Kan, 64, saw his approval ratings tumble amid a perceived lack of leadership after the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis The Japanese prime minister, Naoto Kan, has announced he is resigning after almost 15 months in office amid plunging approval ratings over his government’s handling of the tsunami disaster and nuclear crisis. In a televised speech to the country, Kan said he was stepping down as chief of the ruling Democratic party of Japan, effectively ending his tenure as leader of the country. The decision was widely expected because in June, Kan had promised to quit once lawmakers passed three key pieces of legislation. The final two bills cleared the parliament earlier on Friday. The Democrats will vote on Monday for a new leader, who will almost certainly become Japan’s next prime minister – the sixth since 2006. Former foreign minister Seiji Maehara is viewed as the frontrunner to replace him. Finance minister Yoshihiko Noda and trade minister Banri Kaieda are also viewed as contenders. Looking back on his year and three months in office, Kan said he did all he could given difficulties he faced, including the disasters and a major election defeat in upper house elections last summer that left the parliament in gridlock. “Under the severe circumstances, I feel I’ve done everything that I had to do,” he said. “Now I would like to see you choose someone respectable as a new prime minister.” Kan, 64, has seen his approval ratings tumble amid a perceived lack of leadership after the 11 March earthquake and tsunami, and subsequent nuclear crisis. Survivors complain about slow recovery efforts, and radiation from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant has spread into the air, water and food supply. Political infighting between the ruling and opposition parties also have discouraged the public. Recent polls show that his public support has fallen under 20%. Japan’s new leader will take over a heavy load of tasks: rebuildling the country from the triple disasters, tackling a surging yen that is undermining the export-led economy and mapping out a new energy policy that is less reliant to nuclear power. Kan’s successor will also need to restore confidence in Japan’s alliance with the US – Tokyo recently cancelled Kan’s US visit for talks with President Barack Obama, expected in early September, due to the political uncertainty. Japan Japan disaster guardian.co.uk
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Health experts blame passive overeating for global pandemic, warning in the Lancet that governments must tackle obesity now Governments around the world need to make immediate and dramatic policy changes to reverse a pandemic of obesity which could affect an extra 11 million people in the UK over the next 20 years, public health scientists have warned. The call to act – which includes a prediction that almost half of British men could be clinically obese by 2030 – comes in a series of papers published on Friday in the Lancet medical journal . The journal begins with a strongly-worded editorial arguing that voluntary food industry codes are ineffective and ministers must intervene more directly. “Without prevention and control of the risk factors for obesity now, health systems will be overwhelmed to breaking point,” the editorial says. “Yet governments’ reactions so far are wholly inadequate and rely heavily on self-regulation by the food and beverage industry, and the so-called nudge approach.” There was a particular need for leadership ahead of a UN summit in New York next month on preventing non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and cancer, said one of the authors, Boyd Swinburn, from the centre for obesity prevention at Melbourne’s Deakin University. “Governments have abdicated responsibility. Like a frog sitting in a pan of hot water, we haven’t realised what’s been happening until it’s too late.” The journal carries four new research papers by academics in the UK, US and Australia on what is termed “the global obesity pandemic”, charting its causes, implications, likely progression and the ways it could be reversed. One study, by Claire Wang from Columbia University’s school of public health, uses British and American data to track the possible increase in obesity levels if governments continue with current policies. Based on around 20 years of historic data, the study says that by 2030 as many as 48% of British men could be obese – having a body mass index of more than 30 – as against 26% now. For women, the figure could rise from 26% to up to 43%. Such a progression is not certain , particularly given slightly more positive data over recent years. But if the historic trend continues into the next two decades the UK could have 26 million obese people, up 11 million on the current figure. Swinburn’s paper comes up with a clear primary culprit: a powerful global food industry “which is producing more processed, affordable, and effectively-marketed food than ever before”. He said an “increased supply of cheap, palatable, energy-dense foods”, coupled with better distribution and marketing, had led to “passive overconsumption”. Another study by Steven Gortmaker from Harvard University’s school of public health, concludes that the response by governments has been a failure of will which mirrored previous struggles to tackle tobacco consumption. Ministers knew it made sense to crack down on junk foods but did not have the political appetite to take on such a huge industry. “I think governments get it, but don’t know what to do about it, and don’t think it’s their responsibility. But it is their responsibility,” he said. His study lists eight cost-effective policies. Topped by a tax on unhealthy food and drink, the rest focus on shielding children from TV advertising or ensuring they exercise more. The Lancet carries a comment by Sir David King, former chief scientific adviser to the government, carried in large type across the cover: “The conclusions are unambiguous. We need collaborative societal changes in many aspects of our environment to avoid the morbid consequences of overweight and obesity.” A better-informed diet One of the Lancet papers covers the necessary calculations to lose weight, and brings bad news for those using the long-held rule of thumb that a reduction of 500 calories per day will see a steady weight loss of about 1lb (just under half a kilo) per week. Kevin Hall from the US’s National Institute of Health, said: “This is wrong. It just doesn’t happen.” Apart from the many variables of genetics and personal circumstance, this rule of thumb ignores the way the body’s metabolism tends to speed up when weight is lost, the reason many diet gains soon tail off. Hall has devised a far more sophisticated web-based model which allows people to take account of this effect, as well as factors such as exercise, to plot a more likely weight loss progression. The new simplified rule seems to be that 10 calories fewer per day will also lose you about 1lb – but over three years Obesity Health Health policy Public services policy Peter Walker guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Health experts blame passive overeating for global pandemic, warning in the Lancet that governments must tackle obesity now Governments around the world need to make immediate and dramatic policy changes to reverse a pandemic of obesity which could affect an extra 11 million people in the UK over the next 20 years, public health scientists have warned. The call to act – which includes a prediction that almost half of British men could be clinically obese by 2030 – comes in a series of papers published on Friday in the Lancet medical journal . The journal begins with a strongly-worded editorial arguing that voluntary food industry codes are ineffective and ministers must intervene more directly. “Without prevention and control of the risk factors for obesity now, health systems will be overwhelmed to breaking point,” the editorial says. “Yet governments’ reactions so far are wholly inadequate and rely heavily on self-regulation by the food and beverage industry, and the so-called nudge approach.” There was a particular need for leadership ahead of a UN summit in New York next month on preventing non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and cancer, said one of the authors, Boyd Swinburn, from the centre for obesity prevention at Melbourne’s Deakin University. “Governments have abdicated responsibility. Like a frog sitting in a pan of hot water, we haven’t realised what’s been happening until it’s too late.” The journal carries four new research papers by academics in the UK, US and Australia on what is termed “the global obesity pandemic”, charting its causes, implications, likely progression and the ways it could be reversed. One study, by Claire Wang from Columbia University’s school of public health, uses British and American data to track the possible increase in obesity levels if governments continue with current policies. Based on around 20 years of historic data, the study says that by 2030 as many as 48% of British men could be obese – having a body mass index of more than 30 – as against 26% now. For women, the figure could rise from 26% to up to 43%. Such a progression is not certain , particularly given slightly more positive data over recent years. But if the historic trend continues into the next two decades the UK could have 26 million obese people, up 11 million on the current figure. Swinburn’s paper comes up with a clear primary culprit: a powerful global food industry “which is producing more processed, affordable, and effectively-marketed food than ever before”. He said an “increased supply of cheap, palatable, energy-dense foods”, coupled with better distribution and marketing, had led to “passive overconsumption”. Another study by Steven Gortmaker from Harvard University’s school of public health, concludes that the response by governments has been a failure of will which mirrored previous struggles to tackle tobacco consumption. Ministers knew it made sense to crack down on junk foods but did not have the political appetite to take on such a huge industry. “I think governments get it, but don’t know what to do about it, and don’t think it’s their responsibility. But it is their responsibility,” he said. His study lists eight cost-effective policies. Topped by a tax on unhealthy food and drink, the rest focus on shielding children from TV advertising or ensuring they exercise more. The Lancet carries a comment by Sir David King, former chief scientific adviser to the government, carried in large type across the cover: “The conclusions are unambiguous. We need collaborative societal changes in many aspects of our environment to avoid the morbid consequences of overweight and obesity.” A better-informed diet One of the Lancet papers covers the necessary calculations to lose weight, and brings bad news for those using the long-held rule of thumb that a reduction of 500 calories per day will see a steady weight loss of about 1lb (just under half a kilo) per week. Kevin Hall from the US’s National Institute of Health, said: “This is wrong. It just doesn’t happen.” Apart from the many variables of genetics and personal circumstance, this rule of thumb ignores the way the body’s metabolism tends to speed up when weight is lost, the reason many diet gains soon tail off. Hall has devised a far more sophisticated web-based model which allows people to take account of this effect, as well as factors such as exercise, to plot a more likely weight loss progression. The new simplified rule seems to be that 10 calories fewer per day will also lose you about 1lb – but over three years Obesity Health Health policy Public services policy Peter Walker guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Health experts blame passive overeating for global pandemic, warning in the Lancet that governments must tackle obesity now Governments around the world need to make immediate and dramatic policy changes to reverse a pandemic of obesity which could affect an extra 11 million people in the UK over the next 20 years, public health scientists have warned. The call to act – which includes a prediction that almost half of British men could be clinically obese by 2030 – comes in a series of papers published on Friday in the Lancet medical journal . The journal begins with a strongly-worded editorial arguing that voluntary food industry codes are ineffective and ministers must intervene more directly. “Without prevention and control of the risk factors for obesity now, health systems will be overwhelmed to breaking point,” the editorial says. “Yet governments’ reactions so far are wholly inadequate and rely heavily on self-regulation by the food and beverage industry, and the so-called nudge approach.” There was a particular need for leadership ahead of a UN summit in New York next month on preventing non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and cancer, said one of the authors, Boyd Swinburn, from the centre for obesity prevention at Melbourne’s Deakin University. “Governments have abdicated responsibility. Like a frog sitting in a pan of hot water, we haven’t realised what’s been happening until it’s too late.” The journal carries four new research papers by academics in the UK, US and Australia on what is termed “the global obesity pandemic”, charting its causes, implications, likely progression and the ways it could be reversed. One study, by Claire Wang from Columbia University’s school of public health, uses British and American data to track the possible increase in obesity levels if governments continue with current policies. Based on around 20 years of historic data, the study says that by 2030 as many as 48% of British men could be obese – having a body mass index of more than 30 – as against 26% now. For women, the figure could rise from 26% to up to 43%. Such a progression is not certain , particularly given slightly more positive data over recent years. But if the historic trend continues into the next two decades the UK could have 26 million obese people, up 11 million on the current figure. Swinburn’s paper comes up with a clear primary culprit: a powerful global food industry “which is producing more processed, affordable, and effectively-marketed food than ever before”. He said an “increased supply of cheap, palatable, energy-dense foods”, coupled with better distribution and marketing, had led to “passive overconsumption”. Another study by Steven Gortmaker from Harvard University’s school of public health, concludes that the response by governments has been a failure of will which mirrored previous struggles to tackle tobacco consumption. Ministers knew it made sense to crack down on junk foods but did not have the political appetite to take on such a huge industry. “I think governments get it, but don’t know what to do about it, and don’t think it’s their responsibility. But it is their responsibility,” he said. His study lists eight cost-effective policies. Topped by a tax on unhealthy food and drink, the rest focus on shielding children from TV advertising or ensuring they exercise more. The Lancet carries a comment by Sir David King, former chief scientific adviser to the government, carried in large type across the cover: “The conclusions are unambiguous. We need collaborative societal changes in many aspects of our environment to avoid the morbid consequences of overweight and obesity.” A better-informed diet One of the Lancet papers covers the necessary calculations to lose weight, and brings bad news for those using the long-held rule of thumb that a reduction of 500 calories per day will see a steady weight loss of about 1lb (just under half a kilo) per week. Kevin Hall from the US’s National Institute of Health, said: “This is wrong. It just doesn’t happen.” Apart from the many variables of genetics and personal circumstance, this rule of thumb ignores the way the body’s metabolism tends to speed up when weight is lost, the reason many diet gains soon tail off. Hall has devised a far more sophisticated web-based model which allows people to take account of this effect, as well as factors such as exercise, to plot a more likely weight loss progression. The new simplified rule seems to be that 10 calories fewer per day will also lose you about 1lb – but over three years Obesity Health Health policy Public services policy Peter Walker guardian.co.uk
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The fire is one of the deadliest attacks on an entertainment centre since an offensive against drug cartels was launched in late 2006 Two dozen gunmen burst into a casino in northern Mexico on Thursday, doused it with gasoline and started a fire that trapped gamblers inside, killing at least 45 people and injuring a dozen more, authorities said. The fire at the Casino Royale in Monterrey, a city that has seen a surge in drug cartel-related violence, represented one of the deadliest attacks on an entertainment centre in Mexico since President Felipe Calderon launched an offensive against drug cartels in late 2006. “This is a night of sadness for Mexico,” federal security spokesman Alejandro Poire said in a televised address. “These unspeakable acts of terror will not go unpunished.” Calderon tweeted that the attack was “an abhorrent act of terror and barbarism” that requires “all of us to persevere in the fight against these unscrupulous criminal bands.” Nuevo Leon state security spokesman Jorge Domene said the number late on Thursday had risen to at least 45. “But we could find more,” said state Attorney General Leon Adrian de la Garza, adding that a drug cartel was apparently responsible for the attack. Cartels often extort casinos and other businesses, threatening to attack them or burn them to the ground if they refuse to pay. State police officials quoted survivors as saying armed men burst into the casino, apparently to rob it, and began dousing the premises with fuel from tanks they brought with them. The officials were not authorized to be quoted by name for security reasons. De la Garza said the liquid appeared to be gasoline. With shouts and profanities, the attackers told the customers and employees to get out. But many terrified customers and employees fled further inside the building, where they died trapped amid the flames and thick smoke that soon billowed out of the building. Workers continuing to remove bodies well into the night. Monterrey Mayor Fernando Larrazabal said many of the bodies were found inside the casino’s bathrooms, where employees and customers had locked themselves to escape the gunmen. In an act of desperation, authorities commandeered backhoes from a nearby construction site to break into the casino’s walls to try to reach the people trapped inside. Maria Tomas Navarro, 42, stood weeping at the edge of the police tape stretched in front of the casino building. She was hoping for word of her brother, 25-year-old Genaro Navarro Vega, who had worked in the casino’s bingo area. Navarro said she tried calling her brother’s phone. “But he doesn’t answer. I don’t know what is happening,” she said. “There is nobody to ask.” Larrazabal said the casino, in a well-off part of Monterrey, had been closed by authorities in May for building an expansion without a permit, but a judge later granted the owner an injunction to continue operating. Initial reports said 11 people had been killed, but the death toll climbed as emergency personnel and firefighters searched the casino building. Medics treated survivors for smoke inhalation. State police officials initially said witnesses reported hearing three explosions before the fire started, but later said a flammable material was used. The reports of explosions may have been the sound of the ignition of the liquid. It was the second time in three months that the Casino Royale was targeted. Gunmen struck it and three other casinos on 25 May, when the gunmen sprayed the Casino Royale with bullets, but no was reported injured in that attack. Last month, gunmen killed 20 people at a bar in Monterrey. The attackers sprayed the bar with rounds from assault rifles, and police later found bags of drugs at the bar. Monterrey has seen bloody turf battles between the Zetas and Gulf cartels in recent months. Once Mexico’s symbol of development and prosperity, the city is seeing this year’s drug-related murders on a pace to double last year’s and triple those of the year before. Mexico guardian.co.uk
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I didn't go to the Catholic News Agency's web site tonight looking for a media bias column; I usually go there to find “positivity” posts for my home blog. When I clicked on an item with an intriguing title (“The Pope's Young Army”), I expected that the author, Father Robert Barron, would regale me with inspiring vignettes from the Pope's recently completed World Youth Day in Madrid. Well, at first he did just that. But then Father Barron's fine column took an interesting turn. Check out his reactions to how the international press covered the event, and his remarkably insightful conclusions (bolds are mine; additional paragraph breaks added by me): I would like to focus my reflections on a phenomenon that would actually be funny if it weren’t so tragic. I’m talking about the mainstream media’s extraordinary capacity to miss the point. Every night that I was in Madrid, I would return to my room after an incomparably rich day moving among the throngs of pilgrims and I would watch the news on CNN and the BBC. World Youth Day was, invariably, among the top stories, but the coverage was, not to put too fine a point on it, just bizarre. “Protestors descend on Madrid as the Pope arrives,” the BBC announcer would gravely intone; “The Pope was met today with strong opposition from secularists, gay rights activists, and Spaniards angry over World Youth Day’s cost to taxpayers,” the CNN anchorwoman would say, frowning into the camera. By the admission of the news reporters themselves, the number of protestors never reached beyond a few thousand, and not one event of World Youth Day was interrupted in the least by their demonstrations. There were, at most, a few scuffles between pilgrims and the protestors. But judging from the tone of the coverage, the average listener in the UK or the United States would have concluded that the Chicago riots of 1968 had broken out in the streets of Madrid. I actually laughed out loud when I focused in on some video of a “confrontation” between protestors and World Youth Day participants and noticed that at least half of the people in the picture were camera crews and reporters! A million and a half young Catholics from all over the world come to celebrate their faith and to declare their solidarity with the Pope—and the networks obsess over a handful of protestors! I know that controversy sells papers and pleases sponsors, but anyone who was on the ground for World Youth Day couldn’t help but conclude there was something more at work in the gross discrepancy between reality and reportage. The dirty little secret is that the actual World Youth Day doesn’t fit the standard secularist narrative, according to which Catholicism is a corrupt, backward-looking, moribund ideology, destined to fade away as science advances and subjectivist moral relativism becomes normative. A small percentage of priests engage in sexually deviant behavior? Blanket coverage. An international army of young people marches through the hot sun and then sits patiently through a rainstorm to see the Pope? Ho-hum. That’s called reporting the news according to a set of fairly rigid ideological assumptions and imperatives. The Catholic Church—at least in the West—is passing through a dark period, largely of its own making. But has the Catholic Church lost the future? The mainstream media wants you to think so. But any of those who experienced World Youth Day first hand would say, “Don’t you believe it.” The good priest's take on the establishment press's mindset is well-stated and spot-on. Excellent job, Father Barron. Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com .
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enlarge Our own Susie Madrak is in the hospital. She’s okay, but she’s having some tests run following what she thought might have been a heart attack. The latest is they don’t believe she had a heart attack, and they are keeping her overnight for observation. We wish her a very speedy recovery. Her individual blog is here. You may also leave good wishes for her in comments here.
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Brian Maloney at Radio Equalizer offered the latest in liberal earthquake conspiracy theories: liberal radio host Thom Hartmann has found the cause, and it is “fracking” for natural gas. This is becoming a pet cause on the left , leading some to sue fracking energy companies for earthquake damage. Maloney began with sarcasm: “Thank goodness our 'progressive friends are a go-to source on 'science,' a subject we conservatives adamantly oppose.” Hartmann doesn't care if you call him a conspiracy theorist: I still wonder if fracking had something to do with the [East Coast] earthquake that we experienced yesterday. You know, fracking is pumping enormous amounts of water and noxious chemicals into the ground at high pressure, to break up the rock. If you're breaking up the rock underground, doesn't it make sense that the ground would move? I mean, call me a conspiracy theorist if you want, but I wonder if two plus two equals four here. Hartmann referred to a Daily Kos post about an earthquake in 1967 allegedly caused by chemical weapons makers. You can find that here .
Continue reading …Is there an end to the stupid? It’s a rhetorical question, don’t answer. Eric Cantor’s remarks about federal aid and Tuesday’s earthquake centered in his district transcend stupid and go straight to dense. Via ThinkProgress : “There is an appropriate federal role in incidents like this,” Cantor said. That role? The bare minimum. According to Cantor, Congress’s traditional practice of providing disaster relief without strings attached — a policy its followed for years — is going way beyond the call of duty. If Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) asks for federal aid, Cantor insists that the relief be offset elsewhere in the federal budget: The next step will be for Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) to decide whether to make an appeal for federal aid, Cantor said. The House Majority Leader would support such an effort but would look to offset the cost elsewhere in the federal budget. But that’s not the worst of what he said. It’s quite similar to what he said after Joplin, MO was devastated by a tornado. No, the real stupid came after the initial selfish, heartless, disgusting, cynical denial of federal aid. While touring the damage in his district, Cantor surmised, “Obviously, the problem is that people in Virginia don’t have earthquake insurance. ” As the Insurance Information Institute notes, “earthquakes are not covered under standard U.S. homeowners or business insurance policies, although supplemental coverage is usually available.” So, for Cantor, the problem here is that Virginians didn’t have the foresight to predict an exceedingly rare natural disaster and pay out of their own pocket in advance. Until last Tuesday, the largest earthquake to hit that region was a 3.2 magnitude quake in 2010. Buildings along that corridor are not built to be earthquake-safe. This is because earthquakes are rare. If one were to buy supplemental disaster insurance, it would more likely be insurance to cover damage due to hurricanes, not earthquakes, assuming any insurer would actually sell earthquake insurance in a non-earthquake zone where buildings are not built to withstand earthquakes. How stupid is this? We all know Cantor is the insurance and financial industry golden boy, but I’d be embarrassed to have bought and paid for such a stupid politician if I were his keepers. What’s next? Denying federal aid to people in Hawaii for not buying insurance against blizzards?
Continue reading …Tea party reporter Susie Sampson takes us through how we should pick candidates. “Why’d you pick Mitt Romney?” she asks. “Because I like the color blue.” I voted for John Kerry for less.
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