Bullock returns to Extremely Loud

NEW YORK (AP) — Sandra Bullock wasn’t looking to return to acting when Stephen Daldry called about Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.

Bullock’s last film, 2009’s The Blind Side, was the kind of career apogee of which most actresses dream, winning her a best actress Academy Award in what essentially amounted to a coronation of Bullock as America’s most beloved female movie star.

But the accomplishment — which would normally be followed by a wave of projects to capitalise on the momentum — was soon marred by public scandal. Bullock’s husband, Monster Garage host Jesse James, was revealed to have been unfaithful. The fallout, which led to divorce, was covered relentlessly by the tabloids. Bullock went ahead and adopted a baby boy.

When Daldry, the director of The Hours and The Reader, approached her about Extremely Loud, Bullock wasn’t sure she would return to acting at all.

“I was perfectly content to be permanently broken,” she says. Recognising how that might sound in print, she smiles at the unintended hint of her personal turmoil, and adds “time-wise” to clarify the break as one from moviemaking.

“I honestly didn’t think I was in a place where I wanted to work or wanted to step out of where I was,” she says. “I wasn’t prepared. But the opportunity was louder than my head.”

The chance was to play a supporting but key role in Daldry’s adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel. In it, Bullock plays the mother of an uncommonly bright, precocious child (Thomas Horn), whose father (Tom Hanks) dies on Sept 11. It’s a particularly wrenching story about grief and reconciliation.

“What a great way to get back on the horse,” says Bullock, who was staying at a hotel 20 blocks from the World Trade Center on 9/11. “It was hard, but it was what it’s supposed to be.”

It took some courting. Daldry visited Bullock at her house, and when he asked her what she might bring to the role, the actress was frank.

“I said, ‘I haven’t the slightest idea’,” she says. “I was like, ‘The well is deep. It’s your job to stop it or get it’.”

Bullock and Daldry have a charming, easy manner with each other, showering one another with compliments. Asked why he pursued her for the part, the British director quips, “She’s cheap as chips.”

“I have watched just about everything you’ve ever made,” says Daldry. Bullock, whose self-deprecating humour is undimmed, doesn’t miss a beat: “I’m so sorry.”

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Rapper against the ropes

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) — Rapper Young Buck could lose his name and other assets in a bankruptcy case that the rapper says is frustrating his attempts to sign with a new record label.

Davidson County Bankruptcy Judge George Paine converted the artiste's bankruptcy from Chapter 11 reorganisation to Chapter 7 liquidation this week.

YOUNG BUCK... could lose name and assets  1/1

The trustee administering his estate has said she plans to sell the trademarked 'Young Buck' name along with other assets. The platinum artiste, whose real name is David Darnell Brown, told The Tennessean he was close to signing a recording deal with New Orleans-based Cash Money Records 

To date, creditors have submitted 22 claims totaling US$11.5 million in Young Buck's bankruptcy case, including US$10 million that the record label G-Unit Records says Young Buck owes them over a contract dispute

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Bob's grandchild fined for weed

DONISHA Prendergast, the granddaughter of reggae legend Bob Marley, was on Thursday fined $100 after pleading guilty in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court to possession of a small quantity of marijuana.

The 26-year-old Prendergast paid the fine and avoided being sent to jail for 10 days.

PRENDERGAST... cops found three bags containing the ganja  1/1

Prendergast was arrested on November 21 after police officers, who were doing spot-checks along Water Lane in downtown Kingston, searched her car and found three clear plastic bags containing the ganja.

Prendergast had missed her court date on Wednesday and was accompanied to court by her lawyer Diane Jobson.

Based on a request by Jobson, the conviction was not recorded against Prendergast's name.

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Muslim sect claims Nigeria church attacks; 25 dead

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — An explosion ripped through a Catholic church during Christmas Mass near Nigeria's capital today, killing at least 25 people, officials said. A radical Muslim sect waging an increasingly sophisticated sectarian fight claimed the attack and another bombing in the restive city of Jos, as explosions also struck the nation's north-east.

The Christmas Day attacks show the growing national ambition of the sect known as Boko Haram, which is responsible for at least 491 killings this year alone, according to an Associated Press count. The assaults come a year after a series of Christmas Eve bombings in Jos claimed by the militants left at least 32 dead and 74 wounded.

The first explosion on Sunday struck St Theresa Catholic Church in Madalla, a town in Niger state close to the capital, Abuja, authorities said. Rescue workers recovered at least 25 bodies from the church and officials continued to tally those wounded in various hospitals, said Slaku Luguard, a coordinator with Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency.

His agency already has acknowledged it didn't have enough ambulances immediately on hand to help the wounded. Luguard also said an angry crowd that gathered at the blast site hampered rescue efforts as they refused to allow workers inside.

"We're trying to calm the situation," Luguard said. "There are some angry people around trying to cause problems."

In Jos, a second explosion struck near a Mountain of Fire and Miracles Church, government spokesman Pam Ayuba said. Ayuba said gunmen later opened fire on police guarding the area, killing one police officer. Two other locally made explosives were found in a nearby building and disarmed, he said.

"The military are here on ground and have taken control over the entire place," Ayuba said.

The city of Jos is located on the dividing line between Nigeria's predominantly Christian south and Muslim north. Thousands have died in communal clashes there over the last decade.

After the bombings, a Boko Haram spokesman using the nom de guerre Abul-Qaqa claimed responsibility for the attacks in an interview with The Daily Trust, the newspaper of record across Nigeria's Muslim north. The sect has used the newspaper in the past to communicate with public.

The US Embassy in Nigeria's capital of Abuja had issued a warning Friday to citizens to be "particularly vigilant" around churches, large crowds and areas where foreigners congregate.

Several days of fighting in and around the north-eastern city of Damaturu between the sect and security forces already had killed at least 61 people, authorities said. On Sunday, local police commissioner Tanko Lawan said two explosions struck Damaturu, including a blast near government offices. He declined to comment further, saying police had begun an operation to attack suspected Boko Haram sect members.

In the last year, Boko Haram has carried out increasingly bloody attacks in its campaign to implement strict Shariah law across Nigeria, a nation of more than 160 million people.

Boko Haram has splintered into three factions, with one wing increasingly willing to kill as it maintains contact with terror groups in North Africa and Somalia, diplomats and security sources say.

Sect members are scattered throughout northern Nigeria and nearby Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

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Buju files appeal

LAWYERS representing imprisoned Reggae artiste Buju Banton today filed an appeal to have his conviction reversed in the United States Court of Appeal for the Eleventh Circuit in Georgia.

The attorneys — David Oscar Markus, Mona Markus, Anita Margot Moss and Marc Seitles — are contending that Banton's conviction should be reversed and the case should be dismissed with prejudice or that he should receive a new trial.

Banton, whose real name is Mark Myrie, was sentenced in June this year to 10 years' imprisonment by United States magistrate Jim Moody in the Sam M Gibbons US Court in Tampa Florida. He was found guilty of conspiring to negotiate a drug deal in a police controlled warehouse in Florida.

The lawyers are contending that the district court erred in failing to grant Myrie’s judgment of acquittal as a matter of law, where:

The undisputed evidence is that Myrie did not agree to participate in the drug conspiracy that eventually was reached among others;

Myrie had almost no participation in the telephone call forming the basis of the government’s charge that he aided and abetted the “facilitation” of a drug conspiracy, and in fact the telephone call in question did not facilitate a drug conspiracy in any event;

Whether the district court erred in failing to find that Myrie was entrapped as a matter of law, where there was no evidence that Myrie was predisposed to engage in a cocaine distribution scheme, and the undisputed evidence was that the government pursued a lengthy, intense, unrelenting campaign to target Myrie through an unsupervised paid informant who was desperate to earn a cut of the deal; and

Whether the district court erred in failing to dismiss the case based on the expiration of the speedy trial clock.

The attorneys are also contending that the district court erred in failing to find that Myrie was entrapped as a matter of law, as he was not predisposed to participate in a cocaine conspiracy and his involvement was the result of improper government inducement.

They will also argue that Myrie demonstrated reluctance to participate in a drug conspiracy and his consistent efforts to avoid following up government informant Alex Johnson’s consistent and emphatic efforts to draw Myrie in and because the speedy trial clock ran long before his case was tried, the case should have been dismissed with prejudice.

Setting aside excludable days, the 70-day clock expired in this case, 93 days before Myrie was initially tried, more than double the amount of time permitted by the Speedy Trial Act, the lawyers will also argue in their bid to free Buju Banton, who is now languishing in a Miami, Florida-based prison.

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Rapist with bitten-off penis gets 100 years

A man whose penis was almost bitten off when he held a woman at gunpoint and forced her to have oral sex has been sentenced to a total of 108 years for offences which included rape, robbery with aggravation illegal possession of firearm and indecent assault.

He will only serve 25 years as Justice Bryan Sykes ordered yesterday that the sentences for the eight offences must run concurrently.

Patrick Drysdale, 25, mason, of Sunny Hill, St Thomas, was convicted in the Gun Court of two counts of rape, two counts of robbery with aggravation, indecent assault, wounding with intent and illegal possession of firearm. The sentences ranged from 10 to 25 years.

Drysdale got the maximum sentence of three years' imprisonment for indecent assault involving the woman who bit him on his penis.

penis almost severedEvidence was given that after he forced the woman to have oral sex with him, she bit him on his penis almost severing it and he stabbed her several times. He was sentenced to 25 years for wounding with intent.
The police found Drysdale at the hospital suffering from an injury to the penis. When questioned he said that he was in bed with a woman when her jealous lover came home and hit him with a piece of chain on his penis. The penis which was bandaged was almost severed.
The Crown led evidence that on June 20, 2008, Drysdale committed the offences in Stony Hill, St Andrew. He went to the homes of three women, robbed and raped two of them, indecently assaulted the third woman and then wounded her.
Drysdale was released from prison a few weeks before he committed the offences. He had previous convictions for illegal possession of firearm and ammunition.

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Venezuela turns over alleged drug lord to US

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela has handed a top Colombian drug trafficking suspect to US authorities.

The US had offered a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Maximiliano Bonilla Orozco, known as "Valenciano". Bonilla was captured in Venezuela last month.

He was turned over to US authorities at Caracas' international airport today and led aboard a plane.

The US State Department had listed Bonilla among its eight most-wanted Colombian drug traffickers after leftist rebels.

US officials say Bonilla sent tonnes of cocaine to the United States through Central America and Mexico, dealing extensively with Mexico's Zetas drug cartel.

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EXERCISE: secret weapon for depression

DEPRESSION IS a very common disorder that causes much suffering for large numbers of people and their loved ones. About 20 million Americans are thought to suffer from depressive disorders. Researchers claim that only a quarter of individuals with clinical depression seek treatment, and that only 10 per cent of them receive adequate care.

I have written before about a holistic approach to the treatment of depression, but unfortunately, for most people the only treatment offered is antidepressant drugs. Medical researchers may have discovered a new 'drug' for depression that most anyone can take advantage of and use.

EXERCISE - A NATURAL DRUG

In a study which involved 80 adults aged 20 to 45 years who were diagnosed with mild to moderate depression, researchers looked at exercise alone to treat the condition and found:

Depressive symptoms were cut almost in half in those individuals who participated in 30-minute aerobic exercise sessions, three to five times a week after 12 weeks.

Those who exercised with low-intensity for three and five days a week showed a 30 per cent reduction in symptoms.

Participants who did stretching and flexibility exercises for even 15-20 minutes three days a week averaged a 29 per cent decline.

The results of this study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, January 2005, are similar to that of other studies, which involved patients with mild or moderate depression - proving patients need not rely on drugs alone to treat depression.

HOW EXERCISE WORKS

In many ways the brain has its own pharmacy, producing its own natural drugs in the right dosage at the right time. Exercise induces the brain to produce more of its own relaxing and antidepressant substances called endorphins.

Other benefits include increased blood flow and oxygen to the brain, changes in breathing patterns, decreased muscle tension plus a host of other physical benefits.

Some of the emotional health benefits of exercise include:

Feeling better

Sleeping better

Having a better outlook on life

EXERCISE PRESCRIPTION

When using exercise as a drug, it is important to set a goal of 60 to 90 minutes per day, every day. Obviously, depending on your current condition, you may need to work slowly up to this level. My experience is that weight-bearing exercises, such as walking, jogging, running or machines like Total Gym and Health Rider, are great. If you have any physical concerns, consult your health care provider.

However, the big obstacle faced by people who have not exercised in some time is how to get started. Just the thought of starting an exercise programme can be intimidating.

Health guru, Dr. Joseph Mercola, recommends walking as a wonderful way to get started. It is very low-impact so it is easy on the joints.

He points out that most people find it is simple and enjoyable to fit a walk into their day. It is also one of the most cost-effective ways to get exercise, as it does not require much training and the only equipment needed is a good pair of walking shoes. You can walk just about anywhere and you can do it anytime.

WALKING AS WORKOUT

This depends on your initial fitness level. If you are starting out in poor shape, slow-paced walking will produce benefits, but if you are starting out in better condition, you will need to walk faster and/or farther to see any results.

Regardless of your starting level, the more vigorous your walking pace, the more dramatic the conditioning effects will be. When walking for exercise, you should walk at a steady pace that is fast enough to cause your heart rate to rise.

In my experience, most people increase their fitness level relatively rapidly while walking, and the only way they can continue to stress themselves enough while walking is to walk uphill or on a treadmill with an incline.

The practical problem with using exercise for depression, however, is that the desire to pursue any activity, let alone exercise, is not very high. The converse should also be remembered: Just because one exercises regularly does not mean you cannot become depressed. Exercise makes it easier to treat depression, but it certainly does not cure it in everyone.

As explained in my book, your nutrition is an extremely important aspect of treating depression. I recommend the Cellular Nutrition Programme, along with specific supplements like omega-3 fats in high dosages, the B complex vitamins, St. John's wort.

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Simple remedies for menstrual cramps

SOME women endure cramps so bad each month, that they are forced to stop regular activities for a day or two.

Severe cramping can be caused by a number of things, like disease in the reproductive organs; endometriosis; pelvic inflammatory disease; narrowing of the cervix; or fibroids or growths on the inner wall of the uterus.

But whatever the cause, the recommended remedies are the same.

Gynaecologist and obstetrician at the University Hospital of the West Indies, Professor Horace Fletcher, said young women don't need to suffer horrible pain that keeps them away from work and school.

He suggested:

1. The best way to treat severe menstrual cramps is to take oral contraceptives. This kind of pain responds to contraceptive pills taken in the normal way — once daily for 21 days. The woman should be first evaluated by her doctor to make sure there are no contraindications.

2. Mild cramps respond to normal painkillers like Paracetamol, Panadol, Tylenol, or any of the non- steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin or ibuprofen. All of these have some side effects.

3. Antispasmodics like Baralgin or Buscopan can work as well, usually in conjunction with the treatments above.

4. A hot water bottle or heating pad compress against the stomach helps.

Other remedies you could try are:

1. Drink herbal teas like chamomile, mint, raspberry and blackberry, which may help soothe tense muscles and anxious moods.

2. Exercise. Regular workouts decrease the severity of cramps. It is therefore recommended that you start exercising the week leading up to the start of your period.

3. Empty your bladder as soon as you have the urge to urinate.

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What to do if your husband walks out on you

I have heard of cases where women didn't even have the slightest inclination that their hubbies were planning to surprise them, until the day they came face to face with an empty apartment. Yes, it happens.

A woman might be in a rocky or even not so rocky relationship for years and may also have children, but because she knows that ups and downs are normal in a relationship, she might not have thought that the man she sleeps beside each night would have left her without warning.

For the man in your life to surprise you by packing up and leaving is just not an easy pill to swallow. When this happens, the woman could easily become traumatised and may need to seek professional help. Sometimes the source of a woman's pain is not only that she has been dissed, but the low down way in which the dissing occurred.

Well, in every emergency a woman has to do what she has to do, so if he walks, immediately she will have to start thinking of her next move. If the relationship can be saved, good for her, but until then she must always remember that life goes on and her life should not come to a standstill because her man has upped and left her abruptly. Regardless of the situation, the road ahead might not be easy, but like Yolanda Adams sings, This too shall pass, and the earlier she embraces this concept, the better it should be for her.

So should your hubby decide that he is going to walk out on you, don't panic, here are a few suggestions that could be of help to you.

1. Accept your situation. The longer you remain in denial is the longer it is going to take for you to put your plans in place. You are human and it is normal to go into denial, but that should only be for a period of time. It should not last for the remaining portion of your life. Like I mentioned above, you may not be able to accept your situation all by yourself, therefore, seek the best help available to you, since the first step in getting over what happened lies with you accepting your situation.

2. Get moral support. Sometimes women hide the fact that things are not going right at home or at least nowhere close to how it should be going. It is not advisable to keep everything to yourself, especially if you are hurting or dying inside. While you have to be discreet and you have to keep your family affairs close to your heart, you are going to need people around you to support you. Whether you are single or not, you are going to need to have some people in your corner. You do not always have to give the details but the people in your corner can strengthen you and encourage you when things are not going right.

Here is an activity for you to do. Use a piece of paper to write down the names of your friends with whom you talk each day, each week, each month, each year. If you cannot think of persons to fill these categories it means that you need to broaden your network. People need people, you cannot make it alone. The more confidential persons you have in your corner the better off you will be.

Even if you are a very secretive person, if your hubby walks out on you, your secret will be out and you may be alone and lonely. It is during these unfortunate moments that you are going to need people to lean on. Sometimes it is these same people who will prevent you from reaching your breaking point.

3. Talk with a trained counsellor: Hubbies have been walking out on wives for centuries, so you would not be the first person to experience this situation. If it happens, do know that you will be doing yourself justice by finding and sharing with a trusted friend or a trained counsellor who can help you. When you talk with persons who are interested in your well-being, you will gain new insight and new world views which will help you to pave the way forward.

4. Cry if you must. Take the advice that Dr Grace Kelly gives in her book and cry if you must. Where there is a loss there is grief, and where there is grief there is pain, so if you must cry to relive yourself of pain, then it is okay to do so.

5. Continue to live. The worst thing that can happen to you is if you stop living because of your loss. Take some time off if you must and mourn your loss but after this is done, dress up and go out if that makes you happy. Continue to do the things that you find enjoyable and the things that cause your spirit to soar. Life is short, so as much as it lies within you, live your life to the fullest and enjoy every moment of it.

6. Redefine your goals. After you have got over the rough spots and have accepted your reality, you will need to redefine your goals. You have got to know where you go from here. During this period you must play your cards right for you do not want to make bad choices, so think twice before making any rash decisions.

7. Keep an open mind. You should never, ever say never, or that all men are alike; this is not true. You may want to keep an open mind and trust in the Divine.

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How Does MagicJack Work?

How Does MagicJack Work?

The MagicJack phone service works by plugging a small adapter into the USB port of a computer that is connected to high speed (broadband) Internet service. In a household, any computer connected to the Internet via a home network can do the job. Once the MagicJack is connected to the computer a traditional land line phone is plugged into the other end of the adapter and after a little configuration the MagicJack can be used to send outgoing long distance calls anywhere in the USA or Canada. The question of how does MagicJack work has more to do with an existing technology called Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) than it does any real magic. In the same way other companies such as Vonage do, the MagicJack adapter sends the phone conversation out over the Internet instead of the telephone company's voice lines. The conversation is converted into digital information, sent out over the Internet, then connected to the receiving party using their own local telephone service. To both parties the conversation appears to be very normal, almost as if it was taking place on a traditional land line network. Read on * Best Free Call Tracking Accounting Management Software Systems * Making Cents from Expenses: * How to Fix MagicJack VOIP Connection Problems Aspects of Positive MagicJack Reviews Include: * For the vast majority of individuals purchasing the MagicJack the product seems to work as promised with very few problems. * Low cost of ownership ($40 for the MagicJack and one year of free phone service) * Low cost upgrade plans to add calling to Europe Often Reported MagicJack Problems: * no number portability (users cannot transfer the existing phone numbers to work with MagicJack) * computer must be on all the time in order for the phone to ring * not all phone handsets will work with the MagicJack * Slows down computer boot times as the MagicJack connects to the MagicJack servers. Reports of up to three minutes of connection time have been reported although the company claims one minute or less is the common experience. * The most frequently reported MagicJack problems refer to claims of poor or unsatisfying customer service interactions. As with almost all consumer electronics purchases the most important rule may be to keep the receipt. If the previously mentioned MagicJack problems occur in the first few days after installation return the MagicJack to the store and try a different VOIP carrier. The incredible cost savings of the MagicJack make it worth taking a look at, but if the problems persist even with the new carrier then the cause is most likely in the Internet connectivity of the home or in the hardware the MagicJack phone adapter is being plugged into.

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Lost Your Charger? How to Charge any Battery

My camera shut down from low battery just when I needed to take some pictures.
The light was perfect. I suddenly remembered where I'd left the charger - 3000 miles away.
Everyone's had this experience, or the similar experience of spending one's vacation searching for a cellphone charger.

Here's how to charge any battery enough to keep doing the important stuff.

Fact 1: All past and future rechargeable batteries can be safely trickle charged if you don't overcharge them. Trickle means low current, like half an amp for an average camera or phone battery.
Fact 2: Small incandescent bulbs such as flashlight bulbs and christmast tree mini lights make great current regulators.

This is the battery to my Canon S30. It's got three terminals, labeled "+", "-", and "T".
I've clipped alligator-clips onto the two obvious ones.
You don't need clips, you can just hold wires on it for as long as it takes to charge, that's probably better anyway, so you can tell if anything is going wrong.

Warning! Wear eye protection and if anything weird happens don't breathe the fumes!




What was that other terminal marked "T" for? TIMMY of course, just like in the nursery rhyme!
It's for Timmy to to hold his finger on the battery. If it gets hot you're doing something wrong.
Actually it's "Thermistor" or similar names. Temperature sensor. Some batteries use that to regulate charging current, some just for a safety feature.

"Digital sensor, huh?" would be a running joke back when Americans knew Greek and knew that digits are fingers. But then numbers got so much use we forgot about counting on fingers, and now people barely know how to do anything with their hands.

Anyway, here's a finger used as a digital thermometer. Which reminds me of the joke about the doctor

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Depression

Depressive disorders have been with mankind since the beginning of recorded history. In the Bible, King David, as well as Job, suffered from this affliction. Hippocrates referred to depression as melancholia, which literally means black bile. Black bile, along with blood, phlegm, and yellow bile were the four humors (fluids) that described the basic medical physiology theory of that time. Depression, also referred to as clinical depression, has been portrayed in literature and the arts for hundreds of years, but what do we mean today when we refer to a depressive disorder? In the 19th century, depression was seen as an inherited weakness of temperament. In the first half of the 20th century, Freud linked the development of depression to guilt and conflict. John Cheever, the author and a modern sufferer of depressive disorder, wrote of conflict and experiences with his parents as influencing his development of depression.

In the 1950s and '60s, depression was divided into two types, endogenous and neurotic. Endogenous means that the depression comes from within the body, perhaps of genetic origin, or comes out of nowhere. Neurotic or reactive depression has a clear environmental precipitating factor, such as the death of a spouse, or other significant loss, such as the loss of a job. In the 1970s and '80s, the focus of attention shifted from the cause of depression to its effects on the afflicted people. That is to say, whatever the cause in a particular case, what are the symptoms and impaired functions that experts can agree make up a depressive disorder? Although there is some argument even today (as in all branches of medicines), most experts agree on the following:

1. A depressive disorder is a syndrome (group of symptoms) that reflects a sad and/or irritable mood exceeding normal sadness or grief. More specifically, the sadness of depression is characterized by a greater intensity and duration and by more severe symptoms and functional disabilities than is normal.
2. Depressive signs and symptoms are characterized not only by negative thoughts, moods, and behaviors but also by specific changes in bodily functions (for example, crying spells, body aches, low energy or libido, as well as problems with eating, weight, orsleeping). The functional changes of clinical depression are often called neurovegetative signs. This means that the nervous system changes in the brain cause many physical symptoms that result in diminished participation and a decreased or increased activity level.
3. Certain people with depressive disorder, especially bipolar depression (manic depression), seem to have an inherited vulnerability to this condition.
4. Depressive disorders are a huge public-health problem, due to its affecting millions of people. About 10% of adults, up to 8% of teensand 2% of preteen children experience some kind of depressive disorder.

• The statistics on the costs due to depression in the United States include huge amounts of direct costs, which are for treatment, and indirect costs, such as lost productivity and absenteeism from work or school.
• Adolescents who suffer from depression are at risk for developing and maintaining obesity.
• In a major medical study, depression caused significant problems in the functioning of those affected more often than did arthritis,hypertension, chronic lung disease, and diabetes, and in some ways as often as coronary artery disease.
• Depression can increase the risks for developing coronary artery disease, HIV, asthma, and many other medical illnesses. Other complications of depression include its tendency to increase the morbidity (illness/negative health effects) and mortality (death) from these and many other medical conditions.
• Depression can coexist with virtually every other mental healthillness, aggravating the status of those who suffer the combination of both depression and the other mental illness.
• Depression in the elderly tends to be chronic, has a low rate of recovery, and is often undertreated. This is of particular concern given that elderly men, particularly elderly white men have the highest suicide rate.

5. Depression is usually first identified in a primary-care setting, not in a mental-health practitioner's office. Moreover, it often assumes various disguises, which causes depression to be frequently underdiagnosed.
6. In spite of clear research evidence and clinical guidelines regarding therapy, depression is often undertreated. Hopefully, this situation can change for the better.
7. For full recovery from a mood disorder, regardless of whether there is a precipitating factor or it seems to come out of the blue, treatment with medication and/or electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) (see discussion below) and psychotherapy are necessary.

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The most shoplifted items of the season

While most of us are out buying holiday presents some people are getting their gifts with a five-finger discount. Ad Week  is reporting that one in every 11 people walks out the door with at least one item they didn’t pay for. With shoplifting up six percent this year, retailers stand to lose a whopping $119 billion of merchandise to shoplifters in 2011. And it’s not just kids with sticky fingers—75 percent of shoplifters are adults, most of whom have jobs. We know people are hunting for holiday deals, but this amount of theft is both surprising and sad.
Ad Week spoke with loss prevention experts on why shoplifting is the highest it’s been in five years. "Most shoplifters simply succumb to temptation, “Johnny Custer, director of field operations for Merchant Analytic Solutions, told Ad Week. “But add a sense of desperation because of the economy and holiday pressures, and you have the recipe for theft soup." Barbara Staib, a spokesperson for the National Association of Shoplifting Prevention, told Ad Week, "Seventy percent of shoplifters tell us they didn't plan to shoplift."
Exactly what are people stealing? Ad Week has compiled the top 10 most shoplifted items of 2011 and they’re truly bizarre.
1. Filet mignon
So many people are tucking choice cuts of meats under their jackets that supermarkets are now considered the stores with the most theft.

2. Jameson
Those with an unquenchable thirst for booze just help themselves to a free bottle of expensive liquor.

3. Electric tools
Apparently the the most common items men nab are electric toothbrushes and power tools. At least they’re fighting cavities.

4. iPhone 4
Electronics like smartphones and video games are high risk items, and one research group claims 100,000 laptops are stolen annually from big box stores.

5. Gillette Mach 4
Anyone who uses non-disposable razors knows they’re pretty expensive, so in tough financial times people don’t want to pay for them anymore.

6. Axe
The men’s deodorant and body wash we love to hate are often stolen in mass quantities and resold at flea markets and corner stores. Dial is popular amongst thieves too.

7. Polo Ralph Lauren
Clothing theft is up 31 percent since 2009. It’s hard to look good in a bad economy, so some score fresh threads the illegal way.

8. Let’s Rock Elmo
The Sesame Street toy topped the Toys’R’Us "Hot Toys" list this year, so parents are stealing this must-have toy for their kids if they can’t afford it.

9. Chanel No. 5
Who wouldn’t love a bottle of this popular woman’s fragrance? Expensive perfumes make up nearly four percent of loss in stores that carry them.

10. Nikes
As Ad Week points out, some shoppers wear flip-flops into a store, try on a pair of sneakers, and walk out wearing them. Sneaker heads will do whatever it takes to score the kicks on their wish list.

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