Yuh still holdin me up, Daddy? I yelled over my shoulder, as dusk fell on a Belfast park. Uh-huh, came a faint reply. Peeking behind, I realised, with a surge of exhilaration, that I was on my own and that Daddys economy with the truth had eased me through one of lifes rites of passage: learning to ride a bike.

And what better time to discover the joys of cycling than during Irelands National Bike Week, which takes place from June 10th to June 18th. Perhaps, having attended Cycling Irelands recent Bike Fest on June 11th, youre keen to experience life on two wheels, and Cycling Irelands communications officer Heather Boyle is especially keen to share with The Irish Times some biking benefits.

Benefits of cycling

Socially, she says, cycling offers great opportunities to meet like-minded people from all walks of life. With over 400 cycling clubs in the country, theres bound to be a group for you. Cycling offers something to everyone: from adrenalin-fuelled racing to social touring, to a head-clearing cycle home after a hard days work.

And Boyle reminds me that Ireland has some of the most beautiful country roads in the world, with relatively low levels of traffic: On the bike, she enthuses, you see the country at a slower pace and from a different perspective. And from an environmental point of view cyclings a zero-emission activity, so while enjoying its health and fun benefits, youre also helping reduce our carbon footprint.

Cycling and health

The health benefits conferred by cycling are probably best explained by a leading surgeon for whom pedal power proved life-changing. Prof Chris Oliver who is on Twitter @CyclingSurgeon, is the professor of physical activity for health at the University of Edinburgh, and consultant orthopaedic surgeon at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. I cycled as a schoolboy, Oliver told The Irish Times, and as a medical student, I rode all over London. But later I became obese, weighed over 28 stone, developed Type 2 diabetes and couldnt cycle. However, I underwent gastric band surgery and got fit again; so fit that in 2013, I rode 3,500 miles across US from Los Angeles to Boston. The Type 2 diabetes disappeared when I lost weight.

Regular cycling, says Oliver, is a great way to increase longevity: Middle-aged people who cycle regularly typically enjoy the fitness level of someone 10 years younger, and gain two years in life expectancy; and cycling, combined with a healthy diet, helps control weight and lower the risk of diabetes. It raises the metabolic rate, builds muscle, burns body fat, and is a comfortable form of exercise which you can vary and build up slowly. A daily half-hour bike ride burns nearly five kilograms of fat over a year.

Oliver also notes that cycling can reduce ones risk of contracting cardiovascular disease, with regular cycling stimulating heart, lungs and circulation, reducing the risk of stroke, high blood pressure and heart attack: In addition, exercise reduces your risk of colon and breast cancer, and research has found cycling reduces the risk of bowel cancer. For bones and joints, he says, cycling improves co-ordination, strength and balance and may help prevent falls and fractures: Being low-impact, with little stress on joints, cycling is an ideal form of exercise for osteoarthritis. Around 70 per cent of body weight goes through the saddle and handlebars instead of your ankles; and the bigger you are, the more important that is!

As for mental health, Conditions like depression, stress and anxiety, explains Oliver, can be reduced by regular cycling. This is due to the effects of the exercise, producing endorphins, and because riding a bike can bring great enjoyment.

Boyle agrees: The mental health benefits are phenomenal, as highlighted, for example, by the huge support for Irelands annual Cycle Against Suicide event, which took place from April 23rd to May 6th this year, and whose message was Its okay not to feel okay; and its absolutely okay to ask for help.

With Cycling Ireland the countrys national governing body for cycling boasting a membership of over 29,000, which has grown by 720 per cent over the last decade, it is clear that the benefits conferred by cycling on all age groups, from primary schoolchildren to retirees, are being enjoyed by increasing numbers of people.

So come on; get on your bike and start cycling: its a life-enriching experience.

Great places to cycle

Waterford Greenway: Irelands longest greenway was officially opened on the March 25th with 46km of a dedicated cycling and walking trail along the old railway line. The trail stretches from Waterford City to Dungarvan, taking in 11 bridges, three viaducts and a 400m tunnel, and the route is a mix of coastal and inland section.

The Great Dublin Bike Ride: This is the only Dublin City-based leisure cycle; it offers a closed-road tour of Dublin City and County, and is on September 24th.

The Sport Ireland Cycle Series: This is a five-cycle series; you can do as many events as you like of the five that are on offer, with a variety of distances and routes that take in some of the best roads in Ireland like the Wild Atlantic Way, Copper Coast Drive, the Burren and the Ring of Beara.

Ring of Kerry: This is one of Irelands most scenic routes, the jewel in the crown of Kerrys world-renowned wondrous landscape. You can tackle it at your own pace at any time of year, or you could join the 10,000 cyclists up for one of Irelands best loved challenges on the July 1st, 2017.

The Gran Fondo Giro dItalia Northern Ireland: This takes cyclists around some of the spectacular countryside of Northern Irelands east coast, following similar routes to those taken by the professionals when the Giro dItalia visited Ireland in 2014.

The Mizmal: Prof Oliver says, Next year, Im planning to ride the Mizmal (about 550 miles) in a week from Mizen Head to Malin Head. It should be great! See mizmal.com

Boosting bike usage

Irelands cycling boom, according to Heather Boyle, can be attributed to several reasons, with the introduction of the Bike to Work Scheme (biketowork.ie) one of the key initial drivers: Bike rental schemes in Dublin, Cork and Galway, she says, made cycling accessible to everyone, and the increased and ongoing investment in cycle lanes, greenways and blueways has created safer environments for commuters, families and individuals. This investment is crucial if Ireland is looking to increase active travel, and together with cyclist.ie, Cycling Ireland is pushing for 10 per cent of the transport budget to be allocated to cycling.

But as Boyle explains, although cycling is enjoying a resurgence in popularity among middle-aged people, Cycling Ireland is keen to promote it to children: Trends have shown, she says, that fewer children cycle to school than in previous years. For example, in primary schools the number of children commuting by bike dropped from 22,400 in 1991 to 6,200 in 2011, according to the census.

One means of addressing this challenge is the Sprocket Rocket cycling skills programme, aimed at children aged 5-12, with a focus on basic cycling skills like cornering, balance, braking and pedalling. Its a programme, says Boyle, thats particularly popular with our clubs, who have recognised a significant improvement in the confidence and competence of the children who completed the course.

Then there is Cycle Right, launched in early 2017, with over 3,000 participants at 80 schools throughout Ireland signed up for training. Boyle explains that this is the first time Ireland has had a national standard for cycle training, and particular emphasis is placed on educating participants to become competent, confident cyclists who will have the skills to move safely on the road network.

The Scottish experience

Across the Irish Sea, Prof Oliver is actively engaged in turning policy into pedalling. Bike usage, he says, is best promoted by governments having an active travel plan and a good targeted, driven cycling policy. My best cycling project that has got people active is Play on Pedals (playonpedals.com). I raised the grant funding for this project, that not only engages pre-school children in cycling to improve the mental and physical health of future generations, but aims to give every pre-school child in Glasgow the opportunity to learn to ride a bike before starting school.

The project worked with 7,148 children over 2.5 years and trained 388 instructors and instructor trainers to deliver across Glasgow, a city with large areas of multiple deprivation and recognised health inequalities. Play on Pedals, says Oliver, has been a hugely popular programme. It has provided a fun and engaging way to increase physical activity, confidence and resilience among pre-school children and families in Glasgow. As one head teacher commented, There will be a generational change within the community because we have children who are leaving the nursery who can cycle and that can only add to how our environment will grow.

Is there scope in the future for a mutually beneficial cross-fertilisation of ideas between Dublin and Glasgow?

Cycling disciplines

Heather Boyle emphasises cyclings many facets: While many think of road cycling, Irelands mountain bike scene is one of the most vibrant and growing communities, with hubs of activities around the country attracting those with a love for adventures off the beaten track. The Emerald Enduro is a great day out for the family.

And BMX cycling enjoys a healthy resurrection. This is an area that has attracted many younger riders. While there are several top-class racing tracks for serious competitors, there are BMX tracks in most towns nationwide, making it extremely affordable and accessible.

Track cycling, says Boyle, is a fast, exciting and competitive discipline, with cyclists on single-gear brakeless bikes riding around in circles! Ireland has three outdoor tracks Dublin, Cork and Belfast and Irish riders such as Martyn Irvine, Caroline Ryan and our paracycling team have won many world medals.

However, road cycling is the most popular discipline in Ireland, with 65 per cent of Cycling Irelands members being leisure cyclists, participating in the many sportives held around the country. Ireland, adds Boyle, also has a booming competitive scene, with races like the An Post Rs and An Post Rs na mBan driving up the standard of the domestic riders, and feeding people into the Irish national teams and professional cycling teams.

Safety tips from Cycling Ireland

Never trust anyone else to look after your safety.

Always travel at a pace where you are in control.

Make sure you have full awareness of whats happening around you; if you are changing direction, always glance over your shoulder and do so when its clear.

When riding in a group always point out or call out obstacles to warn cyclists behind you.

Make sure that your bike and helmet are in good working order before hitting the road or trail.

Excerpt from:
Want to get fit? Get on your bike - Irish Times

The diabetes medication linagliptin can protect against stiffening of the left ventricle of the heart in overweight female mice, a new study suggests.

The finding may have implications for management of cardiovascular diseases in humans, particularly for obese and diabetic premenopausal women, who are more at risk of developing heart diseaseeven more than men of similar age and with similar health issues.

In previous studies, we showed that young, female mice consuming a Western diet, high in fat, sucrose, and high fructose corn syrup, not only gained weight, but also exhibited vascular stiffening consistent with obese premenopausal women, says Vincent DeMarco, a research associate professor of endocrinology at the University of Missouri School of Medicine and the lead author of the study.

Our current study sought to understand if linagliptin prevents cardiac stiffening caused by eating a Western-style diet.

Linagliptin is a medication prescribed to lower blood glucose in patients with type 2 diabetes. The medication works by blocking the enzyme dipeptidyl peptidase-4, or DPP-4. Previous studies have shown that DPP-4 inhibitors offer protection against vascular inflammation and oxidative stressconditions associated with cardiovascular stiffening.

DeMarcos team studied 34 female mice that were fed either a normal diet or a simulated Western diet for four months. Another group of mice were fed a Western diet containing a low dose of linagliptin. The team used an ultrasound system, similar to that used in humans, to evaluate the function of the left ventricle of the heart.

A heartbeat actually is a two-part pumping action that takes less than a second in healthy humans, DeMarco says. The first part, known as diastole, involves relaxation of the left ventricle while it fills with oxygenated blood from the lungs. After the left ventricle fills with blood, it then contracts and pushes blood into the aorta. This part of the cardiac cycle is referred to as systole.

If the left ventricle becomes stiffer it will not be able to relax normally, and diastole will be impaired. This form of heart disease is known as diastolic dysfunction, which is a risk factor for a more serious heart condition known as diastolic heart failure, he explains.

The mice fed the Western diet alone gained weight, exhibited increased heart weight, and developed diastolic dysfunction. However, the mice fed the Western diet along with linagliptin did not develop diastolic dysfunction. They also exhibited less oxidative stress and inflammation in their hearts compared to the mice fed the Western diet alone.

Oxidative stress and inflammation are two factors that can promote excess accumulation of collagen, also known as fibrosis, in the walls of the left ventricle, DeMarco says. In our study, we found that Western diet-fed mice had increased fibrosis in the left ventricle that was prevented by linagliptin.

The team also found that linagliptin suppressed not only DPP-4 activity, but also TRAF3IP2 production. TRAF3IP2 is a protein responsible for initiating tissue oxidative stress, inflammation, and fibrosis in the heart.

This was a major novel finding of our study, DeMarco says. However, further research is required to determine exactly how linagliptin affects the function of this important protein.

DeMarco also cautions that linagliptin, like other DPP-4 inhibitors, can be expensive without insurance coverage.

Based on the results of this research and our previous studies, it is tempting to speculate that linagliptin could reduce the risk of cardiovascular complications associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes, DeMarco says. However, ongoing clinical trials will help determine what, if any, cardio-protective role linagliptin could play in the management of obesity-related heart disease.

The study appears in Cardiovascular Diabetology. Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc., the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Veterans Affairs provided funding for the study.

Source: University of Missouri

See the rest here:
Could diabetes drug protect heart from bad diet? - Futurity: Research News

You risk life and limb OK, maybe not life, but certainly limb to stuff your cat inside a carrier and endure the bawling from the back seat on the annual crosstown voyage for booster shots, only to have the vet say what you plainly can see but refuse to hear.

For the love of Puff, what can you possibly do about that? Its not as though hes a dog, eager for an extra walk and oblivious if slipped green beans instead of biscuits at bedtime. Your dog is going to love you no matter what.

But your cat? The one who herds you into the kitchen before the sun rises and worries incessantly over his food bowl? A diet? Hell be one unhappy fellow.

If the very thought of Your Cat On A Diet causes such anxiety that you unthinkingly reach for a spoon and a pint of Moose Tracks ice cream, relax. Theres a fat cat study going on at Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine that just might help.

Its purpose is to find a way to keep the family purring while kitty loses weight.

We want to look at the owners perception of the weight loss plan, said Dr. Lauren Dodd, a clinical nutrition resident. If they feel their cat is unhappy, begging for more food, really, the owners are concerned about quality of life.

The cats or their own, she didnt quite say.

Half of Americans cats are overweight. Few will have much success going on a diet or sticking to it. As with people, obesity leads to an array of illnesses and early death.

Just recently I heard from a vet who said she has 10 different ways to explain to owners that their pet is obese. Most of them turn a blind eye, said Dr. Megan Shepherd, clinical assistant professor. Certainly, if its not presented appropriately, it can be offensive to just come out and say, Your cat is fat. Theres finesse to it.

For those pet owners willing to admit it, Dodd and Shepherd want to see if cats are better able to lose weight and lead a higher quality of life as perceived by their owners if given an individual weight loss plan.

The researchers are looking for 60 fat cats. Well, just 59 now.

Sophie, a sweet gray tabby, is their first volunteer.

Her person, Susan Heinze of Blacksburg, said Sophie isnt quite as hefty as she was a month ago. Shes quicker when climbing steps and can now jump on counters.

Sophie didnt appear to be nervous during her recent weigh-in at the vet school in Blacksburg.

The first time she threw up in the car on the way here. And on the way home, she was frothing at the mouth and pooped in the carrier, Heinze said. This time wasnt as bad.

As everyone fussed over Sophie, nutrition services coordinator Montez Vaught wiped a little spittle off the cats face, the only sign she wasnt pleased. Vaught serves as the intermediary between the researchers and the cats and their owners.

She hands off the cat to the researchers to weigh and feel for progress and relays information to the owners.

All the cats will eat the same prescription diet food that is being provided for free by Purina, the studys sponsor. The amount of food will vary, not because of the study design, but because of the heft of the cat.

The researchers know the variables that have to do with owners instructions, but they do not know which cat will be randomly assigned to which variable. Vaught knows everything, but the cats got her tongue. The variables are not being disclosed because the owners cannot know anything beyond what Vaught tells them.

About five or six cats are awaiting enrollment. Dozens more are needed. Their owners must be willing to bring them in once a month for a quick visit and to fill out a form rating how well their cat eats, grooms, rests and plays with people, pets and toys.

Heinze scored Sophie as slightly more playful.

Dodd and Shepherd soothed her before putting her through the drill. Her waist seemed smaller, but she could have just been standing taller.

While a cats weight is objective, the researchers need to also assign a body condition score, which can be subjective. The score comes from a chart, which most pet owners have spotted hanging in an exam room, that depicts cat shapes along a number line, with 1 being anorexic and 9 being grossly obese.

Ideally, cats should fall in the 4 or 5 range. When viewed from above, they have a waist. Their ribs can be felt when a hand glides over their sides, and they have a nice abdominal tuck.

The goal is to get the fat cats to fall in the ideal range. For most house cats, thats about 10 pounds.

The problem, Shepherd said, is obese is becoming the norm. So when pet owners see ideal, they think thats too skinny.

Sophie, at more than 15 pounds, scores in the 7 to 7.5 range.

To take part in the study, a cat needs to be healthy, hefty enough to score 7 or above and between 1 and 10 years old. Sophie is 8.

Shes really sweet, Dodd said while lifting up the feline to look at her ample belly. Thats the other thing with the criteria. You have to be able to handle them.

They cant get too stressed out, or theyll hate us, Shepherd said.

And they have to come each month for nine months. Weight loss of a half pound to two pounds a month is a good pace.

The cats must be willing to eat kibble no wet food is allowed. And they should come from single-pet homes or have owners like Sophies who are willing to separate them at feeding time.

Heinze said shes standing watch while Sophie eats her one-third cup of food twice a day. She has no idea how much Sophie used to eat.

She was a very small kitty when I got her. She just kind of liked food, Heinze said. Anything you put in front of her.

Sophie would gorge, upset her tummy and throw up.

She seems OK with her diet, and, Heinze said, is less grumpy.

Here is the original post:
Vet school looking to put fat cats on purr-fect diet - Roanoke Times

By Freddy Green

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Are you, too, fighting mad about Donald Trump pulling the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord? Then lets fight back three times a day by adopting an eco-friendly, plant-based diet.

Yes, our diet is pivotal. A 2010 United Nations report blames animal agriculture for 19 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, 38 percent of land use, and 70 percent of global freshwater consumption.

Carbon dioxide is emitted by burning forests to create animal pastures and by the fossil fuel industrys use of farming machinery, trucks, factory farms and slaughterhouses. The more damaging methane and nitrous oxide are released from digestive tracts of cattle and from

animal waste cesspools, respectively.

In an environmentally sustainable world, meat and dairy products in our diet must be replaced by vegetables, fruits, and grains, just as fossil fuels are replaced by wind, solar, and other pollution-free energy sources.

Each of us has the power to protest Trumps failure to maintain Americas leadership in moderating climate change, simply and effectively, by what we choose at the grocery store.

Freddy Green

Flushing

Posted 12:00 am, June 12, 2017

2017 Community News Group

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Excerpt from:
Honor Paris Climate Accord through diet - TimesLedger

June 12, 2017 Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Dieters who go vegetarian not only lose weight more effectively than those on conventional low-calorie diets but also improve their metabolism by reducing muscle fat, a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition has found.

Losing muscle fat improves glucose and lipid metabolism so this finding is particularly important for people with metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes, says lead author, Dr. Hana Kahleov, Director of Clinical Research at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in Washington DC.

Seventy-four subjects with type 2 diabetes were randomly assigned to follow either a vegetarian diet or a conventional anti-diabetic diet. The vegetarian diet consisted of vegetables, grains, legumes, fruits and nuts, with animal products limited to a maximum of one portion of low-fat yoghurt per day; the conventional diabetic diet followed the official recommendations of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD). Both diets were restricted by 500 kilocalories per day compared to an isocaloric intake for each individual.

The vegetarian diet was found to be almost twice as effective in reducing body weight, resulting in an average loss of 6.2kg compared to 3.2kg for the conventional diet.

Using magnetic resonance imaging, Dr. Kahleov and colleagues then studied adipose (fat-storage) tissue in the subjects' thighs to see how the two different diets had affected subcutaneous, subfascial and intramuscular fat (that is, fat under the skin, on the surface of muscles and inside muscles).

They found that both diets caused a similar reduction in subcutaneous fat. However, subfascial fat was only reduced in response to the vegetarian diet, and intramuscular fat was more greatly reduced by the vegetarian diet.

This is important as increased subfascial fat in patients with type 2 diabetes has been associated with insulin resistance, so reducing it could have a beneficial effect on glucose metabolism. In addition, reducing intramuscular fat could help improve muscular strength and mobility, particularly in older people with diabetes.

Dr. Kahleov said: "Vegetarian diets proved to be the most effective diets for weight loss. However, we also showed that a vegetarian diet is much more effective at reducing muscle fat, thus improving metabolism. This finding is important for people who are trying to lose weight, including those suffering from metabolic syndrome and/or type 2 diabetes. But it is also relevant to anyone who takes their weight management seriously and wants to stay lean and healthy."

Explore further: Eating a diet rich in fruit and vegetables could cut obesity risk

More information: Hana Kahleova et al. The Effect of a Vegetarian vs Conventional Hypocaloric Diabetic Diet on Thigh Adipose Tissue Distribution in Subjects with Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Study, Journal of the American College of Nutrition (2017). DOI: 10.1080/07315724.2017.1302367

Pro-vegetarian diets (with a higher consumption of plant-based foods compared to animal-based foods) could provide substantial protection against obesity, according to new research presented at this year's European Congress ...

People on a vegetarian diet, and especially those following a vegan one that includes no animal products, see better results than dieters on other weight-reducing plans. In fact, they can lose around two kilograms more on ...

Eating a vegetarian diet appears to be associated with lower blood pressure (BP), and the diets can also be used to reduce blood pressure.

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen, together with colleagues from the University of Colorado, Tufts University, Centro de Investigacin Biomdica en Red de Fisiopatologa de la Obesidad y Nutricin (CIBER OBN) ...

(HealthDay)If you've resolved to eat healthy and lose weight in 2017, a new report suggests the DASH diet may be your best bet.

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Hospitals and healthcare facilities use numerous databases containing the records of a whole host of physiological variables of the patients they treat. The processing and analysis of these data can enable healthcare staff ...

Most of us know what sort of food we should eat to optimise our health and help avoid lifestyle diseases like obesity and heart disease. But we don't stick to our ideal diets.

Imagine a day where you don't have to wait weeks to see your GP, followed by a further wait for medical test results and then still more waiting before being seen by a specialist. We know that changing demographic trends, ...

Gatwick Airport is hoping you'll never get lost on the way to catch a flight again. The London airport has recently installed a wayfinding system that works like a kind of indoor GPS to direct customers around the building ...

Dieters who go vegetarian not only lose weight more effectively than those on conventional low-calorie diets but also improve their metabolism by reducing muscle fat, a new study published in the Journal of the American College ...

Carrying less weight may make female runners faster, but a new study from The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center shows it may also put them at a higher risk for injuries.

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Vegetarian diets almost twice as effective in reducing body weight, study finds - Medical Xpress

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Sign up for the goEvo mailing list to be notified about the goEvo app launch. You will automatically be entered to win: a Nutribullet Blender and the books, Eating Well Made Easy and Mindfulness: Finding Peace in a Frantic WorldThe winner will be announced on the day of the goEvo app launch!

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Link:
Maggie Must-Haves: Don't diet, download! Check out this app and how you can win a Nutribullet Blender - CW39

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Monday, June 12, 2017

On Friday, Japan's parliament, the National Diet, passed a law to allow Emperor Akihito to abdicate. The law gives Akihito three years to become the first emperor to abdicate since Emperor Kokaku in 1817, two hundred years ago.

The newly passed law, made in response to the country's Imperial Household Law's lack of abdication provisions, applies to only Akihito, aged 83. It prohibits Akihito's successors from abdicating.

Akihito ascended to the 2,000-year-old Chrysanthemum Throne when his father Emperor Hirohito died in 1989. Having a cardiac surgery and treatment for prostate cancer, Akihito in a televised address last year said age and health were interfering with his duties. Per Japan's current constitution, an emperor cannot make political statements, so Akihito did not explicitly mention abdication.

When abdication happens, under new law, Akihito's son and heir apparent Naruhito will ascend the throne, becoming the country's 126th emperor. Besides Naruhito, Akihito has another son and a daughter.

Emperor Akihito's heir apparent Naruhito, born in 1960, graduated from Oxford University and married a Harvard University graduate Masako Owada in 1993. Portland State University professor Kenneth Ruoff told the BBC that, while Akihito and his wife have been active in social causes, Naruhito and Masako have done little in this regard. A Kyoto Sangyo University emeritus professor Isao Tokoro said Naruhito "has been educated," is born, and is qualified "to be emperor[.]"

In 2006, the National Diet debated on allowing female ascendance, as the emperor lacked grandsons at the time, due to the current male-only royal ascendance laws. Then Hisahito, now 10, was born, and the debate lapsed.

Naruhito has only one child Aiki, 15, while his brother Prince Akishino, 51, has three children, including his only son Hisahito. Per current law, Hisahito is qualified to ascend after his uncle Naruhito and his father.

The royal family currently has 19 living members, including seven unmarried princesses and five males. Female royals, if marrying a commoner, would have to give up their royal status, leaving the royal family, while males would still be allowed to retain their royal status after marrying a commoner. Akishino's daughter Princess Mako announced her plans last month to relinquish her royal status and leave the royal family in order marry a commoner Kei Komuro, a graduate student and law firm worker, both of them aged 25. In 2005, Mako's aunt and Naruhito's sister Sayako, formerly Princess Nori, married a commoner Yoshiki Kuroda, a town planner, and was forced to relinquish her status and leave the family.

A Temple University Japan professor Jeff Kingston said a national succession crisis has people raising concerns about female princesses leaving the royal family when getting married. Kingston added the family "[has] a shortage of male heirs." Kingston also said ousting a female royal for marrying a commoner is "a very old-fashioned approach, totally out of sync with 21st-century norms" to many people around the world, including in Japan.

In a survey by Kyodo News conducted in May of about 3000 people at least 18 years old, 68 percent said the Imperial Household Law should be amended to allow future emperors to abdicate. 25 percent favored separately legislating each abdication. Four percent said abdication of emperors should never be allowed.

On questions involving female royals, 86 percent said to allow empresses, 59 percent supported both empresses and established branches of female lineages. 62 percent supported establishment of separate branches for princesses retaining their roles while marrying commoners; 35 percent opposed. 61 percent said female ascendance should be debated only after the abdication, while 28 percent said it shouldn't wait for the abdication.

Early this year, the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe considered giving imperial status to branches of those who left the royal family. In the survey, 22 percent supported the idea; 72 percent opposed.

The Abe government has avoided the debate of female ascendance but recently passed a non-binding resolution attached to the newly passed abdication law to consider how to strengthen female royal status, possibly including allowing them to retain their royal titles and continue their duties, to compensate for the declining royal population.

Read more from the original source:
Japan's National Diet passes law allowing Emperor Akihito to abdicate within three years - Wikinews

The Trump administrations plan to slim future federal pension benefits, big-time, has electrified feds. They are nervous, whether they are decades away from retiring or have been retired for years. Feds and retirees (or their survivors, in both plans) have reason to be anxious:

FERS was set up to replace the more expensive CSRS program, and to take into account that only about one-third of the people who work for the government actually retire from it. FERS replaced the more generous CSRS pension/annuity benefit, but added Social Security and a generous 401k package, in which employees who contribute at least 5 percent of their own money get a 5 percent match (the equivalent of a tax-deferred pay raise) to their 401k. FERS is more portable than the CSRS program because of the Social Security and Thrift Savings Plan components.

At the time FERS replaced CSRS, many people suspected/feared that eventually, Congress would eliminate the CSRS program, forcing workers into the less costly (to the government) FERS plan. But that didnt happen, and now the number of people getting the more generous CSRS annuity is probably too small to make them a target. But both groups would be hit under the Trump budget if and it is a big if Congress goes along.

Some feds worry that if COLAs are reduced or eliminated, the next step will be to eliminate the retirement component of FERS for people hired in the future. Others worry that the matching government contribution to FERS employees TSP plans maybe on some future hit list. Meantime, heres a comment from a long-retired postal worker:

Nice article about grampa and pension plans. Like most CSRS retirees, I follow pension-related news using thepostalnews.com website. I am a retired (2009) mailman. I think its important to note in any conversation about federal retirements is the WEP/GPO. Mailmen do not pay into Social Security and anything they earn is greatly reduced or eliminated, including spousal survivors benefits. I know you know this. So, my take-home pension of $2,333, plus $154 SSI is not going to buy me that house on the Riviera. I feel its comparable to someone with 30 years substantial earnings for SSI, plus a 401k. I think most of the public assumes we get full SSI benefits and are surprised when I explain to them that we dont.

I consider the 401k system the biggest scam of the 20th century. I remember when it first started, companies would say that they would match employee savings because of the money they saved by not paying out a pension. Time and time again, my children have seen an end to employee matching, especially when the company is on the skids.

I also remember how some of my friends looked down at me for remaining a mailman. It was that whole public-sector snobbery. They were riding high with their expense accounts, medical benefits, and decent pensions. Now that that has been yanked out from under them, I hear a lot of pension envy out there. Well thats not fair, you shouldnt have that type of talk. Misery loves company.

And the whole COLA thing. Another sham. The only thing that hasnt gone up in my budget is my income in the last five years, for the most part. And they want to reduce it by another 0.5 percent. To be fair, Obama proposed using a different formula, which would have reduced it anyway.

So, here I am knocking on the door of 64 with an artificial hip and knee, contemplating going back to work. All because of Trump and the Republican party. And 40 percent of union members vote Republican. It used to drive me nuts when I was a steward to hear that. I remember being accused of violating the Hatch Act. Hell, my bosses probably couldnt even spell it. I still chuckle over that.

At times I get bitter, frustrated, angry, but the hell with that.

Ill just go back to work. And to quote Alec Baldwin in The Departed: The world needs more bartenders.'

Bob the mailman Drojarski

By Jory Heckman

Many of the residents of Churchill, Manitoba leave their car doors unlocked, in case someone needs to take shelter from wayward polar bears.

Source: Wikipedia

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