THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!

You'll be on your way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.

You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.
You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you'll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don't
Because, sometimes, you won't.

I'm sorry to say so
but, sadly, it's true
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.

You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You'll be left in a Lurch.

You'll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you'll be in a Slump.

And when you're in a Slump,
you're not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted.  But mostly they're darked.
A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out?  Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And IF you go in, should you turn left or right...
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused
that you'll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place...

...for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.

NO!
That's not for you!

Somehow you'll escape
all that waiting and staying.
You'll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.

With banner flip-flapping,
once more you'll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you're that kind of a guy!

Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored.  there are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame!  You'll be famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.

Except when they don't.
Because, sometimes, they won't.

I'm afraid that some times
you'll play lonely games too.
Games you can't win
'cause you'll play against you.

All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you'll be quite a lot.

And when you're alone, there's a very good chance
you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.

But on you will go
though the weather be foul
On you will go
though your enemies prowl
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.

On and on you will hike
and I know you'll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.

You'll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You'll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life's
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

So...
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!



=======

vocabulary:

 hang-up= something that causes you to feel worried, afraid, embarrassed, etc.   

lag behind= to not be at the level that someone or something else has already achieved  

be left in a Lurch=  to leave someone waiting for or anticipating your actions/ to leave someone at a time when they need you to stay and help them

slump= An extended period of poor performance, especially in a sport or competitive activity

wiggle= to move up and down or from side to side with short quick motions

somehow= in a way that is not known or certain

dexterous=  having or showing great skill or cleverness

deft= skillful and clever

Some wisdom from Bill Watterson

vocabulary:

reflect- to show or be a sign of a particular situation or feeling:

ex. The drop in consumer spending reflects concern about the economy.

values- a strongly held belief about what is valuable, important, or acceptable

ex. Her husband's values differ from hers.

relentless-  continuing without becoming weaker, less severe, etc.

ex. Her relentless optimism held the team together. ▪ relentless winds

avarice- ([noncount] formal + disapproving) a strong desire to have or get money : greed

eccentric- a person who acts in strange or unusual ways : an eccentric person

subversive- subversive ideas, activities etc are secret and intended to damage or destroy a government or an established system


afford (+someone or something) - to supply or provide (something needed or wanted) to someone

 ex. All of the rooms afford views of the lake. ▪ He was afforded the opportunity to work for a judge.

flake- someone who seems strange or who does not pay attention or  tends to forget things

live up to (something) - if something or someone lives up to a particular standard or promise, they do as well as they were expected to, do what they promised, etc.

ex. The film has certainly lived up to  my  expectations.

potential- an ability that someone has that can be developed to help that person become successful

ex. The team's newest player shows great potential. ▪ He has the potential to be one of the team's best players. ▪ She has leadership potential. [=she could become a successful leader] ▪

Some New York City Restaurants Ban Food Photography By Customer

 

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — If you’re one of the thousands of people who snap pictures of your food and instantly share them on social media, you might be surprised to learn that some restaurants are now banning photos of their food.

As CBS 2’s Emily Smith reported Monday, you see it all the time – not art or fancy photography, just cell phone pictures of our meals.

“I think, inherently, New Yorkers want to brag about the fantastic restaurants that are here in New York,” a woman said.

And it is something that has gone from awkward to mainstream, via Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. What is sometimes known as “food porn” has taken on a life of its own, and some restaurants have decided to ban it.

“It can shatter the experience when you’re asking your fiancé to marry you, and a flash is going off at a table next door,” said David Bouley, owner of Bouley Restaurant.

At Bouley, located on Duane Street in TriBeCa, a new protocol is in place. Guests may only take photos in the kitchen, and by next week, Bouley will be providing a photo to customers with the check.

“This whole system here will be set up very soon, so we can shoot their food and have it delivered to them before they leave; before they pay their check,” Bouley said.

At Brooklyn Fare on Schermerhorn Street in Downtown Brooklyn, the owner confirmed no cell phone pictures are allowed whatsoever, citing distraction as the reason.

Pop culture expert Adam Hanft said the problem could be a lot of things.

“Somebody doesn’t like a restaurant, somebody has a grudge against the restaurant, they can manipulate the food,” he said.

So what’s behind the “food photography” craze?

“It’s another example of us wanting to document every little piece of our lives,” Hanft said. “We’re strapping on things to measure how many steps we take, and now we take pictures of our food.”

Steven Hall, a spokesman for dozens of other restaurants in New York City, said food photography is a phenomenon that more and more chefs cannot accept because of presentation.

“There’s no way you’re going to take a beautiful shot of food in a dimly-lit restaurant,” Hall said.

But restaurants that ban taking pictures of food also know they’re banning free advertising.

Food photo policies vary from restaurant to restaurant. They can include anything from an outright ban on cameras to just a ban on a flash.

Tuk-tuks offer new take on Paris

The humble tuk-tuk, a fixture in Asian cities from Bangkok to Bangalore, is rapidly becoming a common sight in the touristy parts of Paris -- and the bane of traffic police.

 

The three-wheeled auto rickshaws, as well as human-powered pedicabs, first appeared in the French capital in 2011, and their numbers have since risen to around 50, lining up at key landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, or the Place de la Concorde.

The growth in numbers has been fueled in part by the recent downturn in the French economy and the need to find work.

The price for a tuk-tuk -- imported from Thailand -- can be as much as 9,000 euros ($12,000), but buyers hope to make good their investment.

While tuk-tuks may be a cheap alternative to taxis in Asia, in central Paris,  tourists are happy to pay an average of 20 euros ($25) per ride, easily more than regular cabs can charge.

"Unemployment is everywhere," one driver says. "We have found something that the tourists like."

The downside, he said, is that "the police hassle you" -- checking a laundry list of items including registration, medical clearance, insurance, brake lights and turn signals, as well as maintenance.

Sofiene, who says he always dreamed of being his own boss, earns between 90 and 110 euros a day -- from which he might have to subtract between 35 and 135 euros if he is unlucky enough to be fined.

"Why shouldn't I take advantage of the Golden Triangle like others do?" asked the former hotel maitre d', referring to an especially upscale section of the Champs Elysees.

For the police, the latest addition to the city's already congested traffic is just another headache.

"These tuk-tuks are breaking the law because they haven't been booked" by telephone or online, one policeman tells AFP.

Under French law, only registered taxis are allowed to pick up passengers on the street.

But the head of Paris' traffic police, Major Bernard Baulard, admits the law is "not easy to enforce" because two- and three-wheelers are not specifically covered.

Anyone with a regular driver's licence can buy and drive a tuk-tuk, he notes.

Pedicabs have also flourished, numbering up to 200. They charge between five and 15 euros a ride.

"The monuments go by nice and slowly," says Ibrahim, from India. "It's great to visit Paris without getting tired," his girlfriend Nazneen chimes in before the pair get off at the Louvre.

source: http://www.expatica.com/fr/news/french-news/Tuktuks-offer-new-take-on-Paris_272754.html

 

Woman to have 'dolphin-assisted' birth

A pregnant woman and her husband have traveled to Hawaii where they plan on having a “dolphin-assisted birth,” a water delivery among dolphins, according to Medical Daily.

Heather Barrington, 27, and her husband Adam, 29, of South Carolina, are preparing for the July arrival of their first child through a series of prenatal and postnatal swims with a pod of dolphins at The Sirius Institute in Pohoa, Hawaii.

The Sirius Institute describes itself as a "a research consortium with the purpose of 'dolphinizing' the planet." They recently set up the Dolphin Attended, Water, Natural and Gentle Birth Center (DAWN), due to what they claim is an increasing demand on their web site for people looking to give birth near dolphins. The Sirius Institute claims that giving birth with dolphins is part of an ancient native Hawaiian practice.

While dolphin-assisted births are rare, dolphin assisted therapy (DAT) has been used for more than 25 years in patients with mental and physical disabilities and autism, according to Medical Daily. During DAT, patients swim and play with dolphins living in captivity while completing tasks meant to improve skills like hand-eye coordination. However, scientists claim there is little scientific evidence indicating that DAT is therapeutically effective.

Water births – without the presence of dolphins –have proven benefits, including more efficient contractions, improved blood circulation for the mother, less pain and more oxygen for the baby, according to the American Pregnancy Association (APA). However, the APA noted that few studies have been done examining the risks associated with water births.    

In the event that a “dolphin-assisted” birth cannot occur, the couple has made plans to deliver with a midwife. Experts point out that dolphins are predators and can become aggressive, though dolphin-related injuries among people are relatively rare, Medical Daily reported.

“Having that connection with the pod of dolphins anytime – even if the birth doesn’t happen in the water – still brings peace, comfort and strength to the mother and baby during labor,” Heather told the South Charlotte News.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/28/woman-to-have-dolphin-assisted-birth/#ixzz2ddVWrBoz

Let's Skype: The world's favourite VoIP service turns 10

Happy birthday Skype, you’re 10-years-old today! The path-breaking VoIP service that was born out of the efforts by Janus Friis of Denmark and Niklas Zennström of Sweden is celebrating its birthday today.

The company hit it big when eBay acquired the service creator for $2.5 billion in 2005. Even as cheap broadband connection became widely available across the world, the need to connect with loved ones sitting in other cities became more important and Skype filled this gap perfectly.  Between 2005 and 2009, Skype’s international call market share jumped from 2.9 percent to 12 percent. Currently a total of 300 million users make two billion minutes of online video calls a day using Skype.

Part of this success of the VoIP service can be attributed to its acquisition by Microsoft in 2011. A popular joke at that point of time said, “Microsoft bought Skype for $8.5 billion? Why, it could have downloaded Skype for free!”

Earlier in July the company announced a massive redesign for its Android application after celebrating the 100 million downloads mark. Not just the service, but also its applications on iOS, Android and even Windows Phone seem to be doing great.

The company has spawned many competitors with its simple, yet effective calling philosophy. While Apple’s FaceTime and Google’s Hangouts are catering to a whole niche of audiences themselves, they’ll probably never be immortalised in popular-speak like 'Let’s Skype!' is.

Volunteering could lengthen life

People who volunteer report having lower levels of depression and higher levels of well-being than average, while some research suggests it promotes a longer and healthier life.

A review of 40 academic papers on the subject by University of Exeter researchers found that volunteers are a fifth less likely to die within the next four to seven years than average.

Across the studies volunteers had lower self-rated levels of depression and higher levels of well-being and life satisfaction, although this has not been confirmed in trials.

It is thought that volunteering can be good for the physical health of older people in particular, by encouraging them to stay active and spend more time out of the house.

Volunteers often explain their motives in terms of wanting to "give something back" to their community, but without receiving anything in return the reported improvements in quality of life are harder to explain, experts said.

An estimated 22.5 per cent of people in Europe devote part of their spare time to volunteering, compared with 27 per cent in America and 36 per cent in Australia.

Dr Suzanne Richards, who published her systematic review in the BMC Public Health journal, said: "Our systematic review shows that volunteering is associated with improvements in mental health, but more work is needed to establish whether volunteering is actually the cause.

"It is still unclear whether biological and cultural factors and social resources that are often associated with better health and survival are also associated with a willingness to volunteer in the first place."

source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10259949/Volunteering-could-lengthen-life.html

Masked hero helps carry bags, babies up and down Tokyo subway stairs

Tadahiro Kanemasu aka the "Carry-Your-Pram-Ranger" carries a woman's shopping cart at the station in Tokyo. Reuters

TOKYO —

In a green outfit with silver trim and matching mask, a superhero waits by the stairs of a Tokyo subway station, lending his strength to the elderly, passengers lugging heavy packages and mothers with baby strollers.

“Japanese people find it hard to accept help, they feel obligated to the other person, so the mask really helps me out,” said Tadahiro Kanemasu.

The slender 27-year-old has spent three months being a good Samaritan at the station on Tokyo’s western side. Like many in the city, it has neither elevators nor escalators and a long flight of dimly lit stairs.

Inspiration came from the children he met at his job at an organic greengrocer, which also prompted the color of his costume. He picked up the green Power Rangers suit and two spares at a discount store for 4,000 yen each.

Since Kanemasu can set aside only a couple of hours each day for his good deeds, he hopes to recruit others in different colored suits. Already he has inquiries about pink and red.

Hayato Ito, who works alongside Kanemasu at the greengrocer, said his kindness to others over the years meant his alter ego did not come as a complete surprise.

“There were hints of this from a long time ago but finally he flowered as a hero,” Ito said.

Kanemasu admitted he got off to a bit of a rocky start.

“When I first began, people basically said ‘Get away from me, you weirdo’,” he said. “Now they still think I’m weird but in a good way.”  

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013. 

 

source: http://www.japantoday.com/category/lifestyle/view/masked-hero-helps-carry-bags-babies-up-and-down-tokyo-subway-stairs

Don’t like drinking with the boss? No promotion for you

By Oona McGee

In Japan, husbands often hand over their pay packets to their wives, who are the chief financial controllers for the household. Husbands then receive a fraction of their pay in the form of a monthly allowance, which has to cover costs such as cell phone charges, lunches and all-important networking and relations-building “nomikai,” or work drinking parties.

According to a survey by Shinsei Bank, the average office worker receives an allowance of 39,600 yen a month. But when the average cost for attending a drinking party is 2,860 yen, and one lunch is an average of 510 yen a day, many workers are now choosing to skip out on after work drinks. What they don’t realize is that this attempt to save some yen is actually jeopardising their careers.

Here are some comments from office workers in their 30s about their tight financial situations:

“Drinking parties are a waste of money, so even though I’m invited I don’t go. If you continually refuse, then they stop inviting you so it’s not a problem.”

“Nothing will improve for me because even if my income increases, my monthly allowance will stay the same.”

Management consultant Shinsuke Suzuki, however, is certain that “nomi-nication”  remains an important part of workplace relations, asserting that, “office workers who decline invitations to drinking parties can’t get promoted.”

Making the effort to attend drinking parties is often a simple way to show your commitment to work relationships.

“ To a large extent, if you’re not an employee with a specialised technical skill, then there’s nothing to really distinguish you from the other workers. So if you want to stand out and get promoted, attending drinking parties and building up an in-house network is much more effective than simply working your heart out at work.

“Of course, there will be people who think, ‘A party organizer is such a low and useless level of work. I should be assessed for my work performance at work,’” Suzuki said. “But these people are missing the point. If you show that you can organize a party, then you’re also showing that you can complete work projects and you have good people skills.”

But what about those on a tight monthly budget?

It seems that if you want to get ahead in business on a tight budget, you might just have to skip lunch and go out drinking with the boss instead. Your body may not thank you for it but your future wallet will.

Sources: Nikkan Spa

Taiwan showgirls strip for the dead

source: http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Asia/Story/A1Story20121009-376445.html



TAOYUAN, Taiwan - Dressed in mini skirts barely covering their hips, the two girls took to the neon-lit stage and moved vigorously to the loud pumping pop music.

Their job: to appease the wandering spirits.

As the temple facade in the background changed colour from the fireworks lighting up the Taiwanese night sky, the show climaxed with pole-dancing and striptease in front of an audience consisting of men, women and children.

"This is hard work but I need to make a living," said 18 year-old En En, out of breath after stripping for the crowd during the recent religious festival.

En En had just earned Tw$3,000 (S$123) for her act, which began on stage, but ended as she mingled with the audience, letting men touch her for tips.

Folk religion in Taiwan is a unique mixture of the spiritual and the earthly, and one of its most remarkable manifestations is the practice of hiring showgirls to perform at festivals, weddings, and even funerals.

The girls work on "electronic flower cars" - specially designed trucks equipped with light and sound equipment that can become a stage, allowing them to travel to performances often held in smaller cities and rural areas.

"The groups attract crowds to our events and they perform for the gods and the spirits to seek blessings," said Chen Chung-hsien, an official at Wu Fu Temple, a Taoist landmark in north Taiwan's Taoyuan county.

"They have become part of our religion and folk culture."

At 26, Chiang Pei-ying is already a veteran performer with nearly 20 years of experience, travelling across Taiwan with her father and two sisters for their family business to entertain audiences - both alive and dead.

Chiang made her debut when she was in kindergarten because she liked singing and dancing on stage and has become a celebrity performer with her sisters, charging up to Tw$80,000 for a 20-minute show.

She said she enjoys her line of work, even if she has to deal with some odd requests from customers such as walking around coffins and singing for the deceased at funerals.

"I've watched this since I was little so it's nothing peculiar for me. Performing for the dead is just like performing for the living people," she said.
"They liked to sing when they were alive and their relatives thought they would have liked to have somebody sing for them in the end. For me, I get good tips and I hope I am accumulating good karma too."

Scientists claim 72 is the new 30

source: http://www.ft.com/home/uk
By Norma Cohen, Demography Correspondent


Human longevity has improved so rapidly over the past century that 72 is the new 30, scientists say.

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Rostock, Germany, said progress in lowering the risk of death at all ages has been so rapid since 1900 that life expectancy has risen faster than it did in the previous 200 millennia since modern man began to evolve from hominid species.

The pace of increase in life expectancy has left industrialised economies unprepared for the cost of providing retirement income to so many for so long.

The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, looked at Swedish and Japanese men – two countries with the longest life expectancies today. It concluded that their counterparts in 1800 would have had lifespans that were closer to those of the earliest hunter-gatherer humans than they would to adult men in both countries today.
Those primitive hunter gatherers, at age 30, had the same odds of dying as a modern Swedish or Japanese man would face at 72.

Scientists who worked on the study said it was unclear what the possible upper limit for life expectancy would be. “How much longer can we extend life?” said Oskar Burger, lead researcher on the study. “We just don’t know.”

The study did not try to draw conclusions about whether the extension of human life was moral or desirable, or whether it could occur without depleting the faculties needed to enjoy the extra years.

Instead, it tried to look at how the odds of dying at specific ages had changed over time. The researchers used longevity data from chimpanzees in captivity to estimate lifespans for pre-humans and data from modern day hunter-gatherer tribes as a benchmark for early human lifespans.

Mr Burger noted that the very rapid improvement in lifespans coincided with the invention of antibiotics and vaccines, huge improvements in agricultural efficiency that made food far more available and the widespread development of systems that made clean water more readily accessible.
Human mortality, he added, has shown itself to be far more “plastic” and capable of manipulation than anyone had imagined.

Even Japanese criminals are orderly and well-behaved

WITH its façade of red brick, Chiba prison, just outside Tokyo, looks like a Victorian-era British jail. That is where the similarity ends. Prisons in Britain are often loud, dirty and violent, but Chiba resembles a somewhat Spartan retirement home for former soldiers. The corridors and the tiny cells are spotless. Uniformed prisoners shuffle in lockstep behind guards and bow before entering rooms.
The deputy warden, Hiroyuki Shinkai, who once visited British prisons as a UN researcher, was shocked by what he found. He can still recall his surprise at seeing inmates freely mingling and talking. “Japanese penal philosophy is different,” he explains. In Japan, talking is banned, except during break-times. Unpaid work is a duty, not a choice.

Japan incarcerates its citizens at a far lower rate than most developed countries: 55 per 100,000 people compared with 149 in Britain and 716 in America. The country’s justice ministry can also point to low rates of recidivism. Yet increasingly the nation’s 188 prisons and detention centres come in for harsh criticism, particularly over their obsession with draconian rules and secrecy (on February 21st the government unexpectedly announced it had hanged three men for murder), and their widespread use of solitary confinement.

Over two-thirds of the inmates of Chiba prison were convicted for crimes that caused death—mainly murder, arson or manslaughter. Half are serving life sentences and, in Japan, life means life. The average prisoner is 50. Many of them have never used a mobile phone or a credit card. Conjugal visits are banned, so marriages break down.

 In the prison workshops, inmates silently make leather shoes and furniture, overseen by a single unarmed guard. No riot has taken place in a Japanese prison since just after the second world war. Escapes are rare, and drugs and contraband almost non-existent. The prison notes that its ratio of one guard to four prisoners is roughly half that in Britain. Yet no one can recall a violent attack on a staff member.

A landmark report in 1995 by Human Rights Watch, a lobby group, said this remarkable order “is achieved at a very high cost”, including the violation of fundamental human rights and falling far short of international standards. Europeans and Americans inside Japan’s prison system have developed mental problems. Yet for Mr Shinkai the differences with the West are a point of pride. “Of course we look too strict to outsiders,” he says. But his inmates, he goes on, all come from Japanese society. For them, it works beautifully.

source: http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21572257-even-japanese-criminals-are-orderly-and-well-behaved-eastern-porridge

the pope to quit feb. 28

The vast majority of popes serve until they die, and they stick it out despite their ill health.

The Vatican has announced that German born Pope Benedict XVI will resign on February 28. Benedict will be the first pope to step down from the papacy in centuries.

The pope is reported to be stepping down because he feels his age is interfering with his ability to perform the job. He is 85 years old.

The vast majority of popes serve until they die, and they stick it out despite their ill health. The last pope to resign voluntarily was Pope Gregory XII, in 1415. Prior to that, Pope Benedict IX resigned from the post in 1045.

Benedict’s decision sets the stage for a conclave to elect a new pope before the end of March, and opens the door to widespread speculation among Roman Catholics about his possible successor.

The pope apparently told his subordinates: “After repeatedly examining my conscience in front of God I have reached the conclusion that my strengths – because of advanced age – mean I am no longer able to exercise adequately the role of Pope.”

Two Italian newspapers ran quotes from the Pope stating that he “felt the weight of the task” and had decided to step down “for the good the Church”.

The Independent revealed there have been rumors over the past few months that the Pope’s health has been failing and that he was struggling to read texts. Benedict has previously stated that Popes who are unable to do their job because of ill health should step down.


-source: http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/the-pope-to-quits-feb-28/2013/02/11/

Pope Benedict to resign, says no longer has strength to fulfill ministry

source: http://ph.news.yahoo.com/pope-benedict-resign-spokesman-110408359.html?cache=clear

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict stunned the Roman Catholic Church on Monday when he announced he would stand down, the first pope to do so in 700 years, saying he no longer had the mental and physical strength to carry on.

Church officials tried to relay a climate of calm confidence in the running of a 2,000-year-old institution, but the decision could lead to uncertainty in a Church already besieged by scandal for covering up sexual abuse of children by priests.

The soft-spoken German, who always maintained that he never wanted to be pope, was an uncompromising conservative on social and theological issues, fighting what he regarded as the increasing secularisation of society.

It remains to be seen whether his successor will continue such battles or do more to bend with the times.

Despite his firm opposition to tolerance of homosexual acts, his eight year reign saw gay marriage accepted in many countries. He has staunchly resisted allowing women to be ordained as priests, and opposed embryonic stem cell research, although he retreated slightly from the position that condoms could never be used to fight AIDS.

He repeatedly apologised for the Church's failure to root out child abuse by priests, but critics said he did too little and the efforts failed to stop a rapid decline in Church attendance in the West, especially in his native Europe.

In addition to child sexual abuse crises, his papacy saw the Church rocked by Muslim anger after he compared Islam to violence. Jews were upset over rehabilitation of a Holocaust denier. During a scandal over the Church's business dealings, his butler was accused of leaking his private papers.

In an announcement read to cardinals in Latin, the universal language of the Church, the 85-year-old said: "Well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of St Peter ...

"As from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours (1900 GMT) the See of Rome, the See of St. Peter will be vacant and a conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is."

POPE DOESN'T FEAR SCHISM

Benedict is expected to go into isolation for at least a while after his resignation. Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said Benedict did not intend to influence the decision of the cardinals in a secret conclave to elect a successor.

A new leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics could be elected as soon as Palm Sunday, on March 24, and be ready to take over by Easter a week later, Lombardi said.
Several popes in the past, including Benedict's predecessor John Paul, have refrained from stepping down over their health, because of the division that could be caused by having an "ex-pope" and a reigning pope alive at the same time.

Lombardi said the pope did not fear a possible "schism", with Catholics owing allegiances to a past and present pope in case of differences on Church teachings.
He indicated the complex machinery of the process to elect a new pope would move quickly because the Vatican would not have to wait until after the elaborate funeral services for a pope...

Obesity Crisis: Obese British to Lose Welfare if They Don't Exercise

sources: http://www.policymic.com / time.com

Some overweight British citizens could lose their welfare benefits if they don't complete a doctor-recommended exercise regimen, reported TIME.

The city of London is considering the measure, recommended by the Westminster Council and local think tank The Local Government Information Unit (LGiU), as part of a cost-savings plan in preparation for the transferring of $3.25 million in public money from Britain's national health service into the municipality.

Jonathan Carr-West, chief executive of the LGiU, said that the proposal is a "win-win" solution, as it saves the city money while contributing to make citizens healthier in "innovative ways."

The "behaviors that promote public health" could be monitored by using "smart cards" to determine how much exercise citizens who've been ordered to work out more are getting.
The idea is to "vary their subsidized housing and tax payments to either reward or incentivize them based on how much exercise they do."

According to TIME, more than 22% of British adult are obese. The UK spends $179 billion in health-related expenses.

However, the chairman of the British Medical Association’s General Practitioners committee, Dr.Lawrence Buckman, called the suggestions “some of the silliest things I’ve heard in a long time,” adding that when he was first informed of the plans, he “thought it was a joke.”
Other commentators have pointed out flaws in the proposal—in particular the idea that the jobless and the overweight should be the easy target for councils looking to save money. As Charlotte Cooper wrote in the Guardian, “If body weight was a choice solely mediated by eating less and exercising more, we would all have lost weight ages ago.”

Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/01/08/obese-londoners-could-lose-welfare-benefits-if-they-dont-exercise/#ixzz2HTP7qI8Y