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4. mars 2006
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Many women are reluctant to do weight training as part of their exercise, sometimes fearing getting bulky muscles (not likely), and concentrating on cardio to burn that dreaded fat. A new study shows that weight training has very good effects on abdominal fat, the fat that sits around your organs and is a main cause of heart diseases.
In it, 164 overweight and obese Minnesota women ages 24 to 44 were divided evenly into two groups. One group participated in a two-year weight-training program and the other was simply given a brochure recommending exercise of 30 minutes to an hour most days of the week. Both groups were told not to change their diets in a way that might lead to weight changes.
Women who did the weight-training for two years had only a 7 percent increase in intra-abdominal fat, compared to a 21 percent increase in the group given exercise advice.
The strength-training group also decreased body fat percentage by almost 4 percent, while the group just given advice remained the same. [...]
Researchers reported only marginal effects from the training on total fat mass and the fat you can pinch under the skin.
Making a good argument for varied training, both strength and cardio.
Dr. Rita F. Redberg, a cardiologist at the University of California San Francisco, pointed out that since muscle burns more calories than fat, increasing muscle mass means losing more calories.
"Certainly, any kind of exercise is better than not doing anything," Redberg said. But for "maximal benefit, cardio with weight training will get a lot more bang for your buck."
"I think exercise is the fountain of youth," she said. "If it was a pill, everyone would be taking it."
Isn't that the truth.
7:46:19 PM 
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There is a sense of deja vu here, as reports are coming out of Iraq that Zarqawi may have been captured.
The death or capture of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaeda’s commander in Iraq who is affectionately called the “Sheikh of Slaughters” by his admirers, would be a tremendous psychological victory to the Iraqi people and the American public. The Kuwait News Agency is reporting that Multinational Forces - Iraq is investigating claims that Zarqawi may have been detained during the raid on the Jazerra region, which sits north of Ramadi and Fallujah. According to KUNA, “A MNF officer did not confirm or deny the arrest, noting that the US forces are still investigating the reports... Meanwhile, sources in the Iraqi Army said that Al-Zarqawi could be among those arrested in the operation on Monday.”
Enthusiasm should be muted at this time as we have been down this path several times.
No kidding.
6:36:09 PM
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Unsurprisingly, the Hamas uses Russia's welcome in its propaganda efforts to gain legitimacy after its upset win in the Palestinian election. Ignoring concerns from Israel, the US and just about every democratic state, Russia welcomed a Hamas delegation for talks in Moscow.
One delegate, Mohammed Nazzal, said the US was trying to put Hamas under "political siege" following its victory in the Palestinian election last month.
He said the group looked forward to "good relations" with Russia.
The delegation is meeting religious and political leaders on the second day of their trip.
"We consider this visit to be a very important breakthrough," Mr Nazzal told AFP news agency.
Putin undoubtedly tries to score a diplomatic victory as he tries to nudge Hamas towards abandoning its terrorist campaign and recognise Israel. But even more than that, its open arms towards Hamas is an attempt to counter US and EU influence in the Middle East, and get some friends in the region, notorious they may well be. Russia's anti-US agenda in the Hamas meeting was not exactly a well-guarded secret:
On Saturday, former Russian premier Yevgeny Primakov called Hamas' poll victory a "complete fiasco" for US diplomacy in the Middle East.
Mr Primakov said the US was wrong to treat Hamas as a terrorist group in the wake of their political victory and should not cut off funds to the Palestinians.
If anyone should be rude enough to mention the word Chechnya to Primakov, his hypocrisy would be apparent to all. Russia insists that all Chechen opponents of Moscow's rule are to be labeled 'terrorists', not limited to murderous extremists like Basayev, who clearly deserves that designation. Vladimir Putin has consistently ruled out any compromise, any negotiated solution, with any Chechen separatist group, insisting on a purely military solution to the Chechen conflict. Moscow has been very eager to hide its Chechen adventures entirely under the umbrella of the post-9/11 war on terror, and the west has been somewhat reluctant to go along with this designation. Terror and extreme violence is a frequently used tactic by both Moscow and extremist rebels in Chechnya.
What Russia wants Israel and the west to do to Hamas in Palestine, engage them in dialogue, is exactly what Russia refuses to do even with moderate non-violent separatists in Chechnya (some of whom are living in exile in western Europe, to loud protests from Moscow). It's not often hypocrisy is so blatant, even in international politics.
PS: Somewhat amusingly, Chechen rebels are criticising Hamas for talking to Russia, because doing so legitimises Russia's war against Chechnya.
"We regret this decision of Hamas. In observing convention, the leaders of Hamas will squeeze the hand of the killers of 250,000 Muslims of Chechnya, among which are 42,000 Chechen children," said Movladi Udugov on Web site www.kavkazcenter.com.
Well, you can't please everybody.
6:29:51 PM
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Pakistan is blocking blogs that has published the Mohammad cartoons.
Pakistan telecom authorities have blocked several websites inviting people to draw cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, it has emerged.
Instructions were issued to internet service providers across Pakistan on 27 February to block about a dozen websites of various origins.
I guess that means I will receive no more death threads from Pakistani readers.
4:49:45 AM
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Pamela aka "Atlas" has a great report with lots of pictures of the pro-Danish demonstration in New York City.
If you have kids, buy them some Lego. Heck, I grew up on Lego, and I have still kept some of them for nostalgia. It's a fantastic invention.
The Danes have shown us all that they, unlike the rest of Scandinavia, have a lot of that old viking strength.
It is worth noting that the most popular politician in Denmark - by far - these days is Naser Khader. An opinion poll showed 85 percent of Danes supported him, more than any other politician. Scandinavian media tries to portray Danes as racists, but Khader is a Muslim of Syrian descent. He is also a man who has stood up to the imams, rejected any suggestion Denmark should apologise over the cartoons, and is fighting against the extremists. He has started a network of "Democratic Muslims", attracting thousands of members and supporters in Denmark. Khader is trying to network with liberal Muslims across Europe to build a strong counter-weight against the Imams, who, ironically, were brought to power by governments eager to integrate Muslims, but sadly chose the people the least interested in integration to talk to.
4:40:00 AM
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You may remember Michael J. Totten's brilliantly written report from Tripoli, Libya. Now he has visited Suleimaniya in Iraqi Kurdistan, and his article is an absolute must-read.
Suleimaniya is the most liberal city in Iraqi Kurdistan, partly because of its long-standing and deep ties to nearby Iran, one of the most culturally liberal countries in the Middle East. The Iraqi Kurds I met who have been to Iran wanted me to know – and they want you to know, as well – that the distance between the Iranian people and their hideous regime is galactic. I heard the same refrain over and over again: “Persians are just like us.” In other words, they are liberal, secular, pro-Western, and fed up with tyrants. “Iranians love America,” the Kurds told me. “They have nothing to do with Ahmadinejad.”
All the way back in 1973 Moula Mustafa Barzani, the famous and beloved leader of the anti-Baathist Kurdish resistance, said he wanted Iraqi Kurdistan to become the 51st American state. Nowhere did Barzani’s fierce campaign resonate more deeply than it did in Suleimaniya. Suli isn’t only the cultural capital of the region – its New York, if you will. It also is the capital of Kurdish nationalism. Saddam Hussein called it “The Head of the Snake.”
Read on.
It's a testimony to the horror of Saddam Hussein's genocidal regime, and the courage of the Kurds.
I hope the west has forgotten and betrayed the Kurds for the last time in history.
4:12:54 AM
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© Copyright 2006 Jan Haugland.
Last update: 01.04.2006; 13:21:15.
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