Presenting Your Best Self to an Audience | Psychology Today

One of the most important career-building and leadership skills you can learn is to speak effectively to an audience. I dedicated a chapter of my book, Self-Promotion for Introverts?, to this topic, based on work with my coaching clients over more than a decade as well as continuing education students in my Presentation Skills for Introverts? workshop at New York University.

While I was writing my book, I asked Warren Buffett how introverts could raise their visibility in their careers. He stressed the importance of learning to speak to an audience. Buffett, an introvert who was terrified of public speaking as a young man, shared that he ?got physically ill even thinking about speaking.? If that describes you, too, help is available. Buffett took a Dale Carnegie class. Alternatively, you could take a continuing education class in public speaking or presentation skills, hire a public speaking coach and/or join Toastmasters International. Voice lessons can help too.

No matter the butterflies fluttering in your stomach, you probably don't look as nervous as you think. Studies have shown that your emotions are not as visible as you would expect. If you would like to build your skill and confidence at public speaking, check out the following resources which will show you how to use your introverted strengths (e.g., thoroughly researching your topic, listening attentively to your audiences, thinking before your speak rather than shooting from the hip) as a springboard.

Articles:
?Public Speaking for Private People?
?Cool Tool for Public Speakers?
?Becoming a ?Go-to? Expert with Public Speaking?
?What Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know About Public Speaking?
?Presentation Skills for Introverts: Tiger and the Full Tilt Boogie?
?Public Speaking for Introverts: Jonesing for the Zone?
?Presentation Tips for Introverts?
?Presenting to Clients: To Know Them is to Wow Them?
?How to Find Your Inner Cary Grant?

Videos:
?The Importance of Public Speaking?
?Managing Your Fear of Public Speaking?
?Public Speaking for Introverts?

Of course, reading and watching videos about public speaking are just a start. The next thing to do is get up and practice?particularly in front of an audience. If you feel your knees knocking, start with a baby step. The important thing is to get started.

Here's to a New Year with your quiet voice commanding the stage?a smart and efficient use of your introverted energy!

Copyright ? 2012 Nancy Ancowitz

Source: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/self-promotion-introverts/201212/presenting-your-best-self-audience

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Boston College Hockey: Will BU's Jack Parker Ever Catch Jerry York? #York925

Jerry York is on top of college hockey. Will the head coach of Boston College's arch rival ever catch him?

Boston University hockey coach Jack Parker, who gets his fair share of ribbing around these parts, was gracious in speaking about coach Jerry York following the Terriers December 1 loss to BC. York had tied the all-time wins record with the 5-2 win over the Eagles' arch rivals.

"He deserves all the accolades. It's hard for people to believe this, because he's been around so long and been so successful, and he's won so many games, but I still don't think he gets the credit he deserves.

"He's a very good coach who's run great programs at three different places, and has done an unbelievable job making this program the best it's ever been. This is a place where they've had two other coaches who've won 500 games. It's had a lot of good hockey for a long, long time. And he's the best they've ever had."

York and Parker's careers will forever be tied together. Not just because they coach at opposite ends of the Green Line as part of college hockey's greatest rivalry, but because Parker sits third on the all-time win list with 886. That total is good for second best of all active coaches behind only York.

The question is can Parker ever catch York for take sole possession of the all-time wins record?

It's not going to be easy as York is winning games at an almost absurd clip these days. It took York over five seasons to earn victories 1-100 at Clarkson and over four full seasons at Bowling Green to earn 100 more. The amount of time between York's 825th and 925th victories at Boston College? A little over three full seasons.

Over the last four full seasons from 2008-09 to 2011-12, York has won 27.5 games per season. To put this in perspective, the 19 year coach of the Eagles has accomplished that feat just one other time on the Heights, and five other times while at Bowling Green:

At Bowling Green:

1982-83 to 1985-86: 27.75 wins/season
1983-84 to 1986-87: 29 wins/season
1984-85 to 1987-88: 28 wins/season
1985-86 to 1988-89: 29.25 wins/season
1986-87 to 1989-90: 28.5 wins/season

At Boston College:

1997-98 to 2000-01: 29.25 wins/season

I'm under no delusion that BC will keep winning at its current pace this season, but with the Eagles winning 80 percent of all games, York is on track to eclipse the 30 wins/season four-year average for the first time ever, which is almost unfair.

Packer has eclipsed the 30 wins/season four-year average just once in his career, winning 30.25 games/season over the four years from 1993-94 to 1996-97 which included the 1995 National Championship. In recent years, however, Parker has slowed the pace of victory -- winning just 18, 19 and 23 games in the three seasons after a 35 victory season capped by another title in 2009. Recent four years averages for the Terriers head coach:

2005-06 to 2008-09: 25 wins/season
2006-07 to 2009-10: 23 wins/season
2007-08 to 2010-11: 22.75 wins/season
2008-09 to 2011-12: 23.75 wins/season

York, 39 victories clear of Parker, has been averaging 2-3 more wins a year over a four-year period the last three seasons. Should the two coaches continue winning at roughly the same clip, it would likely take Parker almost two years of coaching after York retires to catch the sport's all-time wins leader.

Given the way York has swung the momentum in the Green Line Rivalry in favor of Boston College in recent years and the way he has restocked future recruiting classes with a near embarrassment of riches, it's hard to see Parker catching York.

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Source: http://www.bcinterruption.com/boston-college-hockey-2012-2013-season/2012/12/30/3816436/jerry-york-boston-college-hockey-all-time-wins-record-925-jack-parker

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Rapid Auto Title Loans Offers Additional Inspection Stations | Merit ...

Pompano Beach, Florida (PRWEB) December 22, 2012

Rapid Auto Loans, a leader in consumer finance allows car owners to borrow against their vehicles value with a simple qualifying process that uses the cars value as credit. Rapid Auto Loans has now added additional authorized inspection stations for increased accessibility for their customers. Based in Florida, the finance company provides consumer finance loans based on the value of the used vehicle instead of the borrowers credit rating. This allows them to offer competitive financing rates while their customers still have full use of their vehicles. With the advent of increased inspection stations, it is now easier than ever for Rapid Auto Loans customers to have their vehicle inspected, the value assessed, and the funds received in a quick and seamless process.

Rapid Auto Loans has long been a trusted name in the consumer finance industry. By providing straight-forward loans to customers who need quick cash without the hassle, Rapid Auto Loans has been able to help thousands of car owners leverage the value of their car for much needed funding. Now with the introduction of additional inspections stations, RAL clients will find it easier than ever to speed along the process of receiving their loan.

For consumers looking for auto title loans with affordable financing details, Rapid Auto Loans offers a simple solution. Employment and residence history combined with an assessment of the vehicles equity is all that is needed for a successful loan approval. For clients that have difficulty finding approval through traditional financing options, Rapid Auto Loans? flexible approval process provides instant access to much needed funding whether for emergencies, medical costs, bills, or any other short-term funding need. All Rapid auto loans are for a 12-month term and simple interest is only paid during the time that the loan is outstanding.

Applying for an auto loan is very simple and only requires a short pre-approval form submittal directly from the companys website. Once the information has been entered, a representative from the company contacts the applicant to update them on the status of their loan. With rates as low as 1.50% per month, Rapid Auto Loans provides auto loans that give the consumer flexibility, ease, and security. Now with the increased authorized inspections stations, customers will benefit from the ease of access and convenience that are reflective of the companys best attributes. For more information, please visit http://www.raloan.com.

# # #

Source: http://meritloans.com/auto-finance-2/rapid-auto-title-loans-offers-additional-inspection-stations

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Storm leaves up to foot of snow in New England

BOSTON (AP) ? Weather watchers say up to a foot of snow fell in parts of southern New England as the latest winter storm moved through the Northeast.

The storm had ended in the region by Sunday morning and dry weather was expected for days, although strong winds may chill the bone.

Meteorologist Frank Nocera of the National Weather Service in Taunton, Mass., said six to 12 inches of snow fell from Saturday afternoon and overnight in Rhode Island, eastern Connecticut and eastern Massachusetts, including Foxborough where the New England Patriots play.

The exception was at Boston and the Cape Cod area where rain was mixed in with snow. There two to four inches fell.

Many residents lost power after wet snow piled up on power lines.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/storm-leaves-foot-snow-england-110134876.html

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Woman charged with murder in NYC subway death

NEW YORK (AP) ? A woman who told police she shoved a man to his death off a subway platform into the path of a train because she has hated Muslims since Sept. 11 and thought he was one was charged Saturday with murder as a hate crime, prosecutors said.

Erika Menendez was charged in the death of Sunando Sen, who was crushed by a 7 train in Queens on Thursday night, the second time this month a commuter has died in such a nightmarish fashion.

Menendez, 31, was awaiting arraignment on the charge Saturday evening, Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said. She could face 25 years to life in prison if convicted. She was in custody and couldn't be reached for comment, and it was unclear if she had an attorney.

Menendez, who was arrested after a tip by a passer-by who saw her on a street and thought she looked like the woman in a surveillance video released by police, admitted shoving Sen, who was pushed from behind, authorities said.

"I pushed a Muslim off the train tracks because I hate Hindus and Muslims ever since 2001 when they put down the twin towers I've been beating them up," Menendez told police, according to the district attorney's office.

Sen was from India, but police said it was unclear if he was Muslim, Hindu or of some other faith. The 46-year-old lived in Queens and ran a printing shop. He was shoved from an elevated platform on the 7 train line, which connects Manhattan and Queens. Witnesses said a muttering woman rose from her seat on a platform bench and pushed him on the tracks as a train entered the station and then ran off.

The two had never met before, authorities said, and witnesses told police they hadn't interacted on the platform.

Police released a sketch and security camera video showing a woman running from the station where Sen was killed.

Menendez was arrested by police earlier Saturday after a passer-by on a Brooklyn street spotted her and called 911. Police responded, confirmed her identity and took her into custody, where she made statements implicating herself in the crime, police spokesman Paul Browne said.

The district attorney said such hateful remarks about Muslims and Hindus could not be tolerated.

"The defendant is accused of committing what is every subway commuter's worst nightmare," he said.

On Dec. 3, another man was pushed to his death in a Times Square subway station. A photo of the man clinging to the edge of the platform a split second before he was struck by a train was published on the front page of the New York Post, causing an uproar about whether the photographer, who was catching a train, or anyone else should have tried to help him.

A homeless man was arrested and charged with murder in that case. He claimed he acted in self-defense and is awaiting trial.

It's unclear whether anyone tried ? or could have tried ? to help Sen on Thursday.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Friday urged residents to keep Sen's death in perspective as he touted new historic lows in the city's annual homicide and shooting totals.

"It's a very tragic case, but what we want to focus on today is the overall safety in New York," Bloomberg told reporters following a police academy graduation.

But commuters still expressed concern over subway safety and shock about the arrest of Menendez on a hate crime charge.

"For someone to do something like that ... that's not the way we are made," said David Green, who was waiting for a train in Manhattan. "She needs help."

Green said he caught himself leaning over the subway platform's edge and realized maybe he shouldn't do that.

"It does make you more conscious," he said of the deaths.

Such subway deaths are rare, but other high-profile cases include the 1999 fatal shoving of aspiring screenwriter Kendra Webdale by a former psychiatric patient. That case led to a state law allowing for more supervision of mentally ill people living outside institutions.

___

Associated Press writer Karen Matthews contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/woman-charged-murder-ny-subway-shove-death-223404308.html

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Suicide now claims more US troops than enemy fire - Rate of almost 1 per day

We must ask why this is happening and do more to address the root causes.

wwww.catholic.org

American troops have a secret enemy who is killing them more frequently than the insurgents and terrorists they fight. According to the Department of Defense, soldier suicides now claim more victims than enemy fire.

Source: http://www.facebook.com/catholiconline/posts/10152351255250268

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Forecast: Technology trends to watch for in 2013 ,Computer And You

The biggest tech trends that were in news in 2012 were mostly concentrated in cloud computing technologies, mobile technologies (of which tablets popped like mushrooms in every other company!), social technologies, including many other small and big technologies. But, the year 2013 might bring in a bright year to many more technologies apart from the ones that had a great year in 2012.

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has come up with the five greatest trends to watch for in 2013 and their list has,

1. The future of 3D printing
2. Next-generation TVs and displays
3. The evolution of the audio market
4. The mobile revolution in Africa, and
5. Technology in education

Well, the list of trending technologies for the year 2013 given by CEA looks quite promising. Technology like 3d printing has evolved at a great pace with its mark in every other innovation by assisting in designing the products be it jewellery or mobile devices or even cars for that matter. Rather than creating physical models, virtual models created on computers offer great flexibility.

The quality of TV display has a great market indeed. People are getting tech savvy and are willing to replace older televisions with feature rich television.? LED?s, LCD?s and OLED TV?s are all running in the completion trying to improve and meet the quality demands.

The wireless headphones and the premium headphones that promise to deliver studio sound quality are only providing the basis for the CEA?s predictions. Adding to their analysis is the huge craze of people who are looking for professional sound quality in home audio systems.

As against the common beliefs about the gain in technological market in the continent of Africa, CEA predicts the rise of mobile revolution in the region. The trend has already been set in the continent as banking, business, and social networking have made good internet access in 2012 through mobile phones.

Since the inception of computer classes in schools years ago, the education system has seen several changes in the way pupils are being educated. The smart education system has replaced black boards and the new age tablets have started replacing books!

What I see is CEA?s predictions of trends to watch in 2013 coming true!

Apart from CEA, many giants in the field of technology and news have come up with their own list of trending technologies. According to a source on Forbes, the five trends include:

1. Internet of things (IoT) which they believe to make a great hit in 2013.
2. The trend of Big Data is the second one on the list where they are talking about the visualization and analysis on data that can help businesses.
3. The cloud technology is here to stay in 2013 after leaving its prints in 2012.
4. The issue of internet censorship and the enforcement of laws on the usage of internet is said to continue.
5. The use and development in the field of multicore computing made the list too.

According to marketwatch, even the Verizon has identified hybrid clouds as one of the technologies that will continue to grow in 2013. Verizon is also talking about the mobile market and the security in IT sector as one of their identifications.

In various other sources the most talked about technologies that are predicted as trending in 2013 are social technologies, cloud computing, big data, technology in education and mobile technology. Though there is no much discussion on upcoming technologies in 2013, people are mostly involved in talking about the continuing trend which has already been set in 2012.

Which technologies do you think are going to stay in 2013? Do you believe if there is any chance of invention of yet another newer technology in 2013?

Source: http://www.computerandyou.net/2012/12/forecast-technology-trends-to-watch-for-in-2013/

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neesonthewlis: Health & Fitness Solutions: Self-Hypnosis ...

By Mamie Nanez

It's important that you become familiar with the field of hypnosis - especially self-hypnosis - and one of the best ways to do so is to start by reading shorter reports like this one to begin your knowledge base. Delve into the subject wholeheartedly and you will find that it doesn't take long to get a well-rounded grasp of what hypnosis is all about. Hypnosis is not a difficult subject to comprehend as there's really nothing complicated about it. The same holds true for self-hypnosis.

Since we are all so different, you may find the need to use self-hypnosis many times. The important thing is not how many times you need to use a particular script for some particular goal. The only thing that counts is that you are triumphant with it and get to the target you had in the first place. There is no way to know how you will respond to self-hypnosis until you try it out. An additional point that is critical is that it takes many applications to get to the phase where your endeavours are really valuable. You will more than likely not have the greatest execution at the start and you will not be entirely at ease with the procedure.

For a self-hypnosis session to be effective, you have to choose a place that is quiet. Try to remove all distractions from the place before commencing a session.

Creating your own personal space to practice your self-hypnosis is a good thing to do. Your ideal scenario could be in a cool, low-lit room with candles and incense.

Once you have decided to use self-hypnosis, you need to make a commitment. Unless you are fully committed and have confidence it will not work for you. It is imperative that you have conviction and believe the necessary things that need to change will. Hopefully you already have a good idea of the impact that faith and conviction have for favourable results. The whole concept of hypnosis, whether it is done by a therapist or by ones self, is up for disbelief by many. There are folks that have been assisted with the use of hypnosis throughout time and in many instances.

Every script to write and design needs to be exquisite for each hypnosis session. Consider that you are trying to reach your unconscious mind directly. That means you have to bypass your ordinary consciousness that looks at the world in a critical manner. So you have to know exactly how to use the right words that will be the most effective. You can buy self-hypnosis tapes or even buy scripts from hypnotherapists. A licensed trained hypnotherapist should be where this material comes from. They are governed by hypnosis organizations that will make sure they are on the straight and narrow. Your local area, and certainly the Internet, will have people you can talk to. In conclusion, there are many other self-hypnosis tips that are available. You can learn them if you want. Just be sure you are getting quality information from the web. Building a website, and populating it with information, is very easy to do - this is why you need to be careful with the info that you find.

About the Author:

Do you want to beat eczema? Self-hypnosis is a simple way to overcome it without any medications.

Source: http://health-fitness-sol.blogspot.com/2012/12/self-hypnosis-techniques-3-that-really.html

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German finance minister says worst of euro debt crisis over | The ...

German finance minister says worst of euro debt crisis over

the associated press

First Published Dec 27 2012 09:44 am ? Last Updated Dec 27 2012 09:44 am

Berlin ? Germany?s finance minister says the worst of euro area?s debt crisis appears to be over after three years of worries over Greece and other members of the group of 17 European Union countries that use the single currency.

Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble was quoted Thursday as telling the Bild newspaper: "I think we have the worst behind us."

Schaeuble says Greece and others have recognized that they can only overcome the crisis by implementing reforms and that the Greek government ? which has received two bailouts ? "knows that it cannot financially overburden the other euro states".

Some in Germany have expressed concern about the economy of neighboring France. But Schaeuble says the government there "knows very well that every country must constantly conduct reforms to remain competitive."

Copyright 2012 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Reader comments on sltrib.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Salt Lake Tribune. We will delete comments containing obscenities, personal attacks and inappropriate or offensive remarks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. If you see an objectionable comment, click the red "Flag" link below it.
See more about comments here.

Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/money/55533129-79/says-crisis-euro-worst.html.csp

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Mod Mobile 11 Under 40 ? Class of 2012 | Mod Mobilian

On his recent visit to Mobile, urban planner Andres Duany made it clear (see Robbie McClendon?s article) that for Downtown Mobile to prosper it needs to attract the Creative Class ? artists and musicians. ?These ?colonists? begin the development that eventually leads to professionals ? ?dentists from New Jersey? ? patronizing and investing in the neighborhood.

Economist Richard Florida?of the University of Toronto described the Creative Class as ?people in design, education, arts, music and entertainment, whose economic function is to create new ideas, new technology and/or creative content.? ?The Creative Class is critical for the prosperity of post-industrial cities. ?The class not only creates new ideas and content that directly contribute to the economy, but their efforts create arts and entertainment that are essential for attracting professionals and entrepreneurs to a ?real city.?

Florida stresses that to succeed a city?must possess ?the three ?T?s?: Talent (educated/skilled population), Tolerance (for diversity), and Technology (infrastructure and knowledge). Leaders in this regard are Chapel Hill, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Austin, Atlanta, Seattle, Toronto, Portland, Lexington and Milwaukee. ?Think Apple CEO Tim Cook (who is from Robertsdale) and hundreds of other young, educated Mobilians who have fled to these cities. ?Within Alabama, Huntsville (and to a lesser degree Birmingham) have been successful in developing these as well.

?Florida and others have found a strong correlation between those cities and states that provide a more tolerant atmosphere toward culturally unconventional people, such as gays, artists, and musicians (exemplified by Florida?s ?Gay Index? and ?Bohemian Index? developed in?The Rise of the Creative Class), and the numbers of Creative Class workers that live and move there (2002).?

Most of Mobile ? both the citizens and ?leadership? ? have practically no concept of the importance of the Creative Class in the modern?knowledge-based economy. ?Airbus is a blessing for Mobile, but if we don?t build a solid,?cosmopolitan?downtown around it we could easily slip into decline again. ?Unless the populace and leadership?change their mindset?Mobile will waste this opportunity. ?We need to use Airbus to attract intelligent and educated people to build businesses based in Mobile.?Without a diversified economy ? a ?Plan B? ? Mobile will suffer from the ?Dutch disease? and will be at risk for local depressions at the whims of commodity prices and the decisions of the Boards of major employers (remember Brookley?). ? With a reliance on incentives, cheap labor and resource exploitation (i.e. a Third World economy) it is not a coincidence that Mobile has per-capita income significantly below the national average.

Mobile?s ?young leaders? too often engage in unproductive or even counter-productive behavior. ?Watching college football, hunting and fishing are the accepted pastimes of most young Mobilians and?are enjoyable for sure (we enjoy them ourselves occasionally), but the fact is when those pursuits occupy all our free time they do nothing to advance the community vis-a-vis the cities mentioned above. ? Even worse, we have encountered racism and other forms of intolerance and bigotry in some of our ?young leaders.? (Mobile?s??Country Club Rednecks? are killing us in this respect as they are most likely to express these views in front of visiting and newly arrived executives, entrepreneurs and professionals.) ?If we are dependent upon ?leaders? of this type Mobile is sure to remain mired in poverty and ignorance.

So we feel it is critical to recognize the young, creative people who are putting their efforts into actively bettering Mobile with their talents. ?You will find them spending their weekends building businesses Downtown and creating works of art. ? If Mobile is ever to catch up with Birmingham or Huntsville or New Orleans or Atlanta or Chapel Hill or even Austin, to any degree, we are dependent on these young men and women. ?We hope to see their role appreciated by all Mobilians.

Unfortunately these people are still far and few between in Mobile ? diamonds in the rough.

We hope to name 10 or so people (plus or minus ? we counted one couple together)?to the Mod Mobile under 40 for the first four years until we have ?40 under 40? and then we hope to build to a rolling 40 members after that. ?They will receive recognition during Arts Alive/SouthSounds weekend (April 12-14).

?

We are proud to announce the following people as members of the 2012 class of Mod Mobile 10 Under 40:

Dan Anderson: ?Photographer and videographer for Lagniappe and Mod Mobilian

?

Courtney Dreher Matthews: Artist; makeup artist; owner of Lunatix & Co.

?

Elizabet Elliot: Artist; founder of the Rumor Union.

?

April Hopkins: ?Artist; co-proprietor of PortAl Studio.
Zach Depolo: Artist; co-proprietor of PortAl Studio. ?Founder of the Downtown Creative and Wellness Foundation.

?

Carson Kennedy: Filmmaker and Program Director for the South Alabama Film Festival.

?

Brent ?Pluto? Parker: ?Musician/rapper and entrepreneur (owner of Club Infinity)

?

Thomas Smith:?Director for Mobile?s Fighting Owl Films.
Erin Lilley: Actress for Mobile?s Fighting Owl Films.
?

?

Heath Underwood: Singer and songwriter for El Cantador; contributor to Tributaries 2012 anthology.

Jesmyn Ward: Author, winner of the National Book Award for Salvage the Bones;?Assistant Professor of English at the?University?of?South Alabama.

Source: http://modmobilian.com/2012/12/mod-mobile-40-under-40-class-of-2012/

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Ask The Experts | Family Health & Wellness Magazine

Q: ?What?s the difference between a really bad headache and a migraine?

A: ?A migraine headache is a headache that tends to recur in an individual and is moderate to severe if left untreated. It can be one sided, throbbing and aggravated by routine physical activity. It can be associated with light, sound and smell sensitivity and many patients will become nauseated with it. In a minority of patients there can be visual or sensory changes before, during or after the headache, known as auras.? Each migraine typically lasts from four hours to three days, but can last more than a week.

The National Headache Foundation estimates that nearly 30 million Americans, or approximately 12 percent of the population, suffer from migraines. Migraines occur about three times more frequently in women than in men.

The exact causes of migraines are unknown, although they are related to changes in the brain as well as to genetic causes. People with migraines may inherit the tendency to be affected by certain migraine triggers such as fatigue, skipping meals, certain foods, bright lights and weather changes.

For many years, scientists believed that migraines were linked to the expanding (dilation) and constriction (narrowing) of blood vessels on the brain?s surface. However, it is now believed that a migraine is caused by inherited abnormalities in certain areas of the brain. There is a migraine ?pain center? or generator in the mid-brain area. A migraine begins when hyperactive nerve cells send out impulses to the blood vessels leading to the dilation of these vessels and the release of prostaglandins and other inflammatory substances that cause the pulsation to be painful.

Sometimes it is difficult to differentiate a migraine from other serious causes of headaches. Red flags (reasons to get evaluated urgently) are a headache subsequent to head trauma, a headache with a sudden onset (?thunderclap? headache), a headache with signs of systemic illness (fever, stiff neck and/or rash), a headache beginning after 50 years of age (because migraines will typically start under age 50, and over age 50 is more likely to be temporal arteritis?which needs urgent treatment to prevent vision loss?or a mass lesion/brain cancer), headaches increasing in frequency and severity, a headache with focal neurologic signs or symptoms of disease (other than one?s typical aura), or a new-onset headache in a patient with risk factors for HIV infection or cancer.

?Katharina Truelove, M.D.

Katharina Truelove, M.D., is a Marshall Medical Center Provider. Dr. Truelove is a member of Family Health & Wellness Magazine?s Advisory Board.

Article appears in the January/February 2013 Issue of Family Health & Wellness Magazine.

Subscribe to the Family Health & Wellness?Magazine Blog!

Source: http://familyhw.com/2012/12/ask-the-experts-3/

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Why are (Smart) Investors Buying 50 Times More Physical Silver ...

Eric Sprott of Sprott Asset Management writes: ?

As long-time students of precious metals investing, there are certain things we understand. One is that, historically, the availability ratio of silver to gold has had a direct influence on the price of the metals. The current availability ratio of physical silver to gold for investment purposes is approximately 3:1. So, why is it that investors are allocating their dollars to silver at a much higher ratio? What is it that these ?smart? investors understand? Let?s have a look at the numbers and see if it?s time for investors to do as a wise man once said and ?follow the money.?

Average annual gold mine production is approximately 80 million ounces, which together with an estimated average 50?million ounces of annual recycled gold, totals around 130 million ounces available per year. In comparison, annual mined silver production has averaged around 750 million ounces, while recycled silver is estimated at 250?million ounces per year, which adds up to approximately 1 billion ounces. Using this data, there is roughly 8?times more silver available to buy than there is gold. However, not all gold and silver is available for investment purposes, due to their use in industrial applications. It is estimated that for investment purposes (jewelry, bars and coins), the annual availability of gold is roughly 120 million ounces, and of silver it is 350 million ounces. Therefore, the ratio of physical silver availability to gold availability is 350/120, or ~3:1.¹

Now, let?s examine how investors are allocating their investments between gold and silver. The data below is from the US Mint showing gold and silver sales in ounces:

Source: US Mint (www.usmint.gov)

As you can see, investors are choosing to buy silver at a ratio to gold that is well above what is available. This uptrend doesn?t show any signs of slowing either. The ratio of the physical silver to gold is both rising and extraordinarily above the availability ratio of 3:1.

We can also use other data such as the most recent issues of the Sprott Physical Gold and Silver Trusts. The last Gold Trust issue in September 2012 raised US$393 million and the last Silver Trust issue raised US$310 million. On the basis of prices for each metal at the time of issue, we could purchase ~213 thousand ounces of gold and ~9.1 million ounces of silver. This represents a purchase ratio of 43:1.

If we examine ETF holdings in both gold and silver, we note that in the period from 2007 to 2012, the increase in silver holdings amounted to 12,000 tonnes, compared to 1,200 tonnes of gold ? meaning, investors purchased ten times more silver than gold.

These are only three factual data points to consider, but there are other indications that silver investment demand is way out of line with availability. Our favourite question to the bullion dealers we meet, is to ask the ratio of their dollar sales in gold versus silver. The answer is that dollar sales are equal, which means that physical silver sales relative to gold are greater than 50:1.

A recent news headline on Mineweb read, ?Silver Sales to Outshine Gold in India.²? It went on to quote a bullion dealer that ?investors and jewelry lovers?prefer?silver jewelry these days.? As the largest importer of gold in the world, it would be impossible for India to purchase an equivalent amount of silver, as it would require more than one billion ounces, essentially more than the current annual mine production.

While these last two confirmations of silver demand are anecdotal, the statistics from the US Mint, the ETFs, and our Physical Trust issues, are factual.

For the time being, the silver price is essentially set in the paper market where the daily average trade on the Comex is approximately 300 million ounces. An outrageous number when you compare it to the daily mine production of about 2 million ounces. As Bart Chilton, Commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission stated on October 26, 2010, ?I believe there have been repeated attempts to influence prices in silver markets. There have been fraudulent efforts to persuade and deviously control that price. Based on what I have been told and reviewed in publicly available documents, I believe violations to the Commodity Exchange Act have taken place in the silver market and any such violation of the law in this regard should be prosecuted.?³

Which brings us back to the phrase ?Follow the money.? In our view, it is almost inconceivable that investors would allocate as many dollars to silver as they would to gold, but that is what the data shows.

The silver investment market is very small. While the dollar value of gold in the world approaches $9 trillion, the value of silver in the forms of jewelry, coins, bars and silverware is estimated at around $150 billion (5 billion ounces at $30 per ounce). This is a ratio of 60:1 in dollar terms.⁴

How long can investors continue to buy silver at the current ratios when the availability for investment is only 3:1? We are surprised that the price of silver has remained at such a depressed level compared to gold. Historically, the price ratio between gold and silver has been 16:1, when both were currencies. Today the ratio is 55:1, so what are the numbers telling us? We believe this is one of those times when smart investors will be well rewarded to ?Follow the money.?

On behalf of all of us at Sprott, I wish you safe and happy Holidays and a prosperous New Year.

P.S. ? US Mint Sold Out of Silver Eagle Bullion Coins Until January 7, 2013?
The Mint recently informed authorized purchasers that all remaining inventories of 2012-dated Silver Eagle bullion coins had sold out and no additional coins would be struck. Since the 2013-dated coins will not be available to order until January 7, 2013, this leaves a three week void for the Mint?s most popular bullion offering.

1	Sources: Gold data is from World Gold Council www.gold.org, and silver data is from Silver Institute, http://www.silverinstitute.org/site/supply-demand/
2	Source: Mineweb.com
3	Source: Bloomberg: http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-26/silver-market-faced-fraudulent-efforts-to-control-price-chilton-says.html
4	Sources: Gold data is from World Gold Council, silver data is from United States Geological Survey (USGS) and Silver Institute.

December 26, 2012 (Source: Sprott Assest Management LP)

http://sprottasset.com/markets-at-a-glance/why-are-%28smart%29-investors-buying-50-times-more-physical-silver-than-gold/

Source: http://www.gotgoldreport.com/2012/12/why-are-smart-investors-buying-50-times-more-physical-silver-than-gold.html

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Ticket rush: Film fans hand Hollywood record cash

FILE - In this publicity film image released by Disney, Chris Hemsworth portrays Thor, left, and and Chris Evans portrays Captain America, in a scene from "The Avengers," expected to be released on May 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Disney, Zade Rosenthal, File)

FILE - In this publicity film image released by Disney, Chris Hemsworth portrays Thor, left, and and Chris Evans portrays Captain America, in a scene from "The Avengers," expected to be released on May 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Disney, Zade Rosenthal, File)

In this publicity photo provided by Warner Bros. Pictures, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as John Blake, is shown in a scene in Warner Bros. Pictures? and Legendary Pictures? action thriller ?The Dark Knight Rises," a Warner Bros. Pictures release. TM & ? DC Comics. (AP Photo/Warner Bros. Pictures, Ron Phillips)

FILE - In this file photo of a publicity film image released by Disney, Iron Man, portrayed by Robert Downey Jr., left, and Captain America, portrayed by Chris Evans, are shown in a scene from "The Avengers." (AP Photo/Disney, File)

In this publicity photo provided by Warner Bros. Pictures, Tom Hardy, center, as Bane, is shown in a scene in Warner Bros. Pictures? and Legendary Pictures? action thriller ?The Dark Knight Rises," a Warner Bros. Pictures release. TM & ? DC Comics. (AP Photo/Warner Bros. Pictures, Ron Phillips)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? The big deal for Hollywood is not the record $10.8 billion that studios took in domestically in 2012. It's the fact that the number of tickets sold went up for the first time in three years.

Thanks to inflation, revenue generally rises in Hollywood as admission prices climb each year. The real story is told in tickets, whose sales have been on a general decline for a decade, bottoming out in 2011 at 1.29 billion, their lowest level since 1995.

The industry rebounded this year, with ticket sales projected to rise 5.6 percent to 1.36 billion by Dec. 31, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com. That's still well below the modern peak of 1.6 billion tickets sold in 2002, but in an age of cozy home theater setups and endless entertainment gadgets, studio executives consider it a triumph that they were able to put more butts in cinema seats this year than last.

"It is a victory, ultimately," said Don Harris, head of distribution at Paramount Pictures. "If we deliver the product as an industry that people want, they will want to get out there. Even though you can sit at home and watch something on your large screen in high-def, people want to get out."

Domestic revenue should finish up nearly 6 percent from 2011's $10.2 billion and top Hollywood's previous high of $10.6 billion set in 2009.

The year was led by a pair of superhero sagas, Disney's "The Avengers" with $623 million domestically and $1.5 billion worldwide and the Warner Bros. Batman finale "The Dark Knight Rises" with $448 million domestically and $1.1 billion worldwide. Sony's James Bond adventure "Skyfall" is closing in on the $1 billion mark globally, and the list of action and family-film blockbusters includes "The Hunger Games," ''The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn ? Part Two," ''Ice Age: Continental Drift," ''Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted," ''The Amazing Spider-Man" and "Brave."

Before television, movies were the biggest thing going, with ticket sales estimated as high as 4 billion a year domestically in the 1930s and '40s.

Movie-going eroded steadily through the 1970s as people stayed home with their small screens. The rise of videotape in the 1980s further cut into business, followed by DVDs in the '90s and big, cheap flat-screen TVs in recent years. Today's video games, mobile phones and other portable devices also offer easy options to tramping out to a movie theater.

It's all been a continual drain on cinema business, and cynics repeatedly predict the eventual demise of movie theaters. Yet Hollywood fights back with new technology of its own, from digital 3-D to booming surround-sound to the clarity of images projected at high-frame rates, which is being tested now with "The Lord of the Rings" prelude "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," shown in select theaters at 48 frames a second, double the standard speed.

For all of the annoyances of theaters ? parking, pricy concessions, sitting next to strangers texting on their iPhones ? cinemas still offer the biggest and best way to see a movie.

"Every home has a kitchen, but you can't get into a good restaurant on Saturday night," said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros. "People want to escape. That's the nature of society. The adult population just is not going to sit home seven days a week, even though they have technology in their home that's certainly an improvement over what it was 10 years ago. People want to get out of the house, and no matter what they throw in the face of theatrical exhibition, it continues to perform at a strong level."

Even real-life violence at the movie theater didn't turn audiences away. Some moviegoers thought twice about heading to the cinema after a gunman killed 12 people and injured 58 at a screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" in Colorado last summer, but if there was any lull in attendance, it was slight and temporary. Ticket sales went on a tear for most of the fall.

While domestic revenues inch upward most years largely because of inflation, the real growth areas have been overseas, where more and more fans are eager for the next Hollywood blockbuster.

Rentrak, which compiles international box office data, expects 2012's foreign gross to be about $23 billion, 3 percent higher than in 2011. No data was yet available on the number of tickets sold overseas this past year.

International business generally used to account for less than half of a studio film's overall receipts. Films now often do two or even three times as much business overseas as they do domestically. Some movies that were duds with U.S. audiences, such as "Battleship" and "John Carter," can wind up being $200 million hits with overseas crowds.

Whether finishing a good year or a bad one, Hollywood executives always look ahead to better days, insisting that the next crop of blockbusters will be bigger than ever. The same goes this time as studio bosses hype their 2013 lineup, which includes the latest "Iron Man," ''Star Trek," ''Hunger Games" and "Thor" installments, the Superman tale "Man of Steel" and the second chapter in "The Hobbit" trilogy.

Twelve months from now, they hope to be talking about another revenue record topping this year's $10.8 billion.

"I've been saying we're going to hit that $11 billion level for about three years now," said Paul Dergarabedian, a box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "Next year I think is the year we actually do it."

___

Online:

http://www.hollywood.com

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-12-26-Film-Hollywood's%20Year/id-8b912d3dce4144818b9f9b740c1706c9

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Putin says he will sign anti-U.S. adoptions bill

MOSCOW (AP) ? Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he will sign a controversial bill barring Americans from adopting Russian children, while the Kremlin's children's rights advocate recommended extending the ban to the rest of the world.

The bill is part of the country's increasingly confrontational stance with the West and has angered some Russians who argue it victimizes children to make a political point.

The law would block dozens of Russian children now in the process of being adopted by American families from leaving the country and cut off a major route out of often-dismal orphanages. The U.S. is the biggest destination for adopted Russian children ? more than 60,000 of them have been taken in by Americans over the past two decades.

"I still don't see any reasons why I should not sign it," Putin said at a televised meeting. He went on to say that he "intends" to do so.

UNICEF estimates that there are about 740,000 children not in parental custody in Russia, while only 18,000 Russians are now waiting to adopt a child. Russian officials say they want to encourage more Russians to adopt Russian orphans.

Children's rights ombudsman Pavel Astakhov on Thursday petitioned the president to extend the ban to other countries.

"There is huge money and questionable people involved in the semi-legal schemes of exporting children," he tweeted.

Kremlin critics say Astakhov is trying to extend the ban only to get more publicity and win more favors with Putin. A graduate of the KGB law school and a celebrity lawyer, Astakhov was a pro-Putin activist before becoming children's rights ombudsman and is now seen as the Kremlin's voice on adoption issues.

"This is cynicism beyond limits," opposition leader Ilya Yashin tweeted. "The children rights ombudsman is depriving children of a future."

The bill is retaliation for an American law that calls for sanctions against Russian officials deemed to be human rights violators.

The U.S. law, called the Magnitsky Act, stems from the case of Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer who died in jail after being arrested by police officers whom he accused of a $230 million tax fraud. The law prohibits officials allegedly involved in his death from entering the U.S.

Kremlin critics say that means Russian officials who own property in the West and send their children to Western schools would lose access to their assets and families.

Putin said U.S. authorities routinely let Americans suspected of violence toward Russian adoptees go unpunished ? a clear reference to Dima Yakovlev, a Russian toddler for whom the adoption bill is named. The child was adopted by Americans and then died in 2008 after his father left him in a car in broiling heat for hours. The father was found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

The U.S. State Department says it regrets the Russian Parliament's decision to pass the bill, saying it would prevent many children from growing up in families.

Astakhov said Wednesday that 46 children who were about to be adopted in the U.S. would remain in Russia if the bill comes into effect.

The passage of the bill follows weeks of a hysterical media campaign on Kremlin-controlled television that lambasts American adoptive parents and adoption agencies that allegedly bribe their way into getting Russian children.

A few lawmakers claimed that some Russian children were adopted by Americans only to be used for organ transplants and become sex toys or cannon fodder for the U.S. Army. A spokesman with Russia's dominant Orthodox Church said that the children adopted by foreigners and raised outside the church will not "enter God's kingdom."

Critics of the bill have left dozens of stuffed toys and candles outside the parliament's lower and upper houses to express solidarity with Russian orphans.

___

Mansur Mirovalev contributed to this report

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/putin-says-sign-anti-us-adoptions-bill-122506016.html

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Pope's Christmas message pushes for peace in Syria, Nigeria ...

Franco Origlia / Getty Images

Pope Benedict XVI delivers his Christmas Day message from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica on Christmas day in Vatican City.

By Reuters

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict used his Christmas message to the world on Tuesday to say people should never lose hope for peace, even in conflict-riven Syria and in Nigeria where he spoke of "terrorism" against Christians.

Marking the eighth Christmas season of his pontificate, the 85-year-old read his "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) message to tens of thousands of people in St Peter's Square and to millions of others watching around the world.

Paul J. Richards / AFP - Getty Images

In churches and bus stations, on water skis and bicycles, people from the Middle East to middle America celebrate Christmas.

Delivering Christmas greetings in 65 languages, Benedict underscored his view that the hope represented by Christmas should never die, even in the most dire of situations.

Pilgrims, locals mark Christmas in Bethlehem

In his virtual tour of the some of the world's trouble spots, he reserved his toughest words for Syria, Nigeria and Mali.

"Yes, may peace spring up for the people of Syria, deeply wounded and divided by a conflict which does not spare even the defenseless and reaps innocent victims," he said.

"Once again I appeal for an end to the bloodshed, easier access for the relief of refugees and the displaced, and dialogue in the pursuit of a political solution to the conflict."

The leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics also condemned conflicts in Mali and Nigeria, two countries where Islamist groups have waged violent campaigns.

Reverends Gabriel and Jeanette Salguero of the Multicultural Lambs Church in New York City, talk about how to find the true spirit of Christmas and how to incorporate that into your daily life year round.

Bombings, amputations
"May the birth of Christ favor the return of peace in Mali and that of concord in Nigeria, where savage acts of terrorism continue to reap victims, particularly among Christians," he said.

In Nigeria, the Islamist sect Boko Haram has killed hundreds in its campaign to impose sharia law in the north of the country, targeting a number of churches.

In Mali, a mix of Islamists with links to al Qaeda have occupied the country's north since April, destroying much of the region's religious heritage. They have also carried out amputations to help impose strict Islamic law on a population that has practiced a more moderate form of Islam for centuries.

At midnight mass in the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, the cradle of Christianity, the message was of peace, love and goodwill to all mankind. NBC's Martin Fletcher reports.

Benedict also held out a Christmas olive branch to the new government in China, asking is members to "esteem the contributions of religions". China does not allow its Catholics to recognize the pope's authority, forcing them to be members of a parallel state-backed Church.

Late on Monday night, Benedict presided over a Christmas Eve Mass in St Peter's Basilica, where he urged people to find room for God in their fast-paced lives filled with the latest technological gadgets.

"Do we have time and space for him? Do we not actually turn away God himself? We begin to do so when we have no time for him," he said.

Scientists unravel secret of Rudolph's red nose

Archbishop: Christianity still relevant
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, who leads the global 80-million-strong Anglican Communion, said in his Christmas day sermon that the answer to the question of whether Christianity had "had its day" was a "resounding no".

"Silent Night" is a favorite carol that has been translated into hundreds of dialects, but it had a most humble birth not far from Salzburg, Austria. NBC's Michelle Kosinski takes a visit to Salzburg to explore the history of the carol from its very beginnings, through its most remarkable performance on Christmas Eve, 1914.

Last month, the Church of England narrowly voted against allowing women bishops - to the dismay of Williams and Prime Minister David Cameron - in a move its leaders said risked undermining its role as the established church in society with clerics in parliament's upper chamber.

The media, many politicians and some members of the public have criticized the Church of England for failing to allow women bishops and for failing to back government plans for gay marriage at a time when it is under pressure to modernize.

More world stories from NBC News:

Follow World News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/25/16143940-popes-christmas-message-pushes-for-peace-in-syria-nigeria

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Michael Shammas: For a Better Society, Teach Philosophy in High ...

The past year gives one the suspicion that American society is dysfunctional. Our Congress is useless, our institutions inept. Faced with the terror of existence, young men like Adam Lanza react with violence. Faced with manageable problems such as a "fiscal cliff," our democracy self-destructs. Anger is everywhere; understanding is nowhere.

Although a democratic society cannot function unless its citizens are able to rationally debate one another, rationality is missing from American politics. We assail our political enemies with intractable opinions and self-righteous anger. An ugly bitterness pervades everything. Meanwhile, our country is slowly but surely committing suicide.

It seems to me that this dysfunctional political dialogue, which stems from the iron certainty we grant our opinions, is the most pressing problem confronting 21st century America. In fact, it is a crisis. For without the ability to carry on a useful dialogue, we cannot solve our greatest challenges, or even our smallest ones.

This begs the question: How can we solve this crisis? Because the capacity to debate requires the capacity to think, I believe the answer lies in philosophy.

Why philosophy? Because the study of philosophy, the "love of wisdom," creates and nurtures thoughtful minds, minds that can -- as Aristotle suggests -- entertain a thought without accepting it. With a philosophic worldview, a Republican who despises any tax increase or economic stimulus could at least consider the notion of tax hikes or Keynesian economics. A Democrat facing antithetical ideas could do likewise. Thought rather than anger could become the default response to opposing worldviews.

Indeed, philosophy can do a great deal to lessen the anger that is growing like a cancerous tumor in modern America. The tools exist in both Eastern and Western thought -- in the Stoic exhortation to accept the present as it is, in Buddhist meditation, in the Humanist's transcendent appeal to reason, in Kant's categorical imperative. Philosophy can help us inculcate virtue for, in the words of Socrates, "knowledge is virtue."

While some philosophies obviously conduce toward peace more than others, while some philosophers (Marcus Aurelius) seem kinder than others (Nietzsche), the open-minded study of different philosophies at least opens one up to the possibility that one is wrong. One realizes, like Socrates did, that knowledge is anything but certain, that true wisdom lies in realizing how much one does not know, in understanding that our knowledge of the universe (and therefore of earthly things like politics) is utterly inadequate, perhaps comparable to the area of a pin's tip against a table. This realization makes one less angry when confronted with opposing views, replacing counterproductive anger with productive curiosity.

Despite the benefits of the philosophic mindset, we do not cultivate this mindset in our children. In fact, philosophy is almost entirely absent from American schools. For example, there is no AP (Advanced Placement) Philosophy course. While some high schoolers may have heard of Socrates, Plato, or Aristotle, most do not truly understand their philosophies -- much less the philosophies of men like Descartes, Schopenhauer, or Nietzsche. This is shameful, because a person who does not understand the history of thought does not understand the rationality behind our political system.

In fact, the first time I read a philosopher was not until my first semester of college. My professor assigned Plato's Republic, and while at first I (admittedly) did not understand anything, eventually I became absolutely enamored with this incredible man. Here was a person who had thought about so many of the same things I had, albeit thousands of years ago and with much more sophistication than I could ever muster. What is justice? What is truth? Why do people suffer? Is there an afterlife? These are the questions that children ask their parents, the questions that scare us most, and perhaps because of this fear we do not consider them when we grow up.

I think this is a great mistake. We should consider these questions. For by reading philosophy, I became less frightened of them. I no longer shirked away from contemplating death (thanks Epicurus) or morality (thanks Kant) or misfortune (thanks Epictetus). More, I realized that anger -- in both politics and everyday life -- is largely a reaction to fear, and that this fear can be lessened exponentially through the sort of reflection philosophy fosters.

I don't know why philosophy isn't taught in high school. Perhaps the subject seems too esoteric or pretentious. Perhaps there is a fear that philosophy could encroach on the sort of questions religion purports to answer -- "how should one live," "how should one die," and so on. Some parents may feel uncomfortable with the idea of their children receiving answers to "the big questions" from Socrates and Plato as well as from Jesus and Paul.

This fear is unfounded. In general, philosophy does not squander religion; it merely exhorts one to understand the world by opening one's mind. It encourages one to consider multiple possibilities (unlike our politicians), only accepting the possibility that appeals to one's innate sense of reason. In a diseased society that is filled with so much anger and bitterness -- indeed, with so much madness -- we could do worse than expose our children to philosophy. In fact, such exposure would teach our children to react to problems with an inquisitive rather than angry mind -- a concept that the children in Congress have not yet grasped.

To those who say philosophy is impractical (and thus that learning how to think is impractical) I say: nonsense. Our society is dysfunctional because we have forgotten how to think, if we ever truly knew how to think at all. Although we as a society believe we are in possession of all truth, we are not. To study philosophy is to learn how woefully ignorant we are, and this knowledge can perhaps teach us humility, can perhaps suggest to us that the other side may have some value after all.

So my point is this: Our diseased political system is in dire need of a hefty dose of philosophy, and the best way to inject this dose into American society is to start at the stem -- to raise our children to have a philosophic mindset by teaching philosophy in schools.

In the process we will, slowly but surely, be raising Americans who possess the capacity to respond to problems with inquisitive rather than angry minds, perhaps ending this suicidal gridlock.

I hope it is not too late.

?

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victorrusso23: Shopping And Product Reviews: Toys Article ...

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Ga. counties sue HSBC claiming loss of tax base

ATLANTA (AP) ? Three Atlanta-area counties have filed a lawsuit claiming that British bank HSBC cost them hundreds of millions of dollars in extra expenses and damage to their tax bases by aggressively signing minorities to housing loans that were likely to fail.

The Georgia counties' failure or success with the relatively novel strategy could help determine whether other local governments try to hold big banks accountable for losses in tax revenue based on what they claim are discriminatory or predatory lending practices. Similar lawsuits resulted in settlements this year worth millions of dollars for communities in Maryland and Tennessee.

Fulton, DeKalb and Cobb counties say in their lawsuit, which was filed in October, that the housing foreclosure crisis was the "foreseeable and inevitable result" of big banks, such as HSBC and its American subsidiaries, aggressively pushing irresponsible loans or loans that were destined to fail. The counties say that crisis has caused them tremendous damage.

"It's not only the personal damage that was done to people in our communities," said DeKalb County Commissioner Jeff Rader. "That has a ripple effect on our tax digest and the demand for public services in these areas."

The city of Atlanta straddles Fulton and DeKalb counties, while Cobb County is northwest of the city.

The lawsuit says the banks violated the Fair Housing Act, which provides protections against housing or renting policies or practices, including lending, that discriminate on the basis race, color, national origin, religion, sex, family status or handicap.

The counties say their tax digests ? which represent the value of all property subject to tax ? have declined from a high point in 2009. Fulton's tax digest has dropped about 12 percent, from $32.7 billion to $28.7 billion; DeKalb's has dropped about 20 percent, from $22 billion to $17.5 billion; and Cobb's has dropped about 15 percent, from $25.5 billion to $21.3 billion, the lawsuit says. That reduces their ability to provide critical services in their communities, the lawsuit says.

In addition to reducing tax income, vacant or abandoned homes that are in or near foreclosure create additional costs for the counties, the lawsuit says. Their housing code and legal departments have to investigate and respond to code violations, including having to board up, tear down or repair unsafe homes. They have to deal with public health concerns, such as pest infestations, ruptured water pipes, accumulated garbage and unkempt yards. And fire and police departments have to respond to health and safety threats.

The lawsuit says predatory lending practices include: targeting vulnerable borrowers for mortgage loans with unfavorable terms; directing credit-worthy borrowers to more costly loans; putting unreasonable terms, excessive fees or pre-payment penalties into mortgage loans; basing loan values on inflated or fraudulent appraisals; and refinancing a loan without benefit to the borrower.

The counties are asking the court to order the bank to stop its behavior and to take steps to prevent similar predatory lending in the future. They are also seeking financial compensation for the damages they've suffered and punitive damages to punish the bank for its "willful, wanton and reckless conduct." The counties say the financial injury they've suffered is in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Andrew Sandler, a lawyer for HSBC and its subsidiaries, said he couldn't comment on the case. A federal judge has given the bank until Jan. 25 to respond to the counties' complaint.

Lawyers for the counties declined interviews on the case, but one of them, Jeffrey Harris, said in an emailed statement that they are continuing to investigate other banks and could file additional complaints.

Similar suits were filed against Wells Fargo by the city of Memphis and surrounding Shelby County in Tennessee in 2009 and by the city of Baltimore in 2008. Those suits were settled earlier this year. Both settlements included $3 million to the local governments for economic development or housing programs and $4.5 million in down payment assistance to homeowners, as well as a lending goal of $425 million for residents over the subsequent five years, according to media accounts.

As in those cases, the lawsuit filed by the Georgia counties says the bank, in this case HSBC, targeted communities with high percentages of Fair Housing Act-protected minority residents, particularly blacks and Hispanics.

"Communities with high concentrations of such potential borrowers, and the potential borrowers themselves, were targeted because of the traditional lack of access to competitive credit choices in these communities and the resulting willingness of FHA protected minority borrowers to accept credit on uncompetitive rates," the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit says minority borrowers were disproportionately targeted with high-cost loans between 2004 and 2007.

Before the beginning of the subprime lending boom in 2003, annual foreclosure rates in metro Atlanta averaged below 1 percent, but U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development data show that the estimated foreclosure rates for each of the three counties now average more than 9 percent and are as high as 18 percent in the communities with the highest percentages of minority borrowers, the lawsuit says.

It is the alleged targeting of minority communities that entitles the counties to seek action against HSBC for loss of tax income and other expenses, the lawsuit says.

"If you can show that you yourself have suffered harm by an illegal act under the Fair Housing Act, even if you are not the target, even if you are not the intended victim, you can still sue to stop the behavior and to recover any damages that you can prove you suffered because of the violation of the Fair Housing Act," said Steve Dane, a lawyer whose firm was involved in the Memphis and Baltimore lawsuits.

The costs incurred by counties because of high rates of foreclosure are reflected in court records and related fees for each home, and police and fire departments can calculate the costs of responding to a given address, Dane said. He said it takes a lot of time and effort to gather the necessary records to prove the harm.

Another discouraging factor could be a lack of political will, said Lisa Rice, vice president of the National Fair Housing Alliance.

"Politicians may not want to go up against the banks," she said, adding that there will likely be other local governments that give this a try but she doubts the number will be high.

But Jaime Dodge, an assistant law professor at the University of Georgia, says she thinks more cases are likely, at least in the short term as municipal governments continue to feel the squeeze of a tight economy and seek ways to refill their coffers. They may try to test federal courts in different parts of the country, she said. Successes in multiple jurisdictions could lead to more attempts, but if courts start knocking the suits down that would likely discourage them, she said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-12-24-US-Counties-Foreclosure-Lawsuit/id-76cc8b9f1e714f639da86672c294172c

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