Excessive individualism threatens our children, say experts
http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/whats_happening/media_office/latest_news
02 February 2009

Leading experts today identify excessive individualism as the greatest threat to our children. In a landmark report on A Good Childhood, commissioned by The Children’s Society and published by Penguin, they show that children’s lives have become more difficult than in the past, and they trace this to excessive individualism.

This produces more family discord and conflict; more pressure to own things; excessive competition in schools; and unacceptable income inequality. According to the panel, excessive individualism needs to be replaced by a value system where people seek satisfaction more from helping others rather than pursuing private advantage. Their report is based on detailed evidence and findings, and leads to challenging recommendations.
The findings include:

• The proportion of children experiencing significant emotional or behavioural difficulties rose from 8% in 1974 to 16% in 1999, and has remained at that level.

• Some 70% of children agree “parents getting on well is one of the most important factors in raising happy children.” By contrast only 30% of parents agree with the statement - a significant difference of perspective.

• Children with step-parents or a single parent are, on average, 50% more likely to suffer short-term problems with academic achievement, self-esteem, behaviour, depression or anxiety.

• Only a quarter of the children who are seriously disturbed by mental health difficulties get any kind of specialist help.

• Increased exposure to TV and Internet increases materialistic desires and reduces mental health.

• Children who spend 18 hours taking a Resilience Programme, which teaches children to manage their own feelings and how to understand and care for others, are half as likely to experience depression over the next three years and also do better academically.

• Britain and the U.S. are more unequal than other advanced countries and have lower average well-being among their children. In Sweden 8% of children live at below 60% of median income. In Britain the number is 22%.

The report makes recommendations to parents, teachers, government, media and society at large. They include:

• People who bring a child into the world should have a long-term commitment to each other and should aim to live harmoniously with each other.

• For children whose birth is not celebrated through a religious ceremony like christening, there should be a civil birth ceremony where parents celebrate the birth of their child and vow to care for the child.

• Support for parents should include free parenting classes available around childbirth, and psychological support if their own relationship falters, or if their child has emotional or behavioural difficulties.

• At least 1,000 more psychological therapists should be trained to support children and families.

• Schools should be “values-based communities” promoting mutual respect between teachers, parents and children. They must develop character as well as competence.

• Personal, social and health education in secondary schools should be taught by specialists trained to teach these difficult subjects.

• Teachers in deprived areas should be paid significantly more than elsewhere to ensure that teaching quality and teacher turnover is no worse in deprived areas than elsewhere.

• School league tables and SATs should be abolished. Testing prior to GCSEs should continue within schools but purely as a guide to the progress of every individual child.

• Advertising aimed at children under 12 should be banned, as should all advertisements for alcohol or unhealthy food on television before 9 p.m.

• The government must achieve its target for the reduction of child poverty.

The report’s author, Lord Richard Layard, said: “Our evidence showed clearly how stressful life has become for many children in all social classes. We identified a common thread in these problems, which is the excessive individualism in our culture. This needs to be reversed, and children to learn that being of use to others is ultimately more satisfying than an endless struggle for status”.

Chair of the inquiry and co-author, Professor Judy Dunn, said: “In the Good Childhood Inquiry we had a great opportunity to see how children today experience their lives within their families, at school, with their friends (and enemies!), their problems and their pleasures. We looked critically at the evidence for and against the beliefs about children today that get media attention. What we learned has lessons for all of us - parents, teachers, and those concerned with policy making and the care of children.”

Bob Reitemeier, chief executive of The Children’s Society, said: “This landmark report for The Children’s Society says the aggressive pursuit of individual success by adults is now the greatest threat to our children, and we are determined to do something about that. Essentially the report brings a taboo into the open which is that we have to confront our selfish and individualistic culture. We need to realise that we are collectively responsible for the welfare of all children and that together we can make childhood better.’’

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, comments on The Good Childhood Inquiry: “Our children deserve the best we can give them, and I hope this Report will stir us to action in the wide variety of areas it touches upon. The Report shows something of the energy, the good sense and the vision of so many of our young people. There is plenty of evidence to suggest that the well-being of children and young people in this country is far from being the priority it should be, and this Report spells out in carefully researched detail some of the ways in which we are failing them. It is a clarion call for us as a society to do better.”

'A Good Childhood: searching for values in a competitive age’ will be published by Penguin on 5 February 2009, priced at £9.99.

Media enquiries:

For more information or to arrange interviews please contact: The Children’s Society’s Media Team, Tel: 020 7841 4422 Email: ple@childsoc.org.uk  mobile: 07810 796 508.

For review copies of the book, please contact Thi Dinh at Penguin Press Publicity, 020 7010 3156, thi.dinh@uk.penguingroup.com 

Tax expert provides Canadians with the top nine tax tips for 2009 - and beyond
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2009/03/c5007.html?view=print

TORONTO, Feb. 3 /CNW/ - As Canadians go about preparing their tax returns, author and tax expert Evelyn Jacks has provided nine tips that can help relieve their stress - and save them money. "Taxes - not volatile markets - are the biggest destroyer of Canadians' wealth," says Jacks, founder and president of The Knowledge Bureau, a leading Canadian financial services institute. To mark the official launch today of her newest book, Master Your Taxes: How to Maximize your After-tax Returns, Jacks has provided Canadians with her top nine tax tips for 2009 - and beyond.

1. Take control
   
   Real wealth management is the accumulation, growth, preservation and transition of personal net worth - after tax, costs and inflation. Mastering your taxes, the largest destroyer of wealth, will help you become richer. Decide now that you're going to get a handle on your taxes.

2. Shift your focus
   
   If taxes are mystical to you, learn enough to ask deep, probing questions about your after-tax results. Shift your focus from annual tax preparation to a strategic plan for tax efficiency - all year long.

3. Stop the madness
   
   The average tax refund in Canada has climbed to more than $1,400. That's an interest free loan to the government. Change the game - pay only the right amount of tax, but on time, not in advance. Minimize the taxes withheld at source. Ask your employer for a copy of Form TD1 Tax Credit Return and its sister, Form T1213 Request for Reduction of Taxes at Source.

4. Consider variety
   
   A variety of income sources may bring better after-tax results. It's important to keep on top of marginal tax rates - by income source - to average down the taxes you pay. Find out how much you'll pay on the next dollar of income you'll earn, by source. Interest income, for example, will be taxed at a top marginal rate (around 45 per cent for upper earners) while income resulting from capital gains attracts half that amount.

5. Take the team approach
   
   Refuse to deal with professional advisors who work in silos - a team approach is best. Make sure your financial and tax advisors are working together to create and preserve your wealth.

6. Make it a family affair
   
   Through income-splitting, families can pay the least amount of taxes possible and build significantly more wealth than single people. The family can be a powerful economic unit.

7. Consider self-employment
   
   If you don't own a business, consider starting one, even a part-time operation. There are decided tax advantages to self-employment, because your business will likely pay much lower taxes than you do personally.

8. Focus on the outcome
   
   What counts is what's left. What can you still do to reduce the taxes you'll pay? Are you claiming all the deductions and credits you're entitled to? Don't be reluctant to ask questions - of your advisor, of your tax preparer, of the Canada Revenue Agency - to fully maximize your after-tax income.

9. Never miss filing a tax return
   
   A tax return is required to build contribution room for the Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA) and Registered Retirement Savings Account (RRSP), so it's folly to miss filing a return, or to file late. Don't cut into your tax exempt and tax deferred wealth accumulation potential by being tardy. Increase your tax refund with an RRSP, and use the savings to fund the TFSA.
   
   Master Your Taxes, Jacks' 42nd book, is the first in the new Master Your Personal Finances books, published by The Knowledge Bureau.
   
   The Knowledge Bureau is a national certified post-secondary educationalinstitute, which provides continuing professional development to practicingprofessionals in tax and financial services leading to certification and designation. For more information, please visit www.knowledgebureau.com.

World Cancer Day Highlights Link Between Overweight and Cancer

New data demonstrates need for greater cancer awareness and more cancer prevention

GENEVA, Feb. 4 /CNW/ -- Today the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) is launching "I love my healthy active childhood," a campaign to raise awareness about the link between excess body weight and cancer.

"Three to four million new cases of cancer could be prevented every year by avoiding overweight and obesity," says Isabel Mortara, executive director of the UICC. "Good habits start early in life, so our focus is on encouraging children to eat a healthy diet and be physically active. An estimated 22 million children under 5 are overweight, and the problem is growing."

The need for the UICC campaign is underlined by Cancer-related beliefs and behaviours (www.worldcancercampaign.org/reports), a survey report released today, with new data showing how people fail to realize that the choices increase their risk of cancer.

For example, around 40% of people in the Americas, Australia/New Zealand and western Asia were unaware that being overweight increased their risk of cancer, with less awareness in other regions. The survey is the first to provide internationally comparable data on cancer-related beliefs and behaviour. The UICC worked with Gallup International affiliates in 2008 to interview over 40,000 respondents in 39 countries. The new report provides a breakdown of data for eight UN regions.

"Overweight and obesity are part of the causal chain for many cancers," says Professor David Hill, the president of the UICC. "This is well established in science but not adequately understood in the community. In fact, current lack of public understanding of the link between body weight and cancer probably parallels our attitudes to smoking and cancer in the late 1950s."

World Cancer Day marks the start of a yearlong campaign to encourage adults to promote healthy eating and physical activity among children.

"The accumulated evidence linking overweight and obesity with cancer is largely based on adult studies," says Hill. "But healthy lifelong habits are best established in early childhood." The campaign is backed by A healthy active childhood (www.worldcancercampaign.org/reports), an expert report published today, and is one way the UICC is working with members and partners to implement the World Cancer Declaration adopted in 2008.

Contact: Aline Ingwersen, +41-22-809-1878, +41-79-658-50-70 (mobile), ingwersen@uicc.org, www.uicc.org , Debra Anna Daugherty, + 202 558 3583, + 011 525 585 252806, debra.daugherty@worldcancercampaign.tv

Potential new treatment for prostate cancer developed
February 7th, 2009 - 2:28 pm ICT by ANI -
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/health/

Washington, Feb 7 (ANI): Scientists at Melbourne’’s Burnet Institute claim to have developed a potential new treatment for prostate cancer patients. The team led by Associate Professor Pei Xiang Xing, head of the Burnet Institute’’s Cancer Immunotherapy, has produced a monoclonal antibody to a unique tumour marker for the treatment of prostate cancer.

The monoclonal antibody is directed at cancer-producing cells carrying the specific molecule known as PIM-1, which is responsible for cell survival, proliferation and differentiation. Over-expression of PIM-1 plays a critical role in the development, progression and metastasis of prostate cancer and other cancers such as leukaemia.

The researchers found that the monoclonal antibody significantly inhibited cancer cell growth when used in laboratory models of prostate cancer. During the study, the team demonstrated that the monoclonal antibody binds to PIM-1 present in cancer cells and creates a chain of events leading to the death of the cells.

Moreover, the therapeutic effect was improved by combination of the antibody with other drugs currently used to treat prostate cancer. “This is an exciting step in the development of new treatments for patients with prostate cancer with very promising laboratory-test results,” said Professor Crabb. (ANI)

Prostate Cancer testing - Ontario government takes a step in the right direction!
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2009/09/c6853.html?view=print

TORONTO, Feb. 9 /CNW/ - The Ontario government recently announced that OHIP will now cover the cost of a PSA test if it is authorized by a physician or nurse practitioner. Until now, Ontario men had to pay $30 to have the test administered. Further, the government has authorized community labs to do the test rather than just hospital labs. This makes it much easier for men to receive the test.

The Canadian Prostate Cancer Network (CPCN), the voice of prostate cancer in Canada(R) has long advocated the necessity of free annual PSA testing for men beginning at age 40. The test measures PSA (prostate-specific antigen) that is found in the bloodstream. A high PSA score, or a score that is higher than the benchmark score established at age 40, can indicate the presence of prostate cancer. Although the test does produce false positives, as do mammograms, the PSA test remains the most effective way of discovering prostate cancer at its earliest, and most treatable, stage. The government policy advises the physician or nurse practitioner to "order a PSA test for patients considered to be at risk of prostate cancer due to family history, their own health history, or their race." Ontario Health Minister David Caplan notes, "Contrary to some misconceptions, a man does not need to be showing symptoms of prostate cancer in order to get a free PSA test. Also, there is no age condition for a free, OHIP-insured test." This leaves the health professional with a lot of latitude in ordering a PSA test. Arguably, all men are at risk since one in eight Canadian men will get prostate cancer.

While most physicians will read this policy and begin regular PSA testing for their male patients at age 40, a number will read it in its narrowest sense and order a PSA test only after a DRE (digital rectal examination) reveals an abnormality in the prostate. CPCN argues that many men with prostate cancer pass a DRE thereby allowing the cancer to grow unchecked-and the PSA test is the best current remedy of this situation.

If a patient asks for a PSA test from a doctor or nurse practitioner under the current guidelines, he is at the mercy of the medical professional's opinion of the effectiveness of the test. If the doctor refuses to order a free PSA test, the patient can either pay for it himself or go to another doctor.

Murray Gordon, a director of CPCN, argues that what is needed is "an all-inclusive policy that allows all men, who feel it is in their best interests, access to PSA testing at no cost." While the current policy falls short of this ideal, CPCN thinks that the government's intention is to provide medical professionals with the latitude to order a PSA test for men whether or not these men are showing symptoms, and this is a big step in the right direction. Unfortunately, in some ways, the government's policy parallels W. L. M. King's ambiguous remark about conscription, so, for now, it is "the PSA test if necessary but not necessarily the PSA test."

Budget 2009
The home reno tax credit: what you can do
Thursday, January 29, 2009
CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2009/01/29/f-homereno.html

This was going to be a year of hunkering down and putting off fixing up the old homestead, what with economic turmoil gripping not just the country but the entire world.

News of a home renovation tax credit caught the interest of people in Saskatchewan. But since the federal government revealed the Home Renovation Tax Credit in its budget on Jan. 27, 2009, you're starting to think that maybe you might be able to manage a couple of small jobs. After all, if you keep the renovation budget to $10,000, you'll get $1,350 back — a saving of 13.5 per cent.

The tax credit kicks in on expenditures over $1,000, and you won't get any tax relief for what you spend over $10,000. So your tax savings on a $20,000 job will still be $1,350 — or a saving of 6.75 per cent.

The variety of expenditures that qualify for the tax credit is wide. Among them:

• Renovating your kitchen, bathroom or basement.

• Painting your house.

• Installing new carpeting or flooring.

• Replacing your heating/air conditioning system.

• Upgrading the insulation in your home.Resurfacing your driveway or replacing your lawn with new sod.

Just about any job that improves your home or cottage — or any combination of jobs that improves either or both — qualifies for the credit. Buying furniture, a big-screen TV, cleaning your carpets, buying tools or performing regular maintenance on your home won't get you the tax credit, however.

The Home Renovation Tax Credit can be coupled with other government programs that put money back into your pocket when you renovate your home. For instance, making your home more energy-efficient can qualify you for grants of up to $5,000 under the ecoENERGY Retrofit Program. You will still be able to claim the Home Renovation Tax Credit. The same applies for eligible expenditures that are claimed under the Medical Expense Tax Credit.

While doing the work yourself will give you the most bang for your buck, jobs that you pay a contractor to do also qualify. Expenses such as labour, building permits, equipment rentals, professional services and incidentals are also eligible.

Municipalities regulate building permits, so you should check with your local officials before you begin your job. If your renovation involves structural changes to your home or electrical work, you will most likely need a permit.

One of the major goals of the program, which is expected to cost the government $3 billion, is to stimulate local economies. Most of the material you buy to fix up your home is likely made in Canada and sold at your local hardware store (although it's as likely to be a U.S.-owned big-box store as a Canadian-owned big-box outlet).

Hiring a contractor? Here are some tips

The program will also create work for contractors. It pays to do your homework before you hire a contractor. Make sure the contractor is licensed: it is your right to ask a prospective contractor to produce their license. If the contractor is reluctant to show it, you should be reluctant to hire him/her.

Get references: any good contractor will gladly supply you with a list of references — and pictures showing examples of work that they have done. That list should include up-to-date contact information including names, addresses, phone numbers, and details about the jobs done.

Get several quotes: they should be in writing and should spell out exactly the work you want done and how long it should take. The lowest quote may not necessarily be the best. If somebody comes in with a price far below the others, it could be due to cutting corners.

Make sure the contractor is insured: ask to see their certificate of insurance. Your contractor should have workers compensation and third-party liability insurance for all the people on the job and damage they may cause ($2 million is standard). If they don't, you could be on the hook if there's an accident.

One tax credit per family

Unlike the Home Buyers' Plan, where each spouse can withdraw up to $25,000 from their RRSP to put toward a down payment on a first house, the Home Renovation Tax Credit is limited to one credit per family.

While you can make claims for work done at more than one residence you own, the maximum any family can get back is $1,350. But a family can share the credit. You'll be able to claim the credit on your return for the 2009 tax year. All material has to be purchased and work has to be finished no later than Feb. 1, 2010.

Tide Goes Out

Procter & Gamble announces full transition of its powder laundry detergents to a compacted formula in Canada by April 2009

Concentrated detergents in smaller boxes continue to deliver value and performance for consumers and help reduce waste

TORONTO, Feb. 2 /CNW/ - Procter & Gamble Inc. is pleased to announce that beginning in March 2009, it will discontinue its non-concentrated powder laundry detergents and transition its entire portfolio of powder laundry detergents to a concentrated formula. The move will mean that all Tide, Gain, Cheer and Ivory Snow powder detergents will only be available in a compact format. The company will complete the full conversion by April 2009.

Compacted detergents provide consumers with the same or greater number of loads in a smaller box, resulting in greater value for shoppers in a more convenient product that is easier to carry, scoop and store. The compacted formulas and smaller boxes also allow for increased efficiency across the entire supply chain, reducing fuel consumption and warehouse space usage.

Tide's concentrated formula also reduces packaging by up to 31 - 59 per cent versus the non-concentrated formula. Transitioning from non-concentrated to concentrated powder detergent formulas is another step in the company's strong commitment to sustainability and sustainable development.

"Following the successful concentration of our liquid laundry detergents, we're pleased to move to an entirely-compacted powder detergent line-up," says Rob Chambers, fabric-care brand manager for P&G Canada. "P&G is committed to producing more-sustainable products and laundry category compaction is the right thing to do for consumers, retailers and the environment."