Your task is to extract the thesis of an opinionated news article by selecting some of its text segments. The thesis is a summarization of what the author wants to persuade the reader of. Your answer should consist of segments of the given text. Note that you are not allowed to combine different sentences.

Q: Last minute Christmas shopping: Five things to avoid. This weekend millions of Americans will take to the mall to get last-minute gifts for their loved ones . They will pour through the already-picked-over selections to try and find "the gift." For those of you who are forced into the mall this weekend : I'm sorry . Here are five things to avoid as we enter the final shopping days before Christmas . 1 \. Believe the best bargains are found if you wait until the last minute . While it's true , retailers are starting their after-Christmas sales earlier than ever - just as the Christmas shopping season starts before you get to Thanksgiving dessert - seasoned shoppers know(1) value and(2) bargain do not mean the same thing . We all know just because something is cheap doesn't mean it's "a bargain" or a "value." It's only a bargain if it is truly something you want or need, and are able to get it at a deep discount . Often last minute shoppers don't know what they want . For those shopping this weekend you will have to settle for what circumstances present , which in many cases will be cheap materials, but not a bargains . The value is the ratio of quality (or quantity) to price . Low quality at a low price is no value , especially when compared to high quality at a low price . Values tend go early in the holiday shopping season . Cheap stays on the shelf until it's all that's left . 2 . Believe there is still money to spend in your budget this month . Last minute shopping, particularly for December, means buying during the back half of the month . That's typically when most income for the month is already committed , and any incremental spending means "borrowing against the future." It's better to buy early - and spread the purchasing over time - so you can more easily absorb the expense . Nobody likes that "January surprise." And for new last- minute shoppers, that surprise can be surprisingly BIG! 3 . Believe you can still find "just the right gift for Uncle George." Waiting until the last minute to shop means having to make compromises . Time and selection are your two greatest "friends" when you shop early . But for last minute shoppers they become your two greatest nightmares : you're pressed for time and all the best colors, sizes and values, are gone . Don't put yourself under a lot of pressure to find that perfect gift . At this stage in the game, a gift will do . 4 . Believe you still need "just one more" gift . We should all take a lesson out of Santa's playbook: 1. Make a list. 2. Check it twice . Too often last minute shopping isn't just an indication you've waited to the bitter end to buy those needed gifts . It also means you've waited too long to plan that shopping . And when that happens you're never quite sure if you have all the gifts you need (it seems keeping track of what you've bought is just as hard as planning what to buy in advance!) . So you keep buying just one more gift... just to make sure you've covered all your bases . By the way, that's when shoppers are especially susceptible to impulse buying . An attention-arresting display will attract last minute shoppers like honey attracts flies! 5 . Believe that the shopper has the advantage . While it is true that the Saturday before Christmas is still one of the busiest shopping days of the year , the advantage has swung back in favor of the retailer . With fewer hours to shop until Santa fills his sack, the retailer has the upper hand , especially if they've had a strong Q4 . For some, shopping the weekend before Christmas can bring the ultimate sense of that holiday experience . For those who enjoy shopping as a pastime, it's one of the best times to be in the mall , but for those folks who need to fulfill a shopping list, it can be one of the worst . The early bird still does get the worm . And the late bird gets ... the opportunity to pick over the dregs with a lot of other "late birds." With the brief time remaining before Christmas, use it to "shop for fun" not for necessity . It will truly help keep you in the Christmas spirit .

A: Here are five things to avoid as we enter the final shopping days before Christmas This weekend millions of Americans will take to the mall to get last-minute gifts for their loved ones
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Q: Ferguson: Obama contines to undermine police departments around the country. As a response to the police shooting of Michael Brown, President Obama proposes $263 million for police training and body cameras . But more police training wouldn't have prevented the Brown shooting and the president's proposal plays into the hands of those who blame the police . President Obama has continually undermined police departments around the country , and his demand for more training fits that pattern . In 2009, he jumped to the conclusion that Cambridge, Massachusetts police "acted stupidly" when they arrested Henry Gates . He personalized the Trayvon Martin investigation in a way that to many implied the murder was radically motivated . And yet again last week, he emphasized that the anger to the verdict was "an understandable reaction" and blacks' distrust of police is "rooted in realities." Nevertheless , whatever Obama implies, there was absolutely no evidence Officer Darren Wilson was motivated by race and he did exactly what he should have done . Brown's robbery of the convenience store, his decision to reach into the police car and punch Wilson while trying to take his gun, and finally Brown's decision to charge Wilson was what caused the teen's death . Under Missouri law, people can defend themselves with deadly force if they have a "reasonable belief" they need to use it to protect themselves against serious injury or death . Wilson claimed:"I felt that another of those punches in my face could knock me out or worse... I've already taken two to the face and I didn't think I would, the third one could be fatal if he hit me right." When Brown later charged Wilson, despite repeated warnings to stop, Wilson worried that he no choice but to shoot Brown . But we don't have to take Wilson's word for what happened . The forensic evidence is overwhelmingly consistent with his story . There is no doubt that Brown reached in Wilson's car and hit him . Brown's DNA was found on Wilson's gun . Despite strong social pressure, three black witnesses confirmed Wilson's testimony . Police officers in America have a more dangerous job than many people realize and they behave remarkably well under these circumstances . In 2013, the assault rate for the general public in the United States was 229 per 100,000 people . But the rate police were assaulted that year was 9,300 per 100,000 officers- a rate 41 times higher . The only reason that police don't die at as high of a rate as people in other professions is because of their training and the fact that they are armed . Would you consider it "dangerous" to live in Detroit? After all ,  it has by far the highest assault rate in the country, at 1,257 per 100,000 people . But police are still 7.4 times more likely to be assaulted(=9,300/1,257) . Aggravated assaults don't necessarily involve injuries, just the attempt to cause serious bodily injury , but police are injured at a very high rate - 2,700 per 100,000 police officer . That is still much higher than the total assault data for civilians . This data also suggests that police are not actively looking for excuses to fire their weapons . The number of justifiable killings by police equals less than one percent of the assaults on police . Thus even when assaulted, police rarely resort to killing their attackers . As Ferguson is showing us, physical risks aren't the only risks that police face . On Saturday Officer Darren Wilson resigned from the Ferguson police department , fearing that protestors would use his continued presence to justify rioting . He is going to have a hard time getting a job , and he didn't get any severance pay . Who will hire him now? Surely no other police department will hire him . And, any company that would hire Wilson would fear the same protests . With Wilson facing civil suits and Attorney General Eric Holder's federal investigation still ongoing, the pressures on Officer Wilson are not likely to fade away anytime soon . It's safe to say that other police officers will be carefully watching what happens to Wilson . Yes, racism is despicable . And there have been abuses by police in the past . But 2014 isn't 1960 . Police have a difficult and dangerous job , and President Obama could help to calm things down if he and his administration weren't so quick to assume that police officers are the only ones at fault . John R  Lott, Jr  is a columnist for FoxNews.com . He is an economist and was formerly chief economist at the United States Sentencing Commission . Lott is also a leading expert on guns and op-eds on that issue are done in conjunction with the Crime Prevention Research Center . He is the author of eight books including "More Guns, Less Crime." His latest book is"Dumbing Down the Courts: How Politics Keeps the Smartest Judges Off the Bench" Bascom Hill Publishing Group (September 17, 2013) . Follow him on Twitter@johnrlottjr .

A: President Obama has continually undermined police departments around the country his demand for more training fits that pattern
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Q: Five ways Obama could make Castro pay Cuba's $6 billion debt to Americans. In his half century reign of terror, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro committed manifold atrocities . Documented evidence reveals him to be a ruthless tyrant who endlessly abused the most basic of human rights -a man who played a pivotal role in bringing the world to the precipice of nuclear annihilation for 13 harrowing days in October of 1962 . Beyond his crimes against humanity and the callous suffering he inflicted on the people of Cuba, he ruined the lives and livelihoods of thousands of Americans . He stole their land, homes, bank accounts, possessions and businesses . He absconded with their property under the guise of "nationalization." But he is, in truth, a thief . Will his victims now be fairly compensated or otherwise see the return of their confiscated property in the wake of America's first steps toward rapprochement with Cuba? The answer is both legal and political . President Obama holds the key . So, don't get your hopes up . The Theft . In the first half of the 20th century, Americans and U.S  businesses dominated Cuba . They accumulated vast holdings of property and operated many of the most lucrative businesses . All of that ended with the Cuban Revolution in 1959 . Castro "nationalized" U.S.-owned industries and seized much of the island's private property from Americans . There was no restitution . One legal scholar called it the largest uncompensated expropriation by a foreign government in history . The U.S  retaliated with an embargo, prohibiting all trade . But the Americans who were expelled from Cuba were left holding titles and deeds to homes and businesses to which they had no access . Their property rights were dissolved , and any legal judgments obtained were unenforceable against an isolated nation that refused to recognize any authority other than its own . Thousands pursued legal recourse and sought reparations under indemnification programs established by Congress . Others filed lawsuits and secured judgments . But Castro didn't care . He repudiated the legitimacy of the restitution programs, the valuation of losses and the legal authority of the courts . This , even though Cuba admits their renegade nationalization was, and is, compensable . So what , then ,  does Castro consider fair compensation? Judging from his payouts to other aggrieved nations, it is mere pennies on the dollar . How do you value dirt? In 1961, the U.S  Commerce Department valued American property seized by the Cuban government at roughly $ 1 to 1.8 billion . Nearly 6-thousand claims were legally certified . Other published reports placed the theft as high as $ 9 billion . But the truth is, it's impossible to know -especially inasmuch as the value of everything plummeted the moment Castro took control of the island . What would the same confiscated properties be worth in today's dollars? $50 billion? $100 billion? How about nothing at all? Given how the Castro brothers have driven their economy into the ground, making Cuba one of the poorest nations in the world , valuation could be closer to dirt than dollars . Which invites another question : assuming a monetary value could somehow be devised, how would Cuba pay for it? With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Castros lost their financial benefactor . The island is blighted and broke . Even if it offered government bonds as compensation , are they worth the paper upon which they are written? How could they be secured? Reclaim the property? Theoretically, it is possible for the confiscated property to be reclaimed someday by the original owners . But that would require a dramatic Cuban transformation from socialism to democracy where private property ownership is permitted . In a recent speech, Cuban President Raul Castro insisted Cuba would not renounces its core socialist ideals as part of the deal he negotiated with President Obama to renew diplomatic relations . Even if some semblance of democracy were to be restored to Cuba in the distant future , what remains of the stolen property? No one knows how many of the private residences that were seized have been divided or fallen into decay . Some may no longer exist . And what of the current occupants? Would they allow themselves to be kicked out? The same may be true of the many farms, industries and commercial businesses that were confiscated and have been put to other uses in the last 5 decades . Yes, they have development potential in an open, free market society . But ,  again, the future of Cuba is nebulous . How realistic is the return of these vast holdings under a continuing Castro regime? What Obama should do . As a first condition to normalizing relations, President Obama should demand that all American victims of stolen property be compensated equitably . He is already obligated by law to do this under the Helms-Burton Act . But Obama has a propensity to ignore or overrule with impunity those laws he regards as misguided or inconvenient . This is one law he should follow . A second condition should be the establishment of a commission of judges with legally binding authority to render compensation decisions . Several reparation models can be studied and replicated, notably the tribunal that dispensed claims in post-unification Germany . President Obama has the power and leverage to force the Castro regime to capitulate if Cuba wants to end the sanctions and restore economic relations . But so far, he has uttered not a word about a desire to do so . And when it comes to negotiations with adversaries, Obama tends to give away the store .

A:
Beyond his crimes against humanity and the callous suffering he inflicted on the people of Cuba, he ruined the lives and livelihoods of thousands of Americans
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