The world needs to do more to prepare for the impact of a rapidly ageing population, the UN has warned – particularly in developing countries.

Within 10 years the number of people aged over 60 will pass one billion, a report by the UN Population Fund said.

The demographic shift will present huge challenges to countries’ welfare, pension and healthcare systems.

The UN agency also said more had to be done to tackle “abuse, neglect and violence against older persons”.

The number of older people worldwide is growing faster than any other age group.

The report, Ageing in the 21st Century: A Celebration and a Challenge, estimates that one in nine people around the world are older than 60.

The elderly population is expected to swell by 200 million in the next decade to surpass one billion, and reach two billion by 2050.

This rising proportion of older people is a consequence of success – improved nutrition, sanitation, healthcare, education and economic well-being are contributing factors, the report says.

But the UN and a charity that also contributed to the report, HelpAge International, say the ageing population is being widely mismanaged.

“In many developing countries with large populations of young people, the challenge is that governments have not put policies and practices in place to support their current older populations or made enough preparations for 2050,” the agencies said in a joint statement.

‘Cast out’

The report warns that the skills and experience of older people are being wasted, with many under-employed and vulnerable to discrimination.

HelpAge said more countries needed to introduce pension schemes to ensure economic independence and reduce poverty in old age. It stressed that it was not enough to simply pass legislation – the new schemes needed to be funded properly.

THE Fiji National Provident Fund Decree 2011 requires the Fund to set up two accounts for all members — Preserved and General —which basically means your total savings will be divided into these two accounts with particular restrictions on its use.

The Fund revealed earlier the implementation date for this process was January 2013 but chief executive officer Aisake Taito yesterday revealed necessary systems and business processes need to be in place before its actual implementation.

“The (FNPF) decree was promulgated on November 25, 2011. The fund is currently implementing provisions of the decree but members will continue to access their funds (as is the current practice) according to the provisions of the decree,” Mr Taito said.

“FNPF is a retirement fund and our core role is to ensure members accumulate savings for a meaningful retirement.”

Those particularly concerned about how these two accounts would affect their pension after retirement, Mr Taito assured the total funds in the Preserved and General accounts will be made available should a member decide to retire either at 55 years or later.

“The member has the choice on how he or she wishes to allocate this sum into the various retirement products FNPF provides which includes a full lump sum withdrawal,” he clarified.

According to a Fact Sheet from the fund, members will be advised well in advance of the implementation date of these two accounts.

“The Preserved account, which will constitute 70 per cent of your total savings with FNPF, will be set aside for your pension.

“As a pension fund, the FNPF must ensure that members have enough funds set aside for this purpose,” the fund said.

The General account, which will make up the remaining 30 per cent of a member’s balance, can be assessed for partial withdrawal under approved grounds like education, medical, housing, funeral and unemployment assistance.

Ideally, the Fact Sheet also includes tips for first time property buyers who will be allowed to access up to 30 per cent of their Preserved account if they are applying for assistance to buy their first property — be it a new home or a piece of land.

“This will be in addition to the 30 per cent from your General account thus you can access 51 per cent of your total FNPF savings (30 per cent plus 30 per cent of the 70 per cent) for this purpose,” the fund said.

Panoramic images of several coral reefs have been added to Google’s Street View service in its maps, allowing users to navigate their way around the sites.

The material was gathered by the Catlin Seaview Survey – a project studying the health of the reefs, including the impact of global warming.

The programme’s director said the effort would help scientists analyse ecosystems and raise general awareness.

It is also a publicity coup for Google at a time of growing competition.

Google has previously offered computer-generated views of the sea floor terrain, but this is the first time it has incorporated underwater photographs into its mapping product.

“We want to be a comprehensive source for imagery that lets anyone explore anywhere,” Jenifer Foulkes, Google’s ocean programme manager, told the BBC.

“This is just the next step to take users underwater and give them the experience of an area that most people have been been to – seeing sea turtles, seeing manta rays, crazy pencil urchins and beautiful fish.”

Locations added to the service include Australia’s Great Barrier Reef near Heron Island, Lady Elliot Island and Wilson Island, as well as Hawaii’s Hanauma Bay and Molokini Crater and the Philippines Apo Island.

If you want to walk quick, walk alone.

If you want to walk far, walk together……..

A Father, a Daughter and a Dog-“
    A true story by Catherine Moore

“Watch out! You nearly broad sided that car!” My father yelled at me. “Can’t you do anything right?”

    Those words hurt worse than blows. I turned my head toward the elderly man in the seat beside me, daring me to challenge him. A lump rose in my throat as I averted my eyes. I wasn’t prepared for another battle.

    “I saw the car, Dad . Please don’t yell at me when I’m driving..”

    My voice was measured and steady, sounding far
    calmer than I really felt.

    Dad glared at me, then turned away and settled back. At home I left Dad in front of the television and went outside to collect my thoughts….. dark, heavy clouds hung in the air with a promise of
    rain. The rumble of distant thunder seemed to echo my inner turmoil. What could I do about him?

    Dad had been a lumberjack in Washington and Oregon . He had enjoyed being outdoors and had reveled in pitting his strength against the forces of nature. He had entered grueling lumberjack competitions, and had placed often. The shelves in his house were filled with trophies that attested to his prowess.
Continue reading →

“I sincerely believe, with you, that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies.” —Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States (1801–1809) and principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence (1776), in a letter written to John Taylor on May 28, 1816

“A power has risen up in the government greater than the people themselves, consisting of many and various powerful interests, combined in one mass, and held together by the cohesive power of the vast surplus in banks.” – John C. Calhoun, Vice President (1825-1832) and U.S. Senator, from a speech given on May 27, 1836

Note that it appears that Washington’s and Jefferson’s concerns regarding bankers and separation of the people from the government was realized by 1836.  This fact was confirmed in a letter written by FDR in 1933 (see below) in which he wrote that “a financial element in the large centers has owned the government ever since the days of Andrew Jackson.”  Jackson was the seventh president of the United States (1829-1937).  Calhoun served as Jackson’s vice-president from 1829-1932.

“Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people. To destroy this invisible government, to befoul the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day.”— Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, An Autobiography, 1913 (Appendix B)

“A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is privately concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men… [W]e have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated, governments in the civilized world—no longer a government by free opinion, no longer a government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a government by the opinion and the duress of small groups of dominant men.” – Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States, The New Freedom, 1913

“Since I entered politics, I have chiefly had men’s views confided to me privately.Some of the biggest men in the United States, in the field of commerce and manufacture, are afraid of something.  They know that there is a power somewhere so organized, so subtle, so watchful, so interlocked, so complete, so pervasive, that they had better not speak above their breath when they speak in condemnation of it.” – Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States, The New Freedom, 1913

“The real menace of our Republic is the invisible government, which like a giant octopus sprawls its slimy legs over our cities, states and nation… The little coterie of powerful international bankers virtually run the United States government for their own selfish purposes. They practically control both parties, … andcontrol the majority of the newspapers and magazines in this country. They use the columns of these papers to club into submission or drive out of office public officials who refuse to do the bidding of the powerful corrupt cliques which compose the invisible government. It operates under cover of a self-created screen [and] seizes our executive officers, legislative bodies, schools, courts, newspapers and every agency created for the public protection.”  – New York City Mayor John F. Hylan, New York Times, March 26, 1922 Continue reading →

‘Death Row: The Last 24 Hours’ is the title of a Discovery Channel programme about the last 24 hours of condemned individuals in the United States – for the most part concerning theHuntsville Unit in Texas. It was harrowing to watch, and it’s hard to find an appropriate adjective for the emotions it aroused; but because I cannot condone the death penalty I felt compelled to watch it and learn; and learn I did.

I firmly believe that no human being has the right to kill another human being; and that two wrongs do not make a right: end of story, I thought. But it isn’t, because I think that what I know now is not just about what goes on in death row – it’s about all of us.

At the start of the programme, a warden explains that the last 24 hours ‘do not always go to plan, but it’s routine for us’. The electric chair was invented in 1890, but not used until 1924 when 5 condemned men were electrocuted. Since a Florida chair set fire to the hair and lower legs of a man, synthetic non-flammable sponge has replaced sea sponge to pad the leather ‘head-cap’ and the lower legs are shaved. A 40s Delaware hanging went wrong when the rope stretched; so today all the ropes are tested for strength and stretched to their limit. One prisoner ordered four BLT sandwiches for his last meal, ate them, and then swallowed a number of pills in an attempt to commit suicide. When he was found to be comatose, he was, and again I quote…’brought back to life for the execution’. Continue reading →