How to Live to a Ripe Old Age

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Cento di questi giorni. May you have a hundred birthdays, the Italians say, and some of them do.

So do other people in various spots around the world—in Blue Zones, so named by National Geographic Fellow Dan Buettner for the blue ink that outlines these special areas on maps developed over more than a decade. (National Geographic News is part of the National Geographic Society.)

In his second edition of his book The Blue Zones, Buettner writes about a newly identified Blue Zone: the Greek island of Ikaria (map). National Geographic magazine Editor at Large Cathy Newman interviewed him about the art of living long and well. (Watch Buettner talk about how to live to a hundred.)

Q. You've written about Blue Zones in Sardinia, Italy; Loma Linda, California; Nicoa, Costa Rica and Okinawa, Japan. How did you find your way to Ikaria?

A. Michel Poulain, a demographer on the project, and I are always on the lookout for new Blue Zones. This one popped up in 2008. We got a lead from a Greek foundation looking for biological markers in aging people. The census data showed clusters of villages there with a striking proportion of people 85 or older. (Also see blog: "Secrets of the Happiest Places on Earth.")

In the course of your quest you've been introduced to remarkable individuals like 100-year-old Marge Jetton of Loma Linda, California, who starts the day with a mile-long [0.6-kilometer] walk, 6 to 8 miles [10 to 13 kilometers] on a stationary bike, and weight lifting. Who is the most memorable Blue Zoner you've met?

Without question it's Stamatis Moraitis, who lives in Ikaria. I believe he's 102. He's famous for partying. He makes 400 liters [100 gallons] of wine from his vineyards each year, which he drinks with his friends. His house is the social hot spot of the island. (See "Longevity Genes Found; Predict Chances of Reaching 100.")

He's also the Ikarian who emigrated to the United States, was diagnosed with lung cancer in his 60s, given less then a year to live, and who returned to Ikaria to die. Instead, he recovered.

Yes, he never went through chemotherapy or treatment. He just moved back to Ikaria.

Did anyone figure out how he survived?

Nope. He told me he returned to the U.S. ten years after he left to see if the American doctors could explain it. I asked him what happened. "My doctors were all dead," he said.

One of the common factors that seem to link all Blue Zone people you've spoken with is a life of hard work—and sometimes hardship. Your thoughts?

I think we live in a culture that relentlessly pursues comfort. Ease is related to disease. We shouldn't always be fleeing hardship. Hardship also brings people together. We should welcome it.

Sounds like another version of the fable of the grasshopper and the ant?

You rarely get satisfaction sitting in an easy chair. If you work in a garden on the other hand, and it yields beautiful tomatoes, that's a good feeling.

Can you talk about diet? Not all of us have access to goat milk, for example, which you say is typically part of an Ikarian breakfast.

There is nothing exotic about their diet, which is a version of a Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes vegetables, beans, fruit, olive oil, and moderate amounts of alcohol. (Read more about Buettner's work in Ikaria in National Geographic Adventure.)

All things in moderation?

Not all things. Socializing is something we should not do in moderation. The happiest Americans socialize six hours a day.

The people you hang out with help you hang on to life?

Yes, you have to pay attention to your friends. Health habits are contagious. Hanging out with unhappy people who drink and smoke is hazardous to your health.

So how has what you've learned influenced your own lifestyle?

One of the big things I've learned is that there's an advantage to regular low-intensity activity. My previous life was setting records on my bike. [Buettner holds three world records in distance cycling.] Now I use my bike to commute. I only eat meat once a week, and I always keep nuts in my office: Those who eat nuts live two to three more years than those who don't.

You also write about having a purpose in life.

Purpose is huge. I know exactly what my values are and what I love to do. That's worth additional years right there. I say no to a lot of stuff that would be easy money but deviates from my meaning of life.

The Japanese you met in Okinawa have a word for that?

Yes. Ikigai: "The reason for which I wake in the morning."

Do you have a non-longevity-enhancing guilty pleasure?

Tequila is my weakness.

And how long would you like to live?

I'd like to live to be 200.


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Gen. 'Stormin' Norman Schwarzkopf Dead at 78

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H. Norman Schwarzkopf, the retired general credited with leading U.S.-allied forces to a victory in the first Gulf War, died today at age 78.


The man who Defense Secretary Leon Panetta today called "one of the great military giants of the 20th century" died in Tampa, Fla., where he lived in retirement, the Associated Press reported.


"The men and women of the Department of Defense join me in mourning the loss of General Norman Schwarzkopf, whose 35 years of service in uniform left an indelible imprint on the United States military and on the country," Panetta said in a statement. "My thoughts and prayers are with the Schwarzkopf family in this time of sadness and grief."


Schwarzkopf, called "Stormin' Norman" because of his reportedly explosive temper, led America to two military victories: a small one in Grenada in the 1980s and a big one as de facto commander of allied forces in the Gulf War in 1991.


"'Stormin' Norman' led the coalition forces to victory, ejecting the Iraqi Army from Kuwait and restoring the rightful government," read a statement by former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Gulf War. "His leadership not only inspired his troops, but also inspired the nation."


WATCH: Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf to Saddam Hussein: 'Get Outta Town'


Schwarzkopf's success during that fight, also known as Operation Desert Storm, came under President George H.W. Bush, who through his office today mourned "the loss of a true American patriot and one of the great military leaders of his generation."








Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf to Saddam Hussein: 'Get Outta Town' Watch Video









Gen. Schwarzkopf's '5 Minutes of Unimportant Questions' Watch Video









George H.W. Bush Hospitalized in ICU After 'Setbacks' Watch Video





"Gen. Norm Schwarzkopf, to me, epitomized the 'duty, service, country' creed that has defended our freedom and seen this great nation through our most trying international crises," Bush said. "More than that, he was a good and decent man -- and a dear friend."


Bush's office released the statement though the former president, himself, was ill, hospitalized in Texas with a stubborn fever and on a liquids-only diet.


The current White House occupant, President Obama, also memorialized Schwarzkopf, declaring him "an American original" who "stood tall for the country and Army he loved."


The future four-star general was born Aug. 24, 1934, in Trenton, N.J.


Schwarzkopf's father, who shared his name, directed the investigation of the Lindbergh baby kidnapping as head of the New Jersey State Police, later becoming a brigadier general in the U.S. Army.


Schwarzkopf was raised as an army brat in Iran, Switzerland, Germany and Italy, following in his father's footsteps to West Point, earning an engineering degree and being commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1956.


WATCH: Gen. Schwarzkopf's '5 Minutes of Unimportant Questions'


He earned three Silver Stars for bravery during two tours in Vietnam, gaining a reputation as an opinionated, plain-spoken commander with a sharp temper who would risk his own life for his soldiers.


"He had volunteered to go to Vietnam early just so he could get there before the war ended," said former Army Col. William McKinney, who knew Schwarzkopf from their days at West Point, according to ABC News Radio.


In 1983, as a newly-minted general, Schwarzkopf once again led troops into battle in President Reagan's invasion of Granada, a tiny Caribbean island where the White House saw American influence threatened by a Cuban-backed coup.


But he gained most of his fame in Iraq, where he used his 6-foot-3, 240-pound frame and fearsome temper to drive his forces to victory.


"He was known as a soldier's general," said retired Maj. Gen. Donald Shepperd, as he explained the "Stormin' Norman" nickname to ABC News Radio. "In other words, he really liked the troops and was soft on the troops. But boy, on his general officers, his officers, his NCO's, he was very, very tough and he had a real quick temper."


PHOTOS: In Memoriam: People We Lost in 2012


Gruff and direct, Schwarzkopf said during the Gulf War that his goal was to win the war as quickly as possible and with a focused objective: getting Iraq out of Kuwait.






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Hawaii’s lieutenant governor is named to the U.S. Senate

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Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie (D) selected Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz on Wednesday to fill the vacancy created by the death last week of veteran U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye (D).


With the “fiscal cliff” five days away and critical decisions facing the Senate, the White House said Schatz would fly to Washington on Wednesday evening with President Obama. Schatz said he would be in place to be sworn in Thursday.


Abercrombie chose Schatz, 40, a former state Democratic Party chairman and state lawmaker, over U.S. Rep. Colleen W. Hanabusa (D), whom Inouye had indicated shortly before his death would be his preference to replace him.

“No one and nothing is pre­ordained,” Abercrombie told reporters in Hono­lulu. He said Inouye’s views were taken into account but so were those of grass-roots activists and his own analysis of what was best for the state.

He said Schatz, a native of Michigan, was best positioned to help Hawaii begin to rebuild its congressional seniority.

He called Schatz “intelligent, forceful, insightful, committed.”

Schatz will be joined in the Senate next month by Rep. Mazie K. Hirono (D), who was elected in November to replace retiring Sen. Daniel K. Akaka (D).

The pair of newcomers will replace one of the nation’s most stable lawmaking teams: A modest World War II hero, Inouye had represented the Aloha State in the Senate since 1963, becoming president pro tempore of the chamber and chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee. Akaka has served in the Senate since 1980.

Schatz will hold the job for two years until Hawaii voters choose a replacement to fill out the final two years of Inouye’s term.

Schatz, who will be one of the Senate’s youngest members, told reporters that he is planning to stand for election in 2014 to complete Inouye’s term and then to run for reelection in 2016.

“No one can fill Senator Daniel K. Inouye’s shoes — but together, all of us, we can try to walk in his footsteps,” Schatz said, indicating he would focus on retaining federal funding for the state and addressing climate change.

The selection of Schatz was something of a surprise, given Inouye’s wishes and the esteem with which he is held in the state. But Abercrombie is close to Schatz and indicated that he was hesitant to choose Hanabusa and force a new special election to fill her House seat.

Jennifer Sabas, Inouye’s chief of staff, indicated in a statement that Hanabusa’s selection was ­Inouye’s “final wish.”

“While we are very disappointed that it was not honored, it was the governor’s decision to make. We wish Brian Schatz the best of luck,” she said.

Rising Democratic star Tulsi Gabbard, 31, an Iraq war veteran and former Hono­lulu City Council member who was elected to the House in November, had some strong supporters nationally, including Newark Mayor Cory Booker, who endorsed her for the Senate seat via Twitter.

The appointment of Schatz came at a particularly critical time, with Democratic leaders anticipating a potentially close vote in the coming days on a tax plan designed to avert the most serious economic impacts of the year-end fiscal cliff.

In the absence of a broad, bipartisan deficit-reduction package, Obama has called on Congress to at least pass a bill to extend tax breaks for the middle class and potentially forestall automatic budget cuts set to hit in January.

Democrats hope that Republicans will agree to forgo a filibuster and allow an up-or-down vote on a temporary fix, requiring only a bare majority to pass. If the GOP requires a 60-vote threshold for the bill, as has increasingly become standard in the Senate, Democrats hope that a handful of Republicans would join Democrats in supporting the measure and send it to the House.

Either way, Democrats will need every vote they can muster if the legislation is brought to the floor. A bill passed by the Senate in July to extend tax rates first enacted under President George W. Bush for those making less than $250,000 a year was adopted by a narrow 51 to 48 margin.

All Republicans opposed the measure, along with Sens. James Webb (D-Va.) and Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.).

With tax hikes set to hit virtually every American in a matter of days, a similar measure could pick up additional support this time around. But the possibility of a squeaker vote led Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) to take the unusual step of urging Abercrombie to fill the Hawaii seat quickly.

“It is critically important to ensure that the people of Hawaii are fully represented in the pivotal decisions the Senate will be making before the end of the year,” Reid said in a statement Saturday.

Hawaii law required that Abercrombie choose a replacement from a list of three finalists selected by the state Democratic Party.

The party’s central committee met Wednesday — several days earlier than had been planned before Reid’s request for speed — to hear two-minute speeches from most of the 14 candidates who had formally asked the party to consider them for the role.

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FairPrice extends price freeze on housebrand rice

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SINGAPORE: Supermarket chain NTUC FairPrice has said it will continue to hold prices of all its 10 housebrand Thai and Vietnamese rice till end of March 2013.

The announcement on Thursday came amid talks that rice-exporting nations may raise prices.

There are also threats of natural disasters affecting rice-producing countries.

FairPrice CEO, Seah Kian Peng, said FairPrice was founded with the mission of moderating the cost of living for the community.

As food makes up over 20 per cent of an average household's expenses, it is important that daily essentials, like rice, are affordably priced.

Prices of all FairPrice housebrand rice from Thailand and Vietnam have been held steady since November 2011.

- CNA/al



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Normal life hit in Manipur by general strike, curfew clamped

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IMPHAL: Normal life was hit in Manipur on the final day on Thursday of the general strike called to protest against the alleged molestation of a Manipuri film actress by a Naga militant, as curfew was imposed in all four valley districts.

All markets and business houses remained closed while transport services between Manipur and neighbouring states and within the state were cancelled, official reports said.

Attendance in government offices was almost nil while banks, educational institutions and other work places remained closed in response to the strike called by various social organisations, including Film Forum Manipur, and some other artistes' associations.

The strike, which resumed at midnight last night after remaining suspended for two days owing to Christmas, will be called off this evening, the organisers said.

However, to protest against the December 18 incident of molestation of Manipuri film actress Momoko and two other artistes, other forms of democratic agitations, including sit-ins, would be held, they said.

Official sources said that the curfew would be lifted at 6pm when the strike ends.

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Space Pictures This Week: Green Lantern, Supersonic Star

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Okla. Senator Could Prevent Gun Control Changes

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If there's one person most likely to keep new gun-control measures from passing Congress swiftly, it's Sen. Tom Coburn.


Conservatives revere the Oklahoma Republican for his fiscal hawkishness and regular reports on government waste. But he's also a staunch gun-rights advocate, and he's shown a willingness to obstruct even popular legislation, something in the Senate that a single member can easily accomplish.


That mixture could make Coburn the biggest threat to quick passage of new gun-control laws in the aftermath of the Newtown, Conn., shooting that has prompted even pro-gun NRA-member lawmakers like Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., to endorse a new look at how access to the most powerful weapons can be limited.


Coburn's office did not respond to multiple requests to discuss the current push for gun legislation. But given his record, it's hard to imagine Coburn agreeing to a major, new proposal without some fuss.


The last time Congress considered a major gun law -- one with broad support -- Coburn held it up, proving that the details of gun control are sticky when a conservative senator raises unpopular objections, especially a senator who's joked that it's too bad he can't carry a gun on the Senate floor.


After the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007, Congress heard similar pleadings for new gun limits, some of them similarly to those being heard now. When it came to light that Seung-Hui Cho, the mentally disturbed 23-year-old who opened fire on campus, passed a background check despite mental-health records indicating he was a suicide threat, a push began to include such records in determining whether a person should be able to buy a gun.




Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., a longtime gun-control advocate whose husband was killed in a mass shooting on the Long Island Rail Road in 1996, introduced a widely supported bill to do just that. The NRA backed her National Instant Check System Improvement Amendments Act of 2007.


But Coburn didn't. The senator blocked action on the bill, citing concerns over patient privacy, limited gun access for veterans, and the cost of updating the background-check system,


In blocking that bill, Coburn pointed to a government study noting that 140,000 veterans had been referred to the background-check registry since 1998 without their knowledge.


"I am certainly understanding of the fact that some veterans could be debilitated to the point that such cataloguing is necessary, but we should ensure this process does not entangle the vast majority of our combat veterans who simply seek to readjust to normal life at the conclusion of their tours. I am troubled by the prospect of veterans refusing necessary treatment and the benefits they are entitled to. As I'm sure you would agree we cannot allow any stigma to be associated with mental healthcare or treatment of Traumatic Brain Injury," Coburn wrote to acting Veterans Secretary Gordon Mansfield.


Coburn succeeded in changing the legislation, negotiating a set of tweaks that shaved $100 million over five years, made it easier for prohibited gun owners to restore their gun rights by petitioning the government, and notifying veterans that if they abdicated control of their finances they would be added to the gun database. The bill passed and President Bush signed it in January 2008.






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Democrats push for tax cuts they once opposed

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Democrats seeking a deal to avert the year-end “fiscal cliff” are trying to etch into stone the signature economic achievement of Republican President George W. Bush by permanently extending tax cuts enacted during his tenure.


President Obama has put the extension of the tax cuts for most Americans at the top of his domestic agenda, a remarkable turnaround for Democrats, who had staunchly opposed the tax breaks when they were written into law about a decade ago.




With Obama leaving his Hawaii vacation for Washington on Wednesday and lawmakers returning Thursday, the main dividing line between Republicans and Democrats has come down to whether tax rates should increase for top earners at the end of the year, when the Bush-era tax cuts are set to expire. While Republicans want to extend all the cuts, Democrats are pushing to maintain lower rates on household income below $250,000. Those lower rates significantly reduce the taxes of nearly all American households that earn less than $250,000 — and many who earn more, even if tax rates are allowed to increase on income above that figure.

While it is increasingly unlikely that the two parties will reach an agreement to avoid the fiscal cliff before Jan. 1, it is all but certain that their ultimate deal, whenever it comes, will make permanent the lower rates for most Americans.

R. Glenn Hubbard, dean of the Columbia Business School and an architect of the Bush tax cuts, said it is “deeply ironic” for Democrats to favor extending most of them, given what he called their “visceral” opposition a decade ago. Keeping the lower rates even for income under $250,000 “would enshrine the vast bulk of the Bush tax cuts,” he said.

Democrats say they have reconsidered their opposition to the Bush tax cuts for several reasons. The cuts were written into law from 2001 to 2003 after a decade in which most Americans saw robust income growth. Over the past decade, by contrast, median wages have declined, after adjusting for inflation, amid a weak economy. Allowing tax cuts for the middle class to expire would further reduce take-home pay.

“We’ve had these tax cuts in place since 2001. The world changes, and the economy is where it is,” said Steven Elmendorf, who was chief of staff to former House minority leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.), a primary opponent of the Bush tax cuts. “With people’s economic status, we should not be raising taxes on people earning under $250,000.”

What’s more, income inequality has been growing. Sparing the middle class higher taxes while requiring the wealthy to pay more would tip the scales slightly in the other direction.

“The reason there’s been this movement toward broad consensus on renewing the tax cut for working- and middle-class families is that will give us a sharper progressivity in the tax system that is very much desired by Democrats and progressives who’ve seen an income distribution more and more distorted toward the wealthy,” said Betsey Stevenson, former chief economist in Obama’s Labor Department and a professor at the University of Michigan, who added that taxes may have to rise even more than currently contemplated to meet the country’s needs.

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Thousands flee Malaysia floods

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KUALA LUMPUR: Floods triggered by torrential monsoon rains in Malaysia forced almost 14,000 people to flee their homes and seek shelter at relief centres, the official Bernama news agency said.

Rain showers which coincided with high tide flooded hundreds of homes in three northeastern states -- Terengganu, Pahang and Kelantan -- with some 13,746 people being housed at evacuation centres, it said amid forecasts of more rain.

Bernama said the flood situation was deteriorating as the number of evacuees continued to rise and some major roads in Pahang were closed as rivers burst their banks.

Muhammad Helmi Abdullah, the meteorological department's weather forecast director, warned that there could be more rain in Terengganu, Pahang and southern Johor state in the next few days.

"We expect intermittent rain to heavy showers in (some parts of) the states," he told AFP.

Muhammad Helmi said the northeast monsoon season would last until March and the affected states could experience at least three more "heavy rain" episodes.

Meanwhile a 36-year-old woman drowned after she slipped and fell into a rain-swollen river in Terengganu state on Tuesday while fishing in a water-logged area, Bernama said.

- AFP/ck



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Narendra Modi begins 4th innings as Gujarat CM

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AHMEDABAD: Narendra Modi took oath as the chief minister of Gujarat for the fourth time at the Sardar Patel Stadium here on Wednesday.

Governor Kamala Beniwal administered the oath of office and secrecy to Modi.

BJP top brass including LK Advani, Nitin Gadkari, Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, Rajnath Singh, Venkaiah Naidu, Ananth Kumar, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan attended the swearing-in ceremony. Former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhra Raje, Shahnawaz Hussain, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Anurag Thakur, Smriti Irani, Prakash Javadekar and Navjot Singh Sidhu were also present to witness Modi's crowning moment.

Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa, Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, Indian National Lok Dal leader Om Prakash Chautala and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray also attended the ceremony.

A host of other non-political faces, including Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi, his father Suresh Oberoi and actor Kirron Kher also attended the swearing-in ceremony.

Narendra Modi led the BJP to a comprehensive win in the assembly elections winning 115 of the 182 seats. The Congress emerged victorious in 61 seats. The Gujarat Parivartan Party (GPP) of former chief minister Keshubhai Patel could bag only two seats.

(With inputs from ANI)

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