Proof that money can't buy happiness

Bukti bahwa uang tidak bisa membeli kebahagiaan: John Paul Getty III dihancurkan oleh miliaran keluarganya Selama tiga dekade, John Paul Getty III telah dihukum hidup di kursi roda - disuapi, berpakaian dan dimandikan oleh perawat sepanjang waktu, tidak dapat melihat dengan baik, berjalan atau berbicara , dan hanya bisa berkomunikasi dengan teriakan bernada tinggi.

Dia telah berada dalam keadaan sedih ini sejak tahun 1981 ketika, pada usia 24 tahun, dia lumpuh karena stroke yang disebabkan oleh overdosis obat yang diinduksi sendiri. Dan tidak ada jumlah uang—dan banyak—yang dapat membuatnya sehat kembali.

Pada saat itu, hidup yang singkat tidak beruntung. Overdosis terjadi hanya delapan tahun setelah dia dipecat, ditahan selama lima bulan di sebuah gua di Italia utara, ditebus dan dibebaskan hanya setelah telinga kanannya yang terputus dan kehancuran tiba melalui pos (ada pemogokan pos pada saat itu dan itu mendekam di kantor penyiortiran Roma selama tiga minggu).

Kematiannya akhir pekan ini di rumah keluarga Getty di Buckinghamshire menandai pembayaran terakhir yang menyedihkan, tidak hanya dalam kehidupannya yang terkutuk, tetapi juga dalam kisah sedih yang menyedihkan di rumah Getty.

Karena John Paul III yang berusia 54 tahun adalah pewaris salah satu kekayaan terbesar (dan paling tidak bahagia) di dunia. Dia adalah cucu Paul Getty, mendiang baron minyak, miliarder, perayu wanita dan pelit legendaris, dan putra Sir Paul Getty II, dermawan yang memberikan lebih dari £140 juta untuk tujuan baik tetapi menolak membayar tagihan medis putra sulungnya.

Tragedi, penghancuran diri, dan perusakan mengalir melalui keluarga Getty seperti lapisan gelap. Seperti yang ditulis oleh seorang komentator: 'Mereka dilahirkan dengan sendok emas di mulut mereka dan karenanya mereka tersedak.'


Kematian Jean Paul Getty III akhir pekan ini di rumah keluarga Getty di Buckinghamshire menandai cicilan terakhir yang sedih dalam kisah sedih yang menyedihkan di rumah Getty

Semuanya dimulai dengan kakek John Paul III, Paul Getty. Dia adalah orang terkaya di dunia tetapi memasang telepon umum untuk tamu di lorong rumahnya di Surrey, hanya menggunakan amplop bekas dan pernah membuat sekelompok teman menunggu di luar pertunjukan anjing selama 15 menit sehingga mereka bisa masuk setengahnya. -harga.

Dia tidak murah hati dengan cintanya seperti dia dengan uangnya. Paul II muda jarang melihat ayahnya selama 23 tahun pertamanya (orang tuanya berpisah ketika dia berusia tiga tahun) dan korespondensi menyakitkan — surat-surat Paul II dikembalikan tanpa jawaban tetapi dengan kesalahan ejaan digarisbawahi dan dikoreksi dengan hati-hati oleh ayahnya.

Dan pada kesempatan yang sangat jarang mereka makan bersama, ayahnya akan memotong biaya makan dari uang sakunya.

Tetapi mereka memiliki satu kesamaan - tidak adanya keterampilan mengasuh anak. Paul II juga seorang ayah yang mengerikan.

 Kaya tapi jahat: Paul Getty adalah orang terkaya di dunia pada satu titik, tapi tidak murah hati dengan cintanya seperti dengan uangnya

Semuanya dimulai dengan baik. Pada tahun 1956, dalam usia 24 tahun, Paul menikahi Gail, kekasih masa kecilnya dan mantan juara polo air. John Paul III lahir pada tahun yang sama, setelah itu keluarganya pindah ke Roma di mana Paul mengepalai operasi Italia Getty Oil dan di mana Aileen, Mark dan Ariadne lahir.

Paul dan Gail adalah pasangan muda yang berkuasa di sekitar kota, berpindah dari pesta ke pesta.

Tapi tahun-tahun bahagia itu berumur pendek. Kepala Paul segera dipalingkan oleh wanita lain, alkohol dan obat-obatan keras, pernikahannya hancur dan, pada tahun 1975, setelah diputus oleh ayahnya ('tidak ada Getty yang akan menjadi pecandu narkoba') dia menikah dengan Talitha Pol, yang cantik dan tidak stabil . cucu tiri master Augustus John.

Pada usia 15 tahun Jean Paul III telah dikeluarkan dari tujuh sekolah, secara teratur menggunakan narkoba dan berpose telanjang untuk majalah seks.

Sudah kecanduan, pasangan itu pergi ke Maroko, di mana Paul membeli sebuah rumah besar bernama The Pleasure Palace, mengadakan pesta pora bergaya Romawi dan mengonsumsi sebotol rum dan satu gram heroin sehari.

Rusak dan kelelahan karena semua pesta, Talitha kemudian bunuh diri dengan overdosis heroin sementara suaminya berbaring di sampingnya di tempat tidur.

Sekarang giliran Yohanes Paulus III untuk keluar jalur. Dia telah ditinggalkan oleh ayahnya dan kehilangan panutan ketika dia berusia sembilan tahun, dan pada usia 15 tahun dia telah dikeluarkan dari tujuh sekolah, secara teratur menggunakan narkoba dan berpose telanjang untuk majalah seks.

Dia juga memiliki banyak kekasih yang lebih tua, telah ditangkap karena melemparkan bom molotov selama demonstrasi sayap kiri dan telah menghancurkan banyak mobil dan sepeda motor.

 Wordless: John Paul Getty III dikelilingi oleh wartawan dan polisi saat dia meninggalkan kantor polisi setempat di Italia Selatan setelah dibebaskan oleh penculik yang memotong telinga kanannya

Kemudian pada 10 Juli 1973, ketika dia baru berusia 16 tahun, dia diculik di Roma oleh sekelompok bandit Calabria, yang menuntut uang tebusan sebesar £11 juta.

Karena ayah Yohanes Paulus III telah dipotong dari miliaran keluarga, jumlah itu di luar kemampuannya, dan kakeknya yang kaya raya menolak untuk membayar, bersikeras: 'Saya punya 14 cucu lagi dan jika saya membayar satu sen sekarang, maka saya akan memiliki 14 cucu yang diculik'.

'Dear Mummy, jangan biarkan aku dibunuh... Bayar, aku mohon, bayarlah secepatnya jika kau ingin aku baik-baik saja' tulisnya sambil dirantai ke tiang di sebuah gua

Tapi dia diam-diam curiga penculikan itu adalah tipu muslihat oleh keturunannya yang kecanduan narkoba untuk memeras uang darinya.

Jadi Yohanes Paulus III yang malang disimpan di sebuah gua di pegunungan Calabria, di mana, dirantai ke sebuah tiang, dia menulis surat putus asa kepada ibunya dengan tulisan tangannya yang besar dan kekanak-kanakan - 'Ibu tersayang, jangan biarkan aku dibunuh.. Bayar, saya mohon, bayar secepatnya jika Anda ingin saya baik-baik saja' — dan dipukuli serta disiksa selama lima bulan.

Terobosan itu terjadi setelah tawanannya memotong telinga kanannya - dengan pisau cukur dan tanpa obat bius - dan menempelkannya bersama sejumput rambutnya dan catatan yang diketik ke kantor Il Messaggero, salah satu surat kabar harian terbesar di Roma.

Getty senior, sang kakek, akhirnya menawarkan £2,1 juta kepada para penculik, tetapi hanya dengan syarat ketat bahwa putranya membayarnya secara penuh, ditambah bunga empat persen.

Setelah dithering yang mengerikan dan pengalaman yang begitu mengerikan, mungkin tidak mengherankan bahwa Yohanes Paulus III tidak berterima kasih kepada ayah atau kakeknya — atau membersihkan tindakannya.



Tidak dicintai di masa mudanya: Jean Paul III telah dikeluarkan dari tujuh sekolah pada usia 15 tahun dan secara teratur menggunakan narkoba

Sebaliknya, ia melanjutkan pestanya dengan semangat lebih dari sebelumnya dan, pada usia 18 tahun, menikah dengan Martine Zacher, seorang model Jerman tujuh tahun lebih tua darinya yang mengenakan pakaian hitam dari ujung ke ujung untuk pernikahan mereka di Sienna dan yang harus menopangnya selama pesta. sumpah karena ia begitu melamun pada obat-obatan.

Sekarang giliran Yohanes Paulus III yang disingkirkan oleh kakeknya — menurut aturan kepercayaan keluarganya, dia dilarang menikah sampai dia berusia 25 tahun.

Jadi dia lebih banyak terhibur dengan narkoba dan alkohol dan, pada tahun 1981 - lima tahun setelah mereka pindah ke Los Angeles dan Martine melahirkan putra tunggal mereka, Balthazar (yang sekarang menjadi aktor Hollywood; pada tahun 2008, dia berselingkuh dengan Sienna. Miller) - dia mengalami overdosis yang membuatnya lumpuh.

Yohanes Paulus III tetap koma selama enam minggu. Ketika dia sadar kembali, tingkat kerusakan yang mengerikan terungkap. Dia hampir buta, tidak dapat berbicara dan lumpuh.

'Semuanya hilang,' kata Bill Newsom, ayah baptisnya. "Semuanya kecuali pikirannya." Dia baru berusia 24 tahun. Bahkan kemudian, Gettys dan miliaran mereka mengecewakannya. Ibunya, Gail, menerimanya, tetapi tidak mampu membayar tagihan medis £16.000 per bulan. Dan ayahnya - yang akhirnya keluar dari kabut narkoba untuk menjadi Anglophile, dermawan, dan ksatria yang mengoceh (ia diinvestasikan pada tahun 1996 setelah menjadi warga negara Inggris) - menolak untuk membantu, mengklaim bahwa putranya telah membeli semuanya untuk dirinya sendiri.

Dia, bagaimanapun, memberikan £ 50 juta ke Galeri Nasional, £ 40 juta ke Institut Film Inggris, £ 2 juta untuk pendirian baru di lapangan kriket Lord dan jutaan lainnya di sana-sini untuk apa yang dia anggap sebagai 'baik penyebab'.

Paul Getty sekarang telah mengatasi kesulitan keuangan apa pun - ayahnya telah meninggal pada tahun 1976 dan dia telah mewarisi jutaan melalui perwalian keluarga dan neneknya.

Hanya setelah menuntut ayahnya, John Paul III dapat pindah ke rumah yang diadaptasi secara khusus di Beverly Hills dengan staf penuh dan peralatan medis senilai ratusan ribu pound yang tersembunyi di balik pintu kayu yang licin.

Selama 30 tahun penahanannya - sebagian besar dihabiskan untuk tinggal bersama ibunya yang berbakti di rumah-rumah mewah di tepi Lough Derg di Irlandia dan di Italia utara - dia jarang tampil di depan umum.

Suatu kali, pada pertengahan tahun delapan puluhan, dia muncul di kursi rodanya di klub malam Tramp di London. 

Dan pada bulan September 2003, tampak kurus, angker dan kacau, dia menghadiri pemakaman ayahnya di Westminster Abbey.

Yang menarik, teman-teman bersikukuh bahwa, terlepas dari cacat fisik dan perilaku keluarganya yang mengerikan, Yohanes Paulus III tidak getir dan mempertahankan pendekatan hidup yang 'indah dan menggembirakan'.

Jika dia melakukannya, itu benar-benar luar biasa. Tetapi sulit untuk dibayangkan - karena itu tidak mungkin seumur hidup, dikutuk oleh uang, dirusak oleh perseteruan keluarga, dilukai oleh obat-obatan dan kelaparan akan cinta kebapakan. (dailymail.co.uk)

READ MORE - Proof that money can't buy happiness

Tips for Charitable Giving

Tips for Charitable Giving. What to know before turning over the dough. It can be a challenge to decide which charity should receive your hard-earned dollars. Should you support the environmental group that just knocked on your door, the police association that called to ask for your support or the children’s charity that sent you a letter with a heart-wrenching picture of an orphan?

None of them, charity experts say. Instead, you should pick the charities and give money before being asked. Not only are you more likely to find groups whose missions matter to you, but your money will go further. 

When donors give money in response to a fund-raising appeal, only a portion of the gift goes for the charity's mission, according to the American Institute of Philanthropy. The rest will be spent on the cost of the appeal.

Here are some other tips to help make sure your money is well spent.

1. Give to groups you know

It's not always possible, of course, but experts say it's the best thing to do. “Be very reluctant to give to strangers,” says Dan Moore, vice president of public affairs for Guide Star, an online source of financial information on charities. “If you know the organization and you know their work, you will know with some degree of confidence that your gift will be put to good use.”

2. Make sure the charity is the one you think it is

That police association may be based in another state, and do nothing for your local officers. The group that says it grants wishes for sick children may have deliberately adopted a name similar to a well-respected organization. Don’t assume you know the group or what it does.

3. Ask if your gift is tax-deductible

Some nonprofit organizations that solicit gifts are not charities, meaning that you can’t deduct your donation at tax time. 

4. Make sure you understand the group's work

Charities tackle problems in different ways. For example, groups that try to lower the rate of teenage pregnancy may do so by teaching sex education, by promoting sexual abstinence or by offering programs that aim to build self-esteem among teen girls. “There’s no single right answer,” says GuideStar’s Moore. “You want to give a gift that’s addressing a cause that tugs at your heartstrings, in a way that best addresses your needs.” 

5. Make sure the charity is legitimate

The Internal Revenue Service maintains a list of all organizations registered as charities. Also check with your state’s attorney general or charities bureau, which is responsible for policing charities within the state and can provide a wealth of information about them. Don’t know your state’s charity regulator? Go to www.nasconet.org, a national association of state charity officers, to find yours. 

6. Don’t be afraid to ask questions

Charities are required to provide information about their programs and expenses. Start with these questions: How will my gift be spent? How many people did you help last year? In what way? If you don’t get adequate answers, don’t give anything. 

7. Find out about expenses

Even if the charity is a good one, you might feel cheated if you later find out that most of your gift went to pay the people who called you up and asked for money, or to pay the salaries of the group's top officers. In general, efficient groups will spend at least 65 percent of their funds on the causes they support, says Laurie Styron, an analyst with the Chicago-based American Institute of Philanthropy, which rates charities for donors. 

The percentage may be lower for groups that support controversial causes such as abortion rights, since those groups have more trouble raising money. You can ask the charity for this information, which it is required to provide, or search the Web. The New York attorney general’s office, for example, has for years published an annual report, “Pennies for Charity,” that details how much money specific charities receive from various telephone appeals. 

8. Think twice before giving to a university or hospital

While worthy, these institutions are also the heavyweights of the fundraising world, bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars a year. For example, Harvard University’s endowment, the amount of money it has tucked away in savings, now stands at more than $25 billion. 

Meanwhile, soup kitchens, homeless shelters and other groups often struggle to raise enough to keep going. Many arts organizations also have trouble balancing their budgets. Such groups may not have the resources to solicit funds from you, but that doesn’t mean they won’t appreciate your gift and make good use of it.

9. Volunteer

This can be a great way to get information about a charity before giving money. Hands-on experience will tell you how well-managed the organization is and how effectively it accomplishes its mission. 

10. Protect yourself.

Don’t give out credit card or personal information in response to phone, e-mail or door-to-door appeals: They may be fraudulent. If giving online, locate the charity’s Web site yourself rather than linking through an e-mail. Above all, don’t give cash. Your best bet is to mail a check to the organization.

If you'd like more information on a particular charity, a good starting point is the charity’s own Web site, which should include details about programs and how gifts are spent, as well as financial information such as an annual report. Another source of free information is Guidestar, which posts copies of charities’ federal tax filings, or state charity regulators. 

The American Institute of Philanthropy; Charity Navigator; and the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance also offer ratings of charities. Some of the information is available free. For Christian charities, check out Ministry Watch or the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, which will tell you whether a charity is registered with them. ( msnbc.msn.com )

READ MORE - Tips for Charitable Giving

Top 10 Sleep Mistakes And Their Solutions

Top 10 Sleep Mistakes And Their Solutions .  Although we may not like to admit it, many of the sleep problems we experience are the result of bad habits and behaviors. We stay up late or sleep in late. We eat foods that disagree with us or enjoy a drink late at night, oblivious to their disruptive impact on our sleep rhythms. 

Over time, we teach our body not to sleep and for relief we often turn to sleeping pills, which mask rather than solve the problem, and can lead to addiction. Ultimately for real success, with insomnia as with any chronic problem, one must look for the underlying imbalances and root causes and address those. Here are the common sleep “mistakes” I see in my practice and their solutions

Mistake #1: Not keeping a consistent sleep schedule. We often think we can make up for lost sleep by going to bed extra early another night but the body clock’s ability to regulate healthy sleep patterns depends on consistency. We stay up late on weekends, expecting to make up sleep later or use the weekend to make up for lost sleep during the week. Both practices disrupt bodily rhythms and late night weekends in particular can cause insomnia during the workweek. 

Solution: Create a routine and stick to it. Getting up and going to bed around the same time, even on weekends, is the most important thing you can do to establish good sleep habits. Our bodies thrive on regularity and a consistent sleep schedule is the best reinforcement for the body’s internal clock. Waking and sleeping at set times reinforces a consistent sleep rhythm and reminds the brain when to release sleep and wake hormones, and more importantly, when not to. 

Mistake #2: Using long naps to counter sleep loss. Long naps during the day especially after 4pm or even brief nods in the evening while watching TV can damage a good sleep rhythm and keep you from enjoying a full sleep at night. 

Solution: Nap for no more than 30 minutes. If naps are absolutely necessary, make sure you only nap once a day and keep it under 1/2 hour and before 4 pm. In general, short naps may not hurt sleep and in fact a short siesta for half an hour after lunch or a 20 minute power nap before 4 pm works well for many people. 

Mistake #3: Not preparing for sleep. Expecting the body to go from full speed to a standstill without slowing down first is unrealistic. Our bodies need time to produce enough sleep neurotransmitters to send feedback signals to the brain’s sleep center, which will result in the release of sleep hormones to allow you to sleep. 

Solution: Take the time to slowly shift into sleep.
  1. Create an electronic sundown: By 10 pm, stop sitting in front of a computer screen (or TV screen) and switch off all electronic devices. They are too stimulating to the brain and will cause you to stay awake longer.
  2. Prepare for bed. Dim the lights an hour or more before going to bed, take a warm bath, listen to calming music or soothing sounds, do some restorative yoga or relaxation exercises. Getting your mind and body ready for sleep is essential. Remove any distractions (mentally and physically) that will prevent you from sleeping.
Mistake #4: Not giving your body the right sleep signals. Our bodies depend on signals to tell them when to fall asleep and wake up, the two most fundamental ones being darkness and light. But we live and work in artificially lit environments and often miss out on the strongest regulatory signal of all, natural sunlight. When we go to sleep and our bodies need complete darkness for production of the important sleep hormone, melatonin, our bedrooms are not pitch dark, thereby interfering with this key process. 

Solution: At night, keep the room as dark as possible. Look around your bedroom: the alarm clock read-out that glows in bright red; the charging indicator on your cell phone or PDA, the monitor on your computer, the battery indicator on the cordless phone or answering machine, the DVD clock and timer. Even the tiniest bit of light in the room can disrupt your pineal gland’s production of sleep hormones and therefore disturb your sleep rhythms. Conceal or move the clock, cover all the lights of any electronic device and use dark shades or drapes on the windows if they are exposed to light. If all of that is not possible, wear an eye mask. If you get up in the middle of the night, try keeping the light off when you go to the bathroom. Use a flashlight or night light. 

Mistake #5: Having a bed time snack of refined grains or sugars. These are metabolic disruptors which raise blood sugar and overstress the organs involved in hormone regulation throughout the body. This hormone roller coaster can affect sleep cycles by waking you up at odd times during sleep as the hormone levels fluctuate. 

Solution: If you have to eat, have a high-protein snack. It is better not to have anything before bed but at least a high protein snack will not only prevent the hormone roller coaster, but also may provide L-tryptophan, an amino acid needed to produce melatonin. 

Mistake #6: Using sleeping pills to fall and stay asleep. Sleeping pills mask sleep problems and do not resolve the underlying cause of insomnia. Many sleep studies have concluded that sleeping pills, whether prescription or over the counter, over the long term, do more harm than good. They can be highly addictive and studies have found them to be potentially dangerous. For short term use, there may be indications for sleeping pills, but over time, sleeping pills can actually make insomnia worse, not better. If you have been taking them for a long time, ask our doctor to help you design a regimen to wean yourself off them. 

Solution: Learn relaxation techniques. Aside from physical problems, stress may be the number one cause of sleep disorders. Temporary stress can lead to chronic insomnia and circadian rhythm sleep disorders. Many people tell me they can’t switch off their racing minds and therefore can’t sleep. Do some breathing exercises, restorative yoga or meditation. These will calm the mind and reduce the fears and worries that trigger the stress. 

Mistake #7: Using Alcohol to fall asleep. Because of alcohol’s sedating effect, many people with insomnia drink alcohol to promote sleep. Alcohol does have an initial sleep inducing effect, but as it gets broken down by the body, it usually impairs sleep during the second half of the night leading to a reduction in overall sleep time. Habitual alcohol consumption just before bedtime can reduce its sleep-inducing effect, while its disruptive effects continue or even increase. 

Solution: Take nutrients that calm the body and mind, getting you ready for sleep. Don’t drink alcohol to help you sleep. Look for a calming formula that has some of the following: amino acids, L theanine, taurine, 5 HTP and GABA, and herbs like lemon balm, passion flower, chamomile and valerian root. Taking the minerals, calcium and magnesium at night is also helpful. For some people, especially we folks over 50, melatonin can be helpful too. This is because the body produces less melatonin with advancing age and may explain why elderly people often have difficulty sleeping and respond well to melatonin. 

Mistake #8: Watching television to fall asleep. Because we have no trouble at all falling asleep in the living room in front of the TV many of us watch TV in bed to fall asleep. But when we fall asleep in a bed watching TV, we invariably wake up later on. This sets up a cycle or conditioning that reinforces poor sleep at night. I have had many patients over the years develop insomnia due to this type of conditioning.

Solution: Get the TV out of the bedroom. Don’t watch TV in bed, the bed should be associated with sleep (and sex). 

Mistake #9: Staying in bed hoping to fall asleep. If you can’t fall asleep within 30-45 minutes, chances are you won’t for at least another hour, and perhaps even longer. You may have missed the open “sleep gate” or missed catching the sleep wave. A “sleep gate” is the open window of time your body will allow you to fall asleep. Researchers have found that our brain goes through several sleep cycles each night where all sleep phases are repeated. These cycles last from 90 minutes to 2 hours, and at the beginning of each cycle, the body’s ’sleep gate’ opens. You won’t be able to fall asleep when your sleep gate is closed. 

Solution: Catch the sleep wave. If you find you can’t fall asleep within 45 minutes, get up and get out of the bedroom. Read a book, do a restorative yoga pose or do some other calming activity for another 1 -1.5 hours before trying to sleep again. Staying in bed only causes stress over not sleeping. It is like surfing, you need to catch that sleep wave. Haven’t you noticed that you can be exhausted and yet you avoid going to sleep and then a few hours later when you are ready for bed, you are suddenly wide awake? You missed the wave. 

Mistake #10: Making sleep a performance issue. Often just thinking about sleep affects your ability to fall asleep. What happens frequently is that the way you cope with the insomnia becomes as much of a problem, as the insomnia itself. It often becomes a vicious cycle of worrying about not being able to sleep which leads to worsening sleep problems. Like so many things in life, it is about letting go, going with the flow. Sleep needs to become a natural rhythm like breathing, something that comes automatically and you don’t think about. 

Solution: Let go and go with the flow. Use the time to practice breathing exercises or meditation and to become aware of how what you eat, what medications you take, what behaviors or certain activities can affect your sleep cycle. Increase your awareness by paying attention to your body and becoming conscious of how you react to different foods and situations. Use this time productively instead of getting upset that you can’t fall asleep.

One final point For chronic insomniacs, especially if you are heavy snorer, it is a good idea to rule out Sleep Apnea as the cause. This is a serious condition that affects at least 12 million Americans, many of whom have not been diagnosed. Usually they are heavy snorers. 

What happens is that the tissues at the back of the throat relax and in so doing block the airways. The brain senses oxygen deprivation, and sends wakeup signals. There is a release of adrenaline and cortisol, the stress hormone. Not only does this interfere with sleep, it can increase blood pressure, raising your risk of heart problems and stroke. It can also interfere with insulin sensitivity, and increases your risk of diabetes. ( drfranklipman.com )
READ MORE - Top 10 Sleep Mistakes And Their Solutions

Satanic rapists on trial

Satanic rapists on trial. Two young people are being tried in Russia for organizing a Satan-worshiping sect. Their adepts were subjected to abuse during gatherings, while some girls, including those below the age of consent, were molested. 

 The sect named “Nobilis Ordo Diaboli” – or the “Noble Order of the Devil” – was engaged in the secret worshiping of Satan in the republic of Mordovia in central Russia since 2003. 

It was organized by medical student Aleksandr Kazakov, 24, and had up to 75 adepts over the years, investigators say. Kazakov, who is the prime suspect in the trial, used his charisma to lure young people from well-to-do families into the “Order”. 

New adepts were recruited from mysticism-loving friends of sect members and through satanic websites and internet message boards. 

Every initiate had to sign “a contract”, which gave the “high priest” ownership of his or her soul as part of the initiation rituals. Under Kazakov’s guidance, members gathered in secrecy, dressed in black robes and performed “unholy rites”. 

They also indulged in orgies and drinking sessions that could last for days. For girls, sex with the man and his closest “apprentices” was a requirement, and those unwilling could be raped. The Satanists also didn’t hesitate to involve minors, say the investigators. 

The second man on trial, Denis Danshin, 23, was Kazakov’s second-in-command and was responsible for suppressing dissent and doubt among the flock, sometimes through violence. 

 When police cracked down on the cult in 2009, they seized numerous books about Satanism and occult paraphernalia like animal sculls. 

The defendants claim that their sect was a mere role-playing club, and everything the members did was done voluntarily. They also deny charges of sexual abuse and violence. ( rt.com )
READ MORE - Satanic rapists on trial

The real-life Da Vinci Code: Historians discover tiny numbers and letters in the eyes of the Mona Lisa

The real-life Da Vinci Code: Historians discover tiny numbers and letters in the eyes of the Mona Lisa - Intrigue is usually focused on her enigmatic smile. But the Mona Lisa was at the centre of a new mystery yesterday after art detectives took a fresh look at the masterpiece – and noticed something in her eyes. Hidden in the dark paint of her pupils are tiny letters and numbers, placed there by the artist Leonardo da Vinci and revealed only now thanks to high-­magnification techniques.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/12/12/article-1337976-0747E0F2000005DC-8_468x620.jpg
Under the microscope: Historians in Italy have discovered that by magnifying the eyes of the Mona Lisa painting tiny numbers and letters can be seen.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/12/13/article-1337976-0C75E5CB000005DC-553_468x286.jpg
Hidden symbols: This eye is thought to contain L and V, the artist's initials

Experts say the barely distinguishable letters and numbers represent something of a real-life Da Vinci code.

The revelation could have come straight from the pages of Dan Brown’s best-seller The Da Vinci Code, in which the Mona Lisa is said to contain hidden clues about the Holy Grail. Silvano Vinceti, president of Italy’s National Committee for Cultural Heritage, which spotted the symbols, said: ‘To the naked eye the symbols are not visible but with a magnifying glass they can clearly be seen.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/12/13/article-1337976-05656E4F000005DC-946_228x345.jpg

Genius: Historians believe that Da Vinci's love of riddles led him to paint himself as a woman - with some believing the Mona Lisa is a self-portrait

‘In the right eye appear to be the letters LV which could well stand for his name, Leonardo da Vinci, while in the left eye there are also symbols but they are not as defined. ‘It is very difficult to make them out clearly but they appear to be the letters CE, or it could be the letter B. ‘In the arch of the bridge in the background the number 72 can be seen or it could be an L and the number 2. ‘You have to remember the ­picture is almost 500 years old so it is not as sharp and clear as when first painted. ‘From the preliminary investigations we have carried out we are confident they are not a mistake and were put there by the artist.’

Mystery: The codes and riddles that the artist hid in his work were illustrated in the Dan Brown book and 2006 film 'The Da Vinci Code'

Mystery: The codes and riddles that the artist hid in his work were illustrated in the Dan Brown book and 2006 film 'The Da Vinci Code'

The search was initiated by another Dan Brown-style plot device after a fellow committee member discovered a musty book in an antique shop ­referring to symbols in the Mona Lisa’s eyes. Mr Vinceti added: ‘Da Vinci put a special emphasis on the Mona Lisa and we know that in the last years of his life he took the painting with him everywhere. 'We also know that da Vinci was very esoteric and used symbols in his work to give out messages. ‘Who knows, they may even ­possibly be a love message to the ­figure in the painting.’ Mr Vinceti is a member of a group which is seeking permission to exhume da Vinci’s remains from his tomb at Amboise Castle in France’s Loire Valley. They want to see if the artist’s skull is there so that they can try and recreate his face and establish if the Mona Lisa – owned by the French government and on display in The Louvre – is in fact a twist on a self-portrait of the artist as some believe. ( dailymail.co.uk )
READ MORE - The real-life Da Vinci Code: Historians discover tiny numbers and letters in the eyes of the Mona Lisa

Former Trump fan looks back at historic announcement with regret

Former Trump fan looks back at historic announcement with regret - Just days from the presidential election, a fervent Donald Trump supporter present at his campaign kickoff is looking back at that June 2015 day with a pang of regret.

You might not know Lori Goldberg Burch of Jersey City, N.J., but you could have heard her voice. Her howls of approval punctuated Trump’s announcement speech in Trump Tower, leading to brief repartee between them.

“Somebody accused me of this being a set up, that he was talking to me and that we rehearsed our banter back and forth,” she recalled in a Friday interview. “It wasn’t staged at all. You know, it’s the way I felt. I really thought that he could do good for us. … I had the ultimate respect for him when I was there.”

On June 17, 2015, a day after the announcement, the Hollywood Reporter reported that Extra Mile Casting hired background actors to bulk up the crowd. Yahoo News looked into the issue and ended up speaking to Burch, who works as an actor and standup comedian. She said she was not hired that day and truly believed Trump was a great candidate.

“I definitely have full knowledge of actors being paid, I just don’t want to name any. Extra Mile went and hired at least 100 actors that day,” she said. Extra Mile Casting did not return requests for comment, but Yahoo News reported Friday that one of Trump’s advisers at the time admitted that their team had hired people to help pack the hall.

Reporters gather to cover Donald Trump’s announcement at Trump Tower in New York on June 16, 2015. (Photo: Michael Walsh/Yahoo News)

Burch was holding a yellow sign that read, “Trump Makes History 6/16/15.” Few could have expected how prophetic that sign would turn out to be when the real estate tycoon descended the escalator in Manhattan’s Trump Tower with “Rockin’ in the Free World” blaring from the speakers.

Yahoo News interviewed Burch last year to hear why she was so enraptured with Trump’s potential as a political figure. On Friday, we asked how she feels to have witnessed and been part of history in the making.

“To be quite honest, now I feel ashamed knowing the type of man I was so for,” she said. “Yes, I am. I’m ashamed that I thought this man could do well for our country, because now I don’t understand how this man got this far.”

Burch began to have second thoughts when she heard his vulgar talk about women. She said that his comments about groping women in an “Access Hollywood” video from 2005 were beyond the pale. In the video, which leaked in October, Trump boasted that his celebrity status allowed him to have his way with women.

“That’s disheartening for me as a woman and as the mother of a son,” she said. “You should never feel that way, whether it’s in private or on the record. Because it’s not something we want our boys to grow up thinking, they can treat women that way.”

Ivanka Trump introduces her father at his campaign kickoff. (Photo: Michael Walsh/Yahoo News)

For years, Trump had ingratiated himself to millions of television viewers with “The Apprentice,” and stirred up support among many American conservatives with his penchant for political theater.

Burch, a longtime Republican who worked for Richard Nixon in her youth, was impressed with the carefully crafted image Trump projected through reality television: that of an expert businessman and a loving father.

“I thought this man did a great job because his kids were so well spoken and nobody got a handout. They worked hard, and I thought he was a great businessman, and that’s what our country needed. I never thought he had the temperament of a 2-year-old,” she said.

When Trump got political, she also liked what he had to say about illegal immigration and prioritizing U.S interests. She believes it’s not any one person’s responsibility to “take care of the world” but that you should “take care of yourself so that you can give back.”

“I thought this is what we need,” she said of Trump. “We don’t need these people to kowtow to foreigners. We need somebody to be strong and to make us great again, even though I don’t think we’re that broken as a country.”

Next Tuesday, voters will decide whether Trump or Democrat Hillary Clinton will be the next person to occupy the Oval Office. But Burch won’t be choosing either of them: She said she will write-in Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Blog : Charapay 
READ MORE - Former Trump fan looks back at historic announcement with regret

Tax Statements You Need to File

Tax Statements You Need to File - Statements are on the way from employers, banks, stockbrokers and other institutions and agencies that were involved in taxpayers' financial lives last year. Each of these groups has, by law, until Jan. 31 (or the next business day when that date falls on a holiday or a weekend) to get their annual tax statements in the mail to you.

Many taxpayers now receive these documents electronically. So be sure to double-check your email, not just the curbside mailbox, for these statements.

http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/C00oesZGh8RuFSCMmQ82GQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Y2g9MTQxMjtjcj0xO2N3PTIxMjM7ZHg9MDtkeT0wO2ZpPXVsY3JvcDtoPTQyMDtxPTg1O3c9NjMw/http://l.yimg.com/os/publish-images/finance/2013-01-18/3eae4357-0f69-4143-8ed0-0437a52ff445_76755236.jpg

Common income, deduction statements

Most taxpayers depend on the same basic data to file returns. If you work for someone else, the Internal Revenue Service expects you, and the agency, to get a statement detailing that income. The data are slightly different, depending on whether you get paid a salary or do contract work, but there's a form for either case.
  • W-2 -- This is the key form, and you need one from each employer you worked for during the past year. Your W-2 shows how much money you made, how much income tax was withheld, Social Security and Medicare taxes paid, and any benefit contributions -- retirement plans, medical accounts and child care reimbursement plans.
  • 1098 -- For most homeowners, mortgage interest is tax-deductible, and this document will tell you how much you paid last year. Your lender is required to send you one of these forms if you paid at least $600 interest. Actually, your mortgage company probably won't send you an official IRS form, but a document of its own design that contains the same data. In addition to the mortgage interest, other information often found on this statement includes amounts paid toward points to get the loan and escrow disbursements for real estate taxes (also deductible) and property insurance (not deductible).
  • 1098-E -- Are you paying back a student loan? The interest on your educational debt is reported on this form; your lender must send you one if the interest tally is at least $600. You may be able to deduct your student loan interest and possibly other loan-related amounts, such as origination fees and capitalized interest. To figure the deductible portion of the interest amount found here, use the work sheet in your Form 1040 or Form 1040A instructions.
  • 1099-INT -- If you earned more than $10 in interest on a bank account or a certificate of deposit, you'll get one of these forms for each account. Don't dismiss this statement if you reinvested the interest. Tax law says you received the income even if you didn't actually have it in your hand, and reinvested earnings are still taxable income. 1099-INT statements also are issued to people who cashed in savings bonds.
  • 1099-DIV -- Earnings from individual stocks and mutual funds are reported on Form 1099-DIV. This will show dividends and capital gains distributed over $10. As with reinvested interest, if you used the dividends or distributions to buy additional shares of the stock or mutual fund, you still have to pay taxes. However, the distributions and certain, qualified dividends are taxed at the lower capital gains rates.
  • 1099-B -- If you sold stocks, bonds or mutual funds, you will receive a 1099-B from your broker or mutual fund company. This will tell you the number of shares sold, when they sold and the amount you got for the sale. You'll need this information, along with the date you bought the shares and the amount you paid for them, to figure your taxes. Beginning with 2011 statements, brokers will begin providing information on the basis (the cost of an asset plus some adjustments) of sold stock.
  • 1099-G -- Taxpayers who got a refund of state or local taxes last year will get this form. If you used those taxes as a deduction on your previous year's federal income tax return, you'll need to report the 1099-G amount on this year's return. You don't have to worry about reporting this refund as income, however, if you took the standard federal deduction instead of itemizing.
  • 1099-K – If you received payments via credit or debit cards or from third-party payment processors, such as PayPal, Amazon and eBay, you might receive a 1099-K reporting those amounts. There are triggers for amounts ($20,000) and transactions ($200), so not every person who receives such payments will get a 1099-K. This income, however, is taxable and should be reported even without issuance of a 1099-K. The new statement is an attempt to get more information on such payments to the Internal Revenue Service.
  • 1099-R -- If you received a pension or a distribution from an individual retirement account or retirement plan, the 1099-R provides the details of these transactions. The form is issued by your broker, pension plan manager or mutual fund company. You'll also get a 1099-R if you rolled over money in a retirement plan, usually a 401(k) to an IRA, or if you converted a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. A rollover usually is not a taxable event, but a pension payout may be.
  • 1099-MISC -- Self-employed individuals who earned $600 or more should get a 1099-MISC from the employer. You should get a separate 1099-MISC for each independent job you had during the previous tax year.

Late-arriving forms
There are a couple of statements you might need for your tax records, but because of the intricacies of the financial arrangements they cover, the documents do not always arrive before the April filing deadline. But if you get an extension to file, you shouldn't have any issues.
  • Form 5498 -- Any contributions made during the calendar year to any individual retirement accounts are reported on this form. The 5498 shows traditional IRA contributions that might be deductible on your tax return, as well as any rollovers, including a direct rollover to a traditional IRA, made during the last tax year. It also reports amounts recharacterized from one type of IRA to another. It notes any amounts converted from a traditional IRA, simplified employee pension or savings incentive match plan for employees to a Roth IRA.
  • Form 5498-ESA -- Contributions to Coverdell education savings accounts, formerly known as Education IRAs, previously were reported on Form 5498, but these plans now are tracked on this statement. The youngster named as account beneficiary should get a copy of this document by April 30.
  • Schedule K-1 -- Finally, if you received money from an estate, trust, partnership or S corporation last year, you should get a Schedule K-1. However, because of the complexity of many of these arrangements, account managers tend to send out K-1s later in the tax season -- sometimes not until after the April filing deadline.

Because you do need to know this amount of K-1 income to file your return, taxpayers who get K-1s tend to file Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File, to get six more months to get all their tax statements in hand. Bankrate.com )

Blog : Charapay
READ MORE - Tax Statements You Need to File

The myth of energy independence

The myth of energy independence - The U.S. Won't Be Energy Independent Even If We Pump More Oil Than Saudi Arabia - This just in: The United States is about to be the new Saudi Arabia. Not the Saudi Arabia of wind, or natural gas, or some other nerd energy source nobody fights wars over, but of old-fashioned oil!

That's an easy conclusion to draw from reading the International Energy Agency's report, which projects that the U.S. will replace Saudi Arabia as the world's top oil producer by around 2020, lending a massive dose of establishment cred to the idea that North America is en route to energy independence within the next decade or so. Assuming that the prediction is right, this is the sort of news that can, and will, be easily misconstrued -- probably in Congress by people responsible for setting our national energy policy. Because here's the thing: While we may soon produce as much crude as Saudi Arabia, we will not actually have the same power over world markets as Saudi Arabia, and thus oil will continue to be a political, and financial pain in our side.

To keep it simple, here a few key points if you hear the Saudi Arabia line.


http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/HSPTIikGSYjVGFObkZAccQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTMxMA--/http://globalfinance.zenfs.com/en_us/Finance/FIN_US_AHTTP_THEATLANTIC/The_U.S._Won%27t_Be_Energy-513e6c3d7089d6d57b5953b3f97c05d0

(1) We'll NEVER Be Like Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is special for three reasons. First, it has the world's second-largest proven oil reserves, behind Venezuela. Second, it pumps more crude each day than any other nation. Third -- and this is the important fact about Saudi Arabia -- what gives it enormous sway over the international oil market is that it could pump more if it chose.

As a net oil exporter, the country's only goal is to maintain a stable market that yields that maximum profit per barrel. It accomplishes this by leaving a couple million barrels of oil a day untouched as an insurance policy. That way if, say, a major pipeline explodes in Africa, or Iran decides to drop mines along a major oil shipping route, the country can increase its production and calm everybody down. At the same time, if oil's price drops too low, the Saudis and the rest of OPEC can choose to drop production further to stabilize prices.

Even if we do eventually outproduce Saudi Arabia, we won't be able to get the world oil market under our thumb. We don't have a compliant state-owned oil company that the president can dial up and we're going to need whatever oil we produce domestically, along with imports from Canada and Mexico. We're not going to get to be the conductor for the global oil market like the Saudis have been in the past.

(2) More Drilling Won't Make Us Energy Independent

In short, producing a ton of oil in the United States isn't going to insulate us from the rest of the globe. Mexico and Canada still aren't going to give our refineries any special neighbors-only discounts. Nor are the privately run oil companies pumping out crude in North Dakota, Texas, and the Gulf of Mexico. And because oil is a mostly fungible commodity traded worldwide, what happens to supply and demand in one corner of the planet impacts prices everywhere. If China and India start growing wildly again, or some sort of war causes prices to spiral, we won't be immune.

This isn't to say that producing more oil doesn't have it's advantages. It will bring more money and jobs into the states where rigs are popping up. It will shrink our import tab and also keep a cap on prices as developing countries grow and get thirstier for fuel. Beyond that, it will shrink the power of OPEC a bit. After all, the more oil that's around, the harder it is for any one country, or group of countries, to manipulate the market. These are real benefits that shouldn't be undersold. But we shouldn't act as if an oil boom will be our geopolitical or economic salvation.

(3) The Key Is Still Conservation

This can't be repeated enough: We can't drill our way to oil independence. But by conserving our usage, we can insulate ourselves from rising gas prices. Here's the IEA's economist talking to the New York Times:

Dr. Birol said the agency's prediction of increasing American self-sufficiency was 55 percent a reflection of more oil production and 45 percent a reflection of improving energy efficiency in the United States, primarily from the Obama administration's new fuel economy standards for cars. He added that even stronger policies to promote energy efficiency were needed in the United States and many other countries.

If we want to stop buying oil from places other than Canada and Mexico, we need to cut our usage. Same deal if we don't want to see prices spike as 1.3 billion Chinese inch closer to our standard of living. The scary thing is that more oil we produce, and the more our economy comes to rely on hydrocarbons, that harder it will be politically to promote sane green energy policies that actually get us to that goal. There's nothing like short-term profits to make you forget your long term interests. (


Blog : Charapay
READ MORE - The myth of energy independence

Expect small Social Security benefit increase in 2013

Expect small Social Security benefit increase in 2013 - Social Security recipients shouldn't expect a big increase in monthly benefits come January.

Preliminary figures show the annual benefit boost will be between 1 percent and 2 percent, which would be among the lowest since automatic adjustments were adopted in 1975. Monthly benefits for retired workers now average $1,237, meaning the typical retiree can expect a raise of between $12 and $24 a month.

The size of the increase will be made official Tuesday, when the government releases inflation figures for September. The announcement is unlikely to please a big block of voters — 56 million people get benefits — just three weeks before elections for president and Congress.

http://i0.mail.com/704/1630704,h=425,pd=1,w=620/social-security.jpg

The cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, is tied to a government measure of inflation adopted by Congress in the 1970s. It shows that consumer prices have gone up by less than 2 percent in the past year.

"Basically, for the past 12 months, prices did not go up as rapidly as they did the year before," said Polina Vlasenko, an economist at the American Institute for Economic Research, based in Great Barrington, Mass.

This year, Social Security recipients received a 3.6 percent increase in benefits after getting no increase the previous two years.

Some of next year's raise could be wiped out by higher Medicare premiums, which are deducted from Social Security payments. The Medicare Part B premium, which covers doctor visits, is expected to rise by about $7 per month for 2013, according to government projections.

The premium is currently $99.90 a month for most seniors. Medicare is expected to announce the premium for 2013 in the coming weeks.

"The COLA continues to be very critical to people in keeping them from falling behind," said David Certner, AARP's legislative policy director. "We certainly heard in those couple of years when there was no COLA at all how important it was."

How important is the COLA? From 2001 to 2011, household incomes in the U.S. dropped for every age group except one: those 65 and older.

The median income for all U.S. households fell by 6.6 percent, when inflation was taken into account, according to census data. But the median income for households headed by someone 65 or older rose by 13 percent.

"That's all because of Social Security," Certner said. "Social Security has the COLA and that's what's keeping seniors above water, as opposed to everybody else who's struggling in this economy."

Seniors still, on average, have lower incomes than younger adults. Most older Americans rely on Social Security for a majority of their income, according to the Social Security Administration.

"It's useful to bear in mind that no other group in the economy gets an automatic cost-of-living increase in their income," said David Blau, an economist at The Ohio State University. "Seniors are the only group."

Still, many feel like the COLA doesn't cover their rising costs.

"You have utilities go up, your food costs go up. Think about how much groceries have gone up," said Janice Durflinger, a 76-year-old widow in Lincoln, Neb. "I would love to know how they figure that."

The COLA is based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or CPI-W, a broad measure of consumer prices generated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It measures price changes for food, housing, clothing, transportation, energy, medical care, recreation and education.

In the past year, food prices have risen 2 percent while home energy prices have dropped 3.8 percent, according to the CPI-W. Housing costs have gone up 1.4 percent and gasoline prices have increased by 1.8 percent.

Blau said it's common for seniors to feel like the COLA doesn't reflect their rising costs, in part because older people tend to spend more of their income on health care. Medical costs have risen 4.3 percent in the past year as measured by the CPI-W.

"Inflation affects everybody differently unless you happen to be that mythical average person who buys the average bundle of goods," Blau said.

By law, the Social Security Administration compares the price index for July, August and September with consumer prices in the same three months from the last year in which a COLA was awarded. A COLA was awarded a year ago, so the index from July, August and September of this year is being compared with the index from the same period in 2011.

If prices go up over the course of the year, benefits go up, starting with payments delivered in January. But if prices go down, benefits stay the same. That's what happened in 2010 and 2011, when there was no COLA.

This year, consumer prices for July and August indicate next year's COLA would be 1.4 percent. The price index for September — the final piece of the puzzle — will be released Tuesday. Several economists said they don't expect it to change the projected COLA by more than a few tenths of a percentage point, if at all.

Vlasenko estimates the COLA will be from 1.5 percent to 1.7 percent. AARP estimates it will be about 1.5 percent.

Since 1975, the annual COLA has averaged 4.2 percent. Only five times has it been below 2 percent, including the two times it was zero. Before 1975, it took an act of Congress to increase Social Security payments.

"Over the past year, consumer prices have only gone up a little bit," Blau said. "By historical standards, it's a very low rate of increase." ( ABC OTUS News )

Blog : Charapay
READ MORE - Expect small Social Security benefit increase in 2013