Obama attends Inouye memorial in Hawaii

President Obama came to a veterans cemetery here on Sunday to honor the late Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, less as the nation’s top politician and more as a native son of Hawaii paying tribute to his roots.

 

The president had already formally memorialized Inouye (D-Hawaii), who died last week at age 88 after 50 years in the Senate, on Friday at the National Cathedral in Washington.

But on Sunday, sitting between first lady Michelle Obama and Inouye’s wife, Irene, Obama did not speak. He had no formal role at the ceremony at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific — nicknamed “Punchbowl” for the terrestrial imprint left by volcanic eruptions thousands of years ago.

Yet the moment at the cemetery had enormous emotional resonance for the president, who spent many formative years living with his grandparents in Hawaii. In the space of 90 minutes, he would attend the memorial service of a man who from afar had shaped his political thinking and remember another man who directly shaped his life choices.

Moments after the ceremony honoring Inouye ended, Obama traveled a half-mile southeast within the same cemetery, to Site 44, Row 400, of Columbarium No. 1 — the grave site of his maternal grandfather, Stanley A. Dunham.

Like Inouye, Dunham was a World War II veteran. Obama has said that Dunham and his wife, Madelyn, taught him the “idea of America.” He has recounted how his grandfather, “Gramps,” gave him dog tags “from his time in Patton’s Army,” and the future president came to understand that “his defense of this country marked one of his greatest sources of pride.”

Dunham died 20 years ago. The ashes of his wife and daughter, Stanley Anne, Obama’s mother, were scattered over the Pacific Ocean in Hawaii.

And while Obama has said that his grandparents influenced how he lived his life, Inouye had a profound effect on his politics. Last week, Obama said Inouye was “perhaps my earliest political inspiration.”

As part of the Japanese American 442nd Regimental Combat Team in World War II, Inouye lost his right arm protecting his unit from a grenade. In the memorial last week, Obama said he remembered watching Inouye ask questions during the Watergate hearings in the 1970s.

“The person who fascinated me most was this man of Japanese descent with one arm, speaking in this courtly baritone, full of dignity and grace,” Obama said. “This was a man who, as a teenager, stepped up to serve his country even after his fellow Japanese Americans were declared enemy aliens; a man who believed in America even when its government didn’t necessarily believe in him. That meant something to me. It gave me a powerful sense — one that I couldn’t put into words — a powerful sense of hope.”

On Sunday, surviving members of the 442nd Regiment and their families surrounded the ceremony. The formal eulogies were left to Inouye’s colleagues and staffers.

Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said Inouye would only talk about the war in private, never in public. Reid had had an hour-long conversation with him just before Inouye, who was experiencing respiratory problems, went to the hospital, a little more than a week before he died.

“We talked as though there would be many tomorrows, but there wouldn’t be any,” Reid said.

In remarks by Reid and others, it was hard not to miss the nostalgia for an era of bipartisanship that Inouye reflected and one that seems to be disappearing with his generation.

Reid recalled how he had received a call last week from former Senate majority leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.), expressing his desire to pay his respects to Inouye in the Capitol Rotunda. Dole, who normally uses a wheelchair, insisted on walking and viewing Inouye’s casket directly.

“As a result of that war, both had lost the use of their right arms,” Reid recalled, and could work together despite their political differences.

Inouye “was a Democrat who would never hesitate to cooperate with a Republican for the good of the country,” Reid said. “Danny was the best senator among us all,” he said.

Inouye’s family has not decided on an exact burial spot. One option is Section D, near the center of the cemetery, where many of his comrades from the 442nd Combat Team are buried. His first wife, Margaret Shinobu Awamura, who died in 1996, is also buried there.

Near the end of the ceremony, Sen. Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) said he was saying goodbye to a brother who had paved the way for future generations.

“He made it possible for minorities like me, and later on, President Obama, to serve at the highest levels,” he said.

Then Inouye received full military honors — including a four-jet flyover — and a military officer delivered folded American flags that had been draped over Inouye’s casket to his wife and son Ken.
As the officer presented the flags, Obama remained attentive and silent.

Source  http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-attends-inouye-memorial-in-hawaii/2012/12/23/73d4ab40-4d4f-11e2-950a-7863a013264b_story.html

President Obama’s enough-is-enough Newtown speech

President Obama’s speech Sunday night at a memorial service for the victims — mostly children — of a mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut was a forceful assertion that the politics surrounding guns (and gun control) must change.

“We can’t tolerate this anymore,” Obama said. “We are not doing enough and we will have to change.” (Full transcript of speech here.)

Obama noted that this was the fourth time in his presidency that he has had to grieve with a community after an incident of mass murder with a gun. But, his speech in Connecticut Sunday was a significant departure from the other addresses he had given to communities torn apart by shooting sprees.

Speaking in Aurora, Colorado just days after a gunman opened fire in a movie theater this summer, Obama was somber, subdued — and decidedly apolitical. The closest Obama got to making a statement (of any sort) came in the speech’s last line in which he said: “I hope that over the next several days, next several weeks, and next several months, we all reflect on how we can do something about some of the senseless violence that ends up marring this country, but also reflect on all the wonderful people who make this the greatest country on Earth.”

It was a very different Obama who took the stage at the Newtown memorial Sunday, a president not just saddened by the tragedy but fed up with the lack of forward movement in hopes of preventing the next one.

One sentence in Obama’s speech sums up his state of mind. “I’ll use whatever power this office holds…in an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this,” he said — a line the incumbent never came close to uttering in Aurora or, before that, in Tucson in 2011. 

What Obama’s speech seemed to signal is that, at least in his mind, a tipping point has been reached — that the slaughter of 20 first graders should not be soon forgotten, that it should mean something. 

His critics will note that he offered no specifics as to where he would hope to change laws on guns and that his speech in Newtown, unlike the address in Aurora, came after his second term was assured and he knew he would never need to stand for election again.

Both facts are true. But neither subtract from the fact that Obama could have very easily delivered a speech heavy on empathy and light on anything in the way of a call to action. That he chose to go in a very different direction is a telling indication of his commitment to try to make something happen on gun laws.

Obama’s speech Sunday night could be summed up in three words: Enough is enough. Now, can he lead a divided nation to see things his way?

Source  http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/12/16/president-obamas-enough-is-enough-newtown-speech/

Obama Plans for Climate Deal as Fiscal Cliff Negotiations Rage

As leaders in Washington obsess about the fiscal cliff, President Barack Obama is putting in place the building blocks for a climate treaty requiring the first fossil- fuel emissions cuts from both the U.S. and China.

State Department envoy Todd Stern is in Doha this week working to clear the path for an international agreement by 2015. While Obama failed to deliver on his promise to start a cap-and-trade program in his first term, he’s working on policies that may help cut greenhouse gases 17 percent in 2020 in the U.S., historically the world’s biggest polluter. 

Obama has moved forward with greenhouse-gas rules for vehicles and new power plants, appliance standards and investment in low-emitting energy sources. He’s also called for 80 percent of U.S. electricity to come from clean energy sources, including nuclear and natural gas, by 2035. 

“The president is laying the foundations for real action on climate change,” Jake Schmidt, who follows international climate policy for the Washington-based Natural Resources Defense Council, said in an interview in Doha. “Whether or not he decides to jump feet first into the international arena, we’ll see.”

Envoys from more than 190 nations are entering their second week of talks today at the United Nations conference working toward a global warming treaty. Their ambition is to agree to a pact in 2015 that would take force in 2020. It would supersede limits on emissions for industrial nations under the Kyoto Protocol, which the U.S. never ratified.

Quiet Effort

Obama’s push is being pursued without fanfare as the administration and Congress grapple to avert a budget crisis and $607 billion in automatic spending cuts. Unlike 2009, when Obama failed to prevent the collapse of climate talks in Copenhagen, the U.S. can point to more concrete actions it’s taking in the fight global warming. 

He has more ammunition at hand. The Environmental Protection Agency is required under the Clean Air Act to move ahead with regulations on emissions from existing power plants. Those are responsible for about a third of U.S. emissions, the largest chunk. 

Measures such as those, along with continued low natural gas prices and state actions, can cut emissions 16.3 percent by 2020, Resources for the Future, a research firm, estimates. Emissions already are down 8.8 percent from 2005 levels, according to Jonathan Pershing, a State Department negotiator in Doha.

`Stronger Position' 

“The U.S. is in a much stronger position going into the Doha talks despite failure of Congress to pass comprehensive climate legislation,” said Trevor Houser, a former U.S. climate negotiator who served during the Copenhagen meeting. “For countries like China that were able to hide behind a perception of U.S. inaction, the fact that U.S. emissions are falling helps increase pressure. It takes away the excuse that action is stalled because of the U.S.” 

A summer of extreme weather also is supporting the U.S. delegation in the talks by raising public awareness and concern about the risks of climate change, Pershing said last week in Doha. So far this year, superstorm Sandy devastated the East Coast while wildfires raged in the west and a record drought wrecked crops in the Midwest. 

“The combination of those events is certainly changing the minds of Americans and making clear to people at home the consequences of the increased growth in emissions,” he said at a Nov. 26 news conference in Doha.

Increasing Concern

The portion of Americans who say climate change will affect them a “great deal” or by a “moderate” amount rose by 13 points to 42 percent from March to September, and 68 percent said global warming will hurt future generations, up from 59 percent in May 2011, according to a poll by Yale University and George Mason University. 

“That number barely budged for four years, then suddenly jumps,” Andrew Light, coordinator of climate policy at the Center for American Progress, a Washington-based research group with ties to the Obama administration. “If you did same survey today, after Sandy, the number would be even higher.” 

Light notes that the number of Americans who believe climate change is real climbed to 70 percent in September from 57 percent in 2010. The number of people who say global warming isn’t happening has fallen almost by half, to 12 percent today from 20 percent over the same period.

Quiet Effort

To date, few of the administration’s programs get attention away from Washington and the environmental groups following them. 

An EPA rule targeting mercury emissions, for example, would further boost the cost of burning coal, making cleaner-burning natural gas more attractive. California, the world’s ninth- largest economy, has started its cap-and-trade program, covering 85 percent of emissions in the state. 

Such policies “are just the beginning,” said Robert Stavins, director of Harvard University’s Environmental Economics Program in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He expects the U.S. to meet its goal of cutting emissions 17 percent. While that’s less than the 40 percent scientists say is needed. European Union’s pledge to reduce pollutants 20 percent by 2020 and says it will go to 30 percent if others follow. 

“The interesting thing is that for the past three UN climate conferences, the U.S. delegation has never talked about this,” Stavins said in an interview. “They haven’t been interested in taking credit internationally for what’s already in place. When I mention this to other parts of the world, people are shocked.” 

The silence, he said, is understandable in part because the “last thing” the Obama administration wants is for State Department officials overseas making it appear as if the White House was trying to “take an end run around the Congress” on climate policy. 

“It would have been very bad for the president’s re- election,” he said. 

Source  http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-12-02/obama-plans-for-climate-deal-as-fiscal-cliff-negotiations-rage#disqus_thread

Agency’s tips on avoiding winter sickness bug

HEALTH bosses are advising people in Bolton on how to avoid a “winter vomiting” illness. 

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) North West issued a warning about the highly-infectious illness, known as “norovirus”, that becomes more common in the winter months. 

The norovirus infection is the most common cause of vomiting and diarrhoea in the UK.

In January, an outbreak of the virus forced bosses at the Royal Bolton Hospital to close two wards to new admissions. Nursing and residential homes were also affected. 

It is generally a short-lived illness, from which the majority of people recover in 12 to 60 hours. 

The HPA says people with the infection should stay at home and ensure they stick to a strict personal hygiene routine, such as handwashing. They should also avoid contact with others where possible and stay away from school, work or social gatherings. 

Relatives of children and the elderly who have the illness are advised to call their GP or NHS Direct on 0845-4647 if they become dehydrated. 

Patients are not advised to visit their GP surgery or A&E unit. According to the HPA, patients will recover without treatment. They should rest and take plenty of drinks to replace lost fluids. 

Source  http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/districtnews/districtatog/10056126.Agency___s_tips_on_avoiding_winter_sickness_bug/

7 tips to save on your 2013 health insurance

In choosing health insurance, Cariann Moore used an online spreadsheet tool provided by her employer to compare insurance plans. She found that a high-deductible plan with a lower pricetag would save her money.

"For me, it makes it so much easier and demystifies what can be a little overwhelming when you have all these options," said Moore, who works for C3 customer-service firm in Plantation.

With health insurance premiums up an average 7 percent for 2013, employees are finding they need to be savvier consumers. To deal with rising costs, employers are putting the onus on workers "to take control over what their health expenses are," said Terri Byers, national benefits enrollment manager for West Palm Beach-based Oasis Outsourcing, which handles payroll and benefits for companies.

Here are seven tips on choosing health insurance and reducing costs:

• Make sure you enroll. If you don't re-enroll in your benefits or are given new plan options, you could end up without coverage for 2013. Check your enrollment dates, often in early November or in the spring, and make sure you sign up.

Most people who are offered employer-sponsored health insurance should take it, said Keith Mendonsa, consumer insurance specialist for eHealthInsurance.com, which provides insurance quotes online. And people with pre-existing conditions should definitely take it, since they could be declined on their own, he said.

• Pay attention to your insurance costs. Look at three things: your premium cost contributions this year compared to last; your maximum "out-of-pocket," which is your financial obligation for a catastrophic health issue; and your deductible.

"If my deductible is $2,500 and my out-of-pocket max is $5,000, I know I'm going to have to pay $2,500 if I go into the hospital. Can I afford that?" Byers said, as an example. But if the deductible and out of pocket are both $2,500, then all your healthcare expenses will be covered by your insurance after the deductible is met.

Consumers make the mistake of picking what they think is the "richer" plan, Byers said. But check whether your doctors are on the less expensive HMO plan, as well as the pricier PPO insurance.

"It's really understanding your plan," she said.

• Compare traditional with high-deductible plan options. More employers are offering a high-deductible plan, which generally offers a lower premium.

But be prepared to pay the amount of the deductible in the coming year if you have serious health care issues, said Mendonsa.

Moore, 34, chose a high deductible plan because she's relatively healthy and doesn't have to buy many prescription drugs. "It made more sense for me," she said. "Knock on wood; I haven't been in an emergency room for a very long time."

But a family that has frequent visits for the children to the pediatrician or even an emergency room may prefer the co-pays and lower deductible of an HMO, Byers said.

Ask your employer if there's a "gap" plan available, which is combined with high-deductible insurance to offset the cost if an employee lands in the hospital. Under a high-deductible plan, the employee has to pay the deductible, which can be $5,000 or more, before surgery or other major health care expenses are covered.

• Use incentives to reduce costs. "Employees should think about how they can be better consumers with the services a carrier offers," said Heather Leck, president of Corporate Benefit Advisors in Delray Beach. Some plans offer a hotline to a nurse or doctor, price checks on tests ordered by a doctor, such as an MRI, or where to find the best deal on a prescription.

At NCCI in Boca Raton, employees will find incentives including an extra $75 in their paycheck if they participate in a program that encourages them to know their blood pressure, cholesterol levels and other health measures, said Gail Nichols, compensation director for the data firm.

• Set pre-tax dollars aside. Use a flexible spending account either from your employer or a third party, such as a bank, to deposit money to cover health costs not covered by insurance. Find the list of IRS-approved expenses on your health insurer's website.

Note that contributions in 2013 for flexible spending accounts have been lowered to $2,500 in 2013, but Byers said she doesn't think it will affect most people. "I don't see many people using the full $5,000," she said.

Employers that offer high-deductible plans also may have the option of a health savings account, where pre-tax dollars also can be socked away. The difference between a flexible spending account is money must be used by year-end, while a health savings account rolls over to the next year. If you have a number of healthy years where you don't use what you deposit, you could rack up extra retirement savings.

"Take advantage of the services that can help you save money," she said.

• Mix and match coverage. Your spouse or domestic partner may have less expensive coverage. Or, it may be less expensive for certain family members to be insured on an individually-purchased health plan. Note that employer-based plans are more likely to cover pregnancy, according to eHealthInsurance.

Mendosa said some employees may find their employer's health plan no longer meets their needs – perhaps they need a brand-name prescription and the plan only covers generics. Or, the monthly cost for premiums is more than the employee can afford. If you have no pre-existing conditions, look at options to purchase insurance on your own.

But don't cancel or disenroll from existing coverage until approved for a new one, he said.

•Review coverage options for adult children. Since 2010, the health care law has allowed adult children to retain coverage under a parent's health insurance policy until age 26. But make sure adult children who live in another state have access to your in-network health care providers.

Source  http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/careers/fl-health-insurance-tips-2012-20121028,0,1980872.story

5 tips for marathon runners

Sean Croon will be a marathon veteran in this weekend’s Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. The New Zealand Native has run eight of the 42 kilometre runs, in addition to completing several triathlons and two Ironman competitions. 

He shares his knowledge by coaching marathon newbies at the Commerce Course Running Room. With the weekend race coming up, we asked him for his top tips for participants. 

1. Start slow.

“Keep to the pace that you have trained for. Lots of people go way too fast and break. When you’re at the starting gates and you’ve got thousands of people pouring out around you, it’s hard to go the pace that you should be going. Then you get to about 20 km and you run out of putt.”

2. Don’t forget to hydrate.

How much should you be drinking? “Its different for different people. You should be looking at 500 to 700 mL per hour. It depends how much you sweat, how hot the day is and how big you are.”

3. Wear familiar clothes.

“Don’t go out and buy that fantastic shirt that you saw and wear it for the first time on race day. You don’t know if it’s going to rub on you or chafe or you’re going to sweat and it will be uncomfortable.”

4. Eat the right stuff, often.

“If you are having gels, you probably want to have one every 30 to 45 minutes. When you’re doing a marathon your body actually uses up all of the fuel quite quickly. You can’t store enough in your body to do a (full) marathon.”

5. Wash your face at your last stop.

“When you do your first marathon, you’ve got all your friends and family waiting. You’ve been out there for four or five hours there’s a lot of things on your face you might not want to be showing off to everybody. So your last drink stop, splash water on your face. You’ll look good as you cross the finish line.”

Source  http://www.thestar.com/living/health/article/1268249--5-tips-for-marathon-runners

Obama: I'm 'eye candy' for women of 'The View'

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama bantered playfully and held hands Monday during a taping of the female-oriented talk show, "The View," giving no indication of second thoughts about the appearance despite criticism that the president was blowing off international diplomacy in order to take part in the often-fluffy daytime gabfest.

"I told folks I'm just supposed to be eye candy here for you guys," President Obama said during a back-and-forth about him being the only man on the program. The show's five co-hosts are women.

The first lady played along by letting the audience in—just a tad—on their relationship and even some of their marital spats.

"He's very loving, he's very giving. He's very open. He's funny; I'm funnier," Mrs. Obama said when asked to describe her husband's personality.

Asked whether her husband ever gets angry, she replied: "Yeah, yeah, he does. I can make him mad -- any number of ways."

"By being thoroughly unreasonable," the president jumped in, smiling, according to a pool report.

The Obamas also talked about their 20th wedding anniversary falling on Oct. 3—the night of the first presidential debate. President Obama said the couple will celebrate the following Saturday.

"I like lavishing her with all kinds of attention when she deserves it, and she always deserves it," the president said.

President Obama also said the couple's daughters, Malia and Sasha, are becoming more independent and no longer seem eager to hang out with their father.

"They're now at the point where, they still love their daddy, but they come in [to visit him] strategically. They're not being surly or anything," Obama said, while adding that the children now pay about a five-minute visit and then take off.

"The View" program the Obamas taped Monday is set to air Tuesday, taking the first couple in front of a politically-coveted heavily-female audience six weeks before the November election.

Source  http://www.politico.com/politico44/2012/09/obama-im-eye-candy-for-women-of-the-view-136561.html?hp=f2