship between the state and non-state organizations and their involvement in education, care-giving and other social services.
"Japanese, with good reason, are worried about how to maintain their standard of living in a hyper-aged society while also striking a balance on social security that does not overly burden the young, stifle the economy or incur too much hardship on the elderly."
Coulmas stresses that Japan is not just getting older, but rather that an aging population is causing fundamental social transformations. Nowhere is this more evident than in intergenerational relations.
Coulmas writes, "As the economic rationality of intergenerational co-residence becomes less compelling, a shift in emphasis from vertical inter-generational to horizontal intra-generational relations becomes apparent, the conjugal family making inroads at the expense of the traditional stem family."
Individualism, according to the author, is steadily gaining importance in Japan while mutual support among family members is declining.
He writes, "It is a paradox of Japanese society in the early 21st century that ligatures inside and outside the family are weakening just as their importance is increasing for the only growing population group, the elderly. This paradox generates pressure for the professionalization of care for the frail and elderly."
Healthy senior citizens also face growing isolation as social networks erode with friends and neighbors dying or moving away. Senior citizens clubs are partially filling the void, but Coulmas sees more hope in age-integrated facilities — combining senior citizen centers with nursery schools — to create more opportunities for seniors to interact with children.
Volunteerism also provides an opportunity for healthy elderly to forge new social networks. Remarkably, social networks have rapidly evolved from a private matter to a socialized concern involving initiatives from government, business and NPOs, a trend that seems likely to gain momentum.
Population aging also takes a toll at the other end of the spectrum as more families rear only one child. Coulmas points out that reducing family size is not just about the economic costs of child-rearing, but rather reflects changing lifestyle attitudes. The growing numbers of lonely children of contemporary Japan are consequence of these changes and in turn are creating new patterns of socialization and interaction. He writes, "Both the otaku and hikkikomori are children of this society."
The only child syndrome means that more Japanese are growing up in pampered conditions with limited social skills. He adds, "Their face-to-face communication skills are often underdeveloped. Headphones clamped to their heads, they prefer to communicate with others by means of electronic devices."
The author holds out little hope for population decline countermeasures. He notes the connection between changing patterns of women's labor force participation and fertility, pointing out that as more women entered the paid formal sector it became more difficult to harmonize the demands of work and family.
Consequently, women are choosing to avoid or postpone marriage and limit childbearing due to the opportunity costs.
However, it is worth noting that some countries are experiencing a fertility recovery despite increases in women's labor force participation rates. In these countries, more family-friendly policies by the state and employers help women better balance work and family, and have helped to stem the fertility decline.
There does seem great scope in Japan to adopt more family-friendly policies and institutional arrangements. These must be comprehensive because, as Coulmas observes, "the combination of long working hours, increased job insecurity, anxiety about their own retirement benefits in future and care for elderly parents makes them opt against children." Unfortunately, current policy prescriptions are often contradictory and inconsistent, reflecting prevailing ambivalence.
Do immigrants hold the key to defusing Japan's demographic time-bomb?
Coulmas limns the public discourse about immigration, noting widespread reluctance to open the gates despite rising needs. Rather than mass immigration, he sees more hope in a, "human resource development and circulation model" that would spare Japan the social costs and cultural clashes that have plagued other developed countries while addressing Japan's labor and skill shortages. However, he notes that immigration policy is not high on the government's agenda.
This is a timely and thoughtful examination of population aging in Japan, a nation already grappling with complex policy challenges that will eventually confront other developed nations.
It may seem expensive at nearly $1 a page, but it is a rewarding investment and valuable barometer.
Jeff Kingston is director of Asian Studies at Temple University, Japan campus.
Copyright(C) 2008 The Japan Times Online
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
This book presents a comprehensive analysis of one of the most pressing challenges facing Japan today: population decline and ageing.
It argues that social ageing is a phenomenon that follows in the wake of industrialization, urbanization and social modernization, bringing about changes in values, institutions, social structures, economic activity, technology and culture, and posing many challenges for the countries affected. Focusing on the experience of Japan, the author explores:
* how Japan has recognized the emerging problems relatively early because during the past half century population ageing has been more rapid in Japan than in any other country
* how all of Japanese society is affected by social ageing, not just certain substructures and institutions, and explains its complex causes, describes the resulting challenges and analyses the solutions under consideration to deal with it
* the nature of Japan's population dynamics since 1920, and argues that Japan is rapidly moving in the direction of a 'hyperaged society' in which those sixty-five or older account for twenty-five per cent of the total population
* the implications for family structures and other social networks, gender roles and employment patterns, health care and welfare provision, pension systems, immigration policy, consumer and voting behaviour and the cultural reactions and ramifications of social ageing.
Table of Contents
1. Facts and Discourses 2. The Problem of Generations and the Structure of Society 3. Social Networks 4. The Lonely Child 5. Women and Men at Work 6. The Socialisation of Care 7. 'Mature' Customers 8. Longevity Risk and Pension Funds 9. Government of the Elderly, by the Elderly and for the Elderly 10. Limits to Ageing? 11. Foreigners Welcome? 12. Population Ageing and Social Change
Reviews
'a thoughtful and stimulating analysis of Japan's hyper-aging society; a serious book about a critically important subject.' - Jeff Kingston, The Japan Times
BOOKS
POPULATION DECLINE AND AGEING IN JAPAN:
THE SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES
by Florian Coulmas.
Routledge: London, 2007,
167 pp., $150 (cloth)
Florian Coulmas, a longtime contributor to the Japan Times and director of the German Institute for Japanese Studies in Tokyo, packs a lot of information and insights into this slim and pricey volume.
He describes Japan's post-WWI population dynamics and the relentless march toward a "hyper-aged society." He argues that social aging stems from urbanization, industrialization and modernization, and that it augurs tectonic social consequences.
Demographic pressures are forcing the government to, "face challenges concerning intergenerational fairness and social cohesion, a shrinking labor force and economic growth, pension funds and public fiscal sustainability, and a new relationship between the state and non-state organizations and their involvement in education, care-giving and other social services.
"Japanese, with good reason, are worried about how to maintain their standard of living in a hyper-aged society while also striking a balance on social security that does not overly burden the young, stifle the economy or incur too much hardship on the elderly."
Coulmas stresses that Japan is not just getting older, but rather that an aging population is causing fundamental social transformations. Nowhere is this more evident than in intergenerational relations.
Coulmas writes, "As the economic rationality of intergenerational co-residence becomes less compelling, a shift in emphasis from vertical inter-generational to horizontal intra-generational relations becomes apparent, the conjugal family making inroads at the expense of the traditional stem family."
Individualism, according to the author, is steadily gaining importance in Japan while mutual support among family members is declining.
He writes, "It is a paradox of Japanese society in the early 21st century that ligatures inside and outside the family are weakening just as their importance is increasing for the only growing population group, the elderly. This paradox generates pressure for the professionalization of care for the frail and elderly."
Healthy senior citizens also face growing isolation as social networks erode with friends and neighbors dying or moving away. Senior citizens clubs are partially filling the void, but Coulmas sees more hope in age-integrated facilities — combining senior citizen centers with nursery schools — to create more opportunities for seniors to interact with children.
Volunteerism also provides an opportunity for healthy elderly to forge new social networks. Remarkably, social networks have rapidly evolved from a private matter to a socialized concern involving initiatives from government, business and NPOs, a trend that seems likely to gain momentum.
Population aging also takes a toll at the other end of the spectrum as more families rear only one child. Coulmas points out that reducing family size is not just about the economic costs of child-rearing, but rather reflects changing lifestyle attitudes. The growing numbers of lonely children of contemporary Japan are consequence of these changes and in turn are creating new patterns of socialization and interaction. He writes, "Both the otaku and hikkikomori are children of this society."
The only child syndrome means that more Japanese are growing up in pampered conditions with limited social skills. He adds, "Their face-to-face communication skills are often underdeveloped. Headphones clamped to their heads, they prefer to communicate with others by means of electronic devices."
The author holds out little hope for population decline countermeasures. He notes the connection between changing patterns of women's labor force participation and fertility, pointing out that as more women entered the paid formal sector it became more difficult to harmonize the demands of work and family.
Consequently, women are choosing to avoid or postpone marriage and limit childbearing due to the opportunity costs.
However, it is worth noting that some countries are experiencing a fertility recovery despite increases in women's labor force participation rates. In these countries, more family-friendly policies by the state and employers help women better balance work and family, and have helped to stem the fertility decline.
There does seem great scope in Japan to adopt more family-friendly policies and institutional arrangements. These must be comprehensive because, as Coulmas observes, "the combination of long working hours, increased job insecurity, anxiety about their own retirement benefits in future and care for elderly parents makes them opt against children." Unfortunately, current policy prescriptions are often contradictory and inconsistent, reflecting prevailing ambivalence.
Do immigrants hold the key to defusing Japan's demographic time-bomb?
Coulmas limns the public discourse about immigration, noting widespread reluctance to open the gates despite rising needs. Rather than mass immigration, he sees more hope in a, "human resource development and circulation model" that would spare Japan the social costs and cultural clashes that have plagued other developed countries while addressing Japan's labor and skill shortages. However, he notes that immigration policy is not high on the government's agenda.
This is a timely and thoughtful examination of population aging in Japan, a nation already grappling with complex policy challenges that will eventually confront other developed nations.
It may seem expensive at nearly $1 a page, but it is a rewarding investment and valuable barometer.
Jeff Kingston is director of Asian Studies at Temple University, Japan campus.
Copyright(C) 2008 The Japan Times Online
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
This book presents a comprehensive analysis of one of the most pressing challenges facing Japan today: population decline and ageing.
It argues that social ageing is a phenomenon that follows in the wake of industrialization, urbanization and social modernization, bringing about changes in values, institutions, social structures, economic activity, technology and culture, and posing many challenges for the countries affected. Focusing on the experience of Japan, the author explores:
* how Japan has recognized the emerging problems relatively early because during the past half century population ageing has been more rapid in Japan than in any other country
* how all of Japanese society is affected by social ageing, not just certain substructures and institutions, and explains its complex causes, describes the resulting challenges and analyses the solutions under consideration to deal with it
* the nature of Japan's population dynamics since 1920, and argues that Japan is rapidly moving in the direction of a 'hyperaged society' in which those sixty-five or older account for twenty-five per cent of the total population
* the implications for family structures and other social networks, gender roles and employment patterns, health care and welfare provision, pension systems, immigration policy, consumer and voting behaviour and the cultural reactions and ramifications of social ageing.
Table of Contents1. Facts and Discourses 2. The Problem of Generations and the Structure of Society 3. Social Networks 4. The Lonely Child 5. Women and Men at Work 6. The Socialisation of Care 7. 'Mature' Customers 8. Longevity Risk and Pension Funds 9. Government of the Elderly, by the Elderly and for the Elderly 10. Limits to Ageing? 11. Foreigners Welcome? 12. Population Ageing and Social Change
Reviews
'a thoughtful and stimulating analysis of Japan's hyper-aging society; a serious book about a critically important subject.' - Jeff Kingston, The Japan Times
FRANCE: Germaine Tillion ' A Beautiful Life,' Dies Aged 100
Germaine Tillion
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PARIS (AFP), April 20, 2008:
French anthropologist, feminist, resistance fighter, concentration camp survivor, Algeria peacemaker and writer Germaine Tillion died Saturday aged 100, the chairman of the foundation named after her announced.
Her acts were an inspiration to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who told her in a letter marking her centenary in May 2007 of his wish to bestow on her "the affection of the entire nation".
"Anthropology, feminism, of course, the Resistance, deportation, the fight for social justice, the war in Algeria, but also so many books, so many research works ... It is not possible for me to evoke here every aspect of such a beautiful and important life," Sarkozy added.
Born to a prosperous family in mountainous central France on May 30, 1907, Tillion trained as an anthropologist in the 1930s and cultivated a life-long interest in Algeria.
"Anthropology gave me lucidity," she wrote in later life. "It taught me from the very beginning to be respectful of other cultures."
Between 1934 and 1940, she made four trips to Algeria, travelling on horseback and camping with Berber nomads as she gathered her firsthand observations.
But it was her wartime experiences that first brought her to wider public attention as a founding member of the "Museum of Mankind" intellectual resistance network at the start of German Occupation during World War II.
In 1942 she was betrayed by a priest working for the Gestapo and arrested at the Paris' Gare de Lyon station.
At the same time her mother -- also in the group -- was picked up for hiding a British airman, and the two were sent to the all-woman concentration camp of Ravensbruck in late 1943.
Tillion used her academic training as a tool for survival, treating the camp as a case-study for observation -- and after the war bringing out two definitive books on Ravensbruck.
Some 50,000 out of 132,000 inmates died from fatigue and disease as well as lethal injection and gassing -- with Tillion's own mother sent to the gas chamber in 1945.
She was also the author of an operetta, "Le Verfugbar aux Enfers" (The Camp-Worker goes to Hell).
Written in October 1944, it lay forgotten in a drawer for some 60 years before being premiered to thousands of people to mark her centenary.
After the war, Tillion returned to Algeria and at the request of the French government mediated during the years of crisis and war.
She created social centres for displaced rural Muslims, and in 1957, at the height of the battle of Algiers -- which led to the country's independence from France -- negotiated a ceasefire during one secret meeting with the regional military commander.
Tillion was one of France's most decorated people, being one of just five women awarded the Grand Cross of the Legion d'honneur.
She was also honoured with her country's wartime cross and Resistance medals, and Germany granted her the title of Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic in 2004.
In nominating her, Germany said Tillion was "a great European" and "an exceptional person."
Amongst many more honours, she received the Prix mondial Cino Del Duca for her lifetime's work.
Tillion also wrote two autobiographies, but her seminal work remains "The Republic of Cousins: Women's Oppression in Mediterranean Society," in which she examined the social position of women across North Africa and along much of the Mediterranean's eastern shore.
She revealed to readers in France and beyond of how the "crime of honour" -- in which a woman suspected of having violated a stringent code of sexual behaviour was murdered by members of her own family -- was rarely punished severely.
Copyright © 2008 AFP.
USA: "The Woods Are Lovely, Dark and Deep"
"The Woods Are Lovely, Dark and Deep"A novel about Robert Frost finds the man turning to poetry when all else fails.
Reviewed by Peter Behrens
Washington Post
Sunday, April 20, 2008;
FALL OF FROST
By Brian Hall
Viking. 340 pp. $25.95
Americans of a certain age might remember Robert Frost as the white-haired codger at JFK's inauguration, a very old New Frontiersman struggling against the January cold and sunlight to read a poem composed for the occasion. Between the glare and the paper-rattling wind, the old man wasn't up to the task. Finally, he folded his pages and extemporized, in an elder's quaver, lines long since committed to memory. All in all, it was an edgy, brave performance.
In Fall of Frost, a novel, Brian Hall presents a vision of Robert Frost as an unsuccessful farmer, tormented father, distanced husband and, most of all, a poet who deals always with the hard pith of things. Hall's themes, like Frost's, are major: love, death, the anarchy of living, the tragedy implicit in creating children and poems. This is a book about a man confronting the world and struggling to make sense, through his work, of what he cannot otherwise grasp. Like Frost's poetry, Hall's novel is pungent, deceptively simple and magnificently sad.
The story operates the way an old man's memory might, moving back and forth in time through 128 small chapters, each set in a particular place at a specific time. The restlessness of these almost staccato chunks is occasionally confusing, moving as they do from "Moscow 1962" to "The Derry Farm, New Hampshire 1902" with many other stops along the way. But the disjointed structure allows a feeling of intimacy, the sense of inhabiting a restless mind.
It is no news that biographical fiction can sometimes bring a reader closer to a life than biography is able to do. It helps when the novel is a savory pleasure to read, as Fall of Frost is. In an afterword Hall insists his fictional Frost is constructed around a strong armature of fact, and sources for scenes, for the tenor of relationships, even for dialogue are earnestly discussed in chapter notes at the end of the book. The novel contains some earlier Frost poems and bits of later poems, but the author also notes that he was denied permission to include more than fragments of verse written after 1922 because the copyright protection will not end "until 2018 at the earliest (and perhaps not even then, given the interest of powerful corporations in extending copyright)." This must have been frustrating, but it doesn't compromise Hall's powerful and convincing portrait of the poet.
In one chapter, "San Francisco, California, March 1874," the poet's memories of his mother's stories are all that remain from the rough house where Frost happened to be born. His life finds its own ground in his ancestral New England, on the New Hampshire farm where he tries to sustain his family. "Derry Farm" chapters seeded throughout the book detail the stoic, self-indulgent life the poet lived in the early 1900s and in periods thereafter, with a wife and a brood of brooding children, writing poems all night and getting out of his bed at 11 o'clock in the morning. Late risings prove to neighbors what he suspects already: Despite chickens, vegetable gardens and hay-mowings, the poet is no farmer. Meanwhile, the lives and fates of those children, their suicides, mental illnesses and early deaths, become lodes of guilt. Hall wonders, "Did he replace the love of his children, whom death could touch, with the love of words?"
Other chapter headings -- "Little Iddens, Ledington, Gloucestershire, England, August 26, 1914"; "Gagra, Georgian S.S.R., Friday, September 7, 1962" -- suggest the scope of Frost's life and of this novel. The Georgian chapters spin around a weird trip the elderly poet took just a few weeks before the Cuban Missile Crisis, after Soviet Ambassador Dobrynin delivered an invitation from Chairman Khrushchev to visit the Soviet Union. Frost is convinced he can talk man-to-man with this earthy son of the soil and convince Khrushchev to cool the Cold War by giving up East Berlin: "Just cut the Knot," he tells the Soviet leader. "Relent. Graciously give, and prove your strength by giving."
This is the poet in near-dotage, his mighty vanity and the sound of his own voice misleading him into a diplomatic game that confuses everyone. Hall slyly places us within Khrushchev's mind, which is chewing over the obscure "meaning" of Frost's message: Frost "talked about how the U.S. and Russia could avoid a stalemate. . . . Khrushchev would love a stalemate. If only! . . . Why didn't the old man say something about Cuba? He's in Kennedy's inner circle, must be getting instructions every day."
Robert Frost was a lyric poet whose poetry did not fit easily into any canon. Never popular with the avant-garde, he enjoyed early success and remained a public figure for almost half a century, approved and fed by institutions and acolytes. Despite the applause, in Hall's telling the man never gets what he needs. He keeps buying and selling those stony New England farms, searching for the right ground, and the poetry keeps spilling out of him. Robert Frost, June 1955 (AP)
Hall's Robert Frost is poet of loneliness, a lyric naturalist and barely a romantic, altogether a significantly more dangerous voice than the Old Man of the Mountains mythology suggests. In the novel, the poet armors himself with ersatz New England folksiness whenever he's tired, lazy or scared. But this is a performance and never has much to do with the actual work, which is anything but naive or rustic. At one point, late in his life, he muses on Thomas Hardy: "The avant-gardists spurned him, but he didn't care. He was the main army. He had his castle and his art and his stonemason's heart that sweated tears from its own coldness."The American poet might also be describing himself. ·
Peter Behrens is the author of "The Law of Dreams."
© Copyright 1996-2008 The Washington Post Company
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