Icaria, Greece: the last Blue Zone in the world?

From It was a big Blue Zones day :

Students look to participate in Buettner's quest to Icaria, Greece

Albert Lea students will soon have the opportunity to take part in Blue Zones founder Dan Buettner's upcoming quest to Icaria, Greece, as he explores what could possibly be the last Blue Zone in the world.

Throughout the day Thursday, Buettner, a Minnesota-native, visited Albert Lea's schools, inviting at least 1,500 students to participate via the Internet in a live expedition of the quest.

Buettner explained there will be daily content, including videos, written dispatches, photographs and other opportunities online where the students can vote to direct the team's decisions as they unlock longevity's secrets.

His quest begins April 20 and goes through May 1.

During his visit to Southwest Middle School Thursday, Buettner explained he has traveled all over the world and thus far identified four Blue Zones, or areas where people live the longest, most-fulfilling lives. He's learned that all of those people, no matter where they live, all follow certain simple principles that put them on a path to a longer life.

He explained many of the characteristics he's found that the people in each Blue Zone have.

In Sardinia, Italy, the people live in an environment where it's easy to move, he said. They do exercise without thinking of it.

Instead of going home to watch their televisions at night, they build their social circles. They also have a different attitude toward aging, among other reasons, he said.

In Okinawa, Japan, the second Blue Zone, the people have the longest and healthiest life expectancy in the world, Buettner said. There are five times as many centenarians.

How is this so?

The people there live off of a plant-based diet, eating lots of food made of tofu and beans. Before every meal, they say three words — “hari hachi bu” — that reminds them to stop eating when they're 80 percent full.

Also, when Okinawans are 5, their parents match them with a handful of other 5-year-old children, he said. That group meets together often and travels through life together. They are there for the good times and the bad.

He also pointed out that Okinawans believe in knowing what they're good at and sharing those talents.

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The Greek of Bollywood

Greek Hollywood Reporter met and interviewed the director of the Indian Film Festival of Hollywood, Christina Marouda. Yes she is Greek, and specifically from Crete.

I'll have a "draught dodger!"

Canadian Parliament votes again to let U.S. war resisters stay

By Mike Ferner

April 04, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- -For the second time in 10 months, Canada's House of Commons told Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Conservative government, including Immigration Minister, Jason Kenney, to stop deporting U.S. soldiers resisting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The vote united the three opposition parties, the Liberals, the Bloc Quebecois and the New Democratic Party in a close 129-125 vote.

Last week, the War Resisters Support Campaign rallied for former Army soldier, Kimberly Rivera, the first female U.S. soldier to go to Canada. Nearly 100 people filled the chairs and lined the aisles at the Steelworkers hall in Toronto for Rivera, her husband and three children, the youngest born in Canada six months ago.

The morning after the March 25 rally, Rivera was due to be deported back to the U.S. to face an Army court martial, but Federal Judge James Russell agreed with Rivera's argument that resisters who speak out against the war publicly in Canada receive harsher sentences, and granted her a temporary stay.

“This was the fifth time that the court ruled that Iraq war resisters face harsher punishment if they're sent back to the U.S.,” said Michelle Robidoux, spokesperson for the Toronto-based support campaign. “The courts have spoken, Parliament has spoken and Canadians have made their views clear. These conscientious objectors should not be sent back to the United States to face jail time for opposing the Iraq War.”

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Lawsuit filed against Spain's ex-PM over Iraq

Fiona Govan reports for the Telegraph :

A private lawsuit is to be presented at the nation's highest court on Friday accusing the former ally of Tony Blair and George W Bush of responsibility for taking the country to war.

The suit, filed by the Spanish Communist Party (PCE) and a group called "Trial of Aznar" and signed by 22,000 members of the public, also names the previous administration's ministers of defence and foreign affairs, Federico Trillo and Ana Palacio, as those responsible for supporting the intervention in Iraq.

It alleges that the Madrid train bombing on March 11, 2004 by Islamists was a direct result of Spain's decision to send troops to the Middle Eastern country.

It claims that Spain's involvement in the war was "total and absolute", not only militarily but also "politically and logistically", as evidenced by meetings between Mr Aznar, US President George W Bush, and Tony Blair before the March 2003 invasion.

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[ via Information Clearing House ]

Torture: America's brutal prisons

This program shows that abuses like those documented in Abu Ghraib are commonplace in the USAs overcrowded and understaffed prisons. Prisoners are shackled and hooded for their own protection; pepper spray is used as an alternative to physical force, but in sufficient quantities to cause second-degree burns; beatings are frequent and sometimes fatal. The program suggests that the cause is not a few bad apples, but a pervasive culture of dehumanization and brutality.