USA: 95 Year Old Woman's Childhood Wish Granted

. EUGENE, Oregon / KVAL News.com / News / July 31, 2009 Ageless Dream By Molly Blancett, KVAL News SPRINGFIELD, Ore. -- 95-year-old Retta Morrison fell in love with fire engines when she was just ten-years-old. "When I was a little girl, I saw a fire truck," said Retta. That one day stuck with for the rest of her life. "I always wanted to drive a fire truck but I never had a chance to," said Retta. Instead of driving a fire truck, Retta said she'd settle for riding in one. That wish came true on thanks to a program called "Ageless Dreams". Once a month, a resident of Woodside Assisted Living gets to do something they never have. Friday, it was Retta's turn. "Where ya gonna take me," Retta asked the Springfield firefighter Charlie VanRysselberghe. Dressed to kill and ready to ride, Retta hopped aboard. She put on her earphones and hit the road. About twenty minutes later, she returned. "That was wonderful," said Retta. It looks like this wish has officially been granted. "I rode a firetruck," said Retta. Riding a fire truck isn't the only thing on Retta's list. Next up is riding a train. She and her daughter have a trip planned this fall. Other wishes "Ageless Dreams" has granted include a makeover and a trip to Wildlife Safari to pet an elephant.[rc] Copyright © 2008 Fisher Communications, Inc.

UK: Log In, Cheer Up And Spread Some 'Wappiness'

. LONDON, England / Sky.com / News / July 31, 2009 Scientists are hoping to bring happiness to Britain next week with an online psychological experiment. Researchers will do a national poll to see if the experiment was successful From Monday, August 3, for five days, people will be invited to visit a website and take part in four mood-boosting techniques. It is hoped that once the participants are cheered up by the site, their happiness will spread to others across the UK. Happiness Video: Where's Happiest Place on Earth? The researchers behind the experiment will conduct a national poll before and after, to see whether or not it has had an effect. After logging on to the site visitors will be asked to rate their mood and will be randomly assigned to one of four groups. ======================================================

No-one's ever tried cheering up a whole country before, and it's the right time to do it with everyone feeling gloomy from the recession. - Professor Richard Wiseman

====================================================== They will then be shown a video which describes one of four techniques associated with increasing happiness. Professor Richard Wiseman from the University of Hertfordshire, who is running the study, feels it can make a difference if enough people take part. Come on, it's not that bad "No-one's ever tried cheering up a whole country before, and it's the right time to do it with everyone feeling gloomy from the recession," he said. He added: "Potentially somewhere like London, which is densely populated, you might find people smiling a lot more. It's a mad idea, but it might just work." Professor Wiseman feels that at least 10,000 people need to be involved for the experiment to have an effect. Anyone who wants to join the study can do so by visiting www.scienceofhappiness.co.uk. Techniques For Enhancing Happiness 1. Forcing a smile on the face in response to everyday cues, like making a cup of tea 2. Small acts of kindness, such as paying someone a compliment or donating to the homeless 3. Expressing gratitude for some lucky aspect of a person's life, for example being healthy 4. Thinking about one thing that went well the previous day [rc] Copyright ©2009 BskyB

USA: Your mom is getting revenge on husband

. TORONTO, Ontario / The Daily News / July 31, 2009 Wife seeks revenge following husband's strokes By Kathy Mitchell & Marcy Sugar, The Daily News Dear Annie: A few years ago, my father had a series of severe strokes at a relatively young age. He is now disabled and occasionally incontinent. At times he is quite lucid, but he needs continuous care. My parents have been married 40 years. Early on, there was physical and verbal abuse. They are extremely well off, and my mother is convinced a nursing home will drain all their assets, so she insists Dad stay home. She has fancy equipment and hired help that she pays under the table. My sister and I live two hours away. Mom goes into rages if we try to help with Dad's care. She also is physically rough with him in front of our husbands and kids. The aides say she hits and kicks him, and tells him she wishes he were dead. They won't call Adult Protective Services because they want to keep their jobs. We have called, and his psychiatrist and primary care doctor also called, but we were told that as long as my father chooses to stay in the home, there is nothing they can do. Mom has broken off contact with my father's family, as well as her own, and there is no one who can influence her. Visiting is difficult because Mom makes it obvious she hates us, and we do not want to expose our children to her horrible behavior. She says she has the right to treat Dad this way because he abused her so many years ago, and his drinking and smoking caused his health problems. Dad says he wants to be at home. Mom refuses our offers of respite care and won't see a counselor for her own mental health. What can we do? -- Scared of Mom Dear Scared: Your mother is getting revenge, and your father, in his more lucid moments, thinks he deserves it. Adult Protective Services should step in, but if they won't, call the National Center on Elder Abuse hot line (www.ncea.aoa.gov) at 1-800-96-ABUSE (1-800-962-2873) and explain the situation. [rc] © Copyright (c) Canwest News Service

UK: Ralph Hoare, the 101-year-old gardener

. LONDON, England / The Guardian / Life & Style / Gardens / July 31, 2009 Lia Leendertz meets Ralph Hoare, a centenarian who is still playing the piano, practising his golf swing and, above all, growing beautiful roses By Lia Leendertz, Mustafa Khalili and Michael Tait guardian.co.uk Mr Hoare sitting in his delightful garden. Link to this video My very first proper paid job in horticulture was as a plant assistant at a well-known garden centre chain. There were several of us working the plant area, including a manager who knew, if it were possible, even less than me, a man in his 60s and a woman in her 50s, both keen gardeners. Shortly after I arrived the man was inexplicably moved to lawnmowers and the company cut the woman's pay so she was forced to get another job elsewhere. The manager (who gave me a rise at the same time) told me without a trace of embarrassment that they wanted the plant area (they may even have started calling it the 'Plantaria' at that stage) to be young and fresh, and that meant hiring the likes of me. Me, with all the vast horticultural knowledge that nine months' worth of National Certificate in Horticulture bestows, who regularly hid in the rhododendron section so that no one would ask me a question, and ran to Trevor in lawnmowers every time a customer managed to find me and ask me one. So it dawned on me early on just how ludicrous the fetishisation of young people in gardening is. We are all obsessed with getting youth interested in gardening. They're not. Old people are. What on earth is wrong with that? Gardening is just one of the many things that you get better and better at as you get older. Which is why it was such a joy to go and interview, for my very first video moment, Ralph Hoare. Ralph is the grandfather of a friend of mine, and he turned 101 two weeks ago, just before our visit. Unlike me, he is an old hand at all this filming, having done several interviews for various news programmes last year. But only the Guardian cares when you're 101. He still does all his own gardening, bar the lawn, which he has had someone in to help him with for the past two years. Just to underline that point, this means he continued to regularly mow the lawn until he was 99 years old. Feeling lazy yet? The object of making the film was really to ask the question: why do we garden? What is it in our pasts that drives us to sow and weed and mow? As well as accessing his vast store of horticultural knowledge, we wanted to delve into Ralph's memories, to get a feel for the way gardening has changed over the past century, and to simply celebrate Ralph, a really quite old gardener. I hope you enjoy it. [rc] © Guardian News and Media Limited 2009

CHINA: 'Silver' marketing companies beginning to pop up

. BEIJING, China / China International Business Magazine / Focus / July 31, 2009 Once believed to be a lost cause because of their ascetic shopping habits, the elderly — retirees like Li of about 60 or older — are now slowly shedding..... By Xiyun Yang From CIB August 2009 Print Edition At 7 am on a stifling Beijing summer morning in July, Li Rulai, 71, waited with his wife and several other retirees in their 60s and 70s for a bus nearby their apartment building. Picked up from their leafy surroundings, the group was dropped off at the offices of Beijing Puzhongtong Biotechnology (北京普中堂生物科技有限公司), in a nondescript office building around the east fourth ring road. Li, along with dozens of others, listened patiently to the company’s sponsored lectures on bone health and nutrition in hard-backed chairs from “a very good fellow who graduated from Peking University medical school, served in the army and worked in the countryside.” Li takes careful notes in a small black notebook. He likes the speaker because, as he recalled later, the man made common sense. At the end he decided to buy several months worth of health supplements from the presenters for himself and his wife, at a total cost of around RMB 800 (USD 117) a month per person. As a retired electrical engineer who had worked for a state-owned architectural company, Li receives a pension of just RMB 2,700 a month – so RMB 1,600 represents a considerable proportion of the couples’ monthly income. Companies like Puzhongtong Biotechnology that target older consumer as a demographic are beginning to pop up on the retail landscape. Once believed to be a lost cause because of their ascetic shopping habits, the elderly — retirees like Li of about 60 or older — are now slowly shedding their frugal image and are beginning to be considered as a market force of their own. Baidu recently announced the launch of a search page directly targeting elderly web surfers, while Nestlé has expanded away from its baby milk formulas to market one specifically targeted at the elderly. The Harbin Institute of Technology is currently developing a special robot that will service the elderly with functions including fetching food and medicine and sounding an alarm in case of a gas leak. Priced between RMB 30,000 and RMB 50,000, the team hopes to get the robot market-ready within the next two to three years. As policymakers and entrepreneurs within China and abroad scramble to coax money out of the mythical Chinese consumer who, as a group, are expected to create enough domestic demand to pull the country — and perhaps the world — from the depth of crisis, they are largely focusing on young consumers. Yet, while younger consumers are more easily swayed by the excesses of a consumption culture, it is the older generation who could be the key demographic-by sheer dint of their overwhelming numbers. STRENGTH IN NUMBERS The United Nations defines an aging society as one in which 7% or more of its population are 65 years or older; in 1999, China, for the first time in its history, became an elderly nation. Fueled by an artificially-imposed low fertility rate and an ever-rising life expectancy, the trend will only continue, gathering speed as China’s baby boomers slide into retirement. In 2005, 143 million people were over the age of 60 nationwide, out of a population of approximately 1.3 billion. In 2050 it is projected that there will be 438 million people over the age of 60, 103 million of them 80 years or older. While this demographic change raises serious questions about how the country’s underdeveloped social security system will perform under such enormous strain, as well as the balance between the workforce and those pension dependent, the market targeting the elderly consumer, or the “silver market” as it is referred to in the West, is also massively underdeveloped. Spending by senior citizens is projected to reach RMB 1.4 trillion next year, and RMB 4.3 trillion by 2020, according to the China National Committee on Aging. “In terms of consumption, the aging population will have a huge influence on China’s future social and economic development,” committee head Li Bengong told Xinhua in May. They are also considered intensely brand loyal and are less easily swayed by passing trends, at least according to Kunal Sinha, head of Ogilvy & Mather’s consumer analysis unit, which recently released a report on China’s senior citizens. Currently, however, market supply has only met about 10% of their demands, according to some industry estimates. Manufacturers and retailers have long avoided the Chinese silver market often because of a lack of understanding on how, why and what the elderly are willing to spend their money on. “It has huge potential, but it is a very unique market. You really have to understand the people,” says Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, an economic advisor for MasterCard who wrote the book The Glittering Silver Market: The Rise of Elderly Consumers in Asia. “You have to look at their life experiences in determining how they behave. You cannot rely on models from overseas.” The current generation of elderly Chinese consumers is what is referred to sometimes as the Lost Generation. Like the West, there was something of a baby boom in post-war China, but China’s baby boomers have not been the movers and shakers of society. They do not hold the wealth of spending power, nor did they drive social movements and changes. This group struggled during the Great Leap Forward and came of age during the chaos of the Cultural Revolution. Following governmental initiatives, they labored in the countryside rather than concentrating on school-based education. In fact, they are among the most poorly educated generations in Chinese history. URBAN VS. RURAL For obvious reasons, the Chinese elderly consumer is not a homogenous group, says Wang Yanni, the international director of the Gerontological Society of China, with the most obvious line being drawn between urban and rural residents. It is, and will remain for the near future at least, predominantly urban residents who form the bulk of elderly consumers; it’s fundamentally a matter of wealth. 65% of the urban work force is covered by some kind of pension system, compared with only 11% of rural residents, where the average pension is just RMB 85 per month according to a paper released by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in the United States. The urban/rural income ratio is currently a little over three to one. With a projected 300 million Chinese emerging into the middle class within ten years, the spending power of the elderly Chinese consumer will also be based partly on their well-to-do children. “In an urban setting, incomes are higher, and their children would have done a lot better” says MasterCard’s Hedrick-Wong. “This is key: in the west the children are irrelevant, in the case of China it is completely different.” Less financial pressure put upon them by subsequent generations also translates to a more active leisure life. According to one study published in Asian Social Science, over 70% of elderly urban residents in China said they attended classes or engaged in hobbies during their leisure time, compared to less than 17% of rural residents, who listed household chores as the number one use of their time. “It’s the urban lifestyle that drives spending,” says Hedrick-Wong. A case of buying things you didn’t think you wanted until you saw them in a mall, and a more concentrated effect of keeping up with the neighbors. Migrant workers returning home and bringing their urban habits back with them is gradually spreading this mindset, but it is unlikely to factor too heavily for the older generation. A LIFETIME OF THRIFT Li Rulai and his wife Ma Yilan, 68, are examples of the elderly urban consumer. Born to a family of ten in a rural village of about 300 people in Jiangsu Province, Li’s parents were peasants who tilled less than five acres of land. Li tested into junior high and high school in a town 30 kilometers away. The school canteen cost RMB 6 a month, and the government gave him a subsidy of only RMB 3 a month. Unwilling to spend the extra RMB 3 at the canteen, he walked home once a week to collect enough grain to feed himself. When the steamed buns became stale, he poured hot water over them and ate the mush. He gave the RMB 3 subsidy to his parents. At school his possessions consisted of one worn and patched outfit — “three years new, three years old and three years patched, we used to say” — a quilt, one bed sheet and a padded jacket. No one had enough money for underwear. In his youth, Li does not recall ever buying an item solely because he wanted it but without any practical need. The closest thing is a watch he bought in the 1970s, for RMB 110, because he needed to be time-conscious for work. He saved for three years and queued all night in the street outside the Xidan department store to purchase it. “Everyone standing in line was so excited,” he says about the experience, showing some of the delights of consumer living. “I was so happy.” Life turned around for Li in the late 1980s, after a trip abroad working in the Chinese embassy in Tunisia. Nowadays Li has more time on his hands to relax, his four children are all middle class college graduates with multiple apartments and cars of their own, while Li and his wife live in a one-bedroom apartment they’ve owned for the last 20 years. As for disposable income and spending, 90% of Li’s medical expenses are covered by the state — 85% for his wife — meaning that, vitamin supplements aside, they do not have to worry too much about future expenses as their health deteriorates. They never eat in restaurants, and still use the same wardrobe they had made in the 1970s. Like the apartments of many of China’s elderly, theirs is furnished and decorated with the same utilitarian glee for scavenging as those of many university students in the West. The Formica covered dining table and chairs are rickety from use. Li still refuses to buy anything for himself that he does not explicitly need. His wife claims to have a bulging closet full of clothes, “to make up for everything I was gypped out of my entire life,” but her husband quietly explains that it was all bought for her by a particularly generous daughter-in-law. In fact, the only thing the couple spends money on is their health supplements, which they heard about through friends. GOOD HEALTH “You know what they say: ‘glory is in the past, power is doubtful, money is for the next generation, only health is yours,’” Li says. “There’s really nothing else for us to spend money on.” Li says that he’s been able to control his high blood pressure, insomnia and constipation with his supplements. Li isn’t the only Chinese believer in health supplements. Despite recent scandals and dubious claims — Li’s supplements claim to alleviate everything from high blood pressure to Parkinson’s disease — the health supplement industry plows on, partly on the backs of purchases made by concerned children. Brain Platinum, whose ubiquitous television advertisements strike hard at the filial pious nerve, announced last year that it has had cumulative sales of more than RMB 10 billion in the last ten years. Less prominent companies have been working to establish communities among their buyers, not only by sponsoring free lectures — which often draw crowds in the hundreds — but also by organizing short excursions out of the city. Its salespeople spend large amounts of time visiting its clients, forming relationships akin to those between neighbors. While the health supplements industry is at best chaotic, other sectors of the silver industry show a steadier promise. Domestic travel to cultural sites remains a major interest for China’s retirees, but there is also a growing market for international travel. Retirees make up 13.5% of China’s international travel market, but account for 45% of its total spending, according to Hedrick-Wong. Demand for adult education is also blooming. Since the Shanghai government introduced distance learning courses aimed at retirees four years ago, around 887,000 senior citizens have taken part. Hu Maili, 64, a retired accountant who lives with her daughter in downtown Beijing, says she spends most of her extra money on singing and neighborhood dance classes. She also shops for clothing bargains on the website Taobao after a computer class taught her how to navigate the internet. “This was never something I learned in school," says Hu of her new skills. “Society is moving so quickly [and] the older generation has to keep up – otherwise we'd be illiterate.” THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME One of the most reliably expanding sectors is, however, private health care. Retirees who stay in their homes rather than move into retirement communities are generally those more likely to be healthy and active for a longer period of time, according to a UN white paper on aging. Due to cultural factors over 90% of Chinese retirees choose to stay at home, says the Gerontological Society of China’s Wang, who is also the founder and CEO of Pinetree, a start-up that aims to provide home care and financial services for the elderly. Pinetree plans to roll out at-home care services in packages as low as a few hundred RMB a month. Wang believes that this will be the easiest sector of the silver market to penetrate. “Other sectors — real estate, retail, health supplements — you’re pushing [your goods] on the consumers. Do they want to pay that premium?” she says. “This sector is a vacuum, it just pulls you in.” China currently needs over 10 million nurses to take care of its elderly population, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, but there are few organized nursing care companies. As China and the world transition towards an older population with a firmly-rooted tradition of aging at home, that number is sure to grow, and those in power have begun shifting their focus from a retirement home approach to aging to a more inclusive mindset. In the nineties, the central government based its preparedness for handling the needs of an aging population on the number of available beds in retirement homes. Now it is encouraging the development of neighborhood-based retirement services such as communal dining halls and maid services for the elderly. Shanghai and Beijing have begun to give vouchers of up to RMB 500 a month to their poorest elderly, redeemable for goods and services. Quality is still an issue, however, as most at-home caretakers are still found by word of mouth, and many families complain of their quality of care and high turnover rates. But despite the unmistakable emergence of the Chinese elderly as an important demographic, only a few companies have seized the opportunity to treat them as one, and those companies are seeing the rewards. “I believe a booming silver market is just around the corner,” says Pinetree’s Wang. [rc] Copyright © 2009 China International Business

IRELAND: Elderly struggle to make daily payments

. BELFAST, Northern Ireland / Belfast Telegraph / News / July 31, 2009 Older people are reporting an increase in family rows and bullying because of financial difficulties. Statistics from the Senior Help Line, for the first five months of this year, show an increase in family problems and a rise in cases of elder abuse. The Senior Help Line - 1850 440 444 - is a confidential service for older people run by volunteers. Spokesperson Anne Dempsey said that they are hearing many cases of the economic climate putting pressure on the elderly, "Older people managing on a budget worried about how they might manage worried about future security, what was a right maybe is going to be taken from them and a general feeling of uncertainty. "Other callers who are very much worried about their investments, how they're going to manage in older age, if they can afford to pay for their nursing home care, people worried just on the very day-to-day things about repaying loans to their credit union and paying their bills." [rc] © belfasttelegraph.co.uk

UK: Care home fight goes on, vow families despite new setback

. LEEDS, England / Yorkshire Post / July 31, 2009 By Alexandra Wood RELATIVES of 11 elderly people at a Hull care home pledged to fight on yesterday despite losing the latest round of their marathon battle to keep it open. Campaigners for Rokeby House at the Royal Courts Of Justice in London. File photo September 2008. Rokeby House resident and former city councillor Hilda Milsom, 89, was among campaigners at a meeting of Hull Council's cabinet which reconfirmed its decision to close the council-owned home. An injunction by the residents' solicitor Yvonne Hossack failed to stop the meeting going ahead. The two sides will once again be in court in September when a judge will decide whether to allow a judicial review to go ahead, further delaying any closure. Ms Hossack was also in Hull yesterday, having cancelled a mammogram for a suspicious breast lump in the hope she would be allowed to speak, but was refused. She said: "I tried to stop them holding this meeting because it was causing such distress to Hilda and Harry (Glentworth, a Dunkirk veteran also resident at the home). What is crystal clear is no expert is saying the risk (of moving the residents) can be eradicated. Every expert is saying there is a risk." Labour councillor Mary Glew said: "This is a savage and cruel attack on elderly people. They talk about their fail-safe policies but I don't think they are fail-safe. I definitely feel people will die prematurely if they are moved." The residents' latest legal challenge is based on new assessments by Professor Cornelius Katona, a consultant psychiatrist, which conclude "that on balance of probabilities some will die prematurely despite best efforts at preparing them for a move." But the council's expert, consultant psychiatrist Dr Sean Lennon, did not believe any of the risks were of an unacceptable level. In a statement Hull Council said: "The council has always broached the decision-making about the closure of Rokeby with great care, with the well-being of the residents being the prime concern. "Further medical assessments have been carried out and this information, along with additional medical views from legal representatives of some residents, was very carefully considered. Cabinet also considered medical opinion on the quality of care plans and policies for any move from one care setting to another. We will now continue to make preparations for the future." [rc] © 2009 Johnston Press Digital Publishing

INDIA: New flats for old on offer in Chennai

. CHENNAI, Tamil Nadu / The Times of India / Life & Style / July 31, 2009 By Jayaraj Sivan, Times News Network It's commonplace to exchange old utensils, gold jewellery or cars for new. But ever heard of a builder coming up with an exchange offer that translates into: ˜You take my new flat; instead, I will buy your old one? In what could well turn out to be a trendsetter, Chennai-based L&T Arun Excello Realty - a joint venture between an L&T subsidiary and a local real estate group - has offered an apartment exchange scheme exclusively to senior citizens. For them, the builder has reserved the ground and first floors of Estancia, an integrated township being promoted 18 km from the Chennai airport on the Madurai route. They have also tied up with international realty consultant Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj (JLLM) to guide elderly customers through the nitty-gritty of the transaction, including evaluating the worth of their old apartments. It is also the first time in Chennai that senior-citizen-friendly flats are being launched within an integrated township. Two other builders had recently launched such apartments in the city. Detailing the concept, P Suresh, MD, L&T Arun Excello Realty, said, "Senior citizens quite often feel out of place in the din of city life. They would have put up with hardships for decades, for the sake of their children's education. In retired life, instead of living alone, feeling insecure and coping with daily challenges in managing the household, we invite them to our gated community that provides a secure environment. They will not be neglected or left alone, but will form part of a community, including children. We also offer to organise even the housekeeping." All the apartments reserved for senior citizens would overlook a vast stretch of landscape and a podium garden, Suresh pointed out, adding that a host of elder-friendly features such as anti-skid flooring, ramp, stretcher lifts and grab bars in toilets would form part of the project. He has reserved 30 apartments for elders in the first three residential towers, which form the first phase and would be ready for occupation by the year end. The apartments cost between Rs 7.5 million and Rs 100 million. Overall, the project will have close to 2,000 apartments, which will be completed in three phases. Other facilities on campus include a three million sq ft IT SEZ, a star hotel, a shopping mall, a multiplex and a branch of Vidya Mandir School. And next door is SRM Medical College. About the decision to launch an exchange programme, Suresh said, "Since senior citizens are not eligible for home loans to buy a dream house, they often have to liquidate other assets. Hence, we thought why not come up with an offer to buy their old flats. We will refurbish and sell them. That apart, if people want to sell their flats directly to end-customers, JLLM will guide them through the process. In the case of people owning independent houses or plots, we have a joint venture development plan to offer." He does not rule out the possibility of extending the exchange offer to other customers. Ramesh Nair, MD, JLLM, Chennai, said, "Through our subsidiary, Homebay Residential, we would do an estimate of the old home's value, market the property to buyers, guide the seller through the process, sell the property at the highest possible price under the best terms and offer guidance on necessary paper work to close the transaction." [rc] Copyright © 2009 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.

INDIA: Filing Income tax returns - Elderly sail through with NGO

. CHANDIGARH / The Times of India / News / July 31, 2009 By Shimona Kanwar, Times News Network As money continues to remain a reason for contentment as well as discord especially during the twilight of one’s life, senior citizens in the city are taking the road less taken as far as filing of income-tax returns is concerned. The filing of I-T returns by 635 such senior citizens in the Tricity through an NGO reveals more than what meets the eye. From routine problems like cumbersome documentation process to not-so-obvious ones like preference for non-disclosure of income, the elderly had different reasons for approaching ‘Dadadadi’, an advocacy organization that works for improving the lives of adults above 60 years. ‘Dadadadi’ took the initiative to help senior citizens with paperwork and submission of forms ahead of I-T returns. Under the service that was provided free of cost, accountants helped the elderly in filing their returns. For this, a special helpline number was also disseminated. Jorawer Singh, founder of the NGO, said, “I roped in few dedicated accountants from among my office staff. We only asked senior citizens to furnish documents stated in the checklist while filing return. The rest of work was done by us.” Interestingly, most senior citizens found the option to their advantage. “These tax returns divulge economic affairs that one may not like others to know about. We had been asked to keep this information confidential. There were cases where some elderly couples told us that they did not want their children to know about their property or investments,” added Jorawer. Also, right guidance can help in saving a lot of tax. Life-saving investments can help in getting refund amount from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), besides providing financial cushion during the twilight of their life. Prem Kumar, a septuagenarian, said, “I managed to save Rs 4,000 due to timely advise on some LIC funds.” Read earlier report about DadDadi With retired accountants and five volunteers especially trained to help residents understand the nitty gritty of tax regulations, the NGO has managed to make a breakthrough of sorts in the mindscape of senior citizens. “The volunteers first attended a training by the IRS in tax regulations, followed by lessons in electronic filing of I-T returns,” said Vijay Mehra, volunteer with the NGO. Jasmeet Kaur, a member with ‘Dadadadi’, said, “The advent of electronic filing has made the process much easier and quicker. It only takes a maximum of two weeks to deposit funds into a bank account.” [rc] Copyright © 2009 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd

INDIA: Death of 119-yr-old lady celebrated in Morbi

. MORBI, Gujarat / The Times of India / Rajkot News / July 30, 2009 Death did not come as a mournful thing for this 119-year old lady, whose funeral procession saw her community members sprinkle Holi colours amid band playing foot tapping tunes. In an unprecedented celebration of death, members of Prajapati community on July 27 bid final adieu to Amrutben Nagevadiya, believed to have lived for 119 years, according to a report in Sandesh, Gujarati language newspaper. "There is no cause for mourning as it is the victory of life over death. Amrutben literally lived up to her name, which means the nectar of life. Her life was death- defying in true sense as she kept it at bay for 119 years. Therefore, our community decided to celebrate her demise in a grand way," explained community leader Damji Prajapati. No birth records were maintained by village panchayat in the late 19th century, and doubts were raised over Amrutben's age. "The matter of her age is like folklore to us. As there was no system of recording births in those times, we decided to go by our community elders' belief which states Amrutben's year of birth was 1890," he said. "Despite living to such grand old age, Amrutben led a healthy life and had never required anyone's support. She is survived by a daughter, Jaya, also an old lady living with her husband in Rajkot. Amrutben was living alone in Morbi. To her, the whole Prajapati community was her family," he added. Copyright © 2009 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd [rc]

NEW ZEALAND: Immigration officials told elderly Indian to consult an astrologist

. AUCKLAND, New Zealand / The New Zealand Herald / National News / July 30, 3009 'See an astrologist,' Immigration tells elderly man An elderly Indian trying to emigrate to New Zealand was perplexed when immigration officials told him he had to consult an astrologist about his medical condition. New Zealand Doctor newspaper reported this week that the man from Vadodara (Baroda), Gujarat, wanting to join his daughter and son-in-law in Hawke's Bay, was diagnosed with atrophic testes in an immigration medical test in India in October 2007. Click here to read Amanda Cameron's report "Astrologist check for visa medical" in New Zealand Doctor. Last month Immigration New Zealand wrote to him saying its medical assessor had requested a test before it could proceed further with his visa application. "Astrologist to review and comment on significance of this and whether or not surgery is required," the letter said. The elderly man made two long and costly trips to separate doctors in India but was turned away both times after being told there was "something wrong with the letter", said his son-in-law, who wished to remain anonymous. Worried because the June 17 letter requested the information from the astrologist by July 17, the couple took the letter to Hastings GP Paddy Twigg. "They asked me to interpret the letter for them," Dr Twigg told NZ Doctor. "They didn't really believe what they were reading." Dr Twigg told them the most likely explanation was that "astrologist" was a typing error and should read "urologist" instead. Immigration NZ confirmed the error and dispatched a new letter with the word "urologist" instead of "astrologist", and a new deadline of July 26. The elderly man has since seen a urologist and the family is waiting to see the medical report, his son-in-law said. The Department of Labour said Immigration NZ's Shanghai office handled the case and the error was made by the visa officer in transcribing the medical assessor's report. [rc] - NZPA Copyright 2009, APN Holdings NZ Limited

UK: Debbie Purdy 'ecstatic' as she wins House of Lords appeal over assisted suicide

. LONDON, England / The Telegraph / Politics / Law & Order / July 30, 2009 Multiple sclerosis sufferer Debbie Purdy has won a landmark court battle that campaigners fear could lead to more people ending their lives in foreign "suicide clinics". By Martin Beckford, Social Affairs Correspondent Multimedia Debbie Purdy: I've got my life back Terminally ill Miss Purdy fought to find out whether her husband, Omar Puente, would be prosecuted if he helped her die at an organisation such as Dignitas in Switzerland. She demanded that the Director of Public Prosecutions state when he would bring cases for assisting suicide abroad, currently a crime punishable by up to 14 years' imprisonment. No one has been convicted of the crime even though an estimated 115 Britons have committed suicide at Dignitas. Her initial case was rejected in the High Court, as was an appeal to the Court of Appeal. But she took the case to the highest court in the land and five Law Lords ruled on Thursday afternoon that the DPP must set out the circumstances in which it would prosecute. Miss Purdy, 46, said: "I'm ecstatic – I feel like I've been given a reprieve. I want to live my life to the full, but I don't want to suffer unnecessarily at the end of my life. "This decision means that I can make an informed choice, with Omar, about whether he travels abroad with me to end my life because we will know exactly where we stand. "I am grateful to the Law Lords for listening and rising to the challenge that this case presented. I also want to thank other campaigners like Diane Pretty, who is no longer with us, and all those whose efforts created this huge step towards a more compassionate law." Speaking outside court she said: "It feels like everything else doesn't matter and now I can just be a normal person. It's terrific. "It gives me my life back. "We can live our lives. We don't have to plan my death." Her legal team had argued that unless the law was clarified, she might be forced to end her life earlier than she planned because her husband would be unable to help her. If the risk of prosecution was sufficiently low, she could wait until the very last minute before travelling with her husband's assistance. If the risk was high, she would have to go earlier while she was still fit enough to travel without assistance. Sarah Wootton, the chief cxecutive of Dignity in Dying, which supported Ms Purdy, said: "More and more people want choice about how they end their life. Yet, until now, the law has refused to say whether people would face prosecution for accompanying someone abroad to exercise this choice. The Director of Public Prosecutions will now have to provide this information. As a result parliamentarians will now come under increasing pressure to provide a proper solution to this problem, which doesn't involve exporting it abroad." [rc] © Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2009

CAMBODIA: Ageing has impacted support networks

. PHNOM PENH, Cambodia / Phnom Penh Post / July 30, 2009 By Mom Kunthear and Christopher Shay As Cambodia ages, its already strained support networks for the elderly will face added pressure, officials and experts say. Chea Yun, 76, Lim Kim Eang, 73, and Long Hean, 68, clean the house they share in Phnom Penh on Wednesday. Photo by: Sovann Philong A RECENT report from the US Census Bureau concluded that, in fewer than 10 years, seniors will outnumber children worldwide for the first time, creating burdens for families, communities and health and social service providers. Though Cambodians are relatively young, the Kingdom's elderly population will also rise sharply, taxing an already strained support network of pagodas and commune councils, NGO and government officials said Wednesday. Pay Sambo, deputy director of retirement and pensions at the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation, said the population of people aged 60 and over was 3.4 percent in 2007. By contrast, 17.8 percent of Western Europe and 6.8 percent of Asia are 65 or over, according to the US Census Bureau report. Pay Sambo said he expects 6 percent of Cambodians to be 60 or over by 2050, a statistic that underscores an ageing trend that could in coming years put tens of thousands of seniors at risk. Pay Sambo said a lack of funding had hindered his department's goals to prepare the country for the future. "We haven't done research on old people in recent years because we don't have the money," he said. A 2004 University of Michigan survey of the elderly in Cambodia concluded that Cambodia's seniors are the least healthy in Southeast Asia, and that endemic poverty has left more than half without a toilet. Guy Clarke, the Cambodia country manager for HelpAge International, said elderly Cambodians were often called on to provide - rather than receive - support from their families. "In times of food insecurity, the middle generation often leaves the villages," he said, adding that this means the elderly are often left to look after their grandchildren. He added that pagodas and commune councils, which have traditionally been sources of support for the elderly, are already under some strain. Keo Chanta, director of the Cambodian Elder Support Organisation (CESO), said the government had failed to support its elderly population. "For the elderly who do not have families, they will face difficult lives," he said. "I used to talk with government officials about helping old people, and they said they don't have money. They want the NGOs to help, but how can we do it all if the government does not help?" [rc] Copyright © 2009 The Phnom Penh Post

USA: 87-year-old lives in deplorable conditions in a 160-year-old shack

. SCOTT COUNTY, Mississippi / WLBT.com / Global News / July 30, 2009 Video Gallery: 87-year-old lives in deplorable conditions 2: 09 Eighty-seven-year-old Ester Davis lives alone in rural Scott County, in a falling down shack, that leaks badly. Her plight was brought to WLBT's attention by 67-year-old James Crain, also a resident of Scott County who is a retired off-shore oil worker. He had seen an earlier story about a home near Lena, in a similar condition and called us to come see this latest one. It is much worse than the first one. The shack is about 160 years old according to Ester Davis. She has lived there since 1970. Her only income is a $660 a month Social Security check. The only work she has ever done is chopping and picking cotton. She has a third grade education, but taught herself to read and write. She is not complaining but says she prays every day that the Lord will come and help her. She washes her clothes in a bucket, outside, grows a garden and still drives a car. She lives on $30 a month worth of food stamps. James Crain brings her firewood. [rc] © Copyright 2001 - 2009 WorldNow and WLBT

USA: Aging doesn't mean you have to stop traveling

. MELVILLE, New York / Newsday / Columnists / July 30, 2009 By Saul Friedman Here is a myth that needs dispelling: By the time you can afford to travel, you're too old to enjoy it. My wife and I have just returned from an African safari to celebrate our 80th years. And our years afforded us special attention in a land where age is venerated. It's no surprise that the travel industry now depends, more than ever during this economic downturn, on business from older people, 55 and way up. Many travel agencies specialize in accommodating and planning tours for older, even disabled, people. It's at least a third of their business. Even in recession, many older, retired people have the time, the disposable income and broad, adult interests ranging from cruises to Alaska and the Mediterranean to touring the art and music capitals of Europe. The median age of the passengers on a couple of cruises I've taken was over 65 and many were in their 70s. Boston-based Elderhostel, founded in 1975 to provide "adventures in lifelong learning" for people older than 55, now offers 8,000 programs a year to 160,000 older adults, with no age limit (visit elderhostel.org). One of its specialties is aimed at grandparent-grandchildren adventures. And over the years, it has expanded its programs to 90 different countries, and virtually every sort of adventurous activity (although many are not accessible to the disabled). Ten years ago, to celebrate the millennium and our 70th years, my wife and I and a couple of friends spent eight days camping in luxury and rafting down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. My column about the trip encouraged a few readers to do the same. Neither they nor we will ever forget that trip; travel teaches and creates memories that can't be erased. Living in South Africa for five months in 1996-1997, when I was teaching young journalists how to practice their craft in their new democracy, I was smitten with the extraordinary wildlife that roamed the bush. And every chance we got, my wife and I drove to Kruger National Park and other reserves to see the animals in the wild - lions, leopards, giraffes, elephants, hippos, wildebeest by the dozens, buffalo, impala, antelope, baboons and birds found nowhere else. But in all those months, we didn't have the time or money to explore a special place, called the Okavango Delta. Located in Botswana, the tidy African democracy north of South Africa, the Delta is unique. It is formed, for a few months in their winter, when the rivers from the west empty, not into the sea, but into the Kalahari Desert. And before it dries, the clear waters, the grasses, reeds and islands of the sprawling Delta attract hundreds of animals that come to drink, hunt and mate. The young and purist camp out among the animals. But that would be too much for a person of age. So with the help of my daughters and their husbands, we spent two days in each of three luxury camps owned and run by Desert & Delta of South Africa, which provided four- and five-star rooms in the bush. And we reached each camp by light planes of the company's Safari Air. Each camp, Moremi, on a lagoon; Savute, where it was dry, Shinde, surrounded by water, was distinct. The morning and evening game drives, aboard high Toyota Land Cruisers driven by fine tracking guides, gave us the thrills of following a pride of lions, a leopard stalking a reedbuck, a small antelope, elephants plodding through the grass like great gray moving islands, chattering baboons bedding down in a tree, and the glittering array of exotic birds like the lilac-breasted roller. This is bush, not jungle; the elephant, not the lion, is king. At Moremi, a leopard lolled in a tree outside the gate. At Savute, I showered while watching a herd of elephants and impala taking an evening drink at the pool beneath my hut. At Shinde, which offered boat excursions among the reeds, a hippo came through camp in the night. And an elephant came close to the tent-like cabins each night to shake fruit from a date palm. The guides and staff - from Botswana and South Africa - understood and anticipated our special needs. There were 34 or more staff members for camps that accommodated only 24 guests. To celebrate our 80th, the camps set up special dinners for Evelyn and me (the food was fresh, plentiful and spectacular), and a picnic on a formal table in the bush on the banks of the swollen river. Nevertheless, we could not have done this without help. We planned for a year, which gave us time to pay for the trip, so we could have the help of our daughters and their husbands (and two grandchildren). We used Desert & Delta (desertdelta.com), operating in Botswana since 1982, one of several safari companies, because it was recommended by a South African friend as one of the best. We wanted the luxury we needed at our age. We spent some of our savings and some of our children's inheritance, but it was spent when we were with them, enjoying it in life. What else are we saving for? And it was, for them and for my wife and me and the grandkids, the trip of a lifetime.[rc] Copyright © 2009 Newsday

MALAYSIA: Low birth rates will cause a myriad problems in the years to come

. KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia / The New Straits Times / Columnists / July 30, 2009 CHOK SUAT LING Having fewer kids may not be all bad “THE birth rate is declining and men are to blame.” That was the conclusion of a study by Universiti Putra Malaysia recently. Several experts concurred with the findings, which they say is a matter of serious concern for two reasons — that fewer babies are being born, and that men are the culprits contributing to this unfortunate state of affairs. Men are naturally not entirely pleased to be generalised as chest-thumping Neanderthals who do not help around the house. They say many, if not most, men are quite capable of changing diapers and ironing their own clothes. One irate man wrote to this newspaper to say: “Men are able to prepare full-course gourmet dinners, and the kitchen is clean by the time the last dish is prepared, as opposed to women who leave the kitchen in a mess.” Another equally enraged man says he does everything for his children. He bathes and feeds them and even reads them bedtime stories. “I would even breastfeed them if I could,” he insists. Many fathers would agree. But in real life, many men would rather ask for directions than be found popping fenugreek seeds into a pot of bubbling fish masala. It is as difficult to extricate a man from in front of a television during a live football telecast as it would be to push an unconscious elephant across the floor. But yes — as there are men who are lackadaisical towards childcare and household chores, there are also women who are the same. After all, what men can do, women can always do better. There are the women who leave the child-rearing entirely to their husbands while they chase their careers or golf instructors. And there are also those who bar ex-husbands from seeing the products of their union. We can go on debating this issue until the next general election and beyond, but there would be no conclusion or consensus. Gender wars will continue to rage and no peace plan or treaty will be able to bring an end to this eternal battle of wills. These are modern times, and there is a certain degree of confusion about how men and women are supposed to act. Their roles are no longer as clearly demarcated as they were in the days when all men did was hunt sabre-toothed tigers while women raised children, cooked and skinned the woolly mammoths their menfolk dragged home. The best we can do is tolerate or, better still, accept the other for what they are. Give-and-take. Compromise. Do all that is espoused by sociologists and agony-aunt columns, and create an environment of love and compassion within the home. Birth rates will soar. If they do not, it would not be men who are to blame but tight underwear, hot baths and excessive cycling. The more crucial question is not whether men are to blame, however, but whether a declining birth rate is necessarily a bad thing. Is having an average 2.2 kids — a third as many as a generation ago, when 6.2 children was the average per couple — a calamitous development? Experts say it is: low birth rates will cause a myriad problems in the years to come. The population will be aging, and the elderly cannot contribute economically to the nation’s gross domestic product. Some contend that senior citizens are a burden to the government in terms of healthcare, and cost taxpayers money in the long run. If they are that unproductive and expendable, why not just send them all away? Then they will no longer continue to “increasingly tax existing health and pension systems”. Just put them all in boats with sufficient rations for a week or two and send them off when they reach a certain age, and the nation will no longer need to concern itself with an “aging population problem”. Instead of griping, we should take better care of our older citizens. Give them more flexibility to stay or re-enter the workforce. There needs to be a fundamental change in perception of what it means to be old. The issue of senior citizens aside, it is irresponsible to tell people, especially those in advanced industrialised nations where the per capita consumption of natural resources is high, to have more babies. Before the single-child policy, China, for example, was fighting a huge overpopulation problem. It is also more economically sensible to have smaller families, especially in times of financial uncertainty. Children with only one or two siblings are more likely to enjoy a standard of living comparable to or higher than their parents’. It just does not make sense to bring another child into the world if the family is already stretched thin financially. Why have more children if one cannot afford proper childcare or put them all through school; if there is already insufficient space in a one-room flat, or enough money to ensure they get at least three proper meals a day? It is curious that we have been conditioned to think of a gradual decline in population as a bad thing. With proper social support systems, a declining birth rate, even if it is below replacement levels, may not be as bothersome as some people think. [rc] Chok Suat Ling sling@nst.com.my Copyright © 2009 NST Online

UK: Assisted suicide - breakthrough day

. LONDON, England / The First Post / News / July 30, 2009 Thousands on tenterhooks as the law lords are expected to make an historic final judgment By Jack Bremer, First Post Thursday July 30 could be an historic day in the mounting public campaign for more clarity in the law on assisted suicide, currently punishable in Britain by up to 14 years' imprisonment. Campaigners are hoping for a breakthrough when the law lords give a ruling today on a request from the 46-year-old multiple sclerosis sufferer Debbie Purdy, who wants to know where her husband, the Cuban violinist Omar Puente, will stand if he takes her to a Swiss clinic to end her life. Purdy, who was diagnosed with MS 14 years ago and is now in a wheelchair, believes that the uncertainty as to whether Puente would be prosecuted is a breach of her human rights. She wants the law lords to force the Director of Public Prosecutions to declare his policy for bringing prosecutions in such cases. Many campaigners believe such a judgment will inevitably lead to parliament introducing new legislation on assisted suicide - and they believe the law lords will support her. One reason for their confidence is that Purdy's case has been given the final slot in the law lords' calendar before they are abolished. After the summer break, Britain's most senior judges will become Supreme Court justices instead. One lawyer told the Times: "The law lords will want to reserve a case for their last that will have wide public interest, but also where they will have an impact." It is thought that thousands of British people are in Purdy's position and will be anxiously awaiting the law lords' judgment. The lords' decision comes in the wake of a series of high-profile cases of assisted suicide, and the revelation that a Surrey GP is being questioned by police for helping patients end their lives at the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland. Dr Michael Irwin says he expects to be arrested and wants to become a "martyr" to highlight the plight of relatives who have assisted in the deaths of loved ones. WHERE PEOPLE STAND ON ASSISTED SUICIDE: • The general public: A Populus poll published last week showed 74 per cent of respondents wanted doctors to be allowed to help terminally ill patients to end their lives. Debbie Purdy told the Times that the poll must "surely allay the fears of anyone who has doubts that we need to address this". • Doctors: Despite popular backing, it is thought unlikely a change in the law on assisted suicide could happen without the support of doctors. Prof Clive Seale, Britain's leading expert on the attitudes of doctors on the issue, told the Times: "The majority of doctors and other health workers generally don't like the idea of hastening the deaths of patients, even if this seems humane." However, a motion at the last annual conference of the British Medical Association was defeated by only a slender margin, with 44 per cent of doctors supporting a change. • Nurses: The Royal College of Nursing, previously opposed to assisted suicide, recently changed its stance to one of neutrality on the subject. Prof Seale said: "The RCN's decision... may not sound like much, but it represents a pretty big step towards acceptance... When health practitioners start changing their minds about assisted suicide, governments tend to take notice." • The MS Society: Dan Berry, head of policy at the society, fears people are driven to contemplate assisted suicide because they do not realise that high-quality palliative care would greatly improve their quality of life. "It's a terrible shame if people are contemplating suicide when there is care out there that could make a big difference," he said. [rc] First Post Newsgroup IPR Limited

CHINA: 13 million abortions performed a year in China, report says

. TORONTO, Ontario / Globe and Mail / World / July 30, 2009 BEIJING, China - Associated Press Rare disclosure of sensitive family planning statistics says most were for single young women who experts say know little about contraception China performs about 13 million abortions every year, mostly for single young women who experts say know little about contraception, state media said Thursday in a rare disclosure of sensitive family planning statistics. The China Daily newspaper said the real number of abortions is believed to be even higher since the 13 million accounts for procedures in hospitals but many more are known to be carried out in unregistered rural clinics. Also, about 10 million abortion pills are sold every year in China, the paper said. It quoted Wu Shangchun, a government official with the National Population and Family Planning Commission, as saying that nearly half of the women seeking abortions in China had used no form of contraception. China imposed strict birth controls in the 1970s, limiting most couples to just one child. Sterilization and the use of intrauterine devices, or IUDs, for women are widely promoted — and subsidized — forms of contraception for married women. However, the policy tends to overlook the contraception needs of unmarried women even as attitudes toward casual sex have dramatically liberalized. The report said about 62 per cent of the women undergoing abortions were single and aged between 20 and 29 years old. It called the widespread use of abortions “an unfortunate situation” but did not directly say whether abortions were on the rise. No year-to-year statistics were given. Mr. Wu told the paper that reducing the number of abortions was a tough challenge facing the country. A call to Mr. Wu's mobile phone rang unanswered Thursday. Chang Yongjie, an official with the commission's Science and Technology Research Centre said he was not able to confirm or comment on the report. He said no one else was available because most of the commission's staff had just gone on a two-week holiday. Peking University professor, Li Ying, was quoted as saying that sex education needed to be improved at the university level and that Chinese parents also needed to teach their kids more about sex. The government says its family planning controls since the 1970s — including contraception, sterilization and abortion procedures — have prevented an additional 400 million births in the world's most populous country of 1.3 billion. About 1.2 million women have abortions each year in the United States, which has a population of just more than 300 million people. [rc] © Copyright 2009 CTVglobemedia Publishing Inc

KOREA: More elderly returning to job market after retirement

. SOEUL, Korea / The Chosun Ilbo / National news / July 30, 2009 With the job market at a standstill amid the recession, youth employment is falling even further but more elderly people seeking jobs to make ends meet are being hired instead. The National Statistical Office on Thursday said older employees between 55 and 79 numbered 4.457 million, up 46,000 from last year. Chung In-sook, chief of the NSO's employment statistics team, said this was due to a significant growth in the elderly population, "and many elderly people return to the job market to make ends meet even after retirement." More than half or 52.5 percent of older employees did low-paying work, including odd jobs or labor in agriculture or fisheries. [rc] Copyright © 2009 Chosun.com

JAPAN: The new face of home care givers

. TOKYO, Japan / The Japan Times / Life in Japan / July 30, 2009 Awful dilemma: Keep working or look after elderly parents By Akiko Kashiwagi, Special to The Japan Times Kazuo Yamazaki was in the prime of his career as an engineer at a Japanese music company doing business across borders. His decades-long profession came to an abrupt end six years ago, however, when at age 55 he became his mother's primary caregiver. He tried to look for a different job that would allow him to still take care of her but gave up after a year. "You just couldn't work (as a regular employee) and take care of your parent at home at the same time," he says. Today a growing number of companies are beginning to lose valuable employees like Yamazaki — a severe situation emerging from the world's most rapidly aging country. Defying traditional roles, a remarkable number of men are becoming the main caregiver of aging families. They accounted for nearly 30 percent in 2007, up from 20 percent a decade ago, according to government data. And like Yamazaki, a small but increasing number of men in their 40s and 50s are quitting or changing jobs because they are unable to cope with the unpredictable demands of senior care. In the past, the elderly counted on their daughters-in-law for home care. And any difficulties, including financial, that came with that responsibility was somehow handled by the household as a private matter. That is growing rare because the tradition of several generations living under the same roof is being replaced by nuclear families with fewer children, women in the workforce and more single-person households. "Elder care has become an issue for everyone. We are in an era where few people can avoid (the responsibility)," says Masatoshi Tsudome, a sociology professor at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto. The implications are huge for society and the economy. The percentage of people over age 75 is projected to reach 13 percent of the population by 2015 and 18 percent by 2025. Recent government data show nearly 30 percent of this age group requires care. The sheer numbers highlight the daunting challenge of caring for seniors — both visible and invisible — that the country must face. "Taking care of an elderly person affects the family on so many levels," says Tsudome, who has coauthored books on male caregivers. It affects caretakers' careers and thus affects them financially, not to mention the impact on family members, he says. Without addressing the multilayered issue comprehensively, experts warn, many more working people in their prime will find it hard to keep their jobs, leading to acute financial difficulties. Companies in turn could see their competitiveness eroded by a sudden loss of veteran employees. All of this could combine to shake up the very foundation of society. Not that the nation hasn't seen it coming. In 2000, the government introduced a new nursing care insurance program to ease the burden on family caregivers. There is little doubt the system has proven beneficial to quite a few people. The trouble, critics say, is that the assumption that there is someone in the household available to use the program is increasingly out of sync with reality. In addition, the government's recent attempt to curb growth in social welfare spending is now beginning to hurt caregivers. As if to highlight the dilemma, one in five men quit working or changed jobs to one with different hours when faced with the need to care for a family member, according to a 2006 survey by the Japan Institute for Labor Policy and Training. Tsudome estimates that more than 300,000 men, or one-third of male home caregivers, are currently under the age of 60 and thus potentially could quit their current job. "(Behind the data) are numerous workers who are clinging to their job, walking a tightrope shouldering the additional duties of elder care," says Yoshie Komuro, CEO of Work Life Balance, a consultancy. "They may have managed to get by so far by counting on outside help but don't know how long they can go on like that." The recent creation of a nationwide network of male caregivers, the first of its kind, underscores the gravity of the quietly spreading social strain. The group's members want their voices heard by the public in general and policymakers in particular to come up with measures that make a real difference for struggling home caregivers. At a recent gathering in Tokyo, a man described the impossible choice he has to make between living with his aging parents in rural Japan with little prospect of getting a decent job or staying at his current job in Tokyo, leaving his parents without a helping hand. "We have to worry about many things as the caregiver, but ultimately, our worry boils down to how to get by financially," says Fujio Arakawa, the representative of the network and a longtime caregiver. "The most difficult, almost impossible question for us is how to take care of our family while keeping a job. Our task is to try to make that work out." Employees aren't the only ones faced with the problem. Increasingly, companies are at risk of losing valuable employees with little warning. Adding to that risk is the growing number of single men in their 40s and 50s, who already account for nearly 20 percent of the age group. They might be immediately affected if a parent becomes infirm. According to Komuro, one in six of its employees will face the need to take care of aging relatives in 15 years. She says that proportion will only get worse because senior care continues indefinitely. However, there are signs of positive change. The government is reinforcing the law requiring companies to offer ways to accommodate the needs of caregivers. And some labor unions, including those of the country's key manufacturers, are starting to call on companies to offer a variety of benefits similar to those given to parents with small children. Toyota Motor Corp., for example, introduced programs this year that include flexible work hours and senior care leave to make it easier for workers to stay with the company. It appears, however, that coming up with new programs is one thing but it is quite another to change the culture so employees take advantage of them in an increasingly demanding workplace, especially amid the recession. Expanding public services or corporate support alone won't be sufficient to meet the complex needs of family caregivers. What is at issue, experts argue, is beyond providing specific "support measures." It is about the future vision of the broader society — the burden-sharing, how to reallocate limited public resources, and changing corporate culture and even one's way of life. And now is the time for Japan to begin serious debate on these fundamental questions, they say. Komuro says what companies can do above everything else is abolish their deep-rooted practice of long working hours. This alone would be a big relief for family caregivers with a job and users of public senior care services, who would otherwise be hesitant to use "benefits," she says. Regardless of its readiness, pressure on society is intensifying. The number of seniors who need care nearly doubled to 4.5 million in the seven years to 2007 and is set to reach 6 million to 6.4 million by 2014, according to the government. "It's mind-boggling," says Yoko Yamaguchi, assistant general secretary of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo). Yamaguchi, who goes around the country to talk about both domestic and professional caregivers, says she encounters elderly people heartbroken to see their son or daughter sacrificing for them, quitting their jobs to take care of them only to live a tough life. "This is a reality of Japan. Is that the way our aging society has to be?" The life expectancy for women in 2008 increased to 86.05 years, up some 22 days, and 79.29 years for men, both posting record figures for the third straight year, the health ministry said in early July. Reflecting the growing stress felt by home caregivers across the country, incidents of domestic violence, suicides and even murders inside families have made headlines in recent years. These sad realities only add to the urgency with which Japan must cope with the mounting demographic challenge. "(At stake) is the sustainability of Japanese society in and of itself and the sustainability of the family," says Yoshio Higuchi, a professor of labor economics at Keio University in Tokyo. He says the need for senior care, and thus for support for caregivers, will increase sharply in the next 15 to 20 years, reflecting baby boom demographics. Given the government's mushrooming debt, the public can't sit back and hope it will provide them with more services and build more nursing homes. "Our society's ability to respond (to the crisis) is being tested," Yamaguchi says. [rc] (C) The Japan Times

USA: Senior citizen's collection of 54 short stories looks at life, love, family, history

. BOOKS SENIOR SHORT STORIES: Written by a Senior for Other Seniors Author: Epps, L. Macon Publisher:CreateSpace (164 pp.) Price (paperback): $9.00 ISBN (paperback): 978-1-4404-4203-2 Classification: FICTION A collection of upbeat, quasi-fictional tales geared to seniors. Retired aerospace engineer Epps composed most of the selections between the age of 68 and 88 — his brush is broad, covering sports, ghosts, politics, religion, marital life, crime and the adventures, and misadventures, of youth. “An Unlikely Hero” concerns childhood friend Sam Perkins, who hit two grand-slam homers in a baseball game, earning a measure of fame and the undying interest of high school girls. “Amazing Visitors Come to Leisure Village” is about extraterrestrials and is dedicated to the author’s nephew, Dr. Steven Greer, who established the Center for the Study of Extraterrestrial Intelligence and spearheads the effort for government disclosure of UFOs. Some stories are fables, as in the case of “Reform School,” in which boys who take their lumps are justly rewarded and boys that avoid them get an appropriate comeuppance. In “An Old Shoe,” a senior teaches a young man valuable life lessons. Occasionally the author addresses a story to a particular audience. In “World Peace–At Last!” the author asks if Ted Turner, Bill Gates or Warren Buffet might be interested in his ideas for improving our world. “A Tunnel To….?” demonstrates the resourcefulness of seniors in a precarious situation, while other stories are what might be characterized as “gray” fantasies. Throughout, the tone is appealingly earnest, with the author moving easily between reality and fiction. A few stories are gems from the golden years, but not everything here glitters. At times, the point of a story is elusive and plots formulaic—as when Epps takes an event or well-known personality (e.g., the oft-married Thomas Manville) and works backwards to create a tale with a twist. Once the reader catches on, the gimmicky endings become tedious and more likely to produce smiles than guffaws. Still, seniors may enjoy reading about the younger generation getting their just desserts from the silver-haired set. Lighthearted vignettes from a senior’s point of view. [rc] Macon Epps Email: maconepps@verizon.net Copyright 2005 Kirkus Reviews

INDIA: Gayatri Devi - A maharani and a beauty

. JAIPUR, Rajasthan / The Times of India / Life & Style / News / July 30, 2009 By Rashmee Roshan Lall, Times News Network A maharani's death is always momentous but Gayatri Devi's may be specially so because she left behind a rich and detailed account of her life of blue-blooded privilege. Her memoirs, 'A Princess Remembers', burst upon a wondering world much before the modern blizzard of tell-all biographies. The world of extraordinary wealth and access was there for Gayatri Devi from the very start. She lived with her parents in the swish part of London, close to Harrods, the world's most famous department store, which boasted it could get anything in the world for its customers. Pictures of Rajmata Gayatri Devi Though she was just the lisping four-year-old daughter of a prince of Cooch Behar, a small princely state compared to Jaipur, Baroda and Hyderabad, the young princess describes the courtly respect she received from the shop attendant. Soon enough, her shocked mother Indira Devi found that Gayatri’s daily forays into Harrods had left the family with a large bill. That early extravagance was somehow in keeping with the life she was soon to lead, as wife and companion of the dashing and very rich Sawai Man Singh, known as Jai for Jaipur. The princess describes the subterfuge of their romance, mainly in London because her family disapproved of a man who already had two wives, the younger of whom was called Jo after her home state Jodhpur. But Gayatri, who had fallen in love with Jai when she was in her early teens, remained undeterred. Eventually they married and Jai carried her into a world of unimaginable opulence. She adjusted to her new life — the hunting, polo, huge household bills and her relatively minor place in the maharani pecking order, given there were two Didis (Jai’s other wives) ahead of her. Looking back, she realized she got used to having a private plane from the age of 21. Snatches from a shuttered life of privilege? Her grandmother told Gayatri the three etiquettes of a maharani — the most important among them was to "never wear emeralds with a green sari as I had because they look so much better with pink". From that — to life as a commoner? Gayatri Devi adjusts to Indian independence and her reduced role. Jai becomes Rajpramukh of the new Rajasthan sate; she enters Parliament with the largest majority ever in a democratic election, something she proudly recalls JFK mentioning on his visit to Jaipur. Gayatri Devi's memoirs were fashioned into a book by Santha Rama Rau, but sold in huge numbers and was reprinted over and over because of the woman who graced its cover — the maharani with perfectly chiselled features, lips like a perfect bow and a wistful, faraway gaze. [rc] Copyright © 2009 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.

USA: Never Too Old To Have Fun

. VERNON, New Jersey / The Advertiser News / July 30, 2009 Hamburg PAS Seniors celebrated members over 90 at a recent meeting. Photos by Eileen Stanbridge Sisters Mary Bodle, 90, and Helen Koposi, 93, were among those who were honored at Tuesday’s get-together at the Hamburg Fire House. Right: Opera singer Barbara Davis was on hand to entertain and she sang a special song for 94-year-old Joe Cairoli.[rc] Copyright © 2009 Straus Newspapers.

USA: Resveratrol - The Hard Sell on Anti-Aging

. NEW YORK / Business Week / Pharmaceuticals / July 29, 2009 Online ads for resveratrol are using fake endorsements from experts and celebrities to promote the unproven anti-aging product Sinclair's name is being used without his permission in ads for Resveratrol CJ Gunther/New York Times/Redux By Arlene Weintraub When Harvard University scientist David Sinclair discovered that a substance in red wine called resveratrol might explain the life-extending powers attributed to the beverage, he became an instant celebrity. Barbara Walters featured the youthful Australian in a 2008 ABC News TV special called Live to Be 150: Can You Do It? Sinclair also appeared on 60 Minutes and other news shows. In April 2008, GlaxoSmithKline bought Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, the company Sinclair co-founded, for $720 million. The media interviews were celebrations of scientific discoveries, not product promotions. But to Sinclair's chagrin, he was quickly turned into a pitchman by companies selling resveratrol supplements on the Internet. Their ads, placed alongside search results when people typed in "anti-aging" or "resveratrol," contained links with titles such as "dr-sinclair-resveratrol.com." This particular site, which appeared on the Web in June, could fool the most savvy shopper into thinking Sinclair was selling the product. "If you have been following 60 Minutes, you would have seen my segment on resveratrol, and everything it can do for you," read the text beside a photo of Sinclair. "As mentioned, I take resveratrol myself, and love it." For related a report on CBS Evening News, done in collaboration with BusinessWeek, click here, or go to CBS Evening News and search for resveratrol. The site offered a free trial to anyone who typed in their credit-card number. Those who tried to click off the ad were stopped by a large boxed message, which read: "Wait! Dr. Sinclair wants to make sure you take advantage of this limited time opportunity!" The doctor never uttered any of the words attributed to him. In fact, Sinclair is the first to admit that the whole resveratrol story has never been clear-cut. Although that name is on the label of red-grape extracts sold in health food stores everywhere, such resveratrol pills have never been proven effective in large-scale clinical trials. Resveratrol probably has some effect, Sinclair says. His lab showed that mice fed the chemicals live at least 15% longer than normal mice. But to get such benefits, human beings might have to consume up to 5 grams of resveratrol a day, he says. That's about 80 pills, at doses found in a typical bottle. All this helps explain why resveratrol concoctions have never been endorsed by Sinclair, Sirtris, or Glaxo. The compounds Glaxo is currently developing aren't resveratrol at all; they're synthesized molecules that appear to have a much more potent biological effect—at least in lab animals. What's more, Glaxo's drugs based on Sinclair's work aren't being tested against aging, but rather to treat diseases common in the elderly such as cancer and diabetes. Asked about the resveratrol ads invoking Sinclair and Sirtris, Glaxo spokeswoman Mary Anne Rhyne said: "We're investigating the situation." "Free" Trials FWM Laboratories of Hollywood, Fla., which sells Resveratrol Ultra, is behind many of the ads—and has taken the brunt of customers' ire. The company sells monthly subscriptions to a handful of supplements, including açai, a Brazilian berry it promotes as a weight-loss treatment. A recent search on consumer site Complaintsboard.com brought up 1,200 posts from agitated FWM customers. The company offers 15-day free trials, but many customers don't realize the trials start when they type in their credit-card numbers, not when they receive their first shipment. It's in the fine print of the "terms and conditions" document on the company's Web site, but that can be hard to find. Some customers report that they continue to incur monthly charges long after they cancel. And when they call FWM's 800 number to complain, they're often put on hold interminably. FWM CEO Brian Weiss says FWM doesn't create the ads, approve them, or place them on the Net. It delegates those tasks to ad networks, which the company pays to spread the word about its products. He declined to name which networks FWM uses. As for the content of the ads, Weiss says: "We don't control them." But he adds that he has five employees who troll the Internet all day for improper promotions. If they find any, they contact the network's managers and ask them to "please cease this immediately." Internet marketing abuses have been around since the birth of the Web, but few match resveratrol when it comes to entangling dubious products with specious celebrity endorsements. Oprah Winfrey and Mehmet Oz, a Columbia University medical professor who appears regularly on her show, have both been invoked in resveratrol ads, as has TV chef Rachael Ray. The ads, served up by Google and other search engines, sometimes pop up as "sponsored links" on health portals and even on legitimate Web sites associated with the celebrities. And there's little these luminaries have been able to do about it—a problem that highlights certain flaws in the controversial ad-placement software used by Google and some of its competitors. It is true Oprah and others have talked excitedly about resveratrol. Clips of these animated discussions are sometimes embedded in the Internet ads and then linked to specific products the celebrities never mention. One ad, for example, gushes: "Resveratrol Ultra is one of the most popular products. It has been featured over and over again on 60 Minutes, the Dr. Oz show, CNN, NBC and The New York Times." (It has not.) Spokespeople for CBS, Winfrey, Oz, and Ray say their legal teams are pursuing the companies making false claims. Winfrey has posted a notice on her Web site telling fans that neither she nor Oz has endorsed any product or "online solicitation." Barbara Walters—who is seen in many of the ads schmoozing with Sinclair at his Harvard lab during last year's TV special—is not happy, either. "Bottom line: We don't like it. We try to stop it. We'll keep fighting it," says Jeffrey Schneider, senior vice-president at ABC News. Even people who should know better have been snookered by the fake celebrity endorsements. Himani Vejandla, a PhD student in physiology at West Virginia University, ordered what she thought was a free sample of Resveratrol Ultra in June. She was reading a medical article on WebMD when the ad popped up, and she was impressed that experts such as Sinclair and Oz supposedly endorsed the product. But she got suspicious when the shipment arrived with no information about how to return the pills. Then FWM charged her $87.13—not once, but twice. When she complained, the company returned the first payment, but she had to file a claim with her bank to try to recover the second one after FWM's customer service people told her they had no record of the charge. "They're literally ripping people off," Vejandla says. Florida's Better Business Bureau, which has also been inundated with complaints about FWM, slapped the company with an F rating. And the Florida Attorney General's Economic Crimes Div. in West Palm Beach has launched an investigation. FWM's Weiss declined to comment on the investigation. He says the customer service gripes are "older complaints" and that the one-year-old company now has 24/7 phone and Web support. As for the BBB rating, he says: "We respond to every inquiry that comes from them. Their Web site isn't accurate." Regardless of Weiss' responses, says Michael Galvin, a spokesman for the BBB in Miami, "We have serious concerns about his sales techniques. He'll still have an F." Holes in the Screen Google has not been effective at screening out fake celebrity endorsements disseminated via its popular AdWords program. Through AdWords, companies bid on the placement of their promotions in searches and sponsored links and pay only when Web surfers click on their ads. The program accounted for most of Google's $22 billion in revenues last year. On June 15, Google formally allowed companies to cite registered trademarks in ads, including celebrity names they don't own. The point was to enable legitimate commerce: An online shoe store, for example, can attract traffic by using trademarks such as Nike. Even so, Google says it tries to block ads that make false claims and push credit-card schemes. It recently banned false celebrity endorsements, too. The company uses automated and manual processes to weed these out. When asked why so many are getting through, a spokeswoman says: "We're doing our best." Harvard's Sinclair wishes Glaxo, or perhaps lawyers representing the celebrities, would do more to try to stop the ads. But he may actually have opened the door to the abuse last year when he joined the scientific advisory board of Shaklee, in Pleasanton, Calif. Shaklee sells Vivix Cellular Anti-Aging Tonic, which contains resveratrol. Sinclair says he quit the post when other companies started using his name and likeness. He's opposed, he says, "to any use of my name to sell products." [rc] Weintraub is a senior writer for BusinessWeek's Science & Technology department. Copyright 2000-2009 by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc.

USA: Federal panel issues H1N1 vaccine guidelines - Over 65 not in priority group

. ATLANTA, Georgia / CNN News / Health / July 29, 2009 By Caleb Hellerman, CNN Senior Medical Producer A federal advisory committee issued sweeping guidelines Wednesday for a vaccination campaign against the pandemic swine flu strain, identifying more than half the U.S. population as targets for the first round of vaccinations. The priority groups include pregnant women; health care and emergency services personnel; children, adolescents and young adults up to age 24; household and caregiver contacts of children younger than six months; and healthy adults with certain medical conditions. The guidelines were approved in a near-unanimous vote by the 15-member Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. One person dissented on whether to include people ages 19 to 24 among those targeted. The vote does not trigger a decision to vaccinate against the disease, also called H1N1, but the federal government typically follows the committee's recommendations.... Read more..... The rate of laboratory-confirmed cases in Americans 65 and older is just 0.06 per 100,000, compared with 2.6 per 100,000 for the group with the highest infection rates, children 5 to 11. [rc] © 2009 Cable News Network

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Why do we struggle and remain poor?

. HONIARA, Solomon Islands / Solomon Star News / Private View / July 29, 2009 Why are we struggling and become poor? By David Raumali, Honiara THIS is my personal views and rational for a solution for this country. First and foremost, let’s put right first things first, and that is simply as a Christian country, we must allow the all majesty and Sovereign God taking over this country in order to see the real beauty and potential of this country. Solomon Islands is a very rich country, blessed with many resources. We have wealth of mineral and abundant natural resources in terms of good fertile land for agriculture and a climate, which enables us to grow crops all the year round. Rich forest and huge area of sea full of marine resources. We apparently, have the resources of our people HR unskilled and skilled who also have potential of being highly skilled in practical skilled in activities that would highly be adaptable in changing circumstances. Why then are we so poor in such a great land? Why are we unemployed? Why are we so lazy and doing nothing? Why did our young people drink too much kwaso and smoke marijuana that would only make them sick, unhealthy and doesn’t have the energy to work? Why can’t we accept sweat and hard work and work honestly? Why do we only pursuit for academics and book reading that we don’t want our hands to get dirty? We are only looking for city bright lights in Honiara where there is no gold! The Commissioner of Police, Peter Marshall, in a recent media press conference has given a very positive comments and a good challenge. He reiterated that there is no gold in Honiara and the criminal activities were raised at an alarming rate due to influx of youth coming into Honiara City. This needs a whole of government collective effort; to get the industry and entire infrastructure decentralised into the provinces and a strategic look for the unemployed to go back to the provinces. This and again is all about land and employment. Honiara continues to attract a large number of people from the provinces of the country. Most of these are elderly people that seek improved lifestyle, employment and better access to education and health care. Honiara City is a dirty city in the Pacific, because people tried to adopt rural lifestyle in an urban centre and currently a multi ethnic city made of a melting pot of people from across the country’s provinces and other pacific Islands. It is attractive for those seeking excitement and opportunity (city bright lights) as the likes of American dream during the gold rush days. The urban drift and high birth rate has caused Honiara to have a medium age as low as 14, creating a proportionately high percentage of young people – a unique population with high unemployment and high crime rate. It all begun with some 60,000 that was the first Australoid migration into the Pacific Region begun from South East Asia. These first settlers moved into Papua New Guinea and Australia as the first Migrants, they are hunters and gatherers (Aborigines). Later followed by some 10,000 Papuans. This group however moved east to Solomon Islands, New Hebrides (Vanuatu), Fiji and New Caledonia called the Melanesian world today. The third wave of 5,000 Polynesians and Micronesian moved in as Austronesians but already the bigger islands were occupied, so they moved into the smaller Islands and outlying atolls. The whites came in some 200 years ago and used guns to force our people out and took over our land and built sky scrapper buildings, big factories, vast infrastructures and commercial farming developments. We accepted those changes too, but they are hiding something from us and continue to step on us. In 1568 some 441 years ago, Alvero de Mendana Naiyra, a Spanish explorer sailed on the orders of his uncle the governor of Spain in Peru, to look for a continent in the South Sea islands reputed to be filled with gold. The explorers entered the Solomon seas and came to Bogotu Island, after having established friendship and exchanging of gifts with Chief Bugoro. The Spanish expedition under chief navigator De Quiroz sailed on a southerly bearing on his prismatic compass prior to approaching Florida group. He saw the green vegetation and tender green giant native forests where he did not hesitate to name “Boenivesta.” What that name means, ask any Ngela person. Find it out yourself! It was in August 2008, after the 30th Anniversary of Independence of Solomon Islands that the Duke of Gloucester who had previously come for the first independence on July 7, 1978, returned to the Solomon Islands on a state visit. This time he and his wife went to the Parliament of Solomon Islands to give a speech from the throne, sitting close to the speaker of parliament Sir Peter Kenilorea. I quote him: “Solomon islanders, while prices of fuel and food goes up, with your fertile country, you can plant more food, feed your nation and feed the whole world.” What was he talking about? Was he crazy? Were the ears and eyes of all parliamentarians open to hear and see? Refer now to the history of Dr. David Suzuki a Japanese citizen of Cuba under the dictator President Castro. He impacted great changes on the clay soil and it became a great commercial agriculture and stable nation, our student doctors eat five meals per day. Solomon Islanders if they’re lucky they would eat 3 meals per day, otherwise one would only have meal in the morning and you’re out with an empty stomach for the rest of the day until evening dinner. What a sad situation indeed, why has this happened to us, are we lazy? We develop ourselves on subsistence farming, hand to mouth style just enough to eat, take little of our market produce to the market and then we have to start all over again. Agriculture field officers sleep and don’t know what to do. They come to give advice when they see you starting an animal husbandry project like piggery or poultry farm and you have started to look a little healthier. Where were they all these years, where is the money they have for supporting local farmers? What sort of development are they talking about? Development I knew transforms society and results in improvement in lifestyle and wellbeing of the people. We must do something now or we will regret over the next thirty years. The SIG must change its strategy, reshuffle or overhaul its systems with the Ministry of Education, Agriculture and Ministry of youth women and children, on a revolutionary approach. Many millions of dollars have been spent on projects and for rehabilitation but have not worked as expected. A new mind shift and mentality must engrave the hearts and mind of our leaders to impact true change for our youth. What’s wrong with us? What do we search for prosperity for the happy Isles? Do we ever identify the causes of unemployment that have brought us down to our knees? There is nothing complicated and hard to find a solution for this country. If we want this peaceful isles to be restored and have prosperity and become rich nation amongst the first world countries, then it is our responsibility to brainstorm for good ideas and plans that could get us on to a path of prosperity. There may be good policies already in place but they could be another good decorated report for cobwebs and dust. What can we as a nation do to restore the power house in our people again? For too long we sleep without having a plan in place to rescue this country. I am not an economist or a rocket scientist to see the reality of these circumstances now ripe, which have occurred as symptoms of a decayed nation renovated by corruption. We are caught offguard in the ever changing circumstances and the financial crises that hit USA. The road for financial recovery of USA would be tough and take long. We have been dragged into the financial crisis. Our development and budget expenditure are running low. We have a 35% cut on our recurrent budget. Hope we survive the next few years. It would be a hideous blunder to remain ignorant and live in the impression that these things do not affect us. Don’t ever forget about the saying, every dog has its day. Get back to the basics, to your roots to know exactly who you are and where you come from. The Solomon Islands baby is now 31 years old, but is still breastfed, wearing a diaper and very much dependent on aid from first world countries. Some of that aid comes with hidden reasons and fails to bring about any development. It is often taken back by technical advisors and staff who come here from overseas. We need to be sweating and hard working to achieve our goals, never carried away for free handouts. If David Suzuki from Japan can till Cuba's clay soil to make it a potential commercial agriculture nation, what’s so hard about our fertile land where we can plant more food and feed the whole world, like what the Duke of Gloucester uttered on the floor of parliament in 2008. Those words still keep ringing loud in our ears. We need to fight a revolutionary war against the system and we should be okay. Fearless, I will come back again in my next article to drive the nail home, but I would like to see academics of this country take the initiative and leading role to show us the path. The tunnel is dark but we can see some light at a distance. May God bless Solomon Islands stands forevermore. [rc] Copyright © 2007 Solomon Star Newspaper Seniors World Chronicle adds: This is in edited, abridged version of the report.