Category: politics

Private Placement Memorandum and OTCBB: How to Make Investors Come Out of The Woodwork

If you are trying to raise capital with a PPM or public entity like OTCBB you need to understand the mind of the investor. After the business plan sells the investor on the business concept you need to sell them on you and your executive staff. You need to stack your executive positions with professionals with a proven track record of success and possess a solid reputation in the industry. You must paint the picture for investors that your business is run by the who’s who in your industry and this pedigree is demonstrated by your education, degree, grades in college, professional organizations of which you have been and are currently a member, advisory board positions with other corporate organizations, a track record of setting up and maintaining strategic alliances, networking contacts and more.

When an investor looks at your human resource list on your PPM, business plan or public offering docs it needs to scream power, authority and confidence. Each individual that you place on your advisory board must have a massive contribution other than ‘advice’. Advisors should be able to prove their ability to assist in crucial decisions, connect your company with strategic partners and help you get to the next level.

Your legal counsel and CPA should be well known organizations with a long list of successful, well known organizations on their client roster and they should have a lot more to offer your company than just their fee based services. Again, these organizations should be able to set you up with partnerships that will help grow your business. As far as corporate awareness you must include a publicist. The publicist that you choose must be well versed in their comprehension of your industry genre.

They must be able to take your company and get you in front of the proper audience that is conducive to enhancing your growth potential. They must be able to demonstrate their knowledge of viral online marketing as well as traditional means of radio, TV and article promotion. They should be able to reach into their contact list and set you up with one interview after another targeting your specific audience.

These are just a few things to take into consideration when you jump on the fund raising trail. Every individual you have listed on your docs must be able to pass due diligence and have the appeal that reaches into the ‘comfort’ zone portion of the investor’s mind.

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Not Having Illinois Medical Insurance Heightens Death Risks

Forgoing Illinois medical insurance heightens death toll potential. As the health insurance reform bill remains unsettled, several research studies depict the risk of a higher mortality rate among the uninsured. From developing cardiovascular disease or cancer, to suffering from a traumatic injury, data indicates that being without Illinois medical insurance is merely a detrimental prospect.

A study of 1231 patients, recovering from head or neck cancers from 1998 through 2007 at the Pittsburgh Medical Center evaluated the survival rate of patients, who were uninsured to the insured. One hundred and twenty eight patients, who were on Medicaid or were without health insurance perished, illustrated a fifty percent survival rate. By comparison, 22 percent of the patients with medical coverage perished.

Similar mortality discrepancies were noted among individuals suffering from traumatic injuries. Physicians and researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School collected statistics from the National Trauma Data Bank, which has a compilation of 2.7 million patients admitted to trauma centers throughout the United States. Evaluating data from 2002 and 2006, researchers looked at 687,091 adult patients admissions. The data showed a significant correlation in the death rate of the uninsured patient versus the insured. Researchers tried to modify the data to reduce the impact of race, age and gender; however, the statistics maintained a higher mortality rate among the uninsured. Even more curious, individuals on Medicare showed a comparable survival odds to patients covered by a private health insurance policy.

Reviewing data from 1998 to 2005 at the Department of Surgery, Division of Trauma and Critical Care, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, researchers investigated the death rate of 29,829 patient records. Uninsured admissions accounted for sixty-eight percent of the patients. The data portended a higher death rate among the younger, non-insured patients, suffering from less traumatic injuries than their surviving insured counterparts.

Although hospitals extend treatment, it remains unclear whether the higher death rate is attributable to the uninsured obtaining minimal medical care during hospitalization. While there have not been any studies about comparing the death toll of the uninsured to individuals with Illinois medical insurance, the Centers for Disease Control maintains data showing that the rate of Illinoisans not having Illinois medical insurance has been on the upswing for the last decade. The statistics of residents without Illinois medical insurance has been on a steady rise for the past decade.

Meanwhile, heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States. From 1996-2006,the American Heart Association noticed a 33 percent rise in cardiovascular inpatient operations. With close to 15 percent of the Illinois population not having Illinois medical insurance coupled with a high mortality rate of the uninsured, and the emerging number of cardiovascular disease diagnoses, a lack of health coverage forecasts a detrimental outcome.

Illinois medical insurance consultant, Michael Novelli asserts “Despite the fact that cancer and heart disease are not preventable, people with medical coverage are more likely to have an earlier diagnosis, allowing for better medical care. So many managed care Illinois medical insurance plans are economical enough to slow down additional medical casualties.

IllinoisLifeandHealth.com offers complementary Illinois medical insurance quotes, advice and a wealth of information regarding Illinois medical insurance. Bookmark the site for the latest news, resources and no obligation quotes, online.

Does Conserving Water Save Money Over the Long Term?

A recent Sonoma County California case brings to light an interesting relationship between conservation and water utility rates. Last October, residents of the local Sonoma users undertook some significant conservation measures and were rewarded with an 8% rate increase. The lead line from a local community radio website then read “Apparently, conserving water won’t necessarily save you money.” Water Utility Consultants have seen this before.

The relationship between usage behavior and cost structure provides insight into how this happens. Typically, utility customers believe that if they conserve water or cut back on water use, they will save money on their water utility bill. Generally, if the bill is determined by a cost-per-gallon or cost per-unit rate, this may be true. Consumption of fewer units of whatever is being sold should result in a lower bill to the consumer.

Common thought then follows that should the water provider deliver fewer gallons of water to customers, the utility should enjoy lower costs for providing fewer units of service. This in the end should save the water utility money as well and all should be equitable, right?

Unfortunately, many utility costs are of the ‘fixed’ variety, meaning that they do not go up or down in proportion to the number of units produced. Fixed costs include expenses necessary for the utility to continue delivering the water and sewer service, and include things like payroll costs, equipment maintenance, insurance, debt service, and many other costs that won’t change if customers consume fewer gallons of water or produce a reduced volume of sewage or wastewater.

Income and revenue to the utility however, is a direct relationship between consumption level and price per unit. In other words, it is a function of quantity times price per unit. As water consumers decrease use, the inevitable result is a corresponding decrease in revenue paid back to the provider. So although conservation efforts may benefit customers in the short term with reduced fees and charges, the decline in income to the utility leads to economic shortfall. A successful water conservation program by extension, reduces revenue to the provider. The difficulty then lies in the fact that water providers and water utilities need this revenue just to provide providing on-going water service.

In the end, water users may enjoy a lower bill for service by cutting back on usage, but the water provider sees its revenue reduced. Because of the provider’s cost structure, the provider cannot remain financially viable in the long term should its expenses be greater than total revenue.

The point where utility expenses threaten to outpace revenues is usually marked by requests for a rate hike. Increases in rates then erase any gain the customer conservation efforts produced. After all, if fewer units are sold, the rate per unit (gallon) is going to have to be raised to a level that provides enough revenue to support the providers’ ongoing operations. This results in a basic conflict between provider revenue requirements and efforts to reduce customer bills.

Rates can be designed in advance to help offset some of the expected losses, thus stabilizing rates to some degree. Experienced water rate consultants can help design these kinds of rates in advance, and that’s a much better plan than waiting to see what happens after the fact.

The Water Utility Consultants at StepWise help water and wastewater utilities nationwide improve business processes, improve cash flow management as well as manage consumer water utility in a challenging economic environment. Contact the Water Utility and Wastewater Consulting Experts at StepWise today!

How To Be Honest Diplomatically

Today my editorial is about the subject of honesty. It seems to me that honesty is fairly subjective. As we grow up, we are taught that we should always be honest in all that we do. It is embedded into our heads at a ripe age to never ever tell a lie, no matter how small. We are never supposed to cheat in school, card games or board games, yet as we grow older we see that there are many gray areas where being truthful is concerned. Of course, we can identify the big ones, like not embezzling money from your company, or not cheating on a spouse. (Side note: Of course those examples are practically common place in today’s society. However, we can identify that it is wrong, even if a lot of people do things along those lines.)

The gray area seems to lie with every day things. For instance, almost every man knows that if his wife asks how she looks in an outfit, the answer should always be a positive one. It doesn’t matter if she bought a pair of pants that make her butt look huge, her husband is going to say she looks good to avoid getting clocked in the head for saying she’s fat, right?

I personally have tried to be unfailingly honest throughout my life, only to find that my candor (while appreciated by a handful of people) is taken if offense and that I need to keep my mouth closed to avoid someone getting hurt or being upset with me.

So how honest should we be in our lives? Anyone playing a political game, whether it be in politics or at work or even church, can tell you that little white lies are our friends. They help people to remain tactful and build up friendships and acquaintances. Any salesperson will say whatever they think a potential customer wants to hear, not minding that it’s true or false.

But if that salesperson was completely blunt with said potential client? They would never make any sales and wouldn’t be able to have a livelihood. On the flip side, potential clients will tell a salesperson almost any lie to get out of someone pressuring them to buy a product they simply do not need.

So while we preach that honesty is the best policy, we appear to sail through these small fabrications that make life flow smoother. I suppose a term for it could be called diplomacy. We have to tolerate some people who rub us the wrong way in many circumstances, we need to always say nice things to family members in order to maintain good relationships. So lying can actually be a good thing, just so long as you are using it in a diplomatic way. With that in mind, I still think I prefer being brutally honest in most cases. Simply because that is how I’d prefer others would talk to me. But I have discovered that frankness is best received with close friends and family who are used to my sometimes abrasive personality.

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Importance of Climate

Climate can be defined as the weather in a particular locale that has been so for a long time. This climate is the atmospheric conditions that serves as a nexus for the activities that humans take part in. It is around climate that everything has evolved. The various recreational activities and even vital activities like agriculture and fishing depend on climate for their timings. It is seen that even a small variation in the usual cycle of seasons can cause natural disasters like flash floods and long droughts.

The monsoon or the rainy season is a beautiful season. The urban world welcomes monsoon with windproof umbrellas and polythene raincoats. The whole city would comprise of multicolored dots of bobbing umbrellas and running raincoats. The rural communities however depend on the rains for their livelihood. Agriculture is a vital part of their lives and it all depends on the rainfall. A small stretch of either no rainfall or excess rainfall can imply disaster.

The season which comes next in the list would be the spring. It has always been the season of fertility, joy and fruitfulness. It is during this time that flowers bloom, fruits grow and everything is full of vigor and life.

Winter brings with it a picture of snow covered houses, snowball fights, snowmen and Christmas trees. Even though winter is frigid and dry, it is one season that people look forward to celebrate the various festivals that are celebrated all over the world. In most places, it also marks the end of the year and the beginning of a new one; an occasion that is joyously celebrated everywhere.

The summer is the hottest and the driest of all seasons. The heat is more in countries nearer to the Equator and towards the colder countries that lie nearer the poles, it is merely a time that brings respite and relief from the frost that otherwise covers these regions for most of the times.

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The Growth of California and Gold Fever

In January 1848, James Marshall was overseeing the building of a saw mill for his employer, when he noticed an odd rock glinting in the upturned soil.

He was not sure whether it was gold or not and did not want to get people’s aspirations up. So Marshall attempted to break the yellow rock with a hammer. It did not crack, but it did dent. just like gold would. The woman who was cooking meals for the saw mill construction crew, tried another test by boiling the rock in lye.

They boiled it all day, but it did not change colour. So, they handed the rock over to the mill’s owner, Mr. John Sutter, who also conducted a few tests. In the end, everyone agreed that this rock was indeed gold.

It seems that the Sierra Nevada Mountains held huge hordes of gold, but that over tens of thousands of years, erosion had loosened up gold nuggets and the mountain streams flushed them down to the bottom of the mountains. Sutter’s property was situated between two rivers and so was likely to generate great wealth.

Sutter had ideas to build an agricultural empire on his 39,000 acres of land, so he asked his employees to keep stum about the find. However, as is to be anticipated, word leaked out. In due course news of the gold strike reached the small town of San Francisco.

There, a newspaper publisher shouted around the streets: “Gold from the American River!” and within three days of the news arriving, 400 of the 600 inhabitants had set out for Sutter’s land. It was a groundswell and by the end of the year, gold prospectors had traveled to California from as far afield as Mexico and Chile.

When word of the gold strike got to the east coast, President Polk confirmed the discovery. It was December 1848 and ‘The Gold Rush’ became a national and even a global event. The gold miners of 1849 and later years became known as forty-niners.

What has to be borne in mind is though, that most people, who came from Canada, Mexico and the eastern United States came by wagon train, as there were not locomotive! This meant a treacherous journey of between six and nine months

Nevertheless, at least 32,000 people actually walked to California in 1849, and about 44,000 more arrived in 1850. Others, such as South Americans, faced an arduous journey by sea. They suffered storms, shipwrecks, hunger and thirst, disease, and overcrowding and after all that, some still had to undergo mule rides through jungles and deserts! In spite of everything, in under a year, about 40,000 people arrived in San Francisco from overseas.

The new arrivals constituted a dramatic change in California’s population, because in 1848, California had had about 100,000 inhabitants, most of whom were Native Americans, but within two years, the state population more than doubled but the variety of ethnicity increased tens of fold.

Some people found gold and made a lot of money in the Californian riverbeds, but most people did not become rich in the Gold Rush. When gold was found, the hoard was usually cleared quickly. James Marshall had little success as a miner, and he died impoverished. John Sutter, who had once owned 39,000 acres, left California in heavy debt after miners flattened his land.

In fact, it was simpler to make money selling shovels and other provisions to the miners. Most people lost everything they had, so they stayed to work the vast expanse called California or to set up businesses. By 1856, San Francisco had a very multi-ethnic population of over 50,000 people and California had become the most exhilarating state in the country.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with Celtic knot rings. If you have an interest in gold rings, please go to our website now at White Gold Claddagh Ring

7-Reasons To Buy Michigan Life Insurance

Michigan life insurance policy accounts for those extenuating life-shattering situations. The underlying value for buying a Michigan life insurance policy is to have a financial contingency for loved ones. Regardless of marital status, seven circumstances give good cause to obtain a Michigan life insurance policy, which include:

Financial commitments. Married couples generally purchase a life insurance policy as a financial buffer to shield expenses upon the event of catastrophe. Most married couples appoint each other as recipient of the life insurance.

Divorce decree. Financial obligations do not change when couples divorce. As a result, life insurance may be a consideration of the divorce decree. Moreover, in cases where one ex spouse pays child support, a Michigan life insurance policy offers protection for the parents or children in the event of a misfortune.

Single parenting. A Michigan life insurance policy represents an income substitute, if something should happen to a single parent; at least the children have a modicum of financial stability.

Other dependents. Life insurance also protects other family members who are financially dependent (in example: siblings, parents, spouse) upon the household’s breadwinner. Additionally, a Michigan life insurance policy is an easy means for creating an inheritance for beneficiaries.

Estate taxes. Frequently, consumers select a life insurance policy to offset an heir’s estate taxes. In this case, a Michigan life insurance policy would ensure that the heirs don’t have to settle for a significantly reduced inheritance, liquidating other assets.

Final arrangements. Upon the event of death, a Michigan life insurance can cover funeral, burial, other legal administrative costs, as well as outstanding balances debts.

Forced savings. When the death benefits go unpaid, certain Michigan life insurance programs have a cash value policy, enabling the account holder to withdraw or borrow against the plan. Even more redeeming is that the interest is tax deferred; but not all life insurance policies offer the same benefits.

Michael Novelli is a licensed Michigan life insurance agent, offering hassle free, professional advice and quotes. Please visit MichiganHealthandLife.com for more Michigan life insurance information or to obtain a free quote.

Reforms Dealing With Illegal Immigration In The USA

One of the biggest problems that the United States has been dealing with in the past few years is illegal immigration. Immigration news seems to make headlines whenever something tragic happens or when new policies are proposed. It seems as if the whole world is watching to see what happens.

There are immigrants who try their luck each day to cross the border separating America and the neighboring countries. It has been said that just about half million people try to enter the country illegally each year. The current measures to control the level of immigration do not appear to be terribly effective.

The citizens of many surrounding countries have many reasons to try and leave their homes and make an attempt to get into the United State. Some of the reasons for doing so consist of political instability, economic volatility and poverty; which is why a growing number of people try to illegally cross over land and sea borders of Florida and the southern states on a daily basis.

There are many people from many different organizations taking polarized opinions on the subject. Some say illegal immigration provides a necessary workforce, while others point out the citizens that need those jobs. One side of the argument points out high crime rates and possible terrorist threats and drug trafficking across an open boarder, while others say it’s something that needs to be done.

A great deal of the immigration news talks about the problems that these illegal immigrants face on their expedition, or other sensational aspects of the situation. Some of the news, though, details the amount of debate over the situation.

The seriousness of this issue has made it one of the biggest issues in the country, and many politicians often discuss reforms to the current policies. The U.S. Congress is considering some different changes to the current laws, but the debate continues. Many people believe there must be some common ground where both sides will be happy, but so far every new proposition is seriously contested.

Some activists are seen in immigration news trying to make their case for the changes they want. Other groups are trying to make as much of an impression for the other side of the issue. So far, though, they have not been able to find much that they can agree on.

What is imperative is that society tries to find the most peaceful answer for everyone’s sake. There are a lot of different solutions being suggested, and a successful resolution may seem long a long way away, but many people will keep working on it.

There is always a lot of immigration news to report to he American public. It can be a very heated discussion at times that involves everything from human rights to border security. Lots of people are very passionate about their stance on immigration laws.

Should The Government Be In Charge Of All Student Loans?

Is there anything the government does well business wise? The United States government is in charge of protecting us and a case can be made that they do a good job of that. But other than going to war and maybe controlling the police, I find it difficult to think of anything the government does successfully.

It used to be said that the post office did a good job but now they are losing money every quarter and having to raise their prices as a result. Even with the price of stamps going up, the post office still continues to operate in the red. Private competitors like Fed Ex and UPS are thriving and doing successfully what the post office once did.

With such a dismal business track record, the government is now proposing to completely take over the student loan industry in our country. Obama is seeking to remove student loans from the private business sector and have the government be 100% in charge of them. This is typical of people in the government believing that it can do a better job than the free market.

One of the most compelling reasons why this should not go through is that we would be giving the government more power than it already has. Our children’s fates would be in the hands of someone behind a desk in Washington who would be deciding which of our children get loans and thus which of them get to go to college. Is this really what we want?

We as American citizens have to be very careful how much power we let our government take on. Left unchecked, they will try to take over every industry and rule our lives completely. People in Washington want power and one way they get it is by trying to control our lives through taxes and the many decisions we allow them to make. It is now time to step back and remember that they work for us and not the other way around.

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Say Yes To Constitutional Assembly, Say Yes To Charter Change!

Let us first define the terms Con-Ass and Cha-Cha, before I give my argument as to why we should say yes to it so that other people will understand what is being talked about. Con-ass and Cha-Cha are both short terms which respectively refer to Constitutional Assembly and Charter Change.

If you have been closely watching the news, you will readily know that Charter Change/Cha-Cha by way of the Constitutional Assembly/Con-ass has been a constant concern that is generating problems with the Mrs. Arroyo’s administration. So to make matters clearer, Charter Change simply means the making of changes or revisions to our constitution, which is the 1987 Philippine Constitution.

The 1987 Philippine Constitution has outlined three ways of amending or revising our Constitution. The three are namely: 1.) By way of a Constitutional Assembly (Con-Ass) (Congress, upon a vote of three-fourths of all its Members) 2.) By a Constitutional convention (Con-Con) 3.) People’s Initiative

You may wonder why I am for Cha-Cha through Con-Ass when almost everyone else in the blogsphere is against it. In my opinion, Charter Change is the only means of implementing those needed amendments and revisions in our Constitution. Lawmakers in the US also acknowledge the need for amendments and revisions in their Constitution. Between its promulgation in 1787 and 1992, the US Constitution has had 27 amendments and revisions. Implementing change in our Constitution is definitely good, especially when it is timely and for the good. Examples of amendments that would really be good are limiting Congressmen to a few numbers. Limiting them would definitely save time and money. Amendments against political dynasties will also certainly help our political situation. There are much more that I would like to share but I will be reserving it for another post.

Among the three methods of implementing Charter Change, Constitutional Assembly is the most efficient method. This is the reason why I am also for Con-Ass. Constitutional Convention not only costs a lot of money but so much time will be wasted. A people’s initiative is yet to be implemented and there has never been a law passed on how this should be exercised. Besides, it would also become very impractical should it be implemented. This leaves us with the Constitutional Assembly. Though it may sound ironic, we do still have intelligent lawmakers who can still produce very sensible amendments.

Well, there goes my two cents of opinion concerning Cha-Cha and Con-Ass. However, many of the masses have been misled by equating Con-Ass and Cha-Cha as a plot of Mrs. Arroyo to extend her term. Clearly, Cha-Cha and Con-Ass are not meant for such purposes.

Yet this does not mean I am for Cha-Cha now. What would be practical is to have Charter Change after the scheduled May 2010 elections to avoid political unrest because of the misunderstanding. I am against Congress’ plans of trying to have Cha-Cha now. Let us support Cha-Cha through a Constitutional Assembly after the May 2010 elections.

To know more on whether you should say yes to conass visit the blog of Zigfred Diaz at www.zdiaz.com

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