What Your Voice Says About You.

Posted on AOL.com in partnership with Careerbuilder – August 27, 2008

By N. BHATTA             

                   

Of course you shine on paper and your attire is impeccable, and that’s enough to seal the deal in your next round of job interviews, right? Not always. It’s a little-known fact that something else about you has been proven to speak volumes about the type of person others consider you to be. A recent Stanford University study found that people “hear” personality in the voices of others, and that the sound of one’s voice biases opinions about everything from credibility to sexual prowess. Whether you’re a suave-sounding person or a speed demon when you speak, stop to think about your current pattern of speech. Use this information to see what your voice says about you and how you can make your speaking pattern stronger.

Style of Speech: High-Pitched Voice

What Your Voice Says: People who speak in squeaky, high voices sound insecure, inexperienced, and give the illusion of not being confident. Even worse, after only a few sentences your future employer or coworkers might consider you too aggravating to be around.

Career Saving Quick Fix: Contrary to popular belief, people with high voices aren’t stuck with them, though trying to fix your tone on your own can prove to be damaging to your vocal chords. A trip or two to a vocal coach can bring your voice down a notch or two while bringing up your marketability.

Style of Speech: Slow Talker

What Your Voice Says: You’re calm and confident enough to trust that people will wait around to see what you have to say. Because of this, you attract admiration and respect. You’re also soothing and pleasant to speak with because you appear relaxed and in control. Unless, however, you’re *too* slow, with multi-second pauses between words for unknown reasons, which is a speech no-no.

Career Saving Quick Fix: People who are slow talkers also tend to be monotonous as they speak, so watch for this and make a contentious effort to vary your levels.

Style of Speech: Nasal

What Your Voice Says: Recent polls say that seven out of ten people are annoyed by people who have a nasal quality to their voice. You will sound demanding and calculating, while appearing less professional, if you allow a nasal tone to overwhelm your voice.

Career Saving Quick Fix: Look in the mirror to see how wide your mouth opens when you speak and try opening your mouth a bit more as you talk in order to encourage the sound waves to come from your voice box and not from your nose.

Style of Speech: Gravely Voice

What Your Voice Says: Whether deserved or not, a gravely voice gives the illusion of experience and authority and commands attention and reverence from fellow workers. Many singers actively cultivate a gravely voice because it is considered to be an intoxicating aphrodisiac to the ears.

Career Saving Quick Fix: Unless you’re in a environment where the goal is to sound young, hip and cool at all times, a gravely voice won’t deter your career goals. However, if you find your voice becoming more and more gravely, see your doctor as it may be a sign of health concerns like a thyroid issue, perpetual throat problems, or even a symptom of chronic disease.

Style of Speech: Fast Talker

What Your Voice Says: Speaking too quickly gives others the idea that you are sloppy and not particular enough to ensure that the other person can understand what it is that you’re talking about. Fast talkers also appear nervous and easily taken advantage of, which are not especially good qualities to have attributed to you when on the job.

Career Saving Quick Fix: If you find your speech speeding up, try taking a deep breath before you speak. You can also slow your speech down by working on other positive communication skills while you speak, like practicing eye contact, taking pauses, and stopping every few sentences to allow coworkers to chime in.

Style of Speech: Low Talker

What Your Voice Says: It depends. A low, powerful voice exudes strength because a deep voice is a sign of high testosterone. If you wield your low, deep voice properly, it commands much more attention than a fast, squeaky voice, but if you’re a low talker who mumbles, you’re in worse shape than your voice-challenged counterparts. Regardless of how you sound, if no one knows what you said it’s a lost cause.

Career Saving Quick Fix: Make sure you’re being heard when you talk, especially in loud places and with older people. Don’t just take visual cues as proof—occasionally ask if you’re being understood, and make an effort to raise your volume in larger groups, just in case.

Career women are their own worst enemies: study

Writing by Miral Fahmy, editing by Sanjeev Miglani

Wed Aug 20, 7:31 AM ET

Multicolor diaries …………….Wed August 20, 2008.

SINGAPORE (Reuters Life!) – Women are their own workplace enemies when it comes to cracking the glass ceiling, with an international study finding they are less likely to promote themselves and network than their male counterparts.

The 2008 study, part of U.S. behavioral scientist Shannon L. Goodson’s new book “The Psychology of Sales Call Reluctance,” compared almost 11,500 professional women with 16,700 men from 34 countries.

Goodson said professional women in Britain, the United States and China were more likely to promote their interests, whereas women in New Zealand and Sweden are the most timid, followed by Australian and Canadian women.

But overall, women were not doing enough to advance their own careers, she said in a statement.

“Women did not create the glass ceiling, the invisible barrier blamed for limiting their ability to earn what they’re worth, but they help maintain it,” Goodson said.

“Being able to draw attention to your contributions and competencies at work has become an important part of modern career management, and it is something most women are still unwilling or unable to do as consistently as their male counterparts,” she added.

Goodson’s research found that while most men had no qualms about touting their contributions, and even sometimes lying about them, women still cling to the myth that self-promotion is “socially unacceptable,” “unlady-like” and “morally suspect.”

“They believe hard work alone is sufficient to put them on salary and status par with their male counterparts,” she said.

“Good work is important, but good work alone does not, as the myth says, speak for itself, you have to give it a voice.”

Goodson’s research also found that women who had managed to climb up the corporate ladder tended to “take the ladder with them,” sometimes even sabotaging the chances of other female workers seeking promotion.

This part of the study, which was conducted mainly in the United States, revealed women executives may not be as encouraging or supportive of female staff.

“This led many women in the study to actually prefer male managers to female managers, claiming men are more consistent and fair-minded than women,” Goodson added.

 

Sneaky ways you’re ruining your credit score

by Marie Claire, on Thu Jul 3, 2008 8:03am PDT

 

Getty Images

The most obvious way to blow your credit score is to make a late payment. Even if your credit score is solid, a single missed payment could cost you as much as 100 points, say many financial advisers. According to the Fair Isaac, the company that calculates your FICO score, payment history accounts for 35 percent of your total score. And that credit score will help determine what kind of rates you can score when applying for home or car loans. So first things first: Figure out your credit score.

Your FICO score, a number between 300 and 850, is based on five criteria:

• payment history
• amounts owed
• length of credit history
• new credit
• types of credit used

You can find out yours at myfico.com. According to Experian National Score Index, one of the major credit bureau companies, the average credit score in America is currently 692. Those with scores well above 700 will qualify for the best interest rates out there.

But even if you pay your bills on time religiously, your credit score may be endangered. Here are ways charge card sins could cost you some precious credit score points.

1. Not asking for what you want
Don’t accept everything your credit card company offers as written in stone. If you don’t want that credit line increase, ask them to reduce it back to your old one. Had one late payment? If your record is squeaky clean, ask them nicely to remove the blemish from your credit history (which, remember, could cost you up to 100 points on your credit score). They could say no, but they could very well say yes because they value you as a customer. Ask anyway. Your credit score will thank you.

2. Accepting credit line increases
Being the responsible, on-time bill-payer that you are, your credit card company rewards you by upping your credit line. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but remember how much you can afford to reasonably charge. Resist the urge to spend more or risk being unable to meet your new minimum payments.

3. Consolidating your accounts
So you’re considering transferring all your credit card balances to one card so you’re only dealing with one bill every month. It sounds sensible, right? A big no-no, according to the keepers of the credit score. Think of it this way: One big balance looks a whole lot worse than multiple low balances. Appearances are everything.

Skin cancer rates grow among younger women

Video

By Rob Stein

updated 5:13 a.m. ET, Fri., July. 11, 2008

WASHINGTON – Increasing numbers of younger women continue to receive diagnoses of the most dangerous form of skin cancer even as the rate of new cases has leveled off in younger men, federal health officials reported yesterday.

An analysis of government cancer statistics from 1973 to 2004 found that the rate of new melanoma cases in younger women had jumped 50 percent since 1980 but did not increase for younger men in that period.

“It’s worrying,” said Mark Purdue, a research fellow at the National Cancer Institute, who led the analysis published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology. “What we are seeing in young adults right now could foretell a much larger number of melanoma cases in older women.”

The new research did not examine the reasons for the trend, but Purdue said it could be the result of such factors as women spending more time outdoors and engaging in indoor tanning. Young women are much more likely than young men to frequent tanning salons, Purdue and others noted.

Tanning bed link?
“One possible explanation is increases among young women of recreational sun exposure or tanning bed use,” Purdue said. “Both of these things have been identified as risk factors. It’s possible increases in these two behaviors may be responsible.”

About 62,000 melanoma cases are diagnosed each year in the United States, and more than 8,400 people die of the disease, according to the American Cancer Society. Previous studies have shown that the rate of new diagnoses has been increasing among adults overall, but it was unclear what was happening with younger adults.

Purdue and his colleagues analyzed cancer statistics for men and women ages 15 to 39 collected through the NCI’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program, a network of regional cancer registries.

For young men, the rate of new melanoma cases rose from 4.7 cases per 100,000 per year in 1973 to 7.7 cases per 100,000 per year in 1980, but it then stopped rising.

“The reason for the leveling off in melanoma rates among young men is not known,” Purdue said in an e-mail. “This may reflect reductions over time in the amount of sun exposure experienced by young men (public awareness campaigns regarding sun exposure and melanoma were widely launched in the US in the 1980s). However, we really don’t know for sure.”

For young women, the rate went from 5.5 cases per 100,000 per year in 1973 to 9.4 in 1980, and it kept rising to 13.9 in 2004.

“These findings are important because they suggest that public education campaigns to educate Americans about the risks of skin cancer from sun tanning do not appear to have resulted in a reduction in melanoma rates among young women,” Purdue said.

The increase is unlikely to be simply the result of increased awareness and diagnosis, Purdue said, because the data also suggest the cancers are being found at a later stage.

 

 

‘Feel more protected’
Although better diagnosis cannot be ruled out, Ahmedin Jemal of the American Cancer Society said the increase was probably real. He noted that young women are more likely than young men to use sunscreens, which ironically lead to more sun exposure.

“They may feel more protected and so stay in the sun for a longer time,” he said.

C. William Hanke, president of the American Academy of Dermatology, said the findings should serve as a reminder to young women about the dangers of unprotected outdoor sun exposure and indoor tanning.

“The take-home message is: Unprotected outdoor ultraviolet exposure is dangerous,” Hanke said. “Ultraviolet radiation is a carcinogen. If you bathe your skin in the ultraviolet light carcinogen long enough, skin cancer is going to develop.”

The tanning salon industry disputes assertions that indoor tanning is playing a role, saying the increase in diagnoses may be the result of better screening. The industry also challenges assertions that indoor tanning increases the risk of melanoma.

“For people to talk about indoor tanning as a cause of melanoma shows they haven’t looked at the science on the subject,” said Sarah Longwell, a spokeswoman for the Indoor Tanning Association. “It’s shocking to make such a claim. There has been no scientific studies that show that indoor tanning causes melanoma. It’s almost a reckless claim. It’s an overt effort to slander the indoor tanning industry.”

Inside the Guilty Mind of The Other Woman

July 6, 2008 – Multicolor Diaries

Posted Sun, July 6, 2008 

lifestyle.msn.com

 

 

By Genevieve Field

We all have an image of the other woman in our heads: the calculating predator who moves in on happily coupled men. The cloistered, diamond-draped mistress. The office sexpot who’s always just a little too close to your guy at his holiday party. She’s a staple of novels, movies, tabloids, even history books—from the restless Emma in Madame Bovary to Fatal Attraction’s bunny boiler to, most recently, Eliot Spitzer’s hotel call girl. And if you’ve never seen it, go YouTube the legendary clip of Marilyn Monroe purring “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” to her rumored lover, J.F.K. That’s the other woman as we usually imagine her.For most, the idea of borrowing or stealing another woman’s man is unthinkable. And that’s exactly why the OW is such an object of fascination: Why does she do it? Does she want to get caught? How does it feel to be her? Full confession: I was an OW years ago, and I can tell you it felt destructive, decadent, impossible, inevitable. And it was also lonely. Every day I vowed to end the damage I was inflicting on my life, his life, her life … But then he’d pull me into bed and my good intentions would fall away as quickly as our clothes. The highs of loving someone you can never see enough of (and thus never get tired of) are downright addictive.

 

Why am I admitting to being a former man stealer, home wrecker, [insert unflattering noun here]? It’s not something I normally broadcast. But somehow, after interviewing the women you’re about to meet, my past doesn’t seem so shameful. We all can learn from our mistakes. So here you go: seven true stories of heartbreak, hijinks and huge life lessons told by OWs (whose names and identifying details have been changed—you’ll see why!) and the women whose relationships OWs have rattled. Decide for yourself, but I’ll bet you’ll find these other women aren’t so “other” after all.

I was the other woman—and I got pregnant with his twins
At 25, after divorcing my husband of only a year, I met a man who made me feel alive again. Unfortunately he was married. I fought off sleeping with him for months, but eventually I did. At the time I was very thin and not having regular periods, so I was shocked to find out three months into the affair that I was pregnant—with twins, no less! What had I done?

I gave birth with a friend by my side instead of the father, who by that time wasn’t part of my life. I felt greatly remorseful and believed I’d been given my due: The children were a blessing, of course, but raising them by myself sometimes felt like a punishment. I’d grown up in a Christian family, and I felt like I had a scarlet A on my chest. Maybe that’s why, years later, when he called to say he’d gotten divorced, I let him back into our lives.

It was hard, but we were trying—until I found out that he was seeing someone on the side. I’d gone from being the other woman to being cheated on, just as my friends had predicted. These days, he visits our daughters, but we’re over. I learned that two clichés are true: What comes around goes around, and a leopard never changes its spots. —TERRI, 35

I joined forces with his other girlfriend
The entire time I dated a guy I’ll call Hef—yes, after that Hef—he insisted on keeping me a secret. He said his “crazy” ex would hunt me down if she knew anything about me. At first, I had no reason not to trust him. But before long he told me about other girls he was seeing. Why did I put up with it? I guess because it was a hard time in my life and I was down in the dumps. Besides, he assured me that I was his “alpha dog” (I know—ick). Eventually, though, I felt strong enough to tell him our relationship was over, and I moved on.

A few months later I heard that Hef  had actually proposed to one of his supposed on-the-side girls. I was hurt, so I decided to reach out to his “crazy” ex to get her perspective on the situation. Turned out they’d been together the whole time we were, and he’d told her that I was the crazy one. We’d both been played. After that first meeting she and I stayed in touch, and now we’re good friends. And we eagerly await the day he sees the two of us together. Hopefully at his wedding reception, which we fully intend to crash. —ESTHER, 23

I caught my boyfriend in bed with another woman
My boyfriend and I had been together seven years when I unlocked the door to his apartment with the key he had given me and saw him, a tangle of limbs with another woman! He didn’t even get up; he just froze, staring at me. I stared back in shock, then left—but not before opening a drawer and taking a pair of socks and a bottle of perfume. I have no idea why!

I never spoke to my boyfriend again. I was heartbroken then, but today I can tell you that while the experience was horrible, it was also one of the best things that has ever happened to me. That *&%#! was no good, and everyone had seen it but me. Every day I thank God—and weirdly, that naked woman, whoever she was—for that moment! —JENNIFER, 29

I was a married-man magnet
From ages 23 to 25, I attracted nothing but married men. I didn’t seek them out,
but I realize now that I gave off a “come hither and I won’t ask for much” vibe because I didn’t feel worthy of real love.

It started with The Lawyer. I didn’t know he was married, but I wasn’t looking for clues that he was, so I guess I was in denial. After a few months, I got an angry e-mail from a woman who said she was his wife. He claimed it was just a prank, but I did a little sleuthing. Turned out she was his other mistress, who was pregnant and trying to get The Lawyer’s wife to divorce him! I told him it was over.

But two years later, during a low point in my life, I reconnected with him. Only this time, I was seeing other people as well—two hunky, unreliable workaholics who were good distractions. And guess what? Both of them turned out to be married too. I was miserable. Finally a girlfriend told me something that turned my life around. She said, “Every woman deserves to be loved exclusively.” Simple words, but I took them to heart. I had to let go of these married guys and get emotionally healthy. So I got counseling, stopped partying so much and started dating nicer men. One of them became my husband two years ago. After years of compromising, I’m in a relationship that’s sure and steady. And that’s how I feel about myself now, too. —NATASHA, 35

I was his secret office fling; now we’re married
Todd and I started out as work friends—he had a serious girlfriend—but it quickly turned into a major flirtation: e-mails, meetings after work, lunches together. I still remember the day we were driving back from one, and he put his hand on my knee. It sounds corny, but I swear it was electrifying. Nothing else happened until a few weeks later, when I couldn’t help myself: I gave him a hug, which led to a kiss, which led to a full-on make-out session. Before long, we were sneaking off together whenever we could possibly get away. We were both racked with guilt. I never thought I’d be “that” kind of girl, and he was really a good guy—really! And he still cared deeply for his girlfriend. We just couldn’t stop. Not for anything. I pushed my guilt aside with that classic justification: If he were happy with her, he wouldn’t be playing with me, now would he?

We carried on this way—secretive looks across the office, racing to meet at “our spot,” laughing off colleagues’ comments—for a year. Then one weekend, I went on a trip with another guy, and all I could think about was how much I wished he were Todd. As soon as I got home, I told Todd I loved him and wanted to be with only him. The way he looked at me, I could tell he felt the same. The following week he broke up with his girlfriend; she never knew about us, and I’m happy about that. I don’t think anything good could have come from her knowing.

Four years later, we got engaged. We’ve now been married for more than two years, and have worked through our guilt over how we started. And despite what people may think, I don’t consider for even a nanosecond that Todd would cheat on me. There’s just too much history, love and potential for it to be worth it. And those are his words. —LISA, 36

I was the other woman—with a woman
Three years ago, I became the other woman. The twist in my case is that my lover was married to a man. I’m a lesbian; she’s bisexual, and her husband said he understood her need to sometimes be with women. His one caveat: He didn’t want her to fall in love with one. But she did, with me. From the beginning of the affair, she told me she would never leave him, and while I’d been fine with that at first, a year in I realized I loved her too much to share her. It’s too hard to be the “other”—too draining, too negative.

One night, after she left my bed at 3 A.M., I realized I had to let her go. Otherwise, it would drag on, in all of its wrenching ambivalence, for years. My lover had needed me, a woman, to make her feel whole. But I didn’t feel whole without having her completely. And so I let her go. My affair was the most selfish thing I’ve ever done. Giving it up might have been the bravest. —SANDRA, 38

The Art of Intimacy

July 3, 2008 – Multicolor Diaries

Posted Thu, Jun 26, 2008, 3:55 pm PDT 

Health.Yahoo.com

By Dr. Laura Berman 

We really want to pay attention to this, especially in this recession..Money, or the lack of it has a way of messing things up…..Multicolor diaries.

3 Red Flags That You’re Headed for a Breakup 

When it comes to breaking up, hindsight is 20/20. But wouldn’t it be nice if you could tell that you and your partner were headed for a falling out before it happened?

Fortunately, you can predict a break up. And with just a little bit of tweaking, you can get back on track and rescue your relationship before it hits the rocks.

Red Flag #1: Tuning Out
One of the most common reasons relationships fail is because one or both partners is tuning out. It might sound minor, but in actuality, few things are more hurtful than being ignored by your loved one, whether that is accompanied by emotional neglect or physical distance.

The Cure: Take Down the Wall
Tuning back in is easy. All you have to do is agree to listen to your partner’s feedback and dedicate time and emotion to the relationship again. Start taking down the emotional wall, brick by brick. Look at your partner in the eye when he or she speaks (even if it is not what you want to hear), make physical contact daily (even if it is just holding hands), and re-commit to the relationship.

Red Flag #2: Fighting Fire with Fire
Couples who fight fire with fire can expect a relationship that is constantly up in flames. Name-calling, sarcasm, criticism, and violence (from throwing things, slamming doors, to actual physical abuse) result in emotional wounds that are hard to heal and relationships that are hard to rescue.

The Cure: Pour Water on the Flames
The next time you feel anger guiding you to say, or do, things you might regret, take time to cool off. If that’s not possible, try framing your complaints as requests. For instance instead of, “Why did you forget our date?,” you could say, “I feel sad that you forgot our date. How can we make sure this doesn’t happen again?” If your partner is the one who is fanning the flames, don’t engage in the vicious cycle of insults and tantrums. You can’t fight fire with fire if the other person won’t engage in the flame-throwing.

Red Flag #3: Refusing to Own Up
No one is perfect, so why is it that some of us refuse to take responsibility in our most important relationships? Passing the buck and playing the victim are surefire ways to put a relationship in jeopardy.

The Cure: Take Responsibility for Your Actions
The next time you forget an anniversary, or say something hurtful to your spouse, don’t try to pass the buck and refuse to take responsibility. Instead, admit where you went wrong and try harder next time. Sounds simple… but it can save your relationship.

By making simple changes to the way you and your partner communicate, you can keep your relationship intact. All couples fight and argue, but it is how you fight and argue that determines whether your love can weather the storm.

AU treads softly on Zimbabwe

July 2,2008 – Multicolor Diaries Tuesday, July 2, 2008

By Elizabeth Blunt BBC News, Sharm el-Sheikh This week’s African Union summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheikh was dominated by the problems of Zimbabwe. The summit stopped short of calling the election illegitimate. Coming just three days after the country’s highly controversial second-round vote, this was Robert Mugabe’s first international appearance since being re-elected president. In the old days of the Organisation of African Unity, the continental body could quite reasonably have been described as a dictators’ club. There were always one or two honourable exceptions – Senegal for instance, and Botswana. Yet otherwise, between the military coup plotters and the presidents-for-life, the majority of those attending summits would have been in no position to criticise any of their colleagues for lack of democracy. But things are changing. New democracies The old democracies – those honourable exceptions of the past – are still there, and they have now been joined by countries like Sierra Leone and Liberia, which have emerged as democracies despite devastating civil wars. Sierra Leoneans recently voted out the ruling party candidate, and Liberia’s elections produced a run-off between a woman and a football star. (Mr Mugabe) must have been persuasive, since the resolution which emerged at the end of the session was as favourable as he could have wished This was far more representative of Africa’s young population and powerful women than the middle-aged men who still fill the hall at African Union summits. Even Nigeria, where elections have often been far from perfect, enjoys lively political debate and rampant freedom of speech. These were the countries which, from their own position of strength, led the criticism of Robert Mugabe in Sharm el-Sheikh. In public, most of his colleagues simply ignored him, but behind closed doors he was obliged to sit and listen to trenchant criticism of the way he had been returned to power. Possibly the strongest came from Zimbabwe’s neighbour, Botswana. Its vice-president, Mompati Merafhe, said Botswana did not believe the elections reflected the will of the Zimbabwean people or conferred legitimacy on President Mugabe’s government Representatives of the present Zimbabwean government should be excluded from African Union meetings, he argued. No sanctions Delegates who attended the closed debate said that Mr Mugabe was given the chance to respond to the criticisms, which he did at considerable length. He must have been persuasive, since the resolution which emerged at the end of the session was as favourable as he could have wished. It expressed concern about the criticism by observer groups of the conduct of the elections, but did not pronounce them illegitimate. Some African leaders did criticise Mr Mugabe It made no mention of any sanctions against Mr Mugabe’s government, only encouraging the parties to honour their commitment to participate in dialogue, and supporting the call for a government of national unity. It also warmly endorsed the role of intermediary held by South African President Thabo Mbeki, who the more hawkish delegates considered either ineffectual, or far too close to Mr Mugabe. The African Union proceeds by consensus, not majority vote, and there was clearly no consensus for any kind of sanctions. Even so, it was a weak resolution. It was also one whose proposals depend utterly on the goodwill of the contending parties. And not everyone felt they could rely on that. The Liberian President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, said she thought it was the view of many in the room that President Mugabe’s government would have what she called “insurmountable difficulties” in leading efforts to put into effect the solutions proposed in the resolution.

Colombia hostage Betancourt freed

July 2, 2008 – Multicolor Diaries Wednesday, July 2, 2008 BBC News Ingrid Betancourt and three Americans held by rebels in Colombia have been rescued by the Colombian military. Ms Betancourt, a French-Colombian politician, had been held for more than six years by the rebel Farc group and is said to be in very poor health. She was the group’s highest-profile hostage and the French government had made securing her release a priority. The Farc group has been fighting to overthrow the Colombian government for more than 40 years. Colombian Defence Minister Juan Manuel Santos said no-one had been hurt in Wednesday’s operation in the southern province of Guaviare and that the hostages were in relatively good health. Ms Betancourt’s son, Lorenzo Delloye-Betancourt, told reporters in Paris that her release was “the most beautiful news of my life” and that it had filled him with “an indescribable joy”. The 46-year-old is now at a Colombian military base, a French government official told the AFP news agency. Government ’success’ Mr Santos said some 15 hostages had been rescued in total, among them 11 members of the Colombian security forces who had been captured in various rebel attacks. INGRID BETANCOURT Born on 25 December 1961 Grows up in Paris 1989: Returns to Colombia 1994: Elected to lower house 1998: Becomes a senator 2002: Kidnapped by Farc rebels Profile: Ingrid Betancourt He said the Farc rebels had been tricked into handing over the hostages by soldiers posing as members of a fictitious non-government organisation that supposedly would fly the hostages to a camp to meet rebel leader Alfonso Cano. “The helicopters, which in reality were from the army, picked up the hostages in Guaviare and flew them to freedom,” Mr Santos said. The three Americans rescued were defence department contract workers captured after their light aircraft crashed in the Colombian jungle in 2003, the Colombian military said. The BBC’s Jeremy McDermott in Medellin says the successful operation by Colombian security forces is a political and military coup for the country’s government. As such, it will relieve the pressure on President Alvaro Uribe to negotiate with the Farc – the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – allowing him to continue with his US-backed military offensive against the group, our correspondent says. The Farc had hoped to exchange some 60 political hostages for hundreds of rebels held by the Colombian government, he says, but with Ms Betancourt’s rescue they have lost a powerful negotiating tool. The news is yet another blow to the once-mighty Farc, our correspondent adds, following the death of its legendary leader Manuel Marulanda in March, along with two other members of the guerrilla group’s seven-man ruling body. The Farc still holds more than 40 hostages. Public sympathy The news of Ms Betancourt’s rescue will be welcomed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who had made securing her release a foreign policy priority. The French president’s office has confirmed Ms Betancourt’s release. The BBC’s Hugh Schofield in Paris says the news has been greeted with great joy in France, where Ms Betancourt’s plight has excited huge public attention and sympathy. Video pictures released last November of her looking gaunt and frail, as well as the accounts of released hostages that she was in danger of dying, all heightened the sense of urgency surrounding her fate, our correspondent adds. Ms Betancourt has dual citizenship as the result of marriage to a French diplomat – since dissolved – which produced two children, who have worked hard to keep her captivity in the spotlight. The Spanish government is “hugely satisfied” with the news of her rescue and Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has sent messages of congratulations to Mr Uribe and to the Betancourt family, a spokesman said. A spokesman for US President George W Bush said he had congratulated Mr Uribe, telling him he was a “strong leader”. The Vatican has also welcomed the release of Ms Betancourt and the other hostages. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner travelled to Latin America earlier this year to build ties with regional leaders who have been influential in securing hostage releases from Farc in the past. Spain, France and Switzerland have previously undertaken unsuccessful missions to try to secure the release of Ms Betancourt. The politician was kidnapped in 2002 while campaigning in territory controlled by the Farc. She is believed to suffer from serious liver problems.

Crime and Prejudice – are Nigerians being targeted?

African – Americans in the U.S  will tell you that being black in America is no easy task. They’ll tell you that no matter how many PhDs you might have, how many mansions you might happen to live in or how many bank accounts you might own, in America, you are Black, period.

Being black in America means that when a criminal is on the loose, you hope that the face of the suspect on T.V is not black. That when you drive past a Police cruiser on your way to church on Sunday morning, in your Sunday only Mercedes Benz car, you will not be stopped, searched and probably arrested.

But increasingly, another kind of evil is rearing its head – being Nigerian in America. In this new trend, the Nigerian within a five mile radius of a fraudulent activity is automatically guilty of fraud regardless of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. The Nigerian who has the misfortune to be somehow involved in any activity even remotely linked to the crime of fraud is already guilty of that crime until proven innocent.

The fact of being Nigerian now almost inevitably means an inate ability and intent to commit fraud. If the evidence is not persuasive enough, procesutors are prepared to creatively misinterpret even the defendant’s own words, using them against him in order to secure a conviction-its not about justice, its all about getting a conviction.

Even Judges are known to be publicly biased against Nigerians and there are now Courts wherein a Judge will insist on being assigned to a case involving a Nigerian so that he can impose the harshest possible sentence.

There are now Defence attorneys in America who earnestly counsel their Nigerian clients to accept plea bargains involving jail time when the evidence clearly reveals wide gaps in the procesucution’s case.

Nobody will or should encourage a proven fraudster, but the Nigerian,  like everybody else must be accorded a fair and equal oppourtunity to proove his innocence. Not everyone accused of a crime is guilty of that crime, thus the law clearly states that every man is innocent until proven guilty, Black, White and Nigerian alike. Justice therefore, must not only be done but must be seen to be done.

Married Women should keep their own last names if they want to.

Married women should keep their last names if they so choose. Gone are the days when a woman felt the compulsion to change her last name at the stroke of midnight after the marriage ceremony and there are many reasons for this. The new married name might be hideous, the bride may in fact be a Gates, Trump or Clinton, newly married to an eye popping nobody.
She may be a self made career woman who has built a name for herself or perhaps neither she no her groom care very much whose name comes after her first name as long as she promises to be home in time to cook dinner.

Still, this debate is incomplete without a trip to certain parts of Africa or Asia. In some parts of Africa, an unmarried woman is not deemed to have achieved much unless she manages to procure a husband in the course of achieving.

And so the most successful unmarried female Chief Executive in the company commands much less respect than the married assistant who brings her coffee. (Worst still, if she’s never been married.) Oprah Winfrey would have had a hard time attaining any kind of acclaim in these parts Africa!

In some parts of Asia, its unheard of for a woman to even imagine keeping her last name. This kind of topic is not open for deliberation as the family would have expended time and energy trying to get rid of the old maid and old maid also would have spent a fortune training herself in the art of capturing a man – any man, just so as to be called Mrs. Somebody.

Upon marriage, therefore, it’s unlikely that such a person will be eager to keep her last name (otherwise how would the rest of the world know she finally got married?!) Furthermore,  here, the woman is her husband’s property. After marriage, she must assume his name (much like branding) so that other men know not to get too adventurous (people die for that kind of adventure in those parts of the world).

In conclusion, a woman should keep her last name because changing her name on official documents can be really tedious and in this century, women should not be expected to switch their last names to hubby’s especially if she does not want to and hubby is comfortable with her keeping her own.