How a politician must be ? How many are really like this !

Our countries are an important part of our lives, It’s where we live and work. Any thing that affects our country, may affect us directly. The governments instituted among men are the elected representatives who are also known as the politicians. These politicians are required to implement social reforms and policy measures that contribute to the general welfare of the public. Politicians are important people who run our countries, they should have special characteristics to be in those positions.

Constitutions are also made for the purpose of securing, protecting, promoting good governance, accountability and welfare of all citizens.

The public may believe that politics is a dirty business, but effective members of any party noble politician may be trustworthy. They understand that to work together over the course of years, they must level with their colleagues. The same is true in their dealings with constituents, who are on the lookout for hyperbole and misleading statements.

A dictionary defines politician as “person engaged or interested in politics” and politics as “science and art of government; political affairs or life or principles etc.” Politics consists of “social relations involving authority and power”.

A politician is defined as one who is actively involved in politics or one who holds or seeks a political office. A politician is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making in government. Politicians play a central role in our lives. They are the concentrated voices of the people that make all efforts to improve their constituencies and peoples’ welfare.

The politician represent the people whom elect him. A smart politician would be the best person to represent others. The main reason is that a smart politician will lead the country to success. No matter the politician position is (president, governor, or senator etc….), they all should be smart to run their positions in a way that help the country to be the best among others.

A politician must possess honesty to be successful because he must build the public's trust in him. He must also build a high level of trust with colleagues, some of whom he may have to work with closely over many years. Politicians must be able to deal honestly with both colleagues and constituents, and they with him.

High energy levels are necessary for a successful politician because his job can be hectic. There is always something new to implement or some aspect of government to improve. Doing this job in a competent manner consumes both time and energy.

Ambition is an important aspect of a successful politician, even though it is sometimes decried as a negative quality. This is because an ambitious politician who wishes to prove himself is more likely to change a policy in accordance with his constituents.

First and foremost, the best quality of a politician is honesty, God fearing and loving. A faithful and effective politician is trustworthy and reliable. He must capture the essence of truth, display sincerity, candor and practices what he preaches. He makes decisions and accepts responsibility for his actions and his words. The same is true in his dealing with his people. He makes promises and keeps those promises. Somebody that people may be relied upon. Loving people with all his heart, might, mind, soul and striving to help them as a true mark of responsible politician.
 
A good politician should also be practical. The heart of practicality is being able to use the system to accomplish the will of both the politician and his constituents despite any hold-ups in federal bureaucracy.

Good and dependable politicians are delight to serve the people and consider themselves as servants and people their paymasters. They represent the hopes, aspirations and the interests of every citizen in the state.

A good and responsible politician becomes the image of his creator, will give high regard for morality, law abiding with no tendencies to corrupt even a single cent of money. The greatest strength of good politicians is deriving joy in serving people and not to steal tax payer’s money. They know that a fulfilling and meaningful life is created through service to others.

To be an effective politician, your followers must have trust in you. And the very best way for a politician to build trust is to display good sense of characters and qualities composed of values, beliefs, traits and skills.
 
A Politician qualities are his characters that is natural, while some of the qualities are as a result of external influences. Promising politicians qualities are often backed by skills, experiences, intelligence, integrity, with instincts -all combined together to achieve their goals.

Another important quality of a good politician is integrity and technical skills to handle those challenging assignments, fiscal matters, policies, plans, projects, ideas and initiative solutions to problems. Integrity is consistency of actions, methods, measures, values, principles, expectations and outcomes. It is doing what is right, both legally and morally at all-time even when no one is looking.

Since politicians play very significant roles in the administrative processes, especially having hands in thousands of important laws and policies to their communities and country, thereby they should be well-educated, modest, with experience in social welfare, volunteering or should have done some good work for the society. A politician should have a thorough knowledge and up-to-date information about the constituency where he is going to contest an election.

A good politician should be of a well discipline personality with selfless service to make live better for his people. This should be reflected in the community where he lives in all ramifications. Discipline is necessary for an orderly society and political life, without it, the social life would become miserable. A selfless service is putting the welfare of the people representing before your own.

Winston Churchill described it as “the first of all human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others”. A good politician firmly believes in taking care and maintaining the community of his people. He believes that community service is about giving back. According to Theodore Roosevelt, “the most successful politician is he who says what the people are thinking most often in the loudest voice”.

A person or politician who is with criminal background, or any links with criminals or whose allegation on corruption has not been cleared by the law court should be disqualified to participate in elections.

Responsibility and party loyalty is another quality of responsible politician in a democratic state. A transparent politician is nearer to his people and meeting them to understand their problems. Only fake politicians are seen by voters when an election is near or change parties as footballers change clubs.

As every parent has its responsibility to teach their children the principles of moral, culture, truth, sincerity to be self- responsible, so politicians need to integrate its citizens with importance of political responsibility and democratic values. A politician leads by example and should know his minimum responsibilities as an elected representative.

A politician comes to politics to work for his constituents and not to work against them. He is the beck and call of the people and ready to listen to everybody. All these build a strong foundation for a dynamic society which will create solutions for any challenges, and finally develop strategies and political systems that will help implement those solutions automatically. He is quick to give hand to his fellow man. A reliable politician should be very loyal and committed to his party which shares his vision and goals. The value of loyalty simply depends on trust. A citizen should belong to a party with most brilliant, skillful, patriotic and dynamic people with common goals and aspirations. Team work best when they have common goals, mutual respect and understanding of each party member’s strength. Politics is to unite and reach consensus and not to divide or create enmity among people. Power is only a product of collective action.

The best politicians also sustain an unusually high energy level and an ability to focus on the task at hand. They tend to have few hobbies, for the simple reason that public office is all-consuming; there's always another item on the to-do list.

Most good politicians are also ambitious, on fire with the wish to make something of themselves, and though many see this in personal terms, it usually means policy ambitions as well. They want to have a hand in contributing to the success of the nation and in finding ways of making life better for the people they represent.

While most politicians — good and indifferent — are adept at identifying and seizing on issues that will work to their own or their party's benefit, the better ones possess an additional skill: they know how to use the system to achieve results. They understand where in the federal bureaucracy to get help for a constituent, and they think creatively about how to use the congressional process and their colleagues' interests to advance a policy goal.

Perhaps just as important, they also understand the limits of their power — both what a legislator can realistically accomplish, and the fact that legislators might react to events but rarely can control them.

This ability to keep oneself in perspective is crucial to a politician. After years in office, it is supremely tempting to think of a legislative seat as an entitlement, as something held by right. It's not. Good politicians not only understand that they serve in a representative democracy, they embrace the challenges and opportunities this offers them.

The occasional exception notwithstanding — Richard Nixon comes to mind — they are good communicators who genuinely like all kinds of people and are comfortable talking to perfect strangers in all kinds of environments. They are accessible to the grand and the humble alike. They are sensitive to the mood in a room, know how to read an audience, and are quick to respond. They are generally open to other points of view, and know that while they may differ with someone on one issue, they'll likely be working with him or her on another in the future.

And perhaps most important, they understand that politics involves give and take, and the ability to find common ground. A good politician listens very carefully to those on the other side, not only to learn their arguments, but especially to learn how far he or she can move them and how far he or she has to be moved in order to reach consensus.

This is why politics puts a premium on resourcefulness and intelligence, and tends, over time, to discourage ideological blinkers — if you approach a problem by saying that all the good is in your side and all the bad lies with the opposition, then you'll never accomplish anything. Good politicians persist in trying to forge agreement on policy or political goals, and they can take defeat in stride; they know that setbacks and criticism go with the territory, and are quick to learn from them and move forward.

Finally, they never forget where they're from and fight hard not to succumb to Potomac Fever. They understand their districts and states, remain loyal to their constituents, and have an abiding faith in the decency, intelligence and patriotism of the voters. Without that, it's almost impossible to be a true representative, able to express in the halls of the powerful the hopes, dreams, and interests of ordinary citizens.
 
Finally, to become a great politician or statesman, you have to use your talents, skills, experiences, honesty, integrity, challenges and constraints with the positive effect that we can have in touching other human lives. Politician must leave his constituency better than before elected. Greatness is within reach of a politician who consistently do things they out to be doing. He learns from mistakes and criticisms.

It is a bad politician that will see that all the good is in his side and that all the bad lies with his opponent or just because someone does not agree with him, does not mean that all their ideas and solutions are bad.

Good politicians show respect to the views and experience of others. Nobody has a monopoly of wisdom. He / she who aspires to be a great politician should have the ability to find and analyses problems in their constituency and find the best solutions for all these problems. There is no problem in this world without solutions. 

A good politician knows that simply giving consistent effort in the little task of services, social reforms, kindness or sacrifice in day-to-day life leads to true greatness of a nation. If all politicians make it a point of responsibility to develop and make life better for people in their units, wards, constituencies, states and regions-we will definitely have a great country. 

Finally as known to me Abraham Lincoln of America, Jyoti Basu of ( Ex.CM ) West Bengal, Kamarajar of Tamilnadu very few like peoples can be fixed with the above criteria. But the citizens of any country wish to be polticians in the above mentioned manner, which cannot be denied by anyone is true.

No Street Names in Japan - How it works, for All !

Most streets in Japan have no name. Even when streets do have names they aren't used in addresses. This can be a little confusing for visitors. It's also a little confusing for locals. Instead of naming streets Japanese addresses use a system of numbered blocks.

Imagine you are walking around downtown Los Angeles and a Japanese girl approaches you and asks: “I am trying to find the Staples Center but I am completely lost, could you tell me what is the name of this block?” A little bit confused you answer that she is right now in South Main Street and West 8th Street. And the girls says “No, I don’t want to know the name of the streets, I want to know the name of the block”. In that moment, you start getting desperate and thinking what the hell is going on with this lost Japanese girl. A possible answer would be: “In what world are you living? Blocks have no name!”

Now imagine that after some months you are walking around Tokyo and you are lost trying to find a Shintoist temple near Akihabara. You approach a Japanese man and ask him: “What is the name of this street?”. The Japanese man looks at you puzzled and tells you: “Street have no name, but in that corner you can read the name of the block”. In that moment you realize the culture shock, you remember the poor Japanese girl that was lost in downtown Los Angeles and you understand how she felt back then”.

Yes, you read that was right. Many streets in Japan don’t have names. So how do the Japanese locate certain areas if their streets are nameless? Well, they use a peculiar kind of addressing system that uses block numbers instead of street names. Blocks in Japan are given unique numbers, and these numbers serve as the address. The spaces between these blocks, the streets, are left unnamed. So typically, people in Japan say, “I live in Block 2” or “I work in Block 13” instead of saying “I’m on Crocodile St.” or “My house is at Banana Ave.”

The Japanese system of addresses is fundamentally more complex. Locals need a map to find anything. Virtually every business in the country from restaurants to office buildings have detailed maps and directions on their website.

In Japan, street are simply an empty space in between blocks, they don’t have an identity. However you can identify buildings following a 3 digit system:

1) first one indicates the district, 
2) second one the block and 
3) third one the building or house inside the block.

It is a completely different, but perfectly valid, system of structuring and organizing cities. You have to change your whole mindset.

Which one is easier, our system or the Japanese system? For humans it depends on what are you used to but for machines and computers it’s better to use the Japanese notations.

Many people from Western countries might find this addressing system quite inefficient and confusing but actually it’s not. In fact, it’s very easy to use and helps people locate certain areas very quickly. For instance, if the restaurant you’re looking for in Tokyo City is located at Block 20, then all you need to do is get a map and look for the area that has the number 20 on it and voila, you just found your destination. Also, block numbers are easier to remember and spot on a map compared to street names.

In Japan, they use a very different addressing system than is used in most Western countries. Rather than streets having names (the space in between blocks), they give blocks numbers and leave the space in between the blocks, streets, nameless. (There are some exceptions to this where certain streets do have names, like main thoroughfares, though these names are generally largely ignored by locals, postal workers, etc.)

To illustrate how this system works from a practical standpoint, look at the map. The city area is divided up into blocks, with each one being given a number. If you want to find some location, rather than asking what street something’s on, you’d rather ask what block it is in.

As if the total strangeness of Tokyo was not enough to confuse and disorient the Western visitor, it turns out that the streets have no names and the buildings are numbered in a random fashion that was possibly invented by a 13th century Buddhist monk. The secret of deciphering the addressing scheme appears to have died with him.

Or maybe not.

While it is almost hopeless, there are some general guidelines that can be helpful in times of lost distress. This is roughly how it works:

The fact that only the most major streets have names is not really so much of a problem when you realize that the addressing scheme is totally different from anything you’ve ever encountered before. Street names wouldn’t help much.  
Here’s a sample address:

1-22-14 Jinan, Shibuya-Ku

Shibuya-Ku is the Ward (a large section of the City, Tokyo is comprised of 23 Wards). This will give you a general idea of where a given address is. If this destination is a well known attraction you can probably just take the subway to the heart of any given Ward and ask around once you get there (be prepared to do some serious walking).

In the above example, Jinan is the District within the Ward. This will give you an even more refined sense of where a given address is. The whole process is something like zeroing in on a target.

The District is further subdivided into subsections called Chome. The first number of the address is the Chome, or subsection of the District within the Ward. Surprisingly clear cut, really.

Now this is where it gets a bit complicated. The next digit represents the subsection of the Chome (usually a specific city block). The final digit is the actual building number within the Chome subsection. The problem is that the buildings are not numbered sequentially. Actually, they’re numbered in the order in which they were constructed. Given the amount of destruction and aggressive development that Tokyo has witnessed over the past 75 years, it’s extremely unlikely that any adjoining buildings in the City were built consecutively.

If this weren’t difficult enough, the first two digits (Chome and subsection) are usually written in Japanese.

Careful consideration of this addressing scheme makes it apparent that even if you know the system like a native, there is still no way to find an address on the first try. Usually you’ll spend a lot of time wandering around an area, looking at maps and wondering which direction is North.

It’s all a process of trial and error, and if it’s any consolation, the natives don’t seem to understand the system either. Ask strangers on the street for help finding an address and there’s a good chance that no two people will agree.  
A couple of hints that might make things easier during your trip:

1) Maps are commonly printed on advertisements and matchbooks. Remember this important motto, “while in Japan maps are your friends”.

2) The Chome often have maps with detailed information posted randomly throughout the neighborhoods. Unfortunately many of these maps are out of date. More commonly the frame that holds these maps is empty, the Chome map having been removed by some unseen force (not stolen remember this is Tokyo). Should you encounter one of these maps they may provide you with further information you need to find your destination, but they are not entirely reliable. Proceed with caution.

3) If you are really lost, do not hesitate to stop at one of the many neighborhood police stations you will see along your travels. The police are more than willing to help and they know their districts very well.

4) Perhaps the most important advice of all — when in Tokyo wear comfortable walking shoes. You’ll need them. Nothing beats Doc Marten.  
Confusing or Just Different ?

The Japanese system of addresses is fundamentally more complex. Locals need a map to find anything. Virtually every business in the country from restaurants to office buildings have detailed maps and directions on their website.

There are 3 fundamental reasons the system is confusing:

1. Blocks are irregular shapes 
They can't be followed like a street.

2. Blocks aren't a physical thing.

One numbered block many contain dozens of physical blocks. At some point in history, someone drew a line around a bunch of blocks and gave them a number.

3. House numbers aren't sequential.

House #1 in a block is the first house to be built in that block. House #1 may be beside house #35.

Japanese Addresses Explained

There are 8 components of a Japanese address:

1. Prefecture

Japan has 43 prefectures (県, ken). Just to make things complex there are a few exceptions. Tokyo isn't a prefecture it's a metropolis (都, to). Osaka and Kyoto are urban prefectures (府, fu). Hokkaido is a circuit (道, do).

2. Municipality

Like prefectures, municipalities have different types. A large municipality is a city (市, shi). Tokyo has it's own system of wards (区, ku) but also has cites (市, shi).

Towns must include a district (郡, gun) followed by the town (町, machi). Small towns are referred to as villages (村, mura).

3. Subdivision

Each municipality is divided into subdivisions. These are called machi (町), cho (町), oaza (大字) or aza (字) depending on the municipality.

4. District (chome)

Each subdivision is further divided into numbered districts called chome (丁目).

5. Block (ban)

Each chome is divided into numbered blocks called ban (丁目).

6. House Number (go)

House numbers are called go (号). As previously mentioned, they're not sequential.

7. Building Name

Every building (small and large) in Japan has a name. Building name is almost always included in Japanese addresses. Due to the confusing nature of Japanese addresses postal employees often memorize building names and deliver on this alone.

8. Postal Code

As with postal codes in other countries these identify an area. They're primarily used by Japan Post.
 
Addressing Envelopes 
Envelopes are addressed in the opposite order of western addresses. The conventional order is

postal code, 
prefecture, 
municipality, 
subdivision, 
district number, 
block number, 
house number, 
building name, 
suite number, 
persons name followed by the polite prefix sama (様).

〒160-0023 
Tokyo-to Shinjuku-ku 
Nishi Shinjuku 2-8-1 
Tokyo City Hall Building Suite 2201 
Yamaguchi Kenta Sama

Streets without name

Not having street names makes writing directions much shorter; for example the directions to find a restaurant could be “Sushi Tanaka, Tokio, Yoyogi 4-3-1”. If you are in Tokyo it could even be shortened more, like “Yoyogi 4-3-1 (If you click the link you can see how Google Maps finds the exact desired spot)”, and still contains the precise information to find the exact location of the restaurant. Using directions in a cellphone or a car navigating system using the Japanese street name system is much easier than introducing the whole street name.

In the direction “Yoyogi, 4-3-1”, the first word is the name of the neighborhood, the first number is the chome (丁目), the second number is the block ban (番) and the last number is the building number inside the block go (号). 

Depending on the city and the region the system varies slightly but the fundamental concept of not using streets names is commonplace (only some important avenues and highways have names). The organization of maps follows a top down perspective, first the more general area is named and then smaller areas are named: chome (丁目) is the unit in which neighborhoods are divided, then every chome is divided into several ban and finally each ban is divided into numbered buildings.

In this Google Maps capture you can see the neighborhood name, the chomes and the different bans, but the different go are not specified. If you are very interested in this topic, you can find a very good explanation on Wikipedia about the addressing systems used in different Japanese cities.

This easiness to write directions and to use them in computers helped a lot to the number of geolocalized places by Internet users, even before cellphones were equipped with GPS systems. If at the same time we take into account that cellphones with GPS arrived to the Japanese market in 2003, the geolocalized information in Japan has been growing exponentially in the last years. Nowadays, Japan is the country in the world with the most geolocalized information available; the second one is South Korea, but it doesn’t even have half of the information that Japan has.

To have a lot of geolocalized information available on the net helps to easily create new services without having to introduce the information manually. For example, one of the most innovative start-ups in Tokyo is Sekai Camera, one of the first commercial applications that uses augmented reality. The more geolocalized information available on the area you live, the more useful Sekai Camera is. Since the beginning of the year, an American service that bases its business model on geolocalization called Foursquare, is having more success in Tokyo than in any other city in United States because its usefulness is much higher if users have geolocalized a lot of information beforehand.

Thanks in part to how easy it is to type Japanese directions and most of all thanks to the huge amount of mobile devices with GPS in hands of Japanese people has made the expansion of applications and businesses based in geolocalization much faster in Japan than anywhere else in the world; however with or without street names, during the next few years the boom of applications using geolocalized information is going to be huge everywhere in the world.

David Copperfield - World's greatest Magician Ever

David Copperfield is the most commercially successful magician of all time. Over the last 30 years, he has managed to amass an astounding $800 million personal net worth.

Worldwide magical celebrity David Copperfield is being reported as on track to become the world’s first magician billionaire. David Copperfield is hailed as the greatest magician of our time, who can manipulate, materialize, dematerialize and transport living and non-living objects of any size — or so he makes us believe!

David Seth Kotkin (born September 16, 1956), in Metuchen, Jersey, known professionally as David Copperfield, is an American illusionist, described by Forbes as one of the world's most famous commercially successful magicians and wealthiest entertainers in history, originally wanted to be a ventriloquist but soon diverted to magic.

He has presented innovative magic in his many television specials and continues to tour and perform for live audiences. He's an immensely talented and skillful entertainer who has effectively changed with the times and does it all: illusion, manipulation and close-up. At times in his career, he’s had the popularity of a rock star.

David Copperfield’s long, illustrious career has allowed him to become the most successful solo entertainer in history.

He began taking magic lessons, and at the age of 12 he was performing professionally in his hometown of Metuchen, New Jersey. David was the youngest person ever to be admitted to the Society of American Magicians and by 16, he was teaching magic at New York University.

By age 16, David Copperfield was teaching a course in magic at New York University, and performing under the name David Copperfield, after the popular Charles Dickens novel. After a brief stint at Fordham University, Copperfield was cast as the lead in the Chicago musical The Magic Man.

At 19, he was headlining a show in a large hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was approached by ABC in 1977 to produce a magic special.

The success of The Magic Man led to a job hosting an ABC magic special, which Copperfield parlayed into a lucrative career.

Magician David Copperfield is best known for his wild and amazing feats of illusion that leave audiences around the world stunned and bewildered. Like most magicians, David Copperfield is especially talented at making things disappear. In 1983, David Copperfield’s special tricks include making the Statue of Liberty disappear in front of a live audience as millions of people watched on TV from home, and walking through the Great Wall of China, levitated over the Grand Canyon; and in his shows, taken a member of the audience and transported him/her instantaneously to another part of the world, and escaping from a flaming raft over Niagara Falls.

While in college, he was cast as lead in a musical under the name David Copperfield, where he sang, danced, acted and created all the magic in the show. He was introduced to the world when he hosted The Magic of ABC, starring David Copperfield. Years of successful network special programmes and extensive touring has led him to be considered by Forbes magazine as among the top 10 highest grossing entertainers in the world, seen worldwide by more people than any other magician in history. Copperfield has also won dozens of Emmys.

Over his long career, Copperfield’s television specials has garnered 21 Emmy Awards of a total 38 nominations. been named "Magician of the Century" and "Magician of the Millennium," received the first star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame awarded to a living magician, and received the prestigious U.S. Library of Congress' Living Legend Award (other award recipients include Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and Colin Powell). Additionally, Copperfield was knighted by the French government, becoming the first magician to receive the Chevalier of Arts and Letters.

Copperfield’s passion for preserving the history of the art of magic has led him to establish the International Museum and Library of the Conjuring Arts, housed in Nevada, which is the world’s premiere collection of historical documentation and artefacts regarding or pertaining to magic, illusion and the allied arts.

Best known for his combination of storytelling and illusion, Copperfield's career of over 40 years has earned him 11 Guinness World Records, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a knighthood by the French government, and he has been named a Living Legend by the US Library of Congress.

Magic Daily wish to congratulate David, wish him all the best and would like to let David know about our sponsorship opportunities!

But, in addition to making things disappear, David Copperfield is also quite talented at making one very important thing appear: Money. David Copperfield is the most commercially successful magician of all time. Over the last 30 years, he has managed to amass an astounding $800 million personal net worth. Within a few years, he is expected to become the world's first billionaire magician. This is his magical success story.

David Copperfield is an enchanting performer who works the stage and his magic to the enthrallment of audiences. His Las Vegas shows and world tours have sold more than 40 million tickets and grossed $4 billion in revenue to date. He has sold more tickets than any other solo performer in history, earning him one of his 11 Guinness World Records. To put that in perspective, David Copperfield, a magician, has sold more tickets than Madonna, Justin Bieber, Elvis Presley and even Michael Jackson. His 1996 show, Dreams and Nightmares, still holds the record for the most Broadway tickets sold in a week. Ultimately, the stage production grossed more than $6 million during its five-week run.

Copperfield's MGM Grand Hotel & Casino show alone has had an uninterrupted 13 year run. Running up to 3 shows a day, 7 days a week, 42 weeks a year. That’s dedication to the cause! Ticket sales gross roughly $50 million each year and that doesn't include merchandising, which, by the way, Copperfield owns entirely.

Even at 56, Copperfield still performs many shows a week. He was one of the first magicians to successfully combine amazing magic tricks with great storytelling.

Copperfield has so far sold 40 million tickets and grossed over $4 billion, which is more than any other solo entertainer in history. In 2015, Forbes listed his earnings at $63 million for the previous 12 months and ranked him the 20th highest earning celebrity in the world.

He went on to perform his magic feats more than 500 times a year. According to Forbes magazine, Copperfield earned $57 million in merchandise and tour revenue in 2005 alone. By 2012, the magician's net worth was estimated at $150 million, and his ticket sales had grossed an estimated $3 billion.

When you consider that income on top of his investments, wealth in the memorabilia collections and all the merchandise, David has obviously been a shrewd businessman alongside his magical success.

When not performing, he manages his chain of eleven islands in the Bahamas, recalled by him "Musha Cay and the Islands of Copperfield Bay", which has completed a $35 million renovation under Copperfield's supervision.

Though his magic shows are the most profitable of all time, impressively, David Copperfield's $800 million net worth doesn't come from illusions alone. Thanks to incredibly shrewd investments and acquisitions, David has managed to build an incredibly valuable financial empire that includes real estate, restaurants, merchandise and even magic memorabilia! Before we get into that magic memorabilia collection, which is quite impressive, let's take a look at other facets of David Copperfield's career, investments, and fortune.

Guyana in South America - The highest rate of suicide in the World

Suicide in Guyana is a serious social problem, as Guyana is ranked first in suicides per capita worldwide, a staggering rate of 44.2 suicides per 100,000 people (the global average is 16 per 100,000) the small nation of Guyana in South America has the highest rate of suicide in the world. And with fewer than 10 full-time psychiatrists in the country, a shortage of social workers or psychologists and no operating crisis hotline, there are limited options for those seeking help.

About 40% of people who commit suicide in Guyana poison themselves by consuming agricultural pesticides. The most famous case of suicide in Guyana was the mass suicide of 909 followers of Jim Jones' Peoples Temple

On November 9, 2013 the Guyana Chronicle carried the story of a 17-year-old girl from Affiance who committed suicide by hanging herself. This followed the suicide of another 17-year-old girl from New Road, Essequibo Coast, who committed suicide by ingesting deadly poison. The Kaieteur News of November 12, 2013 reported that five men took their own lives during the previous week in just Region 6. And on Saturday a 55-year-old man from Industry on the East Coast of Demerara reportedly killed himself by burning down his house.

Those are a lot of suicides for a country with a small population the size of Guyana, no matter how one looks at it. The World Health Organization, in its 2009 report rated Guyana as the country with the highest rates of suicide in South America and the Caribbean. Judging by the number of newspaper reports on actual suicides, it seems as though the situation hasn’t improved, but may in fact have gotten worse.

Suicide is described as “the action of killing oneself intentionally” and the reasons people commit suicide are as varied as the methods they use to commit the act.

No one factor can explain Guyana’s shockingly high suicide rate. Health workers have pointed to the deep poverty in rural areas, the prevalence of alcohol abuse (which is notorious for its contribution to successful suicides) and the ease of access to deadly substances.

One of the most frequently used suicide methods in the country is the ingestion of pesticide. As many people are farmers, pesticides are readily available and contribute significantly to the high suicide rate. In response, the government distributed storage cabinets with locks to farmers who won a lottery, with the aim of limiting accessibility and encouraging safe usage. In the initial stage, 10 farmers received cabinets, with the total number distributed said to be only 150.

Some scholars have theorised that exposure to certain herbicides and pesticides used in the country makes farmers more prone to suicidal behaviour.

Savitri Persaud, a doctoral candidate at York University who has done extensive research on mental illness in Guyana, highlighted the inadequacies of one recent government initiative.

In Guyana, Persaud notes the powerful effect of stigma and the importance of grassroots intervention. Mental illness is misunderstood in the country, with symptoms often mistakenly attributed to witchcraft (known locally as obeah). Communities often ostracise sufferers, and on occasion have physically assaulted them, at times with the endorsement of religious leaders, who are highly respected figures.

“Guyana is a place where most people live in villages and rural areas, so those who people tend to reach out to are religious leaders,” says Persaud. “In some ways religious leaders become first responders.” Taking into account Guyana’s specific culture with religion, she says, “we have to take into consideration the way mental health symptoms can be interpreted certain ways by religious leaders”.

Because of a strong stigma and a lack of resources in Guyana, suicide as a public health issue has fallen by the wayside. Efforts by the ministry of health in the last few years have been nominal, and those interventions that have taken place seem misguided at best.

Mental illness is misunderstood in the country, with symptoms often mistakenly attributed to witchcraft.

“That is not suicide prevention. That is not proactive, that is reactive,” says Persaud. “We need to think twice about our knee-jerk responses.”

Restricting access to potentially lethal means, such as firearms, ropes or poisons, is a necessary part of prevention but is not of itself sufficient. Effective suicide prevention involves intervention on an individual level – psychologically and physiologically – and also in the wider community.

The Guyana Foundation, a private philanthropic institution tackling Guyana’s social problems, has taken on the problem of suicide at the ground level. Anthony Autar, the managing director, spoke about the multiple ways in which the foundation has approached suicide prevention.

The foundation has reached out to police, family and survivors in rural areas to educate them about suicide and suicidal behaviour. In addition, it conducted training sessions in Georgetown, the country’s capital, for religious leaders, social workers and representatives from NGOs. It also launched an information campaign in local newspapers to challenge misconceptions about mental illness.

The foundation is currently trying to partner with international agencies, such as those in Canada, to route calls from those in need to crisis lines abroad. “Guyana just doesn’t have the capacity,” says Autar, “so we’re doing our best to become creative in seeking solutions”. They’re seeing success. Autar reports that large companies are requesting more information on suicidal behaviour and intervention for their employees. When the foundation offered to connect citizens with mental illness to professionals, they received 50 phone calls in a fortnight. “It shows that people are recognising they can get help and are willing to reach out,” says Autar.

Persaud herself encourages a multi-sectoral approach, saying: “The medical community needs to be actively involved, the church needs to be actively involved, community members need to be actively involved.” In a sentiment echoed by professionals worldwide, Persaud says a comprehensive approach should apply not only to Guyana: “The problem is cross-cultural. We can’t call certain countries advanced just because they use the medical model.”

In the region overall, the issue is gaining attention. The Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) has recognised suicide as a major problem, and is focusing special effort on raising awareness and implementing changes in government policy and in public health services. Between 2010 and 2013, PAHO launched region-wide initiatives to address treatment gaps in mental health, and has integrated mental health in its strategic plan for 2014 to 2019.

Efforts have seen some success. According to a report released in 2014, only six countries and territories in the region do not have mental health policies established. (Simultaneously, much work remains to be done, as only eight countries have established targeted, up-to-date mental health laws.)

While top-down interventions are beginning to show results, with psychiatric care moving from psychiatric hospitals to communities and more legislative action on mental health, most Caribbean countries are still struggling to fight the stigma of mental illness at grassroots level. Jamaican blogger Brandon Allwood, one of the few to share his experience of mental illness and suicidal feelings publicly, recounted how the most resistance came from his family and friends. “I understand, now, that my mother and most Jamaicans are of the ‘help-yourself-nuttin-nuh-wrong-wid-yuh’ ilk.”

Allwood concludes: “This is not a call for the government; it is a call for us all to seriously look at our attitudes towards mental illness. How we support our children, siblings, parents, friends and colleagues who are affected by the gamut of mental ailments. It is about us, as a people, being more open to the idea that sometimes we actually do need help.”

Indeed, while psychiatric facilities can keep those in crisis safe, medical intervention alone is not enough. Effective suicide prevention comes from a holistic approach – taking more than the individual or the attempt into account, but also the communities in which they live, the cultural attitudes towards mental illness, and the awareness of the issue of suicide. Globally, there needs to be more open discourse about suicide. For those at risk, there are still significant obstacles, both cultural and logistic, in seeking treatment. Suicide prevention has simple, but proven measures for countries to implement. Putting it on the agenda for 2015 has the potential to save thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of lives.

With a 2014 World Health Organisation (WHO) report naming Guyana as the country with the highest suicide rate per capita, the trend seems to be continuing with recent suicide statistics showing 272 reports over a thirty month period.

Vice President Khemraj Ramjattan, who has responsibility for Public Security on detailed police statistics as it relates to reported cases of suicide in Guyana.

Ramjattan released the statistics at the launch of the Inter-Agency Suicide Hotline which was spearheaded by the Guyana Police Force.

He pointed out that in 2013, there were some 129 reports of suicide with the Berbice area amassing the highest amount of reports at 42, most of whom were East Indians. It was indicated that 90 of the 129 reports were relative to male victims.

Ramjattan indicated that the same trend continued in 2014, although there was a stark decline in the amount of suicide reports. There were 97 suicides and again most of the reports involved male victims with 68 of the reports being persons of East Indian descent.

For the first six months of 2015, the Public Security Minister stated that the Guyana Police Force recorded some 46 reports of suicide, 29 of which emanated from the Berbice area.

It was further noted that there were three major underlying factors that led to suicide, the first of which was domestic violence and this was followed by alcohol abuse and terminal illnesses, respectively.

Suicide by hanging and consuming poison was also pointed out to be the two major mediums utilised. Ramjattan pointed out that there is need for more stringent monitoring of the pesticides sector and indicated too that access restriction is something that will be explored by the current government.

Meanwhile, Commissioner of Police Seelall Persaud told those gathered at the launch that the new helpline will be subject to weekly reviews to ensure that it is working in a manner that is satisfactory.

“We decided we won’t open these lines until we are comfortable that they can deliver what they are intended to deliver…we will be collecting data on suicide to prove or disprove what happened…You can call, you can text – by any of these means communicate to us and we will respond appropriately,” said the Police Commissioner.

Baby boy born with 15 Fingers and 16 Toes

The three-month-old boy, nicknamed Hong Hong, was born to two migrant workers from the village of Zhongping, in Pingjiang County of China’s central Hunan Province, was born with polydactylism— a congenital condition in which the individual has extra ( Total 31 ) fingers and toes and has two palms, but no thumbs on either hand, Central European News (CEN) reported. 

 

The child suffers from an extreme case of polydactyly which is a congenital physical anomaly that can occur in humans, dogs, and cats giving them a larger number of digits on their hands and feet.

Astonishingly, Hong Hong has two palms on his hands and no thumbs.

Zou Chenglin, Hong Hong’s father, said his wife, who works in a factory in Shenzhen City, in southern Guangdong Province, also has polydactylism.

"My wife has one extra finger and toe on each of her hands and feet, so we were worried that our child would inherit the condition,” Zou said. "But after going to three big hospitals in Shenzhen, doctors found no birth defects on our son during prenatal scans.” When the boy was born, he had seven fingers on his right hand and eight on his left, along with eight toes on each of his feet.

Zou Chenglin, the father, said the family has visited multiple hospitals and learned that their son can be operated on between six months and one year of age, which could cure the abnormality.

Now that the shock and disappointment has worn off, the couple are hoping to raise money for their son to have surgery to largely correct the syndrome.

The surgery could cure the polydactylism and hopefully give the boy a chance at a normal childhood, without the stigma and social pressure and difficulties that would accompany having an inordinate amount of fingers and toes.

However, the poor migrant worker family will be unable to raise the 100,000 to 500,000 Yuan($20,000 to $100,00) required for the operation and the post-op recovery. The family is now trying to reach out to local charities and is hoping that the public will extend a helping hand to give their son a more normal childhood. One difficulty is that the boy’s condition is not life-threatening and therefore not perceived as a priority, compared to the condition of those suffering from more severe diseases, CEN reported.