After the near financial meltdown in 2008, many wonder what can be done to stabilize financial markets. Too much government control seems like a bad idea, but letting those who run financial firms continue to enrich themselves at public expense is also a bad idea. In the book, The Malign Hand of the Markets, author John Staddon offers a prescription.
Staddon goes through a number of topics with thoughtful commentary before finishing with his answers to stabilizing financial markets. He begins by explaining various ways that markets can work poorly, which he calls a ?malign hand? as opposed to Adam Smith?s invisible hand. One example is problems with the market in scientific research that result from a monopoly buyer, the government. Other examples involve the separation of short-term profits from long-term risks.
Another type of problem that can lead to a malign hand is asymmetric information. Some businesses seek to confuse their customers. When it comes to confusing contracts, Staddon suggests that ?If average-IQ citizens cannot understand the contract within a limited study-time related to the amount of money at risk, then the agreement could be declared null and void.?
In explaining why people so frequently make poor financial choices, the author observes that people ?live now in environments that have changed drastically in recent centuries?a short time in evolutionary terms. Hence many of their instincts may be poorly adapted to their current environment.?
In his critique of the financial industry, the author observes that agricultural employment shrank from ?41 percent of the population in 1900 to 1.9 percent in 2000? not because people eat less now, but because of efficiencies. Despite the advent of computers which should have reduced the size of the financial industry, it has grown and uses ?technology to complexify and baffle.? Computers make possible ?a swarm of complex new financial products that contribute to systemic instability and whose social value is almost certainly negative.?
Among Staddon?s recommendations for fixing the financial industry, he suggests that only banks that do retail (boring) banking should be allowed to be limited liability companies. Any firms that deal in financial markets should have to be partnerships so that the partners would be responsible for losses beyond the value of their shares.
Recognizing that forcing risky firms to be partnerships is a big change, Staddon suggests a quicker improvement, which would be to tax financial risk progressively. ?A common risk management tool is something called value at risk.? This measure could be used for taxation. Small firms would pay very little per unit of risk, but large firms would pay much more per unit of risk. This creates a disincentive to forming too-big-to-fail firms.
Staddon takes on a controversial subject with thoughtful analysis. I recommend this book to anyone wishing to think deeply about the problems in the world?s financial system.
Tagged as: Adam Smith, Advent Computers, Agricultural Employment, Amount Of Money, Asymmetric Information, Author John, Average Iq, Bad Idea, Efficiencies, Evolutionary Terms, Financial Choices, Financial Markets, Financial Meltdown, Government Control, hand, Instincts, Invisible Hand, Malign, Markets, Public Expense, Study Time, Term Profits, Thoughtful Commentary
NALCHIK, Russia (AP) ? Natai Al Sharkas' great-grandfather killed his Russian commanding officer and defected to the enemy.
The ethnic Circassian swells with pride at the thought of the century-old act.
Natives of what is now Russia's Caucasus region, Circassians fiercely resisted the Russian czarist conquest that ended in the 1860s after decades of scorched-earth warfare, mass killings or expulsions that some historians and politicians consider genocide.
The carnage forced many ? like Al Sharkas' ancestors ? to seek refuge in what is today Syria.
Now carnage in Syria is driving many back to their homeland.
This spring, Al Sharkas joined hundreds of Circassians fleeing war-torn Syria for this remote Russian region of soaring peaks and lush forests. In the coming months, thousands more are expected to arrive in Kabardino-Balkariya, a Caucasus province the size of Maryland with a population of less than 900,000, two-thirds of which is ethnic Circassian.
"We are planning to stay here for good," Al Sharkas, 35, said as he sat under fragrant fir trees at a Soviet-era resort hotel where many of the Circassian immigrants have sought shelter. "That's the decision we made a long time ago and it's been accelerated by the events in Syria."
Circassians were widely dispersed in the Russian expulsions. An estimated 2 million live in Turkey, another 100,000 in Syria and other sizable populations are in Jordan and the United States. But their sense of ethnic unity remains strong and the pull of their homeland compelling.
Al Sharkas's great-grandfather Koushoukou, his brother and two cousins were forcibly drafted and sent to the Russian-Turkish war of the late 1870s. They had to fight Ottoman Turks ? fellow Muslims whose sultans supported Circassian resistance and provided refuge for hundreds of thousands of them. After killing his officer in Bulgaria, Koushoukou joined the Turkish military and ended his life in Damascus ? part of Ottoman Turkey at the time.
Al Sharkas, which means Circassian in Arabic, used a network of family connections, along with Facebook, to find relatives in Kabardino-Balkariya and other parts of Russia. He encourages his Syrian relatives to follow him to the Caucasus, although now, because of the fighting, it hardly seems possible. "They are trapped there as it is almost impossible to even leave their neighborhoods," he said.
Assmat Yahya, a retired electrician from a Circassian village in the Syrian-controlled part of the Golan Heights, also found relatives in the Caucasus and plans to stay in Russia with his wife.
They left their seven-bedroom house in April after hearing that both opposition fighters and Syrian forces were approaching their town and now live in one of the cramped rooms in the hotel in Nalchik, the Kabardino-Balkariya capital. "I'm here not because of the war, although it triggered the return," the gray-haired 63-year-old said. "We want to live here with our relatives."
But the newly arrived Syrian Circassians have run into bureaucratic hurdles in Russia.
Because Russia allows foreigners to stay for only three months without a residence permit, al Sharkas and other Circassians from Syria recently had to travel to Abkhazia, a breakaway Georgian province that Russia recognizes as independent, to obtain entry stamps allowing them another three-months stay. Without residence and work permits, they will have to leave the country when their visas expire.
Circassians' historical grievances with Russia are strong.
The arrival of thousands of refugees from Syria could add fuel to a growing movement to force Russia to recognize the 19th century killing and expulsions of Circassians as genocide. Circassians are pushing the issue ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, where Circassian fighters surrendered to the czarist forces in 1864. Circassians say some of the Olympic facilities are being built over mass graves of their ancestors.
"Sochi is our open wound," said Vahit Kadioglu, head of the International Circassian Association in the Turkish capital, Ankara. "We expect recognition of the massacre from the Russian government."
In 2011, the pro-Western government of neighboring Georgia recognized the killings and deportation of Circassians as genocide and called on the West to boycott the Olympics. Russian officials say the decision was motivated by political tensions between Russia and Georgia, which fought a brief war in 2008, and dismissed the claims.
"There was no genocide of the Circassians, it was a normal historical process," said Valery Kuzmin, a Foreign Ministry ambassador-at-large responsible for the Sochi Games.
But the governor of the Russian province that will host the games has recently acknowledged the expulsions. "This land has not belonged to the Russian Empire, it belonged to Caucasus nations, to Circassians," Alexander Tkachyov of Krasnodar province, which was once almost entirely Circassian, said in early August.
Al Sharkas' father, Shawkat Achemez, says that's not good enough. He wants the Kremlin to admit to mass killings and ethnic cleansing.
"Millions have been expelled from this territory," he said. "That's what they have to admit."
When the Soviet Union forced an alliance with Syria in the late 1960s, some Syrian Circassians came back to the Caucausus to visit or study.
But genuine repatriation became possible only after the 1991 Soviet collapse because the Kremlin softened strict Soviet-era rules on obtaining Russian citizenship.
Some 1,500 Circassians have returned to the Caucasus since then, according to Circassian community leaders in Russia. In 1998, the Kremlin facilitated the repatriation of some 200 Circassians from Kosovo after they were attacked by ethnic Albanians.
The region they have come back to is afflicted by violence, too. The Caucasus republics are plagued by an Islamic insurgency that spread from Chechnya's separatist wars. A brazen 2005 raid of Islamists on Nalchik left 130 people dead, and Kabardino-Balkariya still experiences occasional small clashes.
Despite the violence, Circassians say they feel comfortable in their ancestral homeland.
Hamzeh Labeeb, a native of the Syrian city of Homs, came to Nalchik in 2002 to study at a local university ? and decided to stay.
"They've always treated me like their own," said the bespectacled 29-year-old computer engineer.
Meanwhile, locals think that their arrival benefits Russia.
"They possess cultural values we lost in the Communist era," said Vladimir Kaskulov, general director of the hotel chain in Nalchik that hosted more than 150 Syrians free of charge.
______
Laura Mills in Moscow and Irem Karakaya in Ankara, Turkey, contributed to this story
Many people have lower back pain. There are lots of leads to for intractable back problems. When you individually are suffering from back problems, this information is to suit your needs it contains a number of powerful tips which will help to ease back again troubles and eliminate spine pain.
For many, back discomfort can be related to standing up-right for extended intervals. For some, ranking for very long times with out taking smashes locations the two tension and force on the reduced back area. To avoid back pain, don?t stay on a regular basis, but don?t sit on a regular basis sometimes you need to stability both jobs to enable you to relaxation your again.
Your personal doctor might suggest rear surgical treatment for an solution that you can aid ease your back problems or ailment. Generally, surgery is only encouraged if other approaches do not give alleviation. Occasionally, hardly any other treatment method, apart from surgical treatment, can treat the actual cause of the back ache.
Thermal rear wraps are an incredible instrument from the combat in opposition to back pain. They have shown to decrease the severity of back discomfort and allow you to go about your way of life for as much as eight hours. They can be really worth the expense for your extensive times of flexibility from ache.
Amazingly, coffee will help alleviate constant back discomfort. Recent medical studies show the caffeinated drinks in gourmet coffee really helps to prohibit a chemical called adenosine. This kind of substance results in a stiffened back, so taking in espresso will prevent the chemical substance whilst keeping the anguish from developing.
Stay away from smoking! Research shows that using tobacco raises your risk of developing back pain by 30 %. Pure nicotine brings down blood flow, which may diminish the nutrition your back should be powerful, probably resulting in damage.
Expectant women have many difficulties with back discomfort. Expectant women generally produce reduced lower back pain by leaning in reverse to maintain balance and center of gravitational pressure given the extra weight maintained in advance. Therapeutic massage can loosen up your limited muscles.
Back again surgical treatment might be encouraged through your doctor in an effort to alleviate your ache. Surgical treatment is generally reserved for the hard cases that don?t reply to some other therapy. There are some situations and injuries that can make you have back discomfort and require that you get surgical procedures.
Work with a compress so that you can swiftly reduce back discomfort. Wrapping your rear and cutting your motion will quickly help the process of healing. Don?t cover your support also tight.
Prevent tension when you have lower back pain, since tensing muscle tissues causes it to become even worse. Attempt to chill out so as to never intensify any pain you currently really feel, and stop muscle spasms. Have an sufficient level of rest and use a heating system mat to lower pain, unwind muscle mass and raise circulation of blood for your back again.
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Don?t permit your back pain take control your way of life. Do everything you may to produce your soreness more manageable to enable you to live your life how you wish to. Since you?ve look at this report, use the advice that you believe is wonderful for you and use it for your existence.
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The following article is one of a series of articles which focus on Self Improvement, Motivation and Empowerment. It is based on research done over twenty years as a personal and business coach. This self improvement article was written in response to questions which have been asked on exercising, keeping fit, losing weight and long term weight loss as well as address common challenges that people have with this subject. I sincerely hope that you find the following information of value.
The total number of overweight American adults is approximately one-third or 58 million Americans. (overweight defined as a BMI value of 273 percent or more for women and 27.8 percent or more for men).
Nearly 70 percent of the diagnosed cases of cardiovascular disease are related to obesity. Obesity more than doubles one?s chances of developing high blood pressure, which affects approximately 26 percent of obese American men and women.
Every year, 300,000 people in the U.S.A. die from being overweight.
Now imagine the statistics for the whole western world!
If you visit the articles following this one, You will continue to see the above stats.
I don?t apologize for that ? these are frightening statistics. However, in this day and age, thankfully, there are options for those wishing to either lose weight, get fit, or lead a far healthier lifestyle.
Weight Loss ? The Ups And Downs Of weight loss Planning
Most of us have probably heard of the expression ? ?Fail to plan, plan to fail?. For her university entrance exams, my daughter recently followed her study plan (with breaks). My wife plans the following day?s schedule to ensure all appointments are kept (with breaks). Most of us either have plans or may be required to follow someone else?s plan, say in the workplace. Some people even plan for their more intimate activities.
Others say we plan too much, we are not spontaneous enough, and it has an adverse effect on our creativity. In some cases, I believe this to be true.
When it comes to weight loss, however, I think planning is key. We need to give ourselves the chance to succeed by planning (with breaks) what we eat and when we eat it. If we are too rigid in our planning, we run the risk of getting bored or worse, giving up altogether.
Plan to change in smaller rather than drastic steps. Remember the ultimate goal is long term and permanent weight loss, not a quick fix that will only lead to disappointment.
Have a look at the ideas that follow. Incorporate them into you weight loss planning.
Don?t Over Do It
I know that this can be a tough call, We all want to see the positive results of our efforts especially when it come to weight loss. To emphasize an earlier point, have a specific target in your plan. Perhaps your plan is to increase your levels of activity every day for 30 minutes; perhaps it is to eat 10% less every day. Whatever it may be, stay with it, you will succeed.
Most of us know that if we use up more calories than we take in, we will reduce our fat levels and improve our ability to achieve our weight loss goals. If your plan is to eat less, then the next two points will certainly help.
Physical Activity / exercise
Your view of well being may be different to mine. I try to think of weight loss from an holistic viewpoint. This isn?t just about losing weight. It?s about looking good, feeling good. It?s about being mentally sharp. It?s about self esteem.
We all need to exercise to keep fit. The fitter we become, the fitter we will want to stay, the more motivated we will be in following our chosen weight loss plan. If we are significantly more positive about ourselves and our accomplishments, there is likely to be a far lower risk of becoming depressed.
You know as I know that when depressed, chances are we will end up eating fatty foods as well as forgetting about exercising or our goal for a ?healthy lifestyle?. What happens, we put fat and the pounds back on. We get more depressed. And on it goes.
Prepare And Eat Smaller Meals Throughout The Day.
Think nutrition, think variety, think balance.
Again, as stated previously, don?t over do it. Gradually change from your current eating habits to, say, eating every four hours. Then plan to eat even smaller meals every two hours.
Make sure you get enough protein and enough fiber. A smaller meal to me doesn?t mean a burger without the fries, or fries without the mayo. Make sure you include vegetables and fruit to balance out the meal.
The big benefit of eating smaller, nutritional meals throughout the day is that we avoid those pangs of hunger that can often lead to eating unhealthy snacks.
Whatever plan you develop here, make sure you stay with it.
Yes Breaks Are Allowed
Eat something that you know you shouldn?t. Enjoy your favorite treat.
Hey, Andrew, that goes against my weight loss plan! Well, it does and it doesn?t. I want you to stay positive, stay motivated. If we don?t allow ourselves to eat things we shouldn?t from time to time, or have a day off exercising from time to time, we can easily become demotivated and, before we know where we are, our weight loss plan is out the window along with our healthy lifestyle. We then get depressed. Need I say any more?
Watch What You Drink And How Much You Drink
I have to admit that I have to monitor how much coffee I drink each day. Certainly not conducive to a healthy lifestyle or long term weight loss.
Other may have to think about how much beer or how much soda they drink on a daily basis. Why?
Well, there is no point in working out your weight loss plan to reduce your food calorie intake if you are then going to make up the calorie ?shortfall? or even increase it by drinking more drinks which are high in calories.
Last But Not Least, What Turns You On?
With my wife, it is chocolate. With me it is the smell of fresh baked bread ? I can?t resist it. The taste of a fresh baguette (with nothing else) ? wonderful. I just have to avoid the local bakery or I know what will happen!
What turns you on? What food can trigger an almost ?must have? response with you?
If those foods are not part of your weight loss planning, think of ways you can avoid those must have situations.
Let me end as I started, fail to plan and plan to fail. Weight loss planning isn?t difficult, so do not be put off by it. If you seriously wish to get fitter, get leaner, look and feel great, develop your weight loss plan and have the determination to see it through (with breaks).
Take those first steps today to a leaner, fitter you and a more active lifestyle. Learn the facts about nutrition, diet plans, and how following a natural weight loss strategy will work for you.
Learn the truth from our articles and reviews and get the success you deserve?
Visit Our Natural Weight Loss Website Today [http://www.your-natural-weight-loss.com]
For many veterans, their pets are more than man?s best friend. ?The dogs and cats rescued through the national organization Pets for Patriots are their links back to a normal life after serving their country in heavy combat.
There?s the story of the abandoned cat that becomes a trusty companion to a lonely Vietnam veteran. A Marine, who served multiple combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, finds comfort from the burdens of war in his rescued dog.? There?s also the story of a veteran whose once-abused one-eyed dog helps calm his symptoms of PTSD.
Pets for Patriots supports adoptions of pets as companions for military veterans. The pets are usually adult pets ? the types of pets that are least likely to be rescued from an animal shelter.
The organization works in partnership with animal shelters, veterinarians and businesses all over the country to help pair the animals with the vets and assist with animal care expenses.
Businesses, including Glendora Floor Store in Glendora, are raising money for program.
?At the same time they?re helping the vets, they?re pulling these animals out of these shelters that may not make it,? said Glendora Floor Store owner Jerry Nicholas. ??The psychological and physical support these pets gives to these vets is just incredible.?
Glendora Floor Store is just one of hundreds of businesses nationwide collecting money for the program. However, the store is collecting the money as part of the national corporation Floor America.
Nicholas said every dollar counts.
Patrons to his store have donated a dollar or more during visits, their donations marked by tags taped to the store?s door.
So far the store has collected about $500 over the year it has fundraised for Pets for Patriots. Floor America has raised $25,000 nationwide.
Nicholas said the store will continue to collect donations for Pets for Patriots at his store, as well as at community events such as the Flashback Car Show, Dog Day at the Park and Taste of the Village.
For more information about Pets for Patriots, visit its Facebook page, or call Glendora Floor Store at (626) 335-1311
FILE - This Aug. 6, 2011 file photo shows Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Tamba Hali trying to stay cool during NFL football training camp in St Joseph, Mo. The NFL has suspended All-Pro linebacker Hali for the season-opener against Atlanta for violating its policy on substance abuse. The league announced the suspension Monday, Aug. 20, 2012, without disclosing details. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner, File)
FILE - This Aug. 6, 2011 file photo shows Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Tamba Hali trying to stay cool during NFL football training camp in St Joseph, Mo. The NFL has suspended All-Pro linebacker Hali for the season-opener against Atlanta for violating its policy on substance abuse. The league announced the suspension Monday, Aug. 20, 2012, without disclosing details. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner, File)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) ? The NFL has suspended Pro Bowl linebacker Tamba Hali of the Kansas City Chiefs for the season-opener against Atlanta for violating its policy on substance abuse.
The league announced the suspension Monday without disclosing details.
Hali will miss the Sept. 9 game against the Falcons without pay, and be fined an additional game check. He will be eligible to return the following day and is still allowed to participate in preseason practices and games. The Chiefs play the Seattle Seahawks on Friday night.
"I apologize to my teammates, the Hunt family, the Kansas City Chiefs organization and most importantly, our fans," Hali said in a statement provided by the team. "I accept the discipline from the league and will return Week 2 of the NFL season with a commitment to erase this mistake with my play on the field and my conduct off of it."
Hali long ago established himself as the Chiefs' best pass rusher, reaching his first Pro Bowl last season alongside fellow linebacker Derrick Johnson.
The former first-round draft pick has started every game he's played the past six seasons. The past two years have been his best ? Hali had 14? sacks two years ago and 12 last season, when he helped a team ravaged by injuries to the doorstep of the playoffs.
The Chiefs were eliminated from contention in their penultimate game.
"Tamba's situation is unfortunate," Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli said in a statement. "Obviously we are disappointed and will miss him during the suspension, but the NFL's policies are very clear and we respect the league's decision in this matter."
Pioli said he could not provide any additional comment.
Hali has become one of the faces of the franchise, even though he goes about his business away from the spotlight. He routinely signs hundreds of autographs for fans and is known for his charitable work in the community, but he rarely speaks to the media.
Instead, Hali lets his performance on the field speak for itself.
He's racked up 266 tackles and 53? sacks in his career, along with an interception and a safety. He's also forced 22 fumbles, many of them after tearing around some woebegone offensive tackle and swiped the ball from the hands of an unsuspecting quarterback.
It was little surprise that Pioli made signing Hali to a long-term deal a priority, and the sides agreed last season on a five-year, $60 million contract with $35 million guaranteed.
"We're disappointed. We're disappointed for him, for the team, for the organization and the fans, but it is what it is," Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel said. "He's a guy who is very prideful, he's been a very good team member for this team, and I think the team will rally around him."
Crennel said that Hali will practice with the team throughout the preseason, but indicated that it could become a balancing act between keeping Hali in the rotation and making sure that the guys available for the regular-season opener are prepared.
Andy Studebaker is the first in line to replace Hali in the base defense.
Studebaker is a former sixth-round draft pick who has turned into a valuable backup in Kansas City, where he's started seven of the 54 games he's played across four seasons. He's not known for an ability to rush the passer, something the Chiefs will sorely miss with Hali on the sideline.
"You know, we always look at guys and what's going to happen, but Studebaker has played both left and right for us," Crennel said. "We'll look the next week and half and see how it goes, and when we start preparing for the Atlanta game, we'll determine how we're going to approach it."
The other option is Cameron Sheffield, who played sparingly in all 16 games last year. He's shown some ability to pressure the passer, but only has nine career tackles and is more likely to see time on the field in the Chiefs' sub package.
"You don't have the rush ability that Tamba brings to the table from everybody else," Crennel said, "but I expect everybody step up to provide some pass rush."
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